FINAL COLLAPSE (Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-05A)

Posted on 2014-01-26 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning to all.  As we near the end of the first month of 2014, the news seems even gloomier than last year, but the sun is still shining (yes, even above those snow clouds) and the wind is still blowing (and HOW) and the grass is still growing (at least some places).  So we have to be upbeat, right?  And take the news with at least a pinch of optimism and skepticism.

When I was still in high school, enamored of Asimov’s and Heinlein’s future histories, and looking at what was happening there in the early 1970s, I figured that the US was going to fall more quickly than Greece or Rome, if not quite as fast as Israel (the old one, not the current one) or the second Babylonian empire.  I figured that the collapse would be nasty, brutal, bloody, and would be very different in different places: no disruption which could not be dealt with in some places, and virtually total depopulation in others.

I figured (for story writing and planning purposes) that the early to mid-1990s would be the right time range for the “Final Collapse” of not just these united States, but of Euro-American civilization.  Later, older and wiser, for my storytelling purposes I moved it up to the 2020s or even as late as 2030.  Now, with that time just a few years ahead, and much older and a wee bit wiser, I may have moved it too far into the future.

I am not the only one to think so, apparently.  Casey Research frequently has some thought-provoking studies, including this one on a Collapse (by Jeff Thomas) which Lew Rockwell’s website picked up on.  Their “glimpse” talks about six likely actions or events in case of a financial (or political) collapse here in North America, and I can’t find much to fault: at least as a starter list.  This article should again make us review our own situation, and prepare better, because the collapse is coming: it may not be in 2014 or 2016, but it will come, because so many people are pushing it.

Jeff’s deadly six are: (1) Travel restrictions, (2) confiscation of wealth (3) food shortages, (4) squatter’s rebellions, (5) riots, and (6) martial law.  Again, these make sense, but these are NOT one-size-fits-all-FIFTY type things.  And some of these are already happening in SOME states (even when it is the feds doing them).  Most of these can be taken into account and planned for, IF we think about it.  Some may just not be possible to avoid without relocating or drastically changing our lifestyle.  But I still think that staying EAST of the Sierras (and certain nasty places like Reno, Vegas, and the Quad-Cities in Washington State) and WEST of the Mississippi; staying at least 150 miles from major urban areas (Denver-Front Range, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, the Wasatch Front, Omaha-Lincoln, Kansas City, and ANY of the big Texan megalopoli) removes MOST of these problems.

Govgoons are lazy, for one thing: they will go after the lowhanging fruit.  And while you may not LIKE eating pinto beans or wheat sprouts, if they are locally grown and available, it beats trying to get something to eat off empty Safeway or Krogers shelves in the big (or small) cities.  Riots are likely in the big cities: unlikely that MOST small towns will have those – except maybe towns with high ethnic tensions or large federal populations.

Anyway, on to stories, not just speculations about the future.

Need another excuse NOT to go back East to the OTHER Left Coast? According to several stories, DoD will deploy high-altitude  surveillence blimps over DC that will be able to identify everything from people’s faces on the ground to those bombs or missiles screaming out of space and aimed at the houses of power and wealth and corruption in the District of Criminals.

There is a need for more technology in Texas Public Schools according to various public policy folks.  They say that more than 50 percent of school districts interviewed indicated that the most difficult part of technology integration has been getting teachers to buy into the programs…  Wow.  First off, the real root of the problem is “public schools” (government-ruined, theft-funded).  Second, teachers (well, specifically students in normal schools (teacher’s colleges) are among the lowest in high-tech (information systems) skills.  They can use a phone, even a cell-phone, to take “selfies” and they can sext and text and even twitter.  But integrated database applications and presentation software?  Developing and deploying personalized training and testing systems with self-correcting multimedia feedback and response analysis?  You get the picture: I suppose we should be grateful that they can read.

Invester’s Business Daily, a publication that I don’t browse as much as I’d like, tells us there is ALSO a need for more nuclear power in the US, because the United States needs a mix of energy sources to keep the country from relying too much on a single power source…  (It strikes me that this is also a powerful argument against a strong central government.)  I think IBD is right, but as long as the fedgov drives decision making on energy sources in the US, it isn’t going to happen.  Top-down decision on things like energy, transportation, protection/conservation of land and other resources, has ALWAYS resulting in the wrong decisions being made.  A free market in ALL these areas is essential for efficiency, sustainability, growth, and meeting the needs of tomorrow’s people, families, and businesses.

CNN says that Michigan’s Governor wants visas for immigrants who’ll ‘stay for five years’ in Detroit.  Most of us see that one of Detroit’s BIG problems is immigrants, period, especially those who love the ghetto, third-world conditions (corruption, lawlessness, crumbling infrastructure, etc.) of Detroit and its suburbs and stay instead of adapting to American society and getting out into the real world.  This of course will no doubt be one of the dumping places of all the Syrian Islamist rebels.

Apparently, Ruger is pushing its series of Mini-14 rifles for 2014, which makes sense, because they are built on a good model and are dependable weapons.  But does THIS really make that much sense?  They now have a “Mini-Thirty” rifle which is on a similar scale and weight as the “traditional” Mini-Fourteen (which uses .223 Remington (essentially 5.56mm NATO), but which apparently is chambered for .308-cal (7.62mm x 39mm): the original round which the M-14 uses.  Of course, the reason it is a “mini-14” is because it is a scaled down version of the M-14 to use the now-more standard round.  But (not having tried one) I have my doubts as to whether a smaller, lighter weapon can really do a good job of sending that 75-cent (or more) 7.62 round down range.  I would LOVE the stopping power and range of a .30-cal, which proved itself in WW2 and a bunch of other fights over the years.  But with a smaller rifle, will it just waste the potential of a good round? (Thanks to John for this story.)

Mama’s Note: I’m in no position to judge the Mini-14 or compare it to the M-14, since I’ve never handled either one, but I do own and shoot an old fashioned M1 .30 cal carbine and it places those bullets very neatly, with considerable power. It is not a long range gun, and was never intended to be, but it can be carried and fired by almost anyone, to good effect in many different situations. No one gun can do it all, which is no doubt one of the many reasons so many different guns are made. The more the merrier, I say.

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Stressed Out

Posted on 2014-01-26 by MamaLiberty

By Susan Callaway, RN

Toby heard a bell ringing, but could not determine the direction the sound was coming from. Then he saw a light above him, which demonstrated the absolute dark he’d been in before. Reaching up to the light, he was horrified to find he could not move a muscle. Suddenly he couldn’t even breathe and his panic built until his eyes opened and he realized it had all been a dream.

Sitting up he turned off the alarm clock, waited for the adrenalin rush to recede, and then stumbled toward the bathroom. Stubbing his toe on the leg of the bed sent waves of pain up his leg, and he limped the rest of the way, once again awash in adrenalin.

He could see by the bathroom clock that he was already late, and knew he didn’t have time to sit on the commode to wait for nature to take its course. Maybe he could relax a little at lunch time?

