More Ways Than One

Physical health is great, but there are lots of physically fit people who are psychologically miserable. Having friends is great too, but it’s no substitute for self-esteem, physical health, and enough financial resources to secure the tools necessary for connecting with them. Music is awesome, but it can’t satisfy your biological need for food and water.

Trading Places

“What protection teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war.” –Henry George When Donald Trump can propose tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, washing machines, and solar-panels without being roundly booed off the stage, one has to wonder if reason has any…

A Catch-22 in Organizing for the Pursuit of Liberty

There’s a Catch-22 in regard to efforts aimed at diminishing state domination and enlarging genuine liberty. A substantial number of people may support these goals, but in order to achieve real gains, they must organize to raise money, build public support, and obstruct the state’s attempts to plunder and bully them. The catch is that the organizations they create are run by organizers or managers who have incentives to turn their organizations into vehicles for their own power-quest or for workaday jobbery.

Laws Don’t Deter Crime, They Create Crime

A major superstition maintained by those who believe in government (the state) is that without their laws, criminals will run rampant in the street preying on anybody and everybody who can’t personally defend themselves. Laws that prescribe harsh punishments on criminal behavior, it is believed, will deter most people from engaging in a life of crime. But I don’t believe that’s true. In fact, I believe the opposite is true: laws don’t deter crime, they create crime. How, you ask as you lean forward and rub your chin?

Scammers and Their Enthusiastic Victims

One guy is sending money to a “woman” who is coming to America to be his bride. She keeps needing more and more money due to various problems that crop up. But, finally, a week or so back, he was sending her the money for the plane ticket! Hallelujah! But, oops. Apparently, her taxi was involved in a terrible wreck on the way to the airport. Now she’s in the hospital unable to speak, but the hospital was able to get in touch with the man to tell him how much he must send to pay her hospital bill. So that she can recover and come marry him, of course. Ugh.

Why Intellectuals Should Leave Academia

Professors and teachers: The best way to increase the quality and engagement of students is to separate your instruction from accredited institutions. Don’t complain about low quality students; they’re not there for you and mostly don’t care about your ideas. They’re there for a piece of paper they think is a magic ticket to acceptance in the world and they suffer through your class at a cost. You’re too good to deal with students like that who don’t value your work!