LewRockwell.com Blog

Oh Abe

Hillary Clinton's dream date is her fellow warmongering police-statist...Abraham Lincoln. (Thanks to Heidi Wyss.)

Ron Paul Is #1

And in more than book sales, as America is discovering. Here is the CNN Political Ticker on his book success.

An Historic Day for Liberty

Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto is already the bestselling libertarian book in history, and it's only begun.

Go Tom, Go

Congratulations to Tom DiLorenzo, who has won two prizes in two weeks:

1. The Loyola College Department Chair's Award for Excellence in Teaching Economics; and

2. The Franz Cuhel Memorial Prize for Excellence in Economic Education from the Prague University of Economics, presented to him at the Prague Conference on Political Economy, April 18.

It's a Dark Day at [T]Reason

A friend sent around a link to the [T]Reason blog, and it is indeed a dark day for the cosmopolitan/celebrate depravity wing of self-described libertarians. The reason why [T]Reason is so collectively depressed: Ron Paul's magnificent new book is #1 on Amazon.com and will be #7 on the New York Times bestseller list this Sunday.

They're just besides themselves and don't know what to do. Some of the anonymous blogging nobodies are resorting to badmouthing authors that Ron cites in his footnotes, such as myself. Others are surprised beyond belief that there are no kind words for the KKK or neo-Nazis in Ron's book. (I guess drug consumption in LA really is as pervasive as it is portrayed on television).

And to think that some of you thought these people were interested in spreading the ideas of freedom. Ha! Suckers!

Ron Paul To Debut on New York Times Bestseller List

On Sunday May 11, Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto will debut at #7 on the New York Times Bestseller List (that's 7 out of 15, so it's above the fold, so to speak).

In some ways, since the Times tracks brick-and-mortar store sales, this is more impressive than the Amazon #1. Even the big chains are not stocking the book heavily yet. But this recognition will change all that. #1 is more than possible on the NYT list too.

Casus Bellum

Uh oh. Now they've gone and done it. Iran has dissed the Fed and its dollar by saying it wants to be paid in euros and yen only for its oil. The murderous Bush, who was already itching to nuke the Persians, must be dreaming of mass death at this moment. (Thanks to Rachel.)

Five-Star Ron

There are now 100 customer reviews of Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto on Amazon.com; 98% of them are 5-star, which is unprecedented.

Ron Paul on His #1 Bestseller

The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Illegal Mexican Emigration

As I predicted over a year ago on LRC the increase in illegal immigration from Mexico was caused by the housing bubble and that when the bubble burst that some illegals would return home. It appears from recent statistics that this is already happening.

The amount of money sent home by Mexican workers (remittances) peaked in spring of 2006 and has declined 17% by the winter quarter of this year. The size of the average remittance actually peaked between the bursting of the home building stock bubble in July 2005 and the initial recognition of the housing bubble by the MSM in early 2006 and has declined by 30%. The steep decline in remittances indicates that Mexican workers are earning less money, have fewer jobs, and maybe starting to return to Mexico.

Statistics from the U.S. Border Patrol indicate that despite increased enforcement efforts that the number of illegal Mexican that have been detained has decreased by 50% between 2005 and 2007. The number of non-Mexicans (most Central Americans) that have been detained has decreased by almost 60%.

How many illegal immigrants actually return home is anyone's guess, but as the US sinks deeper and deeper into recession (esp. in industries that supplied the most jobs to illegals), the less likely that Mexicans will cross into the US and the more likely to illegals will go home.

In any case, it helps us understand that the "fence" is less of a national priority and more just another giant unworkable public works project wasting the taxpayers money.

Ron Paul Is #1 on Amazon

Writes Jeremy Vielmas: "The Revolution is now the #1 seller in all categories on Amazon! It's been rising slowly from #10 all day and now it's right where it belongs. I ordered 10 more at the 45% off rate for good measure."

For the Children

Writes Dan Brower: "I have much experience with Texas CPS and most of it is negative. It's a long story, but an attorney pulled me aside during a hearing and told me that CPS had very little to do with child welfare and everything to do with Medicaid money the state of Texas collects for each child in custody.

"To me this entire exercise, by the state of Texas, smells like a rat. While the welfare of those children and rights of the parents are trampled, I wonder; is this act, by the state of Texas and the media frenzy that surrounds them, designed to deflect national public attention away from the Trans-Texas Corridor and the eminent domain seizures?"

The Ron Paul Takeover of the GOP

The LA Times political blog: "If anybody thought the Ron Paul Revolution had expired, they need to rethink that one.

"Clearly, the 72-year-old libertarian-minded Texas representative was not going to win the Republican Party's nomination this year with his 12, 20 or 42 delegates, whomever you believe. Sen. John McCain already has enough to win the GOP nod in St. Paul in September. So Paul has taken his well-funded campaign and gone rather underground to the local level where his loyal Paulunteers are organizing and taking over numerous county party operations in several states." Read the rest.

Concerned There Are Too Few Parasites?

Worry no longer. Government hiring is zooming.

Ticket to Freedom

Writes Scott A. Calvert: "Your website and articles are a constant source of joy to me. I would like to thank you for being a fundamental influence in my life over the last five years. In 2002 I was lamenting some facet of our Canadian leviathan at a Toronto Blue Jays game, probably too loudly, when a kindly older gentleman leaned over from the row behind me and said, 'you sound like a libertarian'. He told me to visit your site and even wrote in on my ticket stub, which I have kept to this day. Thank you, Mr. Rockwell, for showing me the way."

LSD Inventor Dies at 102

Albert Hofmann, RIP. He and his drug had an unfortunate relationship with the CIA, however, as did the late Timothy Leary. To Tim's credit, however, he was a strong supporter of Ron Paul in his 1988 presidential run, and held a fundraiser for Ron at his spectacular Hollywood Hills home.

The New WPA and CCC?

One way the government can make joblessness look like less of a problem is to hire the people who are out of work. Thus, while private companies laid off 286,000 employees during the first quarter of 2008, governments hired 76,800. Of course, this merely masks the problem and, in addition, diverts needed resources from the productive private sector to the parasitical public sector. Remember how much FDR's make-work programs did for the Depression?

The "Peace" Candidate Shows His True Stripes

According to the NYT:

Mr. Wright suggested that the attacks of Sept. 11 were at least in part a response by terrorists to terrorism practiced by the United States abroad. “You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you,” he said.

Obama's response definitively shows that he is a warmongerer and foreign policy will not change if he is elected:

When [Wright] states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as...he equates the US wartime efforts with terrorism, there are no excuses.

Is Obama referring to Wright's quote in the NYT? We were not "at war" for about a decade before the 9/11 attacks, so there could not have been a legitimate "wartime effort." But we did have a number of military interventions, we maintained international military bases, and we financially supported many unsavory regimes in the years leading to 9/11. There is only one true Peace Candidate, but, perhaps because he represents real change, he is not a media darling like McHillbama:

Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovars who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihadists themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden. We armed and trained them, and now we’re paying the price.

Hillary Strangelove

This November will be, if the neocons get their way, a demonstration of the neocon idea of democracy: an all-neocon election that the neocons cannot lose. Hillary Strangelove will face John McStrangelove, a left-fascist against a right-fascist, both of them committed to perpetual war in the Middle East, the police and national security state, and global empire. (Thanks to Kev Hall for the URL.)

Ron Paul: 'May the Future Be Ours'

Writes Ron Paul: "Today is an exciting day for our campaign and our movement: my new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, is officially released.

""Although a short book, it is the product of many years of thought and action. It is a defense of the principles to which you and I have devoted our lives.

"My friends are calling it 'Ron Paul’s legacy.'

"These principles – individual liberty, sound money, the Constitution, and the foreign policy of the Founding Fathers – have had no home in American politics for a very long time. With The Revolution: A Manifesto, I’m letting the establishment know we’re not going away.

"Finally, Americans can hear and judge these great American principles for themselves, instead of through an unfriendly media filter. And they can learn once and for all that they need not be satisfied with the phony choices the system offers them every four years. Another way really is possible.

"Two days ago I did a book signing in New York at the Borders on Wall Street. All 530 copies had been sold before I even arrived.