Showered, shaved – with only one small nick – he dressed rapidly, stewing with regret at having to wear the three piece suit and remembering how good life had been when all he needed to wear were jeans and sports shirts. The fancy dress shoes were an irritation and he was sorry that he could not possibly dare to wear his soft boots.

Downstairs, he looked into the kitchen and saw the mess he’d left the night before – well, actually, several nights in a row now. The half-eaten fast food, overflowing ashtray and empty whiskey bottle demonstrated a lifestyle light years away from everything he’d known before he came to this cursed city. He realized simultaneously that his gut was too knotted to eat anything and that if he didn’t leave immediately he’d be late for an important meeting with the partners.

Toby drove away from the miniature kennel he now called his dwelling – the word or concept of “home” had not been a part of his vocabulary since Alice had taken their son to live with her parents in Idaho after the divorce. His stomach churned because he was going to be late to work with all this traffic, but he didn’t dare hurry. Watching carefully in every direction, and obsessively obeying every traffic rule, he nonetheless felt another spike of panic as a police car cruised past him and he clenched his teeth as the gumball lights began to flash, pulling over someone in front of him. He absolutely could not afford another ticket, even if they let him keep his license.

Then, since he was late, he had an awful time finding a parking spot and had to settle for a public lot two blocks from the office building. Sprinting that far was out of the question with his aching gut and the pinching shoes; the effort left him breathless and shaking after only a hundred yards. He’d just have to be late, and endure the looks of his employers while groveling and apologizing again. He would have given anything to be able to say, “I quit,” but he could not afford the spousal and child support without this job. The sheer unfairness and pain of it all nearly overwhelmed him as he climbed into the elevator.

Deep in the darkness of his consciousness, however, was a growing rebellion. Something had to give and he had no intention of living this way forever. It was a thought that had attempted to rise many times and he pushed it down ruthlessly again in his haste.

******

What hope does Toby have for health, wellness, peace or joy as long as he is continually bathed in the toxic adrenalin rushes, fear, frustration, anger, disappointment and hopelessness?

What would it take to spark that rebellion; for him to get out of the toxic environment and relationships he endures every day? What does health mean for people like Toby?

Not everyone is this bad off, of course. And many who have worse situations don’t live in them constantly or for long, but every one of those negative emotions and dilemmas tear down one’s physical and mental health, destroying the joy and good in life and may even bring about killers such as cancer, heart attack and suicide.

So, as important as diet and exercise truly is . . . I think it is probably secondary to facing the stress we live with; finding ways to reduce it and deal productively with what we can’t avoid.

Doctors want to dispense pills, and there are always any number of fad diets that promise health and peace, but there is just so much more to life and health than either of those. If you would like to explore the core of health and wellness, take a look at EFT.  Prepare to spend a little time at this website and keep an open mind. Real health, wellness and stress management are available to anyone who is willing to accept it.

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Keystone XL and America’s business climate (Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-04E)

Posted on 2014-01-24 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

A good day to everyone reading this.  Let me know what you think both on these and other stories.  Many of the stories I comment on are suggested by other people.  There have been some interesting things happening this week.

My oh my.  The first US leg of Keystone XL pipeline open on Wednesday in Oklahoma and Texas.  Funny, no mass protests, no Earth First terrorist attacks, and no sudden uptick in greenhouse gas emissions OR jump in global temperatures.  Guess we will have to wait for Spring for that.  So I guess you better make that trip to Oklahoma or Texas you’ve been putting off, before this evil 2.3 billion dollar, 487 mile long nightmare come true destroys the ecology, climate, society, and governments of the two states.  Of course, the important thing here is that the FedGov has REFUSED to take any action on the rest of the project, which has to be approved by DC because it crosses into Canada.  We were idiots to give DC the power over things like this, and see where it has gotten us.  And we didn’t learn, as the next stories help us see.

Fox News reports that A new study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp. found that the U.S. ranks well behind countries like Rwanda, Belarus and Azerbaijan in terms of how easy it is for an entrepreneur to start a new business (but narrowly beat Uzbekistan, yeah!!!).  Of course, the World Bank refuses to recognize that we are not “A nation” but 54 DIFFERENT nations (counting DC and all the territories), and that difficulty in starting a new business varies horrifically from say, Wyoming or South Dakota, to New York or California.  To say nothing of the difficulties in STAYING in business.

You see, apparently the apparachiks in DC have proposed new federal rules to boost better bolstered booster seats in cars which would require that they protect children against side crashes and prevent deaths of about five children and injuries to 64 others each year.  Of course, since these improvements would raise the cost of these seats significantly, many families might not be able to afford them, and thus INCREASE deaths and injuries that would otherwise have been prevented by any kind of child restraint system.  Of course, to the fedgov thugs, these rules would be a win-win, since it gives cops another excuse to search the cars of anyone they want – for the chilluns, of course. But that is not the only transportation-related problem on my desk today.

Are you ready for still HIGHER prices?  A study of the impact of the 2013 changes to the insane FedGov rules for truckers to drive their rigs, the “reform” of the Hours of Service (HOS) rule warns us what is coming.  Those changes reduce the hours that they can drive (or do other things) and the study shows that shippers can expect to see carriers increase rates.  Which means business and other consumers will see prices go up like mad.  This is for two reasons: first, trucking firms are running out of people willing and able to get CDLs and drive trucks, so they are short of drivers AND have a high turnover rate.  And what drivers they DO have and keep, can’t drive as far or work as long. Or so says the The Global Supply Chain Institute of the University of Tennessee’s [UT] College of Business Administration.  And it makes sense to me.

And of course, we can figure out what is happening to employment as a result of more regs like this.

A writer for the Independent Institute asks the pedantic question “Are our unemployment statistics broken?” and quickly demonstrates that they are not just broken, but intentionally and deliberately, malice aforethought broken.  To increase the power of government and the wealth of a select “elite” who could not be so rich and powerful if they did not suck everything they can from others via the straw of government.  Not only do the current statistics exist seemingly only for the purposes of lying about a “recovering economy,” but hide the fact that individuals in large portions of the country and in large groups recognized by ethnic and other factors are in such dire straits as to threaten a massive economic shutdown.  Today, TheBlaze tried to “factcheck” the claim that the actual unemployment is really 37%. The government claims that it is 6.7% and lower in December than in the past. They try to tap dance around it, and I’m just an engineer, but it seems to me that the statement that it is 37% IS valid.  Just because someone isn’t looking for or does not want a job, does NOT mean that they are not unemployed.  Same thing for college students and people in training and volunteer (non-paying: REAL volunteers) are not EMPLOYED for a wage or salary, no matter how much they are spending their time productively, and no matter how much they are enjoying it, or who is paying for them to live.  Equally so for those who are disabled.  Claims that we have only 6.7 percent unemployed, as the government and too many mainstream AND alternative media claim, are bogus and dangerous.

On to some other items:

The FedGov (White House minions apparently) have decided that waiting more than 30 minutes to vote is unacceptable.  Really? Our ancestors – shoot, you and ME, would find this hard to believe.  When I COULD vote in my own precinct stateside, I waited more than 30 minutes a LOT of the time.  Of course, I was there with friends and neighbors and teachers and classmates and family, and I guess it just didn’t bother me.  After all, I didn’t have to worry about going outside in the dark and getting mugged, because in those days I COULD go armed in the polling place and the other issues raised were questions about which caliber and whether a revolver really made sense to carry, and when were we all going to go out to the edge of town for some more opportunity to shoot rats and rabbits.  Not like today, really.

