Here
is the issue of the Liberator Online that
you requested.
Please note: If this is an older issue, some of the hyperlinks
may not be active.
Enjoy!
And please tell your friends about the Liberator Online.
To be sure you get each new issue via email, subscribe
today.
|
In
This Issue:
Near-majority
of Americans say legalize marijuana... Lights of Liberty award winners
announced... Quiz hits six million milestone... How to respond to
statements that begin with "Government should..." ...And
much more!
...
The
Liberator Online
Vol. 11, No. 8 | April 13,
2006
Circulation: 66.116 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 most frustrating thing
about being a libertarian is dealing with the incredible
number of people out there who don't know what
libertarianism means. [The Advocates] provides the fastest
and easiest way to find out in the World's Smallest
Political Quiz. This is an organization that focuses almost
entirely on educating people about libertarianism."
-- OSU
College Libertarians (Oregon State University)
|
Contents
PRESIDENT'S
CORNER
* Congratulations to Lights of
Liberty winners!
* Quiz milestone: six million!
* Bill Winter -- THANKS!
WHAT'S
HAPPENING WITH THE ADVOCATE
* April 29, 2006: Sharon Harris speaks at the Kansas Libertarian
Party convention
* Quiz in International Speculator
* Quiz in The Invisible Hand
GOOD
NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
* Congressman Ron Paul: America
Without An Income Tax?
* Zogby Poll: Near-Majority Now
Favors Legalizing Marijuana
* Oink! Oink! The 2006 Pig Book
Is Here!
* QUICK SHOTS: What if the Iraq
War was a dream, and more...
PERSUASION
POWER POINT #200
* "Government Should..." by Michael
Cloud
ASK
DR. RUWART
* Do the police have a legal
obligation to protect citizens?
* How would libertarians handle
pollution from farms?
SOUNDBITES
FOR LIBERTY
* Harry Browne, George Bernard Shaw, and
Robert Nozick
...
PRODUCT
REVIEW
* Get 50 FREE Quiz cards with
Concise Guide to Economics book!
...
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
 |
President's
Corner |
Dear
friends,
Please join me in congratulating the winners of the Advocates for
Self-Government’s annual Lights of Liberty awards!
We give these awards each year to libertarians who accomplished any
one of these three vital outreach activities during the calendar
year:
* 3 or more published letters to the editor
* 3 or more speeches
* 3 or more Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) booths
These are exactly the kinds of grassroots activities that are vital
for any political movement to grow. And our winners took the message
of liberty to literally millions of people in 2004.
Many of the winners went far beyond the minimum requirement for the
awards. No less than 7 libertarians even won what has been dubbed
the "Libertarian Triathlon" -- winning awards in all three
categories. Wow!
And special acknowledgment to the amazing Jim Lark. This is the
sixth year in a row that Dr. Lark has won Lights of Liberty
awards -- in all three categories! He serves on the Advocates Board
of Directors, on the Libertarian Party National Committee, and does
much more vital work for liberty -- in addition to being a college
professor -- yet still finds time to do the outreach activities
that qualify for the Lights of Liberty awards. He’s an inspiration
for all of us.
Lights of Liberty winners receive recognition, a handsome
certificate, and some neat prizes -- but mainly, they have the
satisfaction of knowing they have played an important and
much-needed role in building a stronger movement for liberty.
I hope you’ll check out the names of all our winners. Your friends
and neighbors may be on the list! You can find them here:
http://www.theadvocates.org/lights-2005.html.
If you know any of them, please give them your congratulations and
thanks.
I hope you’ll set as your goal joining them in 2006. Encourage your
local libertarian organization to do so, too!
Full details about the program are at: http://www.theadvocates.org/lights.html.
Thank you!
* * * * * *
QUIZ MILESTONE REACHED
SIX MILLION! Yes, we've reached -- and quickly passed -- the six
million milestone! That's the total number of times our online
World's Smallest Political Quiz has been taken since we first
introduced it online in 1995. Hooray!
To put this in context, when we first went online, it took four and
a half YEARS for one million people to take the Quiz, and then
almost three more years to hit two million.
More good news: as I mentioned last issue, there has been a sudden
and startling acceleration in the number of people taking the
World's Smallest Political Quiz online.
We’ve jumped from our normal non-election-season 3,000-5,000 Quiz
takers per day to several times that.
Friday, in fact, the Quiz was taken over 37,000 times!
In just the next few months alone we expect another million-plus
people will take the Quiz.
