Monday, October 31, 2011

Was Friedrich Hayek a Hypocrite on Socialized Medicine?

A piece of investigative journalism from The Nation indicates that Friedrich Hayek may have been an enthusiastic supporter of socialized medicine -- at least so far as him receiving benefits.

Libertarians have often discussed whether libertarians can morally accept socialist benefits if they live under socialism. Those who find it acceptable argue that since the State took your money, you can morally "take it back" (and then some?) by accepting state benefits. Few libertarians want to do like Samuel E. Konkin III and live "under the radar."

Socialists wonder whether libertarians who accept state goodies are merely rationalizing. In any event, Hayek seemed eager to receive whatever state benefits (from Austria or the U.S.) for which he was eligible.

The Nation reports that Charles G. Koch (of the Koch Brothers fame) became head of the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies in 1973, whereupon he invited Friedrich Hayek -- then living in Austria -- to come to the U.S. "to serve as the institute's 'distinguished senior scholar; in preparation for its first conference on Austrian economics, to be held in June 1974.

"Hayek initially declined Koch's offer. In a letter to IHS secretary Kenneth Templeton Jr., dated June 16, 1973, Hayek explains that he underwent gall bladder surgery in Austria earlier that year, which only heightened his fear of 'the problems (and costs) of falling ill away from home.' (Thanks to waves of progressive reforms, postwar Austria had near universal healthcare and robust social insurance plans that Hayek would have been eligible for.)

"IHS vice president George Pearson (who later became a top Koch Industries executive) responded three weeks later, conceding that it was all but impossible to arrange affordable private medical insurance for Hayek in the United States.

"However, thanks to research by Yale Brozen, a libertarian economist at the University of Chicago, Pearson happily reported that 'social security was passed at the University of Chicago while you [Hayek] were there in 1951. You had an option of being in the program. If you so elected at that time, you may be entitled to coverage now.'

"A few weeks later, the institute reported the good news: Professor Hayek had indeed opted into Social Security while he was teaching at Chicago and had paid into the program for ten years. He was eligible for benefits.

"On August 10, 1973, Koch wrote a letter appealing to Hayek to accept a shorter stay at the IHS, hard-selling Hayek on Social Security's retirement benefits, which Koch encouraged Hayek to draw on even outside America. He also assured Hayek that Medicare, which had been created in 1965 by the Social Security amendments as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs, would cover his medical needs.

"Koch writes: 'You may be interested in the information that we uncovered on the insurance and other benefits that would be available to you in this country. Since you have paid into the United States Social Security Program for a full forty quarters, you are entitled to Social Security payments while living anywhere in the Free World. Also, at any time you are in the United States, you are automatically entitled to hospital coverage.'

"Then, taking on the unlikely role of Social Security Administration customer service rep, Koch adds, 'In order to be eligible for medical coverage you must apply during the registration period which is anytime from January 1 to March 31. For your further information, I am enclosing a pamphlet on Social Security.'

"The private correspondence between two of the most important figures shaping the Republican Party's economic policies -- billionaire libertarian Charles Koch and Nobel Prize–winning economist Friedrich Hayek, godfather of today's free-market movement -- were obtained by Yasha Levine from the Hayek archives at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. This is the first time the content of these letters has been reported on.

The documents offer a rare glimpse into how these two major free-market apostles privately felt about government assistance programs—revealing a shocking degree of cynicism and an unimaginable betrayal of the ideas they sold to the American public and the rest of the world...

"Publicly, in academia and in politics, in the media and in propaganda, these two major figures -- one the sponsor, the other the mandarin -- have been pushing Americans to do away with Social Security and Medicare for our own good: we will become freer, richer, healthier and better people.

"But the exchange between Koch and Hayek exposes the bad-faith nature of their public arguments. In private, Koch expresses confidence in Social Security's ability to care for a clearly worried Hayek. He and his fellow IHS libertarians repeatedly assure Hayek that his government-funded coverage in the United States would be adequate for his medical needs.

