Nathanael D Snow

My wife and I watched Emma together the other night. We have seen Pride and Prejudice several times already, but this was the first time she had seen this of Jane Austin 's classics. I then headed over to Librivox to download the audiobook (for free!). In one of the early chapters Emma and her "project" Harriet are discussing a farmer whom has shown interest in Harriet. Emma's disdain for this farmer's activity in the market - his seeking after profits- etc. is telling. As an aristocrat she sees all activity in the market as "dirty" and "low." Why this distaste for the market? Emma later acknowledges that the farmer may do well in the market, and even become wealthy, despite his illiteracy. So, it isn't the wealth. Rather, it is the source of that wealth. The aristocracy inherit their wealth. They have land. Who granted them these lands? The king. Hence, nobility enjoys the derrivatives of a government grant of monopoly on land....

Duane Shank has a nice little piece over at God's Politics blog, where I have re-entered the fray . His comments are in italics, my responses follow. " voters appeared to send a message that they were fed up with divisiveness in Washington" Here is where the voters are mistaken. Divisiveness in Washington is the best thing we could hope for. The less politicians agree about things, the safer we all are. Our checks and balances were set up to work best when politicians disagree with each other. " The political world in Washington has become so bitter that simple friendships between Members of Congress of different parties are almost non-existent. President Ford belonged to an earlier era where there could be vigorous disagreements, but still strong friendships across the aisle." If politicians across the aisle from each other are having such a hard time being civil with one another it is because they are arguing about things they shouldn't even be dabbling i...

I am not currently engaged in any large research projects. Next semester I am enrolled in classes which will require a great deal of research. Perhaps the most challenging project I completed recently was a paper on the Putney debates among the Levellers during the English Civil War. I enrolled in British History to 1688 my first semester back in school because I wanted to learn more about the development of the common law and the institutions which came to support classical liberalism. I was satisfied with the course, and intrigued by the story of the Levellers. I sought out more of their story. What I discovered piqued my interest even more. History, as we are told now in the 21st century, is written by the winners. Different periods of history are revisited and reanalyzed frequently, depending upon who is winning in academia at the time. Both libertarians and Marxists had revisited the Putney debates in their time, yet in their zeal to promulgate a teleological narrative cons...

I left university in 1997 to take a position working with at-risk children at Agape Corner Boarding School in Durham, NC. I became a 7th grade math teacher and house staff, responsible for cooking and other chores, and sharing a room with the students. I remained at Agape Corner for the next seven years teaching several subjects at multiple levels including math, literature, grammar, history, bible, Spanish, ethics, high school biology, and economics. I also was given administrative responsibilities including co-principal and acting principal positions. I was responsible for evaluating and recommending curriculum, student discipline, facilities management, and recreational development. I was first asked to teach economics in 2003, and was provided with a textbook. I had no background in the subject and began reading the book in preparation for my classes. I was enchanted. The models provided by economics shed new light on all that I had previously studied and taught. I was pa...

The song we all grew up with: Jesus loves me this I know, For the Bible tells me so... But, that's not how I know Jesus loves me. I know He loves me because the Holy Spirit confirms it in my Spirit. Just reading it in the Bible doesn't confirm it to me. I suppose its semanitcal. Or epistomological. There's two sorts of knowing. There's the knowing in your mind, and there's the knowing in your spirit. I can know in my mind that Jesus loves me by reading the Bible. I can know I am loved by a friend if they tell me so. But I don't feel loved just by their telling me. Feeling loved requires so much more. It requires time and experience. Love must be proven. It this sense I know I am loved because I am not forsaken, I am accepted, I receive gifts, and comfort from. The only way I can know that Jesus loves me in this sense is if I open my spirit to Him, to allow myself to be loved by Him. To be romanced by Him. So, yes, I know that Jesus loves me, and I...