Think about that: a million more people shown that politics is not
a simplistic line running from Left to Right -- but is actually
a far more diverse system that includes conservatives, liberals,
centrists, statists -- and libertarians.
Also, those million-plus people will be given the chance to learn
the fundamentals of liberty from the material at our site -- and, if
they wish, become involved in the liberty movement.
A big thank-you to the Advocates supporters who have made it
possible to reach so many people in such an effective way with the
ideas of liberty!
* * * * * *
BILL WINTER: THANKS!
Bill Winter, Communications Director of the Advocates for the past
two years, is leaving us to pursue other opportunities. We will
sorely miss him. Bill is a tremendously gifted writer and graphic
designer and was devoted to the Advocates mission. He boosted our
efforts tremendously.
Bill’s accomplishments during his tenure are far too many to list,
but here are a few highlights. He designed the attention-grabbing
new card version of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. He edited
and designed several major libertarian books, including Harry Browne’s
final book Liberty A to Z, David Bergland’s Libertarianism
in One Lesson, and Michael Cloud’s Secrets of Libertarian
Persuasion. He edited our print magazine The Libertarian
Communicator. He created a great series of eye-catching ads
promoting the Quiz and other Advocates projects. He did ground-breaking
research proving the Quiz is used in classrooms all across America,
and created and led our “Quiz in Schools” project, which led to
teachers requesting over 20,000 Quizzes to give their students.
He updated and expanded our Libertarian Celebrities Web page with
dozens of sparkling profiles.
The list could go on and on... Indeed, every publication, every Web
page that the Advocates brought forth had his stamp on it.
And more than that, Bill played a leadership role in the Advocates,
helping to chart our course. He was a major force in all the
achievements of the Advocates during the past two years.
We wish him all the best in his future ventures!
* * *
Welcome
to 661 new Liberator Online subscribers this issue. Thanks
for joining our subscription "family" of over 66,000 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:
SPECIAL OFFER! Understanding
economics is *crucial* if you want to defend the ideas of liberty.
Jim
Cox's book THE CONCISE GUIDE TO ECONOMICS is great if you want to
quickly grasp the essentials of free market economics -- including
some of today's hottest issues. Each chapter can be quickly read,
and makes sense out of the often-confusing world of economics. You'll
never read a newspaper the same way again after you've read this
short, clear, straight-to-the-point book!
Plus:
order it now, and we'll give you a pack of 50 World's Smallest Political
Quiz cards FREE with your order!
Check
out our Product Review section at the end of this issue for details
on this limited-time offer.
Or, you can place your order now: http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator-online-special.html.
Thank you!
[Offer
good until April 26, 2006.]
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What's
Happening With The Advocates
* April 29, 2006: Advocates President Sharon Harris
will be the featured speaker at the Kansas Libertarian Party convention
at the Shawnee Country Club in Topeka. Cost: $30 per person (before
April 22). Prices includes a buffet-style Italian dinner. Other
speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information,
visit: http://www.lpks.org/.
* Quiz in International Speculator: The International
Speculator is an investment newsletter published by the legendary
Doug Casey, New York Times bestselling investment writer
and world-renowned libertarian writer and speaker. The latest issue
featured an article by Casey entitled "The Political Spectrum."
We were pleased to see the World's Smallest Political Quiz chart
featured prominently in the article. Wrote Casey: "I've borrowed
this chart from my friends at the Advocates for Self-Government,
who have created what they call the 'World's Smallest Political
Quiz' based on it. There's an interactive version of this quiz you
can take on their web site by clicking here. It's actually rather
entertaining and takes only a minute. I suggest you give it a try
-- the results may surprise you." Thanks, Doug! You can learn
more about Doug and his work here: http://caseyresearch.com/.
* Quiz in The Invisible Hand: The Invisible Hand is a campus-oriented
publication produced by members of the Rutgers Libertarians. The
excellent current issue features one of our great-looking Quiz ads
on the back page. Thanks! By the way, YOUR publication can run this
or equally eye-catching ads for free -- we have them available in
several sizes for your downloading at: http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz-ads.html.
See The Invisible Hand in pdf form here: http://rlibertarians.tripod.com/ih/invisible_hand_april06.pdf.
* It's OPH time: Spring is in the air -- which
means it's time to start planning your warm-weather libertarian
outreach! And there's nothing more effective than our popular Operation
Politically Homeless (OPH) package. This acclaimed "event in
a kit" can help you discover hundreds of libertarian-leaning
folks in your community. For details, visit:
http://www.theadvocates.org/oph.html.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
 |
Good
News,
Bad News,
Unbelievable News |
By
James W.
