Just a note to say hello!

Posted on 2018-01-18 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

I realized this morning that it’s been a long time since anything new was posted here. I do apologize! I’ve been under the weather and Nathan has been traveling long distances for his business while he and his family have been fighting the flu. I promise we’ll be back to normal soon.

In the meantime, I invite everyone to explore the archives on the right hand side of the main page. Lots of good articles there and at the top, just under the snow and horse picture. As always, your comments are most welcome.

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The art of the deal – January 2018

Posted on 2018-01-07 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The cries are loud.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recinded the Obummer-issued memo telling the nation’s federal prosecutors to leave off on pursuing cannabis pushers and users in the growing number of states that have legalized medical and/or recreational cannabis.  This just days after the People’s Republic of California legalized the stuff for anyone to use.

(I probably should be putting “legalized” in quotes. The MJ market is about as free in all these states as, say, the trash collecting business was in NYC under the mob, or tobacco is in NYC and dozens of other places. Regulations, prohibitions, insane taxes, fees, and everything else actually make “legal” cannabis more expensive than the black market stuff some places.  While making obscene profits for governments – often more than for the businesses.  Like with motor fuels.  And liquor.  But that’s another story.) Continue reading →

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Will we ever learn?

Posted on 2018-01-06 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

As technology advances, as we find more and more things that make liberty ever more possible, we should be entering a golden age.  An era in which abundance becomes more and more common and general, in which people have more and more freedom to be and explore and discover and invent and LIVE.

The technology and knowledge to see what can be and needs to be fixed, coupled with courage to go and do just that, would not make the planet a paradise, but it would end tremendous misery and enable people to live under better conditions than at any time in history.

But…

That is not happening.

Instead, history is repeating itself.  Again. Continue reading →

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The destruction of business by government

Posted on 2018-01-05 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

For decades, I have seen this happen, and it long precedes my lifetime.  Governments, constantly seeking more and more power (control) and (of course) money, are quick to take advantage of perceived lack of services in (and around) their jurisdiction.  Even if they have to create the perception in the first place.  The politicians and their minions in paperwork (always in coordination with the so-called “public-interest” do-gooders and their kind) quickly come up with a solution to the perceived “critical” problem.  This problem, no matter what it is and no matter how unimportant it might be, can ONLY be solved by quick (and well-funded) government intervention.

Once upon a time it was so-called basic “essential” services: water and sewage, “public safety” (fire protection and “keeping the peace”).  The essential list quickly expanded.  There was trash collection and disposal.  Orphan homes.  Care for the aged (welfare). Care for the poor and then the unemployed. Electrical power.  Telephones.  Streets. Heat.  Street lighting. Medical care. They ran out of major items half a century ago. But the process was smoothly developed by then.  So they expanded.  Swimming pools in public parks.  Golf courses. Tennis courts. Gymnasiums. Libraries.  Recreation centers. Skateboard parks. Ski areas (water and snow). Concert halls.  Playhouses. Movie theatres. Childrens’ clubs (another type of recreation center). And on and on. In fact, some local governments were created JUST to provide some newly decreed essential service. Continue reading →

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2018- the face of evil

Posted on 2018-01-05 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Todd Starnes, a conservative political commentator, posted a disturbing video on his website on 4th January 2018. It was apparently recorded at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville this recent fall.

The headline is actually misleading: the young, guileless-faced man is actually suggesting that the legal age of being human is two years after birth. And that not just infants but toddlers can be “aborted” (killed before or after birth, obviously). But his stated test for sentience (ability to communicate) may include people of any age, especially anyone with severe developmental disabilities or injuries.

No doubt, this test for humanity, for being worthy of life and liberty (what little freedom and liberty might still be allowed) will be further refined by the young man and his fellow snowflakes as he “matures” and learns more about power and control.  History shows that usually means widening the definition of what is NOT human.  Who is NOT “deserving” of life and liberty.  Not just those not able to communicate, but those unable to communicate “effectively enough.” Those unable to “properly” care for themselves.  Those unable to contribute “enough” and then those who are unwilling to contribute “enough.” And the list will go on and on.

Continue reading →

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The terror of liberty

Posted on 2018-01-04 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

This popped up on my desktop this morning. That evil state legislature of Oregon, once such a bastion of compassionate concern and care by government, has terrorized its people in this new year of 2018.

As reported on MSN, the good people of Oregon, one of the Fifty States, are freaking out about the idea of having to pump their own gasoline.