Project Syndicate tells us that the world is better off today than people realize, because the amount of extremely poor people has been cut in half over the last three decades, down to only 17 percent of the global population in 2010, compared to 42 percent of the population in 1981.  That makes sense, I guess, but it is one size fits all.  Looking back the 33 years to 1981, before the fall of the Soviet Union and even the Berlin Wall, it makes sense that much of the world IS in better shape.  But there are places, like much of the former Soviet Union, and the former Yugoslavia, and places like Lebanon and Detroit, where that is NOT true.  And the real noticeable problems are of much more recent origin.  Yes, most of us in the West are probably better off than in ’81, but NOT than we were in ’91 or ’01, and NOT just economically, but in terms of liberty and local society.

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Crash of 2009 still here, popes and queens (Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-04D)

Posted on 2014-01-23 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  Apparently much of the country is again shivering in winter, and California is again panicking, this time over not enough snow, water, and mudslides.  Meanwhile, the economy is also still in the deep freeze.

Mama’s Note: Having lived in So. Calif. most of my life, I know for a fact that they have only two seasons: Drought/fire, and flood/mudslides. That’s it. Northern Calif. does have a little more to offer, of course… one of the reasons they’d like to break free. It’s just too bad that Sacramento and San Francisco are in the northern half.

A Wall Street adviser is claiming (and providing evidence) that actual unemployment is 37.2%, ‘misery index’ worst in 40 years, and my own information agrees with the general idea: too many people out of work or not fully employed, and the economy STINKS no matter what Wall Street and DC want to believe or claim.

Also, this ties into two other interesting stories found by Mama Liberty.  Will robots take all our jobs? and will trained animals start providing health care and assistance to the disabled?  According to the fright-headlines of the media, we are to worry that 2014 is the year our jobs will be taken by robots flipping burgers, pouring drinks, and even babysitting.  (Gee, I thought that most people had turned THAT over to a machine – the television – years ago!)  Kentucky’s legislature wants to make it legal to let “service monkeys” help paralyzed people.  (Oh, when was it made ILLEGAL?)

Mama Liberty and I had a lively discussion over the use of robots (not monkeys) in health care and other work, which may show up as a rant in the pages of TPOL some day.  As she noted: “Robots and monkeys don’t need “minimum wage” or medical “insurance.” Amazing what people do to get around the roadblocks… unfortunately, if they spent the same money and effort getting rid of the central planners, we’d all benefit.”  And that is the truth, indeed.

Apparently, the new pope Francis is still, to the disappointment of the media, other Tranzis, and (if you believe those groups, 95% of Roman Catholics and 99% of the rest of the planet) still opposed to abortion, and says ‘I Join the March for Life With My Prayers’.  Now, maybe I am expecting too much of someone in their late 70s, but it seems that physically joining the march(es) would make a far better statement. Even if it were in the Popemobile for defensive purposes.

But this bit of news comes when a correspondent asked me about a report that then-Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires gave a scorching interview to NBC’s Chris Matthews before he was elected.  In the supposed interview, Bergoglio gave a surprisingly libertarian (minarchist, admittedly) view of persistent poverty being caused by the state, as well as defending opposition to abortion, “women priests,” and “homosexual marriage.”  My family and I were really impressed by it.  Unfortunately, it turns out that the entire interview transcript is a forgery, apparently created by someone in England.  Both Catholic sources and NBC deny it ever happened, and both internal and external evidences are pretty strongly in favor of it being imaginary – another example both of people stupidly doing things that can be checked out as true or not, AND of the way people blithely pass on lies and propaganda to dozens and ultimately to hundreds of thousands of people, without bothering to spend five minutes checking on the validity of an email or blog posting.  All the evidence is that despite his treatment by government, and his claim to be following the Word of God, Francis is still a Jesuit and senior Roman Catholic official who follows the church’s centuries-old policy of cooperation with, and endorsement of the state and actively or passively helping to steal away the God-given liberty of humans.  Claiming to speak for the Christ, they pervert His words and corrupted His church into an evil organization while persecuting and killing those who have sought to follow The Way and stand up for God’s gifts of free will, liberty, and eternal life.

Speaking of panic over weather?  Everyone, including the White House, seems to be in a panic about the threat of terrorist attacks against the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the US is planning all kinds of things.  Mama Liberty has a simple solution:  “Seems to me that if there is that much danger, and I think there may be, why in the world would anyone go there at all? Seems to me like a very good reason to stay home and forget the whole thing.”   Personally, I think that the threat is greatly exaggerated and the White House, various security agencies (outside Russia) and the media are making much ado about nothing.  Personally, if there WERE a significant threat (say, 1 in 10 chance?), I’d just not go: but then, sports don’t mean much to me.  If these people are so enslaved to their pursuit of sports and silly pieces of ribbon and metal, or so desperate to make big bucks in endorsements and future winnings, but still fearful, let THEM pay for increased security, and decide on their own that the risk is worth it.

The UK’s Mirror says that Elizabeth II has begun the process of handing over the reigns (their pun, not mine) to Charles (who might, hideously, be “Charles the III”) to allow for a gentle transition.  This, of course, upsets a lot of people, who believe that Charles has demonstrated he is an idiot over and over, and at age 65 shows no signs of smarting up, and hoped and pray for a King William V instead.  Of course, given the success of the last four elections for a “national leader” here in the US, who are WE to any longer talk about the silliness of inheriting a monarchy?

Mama’s Note: I don’t pay much attention to the “royal” idiots of any country, but the doings of the English are occasionally thrust upon me in moments of slightly lapsed attention while looking at the news. It’s sort of amazing to think that poor old Charles is two years younger than I am… has never had any rational occupation, and never will have. The fact that he’s as goofy as the average Cocker Spaniel is rather pathetic, but hardly germane. England has had an awful lot of loopy “kings,” so one more would hardly make a huge difference. They’ve been mostly defanged for a long time anyway. It’s too bad our “dear leader” isn’t similarly a mere figurehead and impotent.

Here is a fun and easily understood illustration using gumballs to show how poverty in the Third World is NOT solved by continuing massive immigration to the US.  It also explains why immigration and colonization did not and will not relieve problems with overpopulation and crowding, whether we are talking about just from one country or continent to another, or from one planet to another (or to asteroid colonies or whatever).  This punctures one more fantasy (or at least one more element of their propaganda, whether they believe it or not) of Tranzis trying to deny basic facts and principles, like “good fences make good neighbors” and “state welfare systems are bad for people, economies, and society.”

Mama’s Note: Immigration is only one small part of the equation.  What people need in order to counteract or prevent poverty, overcrowding, and all the other ills of current society is freedom. Individual liberty and responsibility, so they can build their own good fences around their lives and property without infringing on the same rights for everyone else. Trying to limit immigration as the only or main “answer” is counterproductive to that liberty for all of us.

