Category: Uncategorized

Here is a 2 minute video about Objectivism

The New Film Makers event held October 11, 2014 got mentioned in the Los Angeles Times.

“Audience award winners were Will Lee, director of “Traffic Is My Jam,” about a woman who loves L.A.’s terrible traffic; and Drew Bachrach, director of “Watts Waits,” the documentary about Jordan Downs.”

From David Friedman as heard on the Thomas Woods Show October 14, 2014 segment.

“When you are young you are afraid that people will steal your ideas. When you are old you are afraid people won’t.”

 

In a Bleeding Heart Libertarian post

The Contrarian Trap: The Source of the Liberty Movement’s Dark Side

Kevin Vallier sites some of Hans Hermann Hoppe’s recent attack on all left-libertarians. then explains that the liberty movement is vulnerable to nonsense because of the contrarian trap. Here is a digest of his blog post.

Libertarianism is an unpopular view. And it takes particular personality types to be open to taking unpopular views. Some of these personality types are people who are open to new experience, love the world of ideas and have a disposition for independent thought. However, some of these personality types simply enjoy holding outrageous and provocative views, who like to argue and fight with others, who like insult and  shock. The contrarian is someone of the latter type.

Vallier’s suspicion is that there are a sub-group of individuals who are more naturally disposed to take up minority, unpopular positions. If most people say x, the contrarian says not-x, but if most people say y, the contrarian also wants to say not-y. The danger is reflexive and global contrarianism.

We should expect to find relatively large populations of contrarian personality types in any unpopular or minority ideological movement. And we should expect to find linkages between different radical, contrarian positions. It is no surprise that many libertarians are also atheists (unpopular), climate change deniers (unpopular), paleo dieters (unpopular), anti-psychiatry (unpopular), conspiracy theorists (unpopular), transhumanists (unpopular), cryonics-supporters (unpopular) and hardcore nativists about intelligence (unpopular). Think of some popular libertarian book titles, “Atheism, Ayn Rand and Other Heresies” and “Defending the Undefendible.” The liberty movement trades in “Gotchas!”.

Global contrarianism is an easy thing to fall into. After all, if you have rationally decided that millions and millions of people are completely wrong about something, it is natural to think they might be wrong about lots of other things.

The worst flaw in the contrarian trap is that it makes libertarians open to views that deserve to be unpopular and despised, including the thinly-veiled racism of the sort that Hans Hermann Hoppe trades. The social democratic left can’t just be wrong about the state, they have to be wrong about everything.

As long as the movement is small, we will attract a disproportionate number of contrarians, and that means we will probably find ourselves stuck with unsavory nuts and bigots having outsized influence.

A long-term strategy is to grow the movement and make sure we aren’t growing the movement with more and more contrarians, and so shrink the influence of cult leaders, trolls and racists.

The following letter to the editor was published in the Fort Myers News-Press

Vote against more laws

All registered voters living in Estero should vote against incorporation on Nov. 4.

Incorporation adds another layer of government to control residential and commercial development. A village can only impose more restrictions to those already on the books.

The Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL) has done a good job, using the power of persuasion to guide development of Estero. Now is not the time to give a small group the force of government to establish more laws.

The ECCL has concerns about Bonita Springs’ annexation. The voters defeated annexation by Bonita Springs. Other than abutters to Bonita Springs, it will take a vote of the registered voters of Estero to approve further annexation.

Some claim Estero is without a central gathering place for people to live, work and shop. What about Coconut Point and Miromar? People chose and continue to choose to live in Estero as is. But now the leaders of Estero want to get into the development business with other people’s money.

Voters should be fearful of what a city manager and staff will do all day to justify their jobs.

Ben Bachrach, Estero

Jacob Hornberger discusses The Futility of Reform.

” … each new reform to fix the problems caused by previous reforms only makes the situation worse, which inevitably brings new calls for reform.”

