National Security: The Last Refuge of Scoundrels
Kevin Carson exposes the lack of transparency and accountability in the Obama administration, which is using "national security" as a way to avoid embarrassing bureaucrats.
Keith Preston: Why I Am an Anarcho-Pluralist
"Political victory in the United States is achieved through the assembling of coalitions of narrow interest groups who often have little in common with one another (gun toting rednecks and country club Republicans, homosexuals and traditional working class union Democrats). Imagine if a third force emerged in U.S. politics whose only unifying principle was a common desire to remove one's self and one's community from the system. The only thing anyone has to give up is the desire to tell other communities what to do."
Kevin Carson on Open-Source Healthcare
"Much of what an MD does doesn't actually require an MD's level of training. Unfortunately, no matter how simple or straightforward the specific procedure you need done, you have to pay for an MD's level of training. The medical, dental and other lobbies make sure that legislation is in place prohibiting advance practice nurses or dental hygienists from performing even the most basic services without the "supervision" of an MD or DD."
The Union Makes Us Weak - REQUIRED READING
William Gillis takes left anarchism to task and establishes the fundamentals for an anarchism directly applicable to 21st century problems and opportunities.
The Power of Statelessness
The Hoover Institute releases a policy review paper discussing the emergence of non-state groups, the security implications of their rise, their advantages over states, and how states can cope (hint: not by becoming bigger and badder).
Review: "The Ego and His Own"
Brainpolice puts together a great overview of Stirner's sweeping magnum opus.
Exotic High Tech Explosives Positively Identified in World Trade Center Dust
"A ground-breaking scientific paper confirmed this week that red-gray flakes found throughout multiple samples of WTC dust are actually unexploded fragments of nanothermite, an exotic high-tech explosive. The samples were taken from far-separated locations in Manhattan, some as early as 10 minutes after the second tower (WTC 1) collapsed, ruling out any possible contamination from cleanup operations. Authored by an international team of physicists, chemists, and others, the research paper was titled "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe." It was published in The Open Chemical Physics Journal, 2009, Vol. 2., and is available online for free download. The lead author is Niels H. Harrit of the Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen."
Bill Moyers interviews William K. Black
The financial industry brought the economy to its knees, but how did they get away with it? With the nation wondering how to hold the bankers accountable, Bill Moyers sits down with William K. Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Black offers his analysis of what went wrong and his critique of the bailout
A different approach to socialism
I've been thinking a lot about a long phone conversation I had with a long time left-wing activist a few months ago. I found that while we both described ourselves as socialists, we disagreed on what we meant by socialism. Given the near two hundred year long running conversation about "the social problem", I truly believe that socialism is a contested term and that differing interpretations should be tolerated.
My friend thinks socialism requires the implementation of large-scale industrial and governmental institutions with an eye towards democracy, economic redistribution, bureaucratically-implemented egalitarianism, and the like. I believe that, for my friend, the purpose of this structurally prescriptive system is the guarantee of certain outcomes that can be said to be "socialist". There is to be the revolution, and then we are to achieve the "right kind" of governance - always counting on feedback from the people, of course, but institutionally programmed to perpetuate key values chosen from the outset. The project of socialism in his mind - and in the mind of most socialists - is to achieve a state from which certain outcomes can be guaranteed.
To me, this is absurd. First, supporters of state socialism have never been able to reconcile the real-world examples of prescriptive, interventionist, statist models with the ideals of socialism. Even if they were able to realize those ideals in the real world, they cannot possibly hold that the other important parts of the human experience are met by these models - such as individual choice, human freedoms of expression, and the crucial ability to decline undesired services (such as "governance"). Anything less than this is a cage; an egalitarian one, perhaps, but nevertheless an arbitrary barrier to the kinds of individual expression that validate the human life.
Sheldon Richman on the financial crisis
Richman will be on Glenn Beck tonight as well; the subject is "Fascism or Socialism?"
The only place where freedom has any meaning
Cop pulls man over for an expired tag just moments away from the hospital, where he was taking his mother who was having trouble breathing. Woman dies while cop stalls does paperwork. A tragedy, to be sure, but who is responsible for the death?
A police officer does not know what is best for you, your loved ones, and the community just because he wears a badge. Nor does a soldier, a bureaucrat, or a politician, just because they have titles and government paychecks. If we want to be free to act in the best interests of ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors, we do not need to rise up and kill the ruling class. We need only stop blindly contributing to their system without reflection. That requires you to think before you follow the command of some authority - to at least consider the possibility of disobedience, the responsibility of sentience, the stakes of alienating your better sense.
Being free means more than wanting it; it means acting and living in a world that will chop you down for being free. The world may suck in that regard, but it's the only one where freedom will have any meaning. While the state does hold the threat of force over us, it is not always aiming the gun at us. We have a moment by moment decision to make in running our own lives, and tragedies abound no matter what we decide - but the ultimate surrender only occurs when you stop thinking you have a choice.
The New House
Yes, the rumors you've been hearing are all true: we closed on our first home Thursday evening! It's been a long road, and we almost didn't get there (Bank of America, you were awful). But we got a great interest rate and a deal on a home that should have cost twice as much.
And you know whom we have to thank? My late Grandma Chappell, who left us just enough money for a modest down payment in her will. Thanks, Grandma, for your wonderful gift and being a great grandparent for so long!
Here's a breakdown of the positive points about the house:
- Built in 1910, but completely stripped down and replumbed, rewired, with all new appliances, room, and heat pump (need to replace the refrigerator, though). Original moldings and panel doors, though!
- A block from James River Park, with lots of water and rocks for Tela and beautiful Belle Isle accessible by paw.
- A five minute drive from my office. It's actually quicker to walk than to take the bus!
- Two bedrooms and an office
- Huge living room and dining room, with a great kitchen.
- Utility room with room for Tasha's kiln.
- A garage with a separate shed, all cleaned out and ready for Tasha to wire up and turn into a studio.
Contribute to C4SS today!
UPDATE: C4SS has reached and exceeded its fundraising goal! Thanks so much for your generosity!
Time is running out to support the Center for a Stateless Society's Spring Fundraising Drive. Only $400 $275 $175 to go, but that can mean the difference between a growing, thriving anarchist think tank and a market anarchist movement continuing to schlep it's way through the blogosphere. We need to count on more than just linking to mainstream media sources - we need our own media center, where we can pool analytical resources and provide comprehensive solutions to today's problems. C4SS is one part of this next step in our movement's maturity.
If you haven't been able to convince your friends and family to consider the stateless alternative to the status quo, maybe you need some help. That's precisely what the Center excels at. With C4SS you get comprehensive, ongoing, and timely analaysis and commentary on current events. It's a refreshingly anarchist perspective and approach, but framed in terms designed to appeal to non-anarchists.
The Media Misses the Real Message of the Stewart/Cramer Interview
"When we can't compete with a comic in terms of speaking truth to power, then it's more clear than ever that journalism in the US has lost its way. It comes as no surprise then when, as newspapers crumble around the country, a report like the one released by the Pew Research Center this week says that only 33% of people would miss their local newspaper "a lot." When you lead with a story about an interview that happened on a comedy show--and it's the very same story that almost everyone else is leading with as well--what's to miss?"