Those evil minions in Salem passed a law last year which ALLOWS gasoline-sellers in counties with LESS than 40,000 residents (“rural” counties in Oregon jargon) in the state to STOP providing gas station attendants to rush out when you drive up to their dispenser pumps and set the little airbell hose off, to fill your gas tank.  And presumably to do all those things that 1950s and 1960s gas jockeys did: wipe your windshield, check your oil, check your tire pressure, and smile at you. (And wipe your windshield without shoving a cardboard begging sheet in your driver-side door!)

I don’t know if Oregon gas station attendants still wear those cute little uniforms like these back in the day.

Notice that gas jockeys are not PROHIBITED in Oregon – just allowed.  Some places. Continue reading →

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The Best Of Times – The Worst Of Times

Posted on 2017-12-31 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

It is easy to lose sight of the good when evil surrounds us. It is even difficult to rejoice for a warm summer day if you are dying of cancer, living in serious pain, or so many other things common in ordinary life. Yet, remembering the good times, the blessings, the joys are a large part of what makes life worth living for most of us, I’d wager.

So, rather than our usual rants against all of the “worst” things going on all over the world, it might be good to look at the best instead. Unfortunately, that list is smaller and poorer than it might be without all the evil of non-voluntary government and individuals who dedicate their lives to controlling others, but let’s see what I can come up with. I invite you to add to it in comments!

Life and health. Even though the naysayers and controllers attempt to deduct from this positive the number of suicides and deaths from destructive behaviors such as drug use, the actual lifespan and health of people in the world otherwise is getting better in many ways. There are far fewer people in the world living in abject poverty (of course, one must be skeptical of some of the criteria used to measure this). Continue reading →

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A call to liberate children and families

Posted on 2017-12-26 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

In my commentary back in June, entitled “A need to liberate children and family” (and other articles, including many since then: notably my comments yesterday about John W Whitehead’s excellent “Jesus was born in a police state” and the HSLDA’s story of a homeschooling mom in Kentucky) I discussed some of what children and their families face in the “public schools” – and more and more in private settings, even home schooling.

The hazards which are found in the GOVERNMENT-RUN (RUINED) TAX (THEFT)-FUNDED SCHOOLS (INSTITUTIONS) – GRTF schools – are many.  Here, in these Fifty States we find:

  • indoctrination into the worship of the state, including submission to government
  • propaganda promoting a variety of worldviews, including:
    • environism (worship of the earth),
    • evolution (rejection of anything but “nature”),
    • subjectivism (no absolute truth),
    • complete obedience to anyone “in authority” automatically and without question,
    • civil religion(s) (worship of flag, military, and government),
    • false views of history and society, and
    • many more
  • sliding control of children away from their parents, and into direct and indirect state control
  • rejection of moral absolutes in all parts of life
  • the tyranny of teachers, staff, “professional” whatever and “paraprofessional” advocates of this and that.

Continue reading →

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Jesus lived in a police state

Posted on 2017-12-25 by TPOL Nathan

by Nathan Barton

Although I do not believe in celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday, I hope you will not mind me sharing the comments by John W Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute.  I’ve added a few notes to it. The links should work, to document John’s statements. My thanks to John and everyone at the Rutherford Institute for allowing The Price of Liberty to reprint the entire column, with my comments.

Jesus was born in a police state

“Jesus is too much for us. The church’s later treatment of the gospels is one long effort to rescue Jesus from ‘extremism.’”—author Gary Wills, What Jesus Meant

The Christmas narrative of a baby born in a manger is a familiar one.

The Roman Empire, a police state in its own right, had ordered that a census be conducted. Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary traveled to the little town of Bethlehem so that they could be counted. There being no room for the couple at any of the inns, they stayed in a stable, where Mary gave birth to a baby boy, Jesus.

Unfortunately, Jesus was born into a police state not unlike the growing menace of the American police state1. When he grew up, he had powerful, profound things to say—things that would change how we view people, alter government policies and change the world. “Blessed are the merciful,” “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and “Love your enemies” are just a few examples of his most profound and revolutionary teachings. Continue reading →

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Dealing with the 21st century police state

Posted on 2017-12-23 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) recently sent an email, describing a really bad situation they are trying to help. Here is an edited version of what they published. (With comments by Mama Liberty and me.):

For most moms, a knock at the door while homeschooling is merely an annoyance—but for Holly Curry and her family, that knock became a nightmare.

The day before, on the way to taking her kids to karate lessons, Holly had stopped at a local café to pick up some muffins for the kids. She left her kids in the locked van. The fan was running, it was a cool spring day, and she wasn’t gone for more than five minutes.

But five minutes and a few muffins was all it took to change her family’s life forever. Continue reading →

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