Wanna Cyber Czar?

1. 

   Charles H. on May 13, 2009 at 1:59 pm

   When and why did the heads of government regulatory agencies become known as “czars,” especially since it’s not the Communists who are rebelling against them these days? It’s like Wal-Mart’s board of directors calling itself the “Supreme Soviet.”

   1. 

      Roderick on May 13, 2009 at 2:08 pm

      I know that the term “energy czar” was used under the Nixon administration; then “drug czar” under the Reagan administration. I believe those were the first two uses from which the rest grew, but don’t know for sure.

      In Britain they use “tsar” in the same way.

   2. 

      Ray Mangum on May 13, 2009 at 11:47 pm

      More importantly, why did a nation founded on anti-monarchist principles accept such term?

      1. 

         Roderick on May 14, 2009 at 12:05 am

         I found some background info here.

2. 

   Brandon on May 13, 2009 at 2:51 pm

   We also need a weed-whacker czar, a public lice inspection czar, an elevator music czar, and miniature golf injuries czar.
   America must be protected.

   1. 

      Roderick on May 13, 2009 at 3:21 pm

      Like the man said.

3. 

   Darian on May 13, 2009 at 3:11 pm

   I forget who asked “Drug Czar, Energy Czar – Who gets to be the Czar Czar?”

   1. 

      Anna Morgenstern on May 15, 2009 at 8:00 pm

      “Your Czar of Czars”

      

      1. 

         Roderick on May 15, 2009 at 8:06 pm

         There used to be a comic book villain called the Star-Tsar.

4. 

   Neverfox on May 13, 2009 at 3:57 pm

   …according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity…

   That sounds like the kind of behavior that a cyber czar is likely to spin as “highly suspicious”. Because anyone who adopts a degree of anonymity or utilizes encryption is a terrorist, didn’t you know? What do we have to hide from our rulers?

5. 

   Nick Manley on May 13, 2009 at 4:10 pm

   A bit of comic relief: I wonder if Roderick has started a trend leading to the replacement of “wanna cyber?” with “wanna cyber czar?”.

6. 

   Robert Paul on May 13, 2009 at 6:22 pm

   The real news here is that Roderick is aware of “wanna cyber?”.

7. 

   Nick Manley on May 13, 2009 at 8:03 pm

   Ouch, Robert

   Ouch!

   1. 

      Robert Paul on May 14, 2009 at 12:25 am

      Heh, I was just kidding around. I think it’s great (really!).

8. 

   Michael Wiebe on May 13, 2009 at 9:07 pm

   OT: Roderick, are your articles “The Benefits and Hazards of Dialectical Libertarianism” and “Keeping Context in Context: The Limits of Dialectics” online?

   I see that some of the other articles in those JARS issues are online.

   1. 

      Roderick on May 13, 2009 at 9:10 pm

      They’re not online yet; I need to get around to doing that.

9. 

   Nick Manley on May 13, 2009 at 9:58 pm

   Roderick,

   I was disappointed by my inability to find an affordable copy of your monograph on Rand online. Is there any chance that might be posted? Considering it’s out of print now. I’ve been meaning to contact you about whether you had an extra copy to spare or could transcribe it to Microsoft Word or something. Of course, I would not consider it an offense for you to ask for payment in return for these services.

   1. 

      Roderick on May 13, 2009 at 11:21 pm

      No payment required! I’ll scan a copy and send it to you when I get a chance.

10. 

    Nick Manley on May 14, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Thank you so much! Roderick.

    Much appreciated

Comments are now closed.