By Robert Ringer

If there’s one thing that Wayne Allyn Root excels at, it’s getting people’s attention. In an age of politically correct tiptoeing, Wayne dishes out the truth, sans sugarcoating. That’s what has made him a frequent guest on such shows as Neil Cavuto’s Your World and The Glenn Beck Program.

Now, with his just-released book, The Conscience of a Libertarian, Wayne covers the entire spectrum of political and social issues. And in doing so, he manages to stay focused on the root of the issue: liberty. Covering everything from abortion to government bailouts to health care, what makes him stand out from reach-across-the-aisle conservatives is his consistency. It is a trait for which I enormously respect him.

The title The Conscience of a Libertarian is, of course, a play on Barry Goldwater’s famous book, The Conscience of a Conservative. It’s no coincidence that Goldwater is one of Root’s heroes. What’s interesting is that when Goldwater ran for president in 1964, many thought of him as a right-wing zealot. And, as a result, he lost in landslide to incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Ringer

Here’s the question of the day: Is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stupid or just plain crazy? In criticizing gun laws that allow people to actually exercise their Second Amendment rights and carry a concealed weapon, Bloomberg said, “[Criminals will] be able to go to the movies with guns, and there will be nothing that our police officers can do about it.”

Mayor, I hate to break the news to you, but criminals already do carry concealed weapons — and, you’re right, there’s nothing police officers can do about it. Here’s the Duh Factor: In states where carrying concealed weapons is illegal, the only people who don’t carry them are law-abiding citizens.

I was glad to hear Glenn Beck respond by saying that he went to the movies last weekend and had a concealed weapon with him. Which means that if some nut had started to shoot up the theater, Beck would have had a chance to take him out before he killed everyone in the place.

As to the question of the day, let’s be honest here. We know that Bloomberg has made far too much money to be either stupid or crazy. He is just more living proof of what I have been saying for decades: In analyzing political and social issues, intelligence doesn’t carry the day.

For reasons that are completely unknown to me, when it comes to political issues (e.g., stimulating the economy), social issues (e.g., global warming), and, in particular, ideological issues (e.g., LIBERTY!), many people think with their arses.

Which raises a scary question: Could it be that some people’s brains are actually located in that sensitive area of their anatomy? And, if so, what happens when they undergo, say, a hemorrhoidectomy?

Let’s hope Mayor Bloomberg will never have to find out the answer to that question. Al Gore, yes. Mayor Bloomberg, no.

By Lauri Ringer

In Part I of this article, I made a shocking confession: Robert Ringer’s daughter voted for Barack Obama. How was this possible? How was I Hypbamatized? To be sure, it didn’t happen overnight. Like the drip from a leaky, rusting faucet, it slowly and insidiously seeped into my brain.

Whether it was from my upbringing, my liberal arts education, or my influences from living on the West Coast, I have always prided myself on being open-minded and nonjudgmental, always interested in the views and experiences of other people and cultures. That didn’t mean that I didn’t have opinions. But, over time, I learned that expressing them came with a price. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lauri Ringer

As a young co-ed, I clung to my copy of Atlas Shrugged and titled my first college paper “Why Conscientious Non-Voting is American” — a treatise against the two-party political system. I argued that a non-vote could be considered a vote against the two-party monopoly system.

To my pleasant surprise, my professor actually encouraged my impassioned voice. My ideals were fresh and resolute, and I had a reputation as an independent thinker. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Ringer

Once or twice a year, my wife and I eat at Bonefish Grill, a chain restaurant that isn’t all that great, but they have a special way of fixing mussels that is excellent. For a couple of years after they opened, we could rarely get in because there was usually at least a two-hour wait.

That was then; this is now — on a Friday night at 8:00 pm, prime time for restaurants. The place was only half-full and we got seated immediately. I scanned the room to study the patrons. Noticeably absent were the APFs (Artificial-Prosperity Folks). Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Ringer

As cap and trade, universal health care, new bailouts, and more welfare programs are forced through a Congress too arrogant to read its own bills, the question is: Will a majority of Americans continue to sit by apathetically with a “Gee, what if the new ‘stimulus plan’ doesn’t work?” attitude — or will they grow up, get their heads out of the clouds, and take to the streets to peacefully protest?

Alert the media: Nothing this collectivist government does will work! Base your actions accordingly. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Ringer

As the poll numbers for the Duplicitous Despot have finally begun to slip a bit, conservative smiles are cautiously surfacing. Could it be that the walking dead (read, “centrists”) are starting to realize that 2 + 2 actually equals 5, not 4?

Not so fast. Optimism is a good thing, but realism is even better. There are a number of obstacles that still have to be overcome before liberty lovers can begin celebrating a return to our once-cherished state of semi-freedom. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lauri Ringer

The recent string of celebrity deaths reminds us of the fragility of life and makes us feel grateful to be alive. But don’t we always feel grateful to be alive? Or is that merely a platitude? Do we really need to keep reminding ourselves to appreciate what we have? Dr. Robert A. Emmons thinks so.

In his book Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, he discusses his study of what he calls the “gratitude condition.” He found that people who counted their blessings on a daily basis were 25 percent happier than those who did not, and they were more optimistic about the future. Read the rest of this entry »

By Robert Ringer

David Carradine … Ed McMahon … Farrah Fawcett … Michael Jackson … Billy Mays … Karl Malden … Steve McNair … The Grim Reaper is on a roll.

What might the deaths of these high-profile people have in common with the likes of Gary Hart, Gary Condit, Jim McGreevey, Mark Sanford, and John Edwards, among others? Read the rest of this entry »