Volume 12, Number 11 | May 31, 2007
The Liberator Online
Contents
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ADVOCATES
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
PERSUASION POWER POINT
#228
ASK DR. RUWART
PRODUCT REVIEW
Dear friends, The World's Smallest Political Quiz is being used in the online supplementary material of yet another of America's most popular textbooks. The book is "Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (Brief Eighth Edition, 2007)". It is published by Pearson Education -- the world's largest educational publisher. Here's an excerpt: ================= BEGIN EXCERPT ===========================
================= END EXCERPT ============================== I hope you find this as exciting as I do! And that's just the tip of the iceberg. At least a *dozen* high school and college textbooks -- used in thousands of classrooms -- feature the Quiz in their text or their online resources, for hands-on student use. For a list of textbooks referring to the Quiz: This didn't happen by accident. For years the Advocates has worked hard to build and promote a political Quiz that is fun, fast, insightful and honest. A Quiz that provides genuine, useful information about political ideas and the political spectrum. In doing so, we've brought a key idea into America's classrooms: that libertarians are a distinct and important part of the political spectrum. This is truly an exciting development for libertarians: students discovering libertarian ideas -- in their classrooms. * * * Welcome to 151 new Liberator Online subscribers this issue. Thanks for joining our subscription "family" of over 69,000 liberty-loving readers in more than 100 countries! To learn more about the Advocates and our work for liberty: To learn more about libertarianism: PS: Harry Browne's acclaimed book, "Liberty A-Z: 872 Libertarian Soundbites You Can Use Right Now" is one of the most useful libertarian books ever published -- essential for anyone who wants to successfully spread the ideas of freedom. Here's what RON PAUL has to say about it: "Harry Browne's book will prove very useful to those interested in advancing the freedom philosophy. Harry provides libertarians with direct, thought-provoking, and often humorous responses to the questions advocates of the freedom philosophy face." Order it now and we'll give you two FREE bonuses worth more than the purchase price of that book: an incredible $34.95 value -- yours for only $13.95 (plus shipping and handling)! Full details about this great offer are in our "Product Review" section at the end of this issue. Or you can read more about it, and order, here: But order fast -- this is a limited-time offer, good through June 13. Thank you!
What's Happening With The Advocates * OPH OUTREACH SUCCESS: Congratulations to the Wright State University chapter of College Libertarians! They ran a very successful OPH booth last week on their Dayton, Ohio campus. Keith Milligan, WSU Libertarians Events Coordinator, reports: "We collected over 150 Quiz surveys, which translated into some new College Libertarian recruits. We spread the message of liberty to the students on campus, and we have a favorable response from most of the participants. OPH was a hit on campus, and we expect to have an even bigger showing in the fall." * Sunny spring days are here - perfect weather for Operation
Politically Homeless (OPH) libertarian outreach! Learn how this
acclaimed "event in a kit" can help you discover dozens or even hundreds
of libertarian-leaning folks in your community. Details here:
by James W. Harris Forget NASA. The future of space exploration is in the hands of the private sector. And it's coming sooner than you may expect. That's the message of a fast-growing and well-capitalized group of space entrepreneurs. In 2004 President Bush announced plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2020 -- more than half a century after Neil Armstrong first landed there. Ho-hum, says the private sector. "NASA is increasingly irrelevant," says James W. Benson, president of
Benson Space, one of the emerging
Instead, the new generation of space entrepreneurs are busy -- right now -- with plans for space tours, orbiting space hotels and, yes, even moon landings. Next year, Virgin Galactic -- headed by Sir Richard Branson, a self-declared libertarian -- plans to begin test flights. They hope to carry customers into space in late 2009 or early 2010. And customers are ready. Virgin Galactic says it has taken over $20 million in deposits from about 150 people. Virgin Galactic is also negotiating with Robert Bigelow -- founder of the Budget Suites hotel chain -- to create orbiting hotels. Bigelow has already launched a one-third scale inflatable module, now orbiting the Earth every 96 minutes. By 2012 Bigelow Aerospace plans to launch full-size space accommodations. Bigelow has pledged half a billion dollars to back the project. Still another company, Space Adventures, has already put five customers into orbit aboard Russian Soyuz capsules. And what about that walk on the moon? Space Adventures is already seeking a customer for that. Projected cost: $100 million. So... in 2020, when Bush's NASA astronaut finally gets to the moon, he may be welcomed by a crowd of cheering tourists, who will take him into their Budget Suites moon hotel for a good meal and a bath, before sending him safely and comfortably back to NASA in a First Class seat aboard the very latest in private space ships. (Sources: * * * Three Major-Party Presidential Candidates Oppose War on Drugs No less than three major-party U.S. presidential candidates have now come out publicly against the disastrous War on Drugs. You already know about libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), of course. And perhaps you knew about Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH). Now joining them in opposition to the Drug War is former Alaska U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, a Democrat. In a May interview with the Iowa Independent newspaper, Gravel was asked if he thought marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine should be legal. Responded Gravel: "When are we are going to learn? We went through the Depression and we realized how we created all the gangsters and the violence. "When FDR came in he wiped out Prohibition. We need to wipe out this whole War on Drugs. "We spend $50 billion to $70 billion a year. We create criminals that aren't criminals. We destabilize foreign countries. "With respect to marijuana, Doug, I'll tell you what: Go get yourself a fifth of scotch or a fifth of gin and chug-a-lug it down and you'll find you lose your senses a lot faster than you would smoking some marijuana." "We need to legalize the regulation of drugs. The drug problem is a public health problem. It's not a criminal problem. We make it a criminal problem because we treat people like criminals. You take a drug addict, you throw him in jail, you leave him there, and he learns the criminal trade so that when he gets out you have recidivism."
