Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-09B: Political Games

Posted on 2014-03-05 by TPOL Nathan

by Nathan Barton

Good morning!  We see a lot of politics games being played here at home this week.  Here are a few.

The folks over at Godfather Politics make a mighty interesting point: if the [putative] President of the United States, US Attorney General and now state Attorney Generals [according to Holder] do not have to enforce laws that they disagree with, does this set the precedent for American citizens to not obey laws they disagree with? All of these elected officials swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land, but if they don’t have to live up to their oath, then we as citizens should not be expected to live up to our supposed duty to obey the laws.”  I look at it this way: the powers-that-be have almost NEVER bothered to follow the laws that they enforce so harshly against others.  It doesn’t matter whether they call themselves conservatives or liberals:  they are hypocritical.  But to use THEM as an excuse is likely to make us just as hypocritical.  The best reason to disobey an unjust or immoral or ungodly law is because it IS unjust, immoral, or ungodly: we don’t need to pay attention to the likes of the “messiah” or his minion, Holder.

The writer over at Last Resistance DOES say it is probably the only time he will ever praise the legislature, but he does for the new “slowpoke” law they are passing.  I guess I can see his point, but the real problem is that government agencies set speed limits NOT based on science (although we try and tell ourselves that traffic speed studies are scientific) but based on politics, from the state legislature down to the same little old whinging woman that wants to go 65 in the left lane – unless there is a wet road or a touch of snow or… or…, and then she wants to go 45.

This bit of news from L. Neil Smith should not surprise anyone except that they are getting more bold, and the arrogance is at an all-time high.  This FEMA guy might have been one of Sherman’s foragers, the way he behaved.  And there are tens of thousands out there like him: not just in Connecticut.  People who are preparing for disasters need to remember that no matter how bad a disaster is, government will make it worse.  And worse again.

I may have missed it, but I don’t think this bit of news about Idaho stamping “void” on the First Amendment made it into many “Libertarian” news outlets.  It is a perfect example of “red-state tyranny” as the guys at Political Outcast labeled it.  Is this an example of farmers being almost as sacrosanct as soldiers: they can do no wrong?  Or is this just the normal Republican socialism/fascism mix that has been around since Fremont started the GOP?    Of course, as I’ve noted above, the powers-that-be don’t really care about whether they and their fair-haired children obey the law (even animal cruelty law: look at PETA and all the Humane League euthanasia out there), just whether the cannon-fodder and serfs do.

Information from a reasonably trusted but non-website source. A mother’s womb should be the safest place a child can ever be, yet in 2008 the abortion rate was 4,111 times higher than the overall national murder rate. There were 5.4 murders for every 100,000 people [already born or born that year] in America in 2008. In the same year, 22,200 out of every 100,000 pregnancies were ended by abortion.  Of course, they weren’t really comparing apples and oranges. Now, there were 305 million residents in the US that year (estimate), but only 4.2 million births and 825,000 induced abortions that year, which is “only” 0.27 abortions per 100,000 people, or just 1/20 the number of murders.  But that STILL amounts to 1 OUT OF 5 UNBORN CHILDREN KILLED INTENTIONALLY.  The “Children’s Defense Fund” claims that 2,947 “children” were killed by guns that year.  (The number may be lower, since most hoploclasts claim anyone under the age of 21 to be a “child”)  That is STILL 280 times less than unborn children aborted.  Sodom, Gomorrah, the worshippers of Ba’al and Moloch and Milcom, had NOTHING on the formerly united States.

Kentucky: proposed bill allows Rand Paul to run for Senate and for U.S. President according to Personal Liberty, who says to expect opposition from State Democrats.  They, of course, have a vested interest in that, figuring that they have a little more hope in a border state with no incumbent in the Senate race.  But the GOP types who introduced that show that they STILL believe in men on white horses and other myths, and think that they can counter the current cult of the “messiah” with a personality cult of their own.  Talk about racing to the bottom:  presumably if Rand wins both races, he can nominate his own successor or have a puppet governor do so.  Nero’s horse, anyone?  Why not just save ALL that money by having the winner of the 2016 prez race select replacements (or reappoint) all 33 or 34 senators up for a new term in 2016?

Mark Thornton over at Von Mises had an interesting bit of news and commentary about economic prosperity and medical cannabis in the various states, as shown in a recent poll.  While there is certainly some correlation, there is not necessarily a direct cause and effect.  “Libertarian” is not a good label to apply to ANY state, and economic freedom does have an impact on prosperity, but many of these states with MMJ have very little economic freedom.  We should be asking ourselves how much more prosperous states like North Dakota or California would be if they had more personal AND economic freedom.

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A Pony for Every Child

Posted on 2014-03-04 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

Over and over we hear about things the government proposes (or actually does) to provide things that people need and want. I’m going to ignore, for now, a good many other problems and just deal with the “want and need” part.

In 1959, my family consisted of myself, a younger sister and our mother, a widow. We lived in a rather poor suburb of a relatively poor city in a duplex apartment, one of four sets. Mother earned our living managing a dry cleaning store. We did not suffer serious want, but we lived frugally and peacefully, in good relationship to our equally poor and peaceful neighbors. This was before much of the welfare, Medicare, Medicaid and other so-called poverty programs, of course.

As did many young girls in my generation, I loved horses. I saved my baby sitting money to go riding at a local stable, and spent a great amount of time reading and dreaming about having a horse. Then, one day when I was 12, the dream seemed to come true.

A girl I rode with often offered to give me an old mare, and I was delighted to lead her home.  All I had was a soft rope around her neck, but that was plenty for such a gentle creature. I tied her to the tree in front of the house, brought her carrots from the kitchen, brushed her with my old hair brush and dreamed of long rides and showing off to my friends.

Then Mother came home. She admired “Ginger” very much, petting her soft nose and laughing at her attempts to get more petting. And then began a new phase of my ethical and economic education.

