Thursday, January 29, 2009

Senate in Land of Lincoln tosses away basic fairness | ajc.com

Bob Barr makes a great case that the Illinois senate impeachment of the governor was a kangaroo court. Mr. Barr writes:


The Illinois Senate... has adopted a set of rules for the impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich that are so patently unfair that his lawyers’ characterization of the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” has more than a ring of truth.

simply because a government body has the power to do something, does not make it right or proper for it to do so?
...
the Illinois House and Senate have not shown the country the best the Land of Lincoln has to offer, but its seamier side.

Keeping in mind that the criminal complaint lodged against the two-term governor last month in Chicago consists of nothing more than allegations of wrongdoing recited by an FBI field agent, is it not a legitimate question raised by the governor and his lawyers that basing an article of impeachment on such untested and unproven evidence raises an issue of fundamental fairness?

Not only that, but the trial rules according to which the governor’s future will be determined expressly prohibit him from obtaining evidence regarding those charges if doing so “could compromise” the federal government’s investigation. Does this not render it virtually impossible for the governor to defend himself against those charges?

Not only that, but the Senate’s rules give that body the power to deny the governor —- by majority vote —- any particular information or witness he might seek to subpoena in his defense...

And what of the other underlying charges against the governor voted by the Illinois House? Many of the other charges are, by the explicit terms of the House report, based on evidence no stronger than newspaper stories...

Hello! If we began listing government officials in either Springfield, Ill., or Washington, D.C., who render decisions involving millions or even billions of our tax dollars without “understanding the procurement process,” the list would be far longer than the verbose impeachment report against Blagojevich...

The vast majority of FOIA requests filed against federal agencies are met by “a pattern of keeping basic government information from the public.” If that standard were now to constitute grounds for impeachment, every modern president, especially the immediate past president, should have been impeached.

The bottom line is, whether one likes, dislikes, loves or hates Rod Blagojevich, the process to which he is being subject in his home state is an embarrassment and should deeply offend all Americans who believe —- as did our Founding Fathers —- in fairness, due process and equal protections of our laws.


Senate in Land of Lincoln tosses away basic fairness | ajc.com

Strike The Root Blog » Blog Archive » Free Blagojevich

From what I have read and heard, it sounds like Blagojevich got railroaded.

“How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?”

Strike The Root Blog » Blog Archive » Free Blagojevich

Four Thousand Years of Price Control - Thomas J. DiLorenzo - Mises Institute

Thomas DiLorenzo writes, "With the wave of a hand, or the flash of a legislative pen, they promise to make everything cheaper. And for more than four thousand years the results have been exactly the same: shortages, sometimes of catastrophic consequence; deterioration of product quality; the proliferation of black markets on which prices are actually higher and bribery is rampant; destruction of a nation's productive capacity in the industries where prices are controlled; gross distortions of markets; the creation of oppressive and tyrannical price control bureaucracies; and a dangerous concentration of political power in the hands of the price controllers. This is what the economically ignorant among the American public is clamoring for Congress to do..."

Four Thousand Years of Price Control - Thomas J. DiLorenzo - Mises Institute

Alberto Toscano: We are losing the political literacy to distinguish between sabotage and terrorism | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Alberto Toscano writes, "The very fact of collective living, of rejecting an astoundingly restrictive notion of normality (using a mobile, living in cities, being easily observable by the police) has itself become incriminating."

Alberto Toscano: We are losing the political literacy to distinguish between sabotage and terrorism | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

We Can't Spend Our Way out of This Quagmire

Lawrence H. White and David C. Rose write, "Still, virtually everyone agrees that we need to further stimulate the economy even though current attempts to solve our crisis by increasing spending is exactly the wrong thing to do. No one wants to bear the political cost for appearing to be uncaring by favoring a policy of "doing nothing." Out of political cowardice, the federal government is attempting to produce a solution that is penny-wise and pound foolish. You can't solve an excessive spending problem by spending more. We are making the crisis worse. We have been down this road before. Most recessions start with the bursting of bubbles that grew large because of excessive money growth. But again and again, we presume a Keynesian cause and a Keynesian cure. Our recent stock market and housing market crashes can prove to be the start of a sound and rapid recovery — if we will have the courage to let it be so."

We Can't Spend Our Way out of This Quagmire

dispatches from TJICistan » Blog Archive » The law is an ass

"I love (”love”) the way that the State demands not only your conformance to its laws, but your heart and soul as well."

dispatches from TJICistan » Blog Archive » The law is an ass

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Judge Demands Remorse From Criminal For Victimless Crime

Brad Warbiany, "Demanding remorse for committing victimless crimes is demanding fealty. It is demanding obedience to an unjust law."

