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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Daniel O'Connor Posted on 12.12.10 by R. Lee Wrights “In January 1811, The First Bank of the United States (BUS) was brought down. Two hundred years later, The Federal Reserve Bank has gradually become the central point of most political discussion in America. For added fuel to the debate, Congressman Ron Paul has just been appointed Chairman of the Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee of the House of Representatives, effective January 2011. In many ways, Ron Paul represents the tradition of Thomas Jefferson who was the most outspoken opponent of the BUS, while our current Treasury Secretary could be compared to Alexander Hamilton who was the most outspoken advocate of a central bank.” (12/10/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1238 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Debbie and Carl Author: Debbie Harbeson Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The political process itself promotes ‘war’ between the people of a nation. Political parties work to create and identify ‘enemies,’ which leads to the idea that we are ‘fighting’ and ‘at war’ with our neighbors. Political parties have to create an enemy in the form of a group of people so that another group of people will be energized enough to go to ‘war’ in the form of political activism and voting against the enemy. Government itself benefits by this promotion of prejudice.” (12/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/34ew88m Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Daily Anarchist Author: Seth King Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Before one decides to start living a survivalist lifestyle I highly recommend they take an honest account of their unique situation in this world and set realistic priorities. The truth is that one size does not fit all and to attempt to conform to rigid ideas of survivalism is likely a recipe for disappointment or disaster.” (12/10/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2wjwc5l Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: SM Oliva Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “A federal court ordered former Morgan Crucible chief executive Ian Norris to serve 18 months in prison yesterday, the result of an elaborate Department of Justice scheme to subvert the US Constitution and international law. As previously reported, Norris was convicted in July by a Philadelphia jury of ‘conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice,’ a nonsensical charge that made little sense as the same jury acquitted Norris of the underlying ‘obstruction of justice’ charge.” (12/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2vutwuy Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Dallas Libertarian Examiner Author: Garry Reed Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Used to be ‘racist’ was used by a person who hated another person because of that person’s race. Now the word simply means, ‘You’re not being politically correct.’ Same with ‘terrorist.’ Remember the good old days when ‘terrorist’ referred to vicious men with box cutters flying airplanes into buildings and murdering a couple thousand people?” (12/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/25nko98 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: LewRockwell.Com Author: Hans Lysglimt Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “HL: The ideology behind WikiLeaks is to enable transparency, or is there more of a thought behind it than that? JA: There is. Our goal is justice. Our goal is to have a just civilization. That is sort of a personal motivating goal. And the message is transparency. It is important not to confuse the message with the goal. Nonetheless we believe that it is an excellent message.” (12/11/10) Link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/assange2.1.1.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Center for a Stateless Society Author: Kevin Carson Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The state can undertake actions that, for you or me, would mean life behind bars or even a ride on Old Sparky. But when the state does them they’re not really criminal, see, because they were done for — ahem — reasons of state. In the famous words of Richard Nixon, in the David Frost interviews, ‘If the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.’” (12/10/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/5330 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty & Power Author: Robert Higgs Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Even today, when the horrors of communism are known to everyone, social democrats the world over continue to denounce and undermine private property rights and seek to replace them with some form of collectivized property. Since the late nineteenth century, most intellectuals have been hostile to private property rights and have advocated, if not outright communism, at least some ‘third way’ closer to it than to a regime of full-fledged private property.” (12/10/10) Link: http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/134456.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Kent's "Hooligan Libertarian" Blog Author: Kent McManigal Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Sometimes when I point out how bad The State (externally-imposed government) is, someone will claim it is only a tool, like a gun, and could be used for good if only the right person (or political party) is wielding it. They will claim that since I don’t think guns are inherently harmful I should apply the same to The State.” (12/10/10) Link: http://blog.kentforliberty.com/2010/12/nothing-political-to-exploit.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: EconLog Author: Arnold Kling Posted on 12.12.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Think about the problem of the ‘double coincidence of wants.’ If the baker wants meat and the butcher wants bread, they can trade. But what if the baker wants candlesticks, the butcher wants bread, and the candlestick-maker wants meat? Only if they contrive a medium of exchange can they trade.” (12/12/10) Link: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2010/12/a_rant_against.html Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AntiWar.Com Author: Justin Raimondo Posted on 12.10.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Armed with computer technology, and the hubris of scientism — which purports to wear the mantle of science — [our rulers] think they can get around the inherent limitations of the human condition, and control the uncontrollable. What they didn’t take into account was that such hubris induces opposition — and so the first cyberwar has begun. It is a war the US government, with all its resources, cannot win, because the nature of the technology — the weaponry — has defeated it before even the first shot was fired.” (12/09/10) Link: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/12/09/its-payback-time/ Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: The Self-Sovereign Individual Project Author: Kitty Antonik and Paul Wakfer Posted on 12.10.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “[G]etting support money to WikiLeaks has become very awkward for those able to donate only small amounts. PayPal, MasterCard and Visa all appear to be currying favor with the US government, if not actually kowtowing to direct political pressure, by agreeing that WikiLeaks is engaged in ‘illegal’ activities thereby justifying their removal of services. So it appears that either snail mail money orders/drafts or bank wire transfers (electronic funds transfer — EFT) are the only means left to get funding to WikiLeaks.” (12/09/10) Link: http://selfsip.org/focus/helpwikileaks.html Filed under: LAND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Ayn R. Key Author: Ayn R. Key Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The War on Terror is a result of the interventions during the Cold War, the Cold War was a result of interventions during World War Two, and World War Two was a result of interventions during World War One, but what was the basis for intervening in World War One? It is an elaborate interdependent structure, each piece connecting to every other piece, every facet supported by some other facet, and the whole structure supported by absolutely nothing.” (12/09/10) Link: http://aynrkey.blogspot.com/2010/12/war-is-peace.html Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Center for a Stateless Society Author: Kevin Carson Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “All us good little citizens have a patriotic duty to stay ignorant about what the government’s doing, or it might hurt the National Security! We should ‘trust and obey’ because ‘they know stuff we don’t’ — but trying to find out the stuff they know so we can critically evaluate it from the standpoint of an equal is treason! Meanwhile, the usual right-wing mouth-frothing idiots … are demanding explanations for why the government was so negligent as to allow the sovereign citizenry to find out stuff that we should remain ignorant of for our own good.” (12/08/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/5296 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Strike the Root Author: Jim Davies Posted on 12.09.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “The aftermath of the release of the first 1% of the recent second wave of leaks of sensitive government documents is in some ways more fun than reading of the newly uncovered secrets themselves. It has drawn a clear distinction between those who are horrified and those who are delighted; like the acid test for fake gold, this reveals what people really think about government, now that it matters.” (12/90/10) Link: http://www.strike-the-root.com/acid-test Filed under: LAND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Boston Globe Author: Eileen Boylen Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “When Fox News reported the link between depression and chocolate consumption, I knew medical research had finally jumped the shark. Apparently, having more than 8.5 servings of chocolate a month indicates profound depression. Huh? By that definition, my husband and I should be on suicide watch. Color me psychic, but soon Cambridge will be wresting Kit Kats from vending machines and moving chocolate behind the pharmacy counter. Can a ballot question be far behind …? In recent years, Reservatrol has been labeled ‘the fountain of youth.’ And, according to Dr. Oz, you can get it from red wine. Wrong. Turns out wine hasn’t enough Reservatrol to matter, and I only look younger if my husband drinks it.” [editor’s note: This is not only well-written and -considered, but sorta Bombeck-funny as well - SAT] (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23tvf8j Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: In These Times Author: Susan J. Douglas Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “[A]s a child of the ’60s who rejoiced when the Pentagon Papers saw the light of day in the Times, I tend to think that transparency, especially when it comes to our foreign policy, is an ideal crucial to democracy. Having said that (and writing when we still don’t know all the revelations), there is something odd and pathetic about this latest WikiDump.” [editor’s note: Ms. Douglas expresses some valid concerns here, as to the choices made on what to release and in what order; even if libertarians may not agree with them all, they are still worth contemplating - SAT] (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2bwc6vd Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Scott Lemieux Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “When John Paul Stevens was nominated by Gerald Ford to replace William O. Douglas, few could have predicted that the moderate Republican Stevens would in many respects fill Douglas’ role as the irascible liberal giant on the Court. Yet as his recent article about his opposition to the death penalty reminds us, during his long and often idiosyncratic career, Stevens emerged as the Court’s foremost critic of unequal treatment under the law. In particular, he became the Court’s strongest critic of the increasingly formalistic approach to race taken by a majority of his colleagues and was always more attentive to gender inequality than his country-club Republican pedigree would have suggested.