Rush half wrong, Keith half right

Racism, Vulgar Politics
By / / 2 Comments / 9 minutes of reading
Share

Keith Olbermann, pompous asininity of MSNBC, this week attacked another infamous asininity, Rush Limbaugh, for an allegedly racist rant. At the end of Olberman’s stock-in-trade worst-of-the-worse critique, he asks Oprah to “crush this schmuck.” (Consult the Huffington Post for the video, if you are interested in Olbermann’s full intellectual monty.) Rush’s offense? This:

[Obama] wouldn’t have been voted president if he weren’t black. Somebody asked me over the weekend why does somebody earn a lot of money have a lot of money, because she’s black. It was Oprah. No, it can’t be. Yes, it is. There’s a lot of guilt out there, show we’re not racists, we’ll make this person wealthy and big and famous and so forth….

This sort of rant would not be interesting if either Limbaugh or his critic, Olbermann, were wholly right or wholly wrong. But, as usual in the punditocracy, both sides appear to veer off the true Tao and embrace crude facsimiles of wisdom.

First, Rush’s contention that Oprah is a talentless beneficiary of reverse discrimination strikes me as borderline crazy. …

Rush half wrong, Keith half rightRead More »

Rush half wrong, Keith half right Read Post »

In Defense Of Lindsay Lohan

Drug Policy, Pop Culture, Victimless Crimes
By / / 2 minutes of reading
Share

Wild child Lindsay Lohan is apparently not a fan of staying out of trouble — nothing but private and public battles with family members, lovers, the media and, lately, the state (see here, here, here, here, here and here). In my opinion, her life is a mess. Yet I must come to her rescue — if only ideologically. You see, LiLo is a victim.

If you thought prohibition was repealed, think again. From minimum drinking age laws to laws that prohibit even parents, in some states, from responsibly introducing alcohol to kids, the state still manages to control not just the alcohol industry but those consuming it. Indeed, if you consume alcohol in places and times that the state deems “illegal,” you will be treated like cattle — literally. Indeed, Lohan has been in the past required to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet. She has also been required to forcibly attend rehab (let’s see: a chain, involuntary migration — yep, sounds like a form of slavery to me) and comply with various others threats by the state.

The support for the war on drugs is sickening. From what I can tell, almost everyone has been bashing Lohan and praising the judge and the almighty legislation that makes these atrocities happen. Sure, if Lohan committed a real crime against someone else’s property or body, then she’d be guilty. However, the government’s gauntlet was thrown because she had the audacity to say no. There is no obligation to show up in court. LiLo’s record ought to be expunged. Set her free at once.

Repeal the drinking age. Legalize drunk driving. Repeal the war on drugs. Abolish the prisons. Why not repeal the state while we are at it.

Oh, and regarding the judge who sentenced an innocent person? I agree with Lohan’s sentiments:

In Defense Of Lindsay Lohan Read Post »

Dodge Challenger Freedom Commercial

Protectionism, Taxation
By / / 1 Comment / 1 minute of reading
Share

This stupid Dodge commercial–which shows a Dodge Challenger arriving bearing American flags to save the day against the British Redcoats in 1776, ending with the narrator saying “America got two things right: Cars and freedom” is a sad statement about America. We have given up our freedoms and cling to mere words and slogans. We think we are the land of the free, when we have, like the frog in the slowly warming pot of water, allowed the state to ratchet up its depradations of us; and to cheer on, like redneck Wayne’s World rubes when we bomb innocent brown foreigners in the name of “freedom.” In fact, we haven’t gotten freedom or cars right: the former was sacrificed for the sake of the US auto industry in any number of ways–extorted taxes handed over to the auto companies as “bailouts,” protectionism, and the like.

Dodge Challenger Freedom Commercial Read Post »

Announcing the TLS Q&A Series and Libertarian FAQ

Admin Updates, Education, TLS Q&A
By / / 2 minutes of reading
Share

You may have already noticed that we’ve launched a new feature on The Libertarian Standard: the Libertarian FAQ. We’re formally announcing it now. You may also have noticed that the FAQ is pretty much empty at the moment. That’s where you, and another new feature we’re announcing today, come in.

We will be gradually filling out the FAQ with questions and our answers to them. You can help us out by challenging and inspiring us with questions about libertarianism, in theory and in practice, be they beginner or advanced, that you or someone you know may have. We will select questions you’ve sent us and address them in a new blogpost series, TLS Q&A, approximately once per week, on Sunday.

To submit questions for us to address, you will need to

Also:

  • Please check the FAQ to see if your question has already been answered before submitting.
  • Please include your name and a link to your personal website, Twitter profile, or similar online  presence so we can give credit.

After being published in a TLS Q&A blogpost, the questions and their answers will be added to the Libertarian FAQ, with a link back to their blogposts to facilitate discussion.

Help us fill out the Libertarian FAQ! Submit questions for us to answer.

Announcing the TLS Q&A Series and Libertarian FAQ Read Post »

Scroll to Top