"The United States incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of U.S. residents behind bars has now reached more than 2.3 million. "We are losing an entire generation of young men and women to our prisons. Our nation's ineffective and wasteful 'war on drugs' plays a major role in this." Gravel's Web site goes on to call for: * A greater emphasis on rehabilitation and prevention. For years libertarians were almost alone in publicly calling for the re-legalization of drugs and the end of the insane War on Drugs. In this way libertarians forced this issue into the mainstream public debate. That's a triumph for libertarian activism, and a sign of hope for American liberty. (Source: Stop The Drug War: * * * How Politicians Keep Your Gas Prices High From an Investor's Business Daily editorial: "Gas taxes are a major component of gas prices. "While oil companies make a profit of 13 cents a gallon on gasoline -- profit that is plowed back into the search for more -- the federal government makes 18.4 cents. "Then you add the state and local taxes. California's various governments [for example] make 40.2 cents. "Add to the consumer burden congressionally mandated ethanol use, which is driving up the price of gasoline and the food you get at the market you drive to. That's because an increasing percentage of our corn crop is being diverted to fuel production." But aren't gasoline taxes just used for road building and maintenance, sort of like a user fee? Nope, says the Tax Foundation (a nonpartisan tax research organization): "Some experts estimate that total diversions of gasoline tax dollars away from legitimate general road use equal nearly 40 percent of the Highway Trust Fund's annual budget." And we strongly suspect that the government is no more cost-effective in "legitimate" road construction than it is in anything else it undertakes. (Sources: * * * * * * * * QUICK SHOTS... FARMING WITHOUT SUBSIDIES: "A prosperous farm sector without
government subsidies? Sounds too good to be true...sounds like a fairy
tale. It's not. In 1985, New Zealand permanently eliminated 30 different
agricultural production subsidies and export incentives. Over the past
20 years, as New Zealand's farms flourished without assistance, the
opportunity cost to American consumers and taxpayers of U.S. farm
programs has totaled more than $1.7 trillion." * * * TOILET TALK: "Last year the Architect of the Capitol needed to buy paper towels and toilet paper for congressional rest rooms. Sounds simple. Americans stock up on paper products all the time. But in Washington, D.C., nothing's that easy. "Before buying anything, the Architect's office had to describe specifically what it wanted and how the products should be delivered. ... These requirements filled 32 pages. "Of course, paper products matter little in the grand scheme of things. But they're a useful canary in the coal mine of public policy. The trouble they warn of here is that there are, simply, too many federal laws and regulations." -- "The Paperwork of Paper," Ed Feulner, Heritage Foundation
president * * * * * * * *
Human Beings Are NOT Chess Pieces by Michael Cloud "Millions of employees are being paid far too little," argues the
union organizer. "We "Thousands of Americans are needlessly dying in traffic accidents
because "Millions of Americans do NOT have health care insurance," says the This simplistic approach might work -- IF human beings were chess pieces. It might work -- IF human beings were powerless, passive, obedient
pieces But human beings are NOT chess pieces. We can reason and choose. Each
of us When government writes laws or regulations that compel this or forbid
that, And that is the fatal flaw in the "pass a law to make things better"
remedy. But how do we change the minds of those who are receptive to the
belief that With questions that undermine and expose the "human beings are chess
pieces" ++++ Pretend that government compels employers to pay employees a higher
minimum * How will each employer respond to the law? Will he pay the higher minimum wage and raise prices to cover the
cost? If Will he convert some "hourly" employees to "salaried" -- to keep
labor costs Will he reduce work hours for his least productive employees to 15 or
20 or Will he lay off his least skilled, least productive employees? Will
he Will he outsource some of the work -- to reduce overhead costs? How might some employers avoid or evade or get around the law? * How will each current employee respond to the law? Will she increase the quality or quantity of her work? Will she do "off the clock, off the books" work -- so the small
business Will she ask her boss to reduce her weekly work hours -- so he can
afford to Will she be laid off -- and collect unemployment insurance? -- or
pound the * How will each unemployed job-hunter respond? Will he spend 5 weeks unemployed and looking for a job -- instead of
2 Will he be limited to part-time hourly wage jobs -- because they are
exempt * How will customers respond to the new situation? To higher prices?
