My Quest for Truth and Liberty
Posts tagged The State
What I’m Thankful For
Nov 25th
Since this is, after all, a sort of political/economic blog, I’m going to put a free market twist on what I’m thankful for. This is not in any particular order, I just write as things come to me.
I’m thankful for…
- Apple and their amazing and beautiful computers that make life so much fun and so much easier than Microsoft could ever do.
- The Mises Institute and their relentless dedication to doing interesting things, sharing knowledge, and of course, being nice to me.
- My friends who agree with me because it makes me feel like I’m not so crazy.
- My friends who don’t always agree with me because it makes life more fun. What would we do if we just sat around nodding happily and saying, “quite right, quite right” all the time?
- Anyone who has written a book that I’ve read (and liked). And I suppose I’m thankful for all those book that I would like if only I read them.
- The government’s failure so far to control the weather, that we have all these wonderful seasons and we know when they are coming, we can look forward to the snow, and enjoy the autumn weather, plant bulbs because we know that spring will come…and send in our scholarship application for Mises University because we know that July will come. And I’m glad they haven’t gotten rid of the rain yet, I really do like rainy days.
- Bluehost and their help when I ruin my website. And my thanks to everyone else who has helped me or tried to help me with my site. I’m forever indebted to you. My website is extremely important, and if I ever permanently lost it, I’d be just crazy with grief.
- The government and how much amusement they give to my days. I’d be more thankful if we could just look back on those “bad ole days” when there was a state, but not everything can happen at one time. We start laughing at it, seeing how crazy it is, and pretty soon it will be gone.
- My family and how nice it is that I can be with them and not shipped off to some government indoctrination school. Or packed off to college with a load of debt, propaganda, and only a piece of paper to show for it.
Well, I guess that’s about it for now. Happy Thanksgiving!
A History of Spending
Nov 24th
A Good Week
Nov 24th
I hope you are having a good week because mine is going just great. I’m actually sticking to my schedule pretty well and doing what I wanted to accomplish. I’m reading the first couple chapters (or sections in chapters, depending on how they are set up) in four different books, “Conceived in Liberty,” “Man, Economy and State,” “Democracy: The God That Failed,” and “The Great Gain of Godliness.” I have yet to tackle Man, Economy and State. Usually I read in bed right before I go to sleep, and it is a little cumbersome to hold that large volume and the study guide. So I’ll do it today at my desk.
I’m also hoping to have my novel finished this week so I can send it to the proof editor. When I used to play piano (I still do, but I don’t have a teacher…it is just for fun now) whenever I would finish a song, my teacher would say, “that’s really good. Of course, there’s always more that could be done, but this is good.” That’s something like how I feel about my novel. I keep messing with it. A little change here, a little of this, a little tweaking there, so I’m trying to get all of that done this week and then just leave it alone and let the other people do their job.
Spanish is getting a little boring, I think I need to speed it up a little. I usually “get” it before the lesson is done, so I’m doing a ton of boring review on things I already know. When it becomes harder I’ll probably need all the review I can get, but right now it is fairly easy. Last night I also learned how to balance chemical equations. It is pretty fun, if I really didn’t have anything else to do.
All for now. 
Has the Free Market Amused Us to Death?
Nov 23rd
I’m reading a book right now called, “Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940.” I bought it at our local library for 25 cents. It is a gem. I write a lot about this era in American history, and so it is very interesting to read the nitty-gritty details about life. Needless to say the author (David Kyvig) is quite the leftist. But I can easily penetrate through this propaganda, and there’s an interesting story behind it. The early 1900′s were really a time of great technological change, even revolution, in America. From driving to church in a buggy to getting around in a Model T, the examples are numerous. This was the era that heralded our own modern lifestyle. It reminded me of this book, “The Wild Wheel” by Garet Garrett. The author tells a story of Henry Ford and his great effect on American culture. Garrett also covers Ford’s clashes with the government and unions. Although I haven’t read the book, a good friend said that after reading “The Wild Wheel” one is convinced that Henry Ford would have never survived the clutches of modern government and would have just been an obscure victim of the state if he had tried to start his business in the last 30 or 50 years. And then that reminded me of the movie, “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” about a man who tries to be a “wild wheel” in a system that doesn’t like revolutionary competition or dangerous “new” ideas.
