Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-05A: Stupid people

Posted on 2013-01-29 by TPOL Nathan

Hoploclasts – Stupid people
Virginia lawmaker who brandished AK-47 in session is disbarred felon
(Daily Caller)

Nathan: This thuggish politician (a Democrat, as it happens) has a rap sheet a gangbanger would envy, had to be asked to take his finger off the trigger as he waved it around, and had to have violated multiple laws.  His actions can be, in my opinion, considered threatening and therefore terroristic – if a soldier can be arrested for two stray 9-mm rounds in his first aid bag, just sixty miles away, and if a grade-schooler can be detained and interrogated for three hours without her parents because she had a Little Pony bubble-gun.  This man belongs in prison and not in the House of Delegates.

Stupid people
Ob-gyn journal urges mandatory screening of women for abuse
(CNSNews.com) This power-trip behavior by men, according to the Feb. 2013 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, includes explicit attempts to impregnate a partner against her will or force her to have sex against her will; control the outcome of a pregnancy by forcing its continuation or abortion; and sabotaging birth control methods by “hiding, withholding, or destroying a partner’s oral contraceptives; breaking or poking holes in a condom on purpose or removing a condom during sex in an attempt to promote pregnancy; not withdrawing when that was the agreed upon method of contraception; and removing vaginal rings, contraceptive patches, or intrauterine devices.”

Nathan: Funny, eh?  At the same time as ONE batch of idiots claims that women are fully capable of ground combat: as tankers, infantry, and field artillery, another group says that they are so weak and require so much protection that special procedures must be created for medical services to protect them from their “partners.”  Frankly, most men immorally interested only in “getting a piece” are the MOST worried about their “female partner” getting knocked up, NOT “trying to promote pregnancy.”  This strange twisting of worldview into some sort of frantic action fantasy shows the psychology of this society and the “medical profession” as it decays into nothing but a government bureaucracy dedicated to maintaining a political clientele and power.

The “messiah’s” minions – Nazgul
Court: White House NLRB Appointments Violated Constitution
(CNSNews) On Jan. 4, 2012, Obama unilaterally named three people to the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB). The Senate—by a unanimous agreement of all 100 senators—had said that it was in fact still in session that day and not in the recess. — Yet despite the Senate’s unanimous declaration that it was in session, Obama unilaterally determined the Senate was in fact in “recess” on Jan. 4, 2012 and that he could therefore use the Constitution’s recess appointment power to directly appoint his three choices to the five-member National Labor Relations Board, thus denying the Senate its constitutional power to confirm or reject them. —Obama’s action was challenged in federal court by Noel Canning, a Pepsi distributor. The company argued that when the NRLB ruled against it in a dispute decided in February 2012, the board did not have its legally-required quorum of three members because Obama’s three recess appointments were not constitutional.

Nathan: It seems to me, as an outside observer, that this man willfully and intentionally violated the Constitution, broke the law of the land, and in addition, was incredibly disrespectful of Congress.  It would, to me, appear that we have an impeachable offense and that the President of the Senate (also known as the Vice President) should have this man arrested and stripped of all powers while the House approves a bill of impeachment and sends it to the Senate, which should be able to speedily find him guilty and remove him from office, since at least two-thirds of those currently in that body were there when he tried this smarmy little lawyer’s trick of his.

Mama’s Note: Leaving Biden on the throne, of course. That might get very interesting, as all of the big city “mayors” and other heavyweights jockeyed to push him around.

Home front – Stupid people – Politics 2013
Three strategies to block gerrymandering of Electoral College
(The Nation, by John Nichols) “As Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus promotes one of the most blatant assaults on democracy in modern times — a scheme to gerrymander the Electoral College so that the loser of the popular vote could win key states and the presidency — the number-one question from frustrated citizens is: What can we do about it? After so many assaults on voting rights and the electoral process itself have been advanced, it is easy to imagine that Priebus, Karl Rove and their team could get away even with so audacious an initiative as the rigging of presidential elections. Priebus is counting on precisely that cynicism, as well as the neglect of the story by major media, to enable the plan to have Republican legislatures and governors in key swing states (Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin) arrange for the distribution of electoral votes not to winners of the popular vote statewide but to the winners of individual congressional districts.

Nathan: This is a commentary, but it is news and about news.  The reason I’m including this is because the hypocrisy of the Democrats is worse than ever in this.  Nebraska is the only state that currently has such a system, and the Democrats have praised it over and over again as a wonderful example of getting around that nasty Electoral College.  Now that the GOP has found this idea, it is suddenly evil – stealing our votes.  Garbage.  I believe the entire idea is wrong; it destroys one more vestige of the dead Republic.  (Indeed, I think not only should a presidential candidate get a majority – not just a plurality – of electoral votes, but should also carry a supermajority of states: three-quarters.  If none does, ALL the candidates should be disqualified and the election done over again.  but that is dreaming.)  Why cannot people see through the lies and hypocrisy of BOTH old parties?

Whitewashing the past – Bogus heroes (or Stupid people)
Note to a childhood hero
(The Libertarian Enterprise by AX Perez)  “Dear Dr. King, Thought I’d let you know how things have gone in the 44, nearly 45 years since you’ve passed. The good news is that state supported racism is a thing of the past in the United States. I would also like to inform you that your example inspired other people to make a stand and peacefully seek respect for their rights. … The bad news is that the bureaucrats have seized control of the enforcement of the laws enforcing what you accomplished. Instead of being judge by the content of one’s character or achievement, one must prove they are of the correct race and gender to meet quota, then they may compete based on ability, assuming someone doesn’t decide to come up with another politically determined criteria.” (01/21/13)

Nathan: This is a real disappointment, coming from one of TLE’s stable of writers especially.  ANY Libertarian who believes that Martin Luther King Jr. was a lover of freedom or liberty, or anything OTHER than a communist, is so incredibly blinded – if not just plain STUPID – that they should not be allowed to write for ANY “libertarian” publication and should be publicly branded as a dangerous hypocrite.  King’s efforts led DIRECTLY to this result that Perez so decries, as they were intended to do.  His writings make this clear; those who knew him who are not trying to establish his deity, know it.  He was a dangerous man and as much a danger to the nation then as his “disciples” are today. And besides, “state-supported racism” is NOT gone from the United States: it has just changed from racism against minority blacks to racism against majorities (Anglos) and other minorities (AmerInd, Asian-origin, etc.).  The state is still evil, just in another way – and just as King wanted it.  To give Perez the benefit of the doubt, MLK was a “childhood hero” – time to put away childish things however, and it is childish and naive to think that MLK is a hero or a supporter of liberty.

