Paul Hein on our enemy, the state:
In the parable, the master was not confused when his servants reported that weeds had sprung up with the wheat. He knew he had sown good seed. "This is the work of an enemy," he declared, and, of course, he was right.
Today, our society is riddled with weeds. Have you bought gasoline lately? Or food – especially rice? What’s the value of your home? Is it holding its own? Have you taken a trip by plane recently? Can you smoke in your favorite tavern?
Are you being photographed at the bank, the supermarket, the department store? Does the lady in Bombay who is helping you get your cable-modem up and running want to know your social security number? Are your children prohibited from saying a prayer at school? Can you be arrested for saying something that offends a person belonging to some minority group? If you’re a landlord, can you discriminate between prospective tenants?
Don’t be confused: an enemy has done this.
Read the rest
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Martial Law on the Installment Plan (William Grigg)
William Grigg on how history has proven the Anti-Federalists correct in foreseeing the dangers of giving Congress power to call up the state militias to enforce its edicts:
"I abominate and detest the idea of a government, where there is a standing army," exclaimed the immortal George Mason, the stalwart Anti-Federalist during his state's constitutional ratifying convention of 1788.
A a forceful and principled defender of individual liberty, Mason was the irritant in the constitutional oyster that eventually created the pearl we call the Bill of Rights. During the June 14 session of the convention, Mason -- ably assisted by his fellow Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry -- conducted a critical examination of the congressional power to call out the state militias to enforce the laws of the union.
Their eyes, keenly perceptive of the potential for government to abuse any powers alloted to it, discerned in the womb of that delegated power an embryonic rough beast that could eventually destroy any semblance of liberty in America.
Read the rest
"I abominate and detest the idea of a government, where there is a standing army," exclaimed the immortal George Mason, the stalwart Anti-Federalist during his state's constitutional ratifying convention of 1788.
A a forceful and principled defender of individual liberty, Mason was the irritant in the constitutional oyster that eventually created the pearl we call the Bill of Rights. During the June 14 session of the convention, Mason -- ably assisted by his fellow Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry -- conducted a critical examination of the congressional power to call out the state militias to enforce the laws of the union.
Their eyes, keenly perceptive of the potential for government to abuse any powers alloted to it, discerned in the womb of that delegated power an embryonic rough beast that could eventually destroy any semblance of liberty in America.
Read the rest
Ron Paul in San Diego
Ron Paul talks about the current state of the Ron Paul Revolution at a fundraiser in San Diego:
Ron Paul in San Diego (Part 1)
Ron Paul in San Diego (Part 1)
Ron Paul vs. Condoleezza Rice
Dr. Paul takes on the malevolent Secretary of State on the upcoming attack of Iran:
RON PAUL CONFRONTS THE LIAR - CONDOLEEZZA RICE
RON PAUL CONFRONTS THE LIAR - CONDOLEEZZA RICE
The Revolution, Phase II (Johnny Kramer)
Johnny Kramer on the importance of the Ron Paul Revolution and his magnificent bestseller The Revolution: A Manifesto:
This is an era when the following problems, among others, confront the United States:
Read the rest
This is an era when the following problems, among others, confront the United States:
- Americans spend more money per year on taxes than they do on food, clothing and shelter combined – and receive virtually nothing of value in return. Even worse, governments use citizens' own money against them to further erode their standard of living and persecute them for peaceful, voluntary behavior.
As Lysander Spooner wrote in No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, ". . . whoever desires liberty, should understand these vital facts, viz.: 1. That every man who puts money into the hands of a 'government' (so called), puts into its hands a sword which will be used against him, to extort more money from him, and also to keep him in subjection to its arbitrary will. 2. That those who will take his money, without his consent, in the first place, will use it for his further robbery and enslavement, if he presumes to resist their demands in the future."
Read the rest
Liberty Is Worth the Abuse (Gary Galles)
Gary Galles says that even though speaking out for liberty may create some negative reactions, the cause of liberty is well worth it:
We get a lot of abuse, those of us who publicly defend private property rights and voluntary arrangements against the varied depredations of government. Having to constantly face such attacks is a substantial part of the cost of speaking out, and probably explains why more people don't take the risk.
For those who might be considering publicly taking up the cause of "life, liberty, and property," I offer the following example to give you a taste of what you can expect.
Read the rest
We get a lot of abuse, those of us who publicly defend private property rights and voluntary arrangements against the varied depredations of government. Having to constantly face such attacks is a substantial part of the cost of speaking out, and probably explains why more people don't take the risk.
For those who might be considering publicly taking up the cause of "life, liberty, and property," I offer the following example to give you a taste of what you can expect.
Read the rest
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Q & A with Thomas DiLorenzo
A great interview with Lincoln scholar Thomas DiLorenzo on C-SPAN 5/25/08:
Q & A with Thomas DiLorenzo
I highly recommend reading his two books that demolish the myths on Abraham Lincoln, The Real Lincoln and Lincoln Unmasked.
Q & A with Thomas DiLorenzo
I highly recommend reading his two books that demolish the myths on Abraham Lincoln, The Real Lincoln and Lincoln Unmasked.
Why Can’t All Cults Get a Fair Shake? (Wilton Alston)
Wilton Alston on the state being the only really dangerous cult:
At this point in time, few people have not heard the stories about the West Texas Polygamists who had some 440 children seized by local authorities. The courts recently ruled that there was insufficient evidence to seize the children in the first place. The authorities acted outside their rights in taking the children from their mothers, members of the sect, so says the Austin-based, Texas Third Court of Appeals. Regardless of one’s feelings about this particular group of people, it still strikes me as convenient selective logic to attack this group, or any other supposed cult, particularly when those attacks come from the State. When those attacks are supplemented with the cataclysmically misnamed Child Protective Services it just makes bad matters worse.
Read the rest
At this point in time, few people have not heard the stories about the West Texas Polygamists who had some 440 children seized by local authorities. The courts recently ruled that there was insufficient evidence to seize the children in the first place. The authorities acted outside their rights in taking the children from their mothers, members of the sect, so says the Austin-based, Texas Third Court of Appeals. Regardless of one’s feelings about this particular group of people, it still strikes me as convenient selective logic to attack this group, or any other supposed cult, particularly when those attacks come from the State. When those attacks are supplemented with the cataclysmically misnamed Child Protective Services it just makes bad matters worse.
Read the rest
How the World's Richest Governments Starve the World's Poorest People (Bogdan C. Enache)
Bogdan C. Enache on the tragic unintended consequences of government meddling in the market for biofuels:
World food prices have increased dramatically, by almost 60 percent on average since March of last year, according to the index compiled by the World Food and Agricultural Organization, and there's no sign yet that they're going to substantially fall back in the near future. With record prices on the Chicago Board of Trade for futures contracts on agricultural commodities, it seems very likely that the high food prices are here to stay for the next few years.
Naturally, governments all over the world now feel compelled to rectify the situation and are busy enacting or preparing to enact various measures that they believe will help ease the rise of food prices. In general, however, they only succeed in making things worse.
Read the rest
World food prices have increased dramatically, by almost 60 percent on average since March of last year, according to the index compiled by the World Food and Agricultural Organization, and there's no sign yet that they're going to substantially fall back in the near future. With record prices on the Chicago Board of Trade for futures contracts on agricultural commodities, it seems very likely that the high food prices are here to stay for the next few years.
Naturally, governments all over the world now feel compelled to rectify the situation and are busy enacting or preparing to enact various measures that they believe will help ease the rise of food prices. In general, however, they only succeed in making things worse.
Read the rest
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Socialism and the Chinese Earthquake (Lew Rockwell)
Lew Rockwell says the Chinese government's socialist central planning is responsible for many of the deaths in the recent earthquake:
When buildings collapse following an earthquake anywhere in the world, the first instinct is to presume Mother Nature is at fault. The second is to wonder why the buildings weren't built to account for the risk of earthquakes. The third step is where people go really wrong. They blame the builders for failing to observe building codes and the government for failing to enforce them.
This is the state of commentary on the hellish situation in Dujiangyan, China, where tens of thousands of people died — including thousands of children in as many as 7,000 schoolrooms.
Read the rest
When buildings collapse following an earthquake anywhere in the world, the first instinct is to presume Mother Nature is at fault. The second is to wonder why the buildings weren't built to account for the risk of earthquakes. The third step is where people go really wrong. They blame the builders for failing to observe building codes and the government for failing to enforce them.
This is the state of commentary on the hellish situation in Dujiangyan, China, where tens of thousands of people died — including thousands of children in as many as 7,000 schoolrooms.
Read the rest
Monday, May 26, 2008
A Bureaucracy Bares Its Teeth (William Grigg)
William Grigg continues his coverage of the plight of the FLDS mothers and their children:
There are many millions of adults who suffer from a peculiar logic disorder I call "Severe Ipse-Dixitism" that leads them to mistake assertions for evidence. This affliction is quite widespread among political pundits, particularly those who pollute the talk radio industry. Both the Texas Department of Child Protective Services and its media allies suffer from a particularly acute case of that tragic condition.
Read the rest
There are many millions of adults who suffer from a peculiar logic disorder I call "Severe Ipse-Dixitism" that leads them to mistake assertions for evidence. This affliction is quite widespread among political pundits, particularly those who pollute the talk radio industry. Both the Texas Department of Child Protective Services and its media allies suffer from a particularly acute case of that tragic condition.
Read the rest
The Troops Don’t Defend Our Freedoms (Jacob Hornberger)
If the troops aren't defending our freedoms, then what are they doing, and what are they dying for? Jacob Hornberger answers:
How often do we hear the claim that American troops “defend our freedoms”? The claim is made often by U.S. officials and is echoed far and wide across the land by television commentators, newspaper columnists, public-school teachers, and many others. It’s even a common assertion that emanates on Sundays from many church pulpits.
Unfortunately, it just isn’t so. In fact, the situation is the exact opposite – the troops serve as the primary instrument by which both our freedoms and well-being are threatened.
Read the rest
How often do we hear the claim that American troops “defend our freedoms”? The claim is made often by U.S. officials and is echoed far and wide across the land by television commentators, newspaper columnists, public-school teachers, and many others. It’s even a common assertion that emanates on Sundays from many church pulpits.
Unfortunately, it just isn’t so. In fact, the situation is the exact opposite – the troops serve as the primary instrument by which both our freedoms and well-being are threatened.
Read the rest
My brother Peace died stillborn
A powerful poem by Joe Bommarito to read on this Memorial's Day:
Beyond the count of years I walked the world,
and my children built their shrines to me.
Decades and centuries and millennia pass,
and still the shrines are built.
Temples insubstantial to men,
clear to my eyes.
No foundations or walls or roofs,
but shrines nonetheless.
Holy ground, consecrated…
Today, every day, somewhere in the world,
the earth is prepared for my coming.
Read the rest
and my children built their shrines to me.
Decades and centuries and millennia pass,
and still the shrines are built.
Temples insubstantial to men,
clear to my eyes.
No foundations or walls or roofs,
but shrines nonetheless.
Holy ground, consecrated…
Today, every day, somewhere in the world,
the earth is prepared for my coming.
Read the rest
Saturday, May 24, 2008
No Homeschoolers Need Apply (Subway)
Thanks to David Beito at the Independent Institute for pointing out that Subway has decided to exclude homeschoolers from a children's contest:
Subway is sponsoring a writing contest for children. The first prize is five thoousand dollars of athletic equipment for the child’s school and the winning essay will appear in Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine.
Here are the rules: ”Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.”
The folks at Subway, of course, have every right to set their own contest rules but why did they make this particular exclusion? Was it suggested by someone at Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine?
(see here for the full rules)
UPDATE: Subway has apologized and promises to include homeschoolers in a future contest. Kudos to Subway!
