libertariantaoist

[libertariantaoist]

COI #574: AI’s Role in Israel’s Genocide

On COI #574, Will Porter joins Kyle Anzalone to discuss the war in Gaza.

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest #will porter

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 12, 2024

“The reason the sea can govern a hundred rivers

is because it has mastered being lower

thus it can govern a hundred rivers

hence if sages would be above the people

they should speak as if they were below them

if they would be in front

they should act as if they were behind them

thus when sages are above

the people aren’t burdened

when they are in front

the people aren’t obstructed

the world never wearies

of pushing sages forward

and because they don’t struggle

no one can struggle against them”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 66, translation by Red Pine)

YEN TSUN says, “Rivers don’t flow toward the sea because of its reputation or its power but because it does nothing and seeks nothing.”

TE-CH’ING says, “All rivers flow toward the sea, regardless of whether they are muddy or clear. And the sea is able to contain them all because it is adept at staying below them. This is a metaphor for sages, to which the world turns because they are selfless.”

LU HUI-CH’ING says, “When sages possess the kingdom, they speak of themselves as ‘orphaned, widowed, and impoverished’ or ‘inheritor of the country’s shame and misfortune.’ Thus, in their speech, they place themselves below others. They do not act unless they are forced. They do not respond unless they are pushed. They do not rise unless they have no choice. Thus, in their actions, they place themselves behind others.”

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “When sages rule over the people, they don’t oppress those below with their position. Thus, the people uphold them and don’t think of them as a burden. When sages stand before them, they don’t blind them with their glory. Thus, the people love them as parents and harbor no resentment. Sages are kind and loving and treat the people as if they were their children. Thus, the whole world wants them for their leaders. The people never grow tired of them because sages don’t struggle against them. Everyone struggles against something. But no one struggles against those who don’t struggle against anything.”

SU CH’E says, “Sages don’t try to be above or in front of others. But when they find themselves below or behind others, the Tao can’t help but lift them up and push them forward.”

YANG HSIUNG says, “Those who hold themselves back are advanced by others. Those who lower themselves are lifted up by others” (Fayen: 7).

LI HSI-CHAI says, “The people aren’t burdened when sages are above them, because the people aren’t aware they have a ruler. And the people aren’t obstructed when sages are before them, because sages aren’t aware the people are their charges.”

WANG CHEN says, “Through humility sages gain the approval of the people. Once they gain their approval, they gain their tireless support. And once they gain their tireless support, struggling over rank naturally comes to an end.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

COI #573: The White House Uses Questionable Accounting to Fund the War in Ukraine

On COI #573, Kyle Anzalone discusses the latest news on Julian Assange and the war in Ukraine.

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 4/11/2024

by Kyle Anzalone

US News

Bill to Extend Mass Surveillance Program Fails House Vote The Institute 

Biden Says He’s Considering Dropping Charges Against Julian Assange AWC

Ukraine

Biden Administration Has Undercounted Ukraine Spending By $14 Billion AWC

Israel

CNN Says Evidence Shows Israel Is Lying About Flour Massacre CNN

Israel Is Killing the Children of Gaza With Starvation HRW

Top Dem Questions F-15 Sale to Israel, White House Restates Commitment to Tel Aviv The Institute 

Biden Walks Back Call for Israel to Declare a Ceasefire in Gaza AWC

Trump Says Biden Has ‘Totally Abandoned Israel’ AWC

Israel Kills Sons and Grandchildren of Hamas Political Bureau Leader AWC

Lebanon

Mossad Suspected as US Sanctioned Hamas Financier Found Murdered Near Beirut AWC

Iran

US Thinks Iranian Retaliation Against Israel Is Imminent AWC

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 11, 2024

“The ancient masters of the Way

tried not to enlighten

but to keep people in the dark

what makes people hard to rule

is their knowledge

who rules the realm with knowledge

is the terror of the realm

who rules without knowledge

is the paragon of the realm

who understands the difference

is one who finds the key

knowing how to find the key

is what we call Dark Virtue

Dark Virtue goes deep

goes far

goes the other way

until it reaches perfect harmony”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 65, translation by Red Pine)

WU CH’ENG says, “To make the people more natural, the ancient sages did not try to make the people more knowledgeable but to make them less knowledgeable. This radical doctrine was later misused by the First Emperor of the Ch’in dynasty, who burned all the books [in 213 B.C.] to make the people ignorant.”

CHUANG-TZU says, “When the knowledge of bows and arrows arose, the birds above were troubled. When the knowledge of hooks and nets proliferated, the fish below were disturbed. When the knowledge of snares and traps spread, the creatures of the wild were bewildered. When the knowledge of argument and disputation multiplied, the people were confused. Thus are the world’s troubles due to the love of knowledge” (Chuangtzu: 10.4).