“What will you feed her?” she asked. “How much does it cost, and where do we get it? Oh, and where would we store it? Where will we keep her?”  ”

I thought about the big barn and large stack of hay bales at my friend’s house, then looked around at our small yard, quite naked of any outbuildings. I didn’t want to think of how many things we’d had to do without, simply because we didn’t have the money.

I couldn’t think of any answers to her very reasonable questions, but was not yet willing to give up the dream.

And then, the horse lifted her tail and did what horses do… and mother sighed, asking me how I was going to explain to the landlord the piles of horse manure that were sure to collect. “What will you do with it, Susan?” she asked, reasonably and calmly.

Just then the telephone rang, and when she came back out she told me that my friend’s father was coming to collect the horse because his daughter had not had any authority to give it away. My dream was shattered, but in light of the obvious economic and practical barriers to keeping her, I was actually relieved as well.

I had “wanted” a horse, and convinced myself that I had a great need for one, but had no idea whatsoever what it would take to get and keep one.

Now just suppose that my mother had been a different person altogether, and she had conspired with me to do whatever it took to force other people to pay for the feed, shelter the horse on their private property against their will, and left it for others to deal with the manure, all without any regard to their own needs and wants.

If you think about it, that’s exactly what happens when the “needs” and even the “wants” of some people are provided for by stealing from other people. We can’t morally or rationally give away things that don’t belong to us either.

None of that could be done without force of arms, of course, something not even available to my individual family, but which would soon be implemented on a national scale via “voting,” and political gamesmanship. The people were told they could live on stolen goods, and they had nobody to ask them those difficult questions. Instead,  the politicians assured them that they didn’t need to think about it, so the “war on poverty” came to despoil and impoverish us all.

Nearly twenty years later, when I had earned enough, had a place of my own, and knew that I could take care of it, I bought a horse. An altogether satisfying experience, and one well worth waiting and working for.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-09A: Free Americans

Posted on 2014-03-03 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  There are still people in this formerly united States that live free, who – while maintaining a low profile – are able to enjoy their liberties in some small ways.  I found a few stories about some, and think you might enjoy the thoughts.

In Washington State, an 11-year-old girl killed a mountain lion and saved her brother from the starving animal, which was tracking him.  She used a rifle to do that.  I am very surprised, given Washington State and its politics, that there has not been an enormous outcry over the fact that this child (a) had a cougar hunting license (b) had a rifle, and (c) had bullets.  Have they no safety locks for weapons in Washington?  Have they no love for small children, to allow them to even see (let alone touch or use) such deadly weapons?  Have they no understanding of how that gun could kill that child or her brother or anyone else?  Have they no common love for any of God’s creatures, like this poor starving female lion, perhaps desperately searching for food for her kittens?  Have they no public school teachers to teach this child about the importance of wildlife and the need to sacrifice over-populated, resource guzzling humans to let the wild animals prosper? (/sarc)

Seriously, once more we see that one size does not fit all, and that even people living in fairly settled country have a great need for the ability to defend themselves, even if just against wild animals.  And that stupid laws which seek to “protect” children by disarming them are evil and must be ignored and eliminated.

There are other brave Americans – in the full sense of that word – as Freedom Outpost tells about here. John Cinque makes his stand in a final statement, “I’m not speaking for anyone else here, but I’m telling you right now: I will not comply.”  When the lawmakers asks Mr. Cinque if he has been fingerprinted before, Cinque answers “Yes, but I also took an oath to protect against all enemies foreign and domestic. I got domestic enemies now that show their hands every day.”

Related to freedom; I suspect that there are more than a few residents of senior homes/assisted living in the United States who might respond the way this fictitious Canadian elder lady did.

At first, I thought it was a true story, that US agents attempted to raid a Candian senior’s home looking for pot, but The Lupine is the Canadian version of The Onion, and this IS a spoof.  And funny enough.  But the agreement between the US and CDN is real and the potential for something like this is high.  We have seen dozens if not hundreds of examples of local, state, and federal agencies attacking the wrong place, so this is only a matter of time.

This also in from Canada, and apparently NOT a spoof:  a famous Toronto barbershop, owned and operated by Muslims since 1925, refused to cut a woman’s hair for religious reasons: she is suing.  She is also a lesbian, which means that their refusal may violate Canada’s non-discrimination laws.  Interesting to watch two dogmatic, intolerant groups face each other.  No doubt we’ll see something like that in the US soon.  I don’t like Muslims overall, although I have been and am friends with some (probably heretics to most of their brethren) but they have just as much right to their beliefs and practices as any other of Her Majesty’s subjects in Ontario.  And I cannot believe that there are not many barber or beauty shops in Toronto who are more than willing to cut the hair of women, lesbian or not – or maybe especially if lesbian.  Clearly, intimidation is the objective here.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the mess worsens.

The ousted Ukrainian president, now fled to Russia, vows to keep fighting, while the West applauds the violent rebels which have seized power.  And while local ethnic Russians are aided by troop movements of the Russian Army to occupy at least most of the Crimea where the Russian Navy is based.  DC seems to be pounding war drums, or else is trying to bluff, or are too stupid to really understand what they are doing.

But my sympathies lie with the Crimea, and with those who at least played by the rules. Neither the old Prez nor the new one are friends of liberty, and I seriously doubt that there are any real lovers of liberty in the Crimean parliament or administration.  But anytime a central government is weakened, and a small but identifiable region or district can win more freedom from its overlords, I see it as a win in the long term.

Mama’s Note: “…played by the rules.” Who’s rules? Who has the authority to make or enforce those rules? The people of the Crimea seem to be welcoming the Russians. I say, let them determine their own future. US politicians have no more legitimate right to decide that than the politicians of Ukraine, OR Russia.

Nathan:  Not so much “who’s rules” but what rules:  not initiating force is the main “rule” – and I guess that is God’s rule.  A second rule is also basic: that people have a right to chose their own destiny and not have one forced on them: but maybe that is just a restatement of the first.

