The Apathetic Middle

I doubt there are too many more confirmed statists than libertarians. The problem seems to be that the people in the middle, the vast majority of people in this country who really don't care one way or the other, side with the authoritarians just because they seem to be the ones in control. It is easier for them to ignore any other viewpoints than to think. Especially when the authorities make sure to punish dissent and marginalize the principles America was founded upon. A lot of those in the apathetic middle would probably just as easily side with the libertarians if the authoritarians were driven out of power and this became a free country. The apathetic middle is composed of our friends, families, and neighbors. The same friends, family, and neighbors who would watch as we are loaded into the cattle cars and do nothing because they don't want to make waves. The ones who would help load us in because the "law" tells them it is the right thing to do; with the police waving them onward with automatic weapons and smiles, probably reaffirming how patriotic they are for making America "safe".

The Video That Started The War

Here is the video that started the whole war with Roy and "caused" him to break a deal which had already been made: "Justice Day".
I did not make the video or write the song. I stand behind its message, though. I am sorry if it offends some people, but seriously, with the exception of the artwork illustrating Bushie giving America the "digitus impudicus" and as a vampire sucking the lifeblood from Liberty, all the pictures there were taken from news photos or videos. OK, there was the stuff from "V for Vendetta", too. The only way I can think of for someone to be offended by this video is if they are part of the problem, supporting or enabling the abuses documented in the video, or be so sensitive that the harsh truth of the current American police-state is too difficult to accept. Or just blindly hate rock music. Either way, there needs to be a wake up call. Oftentimes.... reality is not pleasant, but denying it is not the answer. Just watch "Innocents Betrayed" to see more of what out-of-control government inevitably leads to. Start to stand up for America for a change.

Details on Yesterday's Blog

I am going to assume that the person whose lack of character so upset me yesterday (you know who you are, Roy) has now read that blog post, and will read this one, so I will go into more details.

One of my mother's aunts owns a house that she has not been living in for a couple of years. She has health problems and has been in an assisted living apartment. One of her daughters and son-in-laws knew I was trying to find a rural house in that area and offered to rent their mother's house to me. This daughter and her husband spent a lot of time with me and my girlfriend last summer and got to know us pretty well. They got together with the siblings and all agreed. No problem so far, until....

In the past couple of days the aunt's son discovered my website. Being a reactionary pseudo-American, he became angry over the things I had posted on MySpace. I assume he has also been looking up other things I have written, including this blog, since I have seen some evidence of this. He obviously thinks George Washington was a traitor to the crown, and doesn't believe in the First Amendment (unless he is the one exercising it in his own way, I am sure). Anyway, he called his siblings and told them he refuses to rent to me. Apparently he thinks I am a drug addict and/or dealer since I see through the bogus "War on (some) Drugs" (more info on D.A.R.E. here) and maybe he thinks I would set up a meth lab at the house. I don't think the sister and brother-in-law who actually know me think I would do this. I wouldn't, by the way.

If someone doesn't want to associate with me or rent to me, that is his business. I have a feeling he has nothing to offer me in the way of intelligent conversation, either. The problem arises when a deal had already been made and I was a week from actually leaving here, travelling 1600 miles, and moving in. They had asked what color I wanted the baby's room painted, even. All the arrangements have been put in place, money has been spent, movers have been hired, notice has been given to my landlord and my storage unit, and my girlfriend has quit her job. I have a baby who is only a month old and this person would just leave us stranded. Nice. Satan would be very proud of him.

Every landlord I have ever had has given me glowing recommendations. I have never had any complaints. No damage has been done, and in fact, I have left every place I have ever rented better than it was when I moved in.

I know I will hear about writing this. People like him don't like to be exposed. Well, he has shown his true colors. What colors do socialists prefer?

Integrity, Character, or the Lack Thereof

Maybe I am just a crazy libertarian and my views are not "mainstream", but at least I have enough character to stand by the agreements I make. Today I am being put into a very bad position by someone who apparently does not.

