Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-36C: Colorado Floods and Kneejerk Responses

Posted on 2013-09-18 by TPOL Nathan

Home Front – New religions: Climate Change
Colorado Floods Devastate Front Range

Nathan: I was able to avoid the flood zones last week and this weekend by going around them; an option many people including lots of family and friends did not have.  My father got 16 inches of rain at his house in three days: his street flooded curb to curb and came within 3 meters of his house, while people fished in the streets after ponds in parks flooded out and released the fish.  And that was in Aurora!  News reports concentrate on Boulder and Boulder County (Longmont, Lyons, and some of the mountain communities) because these are inhabited by Tranzis and Yuppies: the working class and farming communities, and the tourist towns (Greeley, Loveland, Estes Park) and the rural areas, and even mostly Colorado Springs (a bastion of evil right-wing extremists and nasty military types) were skimmed over in the national news.    Clearly, human activities have a LOT to do with the severity of damage caused by the flooding.  Some is due to lack of foresight: most construction is designed to meet 100-year flood frequency (the 1% chance) and this clearly is in the 500-year to 1000-year event – that is, 0.02% or 0.01% chance of occurring in any given year.  Some of the damage is DUE to shoddy workmanship – but what do we expect when government controls or regulates or does so much?  More damage was due to government skewing the market and the environment:

(1) Decades of fire suppression in the forests results in massive, hot fires that scorch the earth and increase runoff, even when NOT saturated from previous rains.

(2)  Subsidized and politically-approved locations for housing and other buildings, since they know that in case of flood or fire they will be able to rebuild with “cheap” government money, so that their insurance rates are not enough to make them decide to build in safer places.

(3)  Limited availability of land, thanks to “permanent”government ownership of most land in the mountains and much even in the plains, resulting in tight subdivisions and many nasty, even tighter trailer courts.

(4)  Government ownership of utilities infrastructure, therefore located and designed with politics primarily in focus, constructed by lowest-bidder, guv-buddy contractors, and without necessary and prudent backup and protection.  (Notice that power, which is privately owned, came back on quickly; communications (also privately owned) did not drop much at all, but that water and waste water systems (all publicly owned, by various governments) failed immediately and often are STILL out days later.

But of course, rather than looking at these things, the media and environists immediately blame people and business:  “global warming” and cloud-seeding (by ski resort operators) and oil and gas industry activities which have “upset nature’s balance.”  As the next story is a perfect example:

Amid Drought, Explaining Colorado’s Extreme Floods
(National Geographic)

Nathan: Udall – the name explains it all, I guess.  This is because of global warming – the “messiah” said it, and it must be so.  The excuses for a 500- or 1000-year frequency event are many, according to the whimpering global-warming religionists at NG:  drought dried up and hardened the ground, fires scorched the earth and didn’t provide enough plant matter to soak up the water, and so on.  The idiots!  People, all that gravel and cobbles didn’t get in the South Platte River below Greeley and all the way to Nebraska by magic.  Those canyons didn’t take millions of years to develop, either. But we CAN blame government, not private business, for subsidizing construction in the flood plain

From a CNN story: After the officials’ delayed arrival at a Boulder airport, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall said, “That dog and the cat and those seven people on those two helicopters didn’t ask us whether we were Democrats or Republicans.” And he promised a bipartisan push in Congress for federal aid for flood recovery.

Nathan: Duh.  Even Boulder County residents are not so stupid that they don’t know the Governor, both US Senators, and their own US representative are Democrats, just as those worthies know that they have to coddle Boulder County residents to get reelected…  And these people are demagogues: they know how to butter up their political clientèle.  Of course, the Colorado GOP is just as stupid, as greedy, as politically ambitious, as power-hungry, and as willing to steal money from people to give to other people, so it doesn’t really matter WHO is doling out the “free government money.”  Figure the floods caused a billion in damages: that will translate to about three billion more in Federal debt and about two billion in Colorado government debt.

Actually, this and the Washington Navy Yard killings have some similar responses: the IMMEDIATE and LOUD response to the ex-Navy, contractor, psycho killer was “BAN GUNS (In private ownership)” and “BAN Assault Rifles” and “Double-down on the Security and Police State.”  But it turns out, he used a shotgun to apparently kill and take weapons from the very security forces supposed to protect the people working there, and although initial reports were that one of the weapons taken off a security guard’s body (or taken out of an unlocked arms safe in the security office) was an automatic  rifle (an assault rifle), now it is being reported that it was two handguns.  And it was the vaunted security apparat that granted him Secret clearance and gave him the badge to let him IN to do the killing.  Never mind the facts, ma’am, just listen to the emotion and the rhetoric!

Crash of 2009 – Stupid government
When It Pays Not to Work
(Economic Policies for the 21st Century) The number of people receiving unemployment benefits is 23 percent higher compared to five years earlier and 55 percent higher than 2003…

Nathan: Remember five years ago?  The “recession” (the Crash of 2009) was underway, helping ensure the idiot McCain would crash and burn.  And we are WORSE than then?  And a third more than in 2003?  The American economy is in a slow spiral down into the grave, being pushed there by the current regime in DC, led by the “messiah” himself.  Part of it is the idea that productive people (and even the NOT so productive, but at least willing to work) can and WILL support the ash and trash that litters the land.  And should.  Bad enough that families have to support their own lazy relatives, but when it means supporting entire families that are nothing BUT lazy relatives, we have a massive future of destruction of our economy.

