End the War on Freedom

Ken L. Holder's Philosophy page has a huge number of pointers to philosophical writings. I've looked at his site before, but missed this page. Good stuff! Ken is the webmaster for Webley Web Works. He maintains the web presences of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, L. Neil Smith, The Libertarian Enterprise, and a number of other not-so-well-known friends of liberty.

{pictureRef ({@smoke}, align:"right")} Near the bottom of Ken's philosophy page is a pointer to Imagine Freedom by Stormy Mon. It was intereseting enough that I downloaded the whole thing and archived it here (478k).

Richard Maybury - Chaostan, the Full Story: Stormy pointed at this site in his Imagine Freedom book above. Mr. Maybury notes that the world standard of living, any way you measure it, started growing exponentially in 1776, coincident with the American Revolution. Choastan, the land of great choas, is the name he gives for that part of the world that never adopted the principles of liberty embodied in the revolution. As many of us know, the west is also forgetting these principles, falling into socialism. Mr. Maybury is the author of the Uncle Eric books, including Whatever Happenned to Justice, a wonderful book about common law. He boils all of common law down to two short sentences, 16 words that make civilization possible:

The first is the basis of contract law. The second is the basis of tort law and some criminal law.

When these laws are violated, the result is some kind of damage to someone. Good intentions do not prevent this damage, nor do euphemisms. When stealing is called a tax, it remains stealing, and it is every bit as damaging.

Widespread violation of the laws by anyone, including a government, causes damage until the civilization collapses and the survivors, if any, must start over, as in Europe's Dark Ages.

The purpose of the Uncle Eric books is to reteach the principles of liberty, to rescue the free world from its fall into socialism. I have read Whatever Happenned to Justice and Whatever Happenned to Penny Candy, both of which I highly recommend. I haven't read any of his other books. Mr. Maybury sells investment advice via his newsletter.

The Federalist has a copy of The Declaration of Independence. Good to re-read it for Independence Day. The ideas in this document are what we'll be celebrating next week.

They also offered this, which I've saved as {@Reasons to Own a Gun}:

There are reasons to own a gun
And one of them is just for fun,
And then there's hunting ducks and deer,
'Cause venison sometimes beats steer.
But some guns have a better use
Than shooting bear or even moose.
They are great for self-protection
If you are some thug's selection.
And even more, when government
Comes after us with foul intent
To take our freedom clean away,
As tyrants do, 'most ev'ry day,
We have our guns to action take
'Gainst tyranny for freedom's sake.
To those who'd confiscate our guns
Hear this from liberty's new sons:
"When government our guns demands
They'll take them from our cold, dead hands."

by Joy Skilmer (AKA Lyn Nofziger)

(T-207 days until eviction and delousing!)

Michael C. Ruppert at From the Wilderness - Moorer Deposition in Tailwind Suits Confirms Allegations of Sarin Use Against Vietnam Defectors, Pows - Incriminates CIA, Kissinger: According to this, the Tailwind story was true. Feels suspect to me. [mmm]

Angus Glashier is very happy about C#. He wants a good language for writing Windows-specific code. [latte]

Carolyn Duffy Marsan at Network World - HTTP on steroids' to ease protocol work: Marshall Rose has created a new networking protocol called the Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol (BXXP). It is a general-purpose framework for net protocols. The protocol allows multiple asychronous "channels" of information to be transmitted at once over a single TCP connection. The article says very little else about it, but has a link to an IETF draft with more detail than I was willing to read at present. [/.]

John VanDyk of iowa says that folks are checking out their 6-month anniversaries of editing-this-page. My first post was on December 9. That week I talked about Ramadan (12/9), the VA Linux IPO (12/10), Victoria's birthday (12/12), Emma (12/14), Bill of Rights day (12/15), and the best article I've ever seen on "Why the War On Drugs Will Never Succeed (And Other Good Reasons to End It Now)" (12/16).

brianf has a new page, Friends & Music. He's advertising appearances in the Albany (NY) area of a band called Four Shillings Short. He also has a good quote from Ray Bradbury's Green Shadows, White Whale:

People say money makes the world go 'round, but it's music that provides the lubrication.

