Monthly Archives: July 2021

ALEXANDER SALTER| Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Libertarianism is a rational reconstruction of Americas founding principles. In other words, its as American as apple pie. You dont need to take my word for it. The Declaration of Independence proclaims the importance of liberty in virtually every sentence.

Remember, the United States was born in an uprising against tyranny. This basic fact reveals why libertarianism matters for contemporary American politics. Regardless of the questionable prudence of securing liberty through rebellion a strategy that has a rather unimpressive track record the American colonists-turned-citizens won their freedom, including the right to govern themselves. Both freedom from any government, as well as the right to choose our government, are important components of liberty, and hence libertarianism.

We all know the Declarations most famous passage: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This is a beautiful and concise statement of the essence of libertarian philosophy. All human beings have rights upon which no agent, public or private, may trespass. Our rights are not handed down to us by the government. We possess them in virtue of our humanity and the inherent dignity that comes with it.

Furthermore, to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. We take this idea for granted today. But it was quite radical in 1776! In declaring to the world their reasons for seeking independence, Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers asserted the state exists to serve man, not man to serve the state. The Founders believed in virtue and piety. They would never reject their civic duty or moral obligation to serve their fellow men. Instead, they asserted a limited scope for government in securing human flourishing. As Jefferson wrote elsewhere, defenders of liberty deny anybody is born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God.

Governments everywhere too easily become oppressive. Power tends towardconcentration, and the state is the ultimate form of coercive power. When the government oversteps its bounds, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Obviously, this is an extreme remedy. Losing an election, or even several elections, isnt a good enough reason to grab your musket. Nevertheless, a core tenet of libertarianism is citizens right to discipline the state when it tramples human dignity.

These three principles animate libertarianism. Libertarians passionately believe in mans natural rights, foremost among them the right to be free from force and fraud. Libertarians assert an instrumental function for government: Its to be judged according to its defense of natural rights. And libertarians hold government officials are agents of the citizenry, nothing more. Hence if politicians and bureaucrats get too big for their britches, its good and just to send them packing. Libertarianism is nothing more than a consistent witness to, and defense of, the Principles of 76.

Libertarians ideological foes often claim they believe in these principles. Conservatives (the right) and progressives (the left) each see themselves as the inheritors of the American tradition. But in crucial ways, both violate natural rights by using government coercion to advance their own goals. Conservatives are far too quick to overlook rights violations committed by domestic law enforcement and the military. Progressives ignore the ways their reckless taxing, spending, and regulatory plans violate property rights. Even more concerningly, both deny the right to speak and gather freely when they disagree with the speakers and gatherers purposes.

For libertarians, all rights violations are unacceptable. If we only defend peoples rights when we like what theyre doing, then we dont really believe in universal human dignity. Instead, we believe in a transitory and conditional dignity, which exists only if other people like what we like and do what we do. Nothing could be more inimical to freedom. Nothing could be more un-American. The Founders rightly rejected this servile philosophy. Libertarians honor them by continuing their work.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction, warned President Reagan. This is why we need libertarianism. Citizens must never rest on their laurels. Freedom wasnt achieved once and for all in 1776. Liberty must be fought for, protected, and passed on to our posterity. Thankfully, we dont need an armed uprising or a divisive, us-versus-them mentality to keep our freedoms. For all its faults, the American political system is responsive to the demands of its citizens. Liberty is a fire that has lit the minds and hearts of men for hundreds of years. Libertarians are proud to tend that flame, in the hope that equal liberty for all may one day be ours.

Alexander William Salter is the Georgie G. Snyder Associate Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University and the Comparative Economics Research Fellow at TTUs Free Market Institute.

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Salter: The principles of '76: libertarianism and the Declaration of Independence - LubbockOnline.com

Coprophagic cynicism: Aditya Chakrabortty is in a fine fury (After Covid, the climate crisis will be the next thing the right says we just have to live with, 22 July). He identifies the ideology of extremist individualism that has broken the social contract that underpinned postwar Britain as a welfare state, and is now trying to dismantle our care and responsibility for each other.

They may not succeed in that, but we cannot go on pretending that there is no alternative to the market fundamentalist ideology that promises global disaster on at least two fronts. As an 80-year-old with inoperable cancer, the full shit may not hit my fan, but my grandchildren are being condemned to it. I share your rage, Aditya, and it is not only reserved for the Tories. John AirsLiverpool

In reference to Aditya Chakraborttys enlightening column, this immoral government utilises a sort of bastardisation and ruination of true libertarianism, which relies on the tenet of the harm principle. Theyre authoritarian on cultural issues, social issues, immigration, asylum, international treaties and borders (though not during pandemics, of course). When it comes to money, public health, tackling the climate emergency etc, theyre laissez-faire or hybrid libertarian. In every way, theyre wrong. They are far more efficient at acting on issues surrounding statues and knees than they are on topics such as Covid and climate change. I find the governments approach weak, divisive and repugnant.Sebastian MonblatLondon

Social psychologists have long taught us that social and political attitudes tend to cluster in syndromes, so that its very likely that those who hold libertarian views on Covid will also be climate change sceptics, as Aditya observes. He describes a growing extremist individualism an ideology that claims to be about freedom when really it means selfishness.