"They had underestimated you again.

"Imagine the attention our cause and our principles could attract with a fantastic opening day today, with people marching into bookstores across the country for their copies. If it should become a publishing phenomenon, The Revolution: A Manifesto can fuel our revolution for a long time to come. You can make that happen.

"I hope you enjoy this book, which was a real labor of love for me. Please spread the word.

"And may the future be ours."

Shame on Microsoft

For this spy device, though maybe, in this fasciat economy and national-security state, it has no choice but to be part of the regime. BTW, can private protection against it be far away?

Ron Paul interview on Bloomberg

Ron Paul participated in what turned out to be an incredible interview tonight on the Bloomberg channel. This is well worth the watch.

Part 1, part 2, and part 3.

I'll Stick With "Capitalism"

I've been impressed with some of the points made by Kevin Carson (no relation) and other "free-market anticapitalists". Certainly it can hardly be stressed enough that the free market is a very different thing than the corporatist system of "government/business cooperation" that characterizes many aspects of our current system, (witness the desperate gov't maneuvers to save Wall Street from itself).

But BK Marcus very correctly draws a line when it comes to the term "capitalism" itself in this great post:

The free-market anticapitalists define capitalism as any system of political privilege for current capitalists, especially as it suppresses bottom-up competition, entry-level entrepreneurship, and the rights of labor. But we already have plenty of other terms to cover that idea — mercantilism, corporatism, even fascism — but what alternative is there to indicate the universal benefits of capital accumulation, capital structure, and capital calculation — all of which result from the private ownership of the means of production?

In fact, private ownership of the means of production (that is, of capital) was the technical definition of capitalism, even among the anticapitalists who coined the term! The idea of political privilege for capital owners was just an assumed consequence, a conflation of definition and theory.

A Day in Eden

Fenway Park, that is, seen in an astounding time-lapse video by Tom Guillmette.

Don't You Just Love the MSM?

Not to speak of the Party of Lincoln, Hoover, and Bush, the Repugnantcans? Too much enthusiasm for freedom, too many new delegates, too many young people, the wrong guy (Ron Paul) winning fair and square, so Benito Beers shuts down the Nevada convention to save McCain's total support for the total state. After all, there is no dissent allowed in any fascist or communist country.

Meet Me in Seattle

On Saturday, May 17, 2008, for the Mises Circle's Doolittle Luncheon Seminar on "Capitalism the Creator." Walter Block, Tom Woods, and I will speak, and you are invited.

New York City Cops Against Photographers and Videographers

Next time you are in NYC and you have a camera, be careful around the cops.

This video shows several arrests and aggressive behavior towards people in bicycles and photographers. Notice how, thanks to clever editing by the makers of the video, the official version does not quite match what happened. Pay attention to the government's claim that the people in question were interfering with police business or blocking official procedures. This is, for lack of a better word, hysterical, as the opposite appears to be the case --people are minding their own business and the police are the troublemakers.

The entire video is about 12 minutes long, an eternity for today's Twitter generation, but give it a try. I recommend the first 3 minutes. For one of the most ridiculous claims against bystanders, jump to 9:05.

The availability of cameras and internet access is making this kind of exposé more common. When you have dozens --perhaps hundreds-- of people recording events, it becomes more burdensome for the government to attempt to hide the truth or shift the blame.

More Book Signing!

Writes Michael J. Green: "Just to give you a better indication of the book's sales in NYC: I arrived at 1:30 to see that, as others have noted, Borders was sold out. I rushed to the Barnes & Noble at Union Square - sold out. A staff member was certain they had several copies yesterday, and I heard one other person ask about it. I then ran to the B&N at 8th St and 6 Ave and got the last copy they had.

"I didn't get to see the good doctor or get my book signed, but seeing the book's success firsthand was pleasing enough. And of course, as always, several supporters stayed outside Borders (in the rain) handing out literature, without anyone telling them to do so."

Notes From the RP Book Signing

Writes Barbara Hoffman: "It was pouring rain in NY, so I got on the subway for the trip to Wall Street. Saw a man wearing a Ron Paul hat; he came in from Westchester for the signing. We went to Borders together and saw just two small signs advertising the signing. We walked in and it was chaos; there were so many people showing up that the clerks were overwhelmed. People bought 2, 3, 4 books. We were directed upstairs to the end of the line which was, at about 12:30 pm, very long already. There were all different kinds of people; some came from other states like Pennsylvania. One older man made a 3-hour trip from Reading, PA.

"The line was getting longer and longer and I learned later that Borders sold out all 500 copies (and wished they had more). Some who couldn't get the book bought others to get the autograph. The store people were shocked; one man on line said that he had bought his book there on Friday and they said they expected about 30 people to show up for the signing!

"At 1 pm we heard cheers and claps and we knew (but couldn't see) that he had arrived. A few minutes later, we saw him get off the elevator (we were luckily standing near it) and went wild cheering and clapping. I'm a baby boomer and I felt like a like a groupie! He waved and smiled; what a gentleman.

"We made it to the table at about 2 pm. Just seeing him, so gracious and smiling, shaking hands and speaking briefly with people, it was thrilling. When it was my turn I thanked the Borders exec standing near him and just said hello Dr. Paul, thank you for coming and that I was happy to meet him. He shook my hand and smiled. I know there were lots more after me but I knew he'd accommodate everyone."

Alan Greenspan Once Agreed With Ron Paul on Gold

But then Alan was hired by J.P. Morgan & Co., and he became a willing executioner for the Fed, and then then head counterfeiter himself. This depression, the result of his easy money for Wall Street regime, is Alan's. Early on, Ayn Rand nicknamed him "The Undertaker." Who knew the corpse wouild be the American economy's? Ron Paul, of course, has never sold out.

Boy Kidnapped by State Over Hard Lemonade

A man orders a lemonade at a ballpark for his seven-year-old son. Not realizing it's "hard" lemonade (i.e., alcoholic), he lets the boy drink it. A security guard spots the bottle in the kid's hand and without even giving the father a chance to look at the label on the drink has the son whisked off into the state's custody. Despite the fact that the hospital finds no trace of alcohol in the kid's blood, it's two days before the mother can take her son home and a week before the father is allowed to return to his own house.

And people still insist we need the state because the alternative is worse!

Death of a Saint?

I've blogged earlier about how it seems that every time a government cop meets his end in Baltimore (and elsewhere) there is a JFK-style funeral procession with hundreds of police cars, five-mile-long funeral processions, and such a big religious ceremony that everyone's wondering, "where's the Pope?" "Why didn't he show up?"

Here's the latest: An off-duty cop who belongs to a motorcycle gang got drunk at a strip joint and got involved in a parking lot brawl with another biker gang. Someone called the police, who showed up in full uniform with sirens blaring. The off-duty cop-biker, who was wearing brass knuckles, pulled his gun on a uniformed police officer who, in self defense, shot him dead.Naturally, the biker-cop has been on the front page for days, and Baltimore's Voice of Neocon America, radio host Tom Marr, has been sobbing and weeping on the air for this "saint" all week.

Meanwhile, if say, a Johns Hopkins Hospital cancer researcher, or a businessman who employs thousands in the city dies, or any other ordinary citizen for that matter, there is of course barely any mention.

Sabrin-Paul Fundraiser

I just got back from a Murray Sabrin fundraiser in Newark where Ron Paul and Peter Schiff both spoke. Selfishly, the highlight was my chance to speak with Dr. Paul for a few minutes. He said he was surprised that in the car immediately after leaving today's book-signing in New York City, he read all about it on LRC. I told him the NSA has some competition keeping track of him; but it's great to know that he frequently visits this site.

There were between 100 and 200 people at the event and everyone looked like they were having a good time; the crowd stuck around long after Paul left. People mostly talked about either the future of Paul's movement or the new book. Like Paul, many were enthused by Murray and his prospects for success in the primary on June 3rd. George Ajjan reported that Sabrin's campaign has well over $500,000 in the campaign war chest and that the campaign was beginning to run ads in Southern Jersey. It was also encouraging to hear Sabrin himself talking to his supporters about the ideas in the book; he really shone as an educator. The Revolution: A Manifesto is a defining work that will be able to shape the political beliefs of millions.