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/246qgd8 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Nation Author: Michael Meeropol Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “[O]n the grounds of fairness in our tax policy and good economics, the part of the deal that extends the Bush income tax cuts for the top 2 percent of the population, and cuts the estate tax permanently, is just plain bad. … However, Republicans had made clear that they were willing to let all tax cuts expire and refuse to do anything meaningful to help the unemployed unless millionaires got an extension of the Bush tax cuts. So the choice for the president was to let all the tax cuts expire and fail to get unemployment benefits extended, or to do something that would preserve some of what most economists believe the economy needs.” [editor’s note: As usual, I disagree with this fellow’s conclusions, but the analysis is spot-on - SAT] (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/24f3yd5 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: Greg Thielmann & Peter Crail Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “Long before the mysterious Stuxnet computer virus struck an apparent blow at Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran’s nuclear effort was being delayed by a far more mundane problem: bad technology. … The most fundamental problem with Iran’s enrichment program appears to be its own centrifuge design. Called the P-1 after a Pakistani mock-up of a Dutch design pilfered in the 1970s, the centrifuge that Iran has been attempting to operate is known to be temperamental and fault-prone.” [editor’s note: This should be fairly obvious by now: Iran is NOT a threat, even for creating nuclear weapons - SAT] Link: http://tinyurl.com/23gqtvw Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: LewRockwell.Com Author: Naomi Wolf Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Dear Interpol: As a longtime feminist activist, I have been overjoyed to discover your new commitment to engaging in global manhunts to arrest and prosecute men who behave like narcissistic jerks to women they are dating.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wolf-n1.1.1.html Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Madison County Journal Author: Andy Taggart Posted on 12.09.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “So here’s a call to arms, quite literally. If you are a gun owner, and can use your weapon safely and responsibly, think seriously about whether you might owe a duty to yourself, your family and your neighbors to carry a sidearm in public. Even if not, hold yourself as though you might well be armed. Ladies can keep a hand inside their purses and look people in the eye as they approach in a parking lot. Gentlemen should keep a hand in a coat pocket and walk confidently and tall. And if that hand clutches a personal defense arm, so much the better. Bad guys won’t like it. That’s a good thing.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/287qeoq Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Spiked Author: Patrick Hayes Posted on 12.09.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “By encouraging the public to monitor CCTV footage, a new website promises to turn us all into armchair snoops.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9989/ Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: CounterPunch Author: Pam Martens Posted on 12.09.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “Over the past month, in the face of unprecedented airport screening procedures that left human dignity, radiation concerns, privacy and the Constitution in shambles on the tarmac, Americans have been repeatedly counseled by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that the new body scanner machines and humiliating pat downs are necessary to make air travel secure. Now documents have emerged, on the government’s own web sites, raising questions as to whether the machines are little more than overpriced metal detectors with a ‘beam me up Scotty’ futuristic design.” (12/09/10) Link: http://counterpunch.org/martens12092010.html Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fr33 Agents Author: Xaq Fixx Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Prohibition of alcohol in the United States lasted from 1920 to 1933, during that time it proved an utter failure. The Schaffer Library of Drug Policy reports that consumption increased, especially among women and children and that arrests for public drunkenness and similar alcohol related offenses surpassed pre-prohibition levels. In addition to not preventing use and abuse the Nobel Experiment enriched and empowered criminals, further corrupted politicians, and cost the tax payers millions. Today America faces similar problems caused by the War on Drugs.” (12/08/10) Link: http://fr33agents.net/2010/12/08/the-cure-is-the-disease/ Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty Unbound Author: Jim Walsh Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “A theme has been growing steadily in the statist-liberal media that the recent congressional election results were the effect of Americans’ ignorance. … It’s inconceivable to statist twits that the peasants in flyover country might have an intuitive sense that overzealous government programs are bankrupting the United States (an intuition shared by a growing number of our lenders in Berlin and Beijing).” (12/09/10) Link: http://libertyunbound.com/node/408 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Roderick T. Beaman Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “On the morning of December 9, 1980, my wife and I got up and had breakfast, blissfully unaware of the horrible event of the previous evening. She brought our kids to school and then I turned on the radio. It was a Tuesday. At news time, the announcer said that he guessed everyone had heard the news that John Lennon had been shot to death late the night before.