Toxic Toys From China

Why does no one notice that these toys come from an authoritarian country where personal responsibility has withered away under tyranny? Why is the first reaction always "More Laws! Government save us from this!"? More tyranny will make this problem go away, how? The company caught the problem and is working to resolve it. Thier reputation has been harmed by this and I can assure you they will go overboard trying to make certain this doesn't happen again, laws or no laws. The market works.

Definitions

For purposes of clarity I will put into writing some of my definitions. This is what I mean when I use these words:

Libertarianism - An absence of belief in the legitimacy of government.

Authoritarianism - The belief that some people are entitled to wield power over others, such as in a government.

Anarchy - No rulers. See also "Libertarianism".

Chaos - Either a complete lack of rules or more dangerously: arbitrary or unnatural rules. See also "Authoritarianism".

Evil - That which goes against human nature and is harmful to the individuals it is directed against. See also "Authoritarianism" and "Chaos".

Government - An organization of people who wish to tell others how to live, and enrich themselves in the process, using "laws" and rules that they establish without regard for those they attempt to control. Its defining characteristic is that it rules by force or threat of force.

Police/Cops - The enforcers used by government as the first line of control against the people.

Leader - Someone who sees a problem and offers to show others the way out.

Ruler - Someone who sees or creates a problem in order to increase his/her power and control over the local population.

War - An all-out celebration of government resulting in much chaos and evil.

Freedom - Living life as you see fit without harming anyone else in the process.

Slavery - Living life as someone else sees fit for you to live, within the parameters they have established for you, without regard for the harm it may do either to your body or your "spirit". See Rudy Giuliani's definition of "freedom" to understand the slave-owner mentality. ("Freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."-Rudolph Giuliani)

Terrorism - Attacks by free-lance or government agents against ordinary people (who are not doing "government work") for the purpose of scaring them into compliance. Attacks against government employees or installations are not "terrorism".

Rights - Something that you can do, simply because you were born human, without asking anyone's permission. Rights can never overlap, as in: your rights can never violate someone else's rights.

Personal Anarchy

In your day-to-day life, why do you behave? Is it fear of being arrested? Is it fear of being beaten by your victim? Or is it because you are mostly a good person? I don't think most of us alter our behavior on a daily basis because of "laws". If fact, I think that the main reason we obey the "laws" as far as we do is because they don't get in our way too bad. As long as we can ignore them, we do. Once "laws" become too unwieldy and intrusive - where they start seriously impacting the lives of the apathetic average person like they do the Freedom Fighters, there will be an outcry and widespread "lawlessness". Then the authoriturds will start cracking skulls even more, and by doing so bring about their own destruction.

The Road to "Here"

How did I become an anarchist or a libertarian or whatever I am? I think it was by a careful examination of the way things are, and the way things work. Coupled with a respect for the absolute rights of everyone, even my "enemies" to live free of coercion. I don't expect anyone to respect any rights of mine that I would deny others. If I want to do something I can step back and think "Would I allow someone else to do this?" If the answer is "yes", then I can do it without any guilt. If the answer is "no" then I should not do it or I should examine why I answered "no".
I think the libertarian philosophy is the best for me personally and for everyone else as well. It doesn't "level the playing field" like some other philosophies, but lets everyone choose whichever playing field or hill or valley that suits them best. Only in the absence of coercion can someone rise to their full potential.
It is also the only philosophy that recognizes that every "rule" applies to everyone. No privileged class of overseers who are immune to the rules they impose on everyone else. There is only one basic rule: The Zero Aggression Principle: "No human being has the right - under any circumstances - to initiate force against another human being, nor to threaten or delegate its initiation." This same idea has been stated in many ways by many cultures. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"... "An it harm none, do what ye will".. Same message; different words, because this is the one rule that is inborn in us all. It is why children cry "He started it" when they disagree. We all understand at an instinctive level that "starting it" is wrong.
I can't understand why it is so hard for authoritarians to get out of the way of people's liberty. Some people just have a pathological desire to control the lives of those around them, I suppose. It sounds like a mental illness to me. Is there a treatment for that? I know there is an academy where you can learn to escape the chains of authoritarianism.

Libertarianism: The Clean Slate

I believe that libertarianism is the default position of human existence; the "clean slate" we are all born with. Culture, society, your family, and your experiences immediately begin to scribble things on that slate; some are true but most are complete nonsense. We may never be able to erase everything that is written on the surface, nor may you feel it necessary. I do think you need to realize that the things written there are not "givens", but should each be evaluated upon their own merits. You may spend your life adding to the slate and erasing things that have proved to be useless. Don't leave the garbage written there; it will make it harder to read the important things. It is up to you to keep your slate as clean as possible.

Forgive Me, For I Have Shrugged

I apologize for shrugging my blogging duties a lot recently. This thing called "life" sometimes takes precedence over philosophizing. That doesn't mean that the philosophizing is less important to me, just that there is a hierarchy to life. This is what "Living Liberty" is all about.

