Ludwig von Mises Institute

Organize thuggery has a setback in our neighbor up north.

CANADA HIGH COURT RULES FOR WAL-MART IN UNION CASE

The Supreme Court of Canada said Friday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was entitled to close a store in Quebec in 2005, seven months after workers voted to become the first Walmart store in North America to unionize. The highest court in Canada ruled in a 6-3 margin that the multinational had the right to shut down the outlet in Jonquiere, Quebec, and lay off 190 employees.

Justice Ian Binnie wrote for the majority, saying that the court had “endorsed the view that no legislation obliges an employer to remain in business.” And that, “the closure did not constitute an unfair labor practice aimed at hindering the union or the employees from exercising rights under the labor code.”

In reality, all laws that try to force an involuntary association should be abolished.

Here are the 10 bestselling books on LRC for November 2009:

1 Boston’s Gun Bible, by Boston T. Party;

2 The Dollar Meltdown, by Charles Goyette;

3 End the Fed, by Ron Paul;

4 Once Nation, Under Surveillance, by Boston T. Party;

5 Lincoln Über Alles:  Dictatorship Comes to America, by James Avery Emison;

6 Government Schools Are Bad for Your Kids, by Jim Ostrowski;

7 How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, by James Wesley Rawles;

8 Crash Proof 2.0, by Peter Schiff;

9 You and the Police, by Boston T. Party;

10 Socialism, by Ludwig von Mises.

…even if you don’t fight the crowds today. I second Lew’s choice of what to give thanks for: “the heroes…in the civilizing and prosperity-creating division of labor.” On the drive to my parents’ yesterday, my husband and I discussed the Walmart ad which was the subject of PRI’s Marketplace earlier this week. In the ad, Walmart claims to save you money even if you don’t shop at Walmart. This claim baffles those who never step outside of their government school education. But, as Martketplace explains, it’s a simple matter of economics and market competition.

The end of the Marketplace piece points out that Walmart also causes lower wages. Lower nominal wages – yes. But what about real wages? And if real wages decrease after each Walmart expansion, is Walmart to blame? Perhaps we should look elsewhere.

In the comments section of the Marketplace story, the sorry state of American economics education is revealed further. Readers are upset about the jobs that are sent overseas by the likes of Walmart. The protectionist mentality just can’t understand how the international division of labor enhances the lives of all that it touches. Is Walmart the cause of our double-digit unemployment? Perhaps we should look elsewhere.

In what is perhaps the first volley of the tiresome and overblown “War on Christmas” war of words, the American Family Association has called for the banning of this Gap ad that is allegedly anti-Christmas.

Well, it’s certainly one of the stupidest commercials I’ve ever seen, but somehow I think Christmas will survive this vicious attack.

But, it is a nice reminder of the Christmas-themed culture war that the conservatives will subject us to yet again this year. I fail to see why taxpayer-funded municipal parades across America that fail to be explicitly Christian are oppressive only to Christians. They’re certainly oppressive to taxpayers, but that seems to bother no one.

Rockwell has a nice piece on this of course. Charlie Reese also has one.

Civic balls and dances, often in former churches, were given official encouragement, to celebrate great events such as the recapture of Toulon. Civic banquets were another feature of the revolutionary’s collective leisure…These banquets were also intended as a substitute for the old religious feast-days, revolutionary symbolism taking the place of Christian. [from The French and Their Revolution by Richard Cobb]

Martin Van Creveld in his history of the state claims that Revolutionary France was the first bona fide centralized national state. Prior to this age, the idea of a national feast or pretty much “national” anything was a bizarre notion, antithetical to freedom, and the idea of a secular feast day was, of course, blasphemous.

Americans, however, and especially right-wing ones, so obsessed with national “greatness,” and so ignorant of the history of the state, act with indignation at any suggestion that the American version of the French revolutionary banquets might be insidious. Of course, unlike the Christians of 18th century France, the modern American Christian, who sings nationalist hymns in his churches, is no longer supplanting even the religious commemorations of long ago, but is now so intellectually and theologically bankrupt, that he actually needs the state to give him an opportunity to do what he should be doing every Sunday.  Some are so obtuse and dense as to equate a criticism of Thanksgiving Day with a criticism of thanksgiving itself.

But ask yourself, Christian, would a first-century Christian have participated in an Empire-wide day of feasting proclaimed by the Emperor? The evidence is compelling that they would have done no such thing. Christians of most every age before modern times viewed secular feast days with skepticism, because they knew what the French revolutionaries knew. So why do now what the first Christians would have refused to do? Christians already have a weekly day of thanksgiving. It’s called Sunday, and it’s a day on which families are supposed to come together and spend time with each other. The fact that American families can’t be bothered with doing this unless some secular government encourages them to do so is a  nice illustration of just how well the state has triumphed over religion as a meaningful force in the lives of human beings.