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Judge Demands Remorse From Criminal For Victimless Crime

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

FreeTroll.com / Another Piece Of The Energy Puzzle: Nuclear

FreeTroll.com / Another Piece Of The Energy Puzzle: Nuclear

Mutualist Blog: Free Market Anti-Capitalism: In Defense of Internet Journalism

Kevin Carson writes, "The blogger or other online journalist is every bit as much an editor as Mr. Turner, in the sense of editing and recombining content generated almost entirely by other people. But while Mr. Turner is limited to the stable of reporters available to him in-house, supplemented by syndicated material from the wire services, for the blogger the entire world of journalism is “in-house.”"

Mutualist Blog: Free Market Anti-Capitalism: In Defense of Internet Journalism

Money and Our Future | End the War on Freedom

"Fixing the economy, like fixing health care, is very simple. Get the government away from it. Separation of money and state. Separation of health care and state. Separation of school and state. Separation of life and state."

Money and Our Future | End the War on Freedom

From Far Right to Far Left - and Farther - With Karl Hess

Karl Hess, "We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever try to exercise it. Try it sometime. Try to save your home from the highway crowd, or to work a trade without the approval of the goons, or to open a little business without a permit, or to grow a crop without a quota, or to educate your child the way you want to, or to not have a child. We all have the freedom of a balloon floating in a pin factory."

From Far Right to Far Left - and Farther - With Karl Hess

Land of Liberty? No Longer in Belmont, California | OpenMarket.org

"There’s no reason that every business must have the same rules. Why, for instance, in California, a state of 37 million people, is it illegal for even one bar in one city to allow smoking? This is fascism with a human face, the demand that everyone else submit to one’s personal preferences, never mind what everyone else desires."

Land of Liberty? No Longer in Belmont, California | OpenMarket.org

Congressman Ron Paul - Stimulus for Who? - Texas Straight Talk

Congressman Ron Paul, "There is a lot of stimulus and growth in this bill – that is, of government. Nothing in this bill stimulates the freedom and prosperity of the American people. Politician-directed spending is never as successful as market-driven investment. Instead of passing this bill, Congress should get out of the way by cutting taxes, cutting spending, and reining in the reckless monetary policy of the Federal Reserve."

Congressman Ron Paul - Stimulus for Who? - Texas Straight Talk

Monday, January 26, 2009

Hemp For Victory, USDA, 1942

Interesting how times have changed.

Hemp For Victory

On the brink of collapse - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

Mike Farmer: "In a free market system, the banks would fail or restructure. There are many small and medium size banks which can take the slack and reap the rewards of their good business behavior. The bad banks need to go under"

On the brink of collapse - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Max Borders: Ten Things Leftists Should Know About Libertarians - Part One

Good pair of posts.

Max Borders: Ten Things Leftists Should Know About Libertarians - Part One

Max Borders: Ten Things Leftists Should Know about Libertarians - Part Two

Cops, Cameras & Accountability in Arlington, VA -- Bureaucrash - Join the Resistance

Interesting video.

Bureaucrash - Join the Resistance » Blog Archive » Cops, Cameras & Accountability in Arlington, VA

SteynOnline - THE UNITED STATES OF EMERGENCY

Mark Steyn observes:


George W. Bush has declared Washington, D.C., a federal disaster area...

One reason why nobody's ever done that before is because a presidential inauguration is not... an "emergency." It's penciled in well in advance...

The proposition that a new federal administration is itself a federal emergency is almost too perfect an emblem of American government in the 21st century...

So a "federal emergency" is no longer a nuclear strike on Cleveland or even a Category Three hurricane, but now a snowfall in New England and an inaugural ball at the Mayflower Hotel. As Mister Incredible shrewdly observes to his kid in "The Incredibles," when everybody's special, nobody is. Likewise, when everything's an emergency, nothing is: We live in a permanent state of routine emergency...

If you'd suggested in the Seventies a new federal agency to cope with municipal snow removal in Connecticut, you'd have been laughed out the room. But, with government, mission creep isn't a bug but the defining feature...

The most basic of conservative principles is that if you reward bad behavior you get more of it. We now have a government offering trillion-dollar rewards for bad behavior to the financial system, to the housing market, to the auto unions and to individual voters. And the heirs to those Connecticut town meetings that Tocqueville regarded as the best form of government ever devised by man now underbudget their snow-removal costs, secure in the knowledge that the Feds will pick up the tab...

