Essays

Paul Craig Roberts: How to Stop Obama’s Military Aggression Against Syria

"In the event that Congress fails to understand the real stakes and votes to support a criminal action, the second thing that can be done to stop the attack is for most other countries in the world–China, India, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Iran, South Africa, the European and South American countries–to add their clear unequivocal statements to those of the UN General Secretary and President Putin that an American attack on Syria that is not authorized by the UN Security Council is a war crime. Expression by the governments of the world of this truthful statement would make it clear to Washington that it is isolated from the world community." Continue reading →

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ObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

"In 2008, Barack Obama made it sound as though his health reform was only designed to help people who couldn’t afford health insurance afford it. Everyone else was going to be left alone. ('If you like the health plan you have you can keep it.') Then, on the eve of passage of the legislation, the focus changed to those few people (very few, it turns out) who are denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. But it very recently, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and others have been in print explaining that ObamaCare won’t work unless the government controls the premiums paid by everybody in the entire country! As far as the general public is concerned, this is a brand new idea." Continue reading →

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Michael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

"Michael had been living in LA [alone] for at least 6-months renting two apartments in the same building; one for living, one for writing. Michael and Elise Jordan had been married less than two-years at the time of his death. In less than a year of marriage, Michael and Elise were technically physically separated for large amounts of time by this move and careers. Worth a glance, if you look at this video of the two of them from last summer [2012], you will notice they do not behave as a loving couple, let alone newlyweds in comparison to the reporter John Avalon and his wife. In fact, the bubbly-ness and warmth Elise usually exudes [in other media appearances] is completely lacking." Continue reading →

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Decentralize to Neutralize Turmoil in Middle East

"The international community—which includes many multi-tribal, ethnic, racial, or sectarian states—frowns on solutions that formally or implicitly break up states. Many have their own minorities that might be encouraged to break away. Thus, arguments are used that it’s a form of apartheid or that boundaries cannot be drawn exactly and will always leave some unfortunate souls on the other side of the line. In South Africa, apartheid was forced separation using armed might of a minority against a majority. In Iraq and Libya, such decentralized governance would have to be voluntary and would reflect existing ethno-sectarian or tribal areas, respectively." Continue reading →

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The Costs of War in Syria

"Politicians want a war to appear cheap, at least up front, while the bureaucrats want bigger budgets. Once the war starts, though, all bets are off, and any political or legal authorization given to the administration to wage war will be a de facto blank check for future unlimited outlays for occupation and conflict on an unlimited timeline. We’ve already seen this in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and while the two countries descended into chaos, the claim was made that since the U.S. regime had 'broken' Iraq and Afghanistan, the taxpayers were now on the hook to finance the 'fixing' of the broken countries. The regime knows that all it needs to do is start a war, and the money will begin to flow indefinitely." Continue reading →

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It’s Jury Appreciation Day!

"Although the right to a jury trial is guaranteed by the American Constitution, it has been under a relentless attack over the years. Most Americans are unaware that 95 percent of the cases in our criminal justice system never go to trial. And, in the few cases that do go to trial, jurors are typically misled about their prerogative to acquit (“jury nullification”). In November, Cato will be re-releasing an e-book, Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine, by Clay Conrad. Glenn Reynolds reviewed the initial publication here. Let me take this opportunity to report on several positive developments that will help to revive the doctrine of jury nullification in American law." Continue reading →

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Internet Governance Meltdown II: The Unilateral Right to Amend

"The U.S. government was one of the only commentators to express unqualified endorsement of the proposed changes in the registry agreement. And it was pressure from law enforcement interests promoted by the U.S. government that also led to the troubles in negotiating the RAA. We see accountability and responsibility for policy making migrating further and further away from the individuals and organizations who participate in ICANN’s bottom up process, and towards state actors and ICANN staff. A key contributor to this migration is the idea of a monarchical ability of the authorities to discern 'the public interest' and impose rules, top down, on the public itself to pursue that 'public interest.'" Continue reading →

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Bitcoin’s dilemma: go mainstream, or stay radical?

"Bitcoin enthusiasts and libertarians the world over are in a state of confusion about the slowness with which the outside world is catching on to their new way of exchanging money. But regulators and lawmakers are now, very gradually, realising they need to do something about this growing beast, even if they don't quite know what that something is. If the 'teenage band' gets signed on a 'mainstream label' then it will inevitably stray into more commercially minded territory. However, if the managers of the labels are not listening closely or do not like what they hear, perhaps this period of underground innovation will continue." Continue reading →

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Will Warrants for Searches Become a Thing of the Past?

"Help us ask the Supreme Court to review a terrible decision made by the 9th Circuit Court. Here's what happened: Border guards seized an American citizen's computer when he re-crossed the border from Mexico. They did this because the man had an old criminal record, NOT because there was evidence of a new crime. This was clearly an illegal search without a warrant. He was arrested and convicted on the basis of forensically-uncovered, deleted files. Nevertheless, the 9th Circuit upheld this seizure as a legal search. This decision combines with other recent events to erode the 4th Amendment close to a vanishing point. We want to reverse this trend!" Continue reading →

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America’s real divide: The political class, and the rest of us

"The political class is subject to a different set of laws than the rest of us. Instead of a nation based upon the idea that all citizens have equal rights before the law, politicians, bureaucrats, and their minions are regularly shown special preference. In the words of George Orwell, 'some animals are more equal than others.' While some states are now liberalizing their drugs laws, America — the Land of the Free — has the highest incarceration rate in the world due to the War on Drugs. On the other hand, Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both admitted to using marijuana when they were younger. Many other high government officials are on the record as marijuana users." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s real divide: The political class, and the rest of us