In my own piece on Thanksgiving, I noted that Thanksgiving is just a nationalist secular holiday with a thin veneer of religiousity to get the heads of gullible American Christians to nod in enthusiastic assent to yet another secular festival that replaces the true deity with the national state and its avenging nationalist god.

In typical American fashion, as is the case with American religion, Thanksgiving can be interpreted in whatever way you like. Who are we thanking? What are we thankful for? The question is asked in such a way that the answer can be utterly devoid of content. Be thankful to your invented deity, whether it be your right-wing god or your left wing goddess or whatever convenient “higher power” you happen to subscribe to.

And what are you thankful for? Whatever you want to be thankful for. What’s important is that you’re thankful to somebody for something. But everyone can agree at least that we should thank the government and its soldiers for killing off thousands of Afghans who are of no threat to any American whatsoever.

And what can we expect from a holiday that was founded by Lincoln, an atheist politician, and then formed in its early years by northeastern elites who practiced the sort of watered-down Christianity of the social gospel that gave us the public schools. This is the social milieu of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his followers. So, can we be surprised that the philosophy behind Thankgiving features the same sort of malleable new-age-make-your-own-religion sort of tripe that was so popular among the ruling classes of the 19th century, and is so popular today?

The greatest opposition I meet on the matter of Thanksgiving is generally from aging white people who are sentimental about the olden days and think that Thanksgiving somehow reinforces the “traditional values” of the past. What these “traditional values” are I can’t imagine. Are they the values of the Cold War when global nuclear annihilation was promoted as a viable option by most red-blooded, god-fearing Americans? Are they the “traditional values” of the slave-holders? The values of 19^th century Americans who invaded Mexico, raped its women, and burned its Churches? It’s not clear.

Of course, for any person who practices anything more meaningful that the American version of Christianity that has exactly two Holy Days that anyone bothers to observe, Thanksgiving is both unnecessary and insipid.

I don’t know about you, but when I discuss politics or economics—or any other topic of interest, for that matter—I try to be as upfront and honest as I can. This doesn’t seem to be the case with the environmental scaremongers who seem to feel that the sheeple either can’t or won’t believe the scaremongers’ information/dis-information on the alleged “manmade” global warming issue.

Here is a 5-page report put out by an environmental group entitled “Rules of the Game.” Some choice excerpts:

The game is communicating climate change; the rules will help us win it. [Why is this serious matter even referred to as a "game"?]

Fear can create apathy if individuals have no ‘agency’ to act upon the threat. Use fear with great caution. [Doesn't Uncle Kramer continually warn you that "fear" is the main tool for the One World Government folks?]

Those who deny climate change science are irritating, but unimportant. The argument is not about if we should deal with climate change, but how we should deal with climate change. [Gee, that's not too condescending and contemptuous now, is it?]

The evidence discredits the ‘rational man’ theory – we rarely weigh objectively the value of different decisions and then take the clear self-interested choice. [Except, of course, the "rational" environmentalists.]

____________________________________
* The Rules of the Game—considered one of the greatest films ever made; directed by Jean Renoir.

The three best-read were: Ron Paul on the Fed’s self-destruction; Gary North on the government making you dirt poor; and Naresh Vissa on college as a bad investment for parents.

How typical to watch MSCNOX glorifying government employees in government wars on Thanksgovernment Day. Here is just one group of heroes, among the vast numbers in the civilizing and prosperity-creating division of labor I prefer to thank today: owners and workers in convenience stores in dangerous areas. Every day they risk their lives to provide a real service to voluntary customers who need them. They shoot no one who is not directly threatening them on their own property. They improve, rather than retard, society. All hail!

UPDATE from Joe Adams:

Very timely blogpost for those of us in the Cleveland area as a clerk in a convenience store (probably a member of the owner’s family) was shot and killed here yesterday.  The clerk was from an upper-middle-class suburb, the store in among the more dangerous areas in Cleveland.

UPDATE from a friend:

I forwarded your blog post to a friend who owns and operates such a convenience store, and who has been robbed at gunpoint more than once. When I’m in his area I always stop by and pick something up, and always thank him for being there, and he always thanks me, too. It’s a clear-cut example of human action in action.

The central bank should be abolished just for foisting this idiot ad on us. Funny that the criminal boobs of the Fed realize they are losing ground with the people, so this is their answer. (Thanks to Lawrence Li.)

