Zak Slayback

Militarize Everything

Dec 8, 2011 at 7:50 PM

By Zak Slayback

The New York Times recently observed that United States police forces are becoming more and more militarized. Al Baker reports:

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally bars the military from law enforcement activities within the United States. But today, some local and city police forces have rendered the law rather moot. They have tanks — yes, tanks, often from military surplus, for use in hostage situations or drug raids — not to mention the sort of equipment and training one would need to deter a Mumbai-style guerrilla assault.

Of course, this is something that many liberty advocates have been saying for years; it is progress when the New York Times also notices.

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Steve Jobs: Bloodthirsty, Fat Cat Capitalist

Oct 10, 2011 at 9:17 AM

By Zak Slayback

Jobs

Comments (3)

The Educational Smear of the Antifederalists

Oct 7, 2011 at 12:58 PM

By Zak Slayback

While sitting in class the other day, I overheard several classmates of mine preparing to take a US Government exam. The conversation struck a particular chord with me due to one comment that was along the lines of

Classmate 1: Patrick Henry, what was he? Federalist or Antifederalist?
Classmate 2: He was crazy, so what would he have been?
Classmate 1: Ah, Antifederalist, okay.

Why does “crazy” set the tone for the Antifederalists? Have we come to a point in historical revisionism that we now associate some of the greatest fighters for liberty to be “crazy”? This is not my classmates’ fault, it is the fault of a revisioned history in America’s high schools.

The sad answer is "yes." We have come to a point in our history where those who inspired the Bill of Rights and fought the creation of a provably tyrannical state are labeled as crazy. Our classrooms in high schools are filled with teachers and textbooks that teach that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and the other Federalists were “right” and that Robert Yates, George Mason, Patrick Henry, and other Antifederalists were “wrong.”

USPS Defaults, Spooner Nods

Sep 26, 2011 at 12:14 PM

By Zak Slayback

This is somewhat out of date, but considering that it is a developing story, I wanted to get my two (or three cents, if we’re talking about Lysander Spooner’s stamps) in. The United States Postal Service, a sprawling, inefficiently-run government monopoly, is facing default. Over the years, the USPS has been gradually increasing shipping costs in order to make up for massive losses, but it seems that increases in the cost of postage will no longer make up for the billions in lost revanue.

In these tough economic times the USPS has been forced to actually do something that it feared so much over a century ago that it made illegal: compete. Fortunately, in modern times, the state cannot pass Private Express Statutes for the sprawling new innovative ways that humans have found to communicate, such as email, text messaging, instant messaging, video conferencing, and more.

Some may decry the loss of services by the Postal Service as deleterious to our general economic health, but it is quite the opposite. The cutbacks at the Postal Service are simply signs that it is an inefficient dinosaur operating in the age of communication-mammals. Though it may be considered high treason to say so, perhaps it is time to abolish the United States Postal Service. Almost everything can now be done online and physical postage has become simply a form of advertising. A whopping 77.3% of Americans are considered Internet users in 2010, and the number is simply rising. Banking, billing, advertising, and communicating have all gone paperless in the 21st century.

YAL Exclusives: Ben Sommer's Newest Tracks

Sep 16, 2011 at 12:50 PM

By Zak Slayback

Ben Sommer, an edgy progressive rock artist who has been featured on YAL before, provides his newest releases for a YAL Exclusive preview.

Sommer's newest songs touch at consumerism, militarism, and cadaverism, all delicate issues for society. Sommer describes the songs as, "pretty 'out there' -- compared to the rest of the album" and "more than a bit tongue-in-cheek."

Consumerism:

Militarism:

Economic Insanity Wolf

Sep 1, 2011 at 11:22 AM

By Zak Slayback

Economic Insanity

My artistic tribute to Paul Krugman.

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The Cavalry Arrives

Aug 29, 2011 at 2:47 PM

By Zak Slayback

Krugman

The above is, of course, a reference to Paul Krugman's increasingly-absurd comments on government spending. Krugman calls for a fake alien invasion here.

The increasing absurdity of Krugman's comments even prompted a Google Plus parody account to post:

People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

The sad part is that a suggestion such as the above is not completely beyond Krugman and many people believed the account to be Krugman's own.

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Irene's Broken Window

Aug 29, 2011 at 1:13 PM

By Zak Slayback

Reuters reports that bulk stores have been getting a boost over the past few days thanks to people preparing for Hurricane Irene:

Hastings expects Home Depot to do well, as it has 35 percent more stores than Lowe’s Cos Inc (LOW.N) in the affected region. He also expects Newell Rubbermaid Inc (NWL.N) to benefit from demand for storage containers.
Newell shares rose about 1 percent on Friday. Among battery makers, Energizer Holdings Inc (ENR.N) was up almost 2 percent, and Spectrum Brand Holdings (SPB.N) gained nearly 3 percent.
Drugstores and grocery stores should also see a sales lift.
“It helps the supermarkets most because people really stock up,” said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Andrew Wolf, noting Supervalu Inc’s (SVU.N) strength in Boston and Philadelphia, and Safeway Inc (SWY.N) and Ahold’s (AHLN.AS) big presence in Washington.

While sales may be boosted in these sectors, profits in other sectors — as the article does concede — may be hurt due to diverted spending.

Non-Aggression Principle Music Video

Aug 10, 2011 at 2:09 PM

By Zak Slayback

Liberation Animation explains the Non-Aggression Principle ... in cartoon music video form!

While the video does have some controversial or debatable parts, it gets the general message of the non-aggression axiom explained relatively well.

Comments (1)

Privatize the Highways

Jul 27, 2011 at 9:37 AM

By Zak Slayback

...and all roads, for that matter.

I recently wrote an extensive letter to the editor of my local newspaper making the case for highway privatization. The failure of the current state-sponsored system is nowhere more evident in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where the expressway form of US Route 219 (Also known as the John P. Murtha highway and the Flight 93 Memorial Highway) comes to a screeching halt. 219 End

It is not uncommon for me to read several letters or articles per month in my paper devoted solely to the topic of finishing US Route 219; however, no matter how angry people sound or how serious politicians speak of finishing 219, it remains a monument to the failures and inadequacies of government-monopolized transportation. If we truly wish to have 219 -- or any other highway or road -- finished, then we ought to be advocating not for swift and decisive action from Representative Shuster and other politicians in Washington, but for complete privatization of the highways. Privatization would ensure that the project would be finished in a timely matter to those who payed for it, would remove the moral hazard of building a possibly unnecessary highway with public funds, and would not force every individual to fund the project, whether they wish to use it or not.