But, alas, Washington is one of those disaster relief cases, where they get the relief, and the rest of us get the disaster...


SteynOnline - THE UNITED STATES OF EMERGENCY

# 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets | Project Censored

Amazing. As if there were no 4th amendment.

# 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets | Project Censored

Friday, January 23, 2009

A libertarian answer for everything - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

Mike Farmer writes:


The many who are being led in ignorance are being led by a relatively few statists and this is what gives statism it's political power -- it's not the number of people who intellectually adhere to statism -- it's the number living under the illusion of freedom yet ignorantly accepting the statist lie, that more intervention is needed to save freedom. Statists are winning the battles, but as I said the other day, this last victory may be a Pyrrhic victory -- one more such victory and they may be ruined.

The reason is that the direction of statism is the way to ruin -- this has been proved so often throughout the history of nation-states, and other such tyrannies before that, it's truly odd that it's not commonly accepted. Only in a free society where spontaneous order provides flexibility will needs and wants be satisfied to the greatest degree...

The power of the internet is that it's a counterforce to this indoctrination, but people have to be prepared to receive the knowledge and sift through it -- to be able to critically think. The powers of indoctrination are way more organized with a message of dependence and submission...

Education first, though -- if there's a loud demand for private education and the end to the Department of Education, the transition from failed statism to limited government will be a lot easier.


A libertarian answer for everything - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

The Bullion Insider: The Constitution of No Authority

"the only way this government gets its power is by force. If you do not obey their dictates you risk your life, liberty and property."

The Bullion Insider: The Constitution of No Authority

The presidency of George W. Bush and the damage done - The End of an Error - Views - Jack Hunter - Charleston City Paper - Charleston

Good post-mortem of Bush-style conservatism.

The presidency of George W. Bush and the damage done - The End of an Error - Views - Jack Hunter - Charleston City Paper - Charleston

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Robert M. Loftus

Steve Chapman: “We all know how we got into this economic mess. We spent too much, borrowed with abandon, and acted like the bills would never come due. So what’s the prescription for getting out? Spending more, borrowing more, and acting like the bills will never come due.”

Robert M. Loftus

Gun Control: An Economic Analysis | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

Really good.

Scott Kjar writes, "When a school has an anti-firearm policy, the policymakers are not the ones who must suffer the negative consequences. If a would-be killer arrives at school and discovers everyone else unarmed—students, faculty, and staff—the would-be killer is likely to be successful at creating mayhem and death. Yet the policymakers are not the ones at risk. The school board passes the policy, but the school board is not on the front lines next to the students, faculty, and staff when the would-be killer arrives. This is an example of moral hazard."

Applies to companies too.

Gun Control: An Economic Analysis | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, by Milton Friedman

I first became aware of Milton Friedman's argument against any sort of social responsibility of business while reading a summary of Friedman's 1962 book, "Freedom and Capitalism" by Brian Doherty in "Radicals for Capitalism".

Doherty writes that Friedman "attacks the idea of corporate responsibility (he thinks that a corporation's responsibility to its shareholders is simply to make profits; individual shareholders should be able to decide for themselves how much of their money they want going to other causes, not have that decision made for them by corporate executives)..."

Wikipedia is even harsher in their summary: The doctrine of "social responsibility", that corporations should care about the community and not just profit, is highly subversive to the capitalist system and can only lead towards totalitarianism.

Capitalism and Freedom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Following is a link to a "New York Times Magazine" article dated 13 Sept 1970 by Friedman on this subject.

The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, by Milton Friedman

Friedman argues in this article that


[what] the exercise of social responsibility... amounts to is an assertion that those who favor the taxes and expenditures in question have failed to persuade a majority of their fellow citizens to be of like mind and that they are seeking to attain by undemocratic procedures what they cannot attain by democratic procedures...

precisely the same argument applies to the newer phenomenon of calling upon stockholders to require corporations to exercise social responsibility... In most of these cases, what is in effect involved is some stockholders trying to get other stockholders (or customers or employees) to contribute against their will to "social" causes favored by the activists. Insofar as they succeed, they are again imposing taxes and spending the proceeds...

But the doctrine of "social responsibility" taken seriously would extend the scope of the political mechanism to every human activity. It does not differ in philosophy from the most explicitly collectivist doctrine. It differs only by professing to believe that collectivist ends can be attained without collectivist means. That is why, in my book Capitalism and Freedom, I have called it a "fundamentally subversive doctrine" in a free society, and have said that in such a society, "there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."

