The Humble Libertarian original

Hat tip: Chris W. at My Thoughts on Freedom

By Daryl Luna, Editor of: In Defense of the Constitution Libertarians are often viewed as pie in the sky idealists, who sit around all day promoting ideas that could never take hold. There is some validity to this if one merely takes the musings of libertarians at face value, but that is not how they should be taken. Just because we think that large parts of the government should be abolished or privatized, just because we want to do away with bloated entitlements, and just because our positions are principled and consistent, that doesn't mean that we are not realistic about how to achieve our goals. Most libertarians are both rational and realistic, realizing that incremental progress must be made toward our views of a free society, and that this progress will not come overnight. Here is an example of reasonableness in the thought of a libertarian: I, personally, would love to do away with Medicare, but it's not my desire to purge the masses from Medicare rolls overnight. I be...

This has been making the rounds, and if you haven't seen it, you need to:

Photo : Gary Johnson , former Gov. (R) of New Mexico | Author: Gage Skidmore Bonnie Kristian, the blogger in chief at Young Americans for Liberty , has recently started a new website at BonnieKristian.com , which she describes thusly: This blog’s primary purpose is to be a sort of political advice column. Like Dear Abby, but for politics. It’s a new idea which may prove smart quickly, slowly, or not at all, so expect to see a varying proportion of posts which don’t match the advice column format. If you have a question you’d like addressed – about current events, political philosophy, civic history, or some other politics-related topic – use the contact form at the bottom of the page to submit it! Taking Miss Kristian up on her offer, I submitted the following question: Q. My question is two-fold (er- sort of two-and-a-half fold): I understand that it’s a little early, but 1. Who do you think the GOP will nominate in 2012, and 2. who do you think the GOP *should* nominate in 2012 (...

Hey everybody! I've been planning a regular, weekly radio show since November, and it looks like now we're finally going to make it happen. Tentatively, we'll start doing it Saturday evenings and play it by ear from there. Feel free to give feedback on how that matches up with your availability. It shouldn't interfere too much with anyone's weekend plans because the show will be at 7 pm Central Time, and will run for two hours. So if you have fun things to do, we'll be done by 10 pm Eastern at the latest (and all the good parties and clubs don't get really going until 11 or 12 *wink*). So do please tune in tonight from 7 - 8:30 pm Central (we'll be doing a shorter show tonight) by visiting this page to stream the show live on your computer. We'll be covering Chile's 8.8 earthquake and the resulting tsunami warning for Hawaii, as well as other current events. Blogger Tim Daniel of Left Coast Rebel will be co-hosting for an hour and we...

Photo by Gage Skidmore From today's article on my column at CAIVN : "It was only a year ago that President Obama was inaugurated in what some commentators hailed as a sweeping endorsement of socialism: more European-style central economic planning, federal regulation, and entitlement programs. But it would seem that the pundits misread the Democrats' victories in 2006 and 2008. America didn't want more, it wanted less. Americans wanted change, and change after eight years of George W. Bush did not mean more government spending or involvement in our lives. It meant less unchecked executive power, less military involvement overseas, less spending, less secrecy, less corruption, less cronyism, and less partisan bickering. To take his victory as a mandate for a more socialist re-ordering of American society may have been a fatal mistake by the fledgling Obama Administration." Read the whole article here .

My most recent article at the Our America Initiative blog: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his semi-annual testimony to Congress on monetary policy Wednesday. While cautioning lawmakers that job numbers are still a concern, Bernanke indicated that because of measures taken by the government and the Fed, we are in the process of economic recovery. But can Americans trust Bernanke’s testimony? Economic and monetary policy “luminaries” like Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, Hank Paulson, and Tim Geithner- along with the rest of America- were blindsided by the financial meltdown, credit crunch, housing bust, and subsequent recession. These are all “really, really smart” guys who “know what they’re talking about” and understand all of the complicated intricacies of economics, which are all but ineffable to the layman. But they got it wrong just like everyone else. Can we trust someone to predict our recovery from this economic crisis, who didn’t even see the crisis coming? Instead, ...

