Author: Bionic Mosquito

“I honestly thought I was going to lose my family that day,” Roberta Ursrey said. “It was like, ‘Oh God, this is how I’m going.’ ” The children went for a swim, got caught in a riptide.  The parents went after the children.  They were all going to drown. “These people are not drowning today,” [Jessica] Simmons remembered telling herself. “It’s not happening. We’re going to get them out.” She and her husband organized a human chain; eighty people; one-hundred yards into the water; swimmers and non-swimmers alike.  You have to see the video. “I got to the end, and I know I’m a … Continue reading →

The post The Real First Responders appeared first on LewRockwell.

This one runs a bit long… Introduction Russia’s Global Anti-Libertarian Crusade: How Vladimir Putin’s desire for domination and acceptance is scrambling American politics, by Cathy Young and published by Reason.com. Yes, it’s all Putin’s fault – even at Reason Magazine. The beltway mainstream libertarians are coming out in force for war with Russia, and criticizing the libertarians who are against war with Russia.  Their desire for the libertine overwhelms any concerns they might have regarding war with Russia. Now they don’t say all of this in so many words, but one need not be a high school graduate to see where this is … Continue reading →

The post The Mass Death Business appeared first on LewRockwell.

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan. Frankopan begins his journey not with trade in goods but trade in faith.  Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity (of more than one flavor), and eventually Islam (of more than one flavor) all come into play in this journey, and not always in a peaceful way. As early as the third century B.C, Buddhist principles could be found as far to the east as Syria, with a Jewish sect in Alexandria, Egypt known as Therapeutai bearing unmistakable similarities to Buddhism.  In central Asia, forty Buddhist monasteries ringed Kabul.  Noted a … Continue reading →

The post Silk Roads of Faith appeared first on LewRockwell.

I, Prester John, am the lord of lords, and I surpass all the kings of the entire world in wealth, virtue and power…Milk and honey flow freely in our lands; poison can do no harm, nor do any noisy frogs croak.  There are no scorpions, no serpents creeping in the grass. –        Purported letter of Prester John to Rome and Constantinople, twelfth century. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan. I am beginning a new, exotic journey, a journey through the history of the Silk Roads – the region from Mesopotamia east to western China.  When the author … Continue reading →

The post The Silk Roads appeared first on LewRockwell.

Make it easy on yourself There’s nothing more you can do You’re so full of what is right You can’t see what is true . –        Rush, The Color of Right . I live in a neighborhood of about 40 homes.  Other than these neighbors, we are pretty isolated.  Most of the families have been here for years, some for generations.  We all speak pretty openly about all kinds of things: war, politics, the government.  Fortunately for me, for the most part they hold similar views to mine.  Stunning, I know.  I call it heaven on earth! As I mentioned, … Continue reading →

The post In a Community of Libertarian Families appeared first on LewRockwell.

So says the banner of the Washington Post.  Democracy also dies when the people are fed lies and nonsense; then again, democracy dies when the system ensure a large portion of the population lack the critical thinking skills to recognize they are being fed lies and nonsense. From the Post: Early last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried “eyes only” instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides. It was so critical and so secret that it … Continue reading →

The post Democracy Dies in Darkness appeared first on LewRockwell.

In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.  There, I underwent a life-changing experience. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come to understand what this generation of Americans means to history.  It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced. –        The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw … Continue reading →

The post The Greatest Generation? appeared first on LewRockwell.

Yes, they can be serious. During his tennis career, McEnroe became known for outbursts on the court when he thought umpires had missed a call. In one classic exchange, he yelled at an official, “You cannot be serious! That ball was on the line!” John McEnroe has got himself in trouble: Garcia-Navarro: We’re talking about male players but there is of course wonderful female players. Let’s talk about Serena Williams. You say she is the best female player in the world in the book. McEnroe: Best female player ever — no question. Garcia-Navarro: Some wouldn’t qualify it, some would say … Continue reading →

The post For Telling an Obvious Truth appeared first on LewRockwell.

So asks Jordan Peterson.  In response, he offers food for thought: The probability that it’s the friendliest and nicest people is very, very low. I suggest that what he is saying is that the probability that it’s the meanest and nastiest people is very, very high. Hans Hoppe weighs in on this topic: Why Bad Men Rule: Free entry and competition in the production of goods is good, but free competition in the production of bads is not. Free entry into the business of torturing and killing innocents, or free competition in counterfeiting or swindling, for instance, is not good; … Continue reading →

The post We Need Rules, Libertarians appeared first on LewRockwell.

For several months, I have felt that the Trump=Russia witch hunt was a diversion. Sure, they want Trump out, but not for the stated reason – not for Russia.  They want Trump out because what he represents is a voice for people who are tired of seeing every libertine, immoral, property rights and wealth destroying progressive platform agenda shoved down their throats.  Trump ran against almost every plank of this life-destroying force. I wrote on this topic in March; from the conclusion: Russia is a diversion; it is useful as a means to an end.  It isn’t the end.  The … Continue reading →

The post Why They Are After Trump appeared first on LewRockwell.

Prologue God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs. –        Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park We know what happens next – dinosaur devours man. I refer to the conclusion from my piece, “And the Dying Cheer”: It is interesting: reaching the height of western liberal values immediately preceded the destruction of the West.  The nineteenth century, in many ways, was the most liberal, free, equal period for the West – perhaps in its history.  And then the Great War – suicide, built on the scientific wisdom of man’s reason. The Enlightenment; considered the … Continue reading →

The post Man Destroys God appeared first on LewRockwell.

From the conclusion to my post regarding a look back at some of the early history of the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine: If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience. –        George Bernard Shaw This “unexpected” hasn’t gone on for over one hundred years because political leaders are stupid, “incapable…of learning from experience.”  When something like this is sustained – when the same “mistakes” occur repeatedly – one might consider other reasons. I will revisit my view for the reasons behind this ongoing history in the coming days. Today is … Continue reading →

The post The #1 Target of Marxists appeared first on LewRockwell.

I have had a continuing dialogue in the comments section of my post Liberté sans Fraternité?  The conversation begins here: The NAPster May 6, 2017 at 5:03 AM.  I have decided to continue the conversation via this new post. —————————— BM: You continue to avoid the fact that I own the state-controlled property.  Why? NAP: If one is to take a deontological as opposed to a consequentialist position, shouldn’t a libertarian just concern himself with advocating for policies that move us towards greater respect for private property rights? BM: Who says my position is not deontological?  I did advocate for … Continue reading →

The post Non-Aggression Is Essential appeared first on LewRockwell.

Prologue Liberty: freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control; freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice. Fraternity: a group of persons associated by or as if by ties of brotherhood; any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc. While fraternity is certainly possible without liberty, is liberty possible without fraternity?  Not merely a fraternity of NAP adherents – that’s an easy (and irrelevant) question; a fraternity “as if by ties of brotherhood.”  Common culture, common custom, common language, common religion. It is a … Continue reading →

The post Does Liberty Flourish Best in a Nation? appeared first on LewRockwell.

It’s been a while since I have commented on anything regarding the current pope.  That ends today! Those Rotten Libertarians The pope recently offered a critique, based on numerous strawmen, of libertarianism.  Several people have rightly offered a response.  The few that I have read have been respectful, attempting a rational and reasoned dialogue with the pope on this topic. Well, this will not be of that type.  I will not bother with a point by point rebuttal; others have done that all too well.  My approach will be different – as you might have surmised, given the title of … Continue reading →

The post The Devil’s Pope appeared first on LewRockwell.