I don't post much on my blog these days.
Why Trump’s Victory Matters, and Why It Doesn’t
2 hours ago
Thoughts and commentary from a Christian, pro-liberty, free-market, anti-war perspective.
Those who have been liberated can and do help one another — the educable aiding the educable! That we need more liberated individuals is self-evident; for among the non-liberated are, unquestionably, some of the greatest potential writers, thinkers, talkers of the freedom philosophy. But what can any of us do about it? How can we liberate them?
At the outset, it might be well to consider some of our limitations. The individual not yet liberated is no more educable as to the free market, private property, limited government philosophy than you or I are educable on subjects in which we have no interest. Thus, it is patently absurd to scold or rant at them, to be impatient, to regard them as not bright, to try poking our ideas down their necks. Such tactics will only send them scurrying.
The best counsel is to take it easy. First, we must recognize that most of the individuals among our personal contacts... have no aptitudes whatever for this subject... Work naturally; make freely available such insights as you possess, but do not entertain any notions about setting someone else straight. Go only where called, but qualify to be called.
The few within your orbit who are susceptible to the freedom philosophy will find you out. We need never worry about that, only about our own qualifications. In this manner we will liberate as many minds as will open to our own keys.
Dear George:
Received your letter today in the first mail we have had in days...
We have been in combat for some time now and have met with some measure of success, and, up to the present, a share of the glory that goes with it.
Ours was the first Division of the Third Army to penetrate the Reich... and we played no little part in the fall of Metz [France]. After that affair we fought our way across the Moselle [River] and clean to the Saar River near Mertzic, and that turned out to be a rough little party. If any of your friends have any idea the Siegfried Line is a pushover, take it from one who has been there, it's plenty rough going.
Well, George, we have sat in on some pretty rugged scraps since we started, but the one we are on now turned out to be the granddaddy of them all. We marched up here to Belgium to help throw a kink in Von Rundstedt plans to sweep all before him and drive on to the coast... We stopped him in front of us... For two days we held and then an airborne division moved in to help us...
Before any reinforcements could get to us, we were encircled but good and we were given an ultimatum and two hours in which to surrender. With the American spirit, it was rejected and the fight was on.
Right now what is left of us are Heroes and our praises are sung to the skies, but take it from me our Bn [Battalion] paid a terrific price for that piece of Glory.
I've been under counter-battery fire before, but never hope to be subjected to what we went through ever again. There are scenes seared in my mind that will take time to erase.
At one time, besides being under artillery fire, the Krauts were putting mortar fire down on us from a patch of woods about 500 yards away. I had the battery broke into two platoons of two guns each, firing them in different sectors to plug a break through. At the same time, we were swapping machine gun fire with the Kraut infantry with our 58s, and at the same time Captain McCain and I each were directing fire from an M7 [howitzer] apiece on four Mark IV tanks and an 88 [mm] AT [anti-tank] gun that were firing direct fire at us at a scant 200 yards. The 88 and three of the tanks are burned-out hulks -- mute testimony of the accuracy of my gunners.
Then came Heinic [Heinkel?] bombers and fighters and they bombed and strafed us, but we are still here and a supply route has been opened and troops are coming in to bolster and relieve us. For six long days, we were cut off and the Krauts threw everything in the book at us. Our ammunition was dropped to us by parachutes once. I was down to five rounds of H.E. [high-explosive] and it's an awful feeling.
Right now as I sit here writing to you we are being bombed, not right on us but all around us the fragmentation and incendiary bombs are falling. I guess as soon as sufficient forces get here we will be relieved to go to some quiet place and lick our wounds and reorganize and fill in the gaps and perhaps get a rest.
You can be proud of your old outfit now, George. We have made a place in history for ourselves, but while some will be telling their friends that they have a son or husband in the 420th or CCB, there will be many nursing a broken heart cause some of the officers you knew are not coming back, and likewise many of the men you knew -- five of my best sergeants are gone.
Maybe I seem like a crank, George, but my mind and heart are full of what is around me.
Regards to the Boys -- Jim
The freedom to follow the dictates of one’s conscience was the first inalienable right recognized by the founders of our nation...
However, no one has a right to use violence against those who engage in behavior that does not harm another person...
