From: diego

Sent: Friday, December 18, 2020 1:41 AM

To: Walter Block <wblock@loyno.edu>

Subject: Any recommended reading on how US states would survive after secession?

Would you have any recommendations on how US states would survive if they indeed seceded? I realize the possibility is unlikely. Most citizens would want to stay together to receive their Medicare/SS benefits from DC. Nevertheless, I ask for curiosity’s sake.

I was watching a video by Frei and Robert Barnes (constitutional lawyers). When the topic got to states seceding from the DC empire, they said it was impractical. Somehow people who argue this just don’t know how agriculture works, they said. The two lawyers agreed secession is just not practical.  Despite they are scholarly lawyers, something made me suspect they might be very wrong on the economics of US states seceding.

– diego

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From: Darren Jimenez

Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2020 3:53 PM

To: wblock@loyno.edu

Subject: Charity in Austrian Economics

Hello Professor Block,

My name is Darren , I was on the Voluntaryist Haven livestream watching you speak and mentioned something about how to email you to ask about how the Austrians explain charitable giving.

Thank You

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From: Thomas Adams

Sent: Friday, December 11, 2020 5:16 PM

To: wblock@loyno.edu

Subject: Austro-Libertarian reading list?

Dear Professor Block,

I am aware of your work through the Mises Institute and have particularly enjoyed many of your speeches, debates, and interviews on YouTube; it is refreshing to see someone willing to unflinchingly challenge various hallowed socialist policies such as the minimum wage etc.

I am writing to you because I am self-educating myself in Austrian economics, and libertarian political philosophy: I have so far read Atlas Shrugged, Economics in One Lesson, and Anatomy of the State by Rothbard, and I’ve been looking for some kind of Austro-Libertarian recommended reading list online, in order that I might use it to orient my studies. I currently possess Rothbard’s ‘Man, Economy and State with Power and Market’ but I’m worried that it may be a little too advanced for me at this early stage so I’m looking for some intermediary works.

Do you know if anyone has ever put together such a basic graduated list? If so I would be much obliged if you could provide me with a link! If not, perhaps you could suggest a couple of titles in each of these two areas of libertarian theory?

I’ve no doubt that you are very busy and so I thank you in advance for taking the time to read my mail!

Best Regards,

Thomas Adams.

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Letter 1

From: Gabriel Philbois

Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2020 1:27 PM

To: Walter Block <wblock@loyno.edu>

Subject: Liberating property from the state

Dear Walter,

I hope you are well.

I have been thinking about your position that liberating property from the state is not immoral. I agreed, something did not seem right about it,

Now I’ve come up with a more intricate approach, that is built on yours.

If you steal less than the amount the government took from you, that is repossession of your property/ just compensation.

If you steal more, you could be stealing from other people.

Example:

Part 1

A thief steals your wallet, as well as another man’s wallet.

Later, you find the thief, and overpower him (he is not very strong). Can you take both wallets?

Yes, you can. Because you know the second wallet is not his.

However, there is a catch.

Part 2:

The second wallet is not yours either. So if you take it, you must attempt, to your best ability, to return it to the owner.

It is analogous to finding a lost wallet on the street.

So if you repossess more property from the government than what you are owed, you must return it to other victims.

The explanation you present in your classes is part 1. I added part 2. Do you agree?

If you disagree, please prove me wrong so I can learn something.

Best regards,

Gabe.

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From: Domingos Santos Jr.

Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2020 5:49 PM

To: wblock@loyno.edu

Subject: Privatizing Public School Administrative Services

Professor Block–

My name is Domingos Santos.  I am a lawyer and a director at a private equity firm in Arizona.  I am considering a run for the local school board in my town in 2022 and toward that end I am reviewing research and commentary in many areas of primary and secondary education.  I am writing to ask if you have any recommendations on resources discussing the privatization of public education administrative services or, more broadly, government administrative services.

In Arizona, the move toward privatization of education is well on its way as privately run education institutions (i.e., private schools, homeschooling, and public charter schools) educate almost 40% of students in the state.  In the public school realm, the administration payroll expenses are substantial.  In my district, for example, $7.123MM of payroll and benefit costs ($81,920/full time equivalent) go to general administration, school administration and central services.  This number is inflated vs. a private sector equivalent due to a 13% of salary contribution to the state retirement system for each employee and a 100% school district paid medical insurance benefit.  So, from the perspective of low-hanging fruit for freeing up dollars for education, it seems that the administrative side of the school district is ripe for privatization.