The Fort Myers News-Press published an Editorial supporting incorporating the Village of Estero
Estero’s best bet is to incorporate

Here is my Reply –
To the editor:
Subject: Your Ediitorial: “Estero’s best bet is to incorporate” published September 20, 2014

I encourage all registered voters living in Estero to vote against incorporation on November 4, 2014.

Incorporation adds another layer of government to control residential and commercial development, as well as infrastructure. A village can only impose more restrictions. The residents must continue to follow the rules set by their neighborhood associations, Lee County, the State of Florida, and the United States. It allows a small part of the community to impose new taxes, and to pick and choose which developers and schemes will be best for everyone. The Estero Council of Community Leaders has done a good job, using the power of persuasion to guide development of Estero. Now is not the time to give another group the force of government to establish more laws.

Incorporation is not a financial issue. It is strictly an issue about having a solution looking for a problem.

The ECCL hasconcerns about Bonita Springs’ annexation movement. Annexation by Bonita Springs was defeated by the voters. Other than abutters to Bonita Springs, it will take a vote of the registered voters of Estero to approve further annexation.

Some claim Estero is without a central gathering place for people to live, work and shop (what about Coconut Point and Miromar). People chose and continue to choose to live in Estero as is. But now the leaders of Estero want to get into the development business with other people’s money. The News-Press reports they are looking at 100 acres of land near U.S. 41 as a town center. For the average resident of Estero, here is no reason for a village government to attract developers and visitors, or to have a town center.

A new government will hire a city manager to control the day-to-day operations of the city as well as determine city services. People become city managers because it gives them power without any of the risk that developers must take. Voters should be fearful of what a city manager and staff will do all day to justify their jobs. Generally bureaucracies work for their own interest and only incidentally help the people who pay their salaries.

Don’t fall for the suckers bet, vote NO on the incorporation measure.

Ben Bachrach
Chair, Libertarian Party 33928 Caucus
Estero FL

Tim O’Brien recently made this video commentary

An earlier post gives the transcript of President Obama Address to the Nation – 9/10/2014

Here is what he should have said:

My fellow Americans — tonight, I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.

As commander-in-chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently tried military power to end terrorism and its threat to our country.  We have won many battles, but are no closer to our objective than we were the day I took office. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission is scheduled to end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals we have relieved some symptoms but the terrorists forces are as large as ever, and even bolder than before.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. That’s why we must change our policy of trying to use our military might to kill all terrorists. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL — which calls itself the “Islamic State.”

ISIL exists, and has its current strength due to the policies we have employed up to now. We classify ISIL as a terrorist organization, rather than a modern state, because it has not learned to disguise its actions as defensive, but rather brags about conquering territory, and openly murders non-combatants. Other governments have not recognized ISIL as a state, and will not until it acts like a modern state.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East — including American citizens, personnel and facilities that are foolishly located there. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region but it is the duty of ISIL’s neighbors to force ISIL out of existence or at least to act like a modern state. Sure we can try to scare you by stating our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners — including Europeans and some Americans — have joined them in Syria and Iraq.  But the intelligence community rarely gets things right, so there is no reason to believe that the United States is in any immediate danger.  Surely, trained and battle-hardened fighters could return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks, thus one step we can take is to provide no motive for them to do that.

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats, just as many Americans are concerned about aliens from outer space.  Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we have conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.  But it is not clear to me, why America was needed to do these things.  Syria and Iraq have strong neighbors including Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, and Israel.  History and mathematics has shown that as a militant group expands the size of its territory, its strength to expand and hold more territory gets depleted. Thus all America needs to do is let ISIL’s neighbors solve the problem.

This is not our fight. American power could make a short term difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. That’s why I’ve insisted that all U.S. actions will stop in the Middle East.  So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will  only defend itself from foreign aggression, and thus give the terrorist no motive to attack us.

