In this video, “The Amazing Atheist” doesn’t merely refute opposition to the construction of that mosque near Ground Zero, he positively obliterates it! He shows it for the dangerous, anti-American assault on free speech that it is. Warning: this video is NSFW as it includes a lot of profanity, including a heaping helping of F-bombs, but it’s oh so good.

PS: I’m so angry that I’m getting dragged into this stupid, waste-of-time fight over a basic Constitutional freedom that should not be up for discussion.

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author’s Page

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This morning I drew the Silver Circle Contest’s first winner from Thursday, per the arrangement described on the contest page: “I will be drawing an e-mail address at the end of the day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for each of the three comic books.”

I think I’m going to go ahead and hold off announcing each winner until the very end and announce them all at once as it may not be possible to get a hold of each winner soon enough to announce them day by day.

If you haven’t entered do it now- because there are still two limited edition Silver Circle comic books up for grabs! (Oh yeah- and a 1 oz. fine silver coin!) You’ll still be eligible to win that second comic book for Thursday if you enter by 12:00 am Pacific Time tonight.

And if you entered and your name wasn’t drawn for the first comic book, it will stay in the pool of entries for the second and third one, as well as the silver coin.

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL

PS: Our subscriber numbers are climbing like crazy! Thanks so much to all of you who have made this a success already by subscribing or sharing with your friends! I think we have a good shot at hitting 500 by the end of the day tomorrow.

PPS: It looks like you’ve already helped our sponsor hit their goal too… but if you haven’t given and you’d like to help contribute to the making of a libertarian film (and get some pretty cool prizes from them for donating- no contest, no drawing, just guaranteed prizes), check out their Kickstarter Page and help them blow past their goal like you’re helping me!

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‘Like a mad aunt, the Fed is slowly losing its marbles. Kartik Athreya, senior economist for the Richmond Fed, has written a paper condemning economic bloggers as chronically stupid and a threat to public order.

Matters of economic policy should be reserved to a priesthood with the correct post-doctoral credentials, which would of course have excluded David Hume, Adam Smith, and arguably John Maynard Keynes (a mathematics graduate, with a tripos foray in moral sciences).

“Writers who have not taken a year of PhD coursework in a decent economics department (and passed their PhD qualifying exams), cannot meaningfully advance the discussion on economic policy.”

Don’t you just love that throw-away line “decent”? Dr Athreya hails from the University of Iowa.

“The response of the untrained to the crisis has been startling. The real issue is that there is an extremely low likelihood that the speculations of the untrained, on a topic almost pathologically riddled by dynamic considerations and feedback effects, will offer anything new. Moreover, there is a substantial likelihood that it will instead offer something incoherent or misleading.”

You couldn’t make it up, could you?’

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author’s Page

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If there is any question about the status of the conservative movement, it could be found in Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally: it is as alive and kicking as Ronald Reagan himself. Too soon? Either way, despite estimates of hundreds of thousands attending Beck’s rally last Saturday, there was nothing on display to imply that American conservatism has any long-term usefulness.

“Where are the victorious tea party Republicans going to cut?

“According to USA Today, 50 million Americans are on Medicaid, and perhaps an equal number on Medicare and Social Security. Which of these three will tea party Republicans cut, when Republicans are already denying Democratic charges that they plan to raise the retirement age for Social Security? . . .

“Are Republicans going to go after other entitlements — veterans benefits, earned income tax credits, food stamps — which now go to 41 million Americans, or unemployment benefits that run for 99 weeks?

“The big remaining items in the budget are interest on the debt, which must be paid, and war and defense. But Republicans are more likely to be supportive of Obama’s rebuilding a military ravaged by war, and staying the course in Iraq and Afghanistan, than are Democrats.

“Obama’s budget commission will surely come in with tax increases on personal incomes, perhaps also for Social Security and Medicare. But the GOP cannot sign on to these and go home again.”

Carl Wicklander,
Regular Columnist, THL
Articles | Author’s Page | Website

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My good friend, colleague, and partner Les Carpenter over at Rational Nation USA just published an excellent opinion editorial over at The Daily Caller on gay marriage. Under discussion is the proper role of the state, and particularly the impotence of democracy- which is to say, the inability of simple majorities to justify violating individual liberties on the basis of their numerical superiority:

“The Constitution is a contract between the people and their government. One of its primary aims is to protect vulnerable minorities from the tyranny of the majority. This is of particular note in California, where voters rejected gay marriage at the ballot box. Can a majority deny an individual the right to peaceably live his life as he sees fit?

