LewRockwell.com Blog

The Vaccine-Autism Link

Conceded by the feds. (Thanks to Minnesota Chris.)

Sarbanes-Oxley Delist-a-thon

Two heartland banks are delisting to become private companies in order to ditch the burdens of compliance, namely Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Northeast Indiana Bancorp announced that it plans to delist from Nasdaq. Additionally, Peoples Bancorp also voted to delist because "It is becoming increasingly expensive to be a listed company and be filing with the SEC,” he said. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s “Section 404 disproportionately burdens smaller companies.”

..."Because we believe that the advantages of continuing as a public company are far outweighed by the disadvantages. As a public reporting company, Peoples Bancorp incurs significant accounting, legal and administrative costs that are associated with compliance with the SEC's reporting requirements, which can be expected to increase due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We believe that the cost savings we will realize by going private will have a positive impact on the Corporation's results of operation and will allow management to focus more of its attention on the Corporation's business.

The "disproportionate burden" presumption is oftentimes expressed, but it is somewhat bogus. Sarbanes-Oxley is an attack on private property, whether the business is large or small. Sure, small businesses typically don't have the manpower to maintain a SOX program in-house, so they often bring in consultants to build and/or maintain a progressive system for financial processes and controls. But alas, not all "large" businesses are cash cows and thus apt to take on hefty compliance costs. Gigantacorps like General Electric may cheer on SOX (because it hinders their less fortunate competitors), but other Fortune 500 companies are crippled by the costs, as well as the strain it places on their most valuable resources - time and people. Many of these companies are in the process of downsizing and rethinking their business models, while SOX compliance adds cost and the need for manpower. All said, the disproportionate effect is less than what most people think. Sarbanes-Oxley is an equal opportunity impediment for all.

Social Security Can Be the Death of You

Suppose a private health insurance company routinely declared its customers dead and canceled their benefits even though they were very much alive. Then suppose that, in order to be "resurrected," these customers had to jump through dozens of hoops trying to prove that they were not dead and had to wait months and months for the company to declare them alive again and reinstate their benefits. Imagine how many politicians would rush to the TV cameras to proclaim their outrage at this treatment of hard-working American citizens by an evil corporation--and then announce hearings and new legislation aimed at fixing the problem.

When it's the Social Security Administration that does this, however, there are no press conferences or hearings or legislation. It's just "the price we pay for civilization." (Sometimes it's the other way around: The SSA has continued sending checks to people who really are dead. Perhaps they're also voters in Chicago.) Of course, the good thing is that the IRS won't accept your tax return if the government declares you're dead; the trick then is to get your employer to stop withholding.

Thank goodness the Lord saw to Christ's resurrection Himself: The average SSA "resurrection" takes 483 days, plus another 203 if it goes to appeal.

An Alarmed Message From Ron Paul's Opponent

Says Chris Peden: "Republicans Voting in the Democrat Primary: Don't do it!! We have been getting reports that Republicans are voting in the Democrat primary for Hillary. The thought being that polls show that McCain can beat Hillary, but can't beat Obama. There are hundreds of down ballot races on the Republican primary ballot in Texas (like this one for CD14) that need your vote. Additionally, if you vote in the Democrat primary, you'll be a Democrat for two years; meaning you can't go to the Republican convention (s), vote for the Party Chair or Vice-Chair or become a state or national delegate to select our Republican nominee for president. We need Republicans to vote for Republicans so we don't lose ground in the U.S Congress and U.S. Senate. Remember, friends don't let friends vote in the Democrat primary!"

So, if you can't vote for Ron Paul, vote for Hillary!

The Prevaricating Peden

Here, as usual, the warmongering, big-government neocon portrays himself as, in effect, a Ron Paulian.

There Is a Religious Test

No university math teaching in California for a Quaker who keeps to the Gospels, and refuses to swear to kill for the government. (Thanks to Matthew Alexander.)

No Grimness for Bill

Writes Fritz Groszkruger: "An AP story in the Mason City, Iowa, paper about the death of WFB said he rejected the "grim isolationism of Robert Taft."

For the happy wars of LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush.

LewRockwell.com Technical Update: AOL Problems

For over a week now, AOL has been blocking all emails not only from LewRockwell.com, but also emails that even include the web address, lewrockwell.com, regardless of the source. This block affects close to a thousand newsletter subscribers.

I've been on the phone with the AOL Postmaster department, and they can't seem to figure out why the emails are being blocked. They say they're working to fix it. Unfortunately, until they fix it, there's really not much we can do. However, rest assured that we're pestering them about it on a daily basis.

The Glories of WFB

... are flowing, encomium following upon paean upon flights of wistful memory.

Funny how none of them mentions that WFB turned against the war, and against NR, as NR turned against him.

Ever since, NR has ignored what Knute Rockne used to tell my dad: "You don't spit on a man's head if you're standing on his shoulders."

With his passing, of course, they're suddenly full of self-congratulatory smiles. After all, how can he turn over in his grave? They haven't even buried him yet!

A more sober but very informed (and, be warned, more candid) account by former NR contributor Peter Brimelow is worth a careful reading.

I will write about WFB's trips to Indiana at a later date - nil nisi bonum, as they say. For now, I have long appreciated his invitation to write for NR aeons ago. And an aeon or two later, he graciously allowed me to correct amply a cheap shot that another writer had aimed at my boss in the senate.

Ah, but those days are long gone, and so is he. May he rest in peace.

Can the Neocon City Councilman Beat Ron Paul?

The anti-Paul Chris Benzion questions the reliability of the PPP poll, but atill thinka Ron will win.

Go Sabrin

Today is Murray Sabrin's Money Bomb. I cannot think of a candidate more fit to carry on Ron Paul's message of limited government, liberty, and peace.

Here is some information on the great Ron Paul-endorsed Republican.

More on Hagee the Horrible

And McCain the monstrous. Glenn Greenwald interviews Bill Donahue (and thanks to Ralph Raico).

Re: Reason on Buckley

Bob Poole's fawning eulogy helps illustrate the split between libertarians who think that libertarianism has something to do with, oh, I don't know, THE STATE, and those who see it as a kind of hip and fashionable lifestyle movement. Poole is happy that Buckley "kicked out the racists and conspiracy-mongers from conservatism" and that Buckley was "far more cosmopolitan and sophisticated about sex, drinking, dining, and other human pleasures than his fellow-travelers among today's religious right." He praises Buckley’s "open-mindedness and tolerance." But not one word about foreign policy! Buckley's embrace of the perpetual warfare state must have been a minor deviation.

Bank Failures? No big deal, says CNN

I really enjoyed reading this article, although I think TheOnion.com would be much better suited publisher.

Here are some excerpts:

Banking experts say there is one thing that will save your money if your bank goes under. That's FDIC insurance. "It's the gold standard," says banking consultant Bert Ely. "The FDIC has ample resources. It's never been an issue," he says.

As loan delinquencies rise, and bank failures increase, the FDIC is shoring up its reserves.

That's fascinating, because last I checked (about five minutes ago), the FDIC had in its assets about 1.2% of the deposits it claims to "insure".

If your bank bites the dust, there's nothing to fear according to the FDIC. A healthier banking institution normally buys the failed bank according to Barr. "There is little or no interruption to the consumer," he says. "If you go to bed one night as a customer of a bank, and you wake up as a customer of a new bank, there is nothing you have to do." Your checks will still clear, you can still use your ATM card.

See? Bank failure isn't even a bad thing!

Buckley in Two Sentences

Jacob Heilbrunn writes: "Buckley wasn't a radical conservative. He didn't believe in trying to destroy the Eastern Establishment; instead, he wanted to reform it." Therein lies the entire problem.

Reason on Buckley

Writes Butler Shaffer: "Buckley 'created intellectual space for the libertarian movement'? I suppose that’s true, in the sense that he espoused the kind of statism that gave genuine advocates of liberty a position to contrast. In this sense, Karl Marx could be said to have 'created intellectual space' for free-market economics!"

Turkey Withdraws Troops From Northern Iraq

... according to the New York Times.

When Bush invaded Iraq, he offered Turkey a bribe of $35 BILLION (your money) to allow him to send troops across Turkey's border with Iraq.

The invasion was in the name of "democracy." Yet Bush tried to bribe the Turkish government to ignore its democratically-elected congress, which had voted against granting Bush's demand.

This bears close watching. Remember, Richer Perle used to represent Turkey. In the late 1980s, he sent his lobbyist to see me on Capitol Hill. Perle, the man told me, merely "advised" Turkey, and would not register, either as a foreign agent or a lobbyist. Why, I asked? Because he wanted to be confirmed by the Senate for another position someday, came the all-too-candid answer.