Joel Kahn - Frankentoons: Mr. Kahn puts together the head of one cartoon figure with the body of another. The examples on the site are: Bam B. Coyote, Porkricket, SnooPooh, Hulkathy, Elmor Fuddubby, Ziggy the Pinhead, Dilbert Doughboy, Ursulamaid, HaGarfield. The opening page is a comment from his (new) webmaster claiming that he (the webmaster) doesn't believe that this use of copyrighted material is illegal. His former webmaster, Southwest Missouri University, removed his site when Mr. Kahn refused to remove the offending art. I still haven't resolved my opinion of whether intellectual property is a useful concept. I'm glad to see someone pushing for more exploration by the courts, as Mr. Kahn is doing. [script]

Frankentoon [Combination of "Frankenstein" and "cartoon".] 1. n. A cartoon figure assembled by combining portions of two or more different cartoon figures together into a single entity. 2. v. To assemble, distribute, or publicize such a figure or figures.

...

This site is devoted to experimentation with, and civil disobedience against, intellectual property. By assembling these Frankentoons and placing them here on this site, I have knowingly, intentionally and deliberately infringed on copyrights owned by several corporations. I have also violated the "Terms of Use" of the web sites of these companies.

Henry Lamb at WorldNetDaily - Helms acts to block U.N. court: Jesse Helms has introduced legislation in the senate (S.2726, the "American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2000") that prohibits the U.S. government from cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and prohibits U.S. military personnel from participating in U.N. peacekeeping operations unless the U.N. or the countries in which they will serve guarantee that they will not be prosecuted by the ICC. Mr. Lamb thinks that passage of the bill is not likely and that even if it passes the senate and house, Komrade Klinton will veto it. Mr. Helms, I salute you. [wnd]

Introduction of the Helms bill will give pause to nations that have not yet ratified the document. Should the bill become law, the U.N. court would most likely stop dead in its tracks, until the court document is ratified by the U.S. Senate, which would automatically repeal the Helms legislation. Could the Senate ratify the U.N. court? Helms has vowed to block the treaty "so long as there is breath in me."

Jude Wanniski at WorldNetDaily - A vote for Ralph Nader? Mr. Wanniski writes to Mr. Nader recommending a couple of policy stands that would gain the vote of many republicans. In particular, back to the gold base for the dollar and a simplified, flatter tax system. No clue on Mr. Nader's response. [wnd]

Gordon Gregory at Newhouse News Service via the Seattle Times - Inventor building rocket in back yard: Brian Walker is spending a quarter of a million bucks to build a hydrogen peroxide fueled rocket that he expects to reach an altitude of 30 miles. He'll have a hard time getting a license from the FAA. I hope he flies it anyway. [/.]

Ray Thomas at Sierra Times - It Does Not Affect Us: A long list of murders by the increasingly para-military police. Mentions Peter McWilliams, Randy Weaver, and many other cases I've never heard of. This article will likely move here next week. [sierra]

James V. Muth at Sierra Times - Jarbidge: Rules of Engagement: On the Fourth of July, the Jarbidge Shovel Brigade will reopen the county road to the Jarbidge Wilderness Area that was illegally closed by the U.S. Forest Service. They will do so peacefully. This article explains their intentions and says why it is absurd to claim that reopening the road will have an adverse environmental impact. Mr. Muth is a Certified Professional Geologist. [sierra]

J.D. Tuccille at CivilLiberty.Aboout.Com - Miranda victory: Mr. Tuccille comments on the reaffirmation by the Supreme Court of the 1966 Miranda decision. [market]

Sunni Maravillosa at Laissez Faire City Times - Choosing Your Target: rejoices at how Rosie O'Donnell, Citibank Visa, and Smith & Wesson have recently sufferred the consequences of their anti-gun actions. Highlights two fairly new pro-RKBA organizations: Citizens of America, and Keep And Bear Arms.com. [grabbe]

T. E. Ruppenthal at Laissez Faire City Times - Four Questions on Government Suckage: 1) Public Servants? 2) Unionized government workers? 2a) Why can they vote? 3) Tax-free municipal bonds? 4) Sovereign immunity for UGEs? Good questions all. [grabbe]

Help! I'm being crushed beneath the weight of millions of UGEs (Useless Government Employees) and I can't get up. Help me if you can. Please.

