The Abusive Relationship

Do people enjoy abuse? Do we seek out or stay in abusive relationships because somewhere, deep down, we like being miserable? I know people who seem to. Government is like an abusive partner. It steals from our bank accounts and wants more, claiming ownership of all our possessions while contributing nothing of value. It sets bizarre, arbitrary rules with extreme punishments for even accidental infractions. It demands to know every detail of our private lives "for our own good" as if we are stupid children needing constant supervision. It claims moral superiority over us while behaving like a drunken lecher. It warns us of dire consequences if we ever dare to tell it to hit the road. "You'll be sorry! You are nothing without me! You'll never make it on your own! Everyone will kill each other without me to make them behave!" Yet we keep defending its indefensible actions, and behaving like it really does have some claim on our lives. Kick the bum out. If it resists, you know what to do.

Pragmatic Perfectionism

"The perfect is the enemy of the good". I hear this quote a lot in libertarian circles. Usually quoted by the "pragmatists" and directed at the radicals (like me). They are wasting breath because I already know this fact. I think on a personal level it is a good thing to remember. Don't waste your life spinning your wheels with your bumper against a brick wall. On the other hand, why bother at all if you don't have "perfect" as a goal? Don't ever forget: all government is totally evil. With that in mind, it exists, and probably will all of your life, so use it against itself if you can. Don't use government against individual people unless they are an instrument of the state. "Live by the state; die by the state" you might say. Work toward Libertopia within the current system when you must, and outside the system when you can. Acknowledge that nothing will ever be perfect, but LIVE free now, and never stop striving.

What Kind of "American"?

I am a human being who lives in America. Beyond that, I hold the values that were apparently espoused by the founders of America in high regard. I believe that each person is a sovereign individual who owes nothing to anyone else other than to not aggress against them. I am not a "Soviet American" such as runs the government and fawns over the institutions of tyranny. I support freedom of speech; not laws against "hate speech" and Free Speech Zones which protect the President from hearing dissent. I do not support government spying on Americans under the pretense of trying to catch terrorists plotting. Torture is evil no matter who is doing it and no matter what you call it. You do not protect freedom by torture. You do not increase Liberty by restricting Liberty. Outlawing self defense and the tools which facilitate it is plain wrong. I do not support government programs or agencies which label as "domestic terrorists" anyone who believes the same things that the founders of America believed. I do not seek Liberty for myself and then use the bludgeon of government against those who irritate me. I believe that the US is the worst threat America has ever faced, and I don't know if America can survive the threat.

Drugged Drivers

I know of someone who is suffering from injuries received in a car wreck a year ago. The driver of the other car was at fault, and was on drugs. Now my friend will probably suffer pain from nerve damage for the rest of her life, and need powerful pain medications in order to function. This fact has made her question her libertarian opinion as to drug prohibition.

I can understand her thoughts. No one wants impaired drivers careening into them out of nowhere. On the other hand, driving while impaired or even distracted is already illegal, and yet things like this still happen. The current War on Drugs destroys freedom on a massive scale and yet doesn't prevent things like this from happening, so what can we do? Is there a real solution? Or do we simply accept that tragedies will always happen as a part of life?

Memorial Day: Remembering Our Past, Considering Our Future.

JPFO ALERT:

Memorial Day: Remembering Our Past, Considering Our Future.

Each year on Memorial Day, JPFO reminds our readers to honor those who died in America's wars. We mourn for them and we thank them.

But we also remind you that as the United States becomes more like the brutal police states we once fought, we must mourn as well for the loss of our freedoms. We mourn the loss of the great promise that once was America -- now betrayed by politicians, bureaucrats, thuggish enforcers, and uncaring citizens.

We've been heavily advertising our new documentary The Gang because it showcases the BATFE as a supreme example of this betrayal. Corrupt, inept thugs enforce not just unconstitutional laws but arbitrary bureau "policies" against honest citizens. And no one speaks up ... because they could be next.

