— W E L C O M E   T O —
The Liberator Online

Volume 11, Number 16 | August 3, 2006


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In This Issue:

One century of FDA tyranny... Radio ad nails pro-Drug War politicians who've used marijuana... Voters say: government wastes half our money... New feature: One-Minute Liberty Tip... and much more!

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The Liberator Online

Vol. 11, No. 16 | August 3, 2006
Circulation: 67,632 subscribers in over 100 countries.
The world's largest-circulation libertarian publication!

Published by the Advocates for Self-Government
Edited by James W. Harris | Email: james(a)TheAdvocates.org

...

"The Advocates for Self-Government [is] bringing about a freer world by discovering new libertarians, changing the political map, and helping libertarians become powerful and persuasive communicators." -- The Whole Ed Catalog

 

Contents

 

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

* The importance of communication
* Harry Browne Memorial Service


WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ADVOCATE

* Acclaimed libertarian communication course
* The perfect time for OPH!!


GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS

* Voters: Government Wastes More Than Half of Tax Dollars
* Radio Ad Calls Out Politicians Who Have Used Marijuana
* One Century of FDA Tyranny
* QUICK SHOTS: Libertarian magazine honored...

PERSUASION POWER POINT #208

* "Be Glad You're Dissatisfied" by Michael Cloud


ASK DR. RUWART

* How could libertarianism help the poor and disabled?
 

ONE-MINUTE LIBERTY TIP - NEW FEATURE!

* Word Choices: Try "Re-legalization" by Sharon Harris 

...

PRODUCT REVIEW

* Great Liberty T-SHIRTS -- with THREE GREAT FREE GIFTS!!

...

 

President's

Corner

Dear friends,

Starting this issue, I'll be writing a new feature in the Liberator Online. It's called "One-Minute Liberty Tip." And just like the title implies, each column will highlight one short, easy-to-grasp tip that you can use to enhance your libertarian outreach.

Promoting successful libertarian communication is central to the Advocates. It's the major reason this organization was founded two decades ago -- to help libertarians become ever more effective at convincing others to understand and embrace the freedom philosophy.

Successful and persuasive communication wins us friends and allies. Poor, offensive, and incompetent communication chases people off -- and has made us enemies.

Anyone can become a better libertarian communicator. In fact, it's not hard at all. The Advocates can help anyone do that, as we've helped so many thousands of libertarians. It's why we offer so many acclaimed tapes, CDs, DVDs, and other tools on the subject.

Check out the "One-Minute Liberty Tip." I hope you'll enjoy it -- and I hope each tip will help you in your efforts to take the message of liberty to the world.

* * *

Memorial Service for Harry Browne

A memorial service is set for Harry Browne on August 12 in Kernersville, NC. For details, please click here.

If you plan to attend, Harry's family would appreciate an RSVP to: comments(a)downsizeDC.org

I hope to see many Liberator Online readers there.

* * *

 

Welcome to 248 new Liberator Online subscribers this issue. Thanks for joining our subscription "family" of over 67,000 liberty-loving readers in more than 100 countries!

-- Sharon Harris, President | Email: sharon(a)TheAdvocates.org


PS: To learn more about the Advocates and our work for liberty visit: www.TheAdvocates.org.

To learn more about libertarianism visit: www.Libertarianism.com.

PPS: Buy one of our great libertarian T-shirts -- and get THREE FREE GIFTS with your order!

It's a limited-time offer, so act now. You can read about it below, in our Product Review section.

Or you can see the shirts and gifts, and order, here.

But order fast -- this is a limited-time offer, good until August 17, 2006.

Thank you!



What's Happening With The Advocates

 
* Most Acclaimed Libertarian Communication Course Ever: Learn the very best ways to persuade others of the benefits of liberty. Get Michael Cloud's classic 3-tape audio course "The Essence of Political Persuasion" from us at the GIVE-AWAY price of only $7.50 -- that includes handling and First Class mail so you'll get it right away! We've put over 7,000 sets into the hands of libertarian activists in the past few years. To order, call us or click here.


*
It's warm, it's sunny, it's summer -- the perfect time 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.
               

   

 

Good News,

Bad News,

Unbelievable News

By James W. Harris

Voters: Government Wastes More Than Half of Tax Dollars

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A startling new survey has found that voters of all ages and political parties believe the federal government wastes at least half of every tax dollar it spends. The average figure cited is 53%. Women say that 59 cents of every dollar are wasted; men say on average 47 cents.

That's based on a national survey of 800 registered voters, as reported in an op-ed by Gary J. Andres in the Washington Times.

"The depth of voter concern and cynicism about spending and waste are the political equivalent of a black hole," Andres wrote. "Apprehension about wasteful government spending persists like a chronic illness afflicting the body politic."

