Introducing The Political Animal

I suppose that, if I wish to make a proper introduction, I should begin by introducing myself.

George Dance is my real name. I'm 56 years old, and live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with my family.

I am a long-time member of both the Libertarian Party of Canada and the Ontario Libertarian Party. I was the Leader of both parties for brief periods, and the Chairman of the provincial party for 12 years. You can read the details of my political biography here.

For all of that period I wrote for, and for some time edited, both parties' newsletters. Those newsletters were my zines in those days. (The blog's title is a hommage not only to Aristotle, but also to one of my 1980's-era columns.)

In 1996 I discovered mailing lists, and began posting on a few.

In 2000 I became interested in political philosophy and aware of the internet, and began writing on usenet. Ten years later, I am still writing on usenet and Google Groups.

Inspired by Ron Paul's carpe diem Presidential campaign, in early 2008 I began writing a Nolan Chart political column, in particular on the U.S. election, in particular on the Paul and Libertarian campaigns. That column continues, with an eye on the 2012 election.

I've been considering writing a political blog for some time, but hesitated because I didn't want it to conflict with my NC column. However, I've come to realize that, not only will the two activities not necessarily conflict, but that the blog can actually help the column. In particular I can use the blog to publish:

- links to my new articles, and the best of my old, that are published on NC.
- the text of any articles that NC rejects. (Yes, there have been a few)
- reprints of my other political writing scattered about on the net. (NC has a policy -- actually a google ads policy -- against reprinting material.)
- short takes on political events, and ideas, that wouldn't by themselves constitute an article, or that could become the genesis of an article.

I hope that's sufficient information to introduce you to the blog. The only thing I can think of to add is: Welcome.