What struck me most about revisiting the Salem Witch Trials with my children was the fact that these English Puritans who had recently settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony had no presumption of innocence. Those accused of a crime at the time, both in the New World and elsewhere, were guilty until proven innocent. The presumption of innocence in trials, with court defenders and impartial juries, would take centuries to catch on.
Tag: government
There’s No Way to Know Everything
It’s enough to know when something violates other people’s rights and liberty; to understand I have no right to violate others even if I can’t know with certainty how things would go if no one violates them.
All Hail the Entrepreneurs (and the Carnitas They Bring Us)
This might all seem completely ordinary to you, but bear in mind that I am able to enjoy these culinary delights even though I live at the ends of the Earth, at the far reaches of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. For Lucio’s making it possible for me to live here so well, I feel much indebted to him.
Uninformed, Misinformed, Brainwashed Statists
Any bland “news” story about the “arrest” of a drug dealer, and the drugs, cash, and guns confiscated from him, is a nest of lies– opinions, if I were to be nice about it. It will assume statism. It will assume the legitimacy of prohibition, “taxation”, government police, “gun control” [sic], “laws”, the “justice system”, and a hundred other things which shouldn’t be assumed.
Super Bowl 53, The Meaning of Taxation (15m) – Episode 279
Episode 279 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: the waste of time that was Super Bowl 53; his commitment to remaining a teetotaler; what the existence of and toleration toward the practice of taxation (and other forms of coercion by government) means in your society; and more.
Nationalism, the Ideological Delusion at the Heart of Protectionism
To ask the question is almost to answer it. People who would balk at city, state, or regional protectionism will not only tolerate national protectionism, but actually hail it as a godsend for overall national prosperity. The doctrine of nationalism, a dangerous brew in which Americans have long indulged to great excess is the cause of this bizarre public sentiment.
Generations, Vices or Crimes, American Letter Mail Company (29m) – Episode 277
Episode 277 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: generational whining about the symptoms of multi-generational statist beliefs; Lysander Spooner’s essay “Vices are Not Crimes” as written about in a November 2009 essay; Lysander Spooner’s battle with the US Federal government over first-class letter delivery; and more.
On Tolerance II
It’s just a tad (just a tad) ironic that the supposedly most tolerant places in the world, places like London, San Francisco, Toronto, and New York, are also the most heavily regulated and taxed. Why is this ironic? Because advocating for and permitting your government to impose such heavy burdens on your neighbors is one of the most intolerant things you can do.
The FDA’s Assault on Tobacco Consumers, Part 2
DeLauro’s bill betrays a fundamental puritanism, which underlies all prohibitionism: since nicotine is a substance that provides pleasure and some people therefore use it habitually, it must be stamped out and its consumers, producers, and merchants demonized.
Sorry, Innocent Bystanders
The world is full of problems, and most people want government to solve these problems. When government solves problems, however, they usually create some new ones. If you’re lucky, the victims of the new problems are the very bad guys who created the original problems. Serves them right! Yet more often, the victims of the new problems are innocent bystanders. They’ve done nothing wrong; they’re just caught in the crossfire.