France

A couple weeks back, I suggested that a new French Thatcher might emerge from the latest round of tedious national strikes. But, according to the panting British press, I backed the wrong horse: It won?t be Nicolas Sarkozy, "the French Giuliani," but 21-year-old hottie Sabine Herold, a protest-leading, Hayek-quoting, war-supporting, libertarian-rallying, meat-loving, heels-wearing, Thatcher-worshipping ball of patriotic energy.

Comments

[Geotech]

This was on TheAgitator about a billion years ago.

[Anonymous]

i hear she is pro-war

that means she loses her libertarain badge is a warmongering neocon

[Sparky]

libertarian; neo-con. whatever. how do i get this girl's phone number?

[Beanie]

Sparky-

-Took the words out of my mouth. I think I'm in love. I happen to be a warmongering libertarian myself.

[Anonymous]

careful what you wish for guys, it ain't easy being with a tough frenchie, as Matt probably knows.
but it is worth it.

[Anonymous]

As long as she bathes.

[Croesus]

Thatcher was definately NOT a libertarian; she did a great deal to destroy local government control in the UK, for example, and of course there was her famous "poll tax."

[b]

she's cute. the french girl that is, not thatcher.

[Gunkhead]

This is the only photo link I could dig up:

http://www.liberte-cherie.com/ag.php

[Jesse Walker]

Thatcher was also terrible on free speech, sexual liberty, due process, open government, and foreign policy. Her "privatizations" mostly turned public monopolies into publicly protected private monopolies, and for most Britons she actually raised taxes. She had some good reforms mixed in as well, of course, and she was more pro-market than, say, Reagan. But I'm with Croesus: She wasn't a libertarian.

[Anonymous]

she was more libertarian than the alternatives. but i forgot i am in libertarian fundie zone.

[Croesus]

"In France," says Sabine, "we have no freedom of expression. Being different is frowned upon. Everyone must conform. I want to give power back to individuals."

Which is of course why she able to hold rallies of 80,000.

"In France, it is 35 hours - ludicrous, no?"

Well, whether they are liked or not, the 35 hour week has led to increases in productivity according to the left-wing rag The Economist.

She has no problem with McDonald's, either: "The French should be allowed to eat them if they want, even though they taste disgusting."

Hmm, McDonalds aren't outlawed in France, and their potential outlaw is about as likely as it would be in the US.

She would love to become an MEP. "But, in France, these pathetic rules mean I am not allowed to until I am 23, so I will miss the next Euro elections by one month."

Yes damnit, in the US you can run for office at the age of ... wait a minute.

[MB]

Note that "war-supporting" is near the top of Matt Welch's list of libertarian qualities. Or is "meat-loving" more important? Katrina vanden Heuvel is attractive and probably wears high heels, but no one's calling her a libertarian.

[Anonymous]

thomas jefferson and the Founders were not libertarians either. so if you are libertarian you are not allowed to admire them.

[Anonymous]

Another article about FRANCE so of course it's once again time for the great French nationalist Croesus to discuss.......the US of course.

[Jesse Walker]

Fundie zone? That implies I'm letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. The point I was making is that Thatcher wasn't so good to begin with.

That said, I think she's generally better than most European leaders of the last 30 years. As you say, there are a lot worse alternatives.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to praise her, or not notice the many ways she worked against individual liberty.

[Matt Welch]

MB -- Those weren't presented as "libertarian qualities," a category whose definitions I'll gladly defer to the court, but rather as qualities, period. She loves Thatcher, she considers herself a libertarian, maybe even with a capital L. Life is just CRAZY, isn't it?

[Croesus]

Anon,

What alternatives would those be? (And simply because one choice is less worse than the others, isn't much of argument for admiration.)

BTW, Jefferson had more to with the writing of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, than he did with the creation of the Constitution. Jefferson did three important things in his life: he wrote the Declaration of Independence, he was a capable ambassador to France, and he bought Louisiana from France. As the military governor of Virginia he was a complete incompetent, and his second Presidential administration was a disaster. I know, I know - don't let facts get in the way of hagiography.

BTW, of the Louisiana Purchase Napoleon stated that "This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the United States; and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride."