Okay, I know I’m rambling now, I’ll try to get back to my point. Actually, I didn’t have much of a point. I’m still reading the book, so I can’t tell you how much I like/hate it. Maybe I’m an incurable bibliophile for finding a book on what people ate in the 1920′s and what they thought about their food absolutely riveting. It reads like a novel to me. Oh, but the book also reminds me of another book I just finished, “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” The chronicle of daily life in the 1920′s and 30′s corresponds quite well to the timeframe in which the author of “Amusing Ourselves to Death” (Neil Postman) claims that our manner of public discourse and thought began to shift. This was the beginning of the visually-oriented society that culminated in the TV and I suppose, in the computers and hand-held gadgets of my generation. Instead of advertisements being simply words on a page, rationally offering something, “Paul Revere on ____ St. can fix any teeth that may be broken, lost, etc…at a reasonable price,” suddenly the ads started appealing to our senses. “Look, that baby is so happy and healthy eating that special baby food…I need to get that brand for my baby!”
And then Postman argues that this obsession with amusement and lack of any real knowledge or discussion is a form of tyranny far more dangerous than anything Orwell could have imagined. Instead of the government restricting our access to knowledge, they have given us so much knowledge that we simply can’t sort out the relevant from the irrelevant. We’re so busy finding out what all our friends and anyone we might have ever known or want to know had for lunch that we forget there’s something called the TSA terrorizing Americans at the airports. Or if we do remember, we’re so busy watching footage and reading the hundreds of stories that we don’t do anything about it.
But then I’m not sure who to blame: the consumers? The entrepreneurs? The government? Has everything been this diabolical plot? [dark and whispered tones] “We’re going to invent this thing called Twitter where most Americans will spend all their spare time reading about their friends being stuck at red lights and being up all night with fussy babies and so much irrelevant information that they won’t realize we’re taking their liberties away.” Or was it the free market? The amazing, the incredible free market? So should we hand all our liberties to the government, [baby talk] “Nanny doesn’t want you to be amused to death…what a horrid way to die.” So we go from an Aldous Huxley nightmare to a George Orwell one? We’re are saved from capitalism only to find ourselves in the grasp of a totalitarian government?
I don’t know, I don’t really have an answer. It is a tricky question. I don’t think we’d want to accept the answer no matter what it was.
Bring Them Home!
Nov 22nd
I’m sometimes accused of being “anti-military,” as if that’s as bad as being “anti-life.” But I wish to clarify my position on this. I’m not against the military, if by military you mean the individuals who are out there risking their lives. If that’s what you mean, then I’m all for them. I get a little misty-eyed when I see a reunion of a soldier and his family. I do care deeply about those soldiers. In fact, I care for them so much that it pains me to think of these people giving up these years of their life, precious time with their family, their career, etc…not to mention their very life for something so unnecessary. The military is so important to me that I don’t want to see their efforts wasted and innocent lives lost. Let them live their lives. Let them spend time with their children. Let the Christians among the military grow in their knowledge of God’s grace, instead of daily being bombarded with murder, evil, and immorality. Let them pursue their own interests. Let them be individuals trying to achieve their own goals. And when we really need to be defended, perhaps against the greatest enemy of all–the state, then let them come out and protect us. But don’t make them sit around in other countries helplessly watching over the deaths of children and the elderly. Don’t make them the target of frustration, anger and revenge in places where our military has been stationed for over 50 years and appears to have no intention of leaving anytime soon. Let them come home!
Update on Online Class
Nov 22nd
I’m sorry folks, if you missed the deadline for the discounted registration. Your only chance now is to get more than 5 people to sign up with you, and you can get the group rate of $35 per person. But I’ve been thinking about some other things too. In case you’re afraid that this class is going to be a little boring (or maybe slightly fun) but just not practical and relevant to your life, I have a solution. During the last couple weeks of the course, we will spend our live lecture time discussing current problems. After getting such a solid foundation, we can tackle some of the tough questions that we’re all dealing with right now. But the best part of it all? You get to decide what we talk about. If you are a participant in this course, then you get to decide what questions we talk about. Maybe those socialists are constantly plaguing you about some apparent flaw in the free market and you just wish you had the time to come up with a response. Then we can discuss that. If you give me the question ahead of time, I’ll do the research and give you some ideas for how to respond. And you might be tempted to ask, “can’t I skip the other lectures and just attend these Q&A sessions?” And I’d say, “actually, it would be better if you attended every lecture. You see, the whole course will be building up to these real-world problems and questions. The theories and ideas we learn throughout the course will make it possible for us to understand how the economy works now, or actually, how it isn’t working. Not only that, but if you attended every lecture and had this strong economic base, then it will be a piece of cake for you to rip apart any Keynesian propaganda, any socialist arguments, or even any Monetarist nonsense, at any time…not just during the course, but while you’re having dinner with a friend, or confronted by an activist, or watching the evening news.”
Are you convinced yet?
