I Chose Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Nando Pelusi 267
and arrest you. Instead, you would lose your job and apartment and become destitute. They
punished you through economic means.
Now we are criminating certain thoughts. For example, if we think the motive is hate,
we have designated hate crimes. The danger is that the government assumes they know
what you are thinking and can understand peoples’ motivations. They are determining
that some peoples’ lives are worth more than others. Consider the killing of a heterosexual
in contrast to a homosexual. The penalty is greater for those who killed the homosexual
because the motive is assumed to be hate. Instead of saying that it is a horrible crime to kill
anyone, they are saying it is a worse crime than killing a heterosexual; that the heterosexual’s
life is worth less. It also introduces an arbitrariness that is horrible. These are “thought
crimes” and that to me is a dangerous trend.
Ron Paul is a physician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’s 14th district.
He was the presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in 1988 and a candidate for the Republican
nomination in 2008.
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NANDO PELUSI
DOWN ON ALL FOURS WITH ROTHBARD
In my first meeting with Murray, Michael Edelstein (pal of Walter Block) and I stopped
by his office, where Michael discussed a nagging backache. Murray loudly proclaimed a
wonderful exercise described by an ancient fakir. He promptly got down on all fours, and
lifted his leg as a dog might. The door was ajar, and I saw several students peek in and
scurry off. After our introductions, Murray signed a copy of a tract on monetary policy for
me, giving a warm smile and asked about my interests. Then, we attended his brilliant class
on socialism and unintended consequences. I was riveted, but noticed minimal responses
from the students.
I was new to libertarian philosophy. As a proud young pinko in the early 80s weaned
on “progressive” ideas from the New York Times, philosophy classes at the New School
in New York City, the School of Visual Arts, Beat poets, and the Village Voice, and determined
to dedicate my life to art and rock ‘n’ roll, I found myself amidst no shortage of
like-minded types.