That’s why the people have no confidence in their authority.
Update: I dare you to go read The Free Thought Project website for 45 minutes.
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Is Capitalism Compatible With Libertarianism?
“That wasn’t really socialism!”
I’m sure we’ve all heard that defense before, but are libertarians just as guilty of this argument?
“That’s cronyism!”
“That’s corporatism!”
“That’s not free market capitalism!”
In Episode 37 of Stranger Encounters Tommy looks at the pros and cons of capitalism as a term used by libertarians, and if the use of this term serves utility for the furtherance of liberty.
Is capitalism the hill to die on? Let’s explore the idea.
(Sorry about the sound cut towards the end of the episode; the wife called.)
LISTEN TO STRANGER ENCOUNTERS EP 37 HERE
Denver Legalizes Psilocybin Mushrooms
Bill Hicks rolls over in his grave.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dunford Insubordinate on Afghanistan
Today Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford directly contradicted the policy of his commander in chief, the civilian, elected president of the United States, who is pursuing direct talks with the Taliban toward ending America’s role in the Afghan war and the removal of all U.S. forces from that unfortunate land.
Dunford told Congress, “I think we will need to maintain a counterterrorism presence as long as an insurgency continues in Afghanistan.”
This is another Truman fires MacArthur moment, and one that Trump will surely let slide, just as he did when CENTCOM commander Votel pulled the same stunt two months ago. What the hell does the pathetic old dog Donald Trump really care anyway? He doesn’t. And he’s got no more spine than his predecessor-nemesis, Gen. Petraeus’s pet president, Barack Obama.
And what a lousy bullshit artist Dunford is. As long as there’s an insurgency the U.S. needs counter-terrorism forces there, huh? Yeah.
In other words, as long as the Taliban have not disarmed and surrendered to the National Unity Government in Kabul, they are “terrorists,” who must be destroyed.
See ya in 20 years.
This is Important
The USA is killing people in Yemen.
All the speeches from the IRmep, WRMEA Conference
The Bureaucratic Revolution
On the Human Action podcast, Jeff Deist interviews William L. Anderson about the Ludwig von Mises classic Bureaucracy.
Update: Mises is killing it today. Also check out this great article, “3 Ways to Help Bridge the Racial Wealth Gap,” by Jordan Setayesh.
Did Iran Kill 600 Americans in Iraq War II?
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claims that Iran killed 600 Americans during Iraq War II. The syllogism goes, Iran supplied EFP bombs to Sadr’s militia, the Mahdi Army, they then used those bombs on U.S. troops. Ergo “Iran,” meaning the ayatollah and his government, killed those troops.
Is that the case?
No. All through 2007, Gen. Petraeus and friends had insisted that all Shi’ite-placed, copper-core-having, “Explosively Formed Penetrators” were being made and supplied by Iran. They never demonstrated this.
In fact, if you check, you will find that over and over again, Western reporters found machine shops where the EFPs were being made in Iraq by Iraqis.
Here are a few blogs full of links from back then.
And here are a few more articles debunking the spin.
It does look like Lebanese Hezbollah taught them how to make them, but they’re not “Iran,” and they did what? Taught Iraqi Shia how to make them. And again, though obviously it’s possible in part at least, it was never shown that any of these bombs originated in Iran, much less that the Iranian government was behind it all. The U.S. claimed that then, and they claim it now, but they have never proven it.
So you can see how attributing every American death at the hands of a Shi’ite in Iraq War II to “Iran,” based on the Shi’ites’ use of EFP bombs, is just plain old not accurate.
Podcasts
