Paul M. Jones | Liberty 2026-05-08T09:12:58-05:00 Why I think xkcd is wrong about Free Speech 2017-08-14T10:19:47-05:00 The xkcd cartoon conflates the particular and narrow protections of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with the older, broader, more general (and, if we’re honest, somewhat nebulous) principle of freedom of speech. It is a great mistake ... Not Liberty, But A Just Master 2015-10-09T23:15:23-05:00 I recalled hearing this as "The mass of men long not for liberty, but for a just ruler." The original is Sallust: "Few men desire freedom, the greater part desire just masters."... Technical Speaker Uninvited When SJWs Politicize Event 2015-06-10T20:54:34-05:00 Latest hullaballoo: Curtis Yarvin (aka “Mencius Moldbug”) was invited to give a presentation on his new computer system Urbit to the Strange Loop tech conference. Then some of his ideological enemies (actually literal Communists) found out, objec... The TSA as Milgram Experiment 2015-02-01T21:50:54-06:00 I have had it in mind to write up an article about the TSA as an implementation of the Milgram experiment, but it's apparently old ground already covered: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=tsa+milgram (Posted from inside Newark Airport, at which s... How Guns Made The Civil Rights Movement Possible 2014-07-30T19:16:18-05:00 Chinn was already a legend in Madison County, Mississippi, because of his unwillingness to bend to white power. David Dennis, then CORE’s Mississippi project director, recalls being in the courtroom of the county courthouse in Canton, Mississipp... A Non-Conformist's Guide to Success in a Conformist World 2014-07-29T20:44:32-05:00 I found this unexpectedly comforting; I myself am an example of point #10. 1. Don't be an absolutist non-conformist.  Conforming in small ways often gives you the opportunity to non-conform in big ways.  Being deferential to your boss, for ex... Your Right to Swing Your Fist, and Pinocchio's Nose 2014-06-30T02:53:53-05:00 Your right to swing your fist ends at the other's guy's nose. But what if the other guy is Pinocchio, and his nose is growing? Your freedom is being restricted by his expanding sense of harm. Some ideas of "harm" are unreasonable. Via Dan Carlin, Co... Supreme Court bans warrantless cell phone searches 2014-06-25T16:31:59-05:00 The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police cannot go snooping through people’s cell phones without a warrant, in a unanimous decision that amounts to a major statement in favor of privacy rights. Police agencies had argued that searching thro... Holder seeks to avert mandatory minimum sentences for some low-level drug offenders 2013-08-12T09:40:30-05:00 Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is set to announce Monday that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to gangs or large-scale drug organizations will no longer be charged with offenses that impose severe mandatory sentences. The new Ju... It's not a "social contract." It's a "peace treaty." 2013-07-15T09:01:52-05:00 Our "social contract" is not a valid contract in any normative sense of the term, since the supposed parties never agreed to it. The standard response is that you agree by choosing to remain in the country. But that only works if the government alrea...