Cafe Hayek: The Shadow Banking System

"But maybe the lesson is that we need less regulation. The attempt to reduce risk to zero is an illusion. Maybe it is better to have the risk more out in the open where investors are much more cautious because the government is not the backstop."

Cafe Hayek: The Shadow Banking System

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Hemp milk? It's healthy and legal as hemp cereal

Glad to see some hemp products now legal. This should be a U.S. cash crop.

Hemp milk? It's healthy and legal as hemp cereal

Pro Libertate: In Praise of Paul Blart

Good review. Looking forward to watching this.

Pro Libertate: In Praise of Paul Blart

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Implosion | Connor's Conundrums

Connor writes, "But to promise to defy the Constitution mere minutes after swearing to support it is a mind-blowing exercise in dictatorial arrogance that leaves me with little hope of this administration’s roadmap for “recovery and reinvestment” (in all its forms)."

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Implosion | Connor's Conundrums

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Education Matters US » Archive » Teaching Fairness Instead of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

"Those who don’t support school choice are protecting a government monopoly at the expense of the children who are forced to remain in failing public schools."

Education Matters US » Archive » Teaching Fairness Instead of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Ramos and Compean Should NOT be Pardoned

New perspective for me.

Stephen Littau writes, "Think about it: if you surrendered to law enforcement and one of the officers try to hit you with the butt of a shotgun, do you think you might try to run away?"

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Ramos and Compean Should NOT be Pardoned: "Stephen Littau"

Congressman Ron Paul - Strengthening or Weakening the Economy? - Texas Straight Talk

Ron Paul writes:


However, whatever ‘devastating’ consequences these banks are dreaming up and pushing on Capitol Hill regarding their own collapse will be nothing compared to the collapse of our currency if we keep debasing it through these foolish bailouts...

The world will not come to an end without this or that bank...

Government is a monumental drag on this economy...

Yet in spite of government’s failures, it flourishes and grows, thanks to the continual bailouts from the unwitting taxpayer.

Big government has been tried and has failed miserably. What we need now is small government, and freedom. We need the freedom to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps again, as we traditionally do in this country. But try to start a business or charity today, and you will understand how little economic freedom we really have left.

Freedom, not government, made this the land of opportunity. Freedom laid the foundation that catapulted us to becoming the strongest economic power in the world. The American people are strong and capable. We can pull ourselves out of this mess. All we need is for the nanny-state to get out of the way and allow us to do it. Freedom is our strength, government is our weakness. Only by recognizing this and unleashing our strengths will we solve the problems we face today


Congressman Ron Paul - Strengthening or Weakening the Economy? - Texas Straight Talk

Monday, January 19, 2009

Legalize Drunk Driving by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Lew makes an excellent point, especially that someone near the arbitrary 0.08 percent blood alcohol threshold actually does not know whether he is breaking the law by driving until and unless requested to submit to a test by the government.

I have felt like a similar argument could be made against speed limit laws, as a priori restriction of otherwise moral behavior which is likely to be harmful to no one.

Legalize Drunk Driving by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

The Bill of Suggestions: Why the Supreme Court endorsed unreasonable searches and seizures - Reason Magazine

Steve Chapman: "Rights need constitutional protection because governments have a tendency to ignore them. But it takes more than a parchment dictate to force the authorities to do what they are supposed to do. It takes penalties that make violations painful to the violator."

The Bill of Suggestions: Why the Supreme Court endorsed unreasonable searches and seizures - Reason Magazine

Friday, January 16, 2009

Bush fades to black -- ENDiana.com | Certificed genuis commentary from conservatarian perspective

Deroy Murdock, "The principled, fiscally responsible free-market/conservative movement is hobbled for its association with Bush, despite his serial violations of its tenets. The Right now must spend years scrubbing away Bush’s stain with brushes and Ajax."

ENDiana.com | Certificed genuis commentary from conservatarian perspective

The Austrian Economists: The Nazi-Naming Parents and Comparative Institutional Analysis

Steve Horwitz , "We might deplore what these parents believe and how they are raising their kids, but it's not clear that the state's solution is automatically better. Our rightful sympathy for children in a situation they didn't consent to doesn't change that."

The Austrian Economists: The Nazi-Naming Parents and Comparative Institutional Analysis

The Lint Age

Bill Bonner writes, "Bernanke and Obama offer solutions. But their plans to save the world from a correction are little more than a swindle. They offer to bail out the mistakes of one generation with trillions of dollars' worth of debt laid onto the next."