In his introduction to Dr. Sabrin, Peter Schiff gave a concise, but powerful explanation of our economic crisis and noted that unless the country immediately adopts free market policies, we are headed for a serious economic crisis that will be much worse than the 70s and depending on the actions of the federal government, could be as worse as the 30s. On the road to serfdom, there is a fork...the country can either continue down the path or wake up and elect candidate like Murray and Ron.

Sabrin, as always, was eloquent, forceful, and to the point. He is a gifted speaker and debater, which frightens his opponents. A large focus of his speech was on the economy, reminding the crowd of the trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities that will be passed onto the younger generations. In Murray's words, this is "unconscionable." Cutting earmarks means little without dramatically reducing the size and scope of the federal government. If elected, Sabrin promised to introduce joint-legislation with Paul...the "Paul-Sabrin Bills" that would repeal the welfare-warfare state.

Then Dr. Paul came on and was his usual self. He spoke honestly and delivered his consistent message of limited government, sound money, and a non-interventionist foreign policy with integrity. He said that supporting Murray with donations was not so much about supporting the candidate himself, but rather an investment in one's liberties.

It was a great night and videos will be coming soon.

Ron Paul on Judge Napolitano's Radio Show

Part 1 and Part 2.

Unfortunately, neocon Brian Kilmeade is allowed to talk.

From Ron Paul's Publisher

"The signing [in NYC] was pretty remarkable. Sold out of 530 books before he even got there. More than 850 people showed up…2nd biggest signing in that store besides Bill Clinton. Incredible!"

LP Abandons Libertarianism, Constitution

The Libertarian Party has issued a press release calling for "increased coordination and communication between federal and state law enforcement agencies in order to help to apprehend and convict child predators and those who engage in child pornography."

While child abuse is obviously evil and unlibertarian, it is still bizarre that the LP would issue this release. To specifically call for the national police force to work more with state and local police is not just something radical libertarians would have trouble with. It is also unconstitutional. Under the Tenth Amendment, criminal justice questions–-including murder, rape, arson, theft, child abuse, violence against women, drug policy, gun laws and the like--are to be handled by state and local governments, not the federal government.

There is some gossip that this release was a stupid inner-party power play, to make radicals, including believers in decentralist law enforcement, feel uncomfortable in the party. By forcing this issue over the very emotionally charged issue of child porn, some people in charge of the party are trying to force anarchists and other radicals to admit they do not think the federal government should be involved in such questions. Specifically, they are attacking one presidential candidate, Mary Ruwart, over this and using it as an excuse to alienate radicals.

Ruwart--who spent 19 years as a pharmaceutical research scientist for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and holds a PhD in biophysics--says she has been unfairly attacked and her words have been misrepresented in a smear attempt. Apparently the sell-outs and compromisers are trying to destroy her career.

In any case, why should a presidential election even have anything to do with this? The 1996 and 2000 LP presidential candidate, Harry Browne, used to point out that "The Constitution recognizes only three federal crimes — treason, piracy, and counterfeiting. The federal government has no Constitutional authority to deal with any other crimes." He convincingly argued that this was a reason even pro-life libertarians should oppose federal abortion laws. (And Ron Paul would argue that pro-Choice libertarians, for similar decentralist, Constitutional reasons, might oppose Roe v. Wade.) (See Browne on prohibition and drugs; Browne on abortion.)

Would Harry Browne feel left out of what the Libertarian Party has become?

David Nolan, the minarchist founder of the Libertarian Party, was outraged by the press release. He wrote:

"The question is, how does society best protect its members from these bad things? And the LIBERTARIAN answer is 'rarely, if ever, by giving more power to governments, especially at the Federal level.' I am appalled at the national HQ staff putting out a press release that implicitly disowns one of our candidates over such a relatively minor issue. First, because that's not a proper role for paid staffers to assume, and second because several other candidates have taken overtly anti-Libertarian stances on a number of issues, and none of them have been shot at by the national staff for doing so. This whole fiasco just reeks of cronyism and witch-hunting."

This is why I hate political activism and electoral politics. The desperate attempts to seem respectable, the constant disingenuous smearing of more principled opponents as racists or pro-pedophiles, the selling out of even Constitutional government to hysterical federal wars on terrorism and child porn, and under-the-belt punches. It's all very disgusting.

Another Report From Borders

Writes Craig Wechman: "Just went back at 3 and he was still signing books. Imagine how many more people would have been there if they had actually had more books. I was at the end of the line and heard people talking about how they took the subway to midtown to get the book and then came back. I think the Borders people were a little overwhelmed by it all. Wonder if anyone will show up at the end of the month when Newt the warmongering environmentalist comes to town. I may take a walk down and let you know."

From the Ron Paul Frontlines

Writes Vijay Rajwani: "Some frontline information on Dr. Paul’s book signing today in NYC: I asked for a long lunch break to go see him – I arrived at 1:25 pm, to find that the top floor of Borders on Wall St. was engulfed in lines going in every direction! It was previous to this that Borders had RUN OUT of books! (the event was scheduled for 1pm). At the rate the line was going, it would have taken me 2 or 3 hours to get to see him – and people were still packing in, so I had to leave to get back to work. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to see him, but glad at how much support there was – so much so that Borders was not ready for it!"

How McCain Lost Pennylvania

Frank Rich on--among other questions--Ron Paul, the republican primary, and what they portend for McFascist in November. (Thanks to Anders Mikkelsen.)

Ron Paul Hits It Out of the Park

On CNN this morning, to talk about The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Ron Paul on CNN's American Morning

Watch the clip here.

The Last Word On Keyes?

Perhaps. But certainly not Keyes's last word. That will never happen.

My dad knew Hubert Humphrey back in the early 50s, and used to say of him, "He gets paid by the word."

So too Alan Keyes, who is hardly a modern-day Cal Coolidge. (...a young woman sitting next to Coolidge at a dinner party confided to him she had bet she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her he quietly retorted, "You lose.")

Keyes had a show on MSNBC some time back that I actually watched a couple of times. It was stunning. He would ask his invited guest a question, interrupt him after, oh, about ten or fifteen seconds, and then gab unilaterally for the rest of the half hour, while the baffled guest looked on, silent and bewildered.

James Antle has a good - a very good -- piece on the recent debacle.

Ron Paul in North Carolina -- Details

Ron Paul will speak at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University this Friday; details here.

Making Trouble for the Republicans

The Republican party continues to be terrified that Ron Paul will run as an independent. Their own internal polling show he'd get so many votes he'd cause the defeat of McCain. Such a run is not in the cards, but the trouble the Paulians continue to give the red-state fascists is thrilling. Watch for it to continue right through the McCain coronation in St. Paul. Some Paulians are bound to point out that the would-be emperor has no clothes.

The Global Hegemon

Writes Sudha Shenoy: "My computer battery died so I ordered a replacement.It was sent from Singapore to me here in Australia. When I opened the package, the following notice was enclosed (in capital letters):

These commodities, technology and software are licensed by the United States and exported from Singapore in accordance with the U.S. Export Administration regulations for ultimate destination.... Diversion contrary to US law prohibited [emphasis added].

Eventful Day For Ron Paul Tomorrow

First an interview on CNN's American Morning (8:24am; all times Eastern), then a radio interview on FOX Radio on Brian and the Judge (Brian Kilmeade and Judge Andrew Napolitano, 10:00am), a book signing at the Borders on Wall Street at 1:00pm, a rally for Murray Sabrin at 6:30pm, and an appearance on Bloomberg Television at 10:00pm. Details here.

Most of these events revolve around his new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Your Choices

The ten best-read articles on LRC last week: North, Reese, Novak, Greenhut, Fisk, Roberts, Rozeff, Gordon, Reese, and Rockwell.

Guess Who Else Is Getting Assault Rifles?

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has suggested that Windy City cops are getting M4s because the cops are outgunned.

So?

Ron Paul's New Publishing Company?

According to the Houston Chronicle--NB: long an enemy of Ron's--he may use his unspent campaign donations for a unique venture:

"To further Paul's Libertarian-leaning agenda, his campaign is exploring a novel way to use millions of dollars in leftover donations: setting up a for-profit publishing company that would focus on free-market economics and personal liberties — causes the Texas congressman holds dear." Read the Houston Chronicle story.

