The Humble Libertarian original

Friends, I'm really not trying to bash Biblical Christianity here. I'm really not. I do struggle though, with how this collection of books doesn't merely document, but approves of and even requires some kinds of marriage that make little sense to me, seem unfair and preposterous and barbaric to me, make far less sense than the homosexuality that the same collection of writings so strongly disapproves of. Here's a great post I read recently that makes the point well at a blog called Post Traumatic God Disorder. Incidentally, reading the About Me section on the blog, my heart goes out this individual. Radical paradigm and worldview shifts are incredibly uncomfortable to say the least.

Get the Privatize Marriage t-shirt . A government powerful enough to give you the right to marry is a government powerful enough to take it away. The only way for both sides to protect marriage as they understand it and achieve true marriage equality is to give all individuals the equal right to define marriage the way they see it. Pooling our definition of marriage in the public sphere is problematic in the same way and for the same reasons as pooling our money in the public sphere: it leaves us all bitterly divided and endlessly fighting over what to do with a "public resource" that belongs to everyone and no one. As long as one monolithic giant gets to define marriage for everyone, everyone will be fighting for their own definition to prevail. Conservative advocates of the traditional family are constantly reminding us of the critical importance of marriage. LGBT activists and their supporters, who have tenaciously fought to legalize gay marriage, clearly value m...

By: Wes Messamore Remy crashes Sandra Fluke's Congressional testimony to demand a mandate for his cough drop addiction. "Remy: Cough Drops-The Mandate" is one of a series of collaborations between Remy and Reason.tv : Lyrics: Yeah and listen up peeps, you better check the deal We got another mandate we gone straight reveal And if you don't listen up, we be walking out Yeah you know cough drops what we talking about Take a look at this graph, you gonna holler with fear Cough drops costing me a hundred dollars a year I'm talking Halls, Ludens, to keep me alive It's like a dog-fighting ring, I need Vicks to survive It's preventative medicine, suppressing my cough? Word. I need a vote from each of you--oh, that's kind of awkward Cough drops are so tasty--how is it allowed? Yeah, this guy knows what I'm talking about. Cherry, honey lemon, or the mentho-lyptus Directly to my house's where I suggest you ship this They come in ...

By: Carl Wicklander The fallout from Rush Limbaugh’s comments about a Georgetown University law student may finally be settling. Conservatives like L. Brent Bozell III took the occasion to demonstrate that liberals have said worse things about conservatives than Rush said about this young woman. I’m loathe to sound like my second grade teacher, but one can’t help noticing many are using bad behavior to defend or at least look past other bad behavior. A few perceptive conservatives have noted that Rush shifted the narrative in the health care debate with his poor choice of words. By referring to a young woman as a “slut” and “prostitute” for testifying in favor of subsidized contraceptives Rush made the narrative about his words and not the atrocity of taxpayer-funded birth control pills or the abridgment of religious liberty. This is a fair point to make and is indeed perceptive. Rush’s words were distracting and not for the first time. It just so happened to backfire. I...

When you think of an abusive relationship, what adjectives come to mind? Controlling? Violent? Humiliating? Jealous? Obsessive? Go figure, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to apply these same adjectives to many of the world’s governments throughout history and certainly the absolute states that emerged in modernity with their absolute warfare, constant surveillance, and obsessive control of every aspect of their citizens’ lives from cradle to grave– the federal government of the fifty American states being no exception to this unfortunate state of affairs. To explore this idea a little further, I took a look at a list of warning signs of abuse, to see if our relationship with our government truly is analogous to an abusive relationship with a romantic partner. Spoiler alert: it is. The list was prefaced thusly: “The following questions ask you about your relationship. If you are not currently in a relationship, these are signs or ‘red flags’ to assist people in ident...

This dissenting comment left on my libertarian pro-life argument post was so good I had to share it: "What you miss - what you call evasive - is the fact that the fetus lives inside and is entirely dependent on the woman. So, even if the fetus does have rights, this is a clear case of a conflict of rights. Now, it's pretty clear that if we care about equality, we have to address the fact that women can have children. That can be a wonderful thing when you want it, but an oppressive experience otherwise. And this is where the conflict occurs. If you protect the rights of a fetus, you deny women a significant amount of freedom to choose the life she wants to live. This is why science won't help us here. If a fetus is fully a life and endowed with all rights, that just makes the resolution even harder. That's also why it is ridiculous to call it murder. I can't think of anywhere else in the world where you can find such a similar conflict of rights. The thing is,...

