Here’s your chance to turn that tide by supporting some new movies made by friends who do share our values.

First up is the new comedy Witless Protection, starring Larry the Cable Guy, Jenny McCarthy, and Yaphet Kotto, released this past weekend by LionsGate. (This is the same studio that is producing Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.) The writer/director of Witless Protection is Charles Carner, a friend I met through our long attendance at the pro-Second-Amendment ATF nights (where Alcohol and Tobacco were consumed and Firearms discussed). This being a Larry the Cable Guy movie with a lot of redneck humor, don’t expect an evening of Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward, but Charles emails me, “I managed to put some politically-incorrect humor into the movie, which was fun.”

The critics are, of course, attacking the movie because it’s not aimed at them but targeted to people who actually have to pay to see movies. So it didn’t have the biggest opening weekend and, without support, might be gone from the theaters by next weekend. So please pass along the message to go see this movie sometime this week to all Second Amendment, libertarian, and patriot lists. If there’s enough business during the week it might be held over another weekend and have time for a viral word-of-mouth campaign to boost its box office.

Next up is Second-Amendment scholar David T. Hardy’s feature documentary, In Search of the Second Amendment, which is having its film-festival premiere at the Backlot Film Festival at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City, CA, April 2-5, 2008. The website for this excellent analysis of the history and legal status of the Second Amendment — more timely than ever with the Heller case on DC’s gun ban being reviewed by the Supreme Court this year — is at http://www.secondamendmentdocumentary.com/.

The Backlot Film Festival is the same festival where my own suspense-comedy feature, Lady Magdalene’s, starring Nichelle Nichols, is having its first LA-area screening the evening of April 3rd. I don’t think it takes much convincing that a movie written and directed by the author of the libertarian-award-winning Alongside Night and Charlton-Heston endorsed Stopping Power has plenty of pro-individual-liberty and pro-Second Amendment content. Nichelle Nichols will be present to introduce our screening plus the one after it, a restored print of the classic MGM all-black musical, Cabin in the Sky — and Nichelle will be singing live between the screenings with piano accompaniment, Because of Nichelle’s association both with Star Trek and now Heroes we expect this to be a star-studded event. And the timing couldn’t be better for our prospects to achieve distribution since at our February 2nd film-festival premiere at the San Diego Black Film Festival, Lady Magdalene’s won the festival’s Best Cutting Edge Film Award. Full details on our website at http://www.ladymagdalenes.com/.

Discount tickets to the Backlot Film Festival, including all film screenings, will be available through various pro-RKBA and libertarian groups. Details on the where and how will be forthcoming.

Remember, if we don’t support the filmmakers who embody our own values, they might not remain in the business so they can keep on trying to balance Hollywood’s politically-correct offerings.

I also have it on good authority — that of long-time supporter/contributor MJ Taylor of from Reason to Freedom — that a $200 check is on the way … so I’m declaring this fundraiser CLOSED with a putative total of $3,077. Thanks to all of you for your support, and to our friends at ISIL/Laissez Faire Books and LibertyStickers.Com for their help with premiums (not all of the stickers have been mailed out yet, but I’m working on it!) - TLK

Bear with me while I engage in what can only be termed journalistic masturbation.

After watching wall-to-wall coverage in the mainstream media concerning the incident in the Strait of Hormuz between Iranian speedboats and US warships, one would be hard pressed to not experience a feeling of deja vu — the parallels to the Gulf of Tonkin are amazing.

For a few days now, the major networks have breathlessly trumpeted the provocative confrontation and reported that “US warships were seconds away from firing on the speedboats.” Everybody panic!

Eh, not so much.

(more…)

Would you like to see criminal gangs growing marijuana in your community, making large profits, which in turn would fund other criminal activities?

A new federal report says that our current marijuana policies are actually making this more likely. If you live in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, California, or parts of New York State, you may be particularly at risk.

The report is the U.S. Department of Justice’s “National Drug Threat Assessment 2008,” released to the public on November 8. The only mention it got in the press had to do with supposed shortages of cocaine in some areas, but the report’s findings on marijuana will affect many more Americans. Marijuana, after all, is far and away the most commonly used illegal drug.

(more…)

- Any Blogad for 1 week, $10
- Any Blogad for 2 weeks, $15
- Any Blogad for 1 month, $25
- Any Blogad for 3 months, $50

To order, click here or on the “advertise here” link in any of our Blogads strips.

Choose from any of our Blogad formats (Standard, Hi-Rise, Mini or Classie) — the cost is the same, and it’s as low as it’s ever going to get. During this sale, you can get a one-month Blogad for the usual cost of a one-week Blogad, and three months for a little more than HALF the usual cost of a single month. Sorry, we can’t accept Flash animations during this sale — regular graphics only.

To order, click here or on the “advertise here” link in any of our Blogads strips.

