Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-43D

Posted on 2012-10-12 by TPOL Nathan

Somehow, I’ve lost a day this week – shouldn’t it be Thursday?  Of course, I had three people yesterday (ON Thursday, really) remark to me, totally unknowing of the others, that this month has had about 15 MONDAYS already.

Are we all tired of election ads and debates that include viable (and qualified persons) occupants of the Oval Office?  I admit, the 60 seconds or so I saw of the Biden-Ryan debate last night were entertaining, but more proof that neither of them is worth trusting with anything, much less trillions of dollars (that is, thousands of ounces Au) of toys.  Which reminds me, has anyone ever toted up exactly how much the FedGov actually owns?  Land, buildings, vehicles, weapons, equipment, gold, diamonds…  Which reminds of the most recent story to cross my desktop, from our esteemed publisher-editor:

Astronomers find planet ’55 Cancri e’ made out of diamond
(Digital Journal)  Astronomers say they have found a planet “55 Cancri e,” twice the size
of Earth, orbiting a star much like our Sun and visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer. They say the planet is made largely out of diamond.

Mama’s Note: Would certainly depress the diamond market on earth, but maybe by the time we can get there, it could be used as a star drive or something. Makes me wonder what other planets out there might be “made of.” 🙂

Nathan: Diamonds are like gold – never too much: never mind their value for coin or trinkets, it is the industrial use of both of them that has us engineers all dancing!  Of course diamonds are desirable not just because they are rare, but because they are beautiful, like sunsets and trees changing color. This does sound like something out of Doc Smith, though.  Much fun.

Anyway, here is some of yesterday’s news:

Islamic wars: Arab Street Front – American stupid government tricks
U.S. Embassy in Libya Sought Bodyguards With ‘Limited’ English; Preference Given to ‘Same-Sex Domestic Partners’ of U.S. Gov’t Employees
(CNSNews.com) Stupid indeed.  What is the difference between this and giving preference to Jews or christians?  The clear intent was to rub homosexuality into the face of the new Libyan government and the Arab on the street.  And it clearly worked! Which makes you wonder about the statement in the next story.

State Dept. Security Chief: ‘We Had Correct Number of Assets in Benghazi at Time of 9/11 For What Had Been Agreed Upon’
(CNSNews.com)  Just “what HAD been agreed upon” is my question.  Was this a sacrifice on purpose?  How incredibly stupid we have become:  Not “we had what we needed,” but “we had what we agreed to have.”  The quality of “leadership” is missing here.  And the Administration and bureaucracy stole it.

Of course, we have to wonder if it isn’t just in Libya that we have to interpret the words of those people over there in the corner behind the curtain:

Stupid government
Transportation Secretary to Stimulus Critics: ‘Baloney! The Stimulus Worked’
(CNSNews.com)  Call this the quack’s excuse:  “We cured the cancer, our treatment worked even if the patient died of pneumonia.”  OR ask the obvious: “the Stimulus worked” to do WHAT?  Further damage the economy and society?  Or what?  Who knows what evil lurked in the hearts of those who created these things?

Theft by government
GOP Senator to USDA: Stop Promoting Food Stamps
(CNSNews.com) As well ask a snake to stop being a snake, or a scorpion – a nasty little vicious monster that lurks in your boots and stings you multiple times?  Except that FedGov bureaucrats, nice though many of them are in person, and no matter how dedicated and helpful, are STILL government bureaucrats, and in mass, a good substitute for Heinlein’s stobor: I’ll take snakes and scorpions anytime.  Of course, maybe this senator is thinking of reorganizing and moving SNAP over to DHHS.  The original concept of food stamps was inventive, at least: here we are paying all these farmers either NOT to grow food OR buying a lot of the food they DO produce to increase demand and thus keep prices up, so why not turn around and use that to feed all these poor – not just the AmerInd or military personnel.  But like EVERY other government program, this metamorphosed into the present monster: virtual bread lines.  A monster beloved by grocery stores and convenience stores and local wardheelers across the nation.

Well, that is it for this edition:  time to figure out how to work around some of the regulations that are put in place to protect us from us.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-43C: Religion and culture wars

Posted on 2012-10-11 by TPOL Nathan

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Religion
Pew: 6% Percent of Atheists and Agnostics Pray Every Day
The question is, how many people who claim to be religious and believe in God pray every day? And another question: to whom are they praying?  I am reminded of the story told by Viktor Suvorov about the trick Soviet school teachers used to wean children from God:  having them all first pray out loud at their desks with their eyes closed for God to give them candy, only to open their eyes and find nothing, THEN do the same thing but pray to the government (Soviet).  The teacher or aides put candy on the desks while the children’s eyes are closed, and then! Voila!

Theft by government
Westward Ho! Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska Have Best Tax Climates
(CNSNews.com) Which does NOT mean that they are “good” tax climates: just better than the other forty-six states because they steal less and don’t have as much paperwork.  Still, with operations in several states, I can tell you that South Dakota (home and tax base for me) is much better than the surrounding states not just for individuals but for businesses.  Sadly, these states don’t seem to have a lot of atheists (praying or otherwise) as compared to their more socially-advanced brethren on the Coasts; and three of the four are “flyover country.”

