Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-24B: Environism and cannibal government

Posted on 2013-06-20 by TPOL Nathan

Liberty and environism
The U.S. Doom and Gloom Obsession
(Project Syndicate) The authors of “The Limits to Growth” predicted that before 2013, the world would have run out of aluminum, copper, gold, lead, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, oil, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc…

Nathan: I’ve lived with this all my life.  But today I realize that much of what passes for political dialogue today has the same characteristics as this rabid environism that has infected the world for the past 50 years. Terrorism is NOT just actually going out and killing or blowing up someone: it is the THREAT of doing so.  “If you don’t do this and that, nature will kill you or harm you” can be a simple statement of fact, or twisted to become a terroristic threat.  Rachel Carson and her political allies and descendants did this, and their legacy is carried on by governments and NGOs and do-gooders of all sorts today.  NONE of this has come true, and is very unlikely to do so, but we have allowed ourselves to be chained into slavery because of it.  The same thing applies to social events and political actions as to natural “threats.”  “If we don’t treat this group and that group as special (enemies or friends) then we will be destroyed.”  “If we don’t prevent (or do) so and so in Congress (or legislature or council), then this horrible thing will happen and we will all (a) live in rags, (b) die miserably, (c) live in slavery, …”  Governments even use things like this to eat each other, as the next story relates.

Abominable act (ObummerCare) – Theft by government (Cannibalism)
Local Governments Reeling Under ObamaCare Costs
(Investor’s News Daily) …local governments across the country have been quietly doing exactly the same thing [as private business] — cutting part-time hours specifically so they can skirt ObamaCare’s costly employer mandate, while complaining about the law in some of the harshest terms anyone has uttered in public. The result is that part-time government workers — many of them low-income — face pay cuts that can top $3,000 a year, and yet will still be left without employer-provided benefits.

Mama’s Note: Nice to think that local government will take some hits as well as the rest of us.

Nathan: Those who work for local government (like ALL government workers) tend to think of themselves as better, more secure, and immune from both economic reality and governmental regulations, but the Powers That Be don’t care anymore about a low-level town or county worker than they do a burger-flipper or waitstaff or convenience store clerk.  This bogus law is not about health or care, it is about power and control and paying off certain support groups.  And the FedGov has never been shy about stealing from other governments: foreign, state, and local.  Wow!  If they are too busy eating each other, maybe they’d leave us alone?  I know, a false hope at best: they use what they steal from us to be able to attack (and defend) against the more voracious predators.

Mama’s Note: All very true, but I’m pretty sure the bottom line for Obummercare goes beyond even that. I strongly believe that this “reform” was written specifically and deliberately to fail miserably, as it will. The intent is clearly to get the general population demanding the single payer “national” insanity that has contributed so much to the death and ill health in Canada and everywhere else it has been implemented. As I warned nearly ten years ago, conscientious medical professionals are leaving the field at an unprecedented rate, increasing every year. Far, far too few new people are assuming those positions (whatever their level of competence might be), and it will eventually be almost impossible to find adequate medical care in rural or poor, inner city situations.

Congress in action – Border jumpers
CBO: 75% of Illegal Immigration Would Continue Under Senate Immigration Bill
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So why bother?  We all know the answer to that: it gives Congress and the White House yet ANOTHER opportunity to steal more liberty away from the 300 million of us that are here and NOT border jumpers.  That, and because the Senate thinks it will get them reelected next time around.

Stupid government tricks – Islamic war (Afghan front)
Notorious Haqqani Network to Be Represented at Taliban-US Talks
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Why not?  After all, we have OUR criminal class represented at the talks (although they couldn’t dig up Jimmy Hoffa to get him to participate), so why not their bad element?

The “messiah” – New religions: global warming
In Berlin, Obama Warns of Famine, Floods, Refugees, Vanishing Coastlines
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Gee, do you think the teleprompter got mixed up?  This should have been his jeremiad that he could give at Jerusalem:  “The end of the world is at hand!”  Or is this because he just got briefed on the latest HAARP testing?

The Messiah’s minions – Culture wars: homosexuality
Holder: More to Be Done for LGBTs, No Matter How SCOTUS Rules on DOMA, Prop 8
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: In other words, it isn’t about freedom and liberty, but about an agenda to push some things and prevent others.  Notice that the German homeschool family has no “fundamental right” to educate their children because what they want to teach them is not what the Tranzis WANT taught.  Now, if they were a homosexual couple abusing the kids, well, of COURSE they’d get asylum.  Some animals are more equal than others: African Americans over Asian Americans, homosexuals over heterosexuals, union members over non-unionized workers.

Congress in action – Hoploclasts and hoplophobes
Biden: Senators Who Voted No on Gun Control Want to ‘Revisit’ Issue
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Hmmm.  The arm-twisting seems to have been successful.  And no indications that he had to get out the tongs and red-hot pincers.  (Of course, money sooths many pains – even (or especially) campaign money.)

Congress in aciton – Killing babies
Rep. Won’t Say Why She Opposes 5-Month Abortion Ban Even If It ‘Saves One Life’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The person testifying made a very good point indeed, but one that most of her audience (the ones on the upper level behind the table) will continue to ignore.  She cannot use logic like this to confound them: they are too “smart” for that.

 

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-24A: Europe and Syria and the US

Posted on 2013-06-20 by TPOL Nathan

Europe’s fall – US tyranny – Liberty stolen
EU bows to US over data protection
(PressEurop) US President Barack Obama’s administration persuaded the European Commission to redraft its data-privacy legislation in January 2012 and drop a clause that would have stopped American spy agencies from eavesdropping on international calls and emails. The economic daily reports that it “would have nullified any US request for technology and telecoms companies to hand over data on EU citizens,” such as those revealed in the recent Prism scandal.

