One-Dimensional Thinking on Drug LegalizationThe libertarian movement is often dismissed as consisting of a bunch of hippy stoners who just want to take drugs and do whatever they want. Of course, this is an unfair and untrue generalization that ignores the centuries of political philosophy, ethics, and economic thought that underlie the modern definition of libertarianism, yet it is not hard to see why this misconception persists. Popular libertarian outlets like Reason Magazine prioritize marijuana legalization, and libertarian figures i... (more)
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Social Pressure Triumphs AgainGoogle Glass is basically dead.
The innovative technology from the largest, most exciting tech firm out there was supposed to usher in a brave new world of wearable computers, revolutionize communication and take humanity the next step down the inevitable road towards cyborghood.
It was also, if you listened to a different set of sources, going to destroy any hope of privacy, wreck our attention spans, cripple inter-personal interaction, undermine trust, and basical... (more)
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Worship the Veterans DayVeterans Days is misnamed.
It was originally termed Armistice Day--a day to commemorate the signing of the armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that ended fighting on the Western Front in World War I, "the war to end all wars." After World War II, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day as a tribute to all U.S. soldiers who fought for the government in some unnecessary foreign conflict.
But that is not why it is misnamed.
Alt... (more)
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The Political Sterility of Jon StewartPolitical satire has a long and honorable history: Aristophanes, William Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift; W.S. Gilbert; George Orwell; Tom Lehrer, David Frost, and That Was the Week That Was; George Carlin; Spitting Image, Yes, Minister; the Smothers Brothers; the early Saturday Night Live, Dave Barry, The Onion, South P... (more)
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Surprise: The Drug War Isn't About Drugs On the morning of November 6 the US Federal Bureau of Investigation trumpeted its takedown of the Silk Road 2.0 website and the arrest of alleged operator Blake Benthall.
In so doing the FBI demonstrated, once again, that the War on Drugs has nothing to do with anything its propagandists claim it’s about. If drug criminalization is a public safety issue — about fighting violent crime and gangs, or preventing overdoses and poisoning — shutting down Silk Road is one of the dumbest... (more)
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For Once, SWAT Operators Didn't Terrorize KidsExchanging one set of costumes for another of a more benign variety, a dozen SWAT operators from the Toledo Police Department posing as superheroes performed for sick children at the ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
“It was cool,” said Officer Matthew Slaman, who dressed as the Adamantium-enhanced mutant Wolverine. “It was a lot of fun to see their faces light up, and h... (more)
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Election 2014: The Good News and BadThe 2014 midterm election delivered both good news and bad. The good news is that the losers lost. The bad news is that the winners won.
Journalist Mike Barnicle says he's never seen an election in which the people feel so distant from the government. I wish his diagnosis were right, but I suspect it is not. True, voter turnout likely set no records for a midterm, but this doesn't indicate alienation as much as disgust with the particular cast of incumbents. Who wouldn't be disgus... (more)
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A Small Victory for FreedomOne of the most ridiculous things about the government's war on drugs is that it classifies marijuana in the same category as dangerous drugs such as heroin, thus making marijuana worse than morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and phenobarbital.
Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). As a Schedule I drug, marijuana supposedly meets the following criteria:
1. The drug or other substance has a high p... (more)
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Lew Rockwell On The Great News From the 2014 Elections"Two-thirds of the people eligible to vote didn’t. Since only 1/3 of the people voted for the regime, shouldn't it be democratically dissolved? And notice that we have to go to Al Jazeera to get the truth. The cheerleading State media of the US are silent."
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The Biggest Obstacle to FreedomExpressing their obvious contempt for the overall situation in America, voters played their latest game of musical chairs by putting Republicans back in charge of Congress.
It won't make any difference at all. That's because the Republicans who have been installed into power are as statist as the Democrats they are replacing.
What really matters with respect to a free society is not a new set of statists to replace an old set of statists. That's one of the things th... (more)
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If You Vote — or Don't Vote — ComplainSo here we go again. Another biennial US election season draws to a close and here come the solemn multi-partisan invocations of civic duty: Exercise that franchise. Pull that lever, push that button, mark that box. The future of western civilization depends on you. And if you don’t vote, don’t complain.
Question: If I don’t drive around my neighborhood at 3am blasting Metallica out my car window at 140 decibels, am I boorish or hypocritical to complain about those who do?
... (more)
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How Far Can the P2P Revolution Go?How far can the peer-to-peer revolution be pushed? It’s time we start to speculate, because history is moving fast. We need to dislodge from our minds our embedded sense of what’s possible.