Buckley's Tainted Coup

Writes Kevin Griffin: "William F. Buckley, Jr., was a favorite among 'liberals' (albeit, not classical liberals) because he purged the conservative movement of their nemeses: the Original Rightists. Buckley was the prototypical Big-Government conservative, i.e., the Cold War Democrats' Republican. His 'New Right' movement has since been augmented by the statist force of the neoconservatives. Thus, behold the end result of Buckley's tainted coup: John Sidney McCain III."

The Pentagon's Ray Gun

Leave it to the state to come up with more ways to hurt people, and this time from a distance. Watch as a CBS correspondent volunteers to test the new weapon.

Ron Paul on the End of Dollar Hegemony

Ron Paul has a letter today in the War Street Journal:

"I was delighted to read in Judy Shelton's op-ed, 'Security and the Falling Dollar' (Feb. 15), that at long last the security implications of the dollar's collapse have made their way into the mainstream media. The dollar's strength (or lack thereof) has been of paramount concern to me, and the subject of many of my statements over the past several years. Decades of manipulation by the Federal Reserve have benefited the government and certain politically-connected firms, while gradually destroying the purchasing power of middle-class Americans. Despite numerous warnings in the past, it is only now at a point of acute crisis that Washington insiders are beginning to awaken to the reality of the end of dollar hegemony.

"While I desire reform of our current monetary system, my own proposals have not been as all-encompassing as Ms. Shelton's suggestion to return to a Bretton Woods-style system. Her recommendation, though, that gold backing should make up a component of a future monetary system, is one that we would all do well to heed. My own legislative proposals focus around eliminating the taxes and laws that dissuade individuals and institutions from using gold as currency or as a backing for currency. By allowing market processes to determine the issuance of currency, we can allow individuals to decide for themselves what currency they wish to use. This would lead to a gradual reintroduction of sound money and avoid the market shocks that occur when monetary decisions are mandated by government fiat."

Re: Cracking the Code

Jim, say.... I'm starting to get the impression that it's actually illegal not to pay income taxes! And here all this time I've been paying them voluntarily. Whew!

Happy Birthday, Carol Paul

February 29th is the birthday of the great person who is First Lady in the hearts of all Ron Paul revolutionaries.

Here Carol writes about her husband and their life together.

Poll: McCain, Obama Lead in Texas

According to Zogby, here are the latest Republican and Democratic projections:

McCain: 53%
Huckabee: 27%
Paul: 11%
____

Obama: 48%
Clinton: 42%

Unintended Consequences of Gun Control Laws

Now that Australia has been enforcing a draconian gun control law for several years, its citizens, their children, and their pets, are easy prey for wild beasts as well as criminals.

Ron Paul Defends the Dollar

Against the great Fed counterfeiting machine and its chief operator, Ben Bernanke. Here Ron is interviewed on monetary policy by FOX Business.

Best and Brightest

Writes David Henderson to Scott Horton and me: "Nice interview today. Re the Aegis cruiser: One of my students, who's a Navy officer, was on the ship that came in to port somewhere in the Middle East behind the Navy ship just after it had shot the Iranian airliner down. He told me that when they got on shore, a lot of the enlistees on the Aegis cruiser went and had T-shirts made, that they wore proudly, with a picture of an Iranian jetliner being shot down and lots of men, women, and children falling out. Ho, ho."

Cracking the Code

After my recent posts about tax protesters who lose in court, I received several emails advising that there is a new and improved version of tax protesting set forth in the book, Cracking the Code.

So I checked to see how the book had faired in court cases. There are two reported cases. In both cases, the court issued an injunction against tax preparers who apparently used the book's theories to prepare tax returns.

Here's some excerpts:

United States of America v. Beverly J. Hill and Darrell J. Hill, No. CV-05-877-PHX-DGC, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38086; 97 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 548

December 22, 2005, Decided

The Court further concludes that an injunction prohibiting only violations [*15] of IRC §§ 6694 and 6695 would not be sufficient to prevent Defendants' interference with the proper administration of the IRC. Defendants continue to hold the erroneous belief that wages are not taxable income under the IRC and that Plaintiff is thus "imposing against them unconstitutional taxation." Doc # 170 Cal. 631, 151 P 1; see Docs. ## 112 at 2, 152-53 (Defs.' Affs.). In fact, in April 2005 -- after Plaintiff filed this lawsuit -- Defendant Darrell Hill filed forms with the IRS in an attempt to reduce to zero dollars the amount of wages previously reported to the IRS by five of his former employers. Doc. # 18 Ex. I (IRS Form 4852, Substitute for W-2, Wage and Tax Statement). 2 Such frivolous filings have impeded the ability of the IRS to administer tax laws and has placed significant administrative and financial burdens on the IRS. Doc. # 121 PP 15-16.

2 It appears that Defendant discovered this new practice from the book by Peter Hendrickson, "Cracking the Code: The Fascinating Truth About Taxation in America." Docs. ## 18-19 Exs. F. Defendants included the book with their answers and have avowed their belief in the book's interpretation of the IRC. Docs. ## 12 P 4, 13 P 4, 18-19 Exs. E.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DONALD A. GRAY, File No. 1:07-CV-42, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN, SOUTHERN DIVISION, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19833; 99 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1695, March 19, 2007, Decided

Mr. Gray resides in Portage, MI. The United States alleges that Mr. Gray has been fraudulently preparing federal income tax returns since 2004. At the hearing Mr. Gray admitted that he prepares two types of tax returns. Mr. Gray stated that he prepares conventional federal income tax returns and he prepares federal income tax returns based on the book Cracking the Code: The Fascinating Truth about Taxation in America by Peter Eric Hendrickson. Mr. Gray referred to tax returns based on Mr. Hendrickson's book as either "cracking the code re-turns" or "zero-based returns." The premise of a "cracking the code return," as acknowledge by Mr. Gray at the hearing, is that "income" is not defined in the I.R.C. and wages earned by non-federal employees are not subject to the federal income tax.

******

Mr. Gray has asserted that: (i) that his customers had no income and (ii) that his customers' wages are not tax-able income. The position that his customers had no in-come or [*7] that his customers' wages were not taxable are variations of the argument that the I.R.C. does not define "income" and that wages are not "income." Both of these arguments have been clearly rejected by the courts. E.g., Perkins v. Commissioner, 746 F.2d, 1187, 1188 (6th Cir. 1984) (referring to such arguments about "income" as being "totally without merit"). The Court finds that Mr. Gray was asserting a position that did not have a realistic possibility of being sustained on the merits

Update on the Free(loader) State

The Baltimore city government has sued Wells Fargo for foreclosing on home loans in which the borrowers have reneged on their payments. Meanwhile, the same city government is busy foreclosing on homes in the city whose owners are delinquent on their water bills.

My Biggest Problem With Obama

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm selfish like nobody's business. I have a personal reason not to like the prospects of Obama, which, of course, I will not express at the voting booth, but which, nevertheless, makes it hard for me even to root for him.

I live in Berkeley. You know how glorious it has been these last seven years living in a New Left town, post-Cold War, with nearly all my neighbors opposing the federal government? I have been able to discuss even domestic issues with my fellow townspeople, issues like farming and education, where they at least see the case for decentralism and distrust of the federal regime.

At first, my experience here was different, having lived my first year and a half in Berkeley during the Clinton administration. Even then, the true radicals were, for example, against Clinton's wars. But now the whole town is anti-federal government. Many are open to new ideas. I see graffiti saying "Taxes = Murder." I meet people who resist taxes because of the war. And I've heard lots of nice things about Ron Paul, which I never thought I would have in Berkeley back in the 1990s.

Obama threatens my happiness! He threatens to make half my neighbors give up their disgust in the national public sector and skepticism of imperial central planning. He will give them hope and restore faith in the presidency, like Reagan did for the right.

If I lived in a red state, in a Republican town, I'd cheer louder for Obama. But I don't look forward to the aging, moderate lefties in my town once again thinking, "Maybe the president has a point. . . maybe this war is necessary after all." Shudder.

Another Reason Obama is Better than McCain

Since we either are going to have Barack Obama or John McCain as the next President of the United States, I will say right now that I prefer Obama. No, his economic policies are a disaster, but no more disastrous than the present set of Republicans, and I doubt seriously that Obama is a True Believer in Command-and-Control the way that McCain seems to be.