Our objective is clear:  we will remove ourselves from ISIL’s focus. We will not be suckered into renewing a strategy that has failed for all these many years.  We will put ISIL on notice that if they attack North America, they will be have triggered a mighty force against them that will put 8 million troops, 10,000 missiles and aircraft, 250 ships,  and the voluntary economic might of 300 million Americans to defeat them and their allies.   The United States and its allies defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan with a smaller force. And lets be clear about one thing, ISIL does not have the military might of a Germany or Japan.

We will not conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. We tried for more than 10 years to work with the Iraqi government and train their military. We will not throw good money after bad. If ISIL can train soldiers in 2 weeks,  Iraq, and other governments in the region can mobilize their own populations to deal with the problem. If they are unable to do that, then ISIL wins, and there will be peace. Not a peace as we would like, but a peace that the locals brought upon themselves.

I have made it clear that terrorists would be unwise to threaten our country.  That means I will not hesitate to take action against any invasion or attack by ISIL. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

Second, we will remove our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American service members to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi Security Forces, it was determined that the best thing we could do is to go home.  As I have said before, American forces will not have a combat mission until it is clear that we are under imminent attack. We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. If Iraq and Kurdish forces need training, intelligence and equipment, I am sure they can purchase what they need on the open market.

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition.  I now understand that was a mistake. The best way to strengthen the opposition is to let them know that they will get no help from the United States government. The best counterweight to extremists like ISIL is to show the world how enlightened governments limit their scope to protecting their own citizens.

Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks on the United States. Working with our partners, we will urge everone in the world to stop funding ISIL. To prove our defacto neutrality we will not interfere with the flow of foreign fighters into the Middle East. The rest of the world knows what they will and will not do, thus I will not  chair a meeting of the UN Security Council to deal with this issue.

Fourth, we will encourage voluntary humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities, and will welcome any peaceful and honest people who choose to come to the United States to get out of harms way and earn a living.

My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks 6 years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back — with this new policy, America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.

Our technology companies and universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day — and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.

With this new policy abroad, America will lead by example.

America’s blessings do not put obligations on us.  We stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying out our new approach. Do not fall prey to those who beat the war drums. Going forward, as a Commander-in-Chief I will call on our men and women in uniform to be prepared to defend America, and never put them in harms way to fight other nation’s battles.

Our previous interventions created the conditions that trapped civilians on a distant mountain facing massacre. People everywhere need to know that there is evil in this world, and they must establish their own defenses against them.  It is a foolish plan to expect American forces to rescue them from a ruthless group like ISIL.

That is the difference we will make in the world. Maintaining our own safety — our own security, and upholding the values that we stand for — timeless ideals that will endure long after those who use aggression to spread hate and destruction.

May God forgive us for the foreign policy blunders we have made for years, and help us along this new path.

from: NPR

September 10, 2014 9:05 PM ET

The prepared text of President Obama’s speech, as released by the White House:

My fellow Americans — tonight, I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.

As commander-in-chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. That’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL — which calls itself the “Islamic State.”

Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. In acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists — Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East — including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region — including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners — including Europeans and some Americans — have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we have conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. That’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.

Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.

First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American service members to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi Security Forces. Now that those teams have completed their work — and Iraq has formed a government — we will send an additional 475 service members to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission — we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We will also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL control.

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I again call on Congress to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its people; a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.

Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into — and out of — the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council to further mobilize the international community around this effort.

Fourth, we will continue providing humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.

This is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity, and in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: we stand with people who fight for their own freedom; and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.

My Administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved — especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.

My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks 6 years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back — America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.

Our technology companies and universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day — and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.

Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine their own destiny. It is America — our scientists, our doctors, our know-how — that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so they cannot pose a threat to the Syrian people — or the world — again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, tolerance, and a more hopeful future.

America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia — from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East — we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform — pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and service-members who support our partners on the ground.

When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here’s what one of them said. “We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people.”

That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety — our own security — depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation, and uphold the values that we stand for — timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.

May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.