November 10, 2006

Jon Stewart and the 2006 Election

Did Jon Stewart push the Democrats to election victory? At least one conservative thinks so and he even called him the "Rush Limbaugh of 2006. If this is indeed the case, which I'm not sure it is -- after all,...
Posted by PaulGessing at 09:43 AM

October 18, 2006

More on Libertarian Democrats

Before we get too far away from the discussion of libertarian Democrats, I want to throw another log on the fire. Justin Raimondo over at Antiwar.com recently wrote an excellent piece in which he really lays the case out for...
Posted by PaulGessing at 11:38 PM

July 11, 2006

Killing the Death Tax: A Liberal View

An Albuquerque resident and victim of the death tax wrote a very insightful column in the Albuquerque Journal on Monday. My favorite line is, "I'm sure my family could have come up with better uses for it (my grandmother's money)...
Posted by PaulGessing at 12:54 AM

March 09, 2006

Is the left ready to embrace the gold standard?

Probably not, but Nicholas Von Hoffman, writing in The Nation, shows a better grasp of current monetary policy, and how that policy harms ordinary Americans and enables the growth of the state, then you'll find in the Greenspan-Bernanke worshiping "conservative"...
Posted by NormSingleton at 09:27 PM

February 06, 2006

What’s a Christian Soldier To Do?

What’s a Christian Soldier To Do?...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 08:05 AM

January 26, 2006

Am I a Utilitarian?

Attorney Stephan Kinsella has written a response on lewrockwell.com to my article "The Need to be Anarchists." In it, I am accused of many bad things, mostly false. I will address only some of the accusations here. Mr. Kinsella has...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:24 PM

January 17, 2006

Is Gore A Civil Libertarian?

Yesterday, on January 16th, 2006, former Vice President Al Gore joined the Bob Barr show and become the second, following Barr, former government official to recognize the great importance our liberties are to our way of life and to publically...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 07:01 AM

December 24, 2005

William Proxmire, the Original Free Liberal?

To simply quote from this article on the recent passing of Senator William Proxmire. "He was a philosophical anomaly, voting like a Kennedy on civil rights, the Vietnam War, the environment and the death penalty, but often expressing skepticism about...
Posted by PaulGessing at 11:48 PM

November 25, 2005

Supreme Court, State Secrets and Justice

On Monday, November 28th 2005, The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether or not to review a lower court's dismissal of the case of Sibel Edmonds. Mrs. Edmonds is a former FBI translator who was fired in 2002 in retaliation...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 07:42 PM

Short of the Century

I really hope I'm completely wrong about this, but this story that Michael Brown, former FEMA head during the Katrina debacle is starting a disaster-planning firm, has me shaking my head ruefully. Perhaps Brownie feels deep down that he wants...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:11 AM

November 23, 2005

Face-Saving "Peace with honor"

OK, now we hear the trial balloon. Compound W may be finally getting the message, and are making noises that a pull out of Iraq may be the right thing to do. They don't use the words "peace with honor,"...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:50 AM

November 21, 2005

Mad Dog’s Promenade

Bridging on Paul Jacob’s latest excellent column here on TFL, he correctly reminds us that the right to keep and bear arms are guaranteed us in the Constitution. Confiscating arms from peaceful citizens in NO is over the line, no...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:39 AM

Day Pass from the Asylum

This piece on the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal site is such a tiny item in the grand scheme of things, and yet it lends credence to the notion that hope springs eternal. Like the alcoholic who must first admit...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:05 AM

Austrian Darkness & EU Light

Usually, winter in the Alps makes me think of a sunny ski vacation, but not Rattenberg, Austria, which like parts of Alaska and other places very far north is shrouded by darkness in the winter. Unlike in Alaska, “sun is...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:40 AM

November 20, 2005

Cast the first stone

Massoud’s latest blog reminds me that America and Americans, and, really, all people, are at root peace-loving. We all know that war is hell, yet we keep getting into wars. Why is that? We could simply say that Americans are...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:15 AM

November 18, 2005

Americans "less enchanted" as Sole Superpower

Which was quite a blow for the poll’s sponsors the New York based Council on Foreign relations. The US role defending the turf of the multinational corporations and the oil companies as well as being the Global Policeman of the...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:11 AM

It’s Always Something

Hydrogen cars are here. They work, pretty darned well. That’s the good news. The bad news in this story is this: “Hydrogen-car fleets are operated here [in Washington, DC] by some automakers to demonstrate to Congress and others how simple...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:43 AM

Cleaning up the mess

As I blogged yesterday, the Bush Administration is sticking to their story. See here Rummy's latest spin. I was against the Iraq War from the outset, and still am. However, what Rummy says here also seems reasonable, at least in...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:54 AM

November 17, 2005

Sage Words

"You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president," [Bill] Clinton said. "I mean, you can't make as many calls as you have to make without messing up once in awhile. The thing we ought to be focused on is...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 01:37 PM

Cultural Reasons Behind the War on Drugs

Cynical bon mot: Q: How many street gangs sell crack cocaine? A. Just about all of 'em. Q. How many sell cigarettes or liquor? A. None. You can buy them in stores. Around here the local street bums (who...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:28 AM

November 16, 2005

That’s “Moderate”?

If there’s ANY doubt as to whether the mainstream media is biased, reports about the federal budget deficit show us again that they, well, ARE biased. Take, for example, the move to cut Federal spending in reaction to the Katrina...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:16 AM

November 14, 2005

Well...Maybe

Bob Capozzi says in his blog entry here that he thinks that within six years the Dems and Reps will be joined by progressives and libertarians as the major players in American politics. He bases this prediction on an article...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 07:05 PM

The Quad-Partisan Solution

I came across this thought piece by Joseph Bast, head of the Heartland Institute. He suggests that we’re at a precipice in American politics, and that in the next eight years, we’ll have four – count ‘em – four major...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:11 AM

November 13, 2005

A Terrorist is Someone Who Uses Terror

It seems some people are peeved because the FBI is looking into and going after "animal rights" advocacy groups because of their connections with terrorist acts. And well they should too. People that use violence to threaten and intimidate people...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:01 PM

Quixote’s Ghost

One of the great things about life in the 21st Century is that just about anyone can promote just about any idea on the Internet, from the most pedestrian campaign for dog catcher to the most loopy of ideas. They...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 09:04 AM

November 12, 2005

Methinks POTUS Doth Protest Too Much

One of the great things about being an independent is that it's quite a bit easier to call things like one sees them, rather than factoring in partisan calculations. This story about Dubya's "fighting back" against the charge that Compound...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:55 AM

November 11, 2005

Which is it, Laura?

Laura Ingraham, the sometimes thoughtful conservative talk show host, yesterday was using the bombings in Jordan as justification for the Patriot Act’s excesses. Sure, her reasoning seemed to go, we should basically suspend the 4th Amendment because we’re in a...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:48 AM

November 10, 2005

Michael Sessions’ Big Adventure in Democracy!

