Libertarian Lost in a Two-Party System

Mao and the American Flag

This pretty much speaks for itself.

Snubbing the Fall of the Berlin Wall

More than ever, I am frightened of the Obama administration. That is saying a lot, since I've been frightened for some time now. . . but when I heard that he refused to go to the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the day the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, I experienced an unparalleled wave of nausea. It can not possibly be this bad, can it? I mean, advisors who admire Mao, known communists among his czar appointments, a fascination with Hugo Chavez. . . and now this. I'm dumbfounded (at least I was for the past two days.)

Sure, he sent Hillary. Nevertheless, it's not like Obama has a fear of flying, nor does he feel compelled to stay in D.C. when important issues like Afghanistan float in limbo. Here's a guy who pops all over the world in Air Force One when the occasion suits him. Why would he snub this particular occasion?

Recently, I checked out several books on the Berlin Wall. Oddly enough, I didn't even realize that we were coming up on the 20th Anniversary. The date August 13, 1961 was stuck in my head. I didn't look beyond that.

What fascinates, and horrifies, me is the amount of money, acreage, technology, and personnel the East Germans felt compelled to use in order to keep people from leaving their little utopia. From the Intra-German Border (IGB) to the Berlin Wall, the resources invested were mind-boggling. Double layer walls and fences, land mines, tripwire mines, sensors, guards, watchtowers, German Shepherds, machine guns, anti-vehicle obstacles, buffer zones, and the highest level of electronics available at the time. All to support and maintain an ideology that brought lack of prosperity, shortage of basics needs, and the obliteration of intellectual freedom.

And Obama felt that the fall of such a regime was not worth celebrating.

Dear Mr. President

I wanted to thank you for pursuing your programs at an unprecedented pace – pushing Congressmen to vote on legislation without careful consideration, demanding absurd escalations in government spending, and creating dozens of bureaucratic overlords.  The speed and scope of your crusade to quash prosperity has stirred into action people I thought would never emerge from a coma.

 

You must understand that free people will resist statism whenever it rears its ugly head.  We will stand up against the detractors of liberty until our hands are bound and our voices silenced.  We are not freaks, terrorists, or an angry mob.  We are dissenters.  We do not hate you, Mr. President.  We disagree with you.  In this country, last time I checked, free thought is still legal and even celebrated.

 

For most of my life, I was a dedicated member of the Democratic Party.  In my twenties I served as a precinct committee person, secretary of my district, and volunteer for so many campaigns and propositions that the names, faces and details have blurred and faded over the years.  I considered myself a socialist liberal until about seven years ago.  Only after meeting people who grew up in Europe and doing years of reading and research have I come to recognize the fallacies and dangers of the Marxist faith.  I don’t expect to change your mind, Mr. President.  It suffices to say that I changed mine.  And with the same passion I summoned in my youth for causes in which I believed, I pledge my life to those I now embrace.  If this means attending protests, distributing information and writing letters, I will do just that.  If it means being ridiculed by defamatory television ads and marginalized by sycophantic media outlets, bring it on.

 

It is our mission to halt the advancement of your statist, collectivist agenda.  Be forewarned.  Even after long periods of suppression, liberty and the spirit of individualism always prevail.  For in times of adversity – oppression, slavery, imprisonment, abuse, and abandonment – these truths remain imprinted on a human being’s soul:  “I am an individual, and it is my right to be free.”

 

Posted at Bureaucrash:

 

http://social.bureaucrash.com/profiles/blogs/dear-mr-president

The Class War is a Scam

Meticulously nurtured since the New Deal, the Democrats have it down to an art form. The Republicans, not to be outdone, are catching on and manipulating it to meet their own objectives. The class war. It's a scam.

All that is required is to pit one group of American citizens against another in a bitter rivalry that involves name-calling, character defaming, and the blurring of individuals into a subspecies of the collective. Small business owners scowl at their employees (even though, in reality, employers actually respect and value good employees.) Likewise, employees distrust "the man" (without whose investment, innovation, and risk-taking they would not have a job.) The upper five percent income earners look down on the lower forty percent, and the lower forty percent complain that the upper five percent stumbled into their fortunes by accident. A delightful cacophony of mislaid animosity and petty insults, the class war keeps us all busy on a daily basis - developing new forms of ammunition and darkening the lines that distinguish us from them.

It's brilliant! While all eyes are turned inward, one against another, the participants of the class war have little time to notice anything else, especially the growing black hole in national prosperity that looms within a five-mile radius of the Capitol Building. The real adversary works there. The parasites. They ride in limousines and private jets; enjoy fine cuisine and attend lavish parties. They never have to balance a budget - personally or professionally. They know absolutely nothing about the creation of wealth and have no clue where money really comes from. (But I'll give them a hint: It's not the Fed.) They enjoy a privileged lifestyle that they neither earned nor fully appreciate, and they pay for their extravagances by stealing from every fighting member of the class war, a war they created as a distraction.

In time, even the best-laid scams unravel. The proponents of the class war are nervous. They know we're onto them. They know it can't last forever. They know that, eventually, we will prevail.