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Connecticut, the “Police State”

Posted on 2014-03-03 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Connecticut is nicknamed the “Constitution State” because it claims to have been the first polity in history with a written constitution (the Fundamental Orders, published in 1638).  Apparently the fifth state to ratify the Constitution, Connecticut has NEVER ratified the Bill of Rights: apparently the state convention and subsequent governments have never felt that these were needed.  However, Article First of the State Constitution, Section 15, states simply:  “Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.”

Based on the laws passed in the State in recent years, especially the recent hoplophobic laws, its nickname needs to be changed.  But its current actions, as I discuss below, definitely indicate that its nickname appropriately be “The Police State.”

In Connecticut, a woman quested a State Police officer about the 200+ letters which have been sent out to people who did not register their “assault weapon” or “high capacity  magazine” in time.  The National Examiner has video and a transcript, which I am copying partially here.

“I want to know, if it comes down to it, will the police go to my home if my husband refuses to give up a weapon that was formerly legal and now has been made illegal by a corrupt legislature?” she asked. “Will the police actually go to my home and threaten my family, ’cause I’m scared to death?”

“We don’t threaten people, ma’am,” Lt. Vance said. “That doesn’t happen.”

“If you’re going with the force of government, that’s a threat,” she responded.

“Ma’am, it sounds like you’re anti-American, it sounds like you’re anti-law. I can’t answer your question,” Lt. Vance remarked.

Ashley told Lt. Vance in no uncertain terms she is pro-American and took exception to being called anti-American, a charge Lt. Vance tried to walk back.

He also told Ashley she should contact an attorney to learn what her options are under the law.

Later, after Ashley said Lt. Vance works for the people of the state, he informed her that he, in fact, is her master.

“You’re the servant, we’re the master,” she said.

“I’m the master, ma’am. I’m the master,” he said in response.

So, THERE WE HAVE IT.  In the formerly Sovereign and Free State (Commonwealth) of Connecticut, a relatively low-ranking officer in the military occupation force that CLAIMS to be a “law enforcement agency” is the MASTER of the citizens of the state.

This isn’t Darth Vader breathing heavily as he proclaims his tyrannical powers: this is the real world of 21st Century Police States.  The CSP, 111 years old, has about 1,248 “troops” and almost 1,600 employees, is “heavily militaristic” and rules (that’s what masters do) over about 3.5 million residents (subjects?) of Connecticut.   They “protect” the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the state, and their families, which I guess means that even those people are servants.

Not only that, but this “master” of people says that someone objecting to unconstitutional gun control laws is “Anti-American.” It is now about 72 hours since that statement was made, but I hear no official, no senior officer or civilian official, publicly stating that this lieutenant thug was wrong in what he said.  “Silence is consent.”

I am Texian by ancestry, and therefore you should not be surprised to find that I am very much NOT a lover of the concept of a State Police. State Police are an integral part of Police States: or certainly, the germ of such.  In fact, except MAYBE for special, limited-duty, highly specialized, units like Texas Rangers or Colorado Rangers, I am opposed to ANY statewide (much less nationwide) law enforcement OR peace officer OR public safety organization.  Given any justification for government at all, law enforcement/peace-keeping belongs strictly at the COUNTY level, with an elected official (a SHERIFF) directly responsible to the people of the county or township, and his/her deputies.  If there is a need for a state highway or courtesy patrol, it should be HIGHLY limited (as with Rangers) to a very few specific tasks and responsible NOT to the legislature or the executive branch of the state government, but to the Sheriffs – either in general assembly or through a board of directors elected by them. Even then, we know the danger of tyranny is heightened.

(Connecticut does not have viable, functioning counties and no Sheriffs: indeed most of its many municipalities are patrolled by “local” officers that are part of, or report to, the State Police.  Is that messed up, or what?)

Supposedly, there are between 20,000 and 100,000 residents (can’t call ’em citizens, any more) of Connecticut who have not registered or gotten rid of their “assault weapons.”  (JPFO has a good summary article here.) Presumably many more have “sniper weapons” (any long arm from .223 caliber on up).  This occupation army, with only between 1200 and 1700 thugs, could disappear from the face of the earth and have to answer to God for their evil deeds in a matter of minutes.  The Police State COULD end that quickly.  If there are enough people with courage and conviction and love of liberty left in that state.  (There are some, at least, as Freedom Outpost describes.)

It is obvious that the present, intolerable situation cannot remain unresolved.  Was it not Abraham Lincoln who quoted Christ Jesus that “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” and went on to say: “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.  I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided.  It will become all one thing or all the other.”

Though no great fan of Abe Lincoln, he had a point.  Connecticut is no longer free.  Other states may too be in that situation, as certainly are many cities (NYC, Chicago, are two that come to mind).  We must decide NOW that we in the mostly free states (Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, perhaps Arizona, North Dakota, and Idaho) must aid our brothers in states that are Police States, to regain their freedom.  BUT we can’t do it for them.

Mama’s Note: The idea of “the Union” and all the talk about division creating a fall… have nothing to do with voluntary associations. The “fall” comes about when each faction demands the power to control and plunder the others. I have been a part of a good many voluntary associations, with people of all different background, needs, talents, etc. We were able to work toward a mutual goal, in peace and prosperity, because we did not have any desire to RULE one another. The law of non-aggression, and the desire for peaceful, free trade is all that is required. The most desirable division in society is the individual, freely associating and trading with others on mutually agreeable terms. And, just as important, leaving all others free to associate differently and work toward other goals.

The collectivist standard of  “country” or the “state” as an indivisible, sacred whole – which must be maintained as such by whatever violence is necessary – is the very antithesis of individual liberty and justice.

 

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“Rogue” Cops – Is Enough Enough? (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 2014-03-02 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

In part 1, I talked about the problem we have with cops and police in America today: killer cops, abusive cops, tyrannical cops.  I presented some thoughts on how to deal with that, and recognized that those things are NOT really solutions.

