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Friday, May 24

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Bradley Keyes is the guest editor today.

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photo courtesoy of ixtussy
Where Zero Tolerance Is Overdue
Column by Tim Hartnett. Exclusive to STR The perpetual battle being waged against people who feel entitled to speak their own mind didn’t end when James Madison wrote the First Amendment. If the guarantees on paper in the Bill of Rights could have settled that much, the Ten Commandments would have eradicated sin. Those 45 words that describe where the fight against oppression should draw its lines were put together as an ultimatum to public employees. That was 222 years ago; the fight was...
The Six Stages of the Libertarian Movement
Original article Transcript from a 30 year-old Murray Rothbard speech that's as relevant today as ever. Highly recommended.
A Guide to Practical Compassion
Original article If I’ve found two guiding principles in my life, they are contentment and compassion. With these two ideas, life becomes better. Contentment makes every moment better. And compassion makes your connection with others better.
Using The Nash Equilibrium and Mutually Assured Destruction To Bypass Bitcoin Currency Exchanges
Original article A brilliant and fascinating idea.
The New Science of Giving
Original article A young Houston couple is planning to give away $4 billion—but only to projects that prove they are worth it. Can they redefine the world of philanthropy?
City Says No More Free Breakfasts for Homeless at Veterans Park
Original article Manchester, NH city officials have told a church group that it will no longer be allowed use Veterans Park to serve a free hot breakfast to the homeless.
Fed. Appeals Court Says Police Need Warrant to Search Phone
Original article "In a decision that's almost certainly going to result in this issue heading up to the Supreme Court, the Federal 1st Circuit Court of Appeals [Friday] ruled that police can't search your phone when they arrest you without a warrant. That's contrary to most courts' previous findings in these kinds of cases where judges have allowed warrantless searches through cell phones."
Taxes on Some Wealthy French Top 100 Pct of Income
Original article More than 8,000 French households' tax bills topped 100 percent of their income last year, the business newspaper Les Echos reported on Saturday, citing Finance Ministry data.
Senators Require Fingerprinting at 30 Airports
Original article Fingerprinting of those exiting the country, to be done only at the 30 busiest airports, will somehow increase our security? This makes even less sense than most things coming from DC - someone's got to be making some big money from this.
Gun Control: Cartridge ID Law to Take Effect
Original article A hotly contested gun-control law that was passed in 2007 is finally ready to be implemented, Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday: a requirement that every new semiautomatic handgun contain "micro-stamping" technology that would allow police to trace a weapon from cartridges found at a crime scene.
I Built This AK-47. It's Legal and Totally Untraceable.
Original article Forget 3-D printed guns. Inside a "build party" where anyone can make a rifle that no cop will ever know about.
Doctors Save Ohio Toddler by 'Printing' Him an Airway Tube
Original article In a medical first, doctors used plastic particles and a 3-D laser printer to create an airway splint to save the life of a baby boy who used to stop breathing nearly every day.
Why CrossFit Is for Every Kid
Original article She had her surgery in April. It was a success. Her mother said thanks to her new strength she was able to pull herself up in the hospital bed easier and she was able to lower herself when going to the bathroom without help from a nurse. “Thanks to squats!” the girl beamed. And it’s those things we take from granted. Those moments are what are important. This wasn’t about crushing an opponent on the tennis court, improving a 100m sprint by tenths of a second, or even...
Music: Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits
Original article You feel alright when you hear that music ring...
A Review of 'Freedom Manifesto' by Steve Forbes
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DP_Thinker 2012-10-30 00:00
Column by DP_Thinker. Exclusive to STR Having just finished reading Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn’t by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames, I found myself deploring government intervention even more than I had before. The “Freedom Manifesto” was a true indictment against big government failure. The theme of the book is to show the reader how...
