Libertarian Wiki:This month's featured article/2010

From Libertarian Wiki

February 2010

For best readability at a distance, use light-colored writing on a dark background. E.g., white on red is much more visible than green on white.

When making protest signs, it is important to consider the audience. Usually about 6 words is all that can be read by passing cars. More words are OK for foot traffic. A very serviceable type of sign can be made from 30 inch by 20 inch foam core boards. Buy some 8 foot sticks and cut them in half. Glue them to the signs with a wood glue such as Elmer's Glue. The stick should extent to the top. Glue a strip of thin cardboard about a foot wide and 20 inches high (the height of the sign) in order to make a flatter surface. If the stick extends to the top, then the surface will only bend in one direction making it easier to glue to text on the sign. Generate your artwork with your favorite graphics program and print it out on letter or legal paper. Cut the paper to match the 3 to 2 aspect ratio of the foam core board. Take it to a copy shop and ask them to blow it up to 30 by 20 inches. Consolidated Reprographics is a good vendor. Some Kinkos can do this also, but they are more expensive. Glue the blown up artwork to both sides of the sign with spray adhesive such as 3M Super 77. (more...)

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March 2010

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With the coming Census 2010, libertarians have a once-in-a-decade chance to take a stand against the government's attempts to impose social and economic central planning. The framers of the Constitution should never have given the government power to conduct a census, because this power lends itself to abuse. As Christopher Westley points out, "Our tax dollars are funding a PR campaign to tell us that our privacy must be invaded or else single moms will continue to be denied access to federal day care centers. It doesn’t help matters that the Census bureau recently admitted to lying for 50 years about its central role in the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II...The federal government needs this data for the same purpose that Proctor & Gamble needs market research, the difference being that P&G will use it to try to meet consumer demands through voluntary exchange, whereas the state will use it force involuntary exchange – to identify municipalities that should be placed on the dole, and those that should fund them."

There is a long history of censuses being used by governments for nefarious purposes; in 1941, for example, Gustav Richter, an aide to Adolf Eichmann, was sent to Romania to gather information about the Jewish population in a census, with the ultimate goal of plotting a mass deportation to the Belzec concentration camp. In any case, federal handouts will not help the poorer jurisdictions in America. Such handouts make it possible for those states to delay or avoid the free market reforms that are needed for true prosperity to emerge. What we need to do is protect private property, abolish taxation, and eliminate government intervention in private capital flows. (more...)

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April 2010

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The Movimiento Libertario is a successful and rapidly growing libertarian political party in Costa Rica. It was founded in May 1994, and succeeded in getting attorney Otto Guevara, a Harvard graduate, elected to Congress in its first campaign in 1998. Its mission is to transform Costa Rica into a country where all human beings have the right to: live their lives in whatever manner they choose, act and express themselves in liberty, own property and pursue their happiness; respect the same rights of other persons; and assume responsibility for their actions. (more...)

Recently featured: Libertarian Party of Texas – Protest sign

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May 2010

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Defense is an important issue in libertarianism. The state cannot exist without armed forces to enforce taxation and defend itself from insurrection and foreign aggression. Minarchists favor a strong national defense, while anarcho-capitalists favor abolishing governmental militaries so that a marketplace of competing private defense companies, funded through private contracts, can emerge. Minarchists claim that without government, private military companies could extort and plunder the innocent. Anarcho-capitalists claim that governments already do that through their militaries; and that competition would be a better check on abuse than the electoral process. But the two factions agree that armed forces should not be used to launch unprovoked attacks on other countries.

Privately-owned forces have played an important role in providing protection around the world. In the War of 1812, American privateers attacked enemy navies and privateers. In the 1990s, the democratic governments of Angola and Sierra Leone hired Executive Outcomes to defeat rebel forces, in exchange for diamond concessions. And in the 21st century, Blackwater is preparing ships carrying elite teams of security staff to escort civilian vessels through pirate-infested Somali waters. (more...)

Recently featured: Movimiento Libertario – Libertarian Party of Texas – Protest sign

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June 2010

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July 2010

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August 2010

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September 2010