000510.html

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Mon, 28 May 2001 12:19:04 GMT

JDK 1.3 final is available from Sun. Downloading as I type. [cafe]

I wrote a letter yesterday to the editor of the Albany Times-Union expressing my {@No More Glocks for New York Cops} idea. They called me to verify that I was the author, but didn't print my letter in today's issue. Can't say I'm surprised; the Times-Union has been printing editorials in favor of Albany's gun buy-back program.

Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, at Sierra Times - Letter to Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of New York: Mr. Huckabee one-ups me big time. Thank you, sir! [sierra]

I ask the director of the Arkansas State Police to make purchasing and requisition decisions based on quality, service and price. I will not ask him to award a lucrative government contract in order to further a political agenda geared at controlling and ultimately destroying the firearms industry. I want Arkansas State Troopers to protect our citizens and themselves using the best guns available, not guns from the most "politically correct" manufacturer.

Brian Fitzgerald at brianf.editthispage.com - Freedom from fear: an impassioned plea to the people of the world to stop making weapons. I would really love a world where weapons were not necessary. I don't believe we're there, yet. Weapons are still necessary for self-defense. What a bummer, man.

Jon Katz at Slashdot - The Corporate Republic: I have only skimmed the beginning of this, but it looks interesting. [cafe]

In the Corporate Republic, comformity and acquiescence are elevated, while criticism and individualism gets punished, marginalized or ignored."

Tibor R. Machan in Laissez Faire City Times - Bush, the Drug Abuse Problem, and Common Sense: for some reason, G.W.'s cocaine use has stopped being an issue in his campaign for president. It never should have been an issue to begin with, except for his contention that what was youthful indiscretion for him should be a crime for others.

Now I realize that it is hopeless to expect Mr. Bush to do the right thing here. But there is a way, and I am willing to bet that the American people would reward him big time for it.
Let Bush declare the drug war a farce. Let him state outright that his experiences with the media have finally convinced him that what he has supported for years has been a terribly, regrettable mistake. Let him announce to the world that he now realizes that folks who indulge in drug abuse have no business being put to prison, declared criminals. Let him announce that henceforth he will favor decriminalization of drug abuse, in part because he himself has finally realized that indiscretions involving drugs do not make one public enemy number one.

That would go a long way in gaining some respect from me. As it is, I consider Mr. Bush to be a hypocrite of the highest order.

Alice Ann Love at AP via CBS Market Watch - Social Security Protection Pondered: "Congress is considering new protection for consumers from misuse of Social Security numbers, which have become both a virtual national ID and a powerful tool for criminals." Too little too late, but still good news. Let's eliminate the concept of Social Security. [wnd]

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Quotes

Government doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Can't. But there are lots of good people. Love them.

-- Bill St. Clair

The Atlanta Declaration

Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

-- L. Neil Smith

Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.

-- L. Neil Smith

A Penalty Clause for the Bill of Rights

Any official, appointed or elected, at any level of government, who attempts, through legislative act or other means, to nullify, evade, or avoid the provisions of the first ten amendments to this Constitution, or of the Thirteenth Amendment, shall be summarily removed from office, and, upon conviction, deprived of all pay and benefits including pension, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

-- L. Neil Smith

Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

-- John Lott, commenting on the National Academy of Sciences report on gun control laws.

Who is a libertarian?

Zero Aggression Principle ("Zap")

"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."

-- L. Neil Smith

(Formerly called the "Non-Aggression Principle", or "NAP")

Why Did It Have to be... Guns?

Make no mistake: all politicians -- even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership -- hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician -- or political philosophy -- can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude -- toward your ownership and use of weapons -- conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

-- L. Neil Smith

Concise

"Tell me," I was once asked, "What do you think about gun control? Give me the short answer." To which I replied, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

Also from The Atlanta Declaration:

... like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, it turns out that self-defense is a bodily function one cannot safely or effectively delegate to a second party.

-- L. Neil Smith

This does not mean that "Marijuana should be available by prescription." It means that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion.

-- Vin Suprynowicz

If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.

-- Edward Abbey

The state can only survive as long as a majority is programmed to believe that theft isn't wrong if it's called taxation or asset forfeiture or eminent domain, that assault and kidnapping isn't wrong if it's called arrest, that mass murder isn't wrong if it's called war.

-- Bill St. Clair