Stupid government – Culture wars: killing babies
Tacoma Mayor: Taking Away ‘Right to Choose’ May Consign Women to ‘A Life of Poverty’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I and most all libertarians that I know DON’T want to take away a woman’s “right to choose” – indeed, we want to arm her so that she can make SURE she is going to be able to choose to keep her knickers on, NOT to have sex, NOT to be raped.  This is not, of course, what the Tranzi mayor of Washington State’s second largest city means, of course: she means the “right” of the woman to inflict the death penalty for trespassing on a baby that had no say so in becoming a baby.

Home front – Hoploclasts and hoplophobes
Wisconsin: two openly carrying legally are abused by police
(Bearing Arms) Two men heading to Appleton’s downtown farmers market with AR-15 rifles slung over their shoulders and handguns in holsters swiftly attracted the attention of police officers last weekend.  Now, they’re attracting attention across the Internet, with some gun rights advocates expressing outrage that the pair were held at gunpoint and handcuffed, while others voice frustration at what they consider a foolish and dangerous stunt.  The men, Charles Branstrom, 27, and Ross Bauman, 22, ultimately were released without tickets or charges.

Nathan: Appleton, is (of course) this high-crime rate inner city ghetto/barrio town, worse than Chicago and Detroit rolled into one, and of course the cops are fearful of anyone carrying weapons and justified completely in arresting and handcuffing these men and claiming that they are evil monsters which are just lucking out because they didn’t get gunned down by the Appleton SWAT with its “Peacekeeper” MRAP vehicles auto-cannons.  NOT. One more example of cops who panic and believe their own propaganda, and a police chief more involved in politics than he should be.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-36B: World Wars and the Home Front

Posted on 2013-09-17 by TPOL Nathan

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt, Syrian front – Stupid FedGov
Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists
(Daily Telegraph) Fears that the rebellion against the Assad regime is being increasingly dominated by extremists has fueled concerns in the West over supplying weaponry that will fall into hostile hands. These fears contributed to unease in the US and elsewhere over military intervention in Syria.

Nathan: Of course, the current regime in DC does NOT have any concerns about arming these people.  After all, they are not libertarians, they are not conservatives, and they are not pro-American in any way.  Oh, the irony that the same thugs in DC (and their minions) that are trying to disarm more and more Americans (for fear that many of us are terrorists in our hearts) continue to arm more and more real terrorists and drug-mobsters in Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Mexico, Columbia, and elsewhere. But that’s okay: the “messiah” can lie about it all he wants, and the media won’t call him on it.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – the “messiah,” liar-in-chief
Obama: ‘Gun Control—We Had 80, 90% of the Country That Agreed With It’
(CNSNews.com) Appearing on ABC News’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday, President Barack Obama said he had 80 to 90 percent of the country agreeing with him in favor of gun control, but the he could not get gun-control legislation enacted because of a “faction of the Republican Party.”

Nathan: The truth?  The liar-in-chief couldn’t even get 80-90 percent of DEMOCRATS to agree with his hoploclastic agenda.  But never fear, he has other, better things planned, as the next story relates.

The Abominable Act
Obamacare will question your sex life
(New York Post)Obamacare will question your sex life. By Betsy McCaughey … ‘Are you sexually active? If so, with one … “This is nasty business,” says New York cardiologist Dr. Adam Budzikowski. He called the sex questions “insensitive, stupid and very intrusive.” He couldn’t think… article by The New York Post today reveals some disturbing new insight about the level of intrusiveness to expect from ObamaCare. The newspaper reports that every American should get ready to answer these questions from their doctor: “Are you sexually active? If so, with one partner, multiple partners or same-sex partners?” The Post story (“Obamacare will question your sex life”) points out that it isn’t just your primary care physician or OB/GYN who will ask those questions. Your cardiologist, dermatologist and other doctors will be required to ask you about your sexual activity even “if the questions are unrelated to why you’re seeking medical help.”

Nathan: A few more fields on the database of all Americans.  Funny, this administration and its supporters and Tranzis and liberals in general have REMOVED one of the most effective tools the Dritte Reich had for the control of certain politicians: the blackmail associated with sexual improprieties (perversions, to use an old biblical word).  Maybe they are aiming for the opposite:  “that evil person doesn’t even have sex, they are so twisted and warped,” or “she is bigoted towards most people, you can tell because she doesn’t have sex with everyone she knows,” or “Sexually repressed and maladjusted; he refuses to chase women OR men for sex.”  Never mind the “insensitive, stupid and very intrusive.”  Try illegal, unconstitutional, immoral and NONE of your business. Is it any wonder that Gallup finds how much we distrust and expect nothing good from Uncle Sam?

Mama’s Note: Just say NO. Do not answer their questions. And that’s even if you think you MUST go to see a doctor. Best advice? Learn what it takes to be healthy on your own, and find alternative medicine for things you can’t handle alone. Nobody can “blackmail” you if you don’t care what they or others think. It’s  your choice.

Home front – People KNOW its stupid government
Gallup: ‘Trust and Confidence’ in Federal Gov’t Lower Than During Watergate
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Given that expectations about government have deteriorated almost as fast as the dollar has declined in value since 1973, this means that it is REALLY bad.  But this is meaningless:  more and more, it is possible for a government, a regime, to control the entire nation with the active hatred and absolute loathing of 90% of the population.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts
New York: Cayuga County Sheriff refuses to give out gunowner names
(Syracuse Post-Standard)

Nathan: He is “defying” a very small part of the insane New York gun control law, but I guess anything is better than nothing.  Still, this is no reason to stay in that pit of iniquity called New York State.

