State Propaganda

Do those horrible statist ad campaigns like "Click it or Ticket" or the local New Mexican abomination "100 Days and Nights of Summer" make you think of historical statist propaganda? They certainly do remind me of such things. Tyranny in catchy blurbs.

What would it have been like in 1930s Germany if their government had used similar campaigns? For Jews, the "Stars or Bars" campaign would have reminded them to wear their Star of David patch. "1 Night of Sparkling Shards" could have gotten more government sympathizers to join in for Krystalnacht. Make up a catchy slogan and anything can be made to seem reasonable to some people, I suppose.

You may accuse me of overblowing the situation with the comparison. Maybe, but if so if is only a matter of scale, not of substance. Once people begin to accept the unacceptable, anything is possible.

Statism isn't "nicer" today just because it uses actors portraying LEOs (Liberty Eradication Officers) in TV ads to indoctrinate or frighten us into accepting oppression. Hitler's disadvantage was that he didn't have the US government's ad men working for him. Oh, and he was probably even more evil (but give them time).

Kelo Day

This isn't as much fun as Anarchy Day, but is a good reason to celebrate anarchy. Kelo Day marks the third anniversary of the infamous Kelo Decision that allows government more leeway for stealing..... I mean "eminent domain" (cough).

I have written before that eminent domain is a disgusting act of theft-by-government. This is an important issue to keep in mind, and refuse to excuse. I wrote this when I began blogging:

This is just a fancy way of describing theft by government. I realize this is a
long-established practice, but it is still wrong. If you or I desperately want a
certain piece of property, we must come up with the owner's asking price or find
another piece of land. Disappointment stinks, but that is reality. Government
should not own land, much less steal it. There is no such thing as "the common
good" so using that excuse for theft is empty.

Here is some information I received about Kelo Day:

You may have read about one of the Institute for Justice's (IJ)
historic Supreme Court cases called Kelo v. New London, in which a
homeowner, Susette Kelo, held out against a private developer seeking to turn
her home into debris by way of eminent domain. The court ruled in favor of
New London, and paved the way for property rights of individuals to be
substantially and absurdly quashed in the twenty-first
century.

This Monday is the third anniversary for the Supreme
Court's infamous decision. For the anniversary, Susette Kelo is hoping
that those who strongly oppose eminent domain support the IJ in its effort to
end eminent domain abuse. You can help support this powerful
message by donating to the Institute for Justice, and help curtail the
incidence of eminent domain abuse, which in the past five years
alone included over 10,000 cases.

To donate or to view more
information, check out www.ij.org/keloday

And then also:

The lawyer in the Kelo case argued the wrong argument and that is why Mrs. Kelo
lost her case and walked away with a pittance. If the case had been centered
upon just compensation per the Monongahela Navigation Company case, she would
have greatly benefitted financially from the transaction.

Monongahela Nav. Co. v. United States, 148 U.S. 312
(1893)
“What amount of compensation for each separate use of any particular
property may be charged is sometimes fixed by the statute which gives authority
for the creation of the property, sometimes determined by what it is reasonably
worth and sometimes, if it is purely private property, devoted only to private
uses, the matter rests arbitrarily with the will of the
owner.”
http://supreme.justia.com/us/148/312/case.html

The "Punishment Mentality"

It disturbs me a bit to realize that some people live their lives just to see someone else get punished. "Give 'em what they've got coming!" gives them a thrill. I admit, there are some people I can't dredge up much sympathy for (does "initiating force, or threatening or delegating its initiation" ring a bell?).

Maybe it is like a reality show for them. After all, garbage like "COPS" has been polluting minds for many years now. So the "good citizen" hears about Person X and the accusations against him; sees Person X go to trial and then to jail; then gets giddy at the prospect of Person X suffering extra-judicial punishment at the hands of the other prisoners. I just don't get it. I realize that we are all just one set-up away from being locked up on some bogus charge. Yes, even the most "patriotic" among us. The crimes that elicit this response the most often are also the easiest for the enforcers to fake.

On the other hand, when some attacker gets culled from the gene pool by an armed, free Human, I don't shed a tear. It is simply that I don't, and never will, trust the state and its methods or goals.


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Control-Freaks

I just don't understand why some people have the strong desire to control others. Isn't it enough to control themselves? Yet, so many of those control-freaks don't control themselves. They seem to want to control others instead.

