Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-13C: More Police State Blues

Posted on 2013-04-12 by TPOL Nathan

Hoplophobes & Hoploclasts
Chris Matthews: NRA Wants ‘Guns on Demand Like You’re Buying a Hershey Bar’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Not quite, Chris.  Handguns, like prescription drugs and computer games and gasoline and other items that are easily shoplifted and high-value items, need to be properly secured.  But otherwise, yes, I should be able – ANY American, or for that matter, ANY human, ought to be able to walk into a convenience store or other retail store and buy a gun – no different than a chocolate bar or a bottle of milk.  And for those who don’t want to buy a full box of ammo, little containers right there at the checkout stand right next to the candy bars and gum and those stupid celebrity magazines should be available.  What don’t you understand about freedom?

Lawful gun use
Burger King diner defeats would-be robber by shooting him
(Washington Times)  A father who was trying to eat with his family at Burger King was able to defeat an armed robber by pulling his own weapon and shooting at him, Miami police said. It was at the height of lunch time, about 1 p.m., when a would-be robber walked into a Burger King, flashed his gun at one of the family diners, and demanded the diner fork over money and valuables, police said in a CBS report. The robber was exiting when the father, who feared for his and his family’s life, CBSsaid, took out his own gun and shot the suspect in the leg.

Nathan: Not exactly “self defense” but certainly a justified shooting – but bad form, too: shooting in the leg isn’t going to keep a thug from turning and shooting other people anyway.

Mama’s Note: Bad form, and bad timing. Shooting someone while they walk (or run) away is counterproductive to say the least. This guy needs a good self defense class and a bit more range time.

Theft by government
OMB: Obama Will Become First President to Spend $4T in One Year
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Look, it is fine to blame the man in the White House, but this is only what is allowed BY CONGRESS.  Legally, the “messiah” could not spend a single thin dime without Congress appropriating the money and authorizing its theft from the people and businesses of the world.  Until we face reality, NOTHING will change.

Stupid government tricks
Postal Service bows to pressure, won’t end Saturday delivery
(Washington Post) The U.S. Postal Service backed away Wednesday from its plan to end Saturday mail delivery in August, bowing to bipartisan congressional opposition that the postmaster general said two months ago he had the authority to bypass.

Nathan: Once more, government stupidity strikes again.  I know of several companies (and there must be thousands nationwide) who have already spent tens of thousands of dollars and made irrevocable decisions based on no Saturday delivery, and now are stuck – and may be driven into bankruptcy – because of this off-again, on-again nonsense.  Of course, it makes many of us more than ever convinced that, like government schools, government postal service is something we have to further divorce ourselves from it.

Mama’s Note: I had to send some money to a friend last week. It was the very first thing I’d put in the “mail” all year. And probably the last. There simply is no rational future for the USPS, and it does need to die – indeed, just as government “school” and a thousand other such things need to die.

Hoplophobes & Hoploclasts
Video: Firearms Company Relocating From Connecticut To North Texas
(Daily Paul.com) A firearms company that makes AR-15 style rifles for the iconic brand Colt, will open a plant in Breckenridge in Stephens County. Oregon company Bold Ideas confirmed the development Friday.

Nathan: I know, Daily Paul is sometimes not too trustworthy, but this is apparently the case.  Hopefully, as in Colorado (which Magpul and other companies are leaving) many more people and firms will pull out of the Connecticut Police State.  This is of particular interest to me as I had family living in Breckenridge (west of Fort Worth, and a location with a history of clashes between ranchers, farmers, and Comanche) for many years.  It is a nice town and the company will do well there, I think.

Mama’s Note: Well, an improvement over the east coast, anyway. Texas is not without its own problems.

Government-run, Tax-funded schools NOT
Ron Paul: Hey Teachers, Leave Those Kids Alone
(PersonalLiberty.com) A quick overview of some of the materials provided on the Paul Curriculum website makes clear that students will be enlightened by the ideas of great Austrian economists and encouraged to be self-made citizens as well as vocal defenders of liberty. Alongside reading, writing and arithmetic are lessons on starting a home-based business and creating a successful social media presence. Historian and Economist Gary North, the program’s director of curriculum, put it simply that the educational track is designed to “teach the Biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility” and give students the tools to recognize threats to their rights.

Nathan: Good for Dr. Paul.  I’ve not had a chance to go through the new curriculum yet, but it looks at first glance to be excellent.  One problem with many homeschool curricula (including both K12.com and several of the religious-oriented ones) is that there is too much government and state-worship in them. But it now becomes much easier to GET YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS.

The “messiah” – Growing government (4 stories)
Obama: ‘Prohibit’ Americans from Saving More Than $3M in Retirement Accounts
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Funny, can’t find that anywhere in the dead-letter Constitution or anything else.  First step to STEALING everything over $3 million too.  And makes the Social Security theoretically look better in comparison.

Obama’s Budget Asks $30 Million in New Funding for ‘Gun Violence Prevention
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Seed money for the “enhanced” registration and background check system.  This is primarily prevention of gun violence in self-defense against government agents.

Obama: Put Nation’s 4-Year-Olds in ‘Public Preschool;’ Will Save on ‘Child-Care Costs’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: “Brave New World” – crèches mean more subservient and controlled populations.

Mama’s Note: And, of course, will cost far, far more than any ordinary day care.

Obama’s Budget Includes Funding for U.N. Agency That Recognized ‘Palestine’(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Never mind what Congress says or has said.  Never mind that there is NO constitutional authority to fund UN Agencies (or for that matter, foreign aid for either Israel or Egypt or “Palestineans” – we will see our stolen money wasted in this way.

Police States
Colorado Sheriffs Planning to Fight New Gun Laws
(Denver Post) Thirty-seven of the state’s 62 elected sheriffs are prepared to sue to overturn laws that now prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines holding more than 15 rounds and require background checks for all private gun sales, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said Tuesday. …San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters said he doesn’t think the new laws will be effective, but he won’t join in the legal action. “I’m not going to sue anybody for anything. I understand the frustration but I wouldn’t do that.”

Nathan: This is almost two-thirds of the sheriffs.  This is a surprise and a refreshing one at that – though it doesn’t mean that these sheriffs are truly lovers of liberty or even very constitutionally-minded.  Still, it is good to see that even those who are in “law enforcement” are trying to tear down the Colorado Police State.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-13B: Police State Blues

Posted on 2013-04-11 by TPOL Nathan

Self-defense – Stupid government thugs
Massachusetts man facing charges for killing bear in his own backyard
(CBS) – A 76-year-old Auburn man is facing charges after killing a bear in his backyard. Richard Ahlstrand told WBZ-TV he was stocking his bird feeder Friday night when a bear about seven feet tall and 300-to-400 pounds started chasing him. That’s when he turned his shotgun on the bear….Ahlstrand is now charged with illegally killing a bear, illegally baiting a bear, illegal possession of a firearm and failing to secure a weapon. … “They got me set up now like I’m some kind of murderer.  And then the environmental guy told me ‘You should have called me instead of shooting it.’  What was I going to do, say ‘Mister Bear would excuse me please while I go make a phone call?’” Police don’t believe the bear was a threat to people.

