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Undisciplined
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Convex combination of Ron Swanson and Britta Perry Cohost of The Stacker Sports Podcast
World War II, the 'No Good' War | The Libertarian Institute By James Bovard > September 1 is the anniversary of the start of World War II in Europe. On that date in 1939, Nazi Germany launched an invasion of Poland from the west and a few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin signed a non-aggression pact shortly before they carved up Poland but that ceasefire didn’t last beyond June 1941. > World War II has been heralded for more than fifty years as the “Good War”—in contrast to subsequent U.S. military debacles in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. But World War II cannot be glorified without hiding a heap of lies and millions of corpses. > Less than six months before the war started in Europe, H.L. Mencken warned in *The Baltimore Sun*, “The main reason why it is easy to sell war to peaceful people is that the demagogues who act as salesmen quickly acquire a monopoly of both public information and public instruction.” Looking at the peril of another world war, Mencken predicted, “On the day war is declared, the Espionage Act will come into effect, and all free discussion will cease…Any argument against the war itself, and any criticism of the persons appointed to carry it on, will become aid and comfort to the enemy.” Mencken wrote, “A few weeks of [pro-war] razzle-dazzle will suffice to convert most people to the war and to intimidate and silence the stray recalcitrant who holds out.” Thanks to massive pressure to conform and submit, “The dissenter is not only suspected by all his neighbors; he also begins to suspect himself.” Unfortunately, the U.S. government vindicated Mencken’s worst fears on censorship during the war and far beyond.
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Undisciplined 2 hours ago
MAGA Didn't Vote For War With Iran | The Libertarian Institute By Jack Hunter > Do you remember over the course of the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections when Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement promised to launch the United States into yet another Middle Eastern war, this time with Iran? > No? > No one does. Because it didn’t happen. > “When I’m back in the White House, we will expel the warmongers, the profiteers, and take over our government and we will restore world peace,” Trump [said](https://us.list-manage.com/1ANcr1Bd0lm?e=4d47a68367&c2id=463bd5c50167a1cae0da73e9eb4f7b0a) during a National Guard Association speech in August 2024 to cheers and applause. > Trump’s future Director of National Intelligence, former congresswoman, veteran and key figure in the 2024 MAGA coalition, Tulsi Gabbard, also said at the same rally: > > > *“So I mean what I say when I share with you that I know that President Trump understands the grave responsibility that a president and Commander in Chief bears for every single one of our lives…We saw this through his first term in the presidency when he not only didn’t start any new wars, he took action to de-escalate and prevent wars…”*
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Undisciplined 2 hours ago
Trump Trusted Netanyahu Over His Own Advisors | The Libertarian Institute By Nolan Denaro > It has been accepted for months that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was instrumental in convincing U.S. President Donald Trump that war with Iran was a good idea. In February, *The New York Times* [reported](https://us.list-manage.com/ZmH4_hPj1CV?e=4d47a68367&c2id=463bd5c50167a1cae0da73e9eb4f7b0a) on the shocking extent to which Netanyahu had access to Trump before the war, in a propaganda blitz which included a detailed presentation selling the idea that the Iranian regime was primed for collapse. Confident in this assessment, Trump would go on to launch the military campaign with the expectation that a people-powered uprising would commence. > “To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump [urged]( “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.” > This plan wouldn’t end up coming to fruition. Despite the Israeli [claims](https://us.list-manage.com/yHiJZ9uYK2L?e=4d47a68367&c2id=463bd5c50167a1cae0da73e9eb4f7b0a) that a bombing campaign alone would “foster the conditions for the Iranian opposition to overthrow the regime,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) survived the onslaught, and no organized dissident group took advantage of the chaotic situation to make their move.
The High Cost of the Automated Flock-Camera Surveillance State https://mises.org/mises-wire/high-cost-automated-flock-camera-surveillance-state By Ryan McMaken > The future of Flock cameras: left the house during a pandemic lockdown? Expect a summons in the mail. Exceeding your “carbon footprint” by driving too much? Expect a ticket in the mail.
Trump Censorship Machine Loses Again in Court https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-censorship-machine-loses-again-court By James Bovard > The Trump administration’s crackdown on students protesting against Israel has once again run into the law, this time in the form of a federal court ruling against the government.
What Do “Capitalism” and “Socialism” Really Mean? https://mises.org/mises-wire/what-do-capitalism-and-socialism-really-mean By Vincent Cook > Ask a socialist critic of capitalism how to define capitalism and you will probably receive an incoherent answer. Defining these ways of social organization is vital and understanding them is even more important.
The Arday Tragedy: A Story of Institutional Failure, Not a Witch Hunt https://mises.org/mises-wire/arday-tragedy-story-institutional-failure-not-witch-hunt By Lipton Matthews > The left is trying to reframe the Jason Arday affair as a witch hunt in which a racist media and a jealous professor hounded him to suicide. However, it was Cambridge University that failed, not those that sought the truth.
3 Reasons the French Revolution Was So Different from the American Revolution https://mises.org/mises-wire/three-reasons-why-french-revolution-was-so-different-american-revolution By Ryan McMaken > In America, French-style violence was simply unnecessary for the revolutionaries to win. We will never know if the Americans might have resorted to greater violence in different circumstances. 1. **Political Centralization Was at the Center of the Revolution** 2. **Revolutionary France Faced Strong Neighbors in a Geopolitical Struggle** 3. **Demographic Pressure: Population and Poverty**
Nationality: You Belong to the State https://mises.org/mises-wire/nationality-you-belong-state By Ulrich Fromy > There are two types of nationality. The first, as defined by Ludwig von Mises, involves people united by common languages and customs. The second is defined by the state.
Profiting from Government Didn’t Begin with Trump https://mises.org/mises-wire/profiting-government-didnt-begin-trump By Connor O’Keeffe > Trump has made his family billions by courting foreign and corporate money and accepting extravagant gifts while in office. But he didn’t bring self-enrichment to Washington, he simply made it much harder to ignore.
The Penal Leviathan: What Wacquant and Rothbard Reveal About Modern Punishment https://mises.org/mises-wire/penal-leviathan-what-wacquant-and-rothbard-reveal-about-modern-punishment By Luc Lelièvre > The modern way of dealing with criminal behavior has been mass incarceration, yet crime abounds. Murray Rothbard believed that restitution and other methods were superior to the present state-run system.
Regulation: Protecting Incumbents and Suppressing Competition https://mises.org/mises-wire/regulation-protecting-incumbents-and-suppressing-competition By Hal Snarr > Politicians sell business regulation as benefiting consumers. In reality, as we saw from airline regulation, the system creates cartels that shut out consumers and benefit regulated businesses.
The Statist Peril of Techno-Asset Inflation https://mises.org/mises-wire/statist-peril-techno-asset-inflation By Brendan Brown > From the sixteenth century to today, techno-asset inflation is found where monetary inflation and technological revolution interact to produce virulent asset inflation. > The positive supply shock emanating from the technological revolution bears down on goods and services prices. This expands the scope for monetary inflation by impeding an intensification of its symptoms in goods and services markets. I recall making a similar comment to @SimpleStacker about this recently. Especially in a world of inflation targets, technological advances pushing prices down in one sector must be offset by higher than normal inflation, in order to keep average prices steady or increasing.