The infamous Berlin Wall was socialism itself: concrete and razor wire in the name of humanity, guard towers and machine guns in the name of human progress. It's ostensible purpose was to protect vulnerable East Germans from invasion, but as a practical matter it was simply a way of preventing the slave populations of the USSR from escaping to the West. By the time it … [Read more...]
Four Halloween Films For Libertarians
Happy Halloween! Nothing is scarier than unrestrained government, of course, so here are four Halloween films on the subject. Enjoy! Ghostbusters (1984) This popular classic tells the story of an entrepreneurial ghost-removal service -- Ghostbusters -- that runs into opposition from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other creatures of evil. It seems that … [Read more...]
Nestor Almendros: Libertarian Film Hero
Nestor Almendros -- born October 30, 1930 -- is best known for his cinematography. He was indeed the favorite cameraman for directors Eric Rohmer and Francois Truffaut and was nominated for four Academy Awards for cinematography (Sophie's Choice, The Blue Lagoon, Kramer vs. Kramer, and Days of Heaven). However, he also directed two powerful documentaries that together blew a … [Read more...]
Cameron Hawley: Libertarian Film Hero
Cameron Hawley -- born September 19, 1905 -- was an American fiction writer. Although he published only a few books, two of them were turned into films: Cash McCall and Executive Suite. Both films are unusual for their Randian tone and strongly pro-capitalism character. Cash McCall, the better of the two, took the top prize of Best Libertarian Picture at the First International … [Read more...]
Happy Convention of States Day!
On September 15, 1787, George Mason identified a serious oversight in the nearly-completed Constitution. As Article V had originally been drafted, it only allowed Congress to propose Constitutional amendments. But what if one day Congress were to become corrupt? The people would need another way to rein in its power. So the framers added an option to Article V allowing the … [Read more...]
Raoul Wallenberg: Happy Angel Birthday!
Raoul Wallenberg, born on August 4th, 1912 in Sweden, a hero who saved thousand of Jews in WWII, has been nearly forgotten but you can remember him this day with a good film that he himself liked. When Hitler began rounding up the Jews in Hungary in 1944, Wallenberg faced down the Nazi death machine with nothing more than courage and paper, partly by mass manufacturing fake … [Read more...]
July 4th, Independence Day: Eight Short Films
July 4th, Independence Day, is America's annual celebration commemorating its Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Cato Institute has a nice summary of what is in the Declaration and why it is such a landmark in the foundation of human liberty: 1) We are all created equal -- no one ought to have any special rights and privileges in his social relations with other … [Read more...]
American Revolution Films For Your July 4th
Time to get ready for your July 4th celebrations. And what better way to remember what it's all about than with a good film? Here are a few American Revolution films I recommend. Note: You may want to consider buying DVDs. Since just last year, two of the six films listed below are now out of print and only available used and in limited quantity -- expect these stories of … [Read more...]
George Orwell: Happy Angel Birthday!
George Orwell (the pen name for Eric Arthur Blair) was born on June 25th, 1903. Few in history did more to warn the public about the dangers of totalitarianism. Several films based on Orwell's works are available, including three versions of 1984, and two of Animal Farm (1,2). The definitive film version of 1984 is the one released that very year, starring John Hurt. … [Read more...]
Justice Clarence Thomas: Happy Birthday!
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born on June 23rd, 1948. He is a fan of Ayn Rand and has decided libertarian leanings. No wonder the left did everything it could to try to keep him off the Supreme Court. As he himself put it: “‘I felt as though in my life I had been looking at the wrong people as the people who would be problematic toward me. We were told that, … [Read more...]