My simple answer is no. If your answer is yes, then who is to say that your lifestyle, religion, or ethos will not be next?”

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author’s Page

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Several of my friends support Rick Lazio for Governor of New York State.  Lazio had worked as a lobbyist for JP Morgan and had helped arrange Morgan’s $25 billion bailout. No greater expansion of government power has occurred in the past two decades.  In exchange for his help in facilitating the expansion of government, JP Morgan paid Lazio a one million dollar bonus.  In addition, Lazio is on record in support of abortion.  As well, Lazio is entrenched in the same self destructive New York GOP that has allowed Alfonse D’Amato to play the GOP against itself in favor of the Democrats.  It is the same GOP  that continues to support Governor George Pataki, whose last term in office involved expansion of state government, an alliance with the state’s Service Employees International Union boss Dennis Rivera and corrupt indifference to extensive Medicaid fraud.  These patterns cannot be excused by the State Assembly’s Democratic majority or the state’s liberal ideology, as even the left-wing New York Times took issue with the criminality in Medicaid that flourished during the Pataki administration.

It is thus puzzling that so many Republicans continue to favor Rick Lazio for governor, the GOP establishment’s choice. These Republicans seek an outsider with considerable establishment experience.  That is, someone who supports less government but has spent his life earning a living through big government.   I would support Paladino if only to keep Lazio out of office, and a candidate who makes a 20% budget cut the centerpiece of his platform is certainly preferable to a paid lobbyist for JP Morgan. Another Pataki-like fraud would simply be too discrediting to the GOP.

The Republicans have grown used to dissonance between words and deeds.  The dissonance has become so sharp that the party’s image has deteriorated and will not recover until new personnel are introduced at the highest levels.  Mr. Pataki and Mr. D’Amato are relics and do not belong in any leadership role.  Likewise, candidates such as Michael Bloomberg and Rick Lazio with big government track records need to be purged.  There is nothing moderate about the the bailout that Mr. Lazio facilitated. It is not mainstream; it is not “conservative”.  The bailout was an extreme, self-indulgent, radical expansion of government, a violent taking of money by the powerful from those less powerful, and those participating in it lack the moral fiber to play any prominent role in government.

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‘Silver, the precious metal most used in industry, is attracting investors betting on both faster and slower economic growth as prices extend the longest run of quarterly gains in three decades.

Doubling as a store of value for buyers concerned about the economy and as an industrial material for those bullish on growth, silver is outperforming metals from copper to zinc this year and keeping pace with gold. It will rise as much as 15 percent to $22 an ounce before December, from $19.145 today, according to Daniel Brebner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG whose fourth-quarter outlook was accurate to within 0.7 percent.

While the Federal Reserve warned last week that financial conditions are “less supportive” of growth, investors held a record amount of silver in exchange-traded products backed by the metal, Barclays Capital data show. Options giving traders the right to buy the metal at $25 before Nov. 23 are the most widely held on the Comex in New York.

“Silver is really attractive because you have strong investment demand and strong fabrication demand,” said Jeffrey M. Christian, the managing director of CPM Group, a research company in New York. Silver rose 68 percent since he recommended buying the metal in a Bloomberg interview in October 2008. “You buy gold when you think the world is going to hell in a handbasket. You buy copper when the economy is booming. In between those two, if you’re a bit confused, you buy silver.”’

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author’s Page

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My good friend, colleague, and former schoolmate Ben Bryan recently wrote an excellent short post explaining his decision not to purchase a television for his new apartment as he starts graduate school this Fall:

“It’s simple: I want to ask fundamental questions about reality and human experience and that becomes more difficult in proportion to the amount of trivial noise I allow into my life, and there is quite possibly no greater source of trivial noise in twenty first century life than the television. There are few activities which breed so much passivity, both of body and intellect, as watching television.”

Visit the original post to read an excellent quote Ben includes by 20th century Thomistic philosopher Josef Pieper.

PS: I’ll be moving out of the Young Americans for Liberty internship house at the end of this week and getting my own apartment by myself for the first time in my life… and I will definitely NOT be getting a television.

