Author: Laurence M. Vance

The Constitution (article VI, clause 3) requires that senators and representatives “be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.” Do they? U.S. law requires that members of Congress be sworn in before they can take their seats. Senators and representatives must “solemnly swear” that they “will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and that they “will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Do they? Regardless of any issues that libertarians have with the Constitution, it is the supreme law of the land that members of Congress are … Continue reading →

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The Constitution (article VI, clause 3) requires that senators and representatives “be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.” Do they? U.S. law requires that members of Congress be sworn in before they can take their seats. Senators and representatives must “solemnly swear” that they “will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and that they “will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Do they? Regardless of any issues that libertarians have with the Constitution, it is the supreme law of the land that members of Congress are … Continue reading →

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Republicans like to play the pro-life card. It makes their base think they are worthy of votes and financial support. But there is no greater example of Republican hypocrisy than on the issue of abortion. After Trump won the presidency in the November 2016 election and the Republicans retained their majorities in the House and Senate, one of the first things they did in the new 115th Congress—while Barack Obama was still the president—was to introduce in the House the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R.36) to ban abortions after 20 weeks, or at least most of them. The official … Continue reading →

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If President Obama had talked about how he was “really smart,” “very intelligent,” and “a very stable genius,” Republicans and conservatives would have attacked him unmercifully. Yet, when President Trump says these things, most of them are silent. One reason is because it violates Reagan’s eleventh commandment to never speak ill of any fellow Republican. But another reason is because some conservatives seem to have an even higher opinion of Trump than he has of himself. Before continuing I should state for the record that am not part of the “Never Trump” movement, that I despise the news media, that … Continue reading →

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The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last month in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, is a Christian who believes that marriage is the union of one man and woman. As such, he refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. The case is widely considered to be one of the most important free speech cases in years. Yet, the views of the First Amendment held by defenders of Mr. Phillips are half-baked. Briefly, here are the facts in the case, taken mainly from … Continue reading →

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No, President Trump is not ending Medicaid as we know it. Not even close. Like the Republicans in Congress, he is a welfare statist who has no philosophical objection to the existence of Medicaid or any other welfare program. Just look at the “Democratic” budget Trump submitted to Congress last year. But the Trump administration has issued new guidelines via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that allow states to impose work requirements for able-bodied individuals to receive Medicaid. Predictably, liberals are horrified. Mary Beth Musucemi, associate director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured, … Continue reading →

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Seventy per cent of the population of Saudi Arabia is under thirty years old. This means that the majority of Saudi young people have never seen a movie at a theater. You see, there are no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia. They have been banned for over 35 years because of pressure from conservative Muslim clerics. As recently as last year, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheikh reportedly warned of the “depravity” of cinemas, saying they would corrupt morals if allowed. But beginning this year, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 social and economic reform … Continue reading →

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Although there are some good things in the Republicans’ tax-reform bill that President trump signed into law before Christmas (H.R.1, PL 115-97), the continuance and expansion of welfare is certainly not one of them. The tax bill cuts taxes, yes; but it also increases welfare spending. But first of all, how is it that a tax bill can contain provisions for welfare? In three words: refundable tax credits. A regular tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the amount of income tax owed. Like tax deductions and exemptions, one will pay less in taxes the greater the number, and the … Continue reading →

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Thanks to a note from a preacher friend, I think I’ve discovered a new type of Christian: the So what? Christian. I have written many times about Christian jihadists, Old Testament Christians, Christian armchair warriors, theological schizophrenics, Christian Coalition moralists, nuclear Christians, Janus Christians, evangelical warvangelicals, Catholic just war theorists, reich-wing Christian nationalists, theocon Values Voters, imperial Christians, pro-lifers for mass murder, Red-State Christian fascists, bloodthirsty Christian conservatives, beam Christians, nuclear Christians, Christian Coalition moralists, double-minded Christians, Christian warmongers, God and country Christian bumpkins, sniper theologians, Christian military idolaters, conservative Christian militarists, and members of the Christian axis of evil. … Continue reading →

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I have read the Republican Party platform so you don’t have to. While doing some research on the Republican Party for yet another article on the failures of the Republicans, I ended up reading the most recent Republican Party platform that was adopted at the party’s convention in Cleveland in 2016. What a platform of lies. Throughout their platform, the Republicans refer to the Constitution as if they actually considered it to be their authority. “We are the party of the Constitution,” they say. It is an “enduring covenant.” “All legislation, regulation, and official actions must conform to the Constitution’s … Continue reading →

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After the horrific shooting in Las Vegas last month, congressional Democrats, progressive pundits, and liberal activists, predictably and immediately, began calling for more, and more draconian, gun-control laws. “It is long past time for Congress to take action on gun safety to save innocent lives,” said Bernie Sanders. According to Igor Volsky of Guns Down and the Center for American Progress: “It’s not enough to just limit the kind of people who own guns. You have to go after the guns themselves. Guns are the problem.” Joe Biden opined: “How long do we let gun violence tear families apart? Enough. … Continue reading →

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Why do some conservatives and libertarians want some Americans to pay more in taxes? Oh, they don’t actually come out and say that. Then they would sound like Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. What they do say is that certain tax deductions are “loopholes” that need to be “closed” because they “distort” the tax code, “subsidize” high-income taxpayers, and encourage people to make “economically unwise decisions.” Although most of them also add that the increased government revenue that would result from the elimination of a particular deduction should be used to “pay” for “good tax reform” by “offsetting” the “cost” … Continue reading →

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Last month I did a preliminary libertarian analysis of the Republicans’ newest tax-reform plan. I concluded that their “Unified Framework For Fixing Our Broken Tax Code” left us with too many unanswered questions to render a verdict. Now the Republicans have issued the specifics of their plan. H.R. 1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” was introduced in the House on November 2. The 429-page bill—which has 5 titles, 25 subtitles, and 116 sections—amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in a number of ways. I have read though much of the bill and skimmed the rest so that you … Continue reading →

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President Trump is in hot water for supposedly disrespecting the family of a slain U.S. soldier. Earlier this month, four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush by Islamic extremists/militants/terrorists/bad guys in the African country of Niger during a joint patrol by American and Niger forces. At a press conference over a week later, a reporter asked the president: “Why haven’t we heard anything from you so far about the soldiers that were killed in Niger? And what do you have to say about that?” The next day Trump called Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one … Continue reading →

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Our two-party system makes it almost impossible for libertarians to get elected to office, especially on the national level. In order for libertarians to get elected to Congress, their best bet is to run as a Republican. Ron Paul is a perfect example of this. But libertarians should have no illusions about the Republican Party. And they shouldn’t make the Republican Party out to be something it is not. A former member of the Libertarian Party who is now running for office as a Republican recently said about the Republican Party: At its core, the Republican Party is supposed to … Continue reading →

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