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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Beware the Ides of March

Caesar, beware the Ides of March... a day for all the world's autocrats, despots and grandees to ponder the consequences of their deeds.
Salman Rushdie, today, on Twitter


Salman Rushdie's tweet seems an appropriate call to this Tireless Agorist to recap those articles I've published that address autocrats, despots and grandees, and the consequences of their deeds. I'll even throw in a column or two that offers some hope for the future. I've categorized the articles for your convenience. The groupings are just rough approximations; some essays may fit in more than one category.

Class Theory

Defining the One Percent
My argument that the One Percent resides not only on Wall Street, but on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the hallowed halls of Congress, and in statehouses and courthouses across the country.

A Letter to the One Percent
The rant that finally triggered me to start a blog focused on government and society from a libertarian, voluntarist, agorist perspective. A not-half-bad summary of my philosophy, and the viewpoints you'll most often see reflected here.

Politics vs. the Productive
A chance for you to discover if you're a supporter of the political class, the productive class, or somewhere in between.

George Carlin - Wrong About Politicians
A look at George Carlin's claim that politicians are just like the rest of us, and a list of issues he failed to consider.

The One Percent's Revolving Door
A graphical examination of the members of the One Percent who regularly shuffle between jobs in industry and jobs in government, regulating those same industries.

Loyalists to the Corporatocracy
A deconstruction of the political worldview of a couple who seem blissfully unaware that they represent the heart of the One Percent, and the last of a dying breed of dinosaurs.

The Lesson of Athens, Tennessee
A cautionary tale for the political establishment, centered on the events in Athens, Tennessee in August, 1946.

Education

EconStories.TV - Economic Edutainment
An entertaining look at the difference between two schools of economic theory, one government-approved and the other considered heterodox, although more predictively successful. Courtesy of a couple of short videos found at EconStories.TV.

The Unseen in Economics
Why the limits of analysis mean that government policies will always have unintended consequences that predictably result in a net loss to society.

The Perils of Paper Money
A look at what the Federal Reserve has done to the concept of money as a store of value.

The Great Depression of 1920??
The story of the Great Depression of 1920, that was over almost before it began because government didn't move fast enough to apply a "cure" that would have been worse than the disease.

Hijacking The General Welfare Clause
How the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution became an excuse for meddling in almost any aspect of our lives in 1936.

Why the World Thinks I'm Crazy
How some authoritarians rely on other authoritarians to confirm their belief that people who don't like authority must be crazy.

Why People Are Irrational About Politics
Wise words about forming your political opinions from a very smart Doctor of Philosophy.

Concentrated Benefits, Dispersed Costs
A simple explanation for ever-growing government that increasingly concentrates power and wealth in the hands of an ever-smaller segment of society.

Entertainment

Bipartisan Bird of Prey Claims Judge Nap
A farewell to one of the most freedom-oriented news shows ever allowed on the air.

You Might Be a Terrorist If...
Why the Department of Homeland Security's recent report defining terrorists may well include you.

Barack Obama - Political Heir to FDR
What Barack Obama and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have in common isn't only what you think, and may provide an interesting history lesson.

Uncle Sam Seeks Harder, Deeper Penetrator
A jab at Uncle Sam and his constand desire for more massive, more intrusive weaponry.

American Pie, Revisited - With apologies to Don McLean
Don McLean's well known song lyrics, brought up to date for the 21st century.

Government Malfeasance

On Law and Sausages - SOPA, PIPA and Cronyism
My comparison of the Civics Class Model of the legislative process, that results in legislation that promotes the common good, and the Cronyism Model of the legislative process, that results in legislation that benefits industries and corporations at the expense of society in general, benefitting the One Percent at the expense of the Ninety-Nine.

SOPA/PIPA - A Legislative Litmus Test
An argument that if you support politicians who supported the recent attempt to pass SOPA/PIPA legislation impacting the internet, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. Names names for both houses of Congress, so you can see who to vote against this fall.

House Republicans - Frack Transparency
The story of House Republicans hiding behind political privilege to keep you and I from knowing the story behind fracking legislation.

If You Build It, They Will Come
The tale of one poor guy who only wanted to build a rowboat for his son, and ended up declared a boat manufacturer by the bureaucrats.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
How the federal government adjusted the calculations for important numbers like unemployment and inflation to convince people things aren't as bad as they seem to be.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics Redux
Another look at FedGov's Tall Tales and the support for the real numbers discovered by a Gallup survey.

Uncle Sam's Clogged Arteries
You're accountable for almost 200,000 pages of rules and regulations at the federal level alone. Why don't they repeal some of the laws already on the books before adding new ones?

Shall Not Be Infringed?
One woman's four-month journey through city hall and to neighboring states in her pursuit of the legal right to own a handgun in our nation's capitol.

DC's Plantation-like Gun Control
A further look at the laws that keep most Washington D.C. residents from legally exercising their Second Amendment rights.

First Amendment (1791-2012) R.I.P.
Why H.R. 347 essentially outlaws peaceful protest in any meaningful way.

Prohibition Fails Again
Why ultra-conservative Pat Robertson supports ending the War on Drugs, while the liberal Obama administration refuses to even discuss the issue.

Pink Slime - It's "For the Children"
Why agencies responsible for the school lunch program are feeding your children ground-up meat scraps treated with ammonia.

Hope for the Future

The Largest Libertarian Society in History
Acquainting people with the little-known fact that they are quite likely already deeply involved in the largest libertarian society in history, operating in large part outside the control of any government.

Libertarians - The True Pragmatists
A well-documented argument that those who believe that government is the solution to societal problems are the real impractical dreamers, while libertarians are the ones with a realistic view.

The Apolitical Economic Superpower
A quite-likely surprising look at the massive economic powerhouse represented by the underground economy, and why it offers hope for increased freedom in our lifetime.



But never forget. Government has only your best interests in mind.

...and that's all I have to say about that.

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