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"To all libertarians: keep doing what you're doing, chipping away at the monster. Doing one thing for freedom is no more important than doing any other thing. If politics is your thing, do it! Supporting a think tank? Do it! Writing a blog? Do it! Working with a single-issue group? Do it! Pushing for incremental change? Do it! Espousing libertarian utopianism? Do it! Demonstrating for freedom now? Do it! As long as you adhere to 'Maximum freedom, minimum coercion', I want to see libertarianism pushed on every front possible, all the time."
http://endervidualism.com/salon/intvw/greed.htm
"Today, more than 40 Democrats and 4 Republicans stand with Feingold as he helps lead a filibuster blocking the Patriot Act's renewal. They are taking a calculated risk, betting that the politics of terrorism have shifted from fear of another attack to wariness of 'Big Brother' intrusions on personal privacy."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/19/news/patriot.php
"That George Bush is in open and repeated violation of his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution is no longer debatable. In keeping with his many anti-constitutional actions, he has publicly declared that he has no way of knowing what is, and what is not constitutional. This attitude, while hardly unique in Washington, should be absolutely anathema to every American of all political stripes. And it appears that Americans are increasingly turning away from the president in rightful disgust. A recent poll here on WorldNetDaily showed that 45 percent of WND readers -- who tend to lean strongly Republican -- believe that George Bush deserves to be impeached."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47970
"President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaeda. But the Times said that NSA technicians have combed through large volumes of phone and internet traffic in search of patterns that might lead to terrorists."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,69936-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_6
"Michael Tonry, director of Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, reports that the US has the highest percentage of its population in prison than any country on earth, including dictatorships, tyrannies, and China. The US incarceration rate is up to 12 times higher than that of European countries."
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts12212005.html
"The government suffers no shortage of gall. Barely a week after air marshals from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gunned down passenger Rigoberto Alpizar at Miami's International Airport, the agency announced that it will expand the reach of its marshal program. That's right: slaughter a man, then, while the investigation is still going on, seek new venues."
http://www.fee.org/in_brief/default.asp?id=152
"Thus, we wound up with the peculiar and absurd situation of anarchists, often among the brightest and most dedicated in the libertarian movement, putting on suits and ties to run for political office. I can call it absurd. I did it myself." As did I. This is a truly excellent essay which could be put in several of the Review categories.
http://www.bradspangler.com/blog/archives/225
"Unlike most people, I'm all for these periodic hysterias and all for bringing down the party in power no matter who it is. There can never be something called 'good government' that acts as a pure defender of the public interest so that no private interests ever influence its actions or decisions. That is absurd. So long as there is government, it will be corrupt, and for one reason: the business of government involves activities that, if you and I attempted them in the private sector, would land us in prison. If someone wants to root it out and expose it, we can only cheer."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/selling-ideas.html
"Children are first able to recognize the truth when their friends start pointing out facts that don't jibe with the official story. This causes reflection, and those seeking the truth will compromise their happiness for that ideal. Those who care not for the truth will ride their happiness for all that it's worth, ignoring the truth. At first the true believers look at these fact pointers as traitors and the establishment chastises them for revealing the truth. The fantasy must be maintained for the good of all, they say."
http://www.strike-the-root.com/52/davis/davis6.html
"We can't have it both ways. We can't say that government must leave alone individuals who want to live their lives as they see fit, but then applaud when government goes beyond its jurisdiction to force change in other governments. 'Liberty' isn't an abstraction to impose or a religion to kill for. It is, rather, the unobstructed pursuit of happiness, to better one's life and one's world through personal initiative, voluntary cooperation, and persuasion."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/wilson-jl/wilson-james30.html
"The new constitution Iraq, overwhelmingly approved in a referendum on October 15 , already creates two super-regions, one Kurdish and the other Shia, which will have quasi-independence. Local law will be superior to national law. They will own newly discovered oil reserves. They will have their own armed forces. They envisage an Iraq which will be a loose confederation rather than a unified state."
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick12212005.html
"The Second Vermont Republic is a peaceful, democratic, grassroots, libertarian populist movement opposed to the tyranny of the U.S. Government, corporate America, and globalization and committed to the return of Vermont to its rightful status as an independent republic, as it was between 1777 and 1791."
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/707/
"One of the more puzzling mysteries of 9-11 is what ever happened to the flight recorders of the two planes that hit the World Trade Center towers. Now it appears that they may not be missing at all. Counterpunch has learned that the FBI has them."