Self-defense – Stupid people
Great-Grandmother Fires at Thug 11 Times After Brazen Mid-Morning Robbery in Detroit
(The Blaze.com)

Mama’s Note: How in the devil did she get a “permit” in Detroit? And she obviously needs some serious training and range time. Eleven shots and she has no idea where they went? YIKES.. Thank goodness nobody innocent was hurt – though if her characterization of her fellow passengers is accurate… maybe they should be.

Nathan: As the story says, this is no advertisement to visit Detroit.  The good guys are as dangerous as the villains!  Of course, the kid that tried to rob her was incredibly stupid to try, just looking at her.  And her actions are also – very stupid indeed.

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Pop Quiz for Anti-gunners

Posted on 2013-01-28 by MamaLiberty

Absolutely sterling… print off these “questions” and offer them to anyone who wants any sort of infringement on our self defense rights. Could start a real discussion, once in a while anyway. I intend to post this all over the place. Oh, and how many of those questions can WE answer accurately? I had to look up two of them.

Media and Politicians Firing Blanks
by Brian Wilson
(LRC)

Have you ever fired a gun? (NB: water, cap, BB, paintball and fingers
are not acceptable)

How many guns have you seen become violent? If your answer acknowledges an individual is necessary to operate the weapon, why, then, are you using the term “gun violence” and not “human violence”?

In 25 words or less: What is an “Assault Weapon”? Be specific

(Extra Credit: From Columbine to Newtown, how many involved “Assault Weapons”?)

What is the difference between a “magazine” and a “clip”? Use both in a sentence.

Is a .223 cartridge more or less powerful than the predominant rifle cartridge used by American fighting men in WWII?

(Extra Credit: What was the caliber of the predominant rifle cartridge used in WWII?)

If you had to choose, would you prefer to shot with a .22? .223? 30-06? 00Buck?

(“None of the Above” is an understandable but unacceptable answer)

Why is a black gun more dangerous than one made with differently colored components?

If black guns are bad, isn’t that racist?

How does a bayonet lug make the “assault rifle” more lethal?

(Extra credit: How many drive-by bayonetings occurred in the US last year?)

To the nearest 100,000, how many Assault Rifles are made of Nerf?

Within 10,000, how many times a day do law-abiding gun owners prevent a crime without firing a shot?

Approximately how many gun laws (State and Federal) are in force in America today?

With so many laws already in force, what are the compelling reasons to believe criminals and mass murders will obey the new ones?

If faced with a home invasion, would you want to be holding your phone or your firearm?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-04D: Stupid government, hoplophiles, and theft by government

Posted on 2013-01-27 by TPOL Nathan

Knowledge
Assault Weapons Presentation

Nathan: This website has an interesting presentation, perfect for relatives or friends who are on the fence regarding the current AWB Mark 2 effort and all the various items going on in states.

Hoplophobes and Hoploclasts – Mainstream Media
Undercover group busts media bias on guns
(American Vision News)

Nathan: Project Veritas strikes again – not so funny as previous efforts, but still a good solid A performance.

Stupid government tricks
Federal Government Seeks Comments on “Black Boxes” for Cars
(HSLDA) Drivers who feel that requiring data recorders in cars will invade their privacy have until February 11 to share comments with federal officials.

Nathan: Share your feelings – and get ignored.

Space
Asteroid-Mining Project Aims for Deep-Space Colonies
(by Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer)  A new asteroid-mining company launched Tuesday with the goal of helping humanity expand across the solar system by tapping the vast riches of space rocks.

MamaLiberty wrote: The sooner, the better.

Nathan: Incredible, eh?  That an actually company would be formed – and ALLOWED to form – that intends to spread this evil disease called humanity across the planets and vast depthiness of space!!!  Senator Feind-swine, you have got to stop wasting your time on banning guns and concentrate on making it illegal for humans to go out and despoil the universe.  What do ya wanna bet that they are going to go out there and mine METAL and use it to make guns!?

Seriously: And the more the merrier!  How many companies, how many people, can we get in space and away from the nastiness here?

Mama’s Note: I WANT TO GO!

Hoploclasts – Congress in Action
Bear:  Analysis of the Feinstein Bill

Nathan: Our friend Bear has done a great job summarizing the insane elements of this bill, and pointing out some of the cunning (if stupid) logic hidden in it.

Stupid people – Tranzis
Paul Ehrlich: ‘Nobody Has The Right to Have 12 Children–Or Even 3’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Clearly a Tranzi watermelon – as he has been for fifty years.  The man is a liar and fearmonger.

Mama’s Note: Who asked him?

The “messiah’s” minions – New religions: global warming
Carney: ‘No Specific Storm or Weather Event Can Be Tied to Climate Change’ (CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Duh!  Is HE stupid enough to believe that he is an expert?

Congress in action – Culture wars: killing babies
Dem Co-Chair of Pro-Life Caucus: ‘Without the Right to Life, No Other Rights Can Exist’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Again, duh! (Sadly, too many people who call themselves “libertarian” do not understand this.  It is a difficult and sad issue that divides us, but there is a huge difference between accepting that some people are so amoral or immoral as to kill their own child and actually encouraging, promoting, and paying for them to do so.)

Technology and stupid people – Liberty
New Service Allows People to Text Strangers Using License Plate Number
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Interesting technology, big implications for privacy, good possibility of people getting into arguments on the highway or street, violence, and home invasion.  Sounds like something the fedgov wants to push.

Mama’s Note: I can see some interesting “unintended consequences” here. What if you are driving someone else’s car? They may not be amused to get the messages. Such technology would probably be no problem, as long as one could block it. Personally, I don’t know how most people have time for all that stuff. I can’t keep up with my email as it is.

Stupid government
EPA continues to damage economy AND environment
(Daily Policy Digest) The EPA refuses to rescind the ethanol mandate and has set production to increase from 13 billion gallons this year to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

By 2022, the nation’s entire corn crop would be devoted to ethanol production. Advances in cellulosic ethanol, which is made from wood chips, switchgrass and other sources, could reduce demand for corn.

Nathan: I have NO objection to making ethanol out of corn or whatever else, PROVIDED (a)  That is not MANDATED by stupid government agencies, and (b) That is not SUBSIDIZED by stupid people in Congress or legislatures.  Until those things end, like wind-farming for power and solar-power systems and much else, the economic damage triggers environmental damage, and we lose out.

