Killings in South Carolina: Vicious Venom

Posted on 2015-06-21 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

It is incredibly predictable, but the venom seems to be more vicious than ever. No, not the racism.  One man in millions being a racist and willing to kill strangers because of it is bad, but not as bad as even 20 years ago, much less 50 or a hundred.  No, it is the vicious display of hatred for liberty, and for those who practice and promote liberty.

The killing of nine people in a Charleston meetinghouse, by a man who admits to wanting to start a race war, has dominated the news for the last 36 hours (as I write this at noontime on Friday).  We see that, as always, the Tranzis and Hoplophobes/Hoploclasts let no crisis go by without taking advantage of it.  JPFO discusses it, as do other sites. Continue reading →

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The True “root of all evil”

Posted on 2015-06-20 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

Just imagine if 1% of the population of each town had the ability to control the weather. You’d hear all of the platitudes connected to environmental pseudo science, and others would be convinced that they were doing what was “right” for everyone. Those with the ability would create changes THEY believed were prudent and “for the good of all,” most likely, but they would still inflict the weather they chose on everyone else regardless of their motivation.

Of course there would be a tremendous overlap and many contradictions between those so able, and weather chaos would be automatic even if an individual’s sphere of influence was small. Outright war, with thunderbolts and personal sized tornadoes would probably be inevitable. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 19 June 2015, #15-24D: Lies and politicians

Posted on 2015-06-19 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Lies, especially from politicians, are in the news this week.  The old adage is true: “How can you tell if a politician is lying? Is their mouth open?” Let’s look at a few.

Panic time! Oh, NO!!! Is Nutella destroying the environment?  A French (government) minister claims it is, because it includes palm oil, production of which is not green according to environists. The guy strikes me as the kind of nanny Tranzi who is desperately afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun – even if it is just enjoying the wonderful taste and smell of Nutella on a warm biscuit or tortilla with some johannesberen (current) preserves…  And of course, the only thing that would spur a market boycott or government banning would be if they could prove it was addicting to the children, not just destroying the ozone layer or accelerating global warming.  Of course, this minister’s words are lies: her claims were immediately refuted by the manufacturer.  Not that we had any reason to trust her previously.  She is the former mistress of a French president and gave birth to four children for him: and her immorality in many things, including a lack of familiarity with the truth on almost anything, is well-documented. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 17 June 2015, #15-24C: RU Kidding? Tyranny? Police State?

Posted on 2015-06-18 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Tyranny? Police state?  RU Kidding?  What DO we live in?  For your consideration, the following:

Police seized six children from a family because they were camping, according to Off the Grid News. The agonizing experience for Christopher and Antonia Hernandez began 19th May when Otsego County (Michigan) sheriff deputies and a CPS official took their children, and ended June 10 when their children were returned after the parents won a court ruling based on the fact the mother and children are eligible for enrollment in the Tlingit AmerInd tribe of Washington state. The federal Indian Child Welfare Act makes it more difficult for state officials to separate Native American families. Michigan has a similar state law.  This strikes close to home: my parents were similar “abusers” as the summers of 1966, 1967, and 1968, the family (including myself and my younger brother and sister, ages 13 down to 7) camped for the entire summer EACH of those three years.  And most places we camped (in two old style tents) we had no electricity, and the campground didn’t even have running water (except for the month of June when it normally rains every evening in the Black Hills).  We had to use pit latrines in several of the places we camped.  Of course, the experience scarred me for life: my younger sibs were not so damaged: neither of them are politically astute, much less libertarian.  Seriously, I cannot imagine the trauma these children went through: nearly 4 weeks without their parents!  For camping! Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 16 June 2015, #15-24B: Signs of decay

