Limited government: myth or future fact?

Editor’s note: we continue to be on a limited schedule due to travel and work. Please bear with us!

As anarchists, we here at The Price of Liberty are opposed to any and all mandatory human government. From a “one-world” or transnational state and government to a local “homeowners’ association” or special services district. (Yes, most homeowners’ associations are de facto governments.)

But even so, we understand that limited mandatory human government is far more preferable, far better, than what most of us (and most of mankind) have endured and endure today.

There were multiple times in history when men have attempted to create and sustain limited government. This is little more than tolerating something that is inherently intolerable. Many ways have been sought and tried to limit the power of government, to prevent the rise of the all-powerful state. However, humans are perversely ingenious and are inventive when it comes to enslaving their fellows. And in convincing the slaves that they are still free.

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The SNAP and Food Desert Scam

Consider the State of South Dakota. And consider a certain unnamed online liberal-progressive (Regressive) news source.

This week, they proclaimed that South Dakota has a poor, mistreated, ignored, and abused county that had NO stores that would accept SNAP (food stamps) for buying groceries.

That county? Ziebach, located in the northeastern portion of South Dakota’s West River. And about half of the territory of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and their reservation. There was, the story proclaimed, no grocery store or supermarket or major food retailer (like WalMart) in Ziebach County that would accept the SNAP electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. And to make matters worse, Ziebach County has 43.5% of its population who get food stamps. Sixth-highest in the whole united States.

In fact, South Dakota has three counties which are all in the top ten of counties in the whole united States (“who receive SNAP benefits). The other two are also reservation counties: Oglala Lakota County (formerly Shannon County and half of the Oglala Sioux Nation (OST; 43% and eighth nationally), and Todd County, a third of the reservation of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate (RST 49.3%: third). But (to my personal knowledge) both those counties have multiple stores which can and do accept food stamps.

Horrible and shocking, right? Let us look quickly at a map showing Ziebach County:

The map shows the boundaries of Ziebach County.  

The map also shows the major towns in the area. Every one of these towns have grocery stores – not just convenience stores but actual supermarkets. Notice that only Dupree is located in Ziebach County. But it HAS a supermarket: the Dupree-Takini Lakota Thrifty Mart.

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Good bye, so long, fare… well, we try to be nice

At the same time, as Nancy Pelosi, like Barbara Boxer, and Diane Feinstein before her, leaves “government service” and retires? Can we be thankful and at the same time offer imprecatory prayers?

And share a cartoon like this one, shared with us by Bob Malone?

Clearly, Ms. Pelosi has benefited greatly from her service “to the people.” And her district in California. The value of her service to them? Far outweighed by the value she accrued in her service. Of course, we can laughingly point out she could have become a billionaire if she’d gone to work on Wall Street with her uncanny ability to predict the future value of shares.

She cannot be gone from the halls of Congress fast enough for us. But she has hundreds of colleagues, regardless of political loyalty (or pretend loyalty) who also cannot go away fast enough. She will not change the corrupt, cowardly character of the institution. We here at TPOL do not know what will!

Dear Ms. Nancy is the perfect example of Mark Twain’s comment: America has no native criminal class except for Congress.

FYI: Imprecatory prayer is something best explained by an example: Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof praying for the Czar: “May the Lord God keep the Czar … far, far away from us!

Note: we’ll be on limited publication the next several weeks! The reason we missed the last couple of days: on the road and a boatload of work!

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A quick quiz – and what conclusions can be drawn?

A frequent correspondent who is very much of a mind with us here at TPOL in many, many ways, provides today’s guest commentary:

He shares his thoughts triggered by an article by Steve Kirsch: “The PLOS Biology journal editors claim vaccines don’t cause autism and we should NOT do a proper study to find out…”

From Peter!

If you are a simpleton, like me, the answers to those highly complicated questions are simple.

  1. Do vaxxes represent the insertion of foreign substances into our body, such as animal DNA, toxins, viruses, and damaging microorganisms?——-Yes!
  2. Have tests been done, prior to injecting such materials, to determine their safety and potential side effects?”——-No!
  3. Are people sicker today than they were a century ago? ——-Yes!
  4. Are our top industries serving products that benefit our health? Food industry, Pharmaceutical industry, Agricultural industry, Medical industry?——–No!
  5. Has our government been doing its appointed and designated job of protecting us against domestic and foreign threats? ——–No
  6. Has our government misallocated our tax money to a plethora of illegal, damaging, destructive, deadly, traitorous, toxic industries and interests?——-Yes!
  7. Has our government lied to us, sent our youth to die on foreign battle fields for the interest of some elitists, suppressed the truth, propagandized us to seek and fund our own destruction and enslavement?——-Yes, and yes indeed?

