Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49B: Politics as Usual – NOOOO!

Posted on 2012-11-21 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2012
Lame Black Christian Cop-Out
(Blue Hornet) A black Christian Obama voter called me after the election. For years, I have informed him of Obama’s attacks on Christianity and anti-Christian agenda. He praised Romney for saying in his concession speech that we need to pray for our president. Then he added, “I prayed that God will bind everything in Obama that is not like Him.” Folks I politely, but quickly, ended our conversation. I was sickened by my friend’s weak attempt to cover his sell-out to skin-color under a shroud of Christian principles.

Nathan: This guy has been hearing many of the same things I have – the panic and fear of many religious people has not spiked but continues to rise, and the excuses grow daily.  Part of this is sour grapes, part is delusion (“he won’t be so bad,” or “Romney really wasn’t that good.”) and part is just sheer funk.  But at the same time, I have to question for many black Americans who claim to be godly. How, in the light of the clear commandments of Scripture, can you justify voting for someone simply because of the color of their skin and their claimed ethnicity?  SHOW me what “Christian principles” you are following there?

Crash of 2009 – Union follies
The Twinkie That Broke The Economy’s Back?
(Blue Hornet)  Sadly, the reality is that Hostess is not the only iconic American company that is in a huge amount of trouble right now. Sears just announced a loss of nearly 500 million dollars in the third quarter. Sears has been bleeding money like this for a couple of years, and if they continue to do so it will just be a matter of time before Sears is headed for liquidation as well.

Nathan: Penney’s too, is in serious trouble.  As is K-Mart and Macy’s and a slew of others.  Even Wal-Mart is not so healthy as it once was, and the growth of the smaller store chains (such as Shopko, which has now absorbed Pamida in name as well as fact, Dollar General, Dollar Store, and Family Dollar) are all showing signs of wear.  A prosperous economy can let even a poorly run company survive with a profit; an economy with severe problems, growing worse, can and does destroy companies.  Such creative destruction can be very good:  but if government gets involved, then look out.  As I write this, I see that a federal judge has halted the liquidation of Hostess, so the destruction may just continue.  I have now heard of MANY companies that have shelved plans for expansion and increased production (and therefore contracting and employment) as too risky with this next four years in mind, and a few companies who have cut back enormously, not just NOT filling vacancies, but closing offices and divisions and laying off a lot of people.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Africa’s collapse – Islamic wars
Kenya: Police killed by Obama-affiliated Islamists
(Conservative Action Alerts)  According to … a World Net Daily news story, since his inauguration, President Obama’s family in Kenya has been on a mission to use the Obama name to transform Kenya from the nation’s current Christian majority to an Islamic majority that will spread Islamic law, or Shariah, throughout the country. Klein’s article claims the Kenyan Obama family members are devout fundamentalist Muslims known as Wahhabists, although there are no reports of membership in the al-Qaeda-affiliate Al Shabaab. Wahhabism originated in Saudi Arabia and is considered extremist by many Muslims.

Nathan: Who do we believe?  Probably not any of them:  cattle rustlers may claim to be on any side they chose, like raiders in Bleeding Kansas and in the Missouri Civil War during the War Between the States.  And, as usual, Muslims kill each other as much or more than they kill people of other religions.  None of us should be surprised that one faction would claim the American First Citizen’s family in Kenya are on their side.

Self Defense
Pennsylvania: Armed robber shot and killed
(Your Erie News) “Atkins reportedly walked into the store with a small handgun in anapparent attempt to rob the store.The clerk in the store was armed with a handgun and shot the suspect three times. Atkins stumbled from the store and collapsed a short distance away.” (11/19/12)

Mama’s Note: OK, then! No nonsense about a “permit” or possible charges for the defender. Stupid robber, armed clerk, dead robber. Short and sweet, as it should be.

Nathan:  What if he was actually just having a problem with a jammed round or a broken mainspring and was just coming into the store for assistance?  What if he was forced to attempt to do what he might have been doing by circumstances?  What if all he wanted was food for his hungry children?  What if he were starving?  Are they gonna do an autopsy? What if… what if…. what if this happened to more idiots who think that they have a right to use or threaten force to take money (or labor, or goods) away from people to use for whatever they see fit?

Mama’s Note: Same solution needed, of course. When it is painful and costly to be stupid, I suspect there’ll be a whole lot less of it.

Home front
The Preparedness Message Isn’t Reaching the Public
(eRepublic.com) Everyone agrees that citizen preparedness isn’t what it should be. How can the issue be fixed?

Nathan: Well, government is NOT the solution.  Indeed, perhaps the single BIGGEST obstacle to getting people to prepare for natural disasters and man made emergencies is the idea that whatever goes wrong, GOVERNMENT will come make everything right; provide food and water and shelter and replace everything damaged and pay for their lost wages and everything else.  So why prepare?  If you don’t need those things, the government won’t give them to you.   The grasshopper doesn’t have to worry about winter: his neighbor ants will have everything they saved taken by government and shared out with the ‘hopper.

Mama’s Note: Same as above… when stupidity and laziness becomes painful and costly, with nobody to bail them out… there will simply be far less of it.

New religions: global warming – Stupid government tricks
Another indicator that climate is falling off the threat radar: CIA shuts down Center on Climate Change and National Security
(What’s Up with That?)  Anthony: I suppose if the CIA doesn’t think enough of it to keep their center going, climate isn’t as much of a security problem as the NYT once claimed. I wonder what the pols and military guys on this list think about climate and national security these days? From my view, there are many other national security threats far more tangible and worrisome. –

Nathan:  Of course, given the CIA’s admirable track record (sarcasm, folks), this would be a reason for some people to start taking “climate change” seriously.  The entire mess is a government boondoggle: they must have figured they could get more money from Congress for OTHER delusional paranoid fantasies.  Zombie epidemics, perhaps, or Russian alliances with space invaders.

Her Majesty’s Subjects
EU exit would lead to less sovereignty, not more
(The Observer) As a poll shows 56% of Britons in favour of a straight EU exit, the British Sunday newspaper argues that the consequences of such a withdrawal would be dire.

Nathan: With those kinds of numbers, the Tranzis in the UK are running scared.  If the UK punches out of the EU, more are sure to follow, and who knows what?  Franco-British nuclear exchanges?  No more topless pasty Brits on Spanish beaches?  Chaos and worse!  So the media make up these kinds of scare tactics:  The cartoon shows a bowler-hatted and ratty English civil servant rowing a beat-up boat way from a giant EU liner which holes are patched with German and French flags patching its holes to keep it from taking on more water.

European Debt crisis
France’s elites are in denial
(Die Welt) Accused of sticking its head in the sand over the crisis, France has been downgraded by Moody’s and become the biggest problem child in Europe. To the political elite in Paris, though, all that doesn’t matter, writes an author from Berlin in the conservative Welt.

Nathan: The Brit Tranzis are not the only ones with severe problems facing reality.  The French cannot possibly imagine post-historical France being a washed-out loser.

First Citizen – South Asian Front
In Burma, Obama Adapts His Language to Suit His Audience
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: As if THIS was something different?  Honestly, this huskster sounds like a real old-style conservative sometimes, but his brand of jetwash smells to me.  I don’t know why other people can’t see it for what it is.

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt
Graham Warns Egypt it Could Lose U.S. Aid
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yeah, right.  When everyone else in the world does – when the US economy and government and everything else comes crashing down.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49A: A Bad Week

Posted on 2012-11-20 by TPOL Nathan

General News and Notes

Politics didn’t seem to slow down over the weekend, with every indication that some people want to start the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign right now!  Sorry, I don’t buy it, as I mention later.