The people have spoken…the bastards! So it seem is the sentiment today in Hillsdale, Michigan a small college town about a 20 minute drive from where I live these days. Michael Sessions, an 18 year-old high school student who lives...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:07 AM

November 08, 2005

Oh Now They Tell Us

Paul Gessing is quite correct when he notes that according to the Constitution only Congress can declare war. However Congress is principally filled with spineless dopes, half-wits, and opportunists. If the war was going really well right now all the...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 09:33 PM

(Some) Praise for PC

Language changes. If you don't believe me, read Shakespeare. While the Bard can be quite lilting, insightful, comic and tragic, his language was barely what we'd called "contemporary English." So I laugh a bit when I read and hear people...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:26 PM

O'Karma

In recent years, I've become a fairly regular listener to talk radio. As a new listener, I'd heard in the major media that the stars of this new media were generally right-wing extremists. For the most part, my experience has...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:11 AM

November 07, 2005

Atoms, Communities and Straw Men

Massoud makes some provocative points here, and asks me some questions, so I feel I should answer. I found his response somewhat curious. He says that “individualism and self reliance" are the only path toward liberty, but then in the...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:22 AM

November 06, 2005

Massoud’s Reply to Notes on Style

Bob Capozzi asks of me in this blog entry, “Are “individualism and self-reliance” the only path toward liberty?” Yes, and necessarily so too. I believe that communities must govern themselves on a voluntary basis. When a state entity with full...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:09 PM

Raising the “Stakes”

Continuing the discussion about “stakeholders” vs. “shareholders,” Karen De Coster suggests here that: “[John] Mackey [CEO of Whole Foods] openly supports the notion of hangers-on (stakeholders) having a stake in a corporation without having purchased an investment in that corporation.”...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:46 AM

Notes on “Style”

Re: my colleague Ali Massoud’s blog on the Free State Project (FSP), I wanted to ask a question: Are “individualism and self-reliance” the only path toward liberty? Perhaps in part because I was born-and-bred in NY, -- and, yes, I...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:33 AM

November 05, 2005

Immoral, Illegal, and Ineffective

From Claire at Wolfesblog: “I'm astonished that any sophisticated, civilized nation tolerates such a foul crew leaders and aparatchiks. Torture is not what Americans do. Torture is not what America does. Not as national policy. Not as wink-wink, nod-nod. Torturers...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:43 AM

November 04, 2005

DOA

They say “timing is everything,” and “they” tend to be correct. So that’s why few have noticed that the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform has released its report. Scanning the summary, there seems to be some good analysis...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:29 AM

November 03, 2005

“Over There” is Over

Says the talking head for the FX network: “ ‘It became evident to us that the American public didn't want to see a dramatization of a war that was already going on,’ Yemaya Royce, a spokeswoman for Bochco's production company,...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:39 PM

November 02, 2005

A Deal’s A Deal, eh?

If you give your word you should follow through on your commitment. Whatever political, religious, or ethical system of belief you hold this is usually the main tenet. Claire Wolfe, the freedomista novelist and blogger, has now officially bailed on...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:35 PM

November 01, 2005

An Unlikely Rebel on the Right

This profile from Businessweek.com of Rep. Mike Pence (Republican of Indiana), is like being in a time warp; before 1994 Republicans used to routinely fit this profile of deficit hawks blanching at the flood tide of red ink from the...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 04:21 PM

October 30, 2005

You Could Build A Pay Toilet Over it I Suppose

I was trolling an Internet news source and I saw where some bloke is trying to put a bid in on V.I. Lenin’s decrepit remains. And so being the natural capitalist entrepreneur that I am I naturally wonder how profit...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 03:46 PM

October 29, 2005

The People Have Spoken…the Bastards!

Despite what Kofi Annan, Amnesty International, the George Soros Foundation, or the Brady Campaign all said. The people of Brazil rejected banning guns by a 65% margin. So what does a South American policy expert based at the Independent Institute...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 04:05 PM

October 28, 2005

The Opening of the Conservative Mind

Why did the “right-wing” opposed Harriet Miers? Says one commentator: “[…] the cause of her nomination’s collapse is a lot more complicated than that, and should suggest to the political left that the ‘radical’ and ‘religious’ right isn’t the simpleminded...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:56 AM

October 27, 2005

Fool me

The saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." That all said, Gang W really seem to be getting it in recent days, I must say. First, W calls for across the board spending...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 12:07 PM

Hastert for President

Could it happen, as my dream last night suggests? The Speaker is in the line of presidential succession, and with all the muck that's surfacing of late, well, who knows? Of course, dreams being what they are, somehow Hastert is...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:43 AM

Malaise Days, Redux

Ever provocative and insightful, the Wall Street Journal’s and penultimate speechwriter Peggy Noonan this morning writes about her hunch about what a mess the wide world seems to be in. Noonan, noted for her ability to put inspirational words in...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:52 AM

October 26, 2005

The Shareholders v. Stakeholders Controversy

As a small business owner myself I must chime in and agree with my fellow blogger Bob Capozzi about his opinions expressed as to the shareholders v. stakeholders controversy started by Karen DeCoster recently. It reminds me a lot of...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 05:42 PM

More on “Corporate Purposes”

I commend an article on LewRockwell.com by Karen De Coster regarding the notion of “corporate purposes.” She – a CPA from Detroit – deconstructs John Mackey's, CEO of Whole Foods, view of managing for “stakeholders” as a mistake. (I’ve previously...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:19 AM

October 25, 2005

Rosa Parks, RIP

Rosa Parks, the brave black woman who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, AL, bus back in 1955, has passed on. While race relations seem to have gotten better since then, I recently...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:10 AM

October 24, 2005

What did you guys expect?

Some people who I thought would know better are shocked (yes shocked!) to discover that the fiscal and budgetary process of the American state is infested by partisanship, personal pique, and pork encrusted spending for local political benefit. What a...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:05 PM

Fiscal Jujitsu

Chuck Muth's excellent article on TFL is to be commended. I especially liked Sen. Patty Murray's attempt to change the subject about pork spending to "the billions and billions of dollars in tax cuts that have been granted to multimillionaires...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:33 AM

October 22, 2005

Terrorism v. War

Massoud asks a good question here. What is a "terrorist" act, and what is an act of war? This is all above my pay grade, but my sense is, if an act can be viewed as proportionate and reasonably directed...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:05 PM

Republicans, the pro-torture party?

As if there weren't already hundreds of reasons why Republicans are down in the dumps , would you really want to run on a pro-torture platform in the next election? Every time I think Bush can't go any lower he...
Posted by PaulGessing at 05:58 PM

Terrorism is Always Unjustified, But…

Bob Capozzi has confused me with his denunciation of “unjustified terrorism”. To my mind terrorism is always unjustified from a moral viewpoint. However the reason for terrorism (other than pure evil in the hearts of men) is that it works!...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 03:09 PM

But let's make it about unjustified terrorism

Thanks to Massoud for the $50MM update. I was unable to find a source that actually raised it. So I stand corrected. I don't believe I'm suggesting it should exclusively be about money. Far from it. W should have made...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 01:15 PM

It's Not About the Money Bob.

As my fellow blogger Bob Capozzi has noted the reward for Osama bin Laden which had been set at $25mil was recently raised to $50mil. Still no takers though and in a place where most people live in abject poverty...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:53 AM

The "Hunt" for Osama?

My research seems to indicate that the W Administration is still not terribly concerned or interested in finding Osama bin Laden. There was a move to up the bounty on his head, but, again, near as I can tell, this...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:49 AM

October 21, 2005

Protection? From the Government? Hah!

Once again we see what happens when the state tries to protect you. They either fubar it all up or else it works perfectly and is then used as the perfect ingress to any and all archived data about your...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 07:40 PM

Manchurian Cronyism

Jonah Goldberg's recent column is food for thought. While he covers a lot of the current waterfront pretty well, here's another interpretation: Bush is fundamentally a cronyist. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he can't really connect with...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:39 PM

October 20, 2005

Noonan v. Dowd

Today's offering by the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan presents the other side of the Celtic Colleen take on W. Across the Rock, the NY Times's Maureen Dowd -- whose red hair provides proof positive of her Gaelic credentials --...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:03 PM

There Ain’t No Such Thing as Absolute Freedom for Anyone

Arguing with absolutists is a tiresome thing. After all people have a right to be wrong if they really insist on it, eh? When I wrote in my last blog entry about the riot in Toledo, Ohio this past Saturday...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:42 AM

October 16, 2005

Holy Toledo!

