Every time I see a new government school under construction, it reminds me of the significant burden local taxpayers bear to pay for that coercive new institution. In the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, an affluent community adjacent to Boston, this form of government coercion has reached new heights. Last week, town officials contacted the president of a private college there to say that they were planning to take seven acres of college land by eminent domain to build a new public elementary school.
Tag: government
They Might Rise Up and Resist
Are contemporary Americans the most cringing, servile, whipped-dog people in the history of the world? I’m not saying they are, yet the question naturally occurs to anyone who observes their capitulation, with scarcely a whimper, to the ever-increasing outrages of their cruel and stupid masters (whose tyranny they regularly validate by their votes).
Centralization is Not Inherently Bad
Perhaps Wal-Mart or Amazon wouldn’t survive in a fully free market. Who knows. But to the extent that they face market competition, there’s nothing bad about their bigness or centralization that should make us want to end them. Any downsides present entrepreneurial opportunity to newcomers, and powerhouse companies are not safe forever. Markets are relentless.
Charity, not Theft and Slavery
It’s hard to imagine, but I’ve read that back during the barbaric era of government, people in need actually relied on government to steal money to pay for the things they needed, or to force people to provide those things at their own expense against their will! Food, housing, and medical care were considered to be legitimate reasons to steal and enslave!
Import the Products, or the Producers
A country’s people can foster their prosperity by participating in the extended, or international, system of specialization and exchange according to comparative advantage.
Excessive: Bail Isn’t Meant to Enable the Holding of Political Prisoners
The US Constitution’s Eighth Amendment forbids “excessive bail” in criminal prosecutions. That prohibition seems somewhat vague. I guess we’re just expected to know excessive bail when we see it. Two current cases demonstrate not just excessive bail, but abuse of the whole idea of bail for the purpose of holding un-convicted defendants as political prisoners.
Cincinnati II
As a matter of general principle, I believe there can be no doubt that criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government … too many people desire to suppress criticism simply because they think that it will give some comfort to the enemy to know that there is such criticism.
“Competent, Badass Cops” is Utter Bullshit
So the police have been given all sorts of new “legislative” powers in recent years, including being able to spy on all sorts of communications, as well as being given all sorts of weapons of war, to the point where “law enforcement” is essentially a standing army. Then it takes them over an hour to get around to breaching the door of the alleged shooter in Las Vegas.
Natural Law in a Nutshell
Natural Law is the source of your rights. It does not depend on humankind, and it is universally valid. It cannot be voided or amended by kings, constitutions, or legislatures. It is the universe in harmony with reason. It’s not a new idea. Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson, and many others have taught it in one form or another.
“Conservatives” are Just Statists
My contempt for “conservatives” grows. Almost daily. Which is strange, since my own personal preferences would probably lean mostly toward what outside observers would call “conservative.”