Chorus: Each man shall be free, whoever he be, And none shall say to him nay! There is only one rule for the wise and the fool - To follow his own heart's way. For the heart of the free, whoever he be, May be stirred to a better thing; But the heart of the slave lies chill in its grave, And knows not the coming of spring. Auberon Herbert, brought to my attention by Murray Rothbard in Man, Economy, and State, was the founder of voluntaryism. He has been called an anarcho-capitalist, but he refused the title himself, due to the connotations the term carried at his time. To follow one's own heart is to have the free will given to us by God. To be restrained from exercising this will is slavery. As believers we do not wish that any should be forced unto slavery. Yet, we know that their hearts are wicked, and for them to follow their own will is for them to end in misery. What is our role, then? Shall we force them unto Christ? Anathema! They must choose to follow Him of t...

I propose bringing home all of our troops from every foreign post immediately and disbanding all federal branches of the armed forces, relinquishing arms to the individual state and local militias. I don't believe US involvement in foreign affairs is productive. Never, not once, have the citizens of this country gotten out of a foreign conflic what they have been forced to put into it. This is the only self-consistent solution derived from an ethical imperitive. All other "solutions" are derived from political agendas. "But, what about the suffering people in other countries? Shouldn't we stand up for them?" Yes, Christians should. Wicked rulers should be resisted. Force may be used. But only the least possible amount of force necessary to halt the aggressor. After that, force is relinquished. Only Christians are capable of this ethic. Everyone else would demand revenge. Revenge only gives birth to the next war. WWI gave birth to WWII. "But, our society...

It is okay to bash Christ. That's what the world does to Jesus, it bashes Him. Jesus tells us to expect to be bashed for identifying ourselves with him. For following Him. There's no reason unbelievers shouldn't bash us. They don't have the Holy Spirit, so how can they be good? How can we ask them to be good when they don't have the Holy Spirit, and we know that even we can't be good without Him? We should not be surprised, offended, or shocked when the world bashes Christians or Christ. We should be more surprised when they do not bash us of Him. We should not expect secular institutions such as television stations, stores, corporations, or government to act morally when they do not have the Holy Spirit.

"I want out of my contract now!" Now, there's a way: Resellular.

We can see that the only read way to have a lasting impact on our world is through the Church. By being the Church - practicing the peculiar ethic Christ demonstrated for us, and enables us unto - we achieve much more than by competing for the opportunity to manipulate the political mechanism. Christians have all sorts of ideas on issues, but when we approach Christ, we find that there is but one ethic, one model to emulate. We can take different positions on what the government should do, because the government is outside the church. It is not a part of Christ's ethic. It is not our means to achieving His commands. The Church is. When He commands us to love our neighbor, He does not say to do this by paying our taxes and politicking for wealth redistribution to the poor. No, He commands us to personally care for our neighbor. There is no room for an "I gave at the office - I paid my taxes" attitude amongst those who are spiritually renewed. Neither is there room...

There is a clear difference between knowing about Jesus, and actually knowing Him. If it is our ethic to immitate Him, it is essential that we also know Him. It is difficult for me to immitate George W. Bush. I could repeat a few of his phrases, dress like him, and do my hair like him. I could possibly study his policy decisions in the past, and make statements about what he would say given different sets of circumstances. But in none of these things am I immitating him. To imitate someone is to pick up their habits. Habits, by definition, are actions done without thinking. I have internalized a great many of my father's habits. Some vices, and several virtues. In the case of paternitiy we say that the progeny has "come by" such habits "honestly." I want to spend enough time with Jesus that I pick up His habits. Many books are written about ethical dilemmas. Often the end is to derive a set of rules, with defined conditions and "correct" ...

Northern Securities Company vs. United States In 1903 the Supreme Court ruled in a 4 to 5 decision that the Northern Securities Company (NSC) had violated the Sherman Act of 1890. This came as something of a surprise to the key personalities of the NSC because it violated good law, good economic theory, good trade, and good common sense. But perhaps they should have known better. Railroads in America had always been highly politicized, with one exception. The Great Northern Railroad (GN) of James J. Hill, the only transcontinental railroad to be built without federal subsidies, without wooing hordes of bureaucrats, was also the only transcontinental railroad never to declare bankruptcy. And it was this railroad that President Theodore Roosevelt pressured the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute for antitrust violation. Railroad History Building a railroad in the second half of the 19th century was a highly profitable venture. The government loaned railroads the money to buil...