Let's admit it -- government sucks, and I mean this quite literally. Government sucks inexorably more and more money from our pockets and ever more liberty from our lives, and there seems no end in sight. It is damn depressing. There's way too much of it and it sadly seems here to stay.

Meg at not so soft - Coca is not cocaine: Meg enters "completely unprecedented rant mode" to remind us why we should not confuse coca with cocaine:

Coca is a naturally ocurring mild plant stimulant (see also caffiene; sugar; tobacco; kola nuts) which has many traditional cultural uses in the Andean region, such as chewing or brewing in tea to alleviate stomach upsets and the effects of altitude sickness. Coca leaves can also be used as a highly effective compress on wounds, a well-recognised anti-nauseant (used in pregnancy, by the ill and by those affected by altitude sickness), and as a hunger-supressant, most frequently utilised by Bolivian miners to prolong working stints. Coca leaves are among the most significant ritual items of the Quechua, Aymara and Mapuche cultural groups (descendants of the Inka civilisation, and now numbering around eleven million people in the Andean region), who use them as sacrificial offerings to deities, as well as traditional items of ritual exchange, currency and cookery.

...

Coca is not cocaine. It's a traditional plant, with hundreds of traditional uses. Western nations are attempting to wipe out their domestic drug problems by eradicating the crops, traditions, economies and livelihoods of poorer third world nations. Does that seem fair? Alcoholism is a pretty serious issue in the UK - I propose we head on over to Ireland and dig up all the potatoes, even though potatoes aren't vodka either. That sounds just about as fair to me.

New York Times via Marijuana News - U.N. Aide Wants Web Drug Crime Pursued Like Genocide: Pino Arlacchi, head of the Vienna-based United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, is proposing making it an international crime to provide certain (unspecified) drug information on the internet. Figures. U.S. out of U.N. now! [mjn]

The Internet provides "a lot of extremely dangerous information," he said. "You can enter a completely different world where the issue is treated in the opposite view as it should be."

"And unfortunately, these views are spreading and we are now thinking about some instrument to at least stop the expansion of this flow of information," he said.

Libertarian Society - Decriminalization Day, July 3rd: I'll remember this next Monday. [cn]

On July 3rd, 1976 Decriminalization Day was founded to remind bicentennial Americans of their country's original intent. It's a day to promote legalization of freedom, to legalize all behavior that does not violate anybody's natural, human, individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Each year thousands of freedom loving people warm up their 4th of July patriotism with reminders that the Founders were all "victimless criminals" condemed to death by their "divine right" king. John Hancock was a smuggler. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew marijuana hemp by the acre. Benjamin Franklin was a pornographer and womanizer with bastard children.

Charley Reese at the Orlando Sentinel - Let's bring back public hangings, speed up pace of executions: I have mixed feelings about the death penalty. In the case of mass murderers, like the federal agents at Waco, I welcome it, but in the case of single murders with questionable witnesses, I get more fuzzy. If we're going to kill people, however, I agree with Mr. Reese that speedy public executions are the way to go. I don't agree with his conclusion, however. The last thing we need is police who are even more eager to shoot.

The alternative to fixing this broken system is to apply the Brazil Method, which is for the police, by accurate shooting, to eliminate the need for a trial.

That would certainly save the taxpayers a lot of money.

BTW, I don't remember if I've said this yet, but I've been thinking it for a long time. I think every federal agent on the ground at Waco and their entire chain of command including Reno and Klinton should have been executed long ago for the mass murder of the Branch Davidians. But hey, there's no statute of limitation on murder, so there's still time...

Add comment Edit post Add post