The Humble Libertarian original

Hey guys- I'm on the road to see my college roommate get married and then if I'm lucky I might even manage to make my way up to Kentucky to volunteer for the homestretch of the election up there. So I apologize for no other posts than this today, but I am excited to announce that I have hired an Assistant Editor for The Humble Libertarian whose job it will be to make sure that excellent content gets up on this blog every single morning (during the week) like clockwork! It's finally time I humbled myself to realize I need a lot of help to keep this blog running and growing- I just can't manage it all myself and continue to write more and manage my other enterprises. You will get to meet the new Assistant Editor in an update to this blog next week! (Though I can't promise whether it will be Monday or Wednesday.) In the meantime, please use the comment thread below to discuss and debate your predictions and analysis for the mid-term election Tuesday! Wes Messamore , E

"What if there's no one good to vote for?" I have had multiple friends and associates ask me this question over the past two weeks and now that we're down to the home stretch, it's time to address a very important question with a very frank answer: Don't vote. If you don't have anyone good to vote for in your district or state, no one you're excited about, no one who you think will do much to make things better, then it is perfectly acceptable- indeed very rational and prudent- to not vote. Especially don't be fooled by the conventional "wisdom" that the lackluster candidate in your district will at least be better than the alternative, so you should go out and vote for the lesser of two evils. That's why we keep getting more evil at every level of government. Voting is usually a waste of time The truth is that for the most part, it's irrational to vote- that's why so few Americans do it. While pundits and politicians complai

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 27, 2010 -- The Department of Justice has squandered an opportunity to address the rampant sexual abuse of detained youth, choosing instead to minimize this crisis. In the executive summary of its new " Report on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities ," the Department's Review Panel on Prison Rape claims that a recent study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) "indicated that violent sexual assault in juvenile facilities was relatively rare and facility staff, for the most part, did not victimize juvenile offenders." "In fact," said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International , "the BJS estimated that almost one in eight kids behind bars had been sexually victimized during a 12-month period, the vast majority of them -- 80 percent -- by staff whose job it is to keep them safe. Many endured repeated abuse, often more than ten times, and frequently by multiple perpetrators.

On "Morning Joe" after the Kentucky debate between U.S. Senate contenders Rand Paul and Jack Conway, Joe Scarborough draws parallels between Rand Paul and Ronald Reagan on the basis of Rand Paul's poise, intelligence, and ability to skillfully articulate libertarian positions in the face of hostile criticism. Listen below: Later in the video, Pat Buchanan also remarks on how "senatorial" the Bowling Green physician looked during the debate, as contrasted with Jack Conway, who Buchanan said looked like a "wise-acre pupil... throwing smart aleck cracks and comments." More to come... Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

-The Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants are currently facing off in the World Series. -The #1 ranked team in college football has lost in three consecutive weeks. -The Kansas City Chiefs and the Seattle Seahawks are currently division leaders in the NFL. And this is exactly what each of these parent organizations is striving for. The idea that any team can win, in any given year, and in any given week. Why? For the money. These organizations all have a vested financial interest in parity. Because it's not fun seeing the Yankees in the World Series every year. And not only that, but when the division winner each year is a certainty, the teams destined for failure don't exactly sell out their home games. And they don't get great TV deals. And they don't sell as much merchandise. And Major League Baseball doesn't get as big of a cut. So, they tweak the system. Salary caps. Trade rules. Drafting equality. In order to create parity that creates more competitio

"'The lessons of history … show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.' "These searing words about Depression-era welfare are from Franklin Roosevelt’s 1935 State of the Union Address. FDR feared this self-reliant people might come to depend permanently upon government for the necessities of their daily lives. Like narcotics, such a dependency would destroy the fiber and spirit of the nation. "What brings his words to mind is news that 41.8 million Americans are on food stamps, and the White House estimates 43 million will soon be getting food stamps every month. "If you would chart America’s decline, this program is a good place to begin. As a harbinger of the Great Society to come, in early 1964, a Food Stamp Act was signed into law by LBJ appropri

Calvin Freiburger, a columnist over at David Horowitz's NewsRealBlog , recently published a piece organizing several specious and empty charges against Ron Paul into a list of " The Top 8 Reasons Ron Paul Is an Abomination Who Should Be Cast Out of Decent Society ." (Quick note to Calvin: Dude -- publishing lists on multiple pages is the most annoying publishing habit on the Internet ever.) Notice to begin with, the totally disproportionate hyperbole of the title. While the author in his list accuses Ron Paul supporters of suffering from various derangements (e.g. against President Lincoln, or against the Jews) it is invective like that in his title which exemplifies the derangement that Horowitz types have for Ron Paul. Ron Paul's disagreements with them over foreign policy and history make him an "abomination" worthy only to be ostracized and exiled, despite his 20 year record as the taxpayer's best friend in Washington, an outspoken advocate fo