Right now, we can experience a form of commercial relationship that was unknown just a decade ago. If you need a ride in a major city, you can pull up the smartphone app for Uber or Lyft and have a car arrive in minutes. It’s amazing to users because they get their first taste of what consumer... (more)
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The Index Card of Allowable OpinionI think most people know what I mean when I speak of the gatekeepers of permissible discussion. On the left, sites like ThinkProgress and Media Matters smear and attack those uppity peons who stray from the ideological plantation that the Washington Post and the New York Times oversee. On the right it's neoconservative sites like the Free Beacon, who have built a nice little cabin on that plantation, and who rat out anyone who tries to run away. Why, we don't hold any of the dangerous views of t... (more)
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Should Government Have the Power to Quarantine?Earlier this spring, when awareness of Ebola was just beginning to dawn, a case of infection appeared in the town of Harbel, Liberia. The biggest employer in the area is Firestone. The company immediately set up a quarantine area of its hospital for the infected woman, who soon died. They distributed hazmat suits to workers. They researched everything they could, built a treatment center, and set up a comprehensive response. Transmission stopped. Even now, the only cases seen in this area come f... (more)
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Obama Appointee Supports Individual RightsI've been critical of the Obama administration in the past, so it's nice to find something positive to say. This article says that President Obama's new acting head of the Justice Depa... (more)
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Let the Market Contain EbolaAmerican politicians’ attempts to create panic over a potential Ebola outbreak in the United States seem to have failed. Family and other contacts of US “patient zero” Thomas Eric Duncan completed a 21-day quarantine with no new cases appearing in that pool. Two nurses who treated Duncan are now symptomatic, but this seems to be a matter of early protocol failure (in any new health care situation i... (more)
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The State as a Royal Scam“I am from Windows Support–”
“No, you’re not,” I told the Indian-accented fellow on the other end of the phone. “You’re about the tell me that my computer is sending error messages on the internet, correct?”
“Sir, your computer is sending –”
“No, it isn’t,” I interjected before he could finish. “Tell me, does anybody still fall prey to this scam? I gr... (more)
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Glenn Greenwald TED Talk: Why Privacy Matters
Glenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see — and write about — the Edward Snowden files, with their revelations about the United States' extensive surveillance of private citizens. In this searing talk, Greenwald makes the case for why you need to care about privacy, even if you’re “not doing anything you need to hide."
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"Crush the Seed of Ishmael": A "Final Solution" to the "Muslim Problem"We have reached a point in our nation's descent into psychotic tribalist fear where people of stature and apparent sobriety unabashedly use the expression “final solution” when discussing the existence of Muslims.
For ISIS “and those similarly motivated,” insists ret... (more)
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The State Has No Right To Do AnythingI often hear people make casual remarks like, "Well, the State has a right to collect taxes," "the State has a right to punish criminals," or "the State has a right to controls its borders." Inside, I am always somewhat horrified at how very easily these kinds of assumptions are made, at how obvious the truth of such claims seems to others. Such assumptions are simply a given for most people, not even on the table for debate, no one really speculating about where the State acquired all of these ... (more)
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Will the CDC Save Us From Ebola?Disease pandemics are a dream come true for central planners. Hysterical over possible contagion, citizens clamor for government action, government quarantines, government coercion, and government planning. In these cases, large numbers of people want government to do what government does best: seize people and property, coerce, issue orders, and spend lots of money.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control presents itself as the answer to every pandemic. Nevermind th... (more) I'd say they're more likely to spread it for job security. - Chris, InfoLib |
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Left and Right Agree: War Is PopularCommon wisdom would purport that those on the so-called "right" are and have always been hawkish and pro-war, while those on the proverbial "left" have always been the tree-hugging, peacenik, anti-war folks. For many conservatives, unfortunately, this is more or less correct. However, progressives have once again airbrushed their own past, which is about as anti-war as, well, war.
Much of this perception is relatively recent and primarily boils down to the Iraq War. The neocon... (more)
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What the Feds and Bernie Madoff Have in CommonThrough the years, Bernard Madoff, the convicted ponzi schemer who defrauded his investors, "generously" donated millions of dollars to charity -- cancer research, hospitals, theaters, schools, and more. At least one of these charitable organizations invested with Mr. Madoff, where the invested funds disappeared.
But Madoff is not the only one who gives money to people after first taking it from them. Today's political leaders win votes and plaudits by giving goodies to little Joh... (more)
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Chris Kyle, Clint Eastwood, and a Film Trailer Heinrich Himmler Would AdmireClint Eastwood is one of the most gifted filmmakers in the history of the medium. Bradley Cooper is an extraordinarily capable actor. On the evidence of the teaser trailer for “American Sniper,” Eastwood and Cooper — who stars in the title role, and served as a producer — have produced a masterpiece of War Party propaganda.
Cooper stars as the late Chris Kyle, generally (and, perhaps, unreliably) considered to be the most lethal sniper in US military history.
... (more)
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The Danger We Face Is From WithinAs most everyone knows, ISIS, not al-Qaeda, is the newest official enemy facing the United States. The truth, however, is that it's not ISIS that poses the biggest threat to the American people. Instead, the biggest threat to the freedom and well-being of the American people is the moral rot that lies at the center of America's welfare-warfare state.
Under the welfare state way of life, Americans are waging war against each other. It's a polite war, one waged with smiles and frien... (more)
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Guards at Concentration Camps Were Just Doing Their JobsThe lamest, most ignorant, and most intellectually lazy excuse given to justify the actions of U.S. soldiers (and sailors, airmen, and Marines) is that they are just doing their job.
Of all the things I have been told over the years by apologists for the military, that soldiers are just doing their jobs is overwhelmingly the thing I am told the majority of the time.
Even as U.S. troops return to Iraq, some critics of further military action will still say that we ne... (more)
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