The Blight of Beck
Nov 18th
Have I ever mentioned how much I can’t stand Glenn Beck? He makes me sick. And very mad. Anyways, here’s an article from LewRockwell.com on how Fox News (and Glenn Beck primarily) have totally distorted the Progressive era and agenda.
Did Capitalism Cause the Recession?
Nov 18th
After hearing Tom Woods speak last night I was inspired to dig up this youtube video again. It was really cool that Tom Woods talked about much of the same things as I do in this speech. I guess that’s not surprising since I got a lot of my information from “Meltdown.” But in this video I go into more depth and look at more of the causes than Tom Woods did last night. No, it isn’t quite as funny (or near as funny, except maybe the slide about the animal spirits…) but if you need a crash course in the 1920 Depression, the Great Depression and the recession we are in now, this is the video to watch. There may be others as well…but I’m just slightly biased.
Thank You, Bush…for the TSA
Nov 17th
I guess the title of this post gives it all away. There’s been much commotion these days over the TSA. Haven’t you noticed? It is here, and here, if that’s not enough, then here, here and here. As many are saying, it is just out of control. There is no way that anyone will convince me to fly while there are still these scanners, still these pat-downs, still the horrible TSA. I’d rather miss Mises U or seeing Ron Paul than go through that. And I hope the conservatives are happy now. I hope the Republicans are satisfied. This is the result of their fear-mongering, of their insensible rage and hate against anyone who might be Muslim.
You must be truthful and realize that we just can’t blame the Democrats for this one. They’re not big into this xenophobic mania and intense nationalism. If anything some Democrats (not necessarily the politicians but the Democratic activists, writers, etc…) are advocates of human rights and dignity. Being searched by the TSA is not upholding human dignity.
It is the Republicans who say that the end justifies the means. That it doesn’t matter that the TSA is a blatant affront to all that we claim to believe. “If we don’t listen to the TSA some evil Muslims will come blow up America and then where will we be? There won’t be any great American principles then.” It is rather ironic, these are the people who are deathly afraid of Shari’ah law being instated in America. “Can you imagine, my daughter might have to wear a burqa!” But somehow it is okay for some absolute stranger to give your daughter an invasive pat-down. Yeah.
I know that everyone will blame Obama for this. But it isn’t Obama’s fault. It is Bush’s fault. It is his fault for promoting the idea that either you are a fervent nationalist or a terrorist plotting to destroy America. There is no room in his ideology for those who simply want to be free and to be left alone.
So if you have the unfortunate occasion to go through airport security, just thank our dear president, George Bush.
Lessons Learned
Nov 16th
So the site has another look (again) and all has been recovered from the devastation of the weekend. Don’t thank me, thank Bluehost. They just did everything for me. I basically said, “help! HELP!!” and they repaired all that was wrong. And very quickly too. And although this is slightly unrelated, Bluehost has unlimited storage which is going to be really great. So if you are thinking of getting a website, I would recommend Bluehost. I have had very good experience with them. But even so, I had about 24 hours to contemplate my stupid mistake and long for someone to repair it. In light of that, I’ve made a list of the lessons I’ve learned through this ordeal.
1) Double check and triple check before deleting anything on your website. Be absolutely sure that you are only deleting what you want to get rid of.
2) Never, ever, delete the “public_html” folder, even on accident. I realize that if it an accident you couldn’t prevent it, but I am telling you to do the impossible and don’t let that accident happen. It is horrible. You never, ever want to delete all the contents of that folder, unless you happen to think that a blank white screen makes an interesting site.
3) If something is going to happen to your website, just let the government do it. I mean, it would be so much more glamorous if I could say, “yeah, I’m sorry, the Feds took my site down for the weekend. We managed to dig it out of their claws, it wasn’t easy, but here we are now, a bit scratched up and exhausted, but the site is safe from tyranny…for the moment.” Your readers will also have more pity for you than if you say that you were being careless and made this absolutely stupid mistake (that’s the only way I can truthfully describe it).
4) A website is very vulnerable. It also makes you very vulnerable. I didn’t realize how important my site was to me until it was gone. Always remember that with a simple push of a button it can all be destroyed. It was so easy to make it disappear. Too easy, I think, but that leads to the next point…
5) Some people have a knack for knowing what to do. You know how some people can manage to do everything? You watch them juggling so many things (literally and metaphorically) and wonder how they do it without messing up. Well, if you are not that type of person, then I recommend that you never go near the backend of your website. It is far too dangerous. You are just playing around, having fun and BOOM! it is all gone. You just have to realize that your talent lies in another direction and that you do have limits.
6) This isn’t really a point, I ran out of lessons, but wanted it to look like I had learned lots of lessons. I’m looking forward to messing with this new theme and learning how to use it. I think I will like it.
7) Do you?