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author’s Page

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“In 21st century America, institutional racism and sexism remain great twin evils to be eradicated on our long journey to the wonderful world where, at last, all are equal.

“What are we to make, then, of a profession that rewards workers with fame and fortune, yet discriminates ruthlessly against women; an institution where Hispanics and Asians, 20 percent of the U.S. population, are neither sought after nor widely seen.

“In this profession, white males, a third of the population, retain a third of the jobs. But black males, 6.5 percent of the U.S. population, have 67 percent of the coveted positions — 10 times their fair share.

“We are talking of the NFL.

“In figures reported by columnist Walter Williams, not only are black males 77 percent of the National Basketball Association, they are 67 percent of the players in the NFL.

“Yet no one objects that women are not permitted to compete in the NFL. Nor do many object to the paucity of Asian and Mexicans, or the over-representation of blacks, even as white males dominate the National Hockey League and the PGA.

“When it comes to sports — high school, collegiate or professional — Americans are intolerant of lectures about diversity and inclusiveness. They want the best — the best in the NFL, the best in the NBA, the best at Augusta, the best at Wimbledon, the best in the Olympics, the best in the All-Star Game, the World Series, the Super Bowl.”

Carl Wicklander,
Regular Columnist, THL
Articles | Author’s Page | Website

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So the contest I launched at the end of July was such a huge success that I’m doing a second one for this week only and giving you another chance to win free, inflation-proof silver! As this libertarian website edged close to 400 subscribers, I didn’t want to simply pass it and end up at 405 subscribers- I wanted to blow way past it, and you helped me do it!

With almost 80 new subscribers from the last contest, we’re now in striking range of blowing past 500 if we can duplicate the results we got one month ago! If we can get there, it will truly make The Humble Libertarian one of the premier political blogs on the Internet and set us up for some great success promoting the libertarian ideas and activism that I have planned for the Fall.

I’m also doing a second contest because multiple people contacted me right after the contest who were disappointed that they missed the deadline; and because The Silver Circle Movie project was so impressed with the results of the contest, that they too wanted to give you a chance to win free silver!

Here’s what I’m giving away:

Tyranny, explosions, monetary mayhem, romance and rebels. “The Chase” is a teaser chapter for “Silver Circle” an upcoming independent, animated feature film and graphic novel. This limited edition book (only 500 printed) has been signed by artist, Jackie Musto. More information here.

This elegant one-ounce, commemorative movie coin is made of inflation-proof, fine silver. Take just five minutes and enter the contest now for a chance to win it!

The deadline for entry is at the end of the day on Friday, September 3rd. That means you only have four days to enter! I will be drawing an e-mail address at the end of the day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for each of the three comic books. That means if you enter early, your chances of winning a prize go way up, so enter now!

At the end of the day on Friday I will draw from the pool of entries for the 1 oz. fine silver coin. There are two simple, easy, and quick ways to enter in the drawing:

1. Subscribe to The Humble Libertarian’s free daily updates, which deliver a summary of all this blog’s articles to your inbox each day. Subscribe by entering your e-mail below and hitting subscribe. You’ll get an e-mail notification from Feedburner (my subscription service)- don’t forget to open this e-mail and activate your subscription!

2. E-mail your friends, family, co-workers, etc. (be sure to carbon copy me!) to tell them about The Humble Libertarian with a link to this contest. You’ll get one entry for each person you e-mail (limit of 5)- so the people who e-mail five of their friends will be the ones most likely to win the comic books or the silver coin!

The Legal Stuff

• I will need a name and shipping address for winners so that my sponsor can ship you your prizes, and when I announce the winners on this blog, I will announce them by first name and state or city only.
  

• I will be contacting you at the e-mail address you make available to me via either of the two methods of entry above. So if you subscribe to my daily updates or carbon copy me to e-mails you write to your friends about this blog and its contest- be sure to use an e-mail address where I can reach you to announce that you’ve won.
  

• I reserve the right to amend the terms of the contest as necessary. I’m sure that won’t happen (and so far hasn’t for the four contests I’ve run here), but it never hurts to say so in writing just in case.

So what are you waiting for? Start racking up those entries!

Last month, I found that the people who won were the people who had the most entries. Take just five minutes out of your day today and you might just find a fine silver coin in your mailbox.

W. E. Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL

And now a word from our sponsor:

The Silver Circle Movie | Production Blog | Kickstarter Fundraising Project

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