Killing children – Nanny State
CA Gov. Brown to Sign Bill Legalizing Non-Physician Abortions
(Breitbart)  The bill permits licensed non-physicians to perform two kinds of abortion in the first trimester–by medication, and by aspiration, which requires the insertion of medical instruments into the uterus. Though many doctors agree that non-physicians could provide medications with few risks, the idea that a non-physician would perform an invasive procedure such as aspiration strikes many as rife with risks.

Mama’s Note: Of course… no mention of the fact that the women in question would be free to take whatever “risks” they wished… or not, and nobody has to get an abortion at all. The idea that a good surgical nurse couldn’t do a simple aspiration is stupid anyway. Many of the procedures now “allowed” are much more complex and risky. I’d say the major thing at risk for these doctors is their own income and perks.

Nathan: The State continues its war on children, of course, with the bizarre idea that “licensing” someone to kill children in the womb makes it morally and legally “good.”  Just which “licenses” will get to do this?  I assume “medically-licensed” people; the monopoly remains, just shuffling the deck a bit.  As usual, this is intended to protect the “licensed professionals” and not their patients, certainly not the child.  I am sure that California alone kills more children each day than died in the gas attack in Syria.

Home front – Home attack
Man With Cerebral Palsy Attacked, Robbed
(NBC Los Angles)  An intruder knocked the victim — who was using crutches — to the ground Police do not believe the intruder was armed, said Sgt. Ray Marquez, with the Covina Police Department.

Mama’s Note: Lucky to be alive, of course. Should have been armed himself. Especially those with serious disability should not answer the door to strangers unarmed. Good grief…

Nathan: Weapons are intended to balance the field of battle.  Not just the disabled but the weak physically, the elderly, and the young are at the mercy of their attackers if weapons are NOT available (and used).  But the media and the state know that fear wins: this sort of news story gets the demand up for MORE police protection and, paradoxically, MORE disarmament of everyone, especially victims.  As does the attack on Washington Navy Yard.

Education
Teacher Quality in Online Schools
(American Enterprise Institute, via Daily Policy Digest) Having fewer non-academic duties than in traditional public schools, and aided by technology making it easier to monitor classes, cyber charter leaders spend a great deal of time offering feedback to teachers…

Nathan: Those of us who have been involved with on-line schooling, private school, and homeschooling know this is true; but the education establishment denies this.  As with the other abortion providers, this attacks their money pot.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-36A: Home Front Tyranny (Federal and Local)

Posted on 2013-09-17 by TPOL Nathan

Again, a welcome (belated, perhaps) to America today.  Call it what you will:  the Police State, the Evil Empire Reborn, the Fourth Reich, or just remember Sinclair Lewis’ “It can’t happen here.”  This morning, after a week’s hiatus, we have a few local items.

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida Police Jail Man For Protesting Red Light Cameras
(The Newspaper) Police in Apopka, Florida arrested a man on Saturday morning for distributing a petition that would put the issue of ending red light camera use to a public vote. Officer Campbell wrote. “He was holding a large stack of papers… I asked him if he had a permit to protest the red light cameras, and he said no.” … Schmidter was charged with obstructing an officer without violence, a misdemeanor. He was also given a $65 ticket for a “pedestrian violation” and held for nearly twelve hours before being released on a $500 bond. Schmidter plans to fight the charges in court before a jury of his peers, saying his First Amendment rights were being trampled.

Nathan: Schmidter has been in court before, regarding protests, and has won: a judge nearby even warned the idiot cop about him.  OF COURSE protesting about traffic cameras is obstructing cops: who gets the revenue from them?  Who can use them as an excuse to abuse drivers?  Interesting, huh?  How many people knew that Florida (or is it just the Police State City of Apopka?) required that you have a permit for protesting?  Do you need one for writing for newspapers or on-line magazines, too?  For owning a firearm?  For calling your legislator or county officials or municipal officials? ONLY if you are thereby obstructing a cop, maybe.

Mama’s Note: Interesting catch 22… how do you get a “permit” to call them to get the “permit?”  But this cop’s reaction should tell us that they are getting desperate. I think they are starting to see the handwriting on the wall and it scares them half to death. They are fast losing control.

Home front – Local tyranny
New York Cops shoot two bystanders on Broadway
(New York Post) Cops trying to subdue an emotionally disturbed man with a long rap sheet accidentally shot two female bystanders outside Port Authority Bus Terminal on Saturday night, source said. Theodora Ray, 54, was struck in her leg — breaking two bones in her calf — as she stood leaning on her four-wheeled walker across from the terminal; Sahara Khoshakhlagh, 35, was grazed in her buttocks. Two cops pulled off a total of three shots in the mistaken belief that the deranged Glen Broadnax, 35, was armed after he reached into his pocket as they approached him, officials said. … The two officers who opened fire are rookies, with 18 months and three years on the job.

Nathan: This being NYPD, these two “rookies” (THREE years on the job, come on!) obviously will have sterling careers in law enforcement.  Notches on their belts, for sure!  Surprised that the person who took a picture of Ray, bleeding on the sidewalk with a cop standing over her doing nothing) and Twittered it to the world didn’t get arrested for putting the NYPD in a bad light.  Is anyone else amazed that people are willing to live in NYC with this kind of constant danger from the thugs and gangs that claim to “serve and protect” them?  Of course, it isn’t just NYC – and not just NYPD, as the next story tells us.

Home front – Federal tyranny
Armed EPA raid in Alaska sheds light on 70 fed agencies with armed divisions
(FOX News) The recent uproar over armed EPA agents descending on a tiny Alaska mining town is shedding light on the fact that 40 federal agencies – including nearly a dozen typically not associated with law enforcement — have armed divisions. The agencies employ about 120,000 full-time officers authorized to carry guns and make arrests, according to a June 2012 Justice Department report.

