Nov 01

As government grows, its subjects are stricken with anxiety, fear and depression

As societies become saddled with more government, their subjects become depressed, fearful, anxious and pessimistic about their lives.

Every government that ever existed sought the same powers: total control over all human affairs, the total elimination of privacy (except for the masters in government), all money, property and wealth, and to kill all who resist.

A recent poll shows that two-thirds of Americans now believe that America is now at its lowest point in history. See here.

Government is like a poison masquerading as a medicine. The federal government is now seven (7) times larger (in real terms, thus adjusted for inflation) than it was at the beginning of FDR’s presidency in 1933. Government regulates and controls almost every profession and industry, toilet use, every manner of transportation, births and deaths.

Oct 28

US Postal Service has had one profitable quarter since 2006; it has lost $63 billion during that time

The U.S. Postal Service monopoly is unconstitutional* and has caused great harm to the American economy.

The Postal Service has had one profitable quarter since 2006. It has lost $63 billion during that time, averaging around $5 billion in losses each year. (To put this in perspective, the annual budget of the State of Montana is less than $5 billion).

The “Service” lost $2.1 billion in the most recent quarter, and expects to lose another $6 billion or so this year. See here.

The USPS has EVERY ADVANTAGE in the marketplace, yet cannot make a profit. In an age when technology is driving engineering to be ever more efficient, the Postal Service continues to use outdated models of processing and delivery.

Now the USPS is seeking to alter its regulations so it can raise its prices faster than the rate of inflation. (See the above link.)

* The Constitution has a provision (Art. 1, Sec. 8) allowing Congress to “establish Post Offices and post Roads” but elsewhere makes clear (through, example, the due process clause, the contracts clause, etc.) that there was to be no government monopoly on delivering mail. The 1st amendment freedom of the press also seems to prohibit the government from controlling the market for shipping newspapers and printed matter.

Oct 27

African governments get used to SHUTTING DOWN the internet

An astounding story was published by Reuters reporters last week. In most countries, “the internet” is a multidimensional thing emanating and maintained by thousands of different businesses, people and institutions. But in some African countries, “the internet” may depend on a single cable system.

“Since the start of 2016, governments in 13 African nations have intentionally shut down the internet on 21 occasions, mainly during elections and protests.”

“Africa is becoming a new testing ground for authoritarian practices online,” said Francois Patuel, West Africa researcher at Amnesty International.”

African governments control the internet by licensing. “When a sovereign government gives licenses to telecoms companies, those companies have little choice but to comply with the government’s demands,” said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Oracle Dyn, which monitors international internet traffic flows.

See here.

Shockingly, some American “civil liberties” groups such as the ACLU are demanding a similar system of government-licensed (what they somehow call “free”) internet. They call the concept “net neutrality.”

Oct 25

Vietnamese Government Orders Student Imprisoned for 6 Years for Blog Criticisms

According to Yahoo News, a Vietnamese student has been ordered jailed for 6 years for blog posts that criticized life under the Vietnamese government. See here.

Like the government of the United States, the Vietnamese government employs teams of agents to monitor the internet and control the content of what subjects post.

Oct 23

U.S. Life Expectancy Declining under Cradle-to-Grave Government

by Roger Roots, founder of Lysander Spooner University

Governments want their subjects sick, weak, scared and dependent. Every generation of Americans has seen its life expectancy improve. Until now.

A new Bloomberg News report finds that Today’s Americans are retiring later, dying sooner and sicker in-between.

Social Security alone has incentivized millions of Americans to work less, invest less, save less, and disregard their health. By itself, the program is responsible for making America at least 3 percent poorer. See here.

In fact, the government pays people outright to be sick and disabled, incentivizing millions to go on monthly disability checks.

Medical mistakes by government-approved doctors and facilities are now the third leading cause of death.

The pharmaceutical industry, gorged on government-subsidized money and regulations, has succeeded in making millions of Americans dependent on government-approved drugs.

Taxes and regulations prevent most poor Americans from launching productive businesses and hiring others. Today, roughly half of All Americans pay no taxes and live at the expense of the other half, through government. Americans now spend more on taxes than on food and clothing combined.

The U.S. now has the highest tax rates in the developed world.

Oct 21

FBI Direct Robert Mueller tried to entrap noted author Harvey Silverglate in the 1980s

There was a time in American history when judges and attorneys became famous and beloved by fighting for individual rights and liberties. America’s founding fathers named cities, towns and counties after the most libertarian English judges. (For example, the Founders named many places after Lord Camden, the famous British judge who wrote a number of famed libertarian court opinions in the 1760s.)

Today’s lawyers, however, tend to rise to prominence mostly by siding with the powers of intrusive, expansive government. Many if not most judges are former prosecutors themselves.