Nathan: These scumbags should be fed to the bears.  To even be charged with ANYthing in this case shows how seriously fouled-up Massachusetts and local laws must be.  No indication that Joe Biden has come to his defense, either.  A police state where bears have more rights than humans.

Our right to self defense – Local tyranny
New York man loses pistol license after son makes school water gun “threat”
(Hauppage Patch) …That following Monday [after the school complained about his son and two others], Mayer received a call from the pistol licensing office, stating that police would be at his house to remove his guns and suspend his license. “I attempted to explain that this must be a mistake, no wrong doing occurred on my part. My son has no access to any of my guns. The officer that came to my residence saw that all my guns were secured. Pistol Licensing was not interested in my side of the story. They were only interested in what happened with my 10-year-old son in school,” he said. When Mayer asked police when his license would be restored, he said that police told him he would have to wait until his son is 18 years old and moves out of the home. According to police, if Mayer wants his handguns back sooner, he could pursue an administrative hearing or other legal recourse. However, those are pricey endeavors.

Nathan: Others have reported this, but once more it is worth noting that registration led DIRECTLY to confiscation, given the slightest excuse.  This is not liberty, this is not freedom, this is again, a police state.  And this is important because it was the gust front of what JPFO and others are now reporting, as of Tuesday 9th April 2013:

(JPFO) …It seems those that tried desperately to warn of such an insidious plot had hit the bullseye with their warnings after all. News came from multiple NY State based firearms enthusiast websites late Friday that confiscations of Pistol Owner ID Cards, as well as firearms and accessories has commenced in NY under the provisions of the horribly flawed, draconian and blatantly unconstitutional NY SAFE Act.

Those folks having their weapons and FID cards confiscated have been discovered to have been prescribed multiple different types of psychotropic drugs, such as those for Depression or Anxiety. These are known as SSRI ( Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) class drugs and have the potential to cause serious and adverse side effects, something I wrote about extensively last week in an article that went viral in days and caused multiple Anti Gun and Progressive News Groups to initiate a concentrated denial of service hacker attack against Ammoland Shooting Sports News (see Daily KOS “Keeping Track Of The RKBA Crowd “), in an effort to keep the information from the public.

From: NYS Police Departments Revoking Pistol Permits because of Anti-Anxiety Meds

Nathan: The conflict is continuing to build.  Sometime, soon, somewhere, someone is going to defend their right to keep and bear arms by using those arms, with other friends and family and comrades to help and support them. And then…

State tyranny – Government-run, tax-funded schools
Wyoming State Superintendent Speaks in Albany County
(Laramie Boomerang)  At Monday’s Albany County Tea Party Roundup meeting, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill told a story about her son. Hill, who used to be a principal, said one of her son’s professors told him he was surprised his mom hadn’t “folded” after the passing of Senate File 104 — a bill signed by Gov. Matt Mead in January that transferred many of her duties as head of the Wyoming Department of Education to a director appointed by the governor. “Do you know what my son said?” Hill asked. “He said, ‘You don’t know my mom. … She’s used to dealing with bullies, but they’re usually just seventh-graders.’”

Nathan: This story reminds us that things are still in a row in Wyoming, where the supposedly conservative Legislature and Governor conspired to destroy the power of an elected official and replace her with an appointed educrat.  Cindy Hill is no libertarian, but a better option than the stuff floating on top of the cistern in Cheyenne.  And she obviously isn’t giving up.

Tranzis
Rejoicing in Streets when Thatcher Dies
(Daily Mail via The Last Resistance) “Baroness Thatcher’s death unleashed a wave of vitriol and hatred from the Left…The first of several planned ‘Thatcher death parties’ across the country began last night with more than 200 revellers gathering in Brixton, south London…They danced the conga, drank champagne and chanted: ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – Dead, Dead, Dead.’ Banners were held stating ‘Rejoice Thatcher is dead’ by drunken crowds, many of whom were too young to remember her as prime minister…Sickening messages also began flooding the internet minutes after the official announcement…And at a National Union of Students conference in Sheffield some delegates cheered and applauded when informed of the former prime minister’s death.”

Nathan: Ah, the love and peaceful nature of the Tranzis and about anyone on the Left, not just in the UK but here.  There was a little of this when Reagan died; I can only imagine the glee when George W. Bush dies.  but never fear, the cops will be there to protect the partiers.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-13A: This and that

Posted on 2013-04-10 by TPOL Nathan

East Asian front – Tranzis and Communists
Chen Guangcheng: China Can’t Expect a ‘Savior,’ Reform Must Come From Grassroots
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The “people” led by the cadre of the Communist Party, no doubt.

Home front – Crash of 2009
3.6 Percent Unemployment–for Government Workers
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I don’t know why they keep separate stats for government workers, but I am glad that they do.  Frankly, I would LOVE to see unemployment for them in double-digit numbers: 25%, 50%, 75% percent.  It would show that we are throwing off the shackles of this evil institution.

Home front – Crash of 2009
Black, Latino Unemployment Falls as Thousands of Minorities Leave Labor Force
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: In other words (as the next story also relates), the unemployment is dropping because people are GIVING UP.  Or going underground to find work.

Home front – Crash of 2009
Record 89,967,000 Not in Labor Force; 663,000 Drop Out In March
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Some people do just give up:  they cannot find work in their own area of expertise or living, and they cannot or will not accept working in a lower-paying or less prestigious field:  they have too much (or not enough) pride.  And no understanding of personal responsibility.  For many of these people, why would they bother to keep looking for work?  Or at least, work that they have to pay social security or income taxes on?  They obviously have lots to do, and get enough grants and subsidies and freebies to keep on doing whatever it is that they are doing.  And that situation is certainly to the advantage of government, as the social services offices gain new clients by the basketful, and need higher budgets to pay out all the services, and promotions and more hires.  (You see why government employees have so low a jobless rate – you can ALWAYS find a new government job working in the welfare office.)

Stupid government tricks – Bogus rights
HUD Launches ‘Fair Housing’ Ads, Cites ‘Religious Discrimination,’ ‘Neighborhoods With Mosques’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: From what I’ve seen, neighborhoods with mosques are about as fun to live in as neighborhoods with crack and whore houses.  It certainly is a way to keep property values low, and then to promote gun sales from people who can’t move out.  Seems to me like the religious discrimination is mostly against the landlords too: you cannot practice your religion if you believe it is wrong for unmarried people to cohabit, or for people to cut up chickens and look at their entrails, or to have peace and quiet instead of calls to prayer five times a day.

Guess I’m getting old, but once upon a time people tried to have government stop this sort of thing, not promote it.  “Fair housing” laws with their bogus “rights” are a violation of REAL human rights, like the right to associate and assemble, and the right to control your own property.  The insult added to injury is the advertising campaigns to tell people about “their rights.”

Mama’s Note: There is no such thing as a “right” to do or have something at someone else’s expense. The universal obligation is not to initiate force. Therefore, if my neighbor wants to sacrifice chickens or pray five times a day, I must negotiate with him about the things that actually affect my property, or even my peace (like disturbed sleep), but I have no more right to prevent his non aggressive actions than he does to prevent mine.

