Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-36D: This and that

Posted on 2014-09-11 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning.  Yesterday, the Fuehrer gave the orders for dealing with the Caliphate – or so it was claimed.  Frankly, for such a speech and order on the night before the anniversary of Bloody Tuesday (9-11), the message made no sense.  More on that later: here is a short commentary for this Thursday, 11 SEP 2014. Continue reading →

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-36C: Get Real!

Posted on 2014-09-10 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning.  We all WISH we had a horse and ice cream (and could eat it without feeling guilty or triggering nasty things in our bodies).  But most of us are adults and realize that some things are fantasies.  But not politicians and others of their ilk.

Mama’s Note: Not sure what you mean here Nathan… I do have a horse and I eat ice cream whenever I darn well want to. 🙂 Neither the horse nor the ice cream are essential for life, naturally, but I enjoy them both very much.

Nathan:  “If wishes were horses…” and “I scream, you scream…” when we are adults we realize that sometimes things cannot be as neat as we thought when we were children:  we’ve grown up and realize that unlimited ice cream for us to eat personally is not realistic: our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and we know it.  And horses are living creatures that come with responsibilities and costs and are not something on the shelf to take down as needed… Both are things to wish for and have, but reality has “strings.” Continue reading →

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-36B: The economy (or lack thereof)

Posted on 2014-09-09 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning. When it comes  to economics, the economy, and markets, government EXCELS in making stupid mistakes and then making MORE stupid mistakes to “fix” the first one(s).  After doing this for a century-plus, it is no wonder things are so badly messed up. Continue reading →

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More Practice and Plans

Posted on 2014-09-08 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

Last time, in “How Do You Practice for Self Defense,” I outlined the first of the “dry fire” exercises I recommend to all my students. When you are happy with your progress there, you will be ready to work on the next one. Remember that these exercises are cumulative, not consecutive. Continue to be aware of and practice previously honed skills as you advance to new things. Never forget that in an emergency, filled with fear and adrenalin, you will respond as you have trained. Continue reading →

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-36A: We told you so.

Posted on 2014-09-08 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  Interesting stories from  the  weekend and last week about messes we find ourselves in.

We told you so: From Colorado, an object lesson in tax evasion. The voters of Colorado approved a referendum two years ago legalizing recreational marijuana (medical was already legal). One of the arguments was that it would create more revenue for state government because of how legal pot would be taxed.  They even ran the numbers and projected $33.5 million in revenue during the first half of 2014. And they were right, but way off on the estimate. Continue reading →

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Politics and Engineering

Posted on 2014-09-07 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

​I am an engineer, and I am involved, oddly enough, in politics.  This is, in both American and world history, a fairly rare situation.  Look at the rosters of Congress and of State legislatures, and you will find few engineers: lots of lawyers (of course) and medical doctors and educators and now and then a few (career) soldiers, but not many engineers.  There are only two engineers who were elected president, or so it is claimed.  In reality, Hoover was a career bureaucrat and politician, and Carter was (besides an embarrassment) an engineer in the way that a train or other operating engineer is: most Navy “nuclear” engineers are not really engineers: they service and operate the equipment; they do not design and seldom solve problems. Continue reading →

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Stop!! Or I’ll Yell STOP Again!

Posted on 2014-09-05 by MamaLiberty

‘Active Shooter’ Drills Spark Raft of Legal Complaints
Wall Street Journal on-line DENVER—When Michelle Meeker approached a strange man last October at the Colorado nursing home where she worked, the man flashed a gun and forced her into an empty room as she tearfully begged for her life, she said.

Unbeknown to Ms. Meeker, the gunman was a local police officer and the entire episode a drill, arranged by the retirement home’s management to prepare employees for an armed-intruder scenario.

A friend sent this to me this morning, asking what I thought of it. I spent a number of years participating in community emergency drills, was the emergency shelter nurse for a long time, and have spent a good part of the last ten years as a certified firearms and self defense instructor. I’ve been a professional educator for nursing a good part of my life besides, so I have a fair idea of how people learn, as well as how they respond to emergencies. Continue reading →

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-35E: Liberty? What’s that?

Posted on 2014-09-05 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning! Remember liberty?  Privacy?  Human rights?  Those are so mid-Twentieth Century, aren’t they?  Or should I say mid-Eighteenth Century?  Consider today’s stories.

Bogus cell phone towers dot the landscape and are intercepting your calls- but are far from the only way that your phone and mine can be hacked and traced.  The GPS built in is DESIGNED to be accessed and tracked by government agencies.  The metadata and contents of both phone calls and texts (and e-mails) can be read at central locations.  That is so common and so easily done withOUT these few bogus towers discovered by a complex and expensive cyber-secure phone that I suspect that this is all a red herring to distract from what NSA, FBI, DEA, BATFE. and the local village constable are doing around the clock. Continue reading →

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-35D: Stupidity

Posted on 2014-09-04 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Stupidity in government is ALWAYS a problem, from that first decree of Nimrod and the first Phaoronic bureaucrat who couldn’t count past his toes, right down to that IQ=2 assemblage of Conscript Fathers (and Mothers), the US Senate.  Today, we have a few examples in the news. Continue reading →

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How Do You Practice for Self Defense?

Posted on 2014-09-03 by MamaLiberty

By MamLiberty

So, you’ve taken the basic pistol or CCW class in your area, bought your gun and visit girl guntalk web sites or discuss with a few friends your choices in gear and the right ammunition. You show up at the range at least once a month, and may even be contemplating joining the ladies night shoot. You are carrying daily or at least thinking about it…

Or did you buy a gun and then tuck it into your night stand (or your husband’s gun safe) to await being found crusted with rust in some archaeological dig a thousand years from now? Continue reading →

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