Front page date

Monday, November 19

Guest Editor

Don Stacy is the guest editor today.
 

STR will be on hiatus until Nov. 27.  In the meantime, you can check out the archive, past original columns, and our Facebook page.

Syndicate content

Photo courtesy of EtherH
Goodness
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR It's fairly clear what “evil” is, we know it when we see it. But what is its opposite, goodness? And are human beings basically good, evil, neutral or something else? It's important to understand that, because if for example mankind is marred with a bias towards evil, the case for a restraining government, as Paine and others have counseled, is hard to overcome. He wrote in his Common Sense that “Society is produced by our wants...
Israel's Medievalism
Original article "In one of the most brazen and, at the same time, frank declarations to date, the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Eli Yishai stated regarding the war currently being waged on the Gaza Strip: "The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years." With these words, he revealed much more than the subtext behind the official reasons for the invasion, namely restoring Israel's "deterrence...
The Real Petraeus Scandal
Original article "Nothing titillates the nation’s capital like a sex scandal masquerading as a policy controversy. The American news media will use any excuse to get into public officials’ private lives so it can try to achieve the ratings of Entertainment Tonight–style celebrity gossip shows while maintaining a veneer of “responsible journalism.” In America’s unique celebrity-driven culture, this phenomenon happens in political campaigns as well as in the current...
Disaster Ignorance
Original article "Here's a which-is-better question for you. Suppose a New Jersey motel room rented for $125 a night prior to Hurricane Sandy's devastation. When the hurricane hits, a husband, wife and their two youngsters might seek the comfort of renting two adjoining rooms. However, when they arrive at the motel, they find that rooms now rent for $250. At that price, they might decide to make do with one room. In my book, that would be wonderful. That decision would make a room available for...
Secession: Are We Free to Go?
Original article "Is all the recent talk of secession mere sour grapes over the election, or perhaps something deeper?   Currently there are active petitions in support of secession for all 50 states, with Texas taking the lead in number of signatures.  Texas has well over the number of signatures needed to generate a response from the administration, and while I wouldn't hold my breath on Texas actually seceding, I believe these petitions raise a lot of worthwhile questions about...
The Property and Freedom Society - Reflections after Five Years
Original article "When I first envisioned the idea of this Society, more than 10 years ago and then still a society without a name, I had direct experience with only two other Societies from which to learn."
The Banality of Evil: How the U.S. Government Killed an Innocent Man
Original article "Now that the all-consuming and insanely expensive presidential election is over for another four years, Barack Obama’s in-tray still contains Guantánamo, where, of the 166 men still held, 86 were cleared for release by the Guantánamo Review Task Force. Consisting of officials from the relevant government departments and the intelligence agencies, the Task Force analyzed the cases of all the remaining prisoners in 2009 and recommended them for trial, continued...
Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Original article "This notable book collects 22 articles by Peter Boettke; 8 of these have been written in collaboration with others, including Peter Leeson, Christopher Coyne, Steve Horwitz, David Prychitko, and Frederic Sautet. (Boettke is a renowned teacher of economics, and Coyne and Leeson are former students of his.) Boettke is probably best known as an economist for his studies of Soviet socialism and for his work on development economics; but his interests range much wider than this. He displays a...
Appreciating Science: A New Approach to Science in our World
Original article "Generally, your average person is lacking in knowledge of scientific concepts and does not fully appreciate the value the scientific endeavor has on his or her own life. How can we overcome this? Science is the most reliable way of knowing about nature, and its thoughtful use is key to fixing societal problems that threaten all of us. How can we get science to be taken more seriously in the public sphere so that we see in-depth debates and discussions on science issues in the mainstream...
"From the Sea, Freedom!"
Original article "For as long as governments have overreached, people have sought escape."
Unemployment May Increase Chances of Heart Attacks
Original article "Unemployment hurts more than your wallet — it may damage your heart. That's according to a study linking joblessness with heart attacks in older workers."
Word Choices: Are You Against the "Federal Narcotics Price Support Program"?
Original article "Recently the constitutionalist writer William Norman Grigg mentioned his opposition to the “narcotics price support program (sometimes dishonestly called the ‘War on Drugs’).”"
Never Mind: FDA Changes Own Rules in Midstream
Original article "Last August, the drug company KV Pharmaceutical filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after its run-in with Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although KV played by the rules, it experienced the capriciousness of Congress and the FDA and, shortly thereafter, the immutability of economic laws."
Selma Police Officer Suspended
Original article "A Selma police officer has been suspended with pay after being accused of handcuffing a nursing supervisor at a Johnston County hospital over the weekend."
Head in the Clouds
Original article "High above Central in an eyrie so elevated that most people would get dizzy looking down, lies the offices of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Its primary responsibilities are to maintain currency and banking stability, which require very specific and skilled, but limited, resources. However, the HKMA has always blanched at these constraints and envisioned a wider role as the "central bank of Hong Kong"."
Bored Visitors
Original article A photo blog.