Theft by government – Tyranny and thuggery (EPA)
New EPA Rules Won’t Help Environment, May Raise Gas Prices, Industry Says
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: So what else is new after almost 40 years of EPA tyranny?  EPA survives and grows in power by NOT getting the environment cleaned up, and by terrorizing everyone about how horrible things are getting, and then rape the productive class with new taxes, direct and indirect, that steal money from everyone and drive prices up.

Government-run, theft-funded schools – Responsibility
Parents outraged that Mass. kids were denied lunch
(Yahoo) As many as 25 students at a Massachusetts school were denied lunch this week — with at least some forced to dump their food in the garbage — because they couldn’t pay, school officials and parents said.

Nathan: How HORRIBLE.  How GHASTLY.  How EVIL.  How stupid the people whining about this are, and how incredibly stupid the parents are.  I know, I must be a cruel and evil man to say that children should not be allowed to eat just because they have no money.  Strange, when I was in elementary school back in the 1960s, if MY parents did not pay for a lunch and if I did not bring a lunch with me to school – I DID NOT GET TO EAT.  Same for everyone else – even those whose parents were surely well under the “poverty line” – in those days before the Great Society and Compassionate Conservatism and all the rest of the garbage provided free lunch programs and free breakfast programs, and all the rest.  But MY parents accepted the responsibility and made sure that I ate – I was, after all, THEIR child.  These parents are incredibly stupid and greedy and without ANY responsibility for their own actions.

Mama’s Note: True, but I’m wondering why the payment thing wasn’t settled before the lunch was served. Dumping it AFTER the fact seems unnecessary. Of course, just being sent to that government school was child abuse, so it is obvious the parents don’t have a clue.

Hoplophobes and Hoploclasts – Politics (3 stories)
Gun legislation’s prospects improve
(Washington Post) Prospects for a bipartisan deal to expand federal background checks for gun purchases are improving with the emergence of fresh Republican support, according to top Senate aides.The possibility that after weeks of stalled negotiations senators might be on the cusp of a breakthrough comes as President Obama and his top surrogates will begin on Monday their most aggressive push yet to rally Americans around his gun-control agenda.

Nathan: The GOP is betraying its constituency, as usual; the WaPo crows about one backstabbing piece of GOP work.  The WaPo is right about the aggressiveness, also:  the White House is screaming more and more.

Toomey possible GOP partner for Democrats in background check bill
(Washington Post) A Democratic senator seeking to expand the national gun background check system has found a new Republican partner, likely boosting the prospects for a new bipartisan agreement that senators could vote on in the coming weeks, according to several senior Senate aides familiar with the talks.

Nathan: The media is supporting the “messiah” of course:  I’ve noticed an increase in stories about accidental deaths and other odd-ball situations. Meanwhile, others are using the “messiah’s” tactics and being idiots.

Mama’s Note: Indeed… so much for Toomey as a friend of liberty. Just another traitor.
Toomey bucks gun owners in background check deal
(Gun Rights Examiner) Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania joined today at a U.S. Capitol press conference with Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to announce their agreement to extend background checks to end private sales at gun shows and via private transfers arranged online, an announcement posted on Toomey’s website revealed.

Conn. Gov. Dan Malloy: NRA’s LaPierre like ‘clowns at the circus’
(Washington Post) Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) on Sunday compared National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre to “clowns at the circus.”  “Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus. They get the most attention, and that’s what he’s paid to do,” said Malloy on CNN’s “State of The Union.”

Nathan: The clowns I see are Malloy and the other progressives trying to disarm Americans and still claim they are “constitutional.”  CNN and WaPo and the rest make it clear who is showcasing the circus.

Mama’s Note: Unfortunately, the NRA is not friend of liberty either. They are working hard to sell everyone down the river in the name of “mental health.” That is every bit as much a danger to our lives and liberty as any sort of “background checks.” And for the same reasons.

East Asian front – Congress in action
Senators call on China to step up pressure on North Korea
(Washington Post) A trio of senators on Sunday called for China to apply more pressure on North Korea, which has recently adopted an increasingly hostile posture toward the United States. “China does hold the key to this problem,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on CBS News’s “Face The Nation.”

Nathan: I don’t trust McCain farther than he can run or I can spit, and his idea that China will do anything except watch is a joke for everyone.  The problem is, North Korea is like a two-year-old; if you want them to stop having tantrums, a good tactic is usually to just ignore them.  YES, be prepared in case they DO do something stupid (just like the two-year-old who gets the matches from the fireplace) but don’t egg them on or try to get someone else to intervene.

Congress in action – Border jumpers
Schumer: ‘Gang of Eight’ on track for immigration agreement by week’s end
(Washington Post) The Senate’s third-ranking Democrat expressed hope Sunday that a bipartisan group he belongs to will come to an agreement on a proposal to revamp the nation’s immigration laws by the end of the week. “I think we’re doing very well. I think that we hope that we can have a bipartisan agreement among the eight of us on comprehensive immigration reform by the end of this week,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said on CBS News’s “Face The Nation.”

Nathan: Once more, the GOP betrays its constituents and its “principles” – they are so worthless. Schumer’s idiocy is as sure as the sun rising; the man is a menace to free people.

Self-defense
Texas: Serial robber shot by victim
(Gun Watch)  “Police say Willis, along with the help of 22-year-old Malik Washington and 21-year-old Ariel Malveaux, first abducted a woman in the 200 block of Village Creek Parkway. They drove her to an ATM and made her withdraw money before releasing her. Then they attempted to rob two women at their home in the 100 block of Dennis Drive. However, one of the women had the chance to grab a handgun from inside the home and shoot Willis in the abdomen.” (04/08/13)

Nathan: Would-be victim, I think.  If the first woman had been armed, she would not have been a victim either – but at least someone took this thug out.  Would we could do this to all of those who are robbing us.

Mama’s Note: Indeed… I don’t ever anticipate being attacked again, but I’m ready if it happens. I refuse to be any sort of victim – at least not because of free lance criminals.

Home front – Not-so-stupid people
Growing worry over “zero TV” homes
(Bennington Banner) “Some people have had it with TV. They’ve had enough of the 100-plus channel universe. They don’t like timing their lives around network
show schedules. They’re tired of $100-plus monthly bills. A growing number of them have stopped paying for cable and satellite TV service, and don’t even use an antenna to get free signals over the air. These people are watching shows and movies on the Internet, sometimes via cellphone connections.” (04/08/13)

Nathan: Duh.  My family and I have NEVER had cable television, and haven’t had broadcast television since the new standard came in, so I could not resist commenting on this.  The MSM are dead, just haven’t stopped moving yet.  The cable companies are bloated government-loving parasites (who finance a LOT of local government with franchise fees).  The waste of time for television – something I grew up with – may be nearing an end.  Yes, that “united culture” that TV gave America supposedly had some good points, but frankly, as a human culture of any value, it was (and is) worthless: good riddance.

Mama’s Note: I’ve never watched much TV, simply because I’m so deaf I can’t make out what they are saying (and no, I don’t like the “captions” either) – so I really have no idea what the programming has been at least since my boys left home. They used to watch it a little, but we had far too much work and too many other things to do to make it much of a habit. Sadly, the young people I see around me have replaced TV with things just as mindless. Facebook and nonstop “texting” is no improvement that I can see.

