My Quest for Truth and Liberty
History
Favorite Videos
Jan 12th
I’m sure I’ve posted some of these before, but just wanted to do it again.
Here is Ron Paul’s “What If?” speech from Congress. Absolutely brilliant.
And here is a rather chilling history of Iran. Chilling because there is so much I didn’t know our government did. Chilling because everyone is saying we need to bomb Iran. Really? Don’t you know your history?
And every so often I watch this one, just to cheer myself up and get all excited about liberty again. It is so clear and so beautiful in the defense of self-ownership. Must watch.
Mr. Madison’s War
Jan 25th
I’m doing a history class this week on the War of 1812. This war has confused me and I’ve never been sure what to think of it. There are some very interesting things I’ve discovered so far.
- Madison knew he wouldn’t have a chance for reelection unless he found some way to unite the country and better his public image.
- The First Bank of the United States had just been disbanded, but the new owner of it (Stephen Girard) was very good friends with Madison’s Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Dallas. Girard funded about 95% of the War of 1812. And Dallas was responsible for getting the Second Bank of the United States approved. You think there’s any connection?
- The state militias in New England did not like the war as they depended heavily on trade with the British Empire. They even considered secession at the Hartford Convention of 1814. Some states refused to support the war and others did but only half-heartedly. And even Madison never questioned their right to secede from the union although it was in his interest that they stayed. At least Madison had more principles than that despot, Lincoln.
Jefferson’s Judicial Blunders
Oct 21st
Here’s an article a friend sent me on Jefferson, as I seemed to be on a “Jefferson kick.” I haven’t read it all yet so I can’t state my opinion, but you should check it out.
On Thomas Jefferson
Oct 20th
Right now I’m fascinated with the ideas and life of Jefferson, partly inspired by what I think was a most accurate portrayal of him in the HBO series “John Adams.”
Since everything on Wikipedia can be infallibly trusted (*sarcasm*) here is their write-up on Jefferson.
Since we’ve been indoctrinated with the politically correct story, here is the real account of Jefferson and his beliefs by Albert Jay Nock. I suspect he took great pleasure in discovering all the dirty secrets about all the people we have always admired. I just hope he doesn’t do that to Jefferson.
Since the only way we can know what Jefferson thought is by reading his own words, here are the letters and writings of Jefferson, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Since not everyone has time to read that much, here are some pithy quotes that are supposedly from Jefferson.
“Too Late to Apologize”
Oct 18th
This video is pretty funny. I’m not real crazy about the modern twist, but the beginning is just stunning.
Hamilton vs. Jefferson
Oct 16th
I’ve spent nearly every evening this week watching the HBO series on John Adams. It has all been very fascinating. I have the impression that overall, it is extremely accurate. Their John Adams actor (Paul Giamatti) even looks like the pictures we have of John Adams. By the end of the movie his teeth are black and rotting. I don’t know if John Adams really had this dental problem, but I assume that if he hadn’t, they would not have made their actor look unattractive. He and most of the main players look very realistic.
HBO probably didn’t intend this, but the most interesting part of the movie for me is the relationship (or lack of one) between Jefferson and Hamilton. I think they were portrayed very well. And George Washington. Adams and Jefferson complain that Washington is a good man and all, but he always defers to Hamilton and lets Hamilton run the show. Adams allows Hamilton and his cronies to form a national army to defeat the French (who haven’t yet attacked…they were just being cautious….yeah right) and Hamilton comes to Adams with detailed descriptions of the new army uniforms and even some of the technical details like, “When their commander says ______ [I forgot the exact word] the men will turn their head to the right, with their left eye in line with the left row of buttons on their coat and their right eye looking down the row of men beside them.” This borders on being extreme and comical, but it is clear that Hamilton glories in the pomp and show of his new army. And on the other hand you have Jefferson who is accused of promoting anarchy and who sits silently with a secret smile, who never says, “oh, no, we couldn’t have anarchy! Where’s the big central government to save us from chaos!” but who is probably thinking, “little do they know I am an anarchist, and little do they know where this whole Constitution business and central government is going to lead us.”
After my studies of the American Revolution and following years, Jefferson is the only one I can still admire. I’m afraid to read Albert Jay Nock, I suspect he’s going to blast away that one last hero of the Revolution too. And if he doesn’t, Rothbard probably will. But I would like to think, just for a little while, that Jefferson really was a true patriot and one who didn’t compromise.
That’s what I think Adams had difficulty with. He was torn between Hamilton and Jefferson. Sometimes he agreed with Jefferson, sometimes with Hamilton. He didn’t keep Hamilton in his cabinet, but he did sign the horrendous Alien and Sedition Acts. I think Adams had much potential, but somehow failed along the way because he didn’t know quite what he believed. I did respect him very much at the beginning when he argued for the accused British soldiers. He believed that even the British had the right to a fair trial. That is a lesson we would do well to remember.
Speech Topic?
Oct 12th
Giving a speech in a couple weeks in Dublin, trying to think of a topic along the lines of “Vigilance and Freedom: Past, Present and Future.” That title seems to have a lot of potential. I will have enough time (around 45 minutes) to maybe going into detail on times when Americans weren’t vigilant (can anyone say, “Federal Reserve”?) and times when they were, such as Jefferson protesting the Alien and Sedition Acts. I’m looking for suggestions or ideas as well.
