Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-37C: Free Will and the Price We Pay

Posted on 2013-09-25 by TPOL Nathan

Weeks come and weeks go, and now, welcome to Fall 2013, A.L. (Anno Libertalius 237), and the fifth year of the glorious reign of our evil, scum-sucking “messiah.”  To our everlasting shame.  In Europe, nearly seventy years of history is fading as Germany assumes its “rightful place” as master of the Continent: not much of a challenge since the Brits have abdicated to become Festus to America’s Matt Dillon, and since the French continue to prove that total decadence and corruption do NOT totally destroy a nation and cause it to be barbequed for a quick snack by its neighbors.  At least when you have really stupid and naive people from the other side of the planet to come to your rescue time and again.  Russia continues to demonstrate that a thousand years is not enough time to recover from having invaders eat half your population and rape the other half, so that a strong man at the helm, however he gets there, is essential.  And the Middle East continues to enjoy both the rotted, poisonous fruits of an evil genius 1400 years ago, but also the results of an otherwise pretty wise and smart man who was unable to keep his robe pulled down (equivalent of keeping his pants zipped up today) and certain body parts out of his wife’s servant.  God gave us free will, but He didn’t say we wouldn’t pay a BIG price for it.  This week’s news continues to show that: one BIG price we pay is having to put up with the stupidity of politicians!

This week, and last week, we see more and more instances of true liberty taken away from everyday Americans and Germans and Brits in the cause of “rights” which are anything but:  a right to not be offended (by a decades-old banner in a high school, by someone preaching on the radio that homosexuality is wrong, etc.), a right to serve on juries (which means that people will not be tried by their peers), a right to health care (laws which prohibit you from having the doctor of your choice, which limit what patients a doctor can see, and which limit what a doctor can be paid (doctor = all medical providers)), a right to a “living wage” (requiring employers to pay a minimum whether or not the person can be productive enough to pay that much, and therefore eliminating jobs for marginally productive people), and so on.  The stories below touch on some of these briefly.

Stupid government – Home front – Border jumpers
California leads in expanding non-citizen rights
(New York Times, reported by Godfather Politics) “‘Being a juror really has nothing to do with being a citizen,’ Mr. Wieckowski [sponsor of a bill passed by the Assembly making non-citizens jury members] said. ‘You don’t release your prejudices or histories just because you take an oath of citizenship, and you don’t lose the ability to listen to testimony impartially just because you haven’t taken that oath either.’ He said that roughly 15 percent of people who received a jury duty summons never showed up and that the legislation would make it easier to impanel juries. Mr. Wieckowski said that he expected the governor to sign the bill and that the changes would quickly become accepted. ‘It’s the same thing that happened with gay marriage: people got past their initial prejudices and realized it was just discrimination,’ he said.”

Nathan: I am curious to see how more doctrinaire “Libertarians” respond to this, given significant differences in idea towards citizens and non-citizens within the movement.  I personally see many serious problems with this entire idea that just because someone lives somewhere, they are qualified to be part of a panel of twelve (or even just six) who are empowered to determine guilt or innocence and able to enslave those found guilty by fines, other penalties, and imprisonment, or to decide whether contracts and other agreements are being honored.  This is NOT about government power but about the power of the people to get justice.  I do not believe that Wieckowski is right: it is MORE than just listening to testimony: it is the ability to understand liberty and rights and law and to reason.  Of course, this is FULLY in keeping with allowing judges to become absolute tyrants and puppeteers of the jury.  No doubt, the judges are INFORMED of this measure and will use it to further destroy the JURY system, until we are left, like France and too many other nations, with just more minions of the state treating everyone else like peons or worse. Oh, and a question: will all trials now have to be translated into Spanish and perhaps other languages, since jurors may not now know English?
(Read more here.)

Mama’s Note: As long as the tyrants are in control of the “courts” and the rest of it, this really doesn’t matter much either way. It’s all corrupt, a malignant cancer. There is zero justice available in the jury system as it is now, and the addition of non-citizens won’t make a whole lot of difference. The whole “citizen” thing is an invention and tool of the politicians to start with. Of course they will manipulate it to suit themselves.