Your ad will run on EVERY page at rationalreview.com, as well as on the Freedom News Daily page at ISIL’s web site. It will also run as a text ad w/link in our daily email editions (and will be permanently archived on the web in those editions).

If you sell a good or service that you think libertarian readers will find interesting, or if you’re seeking support for your campaign for political office, or if you want to flog your own organization or web site, now’s the time to do it CHEAP. We run a maximum of five Blogads at any given time, and this sale ends when November ends, but if the ad strip is full you CAN advance order the ad at these rates, to run when spaces become available.

Naturally, we reserve the right to reject ads — but we won’t do so without good reason, and payment for rejected ads will of course be promptly and cheerfully refunded.

To order, click here or on the “advertise here” link in any of our Blogads strips.

There is no family responsibility more important than educating the next generation. You may be wealthy or poor. You may be healthy or sick. No matter your conditions, you can be sure: If your children are not educated well, they will end up poor and sick.

As Libertarians, we believe that competitive private and market solutions will generally provide superior answers to challenging questions. Private and home schooling should offer children a richness of individually-designed education programs that other arrangements will find difficult to match. However, sensible Libertarians also recognize that public schools enjoy two huge advantages, namely large tax subsidies and a huge market and production base already in place.

(more…)

Thanks to contributors MC (who will be hearing from me later today about his Laissez Faire Books gift certificate) and DT, and to subscribing contributor JL! Their payments, totaling $105, came in over the weekend, bringing our third quarter fundraising total to $1,835!

We didn’t make our goal of $3,000, and that means the 4th quarter fundraiser will probably start early so that we can try to break through … but I’ll hold off as long as possible in honor of those of you who contributed this quarter. Thank you so much for your support, and I’ll keep the fundraising appeals off your screen for awhile - TLK

/END DAILY UPDATE

Civil Liberties — The Oath of Office of the President is to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States. When a President takes office, he should place his hand on one place: the Constitution he is swearing to protect. When an advisor tells the President “The Constitution is not a suicide pact” as a justification for his illegal deeds, he is urging that our government be overthrown. As President, I will appoint officials and advisors who support the Constitution.

A Loyal, Patriotic Civil Service — Loyal Americans honor our Constitution and obey the Law of the land. They do not make warrantless searches of your home. They do not wiretap your phone calls without court orders. They do not throw Americans into jail and detain them without trial or access to attorneys. We need a Federal government composed of loyal Americans who love our country. Federal employees who made warrantless searches, performed warrantless wiretaps, and detained citizens without trial will be replaced with patriotic Americans. And then the facts of their actions should be presented to grand juries.

Presidential Royalism — We have a President, not an Emperor. Americans who dissent from elected Federal officers are true patriots who understand where America was born. Advocates of Free Speech zones, into which protesters are herded and hidden from the press, are dangerous subversives attacking our Constitution. Patriotic Americans do not grovel. They should not mindlessly stand and applaud because a President walks into the room. [Mind you, if you want to stand, applaud, or throw yourself on your kneepads, that’s your privilege.] Libertarians reject royalism.

Torture. Rendition. Secret Prisons. — Real Americans do not torture. Real Americans do not kidnap so others can torture for us. Real Americans support timely public trials with juries, not military kangaroo tribunals. Real Americans should ensure that torture, renditions, and secret prisons are ended, and the people who committed crimes, such as torture, kidnap, and secretly imprison, are brought to justice.

—–
George Phillies is a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s 2008 presidential nomination. His campaign web site is located at www.phillies2008.org. As a matter of course, Rational Review will publish, unedited, the submissions of libertarian presidential candidates. For more information, or for assistance, contact us at info@rationalreview.com.

We have the best navy in the world. We maintain a huge Atlantic fleet, when no hostile nations border the Atlantic. We build the world’s finest amphibious landing ships, which are only useful for launching invasions. We aren’t planning any. We should right-size our armed forces to an order of battle matching the threats we face. Only a Libertarian President will
right-size our military.

Finding Mr. Bin Laden is a job for spies and special forces, not a job for tank divisions. The Afghan people have been governing themselves for hundreds of years. They will not long tolerate foreign occupation. Only a Libertarian President will give the Bin Laden problem to the right people.

The real foundation of our national security is our technology and industry. They let us deploy real defenses against real threats. Resources spent by our standing military are resources extracted from our industrialists and farmers and educators. When we spend our resources on a pointlessly large military, we weaken the foundation of our national security. Only a Libertarian President will strengthen our national security by right-sizing defense spending.

—–
George Phillies is a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s 2008 presidential nomination. His campaign web site is located at www.phillies2008.org. As a matter of course, Rational Review will publish, unedited, the submissions of libertarian presidential candidates. For more information, or for assistance, contact us at info@rationalreview.com.

