Working "Within the System"

I frequently hear people discussing options for getting America back on track to being the free country that it was supposed to be. They speak of "working within the system" to accomplish this. They talk of voting for pro-liberty candidates (but then usually vote for Democrats or Republicans instead). They advocate using the jury box, but it is difficult for a free-thinker to sneak onto a jury. They blog, write letters to editors, and agitate for liberty in a thousand ways. I am all for that. We have been doing this for years as the authoritarians throw freedoms away like yesterday's dead goldfish. The dirty secret is that, if you read the Declaration of Independence you will see that the founders of America recognized that revolution, underground or open, is also within the system. It is enshrined in the writings of the minds that gave us our system. This is the reason they forbid government the authority to pass gun laws. This is not a pleasant option, but only a last resort. It is not possible for government to legitimately "outlaw" this option, either, however they might wish to do so. The only thing they can do is to punish those who choose to exercise this part of the system. It is simple desperation on their part, and exposes their refusal to stay within the bounds established for government.

Article on Personal Freedom (and Happiness)

Here is a great article about taking responsibility for your own freedom and happiness.

Personal Freedom by Retta Fontana

Not Going Away Yet

News of my departure from the presidential race is premature. My point was mainly that I feel I need to do something stupenously ridiculous in order to draw attention to my campaign since reasonable measures do not seem to be working.

The main reson I decided to run (back in November 2004) was my frustration over the electoral loss of Micheal Badnarik. Never before had I been so excited over a candidate for any office as I was by him. He is actually intelligent, reasonable, kind, humerous, and shared my views so well that I had no reservations whatsoever endorsing him for president. I even called Colorado LP delgates for him to see if they would vote for him. (Not a single one of them would state anything one way or another, even if I did get ahold of them. It was like trying to talk to Congresscritters and get a straight answer) Back when I started my campaign, I had in mind that if Badnarik decided to run again, I would drop out and endorse him again. I would also step aside for an L. Neil Smith candidacy. Other than that, I would probably not endorse anyone, but would support any candidate who was truly working for liberty as I envision it.

Don't get too excited yet, though. I am still here, and am really no threat to anyone. I don't mind giving ideas to other campaigns, either, if you wish to adopt my views as your own.

Merry Christmas

I wish all my readers and all the other candidates a very merry Christmas, a wonderful winter solstice, a joyous Yule, a happy Hanukkah, a kickin' Kwanzaa, a grievance-lite Festivus, and a cozy "get-ready-to-hunker-down-for-winter"! Let's light some bonfires of Liberty in the coming year!

So, How Do We Fix It?

What would I do to "fix" America? I would force the government to stay within the bounds of the Constitution and The Bill of Rights. I would eliminate every agency, bureaucracy, program, "entitlement", cabinet position, or post in the government that is not in absolute, complete and strict compliance with those documents, as written, not as "interpreted". The Supreme Court's "authority" to judge "Constitutionality" must be challenged and eliminated. No more weasel-words will be permitted when judging whether something is Constitutional or not. If the average, government-educated person on the street can see that a given government law or agency does not specifically have a Constitutional mandate to exist, then it is gone. A president will not have that kind of authority, so it is up to Americans to demand this action, and not be appeased in any lesser way. People need to be shown that it is really in their best interest to rein in government instead of continuing to allow it to overreach its authority. This is something that a president can do. I would blog and speak at every opportunity reminding Americans that they run America; the US government does not. I would remind them of their duty to refuse to convict, through jury nullification, defendants who have been arrested for violating counterfeit laws. I, as president, would encourage every American to own and to carry, any type of weapon they see fit, in any way they choose, anywhere they desire, in any way they wish, without seeking anyone's approval. And I would give immediate presidential pardons to anyone in the criminal "justice system" whose only "crime" is violating one of these abhorrent victim disarmament "laws". I would also hand out pardons for drug offenses, tax abstainers, and anyone else who I feel is a victim of "law pollution" in America.

Small "Time's Up" Flags

In addition to my regular 3 by 5 foot "Time's Up" flags, I now have small stick flags that measure 4 by 6 inches. The quality is lower, but so is the price. You can check them out here.

Publicity Stunt!

I have recently been having doubts as to whether there is any point in continuing my campaign. I hand out lots of cards and have conversations with people who seem to be genuinely interested in what I have to say. Yet this translates into almost no visits to my blog. The apathy is deafening. Perhaps I should pull a giant publicity stunt. Picture this scenario: Me, Kent McManigal, wearing only a breechcloth while standing atop the torch of the Statue of Liberty and waving a bright yellow "Time's Up" flag while shouting "Freedom!" at the top of my lungs. OK, so it will never happen even if I managed to overcome my fear of (man-made) heights. Still, it would get attention. When I got out of the hospital's psychiatric ward, I could see if it generated blog hits. Short of this, I am depending on you; my readers, supporters, detractors or whatever to get the word out about my campaign. If you think there is any value in continuing this effort, help me out.