I think that a rational jury system for serious matters, along with arbitration for everything else, would be ideal. But it simply isn’t ever going to happen until the politicians, bureaucrats and nazguls are eliminated from the equation.

Stupid government spending – Theft by government
State Dep’t Spending $10M to Prevent ‘Gender-Based Violence’ in War Zones
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So, someone is getting $10M to talk and write a lot – wonder if they’ve ever been in or will go to a war zone?  Once upon a time, for a very short time in a very few places, war was conducted according to “christian principles” (oxymoron, that) in which all intentional violence was inflected on males BY males and much effort was expended to keep not just women, but ALL civilians out of harm’s way.  There was even a time when the Roman Catholic Church tried to enforce “God’s Truce” – no fighting at all on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), with the idea of expanding that to other days of the week (it didn’t work out, of course).  The entire effort is just another form of welfare and needless spending (don’t tell Old Lady Pelosi that).

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-37B: Europe, Africa, and America collapsing

Posted on 2013-09-25 by TPOL Nathan

Europe’s Collapse
Germany: Merkel Wins
(Bild, via Presseurop) Current Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian-democratic CDU/CSU party swept to victory in theSeptember 22 general election, winning 41.5 per cent of the vote. The social-democratic opposition [SDP] obtained 25.7 per cent, the Greens 8.4 per cent, while the FDP liberals, the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Pirate Party all failed to score above the 5 per cent threshold needed to enter parliament. For Bildzeitung, the result is not only a victory, but “a gigantic triumph for the Chancellor”. At close to 42 per cent, the CDU/CSU has achieved its best score since 1990.

Nathan: The “EuroChancellor” indeed: Europe is at Germany’s feet, and the Iron Chancellor II is in charge. An absolute majority is almost impossible, but the CDU/CSU will dominate German politics, for good AND bad, even more than in the past.

Mama’s Note: I have never even come close to understanding parliamentary government, not that I ever really wanted to, of course… so none of this makes the least bit of sense to me. How anyone can think any form of non-voluntary government is anything but malignant evil is beyond me.

Congress in Action – Stupid is as stupid does
Pelosi: ‘There’s no more cuts to make’
(Washington Post) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that President Obama shouldn’t negotiate over the debt ceiling because there are “no more cuts to make.”  “Because the cupboard is bare. There’s no more cuts to make,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s really important that people understand that. We all want to reduce the deficit.:

Nathan: The woman is even more of an idiot and a liar than usual.  This sort of nonsense is even bad for her own objectives and allies.  The cartoon says it all!  Is not there some garbage you hear now and then about electing the idiots to Congress so that they can make the tough choices for us?  Yeah, right!

Africa’s Fall – Islamic wars: African front
Kenya: Group behind mall attack claims militants still holding out
(Fox News) “The Islamist militant group behind a deadly terror attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi says its fighters were still holding out, despite claims by authorities that Kenyan security forces had regained control of the building. The Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks, posted on its Twitter account Tuesday that ‘There are countless number of dead bodies still scattered inside the mall, and the Mujahideen are still holding their ground.’ … Despite Kenya’s government declaring that its ongoing military assault against the Islamists has been a success, another explosion and more gunfire could be heard coming from the mall at around 6:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Associated Press reporters at the scene said.” (09/24/13)

Nathan: Supposedly, a SAS man illegally carrying his firearm kept the situation from being worse, but the critical thing to remember is that this sort of thing is coming to America:  it will NOT be the drug/psychosis-laden lone-wolf killers, but hit teams trained to at least SOME degree.  The Kenyan reports are vague to say the least, and the indicators are that the Islamists are still holding out.

Mama’s Note: One thing very few ever mention, however, and it is so evident with this Kenyan hostage thing… IF the US were going to intervene anywhere, for something approaching good reason… it would make perfect sense to spend a tiny fraction of the money that has been wasted so far to place a simple gun and some ammunition into the hands of all these potential helpless victims. Send “advisors” to teach them how to use those guns, and how to manufacture more… Real, honest to god “care packages.” REAL “humanitarian” aid.

Then let the best men/women prevail – with a fighting chance to survive. The Kenyan Massacre and all the others have taken place because there was nobody (or far too few) present, able and willing to defend themselves. Same with the Navy shipyard and the rest of such massacres IN the US, of course.