Obama recently said that he would be willing to meet with Raul Castro, which set off our Maximum Leader:

At a news conference where Bush showed unusual passion for a president in his waning months, he said “now is not the time” to talk with Castro.

“What's lost ... by embracing a tyrant who puts his people in prison because of their political beliefs?” he said. “What's lost is, it'll send the wrong message. It'll send a discouraging message to those who wonder whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners. It'll give great status to those ... who have suppressed human rights and human dignity.

“The idea of embracing a leader who's done this, without any attempt on his part to ... release prisoners and free their society, would be counterproductive and send the wrong signal.”

This falls into the "Say What?" category, as far as I am concerned. Here is a president who has shown absolutely no respect to Americans, has pursued murderous policies abroad and unabated abuse of people domestically, and he is complaining about tyrants?

Thank goodness, he drives me to drink.

Speaking of Candidates' Middle Names

BTW, it is also OK to refer to the Republican candidate for dictator as John Sidney McCain III.

Buckley's Conservatism

Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute comments here on the death of William F. Buckley. What a contrast between Sirico the conservative and any libertarian who writes for LRC. I can't believe I called myself a conservative for so long.

Incarceration Nation

To follow up Bill Anderson this report raises a few interesting points about American justice. And though many of those nearly three million deserve to be in prison, many do not.

To begin with, if nearly every sector of the government is rife with bureaucracy, inefficiency, and corruption, why should we expect the legal system to be any different? Given that punishing an innocent man represents one of the worst crimes a government can commit, we ought not unconditionally accept the current system; it is in need of major reform.

Secondly, how many of those jailed are there because of non-violent crimes? The libertarian belief is that a person has not committed a crime until he has done something wrong to another person. While drug use may certainly be a vice, as the great Lysander Spooner pointed out, it should not be treated as a crime. The aim of our government was to protect man's property and his liberty...this includes the liberty to make stupid personal decisions. Furthermore, this War on Drugs has been one of the most dangerous government policy towards minorities in this country.

We ought to really reconsider who we put in jail and why.

Romanian Police and Ballet

Writes Tudor Smirna: "Greetings from Romania, and long live the Ron Paul revolution!

"In response to the funny ballet blog, let me tell you that I had an encounter with the Romanian traffic police today and can testify to the following: the young policeman who asked for my papers (driving license, mandatory insurance, car ID, personal ID) - a) was joking about temporarily suspending my license (they usually are the sinister communist-era type that keep you in dreadful tension), b) has graciously conducted our conversation to the point where we settled for a 'relatively decent' $80 bribe and c) he had lacquered nails. So, as long as they sell freedom from the draconian road regulation for a 'payable' price, they can even take tea-ceremony lessons with the most expensive master on the planet (I wouldn't be surprised if it'd turn out to be a Romanian as well) as far as I'm concerned. Until we accomplish the RPevolution to this part of the world, that is!"

New AT&T Billboards

I don't approve of vandalism, of course, but got a chuckle out of the Billboard Liberation Front's campaign to modify AT&T signs in San Francisco to remind customers of the firm's happy cooperation with the fedgov's warrantless wiretapping program: "AT&T works in more places, like NSA headquarters."

Obama's Middle Name

While I'll root for Nader for president (unless Ron changes his mind), because he is genuinely antiwar, I'll also cheer the slightly less warlike Obama over the war-lunatic McCain. But since when did using a candidate's middle name become a hate crime? If a guy has a "funny" middle name, like Robert Strange McNamara or Richard Milhous Nixon, you really cannot expect opponents to abstain. Or does it mean a lessening of anti-Muslim prejudice? (Obama is a Protestant, not a Muslim, but his middle name is.) I'd like to think so, but it really just seems to be another part of the PC wet blanket that diminishes American discourse.

Welcome to Prison Nation

It seems that the USA continues to reach "great" milestones in the effort to subdue us. Here is the latest on those efforts:

"NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― Don't ask the U.S. prison system if this is indeed "the land of the free."

"For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population.

"The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

"Using updated state-by-state data, the report said 2,319,258 adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the start of 2008 -- one out of every 99.1 adults, and more than any other country in the world.

"By contrast, in mid 2002 the ratio was 1 in 142, with the prison population surpassing 2 million for the first time."

Just one more thing for Bush Nation, another "point of pride."

The Kochtopus on Buckley

Thanks to a young friend who notes: "Barf. Libertine conservatism, once again. And so great that Buckley purged the right of bigots and conspiracy mongers, to make room for the people who think Commies and Islamo-fascists are under our beds, so we must kill the gooks and towel heads."

A Couple of Memories of Buckley

First: I somewhere read Buckley's advice on writing fiction; and one point of his always stuck in my craw. If I recall, he said something like when you write a novel, you can always get away with one big coincidence, but never more. Ever since then, when reading a novel I come across the second coincidence, it bugs me.

Second: In the "Debate 1984: Socialism or Capitalism", between capitalists-Objectivists John Ridpath and Leonard Peikoff, ans socialist-Canadians Gerry Caplan and Jill Vickers, I've always vividly remembered one of the comments of Caplan, when he tried to denigrate the performance of Ridpath and Peikoff by comparing them to the performance of Buckley at some debate years before, when he was at the "height of his powers"--Buckley was, said Caplan, "Fay and insouciant, fresh up from Yale..." Something about that turn of phrase I just found marvelous (though I despised Caplan and his giggling co-idiot Vickers).

The Five-Sided God

Writes John Zmirak: "Having appeared on numerous conservative radio shows to promote other projects unrelated to foreign policy, I have had to tread lightly and watch my words, lest the subject of our current foreign adventure might arise. I quickly learned U.S. policy in Iraq is for most conservatives literally beyond discussion. It is not that these people will not debate the war; they literally cannot. Even questioning American actions abroad while our troops are in the field strikes them as a form not so much of treason as of blasphemy. It’s as if our troops were several hundred thousand Christs, and to criticize their mission amounted to jeering at Jesus on the cross."

Lew Rockwell Interviewed by Scott Horton

Listen to a fantastic interview in which Lew and Scott discuss William F. Buckley, his life, CIA ties, purging of Cold War dissent from the Right and overall enormous ideological impact; the militarist and statist ethics and program of red-state fascism; the deficiencies in left and right and common political labels; true libertarianism; national service slavery; belligerent American nationalism; the persistent broken window fallacy and why freedom and capitalism, rather than empire, are the hope for the oppressed and poor peoples of the world from North Korea to India and everywhere else.

Poll: Ron Paul Way Ahead in His Congressional Race

Thanks to Eric Garris for these results, from Public Policy Polling. According to PPP, Peden is a deer on the hood of Ron's pickup truck. The same firm, btw, concluded that leftwing antiwar congressman Dennis Kucinich will also beat his establishment opponents.

From their lips to God's ear.

Farrakhan and Hagee

So Obama has to repudiate Farrakhan's endorsement, but McCain can be proud to have Hagee's. As usual, favoring the murder of Muslims gets you a pass in the American media.

"World-Exclusive News on the War'!

Drudge has been trumpeting the amazing, astounding war news to come from Britain, that only he would have. It turns out that Prince Harry is fighting in Afganistan. What a letdown. I thought maybe the Brits were leaving.

But there is one interesting point: the scions of the upper-class do fight in the UK, whereas no son of a Rockefeller, Ellison, Koch, etc. would be caught dead in uniform, no matter how many government contracts they have.

McCain Is Constitutionally Ineligible for Prez

The New York Times catches up to LRC.

The Ultimate Crime

Not following government orders--that, and serving delicious food in a public school. (Thanks to Simon Que.)

In Preparation for Saint President's Day

Comedy Central presents The Truth About Lincoln. (Thanks to Brinck Slattery.)

This Deserves a Grammy

Due to the demand (unintentionally stoked by this site when I blogged it prematurely), Aimee Allen--singer, songwriter, producer, director--has now YouTubed her spectacular music video on Ron Paul and his revolution.

The Late Mr. Buckley

Ann Coulter's eulogy of Buckley demonstrates well why he is anathema to paleocons and libertarians. One interesting point is that National Review refused to endorse Eisenhower in '56 and Nixon in '60 because they were both considered insufficiently conservative. Though Coulter doesn't mention it (wonder why?), the magazine endorsed Romney this year despite the fact that he is no more conservative than either Ike or Dick.

Tom Woods in Chile

Tom Woods will be speaking twice in Santiago, Chile in April. See April LRC Events.

"He purged people who needed to be purged..."

"And brought in other people."