"Why would conservatives in California oppose a proposition that supporters are calling the Stop Hidden Taxes initiative? Because it doesn't do a thing to address California's runaway spending and skyrocketing deficit. In fact the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office concluded it would add an additional $1 billion in transportation spending and General Fund costs to California's budget each year. If conservatives have learned anything from eight years of George W. Bush- and the Tea Party's powerful influence might indicate that they have- it's that cutting taxes while increasing spending only plunges the government into more debt, and the taxpayer into more financial obligations down the road." Read my entire article at CAIVN . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

I attended the Nullify Now conference in Chattanooga this past Saturday the 23rd, and I learned all manner of 10th Amendment solutions to our problem of Federal tyranny. But I did detect something that made me uneasy- faith in politicians. To quote Mike Rothfeld, "The politician is not your friend," regardless of what level of government they are working on. City, County, State, Metro, Federal, Global, Galactic, it does not matter which. Now, when the new Federalism is achieved through nullification of any and all Federal actions not in line with Article I Sec 8 of the U.S. Constitution, we will still have a problem. Having made the Federal government's powers few and defined, the State government's powers will again be numerous and infinite just as our country was designed. However as libertarians, unlimited power for state governments is still not ok. So what does that mean? What are we to do then? Why we keep with our plan of nullification of course! Here's

The Caper This is urgent - I'm writing to ask for volunteers to do some phone banking for a Ron Paul-endorsed U.S. House candidate in North Carolina. Please respond to this post via e-mail (wemessamore@gmail.com) by Noon (12:00) EDT tomorrow (Tuesday, October 26, 2010) if you are free tomorrow evening (again- Tuesday, October 26, 2010) at 7 pm EDT (4 pm PDT) for two hours. We'll do a brief conference call (I'll send you the number to call) to go over a script which I'll e-mail you, answer any questions you have, and then get started on a list of people to call (I'll also e-mail you the spreadsheets with their names and phone numbers, which the campaign will provide). The Candidate His name is Dr. William "B.J." Lawson. BJ is the Republican candidate running against Rep. David Price, a 22 year Democratic incumbent who votes with Nancy Pelosi more than any other Congressman. Lawson is a Washington and political outsider, small business owner, Ron Paul-endors

'Meet John Dennis. He's the Ron Paul-endorsed, anti-war Republican nominee running against Pelosi for her U.S. House seat representing California's very liberal, 8th Congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco. Dennis criticizes Pelosi for running a Congress that has allowed warrantless wiretapping, waterboarding, torture, military tribunals, the Patriot Act, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and the open-ended wars in the Middle East all to go on unabated. He supports allowing Americans more freedom to make their own "lifestyle choices" about sexuality and drug consumption.' Read the rest of my article at CAIVN . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

I intend to ask the question, "Is it libertarian to dumpster dive?" -dumpster diving being the activity of retrieving food products from dumpsters or grocers and feeding them to people that need it. The first obvious question is whether the grocer still possesses and owns the food upon placing it in the dumpster. Well? There are two sides to this. On one hand, the owner of the dumpster would in concrete terms have ownership of the food and any other refuse in the dumpster. But on the other hand, by discarding materials into the dumpster the grocer has arguably discharged ownership of the refuse. A case can be made for the food being ethically retrievable from a property rights standpoint. If we accept this premise, then there are multiple organizations that can be embraced into the libertarian fold. An excellent example of this is Food Not Bombs . As quoted from their website homepage: " Food Not Bombs shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,0

"Before the Tea Party philosophy is ever even tested in America, it will have succeeded, or it will have failed, in Great Britain." "For in David Cameron the Brits have a prime minister who can fairly be described as a Tea Party Tory. Casting aside the guidance of Lord Keynes — government-induced deficits are the right remedy for recessions — Cameron has bet his own and his party’s future on the new austerity. He is making Maggie Thatcher look like Tip O’Neill." "Two headlines Thursday testify that the Tories have seized the Tea Party banner. First was the headline in The Washington Times , 'Tea Party Urges Drastic Cutting,' that carried a caveat subhead, 'Economists Question If Move Is Wise at This Time." "Second was the Financial Times banner, 'UK Unveils Dramatic Austerity Cutbacks.' The FT story begins, 'The U.K.’s conservative-led coalition has announced the most drastic budget cuts in living memory..." &qu

