From Stephen and myself (I’ll presume to speak for him since I’m writing this from Belfast, NI): I’d like to wish you all - in particular our regular readers and contributors - a happy new year and a prosperous 2008. It’s worth pointing out that libertarianism is about being free to pursue happiness, […]

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Isn’t it great? This photograph is one of ten chosen by Wired magazine photographers as their favourites of the past year. It was the accompanying photo for an article I read over thanksgiving weekend in a mountaintop cabin, dealing with cloned cattle and the benefits of cloning for that purpose (oh, and the […]

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I love what Mark Belling said on his show yesterday: if you’re really talented and people recognise it, you aren’t working this week. Really talented people, he says, don’t work between Christmas and New Year’s. So, Belling finds himself working, filling in for Rush Limbaugh, and I find myself working too, filling […]

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I almost missed my chance to see this movie in theatres, because life was so busy when the movie was released five weeks ago that it came and went before I had the chance. But since I first heard about it, No Country has been nominated for four Golden Globes and eighteen other awards, […]

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If only more people could take this prudent, libertarian approach to living in a free society:
“[A confession from my beating heart:] I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas […]

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…and it’s all due to global warming.

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Read this in The Times:
“Rudi Giuliani, aspiring US President, had prostate cancer. His chance of surviving in the US, he said in August, was 82 per cent; [but in the UK], “under socialised medicine”, about half as good. There was even a graph to prove that the NHS was a killer….
“Was Rudi right? Here’s a […]

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Don’t we all? Even if it’s just a painkiller for a headache once in a while, or a contraceptive pill, or a shot of coffee to wake you up, there’s nobody reading this who can honestly tell me they never use drugs of any kind. I’m not going to use this post to […]

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“A new PBS documentary quotes Andrew Jackson asking Congress to let him clear Indians off the frontier: ‘What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms … ?’
“So here I am, waving my hand like Hermione […]

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I remember seeing this on the news before leaving for work this morning and saying, “That doesn’t look good.” I honestly believed that there wasn’t much hope for the dad and his three kids who went into the woods to cut themselves a Christmas tree on Sunday and still hadn’t been found three days […]

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This is great news. Here’s his endorsement. It’s nice to find myself in agreement with Andrew Sullivan:
“The great forgotten principles of the current Republican party are freedom and toleration. Paul’s federalism, his deep suspicion of Washington power, his resistance to government spending, debt and inflation, his ability to grasp that not all human […]

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“Ron Paul campaign donor sets new record” - LA Times
“Ron Paul supporters make history with $6m online haul” - Wired News
“Money bomb - $6m in 24 hours” - USA Today
Ron Paul is the most exciting libertarian alive today. His presidential campaign is attracting a lot of attention despite his status as the underdog in […]

 

 Ron Paul radio ad: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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I confess: I’m a diehard Stern fan. My mornings wouldn’t be the same without Howard, Robin, Fred, Artie, Gary and the rest of the show’s extensive universe, live and uncensored on Sirius Satellite Radio. And this coming week features what’s being billed as one of the most ambitious radio projects ever undertaken, […]

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This is some of the most impressive marketing I’ve seen in a while. Burger King’s new ad campaign features a hidden-camera prank at one of their own stores where customers on a certain day were told that the Whopper had been discontinued. People were surprised and some upset by the change, since it’s […]

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It’s been a while since I sat down specifically to listen to some music. Today I had a break from everything for a couple of hours and was able to enjoy some time in front of my home theater setup. The quality of the system is great, so it demands a good audio […]

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“Children believe in Santa Claus. Creationists believe in creationism. But children grow up and discard Santa. So why not creationists?”
That’s the question by Steve Tomkins of the Christian ezine Ship of Fools, a question sure to outrage creationists of both young and old earth varieties. But, as you’ll guess from reading this blog, I […]

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Which is more rare: natural blondes, or dimples?
Have a good weekend.

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Today I was having a discussion with a British acquaintance on the subject of the death penalty, and it quickly became clear to me that he was making a fundamental mistake in his thinking on America. When Europeans talk about America, I’ve noticed that they tend to misconstruct matters of law and policy because […]

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Alan Miller thinks that fake mugshots showing members of the Bush administration are not worthy of controversy and merely represent a “cynical conformism.”
Leander Kahney reports that Steve Jobs wore a suit and tie to the Nobel Prize ceremony. He hasn’t been photographed wearing a suit for a decade, which appeals to me, a guy […]

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Birth by Government: Part I
I apologise for my hiatus during the past few days; I’ve been struggling with an ongoing gut complaint which, inevitably, has me pondering the issue of healthcare. In the UK, where I’m from, healthcare is paid for in taxes and is thereafter free at the point of use. Here […]

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