This summer I had the great fortune of being able to speak with those present at the Liberty Summer Seminar, hosted by the Institute for Liberal Studies in Orono, Ontario. While there, I was also able to hear Lawrence (Larry) Reed, then-head of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and current-head of the Foundation for Economic Education. Reed was hands-down one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard and his message of individuals struggling to remain free against tyrannical governments around the world, was inspiring.

In addition to receiving a copy of Reed’s Striking the Root, an excellent collection of his essays, I picked up a copy of the slim Great Myths of the Great Depression. Only recently did I find time to read Great Myths and I’m glad I did.

In easy-to-understand prose Reed analyzes the causes of the Great Depression, much of which bears an uncanny similarity to our present situation. Do yourself a favor and take 20 minutes to read this primer. You’ll likely learn a thing or two and I can promise that you’ll become an even better communicator for free markets and sound currency.

For more on this, check out the following overviews over on Bureaucrash Social: Enjoy Capitalism, Free Trade Now!, and Stop Rentseeking. If you’re already a gold bug, check out our offering over at our Contraband site. And if you’re interested in the Liberty Summer Seminar, check out our video Fountainhead of Freedom: LSS and get yourself to one of their awesome seminars!

Taking a page from Orwell’s 1984, the NYPD has a new swanky command center (in an undisclosed location). It’s staffed by 33 cops who monitor for radiological and biological threats and for criminal activity crimes on multiple computer screens and a wall-to-wall feed — a feed that will eventually be linked to 3,000 CCTV cameras sprinkled throughout lower Manhattan.

The agency, which already has outfitted a fleet of its cars with roof-mounted cameras that read license plates of passing and parked cars, plans to spend additional taxpayer dollars on “’smart surveillance’ software programs.”

But is this increased surveillance state worth the price? Sure, we all want to be safe, but where do you draw the line? Should the average citizen be subject to bag searches when entering the subway? Is it just that many jurisdictions have restrictive gun laws on the books, basically stripping law-abiding individuals (especially those most-vulnerable such as the elderly and women) from protecting themselves? How long will it be into those who claim to protect us demand “your papers please!”?

As Ben Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

For more on this, check out our Homeland Tyranny overview.

It could happen, as it was recently announced that the agency is opening not one, but three offices in China. For some reason this announcement was noticeably absent from the FDA’s homepage and press releases. Perhaps because, at least according to the L.A. Times, public reaction in the States has been “decidedly mixed.”

Yet FDA spokespeople, attempting to justify their increased oversight and dispel anti-China acquisitions, noted that “This is not about China and the U.S.,” but “. . .about a response to a large shift in global trading patterns.”

No one would claim that global trade has not increased (which is great, as it’s helped to lift the standard of living for billions of individuals), but this attempt to deflect attention misses the main issue — the belief by those at the FDA that consumers are not smart enough to make informed decisions for themselves.

Probably more than any other industry, when food or medicine does not meet consumer expectations, those consumers let others know about it. And if the case is really bad, individuals can hold the manufacturer accountable. In a truly free market reputation is key. If a company releases just one product that is sub-par it can bankrupt them. Hence, they have an incentive to make sure the product — whether it’s a toy, shoe, or vegetable — meets at least a minimum level of safety. Consumers also have an incentive. They use brand reputations to help make their decisions more quickly and if needed, they consult forums online and magazines such as Consumer Reports for additional information on everything from automobiles, to pharmaceuticals, to toasters.

Simply put, there is no way that a committe of bureaucrats, no matter how smart they are or how many offices they have, can ever even hope to have the information held by hundreds of millions of individuals.

For more, check out our Who Owns You? overview.

Anyone even vaguely familiar with Ron Paul knows that one of his core issues is sound money, which in his eyes, means getting away from fiat currency and back to the gold standard. Paul argues that the ability of the government to “print money of out thin air” is one of the major causes of our present economic crisis.

Many agree, equating fiat currency to another tax, though it’s unseen by most. For example, if you have $20,000 saved in the bank and the Fed injects trillions of dollars into the economy, your money is worth less. It’s that simple. Fiat currency also allows governments to fuel wars among other things. And, coupled with bad governmental policies, have led to our present mortgage crisis.

