Gonzo Times

At TechCrunch, Paul Carr argues for why the UK needs, if not exactly the draconian new digital copyright currently under consideration, at least something very much like it but with stronger procedural guarantees for accused file-sharers . Never mind all the arguments from principle against the legitimacy of copyright law. I’ve done that to death here. But what really caught my eye was his utilitarian arguments. “For all of our fears of ‘chilling effects,’” he writes, “the fact is that the Internet is shitting all over the intellectual property rights of the UK creative industries industries which account for 7.9% ... [Link] [Cache]

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the character of Mark Antony is a clever sort. In the guise of “burying Caesar, not praising him,” he unleashes popular nostalgia for the tyrant and rage against his assassins. All this for his own purposes, of course, in the ongoing struggle for power. Antony’s speech springs to mind every year as the Ides of March approach, especially when a wave of “smaller government” sentiment is sweeping the political world — sometimes directly sponsored by, sometimes simply co-opted by, one branch of the existing political establishment. The Tea Party movement and the Republican Party are in ... [Link] [Cache]

C4SS News Analyst Thomas L. Knapp posted a bit to his personal blog called “A bit about bourgeois libertarianism“. Knapp seems to be drawing a Venn diagram and pointing to the area where the circles overlap for Carson’s “vulgar libertarianism” i.e. dumbed down libertarianism that real libertarians look down on in the same way that Marxists look down on “vulgar Marxism”, from which the term is derived and Mencken’s “booboisie“. [Link] [Cache]

Seven years ago, a 23 year old American woman, Rachel Corrie, stood bravely on the Gaza Strip in front of an armored Israeli bulldozer, peacefully protesting with a bullhorn the razing of Palistinian settlements in the area. She was no stranger to this kind of activism; she’d done it numerous times, and the Israeli ‘dozer drivers, all military personnel, while partially burying her with dirt, would always back off. March 10, 2003, however, turned out to be different. Rachel Corrie was run over, crushed, and killed. A month’s “investigation” by the Israeli military, not surprisingly, found no soldier at fault. ... [Link] [Cache]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senators Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina are meeting today with President Obama to discuss tactics on how best to orchestrate the appearance of bipartisanship regarding comprehensive immigration reform. However, immigration reform is not the sole reason for the Senators’ visit. Also on the agenda [...] [Link] [Cache]

First up on the new C4SS channel on YouTube — videos for the course introduction and first three lectures in Gary Chartier’s Introduction to Anarchism ATP101 course. The text for the course, The Market for Liberty by Linda and Morris Tannehill, is available online as is the syllabus . Course Intro: Lecture 01a: Lecture 01b: Lecture 01c: Lecture 01d: Lecture 02a: Lecture 02b: Lecture 02c: Lecture 02d: Lecture 02e: Lecture 03a: Lecture 03b: Lecture 03c: Lecture 03d: [Link] [Cache]

Can we steer people toward hard news — and get them to financially support it — through the use of “news vouchers” or “public interest vouchers”? That’s the subject of this latest installment in my ongoing series on proposals to have the government play a greater role in the media sector in the name of sustaining struggling enterprises or “saving journalism.” As I mentioned here previously, last week I testified at the FCC’s first “Future of Media” workshop on “Serving the Public Interest in the Digital Era.” @3:29 mark of video . It was a great pleasure to testify alongside ... [Link] [Cache]

Freedom Watch 92 is ready for viewing. Check out Gerald Celente, Lew Rockwell, and Robert Higgs below. Gerald Celente on survivalism and the coming economic crisis. Lew Rockwell on a national ID card. Robert Higgs on the stimulus bill. Embed Codes: Gerald Celente Lew Rockwell Robert Higgs [Link] [Cache]

By Tad DeHavenOver at Downsizing Government, we focused on the following issues this week: The Department of Homeland Security is a mismanaged mess. Federal aid to the states is too popular. It’s time to privatize the U.S. Postal Service Monopoly. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood likes to give the gift of other people’s money. Ho, ho, oh no! Charles Krauthammer gets nostalgic about the socialist mail monopolist. [Link] [Cache]

Wire/LP – The Liberty movement has been looking for a beacon of truth in the mainstream media to stand up for the Founding Fathers vision of patriotism. At CPAC’s Campaign for Liberty event Thursday night, Ron Paul talked about a young man who came to his office to ask the congressman what it would take [...] [Link] [Cache]

By Malou InnocentIn what can only be described as a cheap partisan attack masquerading as patriotic chest-thumping, House Republicans this morning issued a statement opposing Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich’s resolution for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan because… [drum roll please] the Republicans strongly support the troops in Afghanistan. In a statement of Republican policy forwarded to GOP politicians and their staffers, the House Republican Leadership and the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Republicans write, ”Since the President’s speech, more United States Armed Forces have been deployed to the Afghanistan theatre in support of the implementation of ... [Link] [Cache]

By Sallie JamesWhen Rep. Collin Peterson D- Minn. and Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee pronounces that a farm program is too generous, you know you’ve crossed a line. But that’s what happened recently after Sen. Blanche Lincoln D-Ark , Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman and — oh, hey, how about that? — facing a tough re-election battle in November proposed an extra $1.1 billion in emergency farm aid be added to a jobs/tax/unemployment/kitchen sink bill going through the Senate this week. These extra handouts would flow despite the fact that the 2008 farm bill contained ”reforms” the so-called ”permanent disaster” ... [Link] [Cache]

