Freedom Home Page of the Week Archive Spring 1999

I seem to remember hearing something about "innocent until proven guilty" being an important guiding principle of American jurisprudence. It must have been a dream I had. Civil Asset Forfeiture laws now allow just about anybody with a badge to presume you guilty until proven innocent, and take your property away from you. All they have to do is suspect you of a crime. (Oops, did I say that they can take property away? I meant, of course, that you voluntarily "forfeit" your rights to property.)

Since 1997, The Liberty Project, through "advertising, public relations, grassroots mobilization and Internet outreach," has been working to re-institute your rights.

Their Web site is a good indication that, when it comes to advertising, these people know what they're doing. For a grassroots political activist site, this one is unusually attractive and user-friendly. Highlights include the Real Stories page, where you can read the stories of innocent civilians who suddenly found themselves stripped of their belongings, and sometimes their clothing. Though the effectiveness of e-mails sent to Congress is in dispute, the Contact Congress page is worth seeing if only as an example of the best in e-mail activism.You can choose from several form letters to send to both your Congressmen and your local media, all with clicks of the mouse. (And, yes, there is room to modify and personalize the form letters, or write your own from scratch, if pointing and clicking doesn't feel active enough for you.)

You also won't want to miss Liberty Project's thoughtful ad which the Daily Oklahoman "respectfully declined" to print. It's not surprising. When arousing the suspicion of the authorities is all it takes to be robbed of your rights to property, fewer people will be inclined to make waves. Thankfully, the people at the Liberty Project remain steadfast.

The Wesley Mouches of the world would love to consign Ayn Rand to historical irrelevance, but history keeps thwarting them as the new Web site, Objectivism and Ayn Rand: A Cultural Reference Archive, proves. We all know that "The Fountainhead" keeps selling but, more importantly, Rand's name and philosophy keep popping up in the cultural conversation. At the Archive, you can find out where.

This service is offered for free but its provider, the Institute for Objectivist Studies, requires that you register your name and address. From there, you are free to browse the Archive, divided into three sections: Journalism on Ayn Rand and Objectivism; Allusions; and Personal/Cultural References. Each of these categories is further subdivided into headings like Art and Literature, Entertainment, Architecture, and Humor (where you'll find items like this one from the Washington Post: "Ayn Rand McNally -- A woman who thinks she's at the center of the universe and has a map to prove it.")

I particularly appreciate the unbiased approach of the archive. You'll find negative allusions right next to the positive. As "Atlas Shrugged" begins to look less like a work of science fiction and more like an accurate prediction of our present situation, Rand's ideas continue to increase in relevance. If they didn't, they wouldn't need to be attacked at all.

"On May 24, people around the world will come together at one moment in time for one purpose. We will stop what we are doing and quietly observe two minutes of silence for peace in the Balkans."

Remember Hands Across America? This is Hands Across The World. At the home page for this Moment of Silence, you can find out the exact time that people from Belgrade to Athens, from Stockholm to Chicago will be participating in two minutes of silence for peace. You can also find out who some of those people are, and add your name (with space for comments) to the public list.

To take further action against this war, don't miss the Links page with categories for Petitions and Contacting Politicians, Demonstrations and Protests, Giving Financial Support, and more.

The Moment of Silence is an ad hoc network of individuals and organizations who have come together for this one purpose, including Antiwar.com, Protest.net, and us here at .

Let's see ... U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 ... oh yes, there it is. "Congress shall have Power To" ... yadda yadda yadda ... "To declare War". Hmmm. Congress shall have this power. Not the President. Congress. Makes you think, don't it?

Apparently it made Congressman Tom Campbell (R-CA) think, as well as Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and fifteen other members of Congress, including libertarian favorite, Ron Paul. They've filed a civil lawsuit against the President to force him to "obtain congressional authorization or withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from these hostilities."

Rep. Campbell deserves recognition for many reasons. His positions on issues from corporate welfare to same-sex marriage seem to be among the saner ones coming out of our representative's mouths, and he was ranked first on the Cato Institute's 1998 list of the most pro-free-trade members of Congress. But, this lawsuit against the Prez pushes him into the ranks of a very exclusive club of "Pretty Cool Politicians."