Another way of putting this is that there is an important distinction to be made between the libertarian and the psychopath, in that genuine libertarians respect the freedom of others, whereas psychopaths think only of their own. Psychopaths may imagine themselves, and convince others, that they are the former when they are in fact the latter. The imperative is to keep the psychopath out of power; easier said than done, but a good start would be to be clear about the difference.Dr Michael Briant Cambridge

Aditya Chakrabortty is right to draw attention to Boris Johnsons vacuous repetition of the mantra If not now, when? to justify his experiment in achieving herd immunity by encouraging the spread of Covid, and to attribute his actions to the propitiation of extremist individualism. Whatever the Talmudic sage Hillel meant by the aphorism attributed to him, it would hardly have encompassed removing restrictions in the face of increasing infections, given he equated saving one life to saving the whole world. Such a notion is evidently foreign to a mask-averse prime minister happy to risk other peoples health by allowing aerosol transmission in enclosed spaces, who views octogenarians as expendable.

Labour has correctly identified freedom day as reckless, but has lacked clarity in not having called in advance for this to be postponed. It is essential that Keir Starmer now gets ahead of the curve and calls for management of the crisis on the basis of collective responsibility rather than Tory selfishness.Dr Anthony Isaacs London

Have an opinion on anything youve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.

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Living with Covid and extreme individualism - The Guardian

Ive never quite understood why cryptocurrencies are worth anything. Of course, the untraceable payments are worth a lot to ransomware hackers, cyber criminals and money launderers. But dollars, euros and yen are backed by nations respective treasuries. If someone invents a cryptocurrency, any value is based solely on convincing others it has value. But is it a usable means of exchange? International banking officials say cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are speculative assets, not sustainable, usable money.

Yet the epidemic of hugely disruptive ransomware attacks in recent months on JBS Foods, a major meat processor; on Colonial Pipelines, our critical infrastructure, causing gasoline shortages for weeks; and on 1,000 or more U.S. businesses on July 4 highlights the enormous risks. Moreover, hundreds of small towns, hospitals, school districts and small businesses have been hit by the ransomware epidemic all enabled by cryptocurrencies.

How should governments respond? Besieged with cyberattacks, the Biden administration has been struggling with this question of cybersecurity with few clear answers. Cyber offense still seems to beat cyber defense.

As the eminent economic analyst Martin Wolf outlined in a recent Financial Times essay, the risks and chaos of a wild world of unstable private money is a libertarian fantasy. According to a recent Federal Reserve paper, there are already some 8,000 cryptocurrencies. Its a new mom-and-pop cottage industry.

How should governments respond? Wolf argues that central banks (e.g., the U.S. Federal Reserve) should create their own official digital currencies central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and make cryptocurrencies illegal.

Ive been asking the same question: Who needs cryptocurrencies? Apart from the nasty uses and wild speculative value swings, data mining to produce bitcoin is a serious environmental hazard, using huge amounts of electricity by rows and rows of computers.

Governments should guarantee safe, stable and usable money. Already, according to the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center'sCBDC Tracker, 81 countries representing 90 percent of worldgross domestic product are at various stages of researching and exploring the adoption of digital currencies.

The four largest central banks the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve are all exploring CBDCs, though the U.S. lags behind. Meanwhile, China is already digitizing its currency, the RMB, and allowing foreign visitors to use it for payments. Though China is still a long way from having an international reserve currency to rival the dollar, its digitized RMB is a step in that direction.

Nonetheless, caution is well advised, as there are important, complex issues that must be sorted out before launching an official digital currency. These issues include equity: Should the digital dollar be available to all or just used for certain business transactions? I would argue it must be for all. Should a U.S. CBDC augment cash or totally replace it, and would there be a transition period? Then there is the impact on private banks: Should individuals have bank accounts with the Fed rather than private banks? What should be the relation between private banks and the Fed with regard to currency? Should businesses have digital wallets? How would international payments work?

And not least, there is the question of privacy and surveillance. A digitized dollar would likely make it hard to dodge taxes with untraceable cash. But just how traceable would the public and Congress accept a CBDC to become? Would the fact of a CBDC making transactions safer, faster and cheaper be worth some trade-off?

