I want my country back(HARRY BROWNE BARF ALERT)

World Net Daily ^ | December 5, 2002 | Harry Browne

[weikel]

The people who attack this are not conservatives at all.

Okay what is illogical about Leonard Peikoff's criticism of the pacifist wing of the LP?

[KLT]

I want my country back. Harry says all we have to do is legalize crack, coke, mary jane and everyone will just leave everyone alone.

Everyone will be too stoned to care about anything...Harry is delusional...

[meenie]

"What do you call a government who has troops in over 100 countries?"

Silly, stupid, for starters.

[wideawake]

Look - I'm a big believer in Austrian economic analysis (the only kind of economic analysis that makes rational sense and applies to the real world) and I'm also a fan of Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

But pretty much every LP party stalwart I've met has been an embarrassing hippy longhair with all the stereotypical habits.

[Lizard_King]

If the objectivist would tone down the anti religious rhetoric

I think you're out of luck on that one. Any form of mysticism, which certainly includes religious as well as secular "faiths" (like socialism), is directly antithetical to Objectivist principle. However, you will never hear of an Objectivist coercing or doing anything other than persuading, although I would wager they'd have a couple of things to say about tax-exempt status for religious organizations while the rest of us are saddled with numerous immoral taxes. But I do think that that is a significantly more acceptable ally to religious folks than treasonous Republican moderates (Abortion is Fun!) or anything that the knee-jerk anti-religion liberals have to offer in that field...

voluntarily altruism

Just out of curiousity, have you read Atlas Shrugged? Just because the Objectivist view of what you call altruism is a lot more nuanced than they are given credit for; personal charity, given freely for the mere satisfaction it provides, is totally acceptable and virtuous (but because it is good for the giver). The problem comes when altruism becomes a mask for dishonestly selfish intentions (like, say, Democrat populism), which is really its most common incarnation, or when "altruism" ends up doing more harm than good to the recipient because of the independence that it inherently takes from them (ie the consequences of welfare-quite apart from the immorality of its source).

Basically, they conclude, quite rationally, I think, that all actions arise from self interest at some level. The different is between those with honest intentions that are open about their motivations, and those that pretend to be working exclusively for the "social good" or any of those other non-words.

[weikel]

Well can't say I disagree with much their( though the libertarian hippies tend to be rather intelligent despite the pot smoking lol I know one here at WPI I wish I was nearly as smart as he was). Not all libertarians are the party.

[weikel]

although I would wager they'd have a couple of things to say about tax-exempt status for religious organizations while the rest of us are saddled with numerous immoral taxes

I would tend to agree there with the exception that I plan to use the ULC( Universal Life Church) to dodge taxes later in life once I get all the legal angles resolved. Thats right in the future you will address me as reverend weikel.

[FreeTally]

Okay what is illogical about Leonard Peikoff's criticism of the pacifist wing of the LP?

The "pacifist wing of the LP" is a creation of the neo-cons. There is no such thing that I am aware of.

Any person who wont agree to bomb whoever GW decided into oblivion is a "pacifist" in the minds of the neo-cons.

[FryingPan101]

Say good night, Harry.

[conservativemusician]

Maybe his vote total is why I've never seen anything by him before this.LOL

Anybody who thinks legalizing drugs is a good thing either hasn't been around them or is currently doing them.

[weikel]

Look im sorry but I want Islam gone im not a Bush bot. That religion hasn't done itself many favors or given me much grounds to consider it anything besides a death cult. If we had bombed them into oblivion there would be less justification for this homeland security crap. We need to make a horrible example of the Saudi ruling class so nobody commits terrorism against America for 500 years.

[Diverdogz]

You want to be "Reverend"? With all the other choices available..... Swami, Jedi Knight, Grand Pooh Bah......

[Lizard_King]

I would tend to agree there with the exception that I plan to use the ULC( Universal Life Church) to dodge taxes later in life once I get all the legal angles resolved.