Fortunately Dr. Paul is not content to sit back and say “I told you so” but instead has continued his attack against fiat currency. A few choice quotes from a recent exchange with Bernanke:

The Austrian free market economists had predicted all these problems would come, and they were certainly correct in everything that they said. . . we’re spending a lot of energy and a lot of money trying to patch a system together that is unworkable. . .Also, this is not new in history. Currencies have failed, financial systems have failed, and generally, to restore the confidence that everybody is talking about, they usually have to go back to a currency with integrity to it, rather than just fiat money.

Read the complete text here and watch a video of the exchange. And check out our Gold Bug t-shirt and the “Austrain Economists” group on Bureaucrash Social started by Sebastian Quick.

As I noted a few days ago, government actors had imprisoned freedom fighter Ian “Freeman” Bernard. For more background on this incident, check out this exhaustive overview.

Today Crasher Rusfan emailed me asking if I knew who the judge in Ian’s case was, as he wanted to “send him a letter in typical Bureaucrash form.” Well Rushfan (and others so inclined), here’s the info:

New Hampshire District Court
Judge Edward Burke
3 Washington Street
P.O. Box 364
Keene, NH 03431-0364

And if writing letters isn’t your style, hit ‘em up via the phone: (603) 352-2559.

Thanks in advance for reminding Judge Burke about indivdiual rights. And please be sure to post a copy of your letter here and/or let us know how your conversation goes.

Esra’a Al Shafei of mideastyouth.com joins us to discuss the plight of jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer.  Bureaucrash Crashers have helped promote the Free Kareem Movement around the world through protest, fliers, and spreading the word. To find out more visit http://www.FreeKareem.org

 

 Standard Podcast [18:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (47)

Last week Ian Freeman, principled advocate for liberty and co-host of the popular Free Talk Live radio show, was sentenced to 93 days in jail. His offense? He didn’t sit down fast enough for the judge. A judge he was ordered to see for not removing a couch (dubbed the “Freedom Couch”) from his property.

Is that what this country is about?

Is it just that Ian’s freedom of movement will be severely restricted by men with guns for over three months, that he will be told when to eat and sleep, simply because another person, whom Ian never voluntarily transferred his rights to nor signed a contract with, told him to remove a couch from his own property? Or that he failed to sit down quickly enough?

Is that what those in our government believe? That when they say “Jump!” if we don’t ask “How high?” we’re thrown in the slammer?

Over at Bureaucrash Social, crashers have already formed a “Free Ian Freeman” group and a forum discussion calling for activism to support Ian. Check them out and get involved.Because if Ian can so easily be sentenced to over three months in jail for such a petty “offense” without any pushback, imagine what other government agents will believe they can get away with.

For more background, check out Ian’s post from Oct 31st and this video, shared by the good folks at FreeKeene.org, that shows Ian’s courtroom action (or as the judge would have you believe, “inaction”).

City and statewide smoking bans are popping up all across the United States, infringing on small business owners’ property rights and the rights of individuals to engage in certain kinds of behaviors. Bureaucrash has some excellent t-shirts and stickers highlighting that, in fact, “smoking is healthier than fascism”. I think it would be a great way to spread our message and inform small business owners of their private property and economic rights by distributing stickers that bar/restaurant owners could put up in their window. We could also stage interviews with these same small business owners to highlight their feelings on the impact of smoking bans are intrusive state regulations. Any thoughts?

-The Freedom Coordinator-

New to Bureaucrash? Did you happen to see the article below in today’s DC Examiner? Wondering what we’re about? Then check out our About page or watch our 1min Bureaucrash Manifesto.

As you can tell, we believe that when governments grow the freedom to live our lives as we see fit shrinks. We believe that you know best how to run your own life. And we work to introduce others to these ideas through activism.

Like what you see? Want to get more involved? Then head over to Bureaucrash Social, the heart and soul of our operation.

Bureaucrash’s Crasher-in-Chief Pete Eyre joins us to talk about the all new Bureaucrash Social, along with what else is new, and what is coming soon from Contraband to Challenges.

 

 Podcrash 017: Bureaucrash Social and More with Pete Eyre [16:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (47)