A Pox On All Their Houses

There is no such thing as "collateral damage", only murder.

2007-10-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

"It is not simply that our national discourse rests on a foundation of evasions, complicated by equivocations, twisted by avoidance, and rendered into meaningless insignificance by an uncountable series of lies. All of that is true, but it fails to capture the quality that is most striking to the perceptive observer. That quality is one of overwhelming, oppressive and suffocating unreality. It is

Nothing Comes Easy

2007-10-06T04:13:00.000-04:00

The conditions a person lives in are a function of the prices they have been willing to pay. You like hello kitty, so you forgo that expensive meal to get the hello kitty pillow, etc. A rather venal perhaps, but concrete example. Everything has a price, because everything has a cost.(the statement "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is a snappy, but slightly under-nuanced version of this idea

A couple of things my friends told me

2007-07-07T09:18:00.000-04:00

My friend George once told me "The cops aren't the real cops. They're just the clean up crew. The real cops are all around you, watching you all the time." And he swung his hand around and pointed out all the people around us as we were walking through a shopping mall.My friend Aggie recently told me "There is no government, just a bunch of guys in blue uniforms with guns who will get angry if

2007-07-07T02:11:00.000-04:00

I think I realized how to explain what's wrong with most so-called "pro-capitalist" thinkers. They think they've figured out how the market works, and then they, performing the same act of hubris that "anti-capitalist" thinkers do, wish to engineer this mechanism themselves.They want to second-guess the collective consciousness. But humanity as a whole, in its market order, even if most of the

How intelligent people fall for political tricks

2007-07-03T22:57:00.000-04:00

the pattern usually goes like this:1. observation of a problem2. one faction offers a context-free solution, usually involving totalitarian measures applied directly against the problem.3. another faction (often those who have something to lose directly from the context-free solution) argues that the problem doesn't exist, contrary to all observation, and argues against the solution on the

Mr. Shaffer does it again.

2007-07-01T04:26:00.000-04:00

Only when our ego-identities become wrapped up with some institutional abstraction – such as the state – can we be persuaded to invest our lives and the lives of our children in the collective madness of state action. We do not have such attitudes toward organizations with which we have more transitory relationships. If we find an accounting error in our bank statement, we would not find

2007-06-14T23:25:00.000-04:00

If you want to understand what it is, we're fighting for, in a positive sense, this is a good example:Ordinary guy belts out Nessun DormaNot reality tv, the allegory of what this story is about. Regular people doing extraordinary (by our current standards) things.In the world I'm working for, this will not be surprising.

Some good thoughts from others

2007-06-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been running into some pieces that really explore the heart of what makes thoughtful people in This Thing Of Ours a bit different from rank and file "Libertarians". Now one of the interesting things is that when I posted this on my other blog (which I use to poke at various leftists and conservatives that I know), I immediately received a strongly worded, but un-thought out response

Freedom isn't totally "free" in some sense.

2007-04-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

In order for you to be free, your neighbor must be free, in the long run.Eventually the mechanisms that suppress behavior you find reprehensible will be used against you too.Eventually the totalitarian machines in far off lands will create totalitarian machines here, to fight against them, if you let that happen.In order for the nice normal middle class people to keep their nice normal middle

Impending Release and the End of No-Context

2007-04-20T07:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think liberals only hate conservatives because they make government look bad. I came across some essay somewhere complaining about how the FDA is failing to properly inspect our food (anyone reading this probably is not surprised about that at all...). He made some very cutting factual arguments, he had some interesting points. But what was missing was the context. What makes

there is indeed a grave danger, and an inconvenient truth...

2007-04-12T08:01:00.000-04:00

Butler Shaffer says it much better than I feel like saying it right now.A quote:"It is no coincidence, I believe, that the environmental cult arose at about the same time that the earlier faith in state economic planning was unable to withstand the pragmatic power of the marketplace as the generator of material well-being. Environmentalism provided an alternative vehicle for those whose principal

1 Iraqi = 1 American = 1 Englishman, etc...

2007-02-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

"More important, all too many Americans have yet to confront the moral implications of invading and occupying Iraq. U.S. officials continue to exhort the American people to judge the war and occupation on whether it proves to be "successful" in establishing "stability." and "democracy" in Iraq. If so, the idea will be that the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, including countless Iraqi

The State IS Crime.

