Tag: politics
A Phony Victim, and a Lot of Real Ones
In a recent open letter to the mayor (Julia Carrie Wong, “San Francisco tech worker: ‘I don’t want to see homeless riff-raff,’“ The Guardian, Feb. 17), entitled tech bro Justin Keller whined that the sight of homeless people ruins his enjoyment of the local atmosphere in San Francisco. And when his family comes to visit,…
The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 114
Richard M. Ebeling discusses how Lithuania helped take down the USSR. Andrew Bacevich discusses U.S. foreign policy. Dan Sanchez discusses herd think. Lucy Steigerwald discusses diplomacy and hawks. Sheldon Richman discusses Iran and U.S. foreign policy. Dan Sanchez discusses the lottery and voting. Dan Sanchez discusses the use of expendable assets in American foreign policy….
Don’t Change the Players, Change the Game
Senator Bernie Sanders describes his campaign for president as a “political revolution.” His appeal comes from his unpolished outsider status, the challenge he presents to the political establishment, and his critique of an economy rigged in favor of well-connected corporate interests. Senator Sanders has in some instances admirably opposed corporate welfare. For example, for years…
Some Straight Talk on Eminent Domain at Reason
At Reason, Nick Gillespie (“Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Eminent Domain, and the Keystone XL Pipeline,” Feb. 7) offers a welcome bit of thoughtful discussion of the Keystone XL pipeline project insofar as it involves the issue of eminent domain. To be sure Reason has published a few pieces in recent years that mentioned both eminent…
Obama Suspends TV Coverage of Middle East
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced today that the government will forbid the television news media from covering the conflict in the Middle East because “displays of U.S. military operations there have the potential to radicalize Americans against the Obama administration’s foreign policy and provoke terrorism in the United States.”…
Bernie Sanders: The Candidate the Establishment Needs
New Hampshire was Feeling the Bern in the Democratic Primary last night. The Associated Press called a win for social democrat Bernie Sanders late Tuesday night, an expected victory, but one of few for the upcoming primary season, as Hillary is largely predicted to win the Democratic nomination. The contentious fight between Clinton and Sanders…
End, Don’t Extend, Draft Registration
This past week demonstrated with blinding clarity that 1) Republicans, contrary to their rhetoric, oppose individual liberty, and 2) the establishment news media really couldn’t care less about the presidential candidates’ views. After the last Republican debate, the media continued its obsession with the reality-TV and horse-race sides of the election. News readers, correspondents, and…
Opposing the Plutocracy Means Opposing the Warfare State
Bernie Sanders wants to stay on message. So his presidential campaign has focused on economic issues. The American economy is rigged, Sanders says, in the interests of the wealthy and well connected. Banks and Wall Street brokerage houses get what they want at the expense of everyone else. The government should step in on the…
The Libertarian and Catholic Social Teachings on Feed 44
C4SS Feed 44 presents David S. D’Amato‘s “The Libertarian and Catholic Social Teachings” read by James Tuttle and edited by Nick Ford. Free markets don’t have to mean the particular incarnation of corporate world dominance we see all around us today. For an entire tradition, an individualist anarchism that once blossomed in the United States,…
Cruz and Rubio: Heirs to Bush-Obama Militarism
I see no point splitting hairs over whether Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio is the more egregious warmonger. Both love the bloody and costly U.S. empire. Both believe in American exceptionalism. (Rubio arrogantly calls for a “New American Century.”) Both want to make war in the Middle East (and beyond) and “stand behind Israel,” though…
Cycle 2016
I resisted writing about the election for a long time, but I couldn’t hold out any longer. Below are three sections, each covering a different candidate: Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton. Though the essays can be taken as separate pieces, they are related both in content and theme. I urge you to read…
End Youth Imprisonment Now
Last week president Obama put an end to the use of solitary confinement on youth locked up in the federal prison system. In an op-ed announcing a series of executive actions the president cited the particular psychological harms that young inmates face when being placed in solitary confinement. He rightly points out that a life in…
Reject the Trump Tax
Donald Trump says he wants to impose a 45% tax on goods imported from China. Trump’s proposed tax would interfere with people’s freedom. It would be discriminatory. It would injure American consumers. And it would hurt the poor here and in China. It’s no surprise to find the developer, reality TV star, and GOP presidential…
The Constitution Revisited
I am mystified that so many libertarians still see the U.S. Constitution as a landmark achievement in the struggle for liberty. On principle alone, they should have become wary in time. A document that is adored at virtually every position in the political firmament should arouse suspicion among libertarians. Moreover a smattering of historical knowledge…
Why Won’t Iran Act Like Our Enemy?
What a bad week for the war party. Darn you, Iran! The country that the armchair warriors most love to hate refuses to play the villain’s role assigned by the neoconservatives, “humanitarian” interventionists, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the establishment media. First Iran quickly released 10 U.S. sailors whose armed boats had violated Iran’s territorial waters near…
The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 113
Glenn Greenwald discusses the debate over what causes anti-American terrorism. Sheldon Richman discusses the Oregon standoff. Justin Raimondo discusses why we need a return to normalcy. Ben Norton discusses a Saudi war crime in Yemen. Jacob G. Hornberger discusses the U.S. as the world’s top arms dealer. Matthew Harwood reviews a book on privacy and…
A Strange Understanding of Small
Conservative pundit Laura Ingraham has a strange understanding of small government. Unfortunately, she’s not alone. When Nikki Haley delivered the GOP response to Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, expressing concern about xenophobia and border paranoia, Ingraham was disappointed. She tweeted: “Too bad @NikkiHaley missed her oppty to stand w/ working ppl who…
Whatever’s Going On in Oregon, It’s Not Terrorism
A key to understanding the political world lies in realizing that the words terrorism and terrorist are inherently political terms. This has been clear in international affairs, but we now see this in domestic matters, specifically the case involving ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond and the takeover of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building…
Hawaii’s War on Personal Freedom
Hawaii is ushering in the new year with the introduction of a law making it illegal for people between the ages of 18 and 20 to obtain tobacco products. Fines will be imposed on those selling tobacco to individuals in this age range as well as those purchasing it, following a three month grace period….
Remembering Corporate Liberalism on Feed 44
C4SS Feed 44 presents Roderick Long‘s “Remembering Corporate Liberalism” read by Jeff Riggenbach and edited by Nick Ford. During the first half of the 20th century, there was a widespread perception that big government and big business were fundamentally at odds. Free-market individualists generally regarded themselves as defenders of peaceful business interests against the rapacious…
Anarchy and Democracy
Fighting Fascism
Markets Not Capitalism
The Anatomy of Escape
Organization Theory