Harris
Congressman Ron Paul: America Without an Income Tax?
As April 15 approaches, ponder
these words from libertarian Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas),
 who
has introduced legislation to abolish the income tax:
"[C]ould America exist without an income tax? The idea seems
radical, yet in truth America did just fine without a federal income
tax for the first 126 years of her history.
"Prior to 1913, the government operated with revenues raised through
tariffs, excise taxes, and property taxes, without ever touching a
worker's paycheck.
"Even today, individual income taxes account for only approximately
one-third of federal revenue. Eliminating one-third of the proposed
2007 budget would still leave federal spending at roughly $1.8
trillion - a sum greater than the budget just 6 years ago in 2000!
"Does anyone seriously believe we could not find ways to cut
spending back to 2000 levels? Perhaps the idea of an America without
an income tax is not so radical after all.
"It's something to think about this week as we approach April 15th."
Indeed!
Source: "Cough Up" by Congressman Paul: http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2006/tst041006.htm
...
Zogby Poll: Near-Majority
Now Favor Legalizing Marijuana
Nearly half of Americans
support amending federal law "to let states legally regulate and tax
marijuana the way they do liquor and gambling," according to a
national Zogby poll of 1,004 likely voters.
Forty-six percent of respondents say they support allowing states to
regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. Forty-nine
percent opposed the idea, and five percent were undecided.
Even more remarkable, a solid MAJORITY on the east coast (53
percent) and west coast (55 percent) supported the proposal.
"Public support for replacing the illicit marijuana market with a
legally regulated, controlled market similar to alcohol -- complete
with age restrictions and quality controls -- continues to grow,"
said Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML, which
commissioned the poll. "NORML's challenge is to convert this growing
public support into a tangible public policy that no longer
criminalizes those adults who use marijuana responsibly."
Respondents' support for marijuana law reform was strongly
influenced by age and political affiliation:
* Nearly two-thirds of 18-29 year-olds (65 percent) and half of
50-64 year-olds think federal law should be amended to allow states
the option to regulate marijuana.
* However, majorities of 30-49 year-olds (58 percent) and seniors 65
and older (52 percent) oppose such a change.
* 59 percent who said they were Democrats supported the measure.
Only 33 percent of Republicans did. 85 percent of Libertarians
supported it, as did 44 percent of Independents.
While the idea of "regulating and taxing" marijuana falls somewhat
short of the libertarian ideal -- which would be to simply get the
government out of the marijuana market altogether -- it would be a
strong move in that direction, and end a major and particularly
idiotic part of the Drug War.
Source: NORML news release: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6838.
...
2006
Pig Book: $29 Billion in Waste
Oink! Oink!
The 2006 Pig Book is here!
The Pig Book is published annually by Citizens Against Government
Waste (CAGW), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to
eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.
It's a compilation of thousands of pork-barrel projects in the
federal budget.
Pork is generally defined as local projects that are inserted into
large federal spending bills without a hearing. It amounts to a sort
of legal vote-buying. Incumbent Congress members dole out federal
dollars to buy local goodwill -- and votes -- for themselves.
This year's Pig Book, released just last week, is a stunner. It
identifies a whopping 9,963 pork projects for fiscal 2006.
Worse: the total cost is a record $29 billion, or 6.2 percent more
than last year's total of $27.3 billion.
Highlights -- or rather, lowlights -- include:
* $13,500,000 flushed down the toilet for the International Fund for
Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit;
* $1 million drizzled away on the Waterfree Urinal Conservation
Initiative;
* A transparently bad $550,000 for the Museum of Glass in Tacoma,
Washington;
* A $500,000 giveaway brewed up for the Sparta Teapot Museum in
Sparta, North Carolina;
* An uncool $500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska;
* An udderly unjustified $250,000 for the National Cattle Congress
in Waterloo, Iowa;
* A $100,000 stomach-punch to taxpayers for the Richard Steele
Boxing Club in Henderson, Nevada.
Many of the projects funded by pork spending are worthy, of course.
But they're hardly legitimate expenditures for the federal
government, particularly in a time of budget crisis, soaring
deficits and war. Some would argue there is no Constitutional
authority for such federal spending under any circumstances.
Just how much is the federal government wasting in this manner? CAGW
has identified an incredible $241 billion of pork since 1991.
"Pork-barrel spending illustrates and contributes to the meltdown of
spending restraint in Washington," CAGW President Tom Schatz said.
