Nobel-prize winning economist Milton Friedman was born on July 31st, 1912. He was an outspoken and persuasive defender of human liberty and a tremendous communicator of libertarian ideas. His ten-part Free to Choose TV series, and the book on which it was based, remains one of the most comprehensive video expositions of libertarian ideas available. It is free online. Here's … [Read more...]
29 Years Ago Today, FBI Framed Richard Jewell
On July 27th, 1996, during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, security guard Richard Jewell discovered a pipe bomb and quickly began clearing the public out of the park. His courageous actions saved untold lives. When the bomb finally went off, one person was killed and more than a hundred injured -- it could have been much worse. Unhappily for Jewell, … [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...]
Alan Turing: Happy Angel Birthday!
Alan Turing was born on June 23rd, 1912. Turing is widely credited for being an early pioneer in – some would even say inventor of – computer science and artificial intelligence, but perhaps less well-known is his key role in saving the world from fascism. During WWII, he played a pivotal role in breaking the German's "Enigma" code. Without that contribution, the outcome of the … [Read more...]
Edward Snowden, Hero: Happy Birthday!
Edward Snowden was born on June 21st, 1983. At age 30, in 2013, he became an American hero. While employed at the NSA, Snowden discovered the agency was routinely and secretly scanning every email, listening to every phone call, tracking every phone, etc., of every person in the United States. Each and every instance of this policy constituted a violation of the Fourth … [Read more...]
Adam Smith: Happy Angel Birthday!
Economist Adam Smith was born on June 16th, 1723. Per AdamSmith.org, "Smith railed against merchants using their political influence to win monopolies, tax preferences, controls and other privileges that distort markets in their favor—what today we call crony capitalism. He concluded that government must be limited to its core functions of providing the defense, justice and … [Read more...]
Happy Magna Carta Day, June 15th! The Birthday of Libertarianism
What's the big deal about the signing of Magna Carta on June 15th, 1215? Well, from the earliest of recorded times, and for thousands of years, mankind was largely ruled by kings, military leaders, and oligarchies -- all of them with essentially unlimited power. Early societies had laws and legal processes, of course, but at the end of the day those at the apex of power … [Read more...]