Here is another reason not to let bourgeois notions of individual rights trump the sanctity of the local neighborhood’s peace. For stupid and wholly irrational notions along these lines Toledo, Ohio Mayor Jack Ford allowed Leftist counter-demonstrators, neighborhood residents, and...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:45 PM

October 15, 2005

Ali Massoud As Philosopher-King

I am inspired by Richard A. Cheatham’s article Kick Me to put on my Philosopher-King hat here and tell you how I’d design a better (and I make no claim it’s perfect) state or provincial government entity. Ah the machinations...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:09 AM

October 13, 2005

Confessions of a Spin Doctor

Things are getting grim on the W Watch. While they CAN be transient, his poll numbers are headed down. Admittedly, this is only a "vibe" I get, but here goes: First, the man seems to be losing touch. Reports like...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:59 PM

October 12, 2005

Campaign Financing Cyber Loophole

"A little-noticed bill [is] wending its way through congress that would allow unlimited and unreported campaign contributions by corporations and individuals as long as it was confined to Internet advertising and publicity buys." And so the game of wack-a-mole begins...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:23 PM

Chilling on Feingold

Ali Massoud makes some good points about McCain-Feingold here. It may well be that it's, in fact, not a step in the right direction...that it inadvertently, perhaps, let loose the 527 dogs. As to "who let the dogs out," ;-)...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:52 AM

October 11, 2005

McCain-Feingold Response

I have been criticized for my disinclination to support Senator Russ Feingold’s nascent campaign for president in 2008. Here is my response. As a neutral source has reported on the McCain-Feingold Law: "With the 2004 elections being the first campaign...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 03:39 PM

October 10, 2005

More on Pork Gumbo

Kudos to my colleague Ali Massoud for his blog. He deconstructs the REAL meaning of Sen. Landrieu's position, which I largely take as a negotiating ploy that may well hold sway in the increasingly irresponsible Washington these days. We must...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:25 AM

October 09, 2005

Pork Gumbo Served Up Fresh & Hot!

As I’ve mentioned before these constant claims against the US treasury by the denizens of the West Coast and Gulf of Mexico regions every time a forest fire, earthquake, hurricane, or flood happen are adding up. As the late Senator...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 09:29 PM

October 08, 2005

Sometimes the Problem with Being a Democrat is Being a Democrat

In a classic example of moral chicanery and political doublespeak political genius James Carville explains why the Democrats blow at modern politics. The primary political tactic for the social democratic left in America (i.e. the Democratic Party) says Carville should...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:17 AM

October 07, 2005

Pat Tillman was Anti-war!

This is a truly fascinating story about Pat Tillman, the football player who joined the military and was killed fighting in Afghanistan. It turns out that aside from the fact that the government lied about the circumstances surrounding his death,...
Posted by PaulGessing at 06:13 PM

The Mouse That Roared, All Twisted

Bush's speech on the "War on Terror," got me thinking about the classic 1959 film, The Mouse That Roared. That film was about the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, which decides that the only way to get out of their economic...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:28 AM

October 06, 2005

Feingold? You Gotta be Kiddin'!

This is my response to Bernie Quigley’s endorsement of Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) as a presidential candidate elsewhere on this website. This is the same Russ Feingold who is the main perpetrator of the McCain-Feingold Act, which has arguably been...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 02:05 PM

Thinking You're Safe versus Actually Being Safe

All the security cams that have been sprouting up like mold on rotten bread in America's cities lately have three actual reasons for being: To spy on you, to help the state levy fines (against you), and identify crooks (who...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:24 AM

October 05, 2005

Delayed Reaction

Not sure whether this is a confession, or an I told you so. I'd blogged that the Roberts elevation was a "punt," and not a bad one. The Harriet Miers nomination seems to be a delayed reaction to the (largely...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:16 PM

More on Abe

Jonathan David Morris's column here on the Free Liberal does a great service to our readers. However, his column does illustrate why we at the Free Liberal use the term "Transcend Politics" on our masthead. What we're really saying, IMO,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:51 AM

October 04, 2005

A Good Place to Start Mr. Mayor

A news item caught my eye a few minutes ago. It seems the city of New Orleans has been forced by events to pare down its payroll by a cool 40%. It makes me wonder of course if they really...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:28 PM

September 30, 2005

Respect for Liberty, Property, and Law in the Age of Terror

These considerations are not an easy balance especially for those of us on the libertarian left. "Out of power", says Sasha Abramsky, "a left that ignores the magnitude of these threats risks reducing itself to irrelevance, and, in so doing,...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:19 PM

September 29, 2005

(One of the reasons) I'm Not a Republican

Heard Leader DeLay today on the Tony Snow radio show. Don't want to "beat up" on him, but my goodness, the man seems to be without a conscience. Snow -- whom I sorta like -- threw DeLay's comments in his...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:58 PM

September 28, 2005

Don't Cry for Me...

The news of Tom DeLay stepping down, perhaps "temporarily," as Majority Leader in the House, has me feeling somewhat and tepidly optimistic. Whether the charges are fair, time will tell. And whether my take on his leadership is fair is...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:33 PM

September 27, 2005

Hope Springing?

Just when I'd just about written off the next 5 years to fiscal insanity, this glimmer of hope has shown through. May be too little. May fail. But at least SOMEONE'S trying to bring some semblance of fiscal discipline back...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 02:53 PM

September 26, 2005

Corporate "Purposes"

The latest print edition of Reason magazine features a debate of sorts about the "purpose" of a corporation. Milton Friedman, the Nobel prize-winning economist, took the orthodox free market position that the purpose of a corporation is to maximize long...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:22 AM

September 24, 2005

'Til Death Do Us Part

It's rarely talked about, but I see that Judge Roberts was at least asked about the death penalty during his confirmation hearings. I'm pleased to see that he recognizes that death's "irrevocable" nature makes it different. He seems to suggest...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:12 PM

September 23, 2005

Time for Humility

"I know but I don't know." -Blondie, from Parallel Lines OK, this morning I'm feeling a bit depressed about our country and the world. (Personally, I'm more than fine, thanks for asking!) But, in the course of human events, these...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:43 AM

September 21, 2005

What I Mean by "Liberal"

Many people email me to ask why (other than sarcasm, contempt, or irony) do I put quotation (") marks around the term "liberal" when I write. So I'll reply here as it seems so many of the queries originate...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:46 PM

September 18, 2005

This "Confirmation" Confirms Everything There is That's Bad About the Senate

The preening Senate grandees of the Democratic persuasion are miffed at Judge Roberts. They believe that he's giving them pat, insincere, and dismissive answers to the questions they put to him. Well what did you expect folks? The last SCOTUS...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 09:41 PM

September 17, 2005

Interim "Under God" Suggestion

This recent Pledge of Allegiance issue has me feeling a bit conflicted. Of course, the ultimate solution is to privatize schools, so that parents can choose what sort of curricula and routines their children are exposed to. This, however, doesn't...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 01:13 PM

Don't Blame the Victim, Just Make 'em Pay More

All the rage amongst the libertarian and free-market think-tanks these days is the idea of cutting health insurance costs by setting deductibles and co-pays very high and making up for the cost of routine care with Health Savings Accounts. The...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:37 AM

September 15, 2005

Those who govern...

Politicians of all types just love to promote family “friendly values” and project that sort of persona don’t they? I worked as a local politics columnist for an alternative weekly for time so I got to see a lot of...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 03:16 PM

A "Transpartisan" Candidate?

We don't support candidates, but here's an interesting new candidate: Kevin Zeese is running for Senate in MD as an independent. Note that he hopes to bring together Libertarians, Greens, and Populists. Zeese's career includes being a spokesperson for Ralph...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:33 AM

September 14, 2005

"I heard the news today, oh boy"

From the chutzpah files: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says he's done such a great job cutting the federal budget that he can't find offsets to pay for Katrina aid. Leader DeLay, a 10% across the board cut in discretionary...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:42 PM

September 13, 2005

Tin Ears?

