It has been a year today since Yves Leterme, Belgium’s caretaker prime minister abandoned his attempt to form a government but the country does not appear any closer to an end nor does it appear necessary.

The major cause of the transformation from freedom to servitude has been America’s involvement in war and preparation for war.

In granting official diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union in November 1933 Franklin Roosevelt was “unintentionally,” of course, returning to the traditions of American foreign policy.

I’ve noted before the views of Austrians such as Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard on IP.1   They would be placed in phase 3 of The Four Historical Phases of IP Abolitionism.

This is all about public safety, of course. HT: Bryan Caplan.

A sure way to temporarily flag employee moral is to call an employee meeting. “What’s this about?” “I’m busy getting things done, is it really required?” Even when a meeting is for the best intentions of exploring ideas and working on problems, egos clash and time is wasted as participants go off on tangents. David Sherwin spells it out in a piece for the Atlantic; group discussions kill creativity.

For instance, Ayn Rand was a passionate smoker. None of the principle characters in Atlas Shrugged: Part I smokes.