Nathan: Actually, there are many more than that, and virtually NONE should be allowed to have ANY weapons: their troops are idiots and could and should call on local, constitutionally-elected peace officers when they need help.  And yes, that includes the Park Service and the Forest Service.  The EPA alone has such a hideous track record for making accusations, that turn out not just to be bogus but to be insanely ridiculous, should make it clear that we don’t want ANY of them to have anything more dangerous than a wrist-rocket shooting spitwads.

Mama’s Note: None of those “agencies” should even exist, let alone parade around like ninja soldiers.

Home front – Federal tyranny
Former NSA and CIA director says terrorists love using Gmail
(washingtonpost.com) Asked whether the United States’s promiscuous surveillance was setting a harmful example for other nations, Hayden suggested that the Internet’s origins in the United States partially justifies the NSA’s conduct.

Nathan: What do you bet that they also use USPS?  I bet they love fast food and drive automobiles, too.  This kind of pitiful excuse for a police state is the kind of mindless “justification” that passes for government policy at the highest levels today:  an insane and mind-blowing incompetence that proves once again that government is dangerous.

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida Police shoot, kill unarmed black man seeking assistance after ‘serious’ car accident
(Rawstory/CBS News)) Police arrived at the scene minutes later, at which point the deceased, former Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell, “immediately charged towards the three officers, one in particular. That officer fired his weapon several times, striking individual multiple times.” Ferrell died at the scene.

Nathan: “Running while black?”  Have an accident, call for help from the cops, get gunned down in cold blood.  This seems to be happening more and more in the nation, as the police forces get more and more of a “siege” mentality and believe that everyone is against them.  Well, each time something like this happens, more and more people ARE against them.  Is this going to trigger the liberal-Tranzi-racebaiting reaction that Zimmerman defending himself against Martin did?  UN investigations?  Don’t hold your breath!

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida: We Were Detained by Hialeah Police for Making a Public Records Request at City Hall
(Photography Is Not a Crime) Florida has perhaps the most liberal public records laws in the United States, but you wouldn’t know that by making simple requests to the government officials in charge of those records….

Nathan: MORE from Florida, the rapidly emerging hugely-populated police state where citizens are guilty of heinous crimes like asking for records, asking for help, and telling people how to fight bad laws.

Home front – Federal tyranny
NSA disguised itself as Google to spy, say reports
(c/Net) …. A technique commonly used by hackers, a MITM attack involves using a fake security certificate to pose as a legitimate Web service, bypass browser security settings, and then intercept data that an unsuspecting person is sending to that service. Hackers could, for example, pose as a banking Web site and steal passwords….

Nathan:  Evil empire, indeed, as this other story from outside (well, theoretically outside) the Empire reports: The Guardian can see Star Trek:  I see Star Wars, with Alexander as Vader.

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Strengthening Exercises for Hands

Posted on 2013-09-14 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

A reader posted an excellent suggestion in the comments to “On The Other Hand” for strengthening hands. I thought of several others, and continued to look into it, so it seemed a good idea to write more about it. My left wrist is still very sore, and I’m being cautious about how much I use it, but I certainly don’t want the left hand to become weakened.

As always, there’s plenty of information available on the internet, and I found two sites especially with detailed instructions and photographs of hand exercises used by physical therapists. Total Orthopaedic Care hasn’t been updated since 2005, but the pictures are very clear and the directions timeless. Livestrong.com is up to date and contains much more detail, with lots of other health related things that might be interesting, so I’ve bookmarked it to look into more later.

After reading all this, I was thinking of our busy schedules and how difficult it is to work in MORE exercises, or much of anything else, and began to wonder if much of this couldn’t be integrated into our normal routine doing other things. Just as the continuous practice of situational awareness is actually part of our “dry fire” program – or should be – strengthening our hands, and keeping them strong, must be part of our everyday living.

Most women used to have hands nearly as strong as men, before the advent of dishwashers and all the other convenience appliances and services. Nobody wants to go back to the 1800s, of course, but it might be smart to take a look at our daily routine and find at least a few things we could do physically with our hands to improve their strength and flexibility.

I don’t have a dishwasher, and wash mine by hand each day. Lots of opportunity to do flexing and grasping exercises, and it is clearly even better to do those exercises in warm water! Folks with arthritis or old scar tissue would find this especially beneficial.

Many ordinary household chores offer similar opportunities if you think about it. The trick is to be aware of what you are doing with your hands, and incorporate some of the necessary exercises into the action required to do the jobs. Sweeping, mopping, shoveling snow, and many others come to mind.

Gardening is a wonderful way to exercise your whole body, and pulling weeds is certainly a process that can contribute to stronger hands. Careful attention to body alignment, posture and reach will improve the effect and reduce the fatigue or potential for injury. As with anything, stay aware of your goal and the steps needed to reach it.

Knitting, crochet, sewing and other crafts also present us with good exercise for our hands. These things are of more use for retaining flexibility, of course, since most do not involve muscle resistance to weight, but there are likely many hobbies and crafts that would include that as well.

The trick is not to zero in on one thing, requiring only one or a few motions. That would tend to strengthen only SOME muscles, but not give the balanced results of a more rounded program.

Luckily, just regular shooting (both hands, of course) and dry fire gives our hands a great work out. And with the ammunition situation increasingly optimistic, there’s no reason not to keep this one at the top of the list.