Nathan: Indeed, the FedGov(US)(tm) bully-state does not just bully its own “citizen” but the people and nations of the world.  I’ve no love for the EU and the member-states’ governments, but I can’t help but feel a bit sorry that they are also victims of FedGov(US) ™ imperialism in all its many forms.

Islamic wars: Arab street front – Stupid FedGov(US) ™ tricks
“U.S. considers taking in Syrian refugees”
(L.A. Times via Freedom Outpost.com) A resettlement plan under discussion in Washington and other capitals is aimed at relieving pressure on Middle Eastern countries straining to support 1.6 million refugees, as well as assisting hard-hit Syrian families. The State Department is “ready to consider the idea,” an official from the department said, if the administration receives a formal request from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the usual procedure.  The United States usually accepts about half the refugees that the U.N. agency proposes for resettlement. California has historically taken the largest share, but Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia are also popular destinations

Nathan: Why NOT? Christians persecuted for their religion, whether from Egypt or Germany (the homeschoolers) can’t flee to the US, but we can ALWAYS welcome some more jihadis who need a break from their Arab street activities, or their families who need to get off the stove to avoid getting treated like their menfolk treat the ferengi and those who don’t agree 100% with their brand of Islam.  And we all know we need a LOT more IEDs and drive-by shootings and honor killings and beheadings right here in the US: we have fallen so far behind the UK on that score.

FedGov(US) ™ tyranny – Stupid government tricks
US pols call for smartphone kill switch “to deter thieves”
(The Inquirer [UK])”United States law enforcement officials are calling for smartphones to be fitted with kill switches to curb mobile theft. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the Save our Smartphones (SOS) coalition on Thursday, an initiative involving state officials, police chiefs, district attorneys, attorneys general and consumer advocacy groups. He cited statistics that show one in three robberies in the US involve the theft of a mobile phone, with a total of 113 mobile phones pinched in the US every minute.” [editor’s note: And it’s just pure coincidence that these “kill switches” could also be used to brick, say, every phone being used around a political protest, etc. And of course they will promise to never, ever, ever do anything like that – TLK] (06/14/13)

Nathan: Tom is right.  More to the point, there is already a process with at least Verizon  and AT&T, and I assume others, to “kill” a phone.  If your phone is lost or stolen, you call an 800-number (which can be found on line if you don’t have it on paper, as you should) and they – gasp! – turn your phone off, and incidentally help you not pay for all those 25-cent-a-minute calls to Mexico that often seem to pop up after the phone is stolen.  How do I know this?  Because in 1994, I had a cell phone (a bag phone, remember those) stolen together with a camera and other stuff from my car in Fort Collins ($250 damage from breaking the window in to steal the stuff).  They didn’t catch the thieves (the cops were “too busy” to take fingerprints or follow up on the dozen or so calls the thieves made before the theft was discovered and reported TO THE PHONE COMPANY).  But I was saved a lot of money and hastle.  Also, I know, because just a few weeks ago, I misplaced my smart phone, and the battery died.  A call to the company (Verizon, evil though they are) and within a few minutes (5 as I recall) they “killed” the phone and activated the tracer with GPS to help locate it.  (It had slid under the car seat and lodged in a corner.)  They confirmed that I was the owner and reactivated it.  No cost, no cops, no “kill switch” except what we’ve always had.  The SOS Coalition is nothing but shills for the same terrorist thugs that brought us the “datagate” NSA and IRS and DOJ scandals.

Mama’s Note: All these stories neglect to mention that it is the phone owner’s responsibility to keep it safe. Situational awareness and even minimal self defense would very rapidly reduce the theft to near zero. How many people have you seen walking by, or even driving, who are so totally engrossed in their conversations that they don’t seem to see or hear anything else? I watched a young woman “texting” as she walked and laughed quietly to myself when she bumped into a lamp post! She was very lucky that we don’t have thieving “street urchins” here because her phone – and purse – would have been very easy to steal right then.

War on some drugs – FedGov(US) ™ stupid tricks
Obama Outspends Clinton, Dubya Going After Recreational And Medical Marijuana Users
(Personal Liberty Digest) According to a new report produced by Americans for Safe Access, a leading advocate of medical marijuana, the Obama Administration has not just been tough on American pot users — it has spent much more on medical cannabis enforcement than both the George W. Bush and Bill Clinton White Houses. Read More…

Nathan: My oh my, what a surprise?  Hardly, to anyone keeping even causal track.  Yet it seems the pot-smoking crowd (except those that are libertarian) don’t seem to know this – or bother to check and see: they luv their “messiah” too much to believe something like this.  (Of course, the “death-to-marijuana” “conservative” crowd also don’t seem to believe that their sworn enemy is doing what they want on this issue.)

Mama’s Note: Some people seem to have seriously split personalities on this subject as well. They advocate “legalization” of cannabis for use, but insist that all dealers and producers continue to be persecuted and jailed. How’s that supposed to work? And those who actually think that some sort of “tax and regulate” idea – like alcohol – is the solution to any of the problems… what can I say? Those who want to control others will never be satisfied in any case.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-23E: End of the week

Posted on 2013-06-19 by TPOL Nathan

Home front – Government-run, tax-funded schools:
Colorado School Recites Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic

Thanks to Linda and Scott for this.  Scott’s comment:  Sounds blasphemous; calling the unitary Congress/Administration “Allah”.