According to the Tenth Amendment Center, the state of Tennessee is trying to force the NSA to move from its encryption-cracking operation in Oak Ridge.  This, of course, is interesting if Tennessee (1) can get the votes in the legislature and get the governor to sign it, and (2) can get DC to listen and obey.  Constitutionally (theoretically), each state has a veto over whether a federal facility can be located in their state.  As we know, this has been impossible since Fort Sumpter, and as the recent (last several decades) debacle over where to locate nuclear waste facilities has shown, Congress and the White House do not believe or act like ANYONE else has any say on what goes where: from nuclear waste to prisons to biological contamination to Cuban detainees to the next national park or monument.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-04C: Killer cops and the home front

Posted on 2014-01-22 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning.  This week and last I’ve seen an amazing number of new and old stories about police across the nation behaving like the police did in Dritte Reich Germany, so many Mediterranean, and Latin American countries.  I’d bid everyone to have a great day, but fear those things will sour you as much on the day as they did me.  I think this is related to some of the other stories.

Garry Reed, the National Libertarian News Examiner has posted a frightening RT video that indeed makes a strong case that the Police State is HERE.  Right now, and for years, in the United States.  That the epidemic of violence in the streets of many cities, and even towns and rural areas, is a direct result of police officers gunning down, beating, and even torturing people with little or no reason, or taking the law into their own hands.  Seriously consider showing friends who still think “cops are our friends” this video.

Did you read this?  Reuters tells us that Trust in governments plummets according to a survey.  It is, they say, DC that is “suffering” the most, while pointing out the Snowden revelations and of course the glorious debacle of ObummerCare, which is blamed for causing a 16-point drop.  Nobody seems to think that the fact that trust in the governments of Spain, France, and Italy was even lower is at all related to the fact that those governments have been behaving for decades the way the FedGov is behaving today: socialist, nanny, surveillance states that treat their own citizens like dirt. Lovely, eh?

Of course, one of those reasons for the drop is the total waste of treasure and blood in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the White House has said that they aren’t even going to try to win the war.  Not only that, but there are several wars the US is losing in Afghanistan.  Supposedly, the US wants to win the war on some drugs by eradicating poppy growing and opium manufacture and sales.  But apparently that isn’t happening, so some “goals” aren’t being realized.  Several people have pointed out that the official goals of the FedGov might not be the REAL goals: price support for selling opiates in the US is strong.  Actually, if they wanted real peace and prosperity in Afghanistan, they would support legalization of this very valuable agricultural product.

I really REALLY hope this is true: that certain really great foods like dark chocolate and many berries which contain flavanoids can help protect us from type 2 diabetes (because they help the body regulate blood sugar levels).  Sadly, I don’t think that this would justify a 100-gram/day addiction to dark chocolate.  But it is nice to dream.  And of course, if these really did work well enough to cut demand for allopurinol and other drugs which “protect against high glucose levels,” I am sure that Congress would try to outlaw them, or require prescriptions for chocolate bars and malts.

It is a commentary not news, but I found it interesting to learn just how one of the big cheeses in the DEA gave testimony to Congress on legalizing cannabis: “It scares us.” Timothy J Taylor wrote about how the guy might be scared because he might lose his job and the chance to suck blood etc. from Americans.  I notice that (as expected in a Tranzi or Liberal state) emotion and hysteria overrule facts and solid reasoning in making so-called “public policy.”  Over and over, for fifty years now, we have seen hard data and incident after incident showing that the war on some drugs simply creates MORE problems in society and for individuals, while aggravating the problems it supposedly is trying to solve.  We refuse to learn – or rather, the politicos and their hired thugs refuse to change their evil ways.  Yes, I KNOW that “drugs are bad” but that doesn’t mean that there should be a law against them when enforcing that law leads to direct crimes of violence against many more people than are harmed by taking the drugs in the first place.

Mama’s Note: Nobody on earth has the legitimate authority to dictate what any individual eats, drinks or takes into their body any other way – and it doesn’t matter in the least if those things are “good” or deadly poison. This is the bottom line that much be accepted before the “war on drugs” can be ended.

While some “sources” condemn the Syrian government (Bashir and company) for killing 10,00 or more of their own people and wasting the bodies by putting them in mass graves, the UN condemns the Islamist rebels for killing 20,000 either through “direct actions” or starvation and disease in various refugee camps and towns. A pox on both their houses: they are not content with killing each other, they have to kill people who  are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and claim it is to the glory of Allah or for the glory of the “race.”  None of us are old enough to remember it first hand, but I am reminded very much of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, where the two sides were the “Republicans” supported by the Communists and the “Fascists” supported by the Nazis.  And murder, rape, torture, reprisals and the like were all the rage.  Certainly none of them were fighting for liberty or just to be left alone, either then or now.

Just yesterday, I was reading how most Americans seem to prefer security over liberty, but today, the front page of USA Today announced that a poll found Most Americans (70%) now oppose the NSA program and don’t think there are enough limits on the NSA.  While nice if true, I have to take ANYthing that Pew and USA Today state with a big grain of salt.  And as always, remind myself that MOST people are wrong about MOST things, and that truth and liberty are NOT subject to majority rule (or polls): they are God-given and not “democratic” in nature.

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Unreported – The Crime That Didn’t Happen

Posted on 2014-01-21 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

The evening was advancing much too quickly for me and I regretted staying in the city so long, then was dismayed to find that I was running low on fuel. I pulled into an old station in a small town just east of Custer, South Dakota, ran my credit card and started the pump. There were no other cars in the lot, and only a single clerk in the mini-mart.

Scanning the area, as always, I noticed a man come from behind the building and start to walk toward me. Continuing the scan, I saw another man coming toward me from the opposite direction. He seemed to be trying hard not to look at me, but failed badly. I was immediately on full alert and turned my head to see the other person. He was now within my 20 foot “danger zone” and maintaining eye contact as well. I put up my hand flat out with a command to stop. He just laughed and said, “Give me some money, lady.”

I turned my body at that point, backed up against the car, and swept the coat away from my holstered gun, gripped it firmly and flipped off the retention strap. His eyes had followed the motion of my hand and he stopped suddenly, then waved his hands over his head and ran toward the street past another pump. I turned my head instantly to look for the other man, and saw him running away in the opposite direction.

Nobody but those men will ever know what their intentions were, from simple begging to carjacking or murder, and it doesn’t matter. I had zero obligation to read their minds or establish their motives before I took a defensive posture. Either one of the men could have overpowered a woman my age easily, but since I had a gun and was obviously ready to use it, they ran away instead.

Smart move… Even stupid criminals don’t want to get hurt themselves, and even hardened felons with years of crime behind them will say they fear the armed citizen far more than the police. That doesn’t mean they would never attack a potential victim who is armed, just that it is far less likely. Those who carry concealed have to consider that the criminal doesn’t usually have the opportunity to disengage early, and that the defender might well be forced to shoot in a situation where it would not have been necessary if the mugger understood the danger to him/herself before the attack began. But that’s a discussion for another time.