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion. How you put your opinion does tend to make a difference, however. I've happened upon an organization known as the Pro Price Gouging Legal Defense Fund. What they stand for, I buy...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 10:34 AM

September 12, 2005

With Charity Toward All

Congress has authorized something like $60 billion in aid to the Katrina victims. This rings true to our humanaritarian impulse, but, wait a second, do we really believe that those who so poorly handled the mission -- and so many...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:47 AM

September 11, 2005

Will People Help Out If They Don't Have To?

On this day which is the fourth anniversary of the al-Qaida attacks on America, the political pissers and moaners (whose finger pointing and spinning is mainly for partisan political advantage), and the FEMA-crats and FEMA-philes who dream of better plans...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:56 PM

September 08, 2005

Dead Horse Beaten

Re: Massoud's latest, I admit to not being an expert in FEMA, or much of anything, truth be told. But a quick glance at the FEMA site says its charter is: "responding to, planning for, recovering from and mitigating against...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:15 PM

FEMA Debate Continued...

Yes paen was hyperbole, but it was a sarcastic way to make my point. Capozzi said, "From a humanitarian perspective, it strikes me as reasonable to support FEMA at this critical juncture. Fingerpointing about specific mistakes and how contracts are...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:05 PM

On Praise and Criticism

It's suggested here that I have rendered a "paean" (joyful praise or exultation) for FEMA. I reread my blog, and no, I didn't say that, nor is it what I intended. I'm quite critical, actually, of FEMA, the state of...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:08 AM

No More Money for FEMA

I could hardly believe Robert Capozzi's paen to the bumbling FEMA-crats, but then he also suggested he'd like to give them even more of his (and our) hard-earned money! Boy Howdy! Jeez Bob, does their track record to date (not...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:03 AM

I could hardly believe Robert Capozzi's paen to the bumbling FEMA-crats, but then he also suggested he'd like to give them even more of his (and our) hard-earned money! Boy Howdy! Jeez Bob, does their track record to date (not...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:57 AM

September 06, 2005

Important News

"Gilligan" has died. Absurd as it may sound, I find Bob Denver's "Gilligan" character to be a Free Liberal icon. The character's "true north" was always kindness, in all things. Thank you, Bob Denver, for bringing this truth to light,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:08 PM

Roberts a "Punt"

Not one to shy from my errors, I'll 'fess up, per a previous blog. There I suggested that the Rehnquist replacement might show how the Bushies are fraying. Elevating Roberts to a Chief Justice nominee seems to be a pretty...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:20 PM

September 05, 2005

Could Katrina Be an Opportunity?

One hates to view other's misery as an opportunity, and yet life goes on. Surveying the landscape, Katrina appears to me to be massive new investment project. All those folks will need houses, jobs, and the other necessities of life....
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:19 PM

Is FEMA Benign?

It seems a lot of we members of the "chattering class" are weighing in on FEMA in light of Katrina. FEMA is racist. FEMA in incompetent. FEMA shouldn't exist. FEMA is a pork-barrel. FEMA could do better if we weren't...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:40 AM

Who Says 8's a Magic Number

I'm feeling a bit sorry for President Bush about now. I've got to believe that the Iraq War and Katrina are weighing on him heavily. I caught him on the tube a bit (I watch very little TV news...too depressing,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:36 AM

September 04, 2005

Natural Disasters and Statism

Whenever I discuss political theory with statists (conservative or modern liberal) one response that they feel is a trump to anything I say is, "Without some kind of state, government, or hierarchy, they'll be chaos!" Then they sit back and...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:27 PM

Interesting Times

"May you live in interesting times." -Chinese "curse," possibly mistranslated Waking this morning to the news of Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist's death, I'm starting to feel that these are "cursed," interesting times. My country remains at war premised on...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:35 AM

September 02, 2005

Why the People's Republic of California is Irredeemably Screwed

Governor Schwarzenegger is trying to help, but as Stephen Greehut has pointed out, even if these initiatives pass, it'll change nothing'. Here is what (very timid) reforms Schwarzenegger is attempting to put before the voters. "a) A Schwarzenegger-backed, Chamber-of-Commerce/Business Roundtable...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:02 PM

September 01, 2005

Warning Sign...Warning Sign

"Warning sign...warning sign... It happened before, it will happen again" -Talking Heads, "Warning Sign" from More Songs About Buildings and Food Just when you think this country CAN learn lessons from history, this happens: People are actually calling for "price...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:54 AM

August 31, 2005

Another Take on Sheehan

Like everyone, Cindy Sheehan has her "flaws." Hers seem to come from a profound anguish about what she believes to be the truth: That her son died in a war that was not necessary, and in fact was based on...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:09 AM

August 30, 2005

The Rise & Fall of Cindy Sheehan, Media Star

When I first heard of Cindy Sheehan and her lonely and quixotic attempts to stake out President Bush until she got some real answers about what her son was sacrificed for, I was filled with admiration for her. But not...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:40 AM

August 29, 2005

Best Enemies

"The best is the enemy of the good." -Voltaire Thanks to Ali Massoud for this exposition on the differences between "classical" vs. "modern" liberals. I agree that modern liberals do tend to want to prescribe government force to social problems,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:20 AM

August 28, 2005

Classic vs. Modern Liberals

Most modern "liberals" as opposed to Classic Liberals or Liberal Democrats are in the end merely soft-core fascists. The modern liberal agenda is to gain control of the institutional hierarchy of the state and then to use that power to...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:04 PM

August 27, 2005

Priorities and the "Death Tax"

I believe in maximizing peace and liberty, where we can, when we can. So, I'm in a bit of a quandry about the so-called "death" tax, or the estate tax. Something about calling for its abolition is bothering me, though....
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:46 AM

August 26, 2005

Paper Guarantees

Ali Massoud makes a great point about a downside to the Fair Tax. That plan creates a whole new class of tax collectors, and regulations to collect taxes. I'm not a Fair Tax advocate in the short term, but in...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:23 PM

Ellsworth Air Force Based Saved!

"Ellsworth Air Force Based Saved!" trumpets the announcement on Senator John Thune's webpage. The South Dakota Republican's whining and pleading (not to mention threats and arm-bending) saved Ellsworth AFB (this time anyhow), from the U.S. Based Realignment and Closure Commission...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 02:51 PM

Fair Tax Redux...

Digging around into the details of the Linder-Boortz Fair Tax (sic) plan/scheme/bandwagon I found this criticism at the American Constitutional Research Service blog. To wit: "Contrary to what the proponents of the Fair Tax claim it will do, the unadulterated...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:31 PM

August 25, 2005

Sneak & Peek OK Because...

...if we have another terrorist attack, the American people will demand even more infringements on our rights. This, according to Laura Ingraham, radio pundit, while interviewing Steven J. Cannell, TV impressario, author and sometime political commentator. Cannell took the position...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 02:19 PM

August 24, 2005

Pat Robertson is Promoting Terror

If the Bush administration held Christian Coalition founder and multi-millionaire televangelist Pat Robertson to the same standards it applies to Hamas, Hisb'allah, or al-Qaida, Rev. Pat would now be tied to a chair with bag over his head and on...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:44 AM

August 23, 2005

The Dollar Cost of War

How much is the Iraq War really costing us, not just in American lives, but in treasure? This writer takes a stab at the numbers and comes up with total costs of five years in Iraq of $1.3 trillion or...
Posted by PaulGessing at 10:51 AM

August 22, 2005

Soldering Weld

Thanks for your comment, Ali. I re-read my blog, and, no, I didn't and don't "endorse" Weld, at least not here on this site. I find him interesting. I think that, in context, a tax- and spend-cutting, socially liberal Republican...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 01:27 PM

Contra Weld

Bob Capozzi's endorsement of former Massachuesetts Governor Bill Weld's oddball quest to be New York's next governor strikes me as a bad idea for two main reasons. First, Weld is simply a bored rich guy who finds business and law...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:42 AM

August 21, 2005

ACLU of Michigan Challenges Breathalyzer Tests for Pedestrians

I think we can all agree that drunk drivers injure, kill, and destroy. So steps must be taken to cull them out of the driving population. However, drunken pedestrians too? This is too much for me. Unless they are being...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:43 PM

About As Good As It Gets...

