by Nathan Barton
Good morning. Fans of R. A. Heinlein’s “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” will recall the PR campaign featuring “Kilroy was here” and the little horned devil “Simon.” Like the famous Eric Frank Russell novel “WASP” and others, the literature on how to use propaganda (PR) techniques to drive the government goons more nuts is readily available and fun to read – and also do. Put a little bit of time into printing out and distributing some labels (sorry, I don’t know where to buy that adhesive that has little tiny pellets of acid activated by water to etch the glass, wish I did).
We can remember and take advantage of the fact that government grows increasingly unstable and authoritarian with time, and therefore, paradoxically, easier to resist and fight and push to the point of collapse. A Wasp-type campaign would never have succeeded in 1940s America, or even in 1950s. It would have been a very long shot in the ’60s and ’70s, but increasingly possible since that time. Today? The sky is the limit.
On to news, and examples of Simon says type situations
Why does trash collection cost so much in NYC? It costs twice as much for New York City’s Department of Sanitation to haul away trash than it costs private firms. Therefore, it isn’t hard to figure out: DOS is absolutely full of garbage and people who are full of it: and parasites on the body politic. Is it any surprise then? The theft of services is not the only thieving taking place in this NYC department. It is the same in virtually ANY city in America, if you look at the TOTAL, real costs, you see that municipal (or other government organization) trash collection is ALWAYS more costly except for the rare occasions that they are organized as “enterprise funds” – that is, businesses owned by government but (mostly) run like private businesses, including the need to make a profit. The solution is simple: let more people choose their own garbage collection company, until NYDS has its only customer as the City itself – and then let THAT out for private contract. Simon says, “NYC government belongs in a garbage can, not collecting trash.”
Mama’s Note: In addition, the amount of trash has easily doubled in the last twenty years due to government mandated packaging, and all sorts of individually wrapped “convenience” items. People will have far less trash to haul if they would go back to buying 20 pound bags of actual potatoes, instead of single serving, microwaveable packages of what formerly were potatoes… and on to every other kind of food and personal care product. I saw packages of individually wrapped toothpicks once. For crying out loud.
Widen: Companies must be stopped from moving offshore. “Immediate government action is needed to stop U.S. corporations from avoiding federal taxes by shifting their tax domiciles overseas through deals known as inversions, the head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee said. This smells like Rome to me – or at least Nova Roma (Constantinople), where the economy was so bad that the emperor prohibited companies from moving AND forced children to always follow their father’s profession. This is the kind of action that crumbling governments instigate in an attempt to avoid collapsing, and provide an excellent opportunity to point out their ineptitude, fear, and panic. Simon says, “Let my people (and their companies) go!”
The GAO has found that it is easy to get ObummerCare subsidies fraudulently, with very little work or imagination required. In fact, five of six attempts succeeded! I am NOT advocating fraud, but this is clearly one way to help crash the system. The recent court decisions may make it harder, if most of the states’ residents are no longer eligible, but I am sure the fraudsters will find easy work arounds. Of course, maybe the GAO employs really experienced fraud artists, like it seems many government agencies must. Indeed, as the article points out, the reason the fraud is so easy is that there is no verification system – you wonder if the entire thing wasn’t done to make fraud EASIER. Simon says, “It is easier to steal from a dishonest government.”
After all these weeks, and despite virtually NO FedGov action or even acknowledgement of the plight of the wife and children of an American, Miriam Ibraham is FINALLY free and out of the Sudan, and she is now in Europe. I’ve commented on stories about this woman who was condemned to be whipped and executed for “abandoning” her “Muslim faith” in a travesty of justice, but the saga finally appears to be over. The FedGov didn’t seem to care, and it was private voluntary action that seems to have worked. People need to be reminded over and over that Miriam was abandoned by her husband’s government, as were their children (American citizens). If she’d been prevented by the Sudanese government from aborting her child, THEN perhaps DC would have intervened. Simon says, “If the FedGov takes no action to protect even the least of its citizens, what good is it?”
Culture wars: A California State University researcher and professor was fired for discovering and reporting on soft dinosaur tissue found on a Triceratops “fossil” at a dig in Montana. Yes, really. You see, unlike real science, in which facts are used to develop and prove (or disprove) theories of how the universe works, modern government science is supposed to hide inconvenient facts which challenge the accepted “science” as promoted and supported by government and politicians. So why is there a problem with soft tissue of a dinosaur? It might challenge the “proven” theory that dinosaurs roamed the earth millions of years ago, and therefore the entire array of evolutionary science or theory which supposedly is the essential foundation for all modern biological sciences. Thanks to this sort of nonsense, government hopes to force more and more people to deny their faith and therefore be conned into a greater faith in government and its version of science. Simon says, “Free science from government. Separate school and state.”
At Case Western University in Ohio, robbers took advantage of a gun-free campus to ensure that their use of guns to rob four students was successful. Self-defense is a right which NO university or school should be allowed to take from their inmates, students, faculty, or staff. Simon says, “Let people defend themselves NOW.”
Mama’s Note: The responsibility lies with the students, faculty and staff. They are personally responsible for their own safety, and should not allow anyone or anything to stop them from doing so. To say “let them,” is to accept a higher authority. And that, actually, is the whole problem. Stop waiting for anyone to “let” you live as a self owner, self responsible. Start living that way now.
Like this:
Like Loading...
About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.
