The Humble Libertarian original

If you keep hating Trump for the wrong reasons you're going to get something even worse... This week the New York Times published an Op Ed by David Brooks entitled, " When the World Is Led by a Child ." In it the NYTs columnist begins by saying that President Donald Trump is not a budding authoritarian and rabble-rousing populist, neither a corrupt Nixon-type politician, nor a big business corporatist. Instead, Brooks claims, one can tell by the way Trump answers questions in long interviews that he's basically just a big baby. (Brooks used the term "infantalist," by which he meant "a big baby.") But his analysis of Donald Trump as an exemplar of immaturity and impulsivity appears to be little more than name calling to rile up readership disguised in the form of some staggeringly unsophisticated analysis. As you'll see if you bear with me through this rebuttal of the article's three main points, the problem with Brooks' critici...

My latest Op Ed, an Open Letter to The Russians who interfered in our election. Thanks for doing our own media's job for them! Dear Shadowy Russian Conspirators (whoever you are), I know we don’t really know for a fact at all that you were the ones who leaked the contents of Hillary Clinton’s private email server, hacked DNC emails, and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s email account to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. That as Glenn Greenwald meticulously detailed at The Intercept in December, all we have at this point are some wild claims initiated by the Washington Post and echoed in the New York Times that “are based exclusively on the unverified assertions of anonymous officials, who in turn are disseminating their own claims about what the CIA purportedly believes, all based on evidence that remains completely secret.” So I’m writing this open letter to you as if these claims about you are true, even though we hardly have any smoking guns yet. Because ...

Senator Rand Paul's speech at the historically black college was pretty good, but not great. Watching the speech (full video at C-SPAN and full text below), I certainly think Paul did a great job talking about drug policy in a sensible way. He even got an applause break or two for his statements on drug policy. This was my favorite part of the speech (other than the Q&A, perhaps, which I liked better than a lot of the speech): 'I am working with Democratic senators to make sure that kids who make bad decisions such as non-violent possession of drugs are not imprisoned for lengthy sentences. I am working to make sure that first time offenders are put into counseling and not imprisoned with hardened criminals. We should not take away anyone’s future over one mistake. Let me tell you the tale of two young men. Both of them made mistakes. Both of them were said to have used illegal drugs. One of them was white and from a privileged background. He had important friends, ...

This is good news : Just 15 months after taking a thumping in the 2010 midterm elections, House Democrats have seized on the current anti-Washington fervor and are confident they can win the 25 seats they need to regain control of the House. Vice President Joe Biden made a bold prediction on Friday, telling House Democrats at their annual retreat on Maryland's Eastern Shore, "I really do think we're going to win back the House." To flip control of the House back just one cycle after losing it, the House Democrats' campaign operation is relying on a class of new recruits, just inducted into its "Red to Blue program" that targets Republican seats. Why good news? If Democrats really are in a good position to regain control of the House, it means that voters are taking less and less time to get tired of the party that's in power, which is cool. The American public should be discontent with its government and with its two major political parties ri...

'Voters will see these “pre-endorsements” for what they are and resent the party hierarchy’s attempt to dictate results to them. Instead of helping the candidates that they endorse so early on, the parties will only hurt their chances. Pre-endorsements will become a liability to establishment picks and be used against them by their grassroots opponents. It isn’t about left vs. right anymore.  It’s about the establishment vs. you, and more and more voters are starting to really believe that.' Read the entire article at IVN.us . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

In his latest op ed at The RevoluTimes, Carl Wicklander opines that "Conservatives despondent over their presidential prospects this year have only themselves to blame." Read why . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

By: Carl Wicklander After the Republican-led House of Representatives buckled and extended the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension some hope the GOP is losing its “extremism.” Some, like the Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson believe that after the House agreed to the Senate’s bipartisan agreement: “Republicans let us glimpse the rift between establishment pragmatists and Tea Party ideologues. There may be hope for the republic after all.” The vote, of course, settles nothing, it is merely a two-month extension. A tax cut and a welfare check. The best for both of Washington’s parties. We’ll be back shortly for another round of Washington kabuki theatre where the two parties will pretend to find a solution for the economy and the looming entitlement crisis. For Robinson, the issue is appearing “sensible” and getting things done. Likewise, another Post columnist, Jennifer Rubin, was also ruminating on the radicalism that is overtaking the Republican Party.....

In a partisan face off over how long to extend a payroll tax cut that expires soon and amounts to an extra $40 per biweekly pay period for the average American worker, the White House stirred up some discussion on Twitter by tweeting out: What does #40Dollars mean to you? But the latest fiscal policy battle over a forty dollar tax cut every two weeks and whether to extend it for two months or two years (and whether to attach this or that condition to the tax cut, and whether people with Ds next to their name are more awesome than people with Rs) is just another distraction from the biggest, baddest, most insidious tax that American workers have to pay every year– the inflation tax. Congress would much rather use up your attention span on fighting over $80 a month so that you don’t notice just how much inflation tax you pay every time you buy gas, pay your electric bill, or pick up groceries. Because if you did notice and started speaking up, then Congress might have ...

