https://youtu.be/HX9SZHeDaoY Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. - Mark Skousen, Ph.D. and Jo Ann Skousen, Persuasion vs. Force (1992) Mark Skousen earned his Ph.d. in monetary economics at George Washington University, is the editor of Forecasts & Strategies, author of 25 books, and is the founder of FreedomFest. Save $50 if you use...
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Saudi-Led Coalition Announces Halting Of Military Operations In Yemen
RIYADH: The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Tuesday that it will stop all military activities in Yemen starting Wednesday March 30 at 6 a.m. This comes in response to the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General and in support of the efforts and endeavors to reach a comprehensive and sustainable political solution to end the Yemeni crisis, the coalition said in a statement. The coalition also said it will take all steps and measures to make the ceasefire a success, and create appropriate conditions and a positive environment during the month of...
As Governments Remove Some/Most Covid Restrictions
Robert Higgs: The Ratchet effect In my work, the ratchet effect describes the characteristic way in which government under modern ideological conditions grows during a perceived national emergency. The government's size, scope, and power grow abruptly as the government acts to "do something" to allay the threat. Then, as the threat is eliminated or diminished, the government shrinks, but not all the way to the level it would have reached if the crisis had not occurred. Hence, each crisis shifts the government's growth trajectory to a higher level of size, scope, and power. In my...
“I Hold It That A Little Rebellion Now And Then Is A Good Thing”
“This uneasiness has produced acts absolutely unjustifiable,” Jefferson wrote, “but I hope they will provoke no severities from their governments.” He didn’t approve of the insurrection, but he feared how the authorities might respond. “Unsuccessful rebellions indeed generally establish the incroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them,” a fact that “should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions, as not to discourage them too much.” Were insurrections like this one a threat to democracy? No, they were a concomitant of democracy....
COI #207: Is Biden Turning to Diplomacy with Russia and Iran?
On COI #207, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman update the JCPOA talks’ recent developments and the Russians’ security proposals presented to Washington. Kyle discusses the Russians pulling 10,000 troops off the border with Ukraine and sending them back to their bases. This is potentially a show of goodwill before the upcoming talks with the U.S. next month. Kyle and Connor then cover some recent escalations that do not necessarily bode well for substantive diplomacy like the Americans flying spy planes over Ukraine not far from the separatist Donbas region. There is also talk of a...
Vaccines, Autonomy, and Mandates: A Libertarian Analysis
Prefatory Note Given the subject matter discussed below, I believe it prudent to state at the outset that I am not at all opposed to vaccinations themselves: indeed, I have received a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as all other normal-course vaccinations recommended for someone my age. Yet there are, it seems to me, interesting, difficult questions surrounding the state’s role in promoting or mandating vaccines. The goal here is to start a conversation not about the effectiveness of vaccines, but about the individual’s sphere of autonomy and what kinds of medical decisions are within it, and...
Pete Quiñones is Leaving the Institute
As some of you may have already learned, managing editor Pete Quiñones will be leaving the Institute on December 31st. Personally, I still love the guy and plan on remaining good friends. (And for the record, I do not blame him for the recent doxing of a couple of our fellow libertarians. He denied involvement to me and I believe him. So this is not due directly to that.) It's only that lately our paths are diverging and it's better for all involved if we go our own directions without the dissonance or contradictions involved in staying professionally connected in this way. We all wish...
Salafis Throwing Bombs: How American and British Planners Partnered With Al-Qaeda Affiliated Groups At the Start of the Syrian Civil War
Introduction In the mainstream view, al-Qaeda did not play a role in the Syria conflict until Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dispatched his deputy, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, to Syria in August 2011 to establish a wing of the group there, called Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front. Additionally, al-Qaeda allegedly did not carry out any military operations until December 2011 and did not announce its establishment until January 2012. However, there is evidence that al-Qaeda affiliated militants were involved in the Syrian conflict much earlier. Saudi intelligence...
U.S. Embassy In Afghanistan Issues Security Alert – U.S. Citizens Should Leave Afghanistan Immediately
More here Will anyone be held accountable? All the generals responsible will go on to have successful careers at Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin ..... ...
Thank You All So Much
Our winter 2021 funddraiser has been a resounding success thanks to you wonderful people. Sheldon, Pete, Kyle, the rest of the crew and I are so grateful. We promise to live up to the trust you've placed in us to keep doing the right thing fighting for freedom for all of us. Thank you again.