Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 2396

False Flag?

When domestic “criminal justice” feds orchestrate, finance, and put into motion their dramas related to killing, bombing, and other organized crime, they do it for self-aggrandizement.  They rarely start out with a scheme to attribute their entire involvement to someone else—or to deny it completely.  An after-action strategy develops on-the-fly when things tragically turn out as they were planned.  The idea is to stop things before the paper bloodbath turns into a real one.

Devise a gruesome...

The Mozart of Polemicists

Homer’s masterpiece, The Iliad, begins with these portentous lines that I used to make my students in a Greek class translate:

Μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

:οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκεν,

(Sing, oh goddess, of the destructive anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought grief to tens of thousands of Achaeans.)

The implacable wrath of the semi-divine Achilles drives Homer’s ancient narrative; and among the consequences of Achilles’s anger, according to this epic, is “dragging...

Should Puerto Rico Default?

Donald Trump caused a stir this week by suggesting that Puerto Rico’s massive $73 billion public debt should be “wiped out.” Puerto Rico narrowly avoided default with an interest payment this summer but the debt is a huge long-term problem for the island. While the cost of this burden is plain, talk of default is considered beyond the pale. Indeed, the White House immediately “walked back” the President’s remark. “I wouldn’t take it word for word with that,” said OMB director Mick Mulvaney. W...

‘Suicide Note’ Seen in Vegas Shooter’s Hotel Room

A mysterious piece of paper discovered last week, when photos from the Las Vegas gunman’s hotel room were leaked to the media, is now back in the news cycle. The pictures were published by numerous news outlets and shared by millions of people on social media.

At the time the photos were published by the Daily Mail, police had not mentioned if Paddock left behind a note in his hotel room. Nevada Sheriff Joe Lombardo said police were investigating who leaked the crime scene photos.

In one phot...

Hillary Still Grousing About Her Loss

Defeated US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said the Brexit vote should have triggered a “bigger alarm” for her campaign – and confessed she went into polling day last November thinking she would win the White House.

Mrs Clinton, 69, admitted she feels a “terrible sense of responsibility” for not beating Donald Trump.

“I thought I’d be a damn good president,” said the Democrat flop.

“I did not think I was going to lose.”

Former US Secretary of State said she was still deeply troubled by...

Trannies

Well, no – it’s not what you thought. This column isn’t about Caitlyn (nee Bruce) Jenner. It is about your car’s transmission. About pros – and cons. And about how to make it last as long as the rest of the car – whether you go automatic or manual.

Which is more important than it used to be because of the stupefying cost to rebuild – or more often, replace – a late-model car’s transmission. In some worst-case scenarios, it can cost as much as the car is worth. Or close enough to what the car...

Hard Censorship

According to this report, YouTube has shut down all independent media coverage of the Las Vegas shooting in a desperate maneuver to protect the official narrative.

I cannot attest to the truth of this report. However, it has been brought to my attention that the video made from inside the hospital, which I provided in a link in my article, of what appears to be crisis actors carrying pretend wounded into the hospital has been taken down by YouTube. Clearly, if there are real wounded carried t...

A Bad Mood, a Six-Pack, and a Typewriter

This column is on lactation and isn’t going to write a damned word until half-October. People are talking about some Vietnam series by Ken Burns, I think it is .I saw the original, so I’ll pass. But if we want opinions, I’ll contribute from long ago.

Posted on December 13, 1980 by Fred Reed

Harper’s, December, 1980

I begin to weary of the stories about veterans that are now in vogue with the newspapers, the stories that dissect the veteran’s psyche as if prying apart a laboratory frog — patro...

Was a Mises a Cosmopolitan?

Organizations named for someone often are accused of deviating from that person’s ideas, and the Mises Institute unfortunately is no exception. Recently, we have come under attack along the following lines: “Ludwig von Mises was a cosmopolitan, opposed to nationalism and racism. But the Mises institute, though named after him, has betrayed him. Guided by Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell, the Institute has opposed liberal humanist values. Mises would never have done this.”

To assess this accus...

Cultural Erosion and Violence

When you observe shootings; divorce; drug use; low savings rates; diminished work ethic; an increased focus on recreational pursuits; few or no offspring; disrespect within the family; personal mutilation; skimpy clothing; loud-mouthed arrogance; foul-mouthed internet culture; youtube skate-and-crash motifs; non-musical music; and diminished desire and ability to read, study and learn; you may think, why now? Why all at once? Do these things somehow relate to each other? How can they?  How ca...