Subway is sponsoring a writing contest for children. The first prize is five thoousand dollars of athletic equipment for the child’s school and the winning essay will appear in Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine.
Here are the rules: ”Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.”
The folks at Subway, of course, have every right to set their own contest rules but why did they make this particular exclusion? Was it suggested by someone at Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine?
(see here for the full rules)
UPDATE: Subway has apologized and promises to include homeschoolers in a future contest. Kudos to Subway!
The Virtue of Starvation (Butler Shaffer)
Butler Shaffer on where the road of statism leads:
If I had any inclinations for gambling, I would head for Las Vegas and bet all I own that most of mankind will, given the opportunity, support the most idiotic and fantastic propositions over any objections grounded in reasoned analysis. As humanity – particularly from its most highly-educated precincts – continued to increase my winnings, I would be heard telling the house to "let it ride!"
Our tendencies for dull-wittedness are fostered by the uncertain and unpredictable nature of a complex world. For reasons that go beyond survival needs, we have a fear of the unknown, and are easily taken in by our self-generated delusions as well as by those who promise us protection from menacing forces.
Read the rest
If I had any inclinations for gambling, I would head for Las Vegas and bet all I own that most of mankind will, given the opportunity, support the most idiotic and fantastic propositions over any objections grounded in reasoned analysis. As humanity – particularly from its most highly-educated precincts – continued to increase my winnings, I would be heard telling the house to "let it ride!"
Our tendencies for dull-wittedness are fostered by the uncertain and unpredictable nature of a complex world. For reasons that go beyond survival needs, we have a fear of the unknown, and are easily taken in by our self-generated delusions as well as by those who promise us protection from menacing forces.
Read the rest
An Ambiguous Victory (William Grigg)
William Grigg says there's hope for the FLDS children, but they are not free yet and won't be anytime soon if the evil Texas CPS has its way:
It was shortly before noon on Wednesday, May 20, when two Texas CPS officials, in the company of armed Sheriff's Deputies, arrived at the gates of the largely deserted YFZ Ranch. Nearly everybody involved in the custody fight over some 463 people (both children and young emancipated adults dishonestly depicted as minors by the CPS) was either in court, on the way to court, or somewhere in the vast Texas state highway system trying to visit their abducted kids.
So apparently the CPS decided to exploit this opportunity to snoop around the FLDS property.
Read the rest
It was shortly before noon on Wednesday, May 20, when two Texas CPS officials, in the company of armed Sheriff's Deputies, arrived at the gates of the largely deserted YFZ Ranch. Nearly everybody involved in the custody fight over some 463 people (both children and young emancipated adults dishonestly depicted as minors by the CPS) was either in court, on the way to court, or somewhere in the vast Texas state highway system trying to visit their abducted kids.
So apparently the CPS decided to exploit this opportunity to snoop around the FLDS property.
Read the rest
Friday, May 23, 2008
Murray Sabrin Crushes Dick Zimmer in Debate
John McMurder Wants More War (Charles Featherstone)
Charles Featherstone on the warped logic of the crazed McCain:
A hole must have been ripped in the space-time continuum lately, because the world in which I live doesn’t seem to make sense. Something seems amiss, as if the events of the last 30 years never happened, or didn’t happen the way I remember them. Or something.
Speaking to restauranteurs – you know, real foreign policy experts – in Chicago recently, Republican presidential candidate John McCain (I don’t have a nifty nickname for him like I do Bush Jong Il for the current occupant of the White House; maybe someone out there could help me with this) responded to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s call for talks with Iran, noting all throughout the Cold War, U.S. presidents spoke to Soviet leaders and the USSR was a far graver threat to both the United States and Israel.
(I don’t know if Obama added the Israel part. But he should have.)
Read the rest
A hole must have been ripped in the space-time continuum lately, because the world in which I live doesn’t seem to make sense. Something seems amiss, as if the events of the last 30 years never happened, or didn’t happen the way I remember them. Or something.
Speaking to restauranteurs – you know, real foreign policy experts – in Chicago recently, Republican presidential candidate John McCain (I don’t have a nifty nickname for him like I do Bush Jong Il for the current occupant of the White House; maybe someone out there could help me with this) responded to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s call for talks with Iran, noting all throughout the Cold War, U.S. presidents spoke to Soviet leaders and the USSR was a far graver threat to both the United States and Israel.
(I don’t know if Obama added the Israel part. But he should have.)
Read the rest
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy (Murray Rothbard)
Murray Rothbard on how powerful bankers have been directing foreign policy since the time of Lincoln:
Businessmen or manufacturers can either be genuine free enterprisers or statists; they can either make their way on the free market or seek special government favors and privileges. They choose according to their individual preferences and values. But bankers are inherently inclined toward statism.
Commercial bankers, engaged as they are in unsound fractional reserve credit, are, in the free market, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Hence they are always reaching for government aid and bailout.
Investment bankers do much of their business underwriting government bonds, in the United States and abroad. Therefore, they have a vested interest in promoting deficits and in forcing taxpayers to redeem government debt. Both sets of bankers, then, tend to be tied in with government policy, and try to influence and control government actions in domestic and foreign affairs.
Read the rest
Businessmen or manufacturers can either be genuine free enterprisers or statists; they can either make their way on the free market or seek special government favors and privileges. They choose according to their individual preferences and values. But bankers are inherently inclined toward statism.
Commercial bankers, engaged as they are in unsound fractional reserve credit, are, in the free market, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Hence they are always reaching for government aid and bailout.
Investment bankers do much of their business underwriting government bonds, in the United States and abroad. Therefore, they have a vested interest in promoting deficits and in forcing taxpayers to redeem government debt. Both sets of bankers, then, tend to be tied in with government policy, and try to influence and control government actions in domestic and foreign affairs.
Read the rest
Free the FLDS Children!
Perhaps the tide is turning against the evil Texas CPS! Read on:
A state appellate court has ruled that child welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at a polygamist sect's ranch.
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for removing the children were "legally and factually insufficient" under Texas law.
Child welfare officials removed the children on the grounds that the sect pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and trained boys to be grown-up predators.
The appellate court ruled the chaotic hearing held last month did not demonstrate the children were in any immediate danger, the only measure of taking children from their homes without court proceedings.
The ruling came as judges were signing off on individual custody plans in San Angelo.
Shari Pulliam, a spokeswoman for CPS, said the agency had just learned of the ruling and was trying to assess its impact on the children's cases.
The state has said it will appeal.
In San Angelo, attorney Polly Raye O'Toole, who represents Richard and Susan Barlow, said of the ruling: "I am overwhelmed. I'm just thrilled. It is exactly the right decision."
The couple has eight children.
"They were overcome with emotion and thrilled at the prosect of getting their children back," she said. Richard Barlow said he thanked God and his attorney.
A state appellate court has ruled that child welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at a polygamist sect's ranch.
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for removing the children were "legally and factually insufficient" under Texas law.
Child welfare officials removed the children on the grounds that the sect pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and trained boys to be grown-up predators.
The appellate court ruled the chaotic hearing held last month did not demonstrate the children were in any immediate danger, the only measure of taking children from their homes without court proceedings.
The ruling came as judges were signing off on individual custody plans in San Angelo.
Shari Pulliam, a spokeswoman for CPS, said the agency had just learned of the ruling and was trying to assess its impact on the children's cases.
The state has said it will appeal.
In San Angelo, attorney Polly Raye O'Toole, who represents Richard and Susan Barlow, said of the ruling: "I am overwhelmed. I'm just thrilled. It is exactly the right decision."
The couple has eight children.
"They were overcome with emotion and thrilled at the prosect of getting their children back," she said. Richard Barlow said he thanked God and his attorney.
Real Help for Cancer? (Bill Sardi)
Bill Sardi on a stunning new discovery in the fight against cancer:
The weekly injection of just 100 billionths of a gram of a harmless glyco-protein (a naturally-produced molecule with a sugar component and a protein component) activates the human immune system and cures cancer for good, according to human studies among breast cancer and colon cancer patients, producing complete remissions lasting 4 and 7 years respectively. This glyco-protein cure is totally without side effect but currently goes unused by cancer doctors.
Read the rest
The weekly injection of just 100 billionths of a gram of a harmless glyco-protein (a naturally-produced molecule with a sugar component and a protein component) activates the human immune system and cures cancer for good, according to human studies among breast cancer and colon cancer patients, producing complete remissions lasting 4 and 7 years respectively. This glyco-protein cure is totally without side effect but currently goes unused by cancer doctors.
Read the rest
March to War in Lebanon? (Ron Paul)
Ron Paul speaks on the House floor against further inflaming the Middle East:
Madam Speaker I rise in opposition to H. Res. 1194 because it is dangerously interventionist and will likely lead to more rather than less violence in the Middle East.
I have noticed that this legislation reads eerily similar to a key clause in the 2002 Iraq war bill, H J Res 114, which authorized the use of force.
The key resolved clause in H. Res. 1194 before us today reads:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
The Iraq war authorization language from 2002 is strikingly similar, as you can see here:
I am concerned that this kind of similarity is intentional and will inevitably result in US military action in Lebanon, or against Syria or Iran.
Read the rest
Madam Speaker I rise in opposition to H. Res. 1194 because it is dangerously interventionist and will likely lead to more rather than less violence in the Middle East.
I have noticed that this legislation reads eerily similar to a key clause in the 2002 Iraq war bill, H J Res 114, which authorized the use of force.
The key resolved clause in H. Res. 1194 before us today reads:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(6) urges--(A) the United States Government and the international community to immediately take all appropriate actions to support and strengthen the legitimate Government of Lebanon under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora;
The Iraq war authorization language from 2002 is strikingly similar, as you can see here:
(a) AUTHORIZATION- The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to--(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq;
I am concerned that this kind of similarity is intentional and will inevitably result in US military action in Lebanon, or against Syria or Iran.
Read the rest
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
They Have a Little List (William Grigg)
William Grigg on the government List, and how it will be used to institute martial law in times of "national emergency":
For a long time, filed in the category of "Things We Always Knew But Couldn't Prove" we could find the assumption that the Regime has a Little List -- a database of people who would be subject to questioning, detention, or worse, in the event of a "national emergency."
We now can file that assumption in the category of "Awful Things We Know For Sure."
According to "The Last Roundup," a diligently researched and carefully written investigative piece in Radar magazine, The List is not an artifact of overheated imagination, but rather a tangible and portentious reality.
Read the rest
For a long time, filed in the category of "Things We Always Knew But Couldn't Prove" we could find the assumption that the Regime has a Little List -- a database of people who would be subject to questioning, detention, or worse, in the event of a "national emergency."
We now can file that assumption in the category of "Awful Things We Know For Sure."
According to "The Last Roundup," a diligently researched and carefully written investigative piece in Radar magazine, The List is not an artifact of overheated imagination, but rather a tangible and portentious reality.
Read the rest
End Fluoridation!
Could the tide be turning against water fluoridation? We can only hope so! Read on:
There is clear evidence that small amounts of fluoride, at or near levels added to U.S. water supplies, present potential risks to the thyroid gland, according to the National Research Council's (NRC) first-ever published review of the fluoride/thyroid literature.
Fluoride, in the form of silicofluorides, injected into 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay, was never safety-tested.
Read the rest, and see this great article by Murray Rothbard or this one from Dr. Mercola on the evils of fluoridation.
There is clear evidence that small amounts of fluoride, at or near levels added to U.S. water supplies, present potential risks to the thyroid gland, according to the National Research Council's (NRC) first-ever published review of the fluoride/thyroid literature.
Fluoride, in the form of silicofluorides, injected into 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay, was never safety-tested.
Read the rest, and see this great article by Murray Rothbard or this one from Dr. Mercola on the evils of fluoridation.
