Actually the killings in Norway by accused murderer Anders Behring Breivik are logical from the standpoint of those who have been claiming that the West is in a war against Islam. If we’re really at war, as these people have been claiming ever since 9/11, then what’s wrong with killing the enemy? Isn’t that what war is all about? In war, doesn’t one kill the enemy in order to win the war?
Ever since the 9/11 attacks, The Future of Freedom Foundation has pe... (more)
The U.S. Constitution mentions three federal crimes by citizens: treason, piracy and counterfeiting. Today, there are an estimated 4,500 crimes in federal statutes, write Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller for the Wall Street Journal.
Clarence Darrow anticipated the prison nation that America is today a hundred years ago in his book Resist Not Evil.&nbs... (more)
I have written much before on the state of Sweden, the mythical land of “working” socialism. Here is another example of how it seems to not work at all as the global myth has it. The huge discount store of Gekås in the small, 9,000-population town of Ullared in southern Sweden attracts 28,000 customers daily. Obviously, most of the customers are from out-of-town or even drive from far away to buy the heavily discounted goods at Gekås.... (more)
Lusting as ever to provide all things for all serfs – and failing miserably –, the State furnished us with two paladins this past week. America, choose your hero:
In this corner we have a tough guy and former Secretary of Unlimited War – sorry, Defense whom Richard Nixon, no softie himself, described as a "ruthless little bastard." Said bastard lived up to Tricky Dick’s praise when he pooh-poohed the cruelty of torture: "I stand for 8-1... (more)
The Panic in Needle Park was a 1971 movie starring Al Pacino, about a heroin addict couple whose life spins out of control. It was set in a New York City park frequented by heroin dealers and heroin addicts. The other well-known "needle park" operated in Zurich, Switzerland, during the 1990s, when authorities experimented with an open park for heroin dealing and consumption.
Years ago, an overzealous conference staffer decided that Murray Rothbard needed to lose some weight for the sake of the movement. Thus, she made a cutting remark about the hefty dessert on his plate. Murray jabbed the cake with his fork and lifted a mouthful high into the air, defiantly declaring, "Every calorie says yes to life!"
I was reminded of the incident by a recent article in the Boston Globe that opened,
My response to those that claim they protect our freedom is this: When was the last time you protected me from the federal or state governments that have no problem enacting laws that require background checks for gun purchases, enacting laws that enable police to set up roadblocks (checkpoints) for whatever reason, and allowing police to break into my house and search for whatever they want without telling me?
What have you done to keep the federal government from searc... (more)
It is without question that Americans are in love with the military. Even worse, though, is that their love is unqualified, unconditional, unrelenting, and unending.
I have seen signs praising the troops in front of all manner of businesses, including self-storage units, bike shops, and dog grooming.
Many businesses offer discounts to military personnel not available to doctors, nurses, and others who save lives instead of destroy them. ... (more)
"We want to live pure, we want to live clean – we want to do our best; Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest...."
~ "The Obedience Song," as sung every week in American Sunday School classes
"It is with pride that we see that one man is kept above all criticism – the Fuhrer. The reason is that everyone feels and knows he was always right and will always be right. The National Socialism of us all is anchored ... (more)
If the debt limit is once again raised, guaranteeing more crazed deficit spending regardless of any promises accompanying the deal, blame should fall squarely on the Republicans.
The GOP controls the House of Representatives. They command the federal purse strings. Nothing can force them to raise the debt ceiling. There is no justification for raising it under any circumstances. Default is a perfectly valid option, discouraging lenders from continuing to enable Washi... (more)
Few activities are as dangerous as watching a cop too closely, as John Kurtz knows well. Kurtz is the founder of the Orlando, Florida, branch of CopWatch, a network of activists in the United States and Canada who patrol the streets on foot or in a vehicle to monitor and document police activity in order to spotlight misconduct and brutality.
Kurtz’s recent arrest for “obstructing justice” and con... (more)
The indignation came from an email acquaintance to whom I had explained one reason I reject the public-school system — namely, rather than educate children, it indoctrinates them and teaches unthinking obedience. As it happened, her husband was a grade-school teacher.
My position is not personal. The analysis of the role an individual plays when he enlists in the state apparatus is not tantamount to a condemnation of his motives or ... (more)
In Casey Anthony’s case we see an example of a grave injustice in the modern system. I’m not talking about her acquittal. When the prosecutor fails to prove someone’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the only responsible thing for the jury to do is refuse to damn the suspect to time in a cage. An innocent person imprisoned is so much worse than a guilty person let go, as in the former instance the state seduces all of society to cheer on and legitimize an injustice. Als... (more)
The final flight of the space-shuttle program, in progress as this is written, has prompted a number of retrospectives on the program's costs and benefits. Saturday's Wall Street Journal reported that the price tag on the US space-shuttle program has been difficult to pin down. One NASA estimate -- on the low end, because it does not account for inflation -- is $115.5 billi... (more)
What gives some people the right to rule others? At least since John Locke’s time, the most common and seemingly compelling answer has been “the consent of the governed.” When the North American revolutionaries set out to justify their secession from the British Empire, they declared, among other things: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governe... (more)
I don't use marijuana, medical or otherwise. I don't plan to take it up. Still, like an increasing number of Americans, I am vehemently opposed to the war on drugs.