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=5234 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Downsize DC Author: Jim Babka Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “So-called ‘progressives’ are complaining that President Obama caved in to the Republicans by agreeing to a deal preventing tax hikes on the ‘rich’ for two more years. I wish they understood that the money we earn belongs to US, not the government. But they’re also mistaken on another point. It wasn’t really the President who caved, but the so-called low-tax, small-government Republicans.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/245kddz Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Joseph T. Salerno Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Three weeks ago I read the news that a 24.78 carat ‘fancy intense pink’ diamond sold for $46,158,674 at an auction held by Sotheby’s in Geneva, Switzerland. The winning bid for ‘The Graff Pink,’ as it was named immediately after its purchase by London jeweler Laurence Graff, was the highest price ever recorded for a jewel at auction and more than double the $24.3 price paid for the 35.56 carat Wittelsbach blue diamond purchased by Graff in 2008.” (12/09/10) Link: http://mises.org/daily/4901 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “One of the big reasons that liberals support the welfare state is the covetousness-and-redistribution factor. Liberals hate the fact that some people are rich while other people are poor. Moreover, the rich, liberals say, only get richer while the poor get poorer. Therefore, liberals claim, we need the government to confiscate wealth from the rich and redistribute it to the poor.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2010-12-09.asp Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Foundation for Economic Education Author: Steven Horwitz Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “One of the most pernicious and widespread economic fallacies is the belief that consumption is the key to a healthy economy. We hear this idea all the time in the popular press and casual conversation, particularly during economic downturns. People say things like, ‘Well, if folks would just start buying things again, the economy would pick up’ or ‘If we could only get more money in the hands of consumers, we’d get out of this recession.’ This belief in the power of consumption is also what has guided much of economic policy in the last couple of years, with its endless stream of stimulus packages.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23xpsls Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: OpenMarket.org Author: Hans Bader Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “I think its impact was less than zero — that it actually shrank the economy in several ways. One way was its use of ‘green jobs’ subsidies to send American jobs overseas: 79 percent of the subsidies went to foreign firms, such as an Australian firm that imported Japanese wind turbines. Another was how it wiped out jobs in America’s export sector.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2cwdrh4 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Tom Engelhardt Posted on 12.09.10 by R. Lee Wrights “America’s heroes? Not so much. Not anymore. Not when they’re dead, anyway. Remember as the invasion of Iraq was about to begin, when the Bush administration decided to seriously enforce a Pentagon ban, in existence since the first Gulf War, on media coverage and images of the American dead arriving home at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware?” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1234 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Nolan Chart Author: Gene DeNardo Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Rule does not necessitate singularity of position, title or robes. The state of being ruled is defined by action and structure.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.nolanchart.com/article8190.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Truth To Power Author: James Mann Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Our nation’s insane drive to use military force, the gutting of our educational system and local infrastructures, and of course the grifter class all have taken their toll, but I think there’s a factor folks aren’t mentioning. We’re perhaps too stupid to survive.” (12/09/10) Link: http://blogs.ink19.com/truthtopower/archives/8975 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Independent Country Author: James Leroy Wilson Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The charges have been leveled at heirs of the libertarian, classical liberal, and Old Right traditions for generations: 1. We would throw widows and orphans to the street 2. Our ‘isolationism’ would ‘appease’ foreign aggressors and genocidal tyrants 3. We would wreck the environment due to our blind ideological commitment to free markets and property rights … A reasonable, well-intentioned person with a conventional upbringing and education may agree with these statements. And yet …” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2fpxwr6 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Libertarian Papers Author: Walter E. Block Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Abstract: Milton Friedman had long declared himself a small ‘l’ libertarian (to distinguish himself from members