On FPF #228, I discuss the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Congress recently passed the 2019 NDAA, authorizing $716 billion in defense spending. The spending is largely for offensive purposes and does not benefit the protect the American people. I break down...
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History's Greatest Empire
A quote from the early American moral philosopher (or, to some, preacher of religion), William Ellery Channing (from Spiritual Freedom, 1830): I call that mind free, which is jealous of its own freedom, which guards itself from being merged with others, which guards...
The Dews From Heaven
Pliny said, of the dew, that it is, "...the sweat of Heaven, the spittle of the stars." Mormon scripture, evoking Moses, recites, "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;...
Capitalism And Backscratchers
I'd like to relate a blog-appropriate anecdote concerning an epiphany I just experienced. The other day I saw a backscratcher for sale at the store. It was a metal hand, with a telescoping rod, connected to a plastic handle. The display rack containing these...
War And Peace Put Simply
War is so costly because it requires reciprocal action and therefore wasteful escalation. The force that drives this is the need to "win". This is the same force that ruins politics. If you can accept some of what you want, maybe even in a context of getting mostly...
Study: Pentagon Wasted $28 Million on the Wrong Kind of Camouflage
The Pentagon overspent between $26 and $28 million on useless camouflage for the Afghan National Army (ANA), a government watchdog study found. Conducted by the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the study not only found that between...
Meet the New Waste. Worse than the Old Waste?
Jim Bovard writes: "Trump proposes to devote almost all of the savings from cutting domestic programs into the Pentagon, whose budget would rise by $52 billion, roughly 10%. Since 9/11, the Defense Department has been Washington’s ultimate sacred cow — regardless of...
Why Can’t You Pay for Sex?
Is it illegal to date or marry someone only because they are famous, wealthy, or both? No. Are there unattractive people who have good looking dates or spouses only because they are famous or wealthy? Yes. Is it legal to go to a nightclub for the sole purpose of...
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