By: Eric Sharp I have been called to state that which should be obvious and that hopefully most libertarians realize: Just because she's into Ron Paul does not mean that she's into you. That's right I said it. I've been compelled to say so after hearing of a few hopefully isolated incidents in which otherwise respectable men in the liberty movement have been a little creepy and slimeballish, macking a little too hard and not taking a hint. Hopefully you are not one of these people. Maybe you've behaved this way without realizing it and feel pretty bad. If you're part of the liberty movement then I would hope that you are not an unrepentant jerk. But let it be said that if we want our movement to be a vibrant, rich, and diverse one then we will need to be self aware and aware of the actions of others within our movement. We all want to be with someone who shares our values and doesn't think that we are crazy for our political beliefs. It is natur...

On CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul ripped into former Senator Rick Santorum‘s voting record as well as his campaign rhetoric, calling social conservatism “a losing position” for the Republican Party going into the November general election against President Barack Obama. The twelve-term Republican Congressman from Texas, known for his independent voting record and libertarian political philosophy, argued that there are bigger and more urgent issues at stake, issues that will resonate more with American voters concerned about our nation’s future. Read the rest of my article at The Independent Voter Network . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Human Fetus at 10 Weeks - Photo by drsuparna ( CC ) In the following essay I will address the issue of abortion and defend the pro-life position unemotionally, in a tasteful manner, and without reference to religious scripture to support my assertions. Plain reason and the evidence of science make the issue clear enough. My only demand of the reader is that you would also suspend your emotional predispositions and genuinely read and reflect on the validity of the propositions I make. The Argument Outlined My primary argument takes the following syllogistic form: IF: 1. Every human being has the right to live, which should be protected by law, AND: 2. From the moment of conception, the unborn are human beings, THEN: 3. The unborn have the right to live, which should be protected by law. If one accepts the first two premises, then the pro-life position stated in the conclusion is inescapable. Surely, few people will have any qualms about the first premise. Human bein...

This one's for all the social conservatives out there in Republican land. Ron Paul trolling Newt Gingrich at last night's debate. The dialogue is actually accurate, but the frames were edited together in a silly way to be funny: Click here for some more serious commentary on the debate including a full video of all of Ron Paul's answers and exchanges. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta won a raffle on the dock landing ship Oak Hill to be the first to kiss a loved one on its return to port in Virginia Beach. Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell was waiting when she crossed the brow. Full story here . Hat tip: Memorandum UPDATE: Looking at this picture felt like déjà vu, and then I remembered that it reminded me of this scene from the 2009 film Watchmen . The musical lyrics are especially appropriate: Positively eerie resemblance, non ? Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Think Progress reports : A website that promotes adultery has endorsed Newt Gingrich for president, and even erected a giant billboard in Pennsylvania to announce it. Next to a picture of Gingrich making a “shh” gesture, the billboard reads: “Faithful Republican, Unfaithful Husband.” Ashleymadison.com, a dating website for people looking to cheat on their spouses, welcomes visitors with the tag line, “Life is short, Have an affair.” Gingrich has admitted to cheating on his wives, and Noel Biderman, the founder of the cheaters website explained, “Now that Newt is the leading contender in the race for the GOP nomination, we felt compelled to make a point to illustrate how times have changed when a serial divorcee/adulterer is capturing the hearts of the American people.” Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

It just doesn't get much better than this. In his recent and wildly unpopular (in fact, it's now officially the most disliked video on YouTube) campaign ad entitled " Strong ," Rick Perry takes aim at the enemies of America's religious heritage, and criticizes homosexuality in the military: But guess what ? Rick Perry was wearing the same jacket as Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain for this ad. LOL! I've got a new theory. Herman Cain's campaign isn't the only giant hoax on the American people. Rick Perry's presidential bid is also just performance art. This is just one, huge joke. In fact, the whole thing is. They're all in on it. The establishment has finally gotten so bored that they're trolling the American people to see if we're really paying attention and trying to push things as far as they possibly can because they just can't believe that we're still taking all of this seriously. Wes Messamore , Editor ...