of the Libertarian Party). But, libertarianism is based on the twin pillars of the non aggression axiom and private property predicated on homesteading and peaceful exchange. Friedman adopts none of this. Instead, he undergirds his philosophy on ‘tolerance,’ which is no part of libertarianism. Thus, his claim to the mantle of libertarianism, big or small ‘L’ it matters not which, is called into question.” [full paper available as PDF or MS Word download] (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29bxnka Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Disloyal Opposition Author: JD Tuccille Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The continuing survival of Wikileaks and its championing by the pro-information-freedom Anonymous hacker group are an ongoing demonstration of the ability of decentralized organizations and grassroots movements to not only prevail against governments, but even to retaliate against state agencies.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/28wmwfs Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: Oliver Broudy Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Really probing inquiry, ultimately, is about as welcome to the government as an anarchist at a GOP presidential convention. We usually accept this just as we accept partisan gridlock and corporate lobbying: This is the way the system works. We take it for granted that very little can be done about it. Right up to the moment, that is, when someone plants himself, like the Tianamen Square tank man, squarely before the government juggernaut, and refuses to step aside. Then we’re treated to an amazing spectacle: This is what it looks like when power squirms.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/33mv7qf Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Maymin Author: Phil Maymin Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The newly leaked documents tell us what we knew all along: Diplomats advance not the many and varied interests of the people, but the single, overarching interest of the state to usurp as much power as possible for itself.” (12/08/10) Link: http://maymin.com/node/204 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Jeffersonville Evening News Author: Debbie Harbeson Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Isgrigg sounds giddy when he says homeowners can now sue the county for violating state law. He seems to want the county to be financially responsible for subdivision drainage problems. But why should government be responsible? Isgrigg says the way the county has been operating meant homeowners needed to get help from developers. But that makes perfect sense. Developers perform the drainage work so naturally they are the responsible party.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/25ej89z Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Cato Institute Author: Harry de Gorter and Jerry Taylor Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “After more than three decades, the U.S. ethanol blenders’ tax credit and the ethanol-import tariff that was put in place to offset it are set to expire at the end of the year. The way things are looking, we may finally be rid of these indefensible and parochial market distortions.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12623 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Independent Institute Author: Alvaro Vargas Llosa Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “What the official U.S. documents divulged so far by WikiLeaks reveal concerning Latin America is actually somewhat comforting. It turns out that Washington along with many center-left governments in the region and Spain’s ruling socialists were not naive in expressing their concerns about the nature of authoritarian populism in the Western Hemisphere. The most important information pertains to the widespread penetration of the Venezuelan state by the Cuban intelligence services.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2938 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Reason Author: Tim Cavanaugh Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The intellectual argument against Wikileaks — that agencies empowered to torture people and undermine sovereign nations should be subjected to less scrutiny than a municipal department of sanitation — is itself treasonous. Anybody who makes this argument is unfit to live in, let alone govern, a free society. The emotional argument, on the other hand, is clearly powerful, as we have seen in the establishmentarian consensus that Assange needs to be imprisoned no matter how flimsy the pretext.” (12/09/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/08/laying-cable-with-barry-and-du Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: The American Conservative Author: Jack Hunter Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “[T]he worst hypocrisy throughout this controversy has been in conservatives reflexively defending the government and attacking WikiLeaks. Since when have conservatives believed that Washington should be able to shroud any action it likes in secrecy and that revealing government’s nefarious deeds is tantamount to treason? Isn’t it government officials who might secretly work for corporate, ideological or transnational interests — and against the national interest — who are betraying their country?” