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So can anyone recommend me good new metal bands who aren’t woke or compromised by modern radical leftists? My preferred genres are heavy (trad), thrash, doom and prog. I like the music but haven’t been paying attention to the scene in years.

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Unfortunately, I'm rather old school, my range is Sabbath, 70s, thrash, and some groove. I don't really pay attention to the metal scene, other than what I hear on satellite radio.

Thank you for reading!

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Hazing Over. My musical prodigy nephew is the lead singer and guitarist. He’s a huge talent and started with band (formerly known as Shinguard) at 14 yrs of age (he’s now 22).

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Peter, Awesome that you found the original article by BreadGod! Very insightful, articulate, and correct!

This is off-track to this article, but I don't know how to contact you via email: I have admired your articles for years but have one concern about being a full-blown libertarian. My perception is that libertarians are amoral, being OK with things like prostitution and harmful drug use. My ideal would be a Christian libertarian, who upholds strong Christian moral values. Since I respect your opinions, your thoughts on this would be most appreciated!

Thank you.

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First, thank YOU for reading :).

Now, to your question about morality. Without getting too long-winded, let me offer you a few points to consider.

Libertarianism *does* have a moral core. It mirrors that of the Bill of Rights and the values of the Enlightenment, i.e. the sovereignty of the individual. My freedom to act ends where it infringes on your person or property, and vice versa. So, murder, rape, assault, arson, robbery, theft, and a litany of other violations of another's liberty are, well, "immoral," since we're using that word.

The examples you cite are indeed allowed within libetarianism, again based on the sovereignty of the individual. As to drugs, it is no one else's business what I eat, drink, or otherwise put in my body. As to prostitution, if we are talking about consenting adults, then we fall into the realm "I should be able to sell anything I can give away for free."

Of course, you are free to condemn such behaviors - that's part of libertarianism as well. It's important to bear in mind that allowing does *not* mean condoning. I hate, with a passion, smoking, but that doesn't mean I want it banned.

Then there's the practical. Prostitution and recreational drug use have been banned by many nations and societies, with not only no positive effect, but substantial negative effect.

The War on Drugs has been raging for over half a century. Yet, anyone with very little effort can get any drug he or she desires, of higher quality, purity and potency than before. Billions of dollars get shipped out to drug cartels every year, where they are used not only to murder, but have a destabilizing effect on foreign nations. An entire industry of enforcement and incarceration has arisen in this country, police are now militarized "others" instead of being "us," our rights and liberties have been horribly eroded in order to fight this "war," people who've never harmed another have had their life prospects destroyed by criminal convictions, people who could benefit from treatment opt to do without out of fear of arrest, huge sums of money are taken out of the productive economy, gangs and organized crime dominate neighborhoods and keep those living there in fear.

Prostitution, the world's oldest profession, is legal and regulated in many nations. Doesn't mean that the citizens of those nations condone the activity, it just means that they accept it's going to happen no matter what, and that it's safer for everyone involved *not* to push it underground.

I hope that starts to answer your questions.

You can reach me at peterv@pigsandsheep.org.

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Wow. I’ve been an atheist since approx. 1974 and I never knew there was a “movement”. Sounds insufferable. Apparently even people who don’t believe in a particular thing (or some of them) still have this bizarre need to define themselves per a negative group identity (I belong to a group that DOESN’T _________). Once you’ve got the seeds of that, here come the rules (you’re not a REAL _________), and we’re off to the races.

Tribalism meets divide & conquer.

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Any idea, belief, 'ism,' hobby, or endeavor will spawn groups of enthusiasts who use it as a reason (or excuse) to gather, organize, and do what groups do. Those who report on such things will look to those groups for their stories - because they're easier to access, and they're easier to either extol or ridicule.

The fanatics will always be the loudest, even if they are few in number.

It's unfortunate, but it's reality.

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It is!

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