I used to be a Zionist. I also used to be a conservative. My theology required that there be a rapture, and that the Jews have a homeland in Palestine before the rapture. I believed a lot of these things, and it was odd to me that other Christians did not. But then I discovered liberty. The kind of liberty that set me free from homage to the government. Conservatives believe in the government. They believe in power. When I gave up government, I realized I also had to give up the government of Israel. I believe that the Jews are God's chosen people and He still wants to acomplish some things through them, but not necessarily through the state of Israel.

Current best picture of me. Put that marker away.

From Vox Day and Dr. Helen: As I see it, the objectives for any young man these days should be as follows: 1. Make absolutely 100% certain that at least until you are in your early/mid thirties, you don't get married, don't get any woman pregnant and if whatever legal jurisdiction you are in has or gets palimony laws, you don't get involved in any 'relationship' with a woman whereby she can lay claim to your assets or future income. 2. Get your career on track 3. Live abroad for a while - if you don't do it in your twenties, you probably won't do it until you retire, if at all. 4. While you're living abroad, get a foreign passport and bank account. Choose a country that is not overly compliant with your current jurisdiction and if possible make sure the bank account is non-interest bearing so you don't have to declare it on your tax forms. Never transfer money to or from that account. 5. Never go near a woman who is a feminist, a divorcee, claims she...

The name of Christ will remain in the public square as long as it is profitable. My children are in the next room watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Why is there a Charlie Brown Christmas Special? Because it sells. If we were to be honest, we would make overt efforts to prevent the commercialization of His name. Instead we slap it on T-shirts, wristbands, bumper stickers, and ipods dowloaded with Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake. What is vanity? Jesus was and is the Prince of Peace. He brought peace between God and man. He never implied that he would bring peace between nations. He did nothing to prevent war between Jews and Romans. He could have pulled the ultimate Jimmy Carter then and there, but He didn't. He came to free us from allegiance to all other entites but Himself. Servitude to a central government is pagan worship. Practicing the methodologies of political mechanism is witchcraft. We are free from these to imitate Christ instead, and in so...

I recommend going to every Library Book Sale you can make it to. Today's bounty: Free to Choose: Rose and Milton Friedman The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand The Tempting Of America- Robert Bork Principles of Economics- Carl Menger*** wow! A Choice Of Days- HL Mencken a Jan Karon novel Essentials of Economics- Faustino Balive (a FEE book) Self Reliance and Other Essays- Emerson a Walt Whitman anthology The Virtue of Selfishness - Ayn Rand All for 8 bucks! I'm going back tomorrow for $5 a box day.

Jim Wallis was giving his platform on Voting God's Politics before the midterm elections. I offered an alternative: The religious right has made manipulation of the political mechanism a priority. The fault does not lie with their particular set of policies, but with the decision to employ coercion in achieving their ends. The proper response is not to provide an alternative set of policies that likewise require the use of force, but to work towards the abolishment of force altogether. As Christians we can reform social welfare programs by assuming full responsiblity for caring for the least of these. Unless one's behavior is in response to the call of Christ there is no virtue in it. Forcing unbelievers to give of their wealth to help others through taxation is devoid of virtue. Only Christians can give meaningfully and freely to others because we alone recognize that all we have has been given to us. As Christians we can change the face of healthcare by supporting chuch hos...