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff12202005.html
"When Padilla was designated an enemy combatant in 2002, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft proclaimed that we had captured an al-Qaida operative who was planning to detonate a radiation bomb on U.S. soil. But three years later, the indictment against Padilla doesn't mention a word of this allegation."
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/18/Columns/How_torture_hurts_us_.shtml
"What more do we need to hear? The Bush doctrine is not about protecting Americans. It's global social engineering intended to ensure that U.S. policymakers and their clients can work their will undeterred by uppity autocrats (even if they once were allies of those policymakers). Stripped of the rhetoric of democracy and freedom, the Bush Doctrine comes down to the projection of power."
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0512h.asp
"The greatest resemblance of the two administrations, however, may be their deceptions about the need to conduct foreign wars, which later turned into quagmires. In 1964, LBJ used an alleged attack by a North Vietnamese patrol boat on a U.S. destroyer off the coast of Vietnam to push through Congress the open-ended Gulf of Tonkin resolution. ... In the same way, Bush exaggerated the threat that Saddam Hussein posed to get initial public and congressional support for invading Iraq. But when no weapons of mass destruction were found after the invasion and U.S. casualties mounted as a guerrilla war slogged on, public support for the endeavor eroded domestically."
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/commentary.asp?pid=2
"[T]hose readers going beneath the headlines found harsh revelations of the shell game that McCain and Bush are playing. These discoveries add to the accelerating exposure of how George W. Bush--with the cooperation of the once principled John McCain and of other members of Congress--is engaging in the cruel and inhumane debasing of the values we are fighting for against homicidal terrorists." [Once principled? Hah !!!]
http://villagevoice.com/news/0552,hentoff,71304,6.html
"Bush closed his radio address by denouncing the media for disclosing the administration's warrantless wiretaps: 'Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.' It is illegal to reveal that the federal government is breaking the law. And disclosing government crimes is infinitely worse than anything the government did or could do."
http://jimbovard.com/blog/2005/12/21/how-federal-screwups-entitled-bush-to-absolute-power/
"'What distinguishes the successful entrepreneur and promoter from other people,' writes Mises, 'is precisely the fact that he does not let himself be guided by what was and is, but arranges his affairs on the ground of his opinion about the future. He sees the past and the present as other people do; but he judges the future in a different way.' It is for this reason that an entrepreneurial habit of mind cannot be implanted through training or education. It is something possessed and cultivated by an individual. There are no entrepreneurial committees, much less entrepreneurial planning boards."
http://www.mises.org/story/1990
"The economic case for open immigration is not fundamentally different than the case for free trade or free capital mobility. Allowing goods and services, capital, and labor to flow freely allows them be channeled to their most efficient uses and brings overall benefits to the domestic and world economies."
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1641
"Modernity is juxtaposed next to traditionalism: on the one hand you have the soaring heights of the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world, lit up like a vision of futurity against the night sky, and on the other hand you have women in traditional dress -- colorful costumes of bright color and the requisite head covering -- traversing its corridors. Two, three, many worlds coexisting: the past and the future converging into a new synthesis of creativity and entrepreneurial energy."
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8300
"Many libertarians see nothing wrong with mocking the consumption of organic foods while defending genetically modified foods. It seems as if much of this is a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that most critics of GMOs are leftists who want the State to take the initiative. I'm not holding my breath to see any criticism of GMOs on major libertarian sites anytime soon, even from a strictly anti-corporatist perspective (the aggressive enforcement of patents and much of the R&D funding that make GMOs attractive and profitable for agribusiness are statist, along with other regulatory measures that serve the interests of agribusiness)."
http://freemanlc.blogspot.com/2005/12/knee-jerk-anti-leftism.html
"There are hundreds of statutory minimum prices, including gasoline in some states. There are numerous agricultural import restrictions and production quotas. All of these government-sanction market manipulations represent seller collusions against consumers."
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/walterwilliams/2005/12/21/179874.html
"[T]he medical profession used its clout to get a federal law that says families of organ donors cannot be compensated. All the profits go to medicos and organ procurement agencies. The medicos cite ethics, saying organs must go to those who need them most. Cynics, however, believe they deliberately created an organ shortage so they can pick and choose the recipients -- not on the basis of need but on the basis of who can pay the most."
http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-5altruism-adec20,0,7534635.column
"All the elements of a new American fascism are in place: a regime that recognizes no restraints on its power, either moral or constitutional; the rise of a leader cult surrounding the president; and a foreign policy of relentless aggression. And make no mistake: it is this latter that makes all the rest of it possible."