The same old evils are still out there: activists decry self-defense, taxes are increased and collected, people are killed because of the medications they choose. Until WE change these things, they will not change. The statists are only too happy to stay on course for destruction. Yet, the simple act of living your life the best you know how has great power to defang the authoritarians. This is and always will be my core message. The state and its enforcers can imprison or kill your body. That power does not make them right, it only demonstrates how low they are willing to sink. Your mind is untouchable. The state has only the power over your mind that you give it. Psychological torture so loved by authoritarian monsters notwithstanding.

August 28th ... Buy Bullets For the "Brady Bunch"

Over on The War on Guns blog, David Codrea has suggested an action that you and I can take to combat the Brady Mass-Murder Cheerleaders "national day of protest" against guns planned for August 28, 2007. Buy ammo on that day. Yes, I realize there is already National Ammo Day, but you always need more ammo, right? Especially with idiots running around blaming you for the crimes they enable.

Religion Debate Forum

Regardless of where you find yourself on the spectrum of religious beliefs, there is a fascinating forum where you can debate with people who disagree with you. It is the "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?" Forum. Why not go browse around. Maybe you can join and dazzle them all with your brilliance.

I Believe...

That everyone is capable of running their own lives better than government can run their lives.... That there is nothing government can provide better than the market... That politics is a sad thing to waste an entire life on..... That everyone needs toys of some sort..... That a human's main job is to pursue happiness, without harming anyone else.... That work is a terrible thing to build an "ethic" around.... That love makes the world go 'round, or at least makes it worth the ride.... That good conversation is better than a great meal..... True friends are worth dying for.... That libertarianism needs to be served more gently to some people..... That the best things in life are not always free; sometimes you get what you pay for..... That something well-made and useful is more beautiful than a beautiful, useless object.... That I will never really "grow up".... That I have an almost magical ability to repel money.... That words are meaningless if not backed up by behavior.... That liberty, REAL liberty, is the best choice in every single situation imaginable and that the ZAP is always applicable.

Take the Future. It's Yours

Let's move boldly into the future; not waiting on the ponderous, peanut-brained Governmentosaurus retch to reluctantly lead the way. Government, by its very nature, cannot lead the way; it can only react by chasing the true leaders; free individuals. Technology; society; philosophy; liberty; we must take the lead in all these areas if we are to survive as a species. This means ignoring "laws" that are toxic to individual liberty and empowering to government. This means resisting with as much force as is necessary to free the 21st century slaves called "citizens", "voters", or "taxpayers". This means that each and every good person will become an "enemy of the state" because the state has become an "enemy of the decent individual". Real progress is up to free people now, just as it always has been throughout history. If humans are to reach space ahead of government, we can't wait on government to take us there. If "laws" are enacted to keep us grounded, we must fight against those "laws" as if our very lives depended on it, because they do. If humans are to invent new wonder drugs in the new dark age of prohibition, we must do the work without government sanction; beyond the prying eyes of the control-state. Great rewards come at great risk. They always have and always will. Looking to the government safety-meddlers will only kill us in the long run. I plan to leave a freer world than I was born into; not a global concentration camp. How about you?

New Constitutional Amendment

By way of The Libertarian Enterprise:

— A PRIVACY AMENDMENT —
To the Constitution of the United States of America

It shall be unlawful for any official, elected or appointed, at any
level of government, or for any government employee, or for the employee of any
company working for the government, to take the likeness—photographic, or by any
other means—of any individual, without that individual's explicit, written
permission.
The yielding of such permission may not be made a condition of
exercising any right, or receiving any service otherwise due to that individual.
Any attempt to violate or evade this measure on the part of any official,
elected or appointed, at any level of government, or for any government
employee, or the employee of any company working for the government, shall be
punishable by no less than 25 years at hard labor, without possibility of
parole, in that prison which currently has the worst record for deadly criminal
violence.

We Are NOT "Losertarians"

Unless we allow ourselves to be. We are the ones with consistent principles. We are the ones with an internal morality that doesn't rely on what is "legal" or dictated. That makes libertarians the winners. Authoritarians such as Republicans, Democrats, and other fascio-socialists sometimes resort to calling libertarians "losertarians" because of our lack of representation in the realm of electoral politics. The fact that most voters vote for the wrong people doesn't contradict this. The only way they can continue to do so is if we continue to allow ourselves to be judged according to "their" rules; in "their" game. Authoritarians have no defense for their monstrous desire to rule over the lives of others, so they try to attack us on election results. They can't honestly attack libertarians on principle; they don't know where that is. They come to the battle of principles unarmed.

"The Gang" Trailer

Courtesy of Red's Trading Post.

Sidetracked By a Statist

The title above refers to the years I spent wandering in "conservativeland" because of a statist's assessment that since I hated government, I was a conservative. Keep in mind that the statist in question was in college and heading toward a life in law offices and politics. His world view had been shrivelled by his blinders.

This person sat behind me in my "World History" class in college and I had made an impression on him because of my buckskin jacket and coonskin cap. (As an aside: It is so much fun watching a state senator twitch and squirm because of the nut-case wearing buckskin, sitting front and center in the class he has agreed to speak to! This is probably "illegal" because of the PATRIOT act now.) When I began dating the classmate's sister (future wife numero uno) he felt it was his duty to assess where I stood politically. I told him I hated government. Some things don't change, you see. He informed me that that made me a "conservative". I said I doubted it, but he assured me that was what conservatives believed, so I simply accepted this without looking into it. I wasn't too concerned about labels even then.

