Culture change? Counter-revolution? New revolution? (Thoughts on Independence Day)

Posted on 2015-07-04 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Saturday is the 4th of July. I was asked by an acquaintance earlier this week what my family and I were going to do to celebrate Independence Day.  After a long day and much frustration dealing with government agencies and regulations, my response was rather unguarded and blunt: “Why bother?  It is meaningless today.  The Republic is dead, the Constitution is a dead-letter except for following procedures, and we have a dictator, a tyrant squatting in DC, and a Congress that is venal, corrupt, and stupid.  And state and local governments are no better.”

To my surprise, she agreed.  Apparently there are many people who are NOT celebrating Independence Day, or even “The Fourth of July” today. It has been compared to those who see events of the last decade as being a “Great Divorce” between various factions in the Fifty States, and between the people and those politicians and lawyers and bureaucrats that make up “the government.”  It is time to recognize the fact that all this is NOT the CAUSE of the destruction of the Republic, it is the RESULT of the collapse and destruction of the Republic, of liberty. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 03 July 2015, #15-26D

Posted on 2015-07-03 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

In Oklahoma, members of the state legislature have begun the process of impeaching the majority of the state Supreme Court which ordered the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from the Statehouse grounds, according to KOCO. At least one US senator has supposedly advocated civil disobedience of the SCOTUS marriage decision; another has called for a constitutional amendment to subject federal judges to retention elections, as many states already do (and which does VERY little to control the law-clergy).

Mama’s Note: What a shame that none of them – and few of their victims – ever even consider the possibility of leaving everyone alone to do what seems right to them as individuals, negotiating any disagreements among themselves. As for all these “monuments” and statues, knock them all down and use the rubble to pave some of the rotten roads here and there. If individuals and their voluntary associations want to build such things, they can waste their own money doing so. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 02 July 2015, #15-26C: the real Independence Day

Posted on 2015-07-02 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The REAL Independence Day. As I often do, let me wish everyone a Happy 2nd of July, that being the anniversary (this one being the 239th) that the Continental Congress voted for Independence from the United Kingdom.  Today, of course, as the events of last week in the Supreme Court reminded us, the celebration of Independence Day is really a moot point. It is more in the form of a memorial for what we once had in the Fifty States – FREEDOM – LIBERTY.  May God grant us that we can have these wonderful gifts of His in the future.  And grant us the courage to work in every way to regain that liberty.  Enough is enough. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 30 June 2015, #15-26B: Nazgul term at an end

Posted on 2015-07-01 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The official Nazgul term is over for the year, and here are a few more items:

Richard Winger at Ballot Access discusses Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) proposal to have retention elections for the nine Nazgul every eight years, a national   election which would require a constitutional amendment.  He realizes, I’m sure, that it would be virtually impossible to do this, but figures to make a point with the majority of Americans who are angry with SCOTUS. Richard makes some good points. “This is a revolutionary idea. The United States has never held a national election. All elections in U.S. history have always been statewide, or lesser geographical units, never national. In presidential elections, each state’s voters choose presidential electors for that state; there is no single election for President in a technical sense. The United States has never had a national referendum…” Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 29 June 2015, #15-26A: Free Speech vanishing

Posted on 2015-06-30 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

For decades, and especially in the last decade, we have seen our freedom of speech attacked in a wide variety of ways, almost always based on how our speech, our expression, is “denying other freedoms” to people.  Speech expression is attacked as being aggressive, evil, and dangerous to others.  More and more institutions, especially (but not only) government-run institutions, seek and do limit free speech.

And free speech dangers grow worse.  A series of news articles this week identify this growing trend. Many revolve around the Supreme Court decision on “homosexual marriage.” Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #15-25D: Tyranny and emotions

Posted on 2015-06-28 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Local tyranny? Bob Livingston, in Personal Liberty, tells us that it may soon be illegal to back into your driveway to park your car or truck in Jacksonville.  Why?  No, not safety, and not for creating possible traffic problems.  The reason is so that the police can see your license plate, since Florida is one of those states that has only one license plate, not one front and back.  I suppose this is just the first step: surely we must then ban closing garage doors, lest they not see the plates of those vehicles, either.  Why not play the game that Panama does, and require that the license plate number be painted on all four sides of the vehicle?  And why not also require that the number of the driver’s license also be displayed on the outside of the vehicle, in large enough characters for the cops license-plate-cams to be able to read them?  In addition to tattooing them on our foreheads or cheeks (after all, it is easy to hide if they are just on our arms.  However they do it, these are police state tactics. Continue reading →

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The unalienable right to define words as we want?