War, Peace, and the State (Murray Rothbard)
Murray Rothbard on the libertarian theory of war and peace:
The libertarian movement has been chided by William F. Buckley, Jr., for failing to use its "strategic intelligence" in facing the major problems of our time. We have, indeed, been too often prone to "pursue our busy little seminars on whether or not to demunicipalize the garbage collectors" (as Buckley has contemptuously written), while ignoring and failing to apply libertarian theory to the most vital problem of our time: war and peace. There is a sense in which libertarians have been utopian rather than strategic in their thinking, with a tendency to divorce the ideal system which we envisage from the realities of the world in which we live. In short, too many of us have divorced theory from practice, and have then been content to hold the pure libertarian society as an abstract ideal for some remotely future time, while in the concrete world of today we follow unthinkingly the orthodox "conservative" line. To live liberty, to begin the hard but essential strategic struggle of changing the unsatisfactory world of today in the direction of our ideals, we must realize and demonstrate to the world that libertarian theory can be brought sharply to bear upon all of the world's crucial problems. By coming to grips with these problems, we can demonstrate that libertarianism is not just a beautiful ideal somewhere on Cloud Nine, but a tough-minded body of truths that enables us to take our stand and to cope with the whole host of issues of our day.
Let us then, by all means, use our strategic intelligence. Although, when he sees the result, Mr. Buckley might well wish that we had stayed in the realm of garbage collection. Let us construct a libertarian theory of war and peace.
Read the rest
The libertarian movement has been chided by William F. Buckley, Jr., for failing to use its "strategic intelligence" in facing the major problems of our time. We have, indeed, been too often prone to "pursue our busy little seminars on whether or not to demunicipalize the garbage collectors" (as Buckley has contemptuously written), while ignoring and failing to apply libertarian theory to the most vital problem of our time: war and peace. There is a sense in which libertarians have been utopian rather than strategic in their thinking, with a tendency to divorce the ideal system which we envisage from the realities of the world in which we live. In short, too many of us have divorced theory from practice, and have then been content to hold the pure libertarian society as an abstract ideal for some remotely future time, while in the concrete world of today we follow unthinkingly the orthodox "conservative" line. To live liberty, to begin the hard but essential strategic struggle of changing the unsatisfactory world of today in the direction of our ideals, we must realize and demonstrate to the world that libertarian theory can be brought sharply to bear upon all of the world's crucial problems. By coming to grips with these problems, we can demonstrate that libertarianism is not just a beautiful ideal somewhere on Cloud Nine, but a tough-minded body of truths that enables us to take our stand and to cope with the whole host of issues of our day.
Let us then, by all means, use our strategic intelligence. Although, when he sees the result, Mr. Buckley might well wish that we had stayed in the realm of garbage collection. Let us construct a libertarian theory of war and peace.
Read the rest
Members of Congress May Commit Only Great Crimes (Robert Higgs)
Robert Higgs says that politicians can be brought down for relatively minor offenses, but get away with, and are even praised for, the truly abominable crimes they commit:
According to an Associated Press report of May 20, 2008, New York Representative Vito Fossella will not seek re-election to Congress. In the wake of Fossella’s arrest for drunken driving on May 1, it has come to light that the Republican congressman from New York has fathered a child with a Virginia woman, Laura Fay, who is a former Air Force lieutenant colonel and military liaison to Congress. (Looks as though hers was a liaison dangereuse.) Given that Fossella is married and has three children at home on Staten Island, this revelation does not bode well for his political future.
Okay, okay, you are saying. Nothing is more humdrum than another exposure of a hypocritical congressman–naturally Fossella specialized in socially conservative positions that appealed to his many Catholic constituents. But such always-gratifying revelations have a larger lesson to teach us: a member of Congress will not be forgiven a personal peccadillo, but he may with complete impunity commit the greatest crimes–grand larceny, mass murder, arson, and every other species of abomination–by authorizing and funding their commission by government agents. Indeed, not only may a member of Congress act as an accessory to great crimes, he is expected to do so, and rewarded lavishly by the public with re-election to office and all the honors and aggrandizements that accompany his entrenchment in that occult and wicked temple known as the Capitol.
Steal a hundred dollars, go to jail; steal a trillion dollars, go on to fame and fortune as a public servant. Kill one man, go to the gas chamber; kill a million people, go on to well-paid retirement at public expense and big bucks on the lecture circuit. Alert children are learning these lessons, and acting accordingly when they become old enough to run for election to public office.
Not only have Americans split the atom, they have–mirabile dictu–split their moral sense. Countless actions for which any ordinary person would be denounced to the heavens will serve to sustain a lifetime’s political career. Lie, cheat, and steal and your friends will condemn and abandon you, but do the same on a hugely greater scale in your capacity as a public representative and the voters will stand by you to the end.
Just don’t father an out-of-wedlock child. That’s so vile!
According to an Associated Press report of May 20, 2008, New York Representative Vito Fossella will not seek re-election to Congress. In the wake of Fossella’s arrest for drunken driving on May 1, it has come to light that the Republican congressman from New York has fathered a child with a Virginia woman, Laura Fay, who is a former Air Force lieutenant colonel and military liaison to Congress. (Looks as though hers was a liaison dangereuse.) Given that Fossella is married and has three children at home on Staten Island, this revelation does not bode well for his political future.
Okay, okay, you are saying. Nothing is more humdrum than another exposure of a hypocritical congressman–naturally Fossella specialized in socially conservative positions that appealed to his many Catholic constituents. But such always-gratifying revelations have a larger lesson to teach us: a member of Congress will not be forgiven a personal peccadillo, but he may with complete impunity commit the greatest crimes–grand larceny, mass murder, arson, and every other species of abomination–by authorizing and funding their commission by government agents. Indeed, not only may a member of Congress act as an accessory to great crimes, he is expected to do so, and rewarded lavishly by the public with re-election to office and all the honors and aggrandizements that accompany his entrenchment in that occult and wicked temple known as the Capitol.
Steal a hundred dollars, go to jail; steal a trillion dollars, go on to fame and fortune as a public servant. Kill one man, go to the gas chamber; kill a million people, go on to well-paid retirement at public expense and big bucks on the lecture circuit. Alert children are learning these lessons, and acting accordingly when they become old enough to run for election to public office.
Not only have Americans split the atom, they have–mirabile dictu–split their moral sense. Countless actions for which any ordinary person would be denounced to the heavens will serve to sustain a lifetime’s political career. Lie, cheat, and steal and your friends will condemn and abandon you, but do the same on a hugely greater scale in your capacity as a public representative and the voters will stand by you to the end.
Just don’t father an out-of-wedlock child. That’s so vile!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
What Caused the Irish Potato Famine? (Mark Thornton)
Mark Thornton on how government meddling turned a potato blight in 19th century Ireland into a famine that claimed the lives of one million people:
British Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized for doing "too little" in response to the Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century that killed one million people and brought about the emigration of millions more. But in fact, the English government was guilty of doing too much.
Blair's statement draws attention to the question of what caused the famine. Up to now, the popular theory is that the Irish were promiscuous, slothful, and excessively dependent on the potato. As a result they died by the hundreds of thousands when a blight appeared and ruined their food source, in the midst of one of the fastest economic growth periods in human history.
Was the Potato Famine an ecological accident, as historians usually say?
Read the rest
British Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized for doing "too little" in response to the Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century that killed one million people and brought about the emigration of millions more. But in fact, the English government was guilty of doing too much.
Blair's statement draws attention to the question of what caused the famine. Up to now, the popular theory is that the Irish were promiscuous, slothful, and excessively dependent on the potato. As a result they died by the hundreds of thousands when a blight appeared and ruined their food source, in the midst of one of the fastest economic growth periods in human history.
Was the Potato Famine an ecological accident, as historians usually say?
Read the rest
The Enemy Is Always the State (Lew Rockwell)
Lew Rockwell says that libertarianism is not about left or right or the issues they hold dear, but is all about diminishing the power of the greatest enemy of all, the state:
The web loves nothing more than a good brawl, so people often write me to ask me to respond to a critic of LRC or the Mises Institute. There's certainly no shortage of them, and they come from the left, the right, and everything in between. My first thought on the request is that the archive speaks for itself, and a response would amount to little more than reprinting. And yet the criticisms in themselves are interesting because often they come from people who liked one thing we said and then felt betrayed by another thing we said, so we get praise for the first thing and attacked for the second thing.
Read the rest
The web loves nothing more than a good brawl, so people often write me to ask me to respond to a critic of LRC or the Mises Institute. There's certainly no shortage of them, and they come from the left, the right, and everything in between. My first thought on the request is that the archive speaks for itself, and a response would amount to little more than reprinting. And yet the criticisms in themselves are interesting because often they come from people who liked one thing we said and then felt betrayed by another thing we said, so we get praise for the first thing and attacked for the second thing.
Read the rest
Monday, May 19, 2008
Ron Paul on C-SPAN Book-TV
Dr. Paul appeared on C-SPAN to talk about his bestseller, The Revolution: A Manifesto:
Congressman Ron Paul on THE REVOLUTION
Congressman Ron Paul on THE REVOLUTION
The Economy: Another Casualty of War (Ron Paul)
Ron Paul says that the tanking economy and explosive growth of government are just more tragedies of war:
This week, as the American economy continued to suffer the effects of big government, the House attempted to pass two multibillion dollar "emergency" spending bills, one for continued spending on the war in Iraq , and one increasing spending on domestic and international welfare programs. The plan was to pass these two bills and then send them to the president as one package. Even though the House failed to pass the war spending bill, opponents of the war should not be fooled into believing this vote signals a long term change in policy. At the end of the day, those favoring continued military occupation of Iraq will receive every penny they are requesting and more as long as they agree to dramatically increase domestic and international welfare spending as well.
Read the rest
This week, as the American economy continued to suffer the effects of big government, the House attempted to pass two multibillion dollar "emergency" spending bills, one for continued spending on the war in Iraq , and one increasing spending on domestic and international welfare programs. The plan was to pass these two bills and then send them to the president as one package. Even though the House failed to pass the war spending bill, opponents of the war should not be fooled into believing this vote signals a long term change in policy. At the end of the day, those favoring continued military occupation of Iraq will receive every penny they are requesting and more as long as they agree to dramatically increase domestic and international welfare spending as well.
Read the rest
The Totalitarian Obama
What would life be like under President Obama? He gave some hints at a rally in Roseburg, Oregon. The telling excerpt (with emphasis added):
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: [It's] a huge opportunity but we've got have leadership from Washington, the same way we had leadership when Kennedy said we're going to the moon, we want to invest what we need to make it happen and there are all sorts of spin offs benefits from that. So that's what we want to do on global warming here in the United States.
We are also, though, going have to negotiate with other countries. China, India, in particular Brazil. They are growing so fast that they are consuming more and more energy, and pretty soon, if their [carbon] footprint even approaches ours, we're goners. That's part of the reason why we've got to make the investment; we've got to lead by example. If we lead by example -- if we lead by example, then we can actually export and license technology that have been invented here to help them deal with their growth pain. But keep in mind, you're right. We can't tell them, don't grow. We can't -- drive our SUVs and you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on you know, 72 degrees at all times, and whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra, and then just expect that every other country's going [to] say OK.
You guys go ahead and keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy. Even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not -- that's not leadership. That's not going to happen. And that's, by the way, why, for example, I had this big argument with Senator Clinton and McCain about the gas tax, holiday. Which was an example. That's how Washington works. It's not thinking long term. It's thinking, how do we get through the next election?
