Combs Spouts Off

Welcome to the 29th Carnival of Liberty, a showcase of postings on the broad topic of individual liberty brought to you by the Life, Liberty, Property community of bloggers. I’m pleased to be hosting this week’s carnival, and I believe we have some fine reading for your edification and enjoyment.

We begin this week at Classical Liberalism, where Kenneth Gregg paid tribute to Lysander Spooner on the occasion of Spooner’s birthday (January 19, 1808). Kenneth described the impact on libertarian circles when Spooner’s No Treason was republished in 1966:

No one interested in the fundamendal connection (if any) between liberty and constitution (or meta-contract) and the process of legitimization could ignore Spooner. Indeed, now, nearly fifty years after publication, the debate continues.

Over at Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds, Stephen Littau does a fine job of Fisking Fitch’s “Just Say No” Post — and a well-deserved fisking it is!

Rebecca McCormick ("Wayne’s Mom") at Wayne’s World shared a letter they found in their mailbox thanking Sgt. Wayne West for his service: Cindy Smith Thanks Sgt. West. Thanks from me, too, Wayne — and thank you, Cindy Smith, for putting it so well.

Eric at Eric’s Grumbles Before The Grave read Crichton’s State of Fear and was inspired to write Elitists and a Society of Fear, in which he takes the fearmongers to task:

This is yet another case of elites who believe they know what is best for you and I. These folks are no different from the men who ran the Soviet Union. They have, in fact, through their arrogance and elitism, condemned hundreds of thousands, even millions, to death, starvation and privation. And they will keep on doing so until you and I wake up and demand some accountability. 

On a lighter note — much lighter — Mark Rayner at The Skwib offered Dr. Tundra forsakes the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a fantasy about theocracy, creationism, and brainwashing.

Back to more serious thoughts. T. F. Stern at T. F. Stern’s Rantings is a retired police officer. Recent media coverage of a police chase led him to write Hot Pursuit, which examines the issue of how and when police should chase fleeing suspects. Stern draws on personal experience to concretize an abstract argument.

Let’s segue from a retired law enforcement officer’s thoughts to the anarchist philosophy beat. Francois Tremblay at The Radical Libertarian offers The Moral Razor, wherein he suggests an Occam-like principle for quickly dispatching "large swaths of moral systems." You be the judge — but don’t let him hear you say, "It depends."

Kelo and property rights are still on a lot of minds. Boringmadedull at The Boring Made Dull noticed that the folks trying to seize David Souter’s home haven’t quit. See Back to Kelo, II (or is it III? IV? V? VI? VII?) for the latest developments, along with Boring’s take on their effort:

… Of course it’s an act of revenge, silly. But an improper attack on the judicial system? Why shouldn’t we make judges live under the law? He voted for it, why shouldn’t he be subject to it? Why should Justice Souter have more privileges and be more secure in his property than Susette Kelo? …

Doug Mataconis at Below the Beltway noticed a report in the NY Times about eminent domain and real estate developers, and he didn’t like what he read. In Hooked on Takings, he concludes sadly:

If one thing is clear from this article it is that these commercial developers have become dependent upon the government to get them the land they need to build their projects, and politicans have become dependent on campaign contributions from the developers. The end result is a world where your property isn’t really yours anymore.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade is also focused on eminent domain abuse. In More Eminent Domain Thievery, he tells the outrageous story of the Houston man who was given $1 for 105 acres of prime commercial real estate worth millions. Read it and get angry.

DL at TMH’s Bacon Bits rants about the Kelo decision in Time to Kelo the Judges.

And in Israel, there are other property rights issues, and the consequences may involve more than the loss of land or money. Muse at Blog Free! worries in Loyal Citizens in Danger that the Israeli public is being prepared for bloodshed in the eviction of "lawbreaking settlers."

On a happier note, mensa barbie at Mensa Barbie Welcomes You noticed that 25 years have passed since the happy day that Jimmuh Cahter (in my opinion, one of our worst presidents ever) was replaced by a far better man: National Renewal; 1981 

Speaking of presidents, Jack Cluth at The People’s Republic of Seabrook  noted the passing of Kosovo’s President Ibrahim Rugova in Another freedom fighter passes from the scene:

Though I have written extensively about my time in Kosovo, I can’t begin to do justice to what Ibrahim Rugova did to achieve the dream of peace and independence for Kosovo’s Albanians. Perhaps someday, when Kosovo is an independent democracy, people there will look back and recognize the debt of gratitude they owe Rugova for his years of hard work on their behalf. It would be a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to his people.

Switching from death to taxes, Quincy at News, the Universe, and Everything knows what he thinks should be Step One for Tax Reform: 

Taxes should be a bill, just like every other bill. Tax payers should have to sit down every month or every quarter and write a check to the government. They should have to make sure they keep enough in the bank to make sure that check clears. This would make Americans aware of how much they are actually paying to keep the government going and doling out pork to everyone from scientists studying homosexual Native Americans to the Coca-Cola Corporation.

More economics: Min-Duc at State of Flux argues in 1974: The History of Freedom that Hayek receiving the Nobel Prize was "the most important positive event that affects our world today." I don’t know if I’m convinced, but it was certainly earth-shaking. I’m old enough to remember it, and I was astonished and very, very pleased when it was announced.

From econ to politics: Obi-Wan at Forward Biased, in the aptly titled Things you don’t see every day, actually agrees with Sen. Joe Biden. Now that’s pretty scary, but I do believe he’s right! Who’d have thought Biden would actually suggest something that might move us closer to following the Constitution? Well, it’s a small thing, really, but who’d have thought…

Perry Eidelbus at Eidelblog combines econ and politics to discuss pandering politicians and protectionist demagogues in The finest government other people’s money will buy, part II.

And I’ll wrap things up with my own post, Too many laws, in which I lament the fact that legislators do so much legislating.

That’s all for this edition of Carnival of Liberty. Hope you enjoyed it. Next week, Mover Mike will be hosting Carnival of Liberty #30. And don’t forget, you can always find the Carnival of Liberty, along with all the other great carnivals, by visiting N.Z. Bear’s TTLB ÜberCarnival page.

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