Nathan: Scott’s comment is cute.  Seems that most folks seem to be bent out of shape that “under God” is transated to “under Allah” but whatever objections you have to the Pledge spoken in some other language, this is as bogus as complaining because the word for the Father in Spanish is Dios.  “Allah” IS THE ARABIC word for God.  When the Christ’s disciples went to Arabia to start preaching the Good News, they used “Allah” for “God.”  Talk all you want about Islam – an evil and murdering, monstrous religion comparable to that of the Azteca and the Carthaginians – but do not buy the garbage about Allah being some sort of hyped-up moon god.  He is the Creator and Islam recognizes Him as such, even though they are very much mistaken about His character and attributes, and the way in which they worship Him is blasphemous and evil.  And remember that the Pledge itself is the brainchild of a socialist who would be branded as, at best, a national socialist today.  It is necessary to reject ALL kinds of evil, moral, social, and political, and not pick and choose which evil is “better” than some other kind.

Home front – Government-run, tax-funded schools:
Tribal Colleges: A Dubious Government Investment
Source: Tom Burnett, “The Tragedy of Tribal Colleges,” Pope Center for Higher Education, June 9, 2013.

(National Daily Policy Digest) The main emphasis for tribal colleges is on training students to serve the social services programs on a reservation — the needs of tribes determine the course offerings…

Nathan: I’ve discussed this article with a long veteran of teaching in Indian colleges, and he concurs with this:  it is welfare, not as much for students as for staff and faculty and the graduates who cannot get a job anywhere else because the bar is so insanely low.  I was very surprised to see only a few of the schools I know personally about attacked – they should have been included, except that some of what goes on is so incredible that Mr. Burnett would have been called a liar.

Quote of the Week

“I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein

Theft by government – Hoploclasts
Veterans’ antique guns stolen because of “mental illness” fears
(Godfather Politics)

Nathan: Read this and try not to cry.  This is the evil we have created in the heart of our nation.  Once more we have a perversion of traditional American justice.

The “messiah” – Government-run, tax-funded schools
Obama: ‘Gov’t Can Help by…Educating our Children From the Earliest Years’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I seem to be pointing out a LOT this week that “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” is a really bad lie – made again by the current resident in 1600 PA.  We have seen what having government “educate” our children for 8, 12, 13, 17 years and more has done to the children, their families, and our society.  Do we REALLY want Brave New World even MORE?  This man is lying: government can only HARM children, families, parents, and communities by controlling the children.  They will be taught lies – actually, not educated but propagandized and turned into murdering monsters.

Theft by government – Tyranny
Federal agency seized millions of healthcare records from an unnamed California healthcare provider.
(Freedom Outpost) The lawsuit filed in mid-March by Robert Barnes on behalf of the unnamed provider stated 15 agents of the IRS seized the records of 10 million Americans of which 1 million were Californians while executing a warrant for the financial records of a former employee of the healthcare provider in March 2011.

Nathan: Just being good employees and anticipating the boss’s wishes: they know that is to be the grand climax of the centennial of the agency’s existence.  More slavery, more theft, more loss of freedoms and liberties, all courtesy of these thugs.  And people wonder why they are getting training with M16s and M4s and AR-15s.  Right.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-23D: This and That in Tyranny Today

Posted on 2013-06-19 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2013
Party Affiliation Taints Americans’ Views On Privacy, Civil Liberty
(Personal Liberty) A poll released Monday shows more than half of all Americans think it’s acceptable for the government to secretly track their phone calls, if doing so keeps them safe from terrorism. The poll also shows that nearly half believe it’s also acceptable for the National Security Administration to indiscriminately spy on citizens’ online activities.

Nathan: As always, take these polls with a large grain of salt.  Too many ways to word these kinds of questions to create a bias, and end up with this.  But even if this WERE accurate, so?  when you eliminate all the one-issue types, and count all the compromise artists and appeasers, two-thirds of the people have almost ALWAYS been willing to give up a lot of freedom for a little bit of security.

Let’s All Get Together Tonight And Jam Up The NSA!
(Personal Liberty) There is much buzz about an Internet initiative encouraging as many Americans as possible to produce electronic communications using certain terrorist-sounding words and phrases in unison this evening. The goal is to create a blip on the National Security Agency’s radar in hopes of overwhelming the Federal government’s surveillance apparatus.

Nathan: Sounds like fun to me, but you know the old saying, “Its just fun and games until somebody loses too much blood.”  Maybe if a couple million people could spend an hour so so doing this, though… (By the time I am writing this, the event had taken place but I’ve heard nothing and  can’t tell you how it turned out.)

Culture wars: homosexual “marriage” – War on religion
Colorado:  Baker Who Refused to Provide Cake for Homosexual Wedding [sic] Faces Jail
(The Blaze.com)

Nathan: We all understand that there is no “freedom of association” as a right any more: instead, it is illegal (to some degree, at least) to refuse business to someone for any reason.  Without a right to refuse to do business for any reason, the “freedom of association” does not exist.

Stupid government tricks – Theft by government
Federal agencies turning to UPS, Fed Ex instead of USPS for delivery needs
(The Washington Free Beacon) The United States Postal Service’s (USPS) bottom line has been hit by the federal government itself as numerous agencies have increased their contracts with publicly traded companies instead of the Postal Service for their mailing and distribution services, the Washington Free Beacon has found.

Mama’s Note: I do think this may spell the end…

Nathan: I’m surprised Congress has not already required the agencies to do this, and even make state governments do that, in order to get their funding.  Got to be pretty bad to not even ride for their own brand.

The “messiah” – Lies and tyranny
Obama Should Blame Bush, Thank Whistle-Blowers And Keep Up The Bad Work
(Personal Liberty) During his Senatorial career and the earlier parts of his Presidential tenure, Barack Obama was an outspoken advocate of government transparency and whistle-blower protections. Sometimes, he still makes feeble attempts to claim he holds the same views today. Yet Obama is at the helm of what is likely the least transparent Administration in history.