...William Weld, former guv of MA, may throw his hat into the governor's race in NY, likely pitted against Eliot Spitzer for the Dems. Note his socially liberal/fiscally conservative positioning...sounds a bit Free Liberalish to me. And he's, well, just...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 09:21 AM

August 18, 2005

Further Outrages from New London, CT

As if the Kelo were not tragic and unfair enough already, this story from the USA Today details the city of New London's efforts to collect "back rent" from homeowners who fought the city over the forced sale of their...
Posted by PaulGessing at 01:12 PM

August 17, 2005

I Was Accidently "Phished", but I Didn't Get Hooked..

...this time anyhow. I have insurance coverage for my car through GEICO. (The insurance company with the dancing lizard TV commercials). I was going on-line to pay the six month premium and I became distracted. When the page loaded it...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:35 PM

August 15, 2005

Google's Book Scanning Hits Snag -The DMCA

The wonderful and ambitious effort by Google to scan the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, and Oxford universities has run into a snag. A money crazed publishing industry and the bought and paid for whores it employs in the US...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:02 AM

August 13, 2005

The Atom Bomb Coverup

The true story of the aftermath of the atom bomb. No surprise that the U.S. government engaged in a massive coverup to hide the true impact of these terrible weapons on the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. - Paul Gessing...
Posted by PaulGessing at 03:23 PM

August 12, 2005

Cops Who Oppose the Drug War

LEAP, an organization of cops and ex-cops who say pissing around with victimless drug users only fosters corruption, wastes time and money, fills the jails and prisons, and enable huge profits for drug cartels. "Former cop and LEAP founder Jack...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:17 PM

New anti-neocon song from Rolling Stones

Regardless of your opinion of the Rolling Stones, you've got to love a song with lyrics like "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of s---." This one...
Posted by PaulGessing at 05:57 PM

Jury Nullification: an important concept they don't want you to know about

It is rarely discussed, but even moreso than voting, serving on a jury is the single most important way in which an average citizen can impact the political/social system. This excellent article explains the importance of jury nullification and why...
Posted by PaulGessing at 12:27 PM

August 11, 2005

Property by the point of a gun?

Thanks to Ali Massoud for elaborating on why the Fair Tax isn't fair in his book. It seems he finds the notion of Alaska's approach to the commonwealth unconvincing, or an exception. Yes, of course, oil is a more easily...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 10:14 AM

Behind the Scenes with the Misnamed but awesome Students for Saving Social Security

Unlike AARP and other well-heeled opponents of Social Security reform, Students for Saving Social Security are truly "grassroots" and are making a difference. - Paul Gessing...
Posted by PaulGessing at 09:57 AM

August 10, 2005

A Response to Capozzi's "Fair Use?"

Capozzi's "Fair Use?" post is linked here. Alaska is a small population, resource rich, state entity where most of the resource (oil in this case), is state owned as well. Ditto Norway and its North Sea oil deposits. However you...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:52 PM

Agriculture Subsidies are Making us Fat!

Sure, lack of excercise plays a significant factor in Americans' growing waistlines, but it can't be helpful that federal agriculture policies disproportionately subsidize foods that are less healthy and give little or no help to fruit and vegetable. As this...
Posted by PaulGessing at 05:30 PM

August 08, 2005

Fair Use?

Thanks to Ali Massoud for his contribution to discerning how a "fair" society funds commonwealth activities, to the extent we have them. Of course, my view is that while it's an interesting thought experiment as to what our long term...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:03 AM

August 07, 2005

Use Taxes are the Only Fair Taxes

I have been following the postings on tax policy of my of fellow TFL blogger Robert Cappozzi. Here are my views on taxes (i.e.- taking earned money from people by force to spend on things to which they never agreed.)...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:47 PM

Honing the Fair Tax

Thanks for those who've sent yet MORE letters in support of the Fair Tax. Great discussion! I'm feeling somewhat misunderstood, first off. I've said I find the Fair Tax appealing in concept. Having been around Washington for 25 years, though,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:49 AM

August 06, 2005

Government Corruption as a TV Gameshow! What a Concept.

"Live from Congress! Hear of high-ranking officials trying to board planes with $100,000 stuffed in their underwear. See politicians refusing to answer investigators for fear of incriminating themselves. Watch their wives reduced to tears. Secretaries revealing their bosses' dirty secrets....
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:42 PM

Stacked Deck?

Thanks to Jason Stack for his letter. In addition to the point I made about the Fair Tax requiring at this stage an exorbitantly high (IMO) rate, there are other practical reasons why I'm not saluting the Fair Tax at...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 10:15 AM

More on Fairness

Thanks to Mike Lowry for his Letter to the Free Liberal. Lowry's characterizations aside, let me be clear that I find the Fair Tax conceptually interesting, and perhaps a superior long term solution. Tax reformers tend to fall into 3...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:20 AM

August 05, 2005

Google Blacklists C/Net Reporters

Get this. "Apparently, Google was angered by an article published earlier by C/Net where all sorts of personal information about Google CEO Eric Schmidt was included. The information was obtained from Google searches." From Slashdot.org Kind of speaks for itself....
Posted by ChemicalAli at 03:14 PM

Darwin, Free Markets, and Equity

Thanks to Leo K. O'Drudy, III for his Letter to the Editor. He asks provocative questions about the Fair Tax. I've commented here before that I don't support the Fair Tax, mostly for practical reasons. In theory, it's appealing to...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:20 AM

August 03, 2005

"Modern Liberals" and Guns

The other day I was waiting out a rainstorm in one of Ann Arbor's Internet cafes and was watching some gabfest on C-Span. A panel was discussing how to revamp the Left's message to attract more "regular" people. One guy...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 10:25 PM

If there were ever...

...a Free Liberal issue, abolishing NASA would be at the top of the list about now. NASA is a completely elitist boondoggle, of benefit only to the few at the expense of the many. Think of the inequity of a...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:26 PM

August 02, 2005

Founding Father of Modern Conservatism is Appalled by What He Sees

Paul Weyrich a founder of today's conservative movement (and the founder of the Heritage Foundation, among other things), is aghast and appalled at what the contemporary conservative movement of today has morphed into: Which is to say an oddball coalition...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:29 PM

August 01, 2005

Homeland Security Funds Are Wasted on Pork! Amazing.

"Scarce Homeland Security dollars that could help New York City", Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) says, "are being wasted on pork-barrel projects nationwide". Or so Weiner said in a news story. Imagine that! The government taking scarce resources (i.e., money taken...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 12:12 AM

July 29, 2005

Random Subway Searches

These random searches are not going to do anything to stop determined terrorists, but they are likely to grow more common and more invasive as time goes on. Jacob Sullum of Reason provides a good critique....
Posted by PaulGessing at 05:53 PM

Umpire Bans Youth Team From Speaking Spanish!

How dare they? From the news story: "[The team from] Methuen was winning 3-1 when assistant coach Domingo Infante instructed the pitcher in Spanish to try to pick off a runner at second base. After the unsuccessful attempt, the umpire...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 01:27 PM

July 28, 2005

Ex-Microsoft Exec Barred From Google Job

Ex-Microsoft Exec Barred From Google Job "Microsoft sued Lee and Google last week, claiming that by taking the Google job, Lee was violating an agreement he signed in 2000 barring him from working for a direct competitor in any area...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:11 PM

Give me Property or Give me Death!

