NPR ruined my morning drive. In typical fashion, it's morning blow-by-blow summary of the debate ignored Ron Paul (aside from a very brief mention that he was booed). The focus was on Romney and Perry and Michelle Bachmann (who Paul now leads in national polls). This was to be expected. A reporter for NPR then hit a new low, however, in the post-debate interviews when he baldly stated that Paul had said that U.S. policies "justified" the 9-11 attack by Bin Laden. As the <a href="http://www.dailypaul.com/178412/ron-paul-booed-for-suggesting-that-9-11-was-caused-by-american-foreign-policy"> youtube shows</a>, Paul, who performed magnificantly, said nothing of the sort. This example of reporting malpractice provides yet another justification for defunding NPR of tax subsidies.
In the afterglow of his 2008 victory, commentators portrayed Obama as the new FDR. Now, he is half-heartedly comparing himself to Ike. In his speech on the debt agreement, Obama made the astounding statement that it will reduce domestic spending to levels not seen since Eisenhower was in the oval office. Over at the American Thinker, Greg Richards finds no basis for this claim.
If want to add your name to this distinguished list, which includes many people well known to libertarians (see below for the names), you have until Wednesday (5:00 PM Pacific, 8:00 PM Eastern). Just send an email to Kevin Zeese at KBZeese@gmail.com and provide a brief descriptor of what you like next to your name.
Please also free to post on blogs and circulate on any lists.
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- The U.S. economy is in dangerous straits with mass debt fueled in large part by military spending that makes up 55% of federal discretionary spending.
- In war after war the US military has found that it cannot defeat people who seek to protect their countries and reject foreign domination, the very lesson of our own American Revolution.
- Documents published by Wikileaks have added fresh evidence discrediting the idea of the U.S. being the “good cop of the world.” Instead the world increasingly sees the U.S. government as one that dominates through threats, violence, bribery, spying and illegal actions, and is all too willing to use military force to achieve its ends. That is not the polity which the majority of Americans wish.
- The rule of law has been undermined by ignoring Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which specifically states that Congress has the authority to declare war, not the president. Tactics used in recent wars, including torture and widespread abuse of prisoners, further undermine the rule of law.
- Even with the raid on the Osama bin Laden refuge, the growth of stateless terrorism will not abate as long as the United States continues waging wars which commonly feature torture, midnight raids on families and the killing of innocent civilians.
- War brings suffering on a massive scale and unnecessary war brings pointless suffering. Reliable reports indicate more than one million war dead in Iraq and millions more becoming refugees. There are constant reports of civilian deaths in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Libya.
Mr. President and members of Congress, you have a historic opportunity to redirect U.S. foreign policy down the pathways of peace, liberty, justice, respect for community, obedience to the rule of law and fiscal responsibility. George Washington urged Americans to “cultivate peace and harmony with all” and to “avoid overgrown military establishments,” which are “hostile to republican liberty.” It is time for Americans to reject fear and militarism and embrace the highest, noblest aspirations of our heritage. It is time to come home, America.