Because I am a libertarian; because I have the courage and the principles to speak out against evil government programs; because I am able to see that a government that uses torture (and calls it "enhanced interrogation techniques") has no moral high-ground to defend... because of these things I am considered a "bad person".

Because I speak out on the insanity of the continually failing "War on Drugs" and it's evil step-child, the discredited D.A.R.E. police-state indoctrination program, I am assumed to be an addict, and I am not to be trusted.

I am not a mindless, flag-waving nincompoop. I know the difference between the flag and the ideals it was originally intended to embody, but now opposes. I know the difference between right and "legal". It infuriates me that some can't, or don't want to, recognize the difference.

I am sure this person believes himself to be a "patriotic American", yet nothing could be further from the truth. America was founded on certain principles; principles that have been rejected and trashed by the current government. Patriotism demands the courage to stand up for the principles of America and oppose the policies of the current government. Supporting America, supporting liberty, now means having the courage to point at government and say "Tyranny! Be gone!"

Now, I find myself backed against a wall. Simply because I spoke out about the things I feel are important if America is to ever be free again. I am caught between my principles and someone else's ignorance and hate. And I am mad.

"Toward a Police Reform Movement" by L. Neil Smith

In today's Libertarian Enterprise there is a very good article detailing what must be done in order for police to become the peace officers they should be instead of the badged criminals they are: Toward a Police Reform Movement by L. Neil Smith.

To his suggestions I would only add: Police uniforms should be fluorescent orange (with the huge black letters announcing the officer's name and badge number on the back and chest, as Smith suggests) and they should be forbidden to carry any chemical or electical "compliance" devices while on duty.

Kent McManigal or Ron Paul

I want America to attempt freedom once again. Then, when America is finally free, it should lead the rest of the world by example. You can't force democracy on other lands under threat of death or occupation and call it "freedom". Not honestly.

To help form a free world, someone has to go first. The only political ("legal") way that can happen is to elect a Libertarian or Ron Paul. No other Republican and no Democrat will steer America toward anything other than a more oppressive police-state. No Demopublican will even try to imagine anything other than a totally controlled population being watched and nannied every moment of every day. Liberty is their worst nightmare.

I am the most hard-line libertarian running. I will not compromise on liberty. I admit I may be too radical for some of you. If that is the case, then you should support Ron Paul. He is part of the way, a large percentage of the way, down the road to where I want to go. As I have said in the past, if you are scared by my vision of total freedom, at least head in my direction. We can part ways on good terms later when you are as free as you feel safe being. Who knows: You may discover that your appetite for liberty has been whetted and you may realize you are responsible enough for real Liberty after all.

Start at Zero

I was talking to a retired math teacher a while back and I told him that math was my worst subject in school. He said "You wanna know why?" I said I did. He asked "What is the first number?". "One" I answered. He smiled and said "Wrong. It is zero. That is why people have trouble with math."

Maybe that is why people have trouble with a lot of things. The beginning position should be zero; a clean slate. Whether it is governments, gods, laws, wives, presidential candidates, or whatever, we should not start counting at one, but zero. Then add one only if it seems absolutely necessary. Zero is a perfectly valid number, after all. Maybe in many cases it is the best number to choose.

Societal Evolution

I have seen lists where someone proposes that all democracies go through certain stages in their evolution from freedom to bondage. That's funny, since in my opinion, democracies are not very free. Still, it got me thinking about how societies evolve. I haven't put a huge amount of thought into this, but so far here is what I've come up with. I think societies go from bondage to discontent to revolution to liberty (of some degree) to "patriotism" to dependency to bondage again. I think the majority of the people in America are in the dependency stage. The idea that government has the authority, and is expected, to regulate every aspect of life and "pay for" (with stolen money) every "need" of the people makes that pretty clear to me. The discussions I have been a part of recently convince me of that even more. Each person in a society is not at the same stage; some are still stuck in "patriotism" while others are all the way to "discontent". Some may even be living in "liberty" in spite of the best efforts of the current authoritarians.