Congress in action – Culture wars: women in combat
McCain: ‘Women Are Already Serving in Harm’s Way’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yeah, it’s a tough world.  So why make it tougher.  Look, people, it is about MORE than just whether some women can be as tough, as strong, as fast, or as mean as men: it is how we are hardwired (except for maybe those ‘alternative lifestyle types’ out there) to treat women and respond to a threat made to women.  We saw it in the SovUnion during the Great Patriotic War, we’ve seen it in the various Israeli wars, we saw it in the Indian Wars here in the US.  This is more than social engineering – it is social demolition engineering.

The “messiah” – Stupid ideas
Obama Wants 100,000 American Students to Study in Communist China
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Hmm, might speed up the assimilation process?  Oh, I know, the one-child policy is hurting China and they need immigrants.

Mama’s Note: I don’t know what is going on with this, but the bottom line for so much of what Mr. Obama “wants” is that it is none of his damned business to start with. It doesn’t matter WHAT he “wants.”

The “messiah” – Stupid ideas
Kerry Praised for Leadership on ‘Most Consequential Issue of Our Time – Climate Change’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Which of course makes him the perfect secretary of state.  Of course!

The “messiah’s” minions
Hillary on Not Doing Sunday Shows After 9/11/12: ‘There Are Other Things I Prefer to Do on Sunday Mornings’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Bible classes, worship services, and pot-luck?  Of course not, but it would be nice.

The “messiah” and his minions
White House Defends Clinton as ‘One of the Great Secretaries of State’ in History
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Damning her by faint praise, it seems.  At least her husband and daughter still love her.  Despite the company she keeps.

The “messiah’s” minions – Congress in action
Democrat Wishes Hillary Success in 2016 — During Benghazi Terrorism Hearing
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, shucks!  What better time to remind everyone else that they are being mean to the woman which (given the next four years) may have the power to order them lined on against the retaining wall there on South Capitol and shot right after her inauguration?

Mama’s Note: This is an excellent article regarding Hillary and her bombshell remark during the hearing. The Obama Simulacrum from the National Review.
A couple of days later, it fell to the 45th president-in-waiting to encapsulate the ethos of the age in one deft sound bite: What difference does it make? Hillary Clinton’s instantly famous riposte at the Benghazi hearings is such a perfect distillation that it surely deserves to be the national motto of the United States. They should put it on Paul Krugman’s trillion-dollar coin, and in the presidential oath:

Hoplophiles
Ted Nugent on Bloomberg: ‘What Kind of Idiot Thinks That Our Founding Fathers Were Protecting Deer Hunting?’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Ted, the truth is, Bloomie DOESN’T think they were protecting deer hunting, but he knows that if he keeps saying it long enough, enough of the voting populace WILL believe it.

Congress in action
Republican Raises Constitutional Question As Senate Introduces Its Own ‘No Budget, No Pay’ Bill
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Obviously NOT fitting well into the GOP, I see.

Congress in action – Home front
Sen. Ted Cruz to Obama: Keystone Pipeline Approval ‘Not a Hard Decision’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: No, it is not – and the answer is “no” of course.

Hoplophiles
Calif. School District Arms Its Police With Semi-Auto Rifles for Security
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Sigh.  Once more, people just don’t learn:  these semi-auto rifles will bring the district’s cops over to the dark side in no time at all, and left on their own on campuses, will (as Bear points out) animate themselves (you’ve seen the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, right?) and go out and kill children.  It’s happened before!  My controllers tell me so, when I’m washing my hair and have to take off my aluminum hat.

Hoplophiles
College Students to Stage National Silent Protest for Concealed Carry on Campus
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Is this just setting the stage for another Kent State?  Come on, guys, is the right to hide a gun on your body someplace really worth dying for?  And you know, this is really discriminatory against women, the way it seems most college women seem to dress these days: I mean, you can’t even find a water-pistol small enough to hide in some of those outfits!

Mama’s Note: Oh, you might be surprised!

Hoplophiles
Poll: 96% want no change to “constitutional right to bear arms”
(Fox News)

Nathan: This is an “unscientific poll” for readers (and presumably viewers) of Fox, but shows a very strong amount of support.

Mama’s Note: We know polls are not much use, but the questions here are fairly neutral and the result is encouraging.

Nathan: Yes, they are. But I suspect we will see 2 or 3 “polls” contradicting this within a few days.  At least this poll does not give the false idea that “gun rights” are something GRANTED by the Constitution.

Culture wars: killing babies – Stupid people
Catholic hospital says ‘a fetus is not a person’
(Digital Journal) Denver – A Catholic hospital embroiled in a lawsuit involving the death of twin fetuses is arguing that they should not be held responsible for the death of the unborn children because “a fetus is not a person”

Mama’s Note: They can’t have it both ways…

Nathan: Hmmm.   Sure they can – these are their LAWYERS speaking: two faces, two mouths.   Stupidity due to duplicity and hypocrisy or due to hiring the wrong kind of lawyer (can a lawyer REALLY be moral? that is, and not make his living driving a taxi?), or just due to stupidity?  I suppose that there COULD be a chance that they are doing this to point out the hypocrisy of the law and the legislature(s) and governor(s)/president who did these laws?  Naah, that would be silly to think that.

Home Front – Stupid politicians
How a Northern GOP Governor Could Revive His State and Party
(Conservative Action Alerts) Like many Republican governors, Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett is in a precarious situation in 2013. President Obama’s reelection gives nearly all GOP governors daunting odds for winning second terms in 2014. If they can’t break with the libertarian-economic groupthink and big-bank interests that have led the Party of Lincoln to near ruin, they will be voted out of office.

Nathan: Setting aside the fact that the “Party of Lincoln” NEEDS to be ruined, the funny idea that ANYthing the Republican Party has proposed comes close to libertarian thinking on economics is a clear indication THIS writer has drunk the Kool-Aid.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-04C: National Panic Spreads on Guns

Posted on 2013-01-27 by TPOL Nathan

Self-defense – Government-run, tax-funded schools
Guns already allowed in schools in many states
(NBC News) More than a third of the states already allow teachers and other adults to carry guns to school. In most cases, all you need is the equivalent of a note from the principal — you usually don’t even need law enforcement approval. NBC News reviewed the firearms and education laws in all 50 states and found that 18 of them allow adults to have a loaded gun on school grounds, usually as long as they have written permission.

Nathan: If true (and NBC is one of those outlets which has lied a lot in the past), this still shows a need for education and panic-control.  We have SO many laws on the books, it is not a surprise that even people like Gov. Rick Perry don’t know what their own state law says – and you can bet that most of the principals in Texas schools don’t realize THEY are the signature authority to arm their teachers or staff.  But that still leaves 32 states, plus DC and other territories, where it IS illegal by federal law and/or local laws.  And of course there is the bias that school administrators have: hoploclastic and hoplophobic as they are (see my column summarizing just how fearful and paranoid they are over bubble guns and Nerf guns), how many WOULD?

