statism

The Resident: Why Gov’t Consolidates Media

"The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was supposed to the broadcast market to competition, saving the American public from monopolies. In reality, the Act opened the door for massive deregulation and media conglomeration. It accomplished this by way of the FCC not enforcing the rules it set forth. Today, we see companies like Sinclair Broadcasting gobbling up huge broadcast market shares. And the FCC continues to try to allow for even more conglomeration. We have an oligopoly in the American media, and it's poised to get even worse. The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist) discusses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Resident: Why Gov’t Consolidates Media

On Syria (and all else), it’s ‘Us’ against ‘Them’

"The 'estimable' men arguing for war in both Houses and before them are not on the people’s side. Never will be. For they do not accept that a just government’s duty is to its own citizens first. We have a solemn [negative] duty not to violate the rights of foreigners everywhere to life, liberty and property. But we have no duty to uphold their rights. Why? Because the ostensible upholding of the negative rights of the world’s citizens involves compromising the negative liberties of Americans – our lives, our liberties and our livelihoods. By this imperative, Kerry, Hagel, Dempsey, Kinzinger, the senior Republican flake from Arizona, the junior Jeff Flake from the same state, will never abide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOn Syria (and all else), it’s ‘Us’ against ‘Them’

Is the U.S. Producing Democracies?

"There is a political science literature whose research indicates that economic development fosters democratic government, as opposed to dictatorships and autocracies. This is not to say that democracies are an end to be sought, because they in turn stifle economic development. But it is to say that the U.S. and NATO policy of tearing down dictatorships does not achieve the oft-advertised aim of producing democracies. This is especially true when the means is a devastating war that destroys physical, cultural, social and human capital. Recent evidence for this includes countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs the U.S. Producing Democracies?

Turkish protester’s tear-gas death sparks angry new demonstrations in Istanbul

"Turkish police fired tear gas and plastic bullets at thousands of people who gathered in Istanbul Tuesday to protest the death of a 22-year-old demonstrator in southern Turkey. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people rallied on the outskirts of Taksim Square, scene of unprecedented mass anti-government protests in June, and shouted slogans including 'Taksim will be the graveyard of fascism', an AFP journalist witnessed. Police prevented the protesters from entering the square, before pushing them back using tear gas and plastic bullets. Ahmet Atakan died in hospital Monday night after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister during clashes between police and around 150 protesters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkish protester’s tear-gas death sparks angry new demonstrations in Istanbul

Israel closes probe into Palestinian activist’s tear-gas death

"Israel’s army has decided to close an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian activist during a West Bank demonstration in 2009, an Israeli rights group said Tuesday. According to B’Tselem, the military’s prosecutor general had decided to close the case for lack of evidence. Bassem Abu Rahmeh, 30, who was struck in the chest by a tear-gas canister on April 17, 2009 at a protest in the village of Bilin, and died of his wounds. The army had decided to open an investigation into Abu Rahmeh’s death in 2010 after a team of international experts found its forces had fired the tear gas in violation of regulations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIsrael closes probe into Palestinian activist’s tear-gas death

Bloomberg: “Libertarians Are The New Communists”

"Nick Hanauer & Eric Liu wrote an absurd piece in Bloomberg called 'Libertarians are the New Communists.' You might wonder how people get paid to write such ridiculous articles. But then you realize that someone actually gets paid to bomb foreigners, steal en masse from the world via the monetary system, and regulate voluntary business out of the market. Perhaps it is just the evil world in which we live. Regardless, one still wonders if the authors of the Bloomberg piece actually believe in the claims that they make." Continue reading →

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Who funds Syrian rebel advocate O’Bagy and her ‘Task Force’? You do

"The Syrian Emergency Task Force, the pro-rebel lobbying outfit that employs widely quoted intervention advocate Elizabeth O’Bagy as its political director, receives funding from the U.S. Department of State and related government contractors. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller earlier last week, O’Bagy explained how she got paid. O’Bagy has been roundly condemned for working for a pro-Syrian lobbying group at the same time she was casting the Syrian rebels in a positive light. She works as an analyst at the neoconservative think tank, the Institute for the Study of War." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho funds Syrian rebel advocate O’Bagy and her ‘Task Force’? You do

Humanitarian Murder: It’s a Gas

"The true humanitarian position on any question of war is to reject it entirely: war is nothing more than the creation of the collective state, not the individual constituents thereof. US military involvement in Syria will do nothing more than complicate matters not just in Syria, but also the entire region. Indeed, the same politicians who speak so proudly of 'democracy' have no problem imposing it upon others (through death and destruction), but when it comes to their own countrymen, it is but a whisper. Today, only 9% of Americans support any intervention in Syria, and this number is low for good reason: Americans simply do not trust their government anymore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHumanitarian Murder: It’s a Gas

Florida gov. delays execution for Attorney General Pam Bondi’s fundraiser

"Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) kicked off her re-election campaign by admitting she made a mistake when she asked Gov. Rick Scott to delay an execution because it conflicted with a fundraiser. Marshall Lee Gore, 50, was scheduled to die on Monday for the rape and murder of 30-year-old Robyn Novick and for the murder of 19-year-old Susan Roark. But Scott advised Florida State Prison Warden John Palmer last month that he had moved the execution to Oct 1. When he was asked about the move on Monday, the governor said that he was complying with a 'request of the attorney general.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida gov. delays execution for Attorney General Pam Bondi’s fundraiser