Stupid government – Nanny state tyranny – the “messiah’s” consort
Rhode Island: ‘Let’s Move!’ Praises Daycare Center That Serve Hummus and Homemade Oatmeal
(CNSNews.com) “The program added new healthy snacks and meals to their menu like hummus, homemade oatmeal with cinnamon and apples, and yogurt with granola and bananas. They also only offer kids healthy drinks, such as water and low-fat or non-fat milk,” according to an October 10th “Let’s Move!” press release. The “Let’s Move!” website advises day care centers to “opt for healthier alternatives” in snacks for kids. For example, instead of cupcakes, a day care center can provide “zucchini or carrot mini-muffins.” Instead of cheese puffs, it should opt for “thinly sliced vegetables and low-fat ranch dip.” “Toddlers and preschoolers love dipping, so try serving veggies with yogurt, hummus, low-fat dressing, or low-fat melted cheese,” according to the website’s goals for “healthy eating.”

Now THAT is sick.  It is disgusting that government agencies are wasting tax money (or STOLEN money) to promote this sort of garbage (literally). What IS hummus? Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic (according to Wikipedia): It seems to have some sort of religious significance to the “messiah’s” consort.  It is apparently part of the Arabanization or Islamization of the Union, under the benevolent rule of the “messiah” and his consort.  Better haggis than hummus, frankly.  And what EXACTLY is homemade oatmeal? (Which, by the way, is a key ingredient of haggis but NOT of hummus.)  Here is how you manufacture oatmeal: “Oatmeal manufacture involves harvesting, washing, steaming, and hulling the oats. Standard oats are steel-cut, whereas quick-cooking oats are rolled between cylinders to produce a flatter flake. Once flaked, the oats are roasted and packaged.” ( How oatmeal is made) Kiddies, don’t try that at home.  Face it folks, there is NO SUCH THING as “homemade oatmeal,” and given the laws these days, these idiots in Rhode Island are NOT providing “home-cooked oatmeal!”  And I will bet you that (1) they are using quick-cooking oats (1 hour regular stove, 1-2 minutes microwave) and NOT regular 2-3 hour regular stove and “who knows how long microwave – you really want to clean up that mess and endure that smell”?  And of course, I’m sure the microwave gets a workout.  Apparently, “homemade” is in contrast to those silly little wax paper packages that you rip open and add boiling water to. (I would generally rather eat the wax paper.  By the way, I am still not sure why oatmeal is so “healthy” because it has never seemed to do anything for my cholesterol, although I do like it:  I am eating some right now as I type this:  1/3 cup of oatmeal, 2/3 cup of water, a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of honey, a small handful of chocolate chips, a tablespoon of cinnamon and a minute in the microwave!  Ah, wonderful!  But healthy?  I hope so.)

Mama’s Note: Steel cut oats do take longer to cook, and I don’t much care for them, but rolled oats come as both “old fashioned” and “quick,” which is simply rolled oats flaked and cut fine. Neither of the rolled oat forms take more than a few minutes to cook, either stove top or microwave. Cooking either for an hour would be a serious food crime in my book. 🙂 “Instant” anything is denatured, often with essential elements removed, and doesn’t qualify as “food” at all to me.

Those who like “hummus” are certainly welcome to it. I can’t stand it myself. 🙂 But the question here isn’t WHAT is being given to these children, really, but the whole idea that government of any kind, at any level, has anything to say about it.

Stupid government – Culture wars: destroying families
DELAWARE: You are a felon if you spank your child:
(Freedom Outpost)  Actually, the conviction ranges from a significant felony to a pretty serious misdemeanor, with jail time from one month to two years.

Nathan: One more sign of the impending collapse.  No surprise that Joe Biden’s son was a strong supporter of this.

Mama’s Note: One more good reason not to live there anymore. Just talked with a man who recently moved from there… unfortunately, he went to Florida!  He’s finding out he didn’t really improve his situation any. Going to get much worse before it gets any better. 😦

Nathan’s response: Yes, and the only real hope left is South Dakota, Wyoming, MAYBE North Dakota and Montana and Idaho, and maybe-maybe WESTERN Nebraska or Kansas.  About it.  (Funny, several of those benighted places also have weird, outdated ideas about taxes and budgets. Must be a religious thing.)  Stay away even from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona.  (A friend in Florida says the only sane part of the state is the Panhandle, west of Panama City. The rest is toast.)

Stupid government tricks – Nanny-state tyranny
“Genetically Engineered” In California: A Food Label We Don’t Need
(forbes.com) Ironically, Proposition 37 would also impose huge costs on producers who try to avoid GE. Those committed to using GE ingredients can slap a “Genetically Engineered” label on their products and be done. But producers who want to sell non-GE foods must bear the costs of tracing the source of every ingredient they use and getting sworn guarantees that they “are not knowingly or intentionally” engineered.