And, you know, John McCain, for him to come to Oregon as an environmental president, but his big strategy is to do more drilling and to have a gas tax holiday for three months, that's a phony solution. You know, you can't -- John McCain has consistently been opposed to fuel efficiency standards, raising fuel efficiency standards on cars. How is he going to meet any of these targets? Maybe he's imagining it the way he did imaging getting out of the war in Iraq. You know? We -- we need somebody with a plan. And who is willing to talk to the American people about these difficulties and how we're going to get through these challenges together. All right? OK. All right. OK. Over here.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: [It's] a huge opportunity but we've got have leadership from Washington, the same way we had leadership when Kennedy said we're going to the moon, we want to invest what we need to make it happen and there are all sorts of spin offs benefits from that. So that's what we want to do on global warming here in the United States.
We are also, though, going have to negotiate with other countries. China, India, in particular Brazil. They are growing so fast that they are consuming more and more energy, and pretty soon, if their [carbon] footprint even approaches ours, we're goners. That's part of the reason why we've got to make the investment; we've got to lead by example. If we lead by example -- if we lead by example, then we can actually export and license technology that have been invented here to help them deal with their growth pain. But keep in mind, you're right. We can't tell them, don't grow. We can't -- drive our SUVs and you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on you know, 72 degrees at all times, and whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra, and then just expect that every other country's going [to] say OK.
You guys go ahead and keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy. Even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not -- that's not leadership. That's not going to happen. And that's, by the way, why, for example, I had this big argument with Senator Clinton and McCain about the gas tax, holiday. Which was an example. That's how Washington works. It's not thinking long term. It's thinking, how do we get through the next election?
And, you know, John McCain, for him to come to Oregon as an environmental president, but his big strategy is to do more drilling and to have a gas tax holiday for three months, that's a phony solution. You know, you can't -- John McCain has consistently been opposed to fuel efficiency standards, raising fuel efficiency standards on cars. How is he going to meet any of these targets? Maybe he's imagining it the way he did imaging getting out of the war in Iraq. You know? We -- we need somebody with a plan. And who is willing to talk to the American people about these difficulties and how we're going to get through these challenges together. All right? OK. All right. OK. Over here.
Texas Child Grab: Possession Is The Entire "Law" (William Grigg)
William Grigg makes his most powerful indictment yet against the evil actions of the Texas CPS against the members of the FLDS:
"The important thing to understand," insists former Texas judge Scott McCown, referring to the status hearings for the abducted FLDS children that begin on May 19, "is this ... is not an opportunity to re-litigate the removal [of the children]. The child has already been removed, so this is about where to go from here. What's the plan?"
McCown's comment, of course, is a variation on a standard statist trope, the rapist's argument from inevitability: Look, it's going to happen anyway, so just lie down and enjoy it -- and once the deed is done, there's no point "re-litigating" the matter.
Read the rest
"The important thing to understand," insists former Texas judge Scott McCown, referring to the status hearings for the abducted FLDS children that begin on May 19, "is this ... is not an opportunity to re-litigate the removal [of the children]. The child has already been removed, so this is about where to go from here. What's the plan?"
McCown's comment, of course, is a variation on a standard statist trope, the rapist's argument from inevitability: Look, it's going to happen anyway, so just lie down and enjoy it -- and once the deed is done, there's no point "re-litigating" the matter.
Read the rest
Fund Government Like We Fund Apple (Glen Allport)
Glen Allport on the evils of coercive government:
Among the most common objections to a non-coercive, civil society is the funding question: "Where would money for X or Y come from, without taxes?" The obvious answer is that the money would come from the same place it comes from now: the people. There is no magic "funding fairy" to supply government with money; all government money comes from the people, one way or another. Some of this money comes from user fees, but most of it is obtained in ways that are serious crimes – except when the government does them.
Read the rest
Among the most common objections to a non-coercive, civil society is the funding question: "Where would money for X or Y come from, without taxes?" The obvious answer is that the money would come from the same place it comes from now: the people. There is no magic "funding fairy" to supply government with money; all government money comes from the people, one way or another. Some of this money comes from user fees, but most of it is obtained in ways that are serious crimes – except when the government does them.
Read the rest
Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism (Lew Rockwell)
Lew Rockwell's speech at the Mises Circle in Seattle on the wonders of free market capitalism, the evils of socialism, and why it is crucial to train others in sound economics:
I'm sure that you have had this experience before, or something similar to it. You are sitting at lunch in a nice restaurant or perhaps a hotel. Waiters are coming and going. The food is fantastic. The conversation about all things is going well. You talk about the weather, music, movies, health, trivialities in the news, kids, and so on. But then the topic turns to economics, and things change.
Read the rest
I'm sure that you have had this experience before, or something similar to it. You are sitting at lunch in a nice restaurant or perhaps a hotel. Waiters are coming and going. The food is fantastic. The conversation about all things is going well. You talk about the weather, music, movies, health, trivialities in the news, kids, and so on. But then the topic turns to economics, and things change.
Read the rest
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Crooked Talk Express McCain
The folks at TheREALMcCain.com have come out with another great video lampooning the lying McCain:
McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A Christian View of Armed Warfare (William E. Paul)
William E. Paul says Christians don't get off the hook just because the state tells them to kill:
One of the most frequent arguments used in an attempt to justify a Christian waging war is that "Evildoers must be stopped in their aggressive efforts to overrun the world." Nearly every generation has had its Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin. Certainly the atrocities perpetrated upon mankind by dictators who have aspired to world rule are to be deplored. Evil-doing of all kinds must be hated by Bible-believing Christians who desire to have the mind of Christ. It is said of Jesus, "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity" (Hebrews 1:9).
Read the rest
One of the most frequent arguments used in an attempt to justify a Christian waging war is that "Evildoers must be stopped in their aggressive efforts to overrun the world." Nearly every generation has had its Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin. Certainly the atrocities perpetrated upon mankind by dictators who have aspired to world rule are to be deplored. Evil-doing of all kinds must be hated by Bible-believing Christians who desire to have the mind of Christ. It is said of Jesus, "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity" (Hebrews 1:9).
Read the rest
Ron Paul vs. Paul Volcker
Ron Paul has said that one of his favorite things to do as a congressman is question Federal Reserve chairmen on their flawed policies, and he got the chance again this past Wednesday with former Fed chairman Paul Volcker:
Ron Paul to Paul Volcker: Let The Market Regulate Itself!
Dr. Paul's press release on the exchange can be found here, the text of which is below:
Washington , DC - This morning at a Joint Economics Committee Hearing Congressman Ron Paul had the opportunity to question former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker on the economy and the credit crisis.
The hearing was entitled “Wall Street to Main Street: Is the Credit Crisis Over and What Can the Federal Government Do to Prevent Unnecessary Systemic Risk in the Future?”
Volcker mentioned in his opening remarks that the United States suffers from overconsumption, and that we cannot sustain the current build up of debt. He postulated that consumers could be realizing that fact and shifting spending habits accordingly.
Congressman Paul decried the ability of the Federal Reserve to now buy virtually anything as an asset to hold as collateral. In addition to mortgage-backed securities, they can also buy credit card securities, student loan securities, and car loan securities.
Congressman Paul pointed out that the roots of the current crisis are a misunderstanding of capital and debt, over-regulation rather than under-regulation, and the Federal Reserve’s distortion of the marketplace with artificially low interest rates and promises of bailouts which encourage malinvestment and irresponsible behavior among banks.
Ron Paul to Paul Volcker: Let The Market Regulate Itself!
Dr. Paul's press release on the exchange can be found here, the text of which is below:
Washington , DC - This morning at a Joint Economics Committee Hearing Congressman Ron Paul had the opportunity to question former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker on the economy and the credit crisis.
The hearing was entitled “Wall Street to Main Street: Is the Credit Crisis Over and What Can the Federal Government Do to Prevent Unnecessary Systemic Risk in the Future?”
Volcker mentioned in his opening remarks that the United States suffers from overconsumption, and that we cannot sustain the current build up of debt. He postulated that consumers could be realizing that fact and shifting spending habits accordingly.
Congressman Paul decried the ability of the Federal Reserve to now buy virtually anything as an asset to hold as collateral. In addition to mortgage-backed securities, they can also buy credit card securities, student loan securities, and car loan securities.
Congressman Paul pointed out that the roots of the current crisis are a misunderstanding of capital and debt, over-regulation rather than under-regulation, and the Federal Reserve’s distortion of the marketplace with artificially low interest rates and promises of bailouts which encourage malinvestment and irresponsible behavior among banks.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Texas Child Grab: Cowpie ala Mode (William Grigg)
William Grigg makes the sad observation that many Christians enable the evil actions of the state. An excerpt:
And we can see good Christian people playing roles similar to those they've essayed where the war in Iraq is concerned. Christians have been enablers, facilitators, and supporters of official crimes, eager consumers and diligent regurgitators of official propaganda, sanctimonious sanctifiers of the State's criminal aggression, and pious profiteers when presented with the opportunity.
Read the rest
And we can see good Christian people playing roles similar to those they've essayed where the war in Iraq is concerned. Christians have been enablers, facilitators, and supporters of official crimes, eager consumers and diligent regurgitators of official propaganda, sanctimonious sanctifiers of the State's criminal aggression, and pious profiteers when presented with the opportunity.
Read the rest
The United States Government Should Not Aid Myanmar (Laurence Vance)
Laurence Vance says that the choice to provide foreign aid should be left in the hands of individuals, not the state:
The destruction and suffering in Myanmar from the recent killer cyclone is incalculable. The death toll, which is rising by the thousands daily, has now been predicted to top 100,000 people. President Bush, after initially authorizing $250,000 in US aid, has now pledged an additional $3 million to help the people of Myanmar. The real question, however, is not how much aid the United States should give to Myanmar, but whether the United States should give aid to Myanmar in the first place.
The recent earthquake in China brings up the same question.
The answer to the question depends on what is meant by the United States. If the United States refers to the government of the United States then the answer is no. If the United States refers to the people of the United States then the answer is perhaps.
Read the rest
The destruction and suffering in Myanmar from the recent killer cyclone is incalculable. The death toll, which is rising by the thousands daily, has now been predicted to top 100,000 people. President Bush, after initially authorizing $250,000 in US aid, has now pledged an additional $3 million to help the people of Myanmar. The real question, however, is not how much aid the United States should give to Myanmar, but whether the United States should give aid to Myanmar in the first place.
The recent earthquake in China brings up the same question.
The answer to the question depends on what is meant by the United States. If the United States refers to the government of the United States then the answer is no. If the United States refers to the people of the United States then the answer is perhaps.
Read the rest
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Immigration Question (Butler Shaffer)
Butler Shaffer says the immigration issue is really all about private property rights:
There are a number of watershed issues that help to define the meaning of liberty. How one responds to the practice of warfare is one such question. Individuals may disagree as to whether engaging in political action is a justifiable way of reducing or eliminating state power, yet, each may still be regarded as an advocate of liberty. War, however, constitutes a threshold, the crossing of which places a defender of such practices beyond even the most generous definition of libertarian. If "liberty" means anything, it consists of an unqualified respect for individual claims to immunity from coercion. The war system insists upon a mass dismissal of such claims, characterizing their adherents as "traitors" to the alleged "greater good" of the state.
There is another issue which, while not as fundamental to the life-and-death implications of warfare, nonetheless goes to the essence of the meaning of individual liberty: the freedom of people to move from one location on the planet to another without getting the permission of the state. This is the question that underlies current discussions on the so-called "immigration problem."
Read the rest
There are a number of watershed issues that help to define the meaning of liberty. How one responds to the practice of warfare is one such question. Individuals may disagree as to whether engaging in political action is a justifiable way of reducing or eliminating state power, yet, each may still be regarded as an advocate of liberty. War, however, constitutes a threshold, the crossing of which places a defender of such practices beyond even the most generous definition of libertarian. If "liberty" means anything, it consists of an unqualified respect for individual claims to immunity from coercion. The war system insists upon a mass dismissal of such claims, characterizing their adherents as "traitors" to the alleged "greater good" of the state.