Nathan: This man has sometimes been likened to the fictious Manchurian Candidate, but it is far more accurate to call his the Schizophrenic Candidate.  It appears that he has (with a few notable exceptions) intentionally set out to do the opposite of what he said he would do:  transparency, whistleblowers, Gitmo, renditions, drone attacks, guns, and much MUCH more.  Either we must assume that his handlers and supporters are really in control and he is just a talking head for them, or he is really another Lincoln-Hitler-Mussolini-Lenin-Augustus type.  Dictatorship – and indeed ALL government of the state is built on lies, from the old “I am a god – or best friend of the gods” to the modern “we’re from the government and we are here to help you.”  Unless they mean help you into an early grave.

Local tyranny – Stupid cop tricks
New York: Vet has dogs killed by cops in wrong-address raid
(Personal Liberty)

Nathan: We KNOW this happens a lot.  The question is, why?  I believe that in part it is the result of our changing attitude from “Better let someone who  is guilty get away than to convict an innocent man” to “Get all the guilty ones we can, no matter how many innocent people we mistreat or kill.”  The war on drugs is far from the only reason for this, but certainly is a significant one.  This time it was only a man’s leashed dog in the kitchen of the wrong house.  In recent weeks it has been an elderly man in his own garage, a vet in his own living room defending his family, and many others.  Who is next?

Europe’s collapse – World wars
Netherlands: Ex-PM admits US nukes in country
(MailOnline)

Nathan: Yet again, another British daily publishes news of secrets that are not really secrets.  These sleek, beautiful, incredibly-deadly weapons have been at Volkel AB for a very long time, and it actually makes sense to do so – if you believe that it is right for the US to have ANY alliances.  It certainly isn’t a threat to the Netherlands.  It may be a threat to would be rebels and secessionists back in the States, of course – much harder to get control of these nukes than the ones in US bases.

Tyranny – IRS scandals
IRS Agent tells pro-life group to keep faith to themselves
(Vision to America) A pro-life legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, released audio today of a 2012 phone call between an IRS agent and the head of a Texas pregnancy counseling group. During the phone call, IRS agent Sherry Wan is heard lecturing Ania Joseph about how she can’t have a tax exemption and also push her religious beliefs— a bit of advice that would be quite interesting to every church in America.

Nathan: Ah, the nanny state starts to get its stride.  Heaven forbid someone gets themselves all upset and uptight because a religious group mentions – gasp! religion.

Tyranny -NSA/PRIZM scandals – Lost liberty
USAF Personnel Warned Against Reading about Verizon and PRIZM Scandal
(World Net Daily)

Nathan: This NOTAM is about as nutty as they come: someone in USAF blue has their head screwed on too tightly, and the brain connection is loose.  What is next, being told that they can’t read Air Force Times because there is a letter of complaint from an airman (name withheld) that might be “prejudicial to good conduct?”  I think that someone is beginning to be frightened that even MORE military personnel are seeing this regime and its leaders for the tyrants that they are.

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A Solar Electric System On the Cheap, On the Fly, and Off the Grid

Posted on 2013-06-15 by MamaLiberty

An Adventure in Self-Reliance and Creative Poverty
By Some Crazy Old Guy in the Desert

I have a stack of books to read and review… rearranged occasionally when the stack falls over and I don’t remember what order they were in. This book magically avoided that fate because it was in pdf form on my Android Tablet instead of the unsteady pile on my night stand, so that has to be a new plus for E-books – the only format in which this book is currently available.

And that, of course, is a lame segue into the actual subject of Joel’s book.

Please take for granted the usual disclaimers. I am not an engineer, nor do I know anything at all about solar energy – and darn little about electricity in general. I can manipulate switches and knobs to get light, heat and so forth, but I’m not really handy with tools outside the garden.

That being the case, I was both pleased and encouraged by the fact that I actually understood the process described in this small book, and might at least be able to participate in such a project if it ever became necessary. By that I mean hooking all that stuff together to make a working system, of course. The scrounging and “re-purposing” of things part is something hardwired into me by my Scottish ancestors.

Not having access to the “right” parts and equipment is something most of us face – at least among us scroungers and frugal sorts, and it is very encouraging to know that it’s not always necessary to have the latest and greatest, even when it would be so much easier. The author carefully lays out the circumstances of his first efforts and what he learned in the process, taking it step by step with pictures and diagrams as he finds and utilizes better equipment and some handy expertise from a friendly neighbor.

I’ve saved the best for last, of course. You don’t even have to be truly interested in building a hermit’s solar energy system to appreciate this book. The subtle humor and wry turns of phrase by this truly remarkable and likable individual make an otherwise fairly dry subject a real pleasure to read, planting much of the sage advice into your mind to apply to other areas of self reliance and making do.

Visit Joel’s blog for daily hints about semi hermit life in the desert, and pithy commentary on many issues important to most of us. You can download the book from there with the icon for PayPal in the upper right corner. If you don’t care to deal with PayPal, send Joel an email and you can make other arrangements.

Now we just have to figure out how to get Joel to write the next book. Some of his friends think the title should be, “Chickens is Stoopid.” And if you want to find out what that’s all about, you’ll need to read the blog.

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Christians and liberty – the 1984 version

Posted on 2013-06-14 by TPOL Nathan

Mike Huckabee is NOT a stupid man:  he knows history, politics, the Bible, his own faith, and people.  So this is NOT the result of a lack of understanding, but rather, evidence that his worldview is badly warped, that his lust for power (for himself and other politicians) is great, and that he believes that OTHER people are more stupid than he is.  Like too many politicians, too many preachers, too many celebrities, he is unwilling to speak the truth, knowing that people have itching ears.

