Whilst browsing through the news stories and editorials collected in the Freedom News Daily email for today, I happened upon a particularly disturbing account of police state injustice. This article, titled "Policing for Profit," and written by Robert Murphy of the Mises Institute, discusses a local TV news report of a specific asset seizure operation deployed along a stretch of highway in Tennessee. The author goes on to criticize the prevalence and widespread acceptance of this atrocious tool at the disposal of the police forces. I will link the article and original news report below, after I submit for your consideration my fiftieth of a unit of fiat currency.
Asset seizure is a common practice of various law enforcement agencies which is usually used to seize cash and other property from suspected drug offenders. However, these seizures do not require a crime be committed, nor do they require any evidence be submitted to prove the owner of the seized property had any intent to use that property for drug-related activities.
Of course, even were there proof of drug-related activity, there would be no justification for this blatant theft. Individuals own themselves and may ingest any substance they deem fit, and may also voluntarily engage in trade of these substances to others. These activities cannot be considered crimes in the true sense of the word, as a crime is defined by the violation of the rights of another individual. In other words, crime requires a victim--no victim, no crime.
Speaking of victims, those subject to this sort of seizure have little recourse, as the value of the money and time spent to appeal the forfeiture of property tends to exceed the value of the property seized, obviously negating the purpose of an appeal. This gives law enforcement agencies a huge incentive to seize as much property as they can, and for increasingly bogus reasons. This is just one of the many violations of liberty and self-ownership that occur as a result of the War on Drugs. Setting aside for a moment the inherent immorality of presuming to control what rights-respecting individuals may do with their own bodies, there is an abundance of disastrous consequences that may be attributed to this heinous government program.
For instance, if government figures are to be trusted, the United States has the world's largest inmate population. A significant number of these individuals are in prison for victimless crimes, such as non-violent, drug-related offenses. Take a moment and imagine all of the misery and hardship experienced by these innocents and the families they have been forced to abandon. Think also of the productivity lost as a result of these potential value creators being thrown in a cage and forced to remain for years at a time. Why have these people been subjected to such treatment? Why have their lives been torn apart due to their choice of recreation, or even due to their choice in medicine?
The prohibition of drugs has not been effective in stifling their use, or availability to those who wish to engage in their use. Nor was the prohibition of alcohol earlier in the history of this country. Why then do the drug warriors persist in their aggression against rights-respecting individuals, regardless of the ever-mounting cost? To put it simply, the war on drugs--like the similarly ill-fated wars on terrorism and poverty--are not designed to be won. They were instituted as a convenient and ongoing excuse for infinite expansion of state power, and they are serving that purpose swimmingly.
End the war on drugs!
*Link to news report.
*Link to Mises Institute article.
I would also like to provide a link to Freedom News Daily, created by the International Society for Individual Liberty. It is a daily digest of freedom-related news, articles, multimedia, and editorials from which I derive much knowledge and enjoyment. I hope you'll subscribe to Freedom News Daily and stay up to date on everything that is happening around the world, as it relates to the struggle for individual sovereignty.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Bitcoin
I would like to share a short comment I wrote on the Bitcoin Facebook page. Alternative currencies, such as Bitcoin, hold a lot of promise for freeing the economy in the future. The address attached to the link that reads "comment," will direct you to my comment; The link that follows is for the Bitcoin homepage:
Bitcoin
Bitcoin
Links. Lynx?! Links! Links.
What follows is an initial list of helpful websites with their respective hyperlinks. Please enjoy them as much as I have.
-The Online Freedom Academy
-Wendy McElroy
-Libertarian Quotes
-Strike the Root
-The Center for a Stateless Society
-Libertarian Papers
-Gangsters in Blue
-Murray Rothbard
-Complete Liberty
-The Ludwig von Mises Institute
-The Online Freedom Academy
-Wendy McElroy
-Libertarian Quotes
-Strike the Root
-The Center for a Stateless Society
-Libertarian Papers
-Gangsters in Blue
-Murray Rothbard
-Complete Liberty
-The Ludwig von Mises Institute
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Resources with Which to Get Started
My first project for this blog will be to compile an on-going list of useful resources. This list will include books, articles, websites, organizations, podcasts, songs, and anything else that might inspire intellectual growth. I have no intentions of making an exhaustive list--as the internet has created such an explosion of counter-mainstream ideas and philosophies that such a list would never be completed--merely a collection of information sources that were invaluable to my own philosophical development, expanded over time with newly discovered founts of knowledge. What follows is the first installment of this project.