The Lint Age

Banking Without the Too-Big-to-Fail Doctrine | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

Back in 1908, when earlier versions of government deposit insurance were advanced, the president of the First National Bank of Chicago, James Forgan, asked the following: “Is there anything in the relations between banks and their customers to justify the proposition that in the banking business the good should be taxed for the bad; ability taxed to pay for incompetency; honesty taxed to pay for dishonesty; experience and training taxed to pay for the errors of inexperience and lack of training; and knowledge taxed to pay for the mistakes of ignorance?”

Banking Without the Too-Big-to-Fail Doctrine | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

Another Erosion of the Fourth Amendment | The Beacon

"In any of these cases, we might lament that the guilty gets an advantage, but such advantages are necessary to preserve a free society and to protect the rights of the innocent."

Another Erosion of the Fourth Amendment | The Beacon

Libertarian Party: Most dangerous part of Bush legacy is what cannot be seen

America’s largest third party says the most dangerous part of President George Bush’s legacy is that which cannot be seen. “President Bush leaves office after eight years having pushed the idea that people should trust the government because it knows what’s right for them,” says Libertarian Party spokesperson Andrew Davis. “This is the most dangerous facet of the Bush legacy.”

“In a matter of decades, we have gone from President Reagan who said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help,’ to President Bush, who considers those words to be inspirational and rousing,” says Davis.

Libertarian Party: Most dangerous part of Bush legacy is what cannot be seen

Facebook vs Twitter

Good comparison. I am more active on Twitter at this time, sending that feed automatically to my Facebook account.

Facebook vs Twitter

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Dissident Voice : Is Gaza a Testing Ground for Experimental Weapons?

Interesting questions.

Dissident Voice : Is Gaza a Testing Ground for Experimental Weapons?

Taki’s Magazine, edited by Taki Theodoracopulos

I agree, Jack Hunter.

"Yet for pro-lifers to consistently and enthusiastically vote for leaders whose foreign policies will admittedly lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians – women, children, babies - in order to achieve political objectives, is something I cannot understand"

Taki’s Magazine, edited by Taki Theodoracopulos

Government Can't Really Stimulate the Economy

Sheldon Richman: "This is where the Obama-congressional “stimulus” plans will lead. Nothing is more dangerous than a politician who thinks he must “do something now.”"

Government Can't Really Stimulate the Economy

Should the Government Bail Out Newspapers? - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Institute

Excellent analysis.

Should the Government Bail Out Newspapers? - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Institute

State of the State Reviewed -- Kole Hard Facts of Life

Favorable libertarian commentary on Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' state of the state speech.

Kole Hard Facts of Life

quotable quote: "The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself......" | Goodreads

"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself... Almost inevitably, he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable."
— H.L. Mencken

quotable quote: "The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself......" | Goodreads

Bureaucrash - Join the Resistance » Blog Archive » When is Safe Too Safe?

Pete Eyre: "If we are truly free, we must have the ability to make our own decisions and to bear the consequences of them."

Bureaucrash - Join the Resistance » Blog Archive » When is Safe Too Safe?

Chuck Baldwin: Virginia takes US Constitutional Convention stage

Important to oppose a ConCon in each state.

Chuck Baldwin: Virginia takes US Constitutional Convention stage

Is Conservatism Dead? -- Constitution Party News Articles

Patrick Krey asks some good questions.

Constitution Party News Articles

The Socialism and Fascism of the New Deal

Jacob Hornberger writes, "Roosevelt’s system was based on using the force of government to take money from people in order to give it to other people. That’s what Social Security was all about. It was also based on the power of government to control and regulate the economic activities of the people. That’s what the SEC was all about. To make Americans feel good about what was happening, Roosevelt did his best to convince them that they weren’t really abandoning the economic system of their ancestors but instead actually saving it. In actuality the New Deal was rooted in the same philosophy and ideas on which Mussolini’s fascist system in Italy and Stalin’s and Hitler’s socialist systems in the Soviet Union and Germany were based."

The Socialism and Fascism of the New Deal

Monday, January 12, 2009

Congressman Ron Paul - Stimulating Our Way to Rock Bottom - Texas Straight Talk

Ron Paul writes:


The Austrian school of economics teaches that only a free market economy, unencumbered by onerous government controls, creates long-term prosperity. Politicians, however, tend to be notoriously short-sighted.