Theft by government – War on religion

Huckabee: Time For Churches To Give Up Tax-Exempt Status, Embrace Freedom
(Personal Liberty Digest) On Monday, former Arkansas Governor and Presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee brought a huge white elephant to the Southern Baptist Convention. When he got up to address the pastors who’d converged on Houston for the annual event, he forced everyone’s attention on it.

First, here we see a big difference between a conservative and a libertarian,  and between a scumbag “successful” politician and someone who truly believes in freedom.  Instead of wanting to make all of us equally free (from taxes, specifically), he wants us all to be equally under government control – and CALLS it “freedom.”  Thus my reference to 1984 in the title of this commentary.

It may be just fine for SOME Southern Baptists, who don’t really believe in the tenets of their faith, or in the Bible, to supposedly “have freedom” by accepting slavery to the state.  It isn’t fine for those who believe in and practice the “Faith once and for all delivered to the saints” – or anyone who believes in liberty, given by God to man.  It isn’t even fine for those who believe in that dead letter, the US Constitution.

Taxation is theft, and also slavery. It sometimes must be endured, or paid, because of the need to survive, priorities, and circumstances.  But it is not right, and to give up something so important as this is obscene on its face.

Taxation – or ANY regulation of religious institutions by the state (at any level) is unconstitutional and immoral.  It is a direct violation of Jesus’ command to “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.”  And His warning “A man cannot serve two masters.”  There is no freedom in paying taxes, not for a church, not for a school, not for a charity, nor indeed for an individual – unless you count the negative “freedom” of avoiding persecution and jail and abuse and slavery.

What would any church or religious organization GAIN by paying taxes – regardless of what kind?  Freedom from oppressive laws (even if we call them “regulations”) that steal money constantly and INDIRECTLY from these entities?  Hardly: the 1st Amendment protection of freedom of religion is already a dead letter, and serves only to justify a “separation of church and state” that is a pretext and framework for the war on religion and on practicing believers of virtually all faiths, but especially christianity.  (Indeed, the only religions seemingly exempt from this war are Islam, humanism and its associated evolution, and perhaps some pagan religions that make good news copy.)  By paying taxes, not using what belongs to Caesar but what was given to God, the churches actually help FUND this war against them.

Mr. Huckabee apparently wants us to believe that things like the Johnson Amendment (LBJ’s creation that threatens tax exempt status for religious organizations that speak out in political campaigns and elections) are the result of tax-exempt status, and not a half-century-plus attack on the free exercise of religion.  Instead of fighting to overturn that evil concept, he wants to render it null and void by voluntarily doing what it demands be done to those brave enough to STILL speak the truth and condemn those in office (or wannabe officials) who do wrong.  Perhaps he hopes to capture the mad-atheist vote?

Voluntarily submitting to taxation will open the can of worms in many, many ways:  the church’s books and every use of their property and improvements will be looked at under a microscope so that the tax-gatherers can ensure that every mil is accounted for, and every penny is squeezed from the faithful.  Where ever and whenever possible, the land and buildings and other property will be counted and appraised and registered and stolen.  Money to preach the Word or help the afflicted will instead be wasted by politicians, bureaucrats, and the parasites on the body politic that they encourage and enable.

Time for Arkansas Southern Baptists to find someone else: someone who believes in the Bible and christian liberty and standing up for the truth, not caving into the state.  And time for ALL Americans to be freed from the slavery of taxation – from legalized theft.

Until those who claim to be followers of Christ Jesus learn what He taught and follow those teachings, not just personally but as members of churches and communities, they are going to continue to condemn themselves, and the world, to slavery.

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Resisting Tyranny in the Police State of Colorado

Posted on 2013-06-11 by TPOL Nathan

Colorado is my birthplace, though my heritage is mixed Scots-Irish-English-Texan-Comanche.  It is also where I completed both high school and college, and I was a citizen there for many years.  So I consider it important to me and my family, even though we are all South Dakotan residents and citizens of the Black Hills.  So I have been saddened significantly by Colorado’s steady march to the drums of tyranny, a nanny state in which the velvet glove covers less and less of the steel fist, and the jackboots are hobnailed and at least symbolically made of human skin.  Year by year, month by month, the growth of tyranny has and is destroying the state.  The entire state is dragged down by a perverted desire on the part of the majority of inhabitants of the large (and many small) metropolitan areas to be more like California and Massachusetts and New York.

But at least SOME people are trying to change that.  Here are two stories to talk about their attempts.

Resisting Tyranny – Home front – Politics 2013
Colorado: Eight Counties Consider Secession from State
(Greeley Tribune)  – Weld and eight other counties in Northeastern Colorado have announced plans to start a petition to separate from Colorado and seek admission as “North Colorado,” the 51st State, citing new gun laws and new oil and gas regulations.

Nathan: About time, but my first thought is why these eight counties didn’t ask about 40 more out of the 62 counties in the state to join them – although “North Colorado” wouldn’t work: perhaps “Outer Colorado” would, since the only counties that seem happy with having their citizens’ rights stolen one by one, and having businesses shut down by the thugs in Denver, are a double-handful mostly along the Front Range:  Denver and Boulder of course, and Broomfield, Larimer, probably Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas, Summit, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Eagle.  That is a dozen, and most of the Tranzis and fellow-travelers in the state.  Probably an even toss-up for El Paso and Pueblo, and the “hispanic” counties in the San Luis Valley and south.  THIS should be pushed, not because I expect it to happen but because it will create a crisis in the state and MIGHT cause a lot of their thuggish acts to get rolled back.  Keep in mind that 80% of the state’s population is in the Front Range, with more than 3 million in Metro Denver (including Boulder and Douglas Counties.  The entire rest of the state, including chunks of the Front Range, is conservative to libertarian (minarchist, not anarchist), with a few dark spots:  Aspen and Vail and Summit County, Durango, parts of the San Luis Valley and the “old” Democrat/Hispanic areas like Trinidad and Pueblo. (But even a Pueblo senate district was able to get enough signatures to get a recall election against their Democratic senator who voted for all the gun laws.)