Self-defense – Hoplophobes and hoploclasts
DC: Man arrested, charged with exercising inalienable rights on Capitol grounds
(Uniontown Herald-Standard)”A Florida man is under arrest after police say he brought unregistered guns and ammunition onto the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building. U.S. Capitol Police say 59-year-old Ty Carroll Mitchum of Clearwater, Fla., was arrested after officers encountered him outside the building Sunday afternoon and searched his car.” (04/08/13)

Nathan: The headline is from the folks at Freedom News Daily.  DC law, of course, STILL (all these years after the SCOTUS decision) requires registering of guns, but I still don’t see how his car was “on Capitol grounds” – as far as I know, there are no longer any parking places on the streets around the Capitol and the massive office buildings that are monuments to our filthy, corrupt, and permanently-criminal members of Congress.  In the past, tourists used to be able to park nearby – but in the past, tourists could be clothed properly in public (that is, armed).  No more, of course.  If he is like me, he might remember the good old days, though: when a young man, dressed nicely and properly armed, was able to walk in any of several dozen entrances to the Capitol and those other buildings and go visit his Congressman and Senators, ride the little subways, and listen to the past and present of what he still thought was mostly a free nation.

Mama’s Note: My question, as always, is why he’d want to go there at all, let alone armed. Doesn’t he read the news?

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Colorado, the Police State

Posted on 2013-04-09 by TPOL Nathan

As readers may recall, Colorado is a second home for me and my family.  We spend a lot of time there, and have close relatives that live in various parts of the state.  We frequently have to travel through all the major urban areas of the state, including the Front Range (Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, Metro Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs), Pueblo, Grand Junction,  and many smaller-population areas of the state, including the Western Slope (Craig, Rifle, Meeker, Cortez, Durango, etc.), the San Luis Valley (Alamosa), North and South Parks, and the Eastern Plains (Sterling, Brush, Limon, La Junta, Lamar, Walsenburg, etc.).  I have many friends and clients throughout the state.

Colorado WAS once a Western State:  where people believed in “live and let live” and going the second mile, where people understood that “my freedom ends at your nose” and where government was limited.

In the past 30 years, that has changed:  the “quasi-full-time” General Assembly (Legislature) has become a cabal of sneak-thieves and elected hegemons, the governor has become an elected dictator, the state’s administrative agencies have become bureaucratic overseers of the slaves of the state: the citizens, residents, and voters of the state including their businesses: farms, ranches, stores, factories, mines, schools and more.

The Colorado State Patrol, once known as the “Courtesy Patrol” and established to help motorists in trouble in Colorado’s mountains and plains, has become as tyrannical and corrupt as all the rest. The first response of most travelers on Colorado roads when seeing a CSP trooper’s car is fear and worry.  Although many sheriffs are honorable and dedicated men and women, training and leading their deputies and posses to keep the peace and help their citizens, some are the corrupt and tyrannical products of elections stolen by political machines.  Sheriff’s officers all too often harass the people that they are “serving” and are often known for their laziness and partiality.  The same is true for police forces: there are many honorable and true men and women in many forces, but other forces (especially but not only in large municipalities) are venal and often brutal enforcers of the law and repress and often kill those they are supposed to be serving.

The state is now dominated by Democrats, their base of power in the large urban areas filled with Tranzis (Trans-national progressives) encouraged by such nexi as Boulder and the University of Colorado, Denver and the various universities there, and even liberal institutions of higher education in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Fort Collins, Greeley, Gunnison, Durango, and Grand Junction.  The urban areas are filled with the clients of corrupt politicians: not just the college-propagandized liberals, but the underclasses: ghetto blacks in fatherless families (third- and fourth-generation welfare clients), Hispanic families both native to Colorado and legal immigrants and border-jumpers (again many multi-generational welfare recipients), urban Anglos and AmerInds who find that being parasites is a better living than working, sports “heroes,”  industrial and commercial and intellectual Defense and other government contract welfare bums, and the “trust babies:” those whose parents or grandparents struggled and succeeded and then bequeathed the wealth but not their values to their sons and daughters.  And the Democrats are aided by the GOP establishment in the state, which spends more time browbeating and disenfranchising their “Tea Party” members and conservatives than trying to win elections against Democrats.

Colorado’s contribution to the nation, politically, are now a litany of progressives:  Gary Hart, Frederico Pena, parts of the Udall political dynasty, and of course, the Salazars.  The General Assembly (and not just Democrats, by any means) conspires daily to steal more money and more liberties from every class of people, but especially those who live in the rural and frontier parts of the state, not just with the state’s own agencies but with the federal agencies (many with major presences in Denver, second only to DC as the location of the federal bureaucracy).

Last week, the latest crime and evil was revealed in Colorado. A Colorado State Patrol trainer, in his last days before joining the wonderful folks at the US Department of Homeland Security, told local and state law enforcement officers that a large majority of Coloradoans – including christians and those who believe in human rights and the US Constitution – are threats to the state and the peace, and include in their number terrorists who must be monitored and controlled.  Or so an Undersheriff of Prowers County states:

This has been verified by several sources, but I am still seeking more confirmation.

Colorado State Patrol – Christians Need to be Watched, Treated with Caution

Army training material lists evangelical Christians, Catholics as extremists

Colo. sheriff: CSP should suspend course that calls for monitoring of Christians

Those who have confirmed it are the Examiner, Glenn Beck’s program, and apparently Undersheriff Trowbridge’s boss, Prowers County Sheriff Jim Faull.  Prowers County is in the southeast part of Colorado (county seat Lamar) in the Eastern Plains.  Faull seems to be one of many sheriffs in Colorado who have denounced the recent gun control laws passed by the Colorado General Assembly, together with sheriffs from Weld County (Greeley), Elbert County (Kiowa), Dolores County (Dove Creek), Montezuma County (Cortez) and El Paso County (Colorado Springs).  Apparently at least ONE officer of the Colorado State Patrol has decided to join the tyrants.

How much lower will Colorado fall?  The state steals even from its own jurisdictional governments: counties and cities and special districts.  It destroys businesses and lives daily by obscure and punitive laws and enforcement which is based on constantly changing “interpretations” by unelected boards and political appointees and bureaucrats at all levels.  Its schools are places of brutal hazing and bullying – while children are punished for the most ridiculous of “offenses” like bringing unapproved food to school, playing games on the playground, or drawing pictures that include soldiers and guns.

The major thing left is to take off the masks and the velvet gloves and the hoods to show the naked force of government and that seems now to be happening.  If you can, get out of Colorado, or at least have a place to run to and be prepared in, in Wyoming or Utah or Kansas or even Nebraska or New Mexico.  It is time – and past time.

Mama’s Note: I have no doubt all of this is true, though I think most “christians” have no problem supporting the state for all intents and purposes… But if they are ALSO gun owners, preppers, homeschoolers, individualists of any kind… then they’ve got a potential problem. And folks like that will be in danger no matter what their religion or lack of it. Seems to me that the answer either way is OPSEC, keeping mouths shut and not being an obvious target. Seems to me that the time for evangelization and protests/demonstration is over.

Nathan: Most “christians” and non-christians support the state.  But more and more are significantly cutting back their support, at least in some (even many) areas, just for the reason you point out.  Every time someone like this CSP trooper states something like this, the state loses a few more supporters, and many supporters of the state cut back their support and loyalty to the regimes.