I am left with these questions – who is going to be left standing, to tax in the private sector, to pay for all these public sector make-work jobs? Is Washington really to be considered some sort of savior for creating unproductive jobs in place of the productive jobs they eliminated?

We are at an economic dead-end and those in power are in denial. The truth is our economic problems are due to loose monetary policy, central economic planning, and the parasitic expenses of government. Unless we assess these problems honestly, we unfortunately have a long way to go until, like the junkie, we hit rock bottom.


Congressman Ron Paul - Stimulating Our Way to Rock Bottom - Texas Straight Talk

Sunday, January 11, 2009

We Cannot Stand in Silence

Bart Carpenter, "Isn't that the true reason for an abortion, it got in my way?"

We Cannot Stand in Silence

SPKscribe, Teh Anti-Drug.: Rothbard Pledge

First time I have come across this.

Members of Rothbard caucus of Libertarian party asked to sign

SPKscribe, Teh Anti-Drug.: Rothbard Pledge

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Foreign Policy of Non-intervention

Shane Van Cleve writes, "I believe this intervention policy that the United States has had for years is a direct cause of the mess we're in right now. It was the direct cause of the needless deaths on September 11th 2001. It is a big cause of the debt were in now."

A Foreign Policy of Non-intervention

Not-So-Great Depression

Jim Powell writes, "Rather than follow the model of FDR -- whose policies raised only Americans' spirits -- President-Elect Obama ought to consider the model of Warren G. Harding, whose policies raised Americans' standard of living, and lifted the nation itself out of a depression -- before it had a chance to become Great."

Not-So-Great Depression

How This Happened by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Simple summary of how FDR prolonged and exacerbated the depression.

How This Happened by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

First Page Funnies by Paul Hein

Do property taxes go down when property value declines? NO.

First Page Funnies by Paul Hein

The Marriage Amendment: Both Sides Have It Wrong

Doug Newman writes, "Both sides in the debate over the proposed marriage amendment, as portrayed by the media, are wrong. Those who advocate gay marriage are wrong for openly promoting a perverted and perilous lifestyle. Those who propose a constitutional ban on gay marriage are also wrong. They only intensify the problem by putting the kingdom of man before the Kingdom of God. From the Garden of Eden until about 150 years ago, marriage was a covenant made before God. The state had nothing to do with it. It is only when the state got its tentacles all over the sacred institution of marriage that it -- as well as the traditional family in general -- started to come apart. Surprise!"

The Marriage Amendment: Both Sides Have It Wrong

Biggest Full Moon Display in 15 Years : Heart of Wisdom Blog

"The moon orbit each month, and right now is near perigee (the closest point to the Earth) making it appear 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009."

Biggest Full Moon Display in 15 Years : Heart of Wisdom Blog

Friday, January 09, 2009

Barr Slams Illinois House Impeachment Resolution | Libertarian Party

"To jump to the conclusion that a governor is guilty of impeachable offenses based on nothing more than preliminary, government-developed evidence for which there has been no opportunity to rebut or refute, is to render meaningless any notion of due process, equal protection of the law, or presumption of innocence," Barr concluded.

Barr Slams Illinois House Impeachment Resolution | Libertarian Party

Foundation for Economic Education » Inflation as Income Distribution

Good explanation of inflation.


We have seen that government expansion of the money supply rearranges resources in society and interferes with the market’s natural tendency to serve consumers according to their own priorities. Thus inflation would be objectionable even if it did not cause malinvestment and seed the ground for a subsequent depression, that is, even if it did not spawn the trade cycle.

It is incumbent on the inflationists–specifically, the incoming government officials–to explain why income distribution is a proper function of government.


Foundation for Economic Education » Inflation as Income Distribution

According to Constitution, Burris should be a senator

Excellent commentary on the Burris senate appointment.

According to Constitution, Burris should be a senator

Stevia Leaf Rescues the Soda Pop Industry by Bill Sardi

Great news! Been using stevia and waiting for news like this for several years now.

Stevia Leaf Rescues the Soda Pop Industry by Bill Sardi

FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate / UCLA Newsroom

Good to see FDR taking a hit for prolonging the depression.

FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate / UCLA Newsroom

LPIN Legislative Center: SB 011 -- Firearms in Locked Vehicles

Without legislation of this sort, my fellow employees and I are effectively having our right to self-defense while driving to and from work abridged by our employer.

LPIN Legislative Center: SB 011 -- Firearms in Locked Vehicles

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Employment, jackals and the coming revolt - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

Mike Farmer, "We aren't a nation of helpless dolts who need nickels and dimes from politicians."

