Why People Fear Art

John Rappaport at his blog writes:

In the last 20 years, more and more people have become obsessed with Pattern. Finding it in events, information, energy, everything.

Obvious Pattern, hidden Pattern, secret Pattern, symbolic Pattern.

On top of that, governments search for patterns in their trillions of pieces of surveilled data.

 The discovery, for example, that a flower and snail and a galaxy reveal identical mathematics is taken to indicate something sacred. Only a decline in IQ can explain such a conclusion.

One may as well fall into a worshipful trance because windows, tables, and moving vans reveal rectangles.

Art, however, isn’t based on pattern. And that becomes a problem. It stops the puerile mind in its tracks.

Read the rest here.

Ron Paul Channel Coming Soon

Dear friends and readers of Letter of Liberty:

The Ron Paul Channel will be coming soon. Ron Paul will be hosting it, and he will spread the message of liberty through the television medium.

Lew Rockwell at LewRockwell.com reports:

August 7, 2013 (Clute, Texas) – Today, former-Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul announced the Ron Paul Channel (www.RonPaulChannel.com) would launch the week of August 12, 2013, and new details about the Channel. Known for refusing to play by the establishment’s rules, Dr. Paul will air all original programming several times a week.

Since announcing the Ron Paul Channel’s creation solely on Facebook and Twitter, more than 200,000 people have gone to www.RonPaulChannel.com to express interest in learning more about the channel and Dr. Paul’s programming.

The Ron Paul Channel will begin by providing fresh, engaging original programming each week, available to subscribers live or on-demand. Subscriptions will cost $9.95 per month and provide subscribers with direct access to Dr. Paul and a diverse array of guests.

“Americans are tired of the games and the lies of today’s media. They want the truth. I have been astonished by the flood of interest in the channel from tens of thousands of people in just a matter of hours,” said Paul. “Imagine this: no censors, no barricades, no statists. We will be able to engage viewers directly on subjects that matter most to them from finances to civil liberties to foreign policy.”

The Ron Paul Channel expands upon Paul’s vast grassroots and online support, capitalizing on the increasing demand for accessible, interesting and original programming. The Ron Paul Channel will stream online, allowing subscribers to watch it when they want, where they want and on the device they want: internet-connected televisions, computers, tablets, and smart phones.

The Ron Paul Channel will allow me to engage directly with viewers,” said Paul. “With the help of social media we can cut through the noise and get straight to the truth about subjects that matter most to you.”

Go to www.RonPaulChannel.com for more information and sign-up for updates and announcements.

Exposing the Truth About Benghazi ... At CNN!

Dear readers of Letter of Liberty:

Jake Tapper at CNN has exposed the CIA in the 9/11/2012 Benghazi attack on the US embassy and the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other men.

The first report explored that dozens of CIA operatives were on the ground during the 9/11 Benghazi attack and that the CIA is trying to keep what they did in secret, going so far as to polygraph other CIA agents every three to four years to figure out whether the secrets were leaked.

The second report details how this is underreported in the media. The role of the CIA deserves much, much more scrutiny.

And yet another report by Tapper shows that the White House emails stand in contradiction to the Benghazi leaks.

Please take the time to read these three eye-opening reports; and if you have the time, please take the time to watch the one-hour special that CNN is airing on the issue of Benghazi next Tuesday at 10 PM. I will be looking forward to see it myself.

Sincerely,

Anand Venigalla

Setting Up Shop At the Reformed Libertarian

Dear readers of Letter of Liberty:

I am setting up shop at The Reformed Libertarian, where C. Jay Engel, the host, invited me to write for his blog. Here is my profile at that website. My first article on that website is the first part to my series on the meaning of liberalism. See here.

Also, I will continue blogging on this blog, as well as on the Reformed Libertarian. I will be posting once a week, every Friday, on that website, while I do my regular blogging at this site as well.

Sincerely,

Anand Venigalla, Host of Letter of Liberty

Why I Will Stop Blogging For A While

Dear readers of Letter of Liberty:

I will stop blogging for a while on my blog. Why? Because I want people to be able to read all the posts that are already existent on the blog. I want them to be able to learn more of what I have written before I start writing again.

I had introduced several friends to my blog; however, they won't have enough time to read every single thing on it, so I will keep it up like this so that they will be able to look up what is already here.

Thanks and sorry for any slowness of blogging.

Sincerely,

Anand Venigalla

Why Christians Should Be Concerned About the Surveillance State

Ed Stetzer at The Exchange explains why we Christians ought to be concerned about the ever-increasing surveillance state and not run away from the issue as if only Christophobic ACLU folks believe in civil liberties.

Says Stetzer:

"Almost immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Safety Administration were created. After stumbling through an impromptu round of "God Bless America" on the capitol steps, both sides of the aisle were quick to put aside their regular differences in order to put forward their most secure faces.

"Neither party wanted to be seen as soft on terrorism.

"Almost twelve years later, we must face the snowball effect of those initial efforts and have a real discussion about where the priority of "security at all costs" ends and the honoring of civil liberties begin. For Christians, this is an important conversation because it involves biblical issues such as the dignity of all persons, a healthy view of human depravity, and our belief in Christian ethics."

Read the rest here. Enjoy.

I would like to comment on several things in Ed Stetzer's piece, particularly on his somewhat naive (in my opinion) believe that George "Dubya" Bush (under whom most of these surveillance programs started) and Barack Obama want to protect America and are merely misguided in their approach. I don't believe so. That may have been the cause before they entered power; however, as they went into power, they were corrupted (or maybe they were like that before even entering power; only God knows). They began to focus on their own glory and power and honor, and thus they used these tools as a means to increase their own power. As the classical-liberal historian Lord Acton said, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Also, I had a beef with the way Stetzer dealt with conspiracy theories. He says that they make us look bad and ridiculous. I will agree with him to a degree. While there are most certainly ridiculous theories (such as the theory of Bush using some super-duper technology to create Hurricane Katrina), there are those which, while they may sound ridiculous, are actually quite plausible when one really starts to think about it. Some of these theories include the involvement of LBJ in the assassination of JFK, Nero's burning of Rome and blaming it on Christians, and maybe even to a degree, the 9/11 truth movement. I have not fully subscribed to any of these theories, but I am open to the possibility of their being true. I would also like to note that, deep down, many people are not against conspiracy theories per se; they just don't want those theories to be targeted against their sacred cows (like the military, the president, and most importantly, the State).

The Myth of Democracy

Michael Rozeff at LewRockwell.com exposes the myth of "government for the people, by the people, and of the people" that has been promoted by both the Republicans and the Democrats, the conservatives and the liberals.

Says Rozeff:

The U.S. government is certainly NOT of the people, NOT by the people, and NOT for the people. In the vernacular of the day, what do we have? Government of the People, by the People, for the People. NOT.

Read the rest of his brilliant expose here. It will open your eyes to the false claims of those who claim that "we are the government." This myth must die now.