I think that those who claim to be believers/followers of the Christ have MORE reason to re-examine the assumptions that they grew up with or were taught based on hundreds of years of “mainstream” thinking.  The more tyrannical the state becomes, the less they can reconcile the teaching and example of the Christ with government.  And the easier it is to make the arguments that we have been making for decades:

  • no group of people, whether they claim to be a “government” or not, can be allowed to commit acts that are immoral for individuals;
  • in the long run, no government, no matter what they claim, is a friend to ANY religion which puts God ahead of the state;
  • no justification for or support of the state or government can be moral unless that state or government meets the criteria established by the Author of Liberty;
  • that in the long term, any resistance to government will be condemned and attacked by government; and
  • that all who claim to be religious must ultimately either agree with Peter, the apostle, who told his people’s government “We must obey God rather than men,” or reject this AND God for the state.
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Guest-guest commentary: The Gun IS Civilization

Posted on 2013-04-08 by TPOL Nathan

This is from a friend, Margaret Figert, retired publisher and editor of the Todd County Tribune, Mission, South Dakota, being published on Wednesday, 10th April 2013.

Most of it is actually written by a retired Jarhead (and yes, I know SEVERAL USMC officers, both active duty and retired, who can both read and write!).  It is very much worth pondering and sharing.  It is followed by some quotes that Margaret selected, mostly from dead folks that can’t complain if they are quoted, and some after-thoughts of my own.

SMOKE SIGNALS: The Gun IS Civilization

The following essay was shared with this column by TRIBUNE readers for your consideration and discussion.  It was written by Maj. L. Caudill, US Marine Corps (Ret.).

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force.  If you want me to do something for you, you have the choice of either convincing me via persuasion, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force.  Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion.

Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force.  You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or use of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a lone guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations.

These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for an armed mugger to do his job.  That, of course, is true only if the mugger’s potential victims are disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat.  It has no validity when a mugger’s potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many. That’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a monopoly on the use of force.

Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would result in only injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the physically inferior.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst.

The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker.  If both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of a weaker octogenarian as it is in the hands of a stronger weight lifter.  It simply wouldn’t work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force.

It removes force from the equation… and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.  The greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.

Written by Maj. L. Caudill, USMC (Ret.)

— — —

Here are several quotes that seem to fit today’s political, economic and social scenes in the United States:

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”  – Senator Daniel Webster, 1851

“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”- Ronald Reagan

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – G.K. Chesterton

Schools and prisons are both government institutions.  One prohibits reading The Bible within its walls. The other encourages reading The Bible within its walls.  Did anyone ever think that allowing Bible study in schools may well lower future U. S. prison population numbers?

What have we learned in 2,068 years?  “The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” – Cicero, ancient Roman writer and chronicler, 55 BC

What have we learned by now?  Evidently, nothing.

My (Nathan’s) after-thoughts:

Indeed, we ignore the lessons that our ancestors DID learn.  We have forgotten more than we know. 

The recent issue over the funding for the new (Rosebud Sioux Tribal) jail (“Adult Correctional Facility”) on Bristow Ranch (west of Mission, SD)  is what I immediately thought of.  Of course, Lakota schools ARE allowed to teach religion in school – just not the religion of the Bible.  The point about teaching in prisons and jails is hard-hitting, also.  I know many people who have or work with jail ministries, but meanwhile, souls are lost in elementary and middle and high schools.  By the time they reach college level (those that do), it is too late.  This applies to both Christianity and to Liberty.

The second quote that struck me is the one by Tom Jefferson.  People, we have indeed reached the point of injustice where our duty (to ourselves, our family, our community, and our God) is resistance.  In every way.

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Lego Racist Menace “Defeated”

Posted on 2013-04-07 by TPOL Nathan

The Independent (UK): Muslims declare victory in fight over anti-islamic Lego set
Austria’s Turkish community claimed a victory in its fight against Danish toy giant Lego yesterday after the firm agreed to withdraw a Star Wars toy set featuring a mosque-like building inhabited by an obese, hookah–smoking alien, following complaints that it was anti-Muslim.

Nathan: You can’t make this stuff up.  Here are some pictures to spice up this debate.

The first picture is of the $120 Lego model available since early last year.  Neat model, based on the movie sets and the popular scene, including Jabba the Hut, “Slave Leia” (popular icon in SF-fandom), and more. 700+ pieces.  Cost in Euros about the same as in dollars due to the VAT.

This is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.  This place, by the way, hasn’t been a mosque since 1931 – and has been a museum since 1935.  Before the Turks conquered Constantinople, it was an Orthodox cathedral.  The minarets (which look like ICBMs to me) were added by the Turks.  Yeah, the designers for George Lucas may have designed Jabba’s palace based on this.  OR they may have used another iconic image (images) for their ideas:

This is one of many UFO flying saucer pictures which seem to look a LOT like the dome on Jabba’s palace and den of thieves and pirates – OR Hagia Sophia, a former den of murdering invaders who supported thieves and pirates for about 500 years.

Apparently the Austrian Turks seem to think that Jabba is actually Muslim?  Or maybe just his thieves and thugs and pirates and bounty hunters?  Maybe the Star Wars franchise is a barely-concealed racist attack on Islam?  (Which, I thought, was not a race but a religion?)  Or a racist attack on Turks?  Maybe LEGOs are a racist plot from the same land (Denmark) that gave us the evil cartoons about Mohammad (peanut butter und honig)?

The damage inflicted by associating Jabba the Hutt with Islam has GOT to be worse than this demented idea that this Lego model is an attack on Islam, or a racist attack on any group at all.  The stupidity and arrogance of the Turkish Muslims in Austria (of all places – remember where the Turks were defeated about 400 years ago the last time they seriously tried to conquer Europe) is beyond understanding.

On to other mysteries:

Why is LEGO waiting to withdraw the set until 2014?  Perhaps because they are tired of playing stupid games with uncivilized invaders of Europe who use any excuse to push Islam and worse on the people of Austria and the rest of the continent – when they aren’t killing each other in the name of Allah.  Their normal cycle of products ends in 2014 anyway.  Meanwhile, you can buy this racist toy (limit 5 per customer) on their websites.

Or perhaps because they realize the sales potential caused by the controversy.  A couple of days after this article appeared, the local Wal-Mart toy section was completely sold out of the 777-piece set.

Tempting to buy one or even two for investment purposes, believe me.  Also tempting to pull out the Legos and see if I can make another racist set – a demolished Kaabah diorama, complete with a couple of Israeli Air Force ground-attack aircraft.  Now THAT would tick off the Muslims, wouldn’t it?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-12D: Roads and economics and stupid government

Posted on 2013-04-06 by TPOL Nathan

We are seeing a lot going on this week.  North Korea has declared war on the Republic of Korea and the United States and said that they will use nuclear weapons to attack both them and Texas; yet no one seems to really be panicking, yet.  (Well, Guam, maybe, and the military forces there, beefed up with more anti-missile defenses, fearful that the island will tilt with the added force (weight) of a nuclear bomb.)  Meanwhile, a lot of folks seem to be blaming the US for escalating tensions.  The US does a lot of stupid things, but it does not seem to me as though that is the case with North Korea:  I suspect that once more the North is starving (well, the working class and what used to be the middle class), and so they are screaming and dancing.  It is the North Korean version of the Cargo Cult.