Technological Transmogrification: Collapsing Government Via the Internet and Beyond
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Alex R. Knight III 2012-10-29 00:00
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR Karl Hess once said that historically, technological innovations always changed societies more than voting ever did, and without doubt he remains correct. All the evidence shows this to be true. Fire gave humanity the ability to survive the elements in greater numbers, and transition from the Stone to Iron Age. The printing press enabled Lutherans to...
The Compulsion of Reading and Writing
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Dylan Delikta 2012-10-26 07:53
Column by Dylan Delikta. Exclusive to STR As a self-proclaimed “writer,” I do not take the time to write as much as I often should. In fact, if I was a journalist in this day and age, I probably would have been out of the job and perhaps even evicted from my apartment (if I actually lived in an apartment, so to say). I realize that right now I sound as if I am being a bit self-...
'Indians'
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Jim Davies 2012-10-25 00:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR The coming free society will be rational; residents will live on the basis of reality and reason rather than myth. We will recognize government for what it is and therefore reject it on rational grounds; we will think in rational, economic terms predominantly. I can be sure of this, because a free society will not come into being until everyone does think...
The Curious Species Ordinatio Diutinus
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tzo 2012-10-24 00:00
Column by tzo. Exclusive to STR Modern governments are perhaps quite naturally thick-headed and self-destructive, destined to clumsily overreach and greedily overindulge until they inevitably collapse. It’s seemingly encoded into their metaphorical DNA. But this is just the natural life cycle of any individual government—to be born; to consume, develop, and grow; and to die. And yet...
St. Abe Recommended
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Jim Davies 2012-10-23 00:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR When the Church of Rome has in mind to elevate one of its heroes or heroines to the status of sainthood, it follows a certain procedure – one element of which is to hear the opinion of an advocatus diaboli – a devil's advocate. His job is to reason against the proposed canonization, so reducing the probability of error. That task fell in...
Voting Is Not Irrational
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Paul Bonneau 2012-10-22 00:00
Column by Paul Bonneau. Exclusive to STR I just got done reading another article whacking the practice of voting. This one declares that voting is a fool's game. One begins to wonder if this is a productive tack. How many voters are convinced by such arguments? Aren’t we just “preaching to the choir”? Are we hacking at the branches of evil, or striking the root? I have made...
Netanyahu's October Surprise
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fmoghul 2012-10-22 00:00
Column by Faisal Moghul. Exclusive to STR Benjamin Netanyahu’s lust for war with Iran is driven by a mephistophelian worldview that not only prioritizes blatant lies and vile propaganda over the embarrassing truth and awkward facts, but also embraces the art of deception perfected by Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, by lying big, and repeating it constantly and incessantly, to...
Secret Terror Script Leaked
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Bradley Keyes 2012-10-19 00:00
Column by Bradley Keyes. Exclusive to STR The Department of Homeland Security has apparently been too clever for its own good. They put together a Terrorist Interdiction Field Manual in the form of multiple scripts as an aid to their field agents to help them get into their undercover roles properly. It appears that some poor soul within the Department mistook the highly-classified document for a...
The Post Office That Government Built
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Alex R. Knight III 2012-10-19 00:00
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR As I continue to do my small part to ultimately wipe government off the face of the Earth forever, I can offer at least two prognostications which, although modest in scope compared to any actual voluntaryist destination, are almost sure to occur in the relatively near future. One, is marijuana legalization – even if only in some heavily taxed...
Inferno, Part II of II
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tzo 2011-08-15 00:00
Column by tzo.  Exclusive to STR Part II of II   Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita, (Midway upon the journey of our life,) Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, (I found myself within a forest dark,) Che la diritta via era smarrita. (For the straightforward pathway had been lost.)   Without realizing it, the citizen has gotten off the path that he intended to take. He looks around...
The Doctrine of Love and Freedom
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Glen Allport 2011-08-16 00:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   Almost unnoticed amongst the glitter and wonder of modern sci-tech is that the basic, foundational truths of classical liberalism are now exceptionally well supported by science. If you want a society that produces physically and emotionally healthy people and that fosters prosperity, innovation, and peace, you want – you need – both...