Sincerely,
Elliot Adams, President, Veterans for Peace
Larisa Alexandrovna, Editor-at-Large, Raw Story
Lisa Albrecht, Professor, Social Justice, University of Minnesota
Maria Allwine, Fund Our Communities, Steering Committee, October2011.org
James Babb, Co-founder, We Won't Fly
Jim Babka, President, DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee 2004
Margo Baldwin, President & Publisher, Chelsea Green Publishing
Doug Bandow, Former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan
Paul Barrow, Director of Policy and Communications, United Progressives
Rosalyn Baxandall, Distinguished American Studies Prof., Chair SUNY Old Westbury
William O. Beeman, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota
David Beito, Professor of History at the University of Alabama
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, co-founder
Walter E. Block, Professor of Economics, Loyola University
Leah Bolger, CDR, USN (Ret), National Vice-President, Veterans For Peace
Scott Bonn, Author and Assistant Professor of Sociology, Drew University
Samuel Bostaph, Professor Emeritus of Economics
Elaine Brower, anti-war military mom, National Steering committee, World Can't Wait
Paul Buhle, Emeritus Senior Lecturer, Brown University
Tim Carpenter, Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Gary Chartier, Associate Prof. of Law and Business Ethics at La Sierra University
Jeff Cohen, Author, media critic, journalism professor, co-founder, RootsAction.org
Catarina Correia, Coordinating Committee, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
Doug Craig, Libertarian National Committee, US Navy, Gulf War vet
Ellen Davidson, Steering Committee, October2011.org
Nicolas J. S. Davies, Author of Blood On Our Hands & Local Coordinator, PDA Miami
Jim Douglass, Author, JFK and the Unspeakable
Jake Diliberto, Co-founder, Veterans For Rethinking Afghanistan
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, professor emerita, California State University
Sibel Edmonds, Founder & Director, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
Carolyn Rusti Eisenberg Professor US Foreign Policy, Hofstra University
Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower
Lucas M. Engelhardt, Assistant Professor of Economics Kent State University
Joy First, Convener National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
Margaret Flowers, MD, Single Payer Health Care Advocate
Glen Ford, Executive Editor, Black Agenda Report
Four Arrows, aka Don Trent Jacobs, Prof. of Education, Fielding Graduate University, co-founder Veterans for Peace Northern Arizona chapter and American Indian author
Russell Arben Fox, Associate Professor of Political Science, Friends University
Bart Frazier, Program Director, The Future of Freedom Foundation
Eric Garris, Antiwar.com
Dave Garthoff, Department of Economics, The University of Akron
Alan Gilbert, Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Univ. of Denver
Philip Giraldi, Former CIA Operations Officer
Nate Goldshlag, National Treasurer, Veterans For Peace
Marc Guttman, MD, Editor, Why Liberty-Personal Journeys Toward Peace and Freedom
Jane Hamsher, Founder and Publisher, Fire Dog Lake
Roger D. Harris, Vice President, Task Force on the Americas
Cole Harrson, Co-coordinator, UFPJ Afghanistan Working Group
Holly Hart, Secretary, on behalf of the Green party of the U.S.
David R. Henderson, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Mark W.A. Hinkle, Chairman, Libertarian Party
Connie Hogarth, Dir. Center for Social Action, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
Will Hopkins, Board, Veterans for Peace, Executive Director NH Peace Action
Jacob Hornberger, President, The Future of Freedom Foundation
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Associate Professor of Economics, San Jose State University
Bill Kauffman, Author, Ain't My America
Angela Keaton, Former member, Libertarian National Committee
Nada Khader, Executive Director, WESPAC Foundation
Stephan Kinsella, Senior Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute
Adam Kokesh, Host/Executive Producer ADAM VS THE MAN, Iraq Veteran
Tarak Kauff, Veterans For Peace
Karen U. Kwiatkowski, Lt Col, USAF (ret.)
William S. Lind, co-author (with Paul Weyrich), The Next Conservatism
Carroll Long, UN, World Bank (ret.)
Tom Maertens, Former Director, National Security Council under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush
Ben Manski, Liberty Tree, Executive Director
Daniel McCarthy, Editor, American Conservative
Robert W. McChesney, Gutgsell Endowed Prof., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Raymond L. McGovern, CIA Analyst (ret.)