As you can see, this song was originally just a jingle for the Crocker Bank in Southern California. It was later picked up, expanded, and turned into a Top 40 megahit:

(Thanks to Nathan Radcliffe, who notes that this great Aussie YouTube has a little bad language.)

The three best-read were: David Kramer on Americans’ view of the world; Gary North on your having no right to know; and the 10 most dangerous cereals.

The first thanksgiving proclamation was issued by Geo. Washington, in which he called on Americans to pray. Like virtually all pols, George wanted to be a religious figure too. But his call to thanksgiving for a wonderful government (and president) fell flat in those freer days. The proclamation that stuck was from Lincoln during his war on dissenting Southerners and Northerners. Abe’s edict had three purposes: to cement Abe as a religious figure; to have Yankees thank God for him, his war, and his government; and to erase the memory of the earlier thanksgivings by the Spanish in Florida and the English in Virginia, to make it seem as if America were founded in Massachusetts. As for me, I will give thanks tomorrow that I am an anarcho-capitalist and do not worship the emperor nor the empire.

UPDATE from John Seiler:

Your non-celebration of Lincoln’s government holiday reminds me of Mencken’s quip, “It’s too bad Plymouth Rock didn’t land on the Puritans.”

PROSECUTOR TO HOMESCHOOLERS: NO COMPROMISE—YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL!

Juergen and Rosemary Dudek of Archfeldt, Germany, were sentenced to 90 days in prison in July 2008 because they homeschool their children. Their sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of a legal error, and a new trial was ordered. Their new trial began November 16. German news reports indicate the judge appears disposed to seek a compromise. But prosecutor Herwig Mueller has vowed to appeal any sentence that does not include jail time for these parents, who have been in the spotlight for years because of their insistence on homeschooling. This was the same prosecutor who appealed the lower court sentence of only a fine, saying to the family, “You don’t have to worry about the fine because I will send you to jail.”

The new trial was continued to next week after more than seven hours of testimony. This included an outburst by Mr. Mueller when Mr. Dudek asked the local school officials if they knew the current laws that criminalize homeschoolers were based on laws from 1938. Mr. Mueller loudly protested: “All those Nazi laws have been suspended, and this one is democratic, and you’ve got to accept it, and that’s it.” Mr. Dudek disagrees. “The ‘schuhlpflicht’—the laws that require school attendance—are on the books in the German states,” he explained, “and have been traced back to the ‘Reichsculpflicht Gesetz’ [federal compulsory attendance laws] which was passed in 1938. Except for the removal of references to the Nazi party, these laws are identical or substantially the same as the laws passed by Hitler’s government, criminalizing parents who keep their children home for school.”

Well, Hitler always did believe in “get ’em while they’re young.”

[Thanks to Travis Holte]

CALIF. MAN JAILED AFTER HOUSING HOMELESS ON RANCH

A California rancher who houses homeless people on his property chose to serve 90 days in jail rather than accept probation after being convicted of misdemeanor safety violations. Dan de Vaul says the terms of probation offered Monday would prevent him from sheltering about 30 people who reside at his ranch and participate in a substance abuse recovery program.

The 66-year-old de Vaul says he is proud to go to jail for housing the homeless. About 30 supporters applauded as he was led out of court in handcuffs. Judge John Trice says officials have offered to help de Vaul bring his property up to code, but he would not accept assistance.

A jury in San Luis Obispo convicted him of two misdemeanors for violations of building and safety code.

[Thanks to Travis Holte]

UPDATE: Nick Badalament sent this:

JURIST BAILS DAN DE VAUL OUT OF JAIL

The Dan De Vaul story continued yesterday when Mary Partin, juror number five in his trial, put up $500 for his $5,000 bail.

On Monday, Judge Trice sentenced De Vaul to 90 days in jail after he refused terms of probation. Partin who voted guilty says she caved in to judicial pressure even though she thought De Vaul was innocent. Partin took the required $500 to a bondsman, and eight hours later De Vaul was released.

In October De Vaul’s attorney asked for a new trial because of Partin’s claims, but last week Judge Michael Duffy refused the request. Yesterday, De Vaul’s attorney filed a notice that he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.

Why are we supposed to love “9/12,” the fascist holiday? In any event, from the self-proclaimed 9/12 movement, founded by Glenn Beck, come these 9 Principles, reminiscent of Gingrich’s Contract on America. I add my comments in brackets. Note that I have deleted the sampler quotes with which Mr. Beck decorated his principles. They are included on the website above.

