Articles tagged as

Freedom

Why Is Redistribution Needed?

Redistribution by government is primarily the result of interest groups using the political process to have resources transferred their way. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, this is independent of whether redistribution has an eye toward inequality reduction or not. We have reached a point where we are satisfied with justifications for … Read more

“Eversource balks at state law ordering it to buy wood power”

“The battle over biomass is far from over. Eversource now says it will not purchase power from the state’s wood-burning power plants despite a state law requiring such purchases, unless it is ordered to do so by the Public Utilities Commission. The decision by the state’s largest utility, revealed in a Dec. 4 filing with the PUC, … Read more

John Locke

Of John Locke

Having discussed the definitions of martial law and militia, it is time to begin the discussing the object of our study, the political philosophies of John Locke and roots of our Republics in his philosophies. To that end I will begin with who is John Locke. I myself have just finished a 400 page biography of John Locke, “John Locke, Philosopher of American Liberty”. As I began it, it seemed were firmly founded on John Locke’s political philosophy.

John Locke was born in 1632 in Pensford, Somersetshire in England to Puritan parents. As a Puritan, he would have been inculcated in the principles of self-government found in the 1599 Geneva Bible. This is the same religious perspective held by the Pilgrims who traveled to America from 1618 to 1623.

1632 was in the midst of the tug of war between King and Parliament, Catholicism and Protestantism, that led to the English civil war. This civil war was between

Read more

Chris Pappas – Spoken like a true Collectivist! He’s not grooving to “Live Free or Die”

UPDATED and BUMPED (from 10/16/2012): Chris Pappas, now running for Congress instead of NH Exec. Council back then, hates our “Live Free or Die” motto – said so himself. He’s all about putting the “Common Good” above your Freedom. You need to send him a message of “no, it isn’t”:

“…it is clear that the idea of Freedom necessarily is subservient to what he believes to be the constant Progressive Ideal: “the Common Good”.

(H/T: Tom for reminding me I wrote this back then)

**********************

Got a tip from a loyal reader of an article that appeared on FaceBook – one that shows that one Democrat Progressive Chris Pappas would be self-righteously fine with New Hampshire getting rid of our State Motto, “Live Free or Die”.  He said so himself in a Hippo Press article back in Dec 15, 2005.  True, a long time ago both in real time and political epochs. But when you read what he wrote, you may take the attitude of “Humpf, this is an ‘tude not easy to ditch or change” (at least what my takeaway is).  That article is after the jump.

Now, at some sundry times, do make a wee joke about that New Hampshire’s beloved icon [The Old Man In The Mountain] lays in rubble at the bottom, but the motto is not just a phrase or a marketing blurb.  It is not just a motto – it is a philosophical statement.  Sure, it was a toast uttered by General John Stark, but it is one of the most succinct and pithy summaries of what Freedom is all about.  It is a truism from one that was willing to lay down his life for Freedom – the complete and all encompassing meaning of the word “Live Free or die – death is not the worst of all evils”.  Would you be willing to compromise your life, nay, lay it down, for a faux version of it?

Apparently, Chris Pappas would.  Read that article – it is clear that his idea of Freedom necessarily is subservient to what he believes to be the constant Progressive Ideal: “the Common Good”.  The article was written around the time that smoking was banned in many public spaces here in NH – especially restaurants.

He confuses what he perceives to be the tyranny of a few taking away a Right of the many (a few smokers, a lot of people “forced” to endure their “freedom”.  He, and the others that passed the law, truly believe that their “seeing the future benefit for all” was sufficient to take away just one more Liberty from those that do something with which they disagree and take away just one more aspect of owning, well, what used to be Private Property (you know, the ability of restaurant owners to actually set their own policies.  He also believes that the well-to-do should have to give up more of their Private Property (er, their money, which when you get to the blunt point, time from their lives) simply because they are “privileged” (and he has better ways to spend it than they do).

What concerns me the most, being a candidate for the NH Executive Council, is that he will continue this errant philosophy – that the Common Good always should trump Individual Freedoms, and that Private Property, when needed by the Common Good, is subject to the will of the Common Good.

Which doesn’t make it all that Free, nor all that Private, does it?