There is another issue which, while not as fundamental to the life-and-death implications of warfare, nonetheless goes to the essence of the meaning of individual liberty: the freedom of people to move from one location on the planet to another without getting the permission of the state. This is the question that underlies current discussions on the so-called "immigration problem."
Read the rest
There Is Still No Such Thing As a Fair Tax (Laurence Vance)
Laurence Vance on the disastrous, so-called "FairTax" being pushed by Neal Boortz, Mike Huckabee, and many others:
As a critic of the national retail sales tax plan known as the FairTax, I take Neal Boortz's new book on the FairTax very personally. The book is titled FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics. It is intended to be a sequel to The FairTax Book, published in 2005, that offers "eye-opening new insights not covered in the original book."
Boortz is right. There are some eye-opening new insights unique to this sequel. Like the disclosure that you might "owe more in taxes in the first year of a FairTax system than you do today." Or the admission that "the FairTax could be even more progressive than our current system." Or the confession that the "implementation of the FairTax doesn't mean complete annihilation of the IRS." Or the proposal that "a procedure should be set up in the Treasury Department to collect taxes on Internet and catalog sales, remitting the state and local governments' share to them."
Read the rest
As a critic of the national retail sales tax plan known as the FairTax, I take Neal Boortz's new book on the FairTax very personally. The book is titled FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics. It is intended to be a sequel to The FairTax Book, published in 2005, that offers "eye-opening new insights not covered in the original book."
Boortz is right. There are some eye-opening new insights unique to this sequel. Like the disclosure that you might "owe more in taxes in the first year of a FairTax system than you do today." Or the admission that "the FairTax could be even more progressive than our current system." Or the confession that the "implementation of the FairTax doesn't mean complete annihilation of the IRS." Or the proposal that "a procedure should be set up in the Treasury Department to collect taxes on Internet and catalog sales, remitting the state and local governments' share to them."
Read the rest
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Child Theft, "Concentration Camps": It's Happening Here (William Grigg)
William Grigg on the criminals of the Texas Department of Child Protective Services (sic), who even stole children from monogamous FLDS parents, and attempted to steal a newborn from parents who were not even charged with a crime (where is the outrage for all this??):
Even before Dan Jessop's son was born, the State had already made a proprietary claim to him because of the supposed sins of his parents.
I say "sins" because as of yet, neither 24-year-old Dan Jessop, Sr., nor his 22-year-old wife Louisa, has been charged with a crime.
This didn't prevent the instrument of totalitarian malice called the Texas Department of Child Protective Services from trying to seize control over both the child and his mother as soon as delivery was accomplished.
Read the rest
Even before Dan Jessop's son was born, the State had already made a proprietary claim to him because of the supposed sins of his parents.
I say "sins" because as of yet, neither 24-year-old Dan Jessop, Sr., nor his 22-year-old wife Louisa, has been charged with a crime.
This didn't prevent the instrument of totalitarian malice called the Texas Department of Child Protective Services from trying to seize control over both the child and his mother as soon as delivery was accomplished.
Read the rest
Economic Causes of War (Ludwig von Mises)
Ludwig von Mises wrote in 1944 that the only way to achieve peace in this world is through free enterprise:
War is a primitive human institution. From time immemorial, men were eager to fight, to kill, and to rob one another. However, the acknowledgment of this fact does not lead to the conclusion that war is an indispensable form of interpersonal relations and that the endeavors to abolish war are against nature and therefore doomed to failure.
We may, for the sake of argument, admit the militarist thesis that man is endowed with an innate instinct to fight and to destroy. However, it is not these instincts and primitive impulses that are the characteristic features of man. Man's eminence lies in his reason and in the power to think, which distinguishes him from all other living creatures. And man's reason teaches him that peaceful cooperation and collaboration under the division of labor is a more beneficial way to live than violent strife.
Read the rest
War is a primitive human institution. From time immemorial, men were eager to fight, to kill, and to rob one another. However, the acknowledgment of this fact does not lead to the conclusion that war is an indispensable form of interpersonal relations and that the endeavors to abolish war are against nature and therefore doomed to failure.
We may, for the sake of argument, admit the militarist thesis that man is endowed with an innate instinct to fight and to destroy. However, it is not these instincts and primitive impulses that are the characteristic features of man. Man's eminence lies in his reason and in the power to think, which distinguishes him from all other living creatures. And man's reason teaches him that peaceful cooperation and collaboration under the division of labor is a more beneficial way to live than violent strife.
Read the rest
Ron Paul on Fraudulent Banking
Ron Paul on Fox Business yesterday, where he demolishes the modern myth that we need a central bank, fractional-reserve banking, and monetary depreciation:
Ron Paul Fox Business Interview David Asman 05/13/2008
Ron Paul Fox Business Interview David Asman 05/13/2008
What? Those Magic Beans Called ‘Ethanol’? Never Mind (Vin Suprynowicz)
Vin Suprynowicz on the ethanol boondoggle:
For decades, sensible skeptics have warned that government tariffs and subsidies designed to encourage the conversion of corn to alcohol and requiring fuel distributors to mix this corrosive stuff into our gas tanks was not going to “solve the energy crisis,” reduce dependence on imported oil, or do anything helpful for “the environment” – unless by “the environment” you actually meant “the bank account of Archer-Daniels-Midland.”
If the critics failed to mention this expensive boondoggle could also promote starvation and food riots around the world, it was probably only because they were afraid of being ridiculed for “piling on.”
Read the rest
For decades, sensible skeptics have warned that government tariffs and subsidies designed to encourage the conversion of corn to alcohol and requiring fuel distributors to mix this corrosive stuff into our gas tanks was not going to “solve the energy crisis,” reduce dependence on imported oil, or do anything helpful for “the environment” – unless by “the environment” you actually meant “the bank account of Archer-Daniels-Midland.”
If the critics failed to mention this expensive boondoggle could also promote starvation and food riots around the world, it was probably only because they were afraid of being ridiculed for “piling on.”
Read the rest
Put Your Money Where Evil's Mouth Is (B.R. Merrick)
B.R. Merrick is using whatever "refund" he gets from the state to assist those innocents who survived the carnage his stolen tax dollars have purchased. An excerpt:
If you’re like me, living in relative comfort and reading this article while bloodying your mouth with food and listening to your iTunes, you should try imagining for a few seconds that one in five of your fellow cube-mates at work, or one in five people in your neighborhood, has been displaced to Canada or Mexico, or even a neighboring US state where less fighting is taking place. Now try to imagine that the reason he has been “inconvenienced” is that an invading army, one that is increasingly disillusioned, has flattened his house, while seriously damaging yours. You were able to stay, returning to your familiar cubicle while eating your lunch, but Bob and his wife and kid had to go, because the duplex they lived in is now rubble. That is reality, not for America , but for Iraq and Afghanistan . That is the mouth. That is my mouth. So it is time for me to put my money where my mouth--the mouth of evil--is.
From now on, whenever I get a refund from our benevolent government, it will go directly to assist the innocents who survived what my money has purchased. While the Iraqi Red Crescent can take direct donations, the Afghans would receive help probably from this link. (Since there are three e-mail addresses for the Afghan group, I am assuming that you could send a donation via PayPal.) If there are any other charities that are more directly involved, or have greater efficiency at getting the resources to those most in need, I would appreciate hearing about them, and will update this article as soon as I get the information. But much more should be done.
Read the rest
If you’re like me, living in relative comfort and reading this article while bloodying your mouth with food and listening to your iTunes, you should try imagining for a few seconds that one in five of your fellow cube-mates at work, or one in five people in your neighborhood, has been displaced to Canada or Mexico, or even a neighboring US state where less fighting is taking place. Now try to imagine that the reason he has been “inconvenienced” is that an invading army, one that is increasingly disillusioned, has flattened his house, while seriously damaging yours. You were able to stay, returning to your familiar cubicle while eating your lunch, but Bob and his wife and kid had to go, because the duplex they lived in is now rubble. That is reality, not for America , but for Iraq and Afghanistan . That is the mouth. That is my mouth. So it is time for me to put my money where my mouth--the mouth of evil--is.
From now on, whenever I get a refund from our benevolent government, it will go directly to assist the innocents who survived what my money has purchased. While the Iraqi Red Crescent can take direct donations, the Afghans would receive help probably from this link. (Since there are three e-mail addresses for the Afghan group, I am assuming that you could send a donation via PayPal.) If there are any other charities that are more directly involved, or have greater efficiency at getting the resources to those most in need, I would appreciate hearing about them, and will update this article as soon as I get the information. But much more should be done.
Read the rest
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Breastfeeding Saves Moms From Arthritis
Not only does breastfeeding help babies, but it also can help prevent mothers from contracting rheumatoid arthritis:
A study has found women who breast-fed for 13 months or more were 54 per cent less likely to develop the painful condition.
Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects around 400,000 Britons, mostly women, is an auto-immune disease which causes severe pain in the joints. There is no cure available.
But scientists believe the changes in hormone levels produced when a woman becomes pregnant and then breast feeds her baby, could help protect against the condition later in life.
Read the rest
A study has found women who breast-fed for 13 months or more were 54 per cent less likely to develop the painful condition.
Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects around 400,000 Britons, mostly women, is an auto-immune disease which causes severe pain in the joints. There is no cure available.
But scientists believe the changes in hormone levels produced when a woman becomes pregnant and then breast feeds her baby, could help protect against the condition later in life.
Read the rest
The Prime Directive (Justin Raimondo)
Justin Raimondo on the impending attack on Iran:
It looks like the War Party is victorious, at least according to Philip Giraldi writing on The American Conservative blog:
"There is considerable speculation and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the National Security Council has agreed in principle to proceed with plans to attack an Iranian al-Quds-run camp that is believed to be training Iraqi militants. The camp that will be targeted is one of several located near Tehran. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was the only senior official urging delay in taking any offensive action."
Alarm bells ought to be going off across the nation. The presidential candidates ought to be debating whether or not this is the right course. Obama, the "antiwar" candidate, ought to be speaking out.
Instead, what we hear is… silence.
Read the rest
It looks like the War Party is victorious, at least according to Philip Giraldi writing on The American Conservative blog:
"There is considerable speculation and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the National Security Council has agreed in principle to proceed with plans to attack an Iranian al-Quds-run camp that is believed to be training Iraqi militants. The camp that will be targeted is one of several located near Tehran. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was the only senior official urging delay in taking any offensive action."
Alarm bells ought to be going off across the nation. The presidential candidates ought to be debating whether or not this is the right course. Obama, the "antiwar" candidate, ought to be speaking out.
Instead, what we hear is… silence.
Read the rest
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Bush Administration Politicizes Tragedy in Burma (Ivan Eland)
Ivan Eland says that aid for the victims of the cyclone in Burma was needlessly delayed because of some stupid remarks by our "leaders" who decided it would be a great time to badmouth the thugs who rule that part of the world:
From the administration that used the 9/11 tragedy to violently pursue an unrelated vendetta against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, we get Round Two. After a cyclone devastated portions of Burma (which the despotic Burmese government has renamed Myanmar) and killed an estimated 100,000 people, instead of concentrating on providing relief, the Bush administration couldn’t resist scoring points on First Lady Laura Bush’s pet issue—the tyranny of the Burmese military junta.
Read the rest
From the administration that used the 9/11 tragedy to violently pursue an unrelated vendetta against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, we get Round Two. After a cyclone devastated portions of Burma (which the despotic Burmese government has renamed Myanmar) and killed an estimated 100,000 people, instead of concentrating on providing relief, the Bush administration couldn’t resist scoring points on First Lady Laura Bush’s pet issue—the tyranny of the Burmese military junta.