"Goody Guns"

Here is a new product that I have got to get! "Goody Guns" from JPFO; a gun-shaped cookie cutter!

Circular Arguing With a "Libertarian(?)"

In an online discussion with someone who claims to "lean toward libertarian ways" I have once again run into the phenomenon of someone who will look for any excuse to not be free. This person only used the "debate" to misrepresent what I said at every opportunity and keep proposing his socialist "solutions". If is "leanings" are "libertarian", I guess I am "Shanubi; King of the Gerbils".

Not that it matters, but this person's gripe was that McDonald's food is unhealthy if eaten to the exclusion of all else, and to solve this he would have government mandate that they replace the lettuce on their hamburgers with spinach, and make them pay penalties for selling "junk food". Now, I like spinach, but I don't want it replacing the lettuce on my Big Macs. I do not expect that my health will be perfect it I eat nothing but hamburgers (of any brand or type) for the majority of my meals. What kind of imbecile would?

He equates feeding McDonald's food to children with performing surgery on them at home or feeding them rat poison. Please.

Whenever I answered the points he brought up, he would claim I was being evasive. He would ask the same thing that I had just answered again. He kept going in circles; chasing his tail. He obviously craves an all encompassing nanny-state to dictate what we are allowed to choose to eat and do. Current counterfeit "laws" were claimed as evidence that more "laws" of this sort are OK. I finally realized that he was only trying to pick a fight and I walked away from the discussion.

I wrapped up my participation with this: "I do not want to live in a society where busy-bodies feel they have the authority to tell me what I am allowed to eat. Who owns your body; you or your neighbors? I know what my answer is."

Brett Darrow

Here is a post for my "murder by cop" label, only it hasn't happened yet. This comes from The War on Guns: Time to Widen Investigation in Darrow Case.
If anything ever happens to Brett Darrow, we will know who (or rather, which gang) to blame.

Random Thoughts Fueled by Too Much TV

I hear that the TV show "Kid Nation" caused an uproar because one of the kids killed a chicken. So? Shouldn't kids (and, for that matter, adults) realize where their food comes from? Life only comes from death. That has been a fact of life since at least the Cambrian Period. If you only feel sorry for the warm-blooded animals you eat, you are not fully recognizing plants as "life". That is discriminatory. Good for that kid for taking responsibility to provide food, even if the situation is contrived. I haven't seen the show, so I really don't know how the matter was handled.

Speaking of eating creatures..... I get really tired of seeing catch-and-release fishermen on TV commercials. How is hooking a fish for no other reason than "recreation" more noble than only doing so for the purpose of getting food? Isn't that just kind of a "feel good" thing? How is it different than going deer hunting and only shooting-to-wound the deer, and then letting it go after your photographs? I'd be willing to bet that a lot of those fish die afterwards.

At least it seems like the glut of "cop glorification" programming garbage has finally peaked. About the only cop program I ever identified with was The X-Files. It was probably the most anti-government program ever on TV. The rest of the shows either show cops as above-the-law or as noble saviours; saving "us" from ourselves. Phooey on that. For that matter, I can't stand the stuff that glorifies freelance bad guys either. Like the mafia jerks or others who murder, kidnap, steal, threaten, and beat up other people without a shred of conscience. Not at all like the decent outlaws of Firefly. Let's have some good anarchist heroes on TV again.

Last and possibly least: Not TV related, but still random: Government, any form other than self-government, is a hideous thing. I know this with every fiber of my being. So why don't more people see this fact? They cling to a stone-age concept that some people should lord over the rest of us. Come on people. Evolve already.

Anti-Gun Racists

Why is it that rural or suburban gun owners, who may or may not be members of that victim disarmament group called the NRA get the blame for "gun crime", and for blocking "reasonable gun laws", when it is inner-city criminals who are doing the vast majority of the shooting?