Voluntaryist Schooling at Libertopia 2011 - Part 1: The Summum Bonum Learning Center and Intrinsic Motivation
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Lawrence M. Ludlow 2011-08-23 00:00
Column by Lawrence M. Ludlow Exclusive to STR  In San Diego this October 20-23, visitors to Libertopia 2011 will have the very first glimpse of a new type of school – the Summum Bonum Learning Center. According to Joey Hill, director and co-founder of the school, “In the spirit of Libertopia, instead of waiting for liberty to happen at some time in the future, we decided to start...
The Doctrine of Love and Freedom: Condensed, One-Word Edition
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Glen Allport 2011-08-24 00:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   - 1 - The Word    **  Love. **   - 2 - Start of Commentary Section: The Word is Complete in Itself   Nothing more is needed, because love includes non-aggression: you don't aggress against others if you love them. The Doctrine of Love and Freedom is thus completely contained in the single word...
Voluntaryist Schooling at Libertopia 2011 - Part 2: Why Intrinsic Motivation Works
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Lawrence M. Ludlow 2011-08-25 00:00
Column by Lawrence M. Ludlow Exclusive to STR At Libertopia 2011, visitors will have a chance to find out why a group of voluntaryists in San Diego are starting their own school. More specifically, from October 20th through 23rd, the folks from Summum Bonum Learning Center will demonstrate how a school based on intrinsic motivation and freedom can respond to the needs of the children in ways...
Voluntaryist Schooling at Libertopia 2011 - Part 3: Why We Need Summum Bonum Learning Center – Now!
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Lawrence M. Ludlow 2011-08-30 00:00
Column by Lawrence M. Ludlow   Exclusive to STR   The Failure of Conventional Schools   Parents and children are frustrated by public schools (85% to 90% of all students). Not only do they do not meet their needs, but they treat parents and children as if they were sick patients instead of as valued customers. Moreover, student needs are superseded by politically sensitive funding...
A Sign of Our Depravity
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R. K. Blacksher 2011-09-02 00:00
Column by R.K. Blacksher   Exclusive to STR    Some people love to lament the popularity of violent video games and rap music. They view this as a sign of our depravity. Other people love to lament the popularity of NASCAR and professional wrestling. They view this as a sign of our stupidity.   Are they right? Does the popularity of these cultural phenomena emblemize the much...
The Trouble with Traditional Schooling
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livefreeretiree 2011-09-07 00:00
Column by new Root Striker Vahram G. Diehl.   Exclusive to STR   Traditional concepts and applications of learning have generally been one-sided. The “teacher” transmits information in the form of conclusions through words and images, while the “students” are expected to act as flawless receivers and adopters of these conclusions; they are to memorize them...
Remembering 9-11
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Michael Kleen 2011-09-15 00:00
Column by Michael Kleen. Exclusive to STR Ten years ago, at around 8:00 a.m. in the Chicago suburbs, I awoke to a phone call. It was my father, calling from work to tell me to turn on the television. He said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, and true to his word, there it was live on CNN: a black plume of smoke billowing out of the North Tower. Moments later, I, along with millions...
On Standing Up for Our Rights and Bringing Government Criminals to Justice
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Scott Lazarowitz 2011-09-16 00:00
Column by Scott Lazarowitz. Exclusive to STR Recently an Atlantic article on the history of guns emphasized the 1960s Black Panthers exercising their right to bear arms openly on the California state capitol steps. The article highlights one confrontation between a Panther and an Oakland police officer, who sees guns in the Panthers’ car and asks to see one of the guns. Knowing his rights,...
An Armed March on Washington? MUST READ
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Alex R. Knight III 2013-05-07 06:52
Column by Alex R. Knight III. Exclusive to STR Perhaps never before have I encountered a proposal within Liberty Movement circles that has generated more controversy faster and further than Adam Kokesh’s planned July 4th march on Washington, District of Criminals, in which he states that himself and the other participants “will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to...