Recommended Videos: Dreams From My Real Father, This Emotional Life, End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless, Parks and Recreation, The Glades, Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged, 2016: Obama's America, Big Brother, Big Business, Thomas Jefferson, Madoff Behind Bars, Roll Tide/War Eagle, The Best That Never Was, True Blood, Black Gold: The Story of Oil, Rush: 2112 and Moving Pictures, Highwater, National Geographic: Collapse, Science of Evil, Witness to Jonestown, Revolution OS, House of Cards, Goldman Sachs: Power and Peril, Waiting for Armageddon, CNBC: The Scam of the Century, The War (by Ken Burns), Red, White, Black and Blue, Big River, Inside the Mind of Google, Dogs Decoded, The Facebook Obsession, Ground War, Battlefield Detectives, Flying Wild Alaska, Nightmare in Jamestown, Gold Rush: Alaska, Erasing David, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, Pawn Stars, Nova: The Spy Factory, Sherman's March, Client 9, Surfwise, Moving Midway, Fat Head, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Under Our Skin, Beer Wars, The Street Stops Here, The Cartel (MUST SEE), Freakonomics, A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash, The Tillman Story, Inside Job, Robin Hood, Gasland, Friday Night Lights, Seasons 1-5, The Power of Nightmares (3 parts, MUST SEE), Frontline: The Wounded Platoon (MUST SEE), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Sons of Anarchy, Seasons 1-3 (MUST SEE), Hacking Democracy (MUST SEE), For the Bible Tells Me So, Green Zone, Generation Kill (MUST SEE), Shut Up and Sing, Collapse, The Singing Revolution, Jericho, Seasons 1 & 2 (MUST SEE), Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa, Frontline: The Madoff Affair (MUST SEE), Taxi to the Dark Side (MUST-MUST SEE), Frontline: Hand of God (MUST SEE), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (MUST SEE), Defiance, Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda (MUST SEE), The Heart of the Game, Downfall, White Light, Black Rain, Rendition, The Ground Truth; see recommended movies 

Books: Getting Things Done, More Money Than God, Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan

Music: Any Other Name by Thomas Newman

 