Resources with Which to Get Started:
-The fiction works of author/philosopher, Ayn Rand: "We the Living;" "Anthem;" "The Fountainhead;" and most importantly, "Atlas Shrugged." They are all worthy in their own right, but together they form a potent force for expanding one's mind to the ideas of liberty. Most importantly, Rand imbues her works of fiction with a backbone of philosophical principles. She states, as the facts serious thought will show them to be, her premises with clarity and pride. Her literary voice is engaging, persuasive, and compelling. Nothing will prepare one for the intellectual rigor of serious study into the large and expanding world of libertarian philosophy and economics quite like a thorough reading of "Atlas Shrugged." As one of the longest pieces of literature in the English language, setting out to read Rand's magnum opus is no light undertaking. It requires a thirst for knowledge and deep interest in the ideas being presented. It is a book that often shakes the reader's worldview to it's foundations. I can honestly say that "Atlas Shrugged" changed my life. It is the book that inspired me to begin the journey of discovery that lead me to a philosophy of complete liberty. Rand, for all of her contributions to the human race, was not perfect. There were some flaws in her reasoning and some contradictory premises left unchecked, but she will endure as one of the greatest philosophers the world has ever known.
-The Complete Liberty podcast, hosted by author Wes Bertrand. The first ten episodes of this podcast--available for free on iTunes--are dedicated to converting Bertrand's second book, "Complete Liberty: The Demise of the State and the Rise of Voluntary America," to an audiobook. After these first ten episodes, the podcast becomes a forum for the discussion of various aspects of libertarian philosophy, economics, anti-state rhetoric, interesting news, stories of human achievement, and other topics relevant to the ideas I hope to present in this blog. Various guests frequent the show, and the discussion is typically lively and informative. This podcast was a huge influence on my development as a Voluntaryist, and introduced me to a lot of the other resources and ideas I plan to share. A free to download PDF version of the book is available at www. completeliberty.com, as well as a forum and other resources that Wes has created.
-"For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto" by Murray N. Rothbard. Known as the "father of anarcho-capitalism," Murray Rothbard is responsible for bringing together the many diverse concepts of various thinkers of the past and present into a coherent and complete philosophy. He borrowed from the Objectivist philosophy of Rand, the economic ideas of Mises and the Austrian school, and the ideas of various individualist anarchists and classical liberals; synthesizing them into what he came to call anarcho-capitalism. He was responsible for bringing true libertarian principles to the mainstream of political thought without watering down or compromising his ideas for consumption by the masses. The aforementioned book truly deserves it's subtitle, as it is the most comprehensive and concise volume available on the subject. All serious libertarian thinkers should include this tome in their repetoir of literature.
That concludes the first installment. Check back soon for more.
Resources with Which to Get Started:
-The fiction works of author/philosopher, Ayn Rand: "We the Living;" "Anthem;" "The Fountainhead;" and most importantly, "Atlas Shrugged." They are all worthy in their own right, but together they form a potent force for expanding one's mind to the ideas of liberty. Most importantly, Rand imbues her works of fiction with a backbone of philosophical principles. She states, as the facts serious thought will show them to be, her premises with clarity and pride. Her literary voice is engaging, persuasive, and compelling. Nothing will prepare one for the intellectual rigor of serious study into the large and expanding world of libertarian philosophy and economics quite like a thorough reading of "Atlas Shrugged." As one of the longest pieces of literature in the English language, setting out to read Rand's magnum opus is no light undertaking. It requires a thirst for knowledge and deep interest in the ideas being presented. It is a book that often shakes the reader's worldview to it's foundations. I can honestly say that "Atlas Shrugged" changed my life. It is the book that inspired me to begin the journey of discovery that lead me to a philosophy of complete liberty. Rand, for all of her contributions to the human race, was not perfect. There were some flaws in her reasoning and some contradictory premises left unchecked, but she will endure as one of the greatest philosophers the world has ever known.