Some of them gravitate towards jobs, such as in government, where they can use coercion to control others, while some simply exercise their coercion and control in their private lives. Either way, they seek to become the tyrant of their own mini-kingdom.

My desire to control others ends at the borders of my own existence: Try to force me to do your bidding, and I will try to control, limit, or end your ability to coerce me, or if that fails, I will simply resist. I think this puts me in a definite minority (again). Ah well. I am used to it.

Financing Government

I hear people calling for tax penalties against oil companies. I say it is a bad idea. I also hate it when some person, even an aggressor, is ordered to pay a "fine". Why?

Because the money goes to finance more government. That is the last thing any of us needs. If a person initiates force against another, restitution should be paid to the victim, not to the state! How does paying the state make sense to anyone? I know that many court cases are "Person v The State of Coercion" or whatever, but unless there is at least one real, individual victim, there was no "aggression" committed.

Tax penalties and fines only make sense to those who see nothing wrong with more money financing more government to pass more "laws" to collect more fines to... and so on, in order to clamp down on individual liberty even harder.

Anarchy Day

Just a quick update, since I actually have internet access for the next day or so.

I spent today, June 18 (and actually, the past couple of days as well), doing my "Random Acts of Anarchy". I think that because no one has suggested another date, I will declare June 18th as my "Anarchy Day". It also happens to be my birthday, but that seems a good date for Anarchy Day to me. Join me if you like, or declare your own date.

If you would like to participate next year, it will give you a year to plan ahead. Maybe the 18th of each month could be a "Mini-Anarchy Day".

So, what did I do to celebrate my public, helpful anarchism? I flew my Time's Up flag and picked up litter in the campground where we were staying. Anarchists beat the statists once again!

Why a "Hooligan Libertarian"?

In some correspondence with L. Neil Smith a few years ago, he mentioned that someone he knows refers to him and those like him as "hooligan libertarians". I liked the sound of it and embraced the term.

I realize that in many European countries, a "hooligan" is a violent criminal; someone who initiates force. That is not what I mean when I use the term, nor do I expect that is what Mr. Smith or his friend meant. A few years ago, I saw a local newspaper call some teens who were being "typical-teen rowdy", but not causing any real harm, "hooligans". I still get a chuckle from that occasionally.

I see a "hooligan libertarian" as someone who is a radical libertarian and who isn't always exactly "safe for work". He will probably tell the truth as he sees it even if he knows it will offend someone's sensibilities. Even if every other self-proclaimed libertarian wants the message to be downplayed and softpeddled, a "hooligan libertarian" will probably not back down from what he knows to be true. This doesn't necessarily mean he is cold hearted, but that sometimes the truth hurts, and the kindest action, in the long run, is to "rip off the bandaid quickly".

So that is why I am "Kent McManigal, the Hooligan Libertarian".


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Vacation Time

I have a few pre-written blogs so you won't miss me too much, but if you post a comment and I don't respond for a while, that is why. If I have internet access, I may write some more as I find inspiration, but really, this is what freedom is all about: the freedom to ignore politics and the state (while never forgetting that the Clowns of Coercion are lurking everywhere).

Live free or die? Scratch that! Live free or kill those who would prevent it!* Hey, its better than giving up and dying if they try to take your freedom!




*I don't think this is threatening anyone, but is the very essence of self-defense. If you feel differently, as ENM does, I am sorry, but I don't know any other way to express the commitment to live free without drawing a line in the sand. I have never even hurt anyone, since no one has ever crossed that line (or at least no one has crossed it and stayed across). I hope no one ever forces me to make that decision, but to equivocate about whether I will defend my life and my liberty would be exactly the way the aggressors would like for us to all act. They want us to be too afraid to say "No more!" That just leads to more aggression and less liberty.
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"The Museum of Government": Exhibit Ten

"Now that the government has evaporated in this region, 'America', more or less, we have an interesting immigration situation. But first, the historical perspective.

"Back when the old US government was ruling this region, borders and immigration were big points of contention. The borders gave government agents a great excuse to 'earn' extra bonuses and exercise their inflated authority. Too few people recognized that a wall keeps you in as effectively as it keeps 'them' out. Or even more effectively. The state kept demanding more and more documentation of Americans, using the dreaded 'illegal immigrants' as the boogeyman. The true migrant aggressors never were worried about documentation. So, once again, the 'government solution' only harmed those who were not part of the problem. You see the same pattern emerge time and again.