But in other news, we see a lot more problems with cops all over the country.  We are also seeing more medical problems cropping up: some seem to be intentionally structured and spun to create panic, though in favor if what I don’t know.

The new Lincoln movie came out (in time for the 149th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on 19 NOV (Monday), continuing to show him as the demigod he has been since his death.  The neat thing is that SEVERAL conservative and libertarian columnists came out of the closet on Honest Abe, condemning him for the tyrannical Chicago politician and mass-murderer that he was.

One of those who did NOT so recognize the man he has placed on a pedestal nearly as high as that he has Joe Smith Jr. and Brigham Young is Glen Beck.  Too bad, but the LDS never did look into the way Abe did them dirty in 1861-1865 and set the stage for the bitter disappointments and the other events of the 1865-1915 period.  Salt Lake City should be the heart of those who see Honest Abe for what he was, not the demigod that Gutzon Borglum and so many others have made him. Of course, thanks to places like Lincoln, Nebraska, Mount Rushmore, and the Lincoln Memorial, it is very unlikely that anything but a tiny, tiny minority will ever recognize Lincoln for the conniving progressive that he was.

As Porter Stansberry pointed out in his essay/sales pitch “The Third Term,” US history can be bounded by great massive jumps in the growth of government.  Porter names two: the Teddy Roosevelt-Progressive Era of the 1900s, and the FD Roosevelt-New Deal Era of the 1930s, and predicts that we are on the verge of another.  But he forgets to point out that the 1855-1865 era was another such jump in government, in which the Euro-socialists who allied themselves with native Populists and branded themselves as Republicans used a surge in wealth (California then Colorado gold and Southern cotton) to destroy the nation.

Meanwhile, that just reminded me that I’ve heard NOTHING about Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike, since it was released over a month ago.  Was it THAT bad?  Of course, our major cinema movie going is in the Four Corners, where I think they just released a new Disney Princess Movie – Mulan or Pocahontas or something: it can be a bit slow.  I’m sure it will show up in Redbox soon enough.

Which reminds me: the very last vestiges of Blockbuster, one the darling of the movie-rental industry, vanished last week: the last few kiosks have been scrapped and replaced by RedBox.  There are a  few competitors to Redbox left: Mr. Movie and a host of mom-and-pop places (even some Radio Shack-branded businesses), but even the pawn shops won’t take VHS anymore.  (In fact, they are more willing to take 8-tracks,  pre-recorded cassettes, and vinyl – for the collector and nostalgia crowd.)  You younger readers should call your grandparents to have these terms explained to you.

On to some news items:

Self-defense: not in NYC
Is serial killer taking out NYC shopkeepers?

Mama’s Note: Of course, no mention whatsoever about how one might defend themselves… But they could talk about “serial killers” often if they included the ones who wear a badge…

Nathan:  “Serial killer” is one of those buzzwords that they use to terrorize people and get them to support the cops more.

Islamic wars: Canaanite front
Israeli lawmaker: ‘There are no innocents in Gaza, mow them down’
(digitaljournal.com)
A member of Israel’s parliament has joined the nation’s interior minister in calling for the mass slaughter of civilians in the besieged Gaza strip, arguing that there are no innocent people there because they elected Hamas to lead them.

Mama’s Note: Just so sick…

Nathan:  Ah, yes, imitating the example of great leaders in the past:  Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, to name a few.

The attacks by people in Gaza on places in Israel are real; whatever their motivation, they are the equivalent of firing a shotgun into a crowded room without bothering to aim, but sooner or later they get someone: three Israelis have been killed in this latest round of fighting, and dozens injured: a far cry from more than 100 Gaza residents killed by more than 1300 strikes again the thousand or so Arab missiles fired at Israel.  While the weight of the attacks seems disproportionate, as do the weight of the casualties, the tactics used on each side, and the tactics which are available to be used, dictate that imbalance.  In a situation like this, it is hard to lay blame properly.  But we can easily draw the line at the “nits make lice” idea (Chivington, 1864) and the bomb-them-back-to-the-stone age idea together with killing them all off, like this scumbag Israeli statist suggests.  Even if that is the attitude that both of the last two occupants of 1600 PA have taken.

First Citizen’s minions – Theft by government
Treasury Secretary Geithner: Lift Debt Limit to Infinity
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Is he saying this because HE believes in magic wands, or because (after the election) HE thinks the electorate believes in magic wands.

Home front – Crash of 2009
Gallup: Americans Who Think We’ll Be Worse Off in 4 Yrs Doubled in 4 Yrs
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But they didn’t vote, did they?  OR figured it doesn’t really matter who claims to be in charge.

Stupid People
Oliver Stone Tells Islamic Media: Petraeus Scandal Is ‘American Puritanism’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: However, he conveniently forgets that this and previous Democratic administrations have made it very plain that they don’t care who gets in whose pants, until now.  And that it is NOT “public pressure” that caused Petraeus to “come clean” and resign.  This is Chicago politics, not American puritanism.

Stupid people – Stupid government
New Beltway Express Lanes–Celebrated by DOT Secretary–Open With Multiple Crashes
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Have you ever considered that it is possible to construct roads, especially in urban areas, that prevent virtually ALL crashes?  And that seldom do people ever sue the government agencies that design, build, and maintain most roads – we just assume that WE and not the roads are at fault, at least the vast majority of the time.  Yet, the government continues to do a bad job.  Why?  No competition, and the pernicious doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Stupid Congress
Pelosi: Any Deal Must Increase Tax Rates; Majority of House Has Pledged Not To
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I suppose that she could volunteer to increase tax rates on herself?  Problem is, you know that a LOT of the GOP types will sell themselves to the highest bidder, even if the bidder is paying with stolen goods.

Politics 2016
Rubio Goes to Iowa
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Gag.  Do we REALLY need to start the 2016 election campaign in November of 2012.  Yes, I’ve read the articles and pieces touting a “Rubio-Rand Paul” ticket in 2016: there is a good chance there won’t BE a GOP in 2016, folks.

Mama’s Note: If we are really lucky, there won’t be any campaign or “election” at all by that time. On the other hand… that might be our only spot of luck for some time.

Funny people tricks
Obama Supporters ‘Not Responsible Enough To Own A Firearm,’ AZ Gun Store’s Sign Declares
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This actually showed up on Cope’s website (Cope Reynolds)  and several other places last week.  And the truth is, Cope (a friend) had a sign pretty much like this in his first store back in 2008, in Farmington (NM) before he moved first to Luna (NM) and then to Pinetop (AZ).  But somehow, this time, the conservative-libertarian media picked it up, and so may the liberals, for all I know.  It is intended to be funny, and to make a point about his business doing business the way HE wants to and not anyone else.  But in reality, we WANT stupid people who do things like vote for the First Citizen (or for Romney) to buy guns: it is a human right.  Even felons have the right to buy guns to defend themselves.  If they are not responsible, they’ll eliminate themselves soon enough, and good riddance.

Mama’s Note: Amen!

Stupid government
San Francisco Eyes Ban on Public Nudity Except at ‘Gay Pride’ Events
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Fat chance they have of getting THIS law passed – or if they do, obeyed.  This is SanFran we are talking about.  People will obey the ban on plastic bags and pocket knives before they obey a ban on nudity.

Mama’s Note: The weather pretty much takes care of the naked body thing in public… here in Wyoming anyway, but I submit that there just might be something more disgusting than actual nudity…

Went to the WalMart (what IS it about that place) in Gillette the other day and a woman ahead of me in line had super tight shorts on, just barely covering her 400 pound butt. I would have lost my lunch if I’d had any yet. The tight, low necked tank top wasn’t doing my tummy any favors either, but at least it was long enough not to expose her in the middle too.

