A Little Rebellion

Archy's Archenemy
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  • Robert Taylor

Poll Has Bad News For Neocons As Americans Oppose Interventions Jun 17, 2014

This article originally appeared at PolicyMic. For the first time in 50 years, a majority of Americans wants the U.S. government to mind its own business internationally. According to a new Pew Research poll that measures Americans' perception of their country's place in the world, 53% of Americans say the U.S. "should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own" and that the U.S. "plays a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade ago." Meanwhile, some 70% say the U.S. is less respected than in...

By Robert Taylor Vote2 0

Police Are Trampling On the Rights Of American Citizens Jun 17, 2014

As detailed by the likes of great journalists and constitutional lawyers like John Whitehead, Radley Balko, and Will Grigg (just to name a few), in the past 30 years American law enforcement agencies have morphed into federally-funded paramilitary units whose often-deadly actions receive incredible amounts of protection and immunity. Almost daily, there are incidents of police conducting illegal cavity searches at traffic stops,dogs being shot, local sheriffs ignoring laws that expand individual freedom, murders of the mentally handicapped, wrongful convictions by hawkish prosecutors, and countless stories of innocent people being on the wrong end of the state's enforcement arm. All of these heinous acts, and the police's opposition to any legal restrictions on their powers, are masked by the holy writ...

By Robert Taylor Vote2 1

Bye, Bye Eric Cantor Jun 17, 2014

Congressman Eric Cantor, who represents all that is evil and corrupt in American politics, has been defeated in the GOP primaries in one of the biggest political upsets in modern history. Never has the House Majority whip ever lost in the primary, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Cantor lost to economics professor David Brat, and all I needed to know about Bratt is that he isn't another damn lawyer so he definitely has that going for him. As far as the issues are concerned, Brat is excellent on guns, the NSA, the Federal Reserve, foreign policy, and seems to...

By Robert Taylor Vote1 0

Do You Have the Right to Resist an Unlawful Arrest? Jun 17, 2014

Yes, yes, a million times, YES. Common-law tradition, classical liberalism, and any tenets of the "rule of law" would suggest that of course individuals have the right and duty to resist an unlawful arrest (see the great Will Grigg's writing on this topic). Can you imagine how much freer and safer our society would be if this principle were shouted from the rooftops and applied en masse? One person exercising this natural right would likely face the wrath of overwhelming force, but hundreds, thousands, millions of people resisting (with video footage to back it up) would do an incalculable amount of good...

By Robert Taylor Vote2 0

Check Your Obedience Privilege! Jun 17, 2014

I swear I am going to tear all of my hair out the next time I hear someone drop the "check your privilege" line. It just drips and oozes with cultural Marxism, condescension, victimization, and is used by those who wish to justify the violent rule of society; by a select few pointing guns at the rest of us, barking orders, and treating us like chess pieces to achieve their egalitarian, nonsensical ends. Davi Barker at The Daily Anarchist has some great questions for the "check your privilege" crowd: So, next time you hear someone preaching the ideology of “privilege” casually...

By Robert Taylor Vote3 0

Obama: Unapologetic Imperialist Jun 17, 2014

In his West Point speech, surrounded my flags and military decals like all good emperors, Obama seemed to go out of his way to defend US hegemony and imperialism over the globe. American "exceptionalism" too. He dismissed the "realist" or non-interventionist critiques as remnants of an archaic past, bragged about how American missiles and tanks and bombs bring democracy (like the White Man's Burden), and that any dissent from this is "weakness" and "retreat." Obama was and is the perfect face for the Empire. He came in at just the right time; people were fed up with the cowboy bellicosity of...

By Robert Taylor Vote1 0

It’s Time to Disband Our Standing Army Jun 17, 2014

The idea of a permanent, standing army is antithetical to a free society. If we really cared about defending ourselves and our country from aggression - and not offense, power projection around the globe, coups, death squads, etc. -  than all we need is private gun ownership, private security agencies, and maybe a couple of nuclear submarines solely for deterrent reasons. Full-time, professional armies run by the state also are an easy excuse for presidents to make war at their own discretion. They are already there, waiting to be deployed. They also bring home the wicked sins of empire along...

By Robert Taylor Vote5 5

The Power Of Ostracism Jun 17, 2014

The only consistent legal code in a free society is one where individuals are only allowed to use force in self-defense against those who initiate it, like murder, rape and theft. It should apply equally to everybody, whether you sit in a big mansion on top of a swamp in DC, wear a fancy, shiny badge on your chest, or are a private citizen. All other problems in society can be dealt with ostracism, a highly underrated social tool that wields incredible, peaceful power to regulate social norms and behavior.