The Orwellian Paradigm--Killing You, For Your Own Safety MUST READ
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fmoghul 2013-04-10 08:12
Column by Faisal Moghul. Exclusive to STR Almost 30 years ago, cultural critic Neil Postman argued in Amusing Ourselves to Death that television’s gradual replacement of the printing press has created a dumbed-down culture driven by mindless entertainment. In this context, Postman claimed that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World correctly foresaw our dystopian future, as opposed to George...
Frameworks, Virtual Reality and Civil Society: A Manifesto for the Doctrine of Love and Freedom MUST READ
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Glen Allport 2012-12-06 08:44
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR Perhaps I should say this paradigm shift is resuming. The healthier incoming paradigm is a modern, more accurate, better-supported, and better-understood version of one that began the shift towards a free, healthy, and prosperous world more than three centuries ago and which informed the creation of the United States itself: Classical Liberalism. - 1...
Timeline of a World-Killing Paradigm Shift MUST READ
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Glen Allport 2012-05-14 00:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   Part 3 of "Could the Non-Aggression Principle Stop the Sixth Great Extinction?"   Part One of this series discussed the Non-Aggression principle, calling it "the libertarian half of the Golden Rule" (compassion being the other half) and describing the function of aggression in creating not only tyranny and war but also...
Terrorist Alert: Government Extremists Threaten Americans MUST READ
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Glen Allport 2012-03-26 00:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR   Question: are you more terrified by Muslim extremists, by "domestic terrorists" – or by your own government? Which group is more likely to assault you? To kill you? To unjustly imprison and even torture you?   The U.S. federal government has ALREADY:   Built and is staffing a huge gulag of concentration camps ["...
The State Is a Firing Squad MUST READ
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JGVibes 2012-02-17 01:00
Column by JGVibes.   Exclusive to STR   Although the common perception of human nature is very negative, the truth is that most people who aren’t mentally ill have a very difficult time committing acts of violence. Usually it takes a sizeable payment and a fair amount of manipulation to convince someone to act violently, and even then a tremendous amount of guilt typically...
How the 1% Took America's Wealth--and How to Get It Back MUST READ
9.25
Glen Allport 2011-12-01 01:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR  - 1 - Plundering Wealth vs Producing Wealth   In recent decades, the rich have gathered an increasing share of the total wealth in the United States. As this wealth disparity grows and especially as large numbers of the formerly middle class fall into poverty and even into homelessness, this flow of wealth from main street (from anyone not...
'Anarchy or Minarchy' Is Only Half the Question, Part 2 MUST READ
9.5
Glen Allport 2011-04-13 03:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR  This is Part 2 of a response to a column by Wesley Messamore. Last week's Part One of this column discussed the following:   ·      Minarchy: Lighting a Match to the Fuse of Tyranny ·      Anarchy: By Itself, Yang without Yin ·      The Missing Key...
Oh, Stanley MUST READ
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tzo 2011-03-30 03:00
Column by tzo. Exclusive to STR   Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist best known for his Milgram Experiment, a study conducted in the 1960s.   Dr. Milgram wanted to research the relationship between obedience and authority, and he was at least partly motivated to do so by the events of the Nazi Holocaust. It greatly troubled him that so many supposedly good people could...
The Pathocracy Unmasked MUST READ
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Glen Allport 2011-02-11 04:00
Column by Glen Allport. Exclusive to STR - 1 - Exposed as Criminals and Psychopaths, the Coercive Elite are Desperate to Stop the Flow of Honest Information     "When Bush cancelled his trip to avoid prosecution, the human rights groups who prepared the complaints made it public and announced that the Bush Torture Indictment would be waiting wherever he travels next." CCR...