At the same time, a LOT of folks are really getting hyper about cops and prosecutors getting gunned down in various parts of the country.  This might be tied to the war on Some Drugs (where several folks have declared that the war is over and marijuana won – but the UN is trying to turn both Washington and Colorado into rogue states: worse than North Korea, apparently).  Or it might be tied to the war on guns or the Mexican civil war or… insert your own idea here.  What it does NOT yet seem to be is the beginnings of a general rebellion or reaction against increasing tyranny as shown in the wars on drugs, poverty, guns, or bad words like “illegal immigrant” or “Islamist” that are banned by NBC or AP.    Meanwhile, bad economic indicators are whumping on the stock exchanges, and Bitcoin fever has been waylaid by hacking and some cautious words by some very interested observers.

Last week’s storms are a fading memory (at least in the West) so we are again worried about drought.  And people are worried and frustrated by the confusion between all these sequestration cuts and yet money getting wasted by government on what seems to be a more rapid pace each day.

Some specific news items:

Government lies
America’s Roads Aren’t Crumbling
(Foundation for Economic Education) Urban interstates with “poor” pavement dropped from 6.6 percent to 5.4 percent between 1989 and 2008…

Nathan: What?  Did government lie to us again?  Yes, we all know that there are certain stretches of road with really bad pavement or other problems (drove on a couple of them yesterday!!), and so it is easy to buy propaganda that ALL roads are crumbling to some degree, and that more money is needed to throw at the problem.  But if they are lying…

Economy 2013
Farmland: Yet Another Bubble?
(The American) With prices rising by double-digits in six of the last seven years, farmers are witnessing the value of their farms skyrocket — Iowa land selling for $2,275 per acre in 2003 is now selling for $8,700 per acre…

Nathan: Bubble or inflation or something else?

Our right to self-defense – UN thuggery
Kerry Hails U.N Arms Trade Deal, Which Senate May Not Ratify
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Look, we know what kind of a piece of work Kerry is – so what else would he do but applaud this evil agreement?  With him out of the Senate, that is at least one less vote it will get.  Meanwhile, shouldn’t he be indicted or impeached for even having ANYthing to do with this deal, which is at best an attack on American liberties protected by the Constitution, and therefore the Constitution itself?  He is an oath-breaker, at best; a traitor most likely.

Mama’s Note: Actually, he’s merely an aggressor… the same as one who would break down your door and attack you. The “constitution” is of far less value as a deterrent than the average city hollow core door – especially when it is left unlocked.

Our right to self-defense – WH thuggery
White House: New Gun Control in 2 States Reflects Capacity for Stricter Federal Laws
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: As expected, these become poster children for the bigger bully-tyrant on the street.

Islamic wars – Internet front
Prodded by Islamists, Bangladeshi Gov’t Targets ‘Atheist Bloggers’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I do wonder if it is not true: those religions who try to use government force to protect themselves from ideological/theological attack simply demonstrate that they do not have very much confidence in the viability or truthfulness of their own religion, nor of their own faith in their object of worship.

Mama’s Note: I always said that those who are the most violent in rejection of what others believe probably don’t have a great deal of faith in their own theology or precepts – or much understanding of their own history.

The “messiah” and his consort – fear and hatred
Iowa Fright: Obama Says If Michelle Lived There, She’d ‘Probably Want a Gun, Too’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This… words fail me concerning the lack of morality, wisdom, intelligence, common sense, and intensity of hatred in the soul of this man and his consort.  But then, what do I expect?  Their life is so totally foreign to rural America (much less frontier regions of the nation) and they are so typically Chicago political gangsters that I am sure that any length of time in even the relatively densely populated farmlands of Iowa would severely depress them.  The fear and loathing that they show towards general American society and culture, and towards those of other ethnic backgrounds, not just Anglo but most Asian and European and even AmerInd, is significant and forms a basic part of their personality and decision-making process.

Mama’s Note: The real problem is their learned self loathing. They do not truly respect themselves or anything else… so it is no shock that they do not recognize the value of others. They are gossamer parasites, here today and gone tomorrow… not even able to pollinate the flowers of the next generation.

I laugh and shake my head when some folks say that these people will have power over us “forever” if we do not do this or that… Their power is as fleeting as the storm clouds, and their influence is as thin as the gossip going around the square. All we truly need do is ignore them, and cease to empower them with our fear…

East Asian front
North Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack; U.S. Sending Missile Defense Shield to Guam
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: More fear of the island tilting over.  Not just Jarheads but anti-missile missiles as well!  I am certain that North Korea is blowing smoke up people’s noses with their bold and rather stupid boasts, and yet…   Still, moving the missiles to Guam has to cost several millions – which could have been used to buy and airdrop rifles and pistols and ammo into North Korea and let the people free themselves.

Home front – The “messiah”
As North Korea Crisis Deepens, Obama Raises Campaign Cash in San Francisco
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Campaign cash for WHAT?  Is he REALLY planning a third term?  And apparently using the North Korean “threat” to raise the money?

Congress in action – Self defense
NRA tactics erode post-Newtown support for gun-control measures
(Washington Post) Sen Mark Begich declared a “sea change” in the politics of gun control immediately after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., telling his local newspaper that he would not hesitate to buck the powerful National Rifle Association.

Nathan: Obviously, that is NOT what he did, and a lot of other people in DC are finding that the NRA (and a lot of other organizations) have a lot of backing from people.  Doesn’t change my opinion too much of the NRA as being a compromising, state-loving, and often-back-stabbing group, however.

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Why are people so stupid?

Posted on 2013-04-05 by TPOL Nathan

Today, I got another copy of an e-mail sent out a few days ago by the “Conservative Action Alerts” gang.  The subject line was:

Repeal the Second Amendment First.
THIS IS GARBAGE.

It read in part:

ALERT: Neither the federal government or any state government can lawfully debar the People of the right to “keep and bear arms” without first amending the Constitution! Take Action! Blast Faxes to Congress.

Although I expected it to be a waste of time, I had responded to the earlier message with this:

“You are wrong.  Repealing the Second Amendment would give Congress no authority to take away any person’s right to keep and bear arms, because the Second Amendment didn’t give us that right – it merely recognized that right to keep and bear arms belonged to all human beings.  That right will still exist even if the Second Amendment is repealed, because it existed BEFORE the Second Amendment did.  If you do not understand and preach that concept, you are part of the problem and NOT part of the solution.”

They obviously ignored it – I’m not surprised.  It does not distract from the truth.

CONGRESS CANNOT TAKE AWAY OUR FREEDOMS SIMPLY BY SOME PIECE OF PAPER. It will take MORE: violence, and bloody-handed tyranny: the steel fist without a velvet glove.

Outfits like this American Conservative Alert fail to understand the truth or the reality: that Congress cannot legally or morally take away what it did not give.  They fail to understand that all the boot licking and “petitioning humbly” and calling and texting and e-mailing and faxing and writing that gang of thugs on BOTH ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is a waste of time and money that they need to spend to buy weapons, ammunition, armor, communications, fortifications, and medical supplies, for themselves, their families, friends, and community.