WANG PI says, “When you rouse the people with sophistry, treacherous thoughts arise. When you counter their deceptions with more sophistry, the people see through your tricks and avoid them. Thus, they become secretive and devious.”

LIU CHUNG-P’ING says, “Those who rule without knowledge turn to Heaven. Those who rule with knowledge turn to Humankind. Those who turn to Heaven are in harmony. Those who are in harmony do only what requires no effort. Their government is lenient. Those who turn to Humankind force things. Those who force things become lost in the Great Inquisition. Hence, their people are dishonest.” Liu’s terminology here is indebted to Chuangtzu: 19.2 and Mencius: 4B.26.

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “‘Difference’ refers to ‘with knowledge’ and ‘without knowledge.’ Once you know that knowledge spreads evil and lack of knowledge spreads virtue, you understand the key to cultivating the self and governing the realm. Once you understand the key, you share the same virtue as Heaven. And Heaven is dark. Those who possess dark Virtue are so deep they can’t be fathomed, so distant they can’t be reached, and always do the opposite of others. They give to others, while others think only of themselves.”

SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Because it is so deep, you can’t hear it or see it. Because it is so distant, you can’t talk about it or reach it. Dark Virtue differs from everything else. But it agrees with the Tao.”

SU CH’E says, “What the sage values is virtue. What others value is knowledge. Virtue and knowledge are opposites. Knowledge is seldom harmonious, while virtue is always harmonious.”

LIN HSI-YI says, “‘Perfect harmony’ means whatever is natural.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

COI #572: Gaza Death Toll Could Reach 100,000 By August

On COI #572, Kyle Anzalone examines the war in Gaza.

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 4/10/2024

by Kyle Anzalone 

Russia

US Transfers Weapons Seized in Middle East to Ukraine The Institute 

US Announces $138 Million HAWK Air Defense Deal for Ukraine AWC

German Troops Arrive in Lithuania for First Permanent Deployment Since WWII AWC

China

US to Expand Naval Base in Papua New Guinea as Part of Anti-China Buildup AWC

Gaza

Hamas, Israel Say No Progress Made in Ceasefire Talks AWC

Israel Seeks to Sell Weapons Used in Gaza Slaughter The Institute 

Netanyahu Says ‘There Is a Date’ for Rafah Invasion AWC

Support for Israel Has Changed Voters’ View of Biden Politico

Israel Is Destroying Gaza’s Ability to Produce Food Cradle

71% of Israelis Want Netanyahu to Resign, Half Demand Immediate Elections TOI

Aid Experts Warn Gaza Death Toll Could Exceed 100,000 The Institute 

More Than 500,000 Democratic Voters Protest Biden’s Support of Gaza Slaughter AWC

World Marks Six Months of ‘Relentless Death and Destruction’ in Gaza AWC

Biden Says Israel Should Call a 6-8 Week Ceasefire in Gaza AWC

Erez Border Crossing Into Northern Gaza Still Not Open for Aid Despite Israeli Commitment AWC

Israeli Defense Minister Contradicts Netanyahu, Says No Date Set for Rafah Invasion AWC

Lloyd Austin Claims There’s ‘No Evidence’ of Genocide in Gaza AWC

Lebanon

Israel Kills Hezbollah Commander, Three Others in Airstrike on Southern Lebanon House AWC

Security Sources Deny Lebanese Politician’s Death Was Political Assassination AWC

Syria

Iran’s Foreign Minister Opens New Consulate in Damascus AWC

US Says It Conducted 94 Missions Against ISIS in Iraq and Syria This Year AWC

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 10, 2024

“It’s easy to rule while it’s peaceful

it’s easy to plan for before it appears

it’s easy to break while it’s fragile

it’s easy to disperse while it’s small

act before anything exists

govern before anyone rebels

a giant tree grows from the tiniest shoot

a great tower rises from a basket of dirt

a thousand-mile journey begins at your feet

but to act is to fail

to control is to lose

sages therefore don’t act

thus they don’t fail

they don’t control

thus they don’t lose

when people pursue a task

failure occurs near the end

care at the end as well as the start

means an end to failure

sages thus seek what no one else seeks

they don’t prize hard-to-get goods

they study what no one else studies

they turn to what others pass by

to help all things remain natural

they dare not act”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 64, translation by Red Pine)

LU HUI-CH’ING says, “We should act before anything exists, while things are peaceful and latent. We should govern before anyone rebels, while they are weak and few. But to act before anything exists means to act without acting. To govern before anyone rebels means to govern without governing.”