With the exception of cases in which one human being has done injury to another, the right to punish human behavior is reserved for God.
With flawless libertarian reasoning, Jesus teaches us the true meaning of freedom: that God grants us the liberty to do as we wish, even to reject him and his laws, but that we also bear the full consequences of our actions. If we harm another person, then we are subject to the laws of men. However, it is otherwise left to each individual to determine the will of God according to his conscience and to choose whether to act accordingly or not...
By attempting to use the law to enforce their morality, social conservatives violate the very principles that they say that they cherish most. Social conservatives decry Islam because it attempts to “propagate the faith by the sword.” However, there is only a cosmetic difference between promoting your religious views through acts of terrorism and doing likewise through passing unjust laws against minorities who have no recourse but to obey or suffer violence. In both cases, it is the sword that compels the victim rather than the mind or the heart. Neither can social conservatives rely on the argument that their laws are passed by an elected body representing the people. If that justifies socially conservative laws, then what is their objection to the welfare state? ...
If we are truly a free country and we meant what we said in the first amendment to our Constitution, then every individual, whether the most fundamentalist Christian or the most libertine atheist, should have the right to speak freely, even if what they say offends another person. For many devout Christians, it is their sacred duty to try to persuade their fellow man to repent of his sins and embrace Jesus as his savior.
However, there is an ocean of difference between persuasion and coercion. The minute that we say, “there ought to be a law,” we are picking up the sword. If we do so in defense of the inalienable human rights of life, liberty, and property, we are within our rightful authority. If we do so to supplant the authority of God, we become the very type of people that Jesus spent his life fighting against. To truly be Christian, we must recognize the need for “a wall of separation between church and state.” ...
Salvation must be chosen; God did not create a race of slaves.
As we celebrate the birth of this great libertarian, let us not forget the lesson of his life and death... Let us follow his example of speaking our minds according to our consciences but never raising our hand to save our brothers’ souls. Each one of us will ultimately find that our understanding of the will of God is imperfect, as we are imperfect. Therefore, we must follow Jesus’ example of tolerance and forgiveness, lest we find that we ourselves have mistakenly punished the innocent. Our laws should keep us from harming each other, and leave each person’s soul to the judgment of God.
dir /s /b f:\*.epub f:\*.pdf | sort | perl -lpe " s{^.*\\}{}; " 2009-10-03-fcc-family-photo_sideways.pdf Adams - The Education of Henry Adams.epub aeneid_virgil_pg228.epub aesop-fables_pg18732.epub agd.epub alices-adventures-in-wonderland_carroll_pg11.epub american-democrat_cooper_1838.epub american-tradition_clarence-carson_1964.epub American_govt_and_politics_beard_1914.epub anarchist-theory-faq_bryan-caplan.epub anatomy-of-the-state_rothbard_1965.pdf anonymous-arabian-nights.epub anti-capitalistic-mentality_mises_1956.pdf anything-thats-peaceful_leonard-read_1964.epub austrian-economics-reading-list_ebeling_fff.epub austrian-theory-of-the-trade-cycle_ebeling_1978-1996.pdf bastiat-collection_vol1_thornton.pdf bastiat-collection_vol2_thornton.pdf Bastiat - The Law.epub beaumont-beauty-and-the-beast.epub beginners-guide-to-liberty_wellings-ed_2009_title-fixed.pdf betrayal-of-the-american-right_rothbard.epub