Read the rest
In Defense of Rules (Anthony Gregory)
Anthony Gregory says that contrary to popular perception, libertarians value rules very highly, while the state "values" them at its whim and in fact claims to be above its own rules:
Libertarians, especially of the anarchist variety, are often accused of wanting a world of disorder. It is the inevitable tendency of humans to organize themselves socially, and to form rules for civilized conduct, we are often told.
Perhaps some people who promote the idea of statelessness indeed shun rules in general, although I have been fortunate not to encounter many. In truth, we libertarians have no objection to rules. To the contrary, we see rules and indeed law as composing the cornerstone of a just, civil world.
Read the rest
Libertarians, especially of the anarchist variety, are often accused of wanting a world of disorder. It is the inevitable tendency of humans to organize themselves socially, and to form rules for civilized conduct, we are often told.
Perhaps some people who promote the idea of statelessness indeed shun rules in general, although I have been fortunate not to encounter many. In truth, we libertarians have no objection to rules. To the contrary, we see rules and indeed law as composing the cornerstone of a just, civil world.
Read the rest
The Ordinary Face of Everyday Evil (William Grigg)
William Grigg speaks up once again for the FLDS mothers who had their children stolen from them, and says that evil often propagates because people find it easier to be conformists. An excerpt:
When one thinks of it, the official color of collectivist evil is not Marxist red or fascist black; it is bureaucratic gray. Evil makes plentiful use of banners drenched in red or saturated in black, of course. But its real work is carried out by the warrens of official bureaucracy, with the eager help of normal, upstanding people who crave the safe anonymity of cooperation, and don't have the courage to make themselves conspicuous by naming officially approved evil for what it is.
Read the rest
When one thinks of it, the official color of collectivist evil is not Marxist red or fascist black; it is bureaucratic gray. Evil makes plentiful use of banners drenched in red or saturated in black, of course. But its real work is carried out by the warrens of official bureaucracy, with the eager help of normal, upstanding people who crave the safe anonymity of cooperation, and don't have the courage to make themselves conspicuous by naming officially approved evil for what it is.
Read the rest
Big Government Responsible for Housing Bubble (Ron Paul)
Ron Paul on who's really to blame for the housing mess:
The House passed two bills attempting to rehabilitate the housing and mortgage market this week. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of criticism and blame for the bad decisions, and rightly so. Lenders and banks do share much of the blame for the overheated market. Lending standards were relaxed, or even abandoned altogether, creating an exaggerated pool of homebuyers that led to ballooning home prices that many, especially real estate investors, expected to continue forever. Now that the bubble has burst, the losses are staggering.
However, many in Washington fail to realize it was government intervention that brought on the current economic malaise in the first place.
Read the rest
The House passed two bills attempting to rehabilitate the housing and mortgage market this week. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of criticism and blame for the bad decisions, and rightly so. Lenders and banks do share much of the blame for the overheated market. Lending standards were relaxed, or even abandoned altogether, creating an exaggerated pool of homebuyers that led to ballooning home prices that many, especially real estate investors, expected to continue forever. Now that the bubble has burst, the losses are staggering.
However, many in Washington fail to realize it was government intervention that brought on the current economic malaise in the first place.
Read the rest
The Kochtopus vs. Murray N. Rothbard, Part II (David Gordon)
David Gordon continues the saga of the Beltway libertarians vs. Murray Rothbard and the Mises Institute:
See Part I
After Murray Rothbard and the Cato Institute permanently parted company, in the manner described in Part I, a fundamental issue arose. Would Cato, and the other organizations in the Kochtopus, continue to promote the same ideas as they had previously done? Ostensibly, there had been no ideological split. Rothbard had objected to Cato’s hiring a non-Austrian economist, David Henderson; but he left Cato after a short time. (As I recall, he threw a party to celebrate his own ouster.) Rothbard also objected to the anti-nuclear energy position of Roy Childs and some of his associates at Libertarian Review; but after Rothbard left, little was heard of this strange view. Was the separation between Cato and Rothbard, then, reducible to a dispute between Ed Crane and Rothbard over the best political strategy for the Libertarian Party?
Read the rest
See Part I
After Murray Rothbard and the Cato Institute permanently parted company, in the manner described in Part I, a fundamental issue arose. Would Cato, and the other organizations in the Kochtopus, continue to promote the same ideas as they had previously done? Ostensibly, there had been no ideological split. Rothbard had objected to Cato’s hiring a non-Austrian economist, David Henderson; but he left Cato after a short time. (As I recall, he threw a party to celebrate his own ouster.) Rothbard also objected to the anti-nuclear energy position of Roy Childs and some of his associates at Libertarian Review; but after Rothbard left, little was heard of this strange view. Was the separation between Cato and Rothbard, then, reducible to a dispute between Ed Crane and Rothbard over the best political strategy for the Libertarian Party?
Read the rest
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Spotlight on Keynesian Economics (Murray Rothbard)
Murray Rothbard on the most successful and pernicious hoax in the history of economic thought — Keynesianism:
Fifty years ago, an exuberant American people knew little and cared less about economics. They understood, however, the virtues of economic freedom, and this understanding was shared by the economists, who supplemented common sense with sharper tools of analysis.
At present, economics seems to be the number one American and world problem. The newspapers are filled with complex discussions of the budget, wages and prices, foreign loans, and production. Present-day economists greatly add to the confusion of the public. The eminent Professor X says that his plan is the only cure for world economic evils; the equally eminent Professor Y claims that this is nonsense — so whirls the merry-go-round.
However, one school of thought — the Keynesian — has succeeded in capturing the great majority of economists.
Read the rest
Fifty years ago, an exuberant American people knew little and cared less about economics. They understood, however, the virtues of economic freedom, and this understanding was shared by the economists, who supplemented common sense with sharper tools of analysis.
At present, economics seems to be the number one American and world problem. The newspapers are filled with complex discussions of the budget, wages and prices, foreign loans, and production. Present-day economists greatly add to the confusion of the public. The eminent Professor X says that his plan is the only cure for world economic evils; the equally eminent Professor Y claims that this is nonsense — so whirls the merry-go-round.
However, one school of thought — the Keynesian — has succeeded in capturing the great majority of economists.
Read the rest
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Breastfed Children are Brainier!
If you think feeding a baby formula is just as good as breastfeeding, think again:
Breastfed babies are more intelligent than those weaned on formula milk, according to the most comprehensive study conducted on the issue.
Doctors followed nearly 14,000 children over six and a half years and found that those who were breastfed fared significantly better in IQ tests.
At the age of six and a half, children who had been exclusively breastfed scored 7.5 points higher in verbal intelligence tests and 5.9 points higher in overall IQ tests. Teachers also rated the breastfed children higher at reading, writing and solving mathematical problems.
Read the rest
Breastfed babies are more intelligent than those weaned on formula milk, according to the most comprehensive study conducted on the issue.
Doctors followed nearly 14,000 children over six and a half years and found that those who were breastfed fared significantly better in IQ tests.
At the age of six and a half, children who had been exclusively breastfed scored 7.5 points higher in verbal intelligence tests and 5.9 points higher in overall IQ tests. Teachers also rated the breastfed children higher at reading, writing and solving mathematical problems.
Read the rest
Warring as Lying Throughout American History (James Bovard)
James Bovard on how wars and politicians' lies go hand-in-hand:
Americans are taught to expect their elected leaders to be relatively honest. But it wasn’t always like that. In the mid 1800s, people joked about political candidates who claimed to have been born in a log cabin that they built with their own hands. This jibe was spurred by William Henry Harrison’s false claim of a log-cabin birth in the 1840 presidential campaign.
Americans were less naïve about dishonest politicians in the first century after this nation’s founding. But that still did not deter presidents from conjuring up wars. Presidential deceits on foreign policy have filled cemeteries across the land. George W. Bush’s deceits on the road to war with Iraq fit a long pattern of brazen charades.
Read the rest
Note: In the article, Mr. Bovard mentioned how the the U.S. government vigorously censored photographs of the victims in Hiroshima; in fact, some of the most graphic photos have only been released very recently, and they can be viewed here.
Americans are taught to expect their elected leaders to be relatively honest. But it wasn’t always like that. In the mid 1800s, people joked about political candidates who claimed to have been born in a log cabin that they built with their own hands. This jibe was spurred by William Henry Harrison’s false claim of a log-cabin birth in the 1840 presidential campaign.
Americans were less naïve about dishonest politicians in the first century after this nation’s founding. But that still did not deter presidents from conjuring up wars. Presidential deceits on foreign policy have filled cemeteries across the land. George W. Bush’s deceits on the road to war with Iraq fit a long pattern of brazen charades.
Read the rest
Note: In the article, Mr. Bovard mentioned how the the U.S. government vigorously censored photographs of the victims in Hiroshima; in fact, some of the most graphic photos have only been released very recently, and they can be viewed here.
Does Money Taint Everything? (Jeff Tucker)
Jeff Tucker says it's time to demystify the role of money in society:
Let's pull this sentence out of the civic pieties of our time and see what's wrong with it: "We should all volunteer our time in charitable causes and give back to the community in a labor of love."
We can't argue with the instruction here, or the sentiment behind it. There is nothing wrong with giving and sacrifice. My argument is with the choice of language. It contains a word and three phrases the common usage of which can be highly misleading.
Read the rest, or listen to the audio version.
Let's pull this sentence out of the civic pieties of our time and see what's wrong with it: "We should all volunteer our time in charitable causes and give back to the community in a labor of love."
We can't argue with the instruction here, or the sentiment behind it. There is nothing wrong with giving and sacrifice. My argument is with the choice of language. It contains a word and three phrases the common usage of which can be highly misleading.
Read the rest, or listen to the audio version.
One Of These Things Is Just Like The Other (William Grigg)
William Grigg on how gangs and cops are looking more and more similar:
In late April, the mortal remains of 65-year-old Norman Stamp were interred in Essex, Maryland. Mr. Stamp, a member of a motorcycle club called the Chosen Sons, had been killed a few days earlier during a barroom brawl. The tussle capped an evening that had begun with the hazing of a new initiate into the Chosen Sons. And predictably enough, the whole thing started over contending territorial claims over women.
Read the rest
In late April, the mortal remains of 65-year-old Norman Stamp were interred in Essex, Maryland. Mr. Stamp, a member of a motorcycle club called the Chosen Sons, had been killed a few days earlier during a barroom brawl. The tussle capped an evening that had begun with the hazing of a new initiate into the Chosen Sons. And predictably enough, the whole thing started over contending territorial claims over women.
Read the rest
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Ron Paul #1 on NYT Bestseller List!
According to Lew Rockwell, Ron Paul's magnificent The Revolution: A Manifesto will be #1 on the New York Time Best Sellers List on May 18!
And speaking of the Ron Paul Revolution, take a look at this promo for the upcoming Revolution March in Washington D.C. on July 12:
We the People 2.0
Go to RevolutionMarch.com for more information!
And speaking of the Ron Paul Revolution, take a look at this promo for the upcoming Revolution March in Washington D.C. on July 12:
We the People 2.0
Go to RevolutionMarch.com for more information!
This Is A Man: The Heroic Intransigence of James L. Woodard (William Grigg)
William Grigg on the heroic, wrongly convicted James L. Woodard and the culpability of the evil attorney who knew the truth of his innocence, but let him languish behind bars for 27 years:
"I don't know your `philosophy' of life, but I assume you wouldn't take a man's freedom just because you can. That's why I keep sending these letters to you.... I've been locked up 3 1/2 years now and it's been really `frustrating,' but I won't allow anything to prevent me from obtaining what God gave me at birth and what is rightfully mine, my freedom."
