Master the Debates. Jacksonville Florida

CNN.com Live Stream of the event here

Chat live online with us on the Liberty Maniacs Facebook Page

Or follow us on Twitter

Liberty Maniacs Featured in Wall Street Journal

We're proud to say that Liberty Maniacs founder Dan McCall was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal talking about the fast-paced world of political merchandising. 

The article was by veteran journalist Elizabeth Williamson, and explained how we go about designing timely, freedom-loving gear as fast as possible - often before a news cycle even ends.

"The online political marketplace "is like someone driving a car at 20 miles per hour through a mall, looking for T-shirts," says the 36-year-old Mr. McCall.

 Yes it is.  And making the gear can be just as crazy and blistering when it comes to newsy items.  Understanding Dan's design notes after be blows through 5 cups of coffee can be is just as nuts. 

Fortunately, news-cycle items are only a portion of what we do here, or we would have probably lost whatever is left of our mind long ago. 

If you get a minute have a read.

New FEE Store

LibertyManiacs.com is very proud to announce the launch of the official web store for the Original Free-Market Organization, the Foundation for Economic Education.

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), one of the oldest free-market organizations in the United States, was founded in 1946 by Leonard E. Read to study and advance the freedom philosophy. FEE’s mission is to offer the most consistent case for the “first principles” of freedom: the sanctity of private property, individual liberty, the rule of law, the free market, and the moral superiority of individual choice and responsibility over coercion.
From student seminars, to internships programs, to it's flagship publication The Freeman: Ideas On Liberty, the FEE has been a steadfast institution educating not only individuals in the United States, but all over the World for generations.

We loaded the new shop with over 50 new products from t-shirts, embroidered polos, posters, stickers, mugs, iPhone cases, with much more to come!  Your purchase in the store not only lets you promote one of the great institutions promoting economic education, but also helps fund it's operation. 

We invite you to not only take a look at the store, but also head over to fee.org to learn more about getting involved with The Original Free-Market Organization.  From The Freeman, to the FEE's new home for educational video lectures on fee.tv, you'll be amazed at the resources available!

Summer Print Sale

From now until the end of August you can deck out your walls with Maniacs prints while saving some scratch at the same time.

From Lysander Spooner prints to 1984 propaganda posters, get 30% off these posters when you enter the code DECKTHEWALLS at checkout.  (Or if you have your cookies enabled, the link should do it automatically.)

Here's a preview of some of the hottest posters out right now.

Ron Paul "Fight Has Just Begun"

Geronimo Portrait

Bernanke Corporatism Print

Treasury Propaganda

Ron Paul2012: It's On!

 It's no surprise that Liberty Maniacs is a big fan of Dr. Ron Paul.  We've been making Ron Paul gear since just after his first presidential run, and our "Ron Paul for President" bumper stickers were big sellers way back in 2003 when we started the web store.

Nowadays you're likely to see our Ron Paul designs all over Facebook as avatars and group pics, to official sites like LibertyPAC.org, Ron Paul's political action committee. This won't end, of course.  We think Dr. Paul is a fantastic ambassador for the philosophy of freedom, so with the announcement of Ron Paul running for President in the 2012 election, LibertyManiacs.com has been quite busy designing new gear to push the freedom message. 

We've re-issued some of our most popular designs over the years like the "Fight Has Just Begun" design above, and we've donated designs to the Ron Paul campaign that you'll see on official gear at the Ron Paul presidential store. 

Of course, the roster of new stuff we'll be offering is pretty wild as well.  From iPad case, to removable wall sticks, jewelry, stadium blankets, portable electronic device speakers, hats, bags, you name it. 

Some of the coolest stuff out is our customizable gear. On these products you can add small custom elements like your name, town, or whatever you want with the on demand online editor, with the result being that you get a one-of-a-kind piece of art.  Or, if you have an organization you can take one of our many products and personalize it to your organization's needs, place an order, and bulk discounts automatically apply. 

Cool Savings on Your January Order

From now until the end of January, ring in the new year right with a $25 credit on orders of $100 or more, or $10 credit on orders of $50 or more at LibertyManiacs.*

$25 off $100+ orders  use code 25OFFHUNDRED  Or use this link


$10 off $50+ orders  use code TENFIFTY2010 or use this link

The Coupon Codes last until 1/31/2011 at 11:59 pm PT.


