I recently had the unfortunate experience of finding out that the shiny red bike I bought a few weeks ago from the Ashby Flea was stolen property. I was notified via a napkin taped to my handlebars that said that I had stolen her bike along with a request to please call “Mimi” and return it. Shucks.
When I shop at the flea market, I always half-expect to see one of my old stolen bikes for sale. I knew when I bought the bike that there was a good chance it was stolen, and although I hate to feed the vicious cycle of bike theft, the significantly lower prices justified the minor moral breach in my mind. However, I faced a much greater dilemma in deciding how to procede after finding the note. Read More
Philip Berg for San Fransisco’s 8th Congressional District
Last night, libertarian congressional candidate Philip Berg spoke to Student’s for Liberty. He is running against Nancy Pelosi and is campaigning on a platform of “libertarians against capitalism,” which was also the name of his talk. Bryan Caplan has posted on the subject in response to Freeman editor Sheldon Richman, and I thought that I agreed with Caplan that I can still get behind “capitalism,” although Berg came close to completely convincing me otherwise. He talked about the unique nature of the financial sector, which he claims is rotten because of the long history of its symbiotic relationship with leviathan and empirial conquest. The great benefit of abolishing fractional reserve banking, Berg argued, is that governments would actually have to pay for their wars upfront by raising taxes.
It’s a shame that a decidedly anti-corporate, anti-war, pro-gay rights candidate has little chance against an illberal, ineffective and demagogical politician like Nancy Pelosi. Berg is a living testament to the danger and degradation that government’s bring upon their citizens. Berg was unable to experiment with an effective new drug which was not approved until after his illness caused him to go blind. For an analysis of this kind of government failure, you can visit FDAreview.org. Also, if you want to help Berg out with his campaign, visit his website.