Freedom
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Today was a monumental victory for all Americans, even those who believed (and continue to believe) that marriage equality somehow erodes the sanctity of that union. The fact is, extending the right to marry to all couples nationwide is a vindication of that union. And our Union today is stronger for it. From Justice Kennedy, what will…
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We have all heard the phrase “corporations are people,” either stated in earnest as a reading of the law (corporations are people in that they are independent entities, pay taxes, have rights to due process, and of course, the right to free speech) or stated ironically as ammunition for our friends on the Left. But…
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I saw Les Misérables tonight, and aside from it being an absolutely fantastic rendering of one of my favorite musicals, it got me to thinking about the role that revolution–particularly violent revolution–plays in our romantic and historical imagination. The main theme of Les Miz, for the uninitiated, is redemption, but the story also focuses on…
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Barack Obama won. I won’t be enthusiastic, but I won’t be hateful, either. He was a better candidate with a better argument. The voters chose. Mitt Romney was an awful alternative. And, truth be told, I didn’t vote for either one. Quite clearly, my cynicism has evolved greatly since 2008. Where do we go from…
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Note: I sent this email today in response to the news that the City of Chicago’s “consumer protection” bureau is about to shut down the Uber black car service in Chicago. I hope someone in Chicago reads it! Dear Mayor Emanuel, Rosemary Krimbel, Michelle Smith and the City of Chicago, I was disheartened to hear…
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I just read an interesting perspective from Zack Beauchamp about the interplay between economic freedom and discrimination. He was responding to this piece by John Tomasi, which in turn is based on a book that Tomasi wrote, so I’m about four degrees removed from the source already, but I wanted to respond specifically to Beauchamp’s…
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Saw the news today on Spain’s bailout. The market seems to favor this news. I don’t see how it can. We’re about to see the biggest market correction since the 30’s. And you thought 2008 was bad. There’s a very simple principle at play here. The more you borrow, the more you owe. If you…
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Recently I was having a spirited debate with a friend whom I suspect to be a libertarian sympathizer. His big criticism of libertarianism–a very fair one–was that libertarians tend to value Freedom as an end in itself, not more tangible and perhaps more measurable goals such as social mobility, humanitarianism, or even wealth creation. What…
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I recently met up with an old friend in Budapest and as we were walking near the city center, he asked me, quite randomly, “have you seen the Michael Jackson shrine?” I was intrigued, and it just so happened that it was less than a block away, so we went there, and sure enough, we…
brian mayer 