-The Complete Liberty podcast, hosted by author Wes Bertrand. The first ten episodes of this podcast--available for free on iTunes--are dedicated to converting Bertrand's second book, "Complete Liberty: The Demise of the State and the Rise of Voluntary America," to an audiobook. After these first ten episodes, the podcast becomes a forum for the discussion of various aspects of libertarian philosophy, economics, anti-state rhetoric, interesting news, stories of human achievement, and other topics relevant to the ideas I hope to present in this blog. Various guests frequent the show, and the discussion is typically lively and informative. This podcast was a huge influence on my development as a Voluntaryist, and introduced me to a lot of the other resources and ideas I plan to share. A free to download PDF version of the book is available at www. completeliberty.com, as well as a forum and other resources that Wes has created.
-"For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto" by Murray N. Rothbard. Known as the "father of anarcho-capitalism," Murray Rothbard is responsible for bringing together the many diverse concepts of various thinkers of the past and present into a coherent and complete philosophy. He borrowed from the Objectivist philosophy of Rand, the economic ideas of Mises and the Austrian school, and the ideas of various individualist anarchists and classical liberals; synthesizing them into what he came to call anarcho-capitalism. He was responsible for bringing true libertarian principles to the mainstream of political thought without watering down or compromising his ideas for consumption by the masses. The aforementioned book truly deserves it's subtitle, as it is the most comprehensive and concise volume available on the subject. All serious libertarian thinkers should include this tome in their repetoir of literature.
That concludes the first installment. Check back soon for more.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Inaugural Address
I will take this opportunity--it being my first communication with you, the public--to inflate my ego and drastically overemphasize the importance of my position to the well being of society; just as a parasitic member of the political-corporate ruling class would. Please, save your praise and applause until the end of the post.
Now that I have sufficiently lampooned the absurdity of the political climate in which we find ourselves without waxing too verbose to be appropriate for an inaugural blog post, I ought to continue on to my purpose in writing this blog. As was made apparent by the title I gave this blog, I am a proponent and aspiring champion of individual liberty. As you, the reader, may be aware, we are not living in a world where the sovereignty of the individual is respected. Even in the territory over which the government of the United States of America claims dominion, arguably one of the freer regions of the world, there is a constant and pervasive war being waged against the rights of each individual--millions of people are thrown into cages as punishment for crimes which have no victim; thousands of innocents die in violent, imperialistic conquests around the globe for which no end is in sight; the drug war worsens the many problems it purports to solve and provides a convenient excuse for unchecked expansion of government power and militarization of the police forces; basic freedoms are being stripped for our supposed protection; our futures are being drained by the loss of unlimited potential a free market could have realized. These are but a select few of the myriad problems government has caused, and will continue to cause, unless a true revolution occurs in the way people think about how society should operate.
The heart of the matter is as follows: the initiation of force, or threat thereof, against another individual, or another individual's rightful property, is inherently immoral and counter to the natural law concepts of self-ownership and property rights. As governments are collections of individuals, and since collectives have no rights greater than, or superseding, the rights of the individuals of which they are composed, governments have no right to violate this axiom of non-initiation of force. When government is looked at in this rationally critical way, several concepts, previously disguised by their newspeak terminology, are revealed for what they really are--taxation is theft; war is mass-murder; fiat currency is a counterfeiting racket; conscription, jury duty, and tax paperwork are all forms of involuntary servitude, or slavery. How is it that we are living in such an advanced society, with new technological marvels being created every day, and yet our system of governance has not advanced significantly since the Athenian democracy of ancient Greece? As a terrorist dawning a fawkesian mask once opined, "there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?"