Those were among the first words from the mouth of Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, when asked tonight on the radio about William F. Buckley's effect on the conservative movement. Out with Rothbard, Rand, and Robert Welch -- in with neoconservatism and an ever-increasing welfare-warfare state. What a legacy!

Then Toomey told us how important it is for all of us to support "free-market conservative" Republicans who are running for Congress because, you know, if the Democrats should get in, why, they might increase the size of government. (And, of course, he gloated over the defeat of anti-war Republican Wayne Gilchrest.)

What's Wrong With This Picture?

From the New York Times:
--------------
Turkey must limit its military operations against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq to days or a couple of weeks rather than months, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday."It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave, and to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty," Gates told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday before leaving for Ankara.

"I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, something like that. Not months," he said.
---------------

Now let's see: Turkey, our NATO ally, sends troops to capture PKK guerrillas in Iraq that are protected by the Iraqi government. Those guerrillas regularly cross into Turkey and kill people. Gates says Turkey has to stop.

The U.S., Turkey's NATO ally, invaded Iraq five years ago, and is still there. Iraq was never a threat to the United States. U.S. troops have occupied Iraq, overthrown its government, and wrought general mayhem ever since. However, American troops and the puppet Iraqi government have done nothing to hamper the PKK guerrillas hiding out in U.S.-occupied territory.

And the **U.S.** is telling **Turkey** to get out of Iraq?

What a combination of hubris and chutzpah.

Not Cookeville Again!

Anthony, that is the town where the Smoak family was pulled over and their dog killed with a shotgun blast from a Cookeville cop. The town finally settled the family's lawsuit for $75,000, but never apologized.

Since the music business takes me to Nashville occasionally, and the highway goes right through Cookeville, I've spoken with the police chief there who swears that the force is a wonderful bunch of guys. We are all invited to stop and pay him a call if we're passing through. However, he appears to be mistaken.

On the bright side, Cookeville is the home of Jamie Dailey, of Dailey&Vincent, whose new album is just about as good as bluegrass can get.

State Icons May Not Be Secure

Gasp! Horrors!

The 40-page assessment by the Interior Department's inspector general accuses the Park Police of an "overall lack of commitment to its icon security responsibilities."

This means that the gigantic, ugly icons that litter the streets of America - such as the Lincoln blob and other presidential monuments - could potentially be defaced, such as when two protesters climbed the Lincoln memorial to hang a banner. Michelle Malkin is outraged that these state treasures are not being homeland securitized.

The Media Loves the Security State

In October 2006, Newark Liberty checkpoint and baggage screeners missed 20 of 22 fake explosives and weapons that covert TSA agents attempted to sneak through during tests, according to federal officials familiar with the results. In November 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found "our nation's airlines were vulnerable to a suicide bomber" after investigators were able to smuggle bomb parts past screeners at 19 airports.

But they sure as heck don't miss my lipstick or eyeglass cleaner. The MSM loves this kind of stuff. Link sent from Charles Everett.

Government Flu Shots: From "Recommended" to Mandatory?

The government has taken one step closer to realizing its dream of forcing people to get flu shots. Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices used to "recommend" that children from 6 months to five years get flu shots, it now recommends that all "children" from ages 6 months to 18 years old get them. In short time, this will become mandatory, as will all other medicinal "recommendations" of the State. The states are already doing this.

They decided against "recommending" the meningitis vaccination - but only because there is not yet a large enough vaccination supply to go around. I'm sure Big Pharma will change that.

As a side note, I am horrified how most people I know are so hell-bent on getting their flu shot every year because they are brainwashed to believe that it is a necessity because their government says so, and the media safety ninnies affirm this with their interminable "warnings" to the ignorant public.

Buckley and the Future

As the obituaries start to roll in, I'm sure there's not much I can say about the man's life that won't be said in the next few days. (I eagerly await David Gordon's review.) Nor will I insult Buckley as he so viciously did to Murray Rothbard.

I would merely note that his death seems to coincide with the death of his dangerous neoconservative ideology. Buckley's career can best be understood as a Betrayal of the American Right. His philosophy, best summarized in his own words, amounts to "we have got to accept Big Government for the duration–for neither an offensive nor a defensive war can be waged...except through the instrumentality of a totalitarian bureaucracy within our shores."

Therefore we must accept, "large armies and air forces, atomic energy, central intelligence, war production boards and the attendant centralization of power in Washington..."

Given that the U.S. has always found a way to been at war, be it with drugs, terror, or poverty, Buckley's main intellectual contribution to the world has been a clear vindication of "a totalitarian bureaucracy within our shores" ("A Young Republican View," The Commonweal, January 25, 1952).

Contrast this view with that of the Old Right. Whereas Buckley believed in tyranny and oppression, people like Frank Chodorov and Albert Jay Nock believed that freedom and liberty should be the highest end of government. Whereas Buckley believed in perpetual war, the Old Right believed in the Constitution. They believed in trade with all, entangling alliances with none.

In short, Buckley and his National Review had/has a near religious belief in an all-knowing, omnipotent government.

Fortunately, however, Ron Paul has resurrected the libertarian sentiments of the country. If Ron Paul Republicans, like Murray Sabrin, can begin to capture seats in Congress there will exist a genuine limited government movement in this country. It will stand on the works of Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, and the Austrian School. Neoconservatism today has become synonomous with warmongering corporatist and state apologist. It is the freedom wing of the Republican Party that is experiencing a renascence.

Though Buckley was certainly a charming, erudite writer whose prose will be missed, let us hope that his ideas and failed philosophy are buried with him.

Would You Pay $100,000 a Foot For A Wheelchair Ramp?

I probably would not. But the generous taxpayers in San Francisco would:

Thanks to a maze of bureaucratic indecision and historic restrictions, taxpayers may shell out $100,000 per foot to make the Board of Supervisors president's perch in the historic chambers accessible to the disabled.

What's more, the little remodel job that planners first thought would take three months has stretched into more than four years - and will probably mean the supervisors will have to move out of their hallowed hall for five months while the work is done.

Says the director of the Office of Disability: "It's crazy. But this is just the price of doing business in a historic building."

Enough said.

Police State Tennessee

Thuggish cops brutalize a cooperating motorist suspect, sic a dog on him, and then plant marijuana in his pocket. It's caught on the cops' own camera, those idiots.

They apparently have a gesture which means, "time to plant the dope."

I believe that fifty years from now, people are going to look back at our police state, especially the drug war, and wonder, "What the heck were they thinking? How could they be so cruel, so stupid, so terrible?" They're going to look at it with the same disdain and distance with which we look at Japanese Internment or slavery.

Police statism across the board must go. America can't survive too much more of this.

Racism and Liberalism

Writes Anthony Gregory: "I always got the impression from LRC that, where it counts, it's one of the few libertarian sites to really celebrate the dignity of mankind — all mankind, all its peoples, from all nations, religions and ethnicities. Not with stupid multicultural egalitarianism, but actual respect. It's not overbearing, but subtle in just the right, respectful way. This comes through most often, I think, when you take note of other cultures by linking to fascinating articles about archeology, world history, etc. In particular, LRC has emerged as one of the best, most anti-Sinophobe sites on the net, which is becoming increasingly important, what with the paleocons, neocons, and theocons all picking on China (along with the anti-Wal Mart left).

"The fact that the overbearing PC types and white nationalists both find LRC unsatisfactory is a good sign. Too bad for the forced integrationists and forced segregationists alike that, when people have the freedom, the world is a little more interesting, and truly diverse, than either black and white, or a statistically contrived mixture of the two."

Kucinich a Shoo-in?

Let's hope so! (And thanks to Brad Funkhouser.)

I find the indication that people will vote upticket against Dennis for president, and then downticket for him for congress, extremely encouraging.

Nothing Good Comes of War

Daylight Savings Time, originally War Savings Time, wastes energy. (Thanks to Thomas Schmidt.)

The Evil of Licensing

New Hampshire libertarian breaks the law and is arrested--for giving an unlicensed manicure. (Thanks to Rachel.)

Green Fascism in the (Formerly) "Free State"

The economically ignorant socialist ideologues who run the Maryland state government did the dumbest thing imaginable to the electric utility industry in 2000: They imposed price controls for six years, at 1996 prices, and called it "deregulation." Naturally, no new competition emerged precisely because of this boneheaded law. When the price controls ended and prices shot up, our Comrades in Annapolis declared "deregulation" a failure and began offering even dumber "solutions" to the problems they created.