A single slip-up – for example, in the form of a missing link in the paper trail — could result in criminal prosecution or a private lawsuit filed by anyone who has ever bought a “mislabeled” product in a grocery store, food stand, or farmer’s market. The initiative is a trial lawyer’s dream, which is not surprising given that it was written by a trial lawyer who has spent his career suing small food producers in California.

Mama’s Note: We all know the FDA is not the right way to deal with this subject, but this article has some excellent points.  The “organic” crowd, and those specifically wishing to market non-GMO products would be the most likely to be damaged by this silly legislation.

Nathan: This should be a comment on my article on Washing Machines… yesterday: same sort of thing.  New regulations kill jobs and businesses.  I just saw that happen in the last two hours.  A project to build and operate a largish RV park (100+ spaces, about a million dollar investment) got deep-sixed because the local sanitation district (a government entity) wanted to charge a “tap fee” of over a quarter-million dollars (one fee for each of the 100+ units), even though the developer would build and install and connect all the sewer lines. The tap fee is in addition to the actual monthly fee for sewage!  It explains why no new motels or hotels or RV parks have been built in this town in the past 12+ years!

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Turning Washing Machines into Washington Machines

Posted on 2012-10-09 by TPOL Nathan

Jeffrey Tucker over at Laissez Faire Books (Agora Financial) has posted a wonderful tirade today about a new set of government regulations which, as he put it, is “Regulators Destroying Your Home Appliances.”  I liked his thought about turning washing machines into Washington machines, later in his article, so I kipped it for this commentary.

While you are there, you may enjoy reading Wendy McElroy’s latest, “Paper Money = Despotism.”)

He hit it dead on, but it is MORE than just appliances.  This is done in the name of a bewildering array of causes, including:

  • Consumer safety
  • Energy conservation
  • Water conservation
  • Water quality (not the same as “conservation”)
  • Fighting “manmade global warming” by limiting “greenhouse gases”
  • Fighting the war on (some) drugs
  • Fighting the war on obesity
  • Fighting the war on terrorism

I am sure I could add many more.  What have they done?  (They being both the duly-elected and overly-paid congressmen and women, and the unelected and VERY overpaid bureaucrats, in cahoots with a veritable phylanx of special interest lobbying groups from Greenpeace and the Sierra Club to the various manufacturers’ associations.)

  • Banning of incandescent light bulbs
  • Limiting the amount of water you can use to flush a tank or urinal
  • Banning of phosphates (and other enhancing additives) in detergents and other products
  • Banning certain kinds of refrigerant in air conditioners, especially in motor vehicles (Freon and others)
  • Reducing energy consumption of refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, computer monitors, computers, washing machines, driers, and many more: the dishwasher fiasco Jeff mentions is just the latest and far from the last.
  • Banning of certain pesticides
  • Banning of certain food products or sizes (at least in certain places)

Again, the list can go on and on and DOES.  Proving the old adage, “a government big enough to give you everything you ask for is powerful enough to take away everything you have.”  One at a time, perhaps, and suitably phased in and with lots of opportunity for “stakeholder participation,” including community comment and all the rest of the bureaucratic and politician playbook.  But sooner or later, EVERYTHING is at least considered for being modified, restricted, limited or outright banned.  And for every item on the list above, you can be certain that there are a dozen more on someone’s legislative or regulatory waiting or to-do list.

Besides the obvious loss of our liberties: our ability to choose between the Edsel-Chevy Ecomizer 1.5-liter engine with 60 mpg and max two occupants, and the Ram-Benz MonsterMasher with the 8.9-liter engine and 10 mpg that can pull a small mountain of gravel; these actions damage us in many other ways.

  • They NEVER cost less
  • They make life harder
  • They open the door for MORE regulation
  • There is almost always a loophole to let the well-connected or wealthy or hermit work around
  • They NEVER work to do what they are claimed to do: that first list of things.

Jeff points this out:  we can’t count on a dishwasher to wash dishes any more.  Or a washing  to clean clothes any more.  Or a lamp to work when we need it.  And sadly, the ingenuity of inventors and manufacturers can’t seem to keep up with the inventiveness of the bureaucrats and the state-worshipers that conspire with them to fix just one more little thing.  We invent the LED, and THEY come up with new regulations to make life still harder, despite the advantages.  We invent the sonic cleaner and THEY prohibit its use around pets and children.  We invent little orange plastic shovels to do our business when hiking through the wilderness and THEY prohibit us from doing that business unless we haul it out in a baggie.  We invent cellular phones with 20 mile range and THEY limit the placement of the towers to ONLY locations with no more than a five-mile line of sight.

Twenty-six years ago, my wife and I moved back to the States from Germany and bought a washing machine and matching drier from one more company drummed out of business by regulation as much as competition (Montgomery Wards).  We used those appliances (not high-end ones, by any means) for twenty-five years:  the drier is still putting out the ergs but the washing machine finally died from lack of replacement parts.  We were lucky and found a ten-year-old (more high-end) machine that was built before the last two go-arounds of regulations swept away more and more civilization;  but we have little if any hope that machine will last more than another ten years.  We KNOW we have the technology to build (here or in Korea) a washing machine that could have a warranty for thirty years and probably last for fifty, BUT…  the Great Father in DC and all the lesser Great Fathers – and all too often the local City and County Fathers – won’t let us make or buy such a thing, due to several tens of thousands of regulations and interpretations and worse.

