Free To Choose Available Online
All ten episodes of Milton Friedman’s classic 1980s PBS documentary “Free To Choose”, plus the five episode follow-up series that aired in the `90s, are available for free over the Internet at ideachannel.tv.
Monthly Archives: December 2006
Marijuana: America’s Biggest Cash Crop
Just in case you thought America’s biggest cash crop was wheat, corn, or soybeans, the L.A. Times reports today that the money brought in by marijuana beats them all:
SACRAMENTO – For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America’s biggest cash crop. Now they’re citing government statistics to prove it. With the growth of marijuana within the US, there are now many people within the law allowed to grow their own, giving companies who sell products related to the growing of marijuana, such as https://ledgrowlightshq.com/cheap-led-grow-lights/ a place to grow and flourish.
A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion – far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops. This should open most peoples eyes up as to why so many smoke cannabis and are looking around for cheap bongs for sale.
(…)
Nationwide, the estimated cannabis production of $35.8 billion exceeds corn ($23 billion), soybeans ($17.6 billion) and hay ($12.2 billion), according to Gettman’s findings. Figures on the Canadian market are still few and far between at the moment. However, with the phoenix tears Canada seems to be enjoying in abundance so we can only speculate how lucrative the market has become there. What we do know, is the signs are very positive based on the American market. This is good news for anyone in a legal country or state, as growing your own marijuana could be a very lucrative source of income, if you’re thinking you might want to get started at trying to grow your own plants, look at this catalog of marijuana seeds online.
And, though this should hardly be surprising to anyone who hasn’t partaken of the Drug War Kool-Aid:
The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past quarter century despite an exhaustive anti-drug effort by law enforcement.
Well, what do you know about that.
Perhaps the way to help America’s farmers is to declare a War on Soybeans.
Just How Libertarian Is Bob Barr ?
Jacob Sullum points to this Reason interview with new Libertarian Party member and former Congressman Bob Barr, and wonders just how libertarian Barr really is:
Sullum points specifically, to this part of the inteview:
reason: In 2002, the Libertarian Party called you the worst drug warrior in Congress. No hard feelings?
Barr: To be honest with you that’s never come up in our discussions. I’m not going to let minor disagreements come between us.
reason: But you haven’t changed your mind on the drug war, or on gay marriage? [Barr sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.]Barr: There are going to be differences with my colleagues in the Libertarian Party. I can’t imagine there is ever going to be a party I agree with 100 percent of time. What I’m interested in is a party honestly committed to liberty and true checks and balances on government power. That’s something lacking in our current party system. With regard to gay marriage and the Federal Marriage Amendment, in my view the FMA does nothing except to protect liberty of citizens of each state on what basis they want to recognize marriage. Are there some libertarians who believe differently? I’m sure there are, and I’m sure we’ll engage in some debates down the road. I’m not going to let nuanced differences on aspects of particular policies stand in the way of the most important mission. That’s ensuring our liberties and protecting the Constitution.
To which Sullum responds:
[I]t’s hard for me to see how a libertarian (or Libertarian) can support drug prohibition. Contrary to what he says in the interview, this is no “minor disagreement.” Not only does the war on drugs directly violate the basic right to control one’s body and mind; it leads to exactly the sort of wide-ranging civil liberties violations, especially in connection with Fourth Amendment rights, that so concern Barr when it comes to the war on terrorism and at least protecting us from hijackers and suicide bombers, unlike maintaining the purity of our bodily fluids, is a legitimate function of government. Barr’s stance is especially puzzling given that a number of prominent conservatives, including the National Review crowd, have turned against the war on drugs even without switching their party registrations.
To be fair to Barr, it’s hard to tell from the interview if this “minor differences” and “nuanced differences on aspects of particular policies” he refers to are about the War on Drugs or same-sex marriage. I agree with Sullum, though, it’s hard to see how somebody could call themselves a small-l or Big-L libertarian and support the War on Drugs. For that matter, I think it would be hard to reconcile opposition to marriage equality with a libertarian philosophy.
Barr’s decision to join the Libertarian Party is intriguing, and may signal to the GOP that it needs to move in a more libertarian direction, but, as for Barr himself, I am reserving judgment.
Related Posts:
Bob Barr Joins The Libertarian Party
Bob Barr Explains Why He Joined The Libertarian Party
Should Taxpayers Foot The Bill For Rescues ?
Much of the news over the weekend focused on the search for three missing climbers lost on Oregon’s Mt. Hood. In watching the coverage last night, a question came to my mind — why should the government (read: taxpayers) foot the bill to rescue people who knowingly put themselves in dangerous situations ?
Consider, for a second, the scope of the rescue operation:
Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 cargo plane from Nevada were to continue searching around the clock in 12-hour shifts, Sgt. Sean Collinson of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said. The C-130 has infrared imaging equipment that can sense body heat.
Additionally, the Oregon National Guard is heavily involved in the rescue attempts.
Don’t get me wrong. I am in favor of these men getting rescued and it was sad to learn last night that at least one of them had died. Hopefully, the remaining two will be found safe.
Nor am I saying that rescue attempts in situations like this, by both government and volunteer organizations, should not be made. Of course they should, the fact that we do them is an indication of just how precious one human life is to each of us.
The question is this; Should taxpayers foot the bill when someone who engages in dangerous, some might say reckless, behavior, gets injured or trapped ? Why shouldn’t the people rescued be made to bear at least some of the financial responsibility for rescuing them from the consequences of their own choices ?
I haven’t entirely made up my mind on this issue, but my instincts tell me that if you engage in risky behavior, then you bear some responsibility when the rest of us come to save you.
Bob Barr Explains Why He Joined The Libertarian Party
David Weigel at Reason interviews former Congressman Bob Barr about his recent decision to join the Libertarian Party:
reason: Why did you join the Libertarian Party, and why did you agree to take this role?
Bob Barr: I suppose one reason is I was asked two by two individuals I respect. One is Bill Redpath, the executive director, and the other is Shane Cory. I know both very well. When they asked me to consider it was very important to them. And I chose to join the Libertarian Party because at this time in our nation’s history, it’s fundamentally essential to join a party, work with a party, that’s 100 percent committed to protecting liberty. As great as the Republican Party is — and I have been fortunate to work with that party for many years and still have the highest regard for it — the Constitution is under such assault in this day and age. In order to have any chance of saving the Constitution and our civil liberties, we need a party dedicated to that cause.
(…)
reason: Is there anything in your former party that’s worth saving?
Barr: It’s not just civil liberties, but how liberties are governed. Where you have government that doesn’t obey lays of this nation, we have problem. When you have an administration that decides it doesn’t have to review the decisions of our courts, we have a problem. When you have a Congress exerting no leadership in terms of oversight, we have a problem. The party in power was not providing a solution to those problems. I’ve concluded that the Libertarian Party is the best mechanism for solving them.
Clearly, there is no love lost on Barr’s part for the GOP. Can’t say I blame him.
Related Posts:
