It was a fluke, really – a case of the enemy having their guard down that enabled Donald J. Trump to navigate his way to presidential victory in 2016 to begin with. Personally, I chalk it up to overconfidence on the part of the establishment: A smug certainty that such an entrenched, politically-connected public figure as former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could easily wipe an outspoken billionaire-entrepreneur-turned-TV-personality off the map without much rigging of the system. But of course, they were wrong.
Tag: libertarian
Robinhood: Stealing from the Poor to Give to the Rich
Robinhood’s terms of service specify that it “may, in its discretion, prohibit or restrict the trading of securities.” That clause may or may not sufficiently cover the company’s posterior in a legal sense. But in this application, it gives lie to the company’s name and supposed mission.
Political “Unity” is Neither Necessary Nor Desirable
“[T]o restore the soul and to secure the future of America,” President Joe Biden said in his inaugural speech, “requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. … This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.” The bad news: Where politics is concerned, “unity” is a pipe dream.
Hey Joe, Where You Goin’ With That Pen in Your Hand?
On his first partial day as president, Joe Biden issued 17 “executive orders, memorandums and proclamations” — two more than America’s first five presidents issued over their 36 years in office.
Lysander Spooner: The Forgotten History of the Man Who Started the First Private Post Office
Lysander Spooner is an important – and not exactly obscure – figure in the history of the liberty movement. He’s an idiosyncratic figure from the 19th century with no small cheerleading section in the 21st century. A bit of a throwback to a very different time, Spooner was a champion of the labor movement and was even a member of the First International at a time when socialists and anarchists coexisted peacefully within that movement.
The Trump/Biden Handoff: Back to Business as Usual, as Usual
Few will find it surprising that the incoming Biden administration looks, in both form and function, a lot like the Obama administration of 2009-2017. After all, Joe Biden served as Barack Obama’s vice-president for those eight years. His staff and cabinet appointments comprise a veritable Who’s Who of Obama holdovers and members of Biden’s own political circle, built over decades in the Senate and White House.
The No Fly List: More Dangerous than the Capitol Rioters
As I write this, the Capitol Hill riot of January 6 is enjoying its extended 15 minutes of fame, complete with straight-faced comparisons to December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001.
MLK, Jr.’s Libertarian Movement, Labor Day, Spanking, & the Social Contract (28m) – Episode 455
Episode 455 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: why Martin Luther King, Jr. and the fight for civil rights was a libertarian movement; where wages came from and why they have been a blessing for humanity; why spanking is unintelligent, lazy, selfish, and unnecessary; and the central problem in social contract theory and a more accurate way to formulate it (as a peace treaty in a threat game).
Intellectual Property: Skyler J. Collins vs. Alex R. Knight III
I had a little back and forth in the comment section on one of my recent podcast episodes with my friend Alex Knight (ARK3). I thought I’d reproduce it here in all it’s glory.
Section 230, Amazon and Parler, Caveat Emptor, Contracts, & Alternatives (41m) – Episode 454
Episode 454 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and what is and is not libertarian about it; Amazon Web Services cancelling their contract with social media platform Parler without the contractually specified notice of 30 days; what should happen to contracts in the future; examining our dependencies and building alternatives; and more.