The Freedom Watch

How to (Inadvertently) Argue Against the Public Education System

"The idea that everyone should voluntarily herd themselves into the same crappy authoritarian institution, so that all will have some incentive to make that institution somewhat better, is utterly perverse. The beauty of networked communications technology [..] is that it’s no longer necessary to get everybody on the same page, and coordinate their efforts through some common institution, in order for anyone to do anything. The public schools are built on a mass-production industrial model of moving humans to a central location to be processed with a limited, uniform menu of information. But a near-infinite amount of education can now be moved around instantly at almost zero cost." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to (Inadvertently) Argue Against the Public Education System

Outrage in Missouri: Teacher to be Fired for using Free-Market Materials

"I graduated from Frostburg State way back in 1978 with a degree in history and later a degree in education and a Masters in history. I am in my 21st year as a public high school teacher. I used to teach U.S. Government and advanced studies until I was demoted for being too 'conservative.' Last year the principal 'wrote me up,' the process for firing tenured teachers. My crime? I was divisive and used too many free market sources in the endnotes of articles I used in class. The principal believes my views on Sinclair and the Progressives, especially The Jungle, are shared by no one else in the history or similar fields." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOutrage in Missouri: Teacher to be Fired for using Free-Market Materials

Woman violently arrested for playing banjo in wrong place at Syria war protest

"Iraq war veteran Emily Yates was arrested on Friday after a dispute with police about where she could stand while playing her banjo during a protest against U.S. military action in Syria. Video uploaded to Live Leak shows Yates asking Federal Parks Police why she could not stand in a shaded area of Independence Mall in Philadelphia. After several minutes of discussion, two officers bent Yates over a park bench and handcuffed her. By the time Yates is dragged from the park, at least eight officers are participating in the arrest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman violently arrested for playing banjo in wrong place at Syria war protest

U.S. transport ship with hundreds of Marines deployed to the Mediterranean

"The US Navy has deployed an amphibious transport ship to the Mediterranean, where five destroyers are already in place for possible missile strikes on Syria, a defense official said on Sunday. The USS San Antonio, with several helicopters and hundreds of Marines on board, is 'on station in the Eastern Mediterranean' but 'has received no specific tasking,' said the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Unlike the destroyers deployed to the area, the San Antonio carries no Tomahawk cruise missiles but can ferry up to four helicopters and is designed to bring Marines ashore by chopper or landing craft." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. transport ship with hundreds of Marines deployed to the Mediterranean

Blair likens Saddam to Hitler [2003]

"Comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he would be pushing for Iraq's disarmament 'irrespective of the position of America.' Many have accused Blair of behaving like U.S. President George W. Bush's lapdog. But Blair rejected suggestions that he had been dragged into confrontation with Iraq by Bush, insisting that he had raised concerns about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction at his first meeting with the U.S. president, before the September 11 terror attacks. Britain, Spain and the United States are co-sponsoring a new U.N. resolution that could trigger war against Iraq. France, Russia, China are pushing to give U.N. weapons inspections more time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBlair likens Saddam to Hitler [2003]

John Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

"Secretary of State John Kerry today compared Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein as he said new lab tests proved that deadly sarin nerve gas was used to kill nearly 1,500 civilians last month. 'Bashar al-Assad now joins a list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein who have used these weapons in time of war,' Kerry told NBC's 'Face the Nation.' Kerry called the murderous attack an 'affront against the decency and sensibilities of the world.' 'So this case is building and this case will build.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

Iran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes

"The US Congress is not authorised to green-light American military strikes against Syria as any such action would be in violation of international law, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday. 'Mr Obama cannot interpret and construe international law for his own (benefit),' Zarif told reporters after a late afternoon cabinet meeting, the ISNA news agency reported. 'Congress cannot authorise strikes (against Syria) and that attack would be in violation of international law,' he said, explaining that 'only the UN Security Council — under special conditions — can issue authorization' for the use of force to restore international peace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes

A Bad Argument for Bombing Syria

"Obama said: 'When you start talking about chemical weapons, in a country that has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the world, where over time their control of chemical weapons may erode, where they’re allied to known terrorist organizations, that in the past have targeted the United States, then there is a prospect, a possibility in which chemical weapons, that can have devastating effects, could be directed at us and we want to make sure that that does not happen.' He proposes military measures to punish the Assad regime for its alleged use of nerve gas. But that would not in the slightest reduce terrorist acquisition of parts or all of the Syrian government’s stock of nerve gas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Bad Argument for Bombing Syria

How many U.S. immigrant-citizens renounce their prior citizenships?

"What’s the rate of compliance with these single-citizenship laws? Not very high; perhaps half at most, judging from Japanese and South Korean data. In a minority of cases, failure to report your new citizenship to the government of your country of origin may indeed represent an attempt to game the system. However, in most cases, it’s simply due to benign neglect: you are no longer under the jurisdiction of the 'old country', and have no future intention of exercising any rights there, so you don’t bother with the rules of their system. And of course, civilised countries do not presume guilt in such cases, nor impose life-altering fines on emigrants for failure to comply with obscure paperwork." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow many U.S. immigrant-citizens renounce their prior citizenships?

Finally, a reasonable newspaper article on why people renounce citizenship

"'Wages in the United States are low and many hard working people struggle to afford life’s basic necessities. Other burning issues include a degrading public health system, a half-dead retail sector and an arguably chaotic political environment … Americans who have relatives and friends outside of the United States are choosing to renounce their U.S. citizenship and relocate to countries with better economies.' Oh wait, I seem to have inadvertently misquoted the article. We at the Isaac Brock Society deeply regret this editing error. It’s actually talking about the reasons why citizens of Botswana renounce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinally, a reasonable newspaper article on why people renounce citizenship