9 February 2010 by ewreynolds
“See that the government does not acquire too much power. Keep a check upon your rulers. Do this, and liberty is safe.”
“…The spirit of liberty is the sovereign balm for every injury which our institutions may receive. On the contrary, no care that can be used in the construction of our Government, no division of powers, no distribution of checks in its several departments, will prove effectual to keep us a free people if this spirit is suffered to decay; and decay it will without constant nurture…”
“…When the genuine spirit of liberty animates the body of a people to a thorough examination of their affairs, it leads to the excision of every excrescence which may have fastened itself upon any of the departments of the government, and restores the system to its pristine health and beauty…”
-William Henry Harrison
Read more on Landmarks of Liberty…
E. Wesley – Mackinac Center Intern
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1773, Battle of Tippecanoe, February 9, Grouseland, Indiana Territory, liberty, Northwest Territory, Tecumseh, Vincennes, Virtue, War of 1812, William Henry Harrison | Leave a Comment »
6 February 2010 by razma766
Here is a letter I recently sent to the Midland Daily News:
Dr. Valeriy Ginzburg states in a recent letter that “the bills adopted by the Senate and the House probably represent the most fair way of covering the uninsured while spreading the costs in an equitable fashion.” (“Health care reform imperative,” February 5).
I respectively disagree.
If the bills adopted by the Senate and the House truly spread costs across society fairly, the respective number of pages for these bills would not surpass 10 pages. In other words, it would be simple to total all health care costs and divide them equally amongst the members of society. It is precisely because these bills favor particular classes of people over others that these bills are well over 1000 pages of elusive legal jargon.
Kurt Bouwhuis
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged equality, health care, liberty, reform | Leave a Comment »
2 February 2010 by ewreynolds
Perhaps there is no finer example of the pomp of constitutional monarchy than Queen Victoria, but more than pomp, Queen Victoria’s sense of duty, sympathy, and genuineness exemplified the heart of constitutional monarchy. At the time of her funeral on February 2, 1901, the entire Western world mimicked the order and beauty of the English empire, as the very name of the era implies. The Empire was dedicated to developing virtue in society, and this spirit was what rooted Victorian beauty in social stability. Victoria’s immense character defined a culture and preserved the most peaceful of empires that the world had yet seen. Victorianism was the recasting of conservative ethic in the newer mold of classical liberalism. Read more on Landmarks of Liberty.
E. Wesley – Mackinac Center Intern
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1901, Classical Liberalism, Conservatism, Constitutional monarchy, Empire, England, February 2, Gladstone, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, Victorian, Virtue | Leave a Comment »
2 February 2010 by razma766
Here is a great letter written to several professor by Don Boudreaux:
It’s science. (HT Caleb Brown)
Don
http://www.cafehayek.com/
………………………………….
1 February 2010
Professors Julian D. Marshall, Ryan D. Wilson, Katie L. Meyer, Santhosh K. Rajangam, Noreen C. McDonald, Elizabeth J. Wilson
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Dear Professors:
I just read your paper entitled “Vehicle Emissions during Children’s School Commuting: Impacts of Education Policy,” published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
In this paper you argue that increased school choice – by promoting more vehicular traffic – might have a detrimental impact on the environment. As such, you suggest that policies to enhance school choice not be adopted unless and until they pass environmental muster.
Your insight is a real eye-opener, with implications far beyond the narrow issue of K-12 school choice!
For example, why limit your study to proposals for K-12 educational choice? Too many young men and women who leave home to attend college surely commute too far – some actually going across the country! – thus poisoning everyone’s lungs in their selfish quest to attend the colleges of their choice. Your research will likely discover that it’s best to prohibit Americans from attending colleges far from home.
And why stop with education? Perhaps your next study can be on the environmental impact of supermarket choice. After all, with people free to drive wherever they wish to buy groceries, it’s almost certainly the case that too many of us drive hither and yon unnecessarily, wasting our time and fouling the air. I’ll bet that your research will show that restricting each American to shopping only at that supermarket nearest his or her home will reduce vehicular emissions and, hence, help the environment.
Indeed, the possibilities suggested by your research are infinite. No telling how much filth is spit into our environment everyday by people needlessly driving to churches, restaurants, shopping malls, physicians’ offices, night clubs – even friends’ homes – when they could easily go to churches, restaurants, etc. – and even to the homes of friends – who are located closer to their where they live.
I look forward to reading your follow-up research.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged automobile, Environment, externalities, liberty, pollution | Leave a Comment »
27 January 2010 by razma766
Here is a great letter to President Obama from Don Boudreaux:
Neither consistency nor sincerity is what they do.
Don
http://www.cafehayek.com/
………………………………….
25 January 2010
Mr. Barack Obama
President, Executive Branch
United States government
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Obama:
In your weekly radio address on Saturday (Jan. 23) you harshly criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United – a ruling that protects citizens, even when organized as corporations, from government censorship of their political speech. You worry that this decision will allow “unbridled corporate spending” to influence political outcomes.