America: Freedom to Fascism

Last night I watched America: Freedom to Fascism. It is a very powerful film. I highly recommend that you see it as soon as possible if you haven't yet. I got it through Netflix. I feel it is a good movie for several reasons: it shows the contempt that the IRS (and by extension, the entire US government) feels towards Americans in general, the folly of turning away from real money in favor of fiat IOUs, and it explains the dangers facing us in the very near future if we do not take steps to derail the national ID card and ID chips. I doubt it will change your mind about much since I assume that most readers of my blog are already aware of these issues, but it will give you the intellectual ammunition to fight against the authoritarians more effectively. Don't be fooled, though. Government will never admit to being the criminal force. Stand up to them and they will do whatever they feel it will take to bring you to your knees. It is a good thing there are so many of us.

Don't Take the Law Into Your Own Hands?

Why not? Probably because it is filthy and might make you sick. If the law is just, why should we depend on enforcers to use it? They are not special. Well, not in a good way. One country which is suffering high crime rates is South Africa. South Africans have had enough. The enforcers there don't wish to see their special status threatened, so they try to dissuade people from taking control. South African enforcers don't like to be seen as a dangerous anachronism. Neither do the ones in America. The problem is that since we have long ignored our duty to live free of aggression, the professional enforcers have taken it upon themselves to force us to live under their rule, and they are making a royal mess out of America. We do not need them, and never did. Take back your power and duty to keep the peace. Wrest it from the desperate clutches of the counterfeit enforcers who wield their counterfeit laws against the real rulers of America: you and me.

We are the Abolitionists

For those of you who have balked at embracing the term "anarchist" for myself and other rational government doubters, here is an article for you: "Call Me an Abolitionist, Please" by Glen Allport. I could get onboard with this term.

The Ruling Class

If you choose to accept a job with the government, whether it is as a politician, an "enforcer", or as a bureaucrat, you are choosing a life of subservience. Every cop on the street or President in the White House is at a lower social position than any burned out addict in a cheap motel room. Politicians, "enforcers", and bureaucrats have chosen a life of servanthood. "Public servants" is not something we hear as much today because government wishes we would forget that they are accountable to us. Most Americans seem to have forgotten quite nicely. Government is not the "overlords" or the ruling class that they pretend to be. They work for the people. The problems happen when they begin to act as though they are the rulers and we do not quickly put out that flame of tyranny. If you choose a life of servanthood, do not get uppity with your superiors in "the private sector", but recognize that you are vastly outranked by the very people you show contempt for with every edict you inflict or tasering you commit.

Politically Irrelevant Stuff

There are a lot of times that I begin to write a blog only to realize that what I am writing about is completely irrelevant to my campaign. I have a lot of opinions. Some of them matter in the political world, but a lot of them do not. Some things are just a distraction from the real issues facing America. My realization that victim disarmament is a murderous policy that only a corrupt government would implement, or that taxation is debasing our society by financing it through theft are critical points to know about me and my views. My opinions about TV shows, religion, or even to a large extent, other candidates, do not matter. I will attempt to keep such opinions to myself, and if I happen to "slip", I will not mind if you remind me.

Helping Others

Charity, not welfare. It is a simple concept. Welfare costs the recipient more than they get in return in the form of dependency, loss of privacy and dignity, and unfortunate government entanglements. In case you haven't noticed, the government believes it has authority to know every tiny detail of your personal, private life. When you accept government "help", it believes it really owns you. In a way, perhaps it does. The power to feed is the power to starve. Private charity, on the other hand, asks nothing in return for its help. You should be willing to give your time or money to spread the assistance at a later date, when you are able. That is a very fair trade. If it were me, I would also stay away from "private" charities that receive anything from government. Some allow government oversight, report to government agencies, or require government papers to prove you are "legal". Stay away from these false angels.

The Next Prez

There is a small mention of me over at The Next Prez. Look down at the Friday Top Five, Mid-December Edition. under Libertarians. Thanks for the votes I have gotten in their poll. I really do appreciate it.