Recently, the television show "Boston Legal" aired an episode entitled "Stick It". You can read a summary at http://www.boston-legal.org/19-stickit/ep19-stickit.shtml . More importantly, you can watch the video (or read a transcript) of a closing argument by one of the show's characters (scroll down to "Alan Shore's Closing Argument").

This speech is probably one of the most eloquent, timely, and terrifying recitations of the dark turn our country has taken over the last few decades. It concludes with the statement, "I know we are all afraid, but the Bill of Rights -- we have to live up to that. We simply must."

Indeed.

On this sad holiday, we urge you to take a moment to consider not only what we've lost, but why and how we've lost it. Consider, too, how we might get it back. There are 100 million gun owners in this country, and only 2300 agents. So why are we putting up with this treachery?

We can start by abolishing the BATFE and all federal control and regulation of firearms. Ultimately, though, we must attain a Bill of Rights Culture.Let's make it happen.

- The Liberty Crew

PS: The day after JPFO aired our "Talkin' to America" interview with Ryan Horsley, owner of Red's Trading Post, he was visited by THREE BATFE agents, including an area supervisor. Read Ryan's update at www.jpfo.org/redsupdate2.htm . Yet another example of the BATFE's vindictive actions against honest American gun owners. By allowing this activity, we are allowing the deaths of our fallen soldiers to be in vain.

Mr. Wood

A few blogs ago, I mentioned the high school teacher who was instrumental in teaching me to think critically about what I was being "fed". Mr. Bill Wood taught Physics, Chemistry, and a "special" class. After spending two years in his classes, he is to blame for a lot of who I am. I would skip other classes to sit in the library and read; but I never skipped his classes. That was the only class time, since first grade when I learned to read, where I learned anything important.

During my high school years there was a big creationism uproar occurring statewide. He even testified in the court case. He encouraged us to look at the issue critically from all sides. He never hid his opinion, but had his students on both sides attempt to defend our own position coherently during discussion. He also led us in a study of advertising and the ways it influences our thoughts. I was always dreadfully bad at math, but he often gave me credit for being the only person in his physics class who understood the concepts being discussed. Even if I never got through a calculation without an error during the entire year. The main thing I remember from all his classes was this: while other teachers told us what to think, he emphasized how to think.

I heard through hearsay that he quit teaching within a couple years of my graduation. The politics of the "education system" are an obstacle to education, screening out the best teachers. Just another reason for the separation of school and state. Mr. Wood was the best teacher I ever had.

When I think of him I feel that he would be disappointed in me today. After all, I never made anything of myself. He would have told me I could do better.

Permits: The All-American Bribe

America; land of the free... as long as your pay your bribe to the right agency to get official permission to practice your freedom. Only, in this case, the corrupt bribe-takers are so morally vacant that they actually keep a record of their criminality! The bribes have been institutionalized and codified.

Want to add a room to your house? Get a building permit that not only gives your "permission" to do the work, but gives "implied consent" to the local government to tell you how you can build it, and allows them to trespass to "inspect" the work (and maybe just snoop a little while they are there). Wish to carry a gun for self defense? Apply for a permit that puts you into a database of criminals for government to keep a wary eye on. A permit that can be denied or revoked on a whim and can be used to track you when it is decided that common folk no longer "need" to own guns. Want to drive your car? That entails a whole stack of permits if your wish to have official sanction. Once again, by getting their permits and trying to work within the system, they claim you have given implied consent to go along with all the anti-American garbage that the authorities commit. Things like "safety" check-points, seatbelt laws, and DUI (known as "drunk driving" back when it really was about being drunk while driving) laws that have become meaningless by their pettiness.

Freedom-by-permit is not freedom at all. It is slavery. It is "freedom if you can afford to pay for it". Be an outlaw and take your freedom without begging permission from any government thug.

