Hayek June 2008 $4.00 Lives! "Mankind is tired ofLiberty. 1/ - Mussolini June 2008 Inside Liberty Volume 22, Number 5 4 Letters Scribble, scribble, scribble. 7 Reflections We craft the perfect bill, snort space monkey, melt our pennies, visit the stupidest state, fawn over Lincoln, give pregnant women the boot, dodge bullets with Hillary, learn to love Big Brother, smoke easy behind the fourth wall, and remember Charlton Heston. Features 19 A Real Party? Suddenly, everybody wants to run under the Libertarian Party banner. Bruce Ramsey watches the race. 23 The Ethics ofTort Reform Gary Jason shows how to remedy the excessive litigation that is costing us hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Twenty Years of Liberty 29 The Liberty Poll Since its founding, Liberty has been trying to keep track of libertarians - who they are and what they think. We now present the results of the latest Liberty Poll. 46 Moral Absolutes, Truth, and Liberty Ross Overbeek revisits the survey of libertarian attitudes that he helped to create 20 years ago. Reviews 51 Prince of Darkness or Angel of Light? For a change, as Stephen Cox discovers, a Washington insider's tell-all fulfills its promise. 55 Leave Us Alone! The Leave Us Alone Coalition: now there's a good name. Bruce Ramsey investigates the movement behind the moniker. 56 Economics for Fun & Profit Martin Morse Wooster reveals that economics is no longer the dismal science. 57 Hayek Lives The afterlife of Friedrich Hayek has been long and strong. Lanny Ebenstein investigates his posthumous influence. 59 Screwy Enough? Cary Grant, Rosalind Rusell, Thelma Ritter ... is anybody today as funny? Jo Ann Skousen reviews the evidence. 60 Cut Your Losses Todd Skousen grabs a popcorn MRE and watches Hollywood get the Iraq war wrong. 61 Teach Your Punters Well Jo Ann Skousen visits "South Pacific" and is glad to stay for the second act. 58 Notes on Contributors Our hearty crew. 63 Terra Incognita It happens. How to Letters Subscribe [ J Good Riddance fiscations by our own military? There to Buckley was evil. It's not right isn't a 2nd Amendment in Mexico or that he should be eulogized in Liberty Canada and there won't be one in the ("Death of an Icon," May). Rather, his North American Union either. II Liberti]] obituary should start with something The Tran-Texas Corridor is being like: "Buckley slouching with Judas and built as we speak despite overwhelming Quisling tonight ..." opposition by the people of Texas. Over 500,000 acres will be confiscated to build Liberty takes individual Seriously, I would think a posthu­ mous Nuremburg would be in order a highway that doesn't go to any city in freedom seriously ... and and I am openly calling for one. Texas. Our traffic-jammed cities are be­ the status quo with more Looking at the list of those that he ing loaded down with toll roads because than one grain of salt! had the gall and arrogance to purge of a phony money shortage. from the conservative movement, it is Do you ever wonder why ille­ Every issue of Liberty brings apparent that he was deliberately target­ gal aliens can open a bank account in you news you can't miss, ing those who would have insisted on a America with a matricula card that can be bought on a street corner in Mexico, opinions you won't find moral foreign policy. while a native-born American has to anywhere else, and the best I am glad that he left us - in his own hand - a rationalization for torture. jump through hoops to open an account libertarian writing in the world. at the same bank? It is because of the Let facts be submitted to a candid plan for a North American Union. When world. You won't want to the banks issue the amero to replace James D. Armstrong miss a single issue! Alamogordo, NM your collapsed dollar, please realize it won't be an accident. Remember the Amero! Dr. Paul was the only presiden­ Act Today! I read with interest Bruce Ramsey's tial candidate to even mention the Liberty offers you the best in observations on the Ron Paul campaign NAU. This was important since most individualist thinking and ("The Paul Vote," May). However, I take Americans had no idea of any such plan, writing. So don't hesitate. You exception with his suggestion that the and oppose it once they realize the im­ have nothing to lose, and the people of the Cato Institute are IIembar­ plications of what is being decided for fruits of Liberty to gain! rassed by Paul's nationalist rhetoric over them without a vote. The NAU is real. One doesn't have to be a fierce national­ Use the coupon below or call: the supposed North American Union." It isn't nationalist rhetoric to realize ist to be concerned about it. 1-800-854-6991 that our Constitution is being overrid­ Jimmy Gardner den by executive agreements such as Austin, TX the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Ramsey responds: The correspondent p------­Please enter my subscription The Canadian prime minister and the to Liberty immediately! throws in a lot of issues that seem to in­ president of Mexico have publicly ad­ dicate the existence of something, but it o One Year - $29.50 mitted that the overall plan is to merge is not a "North American Union." o Two Years - $56.00 our economies. Our president denies (u.S. prices only. To Mexico and Canada, subscrip­ First, the so-called NAFTA super­ tions are $39.50 per year; to other countries, $59.00.) this. We all know he wouldn't lie to us highway: there are already several that to further the interests of big banks and connect the United States, Canada, and corporations, right? Mexico. I live by one of them: Interstate If there is no plan for a North 5, which runs from Tijuana to the border address AmericanUnionthenwhywere Mexican nearVancouver. 1-5 wasbuiltin the 1960s troops mobilized to New Orleans to and replaced the older US-99, which was city state zip "help" with the martial law that was im­ built in the 1930s. It is not a threat to sov­ posed after Hurricane Katrina - martial ereignty, and I doubt if another highway phone number law that involved door-to-door gun con- across Texas is. signature account # expires June 2008 I also live under NAFTA. In the past tion flatly denies it is working toward a most interesting question in my almost 15 years I have seen a modest increase North American Union. U.s. Trade Rep. six decades of life. in the number of goods that say uMade Susan Schwab said so to my face. All Harrison has to do is say the in Canada" and uMade in Mexico," but And yet the New American keeps magic word U conspiracy theory" and I don't object to them. Companies in my tooting the horn about this uNorth supposedly that settles the argument. hometown, Seattle, are doing a lot more American Union" and a supposed new Aren't libertarians suspicious of gov­ business in Canada, particularly, than North American currency, the amero, ernment power, don't we suspect many they used to. I recently talked to one that that will replace the U.s. dollar, the criminal conspiracies are going on in remanufactures large diesel engines for Canadian dollar, and the peso. Not that government, don'twe take Lord Acton the Alberta oil-sands industry. I also live I'm feeling protective of the u.s. dollar seriously about the corrupting influence near a Nucor steel plant that sells into just now. But the abandonment of the of power? British Columbia. These things do not dollar would take a majority vote by To analyze his attitude I think we bother me. I think they are good. both houses of Congress and the signa­ have to look at this as a religious ques­ The John Birch Society has raised the ture of the president, or else two-thirds tion. When he says "conspiracist" what alarm over the "Security and Prosperity votes of both houses, and that has about he's really saying is uheretics" engaging Partnership." What is it? It is a large as much chance of happening as a gold in blasphemy and sacrilege against the name for a limited thing. It is a PR man's standard under a President Ron Paul. "American Nationalist Faith" as truther puffball name for political cooperation The Truther Will Set You Free theologian David Ray Griffin calls it. This is why so many Americans on limited subjects. NAFTA is deeper I am one of those "conspiracists" are impervious to reason and evidence and more definite than SPP, but is about Jon Harrison mentions in uPrelude to about 9/11, they're intellectually degen­ the economy only. It is an agreement to Disaster" (April). I don't "believe" 9/11 erate and have spastic brains. coordinate our sovereignties on certain was an "inside job" of some kind. I matters relating to trade and investment. uknow" it was. Dr. Dan O'Connell LaSalle,IL Legally it is not a treaty - at least, not I'm not smart enough to have fig­ in the U.S. - and is not coequal with ured that out immediately, I was only The Best We've Got the Constitution. Above both the SPP suspicious at first but as vast amounts of Jon Harrison has honored me by and NAFTA is the lack of any political information have gradually come out I his response (Letters, March).