Of course, this is not an indicator of how much government actually does waste. That figure may well be far higher. But it shows a truly huge and widespread distrust of government spending and, indeed, of the federal government itself.

The poll also explored another topic: Are voters more concerned about how much the government spends, or are they more interested in reforming how taxes are collected (like, say, replacing the income tax with a national sales tax or flat tax)?

According to the survey: "By an overwhelming 85 percent to 12 percent margin, spending trumps collection. This suggests that political leaders emphasizing controlling government spending and reducing waste would find more support than those advocating alternative forms of revenue collection."

With that in mind, how about this for a sample soundbite for libertarian candidates: "If elected, I will cut government spending by the 53% that most Americans currently think politicians and bureaucrats waste. I'll return that money to you, the voter, so you can spend it on the charitable, community, or environmental groups that actually accomplish the good things you want, without all the waste."

Source: The Washington Times (July 20, 2006)

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Radio Ad Calls Out Politicians Who Have Used Marijuana


The radio ad begins by naming names: prominent government officials who have admitted to using marijuana. The list includes President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The ad then asks, "Is it fair to arrest three-quarters of a million people a year -- for doing what presidents and a Supreme Court justice have done?"

It's a great question -- and one you can bet a lot of politicians wish wouldn't be asked.

The ad, sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), began airing in early July and will air through the summer.

You can hear it for yourself here.

"Nearly 100 million Americans, including the politicians named in the ad, have used marijuana -- and the vast majority have gone on to lead successful lives," said Rob Kampia, MPP executive director. "Our government has spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars on ads claiming that the use of marijuana leads to addiction, illness, and destruction, but for the overwhelming majority of responsible, adult marijuana users -- just as for responsible, adult alcohol users -- that simply isn't true.

"Marijuana prohibition has completely failed to stop marijuana use, while giving unregulated criminals a monopoly on the marijuana market," Kampia continued.

Kampia notes that alcohol and tobacco, the two most commonly abused drugs in the U.S., are both legal. He further notes that research shows that marijuana is safer than both of these drugs.

Of course, believing this is not to endorse marijuana use, any more than believing that cigarettes and liquor should be legal implies an endorsement of the use of those substances.

MPP says it "believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol."

Polls indicate that huge and growing numbers of Americans agree with MPP on this. Late last year, a Gallup poll found that 36 percent of Americans now favor re-legalization, up from 25 percent in 1995. And younger Americans (aged 18 to 29) are the strongest supporters of marijuana law reform, with 47 percent endorsing re-legalization.

Sources: Marijuana Policy Project.

2005 Gallup poll.

xxx

One Century of FDA Tyranny

It's the centennial of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA workers are even singing an anthem, written by an employee, to commemorate the event. The "FDA Centennial Anthem," posted proudly at the FDA's Web site, begins:


One century past, a people's hope fulfilled
By an act conceived for safe medicine and food
Protecting rights that our founding fathers willed
To life and liberty, to happiness pursued.


Of course, these lines are Orwellian nonsense. If you truly have a right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, then you have the right to market and purchase medicines and foods of your choosing. A huge, monolithic federal bureaucracy that prohibits free choice in such matters is the very opposite of this.

It should be further noted that, despite claims that it protects the safety of Americans, the FDA has actually killed hundreds of thousands of people by its drug regulations.

An article in the July-August 2005 Freeman magazine, "The FDA Cannot Be Reformed," by Arthur E. Foulkes, points out a few examples:

"[T]he FDA for many years prohibited aspirin makers from advertising the potential cardiovascular benefits of their product since the agency had not originally approved it for that purpose and despite widespread knowledge that aspirin therapy could significantly reduce the risk of heart attack in males over 50. In the words of economist Paul H. Rubin, 'The FDA surely killed tens, and quite possibly hundreds, of thousands of Americans by this restriction alone.'

"In another example, the FDA approved the gastric ulcer drug Misoprostol in 1988 -- three years after it had been available in other countries. Analyst Sam Kazman estimated -- using the FDA's own figures -- that this delay may have led to between 20,000 and 50,000 unnecessary deaths."

There are many other examples.

FDA regulations have made introducing a new drug into the U.S. more lengthy, difficult, and expensive than anywhere else in the world. Says Foulkes: "It now typically takes between ten and 15 years to bring a new drug to the U.S. market at a cost of over $800 million."

This, of course, jacks up drug costs and dramatically lowers the number of new drugs introduced into the United States, thus depriving Americans of beneficial and even life-saving drugs. The Cato Institute cites Robert Goldberg of Brandeis University: "By a conservative estimate, FDA delays in allowing U.S. marketing of drugs used safely and effectively elsewhere around the world have cost the lives of at least 200,000 Americans over the past 30 years."