Goodness
10
Jim Davies 2012-11-20 07:42
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR It's fairly clear what “evil” is, we know it when we see it. But what is its opposite, goodness? And are human beings basically good, evil, neutral or something else? It's important to understand that, because if for example mankind is marred with a bias towards evil, the case for a restraining government, as Paine and others have...
Here and There: Everywhere
10
Paul Hein 2012-11-19 07:20
Column by Paul Hein. Exclusive to STR Jurisdiction! What a wonderful word! It’s easy to see why it is used so often by lawyers and judges; its meanings allow such broad interpretation--and application. For instance: my dictionary gives this as its first definition: “the power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law.” The words “power,” “right,...
Marijuana Prohibition Will Die of 1,000 Cuts…So Look Out
0
Alex R. Knight III 2012-11-16 07:47
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR Of the 50 tax farms that comprise America, 16 have governments that will allow prescribed medical marijuana for use by patients suffering from such conditions as glaucoma, anorexia, or cancer. The local rulers of the District of Criminals also recognize such provisions, benign repositories of wisdom that they are. In some of these arbitrary...
Why I Did Not Create a Vermont Secession Request
9
Alex R. Knight III 2012-11-14 06:57
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR At the time of this writing, people from 48 of the 50 tax farms comprising the “United States of America” have created “We the People” web-based petition pages to the White House in Washington, District of Criminals, requesting Obama to peacefully allow their tax farm of residence to have a government entirely independent of...
Leaving Government Service
10
Jim Davies 2012-11-13 07:03
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR Alex Knight's recent fine column The Post Office that Government Built relates the sad case of one of its 600,000 employees who faces a bleak future as that structure is poised for collapse. It might be useful to compare such cases with the similar ones that will take place when government servants quit voluntarily, having learned what freedom and...
Swap, Don't Pay
10
Paul Hein 2012-11-12 00:00
Column by Paul Hein. Exclusive to STR One of the problems which our newly re-elected president will face is that of the national debt. Terms such as the “fiscal cliff” suggest that disaster awaits if a solution isn't found. It won’t be, and the cliff looms large. The fiscal cliff first began to take shape back in 1913, with the advent of the Federal Reserve Bank. That system...
The More We Do To You
8
Alex R. Knight III 2012-11-09 07:40
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." ~Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955), physicist Now that the 2012 version of the...
The God Slide
9.25
tzo 2012-11-08 00:00
Column by tzo. Exclusive to STR Religion is always a fun topic to address, since no one ever really gets fired up about it . . . . While Voluntaryists acknowledge that government is aggressive, unethical, and is often likened to religion in that it is based on superstitious beliefs, it is commonly held that religion is only dangerous when coupled with government force. If people want to believe...
Why I'm Leaving America Recommended
10
SailboatDiaries 2012-11-07 00:00
Column by new Root Striker Michael Fielding. Goodbye, America. For as long as I’ve lived you’ve been my only home. I’ve had a wonderful life here. Your inhabitants are almost universally kind, and I’ve become lifelong friends with many of your citizens. All of my family lives here, everyone I have ever known or loved, and I will miss them all a lot. But after 22 years, I...
What Freedom Means to Me
10
Fran Tully 2012-11-07 00:00
Column by Fran Tully. Exclusive to STR Freedom is one of those words that is thrown around by everyone--even those who spend most of their lives trying to restrict yours. Freedom means different things to different people. The men who started this country were willing to risk their lives over an unfair tax of 2%. Maybe they realized that 2% was just the proverbial camel's nose under the tent...
Untitled
10
Joseph S. Bommarito 2003-03-17 16:00
Beyond the count of years I walked the world, and my children built their shrines to me.  Decades and centuries and millennia pass, and still the shrines are built. Temples insubstantial to men, clear to my eyes.  No foundations or walls or roofs, but shrines nonetheless. Holy ground, consecrated  Today, every day, somewhere in the world, the earth is prepared for my coming. ...
Taoism and Anarchy
10
Mark Gillespie 2003-10-21 15:00
I have studied many religions in my search for truth. In my searches, I embraced a few. I was a nominal Christian for many years and converted to Islam about six years ago. Of course, I have left all of those religions behind, in my never-ending quest for truth. However, there is one "religion" that I studied that seemed to contain more truth than any other. That way is Taoism.
An Open Letter to the Peace Movement
10
Roderick Long 2003-03-10 16:00
Dear Peace Activists:All honour to you. In your opposition to the United States' impending war on Iraq, you represent a welcome voice for sanity and civilisation, lifted up against the incessant baying of the dogs of war.But I want to urge you to follow the logic of your position just a bit further.Much has been said, and eloquently so, about the need, in dealings between nation and nation, to...
Supreme Court Lets Dogs Go Fishing...for Drugs
10
Rex Curry 2005-01-25 16:00