Mama’s Note: Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot more than petitions or elections to make any headway. As long as the “majority rules,” and too few make any meaningful moves to take back control of their lives, the tyranny will continue to grow like the malignant cancer it truly is.

Home front: Resisting Tyranny
More Colorado Sheriffs Join Lawsuit Against State
(Liberty Crier)55 of 62 county sheriffs in Colorado have now joined the suit to overturn recently passed “gun control” laws requiring background checks for all transfers and limiting magazine capacity, among others.

Nathan: That is not a bad percentage, especially given that too many of the sheriffs are more interested in their own power than in protecting their citizens (employers).  And given what is happening in Florida, and threats which have been made, directly and indirectly, against sheriffs who do fight against the laws, by the General Assembly and various State Administration officials.  When you add this to the budding secession movement and the turmoil created by the legalization of cannabis, there is excitement indeed in Colorado. Of course, if sheriffs understood their true purpose and reason for existence, predating the Constitution but based on the Magna Carta and the original Bill of Rights, ALL 62 would be on-board (with the possible exception of Bill Masters who agrees with the 55 but says that he has more important uses for the limited funds he has, and won’t enforce the laws that he views as unconstitutional anyway)

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-23C: Tyranny, Tranzis and Free Markets

Posted on 2013-06-11 by TPOL Nathan

The “messiah” – War on free markets
Obama: ‘We Don’t Want to Tax All Businesses Out of Business’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: For once, we know that he is speaking the truth: not ALL, just SOME businesses.  All is not the way Transnational Progressivism/Socialism works:  many of the businesses are owned by multinational corporations, and so stay in business.  The government doesn’t OWN the businesses or take them over DIRECTLY:  instead, the multinationals get to absorb or run the others out of business: mom-and-pop small business, especially, but any business that is a threat to controlled markets or the powers that be.  Independents are fair game to the “messiah” and his group.  Keep in mind that they have redefined “free market” just as they have redefined “republic” and “security.”

Islamic wars
Karzai: US Must ‘Explain’ to Muslims Why Radicalism Is Growing Amid Its War on Terror
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The short answer, Mr. Karzai, is because the “messiah” and his supporters and backers and bosses WANT radicalism to grow.  It is the best excuse for them holding the power they have and taking more.  It also ultimately gives them excuses for dealing with the Islamic world, once North America joins Europe in their power.

There is more, of course: I believe that at least a part of it is that the powers that be are often very stupid and refuse to understand how people think – especially people with strong religious beliefs/faith.

Tyranny – Tranzi
Opinion: Did you really think Google was on your side?
(CBS MoneyWatch)  When Zuckerberg calls for transparency, we should all be very clear that what he wants is transparency for Facebook, not for its users. When Schmidt talks about the power of individuals, we all need to remember that his company is in the business of aggregating that power and selling it. Who ever imagined otherwise?

Nathan: Keep in mind this is coming from a leftist -Tranzi type writer and publication.  They have a (concealed) agenda of painting ALL business as evil “capitalists” whose only moral compass is the almighty dollar.  This may be true of Google and Microsoft and the rest – although sometimes their calculation of profits is hard to figure out.  But the truth is, in a fascist (or transnational socialist) system, too many companies (regardless of size) are little more than shills or fronts for government, either because they in turn think that they control government or because they have decided to go along to get along.  We can all think of companies like that – or which are little more than governments in form and function: like utilities granted monopolies by government or which had (at one time, at least) “natural monopolies” which result in power and revenue (and usually, losses rather than profits in the long run).

World wars against liberty?
U.S. and China Among 15 Countries Agreeing That the U.N. Charter Applies in Cyberspace
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Indeed?  If the UN Charter were worth anything at all, this might be important.  But it is so badly weasel-worded that it means little or nothing.  However, I have always assumed that the US Constitution (when it was in force) also applied in Cyberspace.  Are they deciding this does NOT apply?  No Bill of Rights in Cyberspace?  That is garbage.

Home front – War on some religions
Catholic Archbishop: Wake Up! Religious Liberty at Risk in USA
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Folks, Mr. Archbishop, you got it wrong: religious liberty in the USA has been so worn away that there is really little TRUE liberty left.  Like every other liberty, it HAS slid away, replaced by the police state and tolerance.  Ultimately, we will find that the freedom of religion is a shell, just as we have recently found that other parts of the 1st and 4th Amendments are no longer in force, not just de jure but de facto.

Home front: Resisting Tyranny
Florida Sheriff Arrested for Doing His Job
(Guardian Express)  State agencies have arrested the Liberty County Sheriff. Finch is being charged with official misconduct. He was released from jail on his own recognizance shortly after being booked in. The charge is related to an incident in March, in which a deputy sheriff arrested a resident of the county for carrying a concealed weapon. Finch made the decision to release the individual shortly afterwards. It is alleged that he then altered or destroyed paperwork relating to the arrest.

Nathan: The name of the county is quite telling, no?  It seems that Florida is joining Colorado in confrontations between local and state government, over essential liberties of the people.

Mama’s Note: IF… and I emphasize the if… this sheriff is truly interested in justice and refuting the power of the state to violate the rights of his constituents, it would be much better if he educated his deputies so that such arrests are not made in the first place. Altering or destroying the paperwork after such an arrest puts him on very shaky ground legally, however morally justified he may be.