The FDA is inconsistent with a free society, and an actual menace to all Americans. It is unnecessary, to boot. There are free-market methods of protecting consumers from dangerous drugs, while also allowing consumer freedom of choice and not stifling the creativity and ingenuity of scientists and researchers. (Some alternatives to the FDA are discussed in Foulke's Freeman article, and in another Freeman article, both linked below.)

A century of bad policy and hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold suffering is enough. It's past time to say goodbye to the FDA.

Sources: The Freeman (Note: Downloadable PDF file.)

The Freeman

The Washington Post (July 30, 2006)

The Independent Institute

The Cato Institute

xxx

QUICK SHOTS...


* Libertarian magazine named one of best in America: Congratulations to our friends at Reason magazine. The libertarian magazine has once again made the Chicago Tribune's prestigious list of the "Best 50 Magazines." The Tribune ranked Reason at number 37 -- out of 17,000 magazines to choose from. It was also ranked as the second-best political magazine, behind only the leftwing Mother Jones. Wrote the Tribute: "The ideological conservatives have sharply raised their publishing game in recent years with the Weekly Standard and the National Review. Lesser-known but even more engaging is this monthly libertarian publication, which is especially good at putting the politically right-leaning to the test when it comes to a less-government-is-better ideology." Incidentally, you can subscribe to Reason -- at the lowest rates available anywhere -- at the Advocates Online Newsstand.


* Enforcing "American values" -- at gunpoint: "The online-gambling ban [just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives], which dictates what adults may do with their own money on their own computers in their own homes, is part of what Republicans proudly call their 'American Values Agenda.' Evidently, those values do not include privacy, freedom of choice, individual responsibility or free markets." -- Syndicated libertarian columnist Jacob Sullum (July 12, 2006)

* * *
"Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News" is written by Liberator Online editor James W. Harris. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, and he has been a Finalist for the Mencken Award, given by the Free Press Association for "Outstanding Journalism in Support of Liberty."


 

Persuasion Power

Point #208

   
Be Glad You're Dissatisfied

By Michael Cloud

Satisfaction gets great press, but dissatisfaction changes the world.

Satisfaction is comforting and pleasurable. Dissatisfaction is irritating and frustrating.

Satisfaction is warm and relaxing. Dissatisfaction is abrasive and unsettling.

Satisfaction lets us enjoy what we have and what we've done. Dissatisfaction stirs us up with what we don't have -- and what we haven't done.

Satisfied people are complacent people. Dissatisfied people disturb the peace.

Satisfied people sustain and support things as they are. Dissatisfied people sow the seeds of change.

Be glad you're dissatisfied. Because that quality can help you advance the cause of liberty.

I'm not praising ugly, vulgar, ordinary dissatisfaction. I'm celebrating inspirational dissatisfaction. Divine discontent. Constructive dissatisfaction. Positive discontent.

Productive dissatisfaction is the grain of sand that irritates the oyster -- and creates the pearl.

Inspirational dissatisfaction is the powerful spur that drives us to launch great businesses, seek cures for diseases, or achieve freedom.

It's the spur, but we must ride and guide the horse toward better things.

Use your creative dissatisfaction to fuel your libertarian outreach. Use it to prompt and provoke positive conversations about making government small. Harness it to forward pro-freedom email articles and newsletters to non-libertarian friends.

But don't stop with your dissatisfaction.

Look and listen for dissatisfaction in others. That irritation, that discontent is fertile soil for libertarian ideas.

It's easier to sell aspirin when people have headaches. Throbbing political pain can be freedom's gain.

Satisfied people stayed in the Old World. Dissatisfied people sailed to the New World.

Satisfied colonists supported King George. Dissatisfied colonists answered the call of Tom Paine -- and won America's independence and liberty.

Satisfied people today support or tolerate America's Big Government. Dissatisfied people work to advance the cause of small government and liberty.

Be glad you're dissatisfied. And sow the seeds of positive discontent.

* * *

Michael Cloud is author of the acclaimed book Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion available exclusively from the Advocates. In 2000, Michael was honore
d with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America.


 

Ask

Dr. Ruwart

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.


How could libertarianism help the poor and disabled?

QUESTION: "I am a 60-year-old disabled widow. I have been unable to work at all for over 15 years. After years of paying high taxes, which I thought were to help me in case of emergency, I had to fight with the government for 5 years to obtain my disability judgment. I live on a meager $800 a month and never know from one month to the next if I will be able to pay my bills. I receive nothing from any charities. I am in physical and emotional pain, almost suicidal at times. Tell me where I'd be without the government pittance I receive. Dead or on the streets under a bridge, that's where. How could a libertarian government help me in any positive way?"