I appreciate any resources you can direct me to.  Thank you very much,

Domingos

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Every segment is superb, especially the one on the incendiary racial arsonist Maxine Waters, detailing her decades long history of fueling riots and civic terror by pouring rhetorical gasoline upon raging fires. Also don’t miss Glenn Greenwald discussing his latest article on establishment media lies which I posted earlier today at LRC.

The Media Lied Repeatedly About Officer Brian Sicknick’s Death. And They Just Got Caught, by Glenn Greenwald

Just as with the Russia Bounty debacle, they will never acknowledge what they did. Their audience wants to be lied to for partisan gain and emotional pleasure.

They are reportedly boarding everything up and calling all hands on deck regarding the police, national guard, etc. in anticipation of more BLM/Antifa rioting and looting should one juror have reasonable doubt.

There is a news report that Ron Paul has disguised the Fed building in D. C. as a Nike store in hopes that rioters will burn it down.  Very, very clever Ron!

Happy 8th birthday to the Ron Paul Institute today, by the way.

A man who changed careers to pursue his love of teaching mathematics to high school students has learned all about the Stalinist takeover of “education” in America.  While teaching at Grace Church High School in Manhattan he attended a meeting where he objected to the administration’s demand that the faculty treat all students differently according to their skin color (“critical race theory”).  He said he preferred to treat all students equally according to their accomplishments in his classroom.

For this he was condemned by the school administration as causing “harm to students” and being an enemy of “the greater good and higher truth” (aka, Marxism).  All school administrators were ordered to read a public reprimand and shaming of the man to every student.  For starters.  Only a child abuser or a communist (or both) would send his child to Grace Church High School in Manhattan.  (Thanks to Steve B.).

The Passion of Joan of Arc (French: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) is a 1928 French silent historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan. It is widely regarded as a landmark of cinema, especially for its production, Dreyer’s direction and Falconetti’s performance, which is often listed as one of the finest in cinema history. The film summarizes the time that Joan of Arc was a captive of England, depicting her trial and execution. She was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Divina disponente.

Häxan — Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages and early modern era suffered from the same ills as psychiatric patients diagnosed with hysteria in the film’s own time. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches’ brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen’s mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.

The Satanic Foreign Film That Was Banned in the U.S.

Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan was part documentary and part fantasy—and considered too disturbing for public viewing.

In a republic which can only be based on virtue, any pity shown toward crime is a flagrant proof of treason.

— Antoine Louis Léon de Richebourg de Saint-Just

Saint-Just was a major enthusiastic leader of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, who was himself later executed by the guillotine.

The above quote by Saint-Just is a concise summary of the Satanic philosophy of today’s Social Justice Warrior extremists and their terrorist mobs of BLM and antifa. They claim an absolute, irrefutable monopoly on virtue and see anyone who dares question their totalitarian group think as guilty of treason.

The True Face of the Left Revealed

Great dialog/conversation between Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Naomi Wolf — includes a damning indictment of the notorious perfidy and corruption of Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauchi.

Jordan B. Peterson’s commentary on this fascinating and insightful discussion:

I came across Dr. Warren Farrell’s work a few years ago, when I read Why Men Earn More (https://amzn.to/2HX3Epj​), a careful study of the many reasons for the existence of the “gender pay gap,” attributed by ideologues of the identity-politics persuasion to systemic patriarchal prejudice and oppression. Farrell has recently published another book, The Boy Crisis (https://amzn.to/2wnApuy​) with Dr. John Gray. We spent an intense 90 minutes discussing the crucial role played by fathers in child development, paying particular attention to play and delay of gratification. Dr. Farrell has been a target of radical left activists, who object to the conflict between his careful analysis and their unidimensional ideology. You can see an example of this here, at the University of Toronto: https://bit.ly/1eS5yHe

Letter 1

From: Joshua Crosby

Sent: Monday, December 07, 2020 9:42 PM

To: Walter Block <wblock@loyno.edu>

Subject: Hillsdale college

Dr Block, I have a young friend who is considering studying economics at Hillsdale. I know it may be difficult for you to set aside your bias toward your department, but can you give me an evaluation on how they score between Cato-Hayek and Rothbard-Mises.org?