From a letter written by James Lee Woodard on June 24, 1984 to Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade
James Woodard was unduly optimistic in his assessment of what passed for Henry Wade's character. As it happened, Wade was precisely the kind of person who would take a man's freedom from him simply because he could. He did so with great frequency, remarkable efficiency, and the chilling composure of a sociopath. In this respect Wade could be considered a prototype of the modern prosecuting attorney.
Read the rest
"I don't know your `philosophy' of life, but I assume you wouldn't take a man's freedom just because you can. That's why I keep sending these letters to you.... I've been locked up 3 1/2 years now and it's been really `frustrating,' but I won't allow anything to prevent me from obtaining what God gave me at birth and what is rightfully mine, my freedom."
From a letter written by James Lee Woodard on June 24, 1984 to Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade
James Woodard was unduly optimistic in his assessment of what passed for Henry Wade's character. As it happened, Wade was precisely the kind of person who would take a man's freedom from him simply because he could. He did so with great frequency, remarkable efficiency, and the chilling composure of a sociopath. In this respect Wade could be considered a prototype of the modern prosecuting attorney.
Read the rest
Johann Gutenberg: Genuine Inventor and Benefactor of Mankind (Lawrence Ludlow)
Lawrence Ludlow on the great inventor and entrepreneur, Johann Gutenberg:
In a previous essay, NASA, the Aerospace Welfare Queen, we explored what happens when technology is grafted onto big-government militarism and the bread-and-circuses mentality of the state. The result? The kind of scientific “achievement” described by Ayn Rand as Project X in her novel Atlas Shrugged. Not very inspiring. But to avoid being as negative as Annie Wilkes in the Steven King film, Misery, this essay will be uplifting. It will focus on a true benefactor of mankind, Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of printing with moveable metal type. Better yet, it will show that his innovative application of printing technologies was not only a showcase example of market anarchism, but a greater source of benefit to mankind than state-sponsored technologies can ever hope to be. It is a story not only of innovation, but of immigration, opposition to politically connected interests, and freedom of information.
Read the rest
In a previous essay, NASA, the Aerospace Welfare Queen, we explored what happens when technology is grafted onto big-government militarism and the bread-and-circuses mentality of the state. The result? The kind of scientific “achievement” described by Ayn Rand as Project X in her novel Atlas Shrugged. Not very inspiring. But to avoid being as negative as Annie Wilkes in the Steven King film, Misery, this essay will be uplifting. It will focus on a true benefactor of mankind, Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of printing with moveable metal type. Better yet, it will show that his innovative application of printing technologies was not only a showcase example of market anarchism, but a greater source of benefit to mankind than state-sponsored technologies can ever hope to be. It is a story not only of innovation, but of immigration, opposition to politically connected interests, and freedom of information.
Read the rest
Does Our Weakness Matter? (Robert Higgs)
Robert Higgs wonders about the prospects of liberty here in the U.S. and looks at why far worse police states have disappeared:
Thucydides tells us that "the strong do what they will, while the weak suffer what they must."
We recall these words even after 2,400 years because they have the ring of truth. And a hard truth it is, especially for those of us who cannot but regard ourselves as ensconced among the weak. As we look about, we see that the strong, who control the state, are rampaging in every jurisdiction and, sure enough, in countless ways the weak are suffering the consequences of these destructive rampages.
Libertarians habitually indulge in wishful thinking. We live in a country where freedom is under relentless attack in ways too numerous even to categorize easily. Governments at every level seem determined to crush each remaining molecule of liberty, and, worst of all, most of the citizens readily accept, when they do not affirmatively demand, the suffocation of freedom wherever it dares to raise its head.
Read the rest
Thucydides tells us that "the strong do what they will, while the weak suffer what they must."
We recall these words even after 2,400 years because they have the ring of truth. And a hard truth it is, especially for those of us who cannot but regard ourselves as ensconced among the weak. As we look about, we see that the strong, who control the state, are rampaging in every jurisdiction and, sure enough, in countless ways the weak are suffering the consequences of these destructive rampages.
Libertarians habitually indulge in wishful thinking. We live in a country where freedom is under relentless attack in ways too numerous even to categorize easily. Governments at every level seem determined to crush each remaining molecule of liberty, and, worst of all, most of the citizens readily accept, when they do not affirmatively demand, the suffocation of freedom wherever it dares to raise its head.
Read the rest
Natural Disasters, It Turns Out, Are Bad (Mark Thornton)
Surprise, surprise! Mark Thornton is happy to report that common sense wins out over flawed economic theory:
It seems that we may never rid ourselves of the broken-window fallacy.
Hurricane Katrina certainly did not stop economists from proclaiming the silver lining of natural disasters. On September 9, 2005, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao told USA Today that demand could create a labor shortage that could push up wage rates and that "We're going to see a tremendous boom in construction." On December 3rd, 2005, Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at Global Insight, said, "We are now at the point where Hurricane Katrina's effects are adding to job creation rather than detracting from it."
And it's not only that disasters just have a silver lining: economists have long believed that natural disasters and wars are actually good for the economy! Until recently they have not made any attempt to empirically test their views. However, in 2002 Mark Skidmore and Hideki Toya published a paper where they found a positive correlation between disasters and human capital, productivity, and GDP growth.
Read the rest, and also read Bastiat's explanation of the broken window fallacy.
It seems that we may never rid ourselves of the broken-window fallacy.
Hurricane Katrina certainly did not stop economists from proclaiming the silver lining of natural disasters. On September 9, 2005, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao told USA Today that demand could create a labor shortage that could push up wage rates and that "We're going to see a tremendous boom in construction." On December 3rd, 2005, Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at Global Insight, said, "We are now at the point where Hurricane Katrina's effects are adding to job creation rather than detracting from it."
And it's not only that disasters just have a silver lining: economists have long believed that natural disasters and wars are actually good for the economy! Until recently they have not made any attempt to empirically test their views. However, in 2002 Mark Skidmore and Hideki Toya published a paper where they found a positive correlation between disasters and human capital, productivity, and GDP growth.
Read the rest, and also read Bastiat's explanation of the broken window fallacy.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Ron Paul on the Power of the Jury
Here's an excellent video produced in 1990 by the National Endowment for Liberty which is entitled "Power to the Jury" and features Dr. Ron Paul:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Thanks to the Fully Informed Jury Association for posting the links.
Also see the important essay on the topic, written by Lysander Spooner in 1852, entitled "Trial by Jury".
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Thanks to the Fully Informed Jury Association for posting the links.
Also see the important essay on the topic, written by Lysander Spooner in 1852, entitled "Trial by Jury".
Christianity in Eclipse (Laurence Vance)
Laurence Vance on the unhealthy obsession many Christians have with all things statist, especially war:
The Christian's attitude toward the state, its leaders, its military, its wars, its imperialism, and its interventionism should be a no-brainer: contempt, disdain, disgust, revulsion, abhorrence, repugnance, loathing – take your pick. Yet, among Christians one continues to find some of the greatest apologists for the state, its leaders, its institutions, and its evil doings.
Read the rest
The Christian's attitude toward the state, its leaders, its military, its wars, its imperialism, and its interventionism should be a no-brainer: contempt, disdain, disgust, revulsion, abhorrence, repugnance, loathing – take your pick. Yet, among Christians one continues to find some of the greatest apologists for the state, its leaders, its institutions, and its evil doings.
Read the rest
Monday, May 5, 2008
An American Gulag (William Grigg)
William Grigg says the false imprisonment and continuous brutal torture of Murat Kurnaz at the hands of the U.S. military is strikingly similar to the methods employed at the infamous Soviet Gulags. An excerpt:
At one point, driven to a frenzy of violence by Dolgun's quiet but persistent refusal to admit espionage activities of any kind, Sidorov flew into a spittle-flinging paroxysm of rage, beating the American and threatening to kill him and track down his family. Seeking to bend the recalcitrant American to the State's will, Sidorov put the matter in the most elementary terms imaginable:
"The State f***s you, you stupid son of a bitch!"
If that specific phrase was ever directed at Murat Kurnaz during his five years in U.S. military custody, the young man is too decorous to admit it. Kurnaz, a Turkish national and legal resident of Germany, was sold into the hands of torturers for $3,000 by Pakistani bounty hunters in late 2001. He was detained in a former Soviet military base in Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His tormentors wore the uniforms of the United States Armed Forces, and the treatment inflicted on him as an "unlawful enemy combatant" were nearly identical to the torture methods applied to Dolgun by the Soviet secret police.
Read the rest
At one point, driven to a frenzy of violence by Dolgun's quiet but persistent refusal to admit espionage activities of any kind, Sidorov flew into a spittle-flinging paroxysm of rage, beating the American and threatening to kill him and track down his family. Seeking to bend the recalcitrant American to the State's will, Sidorov put the matter in the most elementary terms imaginable:
"The State f***s you, you stupid son of a bitch!"
If that specific phrase was ever directed at Murat Kurnaz during his five years in U.S. military custody, the young man is too decorous to admit it. Kurnaz, a Turkish national and legal resident of Germany, was sold into the hands of torturers for $3,000 by Pakistani bounty hunters in late 2001. He was detained in a former Soviet military base in Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His tormentors wore the uniforms of the United States Armed Forces, and the treatment inflicted on him as an "unlawful enemy combatant" were nearly identical to the torture methods applied to Dolgun by the Soviet secret police.
Read the rest
Big Government Responsible for High Gas Prices (Ron Paul)
Ron Paul on who's really to blame for our skyrocketing gas prices:
In the past few months, American workers, consumers, and businesses have experienced a sudden and dramatic rise in gasoline prices. In some parts of the country, gasoline costs as much as $4 per gallon. Some politicians claim that the way to reduce gas prices is by expanding the government’s power to regulate prices and control the supply of gasoline. For example, the House of Representatives has even passed legislation subjecting gas stations owners to criminal penalties if they charge more than a federal bureaucrat deems appropriate. Proponents of these measures must have forgotten the 1970s, when government controls on the oil industry resulted in gas lines and shortages. It was only after President Reagan lifted federal price controls that the gas lines disappeared.
Instead of imposing further restraints on the market, Congress should consider reforming the federal policies that raise gas prices.
Read the rest, and see the bill Dr. Paul introduced, the Affordable Gas Price Act (HR 2415).
In the past few months, American workers, consumers, and businesses have experienced a sudden and dramatic rise in gasoline prices. In some parts of the country, gasoline costs as much as $4 per gallon. Some politicians claim that the way to reduce gas prices is by expanding the government’s power to regulate prices and control the supply of gasoline. For example, the House of Representatives has even passed legislation subjecting gas stations owners to criminal penalties if they charge more than a federal bureaucrat deems appropriate. Proponents of these measures must have forgotten the 1970s, when government controls on the oil industry resulted in gas lines and shortages. It was only after President Reagan lifted federal price controls that the gas lines disappeared.
Instead of imposing further restraints on the market, Congress should consider reforming the federal policies that raise gas prices.
Read the rest, and see the bill Dr. Paul introduced, the Affordable Gas Price Act (HR 2415).
A Colonial Radical in King Bernanke's Court (George F. Smith)
George F. Smith on how Thomas Paine might react to the Fed and its disastrous fiat currency:
Thomas Paine made the case for freedom in 1776, and ten years later made the case for freedom’s money, gold and silver. If we had followed his advice on the latter, we would still possess a good measure of the former.
Only an intimidated culture could succeed in preventing a subject like money from reaching the forum of mainstream media, particularly with the dollar’s heavily-inflated history plainly evident on world currency markets, not to mention at the local grocery store. None of what we see today in the financial press would be surprising to hard-money thinkers like Paine. The Common Sense author might respond much like Nock did in regard to the criminality of states: “Well, what would you expect? Look at the record! This is what states do. This is what happens when the government forces you to use paper money and imposes a banking cartel to ‘manage’ its supply.”
