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Author, associate editor of The American Enterprise
Bill Kauffman

Bill Kauffman (born 15 November 1959) is an American political writer generally aligned with the localist movement. He was born in Batavia, New York, and currently resides in Elba, New York, with his wife and daughter.

Images

TheAdvocates.org - Bill Kauffman
200x333 JPEG, color

Born

15 Nov 1959, in Batavia, New York

Web Pages

Advocates for Self-Government - Libertarian Education: Bill Kauffman - Libertarian, by Bill Winter
Includes picture, biographical summary and quote
Ask writer Bill Kauffman to describe his political beliefs, and he's liable to tell you that he's "an old-fashioned decentralist antiwar patriot." Or he might tell you that he's a "place-ist" — someone who encourages people to put down roots, buy locally, and appreciate the uniqueness of their chosen hometown. But underneath those labels beats the heart of a libertarian. Kauffman's support for liberty is obvious from his writing and ... resume; he was an assistant editor at Reason, wrote for the Cato Institute, and contributed to Liberty magazine. He also wrote essays for The Independent (U.K.), CounterPunch, and The Wall Street Journal.

Articles

Bill Kauffman: American Anarchist, by Laurence M. Vance, 4 Dec 2006
Review of Kauffman's Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists (2006)
It is hard to place Bill Kauffman on the political spectrum. In addition to the quote above about him being a patriot, a decentralist, a localist, and an anarchist, Kauffman states:
My wanderings had taken me from the populist flank of liberalism to the agrarian wing of Don't Tread on Me Libertarianism to the peace-and-love left wing of paleoconservatism ... When asked, I was simply an Independent. A Jeffersonian. An anarchist. A (cheerful!) enemy of the state, a reactionary Friend of the Library, a peace-loving football fan. And here, as Gerry and the Pacemakers once sang, is where I'll stay.

Writings

The Grinch Who Moved Thanksgiving, 26 Nov 2003
Recounts the history of the Thanksgiving holiday, from Washington's proclamation in 1789 to Lincoln's in 1863 (at the behest of Sarah Josepha Hale) and FDR's changes between 1939 and 1942
Over the river and through the wood, to Grandfather's house we go...Ah, Thanksgiving, our loveliest secular holiday. Even the Masters of War can't dislodge it – though FDR tried his damndest. George Washington issued the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation on November 26, 1789 ... As we gather together this Thanksgiving let us push from our minds the Imperial Presidents FDR and George W. Bush – wastrel sons of pinchbeck-aristocrat families – and instead say a silent thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale for this lovely holiday. And save a drumstick for the resisters – then and now.

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bill Kauffman" as of 23 Jun 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.