"None of them -- not Koch, Hayek or the other libertarians at the IHS -- express anything remotely resembling shame or unease at such a betrayal of their public ideals and writings. Nowhere do they worry that by opting into and taking advantage of Social Security programs they might be hastening a socialist takeover of America. It's simply a given that Social Security and Medicare work, and therefore should be used." ...


Read the entire article.

Monday, October 24, 2011

See Lady Magdalene's for Free!

Karl Hess Club attendee J. Neil Schulman now makes his action comedy film, Lady Magdalene's, available for free viewing, online!

See below:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Life Enhancements Distributes Lady Magdalene's

Karl Hess Club attendee J. Neil Schulman's action comedy film, Lady Magdalene's, has signed a distribution deal with health supplements company, Life Enhancements.

As part of that deal's cross-promotion, Lady Magdalene's actress Mara Marini interviews Life Enhancements CEO Will Block:

Saturday, October 08, 2011

If Foreign Troops "Liberated" America...

Here's a great Ron Paul ad, which asks, How would we feel if foreigners treated us as we treat them?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Conservative Zombies, Liberal Vampires

Apparently, vampires films are more popular during Republican presidencies. Zombie films are more popular under Democratic presidencies.

S. Peter Davis theorizes that it's because conservatives/libertarians see the Left as vampires, while liberals/progressives see the Right as zombies.

It's a amusing article. Even better, Davis cites my book, Vampire Nation, as proof of his thesis.

Read his lively article.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Ed Moss 1937 - 2011, RIP

California libertarian Gail Lightfoot, who is well known to many Karl Hess Club attendees, announces the sad passing of another California libertarian -- Ed Moss.

Gail writes:


"Ed Moss died Wed Aug 31, 2011 of respiratory failure following gall stones leading to gall bladder inflammation, pancreatitis and sepsis. Heart surgery was performed because of a left coronary artery occlusion preventing gall bladder surgery until recovery from the cardiac surgery. The sepsis and respiratory failure repeated to cause problems so he was in and out of two hospitals and two care centers from June 17, 2011 sometimes recovering and other times declining.

"Two days before he died he gave a short piano concert at the care center asking the listeners to identify the music he played.

"A memorial was held by his church members on Sat, Sept 10, 2011.

"In cleaning out his apt, we are finding stacks of awards and records of all his DeMoley, Toastmasters, Optimists, various special training certificates [F/R, sales, Grant writing] showing his continuous desire to improve his knowledge and effectiveness. Most of us had no idea the many directions his life took over the year.

"A photo gallery showed him changing appearance through the years. At one point [70s] he had a goatee - black."

Friday, August 19, 2011

Reason TV's Nick Gillespie Interviews J. Neil Schulman

Longtime Karl Hess Club attendee, J. Neil Schulman, discusses his work on Reason TV:

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Antiwar Libertarian Republican Karen Kwiatkowski Runs for Congress

Karen Kwiatkowski, who I've endorsed for president, has instead decided to run for Congress as a Republican.

Like Ron Paul, Kwiatkowski is a true Constitutionalist, libertarian, and antiwar patriot, and deserves support from those communities.

Kwiatkowski emails her supporters:

"We've not really asked for money for the campaign, although it is generously flowing in already. What we value in this campaign is our conservative principles, and our 6th District of Virginia love of constitutionalism and liberty. These fundamentals are the real key to a robust and vibrant economy.

"We don't like asking for money but we are going to need it to win these upcoming battles for the hearts and minds in the 6th District. At the first of every month, for 72 hours, we will be reminding ourselves to remind you to support and help our campaign with some Federal Reserve notes (hold on to your gold and silver, people!).

"Our August fund-raising effort is themed around the fundamentals -- the Constitution, and the first ten amendments. We are asking that, if so inclined, that you donate $10 -- the greenback isn't worth much, but a symbolic dollar for each of the first ten amendments is a nice way to help kick off our first organized fundraiser."




You can donate money via Karen for Congress.com. She also has a Facebook page.

