Author: Bionic Mosquito

It is easy to say that Trump is failing on the one thing I thought made him a better candidate than most others two years ago and that is on the issue of war and empire.  Well, that and he was a great stick in the eye of those who work hard to control the narrative. I must admit, in many ways he is turning out even better than I had hoped…well, if we all (literally) survive his time in office. Internationally, can you think of a time in your lifetime when the United States government so consistently and widely – … Continue reading →

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I don’t mean my post (as I leave this to you to decide), but the comments section…. Still holding fresh the memory of our little Jordan Peterson slugfest in the comments, I offer a tidbit from a discussion between Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro.  As it is a video, I will do my best to capture the dialogue; I will only paraphrase it as the two speak very rapidly, sometimes jamming several thoughts into one.  You can hear the dialogue directly, beginning at the 42:00 minute mark. Shapiro asks about the meaning of the Tree of Good and Evil from the Garden of Eden; … Continue reading →

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The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom, by Robert Nisbet From the back cover: …as the traditional ties that bind fell away, the human impulse toward community led people to turn even more to the government itself, allowing statism—even totalitarianism—to flourish. From the time that classical liberalism reached its zenith until totalitarianism achieved the same was a matter of a few short decades – from utmost respect for the individual to utmost devastation for all individuals.  What happened? Robert Nisbet examines this question, and I will examine Nisbet.  I will begin with the Introduction to this … Continue reading →

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An email from a reader (offered here with permission): I read with great interest your excellent essay for today on “Integrating Classical Natural Law and Libertarian Theory.” I wonder, though, whether the criticisms of Rothbard given in Carlo Lottieri’s essay, which you quote, are correct. Lottieri suggests that Murray, in contrast to Leoni, neglects the contextual nature of law. Unlike Leoni, Murray sought to devise a libertarian law code that would cover all contingencies. Precisely the opposite is the case. In his essay on pollution, he emphasizes the role of custom and precedent in applying law. Also, Murray wrote an essay praising … Continue reading →

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Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann and Stephan Kinsella. Hans-Hermann Hoppe is one of the most important scholars of our time. So write the editors of this volume in the introduction.  Regular readers here know that I wholeheartedly agree. The book is a collection of essays written in honor of, in tribute to, and in the spirit of Hoppe. The book is divided into five parts, with a total of thirty five essays.  I will not examine each essay, instead just touching on some, going into depth on others…perhaps skipping a few. Grato Animo … Continue reading →

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The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation, by James C. Russell Russell begins his specific examination of the acceptance of Christianity by the Germanic people, the first covering the period 376 – 678.  This covers the period from the Germanic entrance into the Roman Empire until the Anglo-Saxon mission by Bishop Wilfrid of York to Frisia. When speaking of Christianity in this context, there are two prominent theologies: Germanic Arianism and Frankish Catholicism.  Seeking refuge from the Huns, the Visigoths negotiated with Valens, the Arian Christian emperor of the Eastern Empire: Arianism was adopted in exchange for … Continue reading →

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*meaning “classical liberalism,” as the term is commonly understood As you know, there has been an ongoing discussion here regarding the issues of the role liberalism has played in creating the destructive society within which the west currently lives.  The battle lines are simple enough: classical liberalism has offered perhaps what is best about the west and also what is worst. As you also know, this battle plays out not just in the community but within me.  I find the medieval law, based on old and good custom and tradition, to come closest to what could be considered libertarian law today – … Continue reading →

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The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, by Eugene Rogan I will come to the question posed in the title of this post shortly, but first the conclusion of the fall of the Ottomans. One by one, the Allies – led by Britain – took the major cities and regions of the Ottoman Empire: Baghdad, Gaza, and Jerusalem; the Sinai Peninsula. “Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.” Not much has changed in the last 100 years. The story is punctuated with large cavalry charges … Continue reading →

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The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation, by James C. Russell This post will go in a different direction.  In my earlier posts regarding this book (here and here), I believe the stage has been set – the theory of the case: what happens when a folk-religious society and a universal religion collide?  How does this collision alter the characteristics of each of the two traditions?  In future posts, I will examine the particulars of the folk-religious German tribes meeting with the universal Catholic religion. But today, a detour.  This examination has brought to the fore some thoughts about libertarianism as … Continue reading →

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The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation, by James C. Russell This one is going to be complicated, enlightening, troubling, controversial, valuable…. From the author’s Wikipedia page: [Russell’s book] examines the encounter of the Germanic peoples with Christian conversion efforts. Russell argues that a Christian missionary policy of temporary accommodation of pre-Christian beliefs and customs inadvertently contributed to a Germanization of Christianity. He contends that since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a conscious effort in the Roman Catholic Church to “shed its predominantly Western, European image”. However, Russell notes, “the popularity of Catholic traditionalist movements … Continue reading →

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The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, by Eugene Rogan The British War Council met in London on 2 January 1915 to consider an urgent war request for assistance from the commander in chief of the Russian army. As recently as 27 December, the Russians were on the verge of being encircled by the Ottoman Army in the Caucasus.  After deliberations, Britain initiated planning for the Dardanelles campaign.  Unknown to the British, by the time of this War Council meeting, Russia was on the verge of total victory.  Yet, learning of this shortly thereafter, the British decided to … Continue reading →

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Delivered by Jordan Peterson, at about the 22:30 mark (paraphrased): From Matthew 7:7, 8: ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone who asks shall receive, everyone who seeks shall find, and the one who knocks, the door will be opened. This seems like nothing but a testament to the magic of prayer; but God is not merely a grantor of wishes.  When tempted by the devil himself, even Christ himself did not call on His Father for favor. Perhaps it’s not reasonable to ask God … Continue reading →

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American self-proclaimed hegemony is over where it really matters for any real and perceived hegemon—the military field. It was over for some time now, it just took Putin’s speech to demonstrate the good old Al Capone truism that one can get much further with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. –        The Implications of Russia’s New Weapon Systems, by Andrei Martyanov Vladimir Putin gave a speech on March 1.  During the speech he announced several new weapon systems.  He offers that these systems have been developed due to the unilateral withdrawal in 2002 by the United States from the … Continue reading →

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A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. “The right of self-defense is the first law of nature…” –          George Tucker Most libertarians live within the intersection of these three ideas; leave it to Murray Rothbard to point out where and why this is not always valid. Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature, and Other Essays, by Murray Rothbard. This chapter is entitled “War, Peace, and the State.”  I have read and used portions of this … Continue reading →

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Stockholm, Sweden: 63-year-old Daniel Cuevas Zuniga was peddling home after his night shift.  He stopped to pick up an object that he thought was a toy: It was an M-75 hand grenade. Manufactured in great numbers for the Yugoslav national army, and then seized by paramilitaries during the civil war in the 1990s, the grenades are packed with plastic explosives and 3,000 steel balls, well suited for attacks on enemy trenches and bunkers. So reports the New York Times.  Zuniga died; his wife, Wanna, peddling ahead of him was also blown off of her bicycle, shrapnel penetrating her body.  Trying to crawl back to … Continue reading →

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