So let me propose a restatement of the problem and what may be the solution.

The model of “policing” we have developed in this country (and before that, in the UK and other Commonwealth countries) is a failure.  We cannot fix it anymore. It is time to accept that and replace it with something else: END the occupation.  NOW.

We MUST replace it with something that might work better.  What would that be?

One that comes to mind is Heinlein’s concept of a public safety proctor roster.

You would have people volunteer and are selected (after some basic screening) almost on rotation or by the lot to serve for a very limited time and a very specific area.  Their duties would be to keep or restore the peace, deal with emergencies, and aid people. This roster would be on a very local level:  a city neighborhood, a township, a small county: probably nothing larger than 25,000 people (and that large only in huge urban areas: in rural areas, I could see that “jurisdiction” to be as small as a few hundred people or a few blocks of businesses).

These would NOT be professionals: we don’t WANT professionals.  We want people who don’t think that they are superheroes or magic workers or the like: but people who know their community and care about it and want to fix things, not make them worse.  Their purpose is to identify, stabilize (keep things from getting worse), and if beyond resolution, to call for help: paramedics, fire service, or citizen emergency response teams, or just other neighbors with various skills to deal with the mess (and if need be, the person(s) causing the mess).

This is related to the old English idea of Frith-guilds: that small groups of people voluntarily enter into agreements to protect them, their families, and their properties, and to mutually pledge to keep the peace and deal with trouble of any sort.

Also related to this is the use of private security and service companies, entering into local, limited, and voluntary contracts with people and businesses, and working “at will” with companies and communities: hired to do a specific job, one of those dozen or so that we lump together in “police” or “law enforcement.”  Tasks like ensuring that traffic flows safely and smoothly, that parking privilege (or rights) on other peoples’ land is not abused, that fraud and corruption and theft are investigated, prevented, or compensated. Like protecting people from violence initiated by others.  L. Neil Smith has come up with, or popularized, many ways of dealing with this sort of thing.  The emphasis is small, local, and limited, and ALWAYS with someone watching to see that they do it right (and take action if they don’t).  Bad as Jenny and Win Bear’s USA was, the thought of a dictatorship run by or supported by Griswolds’ (Brrrr!) is frightening.

With modern communications and equipment and all we have, there is no need for a centralized force to do these things at ANY level, including the federal: at best, someone to maintain communications and databases, and to provide for mutual aid. EVERYTHING (even that) is private:  not “privatized” like BlackWater or contracting out parking metermaids, but PRIVATE:  crime investigation and prevention (security), and even prosecution and serving of warrants and legal papers done by private companies under private contract with private individuals and businesses.  With NO special privileges, written or implied.

The theme of all this is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:  taking responsibility and accepting accountability for your own actions, your own body, your own land, your own community.  Our modern, sick system of policing destroys personal accountability and individual responsibility.  We must restore something that creates conditions in which we are expected to be responsible and will have no choice but to accept that; whether it is as spending one day a month as a volunteer public safety proctor or contracting for services and insurance and paying compensation when we do mess up.  The only reason the old system lasted as long as it did was because there were enough people who were still willing to be responsible and behave as they would want others to do.

These are not utopian fixes: there would be lots of problems.  But what we have now is not just not working, it is leading to more and more evil by the day.  Enough is enough.

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“Rogue” Cops – Is Enough Enough? (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 2014-03-01 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

It seems to me that in the past couple of months we have seen a huge ramp up in reports of “rogue cops” stealing and killing and beating and otherwise behaving like the criminals that they are supposed to be “protecting” us from.  Several other people have noticed and commented on the same thing.

It could be that this is a cyclic sort of thing, or that we are hearing more about this kind of behavior due to the alternative press and the better technology of the 2010s versus that of 1990 or 1970.  And we’ve always had corrupt cops and sheriffs and the like, going back to the days of King Richard I and Prince John and before. But I do wonder.  The level of brazenness and scope of this behavior seems to be growing.

For instance, in King City, California, a farming town, cops have been stealing the automobiles of poor “Latino” people in town.  In San Francisco, six police were indicted for violating rights, stealing and selling pot.  Just this week.  In New Jersey, two Elizabeth cops are pleading guilt of stealing by deception in a scheme involving the cops getting paid for jobs that they never worked an hour on.  MORE NYC cops and firefighers were charged with disability fraud in a growing pension scandal: several hundred now.

But simple theft and fraud is not the worst, by any means.  The Blaze reports on a man accused of fleeing and resisting arrest, but the dashcam that finally came to light showed cops beating him for no reason.  In California’s Bay Area, there are too many stories in the past 2-3 years of cops gunning down innocent teens after mistaking toys for guns or just plain “making a mistake” that it is hard to find information about recent killings.  Police brutality reports rapes, pimping, beatings, breaking of necks and more, to the tune of several dozen incidents a month.  Last week, police intervened in a woman and her daughter having a fight outside a theatre in Oklahoma by beating the husband/father to death, in front of them.  Another site, “Photography is not a crime,” records a dozen incidents in the past week in which cops have pulled guns or beaten or arrested people just for recording video of them in action.  Even when the video vindicates the cop’s actions against a criminal or suspect.

Humans are not the only victims of cops: dogs and cats and other animals are killed, seemingly more and more frequently by cops; sometimes claiming they feared the animals.  And sometimes apparently with a great deal of glee at doing so.

And the killing by cops continues, or at least their attempts to kill people:  Political Outpost discusses a 70-year-old man gunned down by cops because he was reaching for his cane in the back of his pickup.  Last week a teen was killed because he came to his door with a Wii controller. A few days ago, it was decided that no charges would be filed for the killing, execution style, of a Michigan homeless man waving a knife but twenty-thirty feet away from a half-dozen cops, in a hail of bullets.  Despite videos showing no reason for the killing: OR for the poor marksmanship: only 11 of 47 shots actually hit the man.  It sounds (on the audio) like automatic gunfire.