Then there is the question of whether the worlds major powers would cooperate in outlawing cryptocurrencies and reach agreement on rules and regulations of CBDCs. China, always with an eye on control, has indicated skepticism, if not disdain, toward cryptocurrencies. Indeed, that was one driver in Beijings swift move to digitize the RMB. This could be an area of U.S.-China cooperation worth exploring.

If China were on board, the possibility of a U.N. Security Council resolution to ban cryptocurrencies could be in the cards. That would be a foundation for taking the issue to the Group of 20 to make it a global norm.

For now, there are a whole lot more questions than answers. But the insidious new industry of cyber hacking and ransomware is an unacceptable disruptive threat to American economic security. It is a problem that is growing, not subsiding. And the proliferation of do-it-yourself digital currencies is a serious and bad omen for global financial stability.

Yet amid an international order that is fraying and fragmenting, its an open question whether such threats are enough to catalyze sufficient international cooperation. I suspect that with a little U.S. leadership, jump-starting financial diplomacy would go a long way. Certainly, its a good test for President BidenJoe BidenTrump hails Arizona Senate for audit at Phoenix rally, slams governor Republicans focus tax hike opposition on capital gains change Biden on hecklers: 'This is not a Trump rally. Let 'em holler' MOREs efforts to align democracies.

Robert A. Manning is a senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. He was a senior counselor to the undersecretary of State for global affairs from 2001 to 2004, a member of the U.S. Department of State policy planning staff from 2004 to 2008 and on the National Intelligence Council strategic futures group from 2008 to 2012. Follow him on Twitter @Rmanning4.

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Bye-bye, bitcoin: It's time to ban cryptocurrencies | TheHill - The Hill

by: FOX59 Web, Nexstar Media Wire

The FBI received several tips that the man posted images and video on his Facebook and Instagram accounts that showed him in Washington, D.C. and inside the Capitol building after it had been breached by rioters on January 6.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WXIN) An Indiana man has been charged in connection to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

28-year-old Antony Vo, of Bloomington, has been charged with the following:

The U.S. Capitol was breached on January 6 following a rally held in support of President Donald Trump. The insurrection happened as a joint session of Congress was held to certify the vote count of the Electoral College regarding the 2020 presidential election. A crowd bypassed U.S. Capitol police and forced entry into the U.S Capitol building, sending members of Congress evacuating the chambers.

The FBI received several tips that Vo posted images and video on his Facebook and Instagram accounts that showed him in Washington, D.C. and inside the Capitol building after it had been breached by rioters on January 6.

One tip came from someone who knew Vo from Indiana University, and another person who had attended high school with Vo also came forward.

According to court documents, both witnesses said they recognized Vo as the person in the photos in D.C. and said Vo was known to engage with conspiracy theories. They said Vo was an avid supporter of former President Trump and followed libertarian ideologies.

Federal authorities said one of the photos from Vos Facebook was taken inside the Capitol building after it was breached and featured Vo and a woman believed to be his mother. We have blurred the photo since the woman has not been charged. The same woman was also featured on Vos Instagram stories.

Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Vos social media accounts and found he had multiple conversations on Facebook and Instagram acknowledging he was in the Capitol building on January 6. He sent photos to several people as proof.

Court documents detailed that Vo wrote in one conversation, President [Trump] asked me to be here tomorrow so I am with my mom LOL. In another, Vo claimed, My mom and I helped stop the vote count for a bit.

Vo also wrote that he was let into the Capitol building by police, as evidenced in this exchange:

Vo: they [the police] pretty much opened up for usFriend: The police opened the gate?! I didnt hear that anywhere!Vo: yeah they stood down and retreated after we clearly outnumbered them

FBI investigators were able to determine a cell phone associated with Vos phone number identified as having utilized a cell site consistent with providing service to a geographical area that included the interior of the Unites States Capitol Building on January 6 around the time of the insurrection.

Vo is the seventh person from Indiana to be arrested in connection to the Capitol riot.

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Man charged in Capitol riot investigation said Trump asked me to be here, documents show - KRON4

EXCLUSIVE Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the powerful fiscally conservative and libertarian political advocacy group, is taking aim at what it calls Sen. Bernie Sanders "health care heist" in a new seven-figure ad blitz that aims to stop the $3.5 trillion spending plan that Democrats are trying to pass through Congress.

AFP says their campaign, shared first with Fox News on Wednesday, will target districts represented by 13 House Democrats that Republicans consider vulnerable in the 2022 midterm elections, when the GOP is aiming to win back majorities in both the House and the Senate. And they say it includes digital and radio ads, mail and phone calls to lawmakers offices, townhall events, and direct outreach to lawmakers.

TRUE COSTS OF DEMOCRATS' SPENDING PLAN COULD TOP $5 TRILLION: ANALYSIS

Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, is chair of the Senate Budget Committee and is the lawmaker tasked with overseeing the massive budget resolution bill introduced last week by Senate Democrats.