The Daily Caller 's recent front page report entitled, " Woman says she performed sexual acts on married Newt in 1977, thinks voters simply must know ," could be a sign of things to come. After the fiasco of Herman Cain harassment accusations , it wouldn't be surprising to see a replay of the entire media drama, just focused on Newt Gingrich. We already know that Gingrich is a self-admitted adulterer. With this woman coming forward to remind voters of the extramarital sexual relations she had with Gingrich (which were strictly confined to oral sex so that Gingrich could claim he didn't sleep with her... I kid you not ) there's no telling who else the philandering Gingrich may have "not slept with" while married to one of his previous wives that might now come forward, or who else might falsely claim that he had sexual relations with them. So far, media scrutiny has focused on the many political inconsistencies of Newt Gingrich and his support fo...

Russia Today reports : In a strong blow to conservative lawmakers, the Bayou State has decriminalized what would once earn you a felony charge. Legislation limiting sex acts have been on the Louisiana books since the early 1800s, seven years before it even achieved statehood. Up until just now, soliciting certain sex acts, including oral and anal sex, was a big no-no in Louisiana. A conviction could earn you felon status and anyone found guilty of the crime was forced to register as a sex offender — something that was possible only in the great state of Louisiana. The solicitation of “unnatural carnal copulation” also meant longer jail terms and the branding of “sex offender” on state-issued driver’s licenses. Advocates have long argued that the legislation unjustly targeted specific races and genders. Of those convicted of the crime in Louisiana, almost all of them are women and more than three-quarters of them have been Black. While heterosexual white streetwalkers were typica...

With the marriage issue back in the headlines after New York's historic move to legalize gay marriage , it's time for libertarians to share and discuss an even better solution to the gay marriage issue: privatizing marriage. Instead of calling for "marriage equality" in the public sphere, both sides of the debate should be agreeing that we should simply remove the private institution of marriage from the public sphere altogether. I wrote a succinct op ed last year to explain and defend this libertarian solution, and I would appreciate it if you could read and pass it along. Stay up on your talking points for this issue, because it is likely to come up in conversation this week. Here's the link to my piece: Privatizing Marriage: a libertarian solution

On a 33-29 vote in the Republican-controlled New York state senate, gay marriage has become legal in the sixth U.S. state, which is now also the largest state to have legalized gay marriage. The Wall Street Journal calculates that over 10% of Americans now live in a state where gay marriage is legal: At the present, gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa, as well as Washington, D.C. Adding on New York, those places would constitute more than 10% of the American population. Several other states allow for civil unions of same-sex couples. Writing at the National Review Online , Maggie Gallagher chastises the New York GOP for "caving," and argues that the party "will pay a grave price" for its role in legalizing gay marriage: Here is what we know. In state after state, Democrats who control a chamber in support of their base have prevented votes favorable to marriage: Iowa, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvan...

From my most recent CAIVN column: 'With only a handful of days left until the special election to replace Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) in California's 36th congressional district, the new Turn Right PAC and its hired video producer have made a serious misstep with a campaign ad that critics are calling vulgar and sexist. Some even call it "The most racist campaign ad ever made."' Read the article at CAIVN to view the stunning video. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

It has been a comedian’s dream come true. The only way Anthony Weiner’s scandal could have been a greater blessing for the humor industry is if the congressman had been a Republican. He had the right name and the right body part and he accomplished it without any help in less than 140 characters. As funny and as awkward as this ordeal has been, this scandal says a lot about the state of the republic. At only 46, Congressman Weiner is a hero to liberals as one of their own fighting for their causes in the House of Representatives. Representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Weiner is in one of the safest seats in Congress. It was not inconceivable that he could have succeeded Charlie Rangel as the embodiment of New York liberalism and eternal doler of entitlement goodies. When Weiner inexplicably tweeted a lewd picture of himself, he potentially ruined what might have been a long and highly-lauded political career. But it would say a lot about us as a country if this congressma...

Hey does anyone remember the royal wedding??? No? I absolutely LOVE what a slow news cycle we were in when the bin Laden story broke. All you heard about was this royal wedding in the United Kingdom until you were bored to tears of it. I can just imagine some journalist sitting in a news room late that fateful Saturday night thinking, "Dear GAWD, this is a slow news cycle! Is this all we have to report on? I wish they'd finally catch bin Laden or something so we can actually report on something." Then he glances at his watch and notices it's 11:11 pm (and as everyone knows-- that's when you make wishes!), and suddenly hears his colleagues shouting, "They GOT HIM! They KILLED BIN LADEN!" Anyway, if you missed the royal wedding and would like to watch a hilarious condensed version of it (and I mean this is really funny ), I have posted it below. Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page