"Instead of averting an impending fiscal crisis, members of Congress
are grabbing the spoils to support their own re-election."
Source: Citizens Against Government Waste: http://www.cagw.org/.
...
QUICK
SHOTS...
* A bad dream: "There still are plenty of administration
officials who daily paint a rosy picture of the Iraq we have
created. But I wonder: If the past three years were nothing more
than a bad dream, and our nation suddenly awakened, how many would,
for national security reasons, urge the same invasion? Would we
instead give a gigantic sigh of relief that it was only a bad dream,
that we need not relive the three-year nightmare of death,
destruction, chaos and stupendous consumption of tax dollars?
Conceivably we would still see oil prices under $30 a barrel, and
most importantly, 20,000 severe U.S. casualties would not have
occurred. My guess is that 99% of all Americans would be thankful it
was only a bad dream, and would never support the invasion knowing
what we know today" - libertarian U.S. Congressman Ron Paul
(R-Texas), on the floor of Congress, April 5.
Source: Ron Paul's speech "Iran: The Next NeoCon Target":
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr040506.htm.
* 2006 Muzzle Awards: President Bush and the Justice
Department are among the "winners" of the 2006 Jefferson
Muzzle awards, given by the non-profit Thomas Jefferson Center for
the Protection of Free Expression to the worst First Amendment violators
of the year. Bush won First Place for authorizing the National Security
Agency to tap the phones of U.S. citizens. The Justice Department
won Second Place for its demand that Google turn over thousands
of personal internet records, a move the Center feels could throttle
online freedom of expression. Other winners: the Department of Homeland
Security for stopping an air marshal from expressing concerns about
public safety; the Yelm, Wash., City Council for banning the words
"Wal-Mart" and "big-box stores" at public hearings;
and University of Connecticut students who heckled rightwing columnist
Ann Coulter.
Source: 2006 Jefferson Muzzle awards: <http://www.tjcenter.org/>
* * *
"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
#200 |
"Government should..."
By Michael Cloud
How many times have you heard statements like these?
"Government should redistribute income."
"Government should educate our children."
"Government should protect us against natural disasters."
"Government should stop people from using drugs."
"Government should make sure that all Americans have adequate health
care insurance."
"Government should guarantee a living wage for every working
American."
"Government should end the obesity epidemic in America."
"Government should protect American jobs."
Sound familiar?
These proclamations are uttered with good intentions.
But the speakers have failed to think their proposals through.
Rational Philosophy teaches us an important principle: "should"
presupposes "can." Unless something can be done, we cannot say that
it should be done. To say "2 plus 2 should be 9," is to say
nonsense. Why? Because 2 plus 2 is 4. It can only be 4. It can never
be anything but 4. To say "apple seeds should grow into pears" is to
say nonsense. Because apple seeds can only grow into apple trees."
"Should" or "must" or "ought to" presupposes "can."
Before we insist that "Government should do X," we must ask: "CAN
government do X?"
Given the nature of government and human nature, CAN government do
X? Is government capable of accomplishing X?
What is the evidence that government can do X? What similar things
has government accomplished? What is government's track record with
things like this?
Even IF government can do X, we must ask more questions before we
move forward. Many things that are desired are not possible. And
many things that are possible are not desirable.
Here are a few questions that a fair-minded and reasonable person
would ask.
1. What is the evidence that government can accomplish this? What is
the evidence that it can't?
2. What happens if government tries to do X?
3. What happens if government does nothing about X? (Remember: the
question is NOT: "What happens if NO ONE does anything about X?"
Businesses, churches, charities, groups, and individuals are free to
respond. The question is: "What happens if GOVERNMENT does nothing
about X?"
4. What are the costs and consequences to *those experiencing the
problem* if government tries to do X? What are the costs and
consequences to *taxpayers* if government tries to do X?
5. What are the costs and consequences to *those experiencing the
problem* if government takes no action about X? What are the
*benefits and consequences to taxpayers* if government takes no
action about X?
6. Given the government's likely results, given the costs and
consequences to innocent taxpayers, given the costs and consequences
to *those with the problem*, is it worth the price of government
involvement in the matter? Do you want to turn this matter over to
the government?
When we ask these questions, when we get the facts we need to answer
them, we close the door to almost every proposal -- if not every
proposal -- that begins with the words, "Government should..."
* * *
Michael Cloud is author of the acclaimed book Secrets
of Libertarian Persuasion available exclusively from the Advocates:
http://www.TheAdvocates.org/secrets.html.
In 2000, Michael was honored 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.
What are the
duties of the police?