PS: Such a venture could build on the unprecedented success of The Revolution: A Manifesto.

UPDATE On FOX, more information from Jesse Benton, Ron's spokesman.

A Grassroots Ron Paul Book Foreword

"I first met Doctor Ron Paul on Monday, April 11, 2008. Like many students across America, I had participated during the previous year in what supporters dubbed the Ron Paul Revolution. It was, of course, not so much a Ron Paul Revolution as it was a Libertarian Revolution, but received the name it did as it coincided with, and to a great degree rallied around, the good doctor." Read the rest of Alex Peak's Foreword.

Abolish The FAA

To avoid the latest evil: an increase of 65% on private jet fuel taxes to pay for federal air-traffic control upgrades.

The National Business Aviation Association, a Washington- based trade group for business-jet operators, said its members support funding the FAA and improving air-traffic control technology ``with a reasonable fuel tax.''

There's that word again --reasonable. Is it reasonable to offer a [non]good or [non]service at gunpoint?

Ron Paulians Tie Republicans in Knots

In Nevada too. From the story:

"Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican with a libertarian’s heart, followed his second-place finish in Nevada’s January presidential caucus by out-organizing the state’s Republican establishment. In the process, the Paulites embarrassed the campaign of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

"They seemed to make up more than half of the 1,300 or so state delegates to the convention. They won a key procedural vote on the rules, and their boisterous presence created significant delays, causing the convention chairman, Bob Beers, a state senator from Las Vegas, to recess the convention without selecting delegates to the national convention. The state convention is to resume at a later date."

The Unboxing

Of Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Ron Paul: 'Thanks, Rudy'

Guiliani, after all, made him a "celebrity," Ron notes, with his warmongering myths and smears. Unlike the Rudester's, Ron's campaign continues to be strong, though the staffers are down from 150 to 15. Indeed, it is vibrant, as the recent 16% in Pennylvania shows. Some people seem to think, within and without the campaign, that Ron's supporters will end up with McCain (boo!). But not The Man himself. Read the story.

re: Chuck Baldwin Defeats Alan Keyes

Good for my old friend Howard Phillips and the Constitution Party for preventing yet another neocon takeover of a traditional conservative, limited government organization -- the Constitution Party. Keyes is the quintessential Neocon insider: He was a student of the flamboyant "Straussian" Alan Bloom at Cornell, and lived in the same house as Bloom, along with several other male neocons who called the womens' dress-wearing Bloom "master."; he studied at Harvard under Straussian neocon Harvey Mansfield; and he entered national politics as a sidekick of neocon UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick during the Reagan years.

Shortly after the publication of The Real Lincoln in 2002 Howard Phillips had me on his local cable TV show in Virginia to discuss the book. During one of the breaks he mentioned that he had asked Keyes to join the Constitution Party and he declined, saying that he agreed with just about everything the Party stood for except for its criticisms, mostly from Howard, of Lincoln. Lincoln idolatry is, of course, the defining characteristic of a Straussian Neocon Warmonger like Keyes, for The Legend of Father Abraham is what "justifies" the American empire and its expansion.

Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of 'Fear'

The Men in black have arrived.

The city's new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members of the department's Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence.

Fitchet's predecessor, Edward Flynn, had ditched the black attire as part of an effort to soften the image of the unit. Flynn left Springfield in January to become the police chief in Milwaukee.

Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests.

Delaney said a sense of "fear" has been missing for the past few years.

Did we really need this change of attire to fear them?

Ron Paul Lives, says Politico

In an interesting and interested article with a nice touch of humor.

"This system has no future for black youth!"

So says the sign a woman holds after yesterdat's acquittal of the cops executioners.

Chuck Baldwin Defeats Alan Keyes for Constitution Party Nomination

The Constitution Party just overwhelmingly defeated the warmongering neocon Alan Keyes by nominating Chuck Baldwin, 383 to 125.

Last night, CP founder Howard Phillips strongly denounced Keyes as a warmonger, neocon, and egomanic. Phillips was subsequently attacked by Jim Clymer, the CP national chairman.

In spite of Keyes bringing in a lot of delegates, the CP remained true to their anti-interventionist views and rejected Keyes.

We Need an International War Crimes Tribunal

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for George Bush, Tony Blair, and John Howard to be charged with war crimes over the war in Iraq. Darn right!

What Is the Matter With Those Ron Paulians?

Why do they keep packing the house and cheering their man, as at the College of Idaho? Don't they realize they are through, beaten, defeated, irrelevant, the media always seem to ask? In fact, like Ron, his supporters know that something is happening in this country, and must happen for us to survive as a free people, that is far more important than a government election, or a government rip-off gang like the Republican party. Liberty, free markets, sound money, prosperity, peace, tolerance, and the Golden Rule at home and abroad: these ideas have gripped the young people of America, and they are why we can hope, despite the laughable and evil fascist regime in DC, and the neocons who want to make it even more totalitarian and bloody.

$700 Million . . . But No Vacancy

The $700 million U.S. "embassy" in Baghdad is already a boondoggle. There aren't enough "fortified living quarters for hundreds of diplomats and other workers, who must remain temporarily in trailers without special rooftop protection against mortars and rockets." Staffers have been sleeping on cots in Saddam Hussein's former palace, which appropriately serves as the current embassy, instead of in their trailers. Then again, since we've been told over and over again that the surge is working, what's the fuss? These people ought to be able to sleep under the stars without the slightest bit of fear.

Yet More Collateral Damage in The War on Illegals

A busybody sheriff in Arizona has been making mass arrests, with a recent success rate of less than 50%, apparently, when it comes to actually getting illegals. His lawless, centralizing law enforcement efforts have been protested by local authorities.

Machine Guns In New York City?!

Absofreakinglutely...if you are the government.

Starting this week, and thanks to a $150M grant from the feds, the new "Torch Patrol" will monitor New York City's subway and other areas. Unlike the rest of us, they will be keeping and bearing arms --M4s and MP5s, as well as the other usual military (yes, military) gear.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says that "everybody has their opinion" on whether the cost is too high. "We think this is a reasonable expenditure of funds." The magic word again: reasonable.

Cops Fire 50 Bullets Into Unarmed Groom-to-be

And they are given life in prison for their crimes. Oh wait, no. Back to reality.

They are acquitted.

From the news report: The judge indicated that the police officers' version of events was more credible than the victims' version. "The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant was not justified" in firing, he said.

Ron Paul on LewRockwell.com

From The Revolution: A Manifesto:

We are engaged in a great battle of ideas, and the choices before us could not be clearer. I urge those who agree with this important message to educate themselves in the scholarship of liberty...Learn from the Mises Institute and Mises.org, the most heavily trafficked economics Web site in the world. Visit LewRockwell.com, an outstanding and crucially important Web site I visit every day.

This is important because social change is not effected through bromides and sound bytes, but rather through comprehensive education. Let us not forget that Ron Paul, the Austro-libertarian, is a product of Mises, Rothbard, and the Mises Institute. Paul, like Mises, points out the importance of ideas; it is ideas that allow a global Ron Paul Revolution to spring from a seemingly inconsequential think-tank in Auburn, Alabama.

For Ron Paul supporters dismayed by his political campaign, imagine how much better things are today than they were just two years ago. The ideas have spread to millions and seeds have been planted all around the world. Take Paul's advice and read LRC and Mises.org everyday, continue to advance the scholarship of liberty as it is only through education that lasting change can be achieved.

Kirchickenhawk: "U.S. Should Kill More Black People in Africa"

Jamie Kirchick (a.k.a., Kirchickenhawk), the youngster at the left-wing New Republic magazine who teamed up with the Cato Institute (and, incredibly, a real, live, neo-Nazi) to slander and defame Ron Paul, thinks American taxpayers should devote some of their tax dollars to killing black people in Africa. That's not exactly how he puts it, but it is the main point of this article in yesterday's War Street Journal.

Like all the cowardly neocon chickenhawks, the thought apparently never enters his mind about how hypocritical he is by making such arguments while not joining the U.S. Army himself, or at least volunteering for the Zimbabwean resistance.