People who run around simply naked are at least more honest… but I don’t know why there should be a “law” against it, any more than some “law” against openly carried guns. Or “laws” that require a woman to wear a tent.

The idea that everyone gets to dictate to everyone else based on their own desires and needs is a very big part of the problems we face today. Live and let live. If your neighbor’s nudity bothers you, don’t look, or better yet, don’t live there. Communities will come to their own standards and preferences most likely, without the need for the force of law.

First Citizen – Islamic wars: Canaanite front
Obama Suggests Israel’s Plight Not a Result of Arab Spring ‘Democratization’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Whistling in the dark, without a doubt.  Heaven forbid that “democracy” is NOT the wonderful blessing and gift from on-high that the government-lovers want us to believe.

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I Remember Earth

Posted on 2012-11-19 by MamaLiberty

I’ve not yet decided whether this will become a new novel… but it seemed like prophesy, so it seemed good to share it. There is hope for the future. Always has been and always will be. The human race will have to endure many hardships, trials and sorrows to get there. But then, we always have. No matter how dark the night, the dawn cometh.

I Remember Earth
By Susan Callaway (MamaLiberty)

“This is how it used to be on earth,” said Becky, glad to finally see the night sky without the massive dome that had stood between the people and their world for so long.

“How do you know?” Cassie’s “big sister” tone was annoying, as always. She refused to leave the doorway of their underground home, but she had been curious until she saw the open sky.

“I’ve always known,” Becky replied, a little dreamily, “always.”

The planet had been called “Mars” for many thousands of years, long before the establishment of the colonies there by free traders in the earth year 2030. A hundred years later, the teraforming had been completed and the old domes of the settlements had begun to come down one by one. Earlier that day the last segment had come down over Becky’s town.

The final success of teraforming the planet had spawned a controversy in some places over whether or not to dismantle the domes, and a few towns had decided to retain them. Those few people who simply could not be comfortable with life under the open sky would likely populate them, at least for a while.

But now the people were free to expand their towns and increase their productivity so they could truly participate in the growing trader network among colonized planets, most well behind Mars in teraforming. The early wars with earth had delayed the process badly for all of them in the beginning, and many people were convinced that only the collapse of political society on earth in 2050 had spared them the fate of the moon colony, now just a bleak cinder in the sky of the home world. Total nuclear war on earth had followed, and the planet no longer supported any rational human habitation beyond a few research domes at the poles.

“It’s not safe!” Cassie cried, “It’s simply indecent to be so exposed,” then vanished behind the closed door.

Becky walked out a little farther, actually feeling a little vulnerable herself. A lifetime of conditioning is not overcome in a moment, or even a few years. But she welcomed the ever decreasing uneasiness and knew that the freedom of the heavens above her were the normal and precious birthright of all humans.

A bright star rose in the east, and the blue light seemed to blend with a sudden burst of moving air that Becky recognized as what earth folk had called the wind. The scent of the fresh turned soil in the valley combined with the tang of salt from the nearby sea. Strangeness blended with a haunting familiarity… things she had never experienced before woke memories she couldn’t account for.

“Come to bed,” her mother said, voice distorted by the speaker beside the door. “The sky will still be there in the morning.”

Posted in Mama's Rants | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48E – Getting busted

Posted on 2012-11-17 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2012 – Democracy
In 1996 House Democrats also won the popular vote but remained in the minority
(Washington Post) Preliminary vote totals indicate that nationwide, more people voted for Democrats than for Republicans, although the GOP won a clear majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

Nathan: This article (which gets kudos for interviewing Richard Winger of Free Ballot Access) seems to bear monitoring, as the gist of the argument seems to be that the seats each party has in the House of Representatives should be based on the total number of votes, not on the votes in individual districts.  That is very much akin to a nasty little idea called proportional voting, in which people cast votes for PARTIES and not necessarily for individual candidates, and then the parties decide (usually but not always in advance) who gets to actually sit in the chamber.  To me, that is even more evil than most democratic institutions, and therefore no doubt just what the mainstream media and other Tranzis want.

Welfare state – Politics 2012
Ohio to take hit on federal food aid

(ToledoBlade.com)  The average food-stamp recipient receives $138 per person, per month, according to state statistics. As of August, more than 1.7 million individual Ohioans, or about 869,000 families, received the assistance. A total of $3 billion in benefits was issued in 2011 in Ohio; the program is federally funded… Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid.

Nathan: They want to cut the average person’s food aid by $50/month, or down to $78 per person/month.  It is hard to feel sympathy for them.  Obviously, this is what Ohio voted for, right?

Mama’s Note: They’d likely have a lot fewer problems if they actually bought real food, but that’s not likely to happen either. I do quite well on less $ than that per month for food alone – and I could continue to do well on considerably less if I worked at it harder and gave up little things like my coffee. And yes… seems to me that if the shoe fits… they’d best wear it. Sadly, they’ll likely be first in line to steal and kill when the subsidies stop coming, the grocery stores are empty and nobody there knows where their next meal is coming from – or if they’ll ever have another at all.

Home Front – Tyranny
DHS using social media to track threats
(www.govtech.com) Do you feel like you’re getting a cold? Want to tweet about it? The Department of Homeland Security hopes you do:

“Social media will soon be used as an early detection tool for biological attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hired Accenture to conduct a one-year, $3 million test that will attempt to spot public health trends using the data available in open social networks, company officials announced Nov. 8. Such a program would serve to help solve problems like the 2001 anthrax letters, 2003 SARS outbreak, 2009 bird flu pandemic and 2011 nuclear emergency in Japan.”

Nathan: So, tweeting may be bad for your health – at least your liberty/political health.

Europe’s Fall
No sacrifices without hope
(Project Syndicate) If the EU had greater legitimacy, Europeans would agree more readily to the efforts that are asked of them, because they could then expect to see these sacrifices rewarded.

Nathan:  What sacrifices are NEEDED for the EU to demand of Europeans?  They face no SIGNIFICANT internal nor external threat except the EU government (and maybe their own national governments).  Why should they sacrifice ANYthing for the bureaucrats of Brussels and the black robes of Strassbourg?  Face it, as international or multinational or even national organizations go, the EU has almost NO “legitimacy.”  No one died or shed blood or killed for its founding and existence, it was not established to defend against any threat, it was not a union of people of like faith, ancestry or philosophy.  It claims to exist for many reasons but in reality has no purpose, no reason TO exist.  And any “rewards” it can offer must first be stolen from someone else.

Europe’s Fall
The Russians invade the Adriatic coast
(De Volkskrant) They come for the sea, sun, for peace and quiet … and business opportunities. Taking advantage of old historical and cultural ties, more and more Russians are settling the former Yugoslav republic and EU member candidate Montenegro.

Nathan: Ah, yes, invasion by tourist.  For a Western European power of the 20th and 21st Century, this is no big thing:  the massive 40-year-old invasion of British tourists in Spain and Portugal and Greece translates to no political power or influence whatsoever.  But Russians?  A different matter entirely.  Russian colonization of the old republics of the USSR lingers today, as it does in the old Soviet satellites.  The former Yugoslavia avoided much of that, but now, in a “more-free” era, the Russian ambition is again obvious.  One of the long-frustrated visions of history has been to unify the North Slavs (Russians of various sorts) with the South Slavs (all the Balkan Slavic states).  Is this now a new way of accomplishing that, and giving Russia the warm-water port to the world it tried to get through Byzantine measures for so long?