2006-12-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

I was getting a bit tired of posting into the darkness, as it were. But Billy Beck pointed me to something so perfectly illustrative that I had to share:With the blessing of officials from the Village of Port Chester, the Village’s chosen developer approached Didden and his partner with an offer they couldn’t refuse. Because Didden planned to build a CVS on his property—land the developer

Here there be... Something Else

2006-11-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

In any widespread debate among human beings, there tends to be a portrayal of the situation as a binary conflict. As an example, let's take "democrat vs. republican" - not that the content matters here, but it's a common example that most of you will be familiar with. But this translates to gender, religion, sexuality, and many other human "dialogues" (note the already implicit binary)...Most

More on the GWOT

2006-09-17T13:38:00.000-04:00

I don't think I was communicating well the last time I spoke about this so I'll restate my position a bit better I hope.I don't like terrorism one bit. Punishing civilians for the actions of their evil masters is a foul and despicable thing to do.If there really was a Global War On Terrorism, I'd be all for it. But the government of the United States engages in terrorism all the time. They'd

Freedom is the default.

2006-09-14T15:48:00.000-04:00

A quote from The Scotsman:"So pervasive is poor diet that reliance on individual choice as the prime ideology in shaping food supply is no longer an adequate policy or ideology." (adequate for whom?)Freedom is not an ideology, though an ideology can be built around an abstraction called "freedom".How close "freedom" and freedom come to each other will depend inversely on how densely extended the

totally geeky, I know, but...

2006-09-07T22:26:00.000-04:00

I came up with this a few days ago, and figured what the hell, might as well post it.You code 16 functions, what do you get?another day older and deeper in debt.Saint Linus don't you call me, cause I can't go,I owe my soul to the company store.When you see me pinging better step aside,a lot of men didn't, their networks died.One hack of iron, the other of steel,if the syn flood don't get you,

Go North, young ma'am.

2006-08-31T13:13:00.000-04:00

Gary North hits one out of the park today. [link]I'm often a fan of his, though he's inconsistently good, and holds some odd beliefs.But on economic issues, he seems to "strike the root" more than a lot of people in this thing of ours.I don't even need to add commentary to that article (not like I have much time to do so, I've been fiendishly pressed for time lately, but I'll endeavor to get some

A new ally

2006-08-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

Pro Libertate - Man, he's good.Thanks to Vache Folle and JL Wilson for the heads up on him. I've actually followed links back to the Birch Blog before and always liked what I read there, but never actually read it on a regular basis. Now I regret that decision.So Wm Norman Grigg, you are on my blog links.(From my experience, the Birch people tend to be the best or the worst, depending. I

Truth and Evasion

2006-08-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

You know, it always makes me smile crookedly, to see discussions about this particular thing or that that the government has done, when the people discussing it don't have their tongue firmly in cheek.Ok, I know it serves a purpose as a sort of signalling, like "ok, I think we're hitting the threshold now". But does anyone in this thing of ours still deny that the end point of all this is going

Bastiat, the Left-Libertarian?

2006-08-13T15:50:00.000-04:00

Here are some quotes from Economic Sophisms (with bold emphasis by me) that I think have a direct bearing on left-libertarian thought:In the same way, we could make a survey of all industries, and we should always find that producers, as such, have antisocial attitudes. "The merchant," says Montaigne, "prospers only by the extravagance of youth; the farmer, by the high cost of grain; the

Some short things to ponder

2006-08-12T04:15:00.000-04:00

It's late and I'll expand on things soon, but for now:1. It's not unreasonable to believe that economics (and it's violent distortions) plays as much of a role in foreign policy as much as it does in everything else. The people involved are likely not sentimentalists AT ALL.2. A deeper perspective on the Dot Bomb and Greenspan. This kind of blew my mind, and if you put as much significance on

Et Tu, all of you?

2006-08-09T10:53:00.000-04:00

I've decided, after being tagged multiply for this book virus thingy, that I'm flattered enough that you're still reading this thing that I'm going to do it. :)* One book that changed your life:The Nausea by JP Sartre. (Unlike many of you folks, I was a libertarian before I knew I was, and I was gradually introduced to the ideas of libertarianism by a mentor.I eventually outgrew him and became an

3 things worth linking to.

2006-07-28T00:43:00.000-04:00

1. Billy Beck lays it down.(though Churchill was certainly a POS, no matter whether he got this or that point right) For people that haven't had family living under "communism", it's hard to understand probably just how fucked it was. And the "cold war" was the excuse for the West to expand state power. In truth the world elite were running Leninism over there as an experiment to see how

Soma is not good enough.

2006-07-28T00:15:00.000-04:00

Good lord, people.You have no idea what you could have been, what you could have accomplished in a free world.You'd think it was utopia, but only because we live in dystopia right now, that is:A world that was rationally designed to be terrible for you. You think it's not so bad 'cause you're used to it.That's what the people in Indonesia think too. "Oh those 18 hour days in the factory aren't

We spin our wheels and webs.