So I spent years watching the conservative "leaders" and wondering why they always betrayed me and made me more angry with each passing year. Had I stopped to think for myself at that point, I would have seen that I was not a "conservative", but an anarchist, or at very least a libertarian. Obviously, I have seen the light in the intervening years (Thank you, L. Neil Smith!). At least I didn't do any damage to freedom as a fake conservative. I didn't contribute anything to the conservative cause since I was fighting it from within, and wasn't inspired to be active in any way.

I am glad that I finally became concerned enough to actually step back and look at what I believed, as opposed to what someone else had labelled me.

Supporting Ron Paul

Yes, I support the campaign of Ron Paul. Do I think he would be "the best President" for 2008? No, I think I would be. However, that is the wrong question. Do I think he would be better than any other Demopublican who is running? Absolutely, with no contest! I also like the fact that he is stirring up debate and making many silent libertarians speak up. I like the fact that he is causing havoc on the internet and is exposing the hypocrisy of the mainstream media. I like the fact that he is exposing the other Demopublicans as the tyrant wanna-bes they are. I like the way his campaign is forcing people to examine their views in ways that no other Presidential campaign has ever done. All of these things are good. Still doubt I will vote for him, as I will probably write in my own name.

Real Liberty - Fear of the Unknown

Some people undoubtedly fear the changes that will come with true liberty. As unnatural as that seems to me, I do try to anticipate these fears.
Evil government thugs and bureaucrats may fear the loss of being able to order others around; the loss of power, control, bribes, the protection racket, petty meddling, and just generally being "above the law". Recognize these miscreants and don't let their fears or fear mongering stop us. After all, criminals always fear strong individuals. They prefer prey, because prey doesn't shoot back.
Some weak or overly emotional people will be afraid of living without the false security of the "safety net" that government pretends to provide. Point out the failure of government to really help the weak and the sick, and educate them on the true costs of relying on an inefficient bureaucracy versus the charitable nature of people when they aren't being coerced. Also show them what they can do with 8 times more wealth in a free market.
Those who have been brainwashed into believing that they can't protect themselves may fear freelance criminals running amok after the state sponsored criminals are gone from the landscape. Take them out shooting. Teach them the importance of paying attention to their surroundings (this enriches life exponentially, anyway, while scaring away thugs).
Life is too rich and too short to put up with government. Don't let your fears, or the fear of others, hold you back.

Trying to Keep My Blog "Polite"

A lot of libertarian blogs are filled with language that offends some people. That is OK with me, of course. Use any words you want in my presence. I don't really believe that some words are "bad" and I am not offended by anyone's language usage. (Well, that may not be totally true as some people's disregard for others can offend me at times. That isn't what I am talking about, though.) I think the FCC's rules for broadcast "standards" are complete nonsense and should be flushed back to where they belong. Back to my blog: Out of respect for readers who might not wish to expose their families or prospective libertarians to those words, I choose to not use them. I don't delete them from the comments, however, so tread there at your own risk.

I would like for people to be able to direct anyone to my blog without fear that my language would turn them off before my ideas have had a chance to shock and offend them. If you have friends or family who you think might be interested in libertarian philosophy, but who don't want to see "the F word" in every post, send them the links to this blog and my website. Freedom needs all the supporters it can get. Maybe later they will come to realize that it is pointless to fear certain arrangements of letters. Then they will be ready to visit some of the more colorful blogs.

That being said, I still am way more crude than the rest of my family. Such is the role of a black sheep.

US Department of Laughs

I'm not sure if I have ever posted three blogs in one day before, but I just had to pass this along. Here are "warning signs" from the US Department of Laughs. They are real signs that are confusing at best. The helpful USDoL has written new interpretations for them. I may be twisted, but I laughed til I cried!

Two by "El Neil"

Here is an article by L. Neil Smith, published by JPFO: Living Off the Interest, and a link to another article by L. Neil in a similar vein: Unanimous Consent and the Utopian Vision. These are the kinds of things that make me certain that we MUST attain a free world. Read it for yourself and see why I feel this way.

"It Has Never Been Tried Before"

The most pathetic argument against a stateless society is the one that whines "It won't work because it has never been (successfully) tried before". So? Every new invention "has never been tried before" either. Would you insist on staying in the stone age because the alternatives "haven't been tried before"? What's the difference?

I think it is time to try liberty. And not in some half-hearted "limited government" kind of way, either. Supposedly that is what the Constitution was about. Nope, this time we should try all-out freedom. No government other than self-government. Glorious anarchy instead of government-induced chaos. No badges for the criminals to hide behind. No "laws" setting up mini (or not-so-mini) kleptocracies. No tiny-souled bureaucrats taking out their frustrations on productive people anymore. We wouldn't even need to punish those who would inevitably keep trying to establish a government of some sort. Keep them around to remind ourselves what has been tried and seen to fail time after time, for thousands of years. Study them like a smallpox virus. They are in reality much more deadly, but only if we choose to follow them.