- The USA: Ninth freest nation on earth and proud to rank third among the “mostly free,” economically speaking. (Motto: “We take second place to none! But we take third place behind Ireland and Denmark.”) Deroy Murdock has a pretty good take on the news. (Although some of us might differ with what exactly “free trade” means. NAFTA? Gimme a break!)
- Via Joel. First thorough recap of “Project Gunwalker” I’ve seen. What, the ATF dirty? Causing the very problems it claims to want to solve? Nevah!
- You know all those new 1099 requirements in Obamacare? The ones everybody’s tearing their hair over but (so far) nobody can seem to manage to repeal? Fox says — terrible news! — that on top of everything else they’ll lead to more tax evasion. Whatever is this wicked world coming to?
- In Vietnam, they called this destroying the village to save it.
- Frank Furedi: In defense of individual moral autonomy and against the politics of nudging. Political nudging seems to be another term for that monstrous oxymoron “libertarian paternalism.” (Tip o’ hat to PT.)
One lesson that never seems to stick is the more complicated(and usually expensive) you make a system, the more likely people will find new and creative ways to simplify it. Fill out all those forms(and take the risks that go with it), or just take cash and be done with it? Never make anything more complicated than it has to be to do the job…and often, that means leave it alone,and let people work it out for themselves.
none dare call it treason?
Ah, but Scott, how would the professional politicians get their cut if they “leave it alone and let people work it out for themselves”? Remember that they don’t want it to be simple, or to even work. They want the power and money that their meddling brings them.
…on top of everything else they’ll lead to more tax evasion.
I’m hearing Grigg in my head there; he’d probably say something like “it continues to escape me how any normally adjusted person could consider ‘tax evasion’ to be something other than the highest of civic duties…”
…but I’m like that. 🙂
Indeed, Kevin. And I’ve got to say that anyone trying to “nudge” me is going to get some serious heartburn. Calling themselves “libertarians” certainly won’t help them at all.
Somehow, a Red, White and Blue T-shirt with a big “Were #9” on the front just isn’t appealing to me. Maybe as a gift for a liberal friend or two, but not for me.
Hi Clair
Did you see this
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1936923.shtml?cat=500
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110124/04120212794/man-acquitted-lawsuit-over-filming-tsa-not-showing-id.shtml
Hot Damm there is some sanity in this world after all.
Agreed, ML (and Claire). It’s hard to imagine a mentality dumb enough to use a self-contradictory term like “libertarian paternalism” without irony, but hey, here we are, aren’t we?
Perhaps it’s a deliberate technique, to “out” the actual liberty-loving who cannot help but laugh or roll eyes or lose coffee upon hearing the term? 🙂
Of interest, too, is that when I hear the term “nudge”, I think of the trigger technique as I heard it described by Jeff Cooper, wherein (supposedly) one “nudges” the shot off when the sights are seen to be precisely on target. Like Cooper, I’m skeptical of this in a technical sense (preferring the “compressed surprise break” with its manageable wobble zone), but…the metaphor of the “nudge” strategy here does seem apropos, does it not?
Ms Jordan, thanks for the links. Yep, I’ve been seeing variations on that story for several days and I shout, “Hallelujah, sanity!” right along with you. I haven’t blogged about it because I’ve been looking for more detail. All the coverage is so brief. Still … yep, excellent news.
Claire,
Mike Vanderboegh has tons of info on the Project Gunwalker topic on his web site http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/
I try to stop by the Sipsey Street Cafe daily because it is ALWAYS filled with info to keep me updated on the shenanigans of Government – the OCCUPATION FORCE now sitting in Our Government spaces.
Jackie
Thanks, Jackie. I don’t visit Sipsey Street as often as I should. I like Mike’s blog and I understand (correct me if I’m wrong) that he and the ever-heroic David Codrea were the guys who first brought “Project Gunwalker” to light and pushed hard to get the fedgov both to pay attention and offer protection to the whistleblowers. But when I visit, Mike is often in the middle of a discussion about Gunwalker and until I saw that recap I linked ti, I didn’t have a good picture of what was going on.
Claire,
You re right that it was Mike and David who parted the clouds of deception and let the LIGHT shine in. Mike is not one to step back when he hears the rattler shake its tail – that’s for sure. If there is one place that the BRAVE stand straight and speak out loud – it is on Sipsey Street.
BTW: I met Mike in person when I was in TN – at one of the Russ & Dee Tea Party gatherings in Birmingham, AL. Great guy who has given more than most in this war we are engaged in for Freedom and Liberty.
Jackie
A Three Percenter