How much more does a rational, self-honest person need to observe and contemplate, to reach such conclusions?

Oh..but now I am pregnant and going to have twins. That is logic for a true modern male..

How simple? And not even the 10 or 20 questions of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz!

So what conclusions can we draw from honest answers to these seven questions?

As always throughout human history, human governments have failed in what they (including the historians and political scientists) claim is the primary purpose of government.

Instead, governments have supported and encouraged greed and continued predation on the general population (at home and abroad). How? They take actions that they (often and commonly) prohibit others (without government sanction and a very cozy relationship). Injecting foreign substances (we could point out that foreign objects include bullets, shrapnel, and sharp objects). Deciding that testing to determine the characteristics and short/long-term impacts on humans and our environment is not necessary. Pretending and often lying about overall health and safety of people. Ditto in regards to supposedly protecting its citizens from bad food, bogus medicine, and dangerous drugs.

As our friend Peter asks, are we honest? Are we rational? Or do we accept madness and garbage as our due?

When in the course of human events,…


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The wretchedness of DC and government in general

Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”—Thomas Jefferson

This clearly states a scriptural principle (one found in the Bible, that is.) Peter told the Sanhedrin, “we must obey God rather than men.”

Tyranny, even its milder forms such as authoritarianism, are evil, sinful, and an affront not just to human liberty and freedom and people, but to the God who has given us liberty and freedom.

But tyranny is not just evil, it is corrupting, it is disgusting, to any lover of liberty, to anyone who values human life and dignity, to anyone who believes that humans have rights. (Regardless of where those rights come from.)

John Whitehead, in a recent commentary, notes that “The tragedy of our age is not merely that presidents claim godlike power or that the citizenry themselves go along with it – it is that people of faith who should know better consent to it.”

Shame on us – we encourage and tolerate and refuse to reject the wretchedness Massa and his minions cause.

We might argue that the reason they make other people’s lives wretched (and shorter) is because they themselves are so wretched. Indeed, we probably should pity them. But that does not mean that we should tolerate them. Let alone support them. And let alone give anyone the idea that we consent to what they do and say.

While DC under The Donald is certainly preferable to DC under Uncle Joe or Commie Cammie, it is a very relative preference. We are not yet a full year into the Trump 2.0 regime, but the disappointments for lovers of liberty are already piling up.

The only comfort we might take regarding how wretched these politicians, bureaucrats, and various and sundry petty tyrants are? That their misery – moral, spiritual, emotional – might help them to wake u and realize who is the cause of their wretchedness. The gal or guy in the mirror.

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Veterans’ Day 2025

Ode of Remembrance

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal,
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation,
And a glory that shines upon her tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall  grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the daytime;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known,
As the stars are known to the night.

As the stars will be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

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Scandal or coup or what?

We constantly fail to learn from history: even recent history. But especially from ancient history. Especially when it comes to doing nasty things, like overthrowing republics, enslaving people, and pushing tyranny. From dynastic conflicts and conspiracies in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the checkered and sickening history of Greek city-states and Phoenician/Carthaginian tyrants, to Rome, France, England and all the way to 2025, we know that power corrupts, that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but that even a little power can and usually does corrupt those who hold it. Especially when it is stolen.

In these united States, we have great suspicions about many changes of power. Especially as the power wielded by Congress and the White House has grown with the years. We can look all the way back to 1860: did Honest Abe really win California’s electoral votes, or were there shenanigans? What exactly went on behind the scenes in the fiasco of the 1876 presidential election? Exactly was really the case with Woodrow and Edith Wilson, especially in 1916 and in 1920 after the war and the European “peace” that was little more than a 20-year-long ceasefire.

Sliding back a few years, were the income tax and the direct election of Senators really ratified? Or were games being played and evil deeds done? Ditto for the origins of the Federal Reserve. Going forward, exactly what led to Wallace being dumped by FDR and a tool of the Pendergast Machine (Harry S Truman) put in as VP with a straight path to nearly eight years as President? We know that LBJ stole the Texas election for US Senate in 1948, just as we know that Richard Daly stole Chicago and therefore Illinois and the 1960 election for Jack Kennedy. With strong evidence, some only vdery recently revealed, that the same corrupt Deep State elements, led by LBJ and J. Edgar, disposed of JFK three short years later. Just as many people have serious doubts about Obummer’s Senate

The above exchange indicates several concerns we have about scandals, coups, conspiracies, and such activities. One is calling them scandals: To us here at TPOL, virtually every act of a government agency or individual is a scandal. And so are many acts of former gov ernment employees and government contractors.