"Continuity of Government"

Leave it to the parasites of government to think that they are so important and their job so critical, that even if some event destroys all of the productive people in America, the government MUST survive! That is like preserving the disease organisms after the host is dead. Take the most useless sector of the population, and the one thing we can all do completely without, and make certain it survives. After disasters, people who sit and wait for the government to rescue them frequently die. What makes anyone think it would be different next time? What "job" does government do that would still be "necessary" if the rest of the population was dead? I mean, really, who would be left to care? Other than those disease organisms who call themselves "government". Plus, those who would be left after such an event would most likely be the people who are least reliant on government bail-outs, and also the least compliant with government orders. Do the authoritards think it will impress China that America will still have a government rattling its sabres after doomsday? Unfortunately, they probably do.

Good Idea vs. Compulsion

There are a lot of things I think are good ideas for liberty-seekers to get involved with. Things like jury duty and gun ownership. There are other things that I think are just a good idea for anyone like wearing a seat belt or a motorcycle helmet. There is a difference between "thinking it is a good idea" and making it mandatory. Only government can destroy a good idea that way.

Although I believe that jury duty is the best weapon we have to peacefully stop the US police state in its tracks, I would never encourage making it compulsory to serve. Who does that benefit? If you have 12 disgruntled jurors sitting there daydreaming about strangling the people responsible for their captivity is justice likely? I think not!

Or how about guns? I think that owning them and knowing how to use them is a very intelligent thing to do. If someone has no interest in having one or learning to safely handle one, then that person would be happier, and so would I, if he just didn't bother with it. I have gone shooting with one person that I refused to shoot with ever again after seeing his disregard for basic safety rules. He then joined the military and left the area.

I am the first person to insist that everyone in my car wear a seat belt. Yet, whenever I see those "Click it or ticket" propaganda ads on TV, I want to never wear one again. It is smart to wear a seat belt, but it is incomprehensibly evil to require it by "law".

Government can take a perfectly good idea, and by passing counterfeit "laws" make it into a reprehensible compulsion.

Dissonance

I have heard that stress is caused by an internal conflict. Such as being put into a situation where the biological "right thing to do" is fight or flight, but the "socially expected thing to do" is to stand there and tolerate some authoritard giving you ridiculous orders. I had my own way of dealing with this while trapped in the government indoctrination centers called "school": I daydreamed a lot. After I learned to read, school didn't teach me anything of any value until high school, when I was fortunate enough to have a teacher for a couple of years who taught his students to think critically about what we were told. He is probably to blame for a lot of who I am now. That is another item for another day.

Back to the current thoughts. I already live in Libertopia in my mind, so when I am confronted by the stupidity of the authoritarian dystopia surrounding me, the dissonance causes a lot of stress to my system. I know how I should respond to a given situation, but the societal realities mean I would be punished violently by the "law". We are expected, and "legally" required, to sit down and shut up and by all means, don't bother the noble authorities by making a scene. So, I put up with a lot of nonsense that no one in a free society would ever be forced to tolerate quietly. I am sure the same thing applies to you.


This goes back to my post on "enjoying what liberty we have left" from a few days ago. Enjoy what freedoms you have left, and the ones you can probably get away with. After all, "They can't control us all".

What Do They Want?

There are people I run into online, who although they frequent the "libertarian" or "quasi-anarchist" websites, and align themselves with the freedom seekers, they don't seem to agree with "us" on much of anything. Try as I might, I honestly can't see that these people are looking for any type of "freedom". So, what is it they are really wanting?

Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps I should be glad that they have enough interest to try to hang out with libertarians (I have heard we can be difficult to get along with). I can't stop wondering about their motives, though. Are they there to try to start arguments; to sow discord? Are they there under mistaken impressions? Do they believe they can show the rest of us the "error of our ways" by shining the light of authoritarianistic thought on our ideas? Maybe they are a single-issue libertarian and just want to be left alone to smoke crack, but have no interest in allowing anyone else their own brand of liberty.

