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About This Website

We are living in an era where the size and scope of government continues to grow, an era where the dire prophecies and admonitions of many of those who embrace the twin pillars of individual rights and limited government are coming true, where George Orwell’s warnings, dismissed by many, are proving to be frighteningly prescient, where politicians and their partisan noisemakers have become the overlords of our lives.

This is a blog founded on the political philosophy known as libertarianism. Here you will find discussions on many of the major public policy topics and issues of today, scrutinized through the lens of liberty and judged under the presumption of the primacy of the individual. Matters are considered from both a principled and a practical perspective, with the latter rooted in the former and viewed as the means by which liberty is advanced. You will also find discussions about liberty’s role in our daily lives, and about the myriad ways that government infringes our liberties.

Expect to find many opinions here. You’ll probably find some reasonable and some outlandish. You will likely agree with some and disagree with others. In the latter cases, before you simply decide to call me names, take a moment and process the ideas. If you still find them wanting, I’d love to hear the hows and whys. I hope for informed discussion, and try to embrace the spirit of Harlan Ellison’s opinion on opinions:

“Everybody has opinions: I have them, you have them. And we are all told from the moment we open our eyes, that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Well, that’s horsepuckey, of course. We are not entitled to our opinions; we are entitled to our informed opinions. Without research, without background, without understanding, it’s nothing. It’s just bibble-babble. It’s like a fart in a wind tunnel, folks.”

This site operated since 2016 under the PigsandSheep.org domain, and migrated to its new home in late 2020. While we found many who appreciated the Orwellian reference of the original name, we want to spread the themes of liberty beyond those who’ve read Animal Farm, so we are now The Roots of Liberty. Our post count is over 1300, and growing every week, so feel free to browse or search older content. The themes of liberty are timeless, so much of it is as relevant today as the day it was published.

Lastly, forgiveness is golden, especially when it comes to the nuts and bolts, spelling, punctuation, oxford commas, and expired links, so…

If many faultes in this [blog] you fynde,
Yet think not the correctors blynde;
If Argos heere hymselfe had beene,
He should perchance not all have seene.
— Richard Shacklock (1565)

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your time here.
— Peter Venetoklis, Editor

If you would like to contact us, please use our Contact Form.

If you are interested in Submissions, please visit our Submissions Page.

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About The Editor

I am a twice-retired rocket engineer/restauranteur. I spent a decade in aerospace, where, in addition to working on the engineering teams for navy aircraft and Strategic Defense Initiative projects, I was the lead mission analyst for the US Air Force’s Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion program. Armed with both that engineering experience and an MBA in management, I then spent twenty years as owner/operator of the El Greco Diner, the largest diner/restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. I retired out of the restaurant business in 2014, and I now spend my days in the suburbs of New York City, blogging and arguing politics while an old hound dog snores by my feet.

I have been arguing and advocating libertarianism for the past two decades. I’ve been a long-time advocate for economic liberty and a staunch defender of gun rights. I’ve been and continue to be a vocal critic of the War on Drugs, of America’s militaristic foreign policy, of the metastasizing expansion of the regulatory state, and of big government in general. I believe in the primacy of the individual, that each of us owns himself and the fruits of his labor. It is in this axiom that we find all the fundamentals and lessons of liberty, and it is liberty that betters all our lives.

For those who care about fine-tuning labels, I consider myself a cross between a minarchist and a classical liberal/paleoconservative.  That said, I also believe that a society that spent a century marching away from liberty will need more than a year or two to march toward real liberty. How we get there is as important as the destination itself.

Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation!

Many thanks for visiting.
— Peter Venetoklis