Posted on 2015-06-16 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

This weekend, a very bizarre and major incident took place in Dallas, as reported in Freedom’s Phoenix and numerous other news outlets: A number of people attacked the headquarters of the Dallas Police Department, supposedly using automatic weapons and bombs (improved explosive devices). Following a chase and standoff, one man was killed by a police sniper.  Now the screams of accusation and horror are reverberating across the land.  The dead man was “mentally unstable” (as are so many supposed perps of mass killings and bizarre attacks, even if the media refuses to admit that much of the time) and may have been on drugs for his instability (another common feature).   Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 15 June 2015, #15-24A: Government Incompetence At All Time Highs

Posted on 2015-06-16 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

How incompetent IS government?  Gee, that is hard to quantify:  100%?  99%? 90%?  Every day in the news we see examples of it.  Here are a few.

The incompetence of government is revealed in high tech and energy applications. The Wall Street Journal explains how taxpayers are footing costs for solar-thermal technology failures. High-tech solar power projects are not living up to promises their backers made about how much electricity they could generate…  Note that this is despite claims by a lot of people that solar power is “finally” maturing and is now better than coal, even natural gas and other petroleum fuels.  Continue reading →

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Do we really want to do this?

Posted on 2015-06-14 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Get Rid of Special Operations Units and Troops?

Sheldon Richman, in his blog Free Association, calls for the abolition of Special Operations forces (Spec-Ops) stating, “if we didn’t have these units, we wouldn’t need them.” He points out, correctly, that SEAL Team 6 and other units have a hideous track record of needless killing and blurring the “traditional lines between soldier and spy.” He concludes saying, “The existence of secretive military units conducting private [sic] lethal operations should bother anyone who aspires to live in a free society.”  He talks about the obvious, but little-admitted impact of US intervention in the Muslim world, and ends with, “For our own safety, we must disband these squads of killers.” Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 12 June 2015, #15-22C: Liberty is DEAD in Many or Most Places

Posted on 2015-06-12 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Our Liberty to Defend Ourselves is Gone – Liberty is DEAD – in Many (or Most) Places. Here are some examples from recent news of how our “Second Amendment” freedoms are sliding OR HAVE GONE to extinction.

Government kills: in Political Outcast, we read about a woman, threatened by a stalker, being stabbed to death while waiting for her gun permit. More than six weeks, because of a delay in the fingerprint report? Yes, a sickening situation made possible by stupid politicians who think that court orders and police can and will protect you.  The woman had asked why there was such a delay, just two days before her ex-boy-friend killed her.  You wanna bet that they won’t even refund her application and background check fee to her heirs?  The state and locality in which this woman lived and died is NOT a free state: it is a police state. Continue reading →

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I stand corrected…

Posted on 2015-06-11 by MamaLiberty

Last week I was grousing about not being able to “opt out” of seeing a doctor in order to get a needed blood test. Turns out I was wrong. (It happens!)

Yesterday I discovered that there is a new program at the local hospital which will allow me to get the test without a doctor’s order. Now these are bundled, not individual tests, but one combination available isn’t too much more expensive than I expected for the single test I actually need, so it is doable.

And, miracle number two, they will send the results directly to me. No doctor need be involved. In fact, they are clear that taking the results to your doctor is your responsibility. They won’t do that, even if you want them to. I have to tell you I was shocked. But pleased! And even better, they don’t take Medicare or any kind of insurance… cash on the barrel.

So, if you have a problem and think you may be able to figure it out on your own if you have a test or two done, look for a “wellness” program at your local hospital. Someone may have snuck a little free market medicine in while nobody was looking.

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Libertarian News and Comments for 11 JUN 2015, #15-23B: Abuse by Government-Affiliated Institutions

Posted on 2015-06-11 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

The world is filled with abuse, and too much of that is allowed, encouraged, and perpetrated by a wide variety of institutions.  Many of these ARE government institutions, and many more are enabled by governments, including government rules and regulations that create opportunity for exploitation of all sorts of people, including financial and actual physical abuse.  Here are some examples from recent news stories. Continue reading →

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