Self-defense
Woman pulls gun on flasher: ‘I’m going to blow your brains out’
(NBC News)  A flasher allegedly got more than he bargained for when he approached a woman at a lake in Washington state this week: a Ruger .380 pointing back at him. “I put the magazine in my gun. I cocked it,” the woman told The Daily News online. “I said, ‘You need to leave or I’ll shoot you. I’m going to blow your brains out.’”

Mama’s Note: I’m glad she had a gun… but she was not really “armed” since she was carrying it unloaded. She’s fortunate that he didn’t attack her.  It doesn’t sound as if he was a real threat… just a nasty nuisance. I don’t really see any justification for her to draw a gun… But I wasn’t there and he may have seemed more threatening than this report indicates, of course. I would have thought the dog would be enough deterrent, actually.

Nathan: Some people consider flashers to be just guys working up the “nerve” to go ahead and rape, or that at least some are that way.  And dogs aren’t much of a fear factor anymore, for whatever reason.  Maybe too many breeds have had the aggression and loyalty bred out of them, or something like that.  Of course, a flasher is usually of low intelligence and less willpower, so he may just have been too stupid to take the dog into account.

Debby: In Washington State?  I am surprised she is not getting arrested.

Mama’s Note: Welcome to our discussion, Debbie! I hope you’ll be a frequent contributor.

Nathan:  Never fear, there are a lot of excuses for getting arrested or just abused by the cops, as the next several stories point out.

Minneapolis Police Arrest Man for Photographing Arrest
(Photography Is Not a Crime ) When Paul Leason spotted a group of Minneapolis police officers making an arrest, he pulled out his camera and began taking photos from a public sidewalk.  One of the officers spotted him and ordered him to keep walking.  Leason, 23, a member of Cop Block, knew his rights and asserted them, which as we all know, is the quickest way to land in jail.  One officer told him to “get the f*** out of here.”  Leason responded by saying “f*** the police.”  Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by three cops who kept calling him “faggot.”

Nathan: Well, he did goof by talking back to the cops the same way they did talk to him. M’polis Police have a bad rep with AmerInd and other minorities, you know, like people who believe in liberty and responsibility.

K9’s coming to a neighborhood near you!
(video) K9’s are the biggest scam ever used by police to circumvent the 4th amendment.   The pirates are now in “training” on how to use dogs as a cover to randomly invade houses and enter their property without a lawful warrant.

Nathan:  This is a constant effort by police to find a way around supposedly-ironclad constitutional guarantees of basic human rights.  Of course, the judges seem to have very little problems with such antics.  I fear the best way to get cops to start obeying the law is to shoot them down as they are doing to more and more people.

Mama’s Note: Not that we advocate the initiation of aggression in any way.  People do need to start defending themselves and their neighbors, which is not the same thing.

Stupid government – Home front
FEMA orders residents to stop giving out supplies after Hurricane Sandy
(Shelter Island Reporter)   Televised and published pictures plus personal appeals of Hurricane Sandy victims in New York and New Jersey touched the hearts of Shelter Islanders who generously filled truckloads of clothing and other goods bound for Island Park and Long Beach last week. But the word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency now is “stop.” […]

Nathan:  This is another example of cop tyranny: the FEMA are backed up by NYPD?  The agencies fear that they are losing control and that they won’t get the credit they “deserve.”

Debby: Just go ahead and arrest me:  humanitarian aid trumps government regulations.
Ohio Photojournalism Student Arrested for Photographing Ambulance Scene
(Photography Is Not a Crime ) As they were carrying out a victim from a house on Halloween night, paramedics in Ohio spotted a man across the street taking photos, so they started ordering him to put that camera away. But Nicolas Tanner, a 28-year-old photojournalism graduate student at Ohio University, knew the law, so he asserted his rights.  That prompted paramedics to threaten to call police. And that prompted Tanner to dare them to call police, thinking police would arrive and correct the paramedics on the law. Big mistake. At least four officers arrived on horseback and surrounded Tanner, shoving Tanner around with their horses and pinning him in between them, acknowledging that he had the right to take photos but that they were merely exercising their right to block his shot. Tanner moved away from the cops and into a crowd of bystanders with the cops on horseback following, still trying to get in the way of his shot. Finally, one of them hopped off his horse and chased him down, arresting him on charges of obstruction of official business and resisting arrest.

Nathan: What can I add?  Abusing (and risking serious injury to) a civilian is par for the course in Ohio and many other places.  And for what?  Is it now a violation of HIPAA to take a photo of public servants aiding a private citizen?  And we all know about bogus charges.

And lastly:  Free Speech
Thousands Jailed in UK for On-line Rants; Coming to US?
(Godfather Politics) In the UK, hundreds of people are jailed every year for things they’ve said online, particularly on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. In fact, over 1,200 mostly young people were convicted last year, up from 873 in 2009. They’re arrested, questioned, convicted, and jailed for posting electronic messages that are “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.”

Most of these people are being charged under the 2003 Electronic Communications Act, which was merely an updated version of a 1930’s bill enacted to protect telephone operators from harassment. But even if these teens were posting things that were offensive, that is not the same thing as someone being harassed or threatened by another. Those who voice their opinions on social networking sites are doing just that…voicing their opinions. Their statements aren’t meant to threaten any particular person. They’re meant to be seen by their “friend” audience. It would be different if someone was actually being harassed and threatened directly by someone else’s electronic messages. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. If you are truly offended by something someone said, unfriend that person, and you won’t have to look at his account statuses anymore.

Many of these people were reported to police, which prompted the investigations. So instead of ignoring “offensive” posts, people would call the police. All it takes is one call from a disgruntled viewer, and that’s all it takes to land you [in] jail.

In one such case, someone posted a picture of a burning poppy on Remembrance Day (similar to our Veterans Day) and was jailed as a result. A New York Fox affiliate reports:

“…on Sunday — Remembrance Day — a 19-year-old man was arrested in southern England after police received a complaint about a photo on Facebook showing the burning of a paper poppy. He was held for 24 hours before being released on bail and could face charges.”

Poppies are traditionally worn in England and other countries on Remembrance Day, commemorating soldiers who lost their lives in the field of duty. I can imagine how offensive this would be to many, but should it land someone in jail for posting a picture of one online? I can think of far more offensive online images that are still permissible in the UK. They only care about the posts that are critical of their government or military.

We are headed in the same direction here in the States. People have already been arrested and detained for things they’ve said on Facebook and Twitter and even on radio talk shows. However, nothing was done about all those murderous rants against Romney on Twitter. Politicians talk a great deal about preventing terrorism and protecting people from internet child pornography. But it’s clear all they really want to do is silence their opposition…and keep the child porn only for themselves.

Nathan:  The above is both news and commentary, but I have to add my own thoughts:  The Tranzi nature is obvious: feeling are hurt and people must be made to pay for hurting people’s feelings.  The abuse of a “do-gooder” law like the one protecting poor, sweet, innocent, little telephone operators in 1930 shows that we cannot allow ANY government interference with free speech.

Stupid government tricks
Petraeus’ Mistress Was Named ‘National Security Insider’ by National Journal as a Grad Student
(CNSNews.com)

Which puts her in the position of groupie, apparently.  This entire thing gets more and more Romanesque and smells more and more like the Third Reich.  Funny, it seems like she would be the one getting busted for bothering a “public servant.”  Too bad for Petraeus his uniform wasn’t blue or black instead of camo, and that he only had stars and not a badge.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48C: This and That

Posted on 2012-11-17 by TPOL Nathan

Islamic Wars: Canaanite Front
Israelis kill Hamas military chief
(Salon.com)   An Israeli air strike on Gaza…

Nathan:  Things are heating up;   This is more than just the Israeli response to the 100 rockets fired from Gaza a few days ago: this is considered to be a significant victory.  But never mind, they have back-ups. to be sure.