David McReynolds, Socialist Party presidential candidate, 1980, 2000
Jeffrey Miron, Department of Economics, Harvard University
Nancy Murray, Human Rights Activist, Boston, MA
Ralph Nader, Consumer advocate
Robert Naiman, Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy
Anthony Noel, Facilitator, New Progressive Alliance
Jeff Norman, Director, U.S. Tour of Duty
James Oaksun, National Chair Outright Libertarians
Jim O'Brien, co-chair, Historians Against the War
George O'Neill, Jr., Come Home America
Michael D. Ostrolenk, National Security Consultant
Udi Pladott, Steering Committee, October2011.org
Jeff Paterson, Project Director, Courage to Resist
George Phillies, Editor, Liberty for America
Murray Polner, Editor and Writer
Margaret Power, Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology
Vijay Prashad, author, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World
Mike Prokosch, New Priorities Network
Justin Raimondo, Editorial Director, Antiwar.com, author
Ward Reilly, Steering Committee, October2011.org
Sheldon Richman, Free Association Blog
Marakay Rogers, Esq, Libertarian Nominee, Governor of Pennsylvania
Coleen Rowley, Former FBI Agent and one of TIME’s 2002 Persons of the Year
Thaddeus Russell, Historian and author of A Renegade History of the United States
Linda Schade, Founder, VotersForPeace
Joseph E. Schwartzberg, Distinguished International Emeritus Professor, University of Minnesota
Butler Shaffer, Professor, Southwestern University School of Law
Daniel Shea, Board of Directors, Veterans for Peace
Lisa Simeone, Steering Committee October2011.org
Sam Smith, Editor, Progressive Review
David Swanson, Author, War Is A Lie
Jeff Taylor, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Jacksonville State University
Dennis Trainor, Jr., October 2011 Steering Committee
Rachel Treichler, Green Party (NY)
Dave Wagner, Tempe, Arizona
Jesse Walker, Managing Editor, Reason
John V. Walsh, MD, Professor, Univ. of Mass. Medical School; Come Home America
C. T. Weber, State Chairperson , Peace and Freedom Party of California
Linda Wiener, Steering Committee, October2001.org
James Matthew Wilson, Assistant Professor of Literature, Villanova University
Darren Wolfe, Founder, Focus On Peace
Tom Woods, Senior Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute
Darren Wolfe, Founder, Focus On Peace
Steven Woskow, Consultant
Ann Wright, US Army Colonel (ret.) and former US diplomat
R. Lee Wrights, Editor and publisher of Liberty For All
Kevin B. Zeese, Come Home America
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier." Young British Soldier (Stanza 13).
Duffy's Tavern was one of the most popular radio shows during World War II and was a direct model for the TV series, Cheers. In this episode from 1944, the main characters try to figure out Roosevelt's expanded income tax which, for the first time, reached the masses. Using humor, it reveals at least some frustration with the onerous and bewildering requirements of the tax.
Many thanks to L and P blogger, Jeffrey Hummel, for calling this full-throated defense of inflation to my attention. Apparently, the narrator never read Mises's, Hayek' (or even Keynes's) discussion of how real wages actually rose from 1929 to 1933. This film also doesn't seem to fit with the standard view of historians that Louis B. Mayer was a knee-jerk free market conservative.
Although listening to Michael Savage can be a guilty pleasure at times, he has distinctly anti-liberty views on issues ranging from immigration to war. Last year, for example, Savage joined the right wing mob to trample the private property and the first amendment rights of Muslims who wanted to build a mosque near ground zero.
Any sin of Savage, however, pales in comparison to the British government's indefensible decision (now reaffirmed by the new Conservative government) to ban him from traveling to the UK because of "extreme statements."
The country that gave us the Glorious Revolution, John Wilkes, John Milton, and John Stuart Mill is rapidly turning its back on free speech. The deafening silence from civil libertarians in the United States on this travel ban is a worrisome sign that we are not far behind.
I am beginning to like this guy more every day.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Chocolate milk might be the most popular choice for school lunch -- not to mention milk bubbles and milk mustaches. But soon it will be no choice at all in Minneapolis public schools.
Virtually everyone I meet (yes even in "progressive" Minneapolis) grumbles when they hear something like this but that doesn't stop the nanny staters. They win (almost) every time in the end. The sad truth is that the grumblers really don't care enough to fight back when they have the chance.
Kevin Zeese, the leading proponent on the left of a left-right-libertarian antiwar coalition, is soliciting signers for this excellent letter. If you want to add your name, as I did, send an email to Zeese at kbzeese@gmail.com
Dear President Obama:
The wars in which the United States is currently engaged--in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Libya--are undermining U.S. national and economic security, degrading the standing of the United States in the world community and fueling hatred abroad for Americans. These wars have been justified on false premises, and in the case of Libya there was not even the pretense of a congressional declaration of war, making it an impeachable offense. We urge you to end the current wars and start a national dialogue about shifting U.S. foreign policy away from dominance through military might, and toward being a member of the community of nations.
It is time to end all of these wars. It is time to initiate a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy away from domination of others through military might and damaging sanctions. As a first step we urge a major withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan--as you promised. This withdrawal should be at least as large as the 50,000 troop escalation you put in place early in your presidency. This withdrawal should be defined as a clear first step to a rapid withdrawal of all troops and private contractors from Afghanistan. It is time to return to our Founders’ declared conception of the United States as a democratic Republic and not an Empire. In short, it is time for America to come home.