This says it all. T H L reader, Mike left this comment on a recent critique I wrote of Barack Obama's broken lobbyist promises . I wonder how many Obama supporters are starting to feel this way: I was an unabashed supporter of Obama, but that ended a couple months ago. For me the last straw was the announcement at West Point of the Afghanistan buildup, which ironically was not a broken promise, but combined with everything else, that was it for me. I've returned to a very cynical attitude towards politicians in general, including Obama. I think he's a puppet for the Military Industrial Complex, the Insurance companies and the Banks. Dear Mike, Thanks for being willing to admit what's before your very eyes, that Obama is doing the opposite of what he said he would. This shows that you're not blindly clinging to the "idea of Obama" or a campaign that I'm sure felt really, really good for Democrats. It shows you really want what's best for...

If libertarian economist Milton Friedman were alive today, and was invited to speak at President Obama's health care summit ( televised live today ), he might say something like this: Hat tip to the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy And if you haven't read it yet, you absolutely must read (and share!) the Cato Institute's article explaining exactly what the Democrats' health "reform" bill will do and why it is definitely hazardous to your health: Health Reformers' Worst Idea "His health-care overhaul adrift and increasingly unpopular, President Obama has invited Republicans to a televised summit today to discuss "all the best ideas that are out there." Odds are that Democrats will use the moment to exalt - and berate Republicans for blocking - one of their worst ideas: federal price controls on health insurance." Read the whole thing here .

This day in history... On this day in 1836 Inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver and did more for good manners than anyone since the man who invented the table napkin. Hat tip: THL reader, Rich Hamblen. Image courtesy of Adams Guns

The latest action item from the Campaign for Liberty . Please take just five minutes to read this over and sign the petition to your U.S. Senators. You can do it very easily electronically, and Campaign for Liberty makes sure your Senators are notified. TELL THE SENATE: AUDIT THE FED NOW! CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION Dear Patriot: For a while there, it looked like you and I had him. Ben Bernanke’s back was to the wall, and he was being grilled by the Senate. His reconfirmation was anything but certain. In the end, he managed to squeak through. Nevertheless, we should be truly proud of what we accomplished. Fewer senators backed Bernanke’s reconfirmation than that of any other Fed Chair before. EVER . He was publicly shamed by your grassroots pressure. You and I can’t let this public scrutiny go to waste! That’s why I need you to sign our petition demanding an up-or-down roll call vote on the Audit the Fed Bill IMMEDIATELY . But now we also face new challenges. Until this vote, ...

The Dallas Tea Party answers Keith Olbermann's criticism that the Tea Parties are an exclusively "white" protest movement: Hat tip: Matthew Hurtt And don't forget this video . Cross-posted on my first post at YALiberty

Remember President Obama's State of the Union Address just last month? The one in which he said "But what frustrates the American people, is a Washington where every day is election day. We can't wage a perpetual campaign ..." (video below) As we have come to expect from this administration, those were just cozy words to excite the electorate and boost Obama's poll numbers. Because we have it from The Politico today (via: Memeorandum ) , that the White House is already quietly laying the groundwork for its 2012 run. That's right- they're already in campaign mode for an election three years from now: "President Barack Obama’s top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions. The planning for now consists entirely of private conversations, with Obama aides at all le...

I recently received an e-mail regarding my post entitled: " The First 100 Days: 100 of Obama's Lies, Blunders, Gaffes, and Abuses of Liberty ." It said: I read the first line; 100 lies etc. in the second line the word “lies” disappears for ever. Then it becomes broken promises like he promised to get lobbyist out of congress and the administration. What he actually said was that he wanted to limit the number of lobbyist. When do you stop lying???? I just wanted to share my response with the rest of you: Hey Don, thanks for writing me. In all fairness to myself, the title of the post was 100 of Obama's Lies, Blunders, Gaffes, and Abuses of Liberty. So the list was designed to include all four of those, not just lies. As for broken promises, those are actually a subset of lies (because if you say you're going to do something, then do something else, you've told a lie). And Obama did say that there would be no lobbyists in his administration... Former...

