Guest Commentary: Government and Innocent Blood

Posted on 2016-09-09 by TPOL Nathan

Nathan’s Note: This article is from a religious (christian) point of view, but addresses a number of very good points regarding “Government and Innocent Blood.” It was originally written 20 years ago, and has been edited somewhat for this publication, with the author’s permission.

by “P. Henry”

It hasn’t changed much, has it?

Almost 2000 years ago (shy by 14 or so years), there was a corrupt politician who permitted the execution of a man he knew to be innocent. Although responsible for dispensing justice, the official believed that an impending riot (if he did not order the Man killed) jeopardized his own position. So he justified his cowardice by staging an act of “democratic” theatre, knowing full well what the outcome would be; that the mob had been carefully chosen to demand death for the accused Man. Aware that circumstances prevented the mob (or those who had called out the mob) from carrying out the execution, the official even assisted – he provided the guard to accomplish the “judicial killing.” And he did that after symbolically washing his hands of the innocent Man’s blood. Continue reading →

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There are terms – and there are terms

Posted on 2016-09-08 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

It is now clear to me that Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to win more than just a four- or eight-year term. Life without parole, at best, and with a strong argument that following her death, her embalmed body (and that of her husband and partner-in-crime) placed on display. Not like Lenin’s as a object of veneration, but like the way bodies of traitors were once impaled on city gates as a warning that justice WILL catch up with the evildoers.

No, I am NOT advocating her execution nor her assassination. Nor am I any sort of supporter for The Donald, Gary Johnson and that piece of trash he is running with, or Jill Stein. Or even that CIA-LDS guy. Continue reading →

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Built by slaves

Posted on 2016-09-08 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

In recent times, we’ve heard from the consort (and partner in crime) of that squatter at 1600 PA how “… I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.” [Snopes]

Actually, she is at least partially right. Until several years into the War between the States (WBTS), the District of Columbia was a slave-holding territory, and slaves were cheaper labor than free people (although apparently a lot of free men and freedmen (manumitted slaves) worked on it also). Indeed, the White House, the Capitol, and many other historic buildings, especially government buildings, were built in part by slaves, not slaves owned by the government but hired by the government from their owners.

But this misses the MAJOR point. The White House, the Capitol, and EVERY Federal government built in ALL Fifty States, the District of Columbia, and every territory the FedGov has ever owned, controlled, occupied or leased, was built by slaves. Yes, every one from the original fortress at West Point on the Hudson, all the way down to the most recently-awarded contract for a new federal office building or federal courthouse or whatever right now in 2016. Continue reading →

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Any excuse

Posted on 2016-09-05 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Actually I am sure that some people are surprised. The US Ninth Circuit is known as the most progressive of the Federal Nazgul, and this seems counter to their usual attitude towards cannabis. Of course, given their hatred of specifically-enumerated rights (in the Constitution) while they busily create many other “rights” we should not be surprised. Just angered.

Very angry. Continue reading →

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No liberty, no justice, for anyone

Posted on 2016-09-04 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The blogsphere and the talking heads (at least, the “conservative” ones), are up in arms over some football player who – according to some, in an effort to rescue his rapidly declining career and change his poverty-stricken status – refuses to stand for the National Anthem until such time as the words really reflect the reality. I assume that it is NOT the “rockets’ red glare” and the “bombs bursting in air,” that he wants to see (but then, I could be wrong). Rather it seems to be (near as I can figure out) the bit about the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave,” that he does not believe is an accurate description of 2016’s Fifty States, or at least the state that he lives in.

Well, as I’ve pointed out a time or two, the “land of the free” part is not too accurate, except that there are a LOT of people who still manage to live relatively free (Claire Wolf, Mama Liberty, and others), despite the best efforts of the FedGov and other governments. But this football player probably doesn’t know them, and certainly wouldn’t like them. As for the “home of the brave,” well, despite the supposed bravery of this childish player claimed by some, certainly he and his buddies and colleagues have exhibited about as much “bravery” as an eighteen-month-old toddler exhibits when he pulls a temper-tantrum because his parents won’t buy him a piece of candy. But of course, they are not alone in that. While there are many brave people in the Fifty States, they are nothing more than a fairly small minority. So maybe this jock is right. Continue reading →

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Technology and Modern Society

Posted on 2016-09-01 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Sometimes liberals like mainstream media and social scientists and bureaucrats – even those who sometimes must be prodigies who are exceptionally gifted in one area (inventing things like Uber or Microsoft or Apple)- are incredibly retarded in most areas.