My letter to the editor in today's Technician: Capital pubishment misses target Jeff Gaither's satire of lethal injection makes a legitimate point, but focuses on a symptom instead of the problem. Capital punishment by the state assumes that the debt a criminal owes is to society or the government rather than to the victims. When such a criminal is executed no retribution, save psychological, is made to the victims. The loss has not been repaid, and now a second loss, the life of the criminal, has been incurred. For example: Mary's husband John has been murdered by Bob. The state has tried and convicted Bob and he is set for execution. Mary is now poor and destitute without John's income. Yet she continues to pay taxes, her share of which may be wholly absorbed by the cost of incarcerating Bob until his execution, which will also be costly. How has Mary been helped? How has justice been served? She may feel a good deal safer, but she is much the worse off. How much bet...

1. What is your occupation? Student (NCSU Economics) 2. What color are your socks right now? Grey fuzzy slippers. 3. What are you listening to right now? My wife and her friend talking about the Sopranos and Survivor. 4. What was the last thing that you ate? Potato Chips 5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yup. 6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue, boring. 7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Telemarketer. 8. Do you like the person(s) who sent this to you? Yeah! 9. How old are you today? 30 10. Favorite drink? Good beer. 11. What is your favorite sport to watch? College basketball (Go Duke!) 12. Have you ever dyed your hair? No, but I have shaved it all off. 13. Pets? We’re babysitting a guinea pig this weekend… 14. Favorite food? Vinegar, I like things with vinegar in them. 15. What was the last movie you watched and did you like it? Hole In the Head, Frank Sinatra. 16. Favorite month? April. The fish really start biting. 17. What do you do to vent anger...

How much are you worth? How wealthy are you? I've decided upon a new measure of wealth. Wealth is how far you can see into the future, your "time horizon". If you are working at a dead end job and barely making ends meet, if you have no plan for the future other than to do more of the same, you are poor. No matter how much you earn at your job, you are poor. If you apply yourself every day, even if you earn little, but you aquire skills and develop talents. If you are collecting tools. If you have a vision for the future and are building towards it, though you may be in debt, you are working toward wealth. Murray Rothbard tells a story about a man stranded on an island where the only food for him to eat is berries. He must eat 200 berries a day to keep from being hungry, and it takes him 10 hours a day to collect this many berries. He then imagines a tool, a sort of stick, that would help him to collect berries by shaking the bushes in such a way that in 10 hours he...

May Dad is a U.S. Marine. He trained near the end of the Vietnam era, and recieved a medical discharge after serving for almost three years. He gave his knees for his country, and I am proud of him. It's taken me a while to reconcile my libertarian-leaning opinions with his sacrifice. I feel like I've learned a few things that have changed the way I think. The country is not the government. Dad served his country, not some politicians in Washington D.C. He was not thinking of Gerald Ford or Jimmy Carter when he volunteered for the Marine Corp. Nary a soldier was thinking of how much they loved Roosevelt or Truman as they pounded the beaches of Imo Jima. They did it out of love for their country, love for their moms and dads and sisters and brothers. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, co-workers, girlfriends, wives, sons and daughters. For their comrades and for freedom, for the American way of life, which was still relatively free in the 1940's. Vete...

Turns out that there's an economic reason for the tiles in Catan to be hexoganal. It's based on Central Plane Theory, the idea that cities in an open plane tend to be seperated by distances that form a pattern. At first circles were used to desribe these distances, but since circles can't fill up a plane, hexagons came to be used instead. More here. I discovered this literature through Newmark's Door,. He referenced a paper critiquing The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman's popular book, which I absorbed via audio book earlier this year. For more about Catan, see here .

I'm going to visit an old friend this weekend, and he just tagged me, asking me what music I am listening to now. Which is interesting, because I had just been thinking about making a mix CD to listen to on the way up and leave with him. I don't listen to too much music these days, because my car doesn't have a CD player. I usually just listen to music on the radio, or sports or talk radio or talk radio or NPR . But, if I had a CD player, or otherwise ipod ready device, this is what I might choose to listen to: 1. Grace Cover of U2 on In the Name of Love fundraiser album 2. Mockingbird Derek Webb 3. Enough To Love The Choir (always) 4. Now That The Day Is Over The Innocence Mission (also, always) 5. Mezzo, or Ache Beautiful Mike Roe honorable mentions: Jack Johnson's Curious George album (I have children) Johnny Cash Norah Jones T...