SU CH’E says, “To act before anything exists comes first. To govern before anyone rebels comes next.”

KUAN-TZU says, “Know where success and failure lie, then act” (Kuantzu: 47).

HUAI-NAN-TZU says, “A needle creates a tapestry. A basket of earth makes a wall. Success and failure begin from something small” (Huainantzu: 16).

SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “From a sprout, the small becomes great. From a basket of earth, the low becomes high. From here, the near becomes far. But trees are cut down, towers are toppled, and journeys end. Everything we do eventually results in failure. Everything we control is eventually lost. But if we act before anything exists, how can we fail? If we govern before anyone rebels, how can we lose?”

WANG P’ANG says, “Everything has its course. When the time is right, it arrives. But people are blind to this truth and work to speed things up. They try to help Heaven and end up ruining things just as they near completion.”

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Others seek the ornamental. Sages seek the simple. Others seek form. Sages seek Virtue. Others study facts and skills. Sages study what is natural. Others learn how to govern the world. Sages learn how to govern themselves and how to uphold the truth of the Way.”

HAN FEI says, “The wise don’t fill their lessons with words or their shelves with books. The world may pass them by, but rulers turn to them when they want to learn what no one else learns.”

WU CH’ENG says, “The sage seeks without seeking and studies without studying. For the truth of all things lies not in acting but in doing what is natural. By not acting, the sage shares in the naturalness of all things.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

COI #571: The War on Gaza, Assange and Elections guest Matt Hoh

Matthew Hoh, Associate Director Eisenhower Media Network, joins Kyle Anzalone to discuss the war in Gaza, the persecution of Julian Assange, and the Democrats attack on his campaign for Senate.

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest #matthew hoh

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 9, 2024

“Act without acting

work without working

understand without understanding

great or small many or few

repay each wrong with virtue

plan for the hard while it’s easy

deal with the great while it’s small

the world’s hardest task begins easy

the world’s greatest goal begins small

sages therefore never act great

they thus achieve great goals

who quickly agrees is seldom trusted

who thinks things easy finds them hard

sages therefore think everything hard

and thus find nothing hard”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 63, translation by Red Pine)

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “To act without acting means to do only what is natural. To work without working means to avoid trouble by preparing in advance. To understand without understanding means to understand the meaning of the Tao through meditation.”

LI HSI-CHAI says, “When we act without acting, we don’t exhaust ourselves. When we work without working, we don’t trouble others. When we understand without understanding, we don’t waste anything.”

WANG TAO says, “What people do involves action. What sages do accords with the Tao of non-action. ‘Work’ refers to the conditions of action. ‘Understanding’ refers to meaning of action.”

SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “To act without acting, to work without working, to understand without understanding is to conform with what is natural and not to impose oneself on others. Though others treat sages wrongly, the wrong is theirs and not the sages’. Sages respond with the virtue within their hearts. Utterly empty and detached, they thus influence others to trust in doing nothing.”

CHIAO HUNG says, “Action involves form and thus includes great and small. It is also tied to number and thus includes many and few. This is where wrongs come from. Only the Tao is beyond form and beyond number. Thus, sages treat everything the same: great and small, many and few. Why should they respond to them with anger?”

TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “If we repay wrongs with kindness, we put an end to revenge. If we repay wrongs with wrongs, revenge never ends.”

HAN FEI says, “In terms of form, the great necessarily starts from the small. In terms of duration, the many necessarily starts from the few. Wise rulers detect small schemes and thus avoid great plots. They enact minor punishments and thus avoid major rebellions.”

DUKE WEN OF CHIN told Kuo Yen, “In the beginning, I found it easy to rule the kingdom. Now I find it hard.” Kuo Yen replied, “If you consider something easy, it is bound to become hard. If you consider something hard, it is bound to become easy” (Kuoyu: Chin.4).

WANG CHEN says, “If rulers disdain something as easy, misfortune and trouble are sure to arise from it. If they do not pay attention to small matters, eventually they will overwhelm even the greatest virtue. Thus, sages guard against the insignificant lest it amount to something great. If they wait until something is great before they act, their action will come too late.”