Grab a shotgun and head down to Zimbabwe, Jamie, if you're so hot to kill black Africans, but leave the rest of us out of it.

The Revolution Grows and Expands

LRC readers may enjoy my article "The Ron Paul Evolution" in the April 21 issue of The American Conservative, in bookstores now. It includes some of my own reminiscences about the campaign, but more importantly, it also looks at some of the promising developments that are arising from the revolution -- not only a cadre of principled Ron Paul Republicans running for Congress (and the Senate, in Murray Sabrin's case) but also a new nationwide youth movement and other institutions that will keep the revolution going longer after the November elections. As Ron Paul's 16 percent showing in the Pennsylvania primary and the incredible demand for his new book demonstrate, this movement for peace and liberty isn't going away -- it's just getting started.

Paul revolutionaries should also check out Bill Kauffman's new book, Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Anti-War Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism. Dr. Paul himself blurbs the book thus: "For those who have been neoconned into believing that conservatism means unquestioned support for the warfare state, Ain't My America is the perfect way to show that real conservatives defend peace and liberty."

Ghost of Nixon lives

Lew, the judge who committed that atrocity was a Nixon appointee. Nixon committed how many felonies and had how many people killed and walked.

Let this be a lesson to jurors. The feds routinely throw a multi-count indictment at you, knowing that even if the jury wants to give you a break, they will find you guilty on a few minor charges and assume you will walk. Wrong!

As I pointed out in my Mises paper (PDF) on jury nullification, it's illegal to tell the jury what the sentence is for the charges, even though they elected the jokers who specified the penalties. The rule assumes that the voters have no idea what their representatives are doing (beyond fooling around with interns).

Pro-Peace Israelis and Americans

Are they working together against the binational bloodthirsty plot of Cheney et al. to murder Iranians?

Gang of Thieves Jails Victim

The feds are putting Wesley Snipes in a cage for three years for a victimless crime. (Via Drudge.)

Mukasey: Criminals target financial markets

That's right, says Chuck Scharf: "Greenspan, Bernanke, Paulson, the SEC, the CFTC, and, now, Mukasey and his 'Justice' Department."

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright

Here is an excerpt from an interview:

BILL MOYERS:
Here is a man who came to see you 20 years ago. Wanted to know about the neighborhood. Barack Obama was a skeptic when it came to religion. He sought you out because he knew you knew about the community. You led him to the faith.

You performed his wedding ceremony. You baptized his two children. You were, for 20 years, his spiritual counsel. He has said that. And, yet, he, in that speech at Philadelphia, had to say some hard things about you. How did those words...how did it go down with you when you heard Barack Obama say those things?

REVEREND WRIGHT:
It went down very simply. He's a politician, I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they're two different worlds.

I do what I do. He does what politicians do. So that what happened in Philadelphia where he had to respond to the sound bytes, he responded as a politician.

Shocking Bush News

Bush pretends to be a fair broker in the struggle in Palestine, but is actually on one side only. He is also pro-eminent domain. Hard to believe, I know.

Neocons Afraid of Ron Paul Delegates

Paul delegates might not give a suitably fascist atmosphere to the Republican convention, worries Patrick Ruffini (via Dan McCarthy). When speakers call for more mass murder, in the name of one people, one state, one leader, not everyone in the hall may stand and salute.

The Gang at the Top Knows Best

With one of liberty's best friends, gridlock, tying up the Democratic party's nomination process, one news headline reads: "Reid, Pelosi, Dean may intervene in nomination." The politicos may entertain Boobus with their electioneering shows of smoke, mirrors, flashing lights, and dancing waters but, when the final decision is to be made, it will once again be made behind closed doors by the real "deciders." The "boys in the smoke-filled room" have been renamed "super-delegates," but the same top-down game remains in place. I can imagine Reid, Pelosi, and Dean emerging from the meeting to inform Boobus - in words parphrasing Ben Franklin's - "we have given you a candidate, if you can support it."

Genetic Information

Ted Kennedy has been babbling on C-SPAN about the abuses that might derive from information about the genetic makeup of individuals. His concern is that employers and insurance companies might use such information for "discriminatory" purposes. He made no mention, of course, that government - which has been pouring money into such research - might have some untold interest in having this information available for its eugenics programs.

Georgetown Fires War Criminal

Neocon war-schemer and war-liar Douglas Feith is gone. (Thanks to Daniel.)

Ron Paul Thanks His Supporters

And gives a campaign update.

One Reason Ron Paul Did So Well in Pennsylvania

This magnificent antiwar 60-second spot was televised:

UPDATE from Chris Rye of the American Liberty Coalition: "Here's a page showing the spots we purchased in Philly. We're going to be airing the ad in other states for the remaining primaries, but have not yet determined which markets."

The NY Times Loves the Huckster

The newspaper hails a fellow warmonger. Any deviations, from the Times's viewpoint, can be forgiven in a man who backs perpetual war in the Middle East. Ron Paul, who did much better in Pennsylvania than Huckabee, is an afterthought in the Times's coverage because he favors peace instead of war, life instead of death, property instead of destruction -- and because he refuses to join in the state-media demonization of The Other, whether Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Palestinian, or anyone else.

Montana for Ron Paul

(Thanks to Lynn.)

Surely the Government Could Have Done It Better ...

... but, then again, I doubt it. Note how Intel's engineers stayed late and gave up holidays to perfect the next era of chip technology.

Government halls are empty at 5:01 (bring your bowling league), except for the few 'crats who stay behind to steal laptops (try getting yours out of the HHS HQ).

A fascinating series on the years of work that went into Intel's brilliant step forward.

My favorite line: "'"No one person actually understands the whole thing,' said Mistry, the engineer coordinating all the work."

Ah, Mr. Mistry, that's the **problem.** In the government, they **all** understand it. That's why it works so well!

On the other hand ... maybe ignorance is strength, after all.

Drug Consumption Decriminalized In Argentina

A federal court in Argentina has decriminalized the consumption of marihuana. According to the article, the issue still has to be taken to the Argentinean Supreme Court. Still, this sets an important precedent. Indeed, the Minister of Justice and Security has recently called the war on drug consumers an "absolute failure."

The federal court has ruled in favor of two people who had been detained for possessing marihuana and ecstasy.

Elian Gonzales times 437

Sending the 437 Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints children off to foster care is downright awful and reminds me of shipping Gonzales back to Cuba.

That is already a verdict rendered against them and without justice. Their lives will never be the same again.

This has nothing to do with child abuse and everything to do with the production of uniformity and conformity. It has everything to do with a lack of respect for the children and their elders and their way of life. Freedom and rights may as well be flushed down the drain.

It's happened before in America. The State has deported people for their beliefs, rousted them, jailed them for taking substances, sent them to camps because they were the wrong race, and of course made them slaves.

It is still heartbreaking to see innocents steamrollered by the State.

Ron Paul in North Carolina

Ron Paul will speak at UNC Chapel Hill on May 2. Details here.

Why They Hate the America First Committee

Thanks to Pete Earle for this fuller excerpt from a Gen. Smedley Butler speech in October 1939 against Roosevelt's drive to war, which was cited on the blog:

"Now -- you Mothers, particularly! The only way you can resist all this war hysteria and beating of tom-toms is by asserting the love you bear your boys. When you listen to some well-worded, some well-delivered war speech, just remember it's nothing but sound. No amount of sound can make up to you for the loss of your boy. After you've heard one of those speeches and your blood's all hot and you want to bite somebody like Hitler -- go upstairs to where your boy's asleep.... Look at him. Put your hand on that spot on the back of his neck. The place you used to love to kiss when he was a baby. Just rub it a little. You won't wake him up. He knows it's you. Just look at his strong, fine young body because only the best boys are chosen for war. Look at this splendid young creature who's part of yourself, then close you eyes for a moment and I'll tell you what can happen....

"Somewhere -- five thousand miles from home. Night. Darkness. Cold. A drizzling rain. The noise is terrific. All Hell has broken loose. A star shell bursts in the air. Its unearthly flare lights up the muddy field. There's a lot of tangled, rusty barbed wires out there and a boy hanging over them -- his stomach ripped out, and he's feebly calling for help and water. His lips are white and drawn. He's in agony.