bloudy-tenent-of-persecution_williams_1644.epub boundaries-of-order_shaffer_2009.pdf brief-enquiry-into-true-nature-and-character-of-federal-govt_upshur_1840.epub canterbury-tales_chaucer_pg2383.epub case-against-the-fed_rothbard.epub case-for-100-percent-gold-dollar_rothbard.pdf cather-my-antonia.epub cather-o-pioneers.epub catos-letters_summary.epub catos-letters_vol1_1724_0226-01_EBk_v4.pdf catos-letters_vol2_1724_0226-02_EBk_v4.pdf catos-letters_vol3_1724_0226-03_EBk_v5.pdf catos-letters_vol4_1724_0226-04_EBk_v4.pdf causes-of-the-economic-crisis_mises.pdf century-of-war_denson_2007_mises.pdf chaos-theory_murphy_2002.pdf civil-disobedience_thoreau_pg71.epub civil-government_willson_1853.pdf civility-in-the-workplace_burtoft_1997.epub commentaries-on-the-laws-of-england_blackstone_pg30802.epub constitution-party_2008CPPlatform.pdf converting-from-paper-to-gold-and-silver_denman.pdf cooper-deerslayer.epub Cooper - 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The Articles of Confederation.epub free-market-and-its-enemies_mises_2004.epub Freedom-Under-Siege-complete.pdf fundamentals-of-austrian-economics_1980.pdf govt_an-ideal-concept_leonard-read_1954.epub grimm-grimms-fairy-tales.epub hackers-and-painters_safari_2010-01-27.epub harangue_garrett_1926_mises.epub henry-give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death.epub heretics_chesterton_1905.epub history-economic-thought_vol-i_before-adam-smith_rothbard.epub history-economic-thought_vol-ii_classical-economics_rothbard.epub history-of-herodotus_vol1_pg2707.epub history-of-herodotus_vol2_pg2456.epub history-of-money-and-banking_rothbard_2002.pdf history-of-peloponnesian-war-by-thucydides_pg7142.epub history-of-us_beard_pg16960.epub human-action_mises.epub human-action_study-guide_murphy.pdf hunger-for-god_piper_1997_hfg_all.pdf i-pencil_read_1958_0202_EBk_v4_corrected-title.pdf iliad_homer_pg2199.epub imitations-of-christ_kempis_pg1653.epub indiana-constitution_1887_archive-org.epub indiana-constitution_andy-horning-annotations_2008-10-29.pdf individual-liberty_benjamin-tucker_1926_IL.epub inflation-crisis-and-how-to-solve-it_hazlitt_1995.epub introduction-to-economic-reasoning_gordon_austrian.pdf irving-legend-of-sleepy-hollow.epub is-politics-insoluble_hazlitt_1997.epub james-fenimore-cooper_phillips_pg13155.epub Jefferson - Declaration of Independence.epub just-a-geek_safari_2010-01-27.epub kipling-jungle-book.epub kipling-just-so-stories.epub left-right-state_rockwell_2008.pdf letter-to-grover-cleveland_spooner.epub letters-from-a-farmer-in-pennsylvania_dickinson_archive-org.epub leviathan-hobbes_pg3207.epub lex-rex_rutherford_1644.pdf liberalism_classical-tradition_mises_1962_0842_EBk_v4_corrected-title.pdf Liberty_under_law_taft_1922.epub life-of-reason_santayana_1905_pg15000.epub LimitinganOverreachingFederalGovernmentIsStateNullificationtheSolution_wallbuilders-barton.pdf lives_plutarch_clough_pg674.epub Madison - The United States Constitution.epub mainspring-of-human-progress_henry-grady-weaver_1962.epub making-economic-sense_rothbard_2007.pdf man-economy-state_power-market_rothbard.epub man-economy-state_study-guide_murphy_2006.pdf man-who-was-thursday_nightmare_chesterton_1908.epub Marx - Manifesto of the Communist Party.epub mayflower-compact.epub mcguffeys-fifth-eclectic-reader_pg15040.epub mcguffeys-first-eclectic-reader_pg14640.epub mcguffeys-fourth-eclectic-reader_pg14880.epub mcguffeys-second-eclectic-reader_pg14668.epub mcguffeys-sixth-eclectic-reader_pg16751.epub mcguffeys-third-eclectic-reader_pg14766.epub memoirs-of-mary-wollstonecraft_wm-godwin_pg16199.epub memoirs_mises_1940-2009.pdf men-against-the-state_james-martin_1953.epub merchants-of-death_engelbrecht_1934.epub Mill - On Liberty.epub Mill - Utilitarianism.epub mises_last-knight-of-liberalism_Hulsmann_2007.epub money-bank-credit-and-economic-cycles_huerta-de-soto_2006.epub