The Price of Liberty 
Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-29E: Simon Says?
by Nathan Barton
Good morning. Fans of R. A. Heinlein’s “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” will recall the PR campaign featuring “Kilroy was here” and the little horned devil “Simon.” Like the famous Eric Frank Russell novel “WASP” and others, the literature on how to use propaganda (PR) techniques to drive the government goons more nuts is readily available and fun to read – and also do. Put a little bit of time into printing out and distributing some labels (sorry, I don’t know where to buy that adhesive that has little tiny pellets of acid activated by water to etch the glass, wish I did).
We can remember and take advantage of the fact that government grows increasingly unstable and authoritarian with time, and therefore, paradoxically, easier to resist and fight and push to the point of collapse. A Wasp-type campaign would never have succeeded in 1940s America, or even in 1950s. It would have been a very long shot in the ’60s and ’70s, but increasingly possible since that time. Today? The sky is the limit.
On to news, and examples of Simon says type situations
Why does trash collection cost so much in NYC? It costs twice as much for New York City’s Department of Sanitation to haul away trash than it costs private firms. Therefore, it isn’t hard to figure out: DOS is absolutely full of garbage and people who are full of it: and parasites on the body politic. Is it any surprise then? The theft of services is not the only thieving taking place in this NYC department. It is the same in virtually ANY city in America, if you look at the TOTAL, real costs, you see that municipal (or other government organization) trash collection is ALWAYS more costly except for the rare occasions that they are organized as “enterprise funds” – that is, businesses owned by government but (mostly) run like private businesses, including the need to make a profit. The solution is simple: let more people choose their own garbage collection company, until NYDS has its only customer as the City itself – and then let THAT out for private contract. Simon says, “NYC government belongs in a garbage can, not collecting trash.”
Mama’s Note: In addition, the amount of trash has easily doubled in the last twenty years due to government mandated packaging, and all sorts of individually wrapped “convenience” items. People will have far less trash to haul if they would go back to buying 20 pound bags of actual potatoes, instead of single serving, microwaveable packages of what formerly were potatoes… and on to every other kind of food and personal care product. I saw packages of individually wrapped toothpicks once. For crying out loud.
Widen: Companies must be stopped from moving offshore. “Immediate government action is needed to stop U.S. corporations from avoiding federal taxes by shifting their tax domiciles overseas through deals known as inversions, the head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee said. This smells like Rome to me – or at least Nova Roma (Constantinople), where the economy was so bad that the emperor prohibited companies from moving AND forced children to always follow their father’s profession. This is the kind of action that crumbling governments instigate in an attempt to avoid collapsing, and provide an excellent opportunity to point out their ineptitude, fear, and panic. Simon says, “Let my people (and their companies) go!”
The GAO has found that it is easy to get ObummerCare subsidies fraudulently, with very little work or imagination required. In fact, five of six attempts succeeded! I am NOT advocating fraud, but this is clearly one way to help crash the system. The recent court decisions may make it harder, if most of the states’ residents are no longer eligible, but I am sure the fraudsters will find easy work arounds. Of course, maybe the GAO employs really experienced fraud artists, like it seems many government agencies must. Indeed, as the article points out, the reason the fraud is so easy is that there is no verification system – you wonder if the entire thing wasn’t done to make fraud EASIER. Simon says, “It is easier to steal from a dishonest government.”
After all these weeks, and despite virtually NO FedGov action or even acknowledgement of the plight of the wife and children of an American, Miriam Ibraham is FINALLY free and out of the Sudan, and she is now in Europe. I’ve commented on stories about this woman who was condemned to be whipped and executed for “abandoning” her “Muslim faith” in a travesty of justice, but the saga finally appears to be over. The FedGov didn’t seem to care, and it was private voluntary action that seems to have worked. People need to be reminded over and over that Miriam was abandoned by her husband’s government, as were their children (American citizens). If she’d been prevented by the Sudanese government from aborting her child, THEN perhaps DC would have intervened. Simon says, “If the FedGov takes no action to protect even the least of its citizens, what good is it?”
Culture wars: A California State University researcher and professor was fired for discovering and reporting on soft dinosaur tissue found on a Triceratops “fossil” at a dig in Montana. Yes, really. You see, unlike real science, in which facts are used to develop and prove (or disprove) theories of how the universe works, modern government science is supposed to hide inconvenient facts which challenge the accepted “science” as promoted and supported by government and politicians. So why is there a problem with soft tissue of a dinosaur? It might challenge the “proven” theory that dinosaurs roamed the earth millions of years ago, and therefore the entire array of evolutionary science or theory which supposedly is the essential foundation for all modern biological sciences. Thanks to this sort of nonsense, government hopes to force more and more people to deny their faith and therefore be conned into a greater faith in government and its version of science. Simon says, “Free science from government. Separate school and state.”
At Case Western University in Ohio, robbers took advantage of a gun-free campus to ensure that their use of guns to rob four students was successful. Self-defense is a right which NO university or school should be allowed to take from their inmates, students, faculty, or staff. Simon says, “Let people defend themselves NOW.”
Mama’s Note: The responsibility lies with the students, faculty and staff. They are personally responsible for their own safety, and should not allow anyone or anything to stop them from doing so. To say “let them,” is to accept a higher authority. And that, actually, is the whole problem. Stop waiting for anyone to “let” you live as a self owner, self responsible. Start living that way now.
Share this:
Like this:
About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.