The speculation that Ron Paul will run third party predates his rise in the Iowa polls. Talk of a Paul third party run goes back at least to the last presidential election cycle. Receiving more questions about the possibility of a third party run the Texas congressman has been consistently non-committal, typically saying he “has no plans” or “no intention” of doing so. Retiring from congress at the end of this term, Paul’s reply leaves open the door for such a run. This possibility frightens the GOP on the basis not that he would win the presidency but he would guarantee the reelection of Barack Obama. This fear is exaggerated but it serves the party’s purpose of further marginalizing Paul. Read the rest of Carl Wicklander's piece at The RevoluTimes . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

After she tried to put on a farmer’s market in her hometown of Pueblo, Colorado, Tisha Casida discovered that she had a different set of rules, regulations, licenses, and fees than the city-run farmer’s market. When she contacted her city council, county commissioners, and the city manager about the business and growth-strangling discrepancies and didn’t even get a single reply, Casida had had enough. Now Tisha Casida is running as an Independent for the U.S. House of Representatives and I recently had the opportunity to talk with her on the phone about it. During our brief interview, I was absolutely captivated by the depth of her enthusiasm, her principled positions, her common sense policy prescriptions, and her eloquence in articulating and defending them. Here’s what Tisha Casida had to say: Read my interview at The Independent Voter Network . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

As the so-called super committee announced its inability to come up with a plan for deficit reduction by its Nov 23rd deadline, the sheer magnitude of dysfunction on Capitol Hill was perhaps best summarized by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said: “Both sides of the aisle, both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue – they cannot even come up with something that would not have even solved the problem.” That’s a key point to remember, that the 12-member super committee was simply tasked with finding $1.2 trillion to cut out of the federal budget over the next ten years. $1.2 trillion in cuts might not even balance the budget next year alone. With that in mind, Mayor Bloomberg’s criticism– which so aptly and pithily captures the absurdity of the deficit debacle that it could just as easily have been a Jon Stewart line– rings absolutely true. Congress cannot even come up with something that would not have even solved the problem. Can there be any wonder that its approval ratings remain...

"Fool me once shame on....shame on...you? Ya fool--can't get fooled again." -George W. Bush (Maybe he was warning us.) Not sure where this is from or who did it, but it looks like a Banksy . Hat tip: reddit for the image Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

So I announced Friday that this Monday I'll be publishing an updated version of my list of Obama Bush comparisons. Reader DoubleU passed along some images I could use to illustrate the post. I've already got one I'm going to use, but these were too good not to share with all of you. And seriously, some of them will haunt your dreams: And here's another one I saw once... Chilling, huh? Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

...that this Monday I'm going to publish a fully revamped, revised, and updated version of the Humble Libertarian classic post, " A List of Obama Bush Comparisons, 10 Ways Barack Obama is just like George W. Bush? " I hinted at it this past Monday, but haven't been able to complete it this week. This coming Monday however, at 7:00 am Eastern, the new, fully-revised, totally-revamped, entirely-updated, and completely-comprehensive list of Obama / Bush comparisons will be published here at The Humble Libertarian , and I do hope to have your help in spreading it around to open a lot of people's eyes. The importance of this undertaking is to help people who detest Obama to see that he is no different than President Bush, forcing them to understand that a president with an "R" next to their name isn't good enough, we need a president with principles. At the same time, and perhaps more urgently, the project will help people who (somehow) love Obama, b...

So the Tea Party people are being so stubborn and unwilling to budge that they've moved beyond "hostage takers" to the point of being " full blown terrorists ," and the Democrats are all just bending over backwards to compromise, right? Doesn't sound like it to me: "We're recognizing that the only compromise that there is, is mine," -Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Hat tip: RedState Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

Reason Magazine 's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch discuss partisan politics and the power of libertarians and independents to change the system and save America on The Dylan Ratigan Show : Hat tip: The Daily Paul Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

From my most recent CAIVN column: 'Many members of the rapidly growing and increasingly discontented Independent voter bloc might be libertarians, voters who describe themselves as "fiscally conservative" and "socially liberal" (or tolerant). These voters would prefer lower taxes and a more "hands off" approach from government on the one hand, and an equally "hands off" approach from government regarding social issues and personal choices on the other hand.' Read the entire article at CAIVN . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

In the comment thread on my article published yesterday entitled "The Ron Paul Moment," I got multiple responses from Democrats like this: "I watched Ron Paul for the first time the other night in the Republican debates. I am leaving the Democratic party and going with Ron Paul all the way this year!" And... "Me too, I'm ashamed to say, I switched to Dem because I believed the lies Obama told me. I always like Ron Paul best." And... "I have been a die-hard democrat. (Although, I always considered myself to be left of the democrats) But, Ron Paul has my vote! Finally policies that can bring about the kind of change Obama touted, but never delivered! Ron Paul is the man!!!!" Guess what folks... if there is no Democratic Primary, why not register Republican just to help get Ron Paul elected in the Republican Party's primary, or simply vote in the GOP primary if you live in an open primary state? In your honor, I've made the foll...

This is for the cynics among us who think he doesn't have a chance. I don't care. I don't care if he doesn't have a chance. I don't care if the greater Republican party doesn't take him seriously. I don't care if he's only asked 2 out of 50 questions in every debate he attends. I care about his answers to the 2 questions. Because every single time Ron Paul is given a platform, he changes minds. If we are perpetual students of the Enlightenment...if we believe the truth shall out-ring what is loud...Ron Paul must run for president. Eric Olsen , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page Critical Thinking Blog

Thanks to LibertyWorks for the image I know it's April Fools Day, but this is not a joke, at least not on my part. And although you might think the people running our government are fools, it's not just on this day. It seems the gag is on us. And it's being pulled by the media and anyone else who would have you believe that there are any cuts in federal government spending being proposed by anyone who matters, even those mean old extremist Republicans in congress. The fantasy would work like this in my life; I propose a budget for myself to spend a lot more next year than I spent last year. Then I re-propose to scale the first proposal back and merely spend somewhat more than last year, and then I call it a "cut" and tell you how much progress I'm making in controlling my spending. That's the reality of what is happening in congress right now as house Republicans wrestle with senate Democrats over how to pay to keep the government operatin...