How many more incidents like these I’ve described are happening every day, somewhere – or several some-wheres – in the nation?  Then either not covered by the press, or covered up by the press and the agencies?  And how many of those beatings and deaths would NOT have happened if police had a different attitude?  And if therefore the people these police are interacting with had a different attitude?

With people like this serving in our vaunted “law enforcement” services, why do we worry about criminals NOT in uniform?  It is a question that many people are asking.  Even in rural areas, not just in the “combat zones” of inner urban areas, the people in uniform seem to be sliding into a criminal mindset, an “us-versus-them” attitude that leads to violence and often death with no real justification.  At the same time as police deaths and injuries are down, and national homicide rates continue to drop over several decades, the killing by police bucks that trend.

There IS a solution to this, or rather, several.

First, look at who we hire as cops, who we allow to work in these “dangerous” positions.  Remember, these are not private jobs: these are government.  It is not damaging to liberty to require physical, mental (psychological), AND moral testing:  you don’t want a wife-beater or a child-molester as a cop; and you don’t want someone who cheats on their wife or stole from his employer or cheated on his school work, either.  And most ex-military are NOT the kind of people (based on experience and training) that you want for cops: definitely not infantry or armor or special forces types. (Maybe Military Police or USAF Security Police.  Maybe.)  You don’t want people who have ever shown any cruelty to animals.  And you have to avoid the power-hungry, the egotistical, and the quick-tempered.

Second, we need to train them better.  Part of it is to teach the cops to do the same things that they supposedly want the public to do:  be respectful, don’t escalate things, don’t assume the worst, use nonlethal weapons and less than lethal force, and even back off.  But the very first part of the teaching is about humans: about liberty and rights and understanding the Constitutions (state and federal) and what tyranny means.

Third, we need to track them better.  Just as there are statewide databases of traffic violators and sexual offenders, there should be statewide databases of crooked, corrupt, brutal, and dishonest cops.  So that ANY town or county or city hiring can be forced to see the past record.  Not just the criminal court cases but the “internal investigations” and the citizen (and other) complaints.  And I might go so far as “three strikes and you’re out,” for ANY “petty offense” much less misdemeanor or felony.  And that would include “false statements on official documents” and EVERY traffic and other offense that someone NOT in uniform is subject to.  And by out, I mean BANNED for life: no more police service OR ANY employment in a government agency OR in political office (especially NOT dogcatcher).

Fourth, we need to have a corps of dedicated volunteers, that slow down and stop and watch ANY time there is an interaction between a cop and anyone else, day or night, rural or urban.  Who will, indeed, watch the watchers?  (A friend thinks that mandating wearing cameras for ALL cops on patrol might be a possible solution; a study in Rialto, California in their police department shows great promise.  But at the same time, there are dozens of cases of cops knowing they were being taped doing the same stupid, thuggish things.)

“But, Nathan, this is all pie in the sky; all utopian, we can’t possibly do or afford this…”  And you are right. This IS impossible: people are not angels.  People do dumb, stupid, idiotic things.  Power corrupts.  These ideas are Band-aids on a cancer victim.

So what can we do?  See Part II for thoughts on that.

 

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-08D: Lies and Liars

Posted on 2014-02-28 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning, and welcome to the last day of February, 2014. 65% of Small Businesses to See Rate Increases Due to Obamacare Rules, according to  the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary.  The report is predicting that 65% of small businesses (50 or fewer full time employees) will see increases to their health insurance costs affecting approximately [11 million] workers.  On the flip side, 35% may actually see a decrease in costs affecting around 6 million workers.  The report did not indicate how much the increases or decreases may be, only that they will likely happen.  Once more, Congress and the White House are guilty of lying about the entire deal, and once more, millions of people and businesses are harmed.  How many more will die prematurely?

Driver blows 0.000 on a breath test when stopped; but gets arrested for DWI anyway.  This shows another example of the rampant lawlessness of cops, who are convinced that they are more knowledgeable and have the power to do anything they want.

Woman Punished by City for Living Off the Grid: she wasn’t using city water or commercial (grid) power, and the monopolies/governments just didn’t like it.  She fought and does not have to get electrical power, but she still must pay for a water connection whether she uses a gallon or not.  But this isn’t good enough for the city: they blocked her sewer off – something that she calls “just plain mean” – and I agree.

Michelle, the “messiah’s” consort, has put her foot in her mouth again, saying that America’s moms are “confused and bewildered,” and “defeated” by grocery shopping.  But never fear, the government is here to help and take over by telling you what to buy – as well as paying for more and more people’s groceries.  This is not the first time she’s said some really stupid, insulting, even racist and classist things to go along with her Imelda Marcos/Marie Antoinette lifestyle:  visit this CNS News page for a great list.

This comes just a day or so after an official FEMA announcement stated (via E-mail, no website): “President Obama will unveil his new “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative today, taking action with foundations, businesses, and faith and other community leaders to make sure that every young man of color who is willing to work hard and lift himself up has an opportunity to get ahead and reach his full potential.”  It is no surprise that two of my correspondents condemned this as “racist” and another as “sexist.”  My own response was simple: “Vomit.”  As Mama Liberty pointed out in response, “Ditto. Only “young men of color” need a job, I guess. And Ovomit has no idea just how that happens in the real world. The unicorns and rainbow folks think they can just demand it, and it should happen out of thin air.  Wonder what Hitlery will use for an excuse…”

Earlier this week, Harry Reid called terminally ill Americans “Liars” : “Despite all that good news, there’s plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue, but they’re being told all over America…The leukemia patient whose insurance policy was canceled [and] could die without her medication, Mr. President, that’s an ad being paid for by two billionaire brothers. It’s absolutely false. Or the woman whose insurance policy went up $700 a month–ads paid for around America by the multibillionaire Koch brothers, and the ad is false….We heard about the evils of Obamacare, about the lives it’s ruining in Republicans’ stump speeches and in ads paid for by oil magnates, the Koch brothers.” Reid is of course a very wealthy man himself, from a base income living off the taxpayers for decades, and he apparently believes that people are willing to lie to make ads for the Kochs.  Perhaps he should look into what the Democratic and Republican Parties do in THEIR ads.