It doesn't involve a conspiracy. It's simply what I label a theory you shouldn't take too seriously. Because it's my theory, and I'm not even sure if I do. But I can't stop wondering. Today, NPR Senior National Correspondent Juan Williams was fired after remarks he made during a recent appearance on The O'Reilly Factor . "Political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don't address reality. I mean, look Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the Civil Rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I've got to tell you. If I see people who are in Muslim garb, and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous..." The official statement from NPR on Williams' termination is that, "His remarks on The O'Reilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, an

'A Tennessee pilot who says he’s tired of being manhandled by security agents is waiting to see if he will lose his job because he refused a full body scan. ExpressJet Airlines first officer Michael Roberts was chosen for the X-ray scan Friday at Memphis International Airport. The Houston-based pilot says he also refused a pat-down and went home. The 35-year-old Roberts told The Commercial Appeal newspaper he wants to go to work and not be “harassed or molested without cause.”' Read the entire article at CBS New York . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

"Remember as kids, we were taught that one of the worst things about totalitarian regimes was their propensity to get children to snitch out their parents? Well, welcome to the U.S.S.A. Two North Carolina parents are facing marijuana charges after their child took their cannabis to school and told an officer there that his parents were breaking the law." Read the entire article at Toke of the Town . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

This campaign ad wins an award for honesty in advertising! Sad thing is how 100% accurate it is in parodying pretty much every politician out there. I hate it when people give "weird" candidates like Alvin Green a hard time, as if the rest of "mainstream" politicians weren't the biggest freak show in this country. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Kurt Wallace over at Liberty Pulse has also made a pretty awesome Aqua Buddha video, calling on all of Kentucky's Aqua Buddha Truthers to unite for Jack Conway. Lol! This is the weirdest election season ever. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Video from The Daily Caller : Chris Matthews grills Jack Conway in a really tough interview on MSNBC's Hardball (10.18.10) over Conway's "Aqua Buddha" ad attacking Rand Paul's religious beliefs. I dare say 2010 has been the weirdest election in U.S. history. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

"There's an ugly Alinskyite opportunism that runs deep in both parties and which has been perfectly exemplified in the recent events which have now been dubbed 'Whore-Gate' by the Internet blogosphere. It's almost as bad as the Alinskyite polarism that makes politics so irrationally extreme, so crudely personal, so blindly "us vs. them" that your opponent isn't just your opponent, but a whore." Read my entire article at CAIVN . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Wes Messamore records some Contemporary Aqua Buddhist Music to have a good laugh at silly Jack Conway's expense. My album will be coming out after the election and available on iTunes for I think $10. Help me make this video go viral! Share it around. Embed it on your blogs and Facebook profiles. Tweet it out. Vote it up on Reddit. Thanks! For more on the whole Aqua Buddha madness in the Kentucky U.S. Senate election between Rand Paul and Jack Conway, check out the following: The Nastiest Debate of 2010 ( M ) The Conway Rorschach ( M ) Why The Fuss About Jack Conway? ( M ) Conway's Attack on Paul Slammed By Fellow Dems ( M ) Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Reports ( M ) The Washington Post : "The Pentagon said Sunday that it has a 120-member team prepared to review a leak of as many as 500,000 documents about the Iraq war, which are expected to be released by the WikiLeaks Web site this month." But despite the fact that we now know that the last leak did not endanger anyone in Afghanistan, nor reveal any sensitive intelligence ( source via FDL ) , AND that it disclosed to Americans that the $1 BILLION of our tax dollars which are being sent to Pakistan every year by Washington are being used to coordinate attacks on OUR TROOPS... Despite all that- we can expect the military-media complex to churn out plenty of propaganda and lies to evade, deflect, and diffuse the power of the information that WikiLeaks is disseminating to We the People. Check out Glenn Greenwald's excellent breakdown of how it works here , and use that as a guide to your analysis of the media narrative regarding WikiLeaks and our Iraq foreign policy

"In President Sebastián Piñera’s shoes, Barack Obama would have undeniably acted much differently. He would have turned to his 'community organizing' background and been hamstrung by his naive and far-left, us-versus-them philosophical roots. He would have been paralyzed by a toxic combination of arrogant professorial theory and lack of real-world executive experience. He would have attacked the mining company for the entire 69-day affair. He would have done so right off the bat. He would have copped out and stuck to a rigid, defeatist, backwards ideology. And in his failing, he would have put responsibility on everyone around him, except himself." Read Tim Daniel's entire article at Pajamas Media . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

'What Americans deserve to know is what NOW really thinks about the use of the word "whore" to describe female political candidates, and what NOW really stands for in general.' Read my entire article at CAIVN . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Alright everybody. Give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke your best shot in this weekend caption contest for the photo above. Here's mine: "Damn it feels good to be a banksta!" Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page