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Posted at Bureaucrash:

http://social.bureaucrash.com/profiles/blogs/the-class-war-is-a-scam

The Shame of the Media - Tea Party Movement

I just don't even know what to say about the media's pathetic coverage of the Tea Party Movement. So I made a video:

The Forgotten Man - by Amity Shlaes

In honor of Tea Party Day, I present my review of Amity Shlaes' book, THE FORGOTTEN MAN.

Shlaes gives a thoughtful account of the 1930s while examining how governmental policies affected the outcome of The Great Depression. Forgoing personal insults and focusing instead on historical details, Shlaes' approach is both fresh and palatable. Five out of Five Stars. A must read.

Marxist Apologetics

Recently, just for the heck of it, I did a little internet surfing on the Bolshevik revolution. My God there are a lot of Marxist apologists floating around out there on the web. According to those folks, the Russian Marxist utopia didn't work because: 1) the Bolsheviks were short sighted, 2) Stalin was a murderous power monster, 3) It's hard to successfully implement communism in such a large country. The Marxist utopia didn't quite work *that* time, but we'll get it right. . . someday. 

What the apologists refuse to address is the simple fact that the Marxist utopia failed because the concept is flawed. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to think it through. The concept fails, not the execution. Peasants burned their crops because they didn't want the fruit of their labor to be taken away by the Bolsheviks. People don't WANT to work on behalf of someone else. No one does. Even if they sell themselves as a philanthropist or a champion of the rights of others, they are doing the work they do because it makes them feel good. It gives them a sense of accomplishment. It BENEFITS them, and it is something they choose to do. Some people probably play the role because they want power. Does anyone believe that Jesse Jackson ever wants to see total racial equality? Maybe on his deathbed, but until then, racial inequality is his lifeblood. What would he do without it?

As far as the "evils" of capitalism. Those arguments get old. Regurgitated by spoiled college students, living off a stipend, in adoration of their liberal professors. . . they don't mean much.

Factory Conditions. Compare Industrial Revolution factory conditions to the horrors of the Russian Gulag or the firing squads of Che Guevara. The brutality and massacres committed by the proponents of communism make IR factories look like day spas. You cannot claim to forward a cause in honor of human rights (or "the people") if you disregard the rights of those who dissent with your ideology. Factory conditions and treatment of workers improved because, in the USA, individuals have the right to protest - the right to publicize perceived injustices - without fearing for their lives.

Abuse of Workers. There is not a single person in the United States right now who is poor or abused because someone else is making a LEGAL income via a capitalist venture. Plenty of abuse festers in the domestic sector, but no one benefits from it. Why are people abusive when they're bigger, stronger, or more powerful? I have no idea, but I can guarantee you there is no profit motive in the abusive situations I've witnessed. On the other hand, I have worked for several entrepreneurs in my lifetime. Good benefits, decent wages, a win-win for everyone involved. The entrepreneur enriches society by creating wealth, jobs that wouldn't exist if he stayed home and stayed clear of capitalism. The only "abuse" of workers I've seen is people getting fired for stealing, doctoring their timecards, or just goofing off. I find it interesting that when a slacker gets fired, the general mood of the office skyrockets. Because people don't WANT to bust their butt for the benefit of their lesser motivated co-workers.

Slavery. Slavery is not a capitalist institution. Capitalism is a relatively new ideology. Slavery has been around since the beginning of recorded history and presumably before. Adam Smith denounced slavery on both moral and economic grounds. On economic grounds, slavery is not practical. It shares in common with Marxism that a man is forced to work for the benefit of others and not for himself. He is, therefore, naturally less productive. On moral grounds, the distinction is clear. If one believes in the sanctity of private property and individual rights, the conclusion is that a man belongs to himself and the work of his hands is his alone to trade. A man cannot be owned. The moment The Declaration of Independence was written, slavery was doomed.

Some people have more money than others. So what? That's the point. The person who works harder will theoretically earn more money. Are there thieves and cheaters? Of course. And that is where one of the government's legitimate functions steps into play. Punish thieves and enforce contracts.

The truth is that capitalist countries are the freest, cleanest, and wealthiest across the globe. When people are allowed to own the fruit of their labor, their inventions, and the product of their minds, EVERYONE benefits. In that way, we actually DO work for the benefit of one another when we are allowed to work for our own.

I fear the socialist experiment is already underway in the US and may be inevitable. The masses seem to be ignoring shelves and shelves of data and listening instead to their emotions. One day Marxism has to work because it "feels good". Sorry, that's not the case, but here we go again.

How The World Works YouTube Channel

This young man is one of the best debaters on youtube, imho. He has an awesome comprehension of free market theory, private property rights, and the perils of Marxism. A joy to watch:

Can We Please Borrow This Man?

Daniel Hannan MEP to PM Gordon Brown

Maybe issue him an eight-year Visa?

Which Trillion is That?

How the World Works. . . Great commentary:

And you're right. Austrian economic theory is starting to look pretty good right now.