Free Republic

My family and I went to an art exhibit recently. It was dingy, dirty, unkempt, probably dangerous, and just plain creepy, and I could not wait to leave. The artist was inspired by God to create his numerous and various works. As we were leaving, there was a quote from the artist on the wall to the effect of: God provides the art, I am just the brush (not the exact wording) and I thought "I am sure that God could come up with something better than this!" I am not a fan of this particular art style to start...

[excerpt] Well, it all came together for me today. One small little box made me think everything that I have been thinking in the last couple of weeks come together in a manner that, when it gelled, was a striking slap in the face.There, in Blockbuster, was a DVD for sale. It said “Obama- The man and his journey”99 cents. There it is, America, right there in front of your face... [read the rest at the blog site]

No sarcasm today.I find I can do very little to help this country - my own petty but unignorable problems seem to occupy too much of my time. What little I can do seems so trivial, but if it is multiplied by the power of Freepdom then perhaps the trickle will become streams, and the streams will become a river, and the river will wash some of the corruption from our shores. Of course, I am referring to the United Nations.Below is the text of a letter I just sent to my Representative; I encourage others of like mind to...

In these troubled times, it's nice to know that there is one thing that can always bring a smile to our faces, and maybe even cause us to laugh so hard that we cry.I am referring, of course, to the War On Tobacco. Rarely in the annals of government -- and I do not mean to suggest anything juvenile by the phrase ''annals of government'' -- will you find a program so consistently hilarious as the campaign against the Evil Weed.Before we get to the latest wacky hijinks, let's review how the War On Tobacco works. The underlying principle, of...

Do you really want to pledge to the flag? Posted: July 4, 20021:00 a.m. Eastern © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com The California ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance can't be recited in government schools has given a much-needed lift to the conservative movement. With George Bush devoted to increased spending on foreign aid, government schools, government health care, welfare and every imaginable boondoggle, conservatives haven't had much to rally around. But now they have a cause. They can trumpet their indignation, fret about the future of the country, and send out fund-raising letters galore. They have an issue. A Google search of recent...

Libertarian: Leave Tech Alone by Andy Patrizio 3:00 a.m. Sep. 14, 2000 PDT The Libertarian Party may not be making as much noise as some of the other third parties during this election year, but the party is quietly making more progress than ever in its efforts to attract voters disenchanted by the two major parties. Libertarian Presidential candidate Harry Browne is appealing to anyone who wants smaller government, and that should include the technology industry. "Fortunately, we don't have a Department of Software, but we're getting there," said Browne. "The Microsoft case is a great step forward toward ...

L i b e r t y W i r e NEWS FROM HARRY BROWNE FOR PRESIDENT |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*| For additional information contact: Jim Babka, Press Secretary Mailto:JimBabka@HarryBrowne2000.org ----------------------------------- Tuesday, July 11, 2000 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Presidential Pardons -- Where have we heard that before? Harry Browne wonders if he's being copied by Bill Clinton ARLINGTON, VA -- Libertarian Party nominee for president Harry Browne wonders if Bill Clinton was watching Browne's nomination acceptance speech at the Libertarian Party's national convention, aired live on C-SPAN last Sunday night (July 2). In that speech Browne reiterated his commitment to end the Insane ...

Monday, July 10, 2000 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Congressional Relatives Receive 'Get Out of Jail Free' Pass Libertarian Harry Browne Says Congressmen Are Playing Monopoly with Your Life ARLINGTON, VA -- If you or a relative gets arrested on a drug charge, don't expect to pass Go or collect $200 -- unless you're the son or daughter of a U.S. congressman. Thursday night provided the most recent example of the Drug War double standard, and Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne is urging voters to help him end the "Monopoly on Hypocrisy" -- the Insane War on Drugs. According to the Tribune ...

Congressman Ron Paul   March 31, 2000   Dear friend of liberty,           Who is the worst American president? There’s a lot of competition for that title, but Woodrow Wilson is definitely a finalist. After promising the American people that he would stay out of Europe’s quarrels, he immediately schemed to get us into World War I.          In addition to a host of dead youngsters, US entry meant the destruction of the old Russia and the old Germany. Now these regimes had their problems, but upon their ashes rose the most murderous governments in history, the Communists and ...

The worst thing about being a pessimistic civil libertarian is always being right. Not only is that because being right means that liberty is being lost as predicted. It's the way libertarians are proved right. The pattern goes like this: A law filled with sweet intentions of "social justice" or other such claptrap is passed; you warn that the logic of the law will lead to something insane like, say, a ban on smoking in bars; you're scoffed at and called a crazy libertarian; over the next decade or two, people internalize the law's logic and activists begin to use ...