For a century or more, government has been the grit in the gears of our national economic machine, once the most productive and efficient and capable economy in the world and in history.  That grit has worn down all the gears, smoothed all the teeth, scraped all the fittings down to bare metal and into the metal, and finally, all the TLC, all the lube, all the preventive maintenance in the world cannot deal with the conditions:  the machine is grinding to a halt.

Not only does it appear that the next generation will be poorer, less educated, and above all, less free than past generations, it will be again burdened by having to do things that three or four generations now have NOT had to do:  not just washing clothes and dishes by hand, not just peering blindly at a page until the light is bright enough to read the fine print, not just having to have a dozen different forms or cards or paper to be able to travel and do business, but the horror of knowing that there WAS a “brief, shining moment” that they and their children never shall see – because we let government destroy it.

We got into this mess because we shirked responsibility and failed to value and use our liberty as we should and could, and so let government take over our responsibility and use our liberty to enslave us.  It was gradual, insidious, and buttressed by every good intention.  None of us are opposed to clean water or clean air or a safe home or business or protection from those who use drugs and alcohol.  But I like to think that the average human is smart enough to see, if it were all laid out, that it is NOT a good bargain to trade safety and security for liberty and freedom.

Jeffrey says that these regulations never go away, they just get more onerous and harder to understand and apply.  But that is not ALWAYS the case, as Rome, France, and Russia have shown.  All things come to an end – good AND bad.  And this too shall pass.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-43B – This and that

Posted on 2012-10-09 by TPOL Nathan

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Self defense
Delaware: Business owner who thwarted robbery says he’s no hero
(Middletown Transcript)
“According to state police, Aaron R. Jefferson, a 27-year-old Millsboro resident, pointed a handgun in the woman’s face while demanding cash. She then began to scream, prompting Jefferson to tuck the gun into his waistband before attempting to flee, police said. ‘I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, so when I heard what was going on, I ran to my truck to grab my gun,’ Hitchens said. There was only one problem. ‘She had taken my truck to the bank earlier that day and locked it when she came back,’ he said. ‘She still had the keys in her purse, so I looked around and the only thing I could find was a 3-foot long piece of galvanized pipe, so I grabbed that and ran around to the front door.’ As Jefferson exited the front door, Hitchens grabbed him, threw him to the ground and held him there until police arrived.” (10/08/12)

Mama’s Note: Maybe he’ll reconsider actually carrying his gun…  Thank goodness he had the guts and the opportunity to do what he did anyway. One does wonder why he didn’t have his own set of keys, however.

Nathan: the business with the keys makes more sense than not having his gun readily available, but I suppose absent-mindedness accounts for both.  However, too many of us treat both that CC permit and the gun itself as talismans and NOT as tools.  Fortunately, this Jefferson was pretty stupid himself.

Islamic wars
Iraq: Turkish jets strike PKK bases
(Fox News) “Turkish jets have struck suspected Kurdish rebel targets in two separate cross-border raids in northern Iraq, a Turkish news agency reported Monday, prompting Iraq to vow to take ‘diplomatic’ steps against Ankara for violating its sovereignty. Turkey has frequently struck targets of the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. But with relations between Turkey and Iraq deteriorating, Baghdad recently warned Turkey against military operations on its territory.” (10/08/12)

Nathan: Together with Syrian-Turkish fighting, this has all the classic signs of a major conflagration triggered by a series of ad-hoc alliances (“the enemy of my enemy is my friend”) similar to the First World War, which could easily plunge most of the region into a war, possibly with three sides:  Turkey and Iran against Syria and Iraq (probably aided by Saudi Arabia) with Israel and the US and the Syrian rebels in a third grouping.  Or, with NATO siding with Turkey, an accommodation and restoration of relations between Turkey and Israel, pushing Iran to side with Iraq and Syria.  There are too many complications, but it is safe to say that the various Muslims will continue to kill each other.  It would be best for the West to stay out of it all, and work to see that no one side or power becomes dominant.

New Religions: Global Warming – Theft by government
Carbon Tax Will Double U.K. Electricity Bills|
(Daily Telegraph (UK)) A new tax in the United Kingdom will impose a £16 (almost $26) floor on every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by British industry, rising to £30 (about $48) a ton in 2020 and £70 (about $112) a ton by 2030…

Nathan: Ah, the wonders of government taxation (theft) and of the environists.  This is a win-win-win for government, the environist fanatics, and all the parasites that feed on government revenues, and a big-time loss for ratepayers and even businesses, who cannot recoup all the costs associated.  Windpower and other “sustainable” power providers will of course feast as well – and the UK will slide back into preindustrial darkness.