By Tad DeHavenLast week, after Rep. Barney Frank D-MA said that holders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s debt shouldn’t be expected to be treated the same as holders of U.S. government debt, the U.S. Treasury took the “unusual” step of reiterating its commitment to back Fannie and Freddie’s debt. If ever there was case against allowing a few hundred men and women to micromanage the economy, this is it. Fannie and Freddie, which are under government control, are being used to help prop up the ailing housing market. If investors think there’s a chance Uncle Sam won’t back the ... [Link] [Cache]

In the Matrix reality put before us by the corporatist alliance of big government and big business, and its corporate media mouthpieces, there are several recurring themes. The economy we have now is the result of “free choice,” and all its specific features are the result of the free choices of individuals. Those who complain of aspects of the existing economy want to use government to restrict freedom of choice. Big business and big government are mortal enemies, and the main motive force behind government policy is a desire to restrict the freedom of big business and punish the rich. ... [Link] [Cache]

Last Sunday, I was invited to appear as a guest on “Anarchy Time,” an Internet Radio talk show. Three guesses as to the topic. I had a great time and look forward to future appearances, but I’d like to revisit the particular topic that a caller pointed this episode toward. The caller claimed that it’s not necessary to eliminate the state because those who desire freedom can get what they want by doing what he’s done: Filing paperwork declaring one’s self a “sovereign,” after which one is immune to those depredations of the federal government which violate natural law. The ... [Link] [Cache]

By David BoazBill O’Reilly teases an interview with John Stossel this way: Should Americans be able to use their body for any purpose? John Stossel says yes and joins us to explain! And Bill O’Reilly says no! No to legal prostitution, no to polygamy, no even to legal markets for vitally needed organs. Check it out: Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com More Stossel videos on personal freedom here. Cato research on organ markets here. And don’t forget to watch John Stossel every Thursday night at 8 on the Fox Business Network. [Link] [Cache]

In Kentucky, a state legislator lays it on the line with a clarity that is stunning. The legislature there is pushing a bond measure to stimulate the flagging Bluegrass State economy. The revenue enhancement — meant to raise more than $300 million in the next two years — passed the House last week on a 64-36 vote along mostly party lines. Every Democrat except two supported the measure. Republicans were united against it with one exception. "That was their choice — they made that choice," [House speaker Greg] Stumbo said when telling reporters that opponents of the revenue ... [Link] [Cache]

"We allow the insurance industry to run wild in this country," President Obama declared on Monday. "We can't have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people." Despite this rhetoric, Senior Editor Jacob Sullum argues, Obama’s plan to tame health insurers would boost their business, protect them from competition, and guarantee their profits, all at the expense of consumers and taxpayers. It is therefore not surprising, Sullum says, that the insurance companies are happy to be domesticated. View this article. [Link] [Cache]

Officials at Jefferson Elementary School in Ionia, Michigan, suspended 6-year-old Mason Jammer for making his hand into the shape of a gun and pointing at another student. They say this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this. [Link] [Cache]

Freedom Watch 91 is now ready for your liberty-loving eyes below. Rep. Stan Lee on Kentucky sovereignty. Radley Balko on inner-city policing. David Ratowitz on Liberty vs. Chicago Embed Codes: Stan Lee Radley Balko David Ratowitz [Link] [Cache]

Yesterday’s Freedom Watch was held at Ohio State University to a crowd of approximately 2000 people. Ron Paul spoke to the crowd following the show. It is in four parts below. Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Embed Codes: Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: [Link] [Cache]

Census Data Not So Confidential After All - Video Courtesy: LateNightLetterman WIRE/IndInst – The current $350 million ad campaign for the 2010 Census, including the much-maligned $2.5 million Super Bowl spots, urges individuals to “Tell your story.” The Census Bureau is particularly eager for minorities and illegal immigrants to do so, as they are traditionally believed to [...] [Link] [Cache]

By Andrew J. CoulsonDiane Ravitch is a leading education historian. Her work in that field is characteristically thorough and well-researched, and her books The Troubled Crusade and The Great School Wars, in particular, made significant contributions to our understanding of U.S. education history. On the presumption that Ravitch is as much an expert on policy as she is on history, her latest book, recounting her change of heart on certain policy questions, has garnered enormous media attention. I suggest, with all due respect, that this presumption is a mistake. Unlike her thorough and rigorous historical writing, Ravitch’s policy opinions were ... [Link] [Cache]

By Jim HarperI’ve seen plenty of stories and gotten a fair number of calls from reporters about the national broadband plan. They generally want to get some insight from down in the weeds of the communications world. What do you think of this part? What do you think of that? But I’m keeping my eye on the ball: This is another industrial-policy boondoggle. It’s a government spending program, created by the so-called “Recovery Act,” that will distort the communications marketplace, and it comes at the cost to taxpayers of having their resources taken from them and handed out to the ... [Link] [Cache]

Nancy Pelosi may be convinced that we have to pass health care reform in order to find out what's in it, but if it passes, there's at least one provision we can already count on: an individual mandate to buy health insurance. Polling shows that this requirement is one of the bill's least popular features, so it's not exactly surprising to find that states are taking action to allow individuals to bypass such requirements. More than 30 states are considering such laws, and a ban on mandatory insurance has already passed in the Virginia Senate. Will these individual protections ... [Link] [Cache]