Topic: History

fdr

How FDR Killed Federal Anti-Lynching Legislation

– July 31, 2020

“Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor publicly signaled her support for the measure, but the president himself remained silent and declined to spend his political capital on securing the bill at a time when the legislative success of the New Deal economic agenda depended on southern Democrats. After a complex succession of parliamentary maneuvers in the Senate the measure was effectively sidelined in exchange for the southerners dropping their filibuster, which had also unintentionally impeded the New Deal farm relief bill at the top of the president’s legislative agenda.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

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champagne

Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation

– July 29, 2020

“Peter T. Leeson is well-positioned to continue making important and creative contributions to our beloved dismal science. His message–that free and creative people have a good track record of solving problems without anyone forcing anyone else to do anything–is as timely now as it was when he was just getting started–but I can’t really imagine a time when it won’t be.” ~ Art Carden

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Fauci Is Wrong: New York Did Not Do it “Correctly”

– July 23, 2020

“The deep human costs of this virus and its corresponding policies have been exacerbated by blind hubris and unfounded pride––which, to no small extent, saw their expression in the conceit of rule by models. Though it might be too little too late, diligent reflection and readjustment in future pandemic combat efforts will be the only way to honor those who were lost so unnecessarily.” ~ Fiona Harrigan and Peter C. Earle

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bull

Welcome to the Frankfurtian World

– July 22, 2020

“Wherever one turns, the political discourse seems entirely uninterested in the Enlightenment project – the values of 17th and 18th century philosophers imploring us to use reason to approach scientific truth and an intelligent and civil society.” ~ Joakim Book

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melting pot new york

“Systemic Racism” Theory is the New Political Tribalism

– July 21, 2020

“A freedom not based on race, nationality, language, or religion, but on an idea of the unique and valued individual who is at liberty to live his own life, peacefully in voluntary mutual association with others. A society that, more than any other, has done more to do away with the tribe and liberate the person, and bring peace and prosperity along with it.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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mountains

Your State Matters More Than You May Think

– July 21, 2020

“While employment regulation may seem like a long way from communism, the point is that the federal government does not stand on the slope at all, regardless of subjective perceptions of its slipperiness. The safety ropes that remain at its disposal, like the interstate commerce clause, are only as effective as the will and skill with which they are employed to arrest the descent and could easily prove insufficient if communism were preferred by a majority of the state’s electorate, as lockdowns remain in some states.” ~ Robert E. Wright

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plato statue

The Epistemic Burden of Politics

– July 20, 2020

“In the pursuit of a more perfect union and better decision-making, we should begin to contemplate the epistemic limits of government. To inquire into the limits of knowledge acquisition and understanding. To what extent can those at the individual, local, state, and federal level act with an adequate understanding of the consequences of their actions and the needs of those they govern?” ~ Ethan Yang

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Individualism and Public Health: Tensions and Challenges

– July 19, 2020

“The aim should be to strictly fence off and limit the scope of coercive public health as both an ideal and a practice. We should think of it as something like a nuclear reactor core – useful, even essential but something that needs to be tightly contained. This is the kind of project and activity that individualists and classical liberals should be engaged in.” ~ Stephen Davies

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statue, oath

Technocrats Should Observe the Hippocratic Oath

– July 18, 2020

“Whether by today’s standards or a medieval one, at a certain level of influence, unqualified prognostication is either ignorant, irresponsible, or deceptive. Pithy epigrams alongside basic skepticism, knowledge of personal hygiene, and a propensity to self-isolate in the face of illness have superintended the human relationship with microorganisms more than massive agent-based models ever will.” ~ Peter C. Earle

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The New York Times Revives Its Grim Past

– July 16, 2020

“The news reporting and editorial policies of the New York Times today remind me of 1932 and the way in which journalism is being used to push out dogma over truth, selective facts over full and balanced coverage, ideology over tolerance, propaganda over diversity of opinion, and an aggressive political agenda over humane and careful journalism. It seems out of control at this point.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

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book

The Essential Joseph Schumpeter: An Easy and Accessible Introduction to an Important and Complex Thinker

– July 14, 2020

“Joseph Alois Schumpeter made enduring and important contributions that have stood and will continue to stand the test of time. The Essential Schumpeter is a useful introduction to the man and his ideas, and both the text and the accompanying videos will serve students, instructors, and interested lay people very well.” ~ Art Carden

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When Will the Madness End?

– July 10, 2020

“We’ve learned throughout this ordeal that despite our technology, our knowledge, our history of building prosperity and peace, we are no smarter than our ancestors and, by some measures, not as smart as our parents and grandparents. The experience with COVID has caused a mass reversion to the superstitions and panics that sporadically defined the human experience of ages past.” ~ Jeffrey A. Tucker

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