The State Drops Its Mask
George F. Smith
2007-08-26 16:00
Exclusive to STR
August 27, 2007
'So things aren't quite adding up the way they used to, huh? Some of your myths are a little shaky these days.'
'My myths? They're not'"
STR's Fifth--The First of Many
George F. Smith
2006-08-11 16:00
Exclusive to STR
On IMDb.com, the movie "V for Vendetta" has an average viewer rating of 8.2 out of a possible 10, based on 55,397 votes. With V now available on DVD, more people will see it and a rating increase will likely follow, making it one of the most popular movies of all time among IMDb voters. The local Blockbuster where I tried to buy a copy was sold out, their stock having been...
Crop Seeding in America
George F. Smith
2006-02-14 17:00
Exclusive to STR
September 25, 2008
Everything possible is done to prevent the fraud of the monetary system from being exposed to the masses who suffer from it. ~ Rep. Ron Paul, TX, before the U.S. House of Representatives, February 15, 2006
What Is the Fed's 'Noble Cause'?
George F. Smith
2005-09-13 16:00
Federal Reserve officials periodically drone about their monetary policies targeting the federal funds rate, which is the interest rate banks charge one another for overnight loans. 'Changes in the federal funds rate trigger a chain of events,' the Fed's web site says, affecting other interest rates, employment, output, and the prices of goods and services. Oh, yes ' rate changes also affect...
Crisis Is the Health of the State
George F. Smith
2005-09-12 16:00
Katrina had been well known to scientists and emergency professionals long before it made landfall in New Orleans. Far from being a storm that was 'breathtaking in its surprise,' as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described it [1], Katrina was virtually scripted in a five-part New Orleans Times-Picayune article in 2002.
The Greenspan Greenback
George F. Smith
2005-02-28 17:00
In an effort to silence forever those pesky cranks who call themselves monetary libertarians, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has announced a new do-it-yourself dollar. Appropriately called the Greenspan Greenback, the new one-dollar specimen sports Chairman Greenspan's likeness not merely once, as with good 'ol George, but 12 times. 'Critics of the Fed's very...
Greenspan and Banker Alchemy
George F. Smith
2005-02-13 17:00
In 1966, Alan Greenspan published an essay called 'Gold and Economic Freedom,' certain words from which have been reverberating throughout libertarian circles since he started working for the government.
Inflation, the Insidious WMD
George F. Smith
2005-01-18 17:00
In a speech delivered recently at a Mises Institute conference on 'The Trouble With Taxation,' Lew Rockwell told his audience about how Alabama governor Bob Riley tried to con taxpayers into handing over more money. Not only did Riley try to get voters to approve the largest tax increase in state history, his proposed bill would have changed the state constitution to make it easier to fleece...
Season"s Greetings from the Fed
George F. Smith
2004-12-28 17:00
In 1903, a lawyer in Germany took out an insurance policy and made payments on it faithfully. When the policy came due in 20 years, he cashed it in and bought a single loaf of bread with the proceeds. [1] He was fortunate. If he had waited a few days longer, the money he received would have bought no more than a few crumbs. Germany had been on the usual fractional reserve...
A Strong Dose of DiLorenzo
George F. Smith
2004-12-01 17:00
Given what passes for economic understanding today and the disastrous policies we're forced to endure, you might think economic decision-making consisted of a coin toss with a two-headed penny. Every problem is the market's fault and government's responsibility to fix. The root cause is always too much freedom ' the solution, therefore, is to have less of it.
In this picture, government is like...
It Has Happened Here
George F. Smith
2004-11-01 17:00
The problem for the liberty-loving individual is chronically the same, no matter what the date: how to keep the big foot of government off the backs of our necks. Libertarians such as Carla Howell and Michael Cloud argue that small government is beautiful. Vote for Libertarian Party candidates, and they will chop leviathan down to a tiny fraction of its size. We can certainly...
Congress Runs the Gauntlet
George F. Smith
2004-10-18 16:00
A major crisis occurred the other day, but government officials pounced on the problem and brought it to an end. In resolving the difficulty, government added no new powers, kept our freedom intact, and took no more of our money. In sharp contrast to the preceding is the world we live in. As usual, politicians and their hacks are kicking around a number of...
The Fed's Grasping Invisible Hand
George F. Smith
2004-09-28 16:00
As Adam Smith explains, the free market brings its wonders to the world by virtue of an invisible hand. Individuals cooperating under the international division of labor and seeking generally to satisfy their own wants end up promoting the general welfare, often without intending to or without realizing it.
Not to be outdone, government too has developed a systemic hand that...
Think Outside the Booth
George F. Smith
2004-08-16 16:00
Government is holding an election this fall and expects us to participate. One of the major party candidates will win and government expansion will continue unabated. Some people will vote their conscience by voting for a third-party candidate. Their man has no hope of winning, but they believe it's better than voting for a Republicrat or not voting at all.
Voting for the...
Myths of the Money Machine
George F. Smith
2004-08-04 16:00
So many wars to fight, so much welfare to dish out. Life is difficult for those who rule us. How are they going to pay for it all and still command our respect? Trying to remake the world with taxes alone won't do it ' there's always the chance, however slim, that Americans would protest. Politicians thus need a way of getting more money without actually taking it from us. Impossible as it...
The Story of the Fed Is a Story of a Crime
George F. Smith
2004-06-13 16:00
The magnitude by which [the reality of the Federal Reserve] deviates from the accepted myth,' writes G. Edward Griffin, 'is so great that, for most people, it simply is beyond credibility.' But as he makes abundantly clear in his landmark book, The Creature From Jekyll Island, now in its fourth edition, the case against the Fed is overwhelming. [1] Creature, as Griffin...
Where"s the Outrage?
George F. Smith
2004-04-07 16:00
The president of the country lies and no one seems to care. They don't even care that he pokes fun at himself about the lies. He and his comrades lied before, during, and after the war, which so far has killed over 600 Americans. Impeach him? Not a chance. He'll probably get re-elected. There is no outrage because this is what we expect from government. Budgets in the...
Slackers, Arise! Support the Anti-Party!
George F. Smith
2004-02-16 17:00
People concerned about the growth of government start developing migraines around this time of year. They feel compelled, somehow, to scrutinize the candidates up until Election Day so they can put their votes where they will do the least harm. They tell themselves voting is how responsible people act in a democratic republic, even if it's a lost cause. With all the candidates promising great...
Don't Vote, Not Even for Martha
George F. Smith
2004-02-09 17:00
There would be something satisfying seeing a President Stewart making life hell for her tormentors, but it doesn't justify voting for her. Nothing justifies voting for her -- or for anyone. Government should be abolished and its liberty-defending functions provided by a free market.
Sound crazy? How could it be any worse than what we have?
Is it necessary, really, to point out that government...
One Madness Engenders the Next
George F. Smith
2004-01-14 17:00
The dictionary defines reckoning as 'a time to account for or be punished for wrongs.' And according to Bonner and Wiggin, Americans have got it coming. We've been living gluttonously on debt ' personal, corporate, and government ' subsidized by the kindness of foreigners who take their truckloads of dollars and invest them in American assets. One cannot live forever on debt. Foreigners will...
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