Whatever is going on, I get the distinct impression that they just don't get it. When possible, I do not engage them in a heated debate. Tempers flare quickly and that helps no one. I try to mostly ignore these folks in the hope that they will absorb, by constant exposure, some inkling of what "liberty" really means. Who knows, maybe one day they will rise up to be exactly the person the world needs to stand up for liberty.

Blood-Thirsty Americans

I am disturbed by how blood-thirsty otherwise normal people around me seem to have become. They celebrate the deaths of foreigners, and seem happy to send more troops to kill and terrorize them.

Maybe the real reason Americans seem so anxious to slaughter people, guilty and innocent alike, overseas is a frustration over what is going on closer to home. Perhaps, like me, a lot of people are seriously frustrated with the US police state that is ratcheting its controls tighter around us. Since they see no way to fight the monsters and win, they take their frustrations out on foreigners that the government encourages them to hate. The anger has to go somewhere, so they choose a safe, officially sanctioned target.

I don't want to consider the alternative: that people have become fans of genocide, torture, and terrorism, as long as "the home team" is doing the dirty deeds. If that is the case, we have already lost the "War on Terror"; it has adopted us as its favorite child.

A Libertarian, Ron Paul, and Hitlery

My dream presidential ballot would offer the choices of the Libertarian candidate (whosoever that may be), Ron Paul as the Republican, and Hillary Klinton as the Democratic/National Socialistic (Natso) choice.

In my view, this would be an impossible election for freedom to lose, in the long run. Any Libertarian would be better than anyone else. Ron Paul would be better than anyone other than me (in my oh-so-humble opinion, LOL), and with Hitlery elected, the gloves would be off and we could get down to the business of "The War of Independence II". No, I don't want all-out war, but I feel it is probably inevitable now. America is already at war with the US, most people just don't realize it yet.

Begin working hard to promote one of these candidates in order that this election can be the most entertaining election imaginable. After all, isn't that what politics is really about?

My Credo

Claire Wolfe is attempting to write a credo for herself. I am not sure I need one, but decided it would be a good mental exercise. So, here goes my attempt for a credo of my own:

On my honor as a human being, I will give zero respect for, or obedience to, counterfeit "laws" or systems of belief, present or future. I do not, nor have I ever, consented to be subject to the whims of the criminal collective known as "government". I will strive to avoid aggression, but will defend myself and others in whatever way I see fit against all attacks. I will seek to live as free in my body as I already envision in my mind.

At least that is how it stands for now; to be modified if the mood seizes me or I get a better idea at some later time.

Enjoy the Fossils of Liberty

Don't get trapped by the thought that you can't enjoy some freedom if you do not have total freedom. Setting goals is admirable. Knowing what Libertopia would look like is good; maybe even essential. How can you strive for something if you can't even picture what it is you want? But refusing to enjoy what freedom you have now, simply because Libertopia is not yet a reality, is very bad and self defeating. This is a pattern I fall into a lot.

I despise the very concept of "government". I utterly despise the existence of its armed enforcing apparatus; the cops. This does not mean I personally despise every government employee or cop I have ever met. Some of them are obviously OK people. They are absolutely dead wrong in what they are supporting with their time and their lives, but they honestly may not see it that way.

I need to relax about some things. I need to get on with the business of living free. I need to simply ignore those "laws" that I know are counterfeit, and not stress over it. If I get punished for living as I see fit, as long as I do not initiate force or fraud on anyone else, then I am not the one in the wrong, even if I am in jail. If there are some "laws" that I can live with, even comply with, knowing that they are wrong, then I should not worry about it. Choose your battles, as they say. "Getting away with" things under the watchful eye of the Malevolent Empire can even be fun. Think of it as a game. Become a Simon Jester. Thumb your nose at them (or flip them off) behind their backs.

