George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732. Not only was he the first American action hero, he was the first person in history to turn down supreme power over most of a continent. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Washington was offered the opportunity to become king. In that pivotal moment, he took out something few had seen him wear, a pair of spectacles. … [Read more...]
Libertarian Date Night: Eight Romantic Films
Need a romantic film to share with your libertarian sweetheart on a special evening? Look no further. Here are eight libertarian-themed films sure to set the mood for a libertarian date night. These are my top picks from the romance category of this website. Still Mine WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS When a rural farmer builds a new home as a kindness to his ailing … [Read more...]
Michael Apted: Libertarian Film Hero
Michael Apted -- born February 10th, 1941 -- was a British television and film director and producer. He directed four films of libertarian interest, including one of this website's top 25 list of most important libertarian films of all time. In 1992, Apted released the documentary Incident at Oglala, an inquiry into the alleged framing of AIM member Leonard Peltier by the … [Read more...]
Power’s War (2015)
ANTHEM FILM FESTIVAL WINNER: GRAND PRIZE A documentary examination of historical events in Klondyke, AZ, where a family was killed by law enforcement agents for draft evasion after refusing to participate in WWI. [ Power's War credits: Dir: Cameron Trejo/ 70 min/ Documentary, History/ Anti-Draft] External Reviews "Separated from the rest of the world, the Powers family … [Read more...]
Ayn Rand: Happy Angel Birthday!
Ayn Rand was born on February 2nd, 1905. Novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter -- Rand did what no one had done before: she took the ideas of classical liberalism into the world of stories and dreams, portraying the entrepreneurial heroes of our unprecedented prosperity as just that, and to the absolute horror of enemies of freedom. Decades after her death, Ayn … [Read more...]
Iranian Women: Defying The Clerics And Winning Freedom
The hijab is compulsory by law for all Iranian women. In 2017, the online group My Stealthy Freedom was formed to reverse this legislation and allow women choice in how they dress. It's part of a broader simmering of discontent with the government's authoritarian rule that has spilled out into anti-government protests. Gutsy Iranian women have been removing their hijabs in … [Read more...]
Anthem Film Festival Seeking New Libertarian Films
The 2024 Anthem Film Festival — the annual screening of the latest libertarian films and documentaries — will be held at The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 10-13. It is part of the larger FreedomFest event. The festival is currently seeking libertarian films for its 2024 event. “We seek movies and documentaries about self-reliance, innovation, entrepreneurship, individual … [Read more...]
John Hurt: Libertarian Film Hero
John Hurt -- born January 22nd, 1940 -- was an English actor whose career spanned over half a century. He made three films of libertarian interest, all of them focused on the dangers of totalitarian states, and all of them among the most dead-on libertarian films ever made. Two are included in this website's top 25 list and the third is included in other libertarian top … [Read more...]
Four Libertarian Films For Martin Luther King Day
It's something of an irony that the Left still claims to be the champion of equality and tolerance but has nowadays officially dropped both of those things in favor of identity politics. The Martin Luther King vision of a world in which people "will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character," can't be squared with demands for people to be … [Read more...]
Aaron Swartz, Internet Wunderkind, Died On This Day
On January 11th, 2013, Aaron Swartz — the wunderkind genius who contributed much to the early development of the Internet, including Reddit, Creative Commons, RSS, and more — committed suicide. He was just 26. Aaron Swartz was driven to take his own life by aggressive prosecutors enforcing tragically defective technology law, law that is still on the books. Aaron’s story is … [Read more...]