I was shaken and very angry after that, mostly for being forced to even contemplate drawing the gun. I walked into the mini-mart to warn the clerk about possible robbers at the pumps, and was sad to learn that she had not even noticed the men “bothering” me. She was upset at that point and asked if I wanted to call the sheriff, but I declined. There was nothing the police could have done about it, even if they wanted to – and I had no desire to be detained and hassled about it myself.

One of the things discussed often by those of us who carry a gun is the possibility of needing to come to the rescue of another person, sometimes a stranger. This can be very dangerous, and great care must be taken not to make a bad situation worse.

I had just come out of the grocery store in Rapid City, South Dakota one late afternoon, and discovered a young man and a woman in a heated argument right next to my car. He began to hit her in the face and she was crying. I yelled at him to STOP, and he turned with a snarl, taking one step toward me. I gripped the gun and flipped off the retention strap. He saw what I was doing and immediately ran around the front of his car and got into the driver’s seat. I asked the woman if she needed help, but she snarled at me as well saying, “mind your own business.” Opening the car door, she got in and they drove away.

What if he had continued to come toward me? I could have turned and run away, of course, but I hate to think what would have happened if he’d grabbed me and I had to draw and fire the gun. His woman would not likely have been a friendly witness, and there were no other people around close just then. It was a very frightening experience.

I didn’t call the police that time either. No proof, no license number for the car, and no real interest in being further involved. If that woman didn’t mind being beaten, it wasn’t my job to prevent it.

About six years ago, I happened to go to the general merchandise store in my rural Wyoming town about five miles away. It was an early winter evening with snow on the ground. It takes much longer to tell the story than it took to live it, so remember that all the action described here happened within a matter of seconds.

I got to the rear of my car and turned toward the store, scanning in all directions. Coming toward me was a young man in a long coat. He made eye contact, and came straight ahead, raising my level of awareness as he got within 20 feet or so. I brushed the coat away from the gun, hooking the material behind the grip. His eyes followed the motion of my hand, and then grew very wide. Immediately, he turned and ran between parked cars and out into a snowy field where I lost sight of him. Did he plan to attack me? Who can tell? All I know is that nothing happened that night. I did my shopping and then went home safe, the perfect outcome of any trip to town.

There have been a few other incidents where the intent of the other person was not quite that clear, but it has been very obvious a number of times that the sight of my holstered gun altered another person’s demeanor significantly and prevented an approach when such would have been unwelcome. I’m sorry if some of them were simply fearful of the gun itself, and even sorrier for their ignorance. I have no responsibility for that ignorance, and no obligation to make them feel better. My responsibility is my own safety.

Many people have read the story of the time I actually had to shoot a man to save my life.  Most people will never experience that, depending on where they live, but an unknown number of people may well have a serious close call whether they carry or not, and there are no statistics for those because most of them are never reported to police. Think of that the next time someone tells you there is no need for anyone but police to carry a gun.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-04B: Congress and senility

Posted on 2014-01-21 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Nice to have a day off yesterday from the chattering of Congress and politicians in general, while getting some real, paying work done.  At least that was my situation: hope it was yours, also.  Still, there are a lot of interesting things going on, and here are a few of the stories that crossed my desk, good and bad, so far this week.  I know that neither Congress nor senility are things to laugh about, but when they seem to match together, it is just plain sad.

Diane Feinstein is in the news a lot this week, because she is (gasp) supporting the NSA, and betraying her liberal/Tranzi creds, or so it is claimed.  The WaPo told me: Feinstein: ‘We don’t know’ whether Russia helped Snowden and then the liberal bloggers are upset because she is supporting the NSA: she is so horrified about being blamed for another Bloody Tuesday if she doesn’t let NSA snoop everywhere, including our underwear drawer and inside our underpants.  Or so she says.  She’s 80 (yes, really) and I wonder if she can even get a drivers license renewed?  She loves the NSA for what it can and does do to political enemies, especially when you team them up with the FBI and IRS.

Mama’s Note: Senile would be good, very good… and soon very apparent, and then she
could be locked away to drool on her chest while leaving the rest of us alone. Unfortunately, she was born a statist. I’ve seen no change in her since the beginning. If anything, she just gets more shrill, just like H Clinton.

Did I ever tell you about the time my sister went to some hearing in Sacramento when she was a city councilman for Simi Valley? Fienswine was giving a press conference, or at least making some sort of public statement on the steps, as she left, and my dear sister lost it… flipped her the bird and walked away. A news photographer caught that flip on film, and it made the statewide news. Sandi won the next city council election with a landslide. There are a lot of people in CA who have no use for Feinstein or her ilk. Or at least there were…

Fortunately, not everyone loves the NSA or spying on our own people. Someone named Tavis Smiley says Snowden ‘might be on a Postage Stamp’ one day, and he would deserve it, for what he did.  Of course, if Feinstein and her ilk get their way, he will continue to show up in Post Offices, but on “Wanted” posters.  (Oh, apparently this Smiley guy (not a gal, as I first thought) is some big PBS star: that is like being a big snowplow operator in Miami.  Apparently, there aren’t any Post Office wanted posters for Mr. Edward right now, but he IS on a “I want you” poster encouraging people to protect liberty.  Folks, the NSA can claim all they want about how they’ve kept terrorist attacks away, but the truth is, the White House is using the NSA to spy on Americans, on you and me: people who are patriotic and religious and don’t like taxes and believe in minding our own business, and that is both wrong and stupid.

Well, on to other things.

Here is a great “stupid cop” story: an Oklahoma cop stole another cop’s gun and sold it to a felon.  His own department wouldn’t do anything about it, but the County Sheriff stepped in.  I have been told more than once that many police departments (and sheriff’s offices) try very hard NOT to hire people that are “too smart,” and I guess this is one of those.  Of course, we can also talk about morals, corruption, and all the other things that “law enforcement” (or is that “law evasion”) officers do and are (or lack).

The Mercatus Center has a neat article on Fiscal Condition of the 50 States.  Funny how the best states are all us hicks in flyover country that cling to God, guns, religion, and wanting to have something in our wallet except a bunch of plastic.  The states in the best fiscal condition are Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming.  No fooling: Old West Country, here we are.  And look at the bottom of the list: California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Tranzi and liberal and so trendy and cool – except when it comes to paying their debts.  Not saying the Old West states are GOOD, but they are relatively on opposite sides of the compass from the spendthrifts.

The Examiner on-line columnists have proven to generally be accurate and willing to call a spade a spade. The Washington Examiner tells us that the  British Experience Shows Problems with Government-Run Health Care.  I guess I put this into the “no-fooling” category, but then I have friends in the UK and have been over there, and seen what a MESS that the National Health Service is in, and how many Brits suffer and die prematurely as a result.  And how much it drags down the economy.  Apparently, now even the Tranzi European Commission has decided that the NHS and UK have poblems.  A recent EC found that Britain has fewer doctors per person than nearly every other European country (that’s only 2.71 doctors for every 1,000 people). That is supposed to be SHOCKING because Germany has 3.7 and France has 3.4 (Switzerland has 4.1), but the US only has 2.4!  And with ObummerCare, that number is already dropping. (World Bank data here)

Mama’s Note: And the ratio per 1,000 population only tells a small part of the story. The technical quality and integrity of those doctors is not measured much at all. Obummercare is giving all doctors and other health professionals in the US a whole new set of incentives, mandates and opportunities. Many will choose not to practice any more, at least not in official or mainstream channels.