MY SHORT ANSWER: In a libertarian society, you probably wouldn't be just scraping by on the equivalent of $800 a month. A libertarian society wouldn't have the taxes and regulations that hamper our economy. Consequently, our nation would be at least three times wealthier.

More wealth means better living standards for everyone, including the disadvantaged. That's why it's better to be a poor person in the United States than in India. As a nation embraces liberty, wealth creation increases and people with low income, like yourself, benefit proportionately.

For example, in a libertarian society, you wouldn't have paid those high taxes when you worked. You could have bought disability insurance with some of the savings. Consequently, in your time of need, you'd be getting much more then you are now. Insurance companies invest your money so that it's there when you need it. The government, on the other hand, spends it and can only pay you by taxing the next generation, including your children and grandchildren if you have any. Of course, the next generation pays $2 for every $1 you receive. The government pays the other $1 to the tax collectors, lawmakers, and bureaucrats who administer your disability program. What a waste!

In a wealthier, libertarian society, people would have much more money to give to charities. You probably wouldn't need charity, since you'd have a true disability insurance. However, if you did need charity, it would most likely be there, as it was in the days before government welfare. Indeed, charity was so plentiful that some individuals made their living simply by going from charity to charity and collecting the handouts that were offered. They became known as "rounders," or shady characters, because of their willingness to take without giving.

Today, many people assume that the government takes care of the disabled and don't even think about helping them. They forget that politicians rarely deliver what they promise. Consequently, many of the needy are literally left out in the cold. (We call them "homeless.") People like yourself, who receive back a tiny fraction of what they have put in, become fearful of dismantling the very system that has impoverished them. The government programs that give you a monthly pittance are the very reason that you can barely get by after working hard for the better part of your adult life.

We all receive back a tiny fraction of what we put in. The very least that a libertarian government would do for each of us is let us keep what we earn.

A libertarian government would enforce contracts. If someone took our money with the promise of adequate disability insurance, they'd have to provide it -- or go to jail. Our politicians can promise us anything and give us nothing. Because they enjoy sovereign immunity, we can't even prosecute them for their fraud.

Part of that fraud comes to us in the "inflation tax." Because politicians spend more than the government takes from us, they expand the money supply and inflate the currency. Those on a fixed income find it harder to make ends meet each year, as this hidden "tax" takes more and more of our spending power.

The bottom line is this: People like yourself, who are just scraping to get by, would have much more in a libertarian society. Indeed, if we had had a libertarian government, you would almost certainly be comfortable now instead of on the verge of suicide.

Will you continue to support the government that has created your problems, or will you support libertarian values?

xxx

* * *

Got questions? Dr. Ruwart has answers! If you'd like answers to YOUR "tough questions" on libertarian issues, email Dr. Ruwart at: ruwart(a)theAdvocates.org. 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.

Dr. Ruwart's outstanding books Healing Our World and Short Answers to the Tough Questions are available from the Advocates.

xxx

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One-Minute

Liberty Tip

     xxx

Word Choices: Try "Re-legalization"

By Sharon Harris, Advocates President

Sometimes, when talking about ending drug prohibition, I've found it useful to use -- instead of the common "legalization" and "decriminalization" -- the word "re-legalization."

This word almost invariably provokes curiosity. "What do you mean: re-legalization?"

And this in turn gives you the opportunity to tell the little-known, fascinating fact that drugs were legal in America well into the twentieth century, and the country suffered none of the disastrous results your listeners may fear from legalization. Further, America didn't face the many evils the Drug War causes today, such as increased violent crime, police corruption, and loss of civil liberties.

Another way to use the word "re-legalization" is to reply to a question like, "Do you favor legalization of drugs?" with, "Actually, I prefer the word 're-legalization,' because..." and then you can make the same case above.

This simple word choice can stimulate discussion and open minds. Be sure to learn some history about American drug prohibition for maximum impact.

          

Product Review


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HOW TO ORDER


To learn more about this offer, and to order it, go to: http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator-online-special.html.

This will take you to a special page at our online store where this offer is featured. You can order via credit card from there if you wish. Our site is credit card secure -- you can order with the same confidence you'd feel at your local department store. While there, you can browse our other libertarian products and order any you wish.

You can also, of course, order by phone, mail or fax, from the address below.

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As with all Advocates products, we guarantee your satisfaction. Try it at no risk -- if you're not completely satisfied, simply return for a full refund.

[Offer good until August 17, 2006.]


See you in two weeks! You can contact the Advocates at:

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213 South Erwin Street
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Phone: 770-386-8372; for orders, 1-800-932-1776
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