This article puts the Kelo decision in some perspective. It truly is amazing that with all of its blatant inequities, cases of mistaken identitiy, and irrelevence as a deterrant to violent crime, the death penalty continues to maintain the support...
Posted by PaulGessing at 09:37 PM

July 26, 2005

I don't need no stinkin' ID card

The feds and the rest always say they want you to have your privacy protected, but they never admit to the fact that none of this spying would even be possible if we didn't need social security numbers for everything....
Posted by ChemicalAli at 02:24 AM

July 24, 2005

It Cost How Much?

The tab for the care and feeding of the UK ruling class is in. According to this news report. "British Prime Minister Tony Blair has spent more than $13,000 of taxpayers' money on make-up and make-up artists over the past...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 11:47 AM

July 23, 2005

A Fool and His Money...

From the Econonist.com comes this newstory about the building bubble in Internet stocks. "Why? Investors with more dollars than sense are desperate to find something promising juicy returns. Google is too new to have burned buyers in the last dotcom...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 07:32 PM

Ann Arbor Street Art Fair - 2005

I was attending the Art Fair yesterday and it brought back a lot mixed feelings for me when I went down political row. Let me explain. Non-profits (i.e. - political, social, and religious organizations) are put all together in booths...
Posted by ChemicalAli at 07:05 PM

July 22, 2005

Liberty Index--Gov't Gets Smaller!

Thinking about a point I made in my piece, The Transpartisan Triangle, I'd suggested that if you separate out the tyranny the government meted out on slaves, Native Americans, and women, government has grown since the US's inception. But, wait...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 02:57 PM

Government incompetence and eminent domain abuse go hand-in-hand

In this excellent Washington Post piece, the author details how even prior to the Court's recent Kelo decision, the Supreme Court's rulings on eminent domain were overly broad, thus leading to half-baked , economically wasteful, and downright tragic abuses of...
Posted by PaulGessing at 11:16 AM

July 15, 2005

Ebbers: 25?

Bernie Ebbers, mastermind of the greatest public company fraud and bankruptcy in history, has been sentenced to 25 years in jail. How the mighty have fallen. I met Bernie in his hey day, back when his net worth was soaring...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:22 AM

July 12, 2005

Creating a Free Liberal Culture

A Free Liberal culture is much more than just removing government restrictions on human autonomy and free association, or big business created barriers to trade and consumer choice. Those two things are just impediments to a freer culture but do...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 12:30 PM

July 11, 2005

Dubya's Choice...

...for the next Supreme Court justice is a long shot. Rudolph Guiliani. I've been saying this since the election. Clearly an out of left field choice, which will immunize Dubya and be very difficult for anyone in the Senate from...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2005

Interview with IJ Lawyer who argued Kelo property rights case

We all know that the Kelo decision was a travesty, but this article lays out the next steps the pro-freedom, pro-property rights movement is considering and provides some great food for thought. -- Paul Gessing...
Posted by PaulGessing at 05:33 PM

July 08, 2005

Kelo and "Foolish Consistency"

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -Ralph Waldo Emerson As the dust settles on the Kelo case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that it's OK by them that New London, CT, took private property to --...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 05, 2005

July 4th DEPENDENCE Day

July 4th, 2005 marks the day that the U.S. government sold out its citizens to an international regulatory scheme called Codex Alementarius. The Codex Alementarius Commission, consisting of 85 of 171 country members including the United States assembled in...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 01:20 PM | TrackBack

July 04, 2005

Free Culture or Soulless Culture

Artifacts of culture including music, TV, movies, books, etc offer us, if interested, a peek behind the curtain, a chance to see the little man who is pulling the strings of our social world. Most don't take the opportunity afforded...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 10:54 PM | TrackBack

July 01, 2005

Welcome to the Psychotheraputic State

There is a growing trend in the States with federal and private foundation funding to use the coerced and captured attention of students in state schools as guinea pigs for the latest fad in psychiatry. This fad would be the...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 11:03 AM

June 23, 2005

Wrapped Around Their Axles?

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." -Albert Einstein The Social Security reforms that Dubya's been talking up seems to be getting more and more mired...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 05:35 AM

June 17, 2005

Walter Jones' Realization

No matter what he's said or done in the past regarding the war, Congressman Walter Jones should be respected for at least realizing when "enough is enough."...
Posted by PaulGessing at 10:07 AM

June 12, 2005

Much Ado About Not So Much?

The Manchester Union in New Hampshire ran an interesting news story recently. Apparently Russell Kanning protested the government's airport security measures, believing them to be overly intrusive, police-state tactics. His wife said: "We want people to think about it: Do...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:16 AM

June 09, 2005

Violation, Not "Crime"

Thanks to Travis Cross for his Letter to The Free Liberal. It seems as if we agree that speed limits might be a legitimate exercise of government power, based on the notion that speeding represents a reckless endangerment. I believe...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:34 AM

May 31, 2005

Speed Limits?

Jonathan David Morris's The Non-Aggression Principle presents us with food for thought. He also, however, reminds me why I cast about for what I am, politically. He notes, for instance, that libertarians believe that "every single public policy issue—from speed...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 11:34 AM

Government Lying=Okay, Newsweek Blunder=Unforgivable

It's really quite simple, no matter what side of the political fence you reside on, the fact is that most people are more than willing to let the government lie about nearly anything. The media, on the other hand, is...
Posted by PaulGessing at 10:37 AM

May 30, 2005

Bullies Beware

What do John Bolton, Martha Stewart, and Bernie Ebbers have in common? All of them are "bully bosses, " as laid out in an interesting article in the Washington Post. Bullies, it seems to me, make the same mistake that...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 27, 2005

New Zealand's Free Liberal Foreign Policy

An interesting story about how New Zealand's rather modest defense budget and decision to stay out of military conflicts has allowed the nation to keep its military budget quite small and retain its independence on the global stage. Something tells...
Posted by PaulGessing at 01:35 PM

May 11, 2005

More on Safety Nets

Timothy Carter's latest on Basic Income Guarantees continues this dialog nicely. He notes that "it is possible that a basic income will have a downward effect on high-wage jobs." He also notes that "A basic income might make it possible...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:29 AM

April 28, 2005

The End of “Evil”

“…for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so…” -Hamlet, by William Shakespeare “Evil” is a term that one hears more and more in the public square. Since Ronald Reagan branded the Soviet Union the “evil...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:04 PM

April 19, 2005

Bush on SS

Press reports from Bush's CNBC interview on Social Security are hitting the wires. A few quick reactions to his comments: "Telling younger workers they have to save money in a 1930s retirement system is like telling them they have to...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 09:29 AM

April 15, 2005

Fraud as Counterfeiting

I’ve pointed out here before that Sarbanes-Oxley is poor legislation. Congressman Ron Paul has introduced legislation repealing it. Two cheers for that. However, Dr. Paul states that: “More importantly, Congress has no constitutional authority to regulate the accounting standards of...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 04:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 13, 2005

More on Markets and Ecology

Bridging on Kevin Rollins's excellent blog Markets and Ecology, orthodox libertarianism can get us far toward harmonizing liberty and ecology, I submit. For instance, most libertarian economists recognize that the State could police pollution and other "negative externalities," to at...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Markets and Ecology

I received the following question today in regards to an article we ran last year by Gus DiZerega entitled "Natural Capitalism Vs. Free-Market Environmentalism." As the editor of the Free Liberal do you see libertarian thought generally accepting the idea...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:02 PM

April 12, 2005

'A Spectrum of Alternatives.'