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Downsizing Government

Posted on 2013-09-11 by MamaLiberty

What does the president of the US (whoever that might be) actually DO that improves your life and helps provide the essentials necessary for survival? What would you like him (or her) to do that would improve your life without harming anyone else. Is that even possible? You don’t really want to harm other people, do you?

Think about it.

Nothing at all comes to my mind. In fact, I can think of dozens of things various presidents have done over the years that did exactly the opposite. Those actions damaged my ability to live peacefully and productively, and managed to harm a great many other people as well, in my name and with money stolen from me.

Same for the Vice President, the congress, the courts. Think of all the other politicians and bureaucrats in Washington D. C. What do any of them do that actually promotes peace and prosperity, and harms nobody? I can’t think of anything they do to improve my life either.

Take a look at the politicians and bureaucrats that control the state government. The county? How about the cities, towns and wide spots in the road. All of those folks are promoting peace, freedom, creation of wealth and providing services everyone is glad to have and pay for? No?

Representative government is the silly notion that ordinary people are too evil and stupid to control their own lives and property, but are smart and good enough to elect others (just like them) to do it for them!

So, what would happen if the politicians and bureaucrats were all fired and required to find honest jobs? Would your life suffer? Would you be unable to live in peace with your neighbors? If so, I wonder why. Might it be because you actually benefit in some way from the coercion and theft that originates in Washington – or city hall? Surely not…

It’s hard to pin down exact statistics on government “jobs,” since no two sources tabulate it the same, but this is a fairly good overview. That’s an awful lot of people producing little or nothing. What IS IT all these people are doing? For whom? Why?

Think about it!

Every source I did look at indicated that government employment was an important and beneficial part of the economy, but I think that needs to be looked at a little more closely. There is benefit, no doubt, to those who receive a paycheck, and at least the appearance of benefit when they spend that money, but it is best to look at the big picture and realize some hard truths.

When you produce something, like food or clothing, machines or even widgets, you are making something that you and other people want and need. Why else would you make it? Those others are willing to exchange the things they produce for the things you make, whether directly or through a medium of exchange such as “money.” We won’t discuss money here, but that is another fruitful avenue to explore, and an important part of the big picture.

Production of things people want to buy is the creation of wealth. Taking raw materials and making things is the first essential step. When people have created enough wealth beyond their immediate needs, they can begin to exchange some of that wealth for services and even abstract things such as art and music. They will have enough excess to provide for children, their elderly, and others of the community who cannot support themselves.

So, the question is now, just what product or service does the government produce that people need and want, that creates wealth? What does government do that encourages others to create wealth? What do government employees do that you value enough to pay for out of your saved wealth? Is there anything the government claims to do – those things you want done – that could not be done without an involuntary government monopoly?

Are you prepared to go up to the courthouse and buy some new restrictions on how you use your property? Do you really want to buy a “permit” to own a dog, a chicken, or a gun? How much longer before you need permission to even have a child? You’ve already lost most of your natural authority over whatever children you already have. Think not?

Do you need a politician’s permission to defend your life or that of your child from attack? Is theft ever justified? Who owns your life and body? Why would you need or want your every activity to be tracked, “registered,” and regulated?

Do you volunteer to pay as much tax as possible so your life can be controlled, in excruciating detail, by bureaucrats who laugh in your face when you complain about mistakes they make? Are they mistakes?

Seems inescapable that non-voluntary government does not create any wealth at all. It does not provide anything, even those things people truly want and need, without theft, coercion and fraud.

And the worst of all is the presumption of this non-voluntary government that all of the people and all of their property is actually owned by the government itself. Remember that control is the essence of ownership. The proof of this is the very fact that ordinary people cannot exempt themselves, can’t opt out, cannot say, “no thank you” when the tax man comes around selling his “services.” Nobody can choose not to be robbed, controlled and defrauded by their benevolent government.

If you don’t believe that, just consider what happens if you don’t allow the theft of your goods, the sale of your home for “back taxes,” or refuse to obey the commands of the elite “rulers.” If you resist, they will put you in a cage. If you resist that strongly enough, they will kill you. And they might just kill you anyway…

America, the land of the free.

Think about it.

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Changes

Posted on 2013-09-11 by MamaLiberty

The only thing in the universe that does not change… is the fact that all things change. Humans are a curious contradiction in that they resist change much of the time, yet are driven in many ways to learn and grow. Learning and growing are the essence of human change, essential for survival.

And so, most people certainly recognize the need for change on almost every front, yet are reluctant to do much of anything to disturb their own particular situation, or their current accommodation of the powers that be. And, all too often, the change they think is needed is not that which will foster their own liberty and peace.

From the Declaration of Independence:

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

“Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don’t.” “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” “Don’t rock the boat.” “He’s a son of a bitch, all right, but he’s OUR son of a bitch.”

Fear of the unknown and unfamiliar is possibly one of the most inhibiting emotions, and few people want to trade familiar thoughts and beliefs for something new if they are at all comfortable with what they have. It takes great energy and courage to imagine something different and better, especially when the prospect of achieving the change seems unlikely or costly.

And then, all too often, the new turns out to be not much different than the old. Unless people have a clear vision of what they want, and why they want it, they will tend to settle for whatever falls within their comfort zone and requires the least effort.

This, of course, is the usual outcome of the political process. People are sometimes stirred to action when their own lives are disrupted and their possessions threatened or actually confiscated, but they are easily led to give their support to most anyone who promises relief, without actual proof that the person is both willing and able to fulfill that promise. The words and some of the details may change, but the politicians and bureaucrats continue to control our lives and the confiscation of property continues without much pause.