The chemical in marijuana that produces a "high" has shown promise as a weapon against deadly brain tumors, Spanish researchers have shown in early research. In a study on rats a research team from Complutense University and Autonoma University in Madrid found that marijuana's active ingredient – called THC – killed tumor cells in advanced cases of glioma, a quick-killing cancer for which there is currently no effective treatment. But, the scientists stress, it is unlikely that lighting up a joint will do anything to prevent or cure cancer. Lead researcher Manuel Guzman says he hopes to start studies in ...

L i b e r t y W i r e February 15, 2000 A Demonstration of True Compassion by Harry Browne It is fashionable these days for politicians to talk about compassion. But it turns out that by "compassion," they mean confiscating other people's money and spreading it around ostentatiously -- robbing Peter to show off to Paul. Not only is such an act devoid of any real feeling for anyone, it corrupts recipients by hooking them into dependency on someone else's resources. Today, February 15, we can witness thousands of acts of true compassion. This is the date ...

It would normally be surprising to find the latest example of Jack-booted thuggery in the halls of a public transportation administration; but after all, this is California. The place: San Gabriel. This city in Los Angeles County is the home of Ruben and Denise Gonzalez. On January, 5 2000, their home was raided - not by the FBI, ATF, or DEA, but by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MTA for short. The Gonzalez' are traditional Catholics who practice their faith based on the Council of Trent. According to Denise, both take their religious faith very seriously. That faith was ...

The Second Amendment states: "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." Virtually every responsible constitutional scholar who in recent years has reviewed the language and historical context of this prohibition on government action -- including most recently Lawrence Tribe of Harvard, a liberal who formerly opposed private firearm ownership -- has had to admit "this inconvenient Second Amendment" (without which a plurality of states would never have ratified the Constitution) does indeed guarantee each individual American the right to keep ...

In a truly free society, it wouldn't matter who the president was. We wouldn't have to vote or pay attention to debates. We could ignore campaign commercials. There would be no high stakes for ourselves, our families, or the country. Liberty and property would be so secure that we could curse him, love him, or forget about him. This was the system the framers set up, or people believed they were getting, with the U.S. Constitution. The president would never concern himself with the welfare of the American people. The federal government had no say over it. That was left ...

Bill Clinton's last-ditch scheme to leave a "legacy" as a world peacemaker seems to be collapsing on all fronts, and it's a good thing. Mr. Clinton's peace plan for Israel and Syria is a transparent attempt to bribe both countries to "be good," committing nearly as many taxpayer billions as we've been using to similarly pay off Israel and Egypt for 30 years -- even as Arab leaders continue to promise (for domestic consumption) to "push Israel into the sea." Additionally, the Clinton plan would require Israel to give up the strategic Golan Heights, based on twin promises from Syria's ...

Why do we have a partisan political system? It can hardly be for the salutary effects of watching would-be "statesmen" brave the snows of New Hampshire, savoring the chowder and earnestly promising high school gymnasiums full of confused seniors that the battle to protect their abortion rights and their ethanol subsidies will never die. No, if there is a benefit to partisanship it is the opportunity afforded the "loyal opposition" to offer a principled challenge to the bureaucrats now in power. When Bill Clinton spends an 89-minute State of the Union speech contending things couldn't be better in America -- ...

When New York Giants football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor talked with an ESPN reporter about his crack cocaine addiction, he wasn't just helping kids learn about the dangers of drug abuse. He was helping the sports network reap a windfall profit of $796,796 in advertising money from the White House's anti-drug campaign. ESPN's "Up Close" on Taylor, aired Feb. 9, 1999, and two other segments aired during the previous eight days were among 17 programs for which the sports cable network received credit from the Office of National Drug Control Policy's TV advertising campaign. From a wide range of ...

Believing in people In the Republican presidential debate Monday, each candidate tried to prove that he's qualified to run the country. George W. Bush bragged about how well he has run Texas, and promised to do the same for America. John McCain wants to reform government by restricting your access to political campaigns. Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes want a moral revival. Steve Forbes wants to let you have school vouchers and a little of your retirement money. And Orrin Hatch -- well, Orrin Hatch just wants to be president. I was the Libertarian presidential candidate in 1996, and ...

GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS: Tackling taxes in Tennessee Copyright &copy 1999 Nando Media Copyright &copy 1999 Nando Times A special Nando site: Background and Web links for the 2000 presidential contenders. From Time to Time: Nando's in-depth look at the 20th century (December 1, 1999 10:56 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - No tea was dumped into Nashville's Cumberland River last month, but the inglorious end to Tennessee's effort to adopt an income tax was otherwise according to the revolutionary script. By the time lawmakers surrendered and went home, there were even protesters brandishing tar and feathers in the state Capitol. At ...