Home front: Stupid people tricks
Pennsylvania: Ambulance Carjacked On Schuylkill Expressway With Patient Inside
(CBS Philadelphia) Pennsylvania State Police say 25-year-old Brian Timothy Kada Jr., of Philadelphia, walked onto the westbound side of the expressway near Girard Avenue while the ambulance was transporting a patient. Police say Kada pointed a gun at the two operators stuck in rush hour traffic and jumped into the passenger side.

Mama’s Note: Brilliant… carjacking in rush hour traffic… an ambulance, even.

Nathan: Now we see this as more and more common:  And note that virtually NO EMS personnel are armed, to protect themselves or others.  This could have turned into a deadly crash and killing spree, because the driver and attendants were not prepared.

Stupid people tricks
Cheney shoots wild again!
(The Hill)  Cheney’s gun malfunctions in charity antelope hunting contest, none hurt

Mama’s Note: Living proof that some people should never handle guns… even if they are from Wyoming. This guy is a menace. Wonder what the REAL story might be here. sigh.

Nathan: He proved himself incompetent by his “service” and his political standing.  How about an ex-congressman disarmament bill?’

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For Her Safety

Posted on 2013-09-23 by MamaLiberty

I went to a funeral in 2003. That’s not unusual for a hospice nurse, but I had a lot of mixed feelings about that one.

I was working in home health and began seeing her every day for wound care. She lived nearby, so after the official daily visits were no longer needed, we remained friends and I visited often.

She was 90 years old when we met, living alone and taking care of most of her affairs herself. She needed someone to drive her to appointments and shopping, since she had voluntarily given up driving a few years before due to poor vision. The loss of that independence and freedom was difficult for her to accept sometimes, but she was honest enough to know she had no real choice.

Mrs. S. had no cartilage in either knee, so walking was slow and painful, yet she never gave up. She had refused knee replacement surgery years before, and it was far too late to do it by the time I met her. She had severe arthritis, diabetes and a serious heart condition which made each day a challenge, and her dislike of taking any medications must have had her doctors pulling out their hair after each visit — yet she took what she absolutely had to have and no more. She would not take anything for pain at all.

She did most of her own housework for many years after we met, and even continued to garden. She had always had wonderful roses, and planted them long after she was really able to care for them. Eventually, she hired help for the house and the yard, but refused to have anyone “live-in”. She loved her little desert home, completely paid for, and her independence. She didn’t ask for anything more from anyone.

This dear lady had been in business for herself well into her 80s. She had several good friends in the area who had worked for her, and they continued to help her as much as they could, taking her on errands and shopping and visiting often when she was sick. She insisted on paying them for their gas, and always took her “driver” to lunch. It made a nice outing for her and helped her helpers too.

Her only surviving child was a man in his late 70s who lived with his wife in a distant city. He visited as often as he could, but his own health was not good and those visits came at ever greater intervals. He wanted her to move to a retirement community out where he lived, but she would not even consider it. We talked on several occasions, and he was naturally concerned for her safety. He simply could not understand that she preferred to be free and at home instead of “safe” and living somewhere else.

She and I had talked about that safety issue many times, of course. She used to chuckle and say she couldn’t understand why everyone was so upset. “Everybody has to die eventually”, she said, “so why the big fuss over it?” She knew full well that she might fall or become ill and not be able to summon help in time, but she much preferred that possibility to life anywhere else, under any other circumstance. That is what freedom meant to her.

Then, at the age of 97, she began to fail and required more and more help at home. She could no longer remember to take her medicine at all, and often forgot to eat. She could have been left at home with a live-in caregiver, but her son chose instead to place her in a nearby long term care facility. The results were predictable and not good.

The first thing they did was take her walker away from her and confine her to a wheel chair. Deprived of exercise, she soon lost the ability to stand or walk at all. This completed the loss of her independence and she became both depressed and confused. Soon she was showing signs of serious dementia, striking out at the caregivers and refusing both medicines and food. With her last failing strength she attempted to wheel herself out the door and down the road… all she wanted was to go home.

