A quandary
I just got an email from Bill and he's willing to provide the books at cost. So the total, including shipping, is only $125. So we have about $345 extra bucks.
(I should have mentioned earlier that Paypal charges a 3.2% transaction fee, so our total is a bit less than $470)
So, refunds?
Or take kulak's idea and donate the balance to Soldiers' Angels or some other group?
Just let me know.
(I should have mentioned earlier that Paypal charges a 3.2% transaction fee, so our total is a bit less than $470)
So, refunds?
Or take kulak's idea and donate the balance to Soldiers' Angels or some other group?
Just let me know.
Comments
His call on the surplus is acceptable, in any case.
Ouch! We should have had a proper understanding of cost before we started. Here's my suggestion because I insist we keep this on the up and up. I'd like 20 copies of The Constitution from Cato. They're only a buck a piece and my contribution can be spent as such.
I think the rest of the overage should be refunded. Allow contributors to decide if they want to spend the excess on a charity of their choice. In fact, I rather insist on it. It's the right thing to do.
~Paules
Since the original goal was to purchase Bill's essays as examples of critical thinking in the exploration/enhancement thereof, use the excess for such as the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, and other resources for the school library that contribute to develeopment of that skill.
Excess after that, if any, to Fallen Angels or other charity directly supportive of those who stand the wall.
I trust Paules and D4, among the rest, to put my meager contribution to its best use.
ALL my best!
There were 7 contributors, so $18 dollars each would be $126; that covers the books.
Paypal allows me to make partial refunds so I can refund the balance (minus fees). That means a >$2 refund for some. I would really prefer to come to a consensus on what to do with the balance then step aside as the club treasurer.
That said, I don't want to complicate this for anyone, or draft DQ into full-time nonprofit management. If the simplest thing is to stay focused on the original mission and refund the surplus per Mr. Paules' last comment that's fine too; we can individually find good uses for the rest at our own discretion, and I'd be happy to keep some banked to contribute to future E!3 projects of this sort.
Rose Wilder Lane's "The Discovery of Freedom" -- rambles and repeats itself quite a bit, and I don't know whether all her historical examples check out, but about the closest thing I've encountered to the passionate expression of love for liberty and self-reliance that we see in Bill's writing, expressed back in post-frontier times. (Lane was Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter.)
Cato's "Toward Liberty" essay collection, edited by David Boaz. Some real gems in there and lots of great food for thought and debate.
Hayek's "Road to Serfdom" or Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom". Since most of these kids are probably headed to colleges where they'll get nothing but "critique" of capitalism and hagiography of socialism for 4 years, sure would be great for them to have at least one opportunity to have the capitalism-equals-classical-economic-liberalism case and its merits presented.
Speaking of preparing them, Kimball's "Tenured Radicals" might help there. I sure wish someone had warned me about the ideological nuthouses universities have become. Might present a good opportunity to scrutinize postmodern anti-reason.
Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About America". D'Souza gives uncomfortably more credit to America's detractors than I have ever felt charitable enough to grant, but his argument ends up the stronger for it.
Virginia Postrel's "The Future and Its Enemies". Refreshingly different perspective on technology and markets/consumer culture, and an interesting thesis that statist vs. dynamist may replace left/right.
Any females who might be headed for Women's Studies should have the chance to read Joan Kennedy Taylor's "Reclaiming the Mainstream", or something by Phyllis Chesler or Pamela Bone. I'm still struggling to convince my wife that advocacy for women isn't the exclusive domain of the progressive-left.
OK, I'm sure that's more than enough. Probably more useful as general reading recommendations than for Paules' classroom use, but I'm always happy to recommend the stuff that's lifted me up, in the hope that it may do the same for others. Sorry to have rambled so. Cheers, all!
Don
And, to celebrate your return to beer-tending, I'll have a Diet Pepsi.
(chuckle, chuckle...)