*Discount applies for all Liberty Maniacs products at Zazzle.com, but excludes gift certificates. The promo code must be entered at checkout or be otherwise activated through the above links to receive the discount. Minimum order amount does not include shipping and handling charges or taxes. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional discounts or offers.  Offer valid only at Liberty Maniacs' Zazzle.com store.

iPhone & iPad Cases Are Here!

Well, they're here.  And boy do we have some options for you.  From customizable Speck Cases, to hard Shell 5-in-one premium Brenthaven Cases, and various other iPhone hard shell cases, we may just have your Apple iPhone and iPad covers, well, covered.

Here are just a few of our new Speck cases available.  All of which can be customized. 

Chief Joseph "Disobey" iPhone 3G Cases

Freedom Tsunami Customizable iPhone 4 Cases

Andrew Jackson on a Central Bank Note iPhone Cases

Live Free Or Die iPad Cases

Live Free Or Die iPhone Cases

Non-Aggression Axiom iPhone Cases

Sitting Bull Trust Government iPhone 4 Cases

Tank Man Unknown Rebel iPhone Cases

Show off your freedom-loving style with a sleek and customizable Speck Products® brand case for your iPhone 4, iPhone 3, or iPad. Combining luxury with ultimate protection, this fitted hard plastic case is covered with an easy-to-grip fabric that is richly printed with your favorite Liberty Maniacs design. Pleasing to the touch, this lightweight and durable case allows optimal access to all sensors, ports, and controls on your iPhone 4, while offering superior comfort in-hand.

Customizing Graphic T-Shirts at LibertyManiacs.com

15% Off T-shirts

Use coupon code 15OFFTEES by September 23rd to get 15% Off!* click here to see shirts!

Stock up on tees!  With over 656 different t-shirts to choose from in our inventory right now, what better time is there than now to have a cup of coffee and check out some of the new shirts you may not have see, or old classic you always wanted!

Just add the shirts you want to your shopping cart and when prompted, enter coupon code 15OFFTEES to get 15% Off.  Of course, as always, all orders are backed by a 100% no-questions-asked money back guarantee. (That's how we get our nice shiny A rating from the Better Business Bureau.)

Go ahead and follow this link to check out t-shirts click here.

* Save 15% off all t-shirts from Liberty Maniacs cafepress.com shop orders, excluding shipping charges, gift wrap charges and applicable sales tax. All orders must be added to cart from the Liberty Maniacs cafepress.com shop only. Excludes CafePress marketplace purchases (e.g. all products added to cart from URLs beginning with the following (i) http://shop.cafepress.com, (ii) http://t-shirts.cafepress.com and/or (iii) http://www.cafepress.com/sk/), CafePress Groups, bulk orders, Gift Certificates, Flip Minos and SIGG� bottles. Coupon code 15OFFTEES must be entered at check out. Promotion starts on September 21, 2010 at 12:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on September 23, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Offer valid online at cafepress.com only, cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or canceled at anytime without notice.

Back To School Posters Sale

This Summer we've been chipping away at our goal of offering the absolute biggest and best selection of quality prints and posters by increasing our output of designs to meet all of your request. We've also begun to convert some of our older, more popular t-shirt designs to print format.

The thing is--we love it.  We could do it all day every day and still not feel like we've done enough.  If it wasn't for all the new shirt designs and other stuff we have to make, we might get lost in the World of poster design.

Ingsoc 1984 Propaganda posters like this one are being expanded weekly. 

But as many young freedom fighters begin to make their way back to campus and look to make their dorms, apartments, and houses more like home, you might think about taking advantage of the current poster sale to save a few bucks.

Right now you get $8 Off single poster purchases, or 40% Off two or more.  That's often only around 25 bucks for huge posters that cover some serious vertical real estate!  But you might want to act fast as this deal will only last until August 22nd.

You can click this link to have the coupon code automatically applied to save you the hassle of typing it in at checkout.  (It's also nice to see what you save up front.)

Customizing Embroidered Hats

So you may know that LibertyManiacs.com has hundreds of cool embroidered products like hats. But did you know that every single product is essentially a totally customizable template? That's right, 95% of our products are customizable, and when it comes to embroidered hats, you can jump in and go crazy!