My purpose in writing this blog will be to always speak truth to power. I want to expose the web of lies that the many-legged arachnid called government has spun to keep us obedient and complaisant. The reader will have to unlearn a lot of the indoctrination likely foisted upon them in state "schools," in order to appreciate much of what I have to say. To facilitate this process I will provide links to numerous resources that were invaluable and continue to be of value on my journey toward individual sovereignty. Of course, every rational human being is by definition a self-owner and therefore an individual sovereign. I am merely referring to my personal journey toward the discovery of this knowledge and the profound changes it entails. I will likely post on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. My posts are likely to include diverse topics, and will likely take a multitude of forms, such as: relevant news excerpts; passionate arguments (read: occasional incensed rants in retaliation to the latest statist injustice); and links to interesting articles and dissections/discussion thereof.
I deeply hope that this blog might convince one person to rethink how they see the world and the problems we all face. If it does, every precious moment of time dedicated to this blog will be more than worth it. Thank you, reader, in advance for allowing me to share my ideas with you. Your open-mindedness and rationality will lead you to the truth. Please feel free to share any constructive criticism, questions, concerns, comments, or thoughts with me.
Now that I have sufficiently lampooned the absurdity of the political climate in which we find ourselves without waxing too verbose to be appropriate for an inaugural blog post, I ought to continue on to my purpose in writing this blog. As was made apparent by the title I gave this blog, I am a proponent and aspiring champion of individual liberty. As you, the reader, may be aware, we are not living in a world where the sovereignty of the individual is respected. Even in the territory over which the government of the United States of America claims dominion, arguably one of the freer regions of the world, there is a constant and pervasive war being waged against the rights of each individual--millions of people are thrown into cages as punishment for crimes which have no victim; thousands of innocents die in violent, imperialistic conquests around the globe for which no end is in sight; the drug war worsens the many problems it purports to solve and provides a convenient excuse for unchecked expansion of government power and militarization of the police forces; basic freedoms are being stripped for our supposed protection; our futures are being drained by the loss of unlimited potential a free market could have realized. These are but a select few of the myriad problems government has caused, and will continue to cause, unless a true revolution occurs in the way people think about how society should operate.
The heart of the matter is as follows: the initiation of force, or threat thereof, against another individual, or another individual's rightful property, is inherently immoral and counter to the natural law concepts of self-ownership and property rights. As governments are collections of individuals, and since collectives have no rights greater than, or superseding, the rights of the individuals of which they are composed, governments have no right to violate this axiom of non-initiation of force. When government is looked at in this rationally critical way, several concepts, previously disguised by their newspeak terminology, are revealed for what they really are--taxation is theft; war is mass-murder; fiat currency is a counterfeiting racket; conscription, jury duty, and tax paperwork are all forms of involuntary servitude, or slavery. How is it that we are living in such an advanced society, with new technological marvels being created every day, and yet our system of governance has not advanced significantly since the Athenian democracy of ancient Greece? As a terrorist dawning a fawkesian mask once opined, "there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?"
My purpose in writing this blog will be to always speak truth to power. I want to expose the web of lies that the many-legged arachnid called government has spun to keep us obedient and complaisant. The reader will have to unlearn a lot of the indoctrination likely foisted upon them in state "schools," in order to appreciate much of what I have to say. To facilitate this process I will provide links to numerous resources that were invaluable and continue to be of value on my journey toward individual sovereignty. Of course, every rational human being is by definition a self-owner and therefore an individual sovereign. I am merely referring to my personal journey toward the discovery of this knowledge and the profound changes it entails. I will likely post on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. My posts are likely to include diverse topics, and will likely take a multitude of forms, such as: relevant news excerpts; passionate arguments (read: occasional incensed rants in retaliation to the latest statist injustice); and links to interesting articles and dissections/discussion thereof.
I deeply hope that this blog might convince one person to rethink how they see the world and the problems we all face. If it does, every precious moment of time dedicated to this blog will be more than worth it. Thank you, reader, in advance for allowing me to share my ideas with you. Your open-mindedness and rationality will lead you to the truth. Please feel free to share any constructive criticism, questions, concerns, comments, or thoughts with me.
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