Since she would not take the psychotropic drugs, she was transferred to a lock-down psych facility in a distant city and I never got to see her again. She died there a week later, alone and in total captivity.

But, by God, she was “safe”, wasn’t she?

You might want to think of this when you trust anyone else, especially government, with your safety and peace of mind.

Liberty or death…

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What The World Needs Now

Posted on 2013-09-23 by MamaLiberty

No human being has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, nor to delegate the initiation of force. Every living creature has the innate and automatic right to defend their life and property, and that of their family or community.

Aggression is always wrong. Defending yourself is always right. What is complicated about that?

Let’s see… How many people currently cannot (in essence) “legally” defend themselves because they cannot own a gun… or in some cases, any tool even remotely effective?

Millions of people who have been incarcerated and released – even those with no violent history.
Millions who have sought help for depression and other emotional problems (including veterans), with zero history of violence.
Millions of people who live where it is “illegal” to own or carry a gun, one way or another. This includes all of the people who must be in places, like schools and hospitals, were everyone is forbidden to carry a self defense tool.
Millions of people who have, for whatever reason, incurred the wrath of their spouse and have a “restraining order” against them, legitimately or not.
Millions of young people below the arbitrary age “limit,” however mature and responsible they might be.
Millions of foreigners, with zero violent background.

And then there are millions more who have been brainwashed into believing that they shouldn’t or can’t defend themselves, or that the police will defend them, or that they can just wish it away… The few (outside of government predators, of course*) who actually are violent, and truly want to hurt people will always find a way to do so if they can find helpless victims and believe they will get away with it (or want to die themselves anyway). Yet the major response of far too many people is to consider doing things that will simply create more and more innocent, helpless victims.

That’s an AWFUL lot of helpless potential victims. And, sure enough… they’re the ones who are dying. Seems to me that what the country needs is far FEWER helpless victims. The only way to arrive at that is to remove the restrictions on those who wish to defend themselves. Risk free utopia is not an option.

Those who don’t want to defend themselves and would rather take their chances… fine with me. They should also be perfectly free to remain sitting ducks. They just have to realize that attempting to make others helpless has nothing at all to do with making them safe.

And that goes double for the rest of the world.

* The stories of the BILLIONS of helpless, innocent people murdered by their governments over the centuries is a subject well covered here:

Innocents Betrayed

Genocide examples from all over the world: Russia, China, Germany, Cambodia, Guatemala, Uganda, Rwanda and more. Examples showing how disarmed people in America have suffered persecution, mass murder, slavery, and terrorist attacks.

A fast-moving, modern production, Innocents Betrayed presents the entirely true accounts of how civilian disarmament made possible the killing of millions. The point is made sharply, clearly, unforgettably. It’s the factual counterpoint to the lies in Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine.”

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-37A: Islamic wars and some more

Posted on 2013-09-23 by TPOL Nathan

Islamic wars: African front – (2 Stories)
Kenyan officials say assault to end siege begins
(San Francisco Chronicle)

Mama’s Note: Wonder how many more innocents will die in this “disarmed victim” zone. Insanity squared.

Nathan: Apparently quite a few more, as this later story reports: the “hostage” death toll is up to 58, close to the 78 killed in Pakistan (next story).

Kenya:  Mall Hostages Rescued and Mall “Mostly” Secured
(USA Today) Kenya’s military reported late Sunday that it had rescued hostages and secured “most parts” of an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi where al-Qaeda-linked militants armed with assault rifles and grenades killed scores of people in an attack and two-day siege. … The Somali militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility on Twitter for Saturday’s attack, which was allegedly carried out by 10 to 15 gunmen with AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons.