Her campaign address:

Karen Kwiatkowski for Congress
P.O. Box 156
Port Republic, VA 24471

Friday, July 29, 2011

Protect Internet Privacy -- Fight HR 1981


Demand Progress reports:


"A direct assault on Internet users" is what the ACLU is calling it.

Yesterday a U.S. House committee approved HR 1981, a broad new Internet snooping bill. They want to force Internet service providers to keep track of and store their customers' information -- including your name, address, phone number, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress, and 25 other civil liberties and privacy groups have expressed our opposition to this legislation.

Will you join us in opposition by emailing your lawmakers right away? Just click here.

They've shamelessly dubbed it the "Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act," but our staunchest allies in Congress are calling it what it is: an all-encompassing Internet snooping bill.

CNet Reports: Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who led Democratic opposition to the bill said, " 'It represents a data bank of every digital act by every American' that would 'let us find out where every single American visited Web sites.' "

"The bill is mislabeled," said Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the panel. "This is not protecting children from Internet pornography. It's creating a database for everybody in this country for a lot of other purposes."

Please click here to join the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Consumer Federation of America, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Demand Progress and 25 other civil liberties and privacy groups in opposing this legislation.

Thanks for fighting for Internet freedom.

-- The Demand Progress team

P.S. The bill just passed committee, so it's time to push back hard. Will you please ask your friends to take action too?


=====================================

Sunday, July 24, 2011

J. Neil Schulman's Lady Magdalene's Wins at Anthem Libertarian Film Festival

On July 16, 2011, J. Neil Schulman won the "Special Jury Prize for Libertarian Ideals" for his comedy suspense film, Lady Magdalene's.

The award was presented to Schulman by Anthem: The Libertarian Film Festival.

A longtime Karl Hess Club attendee, Schulman has frequently presented lectures on libertarian philosopy at the KHC.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Ben Pleasants Holds a Reading for Ghosts of Pumpkin Park

Frequent Karl Hess Club attendee Ben Pleasants held a reading for his new play, Ghosts of Pumpkin Park, earlier this summer. It was hosted at Frances Rose's home.


Last May, Pleasants discussed his recent literary works at the Karl Hess Club.

Fellow KHC attendee Joseph O'Neill (below, far left) was among the guests, who read parts from Ben's play. Pleasants's wife, Paula, is sitting behind O'Neil.


Kathleen Rose took these photos at the event.

Apart from his plays, Pleasants's is a novelist and journalist, whose articles include When Bukowski Was a Nazi, Dan Fante: Man on Fire, Charles Bukowski Taught Me 'How to Write a Short Story', When Ask the Dust Was Forgotten, and Hawaiian Princess: Marc Forby Tells the Tale of Princess Kaiulani.


Pleasants's novels include Spearmint Leaves, and his latest, The Victory of Defeat.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Santa Monica Councilman Kevin McKeown's Hypocrisy

A few weeks ago, I submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Santa Monica Daily Press. They published it in their July 5th issue:


Editor:

You report that City Councilmember Kevin McKeown "urged commissioners to resist [rent] increases on low-income tenants during these rough economic times ("Rents to rise by 3.2 percent," June 11-12," page 1)."

Yet McKeown supported raising Santa Monica's sales tax — which even low-income residents must pay — despite "these rough economic times."

Apparently, McKeown believes City Hall cannot meet increasing expenses without raising revenue, but that landlords can magically do so.

Thomas M. Sipos, Santa Monica



Santa Monica is a city with both strict rent control and high property and sales taxes. McKeown (like many city officials) thinks that rising cost-of-living expenses justifies keeping rents low. If food and gas prices rise, it's "unfair" for tenants to pay higher rents. Never mind that landlords' expenses have also risen, including the cost of maintaining, repairing, and heating the tenants' apartments.

Yet hypocritically, rising expenses justifies the city raising its sales tax (which went up another half a percentage this year), even on low income tenants.

The total sales tax in Santa Monica (state, county, and city combined) was 10.25% until only a few days ago -- one of the highest rates in California.

