Paradocracy

At the very outset of America's republic, the Framers rightly anticipated the dangers inherent to any form of government which pits the rights of people against the rights of property. James Madison communicated his observations on this threat in October of 1788, stressing that "the bulk of the people" ought first to be sufficiently invested in property, or the prospects of the rights of property, with still a sufficient interest in the rights of persons.  Madison sharply described the inevitable power to be suffered at the hands of those "not interested in the rights of property." In his observations he warned that "one of two things cannot fail to happen" in such a clash of interests: "either they will unite against the other description and become the dupes and instruments of ambition, or their poverty and independence will render them mercenary instruments of wealth." Madison then concluded that, "In either case liberty will be subve...

Many Americans today fondly remember The Andy Griffith Show , the popular television series that spanned eight seasons from 1960 to 1968. The television show captures the sentiments of a generation and the nostalgia of another, and it represents what law enforcement could be.  The show is still especially popular today among conservatives in America, who fondly recall sweeter times and the traditions of a bygone era. The show stars Andy Griffith, the widowed sheriff of the quaint little town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Griffith is the charming and charismatic sheriff who nearly always does right by his community. He’s an exemplary citizen and role model who respects his neighbors and leads by example, and he makes people laugh all the while.  Unfortunately, the truth about modern law enforcement in America is far more sinister, yet the politicians are more than happy to exploit the sensibilities of their enemies who remember the good old days back in Mayberry. Have you ever ...

As the Freedom Convoys around Canada advance the timeless cause of liberty, I can’t help but wonder what it will take to spawn a freedom movement across all of America.  It is a tragedy that people around cities like Detroit aren’t heeding the call to join their allies in the fight for freedom. It is a tragedy indeed that so many people in “the land of the free” and “the home of the brave” are content to see the status quo run its course, or to otherwise observe the fight from a distance.  It’s possible that we’re living through a pivotal moment right now and yet Americans, and Michiganders in particular, appear to be sitting on their hands or twiddling their thumbs as freedom fighters across the bridge fight to reclaim their liberty. At long last,  I think it’s time to start rallying around the cause.  It’s now or never, because if it’s not now, it won’t be peaceful the second time around; if not now, there will always be another excuse for inaction. Those who don’t...

On July 19, 2018, an altercation ensued after 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton violently shoved 47-year-old Michael Drejka to the ground in a parking lot outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Florida. McGlockton blindsided Drejka, who was alerting McGlockton’s wife of the fact that she was illegally parked in a handicap spot. Within 2 seconds of being violently shoved to the ground, Drejka would draw his firearm and discharge a single round that would enter McGlockton’s torso. McGlockton would later die from his injuries at a local hospital.  In the months following these events, the media hastened to paint the narrative of a racially-motivated killing. In response, the public organized protests against Drejka and what they described as further evidence of racism and white supremacy in the United States. Of course, the events of this case are limited to mere seconds, but the ensuing hours, days, months and years since that moment have afforded every activist and Monday morning q...

After the Dallas Cowboys' 17-23 playoff loss against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the sports world couldn't help but ask the question:  What's the ultimate reason for the Cowboys' 26-year Super Bowl drought?  The explanation is a bit nuanced, but the answer is fairly straightforward: team owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones.  It doesn't take a forensics team to map out the events of the past twenty-six years. It wasn't Colonel Mustard with the candlestick or the lead pipe. It's actually much simpler than that: it was Jerry Jones who killed the Dallas Cowboys.  Since the day that he fired the beloved Tom Landry, Jerry Jones has chased away every good coach who's entered the building, and he's singlehandedly compromised the identity and destroyed the culture of the organization. The firing of Tom Landry was just the beginning. Today, the Dallas Cowboys are the Dallas Cowboys in name only. There's absolutely nothing left, in terms...

Keynesians and central planners prefer to view economic activity as some kind of mechanical machine whereby the people and their exchanges are the necessary gears to get it moving. Insofar as the people and their exchanges affect the performance of the machine, the Keynesians and the central planners seek to bring the gears into hyperdrive, eliminating every delay and discretion that might otherwise prevent a transaction from moving the gears.  In this way, the Keynesians and the central planners view the people as incidental to economic growth. The former lament the fact that their field of study has them dealing with mere human beings instead of raw, inanimate material; but this hardly keeps them from treating their human subjects any differently than the material they might otherwise manipulate at will.  In this way, the Keynesians and the central planners view the people and their actions as constantly grinding the gears or needlessly slowing them down. The Keynesians and ...

Whereas socialists condemn slavery of the past, they seek in the present (and into the future) to bind slaves to their ever-changing concept of the “common good.” Ironically enough, as a percentage of his productivity, the average slave up through the nineteenth century actually kept more than three-fourths of his productivity, considerably more than the average taxpayer today.  Moreover, the average slave reserved the option to eventually buy his freedom: indeed, many slaves became freemen in just this fashion. However, it’s virtually impossible today for the average taxpayer to ever reclaim his freedom; he’s met everywhere with superficial justifications for his continued enslavement to the consensus, the “common good” and the tax collectors who enforce their will.  Whether the layman, the intellectual or the politician, slavery has never been a question of morality, but rather about how close the slave ought to be to his master, and what ends his work ought to serve. Whethe...

The price of bitcoin plunged overnight by more than 21 percent: this placed the digital "asset" $26,756 (38.8 percent) below its November 10 high. While some bitcoin speculators are unfazed by the decline, citing past volatility to assuage their concerns, their indifference to the price action of bitcoin exposes yet another of its weaknesses: bitcoin is not a store of value; it is not money; and its use case is exclusively limited to its use as a speculative risk asset.  Since its conception, bitcoin enthusiasts have characterized the cryptocurrency as an alternative monetary asset, namely "Gold 2.0". They have likened certain qualities of bitcoin to those of gold, and they've claimed that bitcoin improves upon gold just as every other digital asset has improved upon its predecessor: whether it's e-mail, audio files or online shopping, the bitcoin enthusiasts claim that the digital space is the preferred domain for all things.  Unfortunately, the bitcoin ent...

Once again, rural California is bustling with chatter about another secession movement. Draconian mandates and hypocrisy continue unabated, animating talks of secession across all of northern California. Yet, just as there are plenty of proponents of secession, there are many doubters.    The doubters claim that hopes of secession are a pipe dream, that they are unrealistic due to the administrative costs that the "poor country folk" couldn't possibly afford. Fortunately, they're wrong.  While it may be unlikely, their outlook is purely self-fulfilling: while they claim that secession is unlikely, they're bound to make it so with their complacency. Secession is successful where a people join together to declare their sovereignty and to effect their separation; in many cases, this means positively asserting one's rights, not asking for permission. Secession, not only an essential course for representative government and developing communities, produced several ...