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Liberty and Power

  • Jun 21, 2011

    Feeding the Tax Man at Duffy's Tavern (1944)

    by Liberty and Power

    Duffy's Tavern was one of the most popular radio shows during World War II and was a direct model for the TV series, Cheers. In this episode from 1944, the main characters try to figure out Roosevelt's expanded income tax which, for the first time, reached the masses.  Using humor, it reveals at least some frustration with the onerous and bewildering requirements of the tax.

  • Jun 19, 2011

    Gordon Albert McElroy, my dad

    by Liberty and Power

    On Father's Day, I think of my dad.
     

    He was a simple man in a world that devalues simple human beings. It is not fashionable to be a common man who loves his family, is a good neighbor and friend, a decent human being. My father quit school in the 6th grade during the depression because *his* father had died and he was the only male left in the family to make a living. But I never heard him complain about the choice forced upon him.

    Gordon Albert McElroy loved his wife, his children, and classical music (especially opera).

  • Jun 18, 2011

    Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases

    by Liberty and Power

    The United States has around 6,000 military bases on its own soil and more than 1,000 worldwide. The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases is a British organization that asks questions about U.S. bases in the UK and worldwide. Their website is worth a look. If we're going to have states, I'd rather we have national sovereignty in a world of nation-states than imperialism under any guise, not least humanitarian intervention, so it would be a good thing if the UK would kick 'em out. Fat chance, I know, but there's no harm hoping.

  • Jun 16, 2011

    Facebook Gets Multicultural about China and Censorship

    by Liberty and Power

    In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal quotes Mark Zuckerberg, the kid from Harvard who heads the CEO of a company-not-yet-public. (Goldman-Sachs VIP insiders only, please). What disturbed me about the article is not that another company is breaking into the so-called China market after the Google row over censorship.

  • Jun 16, 2011

    Yes, This is a Police State

    by Liberty and Power

    That's this week's column at the Freeman Online.  A snippet:

    Since 9/11 the biggest threat to the American people is not radical Muslim terrorists, nor deranged domestic terrorists, but the terrorists with the blue uniforms, badges, and body armor. Their weapons of mass destruction are not bombs, but state-approved guns, latex-gloved hands, and a profound disregard for our rights.

  • Jun 14, 2011

    John Hospers (1918-2011)

    by Liberty and Power

    John Hospers, who last Thursday celebrated his ninety-third birthday, died Sunday. He was a philosopher of note and the first LP candidate for president (in 1972).

    Jesse Walker's appreciation provides some interesting links, and you can learn a lot about John Hospers from this autobiographical essay.

  • Jun 13, 2011

    Auberon Herbert

    by Liberty and Power

    Auberon Herbert, Part 1, Part 2 Yet to be posted
    by Wendy McElroy,
    Originally published by the highly recommended Future of Freedom Foundation

    In his periodical Liberty, (May 23, 1885), the quintessential American individualist-anarchist Benjamin Tucker wrote of his British counterpart Auberon Herbert, “I know of no more inspiring spectacle in England than that of this man of exceptionally high social position doing battle almost single-handed with the giant monster, government,

  • Jun 11, 2011

    Resign Congressman Weiner

    by Liberty and Power

    Ever since he first took his seat in the House of Representatives Anthony Weiner has shown through his voting record a dedication to ensuring that America remains a society run from the top down that is ordered on the use of force and coercion. Apparently this juvenile misogynistic lying cretin is not sufficiently embarrassed by his own atrocious behavior to serve this country’s citizens in the only way he is capable of by resigning his office.

  • Jun 2, 2011

    We Should not Ignore this One

    by Liberty and Power

    The more comprehensive as well as the more impartial a Commission charged with studying marijuana use conclusions are, the more likely its report is to be ignored and have no effect on public policy. This occurred with studies by the British in India, the U. S.

  • Jun 1, 2011

    Some Thoughts on Gary Johnson

    by Liberty and Power

    Earlier today I participated in a conference call with a handful of bloggers chatting with the libertarian Republican presidential candidate former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.  I wanted to share some of his comments on economic and other issues as well as a few reflections of my own.

  • May 29, 2011

    A Modern Liberal's View of Capitalism

    by Liberty and Power

    Joyce Appleby describes herself as a "left-leaning historian ... with strong libertarian trends." She has written a partially good book on the history of capitalism--The Relentless Revolution. I reviewed it in Liberty and would be interested in comments by writers on this blog.  My overview, expressed with a somewhat rhetorical flourish:

  • May 24, 2011

    What Fulbright Does and Doesn't Do

    by Liberty and Power

    There are few programs as cost-effective as Fulbright-Hays in preparing graduate students for research and teaching in international studies.  Americans are not known for their competencies in Asian languages, or for their familiarity with cultural and political systems vastly different from their own.  The fact that we lack these skills has been pointed out, again and again, not just by academics but by business executives who find that America's diminishing competitive edge against countries like China is partly the result of the failure to educate American students in internati