Since the state sales tax went down 1% on July 1st, it's now 9.25% in Santa Monica -- still one of the highest rates in California.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Video War Games -- Teaching Tool of the Welfare/Warfare State

When I was young and stupid, I loved to play war with my friends. Board games when we were indoors. Sticks and plastic guns when we went outside. Either that, or plastic toy soldiers.

The State counts on children's distorted, romanticizing of war. As cynical, wounded combat veterans return home, and are dropped into an underfunded V.A. health care system, a new generation of warrior wannabes is always waiting to grow up quickly so they can join the battlefield.

War toys have improved since I was young. Video wargames are addictive, and their images ever more realistic -- but minus the actual pain. What better way to desensitize children into becoming tomorrow's lean, mean, killing machines?

Get them "hooked" on the high of fighting virtual battles, without any consequences -- until they grow up, go to an actual war, and lose a limb or two...)

It's called militainment -- and a new documentary examines this creepy trend. Read the Hollywood Investigator's Returning Fire: Docu Examines How Video Game 'Militainment' Promotes War.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Jerry Jewett on Gary Chartier's The Conscience of an Anarchist

Jerry Jewett reviews The Conscience of an Anarchist Why It's Time to Say Good-Bye to the State and Build a Free Society, by Gary Chartier.


Who hasn't felt that the State is a little bigger than it ought to be, or that it tries too hard, or perhaps that it is hostile to common folk? Such sentiments can scarcely be out of place when the State wields Leviathan-like power.

What would a stateless society look like? What principles could carry it? What would life be like?

Doesn't everyone knows what democracy is, and that, for all its failures, it beats all else?

How closely one analyzes things determines whether this glib answer will stand.

A democracy is one way of running a State -- and so it is much like an authoritarian regime or a monarchy, in that respect. Not having a State at all is the alternative seldom explored, and almost never seriously explored. Of course, when the State superintends instruction and designs the curriculum, a good deal of State-reverencing and lore-building gets taught from the young up, to build brand loyalty.

Although all Karl Hess Supper Club members likely know better, lots of people think of nihilists when they hear of anarchy, for nihilists like to have fits in public under the name of protest, and break things -- ideally expensive things wealthy people might own or like to own -- to protest perceived injustice.

But though some nihilists may claim to be anarchists, they have no claim to anarchy. Just as the libertarian perspective rests on a solid foundation of principles, so, too, does anarchy, though the story has a garbled history with many early missteps.

Who are anarchists and what would their ideal society look like? Although Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Malatesta, Emma Goldman, and other anarchists of the middle to late 19th century preached violence, revolution, and either elimination of private property or its confiscation and redistribution, violence is the thing real anarchists shun, for it smacks so much of the preferred technique of the State.

As Randolph Bourne insightfully pointed out long ago, "War is the health of the state." Anarchists would say the peace is the health of society, and worth the struggle to get it, as the expense of losing the State. The American strain of anarchy traces back many generations, with Albert Jay Nock, Frank Chodorov, and Murray Rothbard carrying the torch in the 20th Century.

This recent book explores the high points of anarchy in 114 pages. As J. Neil Schulman has said of the Reardon Metal span that bridges the gorge in Atlas Shrugged Part I, that such a light and beautiful structure can bear the weight it carries is remarkable, referring both to the bridge itself and metaphorically to the movie. Much the same could be said of this book.

Rather than crafting a ponderous tome laden with obscure facts and arcane terminology, Professor of Law and Business Ethics at La Sierra University Gary Chartier has written a survey that covers enough ground to show the personal and spiritual reasons to want to be free of the onerous, devastating burden of the State in a smooth, easy-reading yet utterly coherent manner.

The vaunted legitimacy of the State gets inspected and rejected in the course of the book, since any coercion of unwilling others simply to impose one's own vision of what proper social order should look like falls of its own unsupported weight.

Although the author cheerfully admits to being of the libertarian left, many of his thoughts, insights, and queries resonate well with those of another flank of libertarianism, the anarcho-propertarian element.