I am currently reading Henry IV part 1 for my English Lit course. Dr. Hester today pointed out how each of the characters in the play utilizes pagan means to their ends, except the hero, Prince Hal. Hal later becomes Henry V, the epitome of the Christian Renaissance king. Questions: 1) Is there such a thing as a Christian King? 2) Is it possible to have monarchy outside Paganism? 3) What would legitimize monarchy outside of primogeniture or direct revelation? 4) What influence did the Anglican church have on English Common Law? Actually, the importance of revelation has also been a recurring theme in this class. I'm going to have to read Niehbur at some point. I'm currently reading The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder. Am I becomming a Menonite? Or perhaps an Episcopalian? I have belonged to several churches already: Conservative Baptist, Evangelical Free, non-denominational (read: Calvary Chapel-ite), and Evangelical Presbyterian. I did a brief stint with the Int...

Newly discovered letter from C.S. Lewis confirms. Special thanks to Molehill Mtn. for this link .

I have taken upon a new habbit, if I can keep it. For my sanity I have decided to read a chapter of G.K. Chesterton every day. Lately I have been reading What's Wrong With The World , easily accessed through project Guttenburg . His arguments against futurists apply to all forms of statism. Today's quote: There is one metaphor of which the moderns are very fond; they are always saying, "You can't put the clock back." The simple and obvious answer is "You can." A clock, being a piece of human construction, can be restored by the human finger to any figure or hour. In the same way society, being a piece of human construction, can be reconstructed upon any plan that has ever existed. JN

You have two cows thx to the Door

Does it matter whether a victim of murder was a criminal or not? The answer to this question must be prefaced by asking whether there exists a legitimate justice system or not. If the law is legitimate and untainted by arbitrary favoritism, then execution is a possible sentence. In this case it is the law which executes the criminal, and the law stands above all individuals. Sometimes the sentence for a crime might be outlawry, in which case the law ceases to protect the individual's rights from encroachment by others, and such an individual may be "hunted down" and killed by an avenger, or else make an escape to a place of refuge. I am concerned how this arguement synthesizes with "negative rights" arguements, so go ahead and shoot it down. If there does not exist a legitimate seat of justice because either there are no courts (indifferent third parties) or because the courts are corrupted (by arbitrary laws or personal favoritism) then all is awash and chaotic...

I was shopping at Kroger's grocery store in my neigborhood in Cary, North Carolina, when I was a familiar name: El Pinto , on the shelf. I worked there, with several of my friends, while in high school. Run out to your local grocery for some of the best salsa and green chile sauce on the market. JN

I'm a Weslean, I don't even know how to spell it! You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Neo orthodox 64% Emergent/Postmodern 64% Classical Liberal 54% Roman Catholic 54% Fundamentalist 50% Charismatic/Pentecostal 50% Reformed Evangelical 46% Modern Liberal 29% What's your theological worldview?

Sometimes Christians get upset when they see Jesus being mocked, a la Muhammed cartoons, etc. That's not the best response. We as Christians shouldn't be surprised or offended when we hear these sorts of things though. We should be grieved for the people who say them, because they obviously don't know Jesus. Grief is a much better response than offense. It keeps us from becoming angry and defensive with other people and helps us to focus on loving them the way Jesus loved them. Jesus was peculiar, and people hated him for suggesting that the existing power structures of his day were illegitimate, and that he would replace them with one that lifted up the dignity of all men, instead of just the priviledged few. We need to focus on lifting up the dignity of all men, too, even those who say things we disagree with. JN