These people are too stupid to do anything but make the same mistake over and over again.  I know other stupid people like that: you cannot work with them and help them because they will not or cannot work things out for themselves.

Sadly, they are so stupid that they will (again) prove that  stupidity is the only true capital crime.  The rest of us can pray and prepare for the fallout from their stupidity, and those like them for a century.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-12C: Immigrants and travel and more

Posted on 2013-04-05 by TPOL Nathan

Home front – TSA thuggery
Flight Attendants Recruit Passengers to Sign ‘No Knives’ Petition
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The companies’ right, of course, to opportune their passengers on ANYthing.  The fascist relationship between TSA and the airlines and the unions is in full effect.  But frankly, I expect them to fail – and hope that they do so.  I’ve only lost one small knife (actually, a multitool) to the TSA goons, but have been inconvenienced a LOT by the ban even though I’ve traveled very little by air.

Home front – Border jumpers
WH: Immigration Reform ‘Will Be Good for the Middle Class’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: On what planet?  TRUE reform would be good, but we know that nothing this Congress passes will be a true reform that allows people to travel back and forth and doesn’t make opportunities for scam artists and bums to live off the taxpayers’ dimes.  And one of the major reasons is that immigration is a way to keep middle class AND working class pay lower than it would be otherwise.

Stupid government tricks – the “messiah”
Obama Wants to Spend $100M on Brain Mapping Project
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Now, if he were the subject…  Seriously, what justifies $100M on this?  Nothing, except the intense desire and need of government to spend money and do things that don’t need to be done.

Stupid government tricks – The “messiah’s” consort
First Lady: WH Easter Egg Roll is ‘Celebration of Nutrition and Health and Activity’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Nothing to do with a risen Savior, of course, since the “messiah” is still alive and well.

Mama’s Note: I never could see any connection between easter eggs and anything in the Bible myself… Lots of fun for the kids, and great for the egg producers, but not much else. But I won’t say no to some Cadbury chocolate eggs… those are marvelous.

Self defense
Oregon: Woman fends off attacker with handgun
(KATU TV)  OREGON CITY, Ore. – An man who police said grabbed a 22-year-old woman by her hair and assaulted her Sunday night got quite a surprise when she pulled out her handgun to defend herself. Police said the suspect ran away when he saw the gun. The woman was not seriously hurt. … the suspect grabbed her by her hair from behind. Police said he dragged her down a sidewalk until she reached into her purse and pulled out her legally-owned gun.

Nathan: Good – and reported in a mainstream media outlet, too.  But once again ..”her legally-owned gun.”  What gives?  Has Oregon gone so far to the left that most people do NOT have a “legally-owned gun” of their own?

Mama’s Note: And, if the gun had not been “legally owned,” was this woman obligated somehow to be raped or murdered instead of defending herself? This nonsense just has to stop.

Theft by government – Politics (2 stories)
President Obama’s purely symbolic sequester strategy — and why it might work
(Washington Post) Let’s make one thing absolutely clear: President Obama’s decision to give back five percent of his salary — $20,000 — to highlight the effects of the sequester is sheerly symbolic and an overt act of political theater.

Obama will return 5 percent of salary: What about Congress?
(Washington Post)  President Obama’s decision to return 5 percent of his salary to the U.S. Treasury in show of solidarity with federal workers might make folks wonder whether Congress will do the same. Members of the House and Senate earn $174,000 annually and haven’t voted to raise their salaries since 2009, knowing that increasing their paychecks would only make them more unpopular with the general public. Several lawmakers, many of them independently wealthy, donate considerable portions of their congressional pay to charity or back to the U.S. Treasury.

Nathan: Even the WaPo appears to be disgusted by this token garbage perpetrated by the “messiah” and Congress.  We are being ripped off, and it is disgusting in a manner FAR worse than the WaPo wants to state.  Yeah, they donate money – STOLEN money and money that they got by being corrupt insiders of the worst kind.  These scum are criminals and ought to be in one of Sheriff Joe’s prison camps in tents in pink underwear – AFTER they pay back all that they can and pay for the baloney sandwiches and underwear.

Mama’s Note: OOOH, I just had a mental flash picture of Obummer in pink underwear, eating a bologna sandwich… I think I’m going to be sick. Seriously, why should that murderer and thief get off that easy? Are there no lamp posts or ropes in Washington D.C.?

Money and Economy – Liberty
Karl Denninger on Bitcoin
(Market-Ticker.com)

Nathan: Karl Denninger briefly but accurately and completely demolishes the value IN OUR CURRENT SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT of BitCoin and other cryptocurrency projects.  And he does not even touch on the “Al Capone” effect: that even if the Man cannot prove that you sold something illegal (15-round magazines in Colorado or pot in Wyoming), that they can still lock you up for the mere act of attempts to conceal the transaction.

The Money-ness of Bitcoins
by Nikolay Gertchev
Bitcoins have been much in the news lately. Against the background of renewed concerns about the integrity of the euro zone and the imposition of capital controls in Cyprus, the price of a bitcoin has tripled over the last month and reached more than $141 for 1 BTC. Are we witnessing the spontaneous emergence of an alternative virtual medium of exchange, as some would put it? This article offers an answer to this question by considering three aspects of the economy of bitcoins: their production process, their demand factors, and their capacity to compete with physical media of exchange.

Mama’s Note: Another, and comprehensive look at the Bitcoin thing.

Home front
DHS: Legal Immigrants from Asia Outnumbered Latin Americans in FY2012
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Why bother with the expense of legal entry when you can pack a canteen and walk across the border without benefit of bureaucrats?

Home front – Border jumpers
Immigration Bill Would Give Farm Workers a Speedier Path to Legal Status
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Honestly, folks, much as I understand the need for farm workers – and have been so myself a time or two, between digging ditches by hand for a living – this seems to me to be a surefire way of raising Mexico’s IQ at the expense of our own:  While I see this IS a way of getting out of a socialist, poverty-stricken, deadly home in Mexico or some other Latin American banana republic, and a step up, it is obvious that far too many people are content to be either a farm worker or a welfare parasite, with no intent or ability to go beyond.  This bill just stabilizes and makes permanent a bad situation, ensuring it will get worse.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-12B: Guns and free speech

Posted on 2013-04-04 by TPOL Nathan

Home front
Murders Have District Attorneys Across Texas on Edge
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Two in the same district in two months.  This time, the victim was aware and armed (and presumably trained) but still died in his own front door.  Guns do not always provide the means of SUCCESSFUL self-defense – although no doubt this will now be used by hoploclasts to justify taking guns away from everyone.  The next incident, just a few days later, is a bit harder to use, but I expect them to find a way.

Mama’s Note: No, having a gun is no guarantee of success for anyone, but this case illustrates something I say all the time, and work hard to impress on my students. The gun is only about 10% of what is needed for successful self defense. Some people never learn the other 90%, and trust to their gun for everything.

I suspect that this man let down his guard somehow, or actually knew and trusted the person who killed him. We may never know.

Self-defense
Intruder killed while breaking into Colorado prosecutor’s home
(NBC News) An intruder who forced his way into the mountain home of a Colorado deputy district attorney was shot dead by either the prosecutor or her police officer husband, authorities said on Tuesday.

