My own opposition comes from a very different direction: I’m against vouchers not because they might damage, or fail to replicate, the existing system, but because they threaten to make “private” alternatives more LIKE that system.
Tag: prison
President Trump, Please Free Ross Ulbricht
There is no universe in which life without the possibility of parole is a reasonable penalty for the crime of running a web site. Especially a web site which arguably reduced both drug-related street crime and death by drug overdose.
Drug Prohibition Won’t End Abuse
Abusing drugs is a dumb vice, but drug prohibition is far worse — it is wrong. Laws and punishment will never end drug abuse. The desire for the feeling drugs create is too much a part of being human. If it’s not one drug, it will be another.
“Human Trafficking”– the “People Trade”
This recent focus on “human trafficking” is ignoring the biggest offender: government. This means the activists aren’t serious.
Simplistic to the Point of Absurdity
When someone proclaims to have a certain philosophy, belief, or disposition, do you believe them? Let’s imagine they say they are charitable, but rarely give to charity. Let’s imagine they say they are an altruist, but they have two kidneys in a world where people die for not having one. Let’s imagine they say support the “metoo” movement, but they rape women for sport. What do you think of these people?
The Difference between You and Them
From one point of view, the government is almost indescribably complex. Its functionaries and contractors are occupied in a gigantic set of diverse activities. The objectives it claims to be carrying out are nearly as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Yet, at day’s end, all of this complexity can be reduced to a very simple relationship between you and those who compose the state: you have money, and they intend to take as much of it as possible and dispose of it as they see fit.
Government Explained
Is it OK for me to go into your house and take your stuff? What if I first write on a piece of paper that it’s OK for me to go into your house and take your stuff? Does that make it OK? What if I get a lot of people to agree with me that the permission slip I wrote for myself makes it OK?
Removing Failure is a Recipe for Disaster
Remember the scene in “The Dark Knight Rises” where Bruce Wayne is trying to escape from a hole in the ground prison? He can’t make the jump as long as the safety harness is tied around him. He’s only capable of his full physical prowess when death is a real alternative. Like it or not, that’s the way it works.
Gina Haspel: Torturers Should be Punished, not Promoted
Gina Haspel doesn’t belong at the head of the CIA. She doesn’t belong in the CIA at all. Nor does she belong in any other position of government authority. Gina Haspel belongs in prison.
An Atelatheist Exposes the Religion of Statism
Yes, belief in the State results in buildings being built, people molested due to “laws”, and other physical effects in the real world, but those are no more proof of the existence of the State than churches, inquisitions, martyrs, or charities are proof of the existence of God. People who believe something do things based on that belief. Such is the nature of belief. Beliefs have effects on the behavior of people who believe, even when the belief is in something imaginary.