Mama’s Note: The facts can certainly be documented, quite aside from the ads… no matter who pays for them. Reid, of course, has no tolerance for the truth from any source, and that’s become apparent to a great many people in the last few years.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-08B: Flash glances and trouble brewing

Posted on 2014-02-27 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Let’s start with some really quick glances at news the beginning of this week.

Vilsack: Inner City ‘Minority’ Child ‘Doesn’t Even Know What a Tomato Is’ not just rude and insulting, but a lie.

Taliban Says It’s Suspending Prisoner-Swap Talks, Which WH Says Aren’t Happening, so who do we believe? I figure NONE of them.

Gallup: 53% of Americans Say Obama Not Respected by Other World Leaders – and besides the voters, who do we have to blame?

Feds Spend $356,337 on ‘Simulation Facility’ to Study How People Cross the Road Hopefully a way so that female joggers crossing the road don’t get assaulted by fat cops coping a feel?

FLASHBACK: Boehner on the Minimum Wage Increase: He’d Rather ‘Commit Suicide’, but then Boehner is an emo hypocrite: what do you expect?

Obama: ‘Most Working Americans Make More Than the Minimum Wage Already’ – and even some of them will lose their jobs when the cost of giving everyone $10/hour – regardless of contribution – kicks in.

Mama’s Note: I don’t see that happening either. Small business did compromise a lot, for years, with the “minimum wage” nonsense. With “Obummercare” and ongoing tax, regulatory squeezes going on, not to mention the overall economy and credit market, look for more and more businesses of all sizes to fold or move offshore. No business can pay more than an employee actually earns unless it is stolen from others who produce more – and the producers are just about tapped out. The rock is just about to meet the hard place.

GAO: Correlation Between Rising Student Loans and Higher College Costs ‘Difficult to Discern’. So says government, which doesn’t understand basic economics like supply and demand.  Student loans INCREASE demand; with a limited supply, PRICES RISE.  Duh!

On to some more news in detail.

First, it is clear that Ukraine’s troubles are FAR from over.

An arrest warrant was issued for Ukraine’s Yanukovych, who ‘Amassed powers’ or did he?  On the one hand, we hear that his government was “constitutional” and “legitimate.”  That is the line that the Russians and some international groups are giving.  In response to that,  a few days ago, Susan Rice said that Russian military intervention in Ukraine ‘Would be a grave mistake.’ DC and Brussels say Yanukovych “amassed powers,” implying he is the bad guy.  Meanwhile, here in DC, we have this man who sits in 1600 Pennsy busy “amassing powers” and HE is legitimate?  Let me see: Libya, Egypt, Syria, now Ukraine: the FedGov is supporting all these glorious revolutions against autocratic, supposedly ideologically-driven autocrats, while building a bigger autocracy in North America.  What is wrong with this picture?

Second, things are heating up Stateside.

Some of those racists who supported the “messiah” because of their skin color instead of their political positions seem to be changing their tune.  It seems that a good number of “Black pastors” [sic] have said that it is time to impeach Holder because he is “destroying marriage.”  Meanwhile Holder himself invites the state AGs to do as he did: Don’t defend laws banning same-sex marriage [sic].  I guess in this case he is at least not a hypocrite.  (Unlike his “messiah.”)  It is clear that he is shirking his duty.  As he and those like him keep telling us, “If you don’t like the law, you don’t have the right to ignore it, you have to work to change it.  Work in the system, mind you.”  (I don’t buy their argument, but THEY are the ones who make that argument: along with too many people who refuse to see the truth and follow it.)

And there is a lot stateside regarding military affairs and personnel, so let us look at military related news for a bit.

We read that post-9/11 veterans who are not In labor force has more than doubled under the “messiah.” There are, of course, many reasons for that: the continuing Crash of 2009 and everything that DC has done to make it worse, and the fact that being good at leading a patrol and dealing with IEDs in a Mesopotamian village or a cobbled mountain trail in the foothills of the Hindu Kush is NOT directly transferable to an American civilian sector that is NOT on a war footing.  But the disdain shown for the military and those serving by the current squatters at 1600 Pennsy is much the same as during Bill and Hillary’s time there.  And the mental and physical stress of supposedly preserving American’s freedom while taking the lives and liberty of so many others, and knowing what is going on back home is the same thing, is taking a terrible toll on combat and non-combat veterans alike.  Especially when your senior leadership is constantly attacking your morals, your upbringing, and the ideals that caused you to join in the first place.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the fact that DOD is to continue using the Southern Poverty Law Center as a training resource:  this is the liberal/Tranzi organization that considers most christians to be terrorists, and believes that racism is the primary motivation for libertarians.

We are getting some feedback on the newly proposed DoD cuts.  First, Dick Cheney sees ‘enormous long-term damage’ in military cuts.  Well of course, he would.  But he may be right.  It is not the size of the cuts, but the way the cuts are being done, that SHOULD make people worried.  But too many people have a knee-jerk reaction to cuts and don’t think it through.  It is not numbers of troops or ships or planes that needs to be cut as much as it is WHERE we have and send those people:  We have no need for boots on the ground or even planes in the air over 85% of the world.  Eyes and ears, yes.  Ships patrolling the sea lanes, probably yes.  Even (a few) forward operating bases.  And allies.  But we don’t need a world empire, at least not a military one.  Not that THIS administration agrees: they want an empire both abroad AND at home: states that are nothing more than provinces or administrative districts.

