Can Jury Slaves Say What's True?See my own story here: Tell the Truth, Get Out of Jury Duty
I too was criticized for doing the same, as you'll see in the comments on his article, the fact of the matter is I didn't want to perjure myself, and as Jeff Tucker notes it would only have ended in a hung jury and a retrial. - Chris |
Obama and Romney: War Is PeaceIn last night’s presidential debate, both candidates claimed to run on a promise of peace and against the policies of George W. Bush. Obama criticized the Republicans for going to war in Iraq and took Romney to task for his bellicose rhetoric. A bit more surprisingly, Romney congratulated Obama on executing bin Laden but then said, “we can’t kill our way out of this mess.” The ultimate goal, said Romney, is peace: “We want a peac... (more)
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Do Not Tolerate Domestic ViolenceI am not talking about spousal abuse. I mean the abuse heaped upon you by the United States government. The parallels are striking.
America claims to own you, and so you pay a heavy price for leaving as an expat. It cruelly invades your breasts and genitals through pat-downs at the airport. Then it does the same to your children. America swears it is protecting you while violating your rights at every turn; and you have become so brainwashed that you now mistake a fist in your fac... (more)
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Kids: Smarter Than AdultsIt’s happened yet again: I found another movie presumably made for kids that easily beats many of this season’s predictable box-office yawners. The movie this time is The Pirates! Band of Misfits. It is the story of a socially complex group of failed pirates — people doing their best to make a life for themselves outside official channels — and their captain’s search for fame in the “Pirate of the Year” pageant.
This supposed kids movie is packed with subtleties, ironic humor, mor... (more)
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Obamney vs Robama: Statism, Sociopathy and Human ProsperityDear Democrats, what if I was to propose a “political” system that could accomplish the following:
- drastically lower tuition costs
- drastically lower medical care costs
- eliminate foreign wars and foreign military bases
- drastically reduce “defense” spending
- end the drug war entirely
- eliminate crony capitalism entirely
- eliminate the accumulation of wealth by the top 1%
- greatly increase the conservation of resources
... (more)
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Doug Casey's Top Five Reasons Not To VoteL: Doug, we've spoken about presidents. We have a presidential election coming up in the US -- an election that could have significant consequences on our investments. But given the views you've already expressed on the Tea Party movement and anarchy, I'm sure you have different ideas. What do you make of the impending circus, and what should a rational man do?
<... (more)
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You Will Be BetrayedMy neighborhood is filling up with political yard signs. Vote for this guy! Vote for that guy!
I can’t understand why people are willing to give up precious real estate on their front lawns, make friends mad at them, and put their own credibility on the line to back some politico who will certainly betray them in a matter of weeks. The con men who people cheer in politics have done little or nothing to deserve this kind of public support.
My neighborhood forbids com... (more)
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The Arab Spring and the Romanticism of RevolutionWhen the so-called Arab Spring erupted in late 2010, it was lauded by the Western media as a triumph for freedom and democracy. Here was a group of nations traditionally ruled through various forms of theocracy and dictatorship where the citizens had finally had enough. People were taking to the streets and demanding that those regimes which had been using their leadership roles to suppress dissent and enrich themselves would finally have to own up to the decades of misery they caused. Time m... (more)
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America's Drone Terrorism In the United States, the dominant narrative about the use of drones in Pakistan is of a surgically precise and effective tool that makes the U.S. safer by enabling “targeted killing” of terrorists, with minimal downsides or collateral impacts.
This narrative is false. Those are the understated opening words of a disturbing, though unsurprising, nine-month study of the Obama administration’s official, yet unacknowledged, remote-controlled bombing ca... (more)
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Your Vote Still Doesn't MatterI hit a nerve whenever I write about voting and democracy.
Point out the sheer lunacy of the civic religion and a certain group of readers will blow their stacks, sending back long emails stuffed with long words, calling me things like “intellectually vacuous” and insisting I’m full of “self-aggrandizement.”
Such is the case with an email from Laissez Faire Today reader B.R., who says he doesn’t normally like to start his criticisms with name-calling but believes th... (more)
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The Malalas You Will Not Hear AboutSome news stories break your heart. On October 9, in Pakistan, 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot twice in the head by Taliban gunmen. She is being treated in a hospital in Birmingham, England, where she was moved for specialized care and personal safety. Doctors say they expect a “good recovery.”
Malala was targeted for assassination because of her prominent role in promoting education for girls in ... (more)
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The War on Private Property Do you want to live in an authoritarian society? Do you desire an intrusive government? Do you wish for a government that is a nanny state? Do you yearn for government bureaucrats to tell you what you can and cannot do? Do you like puritanical busybodies telling you how to live your life? Do you believe that the government should define and enforce morality? Do you reason that vices should be crimes? Then you should support the war on drugs.
Do you love liberty? Do ... (more)
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Loopholes: Another Word for FreedomLet's say that a thief demands $100 and lets you keep $10 because he likes your suit. He calls that a deduction. The next day, he demands the whole $110. He says that he is not stealing more. He is only eliminating deductions and closing loopholes. That's the GOP's tax plan in a nutshell.
They say that it is not about raising your taxes. That's what Democrats do, and Republicans don't do that sort of thing. Instead, Republicans favor the "flat tax" that is "revenue neutral." They ... (more)
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Your Turn in the PokeyProponents of liberty argue over what parts of the economy or society government should not touch. Government should get out the education business, stay out of health care, and even leave roads and infrastructure to the private sector.
But when it comes to criminal justice, even many libertarians think government should supply the police and court system. And truly, government controls the criminal justice system. The results are tragic.
The government determines w... (more)
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Hobgoblins and CyberwarfareLast June the New York Times ran an article adapted from a book by David E. Sanger which revealed that within the first few months of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a ramping up of the federal government's foray into cyberwarfare with Iran. Along with the help of the Israeli government, the computer worm codenamed by security experts ... (more)
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If Two Men Go Into the Woods Without a Police Officer, How Many Will Come Out Alive? A few weeks ago, I was lounging on the edge of a beautiful corn field in Eastern Colorado having one of the most interesting conversations of my entire life, although I didn’t realize it at the time. My friends and I were in the field that day in the hope of doing some dove hunting, but there were virtually no birds flying. As a consequence, I was sprawled out in the hot grass with my shotgun tossed out in the dirt. My friends and their shotguns were similarly situated, which left us ... (more)
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The Fundamental Right of SecessionWhat is the world’s smallest country? Monaco? Nope. Malta? Too big. Even Vatican City with a mere population of 770 is huge in comparison.
It’s called Sealand, founded and ruled by Paddy Roy Bates, a remarkable man who died this week at the age of 91. He was the original pirate radio operator and the Prince of Sealand, a tiny barge six miles out of the east side of Great Britain, outside the territorial waters of the UK.
From his self-created nation, Bates broadcast... (more)
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The Futility of Political DebatesAs the American presidential election tightens in its final month, the series of debates between the contenders is now underway. In the first round, it was Republican hopeful Mitt Romney who came out on top of sitting President Obama who appeared uncharacteristically lacking of his signature poise. On the broad issue of domestic policy, Romney appeared to have Obama beat when it came to fiscal know-how. This triumph lead to the former Massachusetts governor surging in the polls after weeks of... (more)
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