Americans for Prosperity, the powerful fiscally conservative and libertarian political advocacy group, is taking aim at what it calls Sen. Bernie Sanders "health care heist" in a new seven-figure ad blitz that aims to stop the $3.5 trillion spending plan that Democrats are trying to pass through Congress. (Americans for Prosperity (AFP))

The measure would include nearly all key elements of President Bidens American Families Plan, including the creation of a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, funding for free universal preschool for three and four year-olds and free community college for all students. And it expands the number and amounts of Pell Grants, extending the child tax credits that were included in the COVID relief package, and funding for numerous clean energy programs.

AFP AD BLITZ TARGETS DEMOCRATS OVER BIDEN'S COVID RELIEF LAW

But the measure also includes expanding Medicare coverage for hearing, vision, and dental, which Sanders has long championed. To pay for their plan, Democrats are calling for tax hikes on corporations and the wealthiest earners, as well as beefing up the IRS in order to generate more revenue by cracking down on people who cheat or underpay on their taxes.

If it eventually becomes law, the measure would become the biggest expansion of the federal governments social safety net in many decades.

"This is, in our view, a pivotal moment in American history," Sanders emphasized as he spoke with reporters last week.

AFP MAKES PUSH TO PROTECT SENATE FILIBUSTER

But AFP president Tim Phillips warned that "lawmakers need to wake up and understand that Sen. Sanders and his allies are using the guise of infrastructure to plot the biggest expansion of government-run health care in over a decade."

"If members of Congress dont take this government health care takeover seriously, America will be one step closer to a single payer system that forces patients to give up the health care they like and saddles future generations with trillions in new debt," Phillips argued in a statement to Fox News.

And he urged that lawmakers from both parties "should roundly reject Sen. Sanders health care heist and instead work to give Americans a personal option that fixes whats broken with health care while keeping what works for millions of individuals and families."

AFP has long argued for reforming health care to make it more affordable for Americans without relying on more government spending or tax hikes.

AFP says the ads will run in districts represented by Democratic Reps.CindyAxne(IA-03),Carolyn Bourdeaux(GA-07),Angie Craig (MN-02), LizzieFletcher(TX-07), Andy Kim (NJ-03),Ron Kind (WI-03), AnnKirkpatrick(AZ-02), ElaineLuria(VA-02), TomMalinowski(NJ-07), StephanieMurphy(FL-07), Chris Pappas (NH-01),Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), and AbigailSpanberger (VA-07).

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The group says the digital ads and calls to the lawmakers offices will begin on Wednesday, with the other elements in the campaign following shortly.

The new campaign by AFP follows a similar seven-figure effort earlier this year to spotlight what it considered the "harmful provisions" in the massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, formally known as the America Rescue Plan, that was passed along party lines and signed into law by Biden.

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Major conservative group spotlights Sanders health care heist in new ad blitz - Fox News

Mr. Sherman, a Korean War veteran, nodded along. It was a shame it had to happen, he said of the Jan. 6 assault, adding that he used to get very upset with some of Mr. Trumps remarks.

But the former president had been effective, he said. In my whole life Ive never been able to see someone accomplish so much, Mr. Sherman added, citing low unemployment rates and a strong economy. The bottom line was, did he get the job done?

Penny Ford, a Mount Pleasant resident who attended the event with her husband, Jim Ford, gave a more grudging assessment, explaining that they had winced at Ms. Maces comments about the former president. Still, she said, the congresswoman was the best we have at the moment.

Ms. Ford said they would prefer to be represented by someone like Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio a staunch Trump loyalist who helped plan the challenge to Mr. Bidens election in the House or Senator Ted Cruz of Texas who led the effort to invalidate it in the Senate and said they would consider voting against Ms. Mace next year if I had a choice for someone else.

The first woman to graduate from the Citadel, Ms. Mace based her winning 2020 campaign on her up-from-the-bootstraps biography, detailing her journey from scrappy Waffle House waitress to statehouse representative. She bested Mr. Cunningham, who had been the first Democrat to hold the seat in nearly four decades, by just over a percentage point.

On the campaign trail, Ms. Mace walked a careful line, balancing her libertarian streak with a more pragmatic approach, playing up a history of speaking up against members of her own party and reaching across the aisle.

And in the days after the Jan. 6 attack, she was unsparing in her language. What was necessary, Ms. Mace said then, was nothing short of a comprehensive rebuilding of the party. It was a time for Republicans to be honest with their voters, she said: Regardless of the political consequences, Im going to tell the truth.

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Nancy Mace Called Herself a New Voice for the G.O.P. Then She Pivoted. - The New York Times