"There's your boy.

"The same boy who's lying in bed tonight. The same boy who trusts you.... Are you going to run out on him? Are you going to let someone beat a drum or blow a bugle and make him chase after it? Thank God, this is a Democracy and by your voice and your vote you can save your boy."

Ron Paul In the Marketplace

My wife and I stopped at our local "Trader Joe's" store yesterday afternoon. On our way in, I noticed a car decked out in many Ron Paul stickers and magnetic strips. I stopped and chatted with the woman who owned the car, and she immediately responded with pieces of literature she carried with her, including a stack of Ernie Hancock's "Freedom's Phoenix" flyer. As we spoke, another driver pulled into the vacant parking space next to hers; saw her Ron Paul materials and immediately held up his own "Ron Paul" bumper sticker.

Of course, these people don't really exist. They are figments of our imaginations. If they did exist, the mainstream media would tell us about them, right? Right? Just like they told us about one-in-six Republican voters in Pennsylvania voting for Ron Paul!

Ron Paul Revolution Book Project

I have no idea who these people are, but they have all kinds of good ideas for promoting Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto, and on top of everything else are also organizing book clubs around the book.

Ron Paul Is Not a 'Reagan Republican'

It's true that Ron supported the libertarian-sounding Reagan of 1976 against Rockefeller Republican Gerald Ford, but when Reagan was in office, Ron Paul battled his endless spending, deficits, and six tax increases. Reagan's one, lonely tax cut, Ron did back, of course.

I'll never forget the night when the president called Ron in his congresssional office, and tried to twist his arm about some murderous military boondoggle (the B1 bomber?). But Reagan soon learned what other Republican pols have learned, from Ford to Gingrich to Bush II: Ron Paul's arm is not twistable. He cannot be pressured into doing what he believes to be wrong.

Even Reagan was not a "Reagan Republican" in the sense that term is used today, but a neocon. Besides, one has to be under 50--and Ron's support is youth support--to have some significant involvement with Ronnie. For most young people, Reagan is as distant as John Quincy Adams. It is less inaccurate to call Ron a Taft Republican. But that won't get any votes either.

Let's face the fact, and the blessing, that Ron Paul is sui generis: he is the first Misesian-libertarian statesman in American and maybe world history. That is hardly a useful political slogan either! But Ron Paul is no Reagan, no Taft, no Goldwater; he is far better, and far more significant.

Look to the Rust Belt

Ron Paul's great showing in Pennsylvania (and New York) illustrates a point I have been making for years. The libertarian movement needs to focus on the Rust Belt. We are the nation’s leading experts on big government because we live under it every day.

'McCain Loses 27% of the Pennsylvania Vote'

A great way to put it!

Books and Blockheads

Barnes & Noble is stocking a reasonable number of copies of Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto, though still not enough. But Borders and Books A Million seem to have decided to stock (I am not kidding) one copy per store. How high does the thing have to get on Amazon before they behave sensibly? Amazon is laughing all the way to the bank thanks to their stupidity.

Maybe these stores need to hear from Ron Paul supporters.

UPDATE: I may have been too hasty here; one reader says the local Borders has the book on display, and six copies on stock. That's still not enough, but better than one. Another reader writes:

"The Bill Clinton "Giving" book and the Stuart Taylor/KC Johnson book "Until Proven Innocent" both came out September 4, 2007. As I recall, most Borders stores in the Detroit, MI area did not have the Duke book at all, but each store had a massive table with about 75 copies of "Giving" staring everyone in the face as they walked in the door.

"Isn't Borders in some serious financial trouble? Market failure, eh?"

Home of the (Un)Free

Reports Adam Liptak in the NY Times: "The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.

"Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

"Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences." Read the rest, and ignore the typical anti-gun baloney.

NB: At the other end of the country spectrum, the tiny free-state of San Marino has the smallest percentage in prison. Maybe this is a better measure of relative freedom than those neocon Heritage or Koch Foundation studies.

As to why the US is the worst, I'll bet that the Republican public-works project of government-business (i.e. fascist) prisons is responsible, along with the Republican federalization of the criminal justice system, and the Republican step-up in the drug war under Nixon, Reagan, et al. (Thanks to Tom Lombardi.)

The Ron Paul Surge

The LA Times political blog, which has thrived off its Ron Paul coverage, is glad Ron is back too [folks, he was never actually away], though it can't help a little typical media eye-rolling.

'Resurgent Ron!'

That was neocon Mark Steyn's sarcastic headline in National Review, but for once he's right. All Hail Ron Paul and the Paulians for getting 16% in Pennsylvania (and as high as 28% in one county). Here are the details. The Revolution lives, and will continue to grow and thrive. And the fact that the annointed nominee McCain, in the Fuhrerprinzip-oriented Republican party, could only get 73%, is good news for ABM'ers.

PA in one sentence

Gun-toting, whiskey-slugging Hillary crushes "faculty lounge" Obama.

(The Obama quip is from Pat Buchanan.)

The Battle Hymn of the Republicans

Tom, I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that Rush Limbaugh absolutely loved the playing of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" during the pope's visit and was so moved by it that he kept playing it on his show. He even took a call from President Bush on the air Friday--on a show that he frequently reminds us does not have guests despite the fact that Bush, Cheney, and other administration figures have made multiple appearances on it--to slobber all over the prez for his speech and to talk about the "Battle Hymn" performance again. He even noted that while he has lost his hearing, "I can always hear God's music. And this is God's music . . . ."

Personally, I prefer Mark Twain's revision from the days of America's first overseas imperial adventure.

Obama's Crime: Not Adopting the State's Motto, "God Bless America"

Barack Obama has been brutalized by the hairspray media corps for not being "patriotic" enough because he doesn't endlessly recite the government's various allegiance propaganda pieces, nor does he live by the mindless lapel pin standard. As a part of his post-Jeremiah Wright damage control, he did - according to the Chicago Tribune - end a speech with "God Bless America." Over the longer term, one wonders whether he will start to yield on this issue and give the neocon media exactly what they demand: homage to the greatness of state power and consistent reminders that we must all follow and obey, or otherwise be deemed un-American and an outsider.

This is a good editorial in the Seattle Times that addresses this nonsense.

God bless America" has become the Pennsylvania Avenue equivalent to consumerized Madison Avenue staples.

...If a willingness to profess one's faith and patriotism and to conclude speeches with "God bless America" were accurate indicators of presidential prowess, Bush family members would have long ago secured their places among the nation's greatest leaders. Both George H.W. and George W. used it to conclude more than 80 percent of their major addresses, with the son often offering this important twist: "May God continue to bless America."

Photographers And Terrorists

As the fear mongering campaigns expand, hobbyist photographers are caught in the web of the well-oiled Orwellian machinery.

[A] 49-year-old [man] started by firing off a few shots of the warm-up act on stage. But before the main attraction showed up, Mr Smith was challenged by a police officer who asked if he had a licence for the camera.

After explaining he didn't need one, he was taken down a side-street for a formal "stop and search", then asked to delete the photos and ordered not take any more. So he slunk home with his camera.

"People were still taking photos with mobile phones and pocket cameras, so maybe it was because mine looked like a professional camera with a flash on top," he says.

So let's see. We have the UK government installing tens of thousands of cameras (particularly in London) that can easily keep track of the average citizen throughout the day. Yet if an ordinary person aims a camera at the wrong time (police brutality, demonstrations) or the wrong thing (government buildings and even normal tourist attractions), a government crackdown becomes necessary.

The London Metropolitan police has launched an anti-terrorist campaign aimed at photographers, asking people to report suspicious behavior.

I love the "we need to know" part.

More on the Pope's Visit

Since the Pope's visit to the U.S. is still being discussed here, I thought I'd mention a sneaky act of propaganda, courtesy of the Bush regime, that I caught on my car radio right before leaving the country for ten days. A local radio station broadcast the ceremony for the Pope at the White House. The part of it that I heard was a men's chorus singing the Hymn to Mass Murdering Our Fellow Citizens, also sometimes referred to as the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Apart from questioning the propriety of singing a war anthem to the Pope, several words of the Hymn were especially obnoxious to me. These are the words that express perfectly the Jacobin ideology that animated the Lincoln regime at the time, and which define the neocons who today run the government. These words are: "He [Jesus Christ] died to make men holy; let us die to make men free."