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8284
"Executive searches without judicial review violate the unique checks and balances that the nation's founders created in the U.S. government and are a considerable threat to American liberty. Furthermore, surveillance of Americans by the NSA, an intelligence service rather than a law enforcement agency, is a regression to the practices of the Vietnam-era, when intelligence agencies were misused to spy on anti-war protesters--another impeachable violation of peoples' constitutional rights by LBJ and Nixon."
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1639
"Now Bush is saying that the job will be done when Iraqis enjoy the democratic freedoms guaranteed Americans. We should say, They do! Bought news stories, secret surveillance of phone calls, emails and faxes, arrest without warrant, disappearances, torture You've brought our democracies into sync. Call it a day, bring the troops home, and then we can start impeaching you. But who would do the impeaching? The Democrats have lost as much credibility as the President and the Republicans."
http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn12242005.html
"The wise men were faced with a dilemma: Obey the government or obey the command of God. To them the decision was a no-brainer: 'They departed into their own country another way' (Matthew 2:12). Like the Hebrew midwives, Saul's footmen, the three Hebrew children, the prophet Daniel, and the apostles, the wise men refused to obey the state."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance65.html
"I've always seen the tree, intruding as it does into the inner sanctum of the Christian home, as paganism's quiet revenge. So here's a glass of wine, raised in honor of the hero of the day, transforming eucharistically even as I partake. Happy birthday, Mithras!"
http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp12242005.html
"During the Christmas truce of 1914, soldiers from both sides were able to shake off the BS their governments had filled them with and realized the guy they were trying to kill just the day before was more like himself than his own officers were. "
http://www.strike-the-root.com/52/johnson/johnson4.html
"The Internet is, in fact, peace in action. It is not imperialism. It is not run from a central war room of the global hegemon. It is instead a highly decentralized network of hundreds of millions of computers, Web sites, and users. And it has done more in the last five years to advance peace than all the actions of U.S. politicians in the last 50."
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/garris.php?articleid=8273
"C.S. Lewis's main political value, as I understand it, was apolitical: it was the natural law. That politicians exploit such principles for their own gain and aggressive policies demonstrates the importance of these principles and how they resonate with people. There is undoubtedly reason for hope when people feel that invoking the lion is the best way to conceal and enable the witch."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory102.html
"The unholy blending of psyops, information ops and military diplomacy was roundly criticized at the time even by military commanders who thought it would eventually ruin the army's ability to communicate with the public, but it went ahead anyway in mid- September 2004 under Erv Lessel, of the Strategic Communications office, but ultimately under the Undersecretary for Defense Policy, who was at the time Douglas Feith. "
http://www.counterpunch.org/rajiva12212005.html
"Motivated by theological beliefs, Joule began attempting to demonstrate the unity of forces in nature. "
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Joule.html
"Her prescription for success was perseverance, hard work, faith in herself and in God, 'honest business dealings' and of course, quality products."
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwalker.htm
"She was said to be the 'true love' of Sinatra. She was also regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Gardner
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical stars Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Carlos Rivas, Terry Saunders and Martin Benson, directed by Walter Lang. "This multiple Oscar winner by Rodgers and Hammerstein (R&H) contains some of the best music in movies. R&H adapted the musical from a 1944 book by Margaret Landon about the experiences of an English gentlewoman tutoring the royal family of Siam (now Thailand)."
http://endervidualism.com/agora/king_and_i_1956.htm
"Serenity is the story of a free man and an attempt to tread on him. It is a story about the cost of freedom. Ultimately it is the story of the triumph of free men, a triumph that feels as shaky as it feels triumphant. Many TV series and films have featured snappy writing, terrific acting and direction, and memorable characters and images. But Serenity and its predecessor, the beautiful but short-lived TV series Firefly, have something more: A message about the hard costs and glorious benefits of liberty."
http://bwrmontag.blogspot.com/2005/12/best-film-of-year.html
"Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong is near-perfect. Sure, it's probably too long; a lot should have been saved for the inevitable three-disc 'extended director's cut' DVD. But it is thrilling, jaw-droppingly clever, and quite wonderful. And it's a loving tribute to the 1933 original."