"Only one side of the issue was given much attention: the aggression (usually called 'crime' back in the Era of Government) caused by independent migrants. The other side; the positive benefits, were ignored or downplayed. As is always the case, the migrants were 'taking over', costing 'us' millions, speaking some other 'unAmerican language', or had 'different values'. A hundred years before they would have been accused of cannibalism.

"The government was assumed to own all the land within 'its' borders, otherwise there would not have been an issue. That was the only justification, faulty though it was, for not allowing property owners to administer the use of their own property.

"Now that America has no government, and the governments of some nearby countries are entering their death throes, the border situation has become a bit cloudy. People come here; people leave here. Only the governments worry about it. Many Americans earn a profit ensuring safe passage into and out of free territory. That enrages those nearby governments, but they are too busy trying not to evaporate to do much about it. And each new freedom-loving friend who moves here is one more 'for our side'.

"Since there is no more welfare of any kind, no one moves to America to get free anything, except for opportunity. Since self-defense has become standard practice again, aggressors stay where they are safe: under the wings of government. So many new businesses are started by these 'liberty-migrants' that there is no way to compare the economy before and after. A 'singularity' has been achieved. Businesses compete for any new employee they can get. The pay for those workers has also skyrocketed, and with no more state to tax or extort, they keep that money and then often start more new businesses. You see why I say a 'singularity' occurred.

"As news of free territory leaks back to those other countries, still languishing under government, more people choose to stay and change their own land than choose to move here. Love for 'home' is strong. Liberty is a wildfire sweeping across the face of the planet. I can't predict with certainty, of course, but based on past experience, I would say government as an acceptable human activity is in its last decade. It will die everywhere as it did here, and not a moment too soon."


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My Childrens' Book

I think I may have mentioned that I have written and illustrated a picture book (titled "Indy-Pindy") for kids that teaches, I hope, independence and self-reliance. I am still looking for a publisher, since my online presence may be scary to traditional publishers. If the above page looks interesting, let me know. If you are a publisher, maybe this book could be right for you.

Update: The book is available here: Indy-Pindy, the Liberty Mouse

Liberty

I am going back to basics because it seems that so few people understand the basics. At least the basics as I understand them; as I mean when I speak of them.

"Liberty" means doing what you want to do as long as you are not harming any innocent person with your actions. It means that YOU own your body and your life and are the sole proprietor thereof. If you destroy yourself, you accept the responsibility and you deal with the consequences. You do not blame others or take the easy way out by becoming a parasite.

"Libertarians" are people to value "liberty" above all else. They are not people who value the "US Constitution" above everything, but they can and do use it to point out how far America has fallen from its early semi-libertarian ideals. Liberty is not possible when there is a government calling the shots. Even a very small, weak government harms liberty. It is just not possible for government to exist without doing so. This is why libertarians are also anarchists. I know there are those who disagree with me. They can take it up with greater experts than me.

"Anarchy" means "no Rulers"; not "no rules". Yes, I know the dictionary also equates it with "chaos", but that is because common, incorrect, usage has burdened the real definition with the faulty one. This has happened with many words because we speak a living, changing language. To have a word that means "'No Rulers'; not 'no rules'" we would need to make up a new word every few years. It is the nature of language and can't be avoided. This is why, when I speak of certain things, I post (somewhere in my blog) what I mean when I use the word. This is one of those cases.


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"Right and Wrong".... It's Not That Hard

It is wrong to harm an innocent person. This means that rape, murder, and kidnapping are wrong. There is no justification for these acts of aggression.

It is wrong to steal from people. That means that Nigerian scams, taxation, armed robbery, burglary, looting, and shoplifting are wrong. If it is not yours, and the owner doesn't want to give it to you as a gift, you have no right to take it. Making veiled threats to coerce the owner into parting with his property is just as bad. There is never any justification for these acts of aggression.

It is wrong to break an agreement such as a contract without an agreement between the signatories. If one party unilaterally breaks the deal, the deal is off. For one side to break the deal and then try to hold the other side to their part of the deal is wrong. Business or marriage partners, and constitutional governments are frequent violators where these deals are concerned. It is also wrong to trick someone into getting into an agreement (by lying or hiding the truth) that they would not otherwise accept. This behavior is wrong. There is never any justification for behaving in this way.

