LewRockwell.com (LRC) is a libertarian website[2] which states that its purpose is "to help carry on the anti-war, anti-state, pro-market work of Murray N. Rothbard." It was begun in 1999 by anarcho-capitalists Lew Rockwell[3] and Burt Blumert[4] as an affiliate of the nonprofit Center for Libertarian Studies. On the advice of counsel, LRC separated in mid-2007 and become a 501(c)(4) organization so that it could continue to publish articles endorsing Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign.[5][6] The site presents articles and blog entries by Lew Rockwell and other contributors[7] as well as a weekly podcast called the Lew Rockwell Show.[8] LRC's traffic rank was in the top 10,000 websites worldwide in May 2013.[1]
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| Web address | lewrockwell.com |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | 501(c)(4) organization |
| Type of site | webmagazine |
| Editor | Lew Rockwell |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Alexa rank | 9,172 (May 2013[update]) [1] |
| Current status | active |
LewRockwell.com (LRC) is a libertarian website[2] which states that its purpose is "to help carry on the anti-war, anti-state, pro-market work of Murray N. Rothbard." It was begun in 1999 by anarcho-capitalists Lew Rockwell[3] and Burt Blumert[4] as an affiliate of the nonprofit Center for Libertarian Studies. On the advice of counsel, LRC separated in mid-2007 and become a 501(c)(4) organization so that it could continue to publish articles endorsing Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign.[5][6] The site presents articles and blog entries by Lew Rockwell and other contributors[7] as well as a weekly podcast called the Lew Rockwell Show.[8] LRC's traffic rank was in the top 10,000 websites worldwide in May 2013.[1]
Contents |
Content[edit]
The site states "Lew strives to present a diverse daily selection of interesting articles from our writers and other sites, but he does not necessarily endorse every view expressed. He does, however, believe that each piece will repay your reading."[4] It has a number of contributors whose writings comport with the site's motto of “anti-war, anti-state, pro-market”. Brian Doherty in Reason wrote that the "Mises Institute-associated writers...at LewRockwell.com...[tend to] to stress the various nightmarish problems and crises that government action creates, whether overseas or at home."[9]
The site includes an archive of dozens of articles by Murray Rothbard, who was Rockwell's colleague at the Mises Institute[10] and another which contains dozens more by and about Ron Paul.[11]
Responses[edit]
Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg of the National Review wrote that LewRockwell.com "features regular diatribes against National Review, neoconservatives, The Weekly Standard, William F. Buckley, and other icons of what most people consider mainstream conservatism in America".[12] Writing in The American Conservative, W. James Antle III (of The American Spectator) described LRC as paleolibertarian and "an indispensable source of news about [Ron Paul's political campaign]."[13]
In 2005 Jacob Laksin, writing in the conservative FrontPage Magazine, criticized anti-war LRC articles by Rockwell, Karen Kwiatkowski, Cindy Sheehan and Mike Rogers.[14] A 2005 New York Sun editorial also criticized LewRockwell.com for posting writings by Sheehan.[15]
Seth Kalichman, author of Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy, wrote that LewRockwell.com presented articles by individuals which he described as "HIV/AIDS denialists". In particular, Kalichman notes that Peter Duesberg, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, presented Duesberg's "research finding [that] refutes the effectiveness of HIV treatments" [page 50] at a 2006 LewRockwell.com conference. He also notes that molecular biologist Harvey Bialy has published articles about HIV/AIDS on LRC, as has mathematical biologist Rebecca Culshaw, who made what Kalichman describes as her "denialism debut" on the website.[16]
In 2008, Reason magazine reported that a "half-dozen longtime libertarian activists", including many close to Ron Paul, assert that LRC Editor-in-Chief Lew Rockwell was "chief ghostwriter" of the racially charged Ron Paul newsletters, as did former Ron Paul Chief of Staff (1981-1985) John W. Robbins.[17][18][clarification needed] The New Republic's James Kirchick uncovered one newsletter which lists Rockwell as "contributing editor" and another which lists him as the (sole) Editor.[19][20][21] Rockwell admitted in an interview that he was "involved in the promotion" of the newsletters, but indicated another individual who had "left in unfortunate circumstances" was in charge of editing and publishing them.[22]
Contributors[edit]
Noted contributors listed by LewRockwell.com include:[23]
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- * Indicates contributor also listed as a prominent LRC writer.[24]
Other noted LRC writers include:[24]
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References and notes[edit]
- ^ a b Alexa analyctics for LewRockwell.com, accessed May 12, 2013.