Mama’s Note: And STILL, the only real answer is to eliminate government “schools” and return the responsibility for education – and safety – to parents and their voluntary communities.

Hoplophobes – Hoplophiles
Gun Appreciation Day leads to five gun show shootings
(Digital Journal) A portion of the American population celebrated Gun Appreciation Day by attending guns shows across the country, resulting in some of the attendees perhaps appreciating paramedics and first responders more than guns, at least temporarily.

Thanks to MamaLiberty, her comment: Fraudulent headline

Nathan: Very much so.  There is nothing to indicate (1) these rather stupid people would  NOT have attended the respective gun shows and (2) that these accidents would not have happened anyway, if Saturday had not been “Gun Appreciation Day.”  As Mama Liberty and myself and others had pointed out when plans for this “nationwide event” were announced, the primary result would be an opportunity for gunowners to be attacked and reviled.  This is certainly the case: it is almost certain that NONE of these five shootings (fortunately no deaths) would have been reported in the news, locally much less nationally otherwise.  The April 19th “National Shoot-Out” where everyone is encouraged to go outside at a certain time in the evening and fire three shots into the ground (or three firecrackers, or a recording of three shots) is an even more foolish event, which will scare too many already-fearful people – thus enhancing the hand of too many politicians.

Mama’s Note: Indeed… and far too many people are incredibly stupid enough to fire a gun into the air. What goes up, must come down. With friends like these…

Home front – Tyranny
Economic Freedom Declines in America for Fifth Straight Year
(Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation via Daily Policy Digest) Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Mauritius, Denmark and the United States all lost ground in this year’s index of economic freedom…

Nathan: Are we shocked?  Surprised?  Confused?  No, we LIVED through it: the EPA, the DHS, the USDA, the USDI, the FDA, the White House; all the usual culprits whittled away for another year at our freedoms, our liberties, our prosperity.  They WON and we LOST.

Abominable Act (ObummerCare) – Crash of 2009
U.S. Health Care Spending Growth Continues at Slow Pace
(American Enterprise Institute via Daily Policy Digest)  The year 2010 marked the lowest rate of annualized personal expenditures on health care since the National Health Expenditure Accounts statistics were first calculated in 1960…

Nathan: This does not, apparently, include insurance costs.  Of course, since we are still in a depression, no doubt part of this is that we DON’T have the money, and we know every dime the insurance has to pay out will show up in the premiums next year.  And we figure we’ll need every cent we can get.

Mama’s Note: It also doesn’t include all of the “free” or subsidized medicine and services involved. And none of the dollar amounts have much to do with the actual “health” or “care” obtained by anyone. The people so eager for more government control of medicine and the economy are about to learn the hard lesson that no amount of subsidy or “insurance” can guarantee actual care, let alone competent and appropriate care.

More lack of self-defense
New Mexico Teen Kills Five in Home
(9News.com) A 15-year-old boy fatally shot two adults and three children at a home near Albuquerque, authorities said Sunday. The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings Saturday night at the home in a rural area 10 miles southwest of downtown Albuquerque, Bernalillo County sheriff’s spokesman Aaron Williamson said. …Each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, he said. …Investigators also were trying to determine who owned several guns that were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle. Authorities declined to release details of any conversation that the 15-year-old had with investigators. The teenager was booked on two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.

Nathan: The media has a lot it is trying to push, obviously.  So does the Sheriff.  If the weapon used was NOT the “military-style rifle” then why mention it?  Do the media or the sheriff’s officer think the rifle controlled the mind of the killer?  And why not murder charges for the three children, just “child abuse resulting in death” charges?  Does New Mexico (or the Bernalillo Sheriff) not consider children to be human any more?

Mama’s Note: The ongoing obsession of politicians and LE with the kind, size, owner and source of the weapon, rather than the resolution of the crime, is an ongoing crime itself.

Hoploclasts – Hoplophobes
Colorado: Telluride looks into tigher gun controls
(9News.com) Telluride town officials are looking into whether they can tighten gun-control ordinances without running afoul of state and federal laws. …The council had passed a resolution endorsing tougher federal regulations and Mayor Stu Fraser was among mayors nationwide who signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to pass stricter regulations. … Carnevale says he wants the town to go further.

Thanks to Deb for this one.  Her thoughts:  local nutcases don’t like freedom.

Nathan: we always knew that Telluride was “that” kind of a town.  They want the freedom for their sex, their pot and other drugs, their “alternative lifestyles” but they want the peons to be under their control.  They use armed police, armed guards, surveillance, and more, but only the elite can have these things.  The rest of us must be kept under control.

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They Don’t LOOK Related

Posted on 2013-01-24 by MamaLiberty

North Korea, North America…

More and more similarities every day.

Source: CNN Non commercial fair use

These two, along with a great many others, have been biting the hands that feed them for a long time. I say it’s time to put them on a diet. Maybe they should actually, you know, find an honest job and produce something besides death and slavery.

Posted in Mama's Rants | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-04B: Other news (and more on guns)

Posted on 2013-01-23 by TPOL Nathan

Well, the “messiah” has been again coronated, and made a tiny little 2,000-word speech.  Several people have characterized it as “political” or “partisan” but my own thought is that it is best described as “ideological.”  He has laid out his Four-Year-Plan to begin the transformation of the former free, open/free market nation into the transnational socialist-progressive utopia in the world of tomorrow.  Everything he didn’t do in the last four years, will be done in the next four.  And if you or I are in the way…

Theft by government
First Term: Americans Collecting Disability Increased 1,385,418—Now 1 for Each 13 Full-Time Workers
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is similar to Social Security: the ratio of beneficiaries to payers is getting smaller and smaller.  It is not sustainable: collapse is inevitable.  Disability is often in the eye of the receiver: I’ve known a LOT of people eligible for disability that didn’t take any, or only a small part of what they COULD have gotten, but for many, it is “get what you can while you can” because they figure nothing will be left sooner or later.

The “messiah” (First Citizen version 2.0)
Gallup: Obama’s 1st-Term Approval Rating Among Lowest of Post-WWII Presidents
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: If you want to believe Gallup and opinion polls in general.  But obviously, either (a) the electorate believed he was better than the alternatives, or (b) the election was cooked and stolen.

Congress in (in) action – Theft by government
Schumer: Senate Dems Will Pass Budget for First Time in 4 Years
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Don’t hold your breath, folks.  And we won’t like it IF they do.