Now today, the AP reports that “President Barack Obama on Monday offered help for people struggling to pay bills and care for their families…. Among the initiatives: a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for child care programs and a program to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of income above ‘a basic living allowance.’
….
“Obama is seeking to offer some attractive options to taxpayers, mindful of the painful implications of the loss of a traditionally Democratic Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown. White House advisers see Wednesday’s State of the Union speech as a key opportunity for Obama to recalibrate his message and reset his presidency after that stinging setback.”
Interesting. You think it dangerous for the republic when corporations use “unbridled” spending to try to affect political outcomes, yet you yourself don’t hesitate to use unbridled spending (of other people’s money!) to try to affect political outcomes.
Seems inconsistent to me, Mr. President. Don’t you agree?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Fairfax, VA 22030
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged letter, liberty, Obama, politics | Leave a Comment »
26 January 2010 by ewreynolds
During the early 17th century, when King James VI ascended to the English thrown, the Scottish Parliament and Old Scottish Court used “Scots” as their official language. The mark of Scotland seemed enduring and profound. However, after the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707, England began imposing its language through the Scottish educational system on the Scottish Lowlanders. Scottish nobles began recasting their speech in English in order to identify with society in London, and Scottish Enlightenment philosophers took on the mantle of their English conquers. England was imposing a universal standard that threatened Scotland’s national identity of independence and bravery: “for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.” Robert Burns took the stage during the most critical moment and revived Scotland’s heritage of liberty for all time.
Jennifer R. McDermott’s treatment of Burns is the finest I have yet seen (read here). It is a “must read” for all liberty lovers!
E. Wesley – Mackinac Center Intern
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1759, January 25, language, poetry, Robert Burns, Scotland, Scots, Scottish independence | Leave a Comment »
22 January 2010 by razma766
Here is a letter I recently sent to the Midland Daily News:
In his recent letter, Scott Miller states, “it appears that some of our legislators are more concerned with profits for big business than the health and future welfare of their constituents. Contact senators Stabenow and Levin and urge them to come together around a bipartisan effort to develop affordable clean energy and climate legislation…” (“Go Green,” Jan. 21).
In one breath, Scott acknowledges that politicians are concerned with pleasing special interests. In his next breath, however, he urges his readers to contact the very class of people he decries in order to create a solution.
I’m puzzled. Is Scott unaware that several large businesses are currently lobbying for clean energy legislation? These large businesses will profit from new regulations that crush their smaller competitors. Once clean energy legislation is passed into law, it would also not be surprising to find that these same large businesses are recipients of special government permits that exempt them from such regulations.
I admire those who seek to reduce pollution. I am saddened by those who are blind to the colossal gap between desired outcomes and the actual outcomes generated by government intervention. Once this gap is recognized, it will become painfully obvious that desirable outcomes will not emerge from encouraging fellow citizens to jump into the slopping pit.
Kurt Bouwhuis
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged government, liberty, politics, special interest | Leave a Comment »
21 January 2010 by ewreynolds
“…the General is a great man for praying night and morning; all times; but when I see him get up in the night and go off to pray, then I know there is going to be an important battle; and I go right straight and pack his haversack, for I know he will call for it in the morning” – Jim Lewis
“Reserve your fire until they come within fifty yards; and then fire and give them the bayonet; and when you charge, yell like furies.” -Thomas Jackson
Read more on Landmarks of Liberty…
E. Wesley – Mackinac Center Intern
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged independence, Confederacy, Thomas Jackson, Stonewall, January 21, 1824, providence, Virginia, Battle of Manassas, Battle of Chancellorsville, Presbyterian | Leave a Comment »
15 January 2010 by razma766
Here is an excellent letter to the editor by Don Boudreaux:
14 January 2010
Editor, Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Re “Tens of thousands feared dead” (Jan. 14): The ultimate tragedy in Haiti isn’t the earthquake; it’s that country’s lack of economic freedom. The earthquake simply but catastrophically revealed the inhuman consequences of this fact.
Registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, the Haitian earthquake killed tens of thousands of people. But the quake that hit California’s Bay Area in 1989 was also of magnitude 7.0. It, though, killed only 63 people.
This difference is due chiefly to Americans’ greater wealth. With one of the freest economies in the world, Americans build stronger homes and buildings, and have better health-care and better search and rescue equipment. In contrast, burdened by one of the world’s least-free economies, Haitians cannot afford to build sturdy structures. Nor can they afford the health-care and emergency equipment that we take for granted here in the U.S.
These stark facts should be a lesson for those who insist that human habitats are made more dangerous, and human lives put in greater peril, by freedom of commerce and industry.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged earthquake, economics, haiti, liberty, standard of living | Leave a Comment »
13 January 2010 by razma766
Kurt Bouwhuis, Mackinac Center Intern
“Google Inc. will stop censoring its search results in China and may pull out of the country completely after discovering that computer hackers had tricked human-rights activists into exposing their e-mail accounts to outsiders.”
Read entire article here. More information here
Hat tip to Eric Imhoff
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged censorship, China, google, liberty | Leave a Comment »
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