Thus are the "good intentions" behind religious tax exemption shown to be unsuited to the material consequences of their actions, singlehandedly, by the good reverend weikel... : )

[Mr. C]

I'm what one could describe as being a semi-Libertarian myself with mostly Conservative leanings (I DON'T Believe Hard Drugs should be legalized at ALL), so I find what this guy said to be largely offensive in it's ignorance. So therefore I'll take on his quotes one by one....

"Thoughts on the American empire …

Is it an empire?

Whenever I say that America has become an empire, someone is sure to say I'm being ridiculous."

Yep. Big Time. I hate to burst his bubble to say this but, Harry Baby, President Bush is NOT Senator Palpatine\Darth Sidious and Colin Powell hardly looks like Darth Vader. I think this guy has spent too much time watching Star Wars movies.

"But, actually, it is only Americans who say that our freedoms and prosperity are the reason foreigners hate us. If you ask the foreigners, they make it clear that it's America's bullying foreign policy they detest."

Bullying Foreign Policy? I guess that's the new euphemism for our support of Israel and other Countries being "Bullied", South Korea, etc. by Tyrants and totalitarians from all sides of the political spectrum. Seems to me that we spent the better part of this century doing this, largely because the others were incapable of it and truthfully it was certainly in our Nation's interests to do so.

I GUESS HE KINDA FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE?

Oh, and I'll be glad to stick my head out on this one; The Arabs can whine all day long (and Guys like Mr. Browne) about this supposed "War for Oil" Crap. It's a load of BS. The war on terrorism is all about the United States Support for Israel. Period. If Israel wasn't around most of these issues could be worked out in other ways.

"....while our own government prohibits us from peaceful trading with dozens of countries..."

This sure as heck sounds like another plug for lifting the trade embargos on Cuba, Iraq and North Korea again....Those useful idiots will kill ya everytime!!!

[FreeTally]

If we had bombed them into oblivion there would be less justification for this homeland security crap. We need to make a horrible example of the Saudi ruling class so nobody commits terrorism against America for 500 years.

Look, I agree and disagree. If we as a country were simply sitting back, minding our own business, and out of nowhere, we are attacked by another country, then hell yeh, bomb them. But we all know that is not what happened. Years of meddling in the affairs of the middle east pissed off fanatics who otherwise would have just been fanatics running around in the desert killing each other.

My solution? If it is fact that some guys calling themsleves "Al Quaida" attacked us then fine, round them up and kill them. Then, pull our troops out of the middle east, pull out of the UN, forget those freaking countries and make it damn clear that if they mess with us in any way again, we will hold all Islamic countries equally responsible and bomb them all.

What I am totally against is bombing them, and then continuing "business as usual".

[FreeTally]

If we had bombed them into oblivion there would be less justification for this homeland security crap. We need to make a horrible example of the Saudi ruling class so nobody commits terrorism against America for 500 years.

Look, I agree and disagree. If we as a country were simply sitting back, minding our own business, and out of nowhere, we are attacked by another country, then hell yeh, bomb them. But we all know that is not what happened. Years of meddling in the affairs of the middle east pissed off fanatics who otherwise would have just been fanatics running around in the desert killing each other.

My solution? If it is fact that some guys calling themsleves "Al Quaida" attacked us then fine, round them up and kill them. Then, pull our troops out of the middle east, pull out of the UN, forget those freaking countries and make it damn clear that if they mess with us in any way again, we will hold all Islamic countries equally responsible and bomb them all.

What I am totally against is bombing them, and then continuing "business as usual".

[weikel]

Oh well Jedi is my real religion lol I would never insult that by making it a phony official title.

[u-89]

When you say "we" bought the land do you mean the USA or US oil companies bought the land? If oil companies legally owned this land then how did our government get the right to cede it to the arabs? Were they compensated with payment or exclusive contracts through deals brokered by our government and the new Arab regimes? If all this is so then our government was involved in nation building and tampering with private property. Is not this arrangement of other's lands and rulers things that empires engage in? If we were and are so involved is it not bound to create resentment by the locals (who wants someone one the other side of the world telling them how to conduct their affairs)? and then would not Harry's arguement that our meddling invites backlash hold some water?