In a huge victory for free speech, the Supreme Court of the US today struck down a law that banned recording, possession or distribution of videos featuring animal cruelty. The Supreme Court concluded that as written, the statute is overbroad and limits all sorts of speech that the Court believes is protected by the First [...]
Posts Tagged ‘liberty’
On United States vs Stevens and the future of the obscenity law
Posted in libertarianism, tagged dog-fighting, first amendment, free speech, freedom of expression, judgement, liberty, obscenity, supreme court, videos on April 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Justice Stevens was no friend of liberty
Posted in libertarianism, tagged judge, liberty, stevens, supreme court on April 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Judge Stevens has announced his retirement from the Supreme Court of the US. He had a long career on the bench, spanning 35 years. His most prominent opinions include the following. He wrote the majority opinion in Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica, 1978, in which he held that the FCC has the power to ban [...]
France does not heart Scientology
Posted in libertarianism, tagged france, fraud, free speech, freedom of expression, liberty, philosophy, religion, scientology on October 27, 2009 | 18 Comments »
I think that Scientology is a creepy, over-commercialized enterprise that feeds on people’s irrationality and does not do any good to anyone. In fact, I think the same about all religions and most quasi-religions. But what was it that a great Frenchman said once? I do not agree with what you say but I will [...]
The extraordinary passion of belief and defiance
Posted in politics, tagged democracy, demonstration, elections, iran, liberty, mausavi, people, protests on June 15, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I had to share this. Politicians are generally fools, and Mausavi is probably only marginally better than his opponent, but there is no reason to doubt his assertion that “these masses were not brought by bus or by threat, they were not brought for potatoes; they came themselves.”
Don’t insult my Padmashree
Posted in India, libertarianism, tagged awards, dhoni, harbhajan, insult, liberty, offended feelings, padmashree, patriotism, pil on April 18, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Honestly. Can this be real? A criminal case was filed in a court on Thursday accusing Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh with ‘hurting’ fans by staying away from the Padma awards function. Dhoni and Bhajji were to be honoured with the Padma Shree by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi [...]
A ski helmet rant from ten years ago
Posted in libertarianism, personal, tagged happiness, helmet, liberty, morality, paternalism, philosophy, rationality, ski, values on March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Ski helmet poll
Posted in libertarianism, tagged helmet, liberty, poll, safety, ski on March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This poll depresses me. The state by state breakdown is revealing though. New Hampshire, Colorado, Montana and Oregon are red as I expected, though I am a bit surprised to see California that blue. Anyway, motorcycle riders have resisted mandatory helmet laws in more than twenty American states despite overwhelming public support for such laws. [...]
Something those south Indian superstars should do (but won’t)
Posted in India, tagged bully, couples, goons, liberty, moral police, paternalism, ram sena, valentines, valentines day, vigilantism, violence on February 6, 2009 | 6 Comments »
A thought just struck me. All those dashing moustachioed South Indian actors, yeah the ones who beat up the bad guys and gyrate with the voluptuous ladies with equal panache, should write a letter to their adoring fans. They should tell those young fellas that they can do something really great this Valentine’s day; form [...]
In America, you give up your rights if someone claims you are suicidal
Posted in libertarianism, tagged abuse, civil liberties, liberty, police, rights, suicide on February 3, 2009 |
This is pathetic. I hope the guy has a forgiving temperament, because if it was me, the `ex-girlfriend’ would have very bad things happening to her for the rest of her life. I can comprehend murder, abuse or theft for revenge or gain. I can comprehend the most terrible act of tyranny for a selfish cause. Of [...]
Raise a toast to Obama
Posted in libertarianism, politics, tagged civil liberties, executive, guantanamo, liberty, obama, power, radley balko, war on terror on January 23, 2009 | 7 Comments »
I am a long time reader of Radley Balko’s outstanding blog, The Agitator, and I have seldom seen him this jubilant. From yesterday’s post: Credit where it’s due: Well done, Mr. Obama. I’m sure we’ll have our differences, but afer your first 40+ hours on the job, this libertarian couldn’t be happier. The tally: Obama [...]
Dignitas
Posted in libertarianism, tagged assisted suicide, death, dignitas, euthanasia, liberty, rights, suicide on January 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It is a controversial, much maligned organization. Lots of people find their work loathsome. What they do is illegal in almost every other country of the world. Dignitas. It’s a beautiful name. And they do beautiful work. To me, they represent freedom as few other things do. Imagine a world where organizations like Dignitas aren’t [...]
The personal is not the political, contd.
Posted in libertarianism, tagged behavior, control, friendship, legal, libertarian, liberty, marriage, moral, personal, philosophy, political, principles, relationships, rights on December 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »
(Post updated) In my earlier post on this theme, I expressed my opposition to using coercive legal means to advance social goals and my moral abhorrence for laws which censor expression, ban consensual behavior or limit freedom of association. I wrote: Any rational system of morality that makes the basic libertarian distinction between the personal [...]
If you wish to donate for liberty, where should you?
Posted in libertarianism, tagged charity, donate, donation, give, libertarian, liberty, money, non-profit, radley balko on December 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you wish to effectively advance liberty — yes the kind of liberty that I talk about in this blog — or just make a real difference to the life of someone in need, who should you donate to? Check out this great list by Radley Balko. Liberty can thrive only if people who care [...]
Can’t get out of Carmen mode
Posted in on certain arts, writings and performances, tagged art, carmen, destiny, freedom, integrity, liberty, morality, music, opera, theme on December 13, 2008 | 1 Comment »
What’s so special about Carmen? For one, the truly great music. Carmen is magical melody after magical melody. As for the orchestration, this is what Richard Strauss had to say: “If you want to learn how to orchestrate, don’t study Wagner’s scores, study the score of Carmen. What wonderful economy, and how every note and [...]
Carmen
Posted in on certain arts, writings and performances, tagged bizet, carmen, liberty, music, opera, performance, video on December 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I went to see the LA Opera production of Carmen today. What can I say about Carmen that hasn’t been said before? I had been waiting to see it for three years. Too often when your expectations are that high, you end up disappointed. Not so with this one. It was one of the most [...]

