Five Libertarian Ideas #13 - Star Wars, organized crime and POLITICAL CORRUPTION

Star Wars and the Fed

I love the STAR WARS novel "Darth Plagueis". The protagonist is a Sith lord (the same who plans the Clone Wars and rise of the Empire). His day job is intergalactic banking. Hmm, large-scale banking and planning wars... FEDERAL RESERVE!!! –3/26

Organized crime in politics

Leland Yee

California State Senator Leland Yee is in big trouble now. While his helping broker a major arms deal for the Triads is definitely laudable for ambitious creativity alone, Yee is definitely not the first American politician to be caught in bed with organized crime.

He's also not the first California Democratic legislator to be charged with corruption. I think it's safe to say every State Senator and Assembly member in California with a "D" after their name on the ballot ought to be investigated by the Feds. –3/28

Perspectives on the American Revolution

Conservatives: The Founding Fathers were all conservatives and they were of one mind when they wrote the Constitution.

Libertarians: The founding fathers were all libertarians and, even though they screwed up a few times, they were of one perfect mind when they wrote the Constitution.

An-Caps: Constitution? Pssh. I didn't sign that crap, I do what I want! And btw, the unorganized militia at Concord was the greatest fighting force IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE!!!!!!!! –4/2

ObamaCare and voter fraud

Models of health coverage

So the Covered California (ObamaCare) people are sending out voter registration forms with "Democrat" already marked... This reminds me of why I left the Left. They don't actually give a damn about democracy nor choice, only the IDEA of democracy while special interests bamboozle the Left into securing plunder via a Democrat party-state. –4/2

Second Fort Hood shooting

Not that I know anything about the military, but Presidents HW Bush and Clinton did the military no favors by turning installations into virtual gun-free zones.  After two shootings at Fort Hood and other shootings at Washington Navy Yard, Norfolk Naval Station, and the National Guard armory in Kentucky, it's time to re-arm the rank and file troops (who are more trained to safely handle weapons than most Americans). Disarming them has only given domestic terrorists and psychos plenty of targets in pretty camouflage. –4/2

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Leland Yee image by X and used via CC BY 3.0 license.  Health care systems graphic by "Kborer" and in the public domain. Both images obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

Five Libertarian Ideas #6 - Ron Paul coin, Rand Paul on Snowden, Mark Levin on Nullification, etc.

Prohibition and crime levels

Between 2000 and 2005, drug crimes in Mexico went UP while violent crime overall went DOWN. Then in 2006, the nightmare began and the narcos became insurgents. We see how on-the-books prohibition "caused" drug crime to "rise" while other crime went down. We then see how government-enforced prohibition turned a regional gang war into a nationwide civil war. –1/04

Ron Paul coins vs. the Fed

So there's a gold Ron Paul coin. Let's just say it actually becomes a hot commodity, demand goes up, and the supply goes down. How long before the Fed stockpiles those gold coins and then lends against them on the fractional reserve? Oh, the sweet irony... –1/05

Rand Paul on Edward Snowden

RAND PAUL is NOT saying that Snowden oughta be in jail for whistleblowing on the NSA, but rather for providing US secrets to OTHER GOVERNMENTS. Whistleblowing on your own government is libertarian. Selling out and working for other governments is not libertarian, it's just a DIFFERENT shade of statism. So chill out, Haters-o'-Rand. –1/06

Mark Levin [WRONG] on Nullification

My friend, 10^th Amendment Center’s Nick Hankoff, challenged Mark Levin's idea of NULLIFICATION (and was subsequently berated for it). It seems like Levin's idea of nullification is limited to seceding from the Union and protecting slavery, rather than its actual purpose: to be a constitutional republic's safeguard for the minority against tyranny of the majority. –1/08

The Iraq War Interpreters

Some of the brave unsung heroes of the Iraq War are the Iraqi interpreters who risked life and limb believing that what they were doing was for the good of their country. In 2003 they were trying to liberate their country from a dictator. From 2004 onwards, they were helping pacify an insurgency of religious fanatics and plain psychopaths.

Many or most of them are in the US and can never go home for fear of their lives. Many believe that the war ultimately wasn't worth it. Nonetheless, they are a proud people with an aversion to being ruled, be it by dictators, religious zealots, or foreigners. We should reach out to these new-generation Americans, as they're more libertarian than even they realize. –1/22

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Edward Snowden GIF graphic by Laura Poitras/Praxis Films and used via CC BY 3.0 license. Iraqi interpreter image by Pete Rimar and in the public domain.  Both images were obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

Five Libertarian Ideas #4

iPhone cookie prank

Not gonna lie, the iPhone cookie gag is hilarious, but only for a moment. This is already a top-ranking post on the Daily Paul. Seriously??? What will playing funny tricks on the police do to advance LIBERTY? Now the cops will be taking EXTRA good, long looks into your moving car to decipher whether you're on your phone or just another asshole with a cookie. —12/16

The Mexican Drug War

BLOWBACK BLUES: Just like Prohibition created organized crime in America, the war on drugs created organized crime in Latin America. It turns out lots of those anti-communist soldiers and guerrillas the U.S. government trained ended up becoming drug traffickers. They're trading with the Mexican cartels and training Mexican narco-guerrillas in military tactics. Oh, the sweet irony... —12/17

Confederate Army generals

The U.S. Army War College is pondering removing the portraits of Confederate generals from its walls, notably Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, in order to "tell a particular Army story"... Shouldn't we instead be asking what the U.S. government DID that some of the greatest generals in American history fought as rebels??? We NEED to maintain a spirit of national reconciliation. We NEED to keep alive the history of America's most painful war, so that history doesn't repeat itself. —12/18

Christianity and libertarianism

It's a shame how so many fellow Christians are so hostile to libertarian ideas. Christianity and libertarianism go hand in hand. The Bible makes it clear that we're born with free will and that believing in the Christ is a CHOICE. Many of my libertarian friends choose to be atheist, but I love them no less for it; I love them all the more for respecting my choices and my moral compass, unlike liberal or conservative Christians who would rather dictate to me the terms of my life on Earth. —12/19

Identity theft, Traget red card, and the Fed

The major security breach with the Target 'red card' credit cards just goes to show what can happen with easy credit. Virtually anyone can get a red card because this system of banking and easy credit is predatory and new interest rate victims are always needed. Easy credit points to high risk loans and expansion of the money supply, which in turn point to the Federal Reserve banking cartel. It was a fluke that these card holders were looted by identity thieves before the predatory creditors got to them. —12/20 

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iPhone cookie photo courtesy of the Daily Paul. Jesus stain-glass art by Alfred Handel; photo released under CC BY-SA 3.0 license by Toby Hudson, and obtained from Wikimedia Commons.