1. America is Good. [By “America,” like all conservatives, Beck means the government, which is anything but good.]
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life. [Though He must take second place to the US nation-state.]
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday. [Therefore he will stop calling himself a libertarian.]
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government. [Really? If you and your spouse decide to keep your money for your family, or your sons out of the draft? See #5.]
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it. [Right. The rich and powerful have the same chance in the government justice game as the non-rich and non-powerful. And see #4]
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results. [Just so long as my rights do not conflict with the government's socialist-nationalist schemes.]
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable. [However, government can tax me for welfare, social security, medicare, and the rest of the scams, and jail me if I won't play.]
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion. [Oh, thanks, unless you hold views that the government tars at any one moment as unacceptable, that is.]
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me. [So we can ignore edicts from our armed, criminal employee, the government?]

Every day, after all these years, one or more Vietnamese farmers or family members is killed by a US landmine. The total is now 40,000 since the US retreated.The tens of millions of expensive little monsters planted are just some of the US state’s gifts that keep on giving. And wherever the empire extends its claws, it still plants them, to the glee of the Americam maiming-industrial complex. The Dems made bitter fun of George W. Bush, and rightly so, for refusing to sign the anti-landmine treaty. But it turns out that this is yet another area where the permanent regime brooks no dissent.

Progressive Robert Borosage asks the pointed questions:  “In the Fed We Trust?  Will the Senate Reward the Architect of the Wall Street Bailout?” Ending the Fed and its disastrous reign over monetary affairs is indeed a transpartisan issue, a true “coalition of the willing.”  But will cognizant conservatives and perceptive progressives stand shoulder to shoulder with our Archangel Michael, Ron Paul, in leading this celestial charge against the hellish gates?

Judy R. from Washington state said this to me in an email:  “We are a nation bereft of truth and wallowing in lies which are perpetuated to enslave us by those who have an unquenchable thirst for power.”

Well said, Judy.

As a history teacher I have discovered that one of the most enduring myths of younger Americans not versed in the history of their country preceding their birth, is that the United States entered the Second World War in order to save the Jews of Europe. In fact, the very opposite was the case. The government deliberately chose not to save the Jews until it was much too late. After FDR’s callous immigration authorities illegally obstructed and surreptitiously slammed the door to freedom for vast numbers of potential refugees, his administration continued its policy of deliberate betrayal of the millions of European Jews in Hitler’s death camps until the “Final Solution” was almost finalized. David S. Wyman’s The Abandonment of the Jews:  America and the Holocaust 1941-1945, is a masterpiece in meticulous scholarship.  This brilliant book formed the basis for the powerful PBS documentary, America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference. Both Wyman’s book and the film document the pervasive anti-Semitism of the WASP foreign policy elite, as well as the destructive fratricidal warfare in the Zionist community on how to deal with the leaked revelation of the ongoing genocide. Other related books and films may be found here.

[Thanks to Joe Allen]

A NYT article yesterday about US debt has some illuminating graphics. Particularly, it shows the White House’s projections of debt (increasing rapidly then leveling off to near WWII levels) and interest payments (skyrocketing with no end in sight). The footnote to these projections is my favorite, though:

Assumes gross domestic product grows by 2 percent in 2010, 3.8 percent in 2011 and more than 4 percent from 2012 to 2014. Also assumes the unemployment rate begins to decline in the middle of 2010 and that inflation is about 2 percent from 2012 to 2014.

That’s quite a reflation of the bubble that the White House is projecting and, even granting that the reflation is somehow done without causing price inflation, (correct me if I’m wrong) official inflation (CPI) has not been 2% for 3 years in a row in a very long time, so it’s absurd by the state’s own measures.

The “insider” speculation has it that Pres. Obama will soon announce his plan to send an additional 34,000 troops to Afghanistan. Should that occur, I wonder if Chris Matthews and Jimmy Carter will quickly mount their perches to denounce peace advocates as “racists,” consistent with their earlier attacks on those who opposed Obama’s health care program. Will we soon be subjected to the proposition that “those who oppose war only resent having a black man as commander-in-chief”?

I actually thought that Obama might be an exception to the old rule that sooner or later, every president makes you nostalgic for his predecessor.

UPDATE from Jay Jones:

No need to apologize. If there is any mea culpa to be said, it is the American public for believing in fairy tales and not seeing the “plain truth of things.” I even voted for King Richard from Yorba Linda in ’72 and the peanut farmer from Georgia in ’76. I should have remembered the words of the song: “and we won’t get fooled again.” Fortunately for me, I discovered Ed Clark and the libertarians in 1980.