Read more

September 11 – We still remember (bumped)

9/11 Falling man

Updated (again) and bumped from 9/11/12: I just reread this – angrily.  For you see, our President, whose main responsibility is to the Constitution, the nation, and its people – to keep them safe.  Yet, this President, whose main policy is Determined Weakness, has no problem in using the might of the United States to protect, and worse, to ally this country with those whose hatred of this country cause the Falling Man to your left.  The MSM won’t show this picture, and no, they won’t make the explicit connection between Muslim Jihadis and the death of thousands.  For many of our fellow countrymen, death came quickly.  Twelve years later, I cannot fathom the fear, the emptiness, the futility, and worse, the aloneness of those that chose that last 30 seconds of their lives in jumping.  They stared at the Death that was coming from above, below and from behind – and cheat it but only in that they chose a different Death.

Never forget – and never forgive.  No, Mr. President Obama, too many Americans have died too soon  to have us aid those that caused Death to visit our shores simply because our Founders believed in the exceptional (and radical) idea that we can be self-governing in all things and to live our lives in ways we individually believe best.  But it seems, Mr. President, that you reject this idea (as do all Progressives) for your actions in Benghazi, in Libya, in Egypt, and desiring to do so again in Syria, you have thrown in with those that believe otherwise.  Jihadis, Islamists, Muslim Brotherhood; at each and every turn you have shown your preference for them over those that love our Constitution and its ideals.

Read more

Facebook Doodlings – Justice? Which one?

Steve’s post on former NH State Senate Minority Leader  Jeff ‘The Bruiser’ Woodburn had an interesting comment left on it on Facebook:

Joanne Hack Again, ALLEGED abuser … are we not supposed to be the voice of reason and say that he’s not convicted of anything so, since this is America, he shouldn’t have to resign. I don’t know the guy and I don’t have any opinion of him, but still he hasn’t been convicted of anything.

– one I decided to answer (emphasis here):

Read more

The RINO Virus (Part III, Recovery)

 

Led by Marie Kondo, a wave of tidying up is sweeping the nation.  People everywhere are going through their belongings, posing some simple tests, and getting rid of the items that fail those tests.

In Ms. Kondo’s case, the test is:  Does this item spark joy?  If it does, you keep it.  If not, you thank it for being part of your life, and send it on its way (to a friend, or a thrift shop, or Goodwill, or the transfer station).

In the case of some ‘minimalists’, the test is:  If you didn’t already have this item, would you buy it again?  If not, get rid of it.

I think this latter attitude may be the key to getting the Republican party to regain its focus on its primary purpose: preserving the republic.  

Read more

The RINO Virus (Part II, Cure)

It seems that not a week goes by that we don’t hear conservatives and libertarians moaning, ‘Why did we bother to elect Republicans if they’re just going to _____?’

Republicans seem to have forgotten what a political party is for.  It’s a way to focus time, effort, energy, and money so that they don’t get dissipated.  It’s a way of saying, ‘Instead of chasing all these rabbits, and not getting any of them, let’s just chase this one’. 

Read more

The RINO Virus (Part I, Diagnosis)

Years ago, a friend told me about something he calls the ‘baby test’.  To take it, raise either arm straight up so your upper arm touches your ear.  Bend the arm at the elbow.  If you can make a 90-degree angle, you’re not a baby.

It occurs to me that there is a similar test for whether you’re a Republican, although it’s conceptual rather than corporeal. The test is simple.  If you believe that it’s more important to achieve particular outcomes than to preserve a set of principles, you’re not a Republican.

Read more

Rick Notkin – candidate for NH State House, Belknap County District 2

Rick NotkinRecently I was asked why I was running for NH State Representative. The easy answer would be that I was corralled into it. Really, there was an open seat as one of the reps was not running for re-election so I had an opportunity to “put my money where my mouth was”, so to speak.

One of the main reasons that my wife and I moved to New Hampshire was the lower level of government intrusion into people’s lives. My overall view is supporting free-markets and individual liberty. I believe that when people have the freedom to engage in capitalism, the free market can solve many problems that arise. I also believe people should be able to run their own lives, as long as they don’t interfere with the rights of others.

Proponents of government programs and projects usually proclaim that given problems will be solved. “Leave it to us” actually seems to mean “you can’t handle it yourselves”. More insidiously, the actions (or inactions) of bureaucracies that are put in place to run the program often can’t reach the goals that were set.

Read more

Freedom

[su_quote cite=”Ludwig von Mises” url=”mises.org”]Freedom, as people enjoyed it in the democratic countries of Western civilization in the years of the old liberalism’s triumph, was not a product of constitutions, bills of rights, laws, and statutes. Those documents aimed only at safeguarding liberty and freedom, firmly established by the operation of the market economy, against … Read more

Picking on Denmark part 2: Notes from the field

Denmark street cafe

By Eddie

June 17, 2018: Copenhagen, Denmark

After the posting on Denmark last week, I thought I should go there and see for myself. Ok, not completely true, but I am here in Copenhagen, passing through on a previously planned business trip. I spent a relaxing afternoon wandering around town, observing. This was not my first visit to Copenhagen and my personal impression is that the people here are freer than Americans, at least in some ways. So let’s see.

