Courtiers and trappings. When the founders drafted the Constitution, they ignored the main evil — the king was not dead. We are still in the European mindset that arose out of the Medieval Age and the dementia of Hobbes.
Tag: class
Use Better Tech (Not Laws) To Reduce Texting and Driving Deaths
In the past year or so I’ve started to notice a new feature on my phone: with simple artificial intelligence the text messaging app is able to auto-generate simple, relevant replies to text. So if someone says “hi”, you can say “hi” right on back. But it’s actually more sophisticated than it sounds. It can detect,…
Two Cheers for Trump’s Declassification Order
On September 17, Politico reports, US president Donald Trump partially declassified a government surveillance application targeting former campaign consultant Carter Page and directed the US Department of Justice to publicly release text messages relating to the “Russiagate” probe between former FBI Director James Comey and other DoJ/FBI personnel.
The Day Cops Surrounded Me
I used to give a presentation on the mountainmen of the Rocky Mountain fur trade each year for fourth grade at the local elementary school. I went to the classroom in full mountainman gear and talked about the history and the tools. I gave a few demonstrations to the kids, such as showing how to set a steel trap, start a fire without matches (both with flint and steel and with a bow drill; the kids’ favorite), and how to load a muzzleloading rifle.
A Primer on Challenging Jurisdiction
At some point in your life you will be attacked by people who call themselves “government”. This attack will consist of these people making certain claims, claims which must be challenged. If the claims are proven true with verifiable facts and evidence, then the attack is no longer an attack, but an act of self-defense.
Enough Problems without Government
The threat posed by belief in government is greater in some areas but seems unavoidable everywhere, and that’s insane. Getting away from government is part of the reason the frontier has been historically popular, and without a frontier or other state-free spaces, there’s a ticking time bomb that can’t be defused. Society will eventually pay a price it can’t afford.
Fire Drills as Social Occasions
The fire drill is a uniquely 20th century thing, made for 20th century and 21st century buildings. And if you think about it, it’s really strange. A bell goes off and dozens and even hundreds of human beings start flowing out of their 20th and 21st century buildings all at once.
On Labor Day
Perhaps Labor Day would best be celebrated by recognizing the source of wage labor: capitalism. Economist George Reisman had it correct when he wrote that few people could survive by selling products. Many more people survive by selling their labor.
The Joy of Familiar Strangers
We have lots of different kinds of relationships in life, from close family to extended family to close friends to acquaintances. But there’s another kind of relationship which is underrated: familiar strangers.
The Fatal Flaw
Most Americans come to conclusions randomly. They believe what they read in the newspapers, depending upon which newspaper they read. They see the corruption, lying and cheating that goes on before their very eyes and haven’t the foggiest idea of what goes on behind the closed doors of government.