Then those who pretend to speak for the inner-city criminal/victims call for banning guns. If it were important to stop the shootings (which I think it is), why don't the criminals just stop shooting one another and innocent bystanders? Why keep blaming the people who are not shooting one another? Do you think that your pet criminals will stop killing when the peaceful gun owners are disarmed? What color is your unicorn?

Racism on the part of the gun banners is a big part of the reason. They are racist against the rural gun owners and they are racist against the inner-city shooters. They merely hide their racism behind the curtain of "progressiveness". Sneaky racists like these are the worst kind. They blame everyone else for their shortsightedness.

AARG!

A group that claims to lobby for the "rights" of retired Americans is using, exploiting, children in its TV ads. It is using them as spokespuppets advocating its pet socialist wealth-redistribution schemes. That is pretty low. I realize these kids are actors who are getting paid for their work, and I would never begrudge them that right. They have no clue what they are being used for. They are not the ones who are targeted by these ads.

The kids are a weapon aimed straight at the hearts of their parents; the working men and women who actually have to pay to support the socialized medicine and social "security" schemes being touted by the group. They are being used to manipulate their parents to vote for politicians who will keep supporting bankrupt programs instead of being honest and saying, "Look, we politicians have made a grave mistake. Some of us have downright lied to you. We have been taking your money and making promises that we cannot really keep; not without taking vastly larger amounts of your money to keep the pyramid scheme propped up. It will be unpleasant, but it is better to end this now than to keep crippling our country with these lies. Please help one another, voluntarily and charitably, however you can while our country recovers from these scars of socialism."

If you feel the need to vote, demand that your candidate face reality for once. Ask when they will finally end socialism in America. It is decades past time. Really.

Zero Tolerance = Zero Brains

I see so many instances these days of "Zero-Tolerance" policies, especially at schools. Just pay attention to the news. In the past I have heard of: kids drawing pictures of guns (or gun-like shapes) and being punished; little boys seen kissing little girls (and not even against their will) being labelled "sex offenders" and sent for counselling; kids with fingernail clippers-of -mass-destruction. These are psychologically normal, healthy kids until they are caught and then punished with draconian penalties that will scar them for life. They may even be placed on medication in an attempt to treat their behavior. Possibly, if humanity is lucky, the unintended consequence will be that this inappropriate response to normal behavior will make these kids aware that government and other authoritarians are their enemies to be opposed at every turn. Zero Tolerance removes any need on the part of the authoriturd to actually think. I guess it is easier that way being the thinking-impaired creatures they are.

Bedtime Story

How about a bedtime story? This is a true story about an evil prosecuting attorney whom we will call "WA" and his chosen victim. This story takes place several years ago in the southwestern part of a mountainous western state.

A friend of mine, we will call him "LW", had an argument with an acquaintance. The man showed up at LW's house with a shotgun. He pulled up in front of LW's house, yelled at him to come out, and leveled the shotgun at him. Fortunately, LW is not a victim type of person. He had his Dan Wesson revolver and pointed it at the attacker, and told the man to leave. Seeing he was outgunned, LW's attacker angrily fired a shot into the air and left.

A few minutes later the cops, those "protectors of justice", showed up and arrested LW for firing a gun (which he hadn't done). They confiscated his revolver.

In the course of the trial LW was found not guilty, much to the irritation of Mr. WA, the anti-gun prosecuting attorney. LW asked for his gun back. You would think that once found not guilty, the government would be obligated to return any property they stole, but apparently you must beg for it. WA told LW that he must fill out paperwork to get his revolver back, so he did. He jumped through every hoop that was demanded of him to no avail. It was never returned.

If I were to speculate, I would guess that WA probably took the gun with him when he moved up to being the District Attorney for the whole region, or maybe he gave it to one of his cronies. Corrupt little anti-gun worm that he is. The end.

