July 31, 2006

NOW at 40: a Leftist Legacy
By Trudy W. Schuett

The other day, this article in the Christian Science Monitor caught my eye. Entitled, NOW at 40: What's left to do? The subhead on the article was: Feminists rocked the 1970s and '80s, profoundly changing US society. Today's challenges are more subtle, but still urgent.

Looking back, (for those of us old enough to remember) there was a time during the so-called "second wave" of the 1960s when it seemed feminism was about equality. In the original NOW statement of purpose, it included language that alluded to women freeing themselves from society's lack of respect by taking charge in their lives and advancing themselves through their own efforts. For a brief period of time, there were feminists promoting ideals of self-reliance and responsibility, but that time was over almost before it began. The radical extremists took over and today's feminism is more about hating men, and propagating a constant state of outrage about their version of equality, the definition of which keeps changing. (Read the rest here)

Women Good, Men Bad?
By Carey Roberts

It's about time that we probe an assumption that has insidiously worked its way into our culture -- the notion that women are the guardians of goodness and grace, while all those male neanderthals are emissaries from the dark side.

I will freely admit that men indulge in a number of vices, those including gluttony, greed, and of course forgetting to put the toilet seat down. Growing up in the halcyon days of the Patriarchy, I was treated to my fair share of ribald humor. But nothing quite prepared me for what I saw a couple weeks ago.

Strolling at the local mall I spotted a young lass, maybe 13 years old. She was sporting a white T-shirt with an unusual picture. The shirt depicted a girl cold-cocking a boy. Above the how-to diagram were etched these words: "How to Drop a Boyfriend." (Read the rest here)

Operation Apocalypse
End-Timers & End-Game Strategy
By Captain May

Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing

In the last week of July, just when the Israeli offensive was stalling against a tough Hezbollah resistance in Lebanon, Operation Apocalypse went into high gear in the United States. All at once the corporate media mouthpieces began to urge the American People to jump right into the quicksand war of Lebanon - and Syria and Iran, of course.

Monday, July 24, CNN began to run a story from Paul Zahn about End Times Christians who were predicting billions of dead in a war that had begun with Israel's offensive in the Holy Land -- and how this was what they were praying for. Within a day the same CNN crew crowed that the End Times "Rapture meter" was at its highest level since 9/11 -- and pretended to have nothing to do with it. (Read the rest here)

Calling Mr. Obvious
By Lady Liberty

Every weekday morning, I listen to my favorite morning radio program. The Bob and Tom Show amuses me, and at that time of day I need all the amusement I can get. Although I appreciate the news, interviews, and other regular facets of the show, one of my favorite bits involves a recurring character named Mr. Obvious.

Mr. Obvious hosts a little radio show of his own, and his listeners call in with problems for him to solve. On one episode, a homeowner was terrified that a wild animal had gotten into his house and taken up residence under his kitchen sink. Thanks to Mr. Obvious, he was relieved to learn the growling and chewing noises were caused not by an animal who got upset every time someone flipped a light switch, but by his garbage disposal. On another episode, an incredulous Mr. Obvious had to tell an accident-prone driver that sun screens were great to keep cars cool, but that it was important the screens be removed before actually driving anywhere. (Read the rest here)

From The Archives:
The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel
by L. Neil Smith

Dear Friends and Readers,

I'm pleased to announce that our old friends Win Bear, Ed Bear, Clarissa MacDougall Olson, Lucy Kropotkin, Captain Forsyth, Jenny Smyth/Noble, Olongo Featherstone-Haugh, and the rest of the gang from my first novel, THE PROBABILITY BROACH, have been brought to life again.

(Originally published by Del Rey Books in 1980, and later by Tor Books, THE PROBABILITY BROACH won me the first of three Prometheus Awards, and is considered by many to be the definitive libertarian novel.)

This time, they're characters in THE PROBABILITY BROACH: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, which has just been released by BigHead Press. The brilliant artist Scott Bieser and I worked closely together in designing the characters' appearance, their setting, and translating the original prose story into a graphic script. Scott then spent the better part of two years rendering it into 185 pages of absolutely eyepopping art. [The first chapter is available free on line and Roswell, Texas - another graphic novel by this pair- is also available free on line! ] (Read the rest here)

IRS Threatens Political Speech
by Congressman Ron Paul - R - TX

Five years ago, I wrote about threats made by the Internal Revenue Service against conservative churches for supposedly engaging in politicking. Today, the IRS is again attempting to chill free speech, sending notices to more than 15,000 non-profit organizations—including churches—regarding its new crackdown on political activity.

But what exactly constitutes political activity? What if a member of the clergy urges his congregation to work toward creating a pro-life culture, when an upcoming election features a pro-life candidate? What if a minister admonishes churchgoers that homosexuality is sinful, when an initiative banning gay marriage is on an upcoming ballot? Where exactly do we draw the line, and when does the IRS begin to violate the First amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion? (Read the rest here)

Not World War III
by Sheldon Richman

When a war breaks out somewhere, two sound principles for civilized people are: (1) demand an immediate ceasefire and, failing that, (2) keep the war contained -- do not broaden it, do not join in.

We can gauge the civility of the Bush administration's neoconservative boosters by the fact that they reject both principles. They oppose an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, even though it would spare the lives of hundreds of Lebanese and Israeli men, women, and children, because Israel would be thwarted in its ambition to remove an opponent of its occupation policy. And they are doing their best to expand the conflict by pronouncing it World War III or IV and urging U.S. participation -- specifically, by bombing Iran or Syria. Instead of seeing this ultimately as a dispute between the Israeli government and the Palestinians, the neocons insist on twisting the latest violence into a global war of "Islamo-fascists" against the "free world." This is nonsense. (Read the rest here)

Individual Liberty - 101
From The Ludwig von Mises Institute
The Idea of a Private Law Society
by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Murderers, robbers, thieves, thugs, and con-artists will always exist, writes Hans Hoppe, and life in society will be impossible if they are not deterred. Who should enforce law and order? To be just and efficient, the production and maintenance of law will have to be undertaken by freely financed and competing individuals and agencies. (Read the rest here)

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