Unfortunately, this might actually turn out to be nothing more than an attempt to “fix a ticket” for a friend or someone owed political favors. We’ll probably never know.

Additional Note:
Exclusive Interview With Liberty Co. Sheriff Nick Finch: “I Will Never Back Down!”
(New American) It should be noted at this point, that the man arrested by the deputy — Floyd Eugene Parrish — was never booked. He was merely being detained in a holding cell while the booking documents were being worked up by the jail administrative staff. A sheriff — any sheriff — may choose not to formally charge a detainee. Then, any documents related to that case may be destroyed as they are no longer legally required to be filed. Nothing Sheriff Finch did in this case is corrupt, illegal, unethical, or unheard of. Every single act falls well within the normal course of business for a county sheriff and a county jail.

Home front – Tyranny – Congress in action
Author of USA PATRIOT ACT Suddenly Shocked by Powers He “Created”
(American Vision) Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) is blasting the administration for “excessive and un-American” abuses of the PATRIOT Act. In the meantime, establishment proponents from both parties, including Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) have noted that the practice began under Bush and has been employed for the past seven years…. But it gets better. The now-outspoken critic Sensenbrenner was the original author of the PATRIOT Act, according to Fox News. He’s complaining (in defense of himself, no doubt) that Obama’s “abuse” is a “really big deal” and was “never the intent” of his law.

Nathan: Shocked, I tell you, Shocked!!  We must remember, that this current exposure of the vastly expanded POLICE STATE was and is not JUST the work of the “messiah” and his minions:  it has been done WITH the full agreement of Congress – including BOTH old parties, and the Judicial System, right up to SCOTUS, has GONE ALONG with it.  And Congress can’t use the excuse for betraying their oaths that the Reichstag did: the “messiah” didn’t blackmail any of them, or beat any of them up, or even get them addicted to drugs.  Nope, they did this to US for sake of their own power and wealth, using the excuse of security to do so.  Remember that MANY people warned the likes of Sensenbrenner that it didn’t matter whether they trusted Bush to use these unconstitutional powers wisely or not: sooner or later, some thug would be elected that would use them UNwisely.  It was sooner, you stupid git.

Mama’s Note: All very true, but the various “acts” in response to “terrorism” were never in any way legitimate. And they never had anything to do with either safety or liberty. They have been used for the purposes intended from the beginning, as you said – increasing the power and perks of the politicians and their cronies. The fact that the details can and do get progressively worse doesn’t change that. So, rather than be upset about the current “abuses,” the focus should be on eliminating both the tyranny and the tyrants. There is NO “wise use” of this vicious evil.

Unfortunately, most people don’t seem to want to even talk about that. Do dogs ever actually come to love their fleas and ticks?

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The Police State – The “messiah” and his minions tighten the grip

Posted on 2013-06-11 by TPOL Nathan

If you didn’t think we were in a police state, the last week should have stripped the last of the blinders from your eyes.  And shattered the warm and fuzzy pink eyeglasses, too.  But while enough is enough, we have to remember and understand – this Verizon and PRIZM business is not the first, by any means.

Look at the list:

The “messiah’s” BLACK LIST

That is, the list of things that a majority of Americans (not just libertarians and conservatives) consider evil:

  1. The IRS terrorizing conservative and patriot/Tea Party movement groups: merely an expansion of the vast powers and ability to intimidate people: even Congress, given by Congress and now misused.
  2. The Benghazi Massacre instigation:  whether intentional to justify more intervention or accidental due to incredible bungling, the cover-up of the poor performance is just the latest in a series going back decades.
  3. The DOJ stealing information from the media:  DOJ steals constantly, one way or another: it is just that this time, they gored enough of the mainstream press to get the press to squeal.
  4. The NSA getting cellular records from Verizon (and others):  As several in Congress no doubt truly point out, this (or versions of it) has been going on since Bush signed the USA PATRIOT ACT – if not before.  But that does not make it right except in the case of the GOP types who are more concerned about power and wealth than keeping their principles (or the principles that they claim to have) and their oaths.
  5. The PRIZM e-mail search:  Again, this has been going on for a while, no doubt.  Again, so?  That doesn’t make it right.  The fact is that it has gotten so bad (like the Verizon deal) that someone either finally let their conscience be their guide or saw an advantage to releasing proof.
  6. The EPA conducting drone flights over ranchers in Nebraska and Iowa and giving out information on confined feeder operations to environmental groups.  EPA’s tyranny has been evident since the beginning, and growing steadily, but once again, people were willing to ignore it.  Even state agencies get in on it: using satellite assets if not drones.
  7. Fast and Furious, both the original operation and the cover-up of it.  This smells like the Reichstag Fire, to me.  The government has always been hypocritical, but this probably sets new highs, since the people getting killed are often government agents.
  8. The Abominable Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act = ObummerCare) struck a final blow (akin to rolling the body of the executed felon into the Tiber or carrying the body parts to the various counties after drawing and quartering the traitor) against the Constitution, again with the agreement of the Supreme Court, Congress AND White House.  The FedGov had new powers never before taken, over one-sixth the economy, giving more control than ever over our daily lives.

These seven items are more than enough to justify criminal charges against the guy in 1600 Pennsylvania and a whole lot of other political and civil service personnel – including those (in Congress and the White House) who KNEW and didn’t have the guts to say so.

