The Curse of the August 2004 $4.00 Progressives "Liberty is the blossom and fruit ofjustice. II - Robert Ingersoll About [..::::::::::=:===============================Le=======tt=======er=======s============================::] My Orwell Can Beat Up Your Actually, the American who is most Your Orwell responsible for the war in Vietnam is As a fellow participant in the former President Dwight Eisenhower. Socialist Scholars Conference, I enjoyed He made the decision not to sign and Subscription Richard Kostelanetz's contribution not to honor the Geneva Agreement of there and in Liberty ("Orwell Lives!", 1954, which ended the war between May). Yet his is a "partial" Orwell that France and the Viet Minh. That agree­ Q: When does my subscription expire? ment scheduled elections to be held in A: Please look to the right ofyour underplays Orwell's political predilec­ tions to reflect, perhaps subconsciously, 1956 in order to unite Vietnam. In his name on your mailing label. There memoir, Mandate for Change, 1953-1956, you will find (except in some cases the Orwell he would like rather than Eisenhower admitted that his advisors when receiving your first issue) the the Orwell the world actually knew. number ofissues left in your sub­ Orwell himself stated that he told him Ho Chi Minh would have won 80% of that vote. scription, followed by the word became a socialist in 1930, and the By supporting South Vietnamese "left," as in "3 LEFT." Adelphi, for which he wrote in the years dictator Ngo Dinh Diem in his refusal Q: I've moved. Where do I send my following, was widely recognized as to hold the elections in South Vietnam change ofaddress information? the house magazine of the intellectual Eisenhower guaranteed that there ' Left within the Independent Labour A: Liberty, P.O. Box 1181, Port would be a war there in the 1960s. Townsend, WA 98368. Please Party (ILP). He went to Spain in 1936 to John Engelman include your previous address (it's fight with the ILP's sister party, the Wilmington, Del. best to send us your label from your Partido Obrero de Unificaci6n Marxista magazine) and telephone number. Allow us six weeks to receive and (POUM), against both General Franco Don't Trust Anyone Under 30 process your address notification. initially and the Stalinists of the Yes, indeed. I was there. At the time Spanish Communist Party as they suc­ I had the opportunity of a lifetime Q: I'm receiving duplicate copies; what cessfully crushed the POUM's revolu­ working on our challenge to beat the should I do? tion within the revolution. Soviet Union in the race to the moon. A: Take a look at both mailing labels, In 1938 he formally joined the ILP But my perceptions of that era were clip'em out and send'em to us. entirely different from those of the peo­ We'll make sure that you receive all and worked with its Bukharinite fac­ the issues you've paid for. tion to oppose the coming war with ple Richard Kostelanetz interviewed Germany on the grounds that it was an ("A Special Time," June). Q: I think you've charged my credit imperialist war. Then, with the Nazi­ During the'60s I was dismayed by card incorrecdy; what can I do? Soviet pact, he went with the pro-war all the long-haired teenagers who A: Call us at 800-854-6991 (during Labour Party, and ended up as the lit­ seemed to be announcing to the world normal business hours on the West that "I wear my hair long because my Coast) or email us at erary editor of the Labour Left's journal Tribune. parents support me, I am irresponsible [email protected] You can try to take George Orwell and I don't have to work or even clean We'll take down your information and out of politics, but you can't take poli­ up my act." I suppose we WWII vets then try to solve your problem as soon made the problem ourselves because as possible. tics out of George Orwell. But nice try, Richard! we had created the boomers and the Q: Can I change my address on your GlynFord kids outvoted us. toll-free number, too? Member of the European I was further dismayed when I A: No. We must get your address cor­ Parliament learned that these children "invented" rections in writing, either by u.s. Newnham, England sex, unisex, dope, uppers, downers, mail or by email. and went off to college to terrify acade­ Q: Can I communicate with your ful­ I Don't Like Ike mia. They pretty much took over those fillment department by email? In "Water under the bridge" institutions because the learned aca­ A: Yes; send your communications and (Reflections, June), Wendy McElroy demics didn't have the balls to make queries to us at named President John Kennedy as "the them behave in a civilized manner. [email protected] Democrat who plunged the nation into The libertine subculture of the'60s spread throughout the Sierra Nevadas, We'll try to get back to you as soon as Vietnam's quagmire." possible. The editorial offices can be reached at 360-379-0242. Our sales and subscription fulfillment office can be reached at 800-854-6991 (foreign callers call 360-379-8421). August 2004 Inside Liberty Volume 18, Number 8 2 Letters Readers first. 