Several powerful arguments can be proffered in support of the notion that drug use is a poor life decision. It has a negative impact on health, like eating too much sugar or using tobacco. It can be well argued that it is a wasteful way to spend one's time, like playing disc golf. And it is mind numbing, just like... (more)
It didn’t take long for the shift to transpire. The conservatives, after eight years defending the obscenely criminal and authoritarian Bush regime to the most degenerate depths, have rediscovered their role as rigorous defenders of Constitutional federalism, boasting that dissent is the highest form of patriotism, questioning the very legal and moral legitimacy of governmental and even executive power, daring to hope aloud that the regime fails. The left-liberals, meanwhile, have ... (more)
Within minutes of the Casey Anthony verdict, much of America devolved into the mass media equivalent of a mob bearing torches and pitchforks. Twitter lit up with calls for vigilante justice, and proposals that we revoke the Fifth Amendment's protection against double jeopardy (or at least that we revoke it for Casey Anthony). Nancy Grace nearly spit fire, proclaiming, "The devil is dancing tonight." Conservative syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro wants to change the jury system entirely. <... (more)
Every once-in-awhile events occur that provide some optimism that real people – rather than the sock-puppets who speak on behalf of institutional interests – have a firm grip on reality. The jury in the Casey Anthony trial did precisely what they were directed to do by the court: deliberated on the evidence presented to them, and concluded that there was not the requisite degree of certitude to allow them to find this woman guilty of the murder char... (more)
It happens every spring. Umpires shout out to grown men, “Play ball,” and bureaucrats shout out to kids, “Shut down that lemonade stand.”
While the latter might not happen every year, it happens often enough. Sometimes a mayor will trot out, tell the bullying code-enforcement officers to go away and then he buys a glass of lemonade to show what a great guy he is. Other times, the mayor, or some other city official, will defend the ordinance, saying kids ha... (more)
Even with a $1.6 trillion federal deficit and record spending, the liberal pundits spout their nonsensical claim that all would be swell if only the top 1% were taxed a bit more.
How does anyone believe it? The idea is preposterous just in sheer mathematical terms. According to Mother Jones, the top 1% of families made on average $1.138 million in 2008. Wikipedia says there are 1.132 million households in this group. Multiply these numbers and we see this hated... (more)
Perhaps not since the feds hanged Mary Surratt for Abe Lincoln's assassination have so many been so happy at the thought of seeing a woman lynched. To the outrage of bloodthirsty, bleary-eyed couch potatoes from sea to shining sea, Casey Anthony was found not guilty of the murder of her daughter.
The case itself is far less interesting than the reaction to it. In spite of all the drama that the despicable "news" media attempted to inject into it, th... (more)
Miller, chairman (at least for now) of Arizona's Pima County Republican Party, made the mistake of assuming that the interests of the Party were best served by defending individual liberty. That's why he protested the May 5 murder of Jose ... (more)
I don’t know whether or not Casey Anthony killed her young daughter or, if so, how she did it or her intent or state of mind in doing it. Unless you’re Casey Anthony or one of a few possible accomplices, you don’t know those things either.
What we do know is that after a month-and-a-half long trial and more than 10 hours of deliberation, a Florida jury of 12 men and women unanimously found reasonable doubt as to Anthony’s guilt of the specific charge: That ... (more)
People living in the socialist paradise of North Korea are suffering another big bout of famine and starvation, so severe in fact that the European Union is sending $14.6 million in emergency food aid for more than 650,000 starving North Koreans.
Here’s what the New York Times says are the causes of North Korea’s chronic food crises: “The food shortages have been caused by years of economic mismanagement and underinvestment, and have been made worse by p... (more)
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. - Thomas Jefferson
The Random House Webster's College Dictionary defines conspiracy as a plan or agreement formulated, especially in secret, by two or more persons to commit an unlawful, harmful, or treacherous act. The same dictionary defines treachery as a violation of faith; betrayal of trust; treason.
Law’n'order conservatives frequently challenge civil libertarians to show what concrete loss of freedom they’ve experienced under the USA PATRIOT Act and other “counter-terror” (aka “police state”) legislation.
Well, first of all it’s hard to say, since the Patriot Act makes it an offense even to inform the public that you’ve suffered an unconstitutional loss of liberty under that “law.” If an FBI thug goes sniffing aroun... (more)
I just witnessed the private fireworks show of my dreams. At 10:00PM here in Ocean City, Maryland the government put their old boring taxpayer extravaganza money burning fireworks show on. It was 10 minutes of blasé fireworks being launched straight up into the sky. The finale was at least nice, they launched about 1,000 fireworks within a minute or so. Nonetheless, there was little excitement and little variety, it was just another typical "orderly" fireworks show at taxpayers expens... (more)
