Thanksgiving: Celebrating the Birth of Free Enterprise in America

Richard Ebeling emails:

Richard Ebeling emails:

Dear Bob,

I have a new article on the news and commentary website, “EpicTimes,” on Thanksgiving: Celebrating the Birth of Free Enterprise in America.”

As we sit around the Thanksgiving table, once again, this year with family and friends, it is worth recalling the true meaning of the Thanksgiving Day celebration, which is the birth of private property and free enterprise.

The ideal of the Pilgrims when they settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts was the creation of a communal society based on Plato’s “Republic,” without the supposed greed and avarice private ownership and profit-making.

But their ideal turned into a nightmare of hardship and starvation when communism-in-practice led to sloth, envy, resentment, and mistrust. After the more than half the colonists died of hunger, the leaders decided to implement, instead, private ownership of land, and the right to keep the crops they harvest and trade their produce with outputs of their neighbors.

Instead, of dearth of the essentials of life, there result bountiful harvests which enabled families to not only survive, but also exchange their surpluses with that of their other colony members.

They decided, in the face of this new plentifulness to celebrate their good fortune, and give thanks to God in the form of a great banquet. But when we seat around our tables, we should remember that what they were really celebrating was the birth of the institutions private enterprises and the spirit of capitalism. 

http://www.epictimes.com/richardebeling/2014/11/thanksgiving-celebrating-the-birth-of-free-enterprise-in-america/

Best,
Richard

The True Story of the 'Can You Hear Me Now?' Guy

Murray Rothbard on the Identity Of The State

Murray Rothbard: The Government is Not Us

Nice To See Government Upholding Property Rights At Walmart

By Chris Rossini


Voluntary Contracts.....Private Property.....

How antiquated.

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Chris Rossini is author of Set Money Free: What Every American Needs To Know About The Federal Reserve. Follow @chrisrossini on Twitter. 

Ted Cruz Woos New York Jewish Donors

The New York Observer reports:

Last night, Mort Klein’s Zionist Organization of America dinner featured Mr. Cruz, known for his steadfast and aggressive support of Israel, in a prominent speaking role. Attendees included Alan Dershowitz, Pastor John Hagee, and Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus. Those who made the scene at a fancy VIP pre-dinner buffet included billionaire Ira Rennert, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Public Relations authority Ronn Torossian, Bernstein Global Wealth Management (and recent Observer subject) Jeff Wiesenfeld, plus Rabbis Avi Weiss and Shmuley Boteach. Reviews of Mr. Cruz were uniformly positive as many New York Jews got their first taste of the tea party darling and discovered, to the shock of some, that the Princeton-educated lawyer was rather well-spoken and engaging...

The Observer can report that Mr. Cruz had a private two-hour meeting with the most highly sought-after donor of all. After sitting next to Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire owner of the Venetian casino who was the single largest donor to Republican causes in 2012, at Sunday night’s ZOA dinner, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Adelson met for two hours this morning at the St. Regis Hotel. While one source close to Mr. Adelson claimed the casino owner liked Mr. Cruz but found the senator “too right wing” and concluded he is a longshot to win the nomination, Mr. Adelson called the Observer after publication of this story to dispute that characterization of his reaction to Mr. Cruz. Mr. Adelson made clear to the Observer that he was the only person in the room with Mr. Cruz and thus the only one in a position to know how he felt about the Senator.

Another surprise is that Mort Zuckerman, the developer and owner of the New York Daily News who usually backs moderate Democrats, hosted Mr. Cruz for a lunch yesterday before the ZOA dinner.

And then a final surprise show of interest in a candidate who would perhaps have appeared outside the usual centrist spectrum of Jewish political giving. Michael Steinhardt—the investing legend and megaphilanthropist who chaired the same Democratic Leadership Council that catapulted Bill Clinton to the White House—hosted Mr. Cruz at his investment firm’s office.

Job Posting

I would like to see a libertarian infiltrate and take this job:

If it's a slow day at your job and you're bored. Here's an idea: Apply to be my Executive Editor https://t.co/jkg2fjRzzG
— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) November 26, 2014

Poroshenko: U.S. Stooge

By Mchael S. Rozeff

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko is a U.S. stooge. U.S. stooges have some freedom of action, but they get pulled up short or retired when they stray too far. There is the history of U.S. advisers descending on the country after the coup. (They advised Poroshenko badly on the prosecution of the war.) There is the fact that Ukraine is in hock to the IMF. Joe Biden visited Ukraine last week and told them to form a new coalition government pronto.

Ukraine has a very serious inflation and currency problem, but Poroshenko is making war noises again. There are domestic pressures. Now, conveniently following upon Biden’s trip to Kiev, there’s a Voice of America article with the headline “Political Pressure Mounts on Poroshenko”. This can be construed as an intentional signal and pressure brought by the U.S. The VOA is fully funded by the U.S. government.

The above originally appeared at LewRockwell.com.