[Croesus]

Anon @ 3:51,

Actually, I was poking fun at Herold. Read Voltaire's Letters From England sometime. 🙂

[micah holmquist]

The Telegraph article includes the following paragraph:

The stories in our newspapers fascinate her. "What is this anti-smacking law? What is wrong with a quick smack? I thought only the French liked these silly laws. In Finland, men are made to do 40 per cent of the housework. Libertarians in every country should rise up against this madness.?

Am I correct to read the first part as a denunciation of laws against domestic violence?

[Croesus]

micah,

I myself was puzzled over what the term meant. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

yes i know croesus, it would be far easier to be a fundie. a lot of libertarians admire licoln but are denounced by the libertarian fundies as admiring a tyrant. but sometimes you need to admire real leaders, who existed in the real world and did better than most.

[Croesus]

A Yahoo search of "anti-smack laws" turns up three entries - all concerning heroin.

[Anonymous]

the smacking referred to is that of little children - a slap on the butt, une fessee.

[Croesus]

Anon. @ 4:08,

Again, I perfer history over hagiography. If you want to deify historical leaders, that's fine, but it's really nothing better than Soviet agitprop about Lenin.

[mobile]

Another pic at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/04/wfra04.xml

[Croesus]

BTW, I am hardly a libertarian fundamentalist (fundie is such a childish term).

[Croesus]

Oh goodness, maybe she's really the French Ann Coulter, the way people are posting addresses to pictures of her. He he he. 🙂

[Anonymous]

equating admire with deify is childish

[Croesus]

Anon @ 4:15,

Well, given your willingness to ignore the historical record, I could only assume apotheosis was your agenda. I mean, my word, one critical word about Thatcher, and you are thrown into a apoplectic fit - what else am I to think?

BTW, from the none too spectacular photos of her, she appears to look like Winona Ryder.

[Warren]

hmmmm maybe there's more to this French/Freedom association than just potatoes

[Croesus]

BTW, the article states that stores close at 6 o'clock in France, which is utter BS. There are 24-hour stores all over France. Now Germany has strict store closing laws, esp. for the weekends.

[Tommy_Grand]

I love a woman who digs a quick smack on the butt.

[Joan]

Mobile, Sabine is a live ringer for Jean d'Arc, isn't she?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/04/wfra04.xml

[DiCaprio]

"she appears to look like Winona Ryder. -- Croesus.

Mayhaps, Croesus, but the only things SHE seems to be stealing is hearts.

[GW]

"[Thatcher] had some good reforms mixed in as well, of course, and she was more pro-market than, say, Reagan. But I'm with Croesus: She wasn't a libertarian."

So tell us then -- what political leader on this planet was EVER a libertarian?

[Plutarck]

And my reaction to her - Yuuuuuuck. Don't know what she looks like - don't care, but I find just about all political positions quoted atrocious...except for being pro-individual choice, which makes her perhaps less bad than some others, but not neccessarily good.

I myself am nearing the polar opposite: could care less about protests, war relatively war neutral (back and forth on that one), vegetarian, Thatcher-not-liking, anti/non-patriotic sort of individual.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, Pluto! Tell 'em! The world stinks! Bad, bad, BAD place, right? (You sound just like a lawyer.)

[Plutarck]

You must be responding to one of my OTHER posts - because I can't see any coherance in applying it to the one in this thread.

Though I do readily admit to sounding more and more like a lawyer as time goes on.

[CharlesWT]

And another picture.

[Anonymous]

Oh, great! Thanks, Charles! We can finally see her tits!

[Anonymous]

Such as they are ...

[Anonymous]

Joan of Arc was smart to have hers all boarded up behind iron.

[Anonymous]

Man, if I had a dollar for everytime I thought that ...

Then I'd probably have about $4 by now.

[Douglas Fletcher]

"So tell us then -- what political leader on this planet was EVER a libertarian?"

Caligula?

[caveman]

Well, folks, now we know. Doug Fletcher is either a neocon, a democon, or a moron.

But he certainly isn't a libertarian.

lib?er?tar?i?an -- 1. One who believes in freedom of action and thought, wedded to personal responsibility . 2. One who believes in free will. [From liberty.] --lib?er?tar?i?an?ism n.

Caligula was a libertine (pronounced, liberTEEN)
(And you can look that one up yourself, Doug.)

[Plutarck]

"We can finally see her tits!"

Man, if I had a dollar for everytime I thought that...

[Anonymous]

doug is jewish?

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