Going to war against the Police [Updated for 2017]

On the afternoon of Saturday, December 20, 2014, a man traveled from Baltimore to Brooklyn, where he shot dead two police officers. My condolences went out to the families of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

Some of the mixed responses I saw to this double homicide sickened me almost as much as the news itself. Many of you reading this were sickened by the news of the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, as was the shooter in Brooklyn, Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

Given police speculation that Brinsley had committed another homicide back in Baltimore, planned for killing police, and that he killed himself after the incident, I concluded the shooter was crazy and disturbed similar to the Columbine shooters.

This murderous violence, motivated partly by politics and partly by insanity, only prolonged the stalemated gun control debate. It will also continue the discussion on civil liberties and the militarization of police in America.

Many in the liberty movement not only oppose the State institution of the police, or the State’s monopoly on security (which is reasonable).  They actually take it farther and hate the police, as a group and as individuals. I had the misfortune of arguing with a handful of people who were actually glad these officers were ambushed and murdered.

If you’re one of these people who celebrated their deaths, and who celebrates the deaths of police officers, I’m ashamed of you.

This is horrible. Furthermore, the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner expressed outraged by these killings, and their outrage was more than justifiable. After all, the families didn’t lose their sons violently so that their memory could be used to justify more violence and death. It’s one hell of a slippery slope.

By no means should libertarians, who value the right to life and individual self-determination more than any other ideological group, celebrate the murder of any human beings. That’s exactly what this ambush was. It wasn’t a rebel military operation, nor was it any kind of revolutionary action, despite being partly motivated by politics. The shooter was mentally unbalanced.

I remind you all that libertarians view people first and foremost... Read more

American Stalin — ‘Joe Steele’ in the Age of Obama and Trump

I’ve been a fan of Harry Turtledove’s writing ever since I picked up a copy of Great War: American Front back in 2009. Turtledove has the ability to weave the stories of numerous ordinary people together to make one large patchwork fabric of an impressive, epic tale of a history that might have been. This is the case with his 2015 novel, Joe Steele, which has a relevant message for our time in the age of Obama and Trump.

President Steele immediately begins a series of economic reforms under the first Four Year Plan—an allusion to Stalin’s Five Year Plan but tailored to the President’s term in office—with makes FDR’s New Deal look like a children’s game. The federal government begins confiscating property under eminent domain for large-scale collective farming. The Supreme Court justices who rule the new policies unconstitutional suddenly find themselves in front of a military tribunal for a show trial, and promptly sentenced to death by firing squad. Joe Steele then moves on to purge the military establishment and key political opposition (as well as purging loyal followers who pose a future potential threat to the regime).

For starters, Turtledove proves the extent of his research and his expertise in the field of U.S. history by using real case law from the Civil War that allows the federal government to try civilians by military tribunal rather than by jury trial. And while Americans may sleep well today believing themselves safe from labor camps, current federal documents tell a different story.

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Anatomy of the Mexican State

Francisco “Pancho” Villa turned his criminal organization into an army and was warlord over Chihuahua until his death in 1923

Given the utter failure of the Mexican federal government to abide by its social contract to provide specific services to the large sectors of its population—i.e., education, health care, respect of civil liberties, protection of property, and most importantly, protection of life— coupled with the government’s failure to exercise sovereignty over territory firmly controlled by narco-warlords, indigenous insurgent groups, and self-defense militias, it’s reasonable to conclude that Mexico is a failing state.

Since the state still exists and provides services to some sectors of the population, it hasn’t failed altogether, but it certainly is in the process of failing.  More so since the erratic behavior of the Trump presidency and the announcement of the 20% wall tariff caused the peso to crumble.

Criminologist John P. Sullivan (of the Small Wars Journal) elaborates on the Mexican criminal insurgency; namely that the insurgency’s main goal is to gain autonomy and economic control over territory. By hollowing out the state and creating alternative states—in this case feudalistic fiefdoms ruled by narco-warlords through their narco-guerrilla armies—the criminal insurgency introduces a dual-state model.

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Alcohol Prohibition spawned Mexico’s oldest drug cartel [Updated for 2017]

Those old enough to remember Prohibition in the U.S. remember it as a controversial and violent era. The Eighteenth Amendment and Volstead Act, passed by Congress in 1919, prohibited the manufacture and sale of “intoxicating liquor” for recreational use. Prohibition took effect in January 1920, but its effects will still be felt in 2020.

LEGISLATING MORALITY IN AMERICA

The alcohol ban, long championed by the temperance movement, was enacted with the intention of simultaneously lowering the crime rates and social ills like alcoholism in the U.S. However, it’s often said that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Instead of solving problems, the great social experiment of alcohol prohibition wreaked havoc on communities nationwide.

A study of over 30 major US cities showed crime had risen by 24 percent between 1920 and 1921, including a 13 percent rise in homicides and 45 percent increase in substance addiction. Another unintended consequence was the major boost Prohibition provided for organized crime. This phenomenon was a matter of simple economics: Americans wanted to drink.

Following the Law of Supply and Demand, people from all walks of life created a demand for liquor and criminal organizations supplied that demand through the production and distribution of contraband liquor. These crime groups were willing and able to resort to the necessary corruption and violence against law enforcement and rival alcohol cartels in order to protect their lucrative trade.

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Feeding the Homeless: Activist Stands Up to City Government

Most people are used to seeing signs that say, “don’t feed the animals,”  as those signs are posted in parks and zoos. What no one expects to see, however, are signs that say “Do not feed the people,” right?

One of the oldest traditions of Western civilization is giving alms to the poor, including feeding the homeless.  The City of Los Angeles almost made it illegal to feed the homeless.  This is how a group of activists stopped big government in its tracks.

In 2013, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge introduced a motion before the City Council prohibiting anyone from feeding the homeless in public rights of way (sidewalks, street corners, open areas).  The councilmen justified the motion on health and food safety reasons.  Libertarian activist Angela McArdle had a problem with the motion.

“Who are they to tell the people they’re not allowed to help the needy?” says McArdle.  According to the paralegal and Libertarian activist, she and her friends have been feeding the homeless for years.  LaBonge’s rationalization for the motion was that it protected the homeless from food poisoning from improperly prepared food.  If people wanted to help them, they would have to incorporate, become accountable to the IRS, open a kitchen, and have their facilities inspected by city, county, state, and federal bureaucrats.

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LP Oklahoma joins coalition to free jailed Cuban libertarians

The Libertarian Party of Oklahoma (LPOK) joined the Libertarian Parties of Nevada (LPN), New Hampshire (LPNH), and Spain (P-LIB) in speaking out on behalf of jailed Cuban libertarian activists.  LP Oklahoma, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Spain have condemned the Cuban government and Communist Party of Cuba for the arrest and detention of Ubaldo Herrera Hernandez and Manuel Velazquez Visea.  LPN, LPNH, LPOK, and P-LIB demand the immediate and safe release of Herrera and Velazquez.

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Libertarian Party of Spain joins in condemning the Cuban government

The Libertarian Party of Spain has joined the Libertarian Parties of Nevada and New Hampshire in condemning the Cuban government for the arrest and unlawful detention of two libertarian activists.  In a Spanish-language news release, the Spanish Libertarians announced:

The Libertarian Party of Spain (P-LIB) strongly condemns the arbitrary imprisonment of two Cuban libertarian activists, Ubaldo Herrera Hernández and Manuel Velasquez Visea, perpetrated several days ago by the island's brutal communist regime, and demands its immediate release.

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