Mama’s Note: Thomas Knapp has some interesting things to say about this situation.
The Obligatory Gaza Post: It Practically (Re-)Writes Itself

Crash of 2009 – Stupid government
72% of Obama Job Creation in Right To Work States
(breitbart.com) From June 2009 to September 2012, America gained some 2.59 million jobs. That weak recovery was the basis for the Obama re-election campaign.

Nathan: From Darryl!  Another example that perception is more important than reality in our politics, no matter how much we wish it weren’t so.  Obviously, enough people bought the White House line.

Stupid Church – Stupid State
Florida: Church invites fugitives to surrender
(Fox News)  “A Florida church wants to help flocks of fugitives get right with the law, and will even host their court appearances via a closed-circuit TV system that links the house of worship to the local judge. ‘Operation Safe Surrender’ promises wanted men and women in the Daytona Beach area the chance to give up in the presence of their God and the Rev. L. Ronald Durham, of Greater Friendship Baptist Church. Durham said that for accused criminals, the event beats having the police knock down their door in the middle of the night, and also could help fugitives go straight and maybe even ‘get employment as a result,” Durham told FoxNews.com.” [editor’s note: Church/state wall falls to pieces? – SAT&93; (11/13/12)

Nathan: Well, this guy certainly shows the opportunism that Baptist preachers are famous for (and that gives them such a bad reputation).  Of course, it not only makes a mockery of Biblical teaching concerning the church and human government, it also is almost a parody of the western concept of sanctuary.  And creates a great temptation: why bother to knock down the doors of individual houses when the cops can instead knock down the doors of Greater Friendship Baptist Church’s meetinghouse and get a whole netful of “fish” at once?

Tyranny California-style
California: Supermajorities have host of options
(San Francisco Chronicle) “Democratic leaders have said they won’t seek tax increases if they gain supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature, but there already is talk about using that power to do other things. Last week’s surprise results in Assembly races, which still are not final, opened a new field of opportunities for Democrats to shape public policy in California. A two-thirds majority allows the Legislature not only to raise taxes, but also to put constitutional amendments on the ballot on its own, override vetoes and pass bills that go into effect the moment they are signed instead of the next year, among other things.” (11/12/12)

Nathan: Figure that whatever the supermajority DOES do, we aren’t going to like it.  All those horrid SF stories about the nightmares of California government are going to come true in some form.  Our best hope is that the state, in the next 2-4 years, will become a hideous, technicolor, HD object lesson (and object of derision) for the rest of the world.  And that God will continue to look out for those too stupid or too locked down to be able to flee.

Crash of 2009 – Stupid government
CBO: Fiscal Cliff Will Bring Recession, 9.1 Percent Unemployment in 2013
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Oh, is that all?  I seem to forget that we supposedly are in a “recovery” and not just the continuing slight bouncing up and down of a continuing depression, now entering its fifth year.  How stupid of me!  This is, as all CBO forecasts do, assuming that major other problems do not explode on us.

Mama’s Note: Here is an excellent analysis of the true situation.
Guess what they’re NOT cutting in the Fiscal Cliff…
by Simon Black

Politics 2012 – Stupid people tricks
Mark Levin on Lessons Learned in Presidential Election: ‘We Ought to Nominate a Conservative’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  I liked his urging the GOP to stop being the Stupid Party, but that is unlikely to change, and I cannot understand why so many friends and family simply cannot understand that the GOP is exactly what it wants to be, and that short of having 100% of their leadership (not necessarily elected officials, but the ones who pull the strings) die of some disease (no killing, please, that makes martyrs), they will not change.  Levin is repeating what he said a time or two, and what Hannity and Limbaugh and even Beck said: nominate a conservative.  That was before THEY too gave into the bogus hope and change mantra and were able to convince themselves that Romney was anything but a middle-of-the road statist who would not win.  Romney and the GOP and his advisors (and distractors) KNEW that the First Citizen would buy millions and millions of votes, and do everything he did – and yet refused to accept the strategy and tactics that would have worked, while adopting those which trashed their chances.  Therefore millions of voters stayed home and millions more waffled and finally pulled the D lever, and a couple million voted for OTHER than the lesser of two evils.  Mark, you were right: it IS the STUPID party.

First Citizen – Politics 2012
Obama: Voters Reelected Me to Make Sure Wealthy Pay More Taxes
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  You know, I think I might believe Augustus; Romney’s 47 Percent plus all the ones who DO pay taxes but work for the government and know on which side their bread is buttered.  However, those grain ships aren’t going to be coming from Egypt and Africa all that much longer…

Medical news
Even moderate drinking in pregnancy can affect a child’s IQ, study shows
(University of Bristol) Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child’s IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford…

Nathan: Much evidence abounds, especially in the AmerInd Nations.  More can be found in every school.  But people simply do not care: they put their pleasure ahead of others’ wellbeing, even their own children.

Mama’s Note: Sorry, but this is just more nanny state BS. Some people are simply far more susceptible than others and what they do to themselves is often truly tragic, but each individual must assess the risks and benefits for themselves and accept responsibility for the consequences of their decisions, not rely on some blanket pronouncement like this.

Stupid people tricks
UPS Stops Donating to Boy Scouts
(Vision to America.com) The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the shipping giant, says it will no longer donate to organizations that do not adhere to its “diversity policies,” which prohibit “harassment” against anyone based on race, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, or religion. UPS announced this week it was responding to an online petition that garnered more than 80,000 signatures protesting the foundation’s annual grants to the Boy Scouts.

Nathan:  Yes, UPS is a private business and they can do what they want.  But if I understand this right, the UPS is exercising its right (even as a corporation) to NOT associate with an organization BECAUSE THAT organization is exercising its right to not associate with certain persons because those persons believe in and practice something that the organization believes is wrong.  Did I miss something?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48D Secession Part II

Posted on 2012-11-16 by TPOL Nathan

The numbers continue to climb, and at least some people see it my way. Though meaningless in terms of process, it is valuable to do for many reasons, including especially educating people about secession.

Secession has a long history, and as Oleg Volk points out in one of his wonderful photos, sometimes it succeeds and sometimes it does not.

Its history has grown fatter in recent decades, but lets glance back to the past:

In the Bible, we see all kinds of examples of secession, including those we call emigration:

  • Abram (Abraham) and his family emigrated from Ur of the Chaldees and later from Haran, eventually ending up in Canaan, where he refused to come under ANY government.
  • The Children of Israel, after 400 years of slavery, seceded and emigrated from Phaoronic Egypt, returning to the ancient home of their ancestors.
  • Following the death of Solomon and the idiotic actions of his son and successor Rehoboam, the Ten Tribes of the northern kingdom (to be known as Israel) seceded, led by new King Jeroboam.
  • Led by a family of warrior-priest-kings (the Maccabees – sons of the Hammer), the Judeans seceded from Selucid-ruled  Syria.  (This is considered to be a revolt against imperial invaders, but according to Syria and modern Arabs, “Canaan” (including Judea) has always been an integral part of Syria.)

In the ancient world, we see countless attempts and successes at secession.  Here are a few that come to mind (even though conventional and Marxist historians classify many as revolts or revolutions or such):

  • Portugal was once a county of Spain but became separate in the 1300s
  • The Swiss Cantons were once part of the Holy Roman Empire but rebelled and gained independence in the 1400s
  • The thirteen American colonies were an integral part of the British Empire, considered Englishmen, until they rebelled and after eight years of war, finally gained their independence
  • Brazil was an integral part of Portugal (or the Portuguese Empire) and was at one time the capital, but seceded in the early 1800s.
  • Virtually all of the Arab states and North African states seceded over the course of two hundred years from the Islamic Ottoman Empire
  • Texas was a state of the United Mexican States until its revolution in 1836.
  • Although still officially an Empire until the fall of 1918, Hungary had seceded from Austria centuries before.
  • An integral part of the Netherlands, Belgium seceded in 1830, due mostly to religious differences.