Read the rest
Thomas Paine made the case for freedom in 1776, and ten years later made the case for freedom’s money, gold and silver. If we had followed his advice on the latter, we would still possess a good measure of the former.
Only an intimidated culture could succeed in preventing a subject like money from reaching the forum of mainstream media, particularly with the dollar’s heavily-inflated history plainly evident on world currency markets, not to mention at the local grocery store. None of what we see today in the financial press would be surprising to hard-money thinkers like Paine. The Common Sense author might respond much like Nock did in regard to the criminality of states: “Well, what would you expect? Look at the record! This is what states do. This is what happens when the government forces you to use paper money and imposes a banking cartel to ‘manage’ its supply.”
Read the rest
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Ron Paul Book Sold Out at Amazon, But....
You can still buy The Revolution: A Manifesto at the Mises.org bookstore!
[UPDATE] Mises.org is now sold out (expected to be available 5/16); it looks like the book may still be available at Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com should be shipping by the end of the month.
[UPDATE] Mises.org is now sold out (expected to be available 5/16); it looks like the book may still be available at Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com should be shipping by the end of the month.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Go Cowboy Cal!
For Murray Sabrin's benefit, I'll be rooting for Cowboy Cal in today's Kentucky Derby! See the press release, where Dr. Sabrin explains why he's wagering on the longshot:
Atlantic City, NJ – New Jersey conservative Republican leader Dr. "Maverick Murray" Sabrin, the Garden State's strongest advocate of limited government and individual freedom and the front-runner for United States Senate, announced his support to eliminate the federal prohibition against Atlantic City and other casinos from around the country from accepting wagers on sports and other activities. In addition, Maverick Murray announced his prediction for the Kentucky Derby along with a special one-hour online money-bomb to wager on the Kentucky Derby.
Dr. Murray Sabrin stated, "Our Founders never envisioned the federal government deciding whether states should or should not allow sports betting. A United States Senator from New Jersey named Bill Bradley made it illegal and a United States Senator from New Jersey named Murray Sabrin is going to make it legal again. Taxpayers from across America are responding to my message to Legalize Freedom." Sabrin continued, "This is another example of the federal government getting involved where it has no Constitutional basis. It is time to get government off our backs and out of our wallets."
Read the rest
Atlantic City, NJ – New Jersey conservative Republican leader Dr. "Maverick Murray" Sabrin, the Garden State's strongest advocate of limited government and individual freedom and the front-runner for United States Senate, announced his support to eliminate the federal prohibition against Atlantic City and other casinos from around the country from accepting wagers on sports and other activities. In addition, Maverick Murray announced his prediction for the Kentucky Derby along with a special one-hour online money-bomb to wager on the Kentucky Derby.
Dr. Murray Sabrin stated, "Our Founders never envisioned the federal government deciding whether states should or should not allow sports betting. A United States Senator from New Jersey named Bill Bradley made it illegal and a United States Senator from New Jersey named Murray Sabrin is going to make it legal again. Taxpayers from across America are responding to my message to Legalize Freedom." Sabrin continued, "This is another example of the federal government getting involved where it has no Constitutional basis. It is time to get government off our backs and out of our wallets."
Read the rest
I Favor Discrimination (Michael Rozeff)
Michael Rozeff shows that there cannot be true freedom without the ability to discriminate:
If ever anyone wants to discredit me, he can cite the title of this article. I am giving it away on a silver platter in order to make one point: Freedom includes the freedom to discriminate.
Discrimination is nothing more than making distinctions and being selective. Without discrimination, freedom to choose is an empty exercise. I favor the freedom to choose. Therefore, I favor discrimination.
Not only do I favor discrimination, I discriminate constantly. And so does everyone else.
Read the rest
If ever anyone wants to discredit me, he can cite the title of this article. I am giving it away on a silver platter in order to make one point: Freedom includes the freedom to discriminate.
Discrimination is nothing more than making distinctions and being selective. Without discrimination, freedom to choose is an empty exercise. I favor the freedom to choose. Therefore, I favor discrimination.
Not only do I favor discrimination, I discriminate constantly. And so does everyone else.
Read the rest
Friday, May 2, 2008
"Freedom" Through Submission (William Grigg)
William Grigg doesn't think too highly of Christian pastors who would have us submit to the "authority" of the state, no matter how wrong the state is:
All government officials form an unbroken chain of legitimacy that ultimately leads to God, explained the pastor, and are therefore entitled to unconditional support. It is God's will that all Christians be bound by that chain, and He is grieved whenever His people rebel or even criticize their anointed rulers.
Christian parents have a duty to instruct their children in this doctrine of submission -- unconditional obedience to those God has ordained to exercise authority over us. Children are to be taught to "respect" and obey police, municipal officials, governors, and all other political officials. After all, "how will they possibly respect God himself if they haven't learned to respect somebody right in front of them?"
Such instruction in the tenets of fuhrerprinzip (the Leader Principle) was entirely representative of state-controlled German Protestant churches in the 1930s. Which makes it somewhat remarkable that those words were uttered in a sermon delivered in Milwaukee last March.
Read the rest
All government officials form an unbroken chain of legitimacy that ultimately leads to God, explained the pastor, and are therefore entitled to unconditional support. It is God's will that all Christians be bound by that chain, and He is grieved whenever His people rebel or even criticize their anointed rulers.
Christian parents have a duty to instruct their children in this doctrine of submission -- unconditional obedience to those God has ordained to exercise authority over us. Children are to be taught to "respect" and obey police, municipal officials, governors, and all other political officials. After all, "how will they possibly respect God himself if they haven't learned to respect somebody right in front of them?"
Such instruction in the tenets of fuhrerprinzip (the Leader Principle) was entirely representative of state-controlled German Protestant churches in the 1930s. Which makes it somewhat remarkable that those words were uttered in a sermon delivered in Milwaukee last March.
Read the rest
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Free Hawaii!
Kudos to the Hawaiian Kingdom Government for keeping up the fight to free the Hawaiian people from the illegal U.S. occupation! Here is their description of the occupation:
On January 16, 1893, United States diplomatic and military personnel conspired with a small group of individuals to overthrow the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom and prepared to provide for annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States of America, under a treaty of annexation submitted to the United States Senate, on February 15, 1893. Newly elected U.S. President Grover Cleveland, having received notice that the cause of the so-called revolution derived from illegal intervention by U.S. diplomatic and military personnel, withdrew the treaty of annexation and appointed James H. Blount, as Special Commissioner, to investigate the terms of the so-called revolution and to report his findings.
The report concluded that the United States legation assigned to the Hawaiian Kingdom, together with United States Marines and Naval personnel, were directly responsible for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government. The report details the culpability of the United States government in violating international laws and the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but the United States Government fails to follow through in its commitment to assist in reinstating the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Read the rest
Note: I realize that "Free Hawaii" does not accurately describe the group's efforts because for the people living on the group of islands known as "Hawaii" to really be free, the state would have to be eliminated; however, a return to their traditional government would likely be far better than continuing to live under the thumb of United States imperialism.
On January 16, 1893, United States diplomatic and military personnel conspired with a small group of individuals to overthrow the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom and prepared to provide for annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States of America, under a treaty of annexation submitted to the United States Senate, on February 15, 1893. Newly elected U.S. President Grover Cleveland, having received notice that the cause of the so-called revolution derived from illegal intervention by U.S. diplomatic and military personnel, withdrew the treaty of annexation and appointed James H. Blount, as Special Commissioner, to investigate the terms of the so-called revolution and to report his findings.
The report concluded that the United States legation assigned to the Hawaiian Kingdom, together with United States Marines and Naval personnel, were directly responsible for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government. The report details the culpability of the United States government in violating international laws and the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but the United States Government fails to follow through in its commitment to assist in reinstating the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Read the rest
Note: I realize that "Free Hawaii" does not accurately describe the group's efforts because for the people living on the group of islands known as "Hawaii" to really be free, the state would have to be eliminated; however, a return to their traditional government would likely be far better than continuing to live under the thumb of United States imperialism.
A New Look at How World War II Happened (Thomas DiLorenzo)
Thomas DiLorenzo on an apparently excellent new book that chronicles the actions of those mass murderers Churchill, FDR, Stalin, and their ilk leading up to World War II:
Nicholson Baker’s new book Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, is one of the most unique nonfiction books you’ll ever read. Based on voluminous research of newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, diaries, and biographies, Baker’s 566-page book gives the reader an extraordinary look into the mindsets of all the major actors in the lead-up to the war.
Each paragraph of the book is written like a press release of an important event on a particular day, and is not necessarily related to the previous or succeeding paragraph. At first I thought this would be an extremely boring read, kind of like looking through old newspapers. But the information in the book is so interesting (and sometimes astounding) that I read it in one sitting (admittedly a forced "sitting" on a 9-hour flight from Vienna to Washington, D.C.).
Many of the icons of "the greatest generation" are portrayed not quite as heroically as they are by their hagiographers and government-school textbook writers.
Read the rest
[UPDATE] Also: David Gordon's excellent review of the book.
Nicholson Baker’s new book Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, is one of the most unique nonfiction books you’ll ever read. Based on voluminous research of newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, diaries, and biographies, Baker’s 566-page book gives the reader an extraordinary look into the mindsets of all the major actors in the lead-up to the war.
Each paragraph of the book is written like a press release of an important event on a particular day, and is not necessarily related to the previous or succeeding paragraph. At first I thought this would be an extremely boring read, kind of like looking through old newspapers. But the information in the book is so interesting (and sometimes astounding) that I read it in one sitting (admittedly a forced "sitting" on a 9-hour flight from Vienna to Washington, D.C.).
Many of the icons of "the greatest generation" are portrayed not quite as heroically as they are by their hagiographers and government-school textbook writers.
Read the rest
[UPDATE] Also: David Gordon's excellent review of the book.
The Relentless Process of Socializing Health Care (D.W. MacKenzie)
D.W. MacKenzie says we need to educate others on the fallacy that the government can run a health care system effectively (or, for that matter, run anything effectively):
The movement towards socialized medicine is strong but widely misunderstood. Many ordinary people see health care as a right and complain that it is too expensive. Some economists also see problems with the existing health care system and propose public-sector alternatives. One serious problem with those who want socialized medicine is that they fail to see the problems that already exist with governmental involvement in health care.
Read the rest, or listen to the audio version.
The movement towards socialized medicine is strong but widely misunderstood. Many ordinary people see health care as a right and complain that it is too expensive. Some economists also see problems with the existing health care system and propose public-sector alternatives. One serious problem with those who want socialized medicine is that they fail to see the problems that already exist with governmental involvement in health care.
Read the rest, or listen to the audio version.
NASA, the Aerospace Welfare Queen (Lawrence Ludlow)
Lawrence Ludlow calls for the abolition of the boondoggle known as NASA:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a textbook example of how to quash free scientific inquiry. It also is a lesson in transforming potentially useful citizens into high-speed drains on the U.S. Treasury. Instead of perpetuating its gold-plated make-work projects and revering its state-sponsored “official heroes,” we should recognize NASA for what it is—a resuscitated Roman coliseum that stages useless spectacles that hypnotize taxpayers while bleeding them dry. Or is it just a vampire with a bad case of hemophilia? Take your pick.
Read the rest
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a textbook example of how to quash free scientific inquiry. It also is a lesson in transforming potentially useful citizens into high-speed drains on the U.S. Treasury. Instead of perpetuating its gold-plated make-work projects and revering its state-sponsored “official heroes,” we should recognize NASA for what it is—a resuscitated Roman coliseum that stages useless spectacles that hypnotize taxpayers while bleeding them dry. Or is it just a vampire with a bad case of hemophilia? Take your pick.
Read the rest
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