Author: Laurence M. Vance

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, a Muslim-American lawyer and father of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq famously waved a pocket copy of the Constitution in the air and asked Donald Trump if he had even read it. This was not the first time that Democrats have accused Trump of being in opposition to the Constitution. They have done so since Trump began his campaign for president. The ACLU calls Trump “a one-man constitutional crisis,” and says that his “statements and policy proposals would blatantly violate the inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution.” Some Republicans … Continue reading →

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Because the most non-libertarian Libertarian Party, presidential ticket in history is vying for the presidency, it is imperative now more than ever that libertarianism, rightly defined and applied, be explained to the masses. Whenever I speak or write about libertarianism, I invariably refer to libertarianism greatest philosopher and theorist, Murray Rothbard (1926-1995). Here is his classic statement on libertarianism: Libertarianism is not and does not pretend to be a complete moral, or aesthetic theory; it is only a political theory, that is, the important subset of moral theory that deals with the proper role of violence in social life. Political … Continue reading →

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The Democratic-liberal-progressive wing of the anti-Trump brigade may have their differences on some issues, but they are all united in condemning Trump as a racist. Some conservatives and left-libertarians would even agree with them. But leftists using the epithet racist to smear their enemies is nothing new. They have for years used the racist label to attack and neutralize conservative and libertarian opponents of various government programs and social movements. And they have generally been successful. It seems as though many Americans would rather be called anything but a racist and be accused of anything but racism. It has almost … Continue reading →

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I plead guilty. I’m tired of the deception. I can’t hide it anymore. The stress is killing me. I am coming out of the closet. May God have mercy on me. I have a confession to make. I’m a discriminator. Consider the following— I prefer to drive a Chevy and discriminate against all other makes of cars. This doesn’t mean that I want to do anything to stop anyone from driving a Ford. This doesn’t mean that I hope all Hondas and Toyotas crash. It just means that I prefer to drive a Chevy. I prefer to drink regular Coke … Continue reading →

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Although I have written over fifty articles on the injustice, hypocrisy, insanity, senselessness, inhumanity, and evils of the government’s war on drugs, I am still learning about just how destructive to life, liberty, and property the drug war can be. Like the $2 drug test carried out by cops acting as chemists that could cost you everything. According to a major story (“Busted”) by Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders for ProPublica that was co-published with the New York Times Magazine, “Tens of thousands of people every year are sent to jail based on the results of a $2 roadside drug … Continue reading →

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Review of Phil Harvey and Lisa Conyers, The Human Cost of Welfare: How the System Hurts the People It’s Supposed to Help (Praeger, 2016), xv + 206 pgs. The Human Cost of Welfare is a welcome book, an important book, and a needed book—even if it does miss the real issue when it comes to welfare. It is also a good book—until you get to the authors’ proposals in the last chapter. Phil Harvey, the author of several other books, is chairman of the board of DKT International, “which provides family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in 20 nations,” and … Continue reading →

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My articles are usually rated G for general audiences. I don’t normally write articles directed toward a particular group. But since the juggernaut of military idolatry is proceeding full speed ahead through conservative Christian churches, I must address conservative Christians directly. Let me first say that I am a Bible-believing Christian, as conservative as they come. Probably more conservative than many nominal Christians would feel comfortable with. Although I am not an ordained minister, I am no stranger to preaching, teaching, and church work. I have earned degrees in theology, taught at a Bible college, and written a number of … Continue reading →

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On election day in 2014, I gave twenty-five reasons why I could not be elected to office. Not a particular office, but any federal, state, or local office. But since the most non-libertarian and therefore the worst Libertarian Party presidential ticket in history is vying for the presidency, I thought that I, as a traditional, principled, and consistent libertarian, would focus on the office of the presidency. The Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, is excited about the relative increase in his poll numbers compared to previous Libertarian Party candidates for president. He seems to be forgetting that many Democrats … Continue reading →

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“Older men start wars, but younger men fight them.” ~ Albert Einstein “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” ~ Herbert Hoover “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.” ~ George S. McGovern One hundred years ago today—on July 1, 1916—thousands of young men died after older men decided, again, to send them to war. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British army suffered 57,470 casualties, of which 19,240 were deaths, the French had 1,590 casualties, and … Continue reading →

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Poor Jimmy Carter. It must be tough for a life-long liberal Democrat to almost sound like a conservative Republican. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, the former president argues that to curb prostitution, the government should punish those who buy sex rather than those who sell it. Carter’s one-sided approach is why I say that he almost sounds like a conservative since the typical conservative is perfectly happy with both parties being locked in a cage for engaging in peaceful, private, voluntary, consensual activity. Carter is disturbed that “some human rights and public health organizations are advocating the full legalization … Continue reading →

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Not only is murderer and liar Chris “American Sniper” Kyle universally lauded as a hero, not only are those who murdered Vietnamese from the air like John McCain termed heroes, and not only are American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan counted as heroes, because of the rampant military idolatry that is so prevalent in the United States—every veteran and active-duty member of the military is considered to be a hero. It doesn’t matter where the troops go, why they go, how long they stay, whether they should go, or what they do when they are there—the troops are … Continue reading →

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Due to the ongoing transgender controversies at public schools around the country, the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, have joined forces to issue a “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students.” The letter begins: In recent years, we have received an increasing number of questions from parents, teachers, principals, and school superintendents about civil rights protections for transgender students. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing regulations prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs and activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance. This … Continue reading →

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In addition to this being Memorial Day, the month of May is Military Appreciation Month. This follows Month of the Military Child in April. Upcoming in November is Month of the Military Family. I suppose that soon enough every month will be designed something related to the military. I didn’t celebrate Military Appreciation Month. I didn’t read President Obama’s proclamation. I didn’t thank any soldiers for their service. I didn’t knowingly shake the hand of anyone in the military. I didn’t visit anyone in a VA hospital. I didn’t visit a war monument or memorial. I didn’t visit a military … Continue reading →

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Free Dennis Hastert. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be a creep, a pervert, a pedophile, a sexual predator, a child abuser, a child molester, a sex offender, and a Republican, but that is not why he was recently fined $250,000 and sentenced to fifteen months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. I am not necessarily accusing him of being any of these things, except, of course, of the grave sin of being the Republican speaker of the House during the Bush presidency when the Republicans doubled the national debt, expanded the size and scope … Continue reading →

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Segregation is alive and well. After a series of sexual assaults against women in Cologne, Germany, by Muslim migrants, a German rail service announced it was instituting “women only” train cars to protect women who ride the train. The Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn rail company says “the segregated train cars are designed to make women traveling alone or with small children feel safe.” Each train will have two “women-only” compartments “located at the center of the train and close to the customer service compartment.” Boys up to the age of ten will be allowed access to the special cars as well. But … Continue reading →

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