mutual-aid_factor-of-evolution_kropotkin_pg4341.epub myth-of-national-defense_hoppe.pdf new-views-of-the-constitution_taylor_1823.epub no-treason_constitution-of-no-authority_spooner.epub not-yours-to-give_crockett.pdf odyssey_homer_pg1727.epub omnipotent-government_mises_1944.epub on-war_von-clausewitz_partial_pg1946.epub origins-of-money_menger_1895.pdf orthodoxy_chesterton_1908.epub overselling-of-higher-education_leef_2006_popecenter.pdf Paine - Common Sense.epub perpetual-war-perpetual-peace_barnes_1953.epub pilgrims-progress_bunyan_pg131.epub planned-chaos_mises_1947.pdf politics-of-obedience_discourse-of-voluntary-servitude_la-boetie_1552_2008.pdf politics_treatise-on-govt_aristotle_pg6762.epub prince-machiavelli_pg1232.epub principles-of-economics_carl-menger_1871.pdf principles-of-political-economy_john-stuart-mill_1848-1909.epub privatization-of-roads_block_2009.pdf production-of-security_de-molinari_1849.pdf progress-and-poverty_george_1879_0777_EBk_v5.pdf property-freedom-society_hulsmann_2009_corrected-title.pdf public-domain_james-boyle_3471.epub Publius - The Federalist Papers.epub quotable-mises_thornton_2005.pdf Rand - Anthem.epub Raymond - The Cathedral and the Bazaar.epub religion_foundation-of-the-free-society_opitz_1996.epub republic-becomes-the-empire_garrett_1952_mises-via-sigil.epub republic_plato_pg150.epub revelation-of-liberty_scribd.pdf Rights_of_man_paine.epub rise-and-fall-of-society_chodorov_1959_fixed.epub rothbard_vs_philosophers.pdf satans-bushel_garrett_1924_mises.epub second-treatise-on-govt_locke_pg7370.epub servile-state_belloc_1912_archive-org.epub Smith - An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.epub socialism_mises_1922.epub sony-reader_PRS300RCB.pdf sophisms-of-the-protectionists_bastiat_pg20161.epub speaking-of-liberty_rockwell_2003.pdf stevenson-kidnapped.epub stevenson-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde.epub stevenson-treasure-island.epub stopping-power_schulman_1994.pdf stowe-uncle-toms-cabin.epub Sun Tzu - The Art of War.epub Superfoods.pdf the-man-vs-the-state_with-6-essays_spencer_1884-1981_oll_0020_EBk_v5.pdf the-state_Oppenheimer_0315_EBk_v4_1919.pdf theory-and-history_mises_1957.epub theory-of-education-in-the-us_nock_1931_from-html.pdf third-testament_muggeridge_plough.epub Thoreau - On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.epub Thoreau - Walden.epub through-the-looking-glass_carroll_pg12.epub time-will-run-back_hazlitt_1951.epub tolstoy-anna-karenina.epub tolstoy-war-and-peace.epub treatise-on-political-economy_say_1803_0518_EBk_v5.pdf twain-a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court-complete.epub twain-prince-and-the-pauper.epub Two_treatises_of_govt_locke.epub tyranny-unmasked_taylor_1822_0022_EBk_v5.pdf underground-history-of-american-education_gatto.pdf unintended-consequences_john-ross_via-scribd-24664468.pdf utilitarianism_mill_pg11224.epub utopia_more_pg2130.epub verne-20000-leagues-under-the-sea.epub verne-mysterious-island.epub vices-are-not-crimes_lysander-spooner_1875.epub vices-are-not-crimes_spooner_intro-rothbard.pdf view-of-the-constitution-of-the-us_rawle_1825.epub view-of-the-constitution-of-the-us_tucker_1803_0023_EBk_v5.pdf vindication-of-natural-society_burke_1756_0339_EBk_v5.pdf Vindication-of-the-Rights-of-Men_Wollstonecraft_1790_0532_EBk_v5.pdf vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman_wollstonecraft_1792_0730_EBk_v5.pdf war-is-the-health-of-the-state_bourne_1918.pdf washington-farewell-address_1796_archive-org.epub wells-invisible-man.epub wells-time-machine.epub what-is-free-trade_bastiat_pg16106.epub What_social_classes_owe_to_each_other_sumner_1884.epub when-money-dies_fergusson_1975.epub Williams - Free As In Freedom.epub WordPress-In-Depth_Safari_2010-01-27.pdf writings-of-thomas-paine_1894.epub 04/08/2010, 18:20:39.98