The latest brain flatulence to emerge from the banks of the Chesapeake is to designate chickensh** (euphemistically called
"chicken litter") as a "renewable energy source" and to require the state-created and sanctioned electric power monopoly (BGE) to purchase it as a fuel source.

And what a remarkable coincidence that the two state senators who sponsored this legislation -- Thomas Middleton and Lowell Stoltfus -- raise chickens on the eastern shore of Maryland, home of Frank Purdue.

The commies in the Baltimore city government are dumber yet: They're promoting a government-run monopoly electricity supplier. These are the same people whose government-run school monopoly is arguably the worst in the entire United States.

The Smartest Man in the Room

Or is that faint praise for Ron Paul (YouTube) in this congressional gathering? In any event, it is great to see Ron teach basic economics (and morality) to the lying chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Thanks to Dustin Anderson.)

Castro's Cuba: Made in the USA

Mick Hume writes from the left on US foreign policy and Cuba.

William F. Buckley, Jr., RIP

The CIA agent, founder of the modern conservative movement, enforcer of warfare-state discipline on the right, brilliant writer and editor, transoceanic sailor, harpsichordist, TV star, charming aristocrat, founder of National Review and Young Americans for Freedom, enabler of neoconservatism, expeller of heretics from Birchers to Rothbardians, and thoroughly bad ideological influence in general, is dead at 82. Here is the NY Times obit. David Gordon and others will have more to say about him and his movement in LRC.

UPDATE Here's Alan Bock's kind obit.

Ron Paul vs. Ben Bernanke

Here is Ron's opening statement (YouTube) during the Bernanke hearings. He is the only one, as usual, who speaks truth to power. As Ron argues in his books, central banking is an economic, political, and moral evil.

One reason the Establishment-beloved Milton Friedman was not a libertarian, though he was a free marketeer in a number of ways, was his total devotion to central banking and the Federal Reserve, in theory and practice. (Thanks to John Lavis for the URL.)

Good News and Bad News for Hong Kong

The good news is that the city's budget surplus is so high that the financial secretary has announced cuts in income taxes and an elimination of duties on beer and wine.

The bad news is that he "said he would increase spending on health services and introduce measures to bridge the widening wealth gap and reduce air pollution." If he succeeds with these plans, Hong Kong residents can probably say goodbye to future budget surpluses and tax cuts.

THE BLACK HELICOPTERS ARE COMING!

The sounds you are hearing are the blades of the Bernankean choppers as the Fed gets ready to lower interest rates again.

In related news, the commodities markets are gaining speed.

William F. Buckley Dead

This is all I know. Reuters has "Writer William F. Buckley dead at 82: report 11:16am EST" with no link to a story. Let's hope Lew or someone can give a more gracious obit to Buckley than he gave to Rothbard.

As I was writing that a story showed up from USA Today: Conservative William F. Buckley Jr. dead at 82.

NJ Senate race could be pivotal

With the strong possibility of a pro-socialized medicine Democrat taking the White House in November, the key race for libertarians to focus on may be the U. S. Senate race in New Jersey. Long-time libertarian Murray Sabrin is making a strong race for the Republican nomination against weak opponents. He seeks to face either extremely liberal Frank Lautenberg or some Democrat newcomer in November. In the Senate every vote counts, but a Sabrin win would make it (all things being equal), 50-50 and give him virtual veto power over legislation and budgets, including the catastrophic health care proposals of the Democrats. (Although sometimes I think the public deserves national health care "good and hard".)

Murray is having a rally near Wall Street this Friday at 4-5 pm. at Bowling Green Park, Whitehall Street and Broadway.

To compete with the centimillionaire Lautenberg, he will need many cents from you all. His money bomb is also Friday.

New Jersey is a blue state but with his pro-civil liberties and antiwar views, he could outflank the Democrat in November.

Here's Murray on the 4th Amendment.

Hoppe in Halicarnassus

The third-annual meeting of Hans-Hermann Hoppe's Property and Freedom Society will take place May 22-26, 2008, in Bodrum, Turkey, at the Karia Princess Hotel. Bodrum is the former Halicarnassus, home to Herodotus.

Featured this year, in addition to Hans and many others, are such LRC writers as Tom DiLorenzo, David Gordon, Paul Gottfried, Peter Brimelow, John Laughland, and John Lott.

Levee Work In New Orleans Threatened

Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority wants more money and its director feels "let down" by the lack of federal funds. While the market continues to operate without having to steal from citizens, the government never stops asking for more even after endless failures.

The people in Louisiana should by now be wary of the state. They would be foolish not to be.

The Moment of Truth and Real Trash TV

Last night while I was on the treadmill at the gym, I watched the Fox barrel-bottom-scraping reality/game show The Moment of Truth -- with its reprehensible contestants, pandering to the lowest common denominator, and flaming stupidity -- and thought it was the sleaziest thing I had ever seen on television.

Tonight's Democrat debate showed me that I was all wrong.

After all, on The Moment of Truth, they kick you off and send you away with nothing if you tell even one lie -- whereas in the presidential debates, lying (and especially perpetuating economic falsehoods) is not only rampant but encouraged, and the winner, the one who lies most and best, gets to rule the planet.

From what I saw, it appeared that the candidates' economic policies consist almost entirely of the broken window fallacy, except when they consist of protectionism and taxing the rich. One suspects Obama knows better, to some limited extent, which makes his pandering -- and his use of his oratorical skills for evil rather than good -- all the more irritating.

Is Ron Paul a Shoo-in for Congress?

Is Ron coasting to victory over his creepy neocon opponent for the Republican nomination in Texas's 14th district? Many people think that, and from their lips to God's ear.

But I'm a worrier, and I don't like some of things I'm hearing. So my advice to Ron Paulians is: assume he is going to lose unless you work and donate as much as you can. Help get the vote out. Walk your neighborhood. Put out a yard sign. Do everything and anything to help insure that the worst people in America do not beat our greatest champion.

Hilarious Cop Footage

At least no one got hurt. Including the bad guys. Update: A friend says it's probably staged. Update: Rob Worsnop sends the commercial the shot is from.

Dancing Cop

Writes Dwight Johnson: "My hometown of Providence has a dancing cop, but he paid his own way as far as dancing lessons are concerned." Here's the YouTube.

Sark, RIP

The Channel Island has ended its ancient system of free government, under pressure from the leviathan UK. (Thanks to J.K. Baltzersen.)

A Great Library (Non-Public, of Course)

Writes Jeff Deist: "I recently joined the Mechanics' Institute library, a wonderful example of a privately funded reading room and depository for rare books and letters. The library itself is beautiful, and the Institute hosts regular lectures by visiting authors. It also hosts a children's chess club. The overall feel is much like a private club, and the staff is very welcoming and helpful. Quite a contrast from your standard dreary government library! It's quite an oasis amidst the busy downtown office buildings that surround it.

"The Institute owns the office building that houses it, and raises 75% of its budget by renting office space. The remaining 25% of the budget is raised through modest annual membership dues. Some photos and a fascinating history of California's oldest library can be found here."

Corruption in Bond Ratings?

Probably just pressure from the Fed, though the result is the same.

Police Plié

Writes Lee: "I thought you'd find this story amusing. It seems traffic cops in Romania are being made to take ballet lessons in the hope that they will 'develop an ability to regulate traffic and achieve elegance in their movements, which will not only be agreeable to the eyes but could also help drivers waiting at a red light get rid of their stress or sadness.'

"Any chance we can start similar programs here? Sure, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, but it sure beats teaching them how to kill unarmed civilians with Tasers."

Corzine Makes Tiny Budget Cut

This is only the beginning. As tax revenues fall in the recession, and popular resistance to taxes increases, states--not having their own Fed counterfeiting machines--will have to cut. But John: 1.5% won't do it.

Legalize Freedom Rally

Murray Sabrin, candidate for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, will be having a Legalize Freedom Rally this Friday at 4:00pm in Manhattan, just a few blocks away from the New York Fed. Details here. I'll be introducing Murray at this great event.

The event coincides with Murray's money bomb, which can position Murray -- a great Austrian and champion of freedom -- as the front-runner for the nomination.

(By the way, here's a sample of Murray and his main opponent.)

Some Thoughts On City Government And Ratios

As the population of a political unit gets smaller, it seems that the number of high ranking bureaucrats does not necessarily contract. A city of several million, for example, might have a council of 10 to 20 people and a mayor. The same structure is often copied and applied to towns that are ten or even one hundred times smaller. Thus, the kind of "representation" that one gets from living in a larger city vs a smaller one is different.