Which is one reason for this next story.  It should be no surprise to hear that Republican governors are offended by the “messiah’s” antagonistic ‘tone’ on National Guard cuts.  These cuts are both in manpower AND in firepower: removing of attack helicopters and giving them more utility ‘copters, and removing other combat units.  Maybe I am paranoid, but this seems obvious:  the more DC integrates the Guard units with Regular Army and Army Reserve units, the less the Guard can defend their homelands against the greatest threat TO those homelands: the FedGov itself.  As DOJ and DHS become more powerful, more heavily armed, the National Guard and the associated State Guards and State Military Reserves become more important.  And the more the Guard is reduced in size, the more dependent on federal aid in case of natural disaster and other emergencies the states become.

Governors to Obama: ‘Don’t Cut the National Guard’ as part of the reduction in force and reorganization: it means that the Guard would be more and more tail and more and more toothless: unable to defend the states against FedGov invasion (or so they think).  The Air Force wants to get rid of A-10s (again and again and again) – fine: transfer them to the Air Guards:  they were designed to work against T72s and T80s but will work against M1s and M2s just as well, with good pilots and leaders.

More, but I’ll continue in my next post.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-08C: Secession and Nullification

Posted on 2014-02-27 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning.  Governors were upset about the proposed budget cuts for military forces and gutting the National Guard budget, manpower, and missions.  But some are upset about more than just that.  Sure, it is politics as usual, but it is worth understanding, as more and more people talk about de facto if not de jure nullification and secession.

Two GOP governors are in the news attacking the White House and Congress.  So what is new?  For once, they are speaking the truth.  First we have Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal saying that the ‘Obama economy is now the minimum wage economy.’ Assuming you have a job at all, I might add: more and more people do NOT, despite all the glowing reports in the media about how we are over the Crash of 2009 (which they never admitted to being a crash).  No wonder “he” (the “messiah”) is so hot on the minimum wage: more and more jobs that people CAN get are going to drop rockbottom.  And for only 30- hours a week, to avoid ObummerCare mandates.

At the same time we have Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker pointing out that success is not measured by ‘How many people are dependent on the Government.’ Well, it all depends on who is measuring, of course: for many of our “masters” in Congress and the Executive Branch, that is EXACTLY how they measure that success: how many people got food stamps this month; how many enrolled members of Tribe X had to live on commodities this quarter, how many people got Pell Grants or BEOG this semester to go to College? Now the funny thing to me about these two GOP governors is that what they are attacking is the result of the GOP living up to its historical Big Government agenda, and its cooperation with the Democratic Party (which is always sold as a “failure” of the GOP to get its own agenda – a paper tiger at best).  That is assuming that they are honest in what they are saying, and not just doing what so many other GOP types do: putting on a big brave false front to hide their statist, stealth Tranzi beliefs and practices.

On to other news:

Not content with trouble at home, DC courts more abroad.  Not just Ukraine and Syria, but… Uganda? Uganda could lose U.S. aid, face sanctions over its homosexuality law, as the threat behind the “messiah’s” words about damaging the US’s ‘special relationship’ with Uganda is revealed.  Funny, huh?  Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and Iraq all are “special” to the US, and I’ve not heard a WORD from DC about their laws against practicing homosexuals.  But let Tennessee or Utah or Uganda do anything, and before you know it, the diplomats are sounding tough and threats to funds are being made.

A newly-proposed Republican tax plan lowers rates, but imposes a surtax on the wealthy, once more demonstrating the hypocrisy of the GOP, especially at the national level.  The term “wealthy” can be defined in so many different ways that it lets them play games and try to conceal what are nothing more than lies about how much they want to steal from you and me.

In Nigeria this week, Boko Haram terrorists murder 58 by attacking and setting fire to a college dormitory and then killing the students as they fled: male students, apparently.  No information available, but it is reasonable to assume that the female students were raped instead of being killed.  What is noticeable about this is that apparently government security forces protecting the college were withdrawn just before the attack took place.  So we see (again) government facilitating the murderous actions of an Islamist death cult.

The World Emperor a/k/a the “messiah” tells the Pentagon to plan for full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as his frustration with Karzai and company grows stronger.  This has a few people delighted, but there is no indication this is anything more but discarding part of the hand in continuing negotiations.  Karzai is unlikely to kick out the source of so much wealth.

It was reported that 36,000 rounds of ammo and 9500 pounds of pot were seized by the Border Patrol over 3 days this week, and just in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.  The ammo, supposedly all 7.62x39mm, was being smuggled INTO Mexico, and the pot was being smuggled into Texas.  They are proud of themselves, as this sets new records for stealing, and because “communities” on both sides of the border would have been devastated by this much ammo.  Yeah, right.  First, ammo (like guns) seldom comes back north):  the only way this could be devastating to communities in South Texas would be because families and businesses would be short of ammo.  But the most common self-defense rounds are 5.56mm NATO and 9mm Luger, NOT 7.62×39, which is usually AK-47 food.  Second, although I don’t know what prices are in Texas, the “open” (hardly “free”) market price in Colorado is supposedly $400/ounce, which means that the Border Patrol harmed the American economy to the tune of $61 million in just three days:  that is $7.4 billion dollars per year!  Not counting how many times that money would have been spent in the economy overall.  Way to GO, Border Patrol!

Biden’s latest boasting: ‘Single women with children in a dead-end job’ can quit because of Obamacare, is great news to his Tranzi buddies and the welfare state bureaucrats.  But not for the rest of us, who will pay (one way or another) for tens or hundreds of thousands of single-moms with kids getting TANF (“temporary” aid to needy families) or ADC (aid to “dependent” children) and all the rest of the welfare state payouts – not forgetting the $100,000 per year salaries for all the bureaucrats running the programs (and ObummerCare).

