Is There a 'Wrong' Way to Defend Liberty?

Obviously, the Liberty Movement is made up of all types of ideologies, all unified in opposition to paternalistic government and many unified in their ultimate end goal: libertarians, Austrian economists, Objectivists, capitalists, minarchists, paleoconservatives, classical liberals, and even some breeds of anarchists are part of this liberty-based coalition.

On their own, statists have been generally ineffective in implementing their policies throughout history. Any progress that statists do make, however, is often the result of error on the part of their opponents - of supporters of liberty offering up inadequate defenses for their position, thus allowing the statists to gain more ground than they would otherwise have.

So with that in mind, it is important for us to wonder: is there a wrong way to defend liberty?

For your consideration, I offer this essay on Milton Friedman - no doubt a lover of liberty himself but, possibly, a prime example of what an inadequate defense of liberty looks like:

On the one hand, I regard the basic human value that underlies my own beliefs as tolerance based on humility. I have no right to coerce someone else because I cannot be sure that I am right and he is wrong. On the other hand, some of our heros…people who have, in fact, done the most to promote libertarian ideas, who have been enormously influential, have been highly intolerant as human beings and have justified their views, with which I largely agree, in ways that I regard as promoting intolerance.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving!

This holiday season, I came up with a not-so-original idea to use silver as my trademark gift. Not only is it an educational tool that brings up questions about investing and the future of the dollar-based system, but it’s also worth a nice chunk of change. As we speak I’m packing for a family get together where I’ll be presenting my father with a nice 1 oz. bar of silver. It’s worth cash if he wants to cash it in, possibly even more cash if he wants to hold on to it for a while, and is a great collector’s item if he chooses to see it that way. I’m sure he will be thrilled!

The average spending habits of individuals, around Christmas, add up to about $650. If you take today’s silver prices and divide that up, you’ve got a gift for over 20 people on that list. Just think, people are getting gift cards, scarves, new socks, and toys (all wonderful and thoughtful, of course) but when they open your gift, even if they don’t appreciate it in the moment they’ll hopefully realize soon enough that you’ve given them something to learn from.

Let’s not forget though, with the economy at its worst in decades, there will surely be deals on silver out there that are so good you should avoid them. An article I recently read offers up the great idea of buying your silver or gold through a local coin shop. I wholeheartedly agree that having your precious metal physically in your possession after the transaction can be soothing and exciting! However let’s not discount the growing popularity and convenience of online shopping. Buying expensive items online can feel like risky business, however with the secure pay options and things like PayPal, your $650 in silver rounds should be a safe precious metals buying experience.

One thing to make note of:  Be sure that your online bullion dealer delivers to your house. Do not purchase gold or silver for someone for Christmas if it’s going to be held in a vault or account somewhere. First, because it’s tacky to not have the gift present, and second, because one little round probably won’t be enough to have its own safety box. A company that offers to hold the PM’s while issuing a certificate should be checked out thoroughly to make sure the metal is actually in existence.

The good thing about online bullion buying is the lack of salespeople pulling you in different directions over the phone as you make your purchasing decisions. However, beware of websites with red flags like “confiscation proof” labels or hype over a government-issued collector’s coin. Before your start hunting for the best deals on your silver gifts, find the scams out there before they find you; dig into Peter Schiff’s Gold Scam Report that will make your gift buying holly-jolly like the rest of the season!

Believe me, your friends and family will love the gift that keeps on giving!

Originally posted at the Gold Scams Blog.

A short and incomplete summary of why our foreign policy cannot continue as it has for the last decade.

As is now (hopefully) increasingly common knowledge, our numerous occupations in the Middle East and Africa were not sparked by those countries attacking us.  Rather, with the possible exception of the War in Afghanistan — which has lasted an outrageously long time with huge costs of both blood and treasure, our 5+ wars are unwarranted wars of aggression rendered unconstitutional by their lack of official declaration by the Congress and unaffordable by our $15 trillion national debt. 

The CIA estimates there are fewer than 100 members of al Qaeda left in Afghanistan, and yet we linger with tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of billions of dollars spent.  Recall also that many of the people we’re fighting there we were training just a few decades years ago, possibly including even bin Laden himself.

We’re finally pulling out of Iraq, left unstable and arguably more dangerous than we found it — not to mention the hundreds of thousands of excess civilian deaths our intervention has caused there.

In Libya, we’re not really sure who we supported or if the new government will even be friendly to us.  Many of the rebels we helped are backed by al Qaeda, our enemies just a few countries away.

In Pakistan, our drone operations are permitted to kill 50 civilians — including women and children — for every one terrorist they get, and no one is required to report to the public who is killed.

In Somalia, we’re engaging in covert operations in a dangerous and morally dubious situation which is none of our business and stretches our military — already posted in 900 bases in more than 130 nations around the world — almost thinner than it can stand.

Now, one might argue that it’s somehow OK for the U.S. to engage in this kind of global military expansion, because we’re the good guys, right?  But, as I’ve shown, in many cases we haven’t the foggiest clue who the good guys are, and often end up doing more harm than good to our own defense in the long term.  Perhaps more importantly, how would we like it if we were on the other end of our clumsy, bloody, and expensive foreign policy?  A little consideration of the golden rule might go a long way. 

Originally published on my blog here.

Egyptian Military Brutalizes Protesters

The struggle for democracy continues in Egypt. The below footage shows the military ganging up on a single protester and beating the prone protester into bloody submission. Not for the faint of heart.

According Reuters, 10 people are dead in clashes in Cairo:

Soldiers beat demonstrators with batons in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday in a second day of clashes that have killed 10 people and wounded hundreds, marring the first free election most Egyptians can remember.

Protesters fled into side streets to escape the troops in riot gear, who grabbed people and battered them repeatedly even after they had been beaten to the ground, a Reuters journalist said. Shots were fired in the air.

Soldiers pulled down protester tents and set them on fire, local television footage showed.

Here is to hoping that the Egyptian people will succeed in the end.