In very recent times, we’ve seen a very large number:

  • Norway seceded from the Kingdom of Norway and Denmark, rather peacefully, in 1906
  • Northern Ireland seceded from the rest of Ireland in 1919 to remain part of the United Kingdom.
  • Taiwan, finally giving up the claim to house the government of all China, de facto seceded in the 1960s.
  • Biafra (“River State”) in Nigeria tried to secede and was bloodily suppressed.
  • Kinshaha Province in Republic of the Congo also failed to secede back in the 1960s.
  • The mostly Turkish northern part of the island of Cyprus seceded in the 1960s.
  • After the end of the Cold War, various chunks of Yugoslavia split off.
  • Also at that time, Slovakia left Czechoslovakia, which became the Czech Republic.
  • Very recently, the South Sudan won its freedom from the Sudan.

Currently, secession is being actively and in large numbers pursued by:

  • Catalonia, the eastern part of Iberia, is autonomous and seeking full independence from Spain
  • Scotland will be voting on secession from the United Kingdom soon.
  • Northern Italy (Padania, I believe it is called)
  • Quebec has tried more than once to secede from Canada
  • An Alaska Independence movement has existed for decades and has seats in the legislature
  • New England looked long and hard at secession during the War of 1812 and afterwards

This fresh interest in secession in the US just publicizes other, generally very small and poorly organized secession movements in the US, many of which involve secession from another state and NOT from the Union as a whole.  Still there are several that have been around and trying (sometimes very trying) for some time:

  • Alaska (mentioned above)
  • Texas has multiple secession organizations
  • The League of the South advocates for a new Confederate States
  • Vermont has a small but growing movement for a 2nd Republic
  • Hawai’i has a small movement
  • Cascadia (parts of WA, OR, CA, and perhaps ID) has tried now and then
  • Puerto Rico’s independence movement seems to have pretty died out
  • Russell Means’ Republic of Lakotah was first proclaimed several years ago and “re-proclaimed” a couple of months ago before his death

These are all the serious attempts: there are a good many farce and fun claims for secession, from the Conch Republic (Key West Florida) to some very strange excuses for parties in the Colorado Rockies.

The truth is that Americans have always been fascinated by secession, and with growing success worldwide, the time may be approaching.

To end this article, let me touch briefly on some personal matters related to secession. Why is an Army officer (reserve) and a christian man even advocating ANY form of secession?  For ANY purpose?  Am I not betraying my oath?  My oath (affirmation) is to the Constitution of the United States, specifically to protect and defend it.  I am to obey the lawful orders of the president and my superior officers.  I haven’t received many recently, I might add, although that has nothing to do with the fact that the Constitution is a dead letter.  As a dead letter, in which virtually every right supposedly protected by the Bill of Rights is repeatedly violated by federal and state and local governments, on a constant basis, what is there to defend and protect?  It was supposed to protect the liberties of our people, and therefore defending and protecting it protects my people: my nation, and my home.  But when it is no longer in force, when it has become the undead remnant of a “living document” instead of a covenant that means something, the Union is dead.  As I have stated again and again in my columns.  Therefore, all of us today face the same quandary that men such as Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jackson and their comrades faced in 1861:  do they stand with defending liberty and their own state, or do they become (or remain) part of the machinery of tyranny?

It is a decision each of us must make for ourselves.  As Garry Reed, the Dallas Libertarian Examiner pointed out, secession is NOT automatically going to lead to liberty’s restoration, and great risks are involved, whether the attempt succeeds or fails.  As others have pointed out as well, these funny-cute petitions on the First Citizen’s website are really meaningless in any sort of legal or political way.  There is a danger to even anonymously sign those, given the current state of technology; and these may even be a form of entrapment.  But like so many, I hope the concept goes viral, just because of the value of educating people and showing those who have destroyed this nation that not everyone is willing to sit down and shut up.

If you are serious, and have counted the cost, about getting your state or region or county or city to secede from this undead monster called the Federal Government, or its parasitic partner in your local state capital, with all its occupation forces, then do it for the right reasons and in the right way:  get your paper and pens out and start with your name, written like John Hancock in big bold letters, with your name and address and state of residence clearly stated, and then go to your family, your friends, and your neighbors and tell them to put their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” on the line.  As Heinlein pointed out decades ago, it is hard to beat the prose of Jefferson and all from 236 years ago: just the specifics of the charges and the object of our wrath has changed.

No, it is not the First Citizen or the Congress that we need to secede from: they are officially only hirelings: the secession is “We, the People of South Dakota” [or which ever state] or better yet, “We, free and self-governing individuals, residing in the State of South Dakota” are stating our charges against “We, the People of the United States and those who claim to represent, serve, and lead them.”  But however you do it, count the cost and do it in the best way you can.  Remember Patrick Henry’s words, and if you are a christian (or Jewish), remember Joshua’s words:  and value liberty more than security or life or fortunes or honor.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48B: Secession Part I

Posted on 2012-11-15 by TPOL Nathan

In a column last week, I noted that the smell of secession is sweet, and in the air.  (Read it here!)

I have been castigated for supporting this week-long fad, and condemned for various things, including abandoning the ideals and dream of “America” and my oath.  I disagree and shall answer those accusations.

Meanwhile, I recall saying that I wished EVERY state would get this petition going, and sometime in the last three days, apparently all fifty states have such a petition going – or several  (some so low in signatures yet that they don’t show up on the main website).

And at least eight states have more than the White House-mandated magic number of 25,000 to be “responded to.”

All of the states so far (in essence one week into the month-long period they have to gather signatures by the White House rules) that have reached the magic 25,000 number are all states of the Old Confederacy.  That should come as no surprise, if for no other reason than the people of those states already did it once: they know what it means.  But there are many states OUTSIDE the South that are at or near the number, and the numbers keep climbing.

It looks as if the petitioning voters of Puerto Rico get their wish and have results of their vote last week put into effect (a constitutional convention and Act of Annexation by the United States: statehood), they may not have a lot of sister states if the more than 800,000 people who have signed these petitions so far get their way.

But I am joking, because the entire thing is a farce: there is no legal status for these petitions, and they will be given a token “response” and it will then be placed in the circular file.  But that doesn’t mean that the entire thing is a total waste of time.  This is a key phase in any political or social movement: people need to hear and talk about the idea, ingest it and make it their own.  And inevitably, opposition to it needs to develop.  This is what is happening: this petition idea is a joke, but it is also a fad.

MamaLiberty joined into the spirit of the thing when she asked me, “Did you see this: New petition: “Deport everyone who wants to secede”
She continued: And the governor of Texas is totally against the whole secession thing, of course. I’m sure all of the governors of the affected states feel the same way.

As I told her this morning, I was just perusing the list of petitions and signature totals at White House.gov.  There are two petitions against the secession petitions that have been up since the weekend: one wants to deport everyone and one wants to strip their citizenship and then exile everyone who signed them.  Right now, that is at a very rough count, about a half-million people, with at least 40 states having petitions (some have more than one); at least six of these states have gone above the “magic number” of 25,000 to “force” (by their own rules) the White House to “respond” to the petition.  The leader is Texas, with 95,000+. Others include Louisiana (the first petition), Alabama, North Carolina and Florida (first state NOT to go to Romney to hit that 25K), Tennessee, and Georgia. [As I stated above, as of about 1700 Mountain Time on the 14th, the number was up to more than 800,000 signatures on petitions for all Fifty States, and eight now have the magic number, with at least five more close.]