This video shows you quickly how to change hat colors, and styles, and even enter a total customization mode patented by our partners at Zazzle that gives you the ability to move elements, change thread colors, and even add text!

So have fun, play around. We have hundreds of templates for you make the perfect freedom-loving, one-of-a-kind, customized product.

New Reason Online Store!

Liberty Maniacs is very proud to announce the launch of the Reason Foundation and Reason Magazine's new official online store.  The store is a joint effort with the great folks are Reason, who have been a beacon for free minds and free markets for 40 years now. 

The new store features a host of Reason products from hats, t-shirts, mugs, embroidered tops, and a few customizable Reason magazine cover posters that are perfect gifts for that Reason subscriber you know.  Even more is on the way!

So subscribe that difficult-to-buy-for friend, colleague, or family member to Reason Magazine's print, digital, or Kindle editions.  Throw in a hat, shirt, or mug, and you've given a gift that keeps on giving all year long!

Reason Distressed Cap by Libertymaniacs
View more Reason Gear

Star Trib Does Danny

The Star Tribune recently did a write-up on me. 

A little surprised to see the huge "GodKing" t-shirt image flooding the whole page.   Nobody is going to miss it I guess.

I have to admit, I was wondering if I'd get hammered a bit because I push the envelope pretty hard with my satire, but overall it was not a bad little story.  Bob von Sternberg interviewed me, and he was fun to talk with.  Nice guy.

Oh yeah, I just wanted to add for the record that as much as it sounds nice, I don't sit in my living room and work. My young boys see to that.  They do enough damage visiting my office.  No offense boys.

ObaMao T-shirt Crackdown in China

When we got word that shopkeepers in Beijing were being censored for carrying ObaMao merchandise, with cheesy imagery of Obama's face superimposed on Chairman Mao's body, we were fairly interested.

Of course, the shops were doing it to capitalize on Chairman Obama's visit to China this week, and it's doubtful they were selling the stuff as much to satirize anyone.  But cosmic coincidence being what it is, the Obama administration has been under quite a bit of fire since in June White House Communications Director Anita Dunn announced on camera that Chairman Mao was one of her favorite "political philosophers."

Well, considering LibertyManiacs.com has been banned in China for a while, we figured why not supply the masses with there very own Chairman ObaMao t-shirts!

Of course, we didn't exactly elect to make them cute, cuddly, adoring images.  We went with the harsh, austere recreations of the woodblock propaganda of the cultural revolution. More fitting, no?

20% OFF Liberty Maniacs on CafePress!

We're happy to announce 20% off almost everything at Liberty Maniacs at CafePress.com!* No minimum purchases, no hassles.  Hurry up and grab some early holiday gifts, because the offer doesn't last long.

When you're done shopping here, just go to the checkout and enter the promotional code: liberty20

This code only works on purchases from within our Cafepress shop.  So if you try to use it while checking out from Amazon, the Cafepress Marketplace, or any other venue where are products are sold it just won't work.

This promo only last until Midnight (PST), Friday November 6th, so act fast!  We're not sure when we'll have an offer this good again!

* Save 20% off your purchase from the libertymaniacs shop (CafePress.com/libertymaniacs), excluding shipping charges and applicable sales tax.  Coupon code must be entered at check out.  Promotion starts on November 3, 2009, at 12:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on November 6, 2009, at 11:59 p.m. (PST).  All orders must be from CafePress.com/libertymaniacs  (i.e., all products available from the following URL www.cafepress.com/libertymaniacs). Excludes other CafePress shop or marketplace purchases, Gift Certificates, Flip Minos, SIGG bottles, CafePress Groups purchases and bulk orders. Offer cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice.

 

Independently Minded

If we had a nickle every time we had a customer tell us they were not a Democrat, Republican, or large-L Libertarian, we could almost retire--if we believed in retirement.

So we get it.  Say no more. You're angry, independent, and want some smart, opinionated, and funny gear to make your point. 

Wait no more.  Check out the "Independently Minded" section in the shop!

There will be new stuff posted in the section from here on in specifically geared toward the anti-partisan individual. 

Of course, being the accommodating folks we are, we always love your comments, requests, and ideas.  Email us with them!

Summer Shirts Rolling Out!

