I hope you're right.
"Ad astra per aspera."

Some would as they did in the new world when they tried socialism. Then they switched to free enterprise and producers rose to the challenge. As Rearden noted, they didn't even notice the burden of the less talented as long as they worked. As for the looters, they can eliminate themselves from the gene pool so the human race will improve.

They'd die.

The masters were an ocean away, and that was the way being on Mars would be today. Life was relatively hard and people had to be productive or die. Perhaps most of the human race needs that incentive.

This is PRECISELY why socialism leads to totalitarianism. Too much power in one place, and no matter how well meaning, it becomes misused and corrupted.

Free speech in "The Land of the Free" is diminishing. At first it was in slow increments, then faster and under Obama at warp speed. We are less free today that we were just prior to the revolution of 1776.

Wow...didn't know it was that bad...I could never live like that...They would have put me away for a long time, right after I was born.

That's easy. "Hate speech" is when it gores MY ox.

And we will call it Galt's Gulch.

Chile. If you live in the Las Condes, or Providencia sectors of Santiago you can get along nicely with mostly English (however, I can communicate quite well in Spanish). Also, in those sectors you can have a first world living experience. Also, you may have an overall lower tax burden. Rule of law is very strong in Chile. The German influence in Chile is strong. There is no siesta and the mañana mentality is not strong. Granted, most people can't pickup and move to a foreign country, but doing the passive non-vote does nothing to change things. The only true alternatives to get rid of a parasite (i.e. Federal Government) are to either starve it by figuring out how to not pay taxes, or kill it through revolution. I don't see a whole bunch of folks ready to arm themselves and storm the seat of government. Also, starving it is not super effective since they will just print more money. The only alternative then is to stop playing and leave. Before that happens the pain of the current situation has to be worse than the pain of change. Most people are not there yet. However, last year saw a record number of people leaving and surrendering their citizenship.

Liberty is a sub concept of freedom. One has freedom to act as his body and mind are able to do. Liberty is the freedom to act which is not inhibited by laws of force. It is not the laws that are liberty, i.e., government does not make liberty, it can only reduce the freedom of a person and thus ones liberty.

I've never met a lawyer yet who can tell me the difference between "hate speech" and defamation, but IMHO the difference is that a government can, like Humpty, redefine where the line is drawn.

That isn't easy either, CB. American-style free trade is not welcomed overseas unless you go to a place that doesn't have the ability to administer the law. That comes with a lot of other compromises and usually means speaking a foreign language and suffering with the manana syndrome.

Another option is to vote with your feet and your taxes. The last few years I came to the conclusions that: 1. My vote did not count in the PRC (People's Republic of California) and 2. My tax dollars were being used very imprudently. So, I left the PRC and took my money with me. I have actually looked at moving to a country that is more compliant with my world view and surrendering my US citizenship, but so far I have not been able to talk my wife into doing that.

Complete with cyclone fences and barbed wire - to "protect the free speakers", of course. Set up at the direction of the dotgov, and of course well out of earshot or visual of what they were speaking about.

Lesson - be a good silent sheep, nodding your assent to our power, or you get thrown in the barbed wire topped cage with the rest of you troublemaking "free speech advocates".

Europe has never been in favor of free speech. Once you go down the Socialist path, freedom of speech necessarily goes out the window. It's one of the reasons why they outlaw guns.

The first thing I thought while reading the article is that our EcoNazis are taking notes on how to suppress the free speech of manmade climate change deniers a along with the First Amendment. That could also go for shutting up those who criticize Obama over letting in thousands of Muslim refugees.
I had another thought as I finished reading. Bet the Obama regime would be dead against that German comedian asking for asylum here.

I am in PA. and we have a closed primary system. I am Libertarian so I'll just be voting on a couple of ballot initiatives. We have choices?

Truth. I don't really see a candidate that will change the path we are on.

Free Speech Zones were set up under Bush. None of the statists want free speech (except a free pass on their own lies, of course.)

I think that happens to some extent here now. The White house can certainly put pressure on news outlets that don't support their positions. Obama signed a law making it illegal to protest near someone under Secret Service protection. They talk openly about prosecuting climate change skeptics. A law preventing criticism of a foreign leader seems a natural progression for todays politicians.