Day: November 29, 2017

How To Be A Libertarian or At Least Think Like One

Better Think; Think

[social_warfare]

How does one “be” libertarian?

As I ventured into liberty, I found there were some topics about which I knew nothing. Economics specifically. Libertarians love economics. So, I read a few articles and books and then more and it turns out there is a vast library of libertarian authors and thinkers who are authors with books just waiting to be read. And, there are articles. That so much exists is a testament to the thought that has gone into what it means to be a libertarian on purpose.

I’ve written a piece about how little D and R asks of its affiliates.  Being libertarian requires we do our homework.  With that in mind, I present a collection of essays and articles available with the click of a mousse for you to read.  Beginning libertarians will certainly find this a help in understanding how it is that libertarians do see the world differently  than other people.  That’s not good or bad it just is.  Once you start to see beyond the curtain, you’ll see the world differently too.

Click through these links.  They were intended to be consumed on a day for 30 days.  There is little reason to go faster.  The material is good, but these writers aren’t pulp fiction.  Dig in; enjoy.  Drop me a note or come find us around on Facebook.  We would love to chat.  Now, the list as presented in the EconomicPolicyJournal.com.  h/t Robert Wenzel

Make A List
The 30 Day Reading List that will Lead You to Becoming a Knowledgeable Libertarian

The list below will not make anyone a scholar in libertarianism or an expert in Austrian Economics, it is designed to introduce to the busy individual the essence of libertarianism. There are 30 articles listed below. If one reads one article, slowly and carefully, per day, by the end of 30 days one should have a very strong grasp of libertarian principles and a basic understanding of Austrian economics. The list contains articles on a variety of topics but does not cover all possible libertarian topics. More than anything it provides an overview of libertarianism and how libertarians think about issues of the day. The completion of the 30 days of reading should not be considered an ending point but rather the start of the beginning of a more detailed study.

Day 1 The Task Confronting Libertarians by Henry Hazlitt

Books by Henry Hazlitt on Amazon

Day 2 The Fascist Threat by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 3 Free Economy and Social Order by Wilhelm Röpke

Day 4 The Peculiar and Unique Position of Economics by Ludwig von Mises

Books by Ludwig von Mises

Day 5 What Soviet Medicine Teaches Us by Yuri Maltsev

Day 6 Economic Depressions: Their Causes and Cures by Murray Rothbard

Books by Murray Rothbard

Day 7 Is Greater Productivity a Danger? by David Gordon

Day 8 Taxation Methods Evaluated by Murray Rothbard

Day 9 Hitler Was a Keynesian by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 10 Seeing the Unseen by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 11 The Watermelon Summit by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Books by Thomas DiLorenzo on Amazon

Day 12 Equality and Inequality by Ludwig von Mises

Day 13 How to Think Like an Economist by Murray Rothbard

Day 14 The Health Plan’s Devilish Principles by Murray Rothbard

Day 15 Vices Are Not Crimes by Murray Rothbard

Day 16 Repudiate the National Debt by Murray Rothbard

Day 17 The Fallacy of the ‘Public Sector’ by Murray Rothbard

Day 18 The Road to Totalitarianism by Henry Hazlitt

Day 19 The Many Collapses of Keynesianism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 20 The Crippling Nature of Minimum Wage Laws by Murray Rothbard

Day 21 Who Owns Water by Murray Rothbard

Day 22 Defending the Slumlord by Walter Block

Day 23 The Freedom of Association by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr

Day 24 How to Help the Poor and Oppressed by Walter Block

Day 25 Everything You Love You Owe to Capitalism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 26 Is There a Right To Unionize? by Walter Block

Day 27 What If Public Schools Were Abolished? by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 28 Why Austrian ? an interview with Robert Higgs

Day 29 Economics and Moral Courage by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Day 30 Do You Hate the State? by Murray Rothbard

Also a must read is Robert Wenzel’s The Fed Flunks. It contains the story behind and the no-holds-barred speech he gave inside the New York Federal Reserve:

 

Robert Wenzel was Editor & Publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.com and Target Liberty. He also writes EPJ Daily Alert and is the author of The Fed Flunks: My Speech at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.  His YouTube series is here: Robert Wenzel Talks Economics.

Christmas Ornaments and Gift Ideas

And The Stockings Were Hung

Of course you know we are getting into that zany season of crass materialism.  Bah, Humbug.  I like it.  It proves a chance to play detective and find that item or three that speaks to you about another person.

Sure, it’s easy when you are presented a list of allowable options and told “Oh, anything from this list will be a lovely surprise.”  Pffft!  Wanna really surprise that person?  Get something not on the list.  Surprise!  I didn’t listen to you.  That part might not be news, the the gift will be.

I have some highly preferred baking items on my Shopify page here.

My fondness for all things Peanuts has already been documented. So, it is simply to show you that it is the size of the spirit, not the size of the tree which makes Christmas so special.

 

Every cook needs an apron.  And a whisk.  And an ornament commemorating just such things.  Well, here it is and it’s about as cute as it can be.  How do we know it’s cute?  Well, in the infamous words of the infamous clown’s answer about the smallest horse in the world, “Just look at it!”

Innovation is an amazing thing. Long ago, pasta was made, and by made I mean cut, by a device called a guittara which resembles a small harpsichord. The cook would place the rolled out sheet of pasta, rolled out by hand with a rolling pin, and use that pin to push the pasta through rows of wires, cutting the pasta. Also available were rolling pins with grooves cut out so the pasta was cut as wide as the grooves. Craftsmanship was paramount for uniformity. Then one day, Poof!, a pasta machine, which rolled the dough increasingly thinner and a different cutter which cut the preferred noodle shape. Tada, innovation. I have one of those fancy new-fangled machines. I’ve used a guittara only once. I used my, and still do use, my pasta machine at work and home.
In memory of all that pasta has given us, ravioli, lasagne, capelli d’angelo, and more, here is today’s ornament.

Ah, butter. Julia Child, no stranger to butter, once said that “with enough butter, anything is good.” Amen. I make the most of my butter in baking with puff pastry or pie dough and in cooking with risotto or finishing a steak. Butter is where it’s at, man.

Peanuts: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Sally, Linus, Pigpen, Schroeder, The Little Red Headed Girl, and Snoopy and Woodstock. Of course you know them. We all do. From the holiday specials to the comic strip and books and Christmas ornaments. Today’s ornament is a reminder for me of my dad and his great love of all things Peanuts.

Angels.  Why wouldn’t anyone want more angels?  We’ve got some which have made it some many years and I look forward each year to hanging them.  We have some tin doggies and they are cute.   The craftsmanship is very nice.  So, today, I offer angels.

For the cook in you or in your life, I have a page of items that are great gift ideas and they work.  I know they do cause I use them.