Stupid government – the “messiah’s” consort
Mrs. Obama: ‘Indian Country’ Fights Obesity by Adding ‘Buffalo Meat into School Lunches’
(CNSNews.com) Nathan: And what does she know about it?  The problem with obesity on the Rez is not the children and it is not “lowfat” buffalo versus “highfat” beef.  It has to do with generations of breeding and experience and the diet that commodity foods provide to people whose ancestors lived on a high-meat diet for centuries.  And we should not forget that only a VERY small part of the total AmerInd population had buffalo as part of their diet: talk to the people in New England or the South or the California coast ranges or Northwest.  No buffalo there, thank you.  But the consort, any excuse to promote her agenda.

Politics 2012
Romney Says He Will Work to Organize and Arm Syrian Rebels ‘Who Share Our Values’
(CNSNews.com) Nathan: Here we go again?  Or is this caveat very carefully chosen: I would suspect that Syrian rebels share fewer values with Americans than Egyptian protesters (and voters) and Libyan rebels (and now voters) do.

Political correctness – Politics 2012
Reading Rainbow Host: Romney ‘Targeting America’s Children’ By Vowing to Cut PBS
(CNSNews.com) Nathan: And for once, targeting children in a GOOD way: American children are served very evilly by PBS programming, from infancy on.  But NOT as poorly served as they are by the parents who use PBS as a babysitter.

The “messiah”
Obama: Columbus Day a Time to ‘Reflect on Tragic Burdens Tribal Communities Bore’
(CNSNews.com) Nathan: Well, if he feels this way, why didn’t he just stay in Kenya or Indonesia?  HE is part of the “tragic burdens” that the tribes now bear, and the system he heads up is much to blame for what they have borne in the past.

Political correctness
Obese Drivers Boosting Fuel Consumption, Insurance Blog Says
(CNSNews.com) Nathan: Oh, please.  A 300-lb driver instead of a 200-lb driver makes very little difference in a 2500-lb car.  But anything to blame the users, instead of the government.  Figure out how much added weight all the pollution control equipment and safety equipment (all mandated by government) and see which causes gas consumption to go up more!

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-43A – Politics and War!

Posted on 2012-10-08 by TPOL Nathan

Monday, October 08, 2012

Politics 2012
Gallup Polling in Post-Debate Period: Romney 47%, Obama 47%
(CNSNews.com) Well, the real results must be pretty bad if this is the best Gallup can do to support the “messiah.”  As noted, even CNN last week gave him a low score, and the media is therefore questioning if Romney can continue to be the well-spoken, decisive, and knowledgeable person who showed up in Denver. Sadly (though as more people have pointed out) electing Romney is NOT going to do anything for the future of the nation or to restore liberty.  As even Ron Paul is starting to admit, with the hint that he might vote for Gary Johnson.

American front: Liberty in retreat
Venezuela: Chavez’ Election Victory Paves Way for 20 Years in Power
(CNSNews.com) I am sure this is no surprise to anyone, despite the disinformation regarding how some Chavez supporters feared retaliation from neighbors and the new government if he lost.  More than one person has pointed out that this election victory is an encouragement for the American “messiah” – and I have seen people talking about how this 2012 election might be the last one – assuming that even this one means anything.

New religions: environists
EPA Celebrates ‘Children Health Month,’ Encourages Recruiting Students for ‘Energy Patrols’ at School|
(CNSNews.com) The EPA – New Age Gestapo?

Home Front
Chicago Sees Increase in Coyote Population; Wolves and Bears Next?
(CNSNews.com) It seems to me that Chicago has ALWAYS had more than enough wolves – oh, we aren’t talking about the two-legged kind here?  I know that the number of coyotes (no matter what definition you use for the human kind) is increasing in Chicago.  Can we expect MORE bears or are people just blind to the perilous state of the economy and will continue to be bullish?

Islamic wars
Turkey, Syria trade fire; border tensions mount
(MSNBC) “Turkey and Syria fired artillery and mortars across their volatile border for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday, in one of the most serious and prolonged flare-ups of violence along the frontier. The exchange of fire stoked fears that Syria’s civil war will escalate into a regional conflagration drawing in NATO member Turkey, once an
ally of President Bashar Assad but now a key supporter of the rebels fighting to topple him.” (10/07/12)

Well now, these two peace-loving Muslim nations are again going to do what Islamic nations have done for centuries: kill each other’s soldiers and civilians over really meaningless events and issues.

Philippines, Muslim rebels agree on peace pact
(Palm Beach Post) “The Philippine government and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group have reached a preliminary peace deal that is a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency that killed tens of thousands and held back development in the south.” (10/07/12)

Decades?  Try centuries:  the christian Philippines (as a colony of Spain) fought the Moros in the 16th Century when the Moros moved into the southern islands, and when the US won the islands from Spain in the 1890s, it was the Moro Rebellion that made quelling the Philippine Insurrection such a bloodbath.  But it appears that the “peace” of being part of the Ummah is not YET to overwhelm the Philippines.

 

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America’s Royal Family – NOT

Posted on 2012-10-07 by TPOL Nathan

For decades, the Kennedys have been “America’s royal family.” This always disgusted me, for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that the Kennedys, starting with patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy himself, were Anglophobes and Angloclasts, well-known for their bitter hatred of the Windsor family and the glee that the partriarch got being the American ambassador to the Court of St. James during WW2, when the Brits would have been willing to accept a one-legged, filthy-mouthed, pedophile with the body odor of B.O. Plenty and a dust cloud to rival Pigpen’s, so had to endure the present of the foul-mouthed Irish bootlegger.