- ^ Baedeker, Rob (February 25, 2008). "The gold standard: A precious metal that's not just an investment but a worldview too". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ Rockwell was also chief of staff for Ron Paul when Paul was a Member of Congress, an editor of the sometimes controversial Ron Paul newsletters, a founder and chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and publisher of the Journal of Libertarian Studies.
- ^ a b About LewRockwell.com at LewRockwell.com website.
- ^ Blumert, Burton (August 6, 2007). "Ron Paul Is a Big Problem". LewRockwell.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "The Ron Paul File". LewRockwell.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ The LRC Blog at LewRockwell.com website
- ^ Lew Rockwell Show podcast at LewRockwell.com.
- ^ Doherty, Brian (February 16, 2009). "Libertarianism in an Age of Economic Crisis: Why being truculent, oppositional, and hard to pigeonhole are not signs of ideological death". Reason. Reason Foundation.
- ^ Murray N. Rothbard Library and Resources at LewRockwell.com.
- ^ The Ron Paul File at LewRockwell.com. In his 2011 book Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom, Paul said he "especially value[s]" the site. Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE). ISBN 978-1-4555-0443-5 [1]
- ^ Goldberg, Jonah (March 7, 2001). "Farewell, Lew Rockwell. The final word". National Review. "The site also features regular screeds about how Abraham Lincoln was a murderous war criminal, how the American military is a hotbed of criminal imperialism and murderous warmongering, and why Southern secession not only was honorable and noble but how it still is a viable option." (In this article, Goldberg was responding to criticisms of another article he had written about LRC.)
- ^ Antle III, W. James (January 14, 2008). "The Paleocon Dilemma… The Ron Paul campaign illustrates the choices facing the antiwar Right". The American Conservative. "[A] decade ago...Rockwell hoped to mobilize grassroots conservatives on behalf of anti-statism, during the Bush era he has detected a whiff of 'red-state fascism' among the Republican base. Other [LRC] writers prefer terms like 'neoconofascist'."
- ^ Laksin, Jacob (October 5, 2005). "The Right’s Left Turn", FrontPage Magazine.
- ^ "Sheehan in Brooklyn: Editorial of The New York Sun". The New York Sun. October 21, 2005. "She will even headline a benefit conference for [LRC] next month in San Mateo, Calif."
- ^ Kalichman, Seth; Nattrass, Nicoli (forward) (2008). Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy. New York, London: Springer. p. 49–53, 142, 182, 191. ISBN 978-0-387-79475-4. OCLC 390487079.
- For the 2006 LRC conference, see: LewRockwell.com 2006 conference schedule
- For Harvey Bialy's LRC response to Farber, Celia (March 2006). "Out of Control: AIDS and the Corruption of Medical Science". Harper's, vol. 312, no. 1870, pp. 37–52, OCLC 100240598; ISSN 017-789X; see: "The US Government Responds to the 'AIDS Denialist' Writing in the March Harper’s"
- For Rebecca Culshaw's LRC article, see: "Why I Quit HIV", LewRockwell.com, March 3, 2006.
- ^ "Who Wrote Ron Paul's Newsletters?". Reason.com. January 16, 2008. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ "Likely Author Of Shocking Ron Paul Letters Exposed". Huffingtonpost.com. January 18, 2008. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ Masthead of 1988 Ron Paul Investment Letter.
- ^ Post Store (December 27, 2011). "Ron Paul and the racist newsletters (Fact Checker biography)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ Masthead of a 1987 Ron Paul Investment Letter
- ^ Kirchick, James (January 10, 2008). "Who Wrote Ron Paul's Newsletters?". New Republic. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ LewRockwell.com columnists
- ^ a b About LewRockwell.com (partial listing)
- ^ In his 2010 book Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History, Napolitano described LRC as "the best monitor of government excess in America today". ISBN 978-1-59555-266-2 OCLC 422764514