How much of this is the result of the refusal to consider real changes? How much is due to a lack of understanding of the principles of liberty and justice? How much of it can be charged to the fact that, deep down, most don’t really want any substantial change since they receive some of the stolen loot and at least imagine that they can exercise some control, direct or vicarious, over their neighbors?

What kinds of change can you live with? What are you willing to do to help make that change happen?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-35A:

Posted on 2013-09-10 by TPOL Nathan

Due to some personal issues and family and business matters, I will not be writing any regular commentaries this week.  I will try to comment on news stories sent to me or referred to me, but I am trying to go at least a full week without paying attention to ANY news except for weather reports.

For what it is worth, the Four Corners got drowned again today, in what seems to be a weekly occurrence of 2 or so inches of rain so hard and fast that none of it soaks in: thus we have a perfect situation (as government views it);  flash floods and a continued drought (since almost all the rain is downstream of the dams!) that maximize the “justification” more government aid…

Mama’s Note: Hang in there, Nathan. We’ll be here when you get back.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-34E: Evil government from “high” to “low”

Posted on 2013-09-08 by TPOL Nathan

The UN evil – Home front
United Nations demands US answer for Zimmerman verdict
(Breitbart.com) “We call upon the US Government to examine its laws that could have discriminatory impact on African Americans, and to ensure that such laws are in full compliance with the country’s international legal obligations and relevant standards,” said human rights expert Verene Shepherd, who currently heads the UN Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent. With Christians under siege throughout the Middle East and elsewhere, this week the United Nations sees as a priority the status of a local crime in the state of Florida. And not just a local crime, but one that has been adjudicated by a jury and one that an FBI report proved had nothing to do with racism.

Nathan: These UN johnnies just do not understand liberty or government – especially justice – by the people.  Bad though Anglo-American government can be and is, it is light years ahead of what the rest of the world has to suffer.  First off, it is not Federal law that was involved and needs to be examined: it was the laws of the sovereign State of Florida that governed.  It is the people of Florida, if any, that should examine their laws. And that is why, among other things, the people of Florida (and most other states) have juries and serve on them:  to decide the facts and the law.  If the UN had their way, juries would be illegal and “justice” would be served by a single black-robed tyrant, or for capital crimes, three to five of them.  There ARE NO “relevant international standards or legal obligations,” because under both natural law and Anglo-American common law, judgment is to be made by a plurality of the accused’s peers: a jury (although at least twelve agreeing unanimously strikes me as a VERY wise idea).  Of course, we might ask ourselves if the UN (just theoretically, at least) might have some better use of its time?

Stupid politicians – Hoplophobes and hoploclasts
Colorado Democrat: Legislature, not guns, make streets safe
(Washington Times) “As a woman, I have the right not to carry a gun and to feel safe on the streets, and that’s what we provide for in the state Legislature is for all of us in the state of Colorado — to feel safe on the streets without having to carry a gun,” said Mrs. Hullinghorst on “The Tim Caffrey Show.” She also took a swipe at gun owners.  “The thought that the only way we can protect ourselves is to wield our own weapon is completely absurd and an argument that I absolutely discount as frivolous,” Mrs. Hullinghorst said.

Nathan: Like the person that pointed this article out to me (Tim Brown, thanks!) I find this woman’s argument STUPID.  Like the rest of her Democratic playmates in Denver (and DC), she cannot understand the real world, or what can happen.  Need I mention virtually ANY place in the once lovely city of Aurora, or Five Points, or any place along East Colfax or Martin Luther King Boulevard, or the Pecos-Federal barrio?  Yes, she has the right NOT to carry a weapon, but we know that the General Assembly has NO liability for NOT making the streets safe.  Yes, she even has the right to be stupid, but NOT the right (nor the power, morally or legally) to make all of us as stupid as she is.

Mama’s Note: She’s making the classic liberal mistake of confusing “feeling safe” for actual safety, obviously with no life experience to teach her differently. Sadly, she may never make the connection to reality, even if she is mugged and raped. A real shame. Everything will always be someone else’s responsibility.

Stupid cops – Local tyranny
Montana: Police chief unapologetic about police dog attack on man
(Jonathan Turley blog) Livingston, Montana. Mark Demaline, who cooks at the Park Place Tavern, was attacked late at night in his workplace when police found a door unlocked after hours and sent in a police dog named Bobi. What is most astonishing is not just the lack of an apology by police but the insistence of Chief of Police Darren Raney (left) that the dog “did what he was supposed to do.” After the restaurant closed, Demaline did what he often did after work. He went next door to the Livingston Bar and Grille for a drink and then returned around 2 am to retrieve his laptop to go home. He made himself a quick salad for a late night snack and was heading to the door when he ran into Bobi. At first, he said “Hey, puppy” and tried to greet it. He says the dog attacked and lunged for his thigh. When he tried to grab Bobi’s collar, the dog went for his wrists. The dog bit him deeply in the thigh and brought him to the floor as the officer yelled for him to put his hands above his head — a difficult proposition with a dog clamped on your thigh.

Nathan: Livingston is NOT the inner city:  the cops have lost all courage, and use anything they can to confront ANY unusual threat, however improbable.  And then hide behind “we serve the people” and “our lives are on the line.”  I suspect that Mr. Demaline will own much of the town before this is done.

Mama’s Note: Confronting any real or seriously potential “threat” like this would be problematic, but there was zero threat here to anyone until the dog was sent in. An open door might cause a good officer to investigate carefully, but sending in an attack dog certainly wouldn’t be part of it, regardless of the circumstance.