Of course very few, if any, Northern soldiers in the 1860s joined the U.S. Army so that they could die to "make men free." That's the ex post propaganda that American school children have been brainwashed with ever since then. Today, entire books are written by AEI neocons such as Walter Berns ("Making Patriots")that urge America's youth to volunteer to die to "make men free" in, well, in any country the neocons happen to be unhappy with at the time. And oh yes, the people who write such songs, and urge our young people to sing them and follow their advice, NEVER include themselves and THEIR families in the word "us," as in Let "us" die . . .

re: Helping Ron Paul

Great suggestion from Jason. I'm buying a box of the books to give away to friends and acquaintances. And then another box when that one's empty . . . Ron's new book really is the roadmap for our campaign for freedom in the 21st century. (A true believer in the division of labor, Ron leaves the campaigns for hedonism and libertinism to other, more cosmopolitan, individuals and groups).

Helping Ron Paul

The Revolution: A Manifesto is #20 overall on Amazon as I type this. Jason Rockwood writes: "You know, Thomas, if every single person who bought a copy of Ron Paul's book bought just one additional copy, think of what it would do for his numbers then? That's an individual effort of just $12.60."

And you get free shipping if you order two copies, too. (But the brick-and-mortar store is also important, for bestseller list purposes.)

Thank You, David Gordon

I just read Part I of David Gordon's The Kochtopus vs. Murray N. Rothbard. Even though I've been paying attention to the Cato Institute and been involved with the Mises Institute for over ten years I have been having trouble getting the full story on the animosity. I had put together bits and pieces but David is really laying it all out in a way that I think my generation (and younger) of libertarians deserve to know.

I had figured out ten years ago that not all was sweetness and light in libertarian-land, and I realized back then that however much I might wish to ignore movement history it was nevertheless going to continue to affect this movement of ours. The Ron Paul campaign has made this abundantly clear to any who had missed this before.

I think the best that David's generation can give us now is just to let us know what the score is and bring everything into the light. Trying to just ignore the history of this feud is not going to make it go away. Thank you, David.

A Dictatorship of Relative Torture

Political hacks can do a great job of taking a profound insight and turn it into the dreadfully meaningless state of a political slogan, a sound-byte, or worst of all, a talking point. Voegelin's condemnation against immanentizing the eschaton is one of those profound ideas about the shared eschatological views of modern totalitarians and millenialist Gnostics, stripped to a slogan of "yeah let's stick it to those liberals."

Like many things at National Review, Rich Lowry has found a new profound talking point from President Bush, in a speech welcoming the Holy Father to the U.S. For Bush this was actually a good speech hitting many of the themes that His Holiness often espouses, like the complementarity of faith and reason and invocations of the natural law written on the heart. Whoever Bush's speech writer was for this address, he was assuredly a well informed Catholic. The high point and extremely ironic part of the speech came when the president acknowledged:

"In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this 'dictatorship of relativism,' and embrace a culture of justice and truth. (Applause.)"

Well Hallelujah, let the moral revival of D.C. begin in earnest. Maybe the president will open his obtuse heart and stop the torture. "Spe salvi factus sumus."

Anyway back to Lowry. True to the anti-intellectual form of national greatness conservatism, he has found in the "dictatorship of relativism" a new slogan to stick it to those libs and evil Europeans. In the EU, Lowry triumphantly points out that a secular relativism has become "well-advanced." While I think Lowry is largely correct on this point, he still fails to see with the wooden beam stuck in his own eye just what Ratzinger meant by relativism and how it applies explicitly to his own thought. If European relativism is well-advanced, Lowry's relativism is in a critical state of metastasized cancer.

Let us harken back to Ratzinger's brilliant 2005 sermon immediately prior to his elevation to the papacy:

"[R]elativism, that is, letting oneself be 'tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine', seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires."

Ratzinger has modernists like Lowry pegged. No matter that such neocons pay lip service to religion, considerations for nuking Mecca thus advocating the murder of innocents to "send a signal" and dancing around the torture issue advocating waterboarding seem to be the only ways that people like Lowry can cope with modern times. When it comes to war, murder, and torture nothing with the Rich Lowrys of the world is definite. Only in a dictatorship of relative torture are people subjected to "90 seconds of uncontrollable panic to get information that might save lives."

Rich Lowry should look deeper into the moral theology that forms the basis of Ratzinger's thought and stop immanentizing the eschaton.

Ron Paul at 16% in Pennsylvania

Not being reported on the news, but he is also beating Huckabee.

Happy Earth Day!

Just in time for Al Gore's favorite holiday, Fred Pearce reminds us that limiting the numbers of the "wrong type" of people remains a fundamental tenant of modern environmentalism.

The best way to celebrate Earth Day is by reading (or rereading) Eco-Freaks, John Berlau's devastating expose of the how the environmental movement harms the environment.

I'm a Libertarian But . . .

The United States is full of "but libertarians." For a perfect example, here is the editor of Hot Rod in the latest (June 2008) issue:

I'm of the opinion that the fewer laws we hve, the better off we are. Beyond the basics like don't steal, don't kill, and so on, I don't want the government (or anyone else) telling me what I can and can't do. As long as I'm not hurting anyone, leave me alone.

But then in the next sentence he says:

But there is one new law about to go into effect in California that I support 100 percent: It will be illegal to talk on a handheld cell phone while driving.

Well, what about eating or drinking while driving? What about carrying on a conversation with the person next to you while driving?

The problem here is that "but libertarians" like the editor of Hot Rod (Rob Kinnan) want to make people criminals before they have committed a crime. Talking on a cell phone while driving might be a vice, but, as we know, vices are not crimes. If you cause an accident you should be held accountable. Period. Cell phone or no cell phone.

Great News! The NY Times Is For Sale

How do I know? Because Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., says it is not for sale. Or maybe not such good news: one would hate to see the old gray pravda made really profitable again.

One of the Great Geniuses of Our Time

They're hounding Bobby Fischer even in death. Here is Murray Rothbard, a significant chess player himself, on the persecution of Fischer for engaging in free trade. Good for Icelanders for sheltering him from the feds, who wanted to put him in a dirty government cage.

Voltaire on Killing

"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." (Thanks to Rolf Lindgren.)

Ron Paul: #3 in Nonfiction

Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto is ranked #3 in Nonfiction at Amazon. And that's before any national media exposure for it, which we presume will occur beginning on the official release date of April 30 (though the book is in bookstores right now).

Of course, the more it sells and the bigger a phenomenon it is, the more programs will feel compelled to have him on. They'll be reminded that Ron Paul brings ratings up.

Libertarians in Amish Country

Writes Izzy Lyman: "I voted in today's Pennsylvania primary, and I was pleased to see Ron Paul's name first on the ballot. After voting for the Doc, I also voted for Patrick Kocher, a homeschooler and a farrier. He is running as a Ron Paul delegate for a spot at the Republican national convention.

"My precinct, located in Lancaster County, had more Paul signs than Hillary or Obama signs. Good on the volunteers; a most committed bunch."

Leave Taco Trucks Alone!

The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is waging war on a wonderful culinary and cultural institution.

Subsidized Condo Follies in CA

"Affordable" condos are not selling in downtown San Jose, and the Mercury News is mystified. Of course, as the story shows, the foundation of the whole scam--aside from subsidies--is the notion of a return to bubble conditions. I especially like the line that even "non-profit developers" are having trouble in the Federal Reserve's recession. Profit, you see, is just something added on to the price.

Scientists' Agendas

The original scheduled date for Science Debate 2008 has come and gone. So they're trying to reschedule for May, but they still refuse to invite Dr. Paul (because he has a science degree?). Only five candidates for President are on the primary ballot in Pennsylvania today, and one of them has dropped out. Yet, the Science Debate 2008 committee sent a letter on Friday to only three candidates to appear in a debate about science in May. Do you think they have an agenda? It's almost as if they are ignoring the one candidate who wouldn't continue to steal from American citizens to pay the salaries of an elite group of scientists.