If you are doing something that harms no one but yourself, you have the right to continue doing it. Even if everyone else thinks you shouldn't. In that case, even if you are doing something stupid and self-destructive, if they use kidnapping ("arrest") or theft ("fines") to punish you or to force you to stop, they have crossed the line from right to wrong. Your "saviors" are committing evil.

There seem to be a lot of people in the world who believe that "right and wrong" are not clear concepts. Especially if the government is the organization committing the evil actions. Perhaps their parents did not choose to teach their children to respect others. They should have still learned the lessons before they lasted very long in "the real world". Unfortunately, most people get their "education" at the hands of the government indoctrination centers. These "public schools" have no interest in teaching such concepts since it might make children question why it is that evil acts are OK if the state is the the one doing them.



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Defending Liberty... And Getting Lashed Angrily

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell

America in 2008 is a land and a time of universal deceit. It is odd, and disheartening, that when I speak out in defense of liberty I get accused of being a bad person. It happens time after time. Just because I think it is deplorable that dishonest cops can entrap pedophiles online, I am assumed to be "pro-pedophile"...or worse. Just because I will not turn my back on my parental responsibilities and let bad(ge) guys do my job for me, I am assumed to be childless.

It is absolutely sickening that America has fallen so far down the collectivist rat-hole that people can say such things about my comments on a newspaper's website, and about me personally, and no one else says "Hey, you know... maybe it is wrong for cops to become online predators themselves in order to catch pedophiles." Who cares if the Supreme Court says it is "legal"? "Legal" is not the same as "right". Am I the only one who still believes that two wrongs DO NOT make a right? If you violate the worse aggressor's rights, you will violate the most innocent person's rights, too. Just give it time.

Notice too, that they threaten to initiate force against me, by throwing the state at me for speaking out. Who was supposed to teach them right and wrong? They are also against free speech, I guess. I wonder if they believe like Bush does when it comes to the highest law of the land: the Constitution. They obviously have no respect for the Bill of Rights.

To think that these poor people believe they are "patriotic Americans". They turn a blind eye as the police state grows and becomes more and more dangerous with each passing day. They are so wrapped up in wanting to punish someone that they can't see that these same methods will eventually be used against them as well. Everyone does something that either is, or will be, frowned upon by the state. And not all of those things involve actual initiated force or fraud. Yet the state kills those people just as quickly.

It is sad that they feel the need to hate me so much. They are comfortable in their ignorance. I hope they enjoy being loaded onto the cattle cars by their "friends" in government when their "patriotism" isn't enough anymore. I'll still be speaking up for their rights when it happens.... if I am still around.


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Ask Your Doctor if "Government" Is Right For You...

"I didn't know liberty could cause anxiety and loss of certainty! My doctor prescribed Government to give me back the illusion of security. Thank goodness for Government!

"When I suffered from liberty, I was always facing consequences for my actions. Some of those consequences were scary and uncomfortable! Now I don't need to take responsibility for my actions anymore. Government will take care of me!

"Thinking for myself is a thing of the past. I don't have to wonder now if something is right or wrong; Government tells me if it is 'legal' instead! Talk about convenience!

"Government makes the decisions about what medications I should be allowed to use; how and where I can travel; how to spend my money; and so many other things that used to burden me so terribly! But no more!

"Government saved me from the burden of self-ownership. Ask your doctor if Government is right for you! You'll be glad you did!"

Warning: Government may cause lack of morality and/or common sense. If victim disarmament or genocide occur, discontinue use and see your doctor immediately. If tyranny persists, or gets worse, discontinue use and do not seek a replacement Government. If you have a Government that lasts longer than 150 years, make nooses and seek revolutionary solutions. Government is a product of Coercion Unlimited, International.

Truth in the Media, Accidentally

Along with a story (which has since gone away due to the revamping of the CNJ's website) about a sheriff department's online entrapment scheme, I found this on the screen. The caption probably was more truthful than they intended.

"The Museum of Government": Exhibit Nine

"We have previously seen the ridiculous law pollution that made a 'law-abiding' existence impossible and undesirable during the Era of Government. Now we will look at the enforcers of those counterfeit 'laws'*; the police.