Employment, jackals and the coming revolt - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

The Original Foreign Policy

Excellent foreign policy advice from Ron Paul, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.

The Original Foreign Policy

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times

The price of blogging for pay.

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times

100% Reserves Now - Lucas M. Engelhardt - Mises Institute

"We have a unique opportunity to provide future stability for our banking system. Sadly, it is an opportunity that will almost assuredly pass us by."

100% Reserves Now - Lucas M. Engelhardt - Mises Institute

ParentalRights.org » Blog » UN Report: Belgium

“What good are you going do if you lock up the parents? Then the parents can’t feed [their children]. They still can’t come to school. They still don’t have their shots. So what have you solved?”

Someone in Belgium must have forgotten to ask that question.

ParentalRights.org » Blog » UN Report: Belgium

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Obama’s Terrible Stimulus

Kevin writes, "The only viable economic alternative is the free market where role of government is limited to protecting the borders from invasion; enforcing laws protecting life, liberty, and property from force and fraud; and generally not much else. This is the only alternative to what’s facing us (lost liberty, hyperinflation, and the road to tyranny)."

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Obama’s Terrible Stimulus

We All Get What's Coming Whether We Deserve It or Not

"sleep well or get busy"

We All Get What's Coming Whether We Deserve It or Not

SteynOnline - OBAMANOMICS

Good article. Mark Steyn: to attempt to insulate free peoples from moral hazard is debilitating and ultimately fatal.

SteynOnline - OBAMANOMICS

Libertarian Party of Allen County: Do we need an economic stimulus package?

Wow. This was quite an on-the-mark prediction from 12 months ago.

Libertarian Party of Allen County: Do we need an economic stimulus package?

Monday, January 05, 2009

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » You should want what I want

"The Basic Fallacy of all Leftist Economics"

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » You should want what I want

Public Works Don't

Good explanation of "The Rule of Two" -- free market twice as efficient as government, on average.

Public Works Don't

Third Party Watch » Blog Archive » Both major political parties brought police state to America

Mary Starrett, "Elected officials know that as members of the controlling elite that masquerades as two separate and opposing factions, they will not be deposed. The vast majority will be easily re-elected despite their opposition to the majority of Americans on such issues as illegal immigration, secure borders, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the “Bailout.”"

Third Party Watch » Blog Archive » Both major political parties brought police state to America

Ron Paul on Gaza invasion -- Western Standard Shotgun Blog

Ron Paul on Gaza invasion: "No benefit for the US to be involved in this fight"

Western Standard

Congressman Ron Paul - Opportunities for Peace and Nonintervention - Texas Straight Talk

Ron Paul writes:


Our problems are ours to solve, and we need to give other countries that respect as well. Instead, we have been turning alleged, phantom threats into real, actual threats.

We should follow the foreign policy advice of the Founders – friendship and commerce with all nations. One positive step would be to end our destructive embargo of Cuba, which deprives our farmers of a market just 90 miles from US shores while strengthening the Communist regime...

Other countries should decide how to govern themselves. Even if we don't necessarily approve, it's none of our business. If other people foolishly choose to live under statist experimental regimes, they need to fail in their own right, and not have us as a scapegoat. We need to focus on our own affairs.

However, the pressures exerted on our leadership from the military industrial complex and big business is not in favor of peace or freedom, or especially nonintervention. Intervention is big business...

We need to rein in our overseas empire, as quickly as possible. We need to bring our troops home, and get our economy back into the business of production, not destruction...

If the new administration can take a closer look at real free trade and no entangling alliances, we would be much better off for it. Economically – we could save hundreds of billions of dollars each year! The new leadership has the opportunity and the political capital to do this. But unfortunately, it is not likely to happen.


Congressman Ron Paul - Opportunities for Peace and Nonintervention - Texas Straight Talk

Delaware Libertarian: Explaining the Libertarian mindset to Liberals: the question of prior restraint

I came upon this excellent discussion while looking for a linkage between the concepts of speed limits and prior restraint.

Steve Newton wrote:


Of course, the Liberal argument here is that we have to use public policy to protect the public from potential harm.

Unfortunately, this equates with taking away rights from those who have not done, or even contemplated doing, anything wrong rather than emphasizing the implementation of consequences for those who actually behave in a criminal manner...

I see more advantage in arresting and charging people for crimes they have actually committed than in making simple, everyday activities illegal on the grounds that they might conceivably hurt somebody someday...

