A quick-hit double-link in the form of two recent essays I recommend as timely and relevant reading for thoughtful lovers of liberty: "The Welfare State and the Meaning of Life" by Greg Forster, whose work I have come to know through his excellent research and analysis of school choice issues, but in this case makes a strong moral case against socialism "Ron Paul's Secession Lies on Video" by libertarian lawyer and thinker Tim Sandefur, a college classmate of mine who delivers a remedial lesson in United States history and the Constitution to the Congressman and former presidential candidate ... It's one thing to speak up loudly against federal overreaches and for a renewed respect of the 10th Amendment, it's quite another to call for … [Read more...]
Remember the 10th Amendment! (We’ll Worry about the Alamo Later)
God bless Texas:Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,†Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and … [Read more...]
“Experienced” Joe Biden is All Confused about the Office He Is Running For
Apparently, "experienced" Joe Biden doesn't know much about the high office of vice president he is running to fill. My first-year law school friend Tyler at Constructively Reasonable has the details (and as Tyler points out, so do the legal minds at the Volokh Conspiracy). So does the Washington Times. A man who has been in the U.S. Senate for 35 years could be so ignorant about how our federal government works? What if it had been Sarah Palin who had made the gaffe? You can imagine the mainstream media reports would be swift, harsh, and unforgiving. But since it's Slow Joe Biden at the Wilmington, Delaware Home Depot, representing their favored Democratic Party ticket, for the most part there's been nothing but the sounds of crickets … [Read more...]
1861 Was Not 1776: An Essay
Update: An astute observer has corrected a factual mistake. James Madison wrote "much of" - not "most of" - the Federalist. Alexander Hamilton wrote more, though Madison wrote many of the key essays that frame the meaning of Union. My faux pas. The following is adapted and expanded from an email listserv essay I wrote recently, inspired initially in response to the following phrase someone had written: "The American Republic created by the founding fathers was destroyed by the civil war...." Here is my argument why libertarians should think long and hard before embracing a defense of the Confederate cause: Quite simply, the noble libertarian impulse to champion resistance to government encroachment on people's freedoms has led many … [Read more...]