According to the Washington Post, Chris Christie’s 1994 ad was too tough (and inaccurate) for New Jersey.  Okay, I’d believe it: he is a “moderate” scumbag politician who is typical of Jersey.  But the real story here is why the WaPo is going back 20 years to dig up dirt.  I don’t know any real christians who are running for office in NJ; and no one considers Libertarians to be serious candidates, but other than that, THEY ALL LIE.  So?  Where were the stories like this about the “messiah” in 2006 and 2007, questioning where he went to school and what he promised to get into the Illinois legislature and then the Senate?

Mama’s Note: I, for one, could not care less where they come from or what they did. The problem is that most people accept the idea that non-voluntary governmen has legitimate authority over their lives and property.

Well, here we have the thoughts (spoken out loud, that is) from the “messiah” on pot: ‘I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol’.  Really?  Try “less dangerous” except for the fact that cops don’t beat you up or kill you for buying and selling beer, wine, and spirits anymore.  (Remember, they used to, and there still are some “dry” counties where they will.)  What a hypocrite this man at 1600 PA is.

Meanwhile, the “messiah’s” minions are chiming in on the subject: HHS: 8,300 Words About the Dangers of Tobacco Smoking, But Not a Single Word About Pot Smoking nor about alcohol, for that matter. But that is only because the Feds consider pot to be illegal and so won’t address it.  And because alcohol brings in billions in government revenue (as does tobacco, I admit) BUT it isn’t on the Tranzi’s agenda.  Yet.

Mama’s Note: The government ALSO rakes in billions related to cannabis and other drugs. Asset forfeiture being one of the most lucrative, of course. But then there are the ever increasing police and other LEO numbers, the vast array of new toys they enjoy, and the expanding prison system with their kickbacks and back scratching. The new, seemingly relaxed attitude toward cannabis in some quarters is truly hypocritical and dangerous. It is giving the illusion that the old prohibitions are easing, but just as with alcohol, the CONTROL isn’t going away. Tax and regulate may sound like a better and safer alternative to Elliot Ness, but it is not. And yes, those who flaunt the tax and regulation will be treated every bit as badly as the casual black user is now.

I read that ObummerCare is at ‘Significant’ Risk of ‘Death Spiral,’ according to an economist, who obviously isn’t paying attention to the data and the costs.  It IS on a death spiral; the only question is how fast, and how much of the economy and how many people it will suck down with it.

Mama’s Note: A death spiral indeed. Who’s death, and the ultimate cost in both lives and the damaged economy, is yet to be seen. And, don’t forget, there is good reason to suspect that the “death” of this monstrosity will simply be used as an excuse to introduce something even worse.

Did you know that the “messiah” is taking action to protect ‘People Overseas’ from U.S. surveillance?  If true, this shows just who he is taking care of, and whom he considers potential enemies of the state – makes me feel proud that I am of greater concern to have surveillance conducted against me than some Deutscher or Frenchman or Brit, eh?

Mama’s Note: As if he really cares about any of us. It’s all a show, smoke and mirrors. There is nothing that man says one could accept as true. If he said the sun rose in the east, I’d want to look to verify it for myself.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-04A: MLKJr Day?

Posted on 2014-01-20 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning.  Today is officially “Martin Luther King Jr. Day” in most of the United States, a holiday intended to “balance” official holidays so that “African Americans” (except those who are not dark in skin color, of course) or “Black Americans” (except those who don’t trace their ancestry to Africa, of course) have a holiday to counter the influence of President’s Day, Columbus Day, and Christmas Day, all of which “celebrate” white people (even if of Semitic or Mediterranean origin).  In our civic religion, the dead Baptist preacher and Communist leader has been recreated as a demigod of peace and justice and brotherly love, because he was “martyred.”  And as a result, the taxpayers are saddled with paying for yet another three day weekend for government employees.  Such a deal!

I (like most private sector businesses and workers) don’t get this day off.  You probably do not, either.  So here is to a good day.  And here are some stories to share, together with my comments.

So, the “messiah” made a speech, intended to “solve” the problem of a “rogue” National Security Agency.  Right.  The BBC has a blog summarizing the media responses which is fill with the garbage that the media puts out now, but much of the media is upset; one even compared the “messiah” to the much hated Bush II.   I didn’t listen to this self-serving, pandering, zero-calorie speech: I have better things to do, like work to make a living, sleep, and enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills.  Anyone who did, unless they are getting paid to do so, wasted precious minutes of their lives hearing what they already knew.  And John Q. Public does seem, as the BBC said, to be about half apathetic.  It isn’t that so many people are afraid of another Bloody Tuesday (9-11), as they are afraid that they will be the next to have the NSA copy down their credit card numbers and expiration dates and three-digit “secret numbers” and their text messages to their bosom buddies!  I admit I got a kick out of Freedom Outpost’s thoughts on this piece of conmanship:  they translated his speech as “If you like your freedom, you can keep it.  If you like your personal liberties, you can keep those too.  Trust me!”

A Michigan police officer’s response to a man walking down the sidewalk legally openly wearing his handgun, following a single phone call from a Mrs. Grundy, is yet another example of how it is clear that a good many states (and local jurisdictions) left the Union before it was ever really dissolved, because they didn’t agree with the few fundamental liberties specifically protected in the Constitution.  This has apparently triggered a federal lawsuit (hopefully under RICO and conspiracy to violate the rights of Americans; the article doesn’t say) but don’t expect anything to come out of it.  Perhaps a hundred or two hundred people – not in groups, but individually, going about their business in this town openly carrying a pistol might make people wake up.  But I doubt it.

A gunman threatened to kill everyone in an Alabama Dollar General store but a man carrying concealed shot and killed him before he could take the employees to a back room (traditionally the place in American stores where madmen kill their victims with or without robbery in mind).  So now the man who saved other people’s lives is being investigated to make sure he didn’t commit a felony by carrying concealed without a permission slip from the state or the local sheriff.  Or violated some other law since the DG store had a sign “forbidding” open carry.  (Guess the dead nutcase missed that, or was carrying concealed until he whipped it out on the manager and the store clerk.)  I guess the attitude is that SOMEone has to be investigated and prosecuted: why not the man that not only saved lives but saved the taxpayers a big bill for incarceration, trial, and probably life imprisonment? (Thanks to JPFO for this story.)