Posted on 2015-06-27 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Our unalienable right to define words any way we darn well please? On Friday, 26 June 2015, the United States Supreme Court, on a 5-4 decision, ruled that “same-sex marriage” was legal and mandated in the Fifty States, as reported by The Blaze and elsewhere.

The tone of the decision was “inspiring” and emotional, and had no resemblance to any logical and constitutional reasoning, and in the words of one commentator, was a five-lawyer coup d’etat.  These five Nazgul have taken it upon themselves to change the definition of a word that has been very clearly defined for more than 6,000 years.  They have assumed, for the fedgov, powers that were supposed to be reserved for the people, and which the people could grant to the states but NEVER voted to grant to DC.  They have finished burying the putrid corpse of a limited, federal, constitutional government, and been applauded for their action by millions of liberals AND conservatives.  They have created a situation as fraught with danger for peace and even the most tenuous of ties as the Dred Scott decision. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 25 June 2015, #15-25C: Stupidity and fear in modern life

Posted on 2015-06-24 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Gee! An article, “More Spending Doesn’t Lead To Improved Student Learning,” in Forbes, asks. Have we hit a wall where more spending on traditional public schools will not lead to improved student learning? Applying commonly-accepted statistical tools to the state of Wisconsin, results show this may be the case. Like the United States, Wisconsin has spent more on public schools but has not gotten more for this investment.  Here are some highlights: (1) In the United States, since 1966, per-student spending in constant dollars on public education has increased by 300 percent. (2) In 2011, the United States spent $11,841 for every student enrolled in traditional primary and secondary public schools. This amount is 5th highest among all countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and $2,973 per pupil higher than the OECD average. (3) Yet, despite these expenditures, the United States has failed to create a world-class education system. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 23 June 2015, #15-25B: Hoplophobes and Hoploclasts

Posted on 2015-06-23 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Stephen King, who has made a fortune writing horror stories – many of which feature guns prominently, has publically attacked the stupidity and pride of gunowners and called for more laws following the Charleston killings.  How can such a smart man be so stupid?  It is claimed that he owns guns, which puts him in the same category of hypocrite as are so many Tranzi politicians.

King is not the only seemingly stupid person out there, of course. Gizmodo reports that Uber’s managers are just as stupid. Drivers and riders must be completely defenseless now. “Uber has changed it[s] legal policies in order to prohibit the carrying of firearms by both drivers and passengers. … In April, an Uber driver in Chicago shot a man who was himself shooting at a group of people. The unnamed driver had dropped off a passenger just minutes before. That news was perhaps enough to convince the company that it had to take action.”  Heaven forbid that either a driver or passenger be able to defend themselves OR other people, lest the company get criticized for it. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 22 June 2015, #15-25A: Lost Freedoms

Posted on 2015-06-22 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The Organic Prepper has a great “list article” about children, worth reading and sharing (and connecting to the links for things you may not have heard about). “Nurture the rebellion this summer. Boot them outside. Get your kids away from their TVs, laptops, and video games. Get sweaty and dirty. Do things that makes the wind blow through your hair. Go off in search of the best climbing tree you can find. Shoot guns. Learn to use a bow and arrow. Play outside all day long and catch fireflies after dark. Do things that the coddled world considers too dangerous and watch your children blossom.  Teach your kids what freedom feels like.”

Teach your children what liberty IS.  Yes, back in the 50s through (in some places) the 90s and even within the last decade (and rumors have it – but you didn’t hear it from me! – that some communities and some families even still do some of these things today), these were all a part of childhood, and NOT crimes. Continue reading →

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