QUESTION:
In a previous edition of the Liberator Online,
you stated: "Since the courts have ruled that the police have
no obligation to protect an individual citizen from attack..."
Isn't it unlawful for anyone to attack any other person? If so,
then it would seem the police are not obliged to uphold the law.
But I always though that was their primary obligation, to uphold
the law -- all of the law. Could you please elaborate?
MY SHORT ANSWER:
The police are indeed
duty-bound to protect the general public. However, when individuals
have sued the police for failing to respond to repeated calls for
help, the courts have ruled that the police are not responsible for
each individual's safety or for responding to individual calls for
help. In one case, a woman, hiding upstairs while her roommate was
being raped for over an hour, called the police repeatedly. Each
time, she was assured that the police were on their way, and told to
remain upstairs rather than attempt a rescue. If I recall the case
correctly, the police were never even dispatched. The court ruled
that the police could not be penalized for this failure to respond.
In our customer-oriented society, we generally expect the service we
pay for. However, we are forced, through taxation, to pay for police
who have no legal obligation to come when we call. To add insult to
injury, we cannot stop paying for services that we don't get.
Poverty-stricken victims of color are especially neglected; the
police are more likely to respond to pleas from wealthy and
influential citizens.
In a libertarian society, our contract with private police would
clearly inform us of what services we were buying. We could sue if
the private police did not perform as contracted, and/or take our
business to another protection agency. We'd be paying a lot less as
well. Oro Valley, Arizona, for example, slashed its policing costs
by 80% when they replaced public officers with private ones. In
addition, the burglary rate plummeted 95%, since private police
profit most when they prevent crime instead of fighting it.
Customer satisfaction is generally higher with private than public
services. Competition weeds out the "bad apples." Profit or loss
tells a company when it is pleasing its customers and when it is
not.
That's why inexpensive, high quality service is most often found in
the private, rather than the public, sector.
What would libertarians
do to stop pollution?
QUESTION:
In my state of Iowa, there are several large confinement livestock
operations. They not only smell, but pollute the ground water. They
seem to be run by large corporations whose owners are either out
of state or nowhere nearby to suffer for what their activities do.
What would libertarians do to alleviate this painful situation?
MY SHORT ANSWER: Libertarians believe that people
who destroy or pollute the property of another should have to restore
it. Before the government laid claim to ground water, individuals
successfully sued polluters to stop fouling the waterways and to
gain restitution. Today, however, polluters are rarely prosecuted
by our governmental stewards.
When I lived in northern Kentucky, citizens in the neighborhood
rang my doorbell, asking me to join them in begging the corporations
that dumped chemical pollutants into the Ohio River to stop. When
I asked why they didn't go to the EPA, these citizens told me that
this agency had turned a deaf ear to their pleas. I suspect that
savvy polluters contribute to the proper campaign chest(s) to avoid
such prosecution.
In a libertarian society, where all property is privately owned,
these citizens could have successfully sued the polluters. In Britain,
for example, individuals have fishing rights in the waterways. Upstream
polluters are promptly dragged into court if they dare to endanger
the fishing "property" downstream, just as they used to
be in the western United States before government took over the
waterways.
Today, companies frequently respond to liability suits by declaring
bankruptcy. The government basically forgives the aggressor and
the victim goes away empty-handed. In a libertarian society, only
the victim(s) could forgive an aggressor's debt. When corporate
decision-makers realize that they could spend a lifetime trying
to restore waterways that they have fouled, they would be deterred
from such careless behavior. Restitution is not just a good remedy,
but the best deterrent known!
* * *
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 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.mvv.
xxx
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
 |
Soundbites
for
Liberty |
"The
government that's strong enough to give you what you want by taking
it from someone else is strong enough to take everything you have
and give it to someone else." --
Harry Browne (1933-2006), Liberty A to Z: 872 Libertarian
Soundbites You Can Use Right Now
"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on
the support of Paul." -- George Bernard Shaw
"Taxation of earnings from labor is on a par with forced labor.
Seizing the results of someone's labor is equivalent to seizing
hours from him and directing him to carry on various activities."
-- Robert
Nozick, Harvard philosopher
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Product
Review
Special
Offer: Buy The Concise Guide to Economics by Jim Cox & Get FREE
Quizzes!
Many supporters of oppressive government use widely-believed
economic fallacies to bolster their arguments.
 If
you want to effectively defend liberty, you must understand how the
free market works, and be able to counter the anti-free market ideas
we hear every day in the media, from Big Government politicians, and
elsewhere.