Kerry: those who use rape as a tool of war will not be allowed into the USA, just those who kill innocent people with drones and use poison gas on their own supporters to try and frame the government they are fighting against.   And of course, those who think that man-boy sex is natural and “not rape.”

Mama’s Note: Rape has always been a tool of war. It always will be. Seems the answer would logically to be elimination of war… aggressive war.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-08A: Hope?

Posted on 2014-02-24 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Is there any hope left?  Every week, I see another half-dozen articles about the growing tyranny and brutality of the various governments in these formerly united States of America.  Every week, I learn of yet another group of people who have sold out liberty and honesty and a moral worldview for power and wealth.  Every week, I hear of yet another way in which the limited liberty I and the nation enjoyed back in the 1960s and early 1970s restricted still more.

Anyway, good morning.  Here are some of the stories of interest, pointing out the situation.  At the same time, there ARE some things that show that perhaps there IS a bit of hope in the bottom of the box, after all.

In Austin, Texas, where cops (on video) assaulted a woman jogger because she jaywalked, and then busted her on a variety of charges, the police chief put his foot in his mouth, saying local citizens should be glad that his cops aren’t raping them.  Even though it was in defense of his own, it is still a surprise to see a senior “law enforcement” official acknowledge how “rogue” cops are getting.  As I was discussing with someone yesterday, the cops doing this kind of thing (including killings of innocents weekly, like the teen shot and killed in his own front door because he was holding a wii controller) are a small minority of the police forces, but it is obvious that more and more are behaving this way and their superiors and the governments for which they work are SUPPORTING them.  We live in a police state, and there seems to be no hope of things getting better.  Each week, there are a half-dozen new stories about cops killing innocents, terrorizing innocents, tazing or beating or sexually assaulting people for minor crimes or even simple disobedience or self-defense, false arrests, and home invasions for the most minor of excuses.  Anyone even attempting to fight back (if they survive) is branded as a cop-killer or terrorist.  Their arrogance seems to grow without bounds.

Mama’s Note: While only a small number of “law enforcement” employees are actually committing the violent crimes, people like the police chief above and the unions pull out all the stops to excuse and cover for them. Even worse, however, is the fact that almost none of the other “cops” will lift a finger to stop the criminal behavior or work toward getting rid of the “bad apples.” As far as I’m concerned, they are ALL “bad apples” then. It is a crime to obstruct justice, hide or falsify evidence, ignore a crime being committed, or in any way facilitate harm to another human being. Any of those things would be grounds to prosecute and incarcerate any other person, and it is doubly shameful for this to be done with impunity under color of law.

Missouri is one of a number of states where the legislature is taking action to nullify various federal laws as unconstitutional.  I was surprised to see how far the matter has gone in that state (best known to me for its abusive police and the way the EPA has attacked both businesses AND state regulators in the past).  And I have my doubts: even if both houses pass this nullification act, will the governor really sign AND execute it?  There are so many ways for the FedGov to punish states who “resist” that it is hard to imagine Missouri as being willing to push back much at all.

Some of the folks over at CNS News have calculated that when DHS contracted to purchase 704 million rounds of ammo over the next 4 years, that amounts to 2,500 rounds per officer.  That is for 208 weeks, or about 12 rounds per week, or 52 per month.  Is that really enough to get them to shoot straight?  I, for one, have my doubts.  Even if they don’t spend time on the firing range during Christmas week.  We can be sure that virtually NONE of these will be fired “in line of duty” since the number of times a DHS “officer” has actually been involved in a firefight in line of duty is less than the number of times these “officers” have been involved in domestic violence or DUIs (their own, not someone else’s).  Yes, I know I am making light of this.  It is clear that a good many federal agencies are stockpiling huge amounts of ammo as compared to even a decade ago, and many people are trying to figure out why.  Meanwhile, even as gun prices at least remain fairly constant (supply keeping up with demand, but with inflation hitting hard), ammo prices are still insane and getting worse.  Again, it is supply and demand.  And a lack of hope that things will get better soon.

Meanwhile, overseas, the US and Russia seem to have cooperated (intentionally or not) in overthrowing a democratically-elected government which seemed to be abiding by its constitution.   Reports are mixed, but it appears that the “protesters” did as much (or more) killing than the police did in the last days of violence in Kiev.  Russia and the US are butting heads over Ukraine, but whether this is just for show or real is hard to tell. And now, it appears that the US’s Susan Rice may have threatened war on Russia if Russia seeks to restore constitutional government in Ukraine.

The ex-CBO Chief’ s comment that Obummerare’s work disincentive is ‘Exactly the same’ as welfare’s makes sense: why mess with a proven formula?  The disincentive to work is an incentive to surrender more and more control to the government: to become more dependent, as clientèle to the political bosses and bureaucrats.  Lazy and feckless people don’t want to make their own decisions, and are happy to get enough to eat, get high on, and ‘enjoy’ life. What hope is there of getting them to change?

An Afghani newspaper claims that the US has plotted to allow “christian missionaries” to steal Afghanistan’s youth by converting them to christianity and telling them they can then seek better lives in the West.  Clearly, the Afghan paper’s writers and editor don’t pay attention to, or understand, American politics; but you would think that they could read the mainstream media and see how this is really playing out.  Of course, this gives the FedGov and MSM an excuse to further crack down on churches and on religious soldiers (except Muslims, of course) in the ranks.

USDA’s Vilsack says that the agency’s biggest concern is “climate change” (global warming), but that the severe weather this winter is not necessarily proof.  This winter, and the way the Administration (including Vilsack) talks reminds me of the predictions of a downturn – global cooling – back in the 1970s and in recent books such as The Last Centurion.  There is no hope that the White House or its minions will change their chicken-little attitude.

Deutsche Telekom plans to launch a text and voice encryption app for smartphones. The privatized German telecommunications giant is responding to users’ privacy concerns after Edward Snowden’s revelation of NSA mass surveillance.  You would think that American telecoms would have responded as well, and sooner.  But the joke is on us.

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