"HONK IF YOU HAVE FREEDOM"

I was driving around yesterday and saw, standing on a street corner, a guy with a large cardboard sign. The sign read: "HONK IF YOU HAVE FREEDOM". (The irony of the situation is that he was probably risking cop harrassment or even arrest by peaceably standing there with his sign. This is what is left of our freedom.) I stopped and gave him one of my cards, and told him that I am running for president, and freedom is all I am about. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and did not have time to stop and talk, plus he was talking to a girl and I didn't wish to interrupt him. If he reads this blog, I hope he gets in touch with me. I don't know which side of the freedom fence he is on. Does he think we are free and want to see how many people agree with him? Does he recognize that we have sat by and watched government outlaw freedom and promote wars to kill off liberty? A few people who were passing did honk their car horns. I felt they must have misread the sign at first. Perhaps they thought it said "love freedom". Then I thought again. Most Americans do still think they are free. It is a sad fact, but they have been told that they are free for so long, even as freedom dies before their eyes, that they actually believe it. Freedom means being able to do absolutely anything you want as long as it does not harm or defraud anyone else. Anything less is not freedom, but a ghost of freedoms lost.

Bill of Rights Day: December 15th is Today!!

Today, December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. Read the Bill of Rights and See a vision of what living in a "Bill of Rights Culture" would mean for us all..

After the Constitution was written it had to be accepted by the states. They wouldn't adopt it without a guarantee that the federal government would be strictly limited in its authority. This is what the Bill of Rights was written to do. It is a package deal. No Bill of Rights; no Constitution. No Constitution; no authority for a federal government. As you read over the ten amendments consider whether the US government has left any of them unbroken. Perhaps the Third Amendment hasn't been commonly violated, but every single one of the other nine has been (and is daily being) violated by a government which is out of control. The Bill of Rights was written in common (for that era) language so that the common person on the street would know and understand what was being guaranteed. Do not let government sympathizers fool you into believing that lawyers or judges must tell you what the Bill of Rights means. They lie to you to protect their power.

Go out today and exercise some or all of your rights that are guaranteed. And hope you don't get arrested!

Nigerian Scams and Taxation

I have recently gotten one of those "Nigerian Scam Letters" in my email. You know the ones. These scammers have a lot in common with government. The scammers offer you something (a lot of money) if you will trust them with your bank account information. A tempting offer to many people. If you give your information to them, you get your account cleaned out. If they trick you into actually traveling to Africa to meet them, you may just vanish along with your money. These people have no illusions. They know what they are doing is stealing. On the other hand, governments pretend that they are our benefactors when they steal our money through taxes. They promise to give it back through "benefits", programs, or "entitlements" that only drain our life-blood in the long run. The main difference that I see is that the scammers depend on our greed or gullibility to rob or kill their victims, while government orders our compliance through threats and much bigger guns. Go along with their scam or die. So even though we recognize taxiation for the scam it is, most Americans comply through fear of imprisonment or death.

Gene Chapman's Audioblog

Gene Chapman has invited me to be on his audioblog again. While I appreciate the invitation, I think I am going to decline this time. I can't really see how it will help advance my campaign. Plus, I think I sound like Bullwinkle.

If Wishes Were Facts

Do you ever hear something that you just really want to be true, whether it is or not? I know I do. Things like the US government causing 9/11. It would justify my suspicions and my dislike for the feddies so neatly if it could be proved that they either did it or knew it was planned and did nothing to stop it, knowing that it would give them an excuse for outlawing liberty in America. I know all the arguments about "it had to be a controlled demolition" and all that; and that all the air defenses were shut down in the eastern US that morning. Sometimes, though, my tinfoil beanie doesn't fit too well. Do I think the US government would do something like that? Yes; if they thought it would "help" them, and that they could be sure they wouldn't be caught. I honestly don't know whether the government had any complicity in 9/11 (other than angering most of the rest of the world with their meddling).

I wanted the Y2K thing to put a serious kink into modern, computer-reliant society, too. It isn't that I wish for bad things to happen. I want people to wake up and realize that unquestioning loyalty to governments, and dependence on machines, and other things like that can be a real danger if it is allowed to continue without critical thought. If you live under a government that is 100% good, then worship it however you see fit. If you depend on a computer for you income, entertainment, companionship, and very existance, and you are 100% sure it will never fail you, then don't worry about learning more primitive life-skills.

Humans like a good conspiracy. Most of us also like scary movies. We enjoy the things that go bump in the night. We love magic and miracles. We all want to have that Special Knowledge or Secret. But the truth is the truth. You and I must accept it just as it is whether we like it or not, and whether it fits in with your particular mythology or not.

Justice? Maybe Not.

Well, the murder charges against the cop got dropped. Read about the "reason".