Nathan: An AK-47 is hardly a “sophisticated weapon” but the key part of the story is left out:  “law-abiding” citizens of Kenya, especially those in “upscale” urban areas, are disarmed by the government and have no real way to defend themselves.  Of course, we are reading USA Today and the SanFran Carbuncle here: the most liberal of liberal rags.  Lots of other things about the story ring hollow: the response time, the “assistance” provided, the American dead/wounded (or not), and of course, they FINALLY report that the attackers are ISLAMIC!!!  I guess the Twitter claim might have something to do with that, since the Army of God (or the Salvation Army or the local LdS stake) would not have claimed that al-Shabaab did it.  Still, they claim “Somali” ties and NOT ties to the likes of Wahabi or Islamist groups. So, was this an attack on plutocrats, or “westernized” Kenyans or “kafir” (unbelievers: kafir or kaffar or kuffar is a derogatory Arabic term for unbelievers or infidels, similar to the Pathan/Farsi “Ferengi”)?  Originally it was claimed to be a “botched robbery attempt.”  The Westgate Mall could be an upscale Mall around the Beltway in DC or the Metro Denver suburbs, and most of the photos I’ve seen of victims were Asian, Anglo, or obviously mixed-blood: very few pureblood Black.  No photos of dead al-Shabaab storm troopers, yet, though.

I think we should note that THIS kind of thing IS going to come to the US and Canada soon enough, and is different only in scale from what has happened already in France and the UK and Spain.  Unlike the Pakistan terrorism, this does not blame the Great Satan OR the Lesser Satan (US or Israel).

Mama’s Note: The Boston Marathon thing was only partially successful, depending on how you look at it, and they’re pretty well helpless in Boston. But I don’t think it would go over quite so well anywhere in the west… I suspect everyone, especially the “officials” will be shocked to discover how many people in even a California shopping mall are armed, and will resist. And I seriously doubt even the jihadists are dumb enough to try it anywhere in Texas or Florida…

Islamic wars: South Asian front
Pakistan:  Bombing attack on church kills 78, wounds hundreds
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up amid hundreds of worshipers at a historic church in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 78 people in the deadliest-ever attack against the country’s Christian minority. A wing of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, raising new questions about the government’s push to strike a peace deal with the militants to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people. The Jundullah arm of the Taliban said they would continue to target non-Muslims until the United States stopped drone attacks in Pakistan’s remote tribal region.

Nathan: The All Saints Church’s meeting house dates back to the late 1800s, and the congregation is presumably Anglican, given the history of British rule – rule which tried to keep what were then all “Indians” from killing each other over religious, ethnic, social, and economic issues, and certainly succeeded as well as the modern regimes of Islamabad and New Dehli.  Funny thing, this attack didn’t get NEAR as much coverage in the mainstream media as the Kenya attack did, perhaps because the Taliban immediately claimed it as “retaliation” for US drone attacks.  Since not ONE of these people in Peshwar has ANYthing to do (as far as I know) with drone attacks, this seems to be either an excuse for the attacks OR evidence that the Taliban does NOT believe that the US is NOT a “christian nation” despite the “messiah’s” claims, and figures that killing enough christians will cause the US to back off.  Sounds very much like a win-win situation both for the Taliban and for the “messiah” and his regime in DC.

But again, I note that the so-called “bishop” in Peshwar claimed that he has repeatedly asked the government for better security and more protection against terrorists.  Like too many who claim to be christian, he fails entirely to understand the concept that God gives His children the responsibility to defend themselves and protect the security.  And obviously, the shepherds of that flock will answer to God for their refusal to take any action other than whinging to government.  I am sure that the mainstream media in the US, UK, and Europe will come up with reasons to blame the victims for their own deaths and wounding.  Certainly, it CAN’T be the cops’ fault, can it?  Or the poor members of the “Religion of Peace?”  I guess, Religion of Pieces…

Stupid cops – Local tyranny
Foul-mouthed pro-gun Pennsylvania police chief loses his job
(NBC News)

Mama’s Note: Good. He wasn’t doing anybody any favors with his nonsense.

Nathan: When we get right down to it, are cops doing anyone ANY favors by what they do 95% of the time?  (Except themselves and their politician bosses, perhaps.)  One more bad cop gotten rid of: 100,000 more to go (at least).

Mama’s Note: Agreed, absolutely, but I meant “favors” as in the various sheriff’s around the country who have gone on record saying they will not enforce gun confiscation, etc. This guy was just foul and arrogant, not in any way a good example of gun owners.