Most of my blogging consists of bitching about one government program, plan, law, regulation or policy after another. I enjoy the space to bitch and hopefully open a few eyes to the realities of DC but constant complaining can and...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2005

"Walk Away"

Thanks to Timothy Carter for his article on Free Liberal, "Alternatives to the Minimum Wage." Very thought provoking. My gut reaction is that his conclusion: "Currently, the imbalance exists because capital can walk away, but labor cannot," is an overstatement....
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:23 AM | TrackBack

April 10, 2005

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Prof. Clyde Wilson's article on LewRockwell.Com "The Yankee Problem Again" has me reeling. I'm feeling somehow unclean, knowing that I was born and raised in NY, and retaining the NY Yankees as my team. I, like most Americans (I think),...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 02:27 PM

Why They Hate Us

Paraphrasing W, he told us that the terrorists "hate us" because we're free. He may be correct about that, at least in part. Of course, even if they hate us, and even if they attack us, there is still a...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:56 AM

April 08, 2005

Real ID is a bad idea!

Giving the Department of Homeland Security control over drivers' licenses is not going to solve our immigration or security problems. Nor will giving Canada and Mexico access to the database that would presumably be needed to keep track of the...
Posted by PaulGessing at 12:44 PM

Kudos to Dr. Paul

Rep. Ron Paul is to be commended for his excellent speech to the House. As Iraq fades from the headlines, he asks the fundamental question: Was Iraq II justified in the first place? He answers with a resounding "No." Saddam...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:18 AM | TrackBack

April 07, 2005

Optional SS, Nice, But...

Paul Gessing makes an excellent point in his blog Optional Social Security?: "the most logical reform I've seen to date is allowing individuals to opt out of the system entirely." Note, though, that this has been tried before. Goldwater ran...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:09 PM

Free Speech at the Free Liberal

It has occurred more than once that one or another of our Free Liberal editors has disagreed with the words of another editor. The complaint usually takes the form, “I don’t know if that is the kind of thing we...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:46 AM

April 06, 2005

Optional Social Security?

With all of the various proposals out there for "reforming" Social Security by doing everything from creating personal ad-on accounts to abolishing the whole system, the most logical reform I've seen to date is allowing individuals to opt out of...
Posted by PaulGessing at 08:51 PM

April 05, 2005

Our Trilateral World

Currently, I’m reading Thomas Friedman’s book “The Lexus and the Olive Tree,” about the new world of globalization. He tells how globalization has replaced the Cold War as the “lens” through which we should look at the world. “The globalization...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:22 PM

Response to Thompson

Thanks to Harry Thompson for his Letter to the Editor. I tend to agree with him, that Social Security is an extra-constitutional program. Of course, so are many other federal programs. Thompson suggests that "bringing FICA payers to the table,...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:05 PM

March 30, 2005

Oil-for-Food

Corruption at the U.N.? What a shock! Take government power, billions of dollars and managed economies, and you should expect nothing else. Where is the outrage and shock from these same people on the abuse of power at home? How...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 08:06 AM

March 27, 2005

Is the SS Fix In?

For the "progressive" take on what's really going on with Social Security, see this piece by John Podesta, Clinton's Chief of Staff. A lot of Washington insiders and pundits seem to think that "it appear increasingly likely that the president's...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:42 AM

March 25, 2005

Is the Media Biased?

Having just clicked through the Free Liberal's "Other Sources" onto the Phil Donahue interview, "We Have an Emergency in the Media and We Have to Fix It," I had to ask myself, Is the media biased? The answer that comes...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 11:14 AM

How risky is the non-smoking bar?

[I wrote this in response to a e-mail list discussion on the viability of non-smoking bars.] I have spent many drunken hours in the hospitality of the “Jack of the Wood” pub in Asheville, NC. Jack of the Wood is...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:19 AM

March 24, 2005

Revisionist Dilemma

In some quarters, it seems trendy to take an anti-federalist, confederate view of American history. There does seem to be somewhat of a case for that, but the case seems quite murky. For ex., the contemporary anti-federalists argue that the...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2005

Three cheers for Iceland

Iceland recently granted citizenship to Bobby Fischer, the reclusive chess champion who has been stuck in Japan waiting to be deported to the U.S. There is a federal warrant out for Mr. Fischer which means he would be arrested upon...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 08:53 AM

It's also obvious, and yet...

...no one that I've seen is more on target about the Schiavo case than Butler Shaffer over on LewRockwell.com. His blog "More on Schiavo case" suggests: "A principled approach, given the present circumstances, would be to allow Terri's husband to...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 08:47 AM

March 22, 2005

None of their business, but...

These recent Congressional hearings on steroids in baseball leave me feeling awfully ambivalent. Of course, it's none of Congress's business. It surely is moralizing and grandstanding. On the other hand, near as I can tell, 'roids are a public health...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 12:37 PM

March 21, 2005

Carbon "Tax"--Worth Further Exploration

In his piece in The Free Liberal "Real Social Security Reform," Carl Milsted calls for replacing the SS payroll tax with a "carbon tax (simple and good for the planet!)." More work needs to be done here, but it's the...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:33 AM

March 20, 2005

Not Wrong vs. Right

I didn't comment before, but as Jacob Hornberger's discussion has been posted, it seems appropriate. He wrote: "So, what Capozzi appears to be saying is that even though repeal is the right solution to Social Security, we shouldn’t advocate the...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:58 AM

March 19, 2005

Hornberger responds to Capozzi

On the Future of Freedom Foundation website on Friday, Jacob Hornberger responded to Robert Capozzi's blog entry about "soapbox lunatics" and Social Security reform. He wrote in part: So, what Capozzi appears to be saying is that even though repeal...
Posted by KevinRollins at 08:26 PM

Hardly Easy, Easily Hard

In the ongoing moderate/radical debate, thought I'd share another thought. Lew Rockwell claims it's "a heck of lot easier to be a moderate than a radical" because "you can be friendly with powerful people because you are no threat to...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:55 PM

March 18, 2005

Respecting Dissent

To clarify my blog On the Soapbox Watch and Jacob Hornberger's response, I sent him the following letter: Dear Mr. Hornberger, I am sorry that you feel I've described you with the term "Soapbox Lunatic," as you indicated today in...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:03 PM

"Radicals" and Time Preference

Here's an interesting one: Our friends over at LewRockwell.com have a campaign of sorts for Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. There's even a "victory" blog supporting Hoppe. Apparently, "In his lecture, Hoppe...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:31 AM

March 17, 2005

Polygraph CEOs & CFOs

Having been in telecom in the 1990s, this week's news hit home, with WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers being found guilty and now Joe Nacchio and 9 others (one of whom I knew personally) being sued by the SEC. These former titans...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:00 AM

March 15, 2005

Oink Oink goes Congress on DOD funding

Taxpayers for Common Sense recently completed their seven month long investigation into the 2005 Defense Appropriations bill. They discovered over $12 billion in pork including $4.3 million for Alaska for vocational training for miners and $1 million to restore Woody...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2005

On the Soapbox Watch

Yesterday, I coined the term "soapbox lunatic" on this blog. It's pejorative, I know, yet the more I think about it, the more accurate it seems. For an excellent example of taking positions far outside the mainstream, see Jacob Hornberger's...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 07:09 AM

March 12, 2005

Guard my wife, not Congress

As an anti-lobbyist (my client's don't want anything from the government except to be left alone). I have to spend a lot of my time on the Hill. That means that I have to go through the security gauntlet each...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 03:26 PM

Moderates vs. Radicals

I commend Lew Rockwell for his piece on his website, entitled Moderates vs. Radicals. He paints quite the picture. But, then, there is another way to look at it....
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 10:49 AM

March 10, 2005

Your Papers Please

An article this a.m. (March 10th, 2005) in the Washington Times entitled " Delay wants bill on illegals linked to Iraq spending" by Stephen Dinan (Nation Section, A3) is an example of why I do not pay to much attention...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 10:13 AM

March 08, 2005

Another Take on "Cruel and Unusual Logic"

Paul Jacob, as always, had an excellent analysis of the Supremes striking down of juvenile capital punishment (the preceding is a purposeful double entendre!). But there's another way to look at it....
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 03:30 PM

March 06, 2005

What is Liberalism?