TE-CH’ING says, “When I entered the mountains to cultivate the Way, at first it was very hard. But once I learned how to use my mind, it became very easy. What the world considers hard, the sage considers easy. What the world considers easy, the sage considers hard.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 4/8/2024

by Kyle Anzalone

Ukraine

Russia Repels Major Drone Attack on Military Base The Institute 

Ukrainian Drone Hits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant AWC

Israel

Biden Says Israel Is Doing What He Asked, Signaling No Change in US Support AWC

Gallant: Israel Withdrawing From Southern Gaza to Prepare for Rafah Invasion AWC

Nancy Pelosi Signs Letter Urging Biden To Halt Weapons Transfers to Israel AWC

Father of American Aid Worker Killed By Israeli Drone in Gaza Tells Blinken US Should Cut Aid to Israel AWC

Middle East

Iranian General Warns That No Israeli Embassy Is Safe AWC

Eight Killed as Israel Strikes Across Southern Lebanon AWC

Faction Fight in Southwest Syria After Bombing Kills at Least 20 AWC

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup

[libertariantaoist]

COI #570: Blinken Says Israel Becoming Like Hamas

On COI #570, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman discuss the war in Gaza.

#kyle anzalone #connor freeman #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 8, 2024

“The Tao is creation’s sanctuary

treasured by the good

it keeps the bad alive

beautiful words might be the price

noble deeds might be the gift

how can we abandon

people who are bad

thus when emperors are enthroned

or ministers installed

though there be great disks of jade

followed by teams of horses

they don’t rival one who sits

and offers up this Way

the ancients thus esteemed it

for did they not proclaim

who seeks thereby obtains

who errs thereby escapes

thus the world esteems it”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 62, translation by Red Pine)

THE HSISHENGCHING says, “The Tao is the sanctuary of the deepest depth and the source of empty nothingness.”

WU CH’ENG says, “‘Sanctuary’ means the most honored place. The layout of ancestral shrines includes an outer hall and an inner chamber. The southwest corner of the inner chamber is called ‘the sanctuary,’ and the sanctuary is where the gods dwell.”

SU CH’E says, “All we see of things is their exterior, their entrance hall. The Tao is their sanctuary. We all have one, but we don’t see it. The wise alone are able to find it. Hence, Lao-tzu says the good treasure it, but the foolish don’t find it. Then again, who doesn’t the Tao protect? Hence, he says it protects the bad. The Tao doesn’t abandon people. People abandon the Tao.”

WANG PI says, “Beautiful words can excel the products of the marketplace. Noble deeds can elicit a response a thousand miles away.”

TE-CH’ING says, “The Tao is in us all. Though good and bad might differ, our nature is the same. How, then, can we abandon anyone?”

LAO-TZU says, “Sages are good at saving others / therefore they abandon no one / nor anything of use / this is called cloaking the light / thus the good instruct the bad / the bad learn from the good” (Taoteching: 27).

WANG P’ANG says, “Jade disks and fine horses are used to attract talented people to the government. But a government that finds talented people yet does not implement the Tao is not followed by its subjects.”

CHIANG HSI-CH’ANG says, “In ancient times, the less valuable presents came first. Hence, jade disks preceded horses.”

LI HSI-CHAI says, “Better than disks of jade followed by teams of horses would be one good word or one good deed to keep people from losing sight of the good.”

LU NUNG-SHIH says, “If words and deeds can be offered to others, how much more the Tao.”

WANG AN-SHIH says, “There is nothing that is not the Tao. When good people seek it, they are able to find it. When bad people seek it, they are able to avoid punishment.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 4/7/2024

by Kyle Anzalone

Ukraine

As Ukraine’s War Effort Fails, Kiev Embraces Neo Nazi ‘Bad Guys’ Attacking Russia The Institute 

Israel

Israel Lobby Targets Former GOP Rep. John Hostettler’s Campaign NBC

Israeli Doctor Says Israeli Detention of Palestinians Violates International Laws Haaretz

Aid Group Hit by IDF Strike Says Israeli Response ‘Cold Comfort’ AWC

Blinken: Israel Becoming ‘Indistinguishable’ From Hamas AWC

IDF Admits To Killing Elderly Hostage on October 7 AWC

Lebanon

Israeli Airstrike on Amal Movement Site in South Lebanon Kills Three AWC

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 7, 2024

“A great state is a watershed

the confluence of the world

the female of the world

the female uses stillness to overcome the male

in order to be still

she needs to be lower

the great state that lowers itself before the small state

governs the small state

the small state that lowers itself before the great state

is governed by the great state

some lower themselves to govern

some lower themselves to be governed

the great state’s one desire

is to unite and lead others

the small state’s one desire

is to join and serve others

for both to fulfill their desires

whichever is greater needs to be lower”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 61, translation by Red Pine)

LAO-TZU says, “The reason the sea can govern a hundred rivers / is because it has mastered being lower” (Taoteching: 66).

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “To lead a great state, we should be like the sea. We should be at the bottom of a watershed and not fight even the smallest current. A great state is the meeting place of the high and the low. The female refers to everything yin, everything that is weak, humble, yielding – what doesn’t lead.”

TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “The female is the mother. All creatures revere their mother. The sage recognizes the male but upholds the female. Hence, all creatures turn to the sage.”

SU CH’E says, “The world turns to a great state just as rivers flow downstream. If a great state can lower itself, small states will attach themselves to it. If a small state can lower itself, a great state will take it under its care. A great state lowers itself to govern others. A small state lowers itself to be governed by others.”

WU CH’ENG says, “The female doesn’t make the first move. It is always the male who makes the first move. But to act means to lose the advantage. To wait means to be lower. The great state that doesn’t presume on its superiority gains the voluntary support of the small state. The small state that is content with its inferiority enjoys the generosity of the great state. The small state doesn’t have to worry about being lower, but the great state does. Hence, the great state needs to be lower.”

WAG AN-SHIH says, “To serve someone greater is easy. To serve someone smaller is hard. Because it is hard, Lao-tzu says, ‘whichever is greater needs to be lower.’”

MENCIUS says, “Only a virtuous ruler is able to serve a smaller state. Only a wise ruler is able to serve a greater state” (Mencius: 1B.3).

WANG PI says, “By cultivating humility, each gets what it wants. When the small state cultivates humility, it preserves itself, but that is all. It can’t make the world turn to it. The world turns to the great state that cultivates humility. Thus, each gets what it wants. But it is the great state that needs to be more humble.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 6, 2024

“Ruling a great state

is like cooking a small fish

when you govern the world with the Tao

spirits display no powers

not that they have no powers

their powers don’t harm the people

not that their powers can’t harm

the sage keeps them from harming

and neither harms the other

for both rely on Virtue”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 60, translation by Red Pine)

In a poem bemoaning the absence of virtuous rulers, the SHIHCHING SAYS, “Who can cook fish / I’ll wash out the pot” (Kuei: 4).

LI HSI-CHAI says, “For the sage, ruling a state is a minor affair, like cooking a small fish.”

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “If you cook a small fish, don’t remove its entrails, don’t scrape off its scales, and don’t stir it. If you do, it will turn to mush. Likewise, too much government makes those below rebel. And too much cultivation makes one’s vitality wither.”

HAN FEI says, “In cooking a small fish, too much turning ruins it. In governing a great state, too much reform embitters the people. Thus, a ruler who possesses the Way values inaction over reform.”

TE CH’ING says, “A cruel government brings calamity down on the people. The people, however, think their suffering is the work of ghosts and spirits and turn to sacrifice and worship to improve their lot, when actually their misfortune is caused by their rulers.”

THE TSOCHUAN says, “If the state is meant to flourish, listen to the people. If the state is meant to perish, listen to the spirits” (Chuang: 32).

WANG CHEN says, “The government that takes peace as its basis doesn’t lose the Way. When the government doesn’t lose the Way, yin and yang are in harmony. When yin and yang are in harmony, wind and rain arrive on time. When wind and rain arrive on time, the spirit world is at peace. When the spirit world is at peace, the legion of demons can’t perform their sorcery.”

WANG PI says, “Spirits don’t injure what is natural. What is natural gives spirits no opening. When spirits have no opening, spirits cannot act like spirits.”

CH’ENG HSUAN-YING says, “Spirits dwell in the yin, and people dwell in the yang. When both accept their lot, neither injures the other.”

SU CH’E says, “The inaction of the sage makes people content with the way they are. Outside, nothing troubles them. Inside, nothing frightens them. Even spirits have no means of using their powers. It isn’t that spirits have no powers. The have powers, but they don’t use them to harm people. The reason people and spirits don’t harm each other is because they look up to the sage. And the sage never harms anyone.”

WU CH’ENG says, “The reason spirits don’t harm the people is not because they can’t but because the sage is able to harmonize the energy of the people so that they don’t injure the energy of the spirit world. The reason neither injures the other is due to the sage’s virtue. Hence, both worlds rely on the virtue of the sage.”

HSUAN-TSUNG says, “‘Neither’ here refers to spirits and the sage.”

LI JUNG says, “Spirits and sages help people without harming each other. One is hidden, the other manifest. But both rely on virtue.”

SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Spirits are spirits because they respond but can’t be seen. Sages are sages because they govern but don’t act. The virtue of sages and the virtue of spirits is the same.”

#libertariantaoist #lao-tzu #tao te ching #red pine

[libertariantaoist]

COI #569: Israel Intentionally Slaughtered Entire Palestinian Families

On COI #569, Kyle Anzalone breaks down the recent news from Gaza.

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #conflicts of interest