Ayn Rand’s Finest Condemnation of Libertarianism

Over the years, I have read several compilations of Ayn Rand quotations concerning libertarianism. For the first time today, I was able to listen to Ayn Rand’s the Questions and Answers following her April 11, 1976 speech at the Ford Hall Forum, titled “The Moral Factor”. Her answer there was arguably the most succinct and essential statement of her views on why libertarianism deserves to be condemned. Read more

Multiculturalism, Islam, and Censorship (was: Why Lars Hedegaard Is Being Tried)

Lars Hedegaard is an author and founder of the Free Press Society in Denmark. Commencing January 24, 2011, he will be tried under Denmark’s law against the expression of “hate speech” for having stated that Muslim families “…rape their own children” and for thereby expressing contempt for a group defined by its faith (note: contrary to ignorant opinion, “Muslim” is a reference to ones religious beliefs, not to ones genetic make-up). Hedegaard has since explained that he did not intend to imply that all Muslim families engage in such conduct. Indeed, Hedegaard and all but the most ignorant of individuals take it as a given that rape does not happen in all Muslim families. And, clearly, neither Hedegaard nor any except the most unjust in society think it right morally to condemn a family for a crime that none of its members have committed. Yet, as insulting and offensive as Hedegaard’s statement was to people who did not give Hedegaard the benefit of the doubt, the fact of the matter is that Hedegaard’s punishment is not truly sought because he expressed a falsehood, offended Muslims, or turned some people against Muslims. His punishment is sought because he dared to think and judge for himself. By doing so, he – wittingly or unwittingly – attacked the foundations of collectivism. Read more

Paul McKeever’s Definition of Freedom

On the discussion board solopassion.com, Frediano asks “What is freedom?”. He was looking for a concise description. I answered Frediano’s question thusly. Read more

Freedom Doesn’t Have a Prayer

Pretense is the heart of evil.

Now, on a completely different subject, I received an e-mail today from a friend. It was a report by CBS. Though news to me, it was actually published in 2004. CBS reported, in 2004, that the council of the city of Hamtramck, Michigan was expected to make a noise ordinance amendment so that a mosque in that town could play the Islamic call to prayer five times per day over loudspeakers. The secretary of the mosque in question stated “We are not [proselytizing]…We are calling our Muslim people, reminding them they are obligated to come to pray.” Some defending the request for the ordinance amendment argued that the call to prayer is no different in nature and purpose than the ringing of church bells. Read more

Ban the Parka?

There is a growing sentiment in Europe and North America that governments should “ban the burqa”. Usually, what they are referring to is a ban of the niqab: a face covering used by some Islamic women.

There are certainly times at which the administration of justice or government requires that a person’s face be visually identified. For example, a recent Court of Appeal decision in Ontario notwithstanding, my view is that it is never any more right for a female witness to wear a religious face covering on the stand than it is for a biker to wear his headscarf on his face while giving testimony on the stand. Government-issued photo identification ought to make no exceptions: no face coverings, period, because the purpose of such identification is to ensure that the right person is identified properly with respect to compliance with our laws. We must ensure that we all can visually identify the faces of the government employees who serve us.

Private property extends the same rule-making powers to the property holder. Consequently, one should be free to set the terms pursuant to which any person enters onto or uses ones own private property: if I require you to where lederhosen before stepping into the brewhouse I own, your choices are (a) wear lederhosen, or (b) stay out of my brew house.

However, there is at least one argument in favour of the ‘burqa ban’ that I find wholly indefensible: the argument that we must ban the burqa so that women can be freed of the oppression it represents or causes. Read more

The Quran, Peaceniks, and the Intellectual H-Bomb

I am, and will always be, an outspoken defender of an individual’s freedom to speak his mind, and I will remain a person who condemns censorship. I know nothing at all about Christian Reverend Terry Jones’ past statements, and little about his beliefs. However, as a person who values reason and individual freedom, I can only say “Bravo!” with respect to Jones’ now widely known plan to burn copies of the Quran on the 9th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 murders. And I cannot denounce strenuously enough those who are condemning Jones for his plan, and who are asking or threatening him not to proceed with his plans. Whatever his motives might be – to express anger or frustration; to promote his own religion as somehow being true; etc – his plan, and the angry response of many individuals to his plan, should say almost everything that needs to be learned about defending individual freedom from Islam. Read more

Run from the Rahn Curve

Recently, Shotgun blogger PUBLIUS featured a video made by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity concerning a graph of the so-called “Rahn curve”. The video serves as a good example of what is wrong with the idea of founding upon quantitative economic arguments ones advocacy of individual freedom. And, given the political orientation of those telling us about the Rahn curve, an explanation of why libertarians are prone to making the aforementioned error is warranted. Read more

In Defence of Religious Belief and Expression

Four men appear on a public street, outside of the perimeter of an “Arab Festival”. The town reportedly has a large population of Muslims. The men hand out free copies of the Gospel of John – written in both English and Arabic translations – to those who approach them. Within 30 seconds, 8 or more police officers converge on the location and approach the men. The men are taken into custody as a crowd of Muslims cry “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Great!”). Their video camera is confiscated. They are told by police that they may not distribute the Gospel of John anywhere within 5 blocks of the Arab Festival. They are essentially told that if they distribute the Gospel within 5 blocks of the Arab Festival, they will be committing the crime of disturbing the peace (or assault, or inciting a right, or some such offence). It is arguably a violation of Sharia law for a non-Muslim to proselytize a Muslim.

The men are not in an Arabic country. They are not in a European city. They are in Dearborn, Michigan, USA, and the police arresting them are bound by the provisions of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Read more

Quantity, Quality, and Government

In today’s Globe and Mail newspaper, Professor Tom Flanagan – professor of political science at the University of Calgary and a former campaign manager for the Conservative Party of Canada – argues that a number of issues currently hurting the governing Conservatives would not have arisen were it not for their having grown the government. Flanagan points to three examples. The Conservatives created a $1-billion Green Infrastructure Fund, pursuant to which former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer is alleged to have sought subsidies, such that there is now speculation that he did not comply with lobbying rules. As chair of the G8 and G20 summits, Stephen Harper chose to promote foreign aid for maternal health, excluding funds for abortions, thereby reigniting the abortion debate in Canada. And the Harper government cut funding to Toronto’s gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Pride parade, redirecting those funds to non-gay events, and thereby (deliberately?) creating the impression that Conservatives are anti-homosexuality. Flanagan’s conclusion:

Rahim Jaffer, abortion, the Toronto Gay Pride parade – these three issues have recently involved the Conservative government in heated debate. There is a common thread to these seemingly unrelated issues. They all illustrate what happens to a conservative government when it increases, rather than decreases, the size of the state.

Read more

New Full-length Documentary Argues Extradition of Marc Emery Would Violate Canada's Extradition Act

Ontario lawyer Paul McKeever today released the second part of his two-part documentary about the Canadian “Prince of Pot”, Marc Emery. Titled “The Principle of Pot”, the release of Part 2 is timed to precede and to inform a decision by Canada’s federal Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson, about whether or not to approve the extradition of Emery to the United States. If extradited, Emery faces five years of imprisonment in the USA for having sold cannabis seeds. Emery mailed seeds to Americans from Vancouver, Canada, via Canada Post. The Minister’s decision is expected by May 10, 2010. Read more

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