Hoploclasts – Hoplophobes
Vatican Wrongly Supports Obama’s Gun Grab
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Be careful whom you support.  This article reminds the Roman Catholic Church of Jesus’ words in Luke 22:36: ” “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”  They forget that the RC Church, with the recent exception of the fight against the Abominable Act (ObummerCare) has long been on the side of the tyrants: the Divine Right of Kings is NOT a Biblical doctrine, but a Catholic one.  The RC Church has supported Emperors and Kings and Princes and Caudillos and Dictators and smarmy little councils and juntas and more.  Among those “Heroes of Liberty” that it supported are Kings Charles I and II of England, Louis XIII, XIV, and XVI of France, Francisco Franco, and more.  It may be disgusting, but perhaps they are doing this to try and woo favor on the health-care problems.

Stolen liberty – Stupid people
Andrea Mitchell: 2nd Amendment ‘Can Be Infringed’ Because ‘1st Amendment Is Infringed’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: AND BOTH ARE WRONG!!! Pratt explained why in the interview, and how the infringements differ.

Self-defense – Stupid Congress in action
Schumer: Assault Weapon ‘Would Not Help’ Single Women Living Next to Crack House
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So just what do you recommend, Senator?  Sit back and enjoy it?  Prayers (silent, of course)?  Just as he (and others) claim that no “civilian” ever stopped a mass shooting, he lies about this as well.  Indeed, an “assault weapon” (a semi-automatic carbine with a big magazine and the  ability to put a light or a laser on a rail, with a short, adjustable stock) might be the PERFECT weapon for a woman in such a situation – or a six- or ten-round semiautomatic shotgun.  This reminded me of a classic western novel, “Temporary Duty” by Wade Everett: a funny but gory and gritty scene in which the heroine of the story (a young officer’s bride) finds that her next-door neighbor is a bordello and one of her husband’s enemies decides that she is ripe for “plucking” – but she’s well-armed and knows how to use what she is carrying.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-04A: Guns and more guns – even pink guns

Posted on 2013-01-20 by TPOL Nathan

NEWS BRIEFS: The following stories not just illustrate the paranoia evidenced by the Tranzis, but the reason to GET THE CHILDREN OUT of government-ruined, theft-funded schools:

Hoplophobes-Hoploclasts-Stupid people:
Pennsylvania: Five-year-old with pink bubble gun suspended
(The Daily Item)

Nathan: A five-year-old interrogated for three hours without parents, suspended from school for making a “terroristic threat” in a line waiting for a school bus one morning.  The story is sickening; the twisted evil in the minds of the administrators and the informers is insane: she will have to go through psychological testing before being allowed to return to school.

Hoplophobes-Hoploclasts-Stupid people: 
Nerf gun prompts three-hour school lockdown in NJ
(Fox News)-A lime-green Nerf gun (a toy that shoots foam “darts”) and a black backpack and jacket seen by a Mrs. Grundy in Nassau County, who called the Police, caused a lockdown and a SWAT team invasion of a school.

Nathan: As the LRC blogger said, this isn’t an “abundance of precaution” but “an abundance of stupidity.”  The WOMAN who called in the “threat” to police is the one that needs psychological testing and probably treatment, together with the school administration, the police leadership, and the SWAT team, who didn’t have the guts to stand up to their leaders and say this is “nuts.”

Hoplophobes-Hoploclasts-Stupid people:
Maryland: Two children suspended for playing cops and robbers – at recess
(Fox News) – There’s controversy at a Talbot County school after two 6-year-old boys were suspended while playing cops and robbers during recess and using their fingers to make an imaginary gun.

Nathan:  Insanity – these people belong in a straitjacket and NOT teaching six-year-olds or anyone else.

Hoplophobes-Hoploclasts-Stupid people: 
Danny Glover: “right to bear arms” was to put down slave revolts
(PoliticalOutcast.com)

Nathan: The “genesis” of the 2nd Amendment was to defend against slave revolts and “Native American” uprisings, according to that well-known historian and amateur actor, Danny Glover.  Like all his Tranzi ilk, the truth does not matter: he seeks to make self-defense and guns a racial issue.  How stupid can you get?  You are further denigrating and angering the very people you need to get on your side, unless you WANT to trigger an open rebellion.

Stupid cop tricks
Chicago police chief predicts officers will shoot lawful gun owners
(Personal Liberty)

Nathan: Considering that the Chicago Police regularly gun down innocent people, this is an absolute certainty, with or without the concealed carry being allowed.  This is yet another fear tactic, for the most part, however:  just as virtually EVERY one of the last half-dozen or so states that finally accepted the personal right to carry a weapon for self-defense have cried and moaned over and over that the new carry would turn every town into Dodge City 1870.  Hasn’t happened.

Mama’s Note: Too bad that didn’t happen. Dodge City and Tombstone, at their worst, were far safer and saner places than Chicago has ever been.

Our right to defense
Gun show attendance way up “in fear of Obama”
(PoliticalOutcast.com)

Nathan: Fear?  Well, maybe not fear, just frustrated and expecting Congress to roll over and play dead.  Clearly, a LOT of people have reached their line in the sand.  For many of us, this is NOT the time to buy, if only because we already did (maybe and maybe not) and because with demand spiking, so are prices.  A visit today to a local gun shop where a friend and neighbor works showed that while there were good supplies (and prices) on Springfield 1903 and Mauser 1898 and LOTS of shotguns and .22-cal (even in pink, but not lime-green), and lots of revolvers, the selection of good (or even not so good) semi-automatic long arms and handguns was pretty pathetic, and the prices clearly in favor of the seller!  Even the .22-cal AK-47 models were almost gone.  Worried, yes, preparing, yes, but anything BUT fearful.  People are smart enough that they are not going to take offensive, aggressive action against ANYone from the White House on down to the local ranger station or sheriff’s outpost, but they ARE prepared to stand their ground if someone comes calling, knocking, or breaking down the doors.

Hoploclasts – The “messiah”:
Obama track record on 2nd Amendment and guns: no way
(Freedom Outpost)

Nathan: This article is an excellent summary, including information from John Lott, on the “messiah’s” statements, votes, and actions on guns and the 2nd Amendment, including his changing rhetoric without any real change in his position:  He is very much against PRIVATE ownership of guns for any reason except hunting and target shooting (sport) – if that.

Self-defense:
San Antonio homeowner stops thief with shotgun
(PoliticalOutcast.com)

Nathan: This is great, because there is video of the bad guy getting stopped.  No, it is not self-defense: the man and his girl-friend were not being threatened.  But they WERE being good neighbors and surprisingly, both cops and media took it as acceptable.  But notice the shotgun: it is one of those EEEEVVVILLLL “assault weapons” – looks nasty to the perp.