P.S. Dublin Georgia…not the famous Dublin. Sorry…didn’t want to mislead you there, but it does sound very impressive if I just say Dublin. 
Tuesday Morning
Oct 12th
I don’t really have time to launch into one of those subjects I keep meaning to write about. I must prepare my economic and history classes for the week.
Yesterday I was working on the first lesson for my online class starting next semester. Exclusive information: If I can get this class prepared in the next few weeks, I might even do another one on American history! So for the first lesson I went back to Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and the Scholastics. It was very interesting. I had studied Aristotle and Aquinas from a religious perspective so it was fun to find out how their philosophies affected their economic thinking. And then today or tomorrow I’ll be looking at the early Classical school, J.B. Say, Adam Smith, etc…and that should be enlightening. Not many people realize how deeply flawed Adam Smith was. I think that this background on the Austrian school will help the students realize how important Menger was, what a significant development the theory of marginal utility was and so forth.
So…if you’re interested in an online class unmasking some of the lies the government has told us about American history, please let me know.
Wednesday Report
Oct 6th
Sadly, there isn’t much to report…last night while playing piano I thought of some really good topic to discuss here, but of course I didn’t write it down, so I can’t remember now. Here are some odds and ends.
Yesterday the girls and I had a history class. It is usually on Wednesdays, but they were begging me to do it a day early. We were talking about the writing of the Constitution. I’m eager to buy Hans Hoppe’s book, “Democracy: The God That Failed.” I don’t think the girls quite understand the fundamental shift that occurred when the Articles of Confederation were abolished and the Constitution ratified. I’m having them do a project that I hope will help demonstrate this. I’m having them make a paper chain, and each link of the chain has a couple words from the Pledge of Allegiance. I know, I know…this sounds crazy. My mother said, “what? Have you gone out of your mind?” But there’s a reason for this. This chain, “united” by the Pledge of Allegiance is just that–a chain. We will talk about what it means for the country to be “indivisible.” How does this encourage more freedom? Are the links of this chain freer than they were before they were united? We’ll talk about some of these ideas…and of course, the Pledge of Allegiance itself. I hope it will give them a tangible way to think about decentralizing power.
And then last night another sister came in to “keep me company.” I usually reserve my evenings for studying, but I wanted to make the most of this opportunity. So I offered to read a book with her. Most of my books do not have pictures, so we looked at the Mises 2010 Book Catalog with lots of pictures. We also looked at the flier from the Institute, “About the Ludwig von Mises Institute” with pictures of Mises and others. We saw a picture of Tom Woods, so then thanks to Facebook I could show her pictures of his cute girls…and also a picture of their new van. I told her about how nice Lew Rockwell is, and she said, “does he listen to everyone?” I think this was meant in the sense of someone who obeys their parents…and I wasn’t going to try to explain how he was nice and yet didn’t listen to the government. That will come in time. She can recognize Mises and Rothbard now in pictures. I said that Rothbard was a funny man, and fun to be around. She asked, “does he play lots of games?” And of course we had to tackle this Lincoln myth. I explained to her how mean Lincoln was, how he would throw good people in prison. So she carried on this little dialogue, “I will say to Lincoln, ‘I’ll be your friend’ but he will say, ‘No, I’m going to throw you in prison!’ I don’t want to be his friend!” Suffice to say, this girl isn’t going to grow up politically correct.
So that was an interesting evening, and probably unlike any other evening she spends reading books.
It is good to start them young, you know.
Actually, this was a report on Tuesday, so what about the Wednesday report? Since we did history yesterday, the rest of this week will be preparing for the workshop on Saturday. I’m going to go buy some materials and such that I’ll need. Really looking forward to it, should be a fun day. If you didn’t register but would like to come, please feel free to sign up late. There aren’t any late fees or anything, you can still come!
So What Is Going On?
Sep 22nd
You may have noticed the new buttons (graphics, not little round things on your clothes) on the right side of my site. While I know graphic artists who would do far better at this than I ever could, I don’t like to intrude on them all the time, so I’m slowly figuring out how to do it myself. You might be looking at all of that and thinking, “how does she find time to sleep!?” which is a correct question to ask as I am extremely busy. If you recall, I’m also doing two private classes for my special students (mainly, my sisters) on economics and history right now.
So, for the first one, the Tea Party Townhall on Saturday. I must say, I don’t know all the speakers at this event, I will not be speaking, I’m going to have a good time. I cannot say that you will agree with or support all of the positions held by the speakers, but just come anyways. No matter how you feel on particular issues, it will be an enjoyable day.
Secondly, education consulting. I really want to help families find an education style that fits their children. I know first-hand the benefits of homeschooling and am helping homeschool my sisters now. I’ve talked to many people who are interested in it but don’t know where to start. So I hope that this will provide them an opportunity to find some solutions.
Thirdly, I thought about doing a traditional economics course next semester. Traditional in the sense of a room with all the students and teacher present. But I realized that by implementing technology I already use, I can expand this course to people not necessarily living near me. I’m already excited by the curriculums and materials that I can combine and use. If nothing more, this class is going to be a great time for me.
So that’s what I’m working on and that’s why I haven’t been posting as much. I’ve been trying to think of some subject that I should complain about and spout out about, but haven’t thought of one…yet.