The book is not doctrinaire nor partisan. The book does not pretend to supply all the answers, but it certainly poses a bundle of extremely stimulating questions to feed the discussion.

Anyone for whom real liberty both personally and socially is more than mere lip service might do well to read this book. Its greatest value will lie in its ability to simply and directly reach people not of the agorist tradition, people who do not understand libertarian themes or the peaceful ideals of anarchy.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Ron Paul: Killing Osama Bin Laden Not Necessary

Rather than war and assassinations, Ron Paul believes that U.S. foreign interests can be better achieved through a policy of 1. international cooperation, and 2. the rule of law.

Writing for Politico.com (5/12/11), Juana Summers reports:

Ron Paul says he would not have authorized the mission that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, and that President Barack Obama should have worked with the Pakistani government instead of authorizing a raid.

"I think things could have been done somewhat differently," Paul said this week. "I would suggest the way they got Khalid [Sheikh] Mohammed. We went and cooperated with Pakistan. They arrested him, actually, and turned him over to us, and he's been in prison. Why can't we work with the government?"

Asked by WHO Radio's Simon Conway whether he would have given the go-ahead to kill bin Laden if it meant entering another country, Paul shot back that it "absolutely was not necessary."

"I don't think it was necessary, no. It absolutely was not necessary," Paul said during his Tuesday comments. "I think respect for the rule of law and world law and international law. What if he'd been in a hotel in London? We wanted to keep it secret, so would we have sent the airplane, you know the helicopters into London, because they were afraid the information would get out?"

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Miral -- A Film About Palestinians Resisting Israeli Statism

Resisting the State is generally celebrated among libertarians -- in which case, consistent libertarians should celebrate director Julian Schnabel's (Basquait, The Diving Bell) new film, Miral, based on the novel by his Palestinian wife, Rula Jebreal.

Miral has already stirred controversy in the Jewish community. Some Jewish leaders are slamming the film for being "one-sided." Schnabel admits that Miral shows Palestinian experiences from a Palestinian perspective. (Why is such "one-sidedness" never a problem when only the Israeli perspective is shown?)



Miral is not yet released on DVD in the United States, but it will likely happen. It is currently available as a PAL DVD import, which can be viewed on any region-free DVD player

You can read an interview with Rula Jebreal at Alternet.org, and read more about the controversy here.

Among other controversies, Miral depicts the torture of Palestinian women by the Israeli State, something that Jabreal says she suffered and which continues today to other Palestinians.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Demopublicans, Hollywood, Pushing for Internet Censorship

DemandProgress.org reports:

We stole it right out from under them: This week, the special interests pushing the Internet Blacklist Bill called a big press conference with their allies in Congress, trying to create the illusion of broad support for Internet censorship. But our team caught wind of it and scrambled to make sure you were heard. Teaming up with conservative bloggers who also oppose the bill, we stole the story right out from under them:

* POLITICO: Groups blast Leahy piracy bill

* THE HILL: Groups slam online piracy effort


It was a great success, but we need your help now more than ever. Hollywood is dead set on passing a bill this year. Their lead sponsor has pledged to ram it through: "inaction is not an option, and we must pass online infringement legislation in this Congress." That's why an anonymous activist has agreed to match the donations of anybody who becomes a monthly sustainer, but only if you donate this week.

Become a sustainer today and help us defeat COICA and anything else the Hollywood executives throw at us. Your first two months' donations will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. (You can cancel your monthly contributions at any time.)

Will you become a monthly sustainer of Demand Progress?

* Yes, I'll click here to become a monthly sustainer and have my first two contributions matched.

* Sorry, I can't, but I'll donate $5 or $10 today.

Check out some of this week's press coverage of our opposition to Internet censorship:

"In their attempts to reign in online file sharing, Hollywood moguls are once again willing to risk massive censorship," said Aaron Swartz, executive director of Demand Progress, a liberal-leaning group. (Congressional Quarterly)

And:

But the progressive activist organization Demand Progress and a group of conservative bloggers lead by Republican National Committee Internet Director Patrick Ruffini are staunchly opposed to the bill and the administration's recent moves to seize and shut down domains linking to pirated content. (The Hill)
We won the press war this week and made sure Washington knows we strongly oppose these noxious bills. But as Hollywood ramps up their attacks, we need your support so we can keep fighting for Internet freedom.