Mama’s Note: My 20 gauge pump shotgun isn’t one of the “evil” looking ones, but would probably  impress any home invader. Unfortunately, the time I had to shoot a man to save my life, I only had a single shot .410 and the attacker was not at all impressed with it. He continued to come toward me even after it was pointed right at him. At the last minute, I had to pull the trigger.

Home front – Stupid people:
Second newspaper-outed home ransacked of weapons in NYS
(Newsday) Police in Clarkstown, New York have reported that a home was broken into and ransacked by burglars.  The thieves managed to open two safes and stole a third safe from the third floor in the home.  The stolen safe contained a .45 Colt revolver and a .22 Iver Johnson handgun along with the two pistol permits to own them. The home, like that of a seventy year old man in White Plains, had the home owner’s name and address identified as a pistol permit holder on the interactive map posted online by The Journal News.  In this case, burglars used a ladder to break through a window on the upper floor.  Their target was his gun safe.

Nathan:  This is really sad – I am sure these homeowners really are trying to be law-abiding and play the game, even when it is rigged against them.  But at the same time, that is what they get for playing the game: taken for a ride.  They were SUCKERS.  The REAL point for the rest of us is that what these two gangs did is EXACTLY what the BLUE GANGS are expected to do, starting in NYS.  Now that “assault weapons” and magazines with more than 7 rounds capacity are OUTLAWED, the cops – NYPD right down to the smallest village’s constable, know EXACTLY where to go, and THEY could do it in broad daylight (though I’ll bet on night: evil HATES the light).  How many people will DIE because of this?  Will this be the spark that ignites rebellion?

Mama’s Note: No, not in NYC. Not in Chicago or Pennsylvania or even Vermont. Unfortunately, the controllers already know that they will not face much, if any real resistance in those places. But if they try to bring it West of the Mississippi… to Alabama, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, or even most of Colorado… I think they may find that they won’t have it quite so easy. Will even THAT spark a rebellion? I don’t know. All I can do is prepare for that the best I know how. And pray.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-03F: Stupid Congress, Stupid Minions

Posted on 2013-01-20 by TPOL Nathan

Theft by government – Abominable Act
A Health Scare for Small Businesses
(Wall Street Journal via Daily Policy Digest)  Even though the rule doesn’t go into effect until early 2014, a business could be subject to the so-called employer health care mandate if, during 2013, it averages 50 or more full-time equivalent employees…

Nathan: Of course, the Administration (and Congress) will consider cutting hours or laying off people to be nothing but tax evasion.  So they can seize the business, lay EVERYONE off, and put them on Medicaid.  How nice!

GUN APPRECIATION DAY???
Got this e-mail recently, from one of the various pro-gun groups: Your immediate help is needed to make our voices heard across the     nation AND on Capitol Hill. We are urgently demanding that our     Congress pass an EMERGENCY Resolution in DEFENSE OF THE SECOND     AMENDMENT, BROUGHT FOR A VOTE IN TIME FOR NATIONAL GUN APPRECIATION DAY!

Nathan: This thing on Saturday sort of bothers me – too much like that April 19th shoot-em-up day: too many things to go wrong.  What do you think?

Mama’s Note: All of these things are merely begging “master” for a little more gruel. Any “demands” are going to be laughed at. And none of these people seem to realize that the “second amendment” is not the real issue, of course.

Every day is “gun appreciation day” at my house. I go to the range at least once a week, and gun stores/shows as often as practical. One day isn’t going to cut it, people.

The task, as I see it, is to help people understand self ownership, self responsibility and non-aggression as the best way to live in peace – which I believe is the goal of all rational human beings. There will always be irrational and aggressive people, and they must be dealt with from a position of moral and ethical strength. The guns alone can’t begin to accomplish that, of course. It takes moral and ethical individuals, willing to use these excellent tools and many others, to make it happen.

The real issue is self owner ship or slavery.  And yes, ANYTHING like this can, probably, be used against us.

Stupid “messiah” minion – Hoploclast
Biden Blames Violence on ‘Coarsening of Our Culture’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And just whom do we have to blame for this coarsening?  He can look in a mirror for one of the culprits, of course.  He and his ilk have turned the formerly united States of America into a cesspool, at the same time making it harder and harder for people to defend themselves against the wildlife that live and thrive in the cesspool and make it one.

Stupid legislature in action – Hoploclasts/Hoplophobes
Connecticut Dem Proposes Federal Tax Credit for Surrendering ‘Assault Weapons’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  Hmmm, a Demo who doesn’t want to just steal them?  He is not long for that party, not in THAT state.  He refuses to see that ONE major reason that 28 people died in the Sandy Hook fiasco was BECAUSE of gun laws that didn’t let teachers and staff arm themselves, so a cowardly murderer (probably on a witch’s brew of PRESCRIPTION drugs ACTUALLY given to him by “care providers”) was able to invade a “open hunting preserve” (A school) and kill all these people.  No, he wants MORE people to surrender their defenses so that THEY too can be killed.  Is Carl right about the anti-human intent of these nut cases?

Economics 101 – Government meddling
Prices of TVs and PCs Plummet as Prices of Newspapers and Textbooks Climb
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  Of course: both are examples of old technology, and both have to suffer from millions of government laws regulating and taxes (and “protecting” them and their content).  Have you priced whale oil or buggy whips recently?

Abominable Act – Theft by government
11 States Getting $1.5B to Set Up Obamacare Exchanges, but Half the 50 States Won’t Do It
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: More pork, welfare, and just plain bribery.  These state legislatures (the 11, not the “half the 50”) need to be impeached for corruption.

Home front – Need for self defense
NYC Gang (not cops) brutally beat tourist
(The Blaze) A tourist visiting New York City over the weekend took in more than mere sights and sounds. Kevin McCarron, 24, was brutally attacked by seven men who brandished a tire iron and a baseball bat. In the assault, which was captured on film, they inevitably [sic] beat him unconscious. The incident unfolded in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, a popular area in the city. The Andover, Mass., resident, who sustained a fractured skull, is now recovering in a local hospital.

