Economist, Mises Institute scholar, and friend Bob Murphy gives his perspective on Romans 13, pehaps the first of several posts on his blog?

Shaun Connell presents a Biblical case for libertarian government.

Judge Andrew Napolitano asks: What is a just war?

Jon Utley at American Conservative magazine (my favorite “conservative” publication) talks about Evangelicals, Ron Paul, and War.

President Obama invokes Christianity to support his policies. Impressively bad on all fronts.

This week on LCC, Doug Stuart reviewed two books for us:

• An Evangelical Social Gospel?
• Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide

I found this picture hilarious. If you don’t get it, don’t worry about it, it would take a while to explain…

Here’s another picture, HT George on Facebook:

Awesome.

Have some relevant news and links you want to share? Post in the comments below. I read every comment and respond more often than not. Let me know what you’re thinking!

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News of the Week: War, books, and Romans

David Theroux at the Independent Institute has written an excellent article called Secular Theocracy. You will see many references to C.S. Lewis in the article as well.

It’s funny that after my Washington Post article, I have seen a number of new articles popping up at notable websites such as Relevant Magazine talking about Christian libertarianism. Unfortunately, they rarely seem to link to LibertarianChristians.com or even to the Washington Post article. But more importantly, Christianity and liberty are being talked about together like never before (at least, perhaps not in this generation). This is an exciting development and I think I can safely say that LibertarianChristians.com is a contributor to this trend.

Now for the sad news. We are told that justice should be blind, but we know it never is. Sometimes, though, you cannot help but be mortified by the American justice system. This is what we learned about justice this week:

Run the file-sharing website MegaUpload: get up to 50 years in prison.

Rape and murder one woman: 20 years.

Murder 24 civilians: demotion… and maybe 3 months.

And people wonder why we criticize the State.

Let’s close with a quote from Murray Rothbard:

"The idea of a strictly limited constitutional State was a noble experiment that failed, even under the most favorable and propitious circumstances. If it failed then, why should a similar experiment fare any better now? No, it is the conservative laissez-fairist, the man who puts all the guns and all the decision-making power into the hands of the central government and then says, ‘Limit yourself’; it is he who is truly the impractical utopian."

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News of the Week: On Secular Theocracy and Sentencing.

London Riots: What Nobody Dares To Say by Gary North

Debt Impasse: Fake and Real by Gary North

How Statism Is a Sickness, and Not Just a Destructive Political System by Scott Lazarowitz

Assembling Your Home Armory by Dick Clark

This Is What Happens When You Ban Heroin by Anthony Gregory

Enjoy!

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Great LewRockwell.com posts this week

The philosopher Descartes walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Are you having a beer?” Descartes says, “I think not!” … and ceases to exist.

(cue groaning) Ok, onward to links…

Check it out, LCC was mentioned on Forbes.com!

This interview with Bill Gates is fascinating if you’re business-inclined.

Biometric data collection is an old idea, but with all sorts of new miniaturized technologies on the horizon it is possible to do some pretty amazing things. Check out this article for more information.

How valuable is a college degree anyway?

Did you know that the Fed has a 16 trillion dollar slush fund? Whoa.

The UK is cracking down on anybody who considers themselves an “anarchist.” I grant that there are violent “anarchists” out there, but hey there are violent “Christians” too. Don’t let the government define the terms – down with classificationism!

Save your friends from outdated email!

I love it when government agencies go toe-to-toe with each other. Check out how NASA’s latest research blows a “gaping hole” in anthropogenic global warming alarmism.

Whose image is on the coin?

Tom Woods slams NCR for their position on using WMDs on civilians.

A Federal Court has ruled that the TSA’s scanners are constitutional, but the TSA didn’t follow the right procedures for their implementation. I’m honestly not sure if this is a negative or a positive yet.

The Evolution of Intellectual Freedom.

If you enjoy reading about technology, check out this article about the state of the tablet and e-reader market. And another interesting development: Why Borders Failed While Barnes and Noble Survived.

There was a hilarious series of comics on Pearls Before Swine (my favorite serial) about government, revolution, and getting thrown in jail for trying to start one. Start here and proceed forward for about 14 days of the comics. Takes only a little time to read through it all. You’ll thank me later…

That’s all for now, stay tuned for more later this week!

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Lighter fare for today

Ron Paul, the amazing and principled politician, is not running for Congress again. It’s the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. But why is Ron not running, after finally getting a little of what he is due with his monetary committee? He has been thinking about this for some time, and wants to concentrate on the presidential campaign and future and enhanced educational efforts that will blow your socks off. Also, he has had it–to name just a few items–with: twice weekly groping by the TSA (since he has metal knees and is selected for the full feel-up every time); dealing with the crooks and creeps in Congress, especially in the rotten Texas delegation; and the deadly new district the Republicans have placed him in. There are sad aspects to this, of course. He has been the greatest congressman in American history, by many leagues. But I predict that he will have even-more and even-more-lasting influence as he uses his moral authority for teaching freedom, peace, and Austrian economics outside of politics. More later.

There is far more to life than politics, and Ron has done his part, run the race, finished the course. Obviously, he will still be involved with the liberty movement, but I for one am glad that he will be shifting away from the political arena – unless of course he wins the Presidency…

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Breaking: Ron Paul will not run for Congress again

However, I was pleased to see the following clip of Stossel on the O’Reilly Factor, where Stossel defends Ron Paul and begins to sound pretty good on issues of foreign policy. It was rather funny, honestly, to hear Stossel say that Ron Paul is “right on everything” – including foreign policy. While Stossel doesn’t talk about jus in bello (ethics during war), where I had the biggest problem with him before, he has the right idea on jus ad bellum (justification for war). Take a look, it’s entertaining to watch that snake O’Reilly squirm and look like an idiot trying to pronounce Keynes’s name to say the least.