By Robert Taylor Vote1 0

Please, Rand Paul: Stop Sucking Up to the Neocons and GOP Jun 17, 2014

While the mainstream media and political elite can't wait for their dream 2016 presidential match-up of Jeb Bush vs. HIllary Clinton, Senator Rand Paul has other ideas. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Paul wants to run and has focused on splitting the difference between libertarianism and the Republican mainstream. But by straddling the fence, Paul will please neither faction he is trying desperately to court. Rather than using this approach, Paul should embrace the libertarian populism his father championed, raise hell in the Senate and in the primaries, and offer Americans a truly independent and nonpartisan choice in 2016. Paul is focusing on...

By Robert Taylor Vote1 0

Income Inequality is the Federal Reserve’s Fault Jun 17, 2014

Thomas Piketty’s new book, “Capital," has been receiving a lot of attention lately in which he blames....wait for it...the free market for the obscene income inequality we see today. Shocking, I know. It never ceases to amaze me how the problems of government get blamed on free exchange. The last century can accurately be described as a century of statism, collectivism, and central banking. The result? 100s of millions killed in government wars, gulags, famines, purges, Great Leap Forwards, and the stealth transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top brought out about by central banking and fiat money....

By Robert Taylor Vote1 0

The Fruits Of Socialism – The Venezuelan Food Lines Jun 17, 2014

The great economist Ludwig von Mises argued there that is no "third way" in economics between capitalism and socialism. When governments intervene into the economy, it creates ripple effects and distortions that almost always get blame on the free market. States then use this to justify further intervention, and the cycle continues. Rising prices is the perfect example. Virtually all governments around the world inflate the money supply, which causes the price of goods to rise, hurting the poor the most because it usually affects things like food, gas and other basic essentials. In order to counter these bad, anti-market...

By Robert Taylor Vote3 2

Lysander Spooner on Lincoln’s War Jun 17, 2014

Lysander Spooner - abolitionist, anarchist, capitalist entrepreneur and intellectual giant of the 19th century - was a fierce opponent of slavery and Lincoln's vile, bloody war and eloquently explained why in his classic book, No Treason. Spooner correctly saw that what Lincoln and the war did to the union was turn a somewhat voluntary compact between the states into a monolithic, militaristic empire centered in Washington. Every country in the world besides the US ended slavery peacefully, and the US government was doing everything it possibly could (like enforcing Fugitive Slave Laws) to preserve it. Many northern states attempted to nullify federal laws to protect...

By Robert Taylor Vote13 1

Why Conservatives Imitate Libertarians, Why Liberals Hate Them Jun 17, 2014

For a supposedly "fringe" movement, libertarianism sure seems to be getting a lot of attention these days. Chris Moody at Yahoo News argues that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is successfully fusing libertarian ideas like prison sentencing reform and a less aggressive foreign policy to grassroots conservatives, a typically hostile audience. The Republican National Committee recently passed a resolution calling for an end to the NSA's bulk data collection. Many in the GOP also opposed President Obama's attempts to start a war in Syria. After decades of fighting and disagreements - culminating in the downright nasty treatment of former Congressman Ron Paul by...

By Robert Taylor Vote14 1

13 Problems Only Libertarians Will Understand — in GIFs Jun 17, 2014

This article originally appeared at PolicyMic. 1. When you feel like a liberal around conservatives and a conservative around liberals 2. When you ask a liberal why being "pro-choice" only applies to abortion and not other issues. 3. When conservatives claim to love small government 4. When people say that the terrorists hate us for our freedoms 5. When you see an "Obama 2012" bumper sticker next to a peace sign 6. ...and then you pull up next to the guy with the "Ron Paul 2012" bumper sticker 7. What goes through your head when discussing gun control 8. When "the free market" gets blamed for economic meltdowns...

By Robert Taylor Vote93 15

Why Stop At Weed? The Case For Complete Drug Legalization Jun 17, 2014

This article originally appeared at PolicyMic. Now that Colorado and Washington state have nullified and defied federal law by re-legalizing marijuana, it is the time to re-legalize all drugs and kickstart the domino effect that will finally put an end to the disastrous war on drugs. Since marijuana is a comparably safe drug to legal products like alcohol and tobacco while also providing numerous medicinal benefits to people with terminal diseases and those facing excruciating pain, it is easy to see why a growing majority of Americans think that marijuana should be legalized. But cocaine, heroin and LSD? Surely legalizing these drugs would amount...

By Robert Taylor Vote8 2

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