The people signing this letter come from all segments of the political spectrum. We are conservatives and progressives, liberals and libertarians, from the right, left and center. We are Democrats, Republicans and independents. We represent a healthy and still vital American tradition,indicated by the fact that the majority of Americans want the United States to bring our troops home from these counterproductive and unnecessary wars.
With the death of Osama bin Laden it is time to end the “war on terror,” which Vice President Dick Cheney described as a multi-generational “Long War.” The U.S. needs to normalize relationships with countries around the world, especially in the Middle East. We recognize that there are important natural resources in these areas. But we can achieve energy independence and a sustainable economy in more effective ways than war and empire. The United States clearly has the wealth and knowledge to make this transition, and showing how it can be done would be an unparalleled service to our people and the world.
This is the time for a profound shift in foreign policy. A perfect storm has demonstrated the urgent need to reconsider militarism and promiscuous interventionism:
- The U.S. economy can no longer sustain a military that spends as much on weapons and war as the rest of the world combined.
- The U.S. economy is in dangerous straits with mass debt fueled in large part by military spending that makes up 55% of federal discretionary spending.
- In war after war the US military has found that it cannot defeat people who seek to protect their countries and reject foreign domination, the very lesson of our own American Revolution.
- Documents published by Wikileaks have clearly discredited the idea of the U.S. being the “good cop of the world.” Instead the world now sees our government as one that dominates through threats, violence, bribery, spying and illegal actions, and a government all too willing to use military force to achieve its ends. That is not the polity which the majority of Americans wish.
- The death of Osama bin Laden is an opportunity to stop the growth of terrorism, growth inspired in significant part by unnecessary wars, which commonly feature torture, raids on families and the killing of innocent civilians. War brings suffering on a massive scale and unnecessary war brings pointless suffering.
This is a historic opportunity to redirect U.S. foreign policy down the pathways of peace, liberty, justice, respect for community, and fiscal responsibility. George Washington urged Americans to “cultivate peace and harmony with all” and to “avoid overgrown military establishments,” which are “hostile to republican liberty.” It is time for Americans to reject fear and militarism and embrace the highest, noblest aspirations of our heritage. It is time to come home, America.
Sincerely,
According to Wikipedia, this was apparently the long-term goal of Sayyid Qutb, the founder of the most rabid and violent variant of Islamic Sunni fundamentalism:
"'Rather than support rule by a pious few, (whether a dictator(s) or democratically elected[42]), Muslims should resist any system where men are in "servitude to other men" — i.e. obey other men — as un-Islamic and a violation of God's sovereignty (Hakamiyya) over all of creation. A truly Islamic polity would have no rulers — not even have theocratic ones — since Muslims would need neither judges nor police to obey divine law.[43][44] It was what one observer has called "a kind of anarcho-Islam.'"
Taken in the larger context of Qutb's celebration of coercion in the service of Islam, however, this seems about as genuine as the Marxist view that the state will eventually "wither away."
My article on Talk Radio as an example of spontaneous order in tornado relief just appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Here is an excerpt:
The tornado that tore through here late last month left 41 dead and 12 still missing. Whole neighborhoods now resemble bombed-out postwar Tokyo or Berlin. But this devastation is only part of the story. Tuscaloosa is now the scene of an inspiring volunteer relief effort taking place without the guidance of any central planner.
Instead of going home for break, for example, students in the Greek system at the University of Alabama and historically black Stillman College stayed to cook more than 7,000 meals per day. Local churches have assembled armies of volunteers and vast stores of goods, ranging from dog food to child car seats, and are dispersing them with no questions asked at "free department stores." It is doubtful that a more secular city could have fared as well.
Other than churches, much of the strength of Tuscaloosa's extensive mutual aid comes from an unlikely source: right wing talk radio. The four Tuscaloosa Clear Channel stations have pre-empted their normal fare of Rush, Hannity and top 40 songs to serve as a relief clearinghouse through simulcasts. Gigi South, the local market manager for Tuscaloosa Clear Channel, says that it was her decision to begin the simulcasts. It was hard to do otherwise. Employees saw demolished neighborhoods outside their windows and the desperate calls for help came in almost immediately. Because many residents lost power and were unable charge cell phones, battery-operated and car radios often became their only form of communication.