I just became a dues-paying member of Young Americans for Liberty ! After getting a lot of my work featured at YAL (like here , here , and here ) I will start contributing soon directly to the YAL blog and can't wait to add my voice to the many students and young people out there on fire for liberty (just keep an eye out here at T H L and I'll link you to any articles I post at YAL ). In the meantime, I highly encourage everyone ( especially students) to join YAL and advance the ideas and philosophy of liberty on what is perhaps America's most crucial ideological battlefield- the university. Here are ten reasons you should join YAL : 1. Receive a copy of Young American Revolution (YAR) Four times a year, YAL publishes a national magazine titled Young American Revolution. The magazine solicits student and professional writers dedicated to the ideals of liberty and the tactics of practical politics. All YAL members will receive a free copy of YAR in the mail. An annual...

Above: Photo of the damage to the Echelon Building | Author: Jasleen Kaur The following is an excerpt from a piece I got published today on the Christian Science Monitor's opinion page . I really am getting sick of hearing from Stack apologists, and am less than happy with the response Stack has been getting from the tea party movement. I hoped to set the right example with my post condemning Stack's criminal act last week, but maybe the tea party doesn't have as much spine (or good sense) as I hoped it would. I hate that I had to write this, but someone has to say it: Joe Stack was a terrorist. Period. If intentionally targeting civilians with acts of violence is terrorism, then Mr. Stack was a domestic terrorist. So why the nonchalance, even empathy, from conservatives like Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa and Sen. Scott Brown (R) of Massachusetts who are typically “strong on defense?” The progressive blogosphere and media rushed to label Stack a “tea party terrorist” and as...

The Cato Institute 's Dr. Dan Mitchell explains the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of anti-money laundering policies, for the Center for Freedom and Prosperity :

A Humble Libertarian reader writes in regarding my appraisal of the anti-capitalist and terrorist Joe Stack, to say: The Anti-Capitalist Mentality (of Joseph Stack) If you've never perused the title, you might wish to do so. In Joseph Stack you'll find a textbook example of "the resentment of frustrated ambition". Joe Stack wasn't so specifically a Marxist, but a rather zealous, general anti-capitalist. http://mises.org/etexts/mises/ anticap.asp Regarding that zeal, another good title is "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer which deals with the self-despising that drives individuals to lose their unwanted selves in a perceived nobler collective movement-- in Stack's case, the movement against our peculiar institution of indentured servitude to the federal state known as the 'voluntary' income tax. Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate Hoffer's writings online. http://www.erichoffer.net/ books.html Expounding upon the epistemolo...

Republican Governor Gary Johnson 's advocacy group Our America Initiative is starting to gain steam by putting some fantastic ideas out there and helping Americans to understand that good government is easy! I am proud to announce that I will start making regular contributions to the Our America Initiative blog and am honored to be a part of what I hope will be an historic initiative to restore America to its former greatness by restoring her freedoms. The following is an excerpt from my first blog post at Our American Initiative : One important question for our era is: How do we create clean, affordable, renewable energy? It would seem that Silicon Valley engineer, K.R. Sridhar has found an answer to that question, the Bloom Box. With its dazzling premiere on 60 minutes Sunday evening, the Bloom Box is making a big splash on the Internet as the next best solution to our energy needs. It’s a small fuel cell that produces a lot of energy, allowing its users to unplug from the powe...

The image above was taken by someone who lives in Canada and tried to go to his walk in clinic (where the doctor has a good sense of humor and a healthy dose of frustration with the RATIONING that takes place in a system of socialized medicine). Don't bother looking for the Onion logo in the corner of the picture- 'cause it ain't there! This is for real. A major tip of my hat to Taylor R. Cottam (who lives in Toronto) of EconomyPolitics for exposing this to the rest of us Yanks still living here in America. Read more straight from Taylor right here . Please make this go viral . America needs to see what's in store for us if the Democrats successfully "Rahm" the Reid-Pelosi bill through Congress.

Video of Ron Paul's full speech at CPAC 2010 : Ron Paul enters to the tune of "We will rock you..." I love it. I absolutely love it. Hear that neoconservatives? We will rock you! Flashback: Ron Paul's speech at CPAC in 2009 :

Photo by Gage Skidmore Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll We saw so many good signs for the state of " conservatism " and the Republican Party at CPAC this weekend. To begin with, Ron Paul actually won the CPAC presidential straw poll . This is a long way for the self-described conservative movement to come from actually supporting Mitt "socialized medicine" Romney for the past three years. It's also a long way for the Ron Paul R EVOL ution to come. Going from winning every single poll there is on the Internet (thanks to his very web-savvy, and extremely dedicated supporters) to actually winning a "real" poll of the major movers and shakers in the conservative movement at CPAC , is encouraging to say the least. Michael Steele is Ron Paul's Newest Fan Even RNC Chairman Michael Steele kowtowed to Ron Paul and his vision of monetary sanity in his best-selling book End the Fed at CPAC this weekend: It would seem that the true libertarians in the Repub...