A new Supreme Court case states that cops can take dogs fishing. Dogs can go fishing for drugs in Illinois vs. Caballes. As an attorney, I am often consulted by people victimized in searches by dogs trained to smell drugs. A drug dog's skills are often overestimated because people anthropomorphize dogs. A humanlike quality that dogs have is that they are natural libertarians with no interest in...
The Suppression of Dissent
10
Jim Davies 2005-10-25 15:00
Exclusive to STR The jury is still out, as I write these words. Its verdict may be in by the time you read them, and there's a blog with the latest news--but that's okay because the point of this article is not to comment on the trial's outcome but to show what government had to do, in order try to silence an influential advocate of freedom. Its conclusion will be that government is wholly unfit...
The Power of One
10
Jim Davies 2005-11-21 16:00
Exclusive to STR Nobody is better qualified than my friend Per Bylund to propose, as he did in a recent STR article, that we who yearn for liberty "save the world through saving [our]selves." Per is not only a brilliant thinker and prolific author (in two languages!) he founded an anarchist website before many of us got our brains in gear and has engaged in debate there all comers from...
Be Free
10
Mark Davis 2005-07-10 15:00
The state has grown too big and powerful and conversely the individual appears small and powerless. Libertarians of all stripes can debate endlessly on why this has come about and where we should ideally be instead. When the question of what to do about it comes up, there is typically a moment of silence and perhaps a chuckle or two coupled with some frustrated cynicism. After this moment of...
Utopia vs. Liberty
10
Richard Rieben 2005-07-18 15:00
In his insightful analysis of the Dark Side, STR writer Jonathan David Morris notes that, "The Dark Side of the Force is not evil for evil's sake. It's evil because it believes the ends always justify the means . . . .
The Preamble Reconsidered
10
Jim Davies 2006-05-17 15:00
Exclusive to STR The Preamble to the United States Constitution is surely one of the most sublime paragraphs ever written. Before this dissection begins, let's prop it up and admire it in all its glory: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure...
A Personal Thanks to Strike The Root
10
Per Bylund 2006-08-23 15:00
Exclusive to STRA August 24, 2006 Yes, I should have done this a long time ago. And when the editor encouraged everybody to write about Strike The Root for its fifth anniversary, I thought this is the time. There is so much I want to say, but I just seem to never get around to saying it. So I missed the chance again. But better late than never, I guess. Here it goes. I've been a market anarchist...
Timeline of a World-Killing Paradigm Shift MUST READ
0
Glen Allport 2012-05-13 23:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   Part 3 of "Could the Non-Aggression Principle Stop the Sixth Great Extinction?"   Part One of this series discussed the Non-Aggression principle, calling it "the libertarian half of the Golden Rule" (compassion being the other half) and describing the function of aggression in creating not only tyranny and war but also...
Terrorist Alert: Government Extremists Threaten Americans MUST READ
9
Glen Allport 2012-03-25 23:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   Question: are you more terrified by Muslim extremists, by "domestic terrorists" – or by your own government? Which group is more likely to assault you? To kill you? To unjustly imprison and even torture you?   The U.S. federal government has ALREADY:   Built and is staffing a huge gulag of concentration camps ["...
The State Is a Firing Squad MUST READ
10
JGVibes 2012-02-17 00:00
Column by JGVibes.   Exclusive to STR   Although the common perception of human nature is very negative, the truth is that most people who aren’t mentally ill have a very difficult time committing acts of violence. Usually it takes a sizeable payment and a fair amount of manipulation to convince someone to act violently, and even then a tremendous amount of guilt typically...
How the 1% Took America's Wealth--and How to Get It Back MUST READ
9.25
Glen Allport 2011-12-01 00:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR  - 1 - Plundering Wealth vs Producing Wealth   In recent decades, the rich have gathered an increasing share of the total wealth in the United States. As this wealth disparity grows and especially as large numbers of the formerly middle class fall into poverty and even into homelessness, this flow of wealth from main street (from anyone not...
'Anarchy or Minarchy' Is Only Half the Question, Part 2 MUST READ
9.5
Glen Allport 2011-04-13 02:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR  This is Part 2 of a response to a column by Wesley Messamore. Last week's Part One of this column discussed the following:   ·      Minarchy: Lighting a Match to the Fuse of Tyranny ·      Anarchy: By Itself, Yang without Yin ·      The Missing Key...
Oh, Stanley MUST READ
10
tzo 2011-03-30 02:00
Column by tzo. Exclusive to STR   Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist best known for his Milgram Experiment, a study conducted in the 1960s.   Dr. Milgram wanted to research the relationship between obedience and authority, and he was at least partly motivated to do so by the events of the Nazi Holocaust. It greatly troubled him that so many supposedly good people could...
The Pathocracy Unmasked MUST READ
10
Glen Allport 2011-02-11 03:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR - 1 - Exposed as Criminals and Psychopaths, the Coercive Elite are Desperate to Stop the Flow of Honest Information     "When Bush cancelled his trip to avoid prosecution, the human rights groups who prepared the complaints made it public and announced that the Bush Torture Indictment would be waiting wherever he travels next." CCR...
Aristophanes' Law MUST READ
10
tzo 2010-09-24 02:00