Mama’s Note: Why would anyone need/want a gun? Especially one with more than 10 rounds… (/sarcasm) Of course, I suspect he’ll never want to be a “tourist” in NYC again…

Nathan:  Of course, the NYC mayor and thugs in blue would say that he lives because of “gun control” – none of the thugs just shot him.  Of course, this wasn’t about robbing him, it was obviously all about beating him nearly to death: a fun sport to be inflicted on lesser creatures who are NOT natural denizens of the Big [Rotten] Apple.  You would think that someone from Andover would be close enough to hear the deadly news from NYC but this man was naive and “lawful” enough to obey NYC’s evil gun control laws.  Now, would he have really needed ten rounds?  This pack of hyenas might have been sent running just by him pulling a big, nasty pistol out of his belt, but if they were high or hyped enough, or really a pack of fighters, and/or if he showed fear?  Well, tactical training on replacing a spent magazine in combat is a VERY good thing.

Dar Al-Islam
Op-Ed: Pakistani NAB refuses to arrest PM, official found dead
(Digital Journal) Islamabad – The NAB, National Accountability Board, has refused to carry out the order to arrest PM Raja Ashraf on corruption charges. The Board said that there was not enough evidence to justify the arrest. An official working on the case was found dead today.

Mama’s Note: Just no chance at all he was simply knocked off. Har har…

Nathan: I see this is an “op-ed,” perhaps because it was critical to the NAB.  Organizations like the NAB are fronts for the politicians, like “public oversight boards” for the big-city cop gangs: all hat and no cattle.  Frankly, remember that Ashraf is a Muslim, and while there MIGHT be (at least theoretically) honest Muslim politicos, they are surely just heretics.  Mohammed (peanut butter und honig) did not have to include any commands for rulers and politicians to be greedy and corrupt and ambitious and power-hungry in the Koran or the Haditha: that would be like having a command to breath and eat regularly.

Stupid Congress types – Hoploclasts
Sen. Leahy: ‘We Ought to Be As Protective of Our Children As Our Deer’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  A lot more deer get killed in this nation than do children: intentionally AND unintentionally.  And no, you don’t need a license to kill a deer – just be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a car.  Some of us have had to kill deer quite often – but have not “gone hunting” in years.  If that is to be our standard, there are going to be a LOT more dead children.  This idiot is – just idiotic.

Mama’s Note: Not to mention that much of the “protection” of the deer results in diseased herds due to overcrowding and overgrazing by the deer themselves. Not a good comparison with children, by any means.

Congress in action – Theft by government
Conservative Leaders to House GOP: No Hike in Debt Limit Without Deal to Balance Budget
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  Sorry, it is too late for compromise: they will just buy onto another scheme that appears to balance the budget but in reality allows them to do whatever they want and spend us further into oblivion.

Mama’s Note: “Compromise,” in this case, would simply involve the amount or method of the continued theft and fraud. Hardly worth bothering with.

The “messiah” (massa?) 3 stories:
Obama Supports Congressional Representation for D.C.
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And a chicken in every pot…

Obama’s Campaign Organization Turning Nonprofit to Promote His Agenda, Bash GOP
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And you got to admit, the way he spends, they sure ain’t gonna make a profit, anyway.

AP: Obama ‘Doesn’t Have Control of Day-to-Day Weather’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But he is a real spectacle when it comes to getting the tide to obey him and not come in.

The “messiah’s” minions – Theft by government
Interior Secretary’s $220,000 private bathroom
(ABC News) The personal bathroom used by the secretary of the Interior is so swanky that its renovation cost $222,000. No detail was overlooked: It has a $3,500 sub-zero refrigerator (hey, if you’re going to have a fridge in the bathroom, it might as well be a good one) and a $689 faucet. At least the “vintage tissue holder” was cheap: just $65 bucks.

First off, this is old news: happened on George W’s watch: which makes it just as despicable as if it had happened last week, and one more proof that the GOP is no better than the Demos when you get down to it.  Sick, stupid, and shows just how we are viewed: as livestock to be fleeced again and again and again.  A system that outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (whom I bet does NOT return to the San Luis Valley in Colorado) knows and uses to his advantage.  His home ranch didn’t cost as much as this bathroom did.  Do you think he is suitably grateful?  At least some of his neighbors in the San Luis Valley still have to use outhouses.

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Guest Rant – Hoploclasts who hate America and Americans

Posted on 2013-01-19 by TPOL Nathan

GUEST COLUMN:  by Bear – An answer to a Scumbag (WARNING: LANGUAGE)
Mark Ridley-Thomas: The National Rifle Association Is Correct: I Do Want Your Guns

In a word… _two_ wor…  Oh, heck; SIX words. Hell NO, you mother-humping, microcephalic, municipal moron.

Look at your own District, dumbass: Violence. Lots of it. What you’re doing isn’t helping. Doing more of it will just “not help” even more.

1+1 not= Eleventy-gajillion

Pi not= 3.0000000

The ends do not justify the means.

You don’t stop speeding drunk drivers by taking car keys from teetotallers.

And disarming the honest folks does not end violence.

Well, at least not until the violent CRIMINALS have killed off all of us and themselves. I’m beginning to think that’s exactly what suicidal loons like Ridley-Thomas want. Anyone know if this lunatic is formally associated with these people?

OK, Marky. You want my guns. Come get them. No, that’s not a take on “Molon Labe”. I mean you — you personally, Mark Ridley-Thomas, no jackbooted proxy — show what a great “disciple” you are and knock on my door and steal my guns. Send me an email, I’ll give you my address, since you’re too stupid to figure it out on your own.

Gandhi didn’t _choose_ nonviolence, you historically ignorant butt-humping buffoon. Gandhi regretted that the Brits disarmed the people forcing him to adopt a less effective tactic. King did, but it got him killed by a crazed psychopath (the sort who _initiate_ force).

Bear

Nathan:

This guy -as with you, Bear, words fail me – you aren’t nearly harsh enough on this Mark Ridley-Thomas.  Nor on King or Gandhi or Chavez: these “saints” were plaster saints with corruption and vile evil hidden by their “non-violent” shells.  Here is my comment posted in answer to Ridley-Thomas’ column:

You filthy scumbag, you disciple of a Communist, you user and promoter of armed violence by the LAPD and all your security agencies against the people, you murderer-by-proxy of hundreds of victims in Los Angeles.  You can’t even get your facts right, you lie and twist statistics and you claim to have the upper moral hand.

So Gandhi succeeded, did he?  When tens of thousands die in India and Pakistan each day, and when yet, once again, two of the three nations he founded stepped back from nuclear armed carnage and where women, unable to defend themselves, are raped and beaten to death on street-cars.  Right, nonviolence.  Gandhi was as much a hypocrite as the other two.  His followers are despicable monsters who apparently enjoy watching young women and young men die.  On his hands and those of his followers is the blood of every victim in Mombai, every woman raped and murdered and mutilated in India and Pakistan because of “honor” and lust and just plain cruelty, and every soldier and civilian who has died in Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier and the rest of Pakistan and India.