I should note, though, that there was a Federal Reserve in 1920. They just didn’t do much in that recession, and thus it lasted for less than a year.

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Is John Stossel becoming anti-war?

Dilbert author Scott Adams finally explains how to get a real education.

ExxonMobil’s Perspectives Blog tells the truth about government restrictions on oil supplies.

It’s ridiculous that Barry Bonds can catch the attention of congress by being dishonest about steroid-use and have the government spend nearly $100 million trying to prosecute him, but dishonesty about war by presidents gets zero consideration. This country is off its rocker.

That being said, there are a few interesting presidential candidates now in the field. Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson has officially announced, as has Lee Wrights in the Libertarian Party. Note Lee’s campaign slogan: “Stop All War!”

Some books I have read this past month:

The Devil Reads Derrida, by James K.A. Smith – When I saw this title at the bookstore, I had to buy it. It is an interesting set of essays on a variety of topics ranging from art to politics. Smith is not a libertarian, but he is anti-war and definitely has an aversion to power in general. I think he may at times be confusing political libertarians with the philosophical position of libertarian free-will; such a mistake is forgivable even though I do not really agree with him on free-will either. Still, it is good reading.

Accompany Them With Singing, by Thomas Long – This book compiles Long’s research into Christian funerals. Considering how bizarre the modern funeral has become (at least to me) this was refreshing. Definitely recommended for the ministers out there.

Art for God’s Sake, by Philip Graham – This short work gives a good perspective on the use of art in society from a Christian perspective. Thankfully, the author does not make the mistake of saying all art must be religious to be valuable. However, I have some minor quibbles with some of his definitions. It is well worth the time to read it, which is only about 90 minutes anyway since it has less than 100 pages.

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell – How do successful people become successful? I am fascinated by people who are at the top of their game, doing the biggest and best things in the marketplace, and I like to hear their stories. That is not exactly what Gladwell’s book covers, but it is thought-provoking nonetheless. Essentially, Gladwell tells the reader that success is due to a multitude of factors, many of which are not in anyone’s control whatsoever. In his estimation, there is no such thing as a “self-made man.” I would tend to agree, but you can always push certain factors toward falling in your favor.

The Dawkins Delusion, by Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath – The so-called “New Atheists” are exceedingly vocal (not to mention insulting) these days, and there is a growing body of literature where theologians, philosophers, and scientists respond to their work. The Dawkins Delusion is a fairly short response directly to Richard Dawkins’s latest book The God Delusion.

UPDATE: Apparently, Ron Paul is going to announce on Tuesday that he is running!

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News of the Week: Potpourri of Sorts

——

WASHINGTON – As elected officials put on a dog-and-pony media show about a temporary shutdown of small parts of the federal government, the Libertarian Party calls for a permanent shutdown of most of the federal government.

Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict said, "Just think how a permanent government shutdown would allow so many Americans to regain the blessings of liberty.

"Education would blossom as the Department of Education ended its War on Learning, no longer wasting our money and preventing educational innovation with one-size-fits-all centralized mandates.

"Job opportunities at companies big and small would multiply, providing opportunity and choice for American workers.

"The world would enjoy peace as we withdrew our forces from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Our government spends almost as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. Millions of industrious men and women who work for the military and its contractors could be focusing on building up our economy, rather than tearing down others’.

"Crime would plummet as the government’s War on Drugs ended, no longer sustaining a giant violent black market and overfilling our prisons.

"The life of many poorer Americans would improve as welfare programs stopped, no longer trapping low-income families in an endless cycle of government dependency.

"All Americans would feel a huge burden lifted every April, as they were no longer required to wrestle with a byzantine and oppressive IRS.

"But most importantly, Americans would once again be free of unjust and unconstitutional violations of their unalienable rights."

Benedict added, "We’re not talking about eliminating the federal government. We want to end all federal activities that are not authorized by the Constitution, and we want to cut everything else as much as we can. In 2000, the federal government spent $1.8 trillion. This year it’s expected to spend $3.8 trillion. Things are going the wrong way — fast."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

——

I’m more of a fan of completely shutting down the Federal Government, but this proposal is far better than that of Rand Paul, who has specifically stated that he wants to provide an incentive for Congressmen to go back to work. I’m sorry Rand, I appreciate you and all that, but every day Congress is in session is prosperity and peace sucked away from this country. Don’t try to keep it running, shut it down now!

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Libertarians call for permanent government shutdown

I am fascinated by cultural movements for a variety of reasons, and some of the most interesting cultural tidbits you find occur in the form of internet memes. The website Know Your Meme does an incredible job of documenting and explaining how these things develop and propagate, and this live presentation at a recent conference illustrates why they consider their work important to the preservation of cultural knowledge. It even has some implications to how we think about intellectual property (or the lack thereof). Best quote: “Culture isn’t just valuable when you can stuff it full of DRM and sell it.”

Also, if you haven’t heard about Amazon’s Cloud Player, check it out. It is AMAZING.

That’s all for now, enjoy your weekend!

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News of the Week: Of Memes and Clouds

Somewhat different argument, but similar conclusion: turn off the news!

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Quick Follow-up on the Value of News