Column by tzo.   Exclusive to STR   Some 2,400 years ago, the Greek playwright Aristophanes put forth an idea in one of his plays that I would like to codify into a law of human behavior. Here are the pertinent lines from his play "The Frogs":   The course our city runs is the same towards men and money. She has true and worthy sons. She has fine new gold and ancient...
Had Enough Government 'Regulation' Yet? MUST READ
10
Glen Allport 2010-08-19 02:00
By Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR    - 1 - The Blessings of True Regulation in a Civil Society   Many things should be regulated – for health and safety, for protection against fraud, and for other reasons.   Regulation is a normal function of civil society. We don't want to get electrocuted when we touch a toaster or vacuum cleaner, for example, and the makers of...
The Abolitionist Argument in 35 Seconds MUST READ
10
Glen Allport 2010-06-21 02:00
Exclusive to STR   -1- ". . . a power too great and terrible to imagine."   The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released on Blu-Ray in April, which reminded me that I hadn't seen the first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, since its theatrical release in 2001. While watching the film again I was struck anew with its abolitionist message – a message that is clear,...
Why I'm Leaving America Recommended
10
SailboatDiaries 2012-11-07 00:00
Column by new Root Striker Michael Fielding. Goodbye, America. For as long as I’ve lived you’ve been my only home. I’ve had a wonderful life here. Your inhabitants are almost universally kind, and I’ve become lifelong friends with many of your citizens. All of my family lives here, everyone I have ever known or loved, and I will miss them all a lot. But after 22 years, I...
Voting Is Not Rational Recommended
9.66667
Stephen Nichols 2012-10-31 23:00
Column by Stephen Nichols. Exclusive to STR While reading Paul Bonneau’s recent column on STR entitled “Voting Is Not Irrational,” I was taken aback by the obvious flaws in his analysis and the conclusions resulting from that analysis. It’s been a few days since his article was published and I’ve been formulating my response to it for some time. Let me now share with...
St. Abe Recommended
0
Jim Davies 2012-10-22 23:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR When the Church of Rome has in mind to elevate one of its heroes or heroines to the status of sainthood, it follows a certain procedure – one element of which is to hear the opinion of an advocatus diaboli – a devil's advocate. His job is to reason against the proposed canonization, so reducing the probability of error. That task fell in...
A Reason Not to Vote Recommended
10
Stephen Nichols 2012-10-17 23:00
Column by Stephen Nichols. Exclusive to STR I don't know about you, but I take a look at my financial situation pretty regularly. I like to keep tabs on my family's spending and keep things under control. I also like to reduce or eliminate any unnecessary expenses. Take a moment to review this chart of some recent family spending: Notice anything big that sticks out there? Yeah, me...
The Biased News Media Recommended
0
Scott Lazarowitz 2012-10-07 23:00
Column by Scott Lazarowitz. Exclusive to STR   Recently on the NPR show On the Media, Brooke Gladstone updated their overview on the question, “Does NPR Have a Liberal Bias?” Generally, many people believe that NPR and much of the mainstream news media are biased to the left. Among the findings from some of Gladstone’s analysts were that in some cases NPR was actually...
If You Believe in Right and Wrong, Don't Vote Recommended
10
Angelo Mike 2012-09-19 23:00
Column by Angelo Mike. Exclusive to STR It always strikes me as odd when someone encourages me to vote, but they say they don’t care about who I vote for. They’re just concerned that I participate. Really? These people are that infatuated with the process of voting that they don’t care if you vote for something they believe is wrong?   I can hardly think of any institution...
A Letter to Young Paulians Recommended
10
Jim Davies 2012-09-09 23:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR You've just been kicked in the teeth, and this is to convey sympathy and comfort, as well as sincere congratulations for what you've done – along with suggestions about what you might best do next.   The way you have been treated by your own Party is a scandal that will long reverberate – and was so stupid even from the Party's perspective...
Time for Civil Disobedience? Recommended
8.75
Jim Davies 2012-06-04 23:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR Underlying approaches to the great problem of how to rid society of government parasites without violence is the insight of Etienne de la Boëtie:   "Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like...
So You Work for a Prosecutor? Recommended
0
Jim Davies 2012-04-29 23:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR  [Author's Note: Readers who know someone working in a prosecutor's office might usefully refer him or her to this article. It's adapted from one of a series at the new web site TinyURL.com/QuitGov, which aims to help government employees lead honest lives.] Getting bad guys off the street is surely a good and noble objective, a vital task in a...
Neocons and Progressives: One Big Family of Aggressors and Central Planners, with Delusions of Grandeur Recommended
10
Scott Lazarowitz 2012-04-25 23:00
Column by Scott Lazarowitz. Exclusive to STR Regarding the traditional left-right scheme and modern uses of the terms “conservative” and “liberal,” the neoconservatives are hardly conservative and the liberals and progressives are hardly liberal or progressive. Rather than viewing “left” as liberal or progressive, and “right” as conservative or...

 

 Reprint Rights