But the sacrifice in WW2, the myth of Camelot, the druidic mysticism associated with the deaths of JFK and RFK, the deification of JFK and to a large degree RFK and even Teddy, and the political myths associated with them and the Vietnam War era, all did indeed result in the Kennedy family, clear down to the fifth generation or so, being treated with slightly more reverence than Brits or Canadians give the Windsors.

But no more: NOW we have a NEW monarch-messiah and a new royal family, so divorced from their ancestors (unlike even JFK, who was at least known as his father’s son), that the family consists of exactly four members: the “messiah,” his consort, and two still-small daughters.

Taxpayers support Obama family with 1.4 billion
(Vision to America.com) Taxpayers spent $1.4 billion dollars on everything from staffing, housing, flying and entertaining President Obama and his family last year, according to the author of a new book on taxpayer-funded presidential perks.  In comparison, British taxpayers spent just $57.8 million on the royal family.

Wow – and yes, I know the Windsors pay their own way, a lot, and that the British Tourist Board figures the return on the $57.8 million is about 10:1 – mostly due to Americans, apparently.  So we already HAVE a royal family that we share with about half the world.  Why do we need the Kennedys or the current occupants at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?  Yep, $1.4 B isn’t much in today’s world of trillion-dollar deficits, but every little bit counts!

Besides, what do we get for it?  No “changing of the guard” ceremony with red jackets and fur hats, no grand carriages, no dolled-up lady on horseback, no deadly tunnel car-rides in Paris, no Queen’s touch.  We get a somewhat overweight woman who thinks she is a fashion idol, two reasonably nice kids who are spoiled rotten with trips to Spain and Mexico and a ritzy private school, and a man who (admittedly) seems to be as “densely and dully” stupidly “intelligent” as Prince Charles without the excuses of too much inbreeding in the generations beyond his grandparents. And who has as chronic a condition of lying anytime his mouth is open as any other lawyer or a typical French monarch.  (And who, by the way, HATES the Windsors, as near as I can tell, along with ALL Brits and anyone else in the “old and white” Commonwealth.  Which is odd, since by most reckoning, he is at least 3/4-white himself, since Arabs are usually considered white.

No, we’d be a lot better off paying an appropriate share of maintaining the Windsors as our royal family, as well.   Think about it: we could offer to pay twice as much as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: that would be about 120 million a year; and STILL save about 1.3 billion a year!

Then maybe we could start figuring out how to elect presidents that are more than lie-all-the-time clothes horses, and understand that “serving the people” does not mean “on a platter.”

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Left versus right

Posted on 2012-10-07 by TPOL Nathan

For years now, I have subscribed to a daily dose of Liberty Quotes
No doubt, many of our readers do as well. If not, consider it: each day there are one to three quotes from all sorts of people – the variety may surprise you! Today, there were three, regarding the false idea of “left” versus “right.”

“What, actually, is the difference between communism and fascism?  Both are forms of statism, authoritarianism.  The only difference between Stalin’s communism and Mussolini’s fascism is an insignificant detail in organizational structure.”
— Leonard E. Read, (1898-1983) founder of the Foundation for Economic Education
Source: “Neither Left Nor Right”, Freeman, January/February 2006 • Volume: 56 • Issue: 1

“In principle, there are only two fundamental political viewpoints. That is, two contradictory ends of the ‘political spectrum.’ Those two principles are freedom and slavery.”
— Mark Da Cunha Publisher of Capitalism magazine

“You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, ‘The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.'”
— Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) 40th US President

The outcome of elections, even if the races actually mean anything, will never be properly understood and applied until the people of this nation understand what the real choices are.  Listening to people who go on and on about abortion or taxes or wars or spending or banks or any issue, it is clear that they do not understand or appreciate or care about the greater cause of liberty and whether or not their actions in the voting booth will aid or harm their own and everyone else’s freedom.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-42B: This and That

Posted on 2012-10-07 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2012

Three Major Sponsors have pulled advertising from the Presidential Debates in protest…
(dailypaul.com)
It was only a week ago that the Commission on Presidential Debates had ten sponsors for the 2012 debates.

Although now “old news” it is worth noting this:  business pressure is often more powerful than political or legal pressure.  The Denver Debate was a fiasco on many fronts, and apparently was NOT viewed much and was NOT profitable for the Mainstream Media – in part because these sponsors pulled out to protest limiting the debate to the two old-party candidates.  I find it incredible that these two men, and their political organizations, were able to cost the taxpayers (whether drivers, businesses, or ordinary people) of Denver (and those traveling through Denver) millions of dollars in additional travel time, additional miles traveled, and cost of traffic control by closing SIX MILES of the major freeway (I-25, AKA Valley Highway) in the heart of Denver for FIVE hours on a workday evening, including rush hour.  What incredible arrogance – suitable for royal despots, perhaps, but NOT for people who claim to be elected leaders of a free people!

