February 2011
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TSA Blocks Private Screeners →
After the close of business last Friday, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole announced that no more airports will be permitted to participate in the congressionally authorized program under which all U.S. airports are allowed to have passenger and baggage screening performed by TSA-certified private security firms instead of TSA’s own federal workforce. …
This...
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January 2011
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“To appear noble, call for more unemployment benefits, free medical care and more...”
– Victor Davis Harrison
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Florida Judge Voids Entire Health Care Law →
03041789:
“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void,” Vinson writes.
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Egyptian Army sides with People (not Mubarak) →
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“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of...”
– Adrian Rogers (via combattant-de-la-liberte)
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Egypt: When R's and D's Agree
Whenever Republicans and Democrats agree, it’s almost never for anything good. Typically, “bi-partisanship” is a code-word for more of your liberty or property to be taken away. As Andrew Napolitano always says, “We have one party; called the Big Government Party. The Republican wing likes deficits, war, and assaults on civil liberties. The Democratic wing likes wealth...
“Egypt doesn’t have control of its people the way we do here.”
– Joe Biden, today on MSNBC (via statehate)
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Uncle Sam in the Driver's Seat →
Obama said: Today’s government should take more control of the nation’s resources so it can do innovative things akin to building the transcontinental railroad and exploring space.
The nation heard: You should trust the government whose recent innovations include the ethanol debacle that, four days before the State of the Union, the government expanded. And you should surrender more...
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“Liberals seem to assume that, if you don’t believe in their particular political...”
– Thomas Sowell (via coeus)
Withdrawing Consent →
One of the foundations of modern society is the belief that governments’ legitimacy is derived from the consent of the governed — a concept championed by political philosophers of the 18th century European Enlightenment, such as John Locke. It was Locke’s treatises on government that inspired the Declaration of Independence by the thirteen American colonies in 1776, as well as the Constitution...
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“Idealists foolish enough to throw caution to the winds have advanced mankind and...”
– Emma Goldman (via greenstate)
“throw caution to the winds”
To do something despite the risks
Sage insight from an anti-capitalist.
The promise of profit is what incentivizes people to take risks. Conversely, the potential for loss is what incentivizes people to be reasoned, efficient, and...
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“…MSNBC over the course of five hours mentioned Palin in connection with the...”
– Sarah Palin: MSNBC’s Obsession With Her (via nomosshere)
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'The health and well-being of your fellow man is... →
Bonnie responds to greenstate’s histrionics with her usual grace.
See here and here for context.
The Evolving Populist Political Rebellion in the... →
All these countries are different unto themselves, but the people in all of them share similar circumstances of living under dictatorial rule with repression and oppression that brings personal humiliation, lack of respect and dignity toward the individual at the hands of their government, extreme poverty, unemployment, rising prices for necessities along with widespread official corruption.
In...
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“Note that our wise public servants are [never] portrayed as having sinister...”
– Thomas Woods
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Greenstate's rebuttal to Hipsterlibertarian →
greenstate:
hipsterlibertarian made a very long and detailed post in response to my questions about the libertarian view of healthcare. and while i appreciate the effort she took to write the post, and completely recognize the fact that she is an intelligent person with well-constructed arguments, and with all due respect, it’s the biggest load of tripe i have ever read.
a few things stuck...
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The Libertarian Alternative to Universal Health...
I highly recommend hipsterlibertarian’s excellent, fairly comprehensive rebuttal to greenstate on Health Care.
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“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution...”
– John F. Kennedy
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My Synopsis of Mubarak's Speech
And please correct me if wrong, since there was use of a translator (namely, me):
I hear you. I understand your socio-economic concerns. Now be quiet and behave. Respect the law. The only reason you can even protest is because of the freedoms I have given you.
Oh, and I will get rid of everyone else in government and replace them with individuals who listen to the people. And since I know what...
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“[M]ost of the power of the government comes from the perception that it is...”
– James Ostrowski
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“Rights belong to individuals, not groups. Property should be owned by people,...”
– Ron Paul (via stardustman)
Freedom, Independence, and Prosperity →
What if we abolished the state?
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coeus-deactivated20120628 asked: Hey, since you're awesome at economics, I was wondering if you could help me out with a question.
I was talking to somebody about the public transportation system, and this somebody said that public transportation has what is called 'free rider benefits'.He said that people riding in cars benefit from public transportation systems because they benefit indirectly from...
I was talking to somebody about the public transportation system, and this somebody said that public transportation has what is called 'free rider benefits'.He said that people riding in cars benefit from public transportation systems because they benefit indirectly from...
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“Ever since the new deal, a primary excuse for the expansion of governmental...”
– Milton Friedman
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“And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent...”
– - Barack Obama, State of the Union Address
Dear Mr. Obama,
Please learn the difference between the word “ask” and the word “force”. You will find that the first word implies that the person has the option and freedom to deny, ergo, to say: NO. You will also find that the second word implies that...
John Stossel for President →
I know I linked to this in last night’s SOTU Roundup, but it’s well worth a second mention.
Here’s John Stossel’s State of the Union Address. It’s money:
We start by closing the Department of Education, which saves $100 billion a year. Education ought to be in the free market. It’s insane to take money from states only to launder it through Washington and...
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“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined...”
– Thomas Jefferson (via combattant-de-la-liberte)
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Why Cops Aren’t Whistleblowers →
Because bad cops and quiet cops are rewarded, while good cops who speak up against abuse are vilified.
The problem is institutional. Having a monopoly on protection breeds the same type of customer service as any other government-protected monopoly. Coupled with tens of thousands of laws that give those cops even more power over peaceful citizens, how can anyone be surprised with the results?
...
2011 SOTU: Libertarian Response Roundup
John Stossel’s State of the Union Address
We Can’t Win the Future By Repeating the Past
Nine Cato Experts Break Down the 2011 State of the Union Address
State of the Union shows Obama is now pro-business. He should [instead] be pro-growth.
Back to the Future: Further Thoughts on the State of the Union
If We Win the Future, Who Loses?
Bush’s third term continues
The Sorry State of...
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“Why have a debt ceiling if… when you approach it, you raise it?”
– Connie Mack
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When All Drugs Were Legal →
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Open letter to liberty-minded people: →
statehate:
[I]t’s obvious that [the left-wing and socialist blogs are] doing a much better job of spreading their message of collectivism and oppression than we are of spreading our message of liberty.
It’s inherent with who we are.
We are self-reliant individualists. They are central-planning collectivists. We advocate self-ownership and non-aggression. They advocate communal ownership...
Rand Paul's Budget →
Paul’s cuts, which amount to 13 percent of the budget and 36 percent of the deficit, make House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s current target of $50 billion or so (which he justifies by noting that Republicans took over Congress in the middle of the fiscal year) look pretty puny. You can see a copy of Paul’s bill here.
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“And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will...”
– - Barack Obama, State of the Union Address.
Applause? Applause? Why would anybody applaud after the President of the United States of America has said that he will teach American kids a false sense of entitlement over the labours and resources of another human being?
Do you applaud if a thief...
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Submit to the State! →
As of this writing, libertarian activist Pete Eyre sits in jail in New Hampshire (“Man arrested in courtroom,” Keene Sentinel, Jan. 25).
Eyre is charged with “disorderly conduct” (for wearing a hat after being told not to wear a hat by a clown with a shiny badge and an inflated sense of self-importance) and “resisting arrest” (for declining to assist in his own abduction by other clowns with...