5 Reflections We remember Ray Charles, repudiate Ralph Nader, admire malabushisms, link to lies, discover the Jewish housing conspiracy, take the red pill, cut the blue wire, and lose our right to remain silent. Ronald Reagan: An Autopsy 15 Ronald Reagan: A Political Obituary As Ronald Reagan left office, Murray Rothbard was writing his political obituary: a portrait of a man with a smile on his face and the destruction of liberty in his heart. 24 Credit Where Credit Is Due Ronald Reagan made mistakes, but he staked a claim for liberty for which advocates of small­ government should be thankful, writes Lance Lamberton. 26 Ronald Reagan, R.I.H. As far as Jeff Riggenbach is concerned, Ronald Reagan can rot in hell. 31 Prestige Has Consequences Ronald Reagan was a statesman of high ideals who showed both friends and enemies of liberty that Americans still hold their freedom dear, says Stephen Cox. 32 A Great Man Alan Ebenstein tells why he thinks Ronald Reagan was a genuinely great president. 34 "Just Saying No" to Freedom Ronald Reagan may have won the Cold War, Dale Gieringer observes, but in the War on Drugs, his actions proved disastrous for America. Politics 35 Dark Horse on the Third Ballot Libertarian Party conventions are always peculiar affairs, but this was the strangest yet: the delegates some­ how managed to nominate a candidate without knowing his views or know­ ing about his brushes with the law. R.W. Bradford tells how backroom deals, personal hatreds, and delegate indifference led to this strange outcome. 49 An Interview With the Candidate Presidential nominee Michael Badnarik talks frankly about his refusal to file tax returns, his arrests for driving without a license, and his quixotic quest for the presidency. Reviews 53 America the Exceptional America is a right-wing nation, and libertarians are an important part of the coalition that makes it that way, Bruce Ramsey discovers. 55 Curse of the Progressives "Progressive" is an awfully strange word to describe an elitist, authoritarian philosophy that opposes a free and dynamic society, writes Timothy Sandefur. 58 Courtiers in the House of Bush Alan W. Bock discovers that Bush didn't take terrorism seriously until it showed up on our doorstep, and how his "advisers" steered him into war. 60 Notes on Contributors Shock troops in the culture war. 62 Terra Incognita Not suitable for children under 80. trashing its forests and polluting its - Johnson embroiled us deeper How to abundant waters. It gave birth to com­ into Kennedy's war in Vietnam. munes that welcomed fellow runaway -Goldwater lost the election Subscribe children. In this context I consider because he was painted as a war­ /Ichildren" to be any adults who are not monger. self-supporting. - We gave children the right to to It was also an age in which all of vote. them, talented or not, learned to play - Israel deliberately attacked the an abominable, atonal instrument U.S.S. Liberty in international l[iibertYJI called a guitar (my apologies here to waters and killed 34. Carlos Montoya). Skip Premo There were some other major events Camp Nelson, Calif. of note as well. Liberty takes individual Uppers: Just the Facts, Please freedom seriously ... and - Kennedy stared down Andrew W. Jones writes that in the 20th century Jews were driven /Iout of the status quo with more Khrushchev and Castro. - We beat the Soviets to the Europe entirely" ("Powerful than one grain of salt! moon. Outsiders," May). This would be news -The Jet Age. to the approximately two and a half Every issue of Liberty brings - Ronald Reagan began his polit- million Jews who presently live in you news you can't miss, ical career. Europe. opinions you won't find - Black Pride. Henry E. Heatherly anywhere else, and the best -Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa Lafayette, La. libertarian writing in the world. convicted of racketeering and sent Jones responds: In 1880 nearly 90% of the to prison. world's Jews lived in Europe; now You won't want to - Israel creamed the Arab about 14% do, mostly in the old Soviet miss a single issue! . Coalition in six days. Union. In 1939 there were 3.3 million Downers: Polish Jews, now there are 8,000.