"Police forces only existed for less than two centuries, yet many of the people feared that without them, society would erupt into chaos. We may laugh at their fears now, but to them, under constant brainwashing, it seemed a real threat.

"So police forces were set up everywhere. The counterfeit 'laws' that they enforced became more important to them than the safety or liberty of the people whose stolen money paid their salaries. Most of them began to see themselves as 'above the law'. They were rarely held accountable for the aggressions they committed. On the occasions where a person dared to stand up to their abuses, any lawsuit awards were paid with more stolen money rather than through restitution by the aggressor. This did not teach the out-of-control enforcers any lesson other than that they had a blank-check to commit tyranny. They were issued electrical torture devices that were somewhat less deadly than their guns, and they had a heyday zapping people of all ages for the slightest infraction of their rules.

"A few people spoke up against these badge-bullies. When this happened, the enforcers always lied that 'I don't make the laws; I just enforce them'. As we all know, without enforcement, there is no 'law'. Therefore the blame rests directly on those who make the conscious choice to uphold tyranny. Real rules need no enforcement by a special group. It is, and has always been, up to each of us to own and protect our own interests without harming any innocent person. Society will see to that through self defense, freedom of association, and shunning.

"After the evaporation of government, you might expect that all these enforcers joined their masters swinging in the breeze, yet the existence of the Enforcers' Homes proves that forgiveness is always an option. Most of these pathetic creatures would have died for lack of anyone willing to trade with them due to the popularity of shunning. Yet, charities were set up by those who felt that every human life, even the most destructive, has value. It is true that only about half of the residents of these Homes are actually former enforcers; the rest were 'criminals' from the other side of 'the law', but the two sides have always had a symbiotic relationship and more in common with one another than with the peaceful majority of people. It is a good arrangement."

(*Counterfeit "laws" are those which attempt to regulate or control anything other than actual initiated force; either physical or financial.)

Financial Aggression

Someone stole my debit card number and cleaned out my bank account. All the recent "ID verification" stuff the government puts us through didn't stop it from happening. The "partnership" between the bank and the government didn't stop it from happening. All the inconveniences I have put up with just so I can have the convenience of a bank account did nothing to protect my FRNs. So, can't we just have our liberty and privacy back? I am willing to risk having this happen again and again if I could walk into a bank and open an account without being treated like a terrorist. After all, my money is gone either way. In the long run, I'd much rather have my liberty and privacy back, and keep the thieves, governmental and freelance, out of my bank account. It would be a small price to pay, since, as those who don't understand what they are saying often say "Freedom is not free".

PS: I'm fine, so don't worry.

You Don't Have to be an Anarchist.....

You don't have to be an anarchist once you acknowledge that government is a very bad thing. After all, I know people who understand that there are associations in their lives that are harmful to them, but they do not break away. There are also those who keep thinking that with just the right tweak, government will become a wonderful protector and provider; a nursemaid in their feeble twilight years. And leprechauns will bless us all with pots of gold as we ride off into the Eastern sunset on the backs of multicolored flying unicorns..... Sorry.

So, you don't have to be an anarchist once you face the truth about government, but when you do face the facts, why would you not free yourself from fealty to the Clowns of Coercion? After all, you don't need them; they need you.


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FreedomOutlaws.com

Have a little fun being a "freedom outlaw". Go to FreedomOutlaws.com and expose yourself. No, not in that way....


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The Root of the Problem

One category of those horrible, yet hilarious, "Clowns of Coercion" that may cause the most damage are the meddling busybodies who work locally. When some local clown is bragging about getting an ordinance passed you should act like they just confessed to a murder, because in a very real sense, they did: the murder of Liberty. They should hang their head in shame, yet if they don't, you should by all means act shocked and disappointed at their selfish, coercive behavior.

As long as they continue to think of themselves as important or "involved" while destroying liberty one ordinance at a time, they will keep doing it. Ridicule or a good "shunning" may make them see that what they did is wrong. If not, at least you will know where the root of the problem lies.

Liberty can not survive as long as we keep allowing these nutcases to have their coercive enforcers run more and more aspects of our lives. These people and their actions are absolutely despicable and should not be tolerated any more than you would tolerate a slave-trader operating next door.


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