Further, regardless of how small the town is or how little crime there is, if my employee left a back door open in my business, he’d be looking for another job in the morning. Doors and locks are designed to exclude intruders, human and animal. Leaving them open and unlocked is simply irresponsible.

Theft by government
Taxation Across the United States in 2013
(Tax Foundation) Tennessee has the highest average combined state-local sales tax rate at 9.44 percent; Alaska has the lowest at 1.69 percent…

Nathan: This article explains why:  Alaska makes a huge amount of money to support bloated government through severance taxes; Tennessee eliminated the income tax but did NOT cut the bloated government they way they should have.  I hate taxes, but I hate income taxes MORE than sales tax, because income tax is not just theft, it is slavery.  The point is not missed in South Carolina, where they are now trying to join TN and seven other states (South Dakota among them) in making income taxes illegal.

Crash of 2009 – Government-run, tax-supported schools
The Value of a College Degree
(USA Today) In Texas, new graduates from technical associate’s degree programs earned average salaries more than $11,000 higher than those for graduates with bachelor’s degrees…

Nathan: Amazing that USA Today would even publish this:  of course, a lot of us KNOW that this has been the case for several decades.  Except for SOME of the professions (some medical degrees, some engineering, and a few other technical professions), there is little or no justification for wasting the time and money of a college degree.  Bachelor’s degrees whether BS or BA are just glorified high school diplomas about 90% of the time, since the students are taught only what was once taught in high school, or even before eighth grade.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-34D: Syria and other stupidity

Posted on 2013-09-08 by TPOL Nathan

The “messiah” and stupid government tricks
Rumsfeld: Obama Has Driven Our Country Into a Cul-de-Sac
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, I don’t think “cul-de-sac” is a good word: it implies neatness and orderliness and good planning and engineering.  Nope, he has driven the fully-loaded semi into a blind alley, all of ten feet wide and with a 20-foot radius curve halfway down its 200-foot length, and with trees giving a clearance of about 12 feet.  Of course, it is also with an incompetent driver…  And of course, Mr. Rumsfeld, this does NOT just apply to this budding disaster in Syria, but to virtually everything: debt, economy, environment, health-care, and liberty.  Enough is enough: when is it time to end this insanity?

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt: Syrian front
Al-Qaida-Linked Syrian Rebels Attack Regime-Held Christian Village
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Aha!  NOW we know why the “messiah” and his minions like the Syrian rebels so much!  And why they are willing to kill hundreds or thousands of women, children, and the elderly to “punish” Assad, whom they once praised as a “reformer” and loved getting their pictures with.  The rebels hate and attack Christians!  Now it all makes sense!

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt – Syrian front – the “messiah”
Obama: ‘I Didn’t Set a Red Line’ on Syria
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Oops, maybe it is color blindness?  Green instead of red?  He tap dances pretty well, and looks even more stupid than he acts.  Or speaks, as we hear from Saint Petersburg:

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt – Syrian front – the “messiah”
Obama, from Russia, urges U.S. lawmakers to back strike on Syria
(Washington Post) ST. PETERSBURG — President Obama scrambled with senior advisers Thursday to soften resistance to a military strike against the Syrian government among U.S. lawmakers and some of Obama’s most reliable global allies.

Nathan: He matches the past and the bellicose attitude from the Kremlin more than his host Putin does.  Is there any reason NOT to doubt Putin when he calls this man a liar about Syria and who REALLY killed all those people with the gas?

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt – Syrian front – the “messiah” and his minions
Kerry: Obama Has Not Told Me What He Will Do If Congress Does Not Authorize Syria Strike
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Things like this are one reason that a number of folks are commenting that the “messiah” is playing this strickly improvisational, but with the skill of a typical junior high kid who wants to be a jazz musician.  Anyone who is so stupid as to NOT discuss options with the man (admittedly a not-so-smart man, but still) that is supposed to be one of his major foreign-affairs advisors is NOT going to make a successful military operation, especially since all the puppet strings right down to platoon level lead straight back to DC.  As with the bin Laden operation in Pakistan, no doubt they will be eating popcorn and drinking beer in the “war room” and telling the cruise missile controllers to “hit THAT building and not the other one.”

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt – Syrian front – the “messiah”
U.S. Action Against Syria Will Have ‘Some Teeth,’ Includes Arming the Rebels
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So, just killing a bunch of people as “collateral damage” to destroy stocks of chemical agents and their means of delivery is NOT enough:  we have to repeat the mistake that Reagan did in Afghanistan against the Soviets and ARM these madmen who hate the US more than they would ever hate Assad, and so we WILL have boots on the ground to provide these weapons and no doubt train them.  Fortunately, they will have the standard Muslim attitude towards target practice and maintenance: “As Allah wills.”

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt – Syrian front – the “messiah’s” minions
Kerry Claims ‘Very Broad Coalition’ on Syria, But Evidence Is Scant
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Ah, Johnnie-boy’s imaginary playmates.  Or maybe he is speaking of Congress, especially the Senate where the support for this stupidity crosses party lines, and more than just the usual token RINO.  (Is it any wonder that Matt Drudge would abandon the GOP?  It even sounds like Hannity and Limbaugh are ready to give up on the GOP as well: apparently Beck is on vacation all this week, but his love for Israel is go great that he probably leans to supporting an attack.