I'm not sure which is better from a libertarian point of view. On the one hand, with large cities you have access to more taxes but the lobbying might be harder to deal with since there are more players and possibly greater conflict. On the other hand, in a small town it might be easier for the governance to form more of a consensus (almost always a statist consensus) on where to spend. That said, maybe smaller towns are less socialist* than large cities where the cost of government can be spread out over a larger division of labor that is not as developed in the smaller political unit.

* except for Ithaca, NY, where I live --it is filled with reds.

No More Deaths for a Neocon Empire

Writes Ron Paul: "What thrilling rallies we've just had in Texas. First there were the Students for Ron Paul at the University of Texas in Austin. The media said 4,000 came. Our people think there were more like 7,000. In any event, it was a very enthusiastic gathering of our revolutionaries, as even the media admitted.

"You will not be surprised to know that the young people there cheered the pure message of liberty: no preemptive wars, no Federal Reserve, no income tax, no police state, no drug war. Just American liberty and the Constitution, in the tradition of the framers.

"But the rally in Kileen, though much smaller, may have been just as significant. Kileen is near Fort Hood, and among the 300 people who attended were many active-duty soldiers (though not in uniform) and their families. Whether it was the young man going back to Iraq for his fourth tour, or the sister of a soldier just killed there, they all wanted change in our foreign policy. Most heartbreaking was the young mother who asked for a signed copy of the Constitution for her son, "who will never know his dad." He too was just killed in Iraq.

"How can we ask one young American to die for a neocon empire? The soldiers and their families agree with us, which is why our campaign gets more financial support from active-duty and retired military than all the rest combined. They want to defend America, not be part of some globalist scheme to take away our country's independence. And by the way, at both rallies, nobody was for the monstrous Trans-Texas Corridor or the North American Union.

"Coming up soon are the Texas and Ohio primaries, with others like Pennsylvania not long afterwards. We are contesting every one, and we will be heard at the Republican national convention in Minneapolis and beyond. A substantial minority of Americans in all parties, not to speak of Independents, agree with you and me. Until November and beyond, I want to work to turn that minority into a majority, with your help."

The Corruption of Occupation

Thanks to Betty Molchany for this editorial from Haaretz about what militarily occupying another people does to the occupiers (not to speak of the occupied!). It is a warning for the US military as well, of course. US out of Iraq and Afghanistan (and everywhere else)!

Inflationary Recession

We're in another one of those impossible situations, according to classical Keynesian economists: an economic downturn with rising prices. One of the econoboobs on cable TV today said this was bad news, since it made things harder for the Fed! Not for consumers gouged by the central bank. And note, as Joseph Salerno points out, recession was originally a euphemism, for depression, itself a euphemism for the 19th century terms, panic and crash. But whatever you call it, we have been put in a pickle by the central bank, Greenspan, Bush, and Congress. And nothing is beyond the pols of both predatory parties, as the downturn turns down. Watch for talk of price and wage controls, exchange controls, and more stimulating war. You know, the doctine that mass murder and property destruction, combined with vast transfers from taxpayers to the merchants of death, are good for the economy.

More Truth in the Onion Than the MSM

Just as there is more news in John Stewart's program than the network "news," so there is more truth in the Onion than in our paper and electric pravdas. Thanks to all those who sent me this item about Diebold and the 2008 election.

The Dutch Tax Police

Writes Michael W. Arnold: "I'm an American living in socialist Holland since I graduated from university about a year ago. Today, I saw an advertisement for the Belastingdienst, the Dutch IRS, which I just had to share. Ignoring the fact that the Dutch government is using my tax money to advertise the fact that I once again need to give them my money, I found the Belastingdienst's slogan particularly humorous.

NL: Leuker kunnen we het niet maken, wel makkelijker.
EN: Preferably we wouldn't have to do it, at least we can make it easier.

"Strange, a year ago the assumption that the government has to take a portion of my income wouldn't have bothered me at all. Now, thanks to LewRockwell.com and the Ron Paul Revolution, the thought sounds completely preposterous."

Obama: Slightly Less Anti-Market Than Clinton or Bush?

An interesting piece from the last Dem debate. Hillary said to Barack,

When I said we should put a moratorium on home foreclosures, basically your response was, well, that wouldn't work.

And, you know, in the last week, even President Bush has said we have to do something like that.

Nostalgia for Bush

I remember in 2000, I thought that there was at least one silver lining to the prospect of a second Bush presidency: At least he was not McCain. Bush provided nothing to be enthusiastic about, but looking at McCain at the time, this libertarian saw multiple reasons to prefer the former. McCain leaned "left" — or deviated from the conservative norm, for the worse — on issues ranging from the Second Amendment to campaign finance. Perhaps worst of all, he seemed significantly more pro-war than Bush, more enamored of both Clintonian and neocon aggression.

And now look what we have. After eight years of Bush, five of which have done all that's necessary to disabuse us of any false hope in his support for a "humble foreign policy," McCain is the candidate anyway, and, not unlikely, the next president. Silver linings might exist in modern electoral outcomes, but even they are fleeting.

The Latest Fad in Government Thievery

The local media in Balimore have run quite a few stories recently about dozens of citizens who are willing to go to court over fake parking tickets. This is when you return to your car parked on a city street with a half hour or more still on the meter, and a "time expired" ticket already on your windshield. The cops say they're "looking into it." (Yeah, as soon as they're finished looking into all those cop-taser incidents).

But there can never be enough money for government, whose motto is: You've got it, and we want it. The latest racket is for the tax collectors (oops! I mean, "police officers") to write tickets without even getting up out of their swivel chairs at the station. They simply write tickets to randomly-chosen license plates, as this woman, who left Baltimore more than ten years ago, recently discovered. She was not even a resident of the state of Maryland any longer, and her car was no longer registered in the state, when she got a $23 ticket in 1997 which, with fines and interest, is now up to $1100. She's being hounded by a collection agency employed by the city government, which has advised her to travel from Florida to contest the eleven-year-old ticket in court.

The Nonviolent Democrats?

"Clintonite Stabs Obama Supporter."

LBJ was the peace candidate too

In case you think my description of Obama as the Picture of Dorian LBJ might be perfectly apt on domestic policy but not foreign--keep in mind that LBJ was the peace candidate in 1964 too:

BBC:

The campaign for the 1964 election took place in the middle of the escalating Vietnam War. Senator Goldwater's demands that North Vietnam should be continuously bombed and his questioning of the US social security system proved unpopular. The Democrats adopted a social reform platform, with President Johnson, also known as LBJ, campaigning as a candidate of peace, pledging not to widen US military involvement in Vietnam. But soon after his election he increased the number of US troops in the region after sustained attacks by the communist Viet Cong. Troops numbers continued to mount reaching a peak of 550,000 in 1968.

More Political Inanities

A network news channel was interviewing a Texas voter the other day. This man was very troubled by the current state of politics and thought it was time for a change. When he was asked about voting for Ron Paul, this man replied that he really liked what Paul had to say but that he wasn't going to get elected president. Because McCain had the nomination all sewn-up, he added, he concluded that he would be voting for McCain - even though he would have to hold his nose to do so.

This is the kind of mindlessness that politics generates. If this man doesn't like McCain, and prefers Paul, but then concedes that McCain will get the nomination anyway, why on earth vote for McCain? Does this man feel such a need to have voted for the winning candidate that he must "hold his nose" to do so? If so, what's the point? What better opportunity for him to express his criticism of present conditions - as well as his support for Ron Paul - than to vote for Ron Paul?

If I were able to revivify any deceased person - other than a loved one - for a six month period, I believe it would be H.L. Mencken. He would be able to make more astute commentaries on this side show than just about anyone else I could think of.

How the Pentagon Defines "Success"

1) Spend tens (or hundreds) of millions of dollars putting a "spy satellite" that doesn't work into outer space; then, 2) Spend tens of millions more shooting it down so that it (hopefully) doesn't kill too many people and poison the earth (knock on wood) when it crashes; and finally, 3) Use the debacle to make your case for even more Pentagon funding for a bigger and better satellite that you promise will work this time.

Serving Government, Not Your Customers

A woman died on an American Airlines flight yesterday after being rudely dismissed by a flight attendant after asking her for oxygen. When she collapsed and they tried to give her oxygen, the cannister turned out to be empty. The defilibrator didn't work, either. "Nothing on the plane worked," said one passenger.