All of these restrictions were presented and approved as sensible restrictions on things that could be easily misused, but in reality served specific ideological ends that involving eliminating the rights of certain groups of American citizens...

The absence of guns is also--sad to say, even in America--a potential pre-condition for exploitation, abuse, and tyranny...



"Anonymous" (RAH) commented:


I will govern myself; the government does not govern me.

The Bill of Rights does not give rights. It restricts the federal government from governing on those rights...

If humans are capable of running our own government and do not need a king to tell us what to do, then we are capable of making our own safety decisions. You can advocate for a position, like “buckle up” but do not mandate it. That is when the government gets tyrannical...

So a good way to judge a law is whether the law punishes good decent folk or the criminals. Gun control is all about control. The gun is the excuse.


Delaware Libertarian: Explaining the Libertarian mindset to Liberals: the question of prior restraint

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Too Big to Fail and the Problem of Bigness | Freeople

"Compassion with other people's money isn't compassion -- it is moral preening and self adulation. It is what people who are immoral do instead of actually being moral."

Too Big to Fail and the Problem of Bigness | Freeople

Fully Informed Jury Association

Recommended resource for anyone called for jury duty.

Fully Informed Jury Association

Friday, January 02, 2009

Land Confiscation for Flight 93 Memorial

"One thing is certain, however: the seizure of privately owned land would represent a gross abuse of power. Let us hope that there is a better ending in store for both the landowner and for those who rightfully wish to remember the heroic efforts of Flight 93 passengers."

Land Confiscation for Flight 93 Memorial

Citizen Economists » Prohibition and Potency

"This is part of the conceit of the political Left: they think that just by passing a law, anything can be made so. But the reality is that passing a law banning alcohol did nothing to dampen demand; it only constrained supply. This, in turn, led to higher profits for the illegal products, which incentivized bootleggers to stimulate demand."

Citizen Economists » Prohibition and Potency

The Crisis in 10 Points - Robert Stewart - Mises Institute

Bob Stewart points out, "Until too late, no one in authority (regulators, risk managers, senior bank executives, credit-rating agencies, investment analysts) asked the key question, namely, how on earth was it possible in the long term to make profits by lending money to people whose chances of paying it back were practically nil?"

The Crisis in 10 Points - Robert Stewart - Mises Institute

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Ron Paul on Blowback - Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. - Mises Institute

Good article I found while researching question on Twitter.

Ron Paul on Blowback - Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. - Mises Institute

Senators: Read the Constitution.

"Any attempt by the U.S. Senate to block an appointment by the state of Illinois is a clear violation of the rule of law in this country. The Senate must honor this appointment."

Senators: Read the Constitution.

Nir Rosen: Gaza: Israel, Hamas and the logic of colonial power | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

"When you drop bombs on populated areas knowing there will be some "collateral" civilian damage, but accepting it as worth it, then it is deliberate."

Nir Rosen: Gaza: Israel, Hamas and the logic of colonial power | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Grievous, That’s What

Good analysis of the drawbacks of a government "stimulus" plan -- whether that of Democrats or Republicans.

The Liberty Papers »Blog Archive » Grievous, That’s What

Ron Paul promotes the Founding Fathers: Non-intervention « The Political Inquirer

The Founding Fathers were very strong advocates of nonintervention. For all the Republican talk of “strict interpretation”, “original intent”, and “look to the Founders for advice”, they seem to have ignored for the past 10 years the non-intervention foreign policy that the founders advocated.

Ron Paul promotes the Founding Fathers: Non-intervention « The Political Inquirer

Government and Fraud » Tenth Amendment Center

Ron Paul: "The government itself runs a fraud much bigger than Madoff’s."

Government and Fraud » Tenth Amendment Center

Stop Foreign Aid to Israel (and Everywhere Else)

"U.S. foreign aid is simply an immoral form of welfare, one that is highly destructive to the best interests of our nation. Like all forms of socialist redistribution of wealth, it should be terminated immediately, not only to the Israeli government, not only to every other foreign regime, but also to every other welfare recipient feeding at the public trough."

Stop Foreign Aid to Israel (and Everywhere Else)

The Left, The Right, and The State by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Looks like a great book.

The Left, The Right, and The State by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Public Education: Changing mental models - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

"The fundamental solutions to education will never be found and implemented until education is removed from government control."

Public Education: Changing mental models - Libertarian Blog - Bonzai: A Libertarian Blog

How to Build Credibility on the Web - Stepcase Lifehack

Good advice.

How to Build Credibility on the Web - Stepcase Lifehack: "Stepcase Lifehack"