Thanks so much for your help: We're a 100% membership-funded organization and need your support to keep up our work.

-- The Demand Progress Team

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Peace Rallies Against Obama's Lybia War, April 9, 10

Kevin Zeese, of Voters for Peace, sends "an announcement of antiwar rallies in New York on April 9 and San Francisco on April 10 which Voters for Peace has endorsed."

Details of where and when to show up at: NationalPeaceConference.org.

This seems like a mostly Left coalition. It's noteworthy that the Left is opposing Obama's war. It would be nice if many antiwar libertarians and conservatives also showed up, so it becomes a more broad-based protest.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Online Agora Conference

From Carol Moore:

George Donnelly and friends have organized this fantastic free online liberty conference for the coming weekend (March 25-27th). It includes dozens of libertarian speakers on philosophy, strategy, media and entrepreneurship.

I'm speaking on Libertarian Decentralism and Secessionist Strategy on Saturday March 26th at 10 AM Est. I would love for you to join me and participate.

You'll have an opportunity during these three days to see dozens of speakers. My favorites: Patri Friedman, Angela Keaton, Corey Moore, Karen Kwiatkowski, Scott Horton, Gary Chartier, Mary Ruwart, Pete Eyre, J. Neil Schulman, Brad Spangler.

Agora I/O is easy to use. Just click here. Pick talks you want to view, watch them, participate through chat.

If you can't afford to go to all the big freedom festivals around the country and if you want to get new insights into libertarian and agorist ideas, this is your opportunity to see and communicate with great libertarians nationwide.

This will be just the first of many such online conferences to advance liberty, so participate to help make this experiment work. To help out with organizing or sponsorship, see the main page.

PS: Have you see the new book, Why Liberty? Edited by Libertarian Marc Guttman, it is a collection of 54 personal stories by many well known figures about how they became libertarians.

Friday, March 11, 2011

California Internet Sales Tax Threatens Amazon Affiliates

The California state legislature is threatening the livelihoods of over 10,000 Californians who earn money as Amazon Associates for online retailer, Amazon.com.

These Californians place links on their websites to Amazon. When someone clicks through to Amazon and makes a purchase, the Associate earns a commission.

Amazon is not required to collect sales taxes on purchases made to Californians because there is no "business nexus." But now California is considering a law to classify Amazon Associates as a "business nexus".

Other states have done likewise. In all such instances, Amazon ended its Associates program rather than be forced to collect the sales tax. Amazon has even ended its Associates program in big states such as New York and Illinois.

History shows Amazon is not bluffing. If California declares Amazon Associates a “business nexus,” Amazon will end its Associates program in the state.

This will hurt over 10,000 Californians' earnings -- and will lower California's income tax revenue.

This loss in state revenue will not be made up in sales taxes, because by ending the Associates program, Amazon will once more not be required to collect sales taxes.

"Bricks and mortar" retailers complain that Amazon has an "unfair advantage" because online buyers don't pay sales taxes. But they ignore that: 1. their buyers don't pay for shipping, and 2. this legislation will NOT compel Amazon to collect sales taxes -- it will only hurt 10,000 Californians trying to earn money and thus further hurt the state's revenue.

Californians, please contact your state senate and assembly representatives and tell them to oppose any attempt to force Amazon to collect sales taxes, or to declare Amazon's Associates a "business nexus."

Monday, March 07, 2011

Linking to YouTube Is Copyright Infringement

From DemandProgress.org:

Ever sent someone a link to a copyrighted YouTube video? Of course: Everybody has. And now the US Government seems to think that means it can put us in prison.

Bryan McCarthy ran a website that linked to various websites where you could watch online streams of TV shows and sports networks. A couple months ago, the government seized his domain name and on Friday they arrested him for criminal copyright infringement.