In addition, there are those things that only SOME Americans feel are evil, but are clearly immoral and NOT right:

  1. Drones killing Americans overseas: no court, no jury, no appeal.  Just death.  Of course expanded by the powers granted him (illegally) in the National Defense Appropriations Act to detain any American for any excuse for any length of time.
  2. Drones killing civilians (especially children) overseas.  No real justification for collateral damage except convenience and amoral behavior.
  3. The executive orders giving himself the power to seize retirement accounts, as needed to spend more and more.
  4. The executive orders implementing new gun control measures, when efforts in Congress died; even if not yet enforced.
  5. The massive support provided to Islamist groups including some designated as terrorist organizations, whenever they wanted or found it convenient.
  6. The wars in Libya, Pakistan, and now Syria, including all the actions and a complete lack of anything resembling Congressional approval, all under the cover of a 12-year-old resolution which could (using their logic) be used to wage war against the counties in Colorado seeking secession from their state – or any place else in these formerly United States.

I could list a lot more than this Baker’s Dozen ™, but isn’t this enough?  How much more are we willing to grow the police state?

Dozens of people have pointed out that virtually every one of these has been done in direct contradiction to the promises and statements the “messiah” made in both the 2008 campaign and after taking office.  Yes, I understand that campaign  promises are NOT enforceable.  But lying while in office IS a “high crime and misdemeanor” to most people, especially when the lies result in MORE damage.

But impeachment – even if tried in the Senate and convicted and drummed out of office – is NOT enough.  Getting rid of the entire cabinet isn’t enough: I don’t even think cashiering all of Congress at once would be enough.  I don’t know what would work.  Reinstating the Articles of Confederation?  Amending the Constitution to tell Congress (and the other branches) “NO, you can’t do anything that isn’t listed specifically in here, and this time we really MEAN it?”  Probably not.  The politicians and other parasites would figure out a way around it.

The possibility with the greatest chance of success, AND the greatest risks, is rebellion.  Taking the power away from the politicians and the bureaucrats with as much vigor as possible, scaring anyone in the future (for at least a while) that if they do anything like this again.  Perhaps we need to start from scratch.

Until we do something like that, we DO have and WILL have a police state.  A POLICE STATE.  A POLICE STATE. A POLICE STATE. Get used to it.  Or fight it.  There isn’t any other choice.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-23B: Home front killings and confusion

Posted on 2013-06-10 by TPOL Nathan

The news cycle on the Santa Monica shootings is as strange as that for the Sandy Hook shootings, stranger even than the Aurora theatre shootings.  But there is very interesting news out there.

Suspected Santa Monica gunman had 1,300 rounds: police
(NBC) “Any time someone puts on a vest of some sort, comes out with a bag full of loaded magazines, has an extra receiver, has a handgun and has a semi-automatic rifle, carjacks folks, goes to a college, kills more people, and has to be neutralized at the hands of the police, I would say that that’s premeditated,” Seabrooks said.

Mama’s Note: Well sure… but he could have been stopped at almost any point if the people around him had been armed and able/willing to defend themselves and others. He only got that far because he was unopposed so long. This is exactly what happens when a whole society waits for the cops to defend them.

Nathan: Smells like another staged event, indeed!  Premeditated by WHO?

Mama Liberty and I discussed this a bit over the weekend, but now a wee bit more truth comes out.  The first stories reported that the gunman had been killed in a shoot-out with cops, after killing two relatives, shooting up a bus and some private cars, and entering the campus.  There were lots of photos of occupation troops – excuse me, SWAT teams – on campus and a dead body on the sidewalk with cops smoking and standing around.  Then the stories changed, and the cops had supposedly arrested a “suspect” and no one claimed to know HOW many people had been killed.  NOW, this story comes up and verifies that the original stories were true, and MORE.  The killer (no suspect, he’s DEAD) was “John Zawahri, is of Middle Eastern birth or origin – possibly Lebanese ” and possibly or probably Muslim.  It WAS a campus shooting, and as Mama points out, the people were in essence disarmed: indeed, not just campuses but ALL of urban California is effectively disarmed.  Supposedly the guy is a nutcase, which again bears all the marks of a put-up job, of someone primed to go amok and start killing.  And the conflicting stories for several days again bear the curious marks of being intentional to confuse and conceal the truth: intentional acts carried out by media IN COOPERATION WITH government agencies.

Mama Liberty: Who is setting these things up? Same people who put on the rest of the shows, of course. Only thing is, I suspect they’ve not considered quite ALL of the “unintended consequences.” Sure, the people of Los Angeles and Boston might be cowed and conditioned by this to accept more police state nonsense… maybe not… and the rest of the country gets a dose of bad medicine – at least those who are paying attention. The PTB have not YET really understood that they cannot control the “news” even, let alone how people perceive their filtered, bastard renditions of it.

Woman Shot 4 Times In Santa Monica Rampage Relates Story Of Terror
(CBS) Fine was on her way home to change clothes, and with President Obama in town, she was taking side streets she was unfamiliar with. When she got to Kansas and Yorkshire she saw carjack victim Laura Sisk and the shooter, John Zawahri. … Fine drove up and yelled at Zawahri. “I saw his gaze go straight from her into mine, straight into my eyes, it was the first time I’d ever seen somebody who was so intent and present and cold.” It reminded her of a scene from a “Terminator” movie. “He was just a robot. He’s emotionless. Very intense, very cold and just on a mission. On a mission to kill as many of us as of as he could.”

Mama’s Note: Mind control? The “robot” quality is not normally seen in a person who is on a passionate domestic trouble rampage.

Nathan: No, you don’t.  But this again raises the question as to “who” caused this event to go down.  There is not some monolithic “they” out there: there have to be multiple groups, some allied and some fighting each other.

Stay tuned for more.

Mama’s Note: Indeed… more than one parasitic agency lusting for control. This is a very good thing, actually. I shudder to think what would happen if they actually joined forces and cooperated.

Oh, and the latest story I read on this fiasco has the ammunition cashe in the duffel bag growing by 500 rounds. Did they reproduce in the bag? I’d like to have one of those bags then…

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