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Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Mon, 28 May 2001 12:20:32 GMT

I'm surprised that none of my Christian readers squawked about my commentary on Jesus, the Mini-Series. I figured I said at least a couple of things that would make them bristle. That was not my intent, I was simply stating my opinion, but I was a little concerned when I wrote it about the likely flames that would ensue.

Commission on Presidential Debates - Transcript of the October 3 debate: I'm pointing to this mostly for J.D. Tuccille's commentary on it: [market]

The two "major party" candidates face off in Boston -- here's the transcript, which conveniently places each candidate's remarks next to his name. That's how you tell which one is which, you know.

Susan Bush at the Berkshire Eagle - Truck driver charged in road rage incident: back in April, I walked around outside the North Adams (MA) court house in support of Linda Hamilton, as documented in pictures here. They finally charged and arraigned the crazy truck driver.

Susan Bush at the Berkshire Eagle - Heath woman's friends back her display of firearms -- and her right to bear one: Another story about Linda Hamilton. Ms. Bush made a mistake in the second paragraph. The charge is "assault with a dangerous weapon", not "assault with a deadly weapon". Linda has another court appearance in late October, hopefully with a new, more gun-law experienced, attorney.

Scott Braithwaite - Fry's Electronics Employment Application: hehe.

There's a new article in The Libertarian series by Vin Suprynowicz:

High court hears arguments on Indianapolis drug checkpoints - The supremes are considering drug war exceptions to the fourth amendment, in particular random automobile searches by Illinois cops.
Imagine the popular outrage if the court continually parsed and shaved down some of our other constitutional rights -- say, freedom of the press or of religion -- the way they have taken to whittling down the Second Amendment, the Fourth, and the 14th.
In that hypothetical alternative reality, a federal ban on messianic or revivalist churches might be judged OK because of the "overriding government concern" with protecting potential parishioners against another Jim Jones or another "Heaven's Gate" suicide cult -- while our alternative-universe "Bizarro" court would busy itself drawing fine and arbitrary distinctions based on stained glass and the color and length of choir robes in order to justify its finding that plain old Presbyterians and Catholics need not participate in the new government registry of "dangerous religion licensees" ... yet.
Or, banning books that teach people how to repair firearms might receive the court's OK given the government's "pressing mandate to stop the trade in 'illegal' firearms," while "Last of the Mohicans" would still be allowable in libraries despite the lamentable way it celebrates facility with firearms ... providing it's shelved where only adults can find it, of course.

Joel Spolsky at Joel on Software - Painless Functional Specifications, Part 2: What's a Spec? distinguishes a functional spec from a technical spec. The former tells you how the program will look to the user. The latter tells you details of programming languages, algorithms, databases, etc. Some of the things Joel puts in every spec are: A disclaimer. An author. One author. Scenarios. Nongoals. An Overview. Details, details, details. Open issues. Side notes. Specs Need to Stay Alive.

Reuters via Yahoo News - Thousands Protest As Nader Turned Away From Debate: police estimated the crowd of protesters outside UMass, Boston at 9,000 people. Some were arrested for blocking traffic. Mr. Nader was denied entrance, even though he had an invitation. [unknown]

Julius Strauss at the London Telegraph - Protesters bring Serb capital to standstill: the protesters are out en masse in Belgrade. They will likely be shot if they're still out on Monday. [grabbe]

Charley Reese at the Orlando Sentinel - The choice:Arm all or arm none: If cops need guns so do victims. Obvious, eh? Not to the Brady Bunch. [lew]

Now you tell me what warped, sick logic says that the victim of a criminal should not have a handgun while the policeman who arrests the very same criminal should have a handgun. If, as the gun-control crowd purports, Suzy doesn't need a handgun in her encounter with the criminal, why does the policeman?
...
... This business of the elitists, living behind the protection of pistols, telling the common folk you must not have firearms smacks of totalitarianism.

Linda Feldmann at the Christian Science Monitor - Why the poll booths of America are empty: an exploration of why more and more Americans choose not to vote at election time. I don't plan to vote because I will no longer support a system in which government agents can engage in cold-blooded murder and kidnapping and not hang by the neck until dead for their crimes. Claire Wolfe wrote, "It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." Well, I think it's getting mighty close to shooting time. If Gore wins the election, I predict a bloody civil war before his first term is up.

KeepAndBearArms.com - Bush & Gore on the Constitution: a good defining sound bite from each candidate. Bush believes the constitution should be literally interpreted. Gore thinks its interpretation should grow over time. Too bad the republicans don't act the way Bush talks, eh? [kaba]

Grass Roots South Carolina at KeepAndBearArms.com - State Farm Cancels Policy of Gun Owner Who Has Private Shooting Range: a good neighbor in Chapin, SC, recently had his State Farm insurance cancelled because he mentioned to the agent that he has a shooting range in his back yard. He is now happilly insured, for less, by companies without this strange bias. If you've got State Farm stock, better sell before it's too late. [kaba]

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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