These stations have only 12 full-time employees among them, but they've have had a vast impact. The on-air jocks have taken on grueling shifts, sometimes working 10 hours straight. The goal of the simulcasts is simple: Connect givers and victims and allow them to exchange information. According to Ms. South, "this whole thing has been about connecting listener to listener. They are the ones doing this. We're just the conduit."
As many of you know, the blog has been down for nearly a week so I haven't been able to comment until now on the Alabama tornado. The youtube gives some sense of the amount, and wide path, of devastation.
On a personal note, I really appreciate all of the emails asking how I fared. We are fine as are all our family and friends (as far as we know). The tornado by-passed Northport (where I live) entirely. It also spared the University of Alabama. As the youtube shows, many areas in the city and suburbs look like postwar Berlin including the communities of Alberta and Holt.
There is a more positive side to this story, however, that deserves more emphasis. The outpouring of volunteers and donations is not only inspiring and effective but extremely decentralized. The two local talk radio stations (joined by a few other stations) are on the air from 8:00 to 8:00 to serve as an informal clearing house for relief efforts. The station which started this effort has only three employees (who were normally not on air) and it has preempted the normal programming.
Typically, someone calls in to the host and express a need for a particular area or group. Ten minutes later they call back to say ten people showed up on their doorstep. Those coordinating relief often specify that they are short on particular goods and have too many of others thus allowing givers to tailor the donations. The broadcasts has informed me of several opportunities to be of help. You can listen in, and look at the talk radio facebook, here.
Although most of the relief effort starts with individuals who weigh in on their own, churches are playing a key role in coordinating it. I don’t know if a more secular city would fare nearly as well.
Many historians depict the Great Depression as a turning point when bitter economic realities finally led the middle class to break from laissez-faire tradition and demand bigger government. This is not entirely untrue, but it's only part of what happened.In its initial phase, the Depression also spawned a powerful movement for smaller government that included tax revolts. These revolts were not only more widespread but often more extreme than any sponsored by the tea party.
Depression-era taxpayers had perhaps even greater reason to be angry than their modern counterparts. Property values plummeted after 1929 but tax reassessments lagged. Overall, taxes nearly doubled to 21.1% of national income in 1932 from 11.6% in 1929, according to a 1940 Tax Policy Institute report.
Inflation, using the reporting methodologies in place before 1980, hit an annual rate of 9.6 percent in February, according to the Shadow Government Statistics newsletter.Since 1980, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has changed the way it calculates the CPI in order to account for the substitution of products, improvements in quality (i.e. iPad 2 costing the same as original iPad) and other things. Backing out more methods implemented in 1990 by the BLS still puts inflation at a 5.5 percent rate and getting worse, according to the calculations by the newsletter’s web site, Shadowstats.com.
Scott Horton, human rights attorney and editor of widely-read blog, No Comment will be in the next speaker in the Liberty and Power Lectures on Thursday, April 14.
His talk, “James Madison, Executive Powers and the Rise of the National Security State,” will begin at 5 p.m. at the Bedsole Moot Court Room at The University of Alabama School of Law.
Horton served as council to Andrei Sakharov and other activists in the former Soviet Union and cofounded the American University in Central Asia, Eurasian region. More recently, the Associated Press hired him to represent Bilal Hussein, a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist who the U.S. military detained for over a year. He is a co-founder of the American University in Central Asia, where he currently serves as a trustee, and has been involved in some of the most significant foreign investment projects in the Central Eurasian region. Scott recently led a number of studies of abuse issues associated with the conduct of the war on terror for the New York City Bar Association, where he has chaired several committees, including, most recently, the Committee on International Law. He is also a member of the board of the National Institute of Military Justice, the EurasiaGroup and the American Branch of the International Law Association and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Scott’s parents came from Lawrence County, Alabama. He is a cousin of Judge James E. Horton of Limestone Co., Alabama, the judge who threw out the conviction of the “Scottsboro” boys after concluding that it was not based on the evidence—and who was then driven from the bench.
A lower court had said that Adams’ speeches and columns on matters of public concern were not protected by the First Amendment and instead constituted “official” speech as part of his job duties. The 4th Circuit disagreed, finding that Adams’ columns and speeches constituted protected, private speech and that university officials could be held personally liable for damages should Adams ultimately prevail in the case.
