For any thinking person, there are bound to be a handful of books that had such a powerful impact on them that they have returned to them again and again throughout their lives. I thought it would be interesting to hear what books my readers would identify for them, so I’ll start by reposting something …
Category Archive: Liberty
Sep 13 2012
Santorum’s Bizarre Notion of Liberty
Rick Santorum spoke at a prayer gathering this past weekend and made one of the most bizarre statements I’ve ever heard about the founding fathers and religion. He actually claims that when the Declaration of Independence says that we have an unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, they only meant that we have the …
Mar 10 2012
Badass Quote of the Day
”Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war and …
Feb 28 2012
Why Substantive Due Process Matters
Okay, this one goes out to all the con law geeks in the audience. Get your lighters in the air… Cato Unbound has a very interesting debate going on about substantive due process. What is substantive due process? Glad you asked. Actually, I don’t care if you asked, I’m going to explain it anyway.
Feb 15 2012
Amusing Quote of the Day
Alan Keyes is easily one of the most entertaining figures in politics. He’s got tremendous charisma and talent as a speaker, but his eloquence is used to support some of the craziest ideas imaginable. But this quote from his latest WND column made me laugh:
Jan 10 2012
NOM Continues to Conflate Homosexuality and Pedophilia
The vile National Organization for Bigotry Marriage, which is actually anti-marriage, continues its long history of ridiculous and bigoted anti-gay screeds by once again conflating homosexuality and pedophilia in a post by Douglas Farrow, a professor of “Christian Thought” at McGill University, which is actually just part of a longer piece in Touchstone Magazine.
Jan 08 2012
Santorum Rejects Idea of Individual Rights
Of all the Republican candidates, Rick Santorum may actually be the most authoritarian and dangerous. In a 2006 interview with NPR, he actually rejected “this whole idea of personal autonomy.”
Jan 05 2012
ACLU Ranks Presidential Candidates
The ACLU has put out a voter guide for all the 2012 presidential candidates, ranking them all on 7 issues: humane immigration policy, closing Gitmo and indefinite detention, gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, ending torture, ending the surveillance state, same-sex marriage, and reproductive rights. Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, writes:
Jan 03 2012
Ron Paul on Sexual Harassment
As controversy over his now-infamous newsletters continues to rage, CNN has dug up some passages from a book written by Paul in 1987 and reissued in 2007. From that book, here is how he views sexual harassment:
Dec 21 2011
Democratic Blindness to Obama’s Faults
I had a brief but absurd exchange with someone on my Facebook friends list on Saturday. His name is Mike Jordan, but I don’t know him; I assumed he was on my friends list because he’s a blog reader. And he quoted George Clooney saying something about how he was disappointed in people who were …
Dec 18 2011
And Now Havel is Gone Too
Wow, this has been a bad week. Vaclav Havel, the brave leader of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, has died at the age of 75. Havel was one of the great anti-totalitarian leaders of the late 20th century and is as responsible as anyone for ending Soviet communism and bringing freedom to millions. A sad …
Oct 20 2011
Stop Confusing Democracy and Liberty
Here’s an cartoon that, while clever, expresses a fundamental misunderstanding that is very common:
Oct 11 2011
Bill Submitted to Prevent Warrantless GPS Tracking
Here’s an important piece of legislation that was submitted a few months ago, in the House by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), that would prevent the government from using GPS or cell phone geolocation data to track us without first getting a warrant. This is the statement …
Sep 21 2011
Drawing Lines on Religion-Based Discrimination
The Chicago Tribune reports that a gay couple is suing two bed and breakfasts for refusing to rent facilities to them for a civil union ceremony. The Beall Mansion in Alton told the Wathens via email that it “will just be doing traditional weddings.” The owner of the Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton …
Sep 17 2011
Agreeing With Vox Day
I’ve hammered the guy enough over the years, I ought to at least acknowledge when he’s gotten something right. And his recent column about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 has some good stuff in it. One of the many troubling aspects of the hijackings is the brutal demonstration that we, as a people, have received …
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