I think some people see me as an angry anti-government loon. I am not angry, even if I come across that way sometimes. I hate injustice, especially when disguised as a "law", or cloaked with a flag. Certain situations do make me angry. These are often the ones I end up writing about. Things that don't arouse passion in me get short shrift. This is too bad. Rather than "anti-government", I am pro-liberty. Government is the opposite of liberty. Government is anti-me. Whether or not I am a loon... who knows. Do crazy people know they are crazy? I doubt it; that is part of what makes them crazy.

I will not stop promoting my vision of Libertopia, even while I quietly enjoy the fossils of liberty I still find in America. If by my rambling screeds, I inspire someone else to throw off some governmental shackles, then his victory will also help make the environment a bit more liberty-friendly for me as well. A victory for one is a victory for all. Victories, small though they may be, add up. I will rejoice in every small increase of liberty, even while I demand real, complete, lasting liberty for everyone everywhere. It is the only way I know.

Cops, Cops, Cops

Many people seem to think I am too hard on cops. I hold cops to a higher standard than I hold anyone else to (except politicians) because they have a greater power to destroy innocent lives, and get away with it. I have said many times that a badge and a gun are a dangerous combination. That being said, I do recognize that there are shades of gray. No cop, or anyone else, is all good or all bad. Some are better than others, and some are far worse.

With cops I have made a couple of personal observations that may or may not be correct. First, the shorter the cop's hair; the more hardline "I don't make the rules; I just enforce them" antifreedom he is. (I have yet to find an exception to this observation.) Secondly, it seems most older cops are less draconian that most younger cops. I personally believe this is a result of the current training protocols. "Us vs. Them"; "Thin blue line", "Busting ours; Saving yours", and all of that crock of .... ahem, nonsense.

If a cop enforces a few counterfeit "implied consent" type "laws", while avoiding most of the harshest rights violations, I suppose he is not as bad as the murderers who killed Kathryn Johnston (and countless others). I would still not recommend turning your back on him. Never trust a scorpion; they are what they are.

Media Ignores Ron Paul. It's a Start...

I read a lot of complaints that the mainstream media is trying to ignore Ron Paul. Going so far as not putting him in some polls that include everyone else. That obviously is not fair. To mention the other candidates while ignoring Ron Paul is dishonest.

In order to return to the fairness that you MediaHeads pretend to have, I suggest a way to pay restitution: Please ignore the rest of the candidates as well. It would be better. Imagine a Presidential race that was completely ignored by the media. It boggles the mind. All information would only be gotten by those with enough interest in the outcome to search, on their own, without being spoon fed what Big Media and Big Government want them to believe. The simple-minded authoritarian worshippers would probably forget there was even an election coming. The election just might actually go to the best person instead of the anointed one. That would be completely different.

Why Do I Keep Harping on "Guns"?

I really don't like to concentrate on one subject too much. You can't tell that from my blog, though. Time after time I keep returning to the subject of "guns". Why is that? Because I have always believed that someone's opinion on gun ownership is what tells you how they truly feel about you. L. Neil Smith explains it better. He compares the issue to an X-Ray. It lets you see right into any politician's rancid core.

The Write (In) Choice

Even though I have stopped campaigning, I still offer myself as a write in candidate for President. You can think of it as a protest vote, or use me as a threat to get your party back in line with what you want from your candidate. I probably have exactly the same chance of being elected this way as I did by actively campaigning. This simply moves the burden of promoting my ideas back onto you again.

Keep spreading the word, and I will keep agitating and blogging.

One Good Cop

Show me one good, honest cop who has never violated anyone's humanity by enforcing a counterfeit "law". Show me one who has never arrested anyone for putting any chemical into their own body. A cop who has never arrested anyone for carrying a gun peacefully, regardless of what local or national "laws" may dictate. Show me a cop who has never once given a speeding ticket or a ticket for not using a seatbelt. Or just show me a cop who will pledge to, from this day forward, live by the Zero Aggression Principle in his daily life and on the job. Then, and only then, will I believe that it is possible to be a good, honest person, and be a cop.