The Kelo Decision - Your house should belong to you, not to the lounge lizard who bribed your city council. Eminent Domain takings should be limited to traditional public purposes. Eminent domain should not be used to steal your house for a developer or sports team.

(more…)

A quick search for the word “gut” happlily confirms my suspicions; the online dictionary of Merriam Webster starts the definition of gut with the word, bowels. I have long suspected that the administration’s facts are rectally sourced or, in other words, they pull them out of their collective asses.

(more…)

Odd, I always considered myself to be rather cynical and jaded about politicians.

Now we come to Bush commuting (not pardoning because after all, he still has to pay money and be on probation and he is still convicted — and we all know that convicted liars have no place in politics) Scooter Libby’s sentence.

You can read the entire pack of lies at:

www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070702-3.html

For your convenience, I have graciously copied the pertinent parts and noted the pants-on-fire-level whoppers for your enlightenment.

(more…)

Armed Forces desegregation actually began in Arizona, where the Air National Guard’s commanding officer was a prominent social liberal: He and his wife later brought Planned Parenthood to Tempe. His later political book warned emphatically about the dangers of overpopulation and the need for population control. The officer in question eventually went into politics, continuing to espouse his principles of individual freedom and equality before the law: In 1964, he became the Republican Party’s nominee for President of the United States.

It is now 2007. Six decades after the Armed Forces were desegregated by race, the Armed Forces are segregated by gender orientation. (more…)

The quarter and the fundraiser end tomorrow, and we’re WAY light here, folks. I’m going to make one last plea, and an adjustment, before shutting this thing down. I’d love to be able to report to you on Monday that some angels got us across the finish line … so I’m moving the finish line up. If we’re not going to make it to $3,000 (and it doesn’t look like we will) how about $2,000? We’re only $310 away from that mark.

We’ll keep trying (privately) to sell our “major supporter goodie package” — more than $2,000 worth of stuff for $1,000. If you’re interested in that, see tinyurl.com/yrxqm6.

What we’re looking for from the rest of you — the readers who love RRND/FND but aren’t interested in popping a thousand bucks for advertising and such — is that other $310. That’s 31 of you who think it’s worth $10, or 62 who’ll go $5, or 124 of you who are willing to pony up $2.50 to support our continue publication … or some mix of those numbers. One dollar? That works! So does $100.

Have a great weekend. But first, click and contribute - TLK

To contribute to RRND using PayPal or e-gold, see the sidebar of any page at rationalreview.com.

If you prefer tax deductibility, support ISIL and “earmark” your contribution for the support of Freedom News Daily at:

www.isil.org/store/membership.html#freedom-news-daily

And if you’d like to physically ship us checks, money orders, wampum, bullion, Federal Reserve Notes, used bottles that can be returned for deposit refunds, or pieces of toast with images of the Virgin Mary on them that we can auction on eBay, just drop me a line for instructions on how to do that. (Seriously: We’re always looking for computer hardware — if you’ve got a reasonably recent desktop or laptop that you’re looking to unload, let me know).

And now, for the graphic you never wanted to see:

I’ll update this article daily throughout the fundraiser. And THANK YOU for your continuing support!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review

Let me draw a few comparisons:

Barry Goldwater wanted to reduce the size of government.

George Bush conservatives offer “big government conservatism” and the largest expansion in welfare since Lyndon Johnson.

Barry Goldwater supported a balanced budget.

George Bush conservatives offer the largest budget deficits, funded and unfunded, in our history.

Barry Goldwater said that “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

George Bush conservatives give us extremism, just not in the defense of liberty: extraordinary rendition, detention without trial, and torture.

Barry Goldwater knew that secret police who listened to phone calls were Commies working for the KGB and Chairman Mao.

George Bush conservatives bring us bigger and better American secret police, who use computers to listen to every single phone call and Internet message.

Barry Goldwater was in love with technology. He was a jet pilot. His home was filled with high-tech gadgets. He ran for President of a country that strove to be the world leader in technology and science.

Modern conservatives oppose stem cell research. When asked about evolution, four Republican Presidential candidates expressed disbelief. Worse, the other six did not burst into laughter.

Barry Goldwater believed in personal privacy.

Bush conservatives want to introduce state identity papers. (more…)

I recently experienced the fantasy of nearly every red-blooded hetero-American (or other) man the other night: I was standing at a social event, drinking free beer and munching on free hors d’oeuvres, chatting with several rather tall, very attractive, pleasantly slender, clearly intelligent and creative single women: one blonde, one brunette and one a striking redhead.

What’s more, from my personal agenda, they were all songwriters, who had each come to Nashville, as I did initially, to pursue that craft and perhaps make a living at it. The fantasy continued to play out, as we chatted and got to know each other a bit better; staying “in the moment” became more and more difficult, at least for this little black duck.