The discussion was lively and circular, indeed around a round table. What could I say? The wasp in the tie was there, quoting, "relationship not religion, etc., scripture was insipired by God..." the usual. The hippies were trying to see if we couldn't all get along. When I taught that the different religions were adopted by powerseekers to placate their masses, heads nodded in agreement. When I said that the three goals of all powerholders were to keep the power they have, to use it on someone, and to get more power, the heads continued to nod. When I said that cooperation was the way to do it they agreed. When I said cooperation requires competition, I started to lose them. When I said a free market with voluntary decision making fosters such cooperation they sneered Capitalism, and I backtracked, realizing that that would have to be part of another discussion. JN

I was in Asheville tonight with my wife celebrating our anniversary, when we met a bunch of Jesus-hippies and other interesting Ashevillians. It was a typical religious debate, with several god-is-alls and buddists and whatever. I met a great woman there who contested the idea that Socrates was executed, tangent to whether Jesus was executed. While it seems semantical, she said that they were not executed, rather they chose to die for what they believed in... and that was critical to their messages. She called it Axial or something like that, and refered to a time period when we read about different philosophers and religions shifting from fatalism to individual responsibility. We shared a few other ideas, including my rudimentary thoughts about world war 2 before we had to leave. It was a fun night out though, and demonstrative of people's way of thinking. JN

It is not the responsibility of foreign nations to ears suffering. But neither is it the responsiblity of domestic governments, read "Not Yours To Give" by Davy Crockett. Whose responsiblity is it to care about the suffering? I believe it was Bertrand Russell who wrote an essay asking "What's Wrong With the World?" to which G.K. Chesterton replied, "In response to your essay 'WWWTW', I am. Yours truely, GKC" It is my responsiblitiy and yours. Any situation in which we perceive there to be an injustice is none of our business until we volunteer to "homestead" that injustice in order to make it right. What baffles me is how many people assume that the government will do all the homesteading for them, but then complain that they don't have any property rights. This frustrates me particularly with professing Christians who maintain a statist worldview when it comes to public policy. Throw in the whole "Palestinians are evil becau...

Excellent video. http://www.free-market.net/resources/introduction.swf Go see it!

Reading Hazlitt's "Economics In One Lesson" today. Realized that corporations always have incentives to overstate their profits rather than understate. If they really were greedy, they'd try to hide thier profits, but the more imediate incentive is to please their shareholders, so they overstate profits regularly. The Enron scandal wasn't about greedt corporations, it was about insecure little men trying to keep stockholders happy, while fleecing them at the same time. JN

I got on Neil Bortz show Monday, after sitting on hold for 70 minutes. (Cell phone, peak minutes.) He had two points: Who sent the mexicans an engraved invitation to come to America, and We should build a fence along the whole border. I had two retorts: The invitation IS engraved on the Statue of Liberty, and Who do you think will build the fence along the border? In other news: I saw a bald eagle Monday flying over Lake Crabtree in Morrisville. Beautiful. Somebody better warn him that those fish aren't safe to eat though... JN

Finals are this week and one next week. Then I'm off for a while for a little R&R with Mrs. and then back to class on May 23. Ugh. I write an awful lot on my friend Chris' blog, some of which I copy over to here. He's at http://thebrokenwindow.blogspot.com Some very interesting and I must say fruitful discussions there. JN

Student said... Nathan, Why buy it from you when I can steal it? The choice will be based on the realtive costs and benefits. And you are right there are a lot of things that "could" happen that might change the choice calculus (like you trying to steal the car back), but you are missing the point. The point is that surely we can both imagine coditions where stealing the car will maximize wealth. Pointing out that there are oher times when it will not is beside the point and already conceded. If you want a more "complete" example, imagine Old McDonald has a car on the back of his farm where he never goes. It is in perfect condition, but he never uses it. Eventually he forgets it's there. The car isn't worth all that much to him. A thief comes along and sees the car. We know, because we are Gods, that the car is worth more to the theif than to the farmer. The thief, knowing that McDonald forgot about the car and knowing the chances of being ca...