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Letter 1

From: Elwood Earl “Sandy” Sanders, Jr.

Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2020 3:59 PM

To: wblock@loyno.edu

Subject: Open Letter to Libertarians in Georgia

Dr. Block:

I think I can already but I ask your permission to reprint (with proper attribution of course to you) at the Virginia Right blog the Open Letter to Libertarians in Georgia because there are moves to boycott the election  by conservatives and I DO FULLY UNDERSTAND why in that conservatives have been, let’s say used and abused, by the GOP leaders time and time again.

Thank you for the thoughtful commentary.

Elwood Earl “Sandy” Sanders, Jr.

Letter 2

Dear Sandy:

Yes. Thanks.

Best regards,

Walter

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From: Sachin Patil

Sent: Friday, December 04, 2020 12:17 AM

To: Walter Block <wblock@loyno.edu>

Subject: Man, Economy & State

Dear Sir,

I’ve read “Man, Economy & State” twice now. I have understood some concepts & have not understood some. I have no background of Economics or Finance.  I will be reading “Human Action” next. Are there any classroom lectures explaining in details MES & Human Action? I have heard Human Action podcast but it’s not explaining the books in details.  Kindly let me know if there’s any.

If water is privatised there are chances of over extracting water from ground by borewell. Because cost of taking water in remote areas will be higher than extracting water from ground. In India’s Punjab state due to rampant extraction of water from tubewells (aided by wrong policies of Government) there’s danger of Punjab’s fertile land getting converted into desert within a period of 25 years of so. Will privatisation of water ensure there’s no rampant extraction of ground water? Awaiting hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Sachin

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Dear Mark and Gary:

I have a bit over 600 refereed journal and law review articles, almost 30 books, and thousands (I don’t know how many, and am too busy writing more to count) of op eds. Wow: 20k articles and 70 books? You da man!

I think, possibly, I have surpassed Murray in terms of quantity of words published. I would never dare compare quality. That’s like an ordinary composer comparing quality with Mozart or Bach.

Best regards,

Walter

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From: Johnathan Brown

Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2020 5:58 PM

To: wblock@loyno.edu

Subject: Re: Open Letter to Libertarians in Georgia

Good afternoon,

I just finished reading your open letter to Georgia libertarians which was posted on the LRC webpage.

Block, Walter E. 2020. “Open Letter to Libertarians in Georgia.” December 5; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/12/walter-e-block/open-letter-to-libertarians-in-georgia/

Reprint: http://www.varight.com/news/dr-walter-blocks-answer-to-those-who-want-to-boycott-the-georgia-elections/

I wanted to write you simply to show my support for your position. I am one of the Georgia libertarians who voted for Shane Hazel in November. I agree with you that people like me have a moral responsibility to vote for both the Republican candidates in January. The Dems pose perhaps the greatest threat to our liberties in American history. They openly wish to force us back into lockdown and remake society in their own socialistic image. God forbid that it should happen!

Thank you for all your work to defend liberty!

Sincerely,

Johnathan Brown

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Author Annie Jacobsen presents a fascinating discussion of her book, Operation Paperclip

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Here is the full 2:45 minute debate. Worst debate audience ever.

I may start a pool as to when the Masked Morons will de-diaper themselves: by summer; by Christmas; or never. Boy, but the persistence from people whose fickleness is notorious (marriages that last five minutes; flitting from brand to brand online; changing jobs every couple of months) has been impressive, even if their intellects aren’t. 

Glancing at his muzzled compatriots, Mark Higdon observes “one huge difference” between “20th century communism and Nazism” and “now”:

One need only look at the PR touting the previous century’s genocidal dictatorships: film, posters, etc. prominently featuring the faces of “happy” German and Soviet citizens.

Which makes the present all the more terrifying. After all, would it not be so much easier–politically–to mass-exterminate fur-less, bipedal creatures who are never allowed to show their faces? Just put COVID on the death certificates.

And Chris Sullivan forwarded this tidbit:

The US Navy’s official Twitter profile pic has a mighty eagle grasping a mighty anchor and wearing a mighty… mask?