http://wconger.blogspot.com/2005/12/movie-review-king-kong.html
"I am curious: how does someone like you -- a doctor, a very scientifically trained individual -- come up with all these supernatural things, and not only that, but mesh them fairly convincingly with the everyday reality of New York, or New Jersey, or Florida?"
http://endervidualism.com/salon/intvw/wilson.htm
"Infernal is Wilson's latest RJ novel. While it has a substantially different feel than many of its predecessors, it was still very satisfying. Lighter on action than some of its forebears, Infernal packs a psychological wallop for those willing to invest some time into thinking about what's going on."
http://endervidualism.com/salon/books/wilson.htm
"For those of you who haven't touched any of F. Paul Wilson's 'horror' novels because of the, well, horror, get ready for a great surprise. Many of them contain a steady current of pro-freedom ideas, courtesy of the protagonist, Repairman Jack. Furthermore, Wilson's horror is unlike any other I've read, most notably in that it is not anti-reason."
http://endervidualism.com/salon/books/repairmanjack.htm
"The conventional view of Santa Claus posits a centralized operation run by a bearded fanatic in an undisclosed Arctic location. His agents are everywhere, and this spy ring provides the raw data that allow him to calculate the details of each year's mission. He then enters America illegally, plants packages in homes around the country, and returns to his base, from which he issues occasional communiqués urging peace, good will, and our presence at various post-Christmas sales."
http://www.reason.com/links/links121905.shtml
"A recent ABC News poll found that the American people are split on the exit strategy. A University of Baghdad survey, however, finds that the exit strategy has the support of approximately 99.3 percent of the Iraqi population."
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43693&rss=1
Bush: Protecting the Homeland by spying on it!
http://villagevoice.com/news/0552,fiore,71303,9.html
"Perhaps in the Serenity Prayer, and in Serenity the movie, lie the answers to maintaining one's sanity in a world where the boss makes you pee in a cup and monitors your e-mail, where wanting to board an airplane requires you to submit to invasive searches of your person and property, where powerful people from Washington on down to City Hall - or rather small people who think they're powerful - desire to micromanage your life in the name of a greater scheme."
http://bwrmontag.blogspot.com/2005/12/serenity-to-accept-things-i-cannot.html
"While I am a strong supporter of scientific inquiry, I recognize that, as with any belief system, it has its limitations: one cannot use the so-called 'scientific method' to validate the scientific method. Gregory Bateson observed the need for every belief system to be subject to the standards of a metasystem for confirmation, a never-ending process requiring each metasystem of thought to be validated by yet another metasystem. The explanation 'it's turtles all the way down' helps to put the limited nature of our thinking in perspective."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer126.html
"This is a good time to ask about some of the reasons why is it of value to us to give gifts. The valid reason for giving gifts to others is that others are of value to us. ... We give gifts to children not only for the obvious reason that we love them but also for the joy of seeing them excited and delighted by their holiday surprises. ... [W]e want to instill in them the notion that the universe is ultimately benevolent and that there is a world of beautiful and wonderful things that are worth working for."
http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-43-1623-WhyWeGiveGifts.aspx
"Branon's prose grabs one's attention at the outset, and doesn't want to let go. The pace doesn't slacken throughout the story; this is usually a very good thing, but with the complex storylines of Let Us Prey, some readers might feel a bit overwhelmed as they try to keep up with what's going on and whose side various characters are on. Of course, it doesn't help that the characters sometimes aren't sure which side they're on ... The story centers on a cast of colorful, misfit individuals who have been recruited by a wealthy businessman to bring down the IRS."
http://endervidualism.com/salon/books/branon.htm
"Follow the Austrian way of peace. Adopt as a way of life social tolerance, laissez faire capitalism, and the avoidance of aggressive war, and you and your descendants will live long and prosper beyond the current possibilities of your wildest dreams."
http://www.mises.org/story/1974
"It rocketed across the Internet a week ago, a startling newspaper report that agents from the US Department of Homeland Security had visited a student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth at his New Bedford home simply because he had tried to borrow Mao Tse-Tung's 'Little Red Book' for a history seminar on totalitarian goverments. ... But yesterday, the student confessed that he had made it up after being confronted by the professor who had repeated the story to a Standard-Times reporter."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/12/24/students_tall_tale_revealed/
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