That's why THE CONCISE GUIDE TO ECONOMICS is so very useful.
With remarkable succinctness, this short, common-sense economics
handbook packs a wealth of useful information into 37 brief, clear,
and straight-to-the-point chapters -- in just 167 pages!
Humor, plain language, and vivid real-world examples help bring
economic theory to life.
This book can be quickly read and easily understood and enjoyed --
even if you've never read a book on economics before.
Topics covered include:
* the history of economic thought;
* the Great Depression;
* entrepreneurship;
* the Federal Reserve system;
* the superiority of markets vs. government;
* monopolies and antitrust;
* the minimum wage;
* government regulations;
* insider trading;
* price controls;
* unions;
* the gold standard;
* the importance of competition;
* inflation;
....and much more! Virtually all major economic issues -- the ones
that are in the news, day after day -- are discussed and explained.
Especially eye-opening: Cox's iconoclastic defenses of speculators,
advertisers, corporate raiders, price-gougers and other
misunderstood and under-appreciated economic actors. (These short
chapters alone are worth the price of the book!)
Excellent references at the end of each chapter tell where to go for
further information. Solidly and unswervingly libertarian, this is a
fine "first stop" for economic enlightenment and a handy, quick
reference.
Rave Reviews for THE CONCISE GUIDE TO ECONOMICS:
"...recommended for candidates for political office." -- Ron
Crickenberger, former Libertarian Party Political Director.
"A handy, quick reference guide for those already familiar with
basic economics, and a brief, compelling primer for everyone else.
... The book combines straightforward, common sense analysis with
hard-core dedication to principle, using the fewest words possible
to explain the topic clearly. And each brief chapter includes
references to further reading so those who are curious to dig deeper
will know where to look next." -- Ludwig von Mises Institute
"This handy, quick reference guide saves searching through
hundreds of pages for an answer. I wish I'd had this book when I
first began my study of economics." -- Dawn Baker, Wall
Street Journal Award winner, Atlanta Economics Club scholarship
recipient.
"I discovered the book by chance. Since then I have purchased
50 copies and have used them to teach children (junior high and
high school) and misinformed adults the basic principles of economics.
This book demonstrates these principles by analyzing today's issues
-- giving these new students a confident grasp of economics and
the ability to spot the nonsense preached in today's media. My son
(10th grade) uses it to successfully defend himself against his
Marxist/socialist teachers, and he has gained the interest of many
of his classmates. ... The Concise Guide distills the ideas
of our great predecessors into concise nuggets that everyone can
quickly understand." -- Customer.
*** 50 FREE QUIZ CARDS BOOK WITH EACH PURCHASE! ***
This is it -- THE #1 libertarian outreach tool in the world! The
questions have been refined, and the Quiz card has a new
eye-catching design, making it more attractive and more effective
than ever before. Once people see the 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
politics. Essential for outreach booths, speeches, classrooms,
campaigns, and anywhere else you want to open minds to liberty.
Deluxe version, 3-1/2" x 5-3/4" -- fits in your wallet, shirt pocket
and daily planner.
We'll send you a pack of 50 World's Smallest Political Quiz cards
(deluxe version) FREE with your order of THE CONCISE GUIDE TO
ECONOMICS.
ORDERING
Via Web: To order this Liberator Online special, you can visit:
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.
Your order helps support the essential work of the Advocates --
thank you!
[Offer
good until April 26, 2006.]
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
See
you in two weeks! You can contact the Advocates at:
Regular Mail:
Advocates for Self Government
213 South Erwin Street
Cartersville, GA 30120-3513
Phone: 770-386-8372; for orders, 18800-932-1776
Fax: 770-386-8373
Email: info(a)TheAdvocates.org
Web site: http://www.TheAdvocates.org/
If you wish to subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your address
for receiving the Liberator Online, visit:
http://www.TheAdvocates.org/publications/liberator-online.html
We
never send the Liberator Online unsolicited. We
encourage you to forward the Liberator Online to interested
friends. And if you received this issue from a forward, please subscribe.
It's free!
To see previous issues, visit: http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator/archive.html
The Advocates for Self-Government is a non-profit educational
organization. Contributions to the Advocates are tax-deductible.
If you would like to support the world-changing work of the Advocates,
we *welcome* your donation. Please see: http://www.theadvocates.org/year-end-report-2005.html.
Or give us a call at 1-800-932-1776. Thank you!
"May it be to the world...to assume the blessings
and security of self-government." -- Thomas Jefferson, June
24, 1826.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
|
