One aspect common to totalitarian regimes is the forced loyalty oath. Nazi Germany, for example, forced all pastors, civil servants and soldiers to take an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler. In the Soviet Union, in Communist China, and numerous other nations, the state demanded that people swear loyalty to the government as […]
From The Liberty Papers
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
Well, here’s a gem.
The great Frederich von Hayek on Meet the Press.
Along with a young George Will, you’ll hear the Nobel-Prize winning economist talk about inflation, and the role that government monetary and fiscal policy plays in creating it.
From The Liberty Papers
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
SpaceX tested the Falcon 9 a few days ago, November 22nd, on their giant test stand in McGregor Texas. I have reported previously as SpaceX increased the numbers of engines by a few at a time each test and am happy to report they have now succeeded in firing the nine Merlin engines in a sequence and for a period of time identical to that of a real mission. Nine engines fired for 160 seconds;…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
I don't often praise The Times. It is too often busy pleasing the administration of the day, in order to maintain regulatory tolerance for its proprietor's market dominance. But this is wicked, in both senses. Commentary on Chancellor Darling's performance yesterday includes a nonsensical Labour-loyal diatribe from Roy Hattersley… which is beautifully undercut by this by-line: Roy Hattersley was Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, 1976-79…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
It is a strange old world. About 2 weeks ago I was on a flight from Huntsville, Alabama, where I took part in the National Space Society board meeting, back to Washington, DC where I had some consulting work lined up. As I and two other board members walked to the luggage retrieval area, I commented that if someone had told me twenty years ago I would find three people from my address book on…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
Andrew Sullivan, commenting on a remark about the enormous bailouts being put into place by Western governments, has this to say: "The debt was so reckless and so immense that it now threatens to destroy the entire financial system. That's what electing George W Bush twice has done for us. But then we are told that this threat requires us to do even more of the borrowing and spending before we can begin to get…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
But maybe I can make use of this too:
The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Tuesday unveiled a plan to pump $800 billion into the struggling U.S. economy in an attempt to jumpstart lending by banks to consumers and small businesses.
The government hopes that these initiatives will enable more money to flow to consumers in […]
From The Liberty Papers
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
A few months back – I don't recall exactly when – I voiced my irritation here at the notion, regularly voiced by members of our commentariat until I said to put a sock in it, of leaving Britain to go and live somewhere else, usually the USA. I now officially withdraw this irritation. The sooner large numbers of Brits start voting with their feet, the sooner some kind of sanity may be restored to our…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
Amid all the words that will be written about the UK government's Pre-Budget Report statement yesterday, many will no doubt focus on the utility, or otherwise, of proposed measures such as creating a new, higher 45 per cent tax band on people earning £150,000 or more. Maybe even some supply-siders will point to the destructive effects, the counter-productive consequences, and the likely exodus of entrepreneurs and wealthy citizens, if the tax hike becomes law -…
From Samizdata.net
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
California’s Proposition 8, the ballot measure aiming to outlaw same sex marriage, passed on a very close vote. Prop 8’s supporters* pushed a campaign of fear, misinformation, and a complete distortion of the meaning of individual liberty. This campaign commercial is typical of the intolerance and hysteria being promoted from the “yes” campaign.
Argument […]
From The Liberty Papers
Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom
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