Consider a recent article in The Atlantic, in which a collection of these … people … tell us that soon traffic signs and street signs are going to disappear, thanks to mapping applications on mobile devices (Google and Bing Maps) and driverless cars. The signs are “outmoded” and we don’t need them any more. They go on to point out that stop signs were invented just 101 years ago (and were yellow until the 1950s – got news for them, but there were a lot of yellow stop signs around in the 1990s, in out of the way places – and probably still are). And how we will soon reach “100% autonomous vehicles” and will all have phones with “virtual reality” (more properly called “augmented reality”) – like Pokemon Go. Continue reading →

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The Rot is Ubiquitous: government-run, tax-supported schools in 2016

Posted on 2016-08-30 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Most of us know the common wisdom regarding apples: the proverb that says, “the rotten apple spoils the barrel.”

In the old days (before wooden crates, which came before cardboard crates), apples were shipped from (or by) farmers to stores in big barrels, and the shopkeeper or customer pulled the apples out of this big wooden barrel. The wise storeowner was careful to check frequently and remove any bad apples before they caused more to go bad. Continue reading →

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A EpiPen Cost Crisis

Posted on 2016-08-27 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The crisis de jour. Epinephrine injection pens, brand and popular name “EpiPens” are valuable and life-saving ways to limit allergic reactions which can kill people. They seem to be a matter of LIFE AND DEATH. (Mama Liberty may have her own thoughts on this.)

What is strange is that this lifesaving device and chemical/drug is manufactured by just one company Mylan NV. Whose CEO is the daughter of Democratic US Senator Joe Manchin. And which has raised the price of a pair of these things (which have a limited shelf life) from $100 in 2009 to $600 seven years later. (I think that is an annual inflation rate of about 80% per year – Venzuelan or Rhodesian type rate.) Mylan also “voluntarily” reduced the price “for some people” by 50%, down to “just” $300. And increased the crowd who gets them free: a family of four with income less than $97K/year, and some schools. Apparently, many people have gotten them for “free” or at greatly reduced prices for years. The CEO of Mylan blames the cost increases on the “health care system.” Continue reading →

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Government’s results on display again

Posted on 2016-08-26 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The recent swarms of tornadoes across the eastern Great Plains and the record-setting flooding in Louisiana have once again showcased the benefits of depending on government for assistance in times of disaster and emergency. And at the same time, showing just how bad the private sector is in providing aid in those same times of crisis.

Yes, I am being sarcastic.

Government is incapable of doing anything well – unless you count the ability to take away the liberty and lives of people in wholesale lots to be something which is either needed or desirable. THAT it does well. Providing services, even the so-called “essential” services such as protecting people from violence, aggression, and crime, it does NOT.

We see the flooding in Louisiana, damaging or destroying 100,000 or more houses, tens of thousands of businesses and institutions and elements of infrastructure. We see people and businesses responding heroically and in more prosaic ways to fill the need of the hundreds of thousands of people. AirBNB and other internet and brick-and-mortar businesses are coordinating and providing for places to shelter, for repair materials and equipment, for food and clothing and transportation. We see the “Cajun Navy” out in boats rescuing not just people, but their livestock and pets. Continue reading →

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Government and essential services and utilities – Yes or No?

Posted on 2016-08-25 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

There are a number of utilities that we all take for granted, as long as we live in a town here in Anglo-America:
Water supply and distribution – domestic, potable, uncontaminated
irrigation
fire-fighting
Sanitary sewage collection and treatment
Electrical power (grid)
Natural gas (for heating)
Storm water collection and discharge
Access (streets and roads) including maintenance and repair
Communications:
Video (television, either cable or broadcast)
Audio (radio, either cable or broadcast) including two-way
Internet (may be provided in various ways including wireless and satellite)
Emergency alert (siren, flags, wireless, etc.)
Solid waste (including recyclables):
Collection
Processing
Disposal Continue reading →

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