Robert Murphy at PorcFest XI (2014)
Shavua Tov and good evening. I have begun to plan out some talks I am going to give at PorcFest this June 21-28. If you havent heard of PorcFest, check out my blog post about it. There has been an on and off Jewish presence at the festival, but with me moving to New Hampshire in (literally) a month or two, there will be a more permanent presence. Last year there was supposedly an Oneg planned, but I left before it occurred.
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Eric Garner being killed by a chokehold
In July 2014, a man named Eric Garner was stopped by police for selling untaxed cigarettes. He was tired of being harassed regularly by police for engaging in a peaceful exchange of goods that harmed no third parties. He made the mistake of pushing them away, which was his right as a human, but never a wise idea. The original officer who stopped Garner, along with another nearby, proceeded to attempt to arrest him. The latter put him in what is described as a chokehold. Chokeholds are legal police tactics under New York State Law, but have been prohibited by the NYPD for over two decades, for obvious reasons. Garner couldnt breathe, and eventually his heart gave out and he died. He was morbidly obese and had a whole host of health issues that almost certainly contributed to his death.
One huge weakness with Rand Paul that Obama has also is that he is a senator and has no executive experience. This can lead to cronyism, terrible decisionmaking, and incompetence. Andrew Jackson would be another example (save that one exception we admire). This gives me a little discomfort and would make Gary Johnson a stronger candidate. I am still annoyed at him for not running for Senator, but if he ran as a Republican*, I could support him.
Yisroel Dovid Weiss, leader of the Neturei Karta
There are many definitions of Zionism, some right, some wrong, some partially right, some partially wrong. A good, concise definition is the philosophy that Jews, the Children of Israel should return to the land of Israel, live there, and secure and defend their lives there.
Anti-Zionists on the internet like to wave around groups like the “True Torah Jews” and the “Neturei Karta” as examples of Jewish anti-Zionists. While it is true that the most religious Jewish groups originally were opposed to modern Zionism, it was mainly because semi-secular groups were leading it, and not them. Today, things have changed, and most very religious Jews support modern Zionism to at least some extent. However, opposition still exists, both in Israel and abroad.
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After much painstaking arrangement of logistics, I managed to make it to PorcFest this year. Since becoming a libertarian in 2010 and learning about the Free State Project later on, I had wanted to attend for two or three years, but could not get it together. Finally this year, I bought the ticket early in the hopes that I would be more impelled to go. I was not able to attend the whole week because my original rides did not work out, but I did get there for three days. And those three days were wonderful, in spite of the mid-week rain. Continue reading
As most libertarians know, Frederic Bastiat was a classic liberal writer and politician in a sea of post-revolutionary socialists. One of his most famous and distributed works is Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas (That which is seen and that which is not seen). The essay contains twelve subessays discussing various topics relevant to 1840 and even today, regarding “well-intended” ideas (that which is seen) that have unproductive effects in application (that which is not seen). While libertarians begin to expose the problems of government intervention, and are well versed in economics, there are still many things that simply cannot be explained at first glance. And most libertarians are at a complete loss in arguments when the rely on simple logic. The problem is that the interactions of billions of different individuals is exceedingly complex. Even many axioms that are generally true have exceptions. This is what is really not seen. Continue reading
Last weekend, I attended the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference with 1500 other mostly young libertarians. For many of us whose only exposure to libertarian thought is online, maybe a few people in a local group or club, or a few friends, this is truly an amazing experience. It was my second conference (I went last year as well) and while I did not attend many of the actual seminars, it was nice to just bask in liberty.
Yesterday, while coming out of the Metro and getting my bearings, a hobo approached me to ask what museum I was looking for. I told him, he showed me on a map, and gave me the map. He then asked if I could help the homeless, and I noticed an Obama logo on his shirt. My default response to hobos is to not give them money, so I said “Sorry I dont have anything.” which was sort of true. I only had some coins and big notes. Continue reading
This past Shabbat, the parashah was Bereishit (Bereishit/Genesis 1:1-6:8). This is the story of creation and the first humans, up to Noach and the prologue to the flood.
The Garden of Eden by Cole Thomas (1828)