Jacob Sullum of Reason makes some excellent points on what it means to be a "liberal." As a side note, it is rather amusing that in his article, Sullum refers to an event at American Enterprise Institute during which one...
Posted by PaulGessing at 04:13 PM

February 28, 2005

Republicans for a Planned Economy

The Republican party as a whole claims to be the party of free markets and limited government. However, some of the bills that the Republican Congress drops either shows their rhetoric to be mere propaganda or some just do not...
Posted by michaeldostrolenk at 11:14 AM

February 26, 2005

Sweet Home Alabama

Since the number one search term that brings people to the Free Liberal website is "nudist kids" I assume the following link will be appreciated. For all you "sex preverts" out there. :-p Stephen Gordon at Flash of Freedom tells...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:48 AM

February 25, 2005

Conservatives Gone Mad

The other day I received this e-mail from a "libertarian" Republican: "Guantanomo Bay torture???" Come on Kevin, those fuckers deserved everything they got. If anything Bush was too politically correct on them assholes. He should have tortured the living shit...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:56 AM

February 23, 2005

Alternatives to Libertarian Dogma

I've become increasingly bothered lately by Libertarians(and some libertarians) insisting that the only moral value is the "non-intiation of force", that the only enemy of liberty is government, and that those who are successful capitalists should be considered virtuous solely...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:00 AM

February 21, 2005

Do Americans Have a Right to their Homes Anymore?

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear one of the most important cases it has ever heard. They will decide whether Americans have the right to own their homes and land or whether governments can take their property away from them...
Posted by PaulGessing at 06:37 PM

January 19, 2005

Thoughts on the Inauguration

“Why do we need an inauguration? Bush is already in office!” So fumed my grandfather on the telephone earlier today. Being snowed in today with the rest of the DC-area, he had apparently caught too much TV coverage of the...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:11 PM

January 06, 2005

People will do anything for money

"NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning (sic) and in most cases against their will." So says Austin Aitken about NBC’s Fear Factor show....
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:12 PM

December 11, 2004

"You can't put Che Guevara on the cover of a libertarian magazine!"

The responses are still coming in about our latest print issue of the Free Liberal. One Libertarian Party member admonished me, "You can't put Che Guevara on the cover of a libertarian magazine!" My response was, "well, I did." This...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:19 AM

November 29, 2004

The Overweight and the Beautiful

Several people noticed that I didn't include a fresh picture of myself in our October Surprise edition as promised in the first issue of the Free Liberal. Instead, I offer you a picture of me from a recent IHS/Reason event...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:48 AM

November 11, 2004

The Holiday Season

In our pre-election madness, the Free Liberal, like many others, forgot to celebrate an important holiday -- Virginia Drug Free Day. Nathan Larson reminded me of this when he sent me this snippet from the code of Virginia: § 2.2-3313....
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:18 AM

October 26, 2004

Does Michael Peroutka Support Gay Marriage?

The Broadside, George Mason University's student newspaper, apparently confused their Libertarian and Constitution party Michaels. In the Broadside's election guide, there is a table including five presidential candidates: Badnarik, Bush, Kerry, Nader, and Peroutka. But, it says Michael Peroutka "supports...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:15 AM

September 28, 2004

Whoring for Votes and Voting for Sex

Usually we think of politics as a dirty business where morally-compromised white men in business suits gyrate and spread their legs for salivating special interest lobbyists who wave at them with wads of cash. This year the tables are being...
Posted by KevinRollins at 05:08 AM

September 22, 2004

Amusing Libertarian Activism

While not as amusing as my Richmond City Council Forum with the Greens story, I found last night's events to be to be amusing. So amusing that I felt compelled to share. Kevin said it was so great that I...
Posted by LeonardHarris at 11:34 AM

September 12, 2004

Flash Animation: The New Political Ironside

Are humorous flash animations the future of political attack ads? Being funny, while making a serious point may be much more memorable than conventionally somber political ads. Rather than having TV viewers Tivo past your expensive 30-second advertisement, you have...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:52 PM

August 28, 2004

Pastors United on Mixing Church and State

Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute reports that a recent survey of both liberal and conservative chuch leaders think we don't have enough theocracy in America. The survey revealed high levels of support among all Protestant pastors in regard...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:16 PM

August 25, 2004

Dave Matthews Vs. The Environment

Associates of Dave Matthews have struck a blow against the environment once again. In Chicago, their tour bus dumped a whole lotta crap into the Chicago River, and timed it just right so that wife of the mayor got covered...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:47 PM

August 18, 2004

The Animated War on Terror

Two great links... Mark Fiore's latest animation, and check out the trailer for the upcoming Team America movie....
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:46 AM

August 17, 2004

Carol Moore & the Fight for Purity

Although I generally don't agree with the purity police, Carol Moore has made a interesting point that Badnarik's Vote-Smart answers are lacking in their commitment to libertarian policies. http://carolmoore.net/libertarianparty/badnarikwatch/...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:08 PM

August 12, 2004

Vintage Intelligence

This Ted Rall cartoon pretty much sums up my feelings about the latest financial center attack scare from Washington. http://www.ucomics.com/tedrall/2004/08/05/ At what point do we begin calling it a "police state?" -- Kevin Rollins...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:54 PM

Some articles related to Michael Moore's lack of honesty

Not exactly an air-tight case By VIN SUPRYNOWICZ Sunday, July 04, 2004 Dude, Where's My Intellectual Honesty? By Bryan Keefer October 16, 2003 Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11 - Summary By Dave Kopel Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11 - Detail...
Posted by ScottBanks at 09:16 AM

August 10, 2004

The Keg Wrap: An All-American Story

There are few stories that warm this libertarian's heart more than the story of the Keg Wrap. The Keg Wrap is a creation of college students turned small business entrepreneurs who used their talents to bring a product to market...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:06 AM

August 01, 2004

Blog: Carrying Knives in Government Buildings

I attempted to go in the Old Post Office Building today (7/31/2004), and was prevented from entering while in possession of my knife. There are metal detectors at the entrance. I pulled out my knife and dropped it in the...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:49 PM

July 08, 2004

Stupid Dirty "White" Girl

Richard Riordan, former Mayor of Los Angeles and current California Secretary of Education, told a 6 year old girl that her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl." In response, Mervyn Dymally, a California state assemblyman organized a protest against Riordan,...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:47 PM

June 25, 2004

Blog: Snarling in the Senate

While in car on the way back from Virginia Beach on Wednesday, my mother's dogs Sazi and Sadie, who generally get along famously, suddenly began snarling and biting at each other. The scene of the dog fight in the rear-view...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:49 AM

March 28, 2004

Rollins quoted in Washington Times

Check out the Washington Times reporter Steve Miller's story about the Libertarian Party of Virginia convention. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040328-120749-1921r.htm...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:11 PM

March 24, 2004

"I Don't Remember"

Jacob Hornberger asks some important questions about the credibility of Bush's denial that his administration was obsessed with Iraq from the beginning. "Former U.S. Counterterrorism Chief Richard A. Clarke states that after he told President Bush at a meeting the...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:59 PM

March 12, 2004

Sundials for the Children!

Potomac News columnist Jim Simpson reports that the Prince William County, Virginia government will be paying for a 62-foot sundial at the new Neabsco High School. Apparently, the county doesn't know how much the sundial will cost, it is lost...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:33 PM

February 05, 2004

Bush Medicare Propaganda Funded by Taxpayers

Story about Bush Administration using taxpayer money to pay for ad campaign on behalf of new Medicare program. The ad company is -- shocker -- also on Bush re-elect and was a big contributor in 2003. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/04/politics1802EST0790.DTL...
Posted by at 01:20 PM