Although Americans still revere freedom-fighting lawyers, there are fewer and fewer such lawyers to be found. Many of America’s most prominent libertarian criminal defense lawyers have found themselves targeted, prosecuted or even imprisoned by the American police state. (Clarence Darrow, F. Lee Bailey, William Kunstler, etc. were all prosecuted after becoming well-known defense lawyers.)

Now noted defense lawyer Harvey Silverglate has come forward with a chilling story about how federal prosecutor Robert Mueller attempted to entrap him during the 1980s. See here. Mueller later went on to be FBI director and is now leading an (apparent) witchhunt “special” prosecution of Donald Trump over supposed Russian influence in Trump’s election.

According to Silverglate, Mueller tried to set up Silverglate by sending a lying FBI informant into Silverglate’s office to dictate a false affidavit for a legal case. The lying informant was wearing a wire and trying to entrap Silverglate into using the false document. (Silverglate immediately told the undercover agent to leave.)

Harvey Silverglate is a well-known criminal defense lawyer, civil-liberties activist and author of the book Three Felonies A Day–which suggests that federal law has now become so prosecution-friendly that every American likely commits 3 felonies a day without knowing it.

Oct 20

Largest governments agree to censor, ban and control ‘terror’ messaging in media

Every government ultimately comes for all freedom, all resources, all property, and to kill or cage all who resist.

Now the “G7” (the world’s 7 most powerful governments) are combining with a common goal: to push for controls on the internet which are deemed “terrorist” or “jihadist.” See here.

(Of course, nothing said here should be construed as supportive of Islamicism–which is its own brand of tyranny).

Beware: freedoms of speech, press, expression and advocacy may be imperiled in the future like never before.

Oct 18

Government schools increasingly ban Halloween due to political incorrectness concerns

There is nothing constitutional about public schools. Early Americans knew nothing of them. They educated themselves according to their needs, with private schooling or home schooling.

But public schools have taken over America’s education over the past century. And through such schools, government incessantly promotes its agenda of central planning, government control and regulation.

Now public schools in Massachusetts are banning Halloween because it is politically incorrect. Too many costumes are troublesome–either depicting ‘wrong’ identities or causing other students to suffer traumatically. See here.

Over time, governments have turned every holiday that originally celebrated freedom into a holiday celebrating the state. Armistice day–which was originally a celebration of peace and the end of WWI–has been transformed into ‘Veterans Day’ to celebrate the soldiers of the state. Independence day–which originally celebrated defiance of the the state–has been transformed into a day of worship of the state.

Oct 16

More New Yorkers using Uber than government-controlled cabs

The market always wins.

For years, state and local governments have imposed hundreds of pages of regulations on cab companies. Cab companies often are made to get a “certificate of need” from the government before starting up. Cab companies must get government approval for all their rates, fares, routes and operating areas.

In some places, government-approved cab companies must constantly appear before government “taxi boards” composed of members of entrenched cab companies.

The regs ensure that poor people and people not approved by good-ol-boy establishments are kept out of the industry.

But a few years ago, enterprises such as Uber and Lyft began launching app-based “ride-sharing” businesses allowing common citizens to transport passengers who contact them by cell phone or I-phone apps.

Now, more riders in NYC are using Uber than the entrenched, government-approved taxi companies. See here.

Oct 16

Government universities suppress free speech by imposing different conditions based on content

Many government universities provide public event space for rent or for use by student groups. Generally student groups and clubs can reserve meeting halls for free while nonstudents and outsiders must pay for the use of facilities.

But many government colleges have a habit of discriminating among student organizations and speakers based on the content of the ideas being expressed.

Recent government impositions at UNC-Greensboro provide an example. Columnist Mike Adams (who has occasionally taught for the UNC system) details how University officials imposed a series of fees on the “Young America’s Foundation” (YAF), a conservative student club, which were not imposed on other clubs. See here.

According to Adams, the UNC YAF student club sought to bring in D’nesh D’souza to speak on campus. D’Souza is a well known lecturer, writer and filmmaker whose work occasionally criticizes big government.

“As soon as [UNC officials] saw YAF on the contract, administrators disregarded their own rules and reclassified the event, requiring a venue fee not charged to students or recognized student groups that host events on campus.”

Yet just months earlier, UNC had allowed a pro-government Hillary Clinton campaign event on campus under the guise that the Hillary campaign was being promoted by a student group.

No reasonable person could argue that the Hillary for America campaign rally was not an external event warranting a facility rental fee. However, when an official on-campus student group approached UNCG administrators about hosting D’Souza for a lecture, the University violated its own policy by charging a fee. Moreover, the fee was three times higher than an event that was clearly nothing more than a campaign rally conducted by an off-campus group.

Adams calls it “the free speech tax.”