I don’t know about you, but I’m highly reassured that as the Russian navy prepares for war under Biden’s provocations, its admiralty worries about the strength of its troops and ships while ours frets over a non-existent virus and the bits of cloth that magically stop it.

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The police state’s newest tactic: banning Patriots from the internet “while awaiting trial. If [Beverly Hills esthetician and eyelash stylist Gina] Bisignano[, who attended the protest against the stolen election in DC on Jan. 6,] goes online while awaiting trial, she risks being jailed.”

Warning: the article that Rocco Piserchia sent reporting this outrage originally appeared in the LA Times. It goes without saying that the piece applauds the grotesquely anti-Constitutional abuse, so grab your barf-bag before reading it. 

Meanwhile, as if banning Ms. Bisignano from our cyber-company weren’t infuriating enough, peruse her “crimes”: 

…[she] was so present on social media that the federal criminal complaint against her practically wrote itself.

How thoughtful of her! You know, this new breed of felon is definitely an improvement over the old in that they meticulously document their murder and mayhem so Leviathan can easily arrest and prosecute them. 

The story of a 52-year-old salon owner who charted a dark path of disinformation 

Can’t say I didn’t warn you.

to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, where she allegedly grabbed a bullhorn and urged rioters to take up weapons, is backed by one social media post after another embedded in the Department of Justice filing.

There is Bisignano in her Louis Vuitton sweater, filmed in front of the Capitol talking about her business and hometown as the riot was getting underway. There she is again, addressing rioters with a rant about globalists, George Soros and stolen votes. And again, calling for weapons and gas masks moments before a rioter attacks an officer with what appears to be a baseball bat.

I highly doubt that interpretation, filtered as it is through the corrupt and utterly mendacious Feds as well as this hostile website, but even if she did, we are fast approaching the point at which “calling” will succumb to “using.” Our heroine is simply ahead of the curve.

So practice your aim—-and I don’t mean with cameras, which we’ll leave home next time.

The town of Bluffton, South Carolina and the county it is a part of, Beaufort County, have ended their mini-Mussolini mask “mandates.”  How refreshing to see restaurants with signs on the door saying “masks are optional” or shopping at maskless Krogers.  A few minutes away from Bluffton, right across the bridge on Rt. 278, is Hilton Head Island.  There are still plenty of real southerners in Bluffton and Beaufort, but the super expensive resort town of Hilton Head has long been flooded with Neeew Yawk/New Joizy transplants.  (Not that there aren’t plenty of genuine  locals among all the fishermen and other working class people on the island).

I left mask-free Bluffton the past two days to go the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage golf tournament.  As you cross the bridge and enter Hilton Head Island there are huge flashing signs saying “Wear a Mask.  It’s the Law” and “COVID is Still a Risk.”  (So is driving in Hilton Head weekend traffic, especially if one has consumed alcohol at one of the thousands of bars and restaurants on the island).

Before entering the golf course one is subjected to huge signs listing about twenty CDC regulations and more signs DEMANDING!!! that you wear a mask at all times on the golf course.  The tournament organizers had dozens of volunteers walking around pushing signs in everyone’s face that said — you guessed it — wear a mask — and ordering anyone not wearing a mask to mask up.

The crowd was sparse for a PGA tour event with only 20 percent capacity .  The rope line was much farther away from the fairways as was normal at PGA tournaments, and you are instructed to stand at least ten feet away even from the rope line if you are eating or drinking.  My guess is that they didn’t want any spittle from hot dog munchers to fly through the air and infect a golfer with deadly COVID.

At one point I was walking on the cart path making my way to the next tee (following Davis Love III’s group) with no one around within at least a hundred yards.  One of the short little volunteer Nazis appeared out of nowhere to demand that I put on a mask.  I gave her the middle finger and some foul language and she scurried off.

And in some cases, the only priority.  To hell with academics should be their motto.  A parent of an expensive New York City private school has rescued his daughter from it and has written a letter that describes in precise detail the hypocrisy and evil of academic administrators (and most faculty sheep) everywhere.

Asian-Americans are in the same boat as white heterosexual males in this regard and should be writing similar letters.

Is the dam starting to break?