American politicians are so fond of fighting “wars” on this and that.  The latest is the “messiah’s” and the Dems in Congress’s “war against income inequality.”  This will join all the other failures in the past.  We have had the war against poverty for fifty years now, and it seems, indeed, that poverty won – we have more of it than ever before.  We’ve had the “war on terrorism” for fifteen or so years now, and we have more terrorism than ever before, even if we have to keep redefining it.  (Terrorism today includes six-year-old boys kissing six-year-old girls in school, and old folks standing on street corners waving Gadsden Flats.)  We had “WIN” – Whip Inflation Now, from Gerald Ford, a war on inflation:  sheesh: back then gas was a shocking $1.25 a gallon and milk was 50 cents a gallon and a 12-ounce Pepsi and a McD’s hamburger both 10 or 15 cents!  The one thing you can be sure of today, and for the past half-century, is that when the FedGov declares war on something, you know who is going to win – and it ain’t the people.  Of course, the FedGov DOES win because they have an excuse for more and more power and influence and campaign contributions and theft from the taxpayers.

Quote of the day:  Charles J Chaput (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, formerly Bishop of Rapid City and Archbishop of Denver; AmerInd):  “Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant and then it seeks to silence good.”  Certainly not a new concept, but one echoed from the Bible (which is pretty good for an RC Archbishop, even today!).  And true in both spiritual and temporal matters.  The quote is in an opinion piece about Cuomo’s recent statement that “extreme conservatives… have no place in the State of New York.” Of course, the “extreme conservatives” include many libertarians and free-market anarchists, like me.  Then, I’ve known I didn’t belong in NY the first time I visited that dump, way back in 1964.  And again when I had to be there in 1974, and in 1981.  The place is sick, and most of the people have the personalities of caged rats, because that is what they are.  But they figure 1 in 20 New Yorkers (state as a whole NOT NYC) are “extreme conservatives” and I have met a few libertarian and christian New Yorkers who at least are able to simulate sanity.  But as far as I’m concerned, the US would be better off WITHOUT New York, or at least NYC and probably Long Island and vicinity.  The majority gave up being free people a long time ago.

David Eckert of New Mexico has settled out of court with two police departments, including one in Deming, New Mexico, for $1.6 million for his anal probing to search for drugs in his body: the hospital that DID this (which billed him $5,000 for the pleasure) has not settled yet. Along with the guy at Last Resistance, I agree that I’d have much rather this gone to court, to expose this evil even more.  But I hope that we and others can do this.  This is important to me because (a) I often live and work just a few miles from New Mexico, that most Iberian of American states (Deming is only 300 or so miles away) and sometimes even work and drive and shop IN New Mexico.  It is too much of a nice place to be infested with the kind of tyranny that it has – a relic of both Spanish AND AmerInd AND Anglo perversions.  And because this sort of evil is happening over and over and over.  The cops and hospital personnel who did this awful thing will pay NOTHING except perhaps a tiny cut in their department expenses and maybe a slightly smaller pay raise:  it is taxpayers and insurance companies that will be hurt.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-03F: Pollution and Government

Posted on 2014-01-19 by TPOL Nathan

Pollution and Stupid Government (2 stories)
Ready to Blow? Explosive Natural Gas Found Leaking From Thousands of D.C. Pipes
(The Blaze)  What’s even more stunning is that the researchers informed city officials about these more dangerous methane leaks and followed up only to find that three were fixed.

Mama’s Note: Boston too? Didn’t mention any others, but I’ll bet the leaks in places like Chicago or other major cities would be similar. Will make the eventual fate of those cities a bit more exciting…  Very rapid slum clearance.
Debby: May solve a lot of problems?

Nathan: We could only hope.  I wonder if the constant exposure to low levels of CH4 (and contaminants) has affects on their mental and emotional condition?  It could very well explain a lot.  But look at that map – and then notice the real problem:  VIRTUALLY NOTHING was done by the city or other government. Almost NOTHING.  They have the manpower to hound someone incessantly because they found a bullet in his pocket, they have the manpower to raid a guy growing a single marijuana plant, they have the manpower to gun down a poor frightened woman in her car in front of her baby, but no, not this…

Meanwhile in England, in Yorkshire, a 15,000-tonne tyre fire is visible from space (Waste Management News) and they are having a hard time putting it out.  My wife and I have both fought tire (British “tyre”) fires and landfill fires.  One in Kansas burned for more than a DECADE.  Most fire departments have not the foggiest idea how to do it, and most governments pretend it won’t happen in THEIR neck of the woods.  This is particularly ironic because this was supposedly a recycling center.  See, most environists do not think that burning tires as fuel (for power plants and making Portland cement and the like) is real recycling: they call it “sham recycling” and claim it is environmentally harmful and dangerous.  But these 15,000 tons (probably about 30,000 cubic yards: a pile 100 yards by 100 yards by about 10 feet tall) are being wasted – all the energy and potentially reusable materials in them is going to waste – and contaminating ground water and the air the way a controlled burn as fuel would never do.

Government-run, Theft-funded (higher education) schools
Fla. Unveils Rating System for Its Universities Based on Cost, Number of Pell Grants, Graduates’ Earnings
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: IF these were in actual competition in a real market place, this might make sense.  But when there is a near monopoly on higher education, this is nonsense.  It is just an excuse for the fat cat academic bureaucrats to play games.

Congress in action (3 stories) – Theft and Waste by Government
Who Read 1,582-Page $1.1T Spending Bill? Congressman: ‘Nobody Did’
Did Rep. Connolly Read 1,582-Pg. $1.1T Bill: ‘I’m Not Going to Dignify That Question With an Answer’
Meadows: Didn’t ‘Personally’ Read All 1,582 Pg. Spending Bill — Voted No

Nathan: Have you seen one of these things?  It is mind numbing, which is why the budget system HAS to be reformed.  Micromanagement never works, even in surgery.  Congress micromanages things it should NOT, while failing to supervise what is constitutionally supposed to be done.  Although the overall federal budgeting system (programming, etc.) is a work of art and (for its kind) very efficient, where it breaks down is in Congress.  It is like the owner/manager of a 50-employee  business dictating each year the number of paperclips and sheets of paper to be bought, except on an insanely grand scale.  The solution? (Besides getting rid of the FedGov?)  First, cut the size about 80-90%.  Then establish guidelines and deadlines that require a 90% majority to override, with PENALTIES (paying fines or even being forced to resign) for failure to meet those.  Slice the pie based on LAST YEAR’s revenues, into big chunks.  Pass that.  Then slice the big chunks  up into smaller bites, leave the intimate details to the executive branch departments, and cut off their feet if they are stupid.

Mama’s Note: The only problem with that is still the theft. None of that could be funded without theft and violence… since the threat of violence and death is the only way they can steal it.  Set it up with truly voluntary funding from the public, and see how long the whole house of cards stands.

Nathan: Here are a couple of old-style stories and comments.  Please let me know which format you prefer as a reader!

Stupid government tricks – Economic disaster
De Blasio to Expand Paid Sick Days Law in NYC
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: We speak of Chinese “water torture” -a drop and another and another… That is what government is doing to business and employees/workers, and owners these days:  One drop at a time, productivity is driven downward and costs are driven upward.  Expanded sick leave, parental leave, family care leave, increased minimum wages, the 30-hour ObummerCare week, and on and on and on.