Government and blinders
Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying Gulf spill evidence
(Reuters) “Halliburton Co pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges of destroying evidence, stemming from its role in the 2010 BP oil disaster that killed 11 men and sent more than 4 million barrels of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. A former Halliburton cementing technology director in Texas also was charged on Thursday with destroying evidence. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo in New Orleans accepted the company’s guilty plea from Halliburton legal counsel Marc Mukasey, imposed the agreed-upon maximum fine of $200,000 and placed the company on a three-year probation term.” [editor’s note: Cheney’s Scammiburton strikes again; anyone surprised? – SAT] (09/19/13)

Nathan: Taking Steve to task on this: if it were any other company, he’d be frothing at the mouth (correctly) about how the guvmint is coercing a company and its people into self-incrimination and how horrible it is.  But the government gets a free pass for Halliburton, because we know that Halliburton is soooo evillll that they can be persecuted by the government and we shouldn’t care.  Seems to me like two wrongs don’t make a right.

Mama’s Note: I’m curious about how this little “fine” makes any difference, and just how in the world one puts an international company on “probation.” I don’t see any of that actually helping to arrive at the truth about what happened, or compensating any real victims of it. Just more square dancing in Washington D. C. for their own amusement.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-36D: Welfare and war, corruption and stupidity

Posted on 2013-09-20 by TPOL Nathan

Stupid government
California Lawmakers Want $10 Minimum Wage:
(Fox News) “The bill, which would raise the state’s minimum wage to $9 in July of 2014, and then to $10 in January 2016, would mark California’s first minimum wage hike in six years… But while Democrats say the bill will help workers hurt by the recession, Republican lawmakers argue that it will encourage businesses to cut jobs, leaving many of those workers unemployed instead. The California Chamber of Commerce also opposed the bill calling it a ‘job killer.’”

See a good commentary here

Nathan: More commentary than news, although the bill introduced in the California People’s Legislature will do all that:  raising minimum wage to $10/hour will destroy jobs and deny the least-skilled jobs, because they are NOT economical to hire: they cost more than they can or will produce.

Local tyranny – Hoploclasts
Missouri:  Cop attitude towards young people is disgusting
(Freedom Outpost)

Nathan: I have not heard of this small band of young people: an extended family and very close friends, who seek to make the same point that Mama Liberty and I and many others do:  I’ve had these kinds of encounters more than once over the past few years, but do not ever recall having them back in the ’70s – just in the last decade.  This cop is arrogant, disrespectful, fails to be observant, and has massive backup.  And he should know, but does not (or pretends not to) know, that Wal-Mart does NOT ban guns.  The kids did a fine job: kept their temper better than I or my sons would, I think.

Hoploclasts
Starbucks CEO:  No guns, please
(Freedom Outpost) Schultz’s letter says it all; “… today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where “open carry” is permitted—unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.”

Nathan: I am not a customer of Starbucks very often (I don’t drink coffee and so hot cocoa is the limit) but I do patronize Safeway and Kroger and Albertson’s stores with the chain present, so I intend to ignore this silly little Potemkin Village type letter.  But I’ll go ahead and buy the premix and heat my own water, rather than “enjoy” their beverages.  And sometimes tell their “associates” WHY I’m not buying.  Notice, even military personnel are not welcome, armed.  After reading this, I DID speak with the barrista at the local Safeway outlet of Starbucks, in Rapid City, who had NOT heard of the letter and was as shocked by it as I was.  She reassured me that HER Starbucks in the Safeway didn’t mind how I was armed and weren’t going to ask customers not to carry…  And promised to pass a message up the Starbucks chain.

Mama’s Note: While I totally support anyone who chooses to go armed, obviously, I think that it is important that we conduct ourselves with dignity and respect for private property. Starbucks is a private company, and their property should be as sacrosanct as our own. Activists from both sides have pressured them, and some gun owners did very foolish and dangerous things on their property. I wouldn’t allow THOSE gun owners on MY property.

A boycott of Starbucks won’t help anything at all. They have not bowed to the pressure of the anti-gunners, and are only asking not to be made the focal point of the war. It is up to rational, responsible gun owners to respect that, and enjoy their continued neutral position. If you enjoy their products, and don’t mind paying the mind bending price to do so, continue to patronize them as respectful and rational people and do your activism on the county court house lawn or somewhere else.

