The irony of the state is that its chief political actors want us to think of them as individuals. This is hardly surprising -- they are people, after all, and beholden to the same proclivities and social desires as is the rest of humanity.

The current head head of state, Barack Obama, likewise wants us to think of him as an individual. Someone who screws up sometimes, but loves his wife and beautiful children. Someone who abused drugs in the past, but has managed to become a responsible and effective member of society.

While many people are appreciate the personal nature of much of what politicians tell them, I am disgusted by it. Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a president who wants us to get to know and appreciate the family he undoubtedly loves, but dehumanizes the voiceless Afghan child he murders as expendable "collateral damage."  Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a government which shackles and kidnaps people for making the same nonviolent mistake its sanctified leader did. Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a state that only seems to consider its power players, and those in cahoots with them, as fully human.

Through the "bread and circus," of parades, flag-waving, and cable television, the state has -- mostly successfully -- attempted to divert attention from its hypocrisies and atrocities. Though the political image of a lively interparty debate is projected, in reality, the state has set the playing field and carefully crafted the creativity-limiting assumptions behind the conventional "liberal" and "conservative" modes of thought.

 But the good news is that we're on to them and set to give them a battle they never anticipated. We will stand together, fearlessly and radically challenging the regime's legal and moral legitimacy. Unyielding devotion to Mises' logo, rather than pussyfooting around the state's crimes, is what seperates us from the "cosmo" libertarians and "peacenik" Obamaites.