To * Is this better or worse than things are today? For the small
business ++++ "How will each person respond to this?" "What will each person do about it?" "What are the consequences of their response to the law?" "Is this better or worse than things are today?" Ask these questions of those tempted by "laws passed for our own good
by Ask them of your family, friends, and co-workers. Ask them of yourself. Human beings are NOT chess pieces. * * * * * * * * In 2000, Michael was honored with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most
Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America.
Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column. * * * QUESTION: My son accuses me of being self-centered or selfish because I am against welfare. How can I counter this charge? MY SHORT ANSWER: Most people are unaware that the greatest cause of
modern-day poverty is government regulation, which destroys jobs,
especially for the disadvantaged. While most politicians offer the poor
a welfare check, libertarians offer them what they really want -- a
chance to become rich. Consequently, when regulations threatened to
drive minority hair braiders, taxi drivers, and limousine services out
of business, only the libertarian pro-bono attorneys at the Institute
for Justice fought for them in the courts -- and won! For details, see In his devastating 1984 book, "Losing Ground," Charles Murray concluded that the welfare programs of the 1960s only made poverty worse. As a landlady renting to welfare recipients, I was able to witness this process first-hand. Instead of getting that all-important first job, unwed teenage girls viewed pregnancy as a right of passage that allowed them to get a welfare check and establish their household. Of course, the check was never enough. The women sought to increase it by having more babies. By the time they realized welfare would never give them the life they wanted, they were stuck in the poverty trap. When they tried to work, they found that an entry-level position, which would have been adequate for a single adult, was not even enough for child care. They had to quit their jobs, and go back on welfare. Sadly, their daughters often followed in their footsteps. To really help the poor, we must help them help themselves. Otherwise, they will be forever dependent on politicians, a precarious existence at best. * * * QUESTION: How could infrastructure such as utility lines, water and
sewer MY SHORT ANSWER: Builders would pay owners market price for property,
instead of asking the government to condemn it, seize it, and hand it
off to them as they so often do today. (See Costs would be passed on to those who used the highways, etc., rather than asking a few people to bear it all. Without eminent domain, many people fear that a few "hold-outs" could endanger important projects. In practice, builders would probably copy Disney's strategy for building its theme park in Orlando. Disney didn't have the power to force people to sell, so it bought options on various properties through a holding company. If there were hold-outs in a particular area, Disney could shift its proposed boundaries with a minimum of loss. In a society without eminent domain, developers would probably do the
same. * * * * * * * * Due to volume, Dr. Ruwart can't personally acknowledge all emails. But we'll run the best questions and answers in upcoming issues. Dr. Ruwart's previous Liberator Online answers are archived in searchable form at: http://www.TheAdvocates.org/ruwart/categories_list.php Dr. Ruwart's outstanding books "Healing Our World" and "Short Answers
to the Tough Questions" are available from the Advocates:
http://www.TheAdvocates.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv
Listen Up! The Benefits of Listening by Sharon Harris, Advocates President One of the most important -- and frequently overlooked, and surprisingly difficult -- secrets of truly successful communication is LISTENING. In our eagerness to tell people about the ideas of liberty, we may miss out on the big benefits of simply stopping and listening. Here are some of those benefits: 1. You learn what the other person's primary concerns and interests are. This gives you a chance to address those concerns, instead of talking about something the other person doesn't care about. 2. You find out about any misconceptions they may have about libertarianism. This gives you a chance to clear those up. 3. You can discover areas of agreement, thus creating invaluable rapport. 4. You show the other person that you are interested in them. People tend to be reciprocal, and therefore will be more interested in you. To be a good listener, you must REALLY listen - not just pretend. Breathe and focus on what the other person is saying. While this is SIMPLE, it's certainly not EASY. (If you think it is... try it.) But trust me, this is powerful. So be sure to listen up! The benefits make it well worth the effort.
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or
should not be able to make drug use illegal. Yet, if asked these
questions most of us could come up with an answer. Why? Because most
of us have a coherent set of values and beliefs about public
policies such as those mentioned above. Let's examine this further.
space tourism companies. "There is no
way this country is going to support a $103 billion Apollo-on-steroids
return to the moon." 
Gravel's Web site elaborates his position. While far from libertarian,
he advocates dramatic drug law reforms. From his site: 
Harry
Browne, the Libertarian Party's 1996 and 2000 Presidential candidate, is
universally recognized as one of the finest-ever libertarian
communicators. And one of the most quotable.
world-famous
World's Smallest Political Quiz, they never see politics the same again.
Make sure you have plenty on hand to give to anyone who's interested in
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