I very much suspect that a big show of hostility, or worse, continued vagrant disrespect for everyone with unsafe gun handling and “in your face” spite by foolish gun owners, may well result in the total ban the gun grabbers insist on. And that would be a real shame.

Islamic wars: Canaanite front – Israel haters in colleges
College professor removes Israel from Middle Eastern Map
(Freedom Outpost)

Nathan: Supposedly this instructor tells his students that his class is about language (Arabic) and not about politics and religion, yet he has a doctored map?  Of course, I have a problem understanding how you can teach a language like Arabic WITHOUT involving both politics and religion: like teaching Hebrew, Greek, or Latin…

Mama’s Note: And I have a hard time understanding just why anyone would want to study such things in such a vacuum anyway. The history, politics, religion and so forth are integral and are essentially what formed the language in the first place. Sort of like studying biology while ignoring cell structure, or insisting that it wasn’t relevant.

Government-run, tax-funded schools – Hoplophobes and Hoploclasts
South Carolina Teacher:  Cops Confiscating Guns is “Constitutional”
(Freedom Outpost)

Nathan: What should we expect?  Lies and more lies.  Teachers wish to teach their own fantasies and not the truth.  Finally, other Americans are finding out what it is like and has been like for decades for people who (a) did NOT celebrate Christmas, (b) do not believe in macro-evolutionary theory, (c) were in military families, and (d) did NOT salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance.  The Christmas business was common in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was assumed and demanded that Christmas be a religious holiday in the schools (the opposite of modern times).  The willingness to accept people who refuse to accept evolutionary theory and the old earth of uniformitarian geology has actually somewhat improved in schools, as compared to the sixties and seventies, but not in National Parks and museums.  Military families were attacked directly and indirectly during the late Vietnam War era (1968-1975 especially) especially by teachers and even in rural and conservative areas.  And of course, once upon a time, refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance was limited to Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses and a few other groups, who were strongly condemned for being unAmerican.

Home Front
Two news stories from a friend, and my comments…

The FBI tells us that the city of Chicago has become the nation’s murder capital, surpassing even New York City… even though Chicago has less than 1/3rd of the population that New York does.

Nathan: Liberal as New York is, and as corrupt, Chicago excels in those areas as well.  Disarmament, stupid nanny laws, unbelievably corrupt officials from tiny little special districts through neighborhood and city offices and right to state and federal offices, an attitude that permeates the entire stinking city and its metro area, and smells ALMOST as bad as DC, as the next story relates.

The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics has released its 2013 list of the most corrupt members of Congress and some of the names may surprise you. (And some of them you’ll totally expect.)

Nathan: I don’t expect ANYthing good in Congress: anyone able to get elected in ANY district is 99% certain to be corrupt just to get elected, and if not, to be corrupted within DAYS of arriving in DC.  Anyone who assumes otherwise is naive and sure to be disappointed.  It is, after all, according to Mark Twain, our only native criminal class.

Mama’s Note: Of course it’s not limited to Washington D. C. Politicians and bureaucrats are pretty much the same no matter where they come from, or where they operate. The goals and methods are pretty much interchangeable. The thing far too few people seem to realize is that the politicians and bureaucrats in the local city hall or county commission can and does impact their lives far, far more than the thieves and liars in D. C. These good folks nurture the illusion that they have any real control over the local criminal class… and most don’t even wake up after a major problem. They are content that all they need to do is elect the “right people” next time.

Stupid government – Theft by government
Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald Ford Plagued With Glitches, Cost Overruns
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Can I throw up?  A carrier named for Ford?  Give me a break – Henry Ford, maybe, but Gerald?  Any surprises that it is a disaster?  Even the new Littoral Warfare ships are viewed as jokes.  These aren’t defense programs, they are welfare programs that go on and on and on.

Europe’s collapse – War on teaching children
Germany: State-Sponsored Kidnapping, Jail for Homeschoolers
(HSLDA’s Weekly Update) A crucial hearing this Thursday could determine whether Dirk and Petra Wunderlich’s children come home. Desperate to be reunited with their children and seeing no other legal options, they have agreed to send their children to a state-approved school. Read more >>

Nathan: So close to its National Socialist past!

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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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