Rights Rationed are Rights Denied

Where did the idea that governments can ration our rights come from? Do we have the right to live and protect our lives or don't we? I know the answer that comes from "On High". We have the right as long as we don't try to assert it in places where we might be angry at the authoritards; like courthouses. We have the right as long as we don't try to exercise it on an airplane. We have the right as long as we beg permission for a "permit" if we want to do it in public.
Do we have the right to say what we think or not? We have the right as long as we don't point out the abuses of government too clearly, otherwise we can be declared "domestic terrorists" and disappear into the "justice" system. We have the right as long as we don't try to use any technology to effectively get our opinions out to too many people. The only reason you and I can still speak our minds on the internet is that it is so chaotic and fragmented that few people will find any particular opinion. Still, little girls a continent away who say something online that the authoritards can construe as "threatening" to the Traitor-in-Chief can be harassed and intimidated by his goons.
These are just two examples of how government denies our rights by rationing them. Either something is a right, not subject to limitation except by the rights of another individual, or it is not. Government today does not recognize the concept of rights and is brainwashing the population into redefining rights as privileges; something that the government will permit you to exercise if you have asked the right person for permission and gotten your papers all approved, signed, and stamped. That is just wrong.

Giving Voice to the Voiceless?

Some say this is what I am doing. It isn't true. In the grand scheme of things I am a nobody. We all have a voice that we can use to call government sympathizers on their nonsense. Don't sit quietly and wait for me to speak out. I may not ever get around to speaking out on the issue that is most important to you.

We who recognize government as a bad idea in general are the ones who are right. We need to stop being intimidated just because we seem to be outnumbered. Don't sit quietly ashamed when you hear someone parroting the "official line" or advocating a new "law". The only new laws that are needed are laws aimed at government. On the other hand, there are millions of laws that need to be discarded.

Libertarians have been too polite for too long. I am not suggesting that you pick fights. What I am suggesting is that obvious government meddling and overreaching is shoved in our faces every day. Don't let it pass without being pointed out. Even if you feel it is best to comply, tell that bureaucrat that what they are doing is wrong. Let the people standing in line with you hear it as well. When put through the wringer before you are allowed to buy your cold medicine, tell the clerk that the War on (some) Drugs is an abomination. Don't blame the clerk personally; she probably hates the "rules" as much as you do.

America will never be free unless you and I are willing to speak up, loud, proud, and often, in defense of liberty. Start today. Your enthusiasm might be contagious.

News Channel Polls and Questionnaires

Watching middle of the night TV recently, I see a lot of polls that are touted to be significant by the news channels. As if society should be run by mob rule. Don't you just "love" the way poll questions are phrased? Either you are not given the choice you really want to make, or the question asks the completely wrong thing. Then the answers are proclaimed to mean something. The same thing happens with almost every questionnaire I run into. I am asked to choose between A and B when I see that the real answer should be C, or the question will be about whether the government should mandate X or Y when it is obvious that the government has no authority in the discussed area whatsoever. These polls are designed to manipulate the debate. Yet it seems that few people catch on to this. I think I may just start answering every poll I can find and always choose "other" or the most nonsensical answer on every one.

"We" Are NOT the Problem

It seems to me that most of government's "solutions" to their contrived problems only penalize the people who are NOT part of the real problem. From the "War on Terror" which only hurts the Constitution and Bill of Rights, to victim disarmament laws which only affect people who are willing to obey laws in general, to the BATFE's disgusting intimidation campaign against Red's Trading Post, innocent people find themselves in the cross-hairs. Why? Because it makes the authoritards look like they are doing something other than giving off greenhouse gases from their orifices.
Government is pretty much helpless against those with real criminal intent, unless regular, honest people help them or the criminals turn against one another. In order to justify their jobs they pick on the innocent, who by their very nature as peaceful people can not or will not, fight back effectively. Look government, if you want to threaten and jail people, start with those in your own house first. Show us, as Americans, that you are serious about right and wrong, and not just about enforcing your nonsense counterfeit "laws". When disgraced government employees outnumber "unapproved medicine" users in prison I will believe you mean business. Until then, leave America alone.