I am a bit surprised that Texas Governor Perry has come out against it, since he is the most prominent politician to first float the idea, several years ago, and the popular perception is that Texas has the “right” to do so enshrined in treaty law.  But even in a large state like Texas, more than 100,000 people doing this is an attention-getter, and I think he is worried about the known predilection of the First Citizen to punish people.  He may also be getting pressure because the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) has enjoyed quite a surge of support and publicity in recent days and weeks.

Of course, there are several things to keep in mind about these petitions:

(a) They have no legal standing whatsoever.

(b) They were created as part of the White House’s public involvement strategy, and give the appearance of democracy with no substance.

(c)  They help identify the rabble’s troublemakers, but also serve as a filtering mechanism to help identify those so stupid that they are not a threat.

(d)  They are one more version of “circuses” by allowing people to blow off steam.

(e)  Their influence is easily curbed by the introduction (a natural reaction) of opposing petitions, such as the two “deport/deny citizenship/exile” petitions, the one calling for Austin to secede from Texas if Texas secedes, and the two very new ones that call for a state to “remain” part of the union, another one calling for a “united” United States, a spoof calling for a national pizza party when Missouri leaves the Union, and similar silliness, including a demand that the seceding states pay “their portion” of the federal debt (whatever that “portion” might be).  And a new one appeared on Thursday, petitioning to let El Paso secede from Texas even if Texas doesn’t secede from the US.

At the same time, I am encouraged and support this silliness and the original silliness of petitioning the White House to secede for these reasons:

(a)  It is fun! And silly: sometimes that is a big help.

(b)  It raises awareness of the entire issue and the split nature of the country even more. This is MUCH more interesting and apt to bring much more general attention to it than some Russian professor claiming that the US is going to break up in 2012.  All this is educating people about secession, and in more general terms, liberty; I would imagine that the various Texan secessionist movements are all getting a lot of inquiries and even recruits.  I think this kind of riling people up is great, all by itself.

(c)  The more people that sign them, and the more states that are listed, the more likely it is that the White House will do something stupid out of anger AND the less likely that they will be able to go after a lot of people personally.  (This leaves mass punishments, and since the administration is demonstrating in Ohio and elsewhere that it is willing to punish a state that VOTED for him, clearly states that didn’t vote for him are fair game and likely to be punished with or without a bunch of their people petitioning for secession.

(d)  It wastes media and government time – just like the “mail your used teabag” thing did a couple of years ago.  And it makes them look foolish, also.  In less than a week the list of petitions on the White House site has gone from about 80 to more than 180.

But if we think that this sort of thing will change ONE SINGLE MAJOR ACTION of the Federal Government and the controllers, we are foolish and naive. Nevertheless, I think it a valuable (and fun!) step in the right direction.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48A: This and That

Posted on 2012-11-14 by TPOL Nathan

With more and more screaming and moaning and whinging about the election and the fate of American civilization, there are LOTS of things to talk about.  Here is a spattering from the beginning of the week.

Crash of 2009 – Looming Crash 2.0? – Theft by Government
The Fiscal Cliff: A Primer
(TAX FOUNDATION ) The federal government is borrowing an average of $2.7 billion a day; the debt is expected to approach the ceiling by the end of 2012…

Nathan: And spending at least $4 billion a day: aren’t we special, we American people, to deserve that much spending and borrowing all for us?  If it were, it still would be evil and wrong.  But don’t worry, things WILL get worse because there is NO solution that can be gotten through the various levels and branches of government.  Not that a lot of politicians won’t use this as an excuse to raise taxes and gain more power, like Kristol, below.

Islamic wars: Canaanite front
Israel fires guided missile into Syria
(Chicago Tribune) “Israel fired a guided missile into Syria on Sunday in a potent ‘warning shot’ after mortar fire from fighting between Syrian troops and rebels hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the second time in four days. Israel Radio said it was the first direct engagement of the Syrian military on the Golan since the countries’ 1973 war.” (11/11/12)

Nathan: Meanwhile, as other stories reported over the weekend, Israeli warplanes wantonly attacked peaceful facilities and people in the Gaza Strip.  It wasn’t until the first spat of stories were published that the media thought to mention the attacks (which on Wednesday were claimed to have killed a key Hamas war leader) followed a 100-rocket attack on Israeli targets (target: anything the rocket could hit) fired out of Gaza.  Is the Israeli response excessive?  Probably.  What else is new?  Neither side has pure intentions or pure actions: it is the way of feuds.  But bad as the Israeli government and society is, the “Palestinian” Islamic one is worse.

Stupid government tricks – Health
Medicaid Patients Have Worse Access and Outcomes than Privately Insured
(HERITAGE FOUNDATION ) A 2001 study published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved reports that pediatric Medicaid patients were more likely to be discharged on subpar medication routines…

Nathan: Notice it only took 11 years to publish this study.  There are many reasons, but all should scream alarms for the lovers of ObummerCare and for the state of government-dictated/controlled health care in general.  These things KILL people.  And the people are key participants in their own deaths.  I think that if you have to pay for it yourself, you are far more likely to do what you need to do: take that expensive medicine, stop eating what you should not and stop being lazy and unconcerned.  Of course, we are not surprised if Medicaid patients are less-educated, less aware of what they should and should not be doing, and likely to do the wrong things for their health care.

Congress in action
Boehner: ‘I Don’t Want to Box Myself In’ On Reducing Deficit
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Boehner is one of the big reasons the GOP shot itself in the foot.  This sort of game playing and fence-riding is one reason the GOP needs to collapse.

Stupid local government
Los Angeles Endorses ‘Meatless Mondays’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So, is a prohibition on eating meat on Mondays one of the next steps, ala Bloomberg’s New York City?  By having it on Monday instead of the traditional Catholic meatless Fridays, there is no religious connection – at least not to the old, traditional religions.

Theft by government – GOP shakiness
Bill Kristol: ‘It Won’t Kill The Country If We Raise Taxes a Little Bit on Millionaires’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  This “conservative” (like Boehner) is a pragmatist: he is more interested in keeping GOP political power than he is in standing up for the principles that the GOP supposedly exists to support and implement.  Hopefully enough GOP members will be as grossed out by this as those I’ve heard and split the party completely.  And I saw at least ONE positive response from an unlikely source, Dominationist Gary Lamar headlined his commentary on this statement by Kristol:  “Let’s call taxation what it is: THEFT!”

GOP shakiness
Jindal Tells GOP, ‘Stop Being the Stupid Party’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Give it up, Bobby.  The GOP is no more capable of that than of winning elections or of solving the nation’s problems.  I am more and more convinced that the total fragmentation of the GOP (which would be followed inevitably by that of the Democratic Party) would be a GOOD outcome, and in the long run lead to far better conditions – economic, liberty, social.

World wars – Stupid government tricks
Panetta: ‘Advance Notice’ Needed for U.S. ‘To Be Able to Move Quickly’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  An oxymoron, of course.  A pitiful excuse for the lack of real effect (other than killing people and destroying property) that recent US actions around the world have produced.  A justification for MORE, not less, intervention around the world.  I’ve heard conservatives try to sugar coat the First Citizen’s re-election by claiming that he would be better than Romney at foreign policy and dealing with conflicts and threats abroad.  This sort of statement by Panetta indicates just how wrong that idea is.