Butler's Right Again!

Lew: The quote from Smedley Butler is a wonderful example of how powerful an unvarnished expression of truth can be. I like to imagine that I might have been related to Smedley in some indirect manner: my first name is my Irish grandmother's family name.

In any event, his comments came just a few days after Jane and I had watched the movie "My Son Jack," about the moral slug Rudyard Kipling's successful efforts to condition his son into the war mentality - an effort that paid off with his son's early death in World War I. [Was Rudyard's lack of personal war experience what led him to glorify this system, and to sacrifice his son in the process?]

In any event, Smedley's words should be taken to heart by every parent who needs to ask himself/herself the question that support for war always comes down to: do I really love the state more than I do my own children?

Ron Paul vs. the North American Union

While Bush and his two satraps meet to plan more pork-barrel spending and other evils, including the subjugation of Canada and Mexico by DC and its power elite, Ron Paul stands against them.

More on Ron Paul in Montana

The Missoulian writes: "Ron Paul spoke at the University of Montana on Monday night, but he tailored his message to neither universities nor Montana." Just his principles.

(There's also a pretty good video at the link above. And thanks to the Daily Paul.)

Message From Smedley Butler

Email to Bill Huff: "There is a message to mothers from General Butler. It tells them to keep their sons at home. It goes something like this: 'Remember how you used to rub the back of your son's neck while he was sleeping when he was little? He didn't wake up. He knew it was you.' Then the general gets down to business: 'Imagine a battlefield on a cold rainy night. At the flash of lightning, you see a Marine (or soldier) entangled in barb wire. He's having trouble breathing. He's very thirsty. He's dying. THAT'S YOUR SON.'

"The general goes on to tell them to keep their sons at home. I am an old Marine Gunny Sergeant from the Korean War (Inchon), and I can't think of that message without weeping."

So THAT'S Who Invented "Smart Growth"

As I flew into Prague last Thursday the first thing I noticed was acres and acres of horribly ugly, cement high rise apartment buildings that were built by the communists. The locals tell me they wanted to warehouse much of the population right there, in tiny little apartments, where they can be easily watched.

There's also a subway and "tram" system that allowed the sheeple to travel around the city -- in government-designated ways and routes, of course.

In America we call this "Smart Growth" -- the prohibition of real estate development in the distant suburbs in order to force people to live in cities, preferably in small apartments, where they can be more easily taxed and forced to travel by "light rail." Just like in communist Czechoslovakia.

Clinton's Last Gasp: Drop The Big One Now

She's ten million in debt, and apparently doesn't want to pay it back with her own money.

So she broadcasts what we might call an "infomercial" for special-interest donations.

Shocking. It's so unlike her.

Students Love Ron Paul

More than 1,000 kids turned out to cheer Ron at the Universersity of Montana. "Paul brought the standing-room only crowd to its stomping feet enough times to make the gifted orator Obama blush," notes an incredulous newspaper. Read the story.

The Tibetan Human Rights Psy-Ops

Another view, from Canadian economist Michel Chossudovsky: "The human rights issue has become the centerfold of media disinformation.

"China is no model of human rights but neither are the US and its indefectible British ally, responsible for extensive war crimes and human rights violations in Iraq and around the World. The US and its allies, which uphold the practice of torture, political assassinations and the establishment of secret detention camps, continue to be presented to public opinion as a model of Western democracy to be emulated by developing countries, in contrast to Russia, Iran, North Korea and the People's Republic of China.

"While China's alleged human rights violations in relation to Tibet are highlighted, the recent wave of killings in Iraq and Palestine are not mentioned. The Western media has barely acknowledged the Fifth 'anniversary' of Iraq's 'Liberation' and the balance sheet of the US sponsored killings and atrocities perpetrated against an entire population, in the name of a 'global war on terrorism'.

"There are more than 1.2 million Iraqi civilian deaths, 3 million wounded. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) indicates a figure of 2.2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled their country and 2.4 million 'internally displaced persons': 'Iraq’s population at the time of the US invasion in March 2003 was roughly 27 million, and today it is approximately 23 million.'

"'Elementary arithmetic indicates that currently over half the population of Iraq are either refugees, in need of emergency aid, wounded, or dead.' (Dahr Jamail, Global Research, December 2007)

"There are deep-seated geopolitical objectives behind the campaign against the Chinese leadership.

"US-NATO-Israeli war plans in relation to Iran are at an advanced state of readiness. China has economic ties as well as a far-reaching bilateral military cooperation agreement with Iran. Moreover, China is also an ally of Russia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the context of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Since 2005, Iran has an observer member status within the SCO." Read the rest, and thanks to Sean Corrigan.

WSJ's McGurn: Pope Supports Bush's Iraq Occupation!

This is what happens when a good guy like Bill McGurn gets bought out by Rupert Murdoch.

McGurn's assertion that Benedict supports Bush's occupation makes of this brilliant theologian-Pope a confused consequentialist -- that is, a victim of moral blindness who indulges in a sophomoric but profound ethical error. What tawdry trash, camouflaged as a backhanded compliment (as though the Pope's standing is enhanced by the warm reception from his intellectual superior, Bush).

McGurn then proceeds to some ethical contortions of his own: "As a cardinal, Benedict was on record as opposing America's entry into Iraq" (I love that "entry" -- nice try, Bill)-- but he doesn't even mention Pope John Paul's withering criticism, and he implies that Benedict as Pope has "grown." Meanwhile, not one word from Bill or Bush about the plight of millions of Christians in the Middle East, caused or exacerbated (or both) by Bush's blunders.

Bill, making of this Pope a warmonger borders on blasphemy. You don't have to shill like this -- you can quit. Man, if you keep this up, you may as well go across town to the New York Times.

Kochtopus Revealed

This is clearly one of the more important pieces of our time: Part I of The Kochtopus vs. Murray Rothbard, by David Gordon, a man who was there and had firsthand experience with the Beltway giant. Fortunately, young libertarians are interested in the events that shaped and split the modern lbertarian movement.

On Resisting Evil

An email from JF: "Thank you for this well-timed LRC post. Although I think you intended it to apply to the FLDS compound, it also applies to me: for several months I've been planning to emigrate to Hong Kong. Vote with my feet, stop unwillingly funding the enemy, &c. I still think it's a good idea, but Rothbard just

1. brought attention to the cowardice within some of my reasons for jumping ship; and

2. rehabilitated 'stay in the US' as an option.

"In other words: Rothbard defeated my desperation, and stiffened my spine.

"You -- and your organizations and your friends -- have been hell on my plans. Not even a year ago I was going to make a career of the military. Strange world."

Paulville

Latest development in the rEVOLution is Paulvile, an effort to establish establish gated communities containing 100% Ron Paul supporters and or people that live by the ideals of freedom and liberty.

Regime Change, Bernanke-Style

Although the Trotskyites could not achieve their Global Democratic Revolution through military action, their monetary policies may be doing the trick:

It's well known that the run-up in oil prices in recent years has had the unpleasant consequence of enlivening autocrats in oil-producing countries, from Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hugo Chávez. Now the latest swing in global commodities seems to be triggering a reverse effect: As prices for bread and rice soar, dictators are tottering.

Oddly, one of them is Chávez, who lost a constitutional referendum in December partly because of the combination of soaring food prices and shortages he has inflicted on Venezuela. Another is Robert Mugabe, who to his surprise lost a presidential election in Zimbabwe three weeks ago, though he has yet to admit it. According to the U.N. World Food Program, the government of North Korea faces another food crisis; bread prices explain in part why Pervez Musharraf lost control of Pakistan's government in February.

Then there is Egypt, where the link between food and freedom -- or the lack of it -- has never been clearer. For more than half a century, the Arab world's most populous country has been run by a military-backed dictatorship that has supplied its millions of poor with subsidized bread. Consequently, Egypt consumes more bread per capita than France, and the only time the regime's power was seriously challenged came in 1977, when Anwar Sadat's attempt to cut bread subsidies provoked bloody riots.

Orwell update

Latest outrage in airline security: Elena Reichman, a 74-year old Holocaust survivor has been charged with battery for allegedl