Tax Slaves
I cannot sit still with my countrymen in chains.
I cannot act mute
Hearing the world’s loneliness
Crying near the Beloved’s heart.
My love for God is such
That I could dance with Him tonight without you,
But I would rather have you there.
Is your caravan lost?
It is,
If you no longer weep from gratitude or happiness,
Or weep
From being cut deep with the awareness
Of the extraordinary beauty
That emanates from the most simple act
And common object.
My dear, is your caravan lost?
It is if you can no longer be kind to yourself
And loving to those who must live
With the sometimes difficult task of loving you.
At least come to know
That someone untied your camel last night
For I hear its gentle voice
Calling for God in the desert.
At least come to know
That Hafiz will always hold a lantern
With the galaxies blooming inside
And that
I will always guide your soul to
The divine warmth and exhilaration
Of our Beloved’s
Tent.
From Quotes of the Day:
We need a president who's fluent in at least one language -- Buck Henry
From The Federalist:
Government does not produce revenue. It consumes it. -- Ronald Reaganand:
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -- Edward Abbeyand:
There is no difference between an income tax and slavery. A slave does not own the fruits of his labor, and neither does anyone who is subject to income tax. -- Paul Craig Roberts
Vin Suprynowicz at Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership - On nuclear weapons and the 'well-regulated militia' - A good screed on our right to keep and bear arms. Since it is a right, granted by God, the government has no place infringing on it in any way. That means that all 20,000 federal gun laws are blatantly unconstitutional, null and void. But you knew that. Also reminds us of the real meaning of "well-regulated militia", something the Brady Bunch continually lies about. Still not a subscriber to Vin's Privacy Alert newsletter? It's not too late. Click on over to www.thespiritof76.com/privacyalert.html, and place your order. [jpfo]
More importantly, I continually ask, both in my first book and in my subsequent writings, "If the other side wants to insist on the relevance of the non-binding introductory phrase, 'A well- regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state ...' let Janet Reno and company explain to me when and how and where I and my hunting buddies are SUPPOSED to go to practice our small-unit tactics with M-16s and a Model 58 or Model 60 Squad Automatic Weapon, the better to BECOME a 'well- regulated militia,' better prepared to shoot and kill the next tyrant to dispatch tanks against harmless civilians on American soil. We'll drive as far out into the desert or the woods as they like; just let them explain to us how we're supposed to legally practice such drills without being jailed for "conspiracy to violate the National Firearms Act of 1934."
...
Therefore: The American people, both individually and as a group, have the right, power and authority to own nuclear weapons. No other condition can apply, unless you submit that we now live under a form of government where all rights and powers start with the GOVERNMENT MASTERS, who then bestow upon us (their peasants and slaves) only those lesser and included rights which our masters wish US to have.
...
Imagine it: Citizens well enough armed that our federal government would feel obliged to approach us with respect, ASKING whether we might be willing to help them out in a spirit of cooperation ... rather than busting down our doors, shoving German MP-5s up our nostrils, and asking questions later.
...
No, D.H., it is not "all a matter of degree." Quite the opposite. Providing only that I don't use them to threaten, intimidate, rob, or murder other sovereign individuals, in terms of the right of government to infringe them, my liberties are not subject to being "weighed against the government's compelling interest in keeping people from smoking marijuana," or "weighed against the government's compelling interest in preserving the endangered sucker fish," or "weighed against the government's compelling interest in making sure little girls can go to bed at night without being frightened by the sound of gunfire," or ANYTHING ELSE. They are ABSOLUTE.
Gus Thomson at Auburn Journal via MAPInc - Kubby Fails To Appear For Jail Sentence - Vin's article clued me in to look for this. Steve Kubby has moved to California to avoid a death sentence, which is what a stay in jail without his medicine would be.
Wayne Wilson at The Sacramento Bee via MAPInc - From Canada, Kubby Fights Drug Convictions - Steve Kubby, I salute you!
"They forced me to choose between going to jail and participating in my own death there or being with my family here," Kubby explained, speaking by phone from his new home in Sechelt, British Columbia.
Kubby claims a jail-imposed interruption in his physician-approved marijuana cancer therapy would endanger his life.
He defied a court order by not surrendering to jail authorities a week ago, but said he doesn't consider himself to be a fugitive from justice.
Brad King at Wired - Point, Click, Legislate and Play - Never satisfied that they're controlling every aspect of our lives, Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings has talked about adding a clause to an internet privacy bill that would mandate a file format and "security" features for internet streaming content. Die, DMCA! Only the market can make this decision correctly. Congress should butt out. [wired]
Bernadette Malone Connolly at The (New Hampshire) Union Leader - Disrespecting your rights - Ashcroft is finally interpreting the Brady Bill correctly. He is asking for public comment on a plan to destroy Brady Bill instant check records within 24 hours of their receipt. Must be a good idea, since Teddy Kennedy and Schmuckie Schumer are making loud noises. Ms. Connolly recommends calling or writing Mr. Ashcroft in support of his idea (AskDOJ@usdoj.gov or 202-353-1555). I sent the following email: [sas]
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 09:07:55 -0400
To: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Subject: Brady Instant Check
Cc: bill@billstclair.com
Dear Attorney General Ashcroft,
I read today on the internet <http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=4241> that you are asking for feedback on a proposal to destroy Brady Bill Instant Check records within 24 hours for people who check out OK. Though I think it would be a better idea to completely eliminate the blatantly unconstitutional Brady Bill, and I recommend that you urge Congress to do that, destroying records right away, so that the Brady Bill isn't effectively a gun registration scheme, is a very good idea. Make it so.
Bill St. Clair
bill@billstclair.com
Dave Winer's DaveNet - Big blank machine - It's the twentieth anniversary of the IBM PC. Microsoft and Intel are celebrating a reunion and celebration next Wednesday in San Jose, and they asked each attendee to write an essay. Dave wrote a nice one. The PC was about freedom. It still is.
We were young then, our companies were very small, we had nothing to lose, so we created something truly wonderful. This will happen again and again. If we're lucky, as individuals and companies, we can participate in each round of innovation, as long as we don't attempt to crush it or own it. That is the lesson of the PC.