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Daylight savings time!

Good morning/evening, readers, concerned persons, professionals of all disciplines and work. Today, let us talk about what is more confusing than braindead correspondents and government bureaucrats: daylight savings time. ⏰ 

We’ve made it through a week of Standard Time: but notice, the kids, cats, cows, and deer aren’t paying any attention at all to the clock!

Fun fact: The idea of “springing forward” and “falling back” was first pitched by a New Zealand entomologist in 1895 – not to save energy, but so he’d have more daylight to collect bugs after work. Talk about chasing efficiency.

So if you’re dragging this week, don’t blame the night shift – blame the clock. And maybe grab an extra source of caffeine (if you are caffeine-normal) before you check the mud pump readings, deal with that latest government demand, or answer your first phone call of the day! 

And remember, the DST/ST fun is all courtesy of government.

Fun fact #2: The States of Hawaii and Arizona do not practice DST. However, the Navajo Nation does do DST, although the Hopi Nation (totally surrounded by the Navajo) does not.

There are many other fun facts and weird things about daylight savings time.

But remember, a sense of humor really helps us make it through life.

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Parasites and predators of government (and more)

Jesus specifically told us that we would have the poor with us always. Although He did not specifically tell us, He implied that we will always have sin and sinners – unrepentant sinners – with us also. And that we will always have to deal with humans who are predators and parasites on their fellow men and women.

Ayn Rand, though an unbeliever, accurately described those parasites and predators when she wrote:

“When you realize that to produce, you must obtain permission from those who produce nothing; when you see that money flows to those who deal not in goods but in favors; when you notice that many become rich through bribery and influence rather than by their work, and that the laws do not protect you from them but, instead, they are protected from you; when you discover that corruption is rewarded and honesty becomes a form of self-sacrifice, then you can confidently say, without fear of being wrong, that your society is doomed.”Ayn Rand

Jesus, too, pointed out that society is doomed when it is steeped and enslaved by sin. And that Scripture teaches that preying on your fellow humans, being parasites on others, is indeed sin. That sin may manifest itself in different ways (as Ayn Rand points out). But sooner or later, it corrupts and perverts the society, the economy, the culture, and ultimately destroys it.

This is not just found in governments, their leaders, employees, and beneficiaries thereof. We can see it in business, in education, in many elements of life and society, especially in religion. Whether it is “compassionate conservativism” or “populist progressivism.” Or bald tyranny.

We must constantly fight against these types of humans. First, by recognizing that we must never imitate them, or become like them. Second, by educating ourselves and others about how they do prey on us and others. Third, by resisting their actions, in a variety of ways. (Always counting the costs and seeking better ways to fight.) If we do not oppose them in both words and actions, all we do is encourage, incite, and facilitate their evil.

Again, as we are fond of pointing out, the choice is ours. Submit or oppose.

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The insidious nature of debasing the currency (inflation)

James Hickman, over at Schiff Sovereign, recently published several good commentaries for Grey Swan (Paradigm et al) regarding inflation, stagflation, and the financial mess both old parties and both Trumpistas and NeverTrumpers have gotten the States into, for the last 9 years.

We all know that Trump is not telling the truth about inflation. He apparently believes the phony numbers that the various federal agencies and Wall Street “geniuses” are pushing. Yes, gasoline (and even Diesel) prices are down, but not as much as he is telling us and the press. Yes, prices between $2.10 and $2.50 across much of the Heartland and South are good news. But prices on everything else are continuing to go up (and stay high) after the disastrous actions of Uncle Joe’s regime. And The Donald is not doing – and not able – to do very much.

Of course, the problem is that we are not only NOT on a real standard – gold or silver, for example. We are far, far beyond the debasing of the coin that Hickman wrote about in the 1400s in England, and that plagued the SPQR (Rome) and hundreds of regimes throughout history. We are well beyond the crazy behavior that generated trillion “dollar” bills in Zimbabwe or wheelbarrows full of paper in the Weimar Republic. Thanks to a combination of actual printing presses and debt-based money and electronic creation of imaginary funds, we are inflating prices with a skill and generally a rapidity not ever found in history.

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