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/3yrelnz Filed under: CANDi Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Center for a Stateless Society Author: Thomas L. Knapp Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “If the price of keeping Joe Lieberman in power is you staring over a plow at the ass end of a mule all day and lighting your home with candles or kerosene at night before collapsing on a bed of filthy straw, that’s a price Joe Lieberman is more than willing to have you pay. He’s not comfortable with America’s 21st century unless the key features of its political system resemble those of western Europe’s in the 12th (right down to the Crusades, even), with Lieberman as lord and you as serf. The Internet stands astride his road to that ideal, and therefore the Internet must be reined in or, as a last resort, dispensed with altogether. Nor does Lieberman stand alone.” (12/08/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/5286 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Reason Author: Jacob Sullum Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Unfortunately, balancing the federal budget won’t require radical change.” (12/08/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/08/a-leaner-leviathan Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: Russell D. Longcore Posted on 12.08.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, is one of the classics of literature. This short story has been made into plays and motion pictures. God only knows how many people have either read Dickens’ own work or have seen the work performed onstage or on the screen. But someone needs to speak in defense of Ebenezer Scrooge. I guess that would be me.” (12/05/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle598-20101205-06.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Last Sunday’s New York Times published an interesting article about U.S. military bases in Iraq that carries valuable lessons for America with respect to military spending, governmental dependency, and national bankruptcy. The article, entitled ‘As U.S. Leaves, Iraqis Suffer Economic Toll,’ explains the travails of Iraqis who are suffering economic losses due to the closing of U.S. military bases in Iraq.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2010-12-08.asp Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Ed Lewis Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “I don’t know who originally made this statement, or when it was made. Nor do I know the reason it was made. What I do know, though, is that the truth must prevail in our dealings with other people. A reader once asked what truth I referred to. To be blunt about it, I didn’t know there were different categories of truth. Truth is simply truth. It is not relative to the times; only what is interpreted as truth is. I.e., the interpretation could be wrong but the truth is a constant.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=5232 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: LewRockwell.Com Author: Tim Case Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The social unrest which is occurring and will soon morph into horrific, if not murderous, chaos among nations is not theory, it is natural and predictable, based on irrefutable economic laws and history. Economic laws which are grounded in reality just as natural law assures us high pressure will always flow to low pressure.” (12/09/10) Link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/case/case44.1.html Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AntiWar.Com Author: Philip Giraldi Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Contrary to the message emanating from the chattering media, WikiLeaks has embarrassed many but it has neither killed nor endangered anyone. Washington’s relationships with most foreign nations are based on mutual interests and they will continue in spite of concerns expressed by Hillary Clinton and others. And the positive far outweighs any potential negatives.” (12/09/10) Link: http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2010/12/08/leaks-and-leakers/ Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: EconLog Author: Arnold Kling Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “The book is Why Liberty, compiled by Marc Guttman. The 54th chapter comes from Vince Miller, a Canadian, who writes, ‘My own experience suggests maybe an innate sense of justice is required. What makes some people take action when they see an act of injustice while others stand idly by and watch — seemingly disconnected?’ Sounds like what a progressive might say. In fact, my chapter in the book is entitled ‘From Far Left to Libertarian.’ Like a number of others in the book, I started on the left, and my chapter briefly explains my journey. … I think that the most common trait is a willingness to go one’s own way politically.” (12/08/10) Link: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2010/12/54_libertarians.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: The Nation Author: Robert Scheer Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “[US Senator Dianne] Feinstein represents precisely the government that Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he said, in defense of unfettered freedom of the press, ‘Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.’” [editor’s note: Once again, Mr. Scheer shows why I continue to look for his writings to include here - SAT] (12/08/10) Link: http://www.thenation.com/article/156909/jefferson-assange Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: Raul A. Reyes Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “Recently, the Pew Hispanic Center released the results of a nationwide bilingual survey of Latinos. Asked whom they considered the most important Latino leader today, 64 percent said they didn’t know; 10 percent said ‘no one.’ … Pew noted that Hispanics do not have a unifying figure comparable to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, or Chavez in his heyday. This led many in the media to speculate that the nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority group is suffering from a lack of leadership. Nothing could be further from the truth.” [editor’s note: You mean people of Hispanic descent have not bought into a Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, telling them that only “one of their people” can “lift them from poverty?” Too busy starting their own businesses, I guess - SAT] (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2a9pzqh Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Boston Globe Author: Jeff Jacoby Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “‘Is America Islamophobic?’ When that provocative question appeared on the cover of Time in August, the accompanying story strained to imply, on the basis of some anecdotal evidence, that the answer might be yes. The FBI’s latest compendium of US hate-crimes data suggests far more plausibly that the answer is no. … America is many things, but ‘Islamophobic’ plainly isn’t one of them.” [editor’s note: OK, but now can we also bury that other destructive myth, that “they hate us for our freedom?” - SAT] (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2eyuc4c Filed under: CANDi Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Paul Waldman Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “November 29, 2010, may be remembered as the moment when progressives stopped giving Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt. Some had long before, of course, whether because of compromises during the health-care reform debate, his continuation of Bush-era policies on civil liberties, or what some see as his obeisance toward Wall Street. But his announcement of a pay freeze on federal workers … feels like a tipping point.” (12/07/10) Link: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=losing_faith_in_obama Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: In These Times Author: Lisa Yun Lee Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “Consider this uncanny photograph of the thriving urban farm located behind razor barbed wire at the Cook County Jail in Chicago. It demands and resists interpretation. The image calls to mind, in a perturbing manner, the histories of slavery, plantation life and sharecropping. The Caucasian chef in the background dressed in classic ‘chef’s whites’ and the two prisoners of color in the foreground are a visual representation and reminder of the appalling statistics that document the dramatic racial disparities between those people in the United States who are locked up and those who are not. Yet we celebrate and embrace the idea of the urban farm.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2do2us8 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Raw Story Author: Daniel Tencer Posted on 12.08.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “Shoppers at Walmart will soon have something other than glossy magazines and chewing gum to look at when in the checkout line: A ‘video message’ from the Department of Homeland Security asking them to look out for ’suspicious’ activity and report it immediately. It’s part of a new Department of Homeland Security program that could see Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s face on video screens in malls, retail outlets and hotels across the United States.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29tjp7g Filed under: LAND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Strike the Root Author: tzo Posted on 12.08.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “The State has always needed an opinion-molding class to convince the masses that the institution of government is necessary, proper, and vital in its organization and delivery of essential public services that could not otherwise be provided.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.strike-the-root.com/private-universities-ha Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: CounterPunch Author: Eric Walberg Posted on 12.08.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “The sides are lining up, much like Bush predicted in 2001 with his ‘You are with us or against us.’ A brave Aussie, a principled French judge, an American libertarian congressman, a youthful computer nerd — the enemies of empire come in all shapes and sizes.” (12/08/10) Link: http://counterpunch.org/walberg12082010.html Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Robert Higgs Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “For many years, I have described Ralph Raico as ‘my favorite historian.’ When David Theroux and I were making our plans in 1995 for the publication of a new scholarly quarterly, The Independent Review, and selecting the scholars we would ask to serve as associate editors, I knew that I would want one of them to be an excellent historian, and I knew also that the person I wanted most was Raico.” (12/08/10) Link: http://mises.org/daily/4852 Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Freedom Politics Author: John Stossel Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Of the 6 billion people on Earth, 2 billion try to survive on a few dollars a day. They don’t build businesses, or if they do, they don’t expand them. Unlike people in the United States, Europe and Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, etc., they don’t lift themselves out of poverty. Why not? What’s the difference between them and us? Hernando de Soto taught me that the biggest difference may be property rights.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/28qt96r Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Foundation for Economic Education Author: William L. Anderson Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “A repeated myth is that government intervention comes only after private markets have clearly failed and the bureaucracy must step in to stop the abuse. For example, we hear that Congress created the Food and Drug Administration in 1906 because conditions in American meatpacking plants had become progressively dangerous as corporate bosses put ‘profits ahead of people.’” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/248r55o Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute Author: Michelle Minton Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Sometimes things do change in Washington, often unexpectedly. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, once an opponent of online gambling, is now circulating draft legislation to legalize Internet poker. Reid, like an increasing number of lawmakers, seems to have realized not only that banning online betting, an activity that millions of Americans engage in each year, is impossible, but also that legalizing it could result in increased tax revenue, job creation and economic growth.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2db76zz Filed under: RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Doug Bandow Posted on 12.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “The WikiLeaks disclosure of U.S. diplomatic cables has stirred a storm of outrage in Washington, generating apparently serious calls to execute individual leakers and bomb media organizations. Yet despite the abundant egg over the faces of many American officials, there’s little evidence of significant harm to U.S. security. In fact, not much in the documents is new.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1232 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Cato Institute Author: Daniel Griswold Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “While tea party members embrace free markets, limited government, and reduced federal meddling, some tea party leaders have openly questioned the benefits of free-trade agreements such as NAFTA and a recently reached deal between the United States and South Korea. The majority of the movement’s rank and file seems to share that skepticism.” (12/08/10) Link: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12622 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: The Partial Observer Author: James Leroy Wilson Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Last week, the President’s Fiscal Responsibility Commission issued its recommendations. Although there is much to criticize in it, it is good to see some recognition in Washington of the need to do something about the debt crisis.” (12/07/10) Link: http://partialobserver.com/article.cfm?id=3549 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Daily Anarchist Author: Seth King Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “If and/or when the shit hits the fan the anarcho-capitalist is likely to be grossly outnumbered by their minarchist and fascist counterparts. If this is the case I fully intend on taking a non-interventionist approach to any sort of civil war in this country and my immediate location. I simply cannot see any reason why the free-market anarchists should be on the front lines of the violence being waged between the varying factions of statists.” (12/08/10) Link: http://dailyanarchist.com/2010/12/08/baby-steps-to-survivalism/ Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Ideas Author: David Friedman Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “I am currently involved, elsewhere online, in a discussion of behavioral economics. One point it raises is that arguments from behavioral economics — observed patterns of irrational behavior — tend to be used to support positions that those using them already believe in. Much the same is true of arguments from market failure.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/37nx3ta Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Center for a Stateless Society Author: David D'Amato Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “With international voices broaching the possibilities of various power allotments or a coalition government, the premise seems to accept on some level that neither of these candidates necessarily ought to be thrust upon the entire country, that it’s possible to prevent further violence by diffusing rather than concentrating political authority. That premise is shared by anarchism, which endorses unqualified ‘power-sharing,’ or a vying between multiple sources of legal and social arrangements.” (12/07/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/5284 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Nolan Chart Author: Walt Thiessen Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “With the Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives in January, many opponents of the Federal Reserve thought that Ron Paul as chairman of the House Subcommittee for Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology would be a slam dunk. After all, he has, by far, the most seniority of any Republican on the committee. Yet, already there are reports that incoming speaker John Boehner is trying to find a way to keep it from happening.” (12/07/10) Link: http://www.nolanchart.com/article8186.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty & Power Author: Robert Higgs Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Along with the myth of Munich, the myth of the Pearl Harbor attack has performed magnificently in keeping Americans dumb and belligerent and in preparing them to sacrifice their children’s lives in the service of the ruling oligarchy.” (12/07/10) Link: http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/134358.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty Unbound Author: Bruce Ramsey Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Sunday night I saw Toy Story 3, the year’s No. 1 hit, with more than $415 million already earned at the domestic box-office. When the movie was over, my first thought, apart from how wonderful it was, was that it had a political message.” (12/07/10) Link: http://libertyunbound.com/node/407 Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Kent's "Hooligan Libertarian" Blog Author: Kent McManigal Posted on 12.08.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “This whole Wikileaks situation has completely ripped away the thin veil that was marginally hiding the monster at the controls. The State has exposed itself for exactly what it is. Those who still support it are siding with death, tyranny, and inexcusable evil.” (12/08/10) Link: http://blog.kentforliberty.com/2010/12/truth-exposed.html Filed under: RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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