King preached nonviolence and chastity and spiritual matters while he violated virtually every commandment of God: a typical “sky-pilot” who  proved once again the hypocrisy of most so-called clergy and “men of God.”  King would have gotten nowhere if only the cops had had guns back in the 1960s, and he and his followers depended on armed defense constantly.  And they dabbled with armed aggression more than once, and did not hesitate to let OTHERS’s arms protect them.  He was an expert in advocating and promoting communism while saying all the nice words that the press reported.  Gee, you really ARE his disciple, aren’t you?

And Chavez?  His UFW goons used violence continuously against their opponents (including those farm workers who would not join them and Mexican immigrants seeking work in the US) – mostly unarmed people unable to defend themselves. What a FINE example of “non-violence.” But then, that is the same sort of “nonviolence” that you and your fellow “Supervisors” (Capos?  Gauleiters?) tell the LAPD to use against anyone who doesn’t lick your boots often or well enough.

Thomas, you are too old and not stupid enough to NOT remember the Rodney King riots:  I assume that based on this, you wanted the Korean-American (and other) shopkeepers in South Central to be disarmed so that the looters and rioters could kill them and loot their stores and burn their property.

It is precisely men like Mark Thomas-Ridley that our God-given right to keep and bear arms is to protect us from: tyrants and evil monsters who lie and hypocritically whinge and wail over those dead because of their failed policies and greedy, corrupt, and power-mad actions.    Of course you want to take our guns away.

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The Coming Storm

Posted on 2013-01-18 by MamaLiberty

I’ve been called a pessimist – and much worse, of course. As much as I would love to see the hopeful future come, the reality of ever increasing evil and injustice stands squarely in the way. Each day the news – what we are allowed to see – tells of more and more encroachment by government on our privacy and liberty, property and productivity.

Each new outrage brings cries from the hopeful that “this time” the people will awaken and begin to fight the tyranny, but those who actually even protest are few and far between. Those who continue to trust in the law and constitution are many, and it is hard to imagine the depths of slavery they will endure before they finally admit that they waited too long. We are already tied hand and foot and resistance by isolated individuals is inspiring, but futile in affecting any change in the tyrants.

What would it take to turn things around? Just what does that really mean anyway? Turn around to what? Read the history of this country and try to put your finger on the point where liberty and justice for all was the norm instead of the exception. The native Americans, the slaves of various races, and many of the immigrants found little or no justice or liberty, even at the hands of the much revered “Founding Fathers” of the Constitution. Is that what we want to “return” to?

Let’s be realistic. Human beings are not fit to rule each other. History proves it, over and over again. A small group of people can rule themselves through voluntary association and mutual cooperation, but the ultimate “rule” for each person must rest on their own acceptance of personal responsibility for their actions and choices. The moment people divorce themselves from that responsibility, tyranny begins.

We’d all like to have someone else protect us and remove the dangers of difficult choices, but the price for that is ultimately death and destruction, slavery and misery. Liberty and irresponsibility are mutually exclusive. You can’t have it both ways.

Can we still isolate the infection and restore health to the whole body? Or can we continue as we are now and not progress to total slavery? Will our economy sustain us much longer, even in abject poverty? How can we prepare for a future like that? Is there anyplace on the planet where we can simply be left alone to live our lives as we see fit? If so, how do we find it and how do we get there? How do we defend it against those who would consume our lives and very souls?

There is only one way I know to find it. Take personal ownership of and responsibility for your life seriously, right now, and for always. It’s not easy. If you are not used to it, you will have to develop both tools and the will to carry it through. Ultimately, the alternative is slavery and death.

If we keep doing what we have been doing, we will keep getting what we have been getting. To expect otherwise is the essence of insanity.

What have you been doing lately, and what have you been getting? If what you are getting isn’t freedom, isn’t it time to do something else?

Your comments are most welcome…

And I’m proud to republish this essay from a friend at The Mental Militia.

Who Owns You?

Think about this concept for a minute or two.  Who Owns You?  Who is entitled to the product of your hands, head or heart?  Who has first claim on your life?  To whom do you have to answer for decisions that determine your direction, you plans, your dreams and goals?

Some of you reading this will have given over at least some portion of your life to a personal Savior.  Others will have given over some of their life to a significant other.  But what is the true answer?

The true and honest answer is, you own you.  The cases mentioned above are legitimate only with voluntary relinquishment of control, and even then you are still the final arbiter of your thoughts, words and deeds.

Important note:  you own not only your thoughts, words and deeds, you own the results, both the production and the consequences.

Here’s a heads-up:  the government, any government at every level, thinks it owns you.  While some of us protest the government’s hand in our pockets, vast numbers rely on the government owning the consequences of their actions.  Big bank and corporate bailouts, generations of welfare recipients whose only productive activity is gaming the system, you know what I’m talking about.

Some governments, we usually refer to them as totalitarian or dictatorships, implement this practice openly.  This is what happens with a disarmed populace.  Other governments, usually referred to as democracies or republics, pretend you have a modicum of control over your own life by periodically holding what are loosely termed  elections.  This is where a majority of the votes, gathered either legally or illegally,  are used to determine what shall be done with your life.

And this is what is going on in the United States of America right now.  More and more special interest groups believe they have a claim on your life, your earnings, your savings, even your personal protection.  And if they can garner enough votes, they get it.

While democracy may seem a reasonable alternative to totalitarianism, it more honestly can be called the tyranny of the majority.  Remember, for many decades in the United States, slavery was completely legal.  Doesn’t say much for majority rule, does it?

Have you ever heard someone say ‘If you don’t vote, you can’t complain’?  Unfortunately, the exact opposite is true.  If you vote, you buy in to the process that whoever gets the most votes wins, and therefore you cannot complain about the outcome.  Remember, if your side had won, you would have been imposing your will on the minority.

So, who owns you?  Is it your neighbors,  your alleged representatives, or an administration deciding they know what’s best and writing executive orders?  No.  You own you, and you alone are responsible for all of your thoughts, words and deeds.   Anything taken from you aside from voluntary agreement is theft.   The consequences of your actions aren’t included because you cannot abdicate that responsibility.  The ‘I was only following orders’ defense doesn’t hold water.

I am trying to create a meme around the question “Who Owns You?”  Some of you will see this on Facebook, some of you will see this in an email, others will see it on one or more of a few forums I frequent.  Please pass it along if you think it worthwhile.  I’ll know I have succeeded when I see it returning to me from quarters I didn’t expect.

Who Owns You?

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