Stephen Parvin

Leading from the Front

Apr 24, 2010 at 6:51 AM

By Stephen Parvin

I'll make a personal promise to President Barack Obama.

I promise I will vote for Obama in 2012 if he would start each day with a hearty breakfast full of eggs, cheese, biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns, several cured meats, a pot of black coffee and a jug of orange juice, then don an Iron Man suit, and fly over to Iraq and lead a patrol of soldiers through a town, killing anyone mercilessly and ruthlessly if attacked, fly back to the White House, descend through a secret helipad opening in the roof, debrief in a war room with generals, and then head over to the Oval Office to start his diplomatic and executive duties for the rest of the day.

Mr, President, could you do that every day for all four years of your next term, dealing with most likely some level of PTSD and possible burns, bullet injuries, or amputations? Try to imagine dealing with the personal damages of war while all the time keeping a straight face and a complacent will. That's what you're asking and paying our soldiers to do, typically as a result of their loyalty to their country. They are the brave ones willing to do violent and dangerous things in the night because you've told them that they are protecting their country. At the same time the rest of the country, for the most part, sleeps safe and sound at night.

4/20 Philosophy

Apr 17, 2010 at 9:00 AM

By Stephen Parvin

Here's two flyers for an upcoming concert YAL at MTSU is hosting on April 20th. We decided to make the two different flyers because we want to show the rational thought behind decriminalization, and of course, we had to make another flyer for us "crazy hippies"! This way, depending on the situation, we have a choice of which flyer to give to someone.

4/20 Philosophy Flyer

My English Teacher Is a Marxist

Mar 23, 2010 at 1:52 PM

By Stephen Parvin

This semester I'm enrolled in a basic, required English class...a class in which I was shocked to have my professor unabashedly claim to be a Marxist despite the complete lack of relation between Marxism and the course material.

I haven't confronted the teacher at this point, and as of right now, I don't want to expose the teacher's identity or otherwise do them harm. However, I haven't ruled out making a note of this in the course evaluation at the end of the semester or even speaking to the dean about this misallocation of class time. But for this blog, I'll refer to the teacher only as "Engels" and avoid using pronouns which would reveal Engels' gender. Please pardon the awkward syntax.

Engels is not a good teacher. Unhappy with the room assigned for the course, Engels moved us to the library -- but there's no room there which Engels can regularly reserve. As a result, where we'll meet each session is anyone's guess, and there's often inadequate seating or desk space. The lack of desks to write on doesn't really matter, though, since Engels rarely teaches us things worth writing down. Instead, the course starts off with Engels attempting to guilt trip the class for tardiness, absence, or late assignments (keep in mind we don't have a regular meeting location). Though some students do perform poorly, Engels doesn't fail them but "compassionately" extends the deadlines ad infinitum.

U.S. Hyperinflation Possible by 2015

Mar 13, 2010 at 1:28 AM

By Stephen Parvin

Check out this recent report from the National Inflation Association:

The U.S. government this week reported a record monthly budget deficit for February 2010 of $220.9 billion. Total tax receipts for the month were only $107.5 billion compared to outlays of $328.4 billion. The total U.S. deficit for the first five months of fiscal year 2010 was $651.6 billion, with tax receipts of $800.5 billion and outlays of $1.45 trillion. The deficit was up 10.5% for the first five months of fiscal year 2010 over the same period in fiscal year 2009.

We are now at a point where if the U.S. government taxed Americans 100% of their income, the tax receipts generated would not be enough to balance the budget. Likewise, if the U.S. government cut 100% of its spending including defense, but kept paying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we would still have a budget deficit. NIA believes it will be impossible for the U.S. to have a balanced budget ever again.

YAL-MTSU wins SGA Senate Seat!!!

Mar 7, 2010 at 10:45 PM

By Stephen Parvin

Friends, I'm just utterly stoked to inform you that Young Americans for Liberty at Middle Tennessee State University has successfully placed one of their members, Christopher S. Burks, in the Student Government Association as a Senator. He already has several pieces of legislature written! As far as I know, he is the only liberty-minded person in the Senate, but maybe this will be an opportunity for him to rally an opposition force in the current "lame-duck" SGA. Here's the official statement from the campaign page:

Dear friends,

I'm happy to report that we were successful in our campaign, but just barely; this was a very close election. I was elected into the 7th spot by 7 votes!

I really have to thank Stephen Parvin and Eric Sharp for all their help in this campaign; I also thank all the YAL/C4L members that helped to spread the message.

Thank you also to all those who voted for me, and believed in the message of liberty.

Ron Paul on CNBC Squawk Box Feb. 22 2010

Feb 22, 2010 at 2:32 PM

By Stephen Parvin

Ron Paul this morning on CNBC talking about his official CPAC Straw Poll victory, market interest rates, the Depression of 1920, how trading with countries can disarm hostilities with them, and how we start wars in order to prevent war:

Find part 2 here.

How to make a stand for your YAL Banner

Feb 13, 2010 at 12:24 PM

By Stephen Parvin

Here's a video showing you how to make a simple, inexpensive PVC stand for your YAL Banner.

Cheers!

Stephen Parvin, YAL MTSU

Comments (141)

Excellent Recruitment Tool: Operation Politically Homeless

Feb 1, 2010 at 8:59 PM

By Stephen Parvin

The entire OPH kit is free for YAL Chapters, provided you agree to do the event at least 3 times a year and email them pics/vids of the events.

This is a really fun event, and it's completely non-confrontational. My YAL chapter set up a poster-sized chart next to the table, people come up and answer 5 questions regarding social issues and 5 questions regarding economic issues. Then the scores are tabulated in an X-Y coordinate fashion, and a small round sticker is placed on the chart indicating which catagory the person's answers have placed them in. The catagories are libertarian, liberal, conservative, centrist, and statist.

After we put the dot on the chart, we simply ask, "Is that where you thought you'd be?" You'll get different answers.

If the person scores in the "Libertarian" or anywhere near the top area, we ask if they would be interested in receiving any more information, and if so, they fill out the back of the quiz with their contact info, and we give them a flyer or a YAR (We have the best acronyms!).

Idea for Campus Event

Jan 24, 2010 at 9:19 AM

By Stephen Parvin

Here's an idea that may be helpful to YAL groups around the country:

Our group (YAL at Middle Tennessee State University) is collaborating with other environmentally-minded students and student organizations to produce an entire month of events and activities in the public areas of campus that promote non-pollution and awareness of society's pollution levels. This group of collaborators consists of various political persuasions, ranging from the 2-party majority, libertarians, anarchists, marxists, and democratic socialists. So how is our YAL chapter fitting in?

Our plan is to create visuals and table events that report the amount of pollution that the Department of Defense dumps on the earth. Ultimately, we are advocating against war as a whole, but focusing on the damage that it inflicts on the earth and living beings. We plan on discussing nothing else during our event but the environmental impact. Our intent is to host absolutely no political argument with any student, faculty, or staff, but we will hand out organizational information and provide a member sign-up sheet.