2006-07-11T15:57:00.000-04:00

This comes out of a comment I made on the Mutualist Blog.Someone came right out and actually stated that profits are inherently monopolistic; which is an annoying "hidden assumption" many leftists bury in their arguments. By pre-assuming it, they therefore have framed it out of being subject to discussion, which makes it hard to argue for markets effectively. In response I said:The truth is,

Ahh. Where to begin?

2006-06-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

I think if anything I've underestimated the horrors of the "Liberal Democratic" ideology. Mea culpa. That doesn't get neo-conservatism off the hook though.I don't know if I have the time in my life to pick through the massive, fundamental delusions that constitute that mindset(either one), in order to find some sort of basic reality that can be built on. Even if there was something to be

Speaking of Wings,

2006-06-12T18:35:00.000-04:00

Per Bylund is someone else who I tend to enjoy reading quite a bit, and I think he hits the nail on the head in a way that is refreshingly intuitive in this article in Strike The Root:Free Market Thinking: Not Applicable

2006-06-11T12:03:00.000-04:00

You might not expect this from me but I enjoy reading Billy Beck. I think he's made a few errors here and there, but then again most people have. I certainly have, I'm sure, if you go back over my words with a critical enough eye. But he's a man of reason, and I'm all for that.On his latest post, he digs into the "libertarian-left" connection in a way that I think needs addressing, if nothing

coming soon to theatres...

2006-06-10T00:55:00.000-04:00

America, Freedom to Fascism - "FOUR STARS" (Highest Rating).The scariest goddamn film you'll see this year. It will leave you staggering out of the theatre, slack-jawed and trembling. Makes 'Fahrenheit 9/11' look like 'Bambi.' After watching this movie, your comfy, secure notions about America -- and about what it means to be an American -- will be forever shattered. Producer/director Aaron Russo

The Straight Dope

2006-06-04T00:24:00.000-04:00

You know what it really comes down to?I don't care what politics you think you believe.Just become ungovernable. The rest will sort itself out.

Comments

2006-05-31T13:44:00.000-04:00

I apologize for all the missing comments, people. Apparently I had "moderate comments" checked and didn't realize it. Your comments should all come through now.So if I haven't responded to your comments, that was why (I wasn't ignoring anyone!). I'll try to do so as I go back through the posts, but you might not see them.

By the way

2006-05-18T22:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the dearth of updates this month, but it seems like it's not just me.May is crazy month, I guess. (as the first month after Tax Slavery Month, I guess maybe that might have something to do with it)Also, sorry about the slew of unfinished multi-parters. I'll try and get all those threads woven together soon.--------------------------------One of my favorite methods, or techniques is

on inequality and its discontents, part I

2006-05-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

One thing also that must be understood is that just as there is a black market at the bottom, there is one at the top...The difference in effective wealth between a DuPont or Rockefeller and a successful trial lawyer is greater than the difference between that trial lawyer and a homeless bum. Far greater. The power curve looks like a capital J. I feel safe in saying that no one reading this is on

Happy May Day!

2006-05-01T12:01:00.000-04:00

Today is International Labor Solidarity Day!

Issues And Problems with Objectivism Part I

2006-04-28T11:11:00.000-04:00

I'd like to talk about it without being snarky or dismissive. This of course could be interpreted as giving it too much credit, and thus an implicit sanction. But this kind of "meta-argument", often used by Objectivists themselves, is one of the issues I have. By not engaging something except dismissively, you leave a "back door" open for the ideas to persist and resist correction. This is

Unbundle the Zaxlebax!

2006-04-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Roderick Long is one of my favorite people at the Mises Institute.Recently, he gave the Rothbard Memorial Lecture at the Austrian Scholars Conference.The whole thing is wonderful of course, but the part that struck the hardest for me was when he spoke of anti-concepts and package-deal terms. This is an enormously important thing for everyone to understand, and

Theories of Value, Part I

2006-04-12T17:40:00.000-04:00

Recently, Kevin Carson's Studies In Mutualist Political Economy was featured in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, edited by Roderick Long, one of my favorite thinkers among the Mises Crew. The JLS was the Austrian response to the Studies.Though some of the responses (notably Reisman's and to some extent, Block's) were a bit silly, most of them focused on his revised Labor Theory of Value.

A new ally

2006-04-04T23:16:00.000-04:00

"I could also point out that if libertarianism were to try to dismantle the state while selectively attacking social benefits for the poor while ignoring the structural advantages of the rich, the result would be that the working class would make one great rush for the local state socialist party's recruiting office while classical liberalism remained the party of a few intellectuals and

While we're at it...

2006-03-28T19:32:00.000-05:00

Let me point out that there was a half-million person mobilization against HR4437, and that it was largely self-organizing. This is something that fills my heart with joy to see and I am in full solidarity with it. (sorry had to cut out the pics, too much load time)