Mama’s Note: Probably just another stupid criminal – and probably not from Colorado. Isn’t it nice that the ruling class and their minions are able to defend themselves? I’m sure the story would read a whole lot differently in another year… if the people in that home were just ordinary working stiffs… Why can’t people see that?

Nathan: One more incident – but this time, an ATTEMPTED assassination that FAILED because of an armed and prepared couple – ready and able to defend themselves.  See, these are the kind of people that will basically get a free pass from the laws that go into effect on 1 JULY: government employees and “licensed” to carry and do whatever.  Sure, if they buy a new gun, they’ll have to pay for the background check.  But believe me, on the salary of a Deputy DA and a cop, that extra $10 or $50 bucks added to the price won’t be much of a hurt.

Incidents like this show the stupidity of the General Assembly and their silly, foolish, illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and (fortunately) mostly unenforceable laws.  If these people in Hot Sulfur Springs (county seat of Grand County) are confronted with someone breaking these new laws, will they do as many sheriffs in Colorado say, and refuse to enforce the laws, or will they give the defendant an opportunity to point out their hypocrisy in defending themselves while denying that right to others?

Home front – Assassination – War on some drugs
Suspect ID’d in W.Va. sheriff’s fatal shooting
(AP) A new sheriff who was cracking down on the drug trade in southern West Virginia’s coalfields was shot to death Wednesday in the spot where he usually parked his car for lunch, and State Police said the suspect was in a hospital with gunshot wounds inflicted by a deputy who chased him.

Nathan: Now we have a fourth one – this one (like those in Texas) tied to the war on some drugs.  Finally, do we have a major spillover from the Mexican civil war?  It may be that the Mexican tactics are being used, perhaps as pressure on “law enforcement” to keep their corrosive, corrupt relationship with the drug dealers, gangs, and cartels.

Self-defense – The “messiah”
70,291,049 Background Checks for Gun Purchases Under Obama
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: That is about 1 in 4.5 Americans: I am sure there are many who bought guns more than one time, but even if it is only one in 5 or 6, that is a LOT of people (formerly) without guns.  He definitely deserves gun salesman of the decade honors.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Putting Gun Death Statistics in Perspective
(JPFO and About.com)

Nathan: JPFO presents an About.com guide’s thoughts, which brings up some valuable points in this article.  But this (like most libertarian arguments) assumes that people – especially the mass of the people of the United States and the electorate – are RATIONAL.  They are not:  We are in a zero-risk society: a society adverse to ANY risk, and one in which, yes, 999 people can and should be punished because of the actions of the 1000th person, because we (as a nation) believe that we can ELIMINATE the risk of that one person (or another person) to do that same thing again.  If we take this to the logical extreme, if one man rapes a woman – especially an American woman – then the other 999 men should be castrated to prevent the event from happening again.  This of course does not happen because we are irrational: only some things are “supposed” to be taken to that extreme.  This Dusty makes some good points (although he does overlook many – such as calling all intentional gun deaths “murders” and not discussing self-defense at all) but he assumes a rational response which does not and will not exist.  So once more, we have an article which preaches to the choir.

Mama’s Note: Irrational and ignorant… Many of the same people who demand the elimination of guns -thinking that will eliminate the risk – have little recognition or understanding of the real risks they take every day with prescription drugs, riding on public transport, drinking and driving, even their poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles. And indulging in these risks, they are actually, statistically far MORE apt to die tragically than if someone shot them.

You really want to live to be a ripe old age? Start by throwing out all the pills and don’t see a doctor unless you break something or spring a bad leak. Learn how to eat healthy and eliminate the stress that causes most of the disease – and start by getting out of the cesspool big city. Oh yes, and go buy a gun – then learn truly how to use it in a comprehensive plan for self defense.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Connecticut: Ammunition “Eligibility Certificates” Laws
(Vision to America) Connecticut lawmakers spurred into action by the Sandy Hook school shooting have agreed on what they say is the nation’s strongest gun control bill. The bipartisan agreements includes universal background checks for firearm sales, new state-issued eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun, or ammunition, and a ban on future sales of high-capacity magazines, the New York Times reports. The package, which also strengthens the state’s existing ban on semiautomatic assault rifles, is expected to easily pass  state House and Senate this week, reports the Hartford Courant.

Nathan: As expected, these have passed.  It is a round-about way of stealing our rights and insanely expected to make the state “safer.”  So bullets join guns and tobacco and drugs as profit centers for gangs – all smuggled in to feed the “evil” habits of the denizens of Connecticut – and harming the poor of the state.

Mama’s Note: I suspect that the dealers in the surrounding states will benefit. Most folks will simply drive across the state line to buy what they need… if they can find it at all. But yes, the tighter the noose, the more the black market will operate. Just remember that folks other than vicious gangs can operate in the black market, and have always done so. Not all smugglers are evil.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Self-defense
Congressional Democrats Proposed$10K Fine for No Gunowners’ Insurance
(Vision to America) When New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the legislation last month with eight other Democrats, she boasted that it is “the first bill to require liability insurance of gun buyers nationwide.” Maloney’s “Firearm Risk Protection Act” requires gun buyers to have “a qualified liability insurance policy” before they are able to legally purchase a firearm.

Nathan: Most people don’t think this will go too far, at least in Congress.  I think any number of state legislatures will take this and run with it, as will the White House.  Again, it is a roundabout way of stealing rights, and sure to be popular.  And ironically, harder to fight than “mere” straightforward confiscation, since the pressure can be put on the insurance companies.  (I don’t want to go into detail on this: no sense in giving the thugs more ideas.)

Mama’s Note: Straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel. This sort of thing will simply drive more people underground and further weaken their respect for government and the bogus “laws” they enact.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts
Maryland set to become latest state to enact stiff gun-control measure
(Reuters ) Maryland was set to become the latest U.S. state to enact stiff gun control measures, with the approval on Wednesday by the state’s House of Delegates of legislation that includes a ban on dozens of assault weapons and limits on magazine size.

Nathan: Just like Connecticut, but next to that cesspool called DC, this is sure to get many more Marylanders killed.  Again, we see irrational responses to emotional screams and accusations.

Mama’s Note: It would seem to me that a rational response to all this would be a steady exodus OUT of CT, D.C., Maryland, or any other state that criminalizes – further criminalizes – self defense. It isn’t only the gun and ammo manufacturers who need to find a better place. That would be a far more potent message than any “letter to the editor,” or phone calls to “representatives.”

Russian front – Free speech
Russia: Internet censorship begins
(Fast Company) “The New York Times reports that Russia has begun censoring the Internet inside its borders, acting on a law that was passed back in November. The [pretext for] the censorship act is to prevent easy access to information that could potentially harm children or that contravenes the law.” (04/01/13)

Nathan: Leave it to the oligarchs to use “for the children” in this way: sure to be imitated by the so-loving Tranzis in the US, of course.

Mama’s Note: And, of course, it isn’t really possible to “censor” the internet much, or for very long. In reality, the governments of the world are seriously behind the curve, and new technology will always outstrip the feeble efforts to stop or control it. Those who want to see what is going on in the world will have to work a little harder at it, perhaps, but they cannot be stopped.  Oh, and those CHILDREN are the very ones on the cutting edge of that innovation.

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