The “messiah’s” consort – Government-ruined, tax-funded (higher) schools)
Michelle Obama Says Colleges Must Serve the Under-Served: ‘Just Look at Me’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yeah, look at her: an America-hater, a Tranzi, a member of the 1% who had her education given to her on a golden spoon by other Tranzis.  Who is the ultimate nanny in the nanny state.  As for being “under-served,” well, it wasn’t in the lunch line or the fitting room, that is for sure.

Mama’s Note: I couldn’t care less about the size of her body. It’s the evil in her mind that is the problem. Still wonder just why both she and the Obummer lost their law licenses. You’d think that would count for something, even in the environment of toxic privilege they live in now.

Technology and independence
Micro-windmills can recharge cell phones
(Computer World) “Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have designed a miniscule windmill with a micro-generator that can be used to recharge mobile devices. Smitha Rao, a university research associate, and J.-C. Chiao, an electrical engineering professor, designed the micro-windmills. The two have filed for a patent for the devices, which are about 1.8 mm at their widest point. A single grain of rice could hold about 10 of the tiny devices, and the researchers believe hundreds of them could be embedded in a cell phone sleeve for recharging purposes.” (01/15/14)

Nathan: Now, if they could power the cellular phone towers the same way!  Seriously, I could live with this, or even with a nice little desk or porch ornament like an old-fashioned windmill, with that USB connector in the bottom to recharge our devices.  More and more ideas to do things better, cheaper, and easier – if government would let us.

Mama’s Note: Indeed! One of the things that has hampered quite a bit of useful technology is the lack of really effective batteries. If these little windmills were used with some of the new mini solar cells, and they kept a small battery charged, just imagine the things we could have and do.  I get really sad when I read about people who are frightened or disdainful of technology, but I think most of that is due to the threat of government snooping. Get rid of that, and we could see some really exciting new and useful products very quickly.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-03E: New format

Posted on 2014-01-18 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Welcome to The Price of Liberty. Part of this web-magazine is my frequent column of commentary on the news stories of the week: I usually publish three to five separate commentaries, each about 1,000 words more or less, and providing extracts of five to fifteen news stories (and a few commentaries) and my thoughts on them from a free-market anarchist point of view, based solidly on my christian faith and my responsibilities as an Army officer and engineer.

I am a private businessman, and operate mostly in the Central Rockies and Western Great Plains, working for private (and a few public) clients in the fields of environmental, civil, and mineral engineering. I have been involved in electoral politics, the “first responder” community and emergency planning, and a variety of religious, military, and engineering activities over the years, on three continents in a dozen states and nearly a dozen countries. I am married with two sons, all of us free-market anarchists and rabblerousers.

I do hope that you are having a great day, wherever you are. I hope that the commentary on the news that I and my correspondents (including my family) dig up during the week will make you think, give you ideas about how to live free and gain/regain the liberty that is God’s gift to us, and incite you to action that leads in those directions.

Often, I use this commentary and the associated “Nathan’s Rants” to point out where I believe people have gone wrong, whether it is believing some of the garbage out there and passing it on, or much more lengthy dissections of commentaries that are about subjects related to liberty, that interest me.

So without further ado, here’s what I am looking at this week (12-18 January 2014) on a nice, if cool, Friday in the Black Hills.

For us who do texting, be careful! Those are NOT all that private. In particular be sure to keep your texts NSA friendly from now on because they are watching. People, PGP and other ways of protecting yourself are out there. Of course, most people who tweet and text and Facebook are stupid enough to put their full names, pictures (often of them doing stupid things), address, and birthdate on-line. Why not just put your credit card numbers and SSN on? (Of course, NSA already has all that stuff; they want to gather the dirty metadata: who are you talking to/meeting/conspiring/sleeping with, how much do you gamble, when do you say bad things about politicos, and so forth.)

The “messiah’s” (my moniker for the guy squatting at 1600 PA in DC) approval rating has dropped down in the 30’s again. No, really? There are still that many people in this country that agree with what he is doing? At least mostly? Of course, this poll, like most, has to be taken with a grain of salt.

“Gilligan’s Island” star Russell Johnson, aka The Professor, passed away early this morning. He flew 44 combat missions in WWII and was awarded the Purple Heart. Today’s professors don’t compare. I grew up with Gilligan’s Island on first-run, my sons with video recordings of it. Fun and even for the day, pretty clean.  Lots of us are going to miss him.

Who is responsible for the gridlock in DC these days? It sticks in my craw to have to thank them for anything, but according to a Democrat think tank which just did a study, it is Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats who are responsible for all the gridlock! For once, good for them! Gridlock, frustrating though it may be, is good for the nation.

Now, more and more Republicans have joined Democrats in pushing to “reform” immigration, apparently thinking that they must jump on the bandwagon if they want to win in the elections this year and in 2016. Which is odd, because some recent polls say most Americans don’t care. Per the poll, only 3% of Americans rank immigration reform as a “top” priority. Of course this ignores the fact that Congress is clueless and can do nothing that will really fix problems with immigration and welfare. Indeed, they will just mess it up even more. Of course, the “messiah” will just write his own decrees to “solve” the mess.

NBC has some bad news which I am amazed that they even report: biting the hand that feeds them: The ObummerCare web site is a mess.  In essence, everything that has been done for the last couple of months is eyewash. And yes, the prices are still insanely high. And the subsidies are even MORE insane.

I have not touched much on the nationwide, state-driven (but federally promoted and enable) “Common Core” school “reform” plan, adopted by South Dakota and other states years ago, but now suddenly discovered by conservatives and branded an evil. Well, it seems that they’ve identified LOTS of problems – and they probably can’t be fixed. To me, that is a no-brainer. These were developed by educrats, for educrats, and are trying to fix the unfixable: government-ruined, theft-fund (“public”) schools. The biggest problem I see is that poorly informed parents and poorly trained teachers and administrators, even in private schools, will try to apply these to private and even home schooling. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

Readers know my professional opinion of “man-made global warming” and all its permutations. It is political science and propaganda at its worst. So, cheers for some encouraging news. More than ever, people in the US now disbelieve in man-made climate change! Algor must be livid!

Imagine! A friend told me that a British defense advisor says that the “messiah” Obama is “Clueless.” True. And he STILL doesn’t like the Queen, either (the “messiah,” not the Brit). Excuse me, can someone explain how an elected monarch is really any better than a hereditary one?

The FBI isn’t going to pursue criminal charges over the IRS targeting religious and political groups. “Nothing that was criminal happened here.” So say the Praetorians about their beloved emperor, the “messiah” and his handpicked goons. Besides, they are too busy investigating all the political and religious groups that filed bogus reports with the IRS (in the opinion of the IRS).

“Out with Hollande and the entire political class” was painted on the side of the truck of the man who deposited tons of horse manure in front of the Bourbon Palace, home to France’s lower house of parliament. Hmm. I never knew that the French parliament was in a building named for Bourbon tyrants that ruled France before the Revolution (and after it, for a while, too). Does that explain the arrogance of French government and politicians? I think that this man’s traditional gesture is wonderful, and hope that there are LOTS of copycats around the world. Far more fun than throwing shoes at politicians!

I will do a few more commentaries in the old style, but want to hear from readers about this new version.  Let Mama Liberty and me know!

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