Up here in the Soviet Republic of Minnesota, summer has been less than aggressive warming the hardened, unforgiving tundra. Just last week there were frost advisories.

But now its in the 80s and officially t-shirt season! Here are a few new selections just launched in the past week or so.

From the great satirist Ambrose Bierce to historical American Revolution battle flag-inspired designs, we're trying to create some liberty-loving apparel that's never been seen before.

Cash for Clunkers? More Changism Gone Crazy

The House Obamunists have passed the "Cash for Clunkers" bill. The states that consumers would be paid up to $4,500 in vouchers for trading in their current vehicles for more fuel-efficient models. It now moves to the Senate.

Congress must be trying to see how much taxpayer money it can dump into an industry in one calendar year.

So let's get this straight. People with clunkers that don't have money for new, fuel efficient cars will be given $4,500 for the down payment on a new car they can't afford and will go into debt for in the midst of the most crushing recession in generations.

That sounds like something Congress would do.

Right Wing Extremists: Saving America Since 1776

With the 233rd Independence Day celebration on it's way in America, we thought it would be a good idea to honor the radical extremists that founded this country.  

Now, it might be true that calling Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin "right wing" is a bit historically questionable within the original context of the old Left-Right paradigm laid out in the French Assembly in the late 18th Century. We understand that technically the founders had more in common with what would historically be deemed the "left" than anything.  As Dean Russell wrote last month: 

The first leftist would not be popular in America today. That is true because the original leftists wanted to abolish government controls over industry, trade, and the professions. They wanted wages, prices, and profits to be determined by competition in a free market, and not by government decree. They were pledged to free their economy from government planning, and to remove the government-guaranteed special privileges of guilds, unions, and associations whose members were banded together to use the law to set the price of their labor or capital or product above what it would be in a free market.

 So way back Liberty Maniacs would be about as left-leaning as they come.  Indeed, as many of you know, the left side of the National Constituent Assembly at the beginning of the French Revolution iRight Wing Extremists: Saving America Since 1776n 1789 was comprised of elected representatives that wanted to abolish the established, privileged, preferential treatment of the royal coterie industries and replace the system with markets and freedom.  The right was comprised of reactionary hangers-on, that were resistant to liberty--or at least the rapid changes represented by those on the left.

Of course, political terminology changes like the weather.  The definition of terms in practical politics certainly hold no scientific, immutable hold on the people that use them.  Along the way--in America at least--the left mutated more into statism as the progressive movement took hold while the right became a more comparatively vocal critic of government aggrandizement. 

Not that a false dichotomy of left-right could ever be tidy.  I recall Murray Rothbard's article "Confessions of A Right-Wing Liberal" in David Horowitz's New Left periodical Ramparts in 1968 that explaned the rather odd journey of Rothbard from hardline right-wing Taft Republican to left-wing, war-protesting, black-power-supporting radical within a decade--all without changing his political views one iota. (The former New Left radical Horowitz, now neoconservative author and owner of the site frontpage.com is as great an example as the libertarian Rothbard of how the left-right dichotomy lends itself to confusion more than anything.)

So yeah, "Right Wing Extremist" might not be as historically accurate as we like for this design, but nothing pithy ever is.

Posters & Prints for Rebels

A few new posters are out, so I thought I'd highlight them.
The 1st is a retro remake of an old WWII propaganda poster that I redrew and repurposed. The idea came up after I was talking with a close friend about the acceleration of the Obama Administration's retrenchment on all promises antiwar.

This isn't a surprise at all seeing as the liberal Obama seems bent on showing hawkish bona fides early on. What is a bit chilling is how often you hear about how WWII was the event that ended the Great Depression, which, when trumpeted by the opinion makers in Washington seems to read like an ellipsis considering the current malaise.

Considering the insane things the government is doing right now to juice the economy, is it really that bizarre to think that the government would stoke massive war for stimulative effect? It's clear the power brokers have no concept of capital formation or monetary restraint, let alone an underlying respect for the Broken Window Fallacy. Our draft days might now be done folks.

The second poster is the next in the "Trust Government" Line, featuring Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.

I did a few treatments with the illustration, and more products will actually be coming out. Right now we have shirts, posters, a skateboard, and a few different other products in our CafePress store.

We've been pretty busy making posters this last month. There are actually more than I'll comment on right now. It's probably best just to let the work speak for itself.