Funny – Home front – Stupid government
Deer Trail, Colorado: Clerk returning checks to buy drone hunting licenses
(Denver Post)  “There is a lot of money to be made on it, and it was going to go to the community center, and now I have to return a lot of checks,” Oldfield said. Of the town’s roughly 550 residents, Oldfield said 38 people have signed an unofficial petition opposing the measure. Eight of them appeared at the board meeting on Tuesday to fight the special election. “I quit counting (checks) because obviously the people don’t want this,” Oldfield said.

Nathan: The election is scheduled in October, but the town clerk does this? While I understand the appeal of El Neil’s “hyperdemocracy” (consensus), this rather strikes me more as arrogance on the part of the clerk (who clearly thinks the idea is stupid and embarrassing – if she didn’t want to be embarrassed, she’d get a job in Denver or Aurora or Limon and not Deer Trail: it is the “personality” of the town to do embarrassing things, and has been for 150 years).

Home front
Northern California County votes for Secession
(CBS News)

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday for a declaration of secession, the Record Searchlight of Redding reported. The vote appears mostly symbolic since secession would require approval from the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress, but supporters say it would restore local control over decision making. They want other rural counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon to join them in the creation of a new state called the State of Jefferson.

Nathan: As the story does NOT go on to point out, Jefferson State is NOT “new” but an old idea again revived, first being proposed in 1941. Wikipedia: Jefferson (proposed Pacific state).  There is good reason for them to want to secede: Northern (true Northern) California and Southern Oregon are BOTH significantly different, politically, socially, and economically, from the two states, divided by a stupid act of Congress in 1850 (no surprises there, of course).  Joining seven counties in Northeastern Colorado seeking to secede from Denver, this is a cyclic trend, but not to be totally discounted.  The problem with such secession movements is that they almost always just substitute one tyrannical government for another, instead of creating at least much more limited governments, or just doing away with the governments and allowing voluntary cooperation.

Mama’s Note: None of this will happen until people realize that nobody has any legitimate authority to “allow” this – or prevent it. The whole idea that they must have “permission” from the feds and state makes the whole thing an exercise in futility.

Abominable Act (ObummerCare)
Plenty of options under health care law, studies show
(By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR The Associated Press) (Commentary?) Coverage under President Barack Obama’s health care law won’t be cheap, but cost-conscious consumers hunting for lower premiums will have plenty of options, according to two independent private studies.

Mama’s Note: … as long as you don’t care about freedom. Freedom for yourself or the health care professionals. As long as you don’t care about receiving goods stolen from others. The options are: would you rather be hung, shot or drowned…

Nathan: Typical for the media, of course:  they try to claim it is all about the costs and therefore can be at least partially mitigated by compromise on the part of “consumers,” while ignoring the free and voluntary choices of individual, self-governors who are first FREE people and only then consumers.  The Abominable Act sets itself up as the auctioneer in a slave market, who offers the slave (the health care providers) to hundreds of owners (patients or “consumers”) a slice at a time: an hour here and there, or a few days at a time.  The customer is not only FORCED to be a slaveowner, at least indirectly, but the price is set by the auctioneer.

Mama’s Note: What they’ll find eventually, however, is that the competent and caring providers have gone underground or quit altogether. It won’t take too long for the truth to be obvious… having “insurance” has little or nothing to do with having actual health care.

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On The Other Hand

Posted on 2013-09-06 by MamaLiberty

I sprained my left wrist last week and can’t even remember what happened, but the experience has given me some food for thought and reinforced some things I’ve done and taught through the years.

All my life I’ve been ambidextrous, able to do most things with either hand, but since we live in a world with mostly right hand dominant people, most things are set up and more convenient to do with the right hand. This, of course, is a problem for people with a true left hand dominance, but usually not much concern to me.

But I did notice right away that I was having trouble because I would reach for things or, especially, try to lift things with that left hand and even dropped a few of them. Not good. I hadn’t really considered how much I count on having both hands to work with until it became very painful to use the left one.

Then I went to the range and discovered I could not shoot with the left hand as I always do. Of course, I could have done so if my life depended on it, but what if it were broken and in a cast, or damaged severely some other way that prevented me from drawing and firing the gun?

That’s easy for me, I can just use the other hand. Sure, but what if I had never practiced shooting with the right hand? What if I were left hand dominant and believed I couldn’t do anything much with my right hand? What if I broke my right arm, was right hand dominant, and had never trained to use the left?

In the course of many years giving the handgun and self defense classes, I’ve only encountered a few people who insist that they “can’t” use the non-dominant hand to do anything, and most of them are hard to convince to even try shooting that way. For those who are left dominant, I suspect it’s at least partly due to the extreme pressure so many of them encountered in childhood about their left handedness, especially older folks. It used to be treated almost like a minor crime, or at least a character defect.

I don’t find quite so much resistance among the naturally right handed, but it can still be difficult to convince them to even attempt to shoot with the left hand, and a great deal of persuasion is sometimes required to get them to consider shooting with either hand alone.

But it is important to learn to do so, and to practice it consistently. The reason seems self evident, but I’ll repeat it. What happens if you hurt your dominant hand and can’t draw or fire then, even if you use both hands? If you’ve got a cast or sling or brace on your hand/arm, you will also be seen as even more vulnerable than ordinarily, I suspect.

Seems to me to be important to at least consider learning to shoot with either hand, and either hand alone. You can’t pick and choose the time or place you will be attacked, so you have to be ready for whatever comes. If you’ve never fired your gun with your non-dominant hand, or never practiced shooting with either hand alone, you are due for another trip to your friendly firearms instructor and need to add a few more things to your regular dry fire and range sessions.

I Am NOT A Victim… even with only one hand available.

Are you?

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