Authoritarianism
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Smash the COVID Orthodoxy
“In a time of industrial levels of draconian lockdown measures, of fear-mongering and politicization, a failure to speak out against the orthodoxy will only lead to more pain and suffering. Perhaps the status quo is the best way forward, but we will never know unless we have more voices in the conversation. When this is…
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Rand Paul Is Right About Experts
“An expert is very well-positioned to say “if you do these things, then you can expect the following effects with the following probabilities.” Only in the most extraordinary of circumstances—and even then, I’m still extremely skeptical—should they presume to tell others exactly which choices they should make.” ~ Art Carden
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Independence Day in the Midst of Dictatorship
“The Great Pandemic Follies of 2020 have been based on the illusion that government could make life risk-free. But the advocates of shutdowns, lockdowns, and endless prohibitions ignore the risk of dictatorship. That was what our forefathers fought against.” ~ James Bovard
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Why Election Markets are Betting Against Trump
“Trump’s persona – and even his own base’s perception of him – has changed in this pandemic. He was once the man who would liberate the country from the establishment. He then became the chief executive ruling mostly through executive edict, and hence participated in and now celebrates the lockdowns that shattered people’s lives.” ~…
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D.C.’S Iron Curtain of Secrecy Endangers the Economy and Everything Else
“COVID bailouts will likely remain secret until long after major economic damage is done. Attorney General Ramsey Clark warned in 1967, “Nothing so diminishes democracy as secrecy.” ” ~ James Bovard
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Pandemic Policy in One Page
“All the sound reasons why central planning does not and cannot work in the case of the general economy apply equally in this case, along with a few other reasons which are specific to epidemics.” ~ David Hart
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Coronavirus and the Two Americas
“Coronavirus has exposed the fault line between those who are subsidized by government and those who pay for government. The people who live off the government, either directly or indirectly, have relatively comfortable lives – all financed by the people who deal with much greater levels of hardship and uncertainty.” ~ Dan Mitchell
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Freedom Requires Resisting Coronavirus Pessimism
“If there is a chance to not only pull society away from the social and economic abyss towards which it is moving, but return it to a path more in the direction of personal liberty, economic freedom, and equal individual rights under partial rule of law and constitutionally limited government, it requires resisting the pessimism…
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Safety is Found in Principles, Not Lies
“Safety lies in the strength of our belief in strict limits on government power, the rule of law, and stable property rights. Honor these principles and safety will emerge from the actions of a free people, not the edicts of authoritarians.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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Masked Lockdowns are UnAmerican
Americans don’t quarantine out of fear of viruses, nor do these rugged individualists uniformly don masks to protect themselves. Instead, Americans are the solution to whatever the problem is; always too busy and productive to be held back by shelter-in-place orders and fears of N-95 shortages.
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Why Didn’t the Constitution Stop This?
Once a federal court (especially SCOTUS, from which there is no appeal) declares a law unconstitutional, as SCOTUS has often done to state laws throughout US history, the political dynamic changes dramatically. States must comply or face that other side of federalism.
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The Strangest Thing about the Debate
The trouble with the 7 people on the stage last night is that they have little or no regard for our personal plans. It’s their plans for us that matter. Our lives are mere abstractions to them.