And then the conversation turned, and not in a good way, as one of the women commented on the proposed state legislation, to ban smoking in all “public” places, expressing her heartfelt approval of the measure. Then, almost without skipping a beat, both of the other two goddesses chimed in, in total agreement. (Mind you, we were standing in the back-barroom of a local tavern/restaurant, just off Music Row, which — by the choice of the owner and his/her patrons (mainly tourist trade and music industry) — was already … “smoke-free” … voluntarily!)

[Update: June 1, 2007: The Tennessee House passed what the papers call a “watered down” version of the bill, which “specifically exempts bars, tobacco shops, restaurant patios, mechanic shops, small businesses with three or fewer employees, private clubs, private homes and residences as well as allowing a maximum of 25 percent of hotel rooms to be smoking rooms.” Although it is still draconian and mandates rather than persuades, it is at least a little less oppressive overall (nice that they include “private homes” in the list; we wouldn’t want to think we weren’t “allowed” to control our own property, now would we?) - SAT]

I tried to restrain my ire, replying only that this attitude was at the root of much of what was wrong with our society today: if the first impulse when faced with an issue is to pass laws prohibiting behavior, then the idea of “freedom” will always be secondary to the desires of whatever pressure-group happened to hold power. (more…)

On May 27, environmentalists will celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Rachel Carson, the founding mother of their movement.

But Carson’s centenary is no cause for celebration. Her legacy includes more than a million deaths a year from the mosquito-borne disease malaria. Though nearly eradicated decades ago, malaria has resurged with a vengeance because DDT, the most effective agent of mosquito control, has been essentially discarded — discarded based not on scientific concerns about its safety, but on environmental dogma advanced by Carson.

The crusade against DDT began with Carson’s antipesticide diatribe Silent Spring, published in 1962 at the height of the worldwide antimalaria campaign. The widespread spraying of DDT had caused a spectacular drop in malaria incidence — Sri Lanka, for example, reported 2.8 million malaria victims in 1948, but by 1963 it had only 17. Yet Carson’s book made no mention of this. It said nothing of DDT’s crucial role in eradicating malaria in industrialized countries, or of the tens of millions of lives saved by its use.

Instead, Carson filled her book with misinformation — alleging, among other claims, that DDT causes cancer. Her unsubstantiated assertion that continued DDT use would unleash a cancer epidemic generated a panicked fear of the pesticide that endures as public opinion to this day.

(more…)

What is the libertarian answer to the torture question? It’s the American answer, the answer the American people have already given. Torture is a crime against civilization, reviled by all patriotic Americans.

Let’s take it from the top.

First, there is nothing for a President to decide. Inside the United States, torture is a felony. If you are anywhere in the United States, and you torture someone, you are committing more crimes than I care to list. There is no exception in those laws for government officials.

If you are an American abroad and torture someone, it’s a felony. If your victim dies, you have earned the death penalty. There is no exception in those laws for government officials.

Second, those laws reflect the wisdom of the American people. Torturers are the filth of the earth, properly grouped with child molesters and mercenaries. We need not ask what the founding fathers and their fellows thought of mercenaries. Their position is enshrined in the third verse of The Star-Spangled Banner:

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,”

(more…)

People persist in asking me for whom should they vote. I strongly believe that if you are voting for any incumbent, you are making a grave error, which is likely to be deadly to many, disastrous to private property, and beneficial only to graft and corruption. In the case of nearly every challenger I’ve ever scrutinized closely, the same is true. There are a few exceptions, but they are indeed rare.

So, for whom should you vote? I think the Libertarian Party has an excellent idea. In every election, for every office, a legitimate candidate to consider is “None of the Above.” If you vote for “None of the Above” in a Libertarian Party primary, and that choice wins the most votes, then the party runs no one for that office. Where allowed by law, they place “None of the Above” on the ballot for that office. So, you would have the opportunity to elect no one to that office, and, in the event that any jurisdiction allowed such a vote to be credentialed, no one would serve in that office.

Isn’t that a fine idea? Wouldn’t you be better off? Can you think of any office at any level that would not be improved by sitting empty for a year, two years, four years, or six years — depending on the relevant term?

(more…)

The Bush administration tells us that the United States has not yet achieved its objectives in the War in Iraq so American troops have to stay there until a stable Iraqi democracy can fend for itself against an insurgency fueled by al Qaeda-fed Sunni Muslims and Iranian-fed Shia Muslims: that the Iraqi InSurgency has to be fought with an American Surgency.

The Democratic Party opposition tells us that, because of this InSurgency, the Bush administration already lost the War in Iraq so it’s time to cut our losses and bring American troops home.

Neither the Bush administration nor its critics see the obvious fact that Operation Iraqi Freedom was a total victory, and any discussion of whether American troops should stay or go have to follow from that fact.
(more…)