Check out his site, and tell your friends about the lawsuit. This Constitution thing is not getting nearly the amount of media coverage that it should.

The thought that kept running through my mind as I explored Peter Landry's personal Web site, Blupete, was "Where does he find the time?" In addition to being elegantly designed, both attractive and user-friendly, the site is literally packed with information and original content, all the work of the prolific Mr. Landry.

I recommend starting at the archive of Landry's weekly commentaries. These are short ruminations on topics ranging from the political (Bureaucracy, The War on Drugs, Taxes) to the sublime (Wildflowers, Mathematics). His most recent, as of this writing, is titled "A Right to Medical Care" and is a reasoned critique of Canada's socialized health care program.

When you're ready to go more in-depth, head over to Blupete's Essays. Here, you'll find longer tracts on law, government, philosophy, and much more. Free-Marketeers won't want to miss "Socialism: The Siren's Song."

All of Landry's essays are variously linked to his own "Biographies" pages, short sketches of the lives and works of every thinker he references.

Landry's erudition doesn't end there. He also has a deep pride in his roots and, though not necessarily libertarian in nature, there is much here about his genealogy and the history of his home, Nova Scotia.

Samuel Johnson, poet, wit, lexicographer, was the definitive man of letters. I've often wondered what he could have done if he'd lived to see the Internet, and I'd like to propose that Blupete is the closest example. This is truly one of the best uses of a personal Web site that I've seen.

This exclusively anti-war site distinguishes itself by also being openly conservative/libertarian. Founded as a conservative response against the bombings in Iraq (remember those?), Americans Against World Empire has expanded its coverage to include the Kosovo bombings.

Here you can find some of the best articles on both Kosovo and Iraq by conservative columnists such as Lew Rockwell, Jude Wanniski, Doug Bandow and Joseph Sobran, as well as "Talking Points for Talk Radio", and an unexpected but interesting Movie Reviews section.

If you remain unconvinced that we elected a dangerous sociopath to this country's highest office, the Kosovo conflict may be the final needed proof.

At the Cato Institute's new Web page, Cato Scholars on Kosovo, Ted Galen Carpenter, Doug Bandow, Gary Dempsey, and Jonathon Clark weigh in on why Clinton's Policy on Kosovo is, and always has been, misguided, dangerous, hypocritical, and generally incoherent.

This may sound trite, but I hate filling out my tax forms. I have a strong stomach, but I am quickly nauseated by sitting at my desk for hours, filling out a confession of how much money I "owe" to an institution that I regard as totally illegitimate. Of course I don't want to go to jail so I do it, the only way I can: by pretending that it's all a game, perhaps a very difficult crossword puzzle, and hoping for the day when the system will change.

By the way, given the IRS' penchant for auditing people who make much of a fuss about its actions, I'd like to point out that I don't exist.

Since the bombing of Yugoslavia began, I've heard statements like the following again and again: "Well, we have to do something to stop the genocide," to which I like to respond, "Who's this 'we'?"

Whatever you may think about the goings-on in Kosovo, few libertarians would argue that U.S. or Nato intervention is the answer. Maybe somebody does need to intervene, and I wouldn't stop anyone who wants to fly over there himself, but why do I have be involved? Why do I have to pay for something I don't believe is right?

Since 1982, The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee has been asking the same question: If you don't believe military action is appropriate, why should your tax dollars go towards its funding?

NWTRCC's goal is "to maintain and build a national movement of conscientious objectors to military taxes." One interesting project which they support is the creation of a Peace Tax Fund which would "divert the income tax dollars of objectors into a fund that would be used only for peaceful purposes." As with tuition vouchers, it may not be the ideal solution but it's probably a step in the right direction.

As always, caveat emptor. A thorough browsing of this site will reveal a lot of useful information about how to resist paying your taxes (which could land you in jail) as well as an indication that tax money would be better spent on things like national health care, education, and welfare. Apparently, their objection to "the allocation of taxes for purposes that violate [resisters'] mostly deeply held beliefs" was not intended to apply to those whose deeply held beliefs include the freedom to choose health insurance, schooling, and charity. But, again, tax resistance of any kind seems like a step in the right direction.

