Friday, October 31, 2008

Quote of the Month

Over at Taki's Magazine, writes Richard Spencer:

“Democracy,” says Mencken, “is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” There’s probably no better summation of the 2008 election. After an interminable campaign, Americans are urged to go exercise their little slices of the Popular Will and decide who shall be the The Decider for the next four years.
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Bertrand de Jouvenel

Daniel J. MahoneyFive score and five years ago today, Bertrand de Jouvenel was born.

Bertrand de Jouvenel was one of the great underrated political philosophers of the 20th century. He described the growth of the modern regime and compared it to regimes of old.

He is the author of the great book On Power: The Natural History of Its Growth. He also wrote Sovereignty: An Inquiry into the Political Good, The Pure Theory of Politics, and The Ethics of Redistribution, amongst others.

Daniel J. Mahoney examined this great man in his Bertrand de Jouvenel: The Conservative Liberal and the Illusions of Modernity.

A study of the man and his works can be highly recommended.

We honor him on the 105th anniversary of his birth.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween (photo: Toby Ord)All you need to do to get scared is wake up, smell the coffee, and open your eyes to what the modern regime really is.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Upcoming Tuesday

American Monarchist reflects on democracy and the upcoming election in those United States.

Ignorance and the Right to Vote

The blessing of universal suffrage:



Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Kingdom of Serbia

American "Progress"

Over at the Wall Street Journal, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano reflects on modern American government.


H/T: Karen DeCoster, LRC Blog

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Poll Results: Who Should Be the Next President of those United States?

Robert E. LeeThe results for the poll, asking who [amongst the alternatives] should be the next President of those United States, ending at midnight between September and October, are as follows:

Total votes: 64.

  • Robert E. Lee: 21 (32 %)
  • Mark Twain: 12 (18 %)
  • Lysander Spooner: 11 (17 %)
  • John C. Calhoun: 5 (7 %)
  • Lord North: 4 (6 %)
  • H.L. Mencken: 4 (6 %)
  • Benedict Arnold: 4 (6 %)
  • P.J. O'Rourke: 3 (4 %)
A new poll will be up shortly.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

This Present Crisis

Unqualified Reservations has a post on the flawed banking system.

Newstopia explains how central banks work:


Liberty vs. Leviathan says inflation is at 341 % per annum in those United States.

The Ludwig von Mises Institute and LewRockwell.com are places to check out for non-mainstream perspectives on the present crisis.

Kaiser Karl

SKKM Kaiser KarlThis Tuesday was Blessed Kaiser Karl's Feast Day.

Andrew Cusack has more on the occasion. So does Roman Christendom, and
also Rorate Cæli.


Via Tea at Trianon.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

W.E.H. Lecky

William Edward Hartpole LeckyFive score and five years ago today, William Edward Hartpole Lecky, who stood up against the rising age of democracy, passed on from this world.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Kaiser Karl and Kaiserin Zita 97

October 21, 1911Today is Blessed Emperor Karl's Feast Day. Three years short of a century ago today, then Archduke Karl married Princess Zita.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Elite

Ferdinand Finne, late Norwegian painter, graphic artist, theater artist, and author, Knight, 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, born on this day two years short of a century ago, said:

I am appalled by the word ‘elite’ having being degraded to an invective, when one of our culture bearers spits the phrase ‘elite thinking’ like a toad out of his mouth. Everything that has brought mankind a few steps forward is a result of the elite.

Monday, October 6, 2008

A Lion's Political Life

Over at the New York Times, Patrick Cockburn reviews Dr. Avi Shlaim's Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace and Dr. Nigel Ashton's King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life.

Dr. Nigel Ashton: King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life
Dr. Avi Shlaim: Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace


H/T: Royal World

The Meltdown and Egalitarianism

Present guest editor of LRC, Prof. Thomas DiLorenzo, recommends this policy report (PDF 29 pages, 933 KB) from the Independent Institute on how egalitarianism brought about the current financial situation by Prof. Stan J. Liebowitz.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Capitol Hill "Rescue"

Those United States Representatives acted not so honorably this Friday. Having watched part of the debate, it is not so hard to conclude that popular assemblies are not informed decision-making bodies.

The Honorable United States Representative Ronald Ernest Paul, M.D. on the turnout:



Writes a commenter over at the Western Confucian:

I think that "the right to have a positive credit rating" has now been promulgated according to the positivist doctrine of law, similar to the right to free education and medical care, a [doctrine] which the American public has absorbed through osmosis rather than argumentation. Dr. Paul is heroic...he's not just against the government...he's up against the zeitgeist.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Romanovs

Icon of the Imperial Russian FamilyThe Russian Imperial Family's name has been “restored.” Royal World and the Western Confucian post on the Romanov “rehabilitation” here and here respectively.

Royal World also has news on a recent Romanov passing.

Democracy's Debunking

Over at LewRockwell.com, Becky Akers reflects on “us.”