Hoploclasts
DIY gun project misfires as leasing company takes back 3D printer
(New Scientist) “Who would have thought it? Printing guns is frowned upon. Even in the US. Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas at Austin, found this out last week when Stratasys, the company that made the uPrint SE 3D printer he was leasing, got wind of his plans to design a 3D-printable handgun and took back their equipment. … lawyers for Stratasys cited his lack of a federal firearms manufacturer’s licence as their reason for the repossession, adding that it does not knowingly allow its printers to be used for illegal [sic]purposes.” (10/02/12

I guess that law students really ARE that stupid?  If he was just leasing it, he should have been more careful about blabbing about it – or should have checked to see if Stratasysm was going to be upset.  Of course, the Statrasys action was pretty stupid, either:  I think that they are panicking for no reason for what is still basically a hand-crafted gun that was not being offered for sale.  But again, we are talking about lawyers: memory like an elephant, reasoning ability barely human, common sense slightly lower than that of a gerbil.  (And don’t forget, greedy as King Midas himself!)

Government-ruined, theft-funded schools – Nanny state
Gov’t Urges Parents to Use School Lunches As a Model for Family Dinner
(CNSNews.com) The is so frightening that it is funny.  With all the information out there on nutrition, and all the people who can teach about it – much less what is on line, the idea that school lunches – especially those advocated by Michelle the Consort – should be a model for family meals is nasty, even nauseating.  Let us also model family together time on recess, complete with playground bullies and all; it has to be better than hummus and bean curd and Brussels sprouts with margarine.

Culture wars: homosexuality
California’s Ban on ‘Sexual Orientation Therapy’ to Face Legal Challenges
(CNSNews.com) A few days ago, the Tranzi Republic made this therapy illegal to perform on teenagers even with the teens approval and their parent’s approval.  My first thought was that ANY attempt by ANYone to persuade someone that they are not homosexual (or bisexual, or furry-little-bunny-sexual) would be deemed to be illegal (this IS California, after all), and so another freedom lost (or MORE lost: free speech is almost dead in California anyway:  if you don’t think so, try circulating a petition that has anything proposed which is not strictly in accordance with established Tranzi doctrine (or that of their favored groups) and see if you can keep from getting your life threatened and your house burned and your pets crucified on the lawn.

Local Tyranny – War on Some Drugs
Tennessee: Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House
(ABC, Lebanon, TN) A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house. Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a drug informant contributed to the death of John Adams Wednesday night. They intended to raid the home next door. The two officers, 25-year-old Kyle Shedran and 24-year-old Greg Day, were placed on administrative leave with pay. “They need to get rid of those men, boys with toys,” said Adams’ 70-year-old widow, Loraine.

What a shame, and what will happen?  A whitewash and nothing more: a hollow letter of apology and two murderous young thugs out on the street, probably to kill again.

Politics 2012
Mitt Romney must prove that debate performance was the real him
(Washington Post) Mitt Romney’s challenge, with less than five weeks until Election Day, is to convince voters that the steady, decisive, in-command competitor who showed up for the first presidential debate is the real Mitt Romney.

Well, I wondered just how the Mainstream Media would turn lemons into lemonade after even the CNN polls found that people thought that Romney won that foolish and silly debate in Denver by a 2.5 to 1 margin:  it is, apparently, a fluke.  The “messiah” had a bad day, Romney’s handlers are in control, and it is some little guy in a corner booth behind a curtain controlling everything.

Stupid government tricks – Environists
California Emergency Regulations allow landfilling of toxic waste
Leaded glass from cathode ray tubes (CRTs) may be disposed of in landfill sites under an emergency regulation issued by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The department said that the emergency measures are aimed at increasing the recycling and disposal options for waste CRTs and their glass. … In the past, much of the old CRT glass was recycled to make new CRTs. However, as consumers increasingly switch to flat screen TVs and computer monitors, CRT use has been phased out and the demand for CRT glass has fallen. … The department explained that one consequence of the diminished demand is that large quantities of CRT glass are now being stored and accumulated throughout California.  … “The requirements currently in place that pertain to CRT disposal were established at a time when there was a robust demand for CRT glass by legitimate recycling facilities,” said Karl Palmer, Chief of DTSC’s Toxics in Products Program.  “This regulation will encourage the development of new recycling technologies and where recycling is not feasible, it will put in place a process and requirements that will allow safe disposal of CRT glass,” he added.

The lying hypocrites!  But they don’t care, as long as the bribe checks cash and the cash is worth something they will do this sort of garbage. Clearly they aren’t worried about the voters seeing through their little scams.  This story perfectly illustrates the insanity of government regulations, and the virtual inability of the government to respond to changes in markets and real-life conditions.

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What are you training for, exactly?

Posted on 2012-10-05 by MamaLiberty

I’ve been having an interesting discussion with someone else who loves to shoot. We started with the idea of airsoft guns being good training aids and wandered a bit into the reason for training.

First off, everyone knows that I love to shoot. 🙂 I love to shoot almost anything that won’t knock me down (and there are a lot of things that do – so I don’t shoot them).

