index -- The Price of Liberty

January 09, 2006

Something For Nothing
Susan Callaway, Editor

Do you like to get a real bargain? Does the word "free" in an ad get your attention? How about discovering that the place you bought last year is now worth thousands more? Does your conscience bother you over the bargain or do you figure you made a voluntary trade with a willing seller? Most people are content if they believe they got as much as possible for their money, or gave "value for value" some way in their business and employment deals. This is a very good thing. It's what keeps us trading and working.

Most of us like to think that the need for liberty and autonomy is at the base of human nature, but though it is a powerful part of life, it isn't the strongest part by any means. The history of the world is ample proof if we look at it honestly. The centuries of tyranny and slavery all over the world indicate that some people are actually willing to live as literal slaves. Maybe they think it is the only way they can survive. It also takes much less effort to be a slave than to live free, completely responsible for yourself and your family. Why else would so many people live that way? (Read the rest here)

"The Heritage Guide to the Constitution"
Misrepresents the Effect of the Sixteenth Amendment
By Robert Greenslade & Claude Ellsworth © Nitwit Press

After I heard former Attorney General Edwin Meese discuss the Heritage Foundation's new book on the Constitution, I thought it sounded very interesting and asked Santa for a copy. Since I had not been too naughty during the year, he left me a copy under the Christmas tree. In eager anticipation, based on the glowing reviews I heard on several talk shows, I decided to begin by opening the book to a section that is of particular interest to me. I felt their analysis of this provision would give me a feel for the quality and accuracy of the research used to compile the book. After reading their analysis of the Sixteenth Amendment, my anticipation turned to total disappointment because "The Heritage Guide to the Constitution" misrepresents the effect of the Amendment.

In order to understand the Sixteenth Amendment, it is first necessary to review the taxing clauses in the body of the Constitution. Congress' general power to impose taxes is found at Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. (Read the rest here)

Are We Giving Away the Greatest Gift
By Lady Liberty

I recently sent a congratulatory note to a young woman about to have a birthday. In part, I wrote, "Never forget we are all born free. The question is whether or not we can live that way." Freedom is among certain rights to which we are all entitled, merely by virtue of being born. Our Founding Fathers codified that notion when they wrote a list of some of what they called "unalienable rights."

While the young woman in question celebrates her birthday with her friends and family, it occurred to me that millions around the world are celebrating other recognitions of birth. On Christmas Day, Christians honor their belief that their savior was born some 2,000 years ago. With the Winter Solstice, pagans look to the shortest day of the year as being the one that signals a turning point toward longer days and the rebirth of the sun god. Those who mark Hanukkuh not only commemorate the anniversary of an event believed to be miraculous, but more symbolically the birth of religious freedom for Jews in that place and time. Even the recently invented Kwanzaa points in part to matters of harvest, one of the earliest and most obvious symbols of birth, growth, and death that there is. (Read the rest here)

Comic Relief From The World Health Organization
By Carey Roberts

Feeling a little bored, maybe suffering from after-the-holiday blues? The World Health Organization never fails to provide a moment of levity in our otherwise hum-drum lives.

Take the AIDS epidemic. After all these years of seeing the epidemic spread unchecked, I'm beginning to wonder if the world health body views AIDS as its stealth population control strategy.

If that statement seems a bit harsh, consider the WHO's "safe sex" campaign which pushes this Russian-roulette message: "Go ahead and enjoy no-fault sex with multiple partners, just so long as you use a condom." As we know, condoms fail 15% of the time. (Read the rest here)

The Nazi Destruction of America
By Ted Lang © 2006

As awesomely powerful and dangerous as the regime of George W. Bush is and has become, it stills wobbles on shaky ground and can be swallowed up in political quicksand with lightning speed. And don't for a moment think that the Bushovites don't know it. The United States of America is now a full-blown Nazi police state!

To bring it down, all that is needed are a few words of refreshing honesty from its staunchest big media supporters: Drudge, Limbaugh, Hannity, and the like. Just when you thought you had learned of the most recent greatest outrage perpetrated by agents, officers and employees of our federal government under Bush, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo being early examples, they were soon afterwards eclipsed back then by yet another Bushovite outrage: the refusal of the Bush regime to turn over documents relative to the August 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing proving that the United States government was fully aware of the impending terrorist attacks coming the following September. (Read the rest here)

External Article
Machan's Musings - Slavery & Property - Communal vs. Individual
by Tibor R. Machan

Almost all modern liberals—the more or less Leftists—in the world would declare themselves foes of slavery. They would insist that they are enemies, as well, of discrimination against any group whereby the rights of members of that group are systematically violated. In this respect modern liberals line up with classical liberals and most American conservatives in their support of individual liberty and rights.

Where modern liberals falter is in their refusal to recognize that individual liberties and rights are virtually meaningless if one does not have the right to property, to freely obtain, hold, and trade goods and services. If another person may not own me, what good is this if my assets and earnings may be taken from me without my permission? Say I am a very talented musician and other people value what I might do with this talent. If they may coerce me into producing music for them, in what sense am I not a slave? If I do produce my music and earn income from this, but others may take these earnings from me, again in what sense am I free? (Read the rest here) (Click back button to return to TPoL)

Your Feedback and Comments
The Mailbag for This Week

Libertarian Commentary on the News, 1-6 January 2006
Character counts for lovers of liberty as well as lovers of libraries and lovers of blueberries, too! The character trait for this week is "Preparedness." The old Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared" is a slogan for life and for living as a free person, and nothing illustrates the need to be prepared more than a few of this week's stories about our right to defend ourselves, our families, our neighbors, fellow workers, and property. But preparedness extends across many parts of life, as we shall see this week.

Our Right to Defend Ourselves
The first three stories should make us all sick, and remind us again how important it is to be prepared. Too many people, particularly those who claim to be Christians and Hebrews (in the religious sense), believe that weapons have no place in places of worship, but there is NO prohibition on such in any place in the Bible, and much to justify the bearing of weapons for the protection of the innocent even in (or especially in) such places. See my recent article on "Concealed Carry and Churches". Are we prepared for whatever need to defend ourselves exists? Not just our own personal weapons, and those of our immediate family, but our neighbors, our relatives and friends in more distant places, our community, and our churches? (Read the rest here) (Two full pages!)