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Prepping Follies and other fun

Posted on 2012-11-13 by MamaLiberty

I moved to Wyoming in 2006…

No, that’s going back too far. I’d have to write a book to cover even part of that. Suffice it to say that I left behind a great many things I wish I had now… and brought many things I found I’ll never need.

But I digress, already. I’ve been reading too much L. Neil Smith lately – he does that a lot.

Anyway… I’ve been slowly, but surely getting my life and gear squared away to face the future the best I can, whatever comes. Not knowing what’s actually coming makes this quite difficult, and I’m happy for all of the folks who think they KNOW pretty certainly just what they are prepping for… makes it so much simpler. But I suspect they will be in for just as many surprises as those of us who don’t think we know.

Oh, there are trends and some fairly clear consequences to the current insanity in our economy and politics, but the specifics will be the killer, and they won’t be the same everywhere.

Anyway, I digress again. Sorry.

Several years ago I bought a grain mill, several hundred pounds of whole wheat berries, and decided to make my own wheat and other whole grain flour products. A friend built me a table for the mill out of an old plant stand and a leftover chunk of formica countertop stuff, but it was always wobbly and deteriorated fast.

Last week, one of my new “Wyoming sons” built me a new table of new wood, beautifully constructed and finished. We got it into the house yesterday, but I told him I’d need to take everything off the old one and vacuum the floor, etc. before I could put it into place. So it was left in the middle of the kitchen. Today I decided to get that job done.

Then the fun began. Did you ever start a project where everything went wrong and you wound up doing a dozen other jobs so you could get anywhere near the project you started? If so, you have an idea of how my day went.

First thing I did was to attempt moving a tall metal shelf unit so I could vacuum under it. No real weight on it, and I forgot that the darn thing comes apart in the middle. I also didn’t think about the plant on the very top since it doesn’t weigh anything much… and lifting weight is something I don’t do well, so it’s usually up front in my thinking.

Not good. Priorities in thinking usually mean having a number of steps in mind… not concentrating on the first one.

The top of the unit came off and the plant shot over the rail and down the staircase to the basement. Black dirt on a tan carpet. Oh me. I swept up what I could and saved the plant, then decided to vacuum up the black soil because the dog was tracking it everywhere.

OOPS. The soil was wet and clogged the vacuum before I could get more than a tiny fraction of the stuff picked up. I had to take the vacuum apart and clean the brush head and the intake for the hose. I found other garbage that needed cleaning out then, so it turned into quite a process.  I hope there is no other blockage because I have no idea how to clear it. (Seemed to work fine later).

Ok… put the dog outside (and thank goodness it’s not snowing). Take everything off the shelf unit and tighten all the screws, reassemble, move it, put stuff back on – after cleaning it and everything that was on it.

Back on track. Removed everything from the old work table, cleaned it and put it into its new position after vacuuming the floor thoroughly. DARN, had to pull it out to plug in the multi outlet thing I’ll need there. Thank goodness I hadn’t loaded the shelves yet.

Vacuumed the floor where the old table had been. Ugly! Need to pull these things out and vacuum more often.

OK then… time to put the new table in place… except that all the stuff from the old table had been put onto the dining table… which was between the new work table and the place it needed to go. TOO heavy to budge.

ARGGGH  Unload the dining table, putting things on the old table and the floor in the kitchen. Move dining table. Move new work table… HEAVY! But I made it. Move dining table to new position. Forgot to vacuum first – but nuts to that. I can do that later.

Finally vacuumed up the last of the potting soil strewn down the steps and pooled at the bottom of the staircase. Let the dog back in…

Spent the next few hours cleaning all the stuff and putting it back onto the shelves of the work tables, wishing for another shelf on the new one, but tickled that my supplies and equipment all now much better organized and available for use.

There are small piles of stuff left on the floor and the dining table that aren’t giving me a clue just where they should go… but I think I’ll leave that for tomorrow. The glass of brandy I’m enjoying now seems much more relevant to my happiness at the moment.

Now I have to figure out what in the world I’d do without electricity for the vacuum, among other things – not to mention the brandy! I don’t know how to make brandy!

Back to the drawing board!

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The Scent of Secession is in the Air

Posted on 2012-11-11 by TPOL Nathan

Courtesy of Liberty Outpost, a “funny” little story showed up in my inbox this afternoon:

Freedom Outpost: White House Petitions for Secession

First there was a petition to “Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.” The petition was created November 7 and already has 3,521 signatures [When the F.O. story was written; at 2300 hours CT on Saturday, as I write this, it had almost doubled to 7,000]. It needs 25,000 by December 7 of this year in order to garner a response from Barack Obama. [I am sure we can all imagine the response.]

The petition is clear and to the point:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

“…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government…”

… A petition was begun on Friday for Texas to peacefully withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government. [This petition now has more than 3,600 signatures in less than 36 hours.] The petition reads:

The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government’s neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect it’s citizens’ standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government.

Texas does not really need a “new government” – at least not legally and technically (morally may be a different matter), since their State government could convert quite simply back to what I suppose would be the Third Republic of Texas (the Second being in place for that brief period between leaving the US in 1861 and joining the Confederacy – probably a big mistake on Texans’ part instead of just resuming their independent status).  But it might be best to make it truly a new government: most of the officials in Austin have compromised their integrity so badly that an independent Texan Republic would not want them to stay in power if at all possible.  And with a new government, it is always possible that a more libertarian (minarchist) form of government could be established, similar to the original republican government in 1836 and to the US under the Articles of Confederation.

One possible minarchist constitution has been around for close to two decades.  You can read it here: it has several interesting and thoughtful ideas for better local government and preserving liberty.

Now, do I think these petitions are going anywhere?  Hardly.  Indeed, anyone who signs on to these, even just giving e-mail, name (first and last) and zip code, may be signing their own death warrant.  Especially if more than 25,000 people sign: that is a pretty good indicator that some folks are serious about it.  And this administration has made it pretty clear that even someone who secedes by moving out of the country and trying to give up their United States citizenship is going to be harassed, persecuted, prosecuted and robbed blind.

The fact that 25,000 out of the millions of residents of Texas (not all of whom are Texans, and these petitions can be signed by people both inside and outside of the state) want to give up their enslavement to DC and are willing to put their name (or someone’s!) and address (or part of it) down, will cause the same sort of reaction a cop nowadays has when a ten-year-old won’t wash his car or when a deaf pedestrian fails to obey his screamed order or a farmer tries to sell raw milk to a friend.  The reaction ain’t pretty (unless you’re are a flatfoot trying to get a bit more attention to get that promotion and raise).

Several people (including F.O.) have compared the man currently living at 1600 PA to another Chicago lawyer and politician, name of Honest Abe (apparently sarcastically, because he couldn’t stay bought by his big railroad clients).  And we all recall what THAT bloodthirsty monster did when South Carolina and a few other states had it up to HERE with DC tyranny.  About 121 years ago, as I recall.  Remember that even those states that stayed loyal to Dear Leader and his tycoon and Red-Republican buddies in Congress got a raw deal: look at the casualty lists and you will see what I mean.

You could have 250,000 signatures, or 2.5 million, and the only difference would be that the reaction would be more terrifying and more bloody.

So if you must sign one of these, let me suggest your best approach might be to find the name and address (and get an e-mail account) for some distant and safely dead relative in Texas or Louisiana.  After all, if all those dead folks in Chicago and Philadelphia got to vote last week, why shouldn’t the dead in New Orleans or San Antonio get the same chance?

I’d dearly love to see EVERY state of our former Federal Union start up a petition on WhiteHouse.gov that starts out “When in the course of human events…”  Secession has a sweet smell to it: ask those people in 1776 and 1836 and people in places like Slovakia and Scotland and Catalonia.

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