Since 1961, the Institute for Humane Studies has been one of the most important American institutions in the fight for freedom.

Focusing primarily on academia, IHS awards scholarships, sponsors contests, hosts seminars, and just makes itself generally useful to anybody who wants to study classical liberalism.

But IHS' recently redesigned Web site is not just for college students. One new feature is the Virtual Liberty Postcard. Users can choose one of three postcards, featuring quotes and pictures of heroes Martin Luther King, F.A. Hayek, and Henry David Thoreau, to e-mail to a friend. (In a similar vein is the new Liberty Videos feature, featuring inspiring quotes spoken by actors.)

My personal favorite feature is the IHS Syllabus Exchange. If you're like me, you didn't discover the freedom movement until after your formal education had ended, and now you wish you'd spent your college time more judiciously. Fortunately, professors all over the country have submitted the syllabi for their most libertarian classes to IHS. You may not be able to get graded for the classes anymore, but at least you can read the assigned texts.

The new Web site is attractively designed, easy to use, and spans the range of all of IHS' many programs. If you know a student who should be introduced to IHS, why not do so right now by sending them a postcard?

Columnist Michael M. Bates is a funny man, but don't let him hear you say that. As he points out when he is categorized as a humorist, "When are these folks going to realize that I'm not joking?" So maybe it's the world that's funny.

Fans of the continuing hilarious antics of the Prez and his apologists won't want to miss the Hot Babes of the Clinton Administration gallery. Mmmm... Maxine Waters.

My Side of the Swamp is updated weekly, so there is always something new to laugh about.

At least one important lesson has been learned from the Communist experiments of this century: Citizens living under Communism will try to escape it. The experience of the Cuban people has been no exception. Thousands of fed-up Cubans have risked death on homemade rafts rather than live in Castro's utopia for another minute. This death can come in the form of sharks, heat, starvation, or Cuban military attack.

Fortunately, for some, salvation comes in the form of Hermanos al Rescate, or Brothers to the Rescue. This small, non-profit organization, with the help of 70 pilots, observers, and volunteers, flies rescue missions in the Florida Straits four days a week, searching for refugee rafts. Since its inception in 1991, BTTR has flown over 1800 missions, rescuing more than 4200 people.

Their Web site includes an extensive database of news about Cuba and BTTR's rescue missions. And they don't limit themselves to helping people escape, they also have a plan to make Cuba a place where people want to stay in the Plan of National Civic Defiance.

I admit to being something of a dreamer. So, whenever I hear about the latest proposal for a utopian community, I check out their Web site and spend an hour or so dreaming about what might be.

Something usually brings me crashing back to reality. But so far, the Web site of Freedom Ship hasn't brought me down. A gigantic ship, nearly a mile long and 25 stories high, sailing around the world with its permanent inhabitants living free of local taxes ... Ooh, it just makes me giddy with excitement. No, it hasn't been built yet, but some artist's renderings are available, and you can even submit your application for employment.

Also, don't miss the independently operated site, Ship-World, dedicated to "exploring and celebrating the Freedom Ship." Here you'll find a discussion forum for sharing your thoughts, and an impressive Powerpoint presentation featuring more artist's renderings and key points about the project.

It's not quite Galt's Gulch. Claims that the ship will fly the flag of an as-yet-undetermined country, "enjoy the protection of that country, and be subject to its laws and regulations" do little to inspire confidence. But, it's a start. And one can always dream ....

American Reclamation Graphics is a site for conservative artists tired of seeing the art world dominated by fuzzy-thinking liberal types. This is "art for the working mind."

Currently featured in the online gallery are eight pieces by poster artist Peter Frega. A few titles: Taxation is Slavery, The Real Earthday, and some hilariously altered portraits of television's most omnipresent talking heads titled The Propagandists. (Frega may be too traditionally conservative for some tastes, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.)

These limited edition prints are available for purchase, so have your credit cards ready.

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