But I bet the airline did not fail to blast every single passenger's eardrums with all those asinine government-madated "safety" messages at takeoff, something that was noticeably absent on some of the European airlines I've flown on in the past few years. And don't EVER forget those instructions on how to buckle a seatbelt, required by, well, by some bureaucratic moron in D.C. Not to mention all those senseless "security measures" and lectures by 50 I.Q. airline and government employees at the airport.

The already heavily regulated airline industry has been all but nationalized since the $5 billion "bailout" after 9/11. This woman's death is a sad illustration of what Ludwig von Mises discussed in his book, Bureaucracy: With government regulation the administration of governmental rules takes the place of customer service in pursuit of profit. Businesses become slaves to their bureaucratic masters at the expense of their customers, shareholders, and employees.

Jon Stewart: Hollywood is Full of Sh**

I confess to having watched the introduction to the Academy Awards, mostly to see what kind of wisecracks host Jon Stewart would come up with. He didn't disappoint. In his typically sarcastic tone he said (paraphrasing): "Before we spend the next four or five hours giving each other little gold trophies, let's first take a moment and applaud ourselves" (while clapping his hands quite vigorously).

I didn't detect any laughter from the audience, but I suspect a few million people got a good laugh.

Ron Paul and His Revolutionaries

Here is the four-part video of Ron and perhaps 7,000 students at the University of Texas, Austin. And note what inspires these great kids and all Ron Paulians--the pure, unadulterated message of liberty: no foreign wars, no Federal Reserve, no income tax, no police state, no war on drugs, and the original, minimalist Constitution. (And thanks to Jason Robertson, whose big brother intoduced Ron.)

Brilliant SNL lampoon of the media's love affair with Obama

Hysterical and true.

Obama's free ride

The Picture of Dorian LBJ has a good chance to be the next president and any president is likely to serve two terms. Yet, this man has gotten virtually no real scrutiny from the MSM. On the contrary, they are like groupies for the guy.

There is little scrutiny of his public life, his public record or his policy proposals (think LBJ).

We will pay dearly for that later if he wins.

A Mother's Revenge?

"Obama's women reveal his secret," writes the neocon Spengler in the Asia Times. "'Cherchez la femme,' advised Alexander Dumas in: 'When you want to uncover an unspecified secret, look for the woman.' In the case of Barack Obama, we have two: his late mother, the went-native anthropologist Ann Dunham, and his rancorous wife Michelle. Obama's women reveal his secret: he hates America."

A Few People Showed Up In Austin

Check out this photo of Ron Paul's rally in Austin this weekend.

Obamessiah

"A light will shine through the window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphay..., snd you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama."--Barack Obama, Lebanon, NH, Kanuary 7, 2008. See this site, where I got the quote and the illustration. (Thanks to Phil Camp, who says, "This is a joke, right?")

Stay Out of DC

What a sickening city is Washington, DC, an ugly and artificial creation of the redistributionary state. It is a militaristic city chock-full of monumental fascist architecture and the parasites who live off the productive, either directly as bureaucrats or indirectly as government contractors, lobbyists, and propagandists for the regime. Then there are the spy and police state agencies, the central bank, and pagan monuments to the defied caesars. It has been fascinating to see all the concrete barriers go up, and the proliferation of cops. For the imperial world capital, it sure is a shivering sort of place. But then, Garet Garett long ago identified the DC mindset as a "complex of fear and vaunting." And now the place is festooned with spy cameras too.

This is the city that lives it up on your tax dollars. Individually, we can't help that. But we can stay away ourselves, and refuse to send our children on those DC indoctrination trips.

A 24-Karat Guy

Bob Baedeker of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about our own Burt Blumert, gold dealer, libertarian benefactor and activist, and--as all his customers can testify--a model and hero of capitalism. And don't miss Burt's Gold Page.

Beware False Ron Paul Republicans

Ron Paul's success in building a big, enthusiastic grassroots movement brings with it a serious problem: the potential for phony Ron Paul Republicans who seek to take advantage of it.

This was made clear to me when I read an interview in my neighborhood newspaper with a candidate for Congress who had appeared numerous times at local Ron Paul Meetup events posing as a Ron Paul Republican. He didn't mention it to Ron Paul supporters, but he told the paper that "the surge is working." I see now that his website adds that "Americans prefer victory to defeat" and that "President Bush executed the war exactly the way it should be executed." In other words, the candidate who was happy to allow Ron Paul supporters to think he was one of them is, in fact, a John McCain Republican. (He also supports socializing the "legal industry" -- a prospect I find particularly distasteful!).

More success will attract more characters like this, of course. Such is politics.

Expert: Ron Paul Renders Nader Irrelevant

In this article about Nader's entry into the race, Vanderbilt political scientist John Geer finds Nader irrelevant -- because he's been supplanted by Ron Paul.

"There is unhappiness in the electorate," he says, "and Ron Paul's bid captures that anger."

A commie like Nader replaced by a libertarian like Ron Paul as the premier alternative to the two-party choices? That's quite a step in the right direction. It would be a shame if Ron Paul isn't on the ballot to take advantage of it.

Pot Kettle Black

Obama on Nader: “He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work.”

This from the Picture of Dorian LBJ.

Tom Hayden Is Upset

Leftist Tom wishes the Vietnamese were still living in Marxist poverty. But that great people, freed of French and then US colonialism, have chosen the capitalist road. Today Vietnam is--despite all the millions killed by foreign invaders and occupiers, all the property destruction, and all the Agent Orange and landmines left by the Pentagon--booming in entrepreneurship and the free market. Since it is not a US satellite, Vietnam, like China, has not had neoconservatism imposed on it. May Cuba follow the Vietnamese path, and not the become a neocon possession.

PS: Need I mention that Tom Hayden is one of those Santa Monica leftists who himself lives in great wealth?

Ralph Nader

He's running for president. Ralph is an economic leftist, but so are Obama and Hillary (and McKeynesian, for that matter). But he is great on war and empire.

Ron Paul on Larry King

Thanks to Mark Thornton for this video, old (well, January), but very neat.

The Empire Eyes Canada

For more than 200 years, the US government has wanted to conquer Canada (thanks to David Kramer).

What We Are Fighting Against

A federal dictatorship that is building prison camps for dissidents. (Thanks to Joshua Katz.)

Stop Defending Obama!

Conservatives attack Obama for not wearing a government flag pin in his lapel, for not putting his hand over his heart during the government war hymn, and for having a wife who is not a nationalist either. Unfortunately, this is all misleading. As his donors and associated interested groups indicate, he is just another tool of the power elite, like Hillary, though I guess I would have to root for him against McLunatic.

Ron Paul the Rock Star

Writes Rick Fisk: "My family went to see Dr. Paul speak yesterday at UT's main mall. What a crowd and what a speech! When we approached from Guadalupe, it seemed the entire city had become Ron Paul's own. There was a plane dragging a banner overhead and all manner of people with their Ron Paul signs and stickers arriving. That bell you see Dr. Paul ring just before the Texas straw poll was there as well. Both of my daughters wanted to ring it. When I took them down to ring the bell, who should be just arriving but Dr. Paul himself! It was the closest I ever got. I wanted to get a picture of Dr. Paul and my 9-year-old daughter ( who canvasses the neighborhoods with me ) after his speech but there was just no way. He was definitely a Rock Star. There was a huge crush to get a handshake or signature.

"Three local TV stations were there to cover the event which made me mad actually. All of this blackout and now they show up. It was a great speech. 4000 is probably just shy of the number. Jimmy Vaughn played his brother's 'Texas Flood' to close his show and then told us all about how he supports Ron Paul and no one else. It was a great day."

Kane vs. the Galveston Daily News

Now that I'd like to see! Writes Glenn Jacobs: "After reading the Galveston Daily News endorsement for Chris Peden, Ron Paul's congressional opponent, I am reminded of Thomas Paine's great quote: 'What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly ... it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.'

"The Daily News acknowledges that Ron stands for liberty and freedom. Well, that's nice and everything but what's really important is ensuring your place at the federal feeding trough. Strange indeed. And so very sad."

'A Book in German About Ron Paul'

Writes Robert Grözinger: "By me. Some extracts are linked at the bottom of the page. The book can be ordered here. Or here."

Ron Paul Fights a Neocon Warmonger

Not McCain, though he fights him too, but Chris Peden, the neocons' choice to kick Ron out of Congress. He's also the chosen errand boy for the local rip-off pressure groups. Now I am not normally for mandatory testing, but in politics, maybe it's a good idea. I know Ron Paul is a brilliant physician, economist, and political philosopher. But how about his notary public opponent? What's his IQ?