"But WHY is force only justified in responce to unjustified force? And why is force justified then? Why isn't ALL coercion bad, period?" Let's get a little deeper here, shall we? We dislike force because it is destructive. There is nothing creative about it. We all like the concept of creation of wealth - the gains from trade. Force is intrinsically destructive and NEVER results in gains from trade. There is always a deadweight loss somewhere where force has been utilized. Now, we might say that creativity is intrisically moral, while destruction is intrinsically immoral. Equilibrium would perhaps be amoral. To which I would reply that the opportunity cost of static environments is the creativity that could have been there, and thus amorality is immorality. Coming full circle: Force is justifiable in response to unjustified force because it causes the destruction to stop. Destruction of a destructive activity is good. It's not two wrongs make a right, though. The ...

How do we know what rights we have? Hmmm. How do we know how many planets there are? By scientific investigation. Various theories were attempted at explaining the universe and currently we have a model that includes probably 10 planets in an heliocentric solar system. What rights do we have? We can know by scientific investigation. The courtroom is our labratory, and judges are the scientists in a common law system. Such an arrangement existed in England off and on for several hundred years. The development of good law coincided with the development of good science. Now both are failing. Common law got far enough to determine that life, liberty, and property are three of our inherited rights. It answered a lot of questions. But the system was destroyed before it could answer others. So, whether Murray Rothbard is God or not, we know that we do have certain rights as a law of nature. JN

I e-mailed this letter to the editor to the N&O today in response to an editorial in Tuesday's paper. How shall we measure the economic benefit of 395,000 illegal aliens on the North Carolina economy? (Our Open Door, p.8A 2/28/06) Certainly not by tallying up public revenues and expenses related to this demographic! Such a method merely demonstrates that the legislature knows how to milk many cows, even those that are not their own. The overall economic benefit is unknown. We must not assume that our immigrants are laborers only, but also consider the entrepreneurial spirit each generation of immigrants has adopted once experiencing liberty for the first time, and acknowledge that many of them are also employers. New jobs have been created and the North Carolina economy is stronger for it. As for the strain on public funds that the immigrant population generates, the problem is with the law not the individuals. Straighten out welfare policies that create incentives not to...

The Law – by Frederic Bastiat (paraphrased) The law has been changed into something it was not meant to be! The power of the government has become more likely to encroach on liberties as well! The law has become a way of making greedy men rich! The law was meant to protect us from encroachment and fraud, but now it causes these things to happen! Life Is a Gift From God God gave us a gift that has every other gift inside of it. This gift is life: our bodies, our minds, and our souls. But we need things to keep us alive. God has given to us the job of keeping ourselves alive, working on making our lives better, and perfecting it. So God gave us things that we could do – like work, and things to work with – like dirt and seeds, and He also allows us to enjoy what we make. This is the way life should be. Living, working, and enjoying what we make – in other words, individuality, liberty, property – this is man. And even though some tricky politicians try to hide the fact, thes...

From today's newspaper. Funny, I believe in creationism, and I believe Global Warming is a myth. I'm currently reading Crichton's State of Fear as recommended by FEE's Freeman, and thoroughly enjoying it. Now, about Fox news, I'm not sure. It's still statist much of the time. JN

It does not "require any courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." G. K. Chesterton JN

The bootleggers and baptists are up to their old games again. This time some other baptists are the whistle blowers. World magazine (www.worldmag.com) is an evangelical weekly magazine, published in Asheville. They have brought to the evangelical community's awareness an interesting story. Jack Abramoff, of the Indian Casino scandals, gave Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition president and Religious Right poster boy, nearly a million dollars to influence pastors and their congregations into voting against a law that would legalize gambling in Texas. Abramoff's goal was to protect his clients' monopoly. Reed's motive was to prevent gambling... uh... and to get paid. The interesting part that World brought out was that Reed asked Abramoff for more money and said that he could get Focus on the Family's James Dobson to speak out against the gambling law on his popular and influential radio show. This caused something of a rift between World and Focus. A Focus VP ...