Libertarian Party Open Letter to Rand Paul

Dear Sen. Paul,

Sen. Rand Paul

We agree with you that Congress should obey the Constitution. We should never engage in foreign wars without a congressional declaration of war, a restraint on military action put in place by our Founding Fathers to ensure lawmakers never send our troops to war without deliberation.

But a constitutional war in the Middle East is just as bloody, destructive, and likely to incite terrorism as an unconstitutional war.

Our half-century of interventions in the Middle East have been a colossal failure. We have provided arms, military training, and subsidies to virtually every country in the region, inciting continual war and unrest. This has created a breeding ground for international terrorists that pose a real danger to our country and the world — one that would not have existed had we kept our noses out of the affairs of other countries.

U.S. military interventions have put our troops in harm's way, separated them needlessly from their families, and led to tens of thousands of American deaths and casualties — plus many more losses for innocent citizens of foreign countries.

We agree with your father, Ron Paul, who for decades was a lonely yet brave voice in Congress for peace. He was right when he called for getting the U.S. military out of the Middle East.

Everyone knows that you're posturing to get the Republican nomination for president in 2016. But for this long-shot hope of winning the nomination, you have endorsed a roster of hawkish Big Government Republicans — from Mitt Romney to Mitch McConnell. And now you're calling for sending our troops back to Iraq, which will be a death sentence for many of them.

Just how much can your long-shot presidential bid be worth? Is it worth the lives of these young men and women? The Libertarian Party says, "Absolutely not!"

While we agree with your view that no funds should be allocated to an illegal war, a policy of non-intervention remains the only just and reasonable approach to dealing with the Middle East — a land halfway around the world where the United States does not belong.

Your bid for a declaration of war against ISIS is unjustifiable and dangerous. Please withdraw it immediately.

Respectfully yours,

Nicholas J. Sarwark
Chair, Libertarian National Committee

(ht Michael Edelstein)

Raimondo: Rand Paul's Declaration of War is Loopy

Justin Raimondo correctly notes:

I was always made a little bit nervous every time I heard Ron Paul – and other libertarians – inveigh against the modern practice of going to war without a formal declaration of war. Well, yes, it’s unconstitutional, and, yes, process is important, but what made me uneasy is that I was always worried someone would actually take Ron up on his suggestion – that is, introduce a formal declaration of war. And when my worst fears were finally confirmed, and someone did introduce just such a resolution, wouldn’t you know it would be Ron’s son – Sen. Rand Paul!...

Sen. Paul is here establishing a whole new principle: the rather loopy idea that we are compelled to go to war whenever one of our "diplomatic facilities" is endangered. Which means we should’ve declared war on Iran when they took over our Tehran embassy in 1979 – and bombed the heck out of the Egyptians when they besieged our Cairo embassy in 2012. If we attacked every country where our embassy or consulate has been surrounded with threatening protesters screaming "Yankee Go Home!" we’d have invaded the whole of South America and half of Asia by this time.

There’s absolutely nothing in Paul’s resolution that justifies a declaration of war. Nor is there any attempt to show how the Islamic State represents a "clear and present danger" to the US: indeed, this claim is plainly comical, rather like an elephant being brought to its knees on account of the intimidating presence of a fearsome mouse.

Carly Fiorina Actively Exploring 2016 Presidential Run

Are the Koch brothers putting an early stage bet on Carly Fiorina rather than Rand Paul?

On a Republican presidential debate stage expected to be filled with more than a dozen current and former politicians, Fiorina envisions herself standing out — as the only woman and the only CEO, reports WaPo.

Fiorina has been talking privately with potential donors, recruiting campaign staffers, courting grass-roots activists in early caucus and primary states and planning trips to Iowa and New Hampshire starting next week, according to WaPo.

Helping Fiorina chart her political future are consultants Frank Sadler, who once worked for Koch Industries, and Stephen DeMaura, a strategist who heads Americans for Job Security, a pro-business advocacy group in Virginia.

Fiorina plans to visit New Hampshire in early December to address a group of businesses chaired by Rep.-elect Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) and return to Iowa in January to address the Iowa Freedom Summit, co-hosted by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and the Koch-funded group Citizens United.

The Fundamental Rules for Making Your Last Name Plural

Kate Brannen writes:

The Definitive Guide to Pluralizing Your Last Name

Last letter(s) of last name	What should you add to make it plural?	Does it need an apostrophe?
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h (see exceptions below), i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, t, u, v, w, y	-s	NO
s, x, z, ch, sh	-es	NO

Pluralization FAQs

Q: What if my last name ends in a Y? 
A: Add an S. Do not add -IES or an apostrophe.
Merry Christmas from the Murphys. 

Q: What if my last name already ends in an S? 
A: Add -ES. Do not add an apostrophe.
Season’s greetings from the Simmonses.

Q: What if the end of my last name normally functions as an irregular noun? 
A: It is not irregular when it is part of a last name.
Happy holidays from the Hoffmans. Warm wishes from the Wolfs. 