I'm Jealous!

Writes Brian Dunaway: "Greetings from the Texas 14th. I just voted for Ron Paul...twice! Eat you heart out! :)"

Students Love Ron Paul

Another report on the enthusiastic rally and concert for at least 4,000 supporters at the University of Texas, Austin. As the Herald-Zeitung notes, "the exuberant crowd cheered throughout Paul's address whenever the candidate touched on his themes of bringing the troops home, strengthening the U.S. dollar and restoring the Constitution."

Another tax protester loses (in NY)

Local IRS conviction has Hollywood parallel

By Dan Herbeck

The same tax scheme that got actor Wesley Snipes into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service also resulted in the recent misdemeanor conviction of an East Aurora chiropractor.

After a trial in federal court, John E. Weisberg was convicted last week of three counts of willfully failing to file tax returns. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on an additional count of the same charge.

Authorities said Weisberg was a member-client of American Rights Litigators, or ARL, a Florida organization that — according to the IRS — promoted “multiple tax fraud schemes.”

“At trial, Weisberg claimed that he relied upon the legal and accounting advice of ARL in not filing returns,” Agent Timothy Shanahan of the IRS Criminal Division said Wednesday. “However, the evidence at trial showed . . . that Weisberg knew he had a duty to file tax returns and that he used ARL as a means to obstruct and impede the IRS.”

More

What you have to keep in mind in these cases is that the defendants are not engaging in civil disobedience because they claimed that they acted legally. Thus, there is no moral challenge to the law as unjust.

I have challenged tax protesters to name a single case where they won a legal ruling from a court on the merits (not a factual judgment from a jury). They never have.

For iPod Lovers Only: Need Repairs?

The other night, I was lucky enough to catch the local news when they highlighted a newer Michigan business with a unique service: The Pod Drop. For those people who have tried to get Apple to repair their iPods, only to be told, "We can't fix it, but we'll give you 10% off of a new one," there's hope. The Pod Drop has a no-hassle ship-and-repair service (with no upfront shipping fee), and it has customers from all over the country. They do all kinds of repairs at reasonable prices, and they also do data recovery. And they also fix iPhones. You can even chat with a technician online. Great thing for me: they have one store they just opened, and it's near my house. So I drive down there with my 4th-generation, 60Gig iPod that had died a few months ago. I have other iPods, but did not want to throw this out, and, at the same time, I felt I had no reasonable repair options. So I walked into the store, the technician took it, told me it was a bad battery, replaced it for $46, and I was in and out of that store within 7-8 minutes. What a great thing. I can never have too many iPods...

Be Kind Rewind

The new movie Be Kind Rewind offers a lot to please libertarians and everyone else.

In it, Danny Glover plays Mr. Fletcher, the elderly owner of a Passaic, NJ video store that still only stocks VHS tapes. The government claims his ancient building isn't up to code, and unless he wants to pay $60,000 to a city-licensed contractor to fix it, they're going to tear down the building and replace it with a condominium development. The bureaucrats helpfully suggest that Mr. Fletcher can move to a government housing project after he loses his present home.

Mr. Fletcher urgently needs to improve business, so he goes away for a few days to spy on a chain video store to figure out the secret of their success (e.g., DVD's, lots of copies of the same movie).

While he's gone, he leaves young Mike (Mos Def) in charge. Then Mike's friend Jerry (Jack Black) accidentally erases all of the tapes in the store with electromagnetism.

Panicked, they do what any reasonable person would do: start recording their own 20-minute versions of the erased movies -- Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, Robocop, and many more -- on a VHS camcorder to satisfy customers.

The neighborhood loves their homemade versions of these movies and customers start lining up around the block -- until, yes, the store is raided for its copyright violations. Our heroes protest that the movies are the unique product of their own imagination and effort, but to no avail -- their movies are piled up in front of the store and then run over by a steamroller.

All of this isn't as good as it sounds from my description -- in fact, it's much better. Be Kind Rewind might be the most delightful movie you'll see this year. Here's the trailer.

Gag Me With A Dip-Stick...

... as the Harley riders say. Fred Barnes, who competes with Kid Kristol for being wrong all of the time, now announces that McCain's the only Republican who can win, and aren't we lucky that no true conservative got the nomination!

Socrates warns us that what a tyrant considers to be his fondest dream is actually the people's nightmare. Look at this feverish rant:

"McCain has little margin for error. He needs to win the overwhelming backing of social and religious conservatives, too. He must attract the relatively small contingent who've supported Ron Paul to prevent Paul from running as a third party libertarian candidate for president. (Paul says he has no plans to do this.)"

What?? Hey, Fred, I thought we conservatives were all fruit loops and kids throwing temper tantrums! Just what neocon dialectic dictates that we will now cheer for McCain? What will he offer us? Torture and 100-year wars?

The condescension reeks. We are sheep to be herded. Just a word from McCain (advised, of course, by Fred) and we will all love Ozymandias.

Big Brother, call your office.

Ruminations Amidst The Ruins

The "scandal" is a yawner, and McCain is a goner, but this caught my eye as I started my second cup of coffee:

“Conservatives are stupid to defend McCain from this story,” Coulter told Politico. “Democrats are the party of adultery, not us.”

I don't want to be judgmental (gee, especially not on Sunday!), but, according to the public record, here's the score:

Since 1932, the adulterous presidents (who indulged during their terms of office) were: FDR, JFK, LBJ, Clinton.

The non-qualifiers (on the public record, anyway): Truman, Ike, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Ford, Bush, Bush.

Any corrections? Anybody? Anybody? .... Let's not always see the same hands ...

Minnesota Smoking Ban

Manuel, on the Minnesota smoking ban.....

Imagine the lobbying that went on which allows smoking during a "theatrical production" while it is banned nearly everywhere else? Just how invasive is the Minnesota smoking ban? Right here it states that:

The Minnesota law applies to bars, restaurants, private clubs such as VFWs and American Legion halls, bowling alleys, country club lounges, lobbies of hotels and motels, public transportation, taxis, home offices where employees work or customers visit, home day cares when children are present, and smaller commercial vehicles carrying more than one person.

Home offices and smaller commercial vehicles? Surely that will be easily enforced. Exemptions include privileged people, places, and things such as Indian casinos and lands, "scientific studies, sleeping rooms of hotels and motels, tobacco shops, small family farms, traditional Native American ceremonies, and theater productions. Smoking would also be permitted at the Disabled Veterans Rest Camp in Washington County, and locked psychiatric wards."

Great New Antiwar, Antibush Album

Can't wait to buy it.

Artist Hangs Herself

After government doctor aborts her twins. (Via Drudge)

The Phony Peace Candidate vs. the Real Thing

Barack Obama vs. Ron Paul (and thanks to Mark Thornton).

4,000 People Cheer Ron Paul at UT Austin

He reiterates that he will not run as an independent nor as a third-party nominee in November, according to this report, but he once against demonstrates that he has called forth a vast movement for peace, freedom, and sound money, which will continue way past the Republican fascistofest in Minneapolis.

Note: The great blues guitarist and singer Jimmie Vaughan played before the speech. Said Jimmy of Ron: “He knows the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and he always votes for the Constitution.”

UPDATE from Scott Horton.

Minnesotans Get Creative To Bypass Anti-Smoking Laws

Nothing like a good heartwarming story about people reclaiming their private property rights:

Dozens of bars are expected to stage "theater nights'' this weekend in which patrons are dubbed actors. The law, which went into effect in October, permits performers to smoke during a theatrical production.

Enjoy it while it lasts as I'm sure that the the law will be amended. This kind of insolence makes legislators quite irate.

Suddenly the Media Are Interested in Ron Paul

At least in what they hope and scheme for, his defeat for Congress, says Joel Skousen.

Happy Birthday, Peace Sign

The peace sign is 50 years old today. It was designed in 1958 by British artist Gerald Holtom, who combined the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament.

UPDATE from Joshua Kifer: "I believe the peace sign is composed of C, N, D - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament."

Galveston Daily News Endorsement

In their endorsement editorial, the Galveston Daily News says that:

• There is much to admire about Paul. Whether you agree with him or not, it took enormous courage to oppose the war in Iraq. His stands on civil liberties are equally courageous and timely.
• His voting is scrupulously in line with smaller government.
• We can say without reservation that he is courageous and principled.
• Paul makes it a point to cast no votes on government spending, even if those funds are going to be spent in his own district or in a neighboring district.

And for these reasons, they are endorsing Chris Peden. Why?

"In the next two years, leaders in Galveston County will join