By Daryl Luna, Editor of: In Defense of the Constitution With its laissez-faire approach to economics and “get the government out of my business” attitude, libertarianism often gets a bad rap as an ideology of unconcerned and uninvolved citizens. This could be true of some libertarians, but no truer than it is for people of all ideological stripes. For the most part, libertarians are responsible members of society. In fact, they must be, because libertarianism necessitates responsibility. A free people must have personal responsibility, while slaves to Leviathan have no desire or need to be responsible. Truly, with much freedom comes much responsibility. Therefore, in a society where the government does not provide all wants and needs from cradle to grave, individuals must provide for social needs. The difference is that what once would be provided through compulsion (i.e. taxes) would then be provided out of actual desire. Either in a desire to economically benefit or in a desire to r...

Resoundingly- NO! There are all kinds of minorities at the Tea Parties, which gives lie to the claim that the tea parties are racist or that the tea parties are some kind of white supremacy group angry about America's first black President, Mr. Obama. Want proof? Glenn Reynolds has it , a video montage of quite a few black people at Tea Parties across the country. After watching it, Chris Matthews exclaimed that for a few minutes, he forgot they were black! Here it is:

Whoa. A recent campaign ad by Nashville Libertarian candidate for State House, Daniel Lewis features the candidate holding a very large gun: While I have shot plenty of guns in my life, I am in all honesty, not a huge gun enthusiast and don't have a clue what kind of gun Mr. Lewis is holding, but I have a strong feeling that Attorney General Eric Holder really wants to take it away. As a liberty enthusiast, I certainly hope that doesn't happen. Hat tip: Nashville Post Politics

From this week's article at my CAIVN column : Just like we blister at the possibility of someone spending their entire life paying into Social Security, then having their age eligibility raised and their monthly checks cut in half when they hit retirement, we should find it outrageous that the State of California pays more into the Federal coffers than it receives. California should get back roughly the same amount of Federal money in entitlements, projects, and Federal services that it pays in Federal taxes. Should there be some kind of "lock box" for states? Could there be? Could we feasibly account for every dollar California pays into the Federal system and make sure it gets roughly the same amount back? Read the whole article here .

Yesterday I unequivocally condemned Joe Stack's brutal plane crash into the Echelon Building in Austin, Texas, which housed Federal IRS offices. I explained that regardless of his anti-tax philosophy, he does not speak for the libertarian or Tea Party movement, and that his actions are certainly inconsistent with those movements. My mistake was to think that Joe Stack even presumed to speak as a libertarian. He did not. After a very close reading of his online diatribe today ( full text here ), it is very clear to me that his entire work was one of the most strongly leftist , most Marxist things I had read in some time. His fundamental complaint is the exploitation of the poor and working classes by the ruling class, and his fundamental purpose was to encourage and foment a violent overthrow thereof. At no point does he oppose taxation or the redistribution of wealth on principle, certainly not from libertarian principles. At no point for instance, does he quote Hayek or Locke (th...

T H L Condemns: Earlier today, Joseph Andrew Stack, a disgruntled, anti-government software engineer, crashed a small plane into the Echelon Building in Austin, Texas, which housed U.S. Federal tax employees in its IRS offices. (Sources: FoxNews via: Memeorandum and CNN via: Memeorandum ) As the Editor-in-Chief of The Humble Libertarian , I unequivocally and without qualification, condemn this brutal, senseless, and stupid act of violence. As a libertarian, I am incensed that Joe Stack took it upon himself to take innocent lives in the name of less government spending and lower taxes. Liberty is Peaceful You can bet that socialists and welfare statists will aggressively associate libertarianism with this violent outburst for years to come in order to smear our movement and our message. But I write today so that no one can doubt it- that I fiercely condemn Joe Stack's plane bombing of the Echelon Building in Austin, Texas, and that Joe Stack is no libertarian. Libertarianism emp...