Read more

The Totalitarian impulse did not die with the Soviet Union

Antifa- we will tread

I think that the entirety of the modern American Left’s agenda can be summarized in the words of Theodore Dalrymple, who notes,

The totalitarian impulse did not die with the Soviet Union, but rather fractured into many different monomanias. The freedom that many people desire is the freedom to limit other people’s freedom, which they find much more gratifying than the mere expression of their own opinion, which has at most the effect of throwing a pebble into a pond, causing a ripple that soon disappears and is forgotten. Surely I am more important than that, and my opinion deserves to dictate to others?

Read more

He’s either a Schmuck or is now desperately trying to not to end up like Wily E. Coyote

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

BLAM!  Here’s what Obama said in a proclamation concerning the National Day of Prayer:

“All of us have the freedom to pray and exercise our faiths openly,” Obama said. “Our laws protect these God-given liberties, and rightly so. Today and every day, prayers will be offered in houses of worship, at community gatherings, in our homes, and in neighborhoods all across our country. Let us give thanks for the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit, whether individually or in fellowship.

Really?  All I have been hearing from him is a bastardization of the actual wording of the First Amendment: “freedom to worship” instead of the proper wording of “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (as in “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”).  He said that phrase often, freedom to worship, in trying to force those of faith into a tiny box when it came to HHS Secretary Sebelius ruling that ALL Obamacare insurance policies must be obeyed – no religious exceptions except for those who actually work in a “house of worship”.  Does your church, synagogue, or other religious group have an “external” ministry?

Sidenote: can we please stop calling it “health insurance”?  What it really is now is just a healthcare payment system – there is no risk so there is no sense of traditional insurance at play here.

Too bad – Obama has decided, from On High, that he has the power and the authority to arbitrarily decide who is religious and “worthy” to be given an HHS  exception to the contraceptive and abortifacient to be provided by all new Obamacare mandated healthcare payment insurance policies – or not. 

Read more

A voice suffering from Government Tyranny – simply for being TEA Party – Part 2

“I think the IRS needs to fix its labeling machine: we’re the San Fernando Valley TEA Party not Occupy Oakland”

In addition to Becky Gerritson, another TEA Party founder by the name of Dr. Karen Kenny  of the San Fernando Valley TEA Party testified to the Congressional committee on the targeting that they received from the IRS (emphasis mine):

Thank you Mr. Chairman.  John Adams knew that facts are stubborn things. In this district, facts are hidden under the mantle of office.  They get used as tools or weapons but they wait for us. We must seek them with the Lamp of Truth and put them into words.

But you and I speak languages in this Republic. You speak the language of Power, of pen, purse, and gavel. I speak American grassroots, the language of Liberty, through Providence, Property, and Civic Virtue.

We seldom speak together about The Rule of Law unless it is ignored or violated; now is such a time. I have a story that bridges the distance between my State of California and this Capital.  What I say here must be said here.

Read more

Treaties, Irony, and Gun Rights – Oh My!

When second or third world Muslim Freedom fighters want to overthrow a controlling oppressive government, the Obama administration is Johnny-on-the-spot with…well…guns; other peoples money for guns or training in the use of guns, or some such thing.  But when American citizens want to exercise their second amendment right to lawful gun ownership (at their own expense) as a long term deterrent to the potential threat of a controlling and oppressive government, Obama and the Democrats want to do everything and anything they can to make that exercise as difficult as possible, if not impossible.

So yes, you need guns in pursuit of liberty and freedom from controlling oppressive regimes just not this one.

Read more

The Real Agents of Change

Democrats like to promote themselves as change agents.  Agents of change.  And this makes them hip.  Modern.  Progressive.  But nothing could be further from the truth.

Democrats promote the politicization of everything and by extension the bureaucratization of everything.  To them government is the best arbiter of progress.  But the process of making government the dispatcher of innovation has exactly the opposite effect.  It creates barriers to entry, reduces choices, dries up resources or locks them away, and leaves a few cumbersome behemoths who plod along beside big government, benefiting from their shared monopoly on “progress.”

Read more

Share to...
BufferCopyFlipboardHacker NewsLineLinkedInMastodonMessengerMixPinterestPrintRedditSMSTelegramTumblrVKWhatsAppXingYummly