The Licensing Effect Recommended
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Lawrence Samuels 2013-05-10 08:28
The article below contains excerpts from L.K. Samuels’ new book, In Defense of Chaos: The Chaology of Politics, Economics and Human Action. Column by L.K. Samuels. Exclusive to STR Good intentions rarely make good laws. Those who do evil almost always think they are doing good for goodness’ sake. Nobody sees himself as evil. As Will Smith, the American actor, once quipped, “...
The Pugsley Plan Recommended
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Jim Davies 2013-01-14 08:46
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR Prior to Harry Browne's first run for US President in 1996, his friend John Pugsley wrote him a passionate “open letter” urging him not to. As far as I know, Harry didn't reply, but he did continue his campaign – and repeated it four years later. He got few votes more than the LP normally receives, but his platform and campaign were...
Ed Schultz and His Alleged Middle Class Heroes Recommended
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Angelo Mike 2013-01-04 01:00
Column by Angelo Mike. Exclusive to STR Ed Schultz has set quite the task out for himself. On his New Year’s Eve broadcast on MSNBC, he announced who his “Middle Class Heroes of 2012” are. Schultz is a self-styled liberal, so his recipients of the title “Middle Class Hero” are predictable and worthy of a certain amount of eye rolling. The general reverence for...
The Trials Recommended
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tzo 2012-12-11 08:49
Column by tzo. Exclusive to STR To anyone who has seen or read The Reader (a synopsis of the relevant part of the story is here), one of the main questions raised in the story is, "What should be done with Hanna?" Was she responsible for her actions even if she was so thoroughly indoctrinated so as to be completely confused by the charges against her? She asked more than once, while...
464 Lost Years Recommended
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Jim Davies 2012-12-10 08:48
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR Recently I re-read part of that seminal essay, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude by Etienne de la Boëtie, written in 1548, or 464 years ago. He said that if you want to topple a tyrant, all you need to do is to withdraw support. No violence, no sweat, just stop helping him. Yet 24 years later there was a massacre of Huguenot Protestants, indicating that...
The Duty to End the State Recommended
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Jim Davies 2012-11-30 08:53
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR Many reading this already understand the Self-ownership Axiom; that we each own our own lives by right, and hence that all government is an unnatural and ruinous appendage. Among those who do, though, surprisingly there is disagreement over what to do about it. Some hold that resistance by such voluntaryists in the present government-saturated environment...
Why I'm Leaving America Recommended
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SailboatDiaries 2012-11-07 01:00
Column by new Root Striker Michael Fielding. Goodbye, America. For as long as I’ve lived you’ve been my only home. I’ve had a wonderful life here. Your inhabitants are almost universally kind, and I’ve become lifelong friends with many of your citizens. All of my family lives here, everyone I have ever known or loved, and I will miss them all a lot. But after 22 years, I...
Voting Is Not Rational Recommended
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Stephen Nichols 2012-11-01 00:00
Column by Stephen Nichols. Exclusive to STR While reading Paul Bonneau’s recent column on STR entitled “Voting Is Not Irrational,” I was taken aback by the obvious flaws in his analysis and the conclusions resulting from that analysis. It’s been a few days since his article was published and I’ve been formulating my response to it for some time. Let me now share with...
St. Abe Recommended
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Jim Davies 2012-10-23 00:00
Column by Jim Davies. Exclusive to STR When the Church of Rome has in mind to elevate one of its heroes or heroines to the status of sainthood, it follows a certain procedure – one element of which is to hear the opinion of an advocatus diaboli – a devil's advocate. His job is to reason against the proposed canonization, so reducing the probability of error. That task fell in...
A Reason Not to Vote Recommended
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Stephen Nichols 2012-10-18 00:00
Column by Stephen Nichols. Exclusive to STR I don't know about you, but I take a look at my financial situation pretty regularly. I like to keep tabs on my family's spending and keep things under control. I also like to reduce or eliminate any unnecessary expenses. Take a moment to review this chart of some recent family spending: Notice anything big that sticks out there? Yeah, me...

 

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