Q: What would adding an apostrophe do? 
A: It would hurt Tiny Tim make your last name possessive.

Q: Is there ever a reason to add an apostrophe? 
A: Only if you want to make your last name possessive.

Q: Why do people add apostrophes? 
A: I have no idea.

If your goal is to make your last name possessive, then, by all means, use an apostrophe. If your goal is simply pluralization, however, forgo the apostrophe. 

The Ferguson Interview That Never Happened

By Chris Rossini

Lucy Statist: "Hello America, this is Lucy Statist of WGOV 4U News, and we are reporting LIVE from Ferguson MO, just after the riots of last night. We've just located a business owner who seems to be standing in front of his burned down shop. Let's go see if he'll give us a few comments.

Excuse me sir? Is this your business?"

Ben Dover: "It was."

Lucy Statist: "Yeah, it's pretty much gone, isn't it? Let me ask you, were there any police protecting your business last night?"

Ben Dover: "It's a pile of rubble. Do you think police were here to stop it?"

Lucy Statist: "Interesting. So no police. Let me ask you this Mr. Dover, did your business pay taxes?"

Ben Dover: "If you knew what my business paid in taxes each year, you'd vomit all over this rubble."

Lucy Statist: "Ok so lots of taxes. Got it. Next question: Do you think if you were here last night, the police would have helped you?"

Ben Dover: "I doubt it. Did you see the rest of the city? I would have been on my own."

Lucy Statist: "Ok. Interesting. And I'll assume that you pay personal taxes as well."

Ben Dover: "Lady it seems like every move we make is taxed. I wouldn't be surprised if the conversation we're having right now has some kind of tax on it."

Lucy Statist: "Ok...now this is a story. So your business pays 'vomit-worthy' taxes, and obviously it's now a pile of rubble, and you also pay personal taxes, and think you would have been a goner had you been here last night.

Where were the police?

Ben Dover: "I don't know. But I do know that the police station and government buildings were heavily protected. They don't look like my business, or what used to be my business."

Lucy Statist: "Do you think you'll get your taxes back Mr. Dover?"

Ben Dover: "What kind of stupid question is that?"

Lucy Statist: "Ok...I understand you're upset. Thank you for your time Mr. Dover, and so sorry for your hardship."

This is Lucy Statist reporting from....I'm sorry, let's cut away right now: President Obama would now like to call for peace.

Are we off?

Ok good.

If I step in one more pot-hole.....Can you believe these roads?

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Chris Rossini is author of Set Money Free: What Every American Needs To Know About The Federal Reserve. Follow @chrisrossini on Twitter. 

Chomsky Meets Assange

Noam Chomsky, strong on US foreign entanglements and government propaganda, but weak on almost everything else, visited Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 

On Darren Wilson's "Broken Eye Socket"

I was suspicious of the claim that Wilson had a broken eye socket from the minute the St Louis Dispatch reported the story (SEE:CURIOUS REPORT: Cop Who Shot Michael Brown Suffered “Orbital Blowout Fracture to Eye Socket” During Brown Attack)

HERE WE GO (Again): Trump Stokes 2016 Speculation

The Hill reports:

Business mogul Donald Trump is stoking speculation that he’ll run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. On his Twitter account Sunday night, Trump retweeted at least a dozen tweets from random supporters urging him to run for president.

A few of the tweets were from people who said Trump was likely too busy to run, but Trump shot back: “Just watch.”

Last year, Trump reportedly spent $1 million on political research in consideration of a presidential bid, and since 2013 he’s made several trips to Iowa to meet with social conservatives. Trump spent months teasing his potential candidacy in 2012 before deciding not to run. Many observers don’t take his presidential musings seriously, saying he’s more concerned with generating headlines and enhancing his global business brand. Still, the media attention he’d get during a potential run would shake-up the political scene, and Trump has supporters. In early 2011, some polls showed Trump leading the entire field of GOP candidates. He said he wouldn't run before any debates, caucuses or primaries.

Britain Looking To Go Hardcore Internet Surveillance

By Chris Rossini

Got an idea for the Police State? Try it on the British first.

British citizens are guinea pigs for all the worst stuff that government cooks up.

Here's the latest from Antiwar.com:

A new measure added to Britain’s Counter-terrorism and Security Bill will require all online service providers, such as Google and Yahoo, to create and retain complete logs of all users activities through computers and mobile phones...

Officially, this is being pushed as going after both organized crime and terrorist organizations, along with “cyber bullies,” but it covers literally everyone with a British IP address.

A British version of Lindsey Graham wants even more power:

The Home Secretary is backing the bill, but also wants it to be dramatically expanded, seeking to give security services a complete list of every website every person in Britain visits, and what they did there.

Silicon Valley better stay a step-ahead.

The U.S. is not afraid to emulate its British partner in crime.

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Chris Rossini is author of Set Money Free: What Every American Needs To Know About The Federal Reserve. Follow @chrisrossini on Twitter.