I’ve talked with, shot with, trained with and even argued with an awful lot of people in the last 30 years or more, and have learned an awful lot in the process – so this is just an expression of my own experience and thinking, not a reflection on anyone else or their experience.

Overall, I find that a great many people simply over train! The old, “no pain – no gain” nonsense. Many are spending a fortune sending thousands and thousands of rounds downrange, seemingly thinking that sheer volume will do the trick.

Personally, I’ve discovered that it makes a big difference just what you are training to do… Different goals require different efforts… obviously.

If one is determined to be a champion in competitive sports, extreme accuracy is vital and requires a lot of carefully aimed practice. No question about it. Those who play the game just for fun want to be accurate too, of course, but maybe not spend their entire lives and income in the process.

My single experience with shooting to defend my life demonstrated that my attitude, mind set and the availability of the appropriate tool was the essential part… since I had zero formal training at that point, and had not even handled the gun in a long time. [Here is a link to the whole story for anyone who has not read it. ]

At least partly because I had never really dealt with this, I chose to fire the gun over his head instead of center body mass. The fact that he chose then to run away in no measure changes the fact that I made a poor choice and it might easily have cost me my life.

My main purpose in shooting is to enjoy myself and to prepare the best I can to defend myself if it is ever again needful.

I also spend a great deal of effort teaching others, especially women, to empower themselves to take personal responsibility for their lives and safety – and that of their children and community at need. Most of that is a matter of attitude and determination, not hitting bulls eyes on a target, however satisfying they can be.

So, while practice with the weapon – whatever it is – is very valuable in many ways, it’s only a small percentage of the overall requirements for effective self defense. And, if a person gives all of their attention to the gun and the gear, they might find themselves unable to actually pull the trigger in the midst of the terror of a real confrontation.

And that would most certainly be a terrible waste. 😦

So, my advice to everyone is to determine just what it is you are training for… and instead of a rain of bullets… make every shot count, both on the range and anywhere else.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-42A: Too Much Government, Too Little Liberty

Posted on 2012-10-04 by TPOL Nathan

The Case for Abolishing the Economic Development Administration
(COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE ) The Economic Development Administration is poor at reading market signals to know where to make wise investment…

Having had my share of dealings with them, and knowing of others’ experiences, the case is very strong.  But this idea of government agencies being poor at reading market signals applies to ALL government agencies – because they are GOVERNMENT!  Sadly, the economy of the nation and the market has become so warped that many companies feel they have no choice but to accept a bargain with the devil.

Flaws in U.S. Trade Laws Discourage Trade and Foster Protectionism
(CATO INSTITUTE) While the United States touts its free trade policies, there are serious flaws in the nation’s laws that discourage trade and foster protectionism…

The situation is obvious, except when you are so in love with government that you can’t see straight.  Imagine what it could be like if we REALLY had free trade both with other countries and inside the Union?

Is College a Lousy Investment?
(Newsweek) Just as the housing market suffered from people that borrowed money to add “value” to their homes, so too will the market for higher education…

Wow!  Even the mainstream media has finally had to admit this.  Now, we just have to get state governments (and local governments) and the colleges themselves to understand…  This, like the dotcom and the real estate and the banking bubbles, will burst, and it will be incredibly painful when it does.

Urgent Care Centers Are Booming
(Kaiser Health News) One in five visits to the emergency room can be treated at an urgent care center, saving up to $4.4 billion annually in health care costs…

The unasked question is WHY are they booming?  If you are observant and stop and think about it, and if you make just one or two visits to a hospital, you KNOW why cash or credit card up front, minimal waiting, minimal paperwork, and a decently trained “NON-specialist” are so enticing.  NOW – imagine if you could cut government out of the circuit entirely!

President Obama’s $488 Billion Regulatory Burden
(American Action Forum) This year alone, the Obama administration published more than $231 billion in regulatory costs…

I submit that government is killing us.  It is the difference between having a single mosquito sucking your blood, and having ten thousand sucking your blood: we are much nearer the ten thousand, and beyond.  The collapse is approaching.  This makes the next story all the more ironic:

Hillary: ‘Loosen Regulation’ Because ‘Too Many People Still Can’t Find Jobs’-In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya
(CNSNews.com) Nathan:  What is sauce for the goose in gravy for the gander, eh?  Physician, heal thyself?  Would a President Hillary apply this same solution to Michigan or California or Arkansas?

Self-defense
Store owner shoots at armed robbers
(Mtairynews.com)  WHITE PLAINS — It’s bad enough when armed gunmen rob your store, but when owner Teresa Smith saw a loved one being threatened, the situation reached another level. “I shot as much as that gun would let me shoot,” Smith said of the .38-caliber revolver she wielded Sunday night when two robbers entered the Cupboard No. 2 in White Plains and one held a handgun on her husband Barry.

Mama’s Note: The picture clearly demonstrates why she didn’t hit anything… she doesn’t know how to hold the gun to start with. So sad, that people are taught nonsense like that.

Nathan: She sounds very self-taught, or perhaps I should say, learned all she could from the moving pictures and the television.  Heaven help us all!

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