Thoughts, essays, and writings on Liberty. Written by the heirs of Patrick Henry.

Author Archive

The Death of Language: Terrorist Edition

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

But the special function of certain Newspeak words, of which oldthink was one, was not so much to express meanings as to destroy them. These words, necessarily few in number, had had their meanings extended until they contained within themselves whole batteries of words which, as they were sufficiently covered by a single comprehensive term, [...]

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The Soldier Pays the Biggest Part of the Bill: an Excerpt from a Speech by Maj Gen Smedley Butler, USMC

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Excerpt from War is a Racket by Major General Smedley Butler USMC
[The] soldier pays the biggest part of the bill.
If you don’t believe this, visit the American cemeteries on the battlefields abroad. Or visit any of the veteran’s hospitals in the United States. On a tour of the country, in the midst of which [...]

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A symbolic victory in a sea of defeats

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

The governator sent a letter to the California State Assembly where he, er, told them he would “strike” them. Carnally.
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.
For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while manyunnecessary bills come to me [...]

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When the Government Controls Medical Care …

Monday, October 19th, 2009

… patients are an expense or liability to be gotten rid of rather than a source of profit who must be served.
Much of the problems with government supplied health care can be traced to this truth concerning incentives.  A hospital is not paid more if they treat people well.  They don’t lose money if they [...]

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Nobel Committee Insults America

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Yesterday the Nobel Prize Committee insulted the Great Helmsman, President Barack Obama by awarding yet another prize to an unworthy second rater while ignoring the Great Helmsman’s dramatic contributions in every field.  Our dear leader wrote the two greatest books in modern civilization. These books are an inspiration to all of us who are his [...]

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Obama: You’re doing a heck’uva job, Bernie

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Continuing his George Costanzaesque presidency, Obama has decided to reappoint Ben “Helicopter” Bernanke to another term on the Fed.
Here’s what Obama had to say:
Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall
I thought it [...]

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The Battle Between the Right to Medical Care vs. Government ‘Medicine’

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

For decades the cost of medical care has risen relative to prices in general and relative to people’s incomes. Today [1994] a semi-private hospital room typically costs $1,000 to $1,500 per day, exclusive of all medical procedures, such as X-rays, surgery, or even a visit by one’s physician. Basic room charges of $500 per day [...]

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Papers Please

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Over at the Agitator, Radley Balko asks why people are amused by Bob Dylan’s latest run-in with the law.
I find it pretty depressing. There was a time when we condescendingly used the term “your papers, please” to distinguish ourselves from Eastern Block countries and other authoritarian states. Post-Hiibel, America has become a place where a [...]

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I’ll Support Your Boycott If You Support Mine

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Yet another great letter by Don Boudreaux:

Dear Olivia Jane:
You and many readers of Daily Kos are furious that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey expressed – in the pages of the Wall Street Journal – his opposition to greater government involvement in health care.
Exercising your rights and abilities as consumers, you are therefore boycotting Whole Foods.  [...]

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Our Exalted Fearless Leader Almost Gets It

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Obama is not a dumb man. He understands that government provisioning generally produces a worse service than private organizations which are dependent on people choosing to patronize them.
Here he is pointing out that while Fedex is required by law to charge higher prices than the Post Office for equivalent services, it is the Post [...]

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Why Do We Need Expensive College Degrees to Get A Simple Job?

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Until 1960 or so, the percentage of people getting college degrees was relatively low. There was plenty of work for people who had ‘merely’ graduated from high school, and a high school graduate could support a family.
Then came the Vietnam War, where the United States government would happily enslave high-school graduates, but not [...]

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Harold Fish is Free!

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

On the Liberty Papers, much of what we write is negative; decrying the steady movement towards tyranny and totalitarianism that is the trajectory of the U.S.. Occasionally, we get to report some good news.Harold Fish has been released from jail.
His case is an important one; the state of Arizona charged him with [...]

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Control Without Responsibility

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

At Cafe Hayek, a letter to the editor by Andy Morriss to the Wall Street Journal is posted:
Holman Jenkins asks “Does Obama Want to Own the Airlines?” (Business World, July 8). I am sure he does not. Rather than own them, the president and his congressional allies want to control the airlines — a crucial [...]

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Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

THIS BOOK IS BASED on a single idea: You should be allowed to do whatever you want with your own person and property, as long as you don’t physically harm the person or property of a nonconsenting other.
Thus begins a book that everyone interested in politics should read; Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do: The Absurdity [...]

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Government Is Not Society

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

One of the most pernicious beliefs held by Americans is the conflation of the state with society. This belief is causing them acquiesce to government actions that threaten the destruction of American civilization if not stopped.
The word society comes to us from the Latin societas, which meant a group of people bound by friendship [...]

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Make-Work Projects Don’t Create Prosperity

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

The purpose of society is to help people satisfy their needs. A major means used to satisfy needs are economic activities such as production, trade, and the performance of services.
In a complex economy, it is easy to lose sight of this, and people begin to believe the fallacy that the purpose of an economy [...]

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If You Kill Your Cattle, You Will Starve

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Over at the Master Resource Blog,  law professor Gail Heriot points out the similarities between global warming, fear-monger Al Gore and Xhosa Prophetess Nongqawuse:
Nongqawuse was a teenager and a member of the Xhosa tribe in South Africa.  One day in April or May of 1856, she went down to the river to fetch water.  When [...]

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30,000th Comment

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

This evening, we had our 30,000th comment here on the Liberty Papers.
On behalf of all of us who post here, I’d like to thank you, our audience, for your feedback, arguments, discussions, and explanations.
You, our readers, are why we write.
Thanks for reading.

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This is Government

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

According to the Iranian government, the person dying below was a terrorist. No doubt all the people walking around her in apparent unconcern for there were fellow terrorists, and the people she was terrorizing were outside camera range.

She is being called Neda. The person who uploaded the video to Youtube claims that he [...]

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Symbolic Victories Are Often Real Losses

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Judging from his statements and the note he left in his car, James von Brunn walked into the Holocaust Museum believing that he was about to strike a blow against Jewish world hegemony and Federal gun-control.  Even by his twisted standards, his actions were counterproductive. His plan was to massacre people visiting and working at [...]

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