Tell the government that this is crazy: There's nothing wrong or illegal about sharing a link.

The government doesn't even allege that McCarthy made a copy of anything! Just that his site linked to various sites with copyrighted material. Under that sort of thinking, everyone who's sent around a link to a copyrighted YouTube video is a criminal.

This is another shocking overreach by the department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- a steamship-era department that's proving once again it doesn't understand the Internet.

We need to push back -- and fast -- before they try to lock up all Americans.
Click here to tell ICE to drop its charges.

Thanks for taking a stand.

-- The Demand Progress team

P.S. We need to convince ICE to back down, and the first step is making sure they know that Americans are watching, and are disgusted by their behavior. Will you help shine light on ICE's abuses by forwarding this to your friends?

================================

Also read how hypocritical Big Media companies are threatening YOUR copyrights.

Friday, February 25, 2011

David Horowitz Calls Ron Paul an "Anti-Semite" and "Anti-American"

David Horowitz accuses Ron Paul of anti-Semitism, primarily because Paul wants to end foreign aid to Israel.

In an article entitled, "Ron Paul Is a Vicious Anti-Semite and Anti-American and Conservatives Need To Wash Their Hands of Him," Hororwitz writes:

"For years the Texas crackpot, Ron Paul, has been attacking America and Israel as imperialist powers -- the Great Satan and the Little Satan, and calling for America’s retreat from the battle against our totalitarian enemies. At the recent CPAC conference Paul's Jew-hating storm-troopers swarmed the Freedom Center’s table to vent their spleen against Israel as a Nazi state. Now Paul is making a priority of withdrawing aid for Israel -- the only democracy in the Middle East and the only reliable ally of the United States."

Read the rest.

Of course, Ron Paul wants to end foreign aid to all nations.

A few weeks ago, I heard KABC-AM's John Phillips, a fiscal conservative, defend foreign aid to Israel because, he said, Israel could not survive without it.

But is this true?

Is not Israel a socialist nation (much like those in Western Europe), with socialized health care and eduction? If the U.S. were to end financial aid to Israel, and Israel needed more weapons, could it not simply divert its domestic social spending to the military?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Google, Facebook Invade Your Privacy

From DemandProgress.org:

"Imagine the cops rifling through your mail, your calendar, your receipts. All your private information, available for them to look through. To do this offline, they'd have to get a warrant from a judge and break into your house. But every day the cops -- and anyone else with a good lawyer! -- get access to your online email and calendar just by asking.

"Major online service providers like Gmail and Facebook just hand over your personal data to the police when they get a legal request -- usually without even telling you they've done so! And since you never know about the request, you never get a day in court to challenge it. Your privacy is gone before you even know it.

"Click here to tell Google and Facebook that if they're going to store your private information, they need to promise to keep it private!

"Twitter has just taken a bold stand to protect its users' privacy. When the US Government demanded they turn over information about people affiliated with WikiLeaks, they told the people affected and now they have the chance to challenge the request. But Facebook and Google are refusing to do the same! Sign our petition demanding they -- and other major Internet companies -- adopt sensible privacy protections and stop turning over your personal data to anyone who asks.

Tell Google and Facebook that they need to follow Twitter's lead and protect our privacy. We're meeting with Google NEXT WEEK, and will deliver the petition then.

Thanks for taking a stand.

-- The Demand Progress team

P.S. We're meeting with Google next week, and want to have as many people as possible signed on by then. Could you forward this email to your friends?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Ron Paul for 2012

People are urging Ron Paul to run once again, in 2012:



I can't think of a better candidate.

If Paul runs, it will probably be for the Republican Party nomination. If he loses (as he probably will), he can then run on either the Libertarian Party or Constitution Party, if he wants.

But perhaps the smartest move would be for Paul to run as an independent, with a more progressive-leaning/antiwar (and anti-corporatist) candidate. A right-left antiwar fusion ticket.

I still like the idea of Karen Kwiatkowski as Ron Paul's VP pick, but Ralph Nader might be more attractive to those on the left.