Flat-Out Cool!

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 08 Jan 2002 13:00:00 GMT

Received via email:

Osama bin Ladin unwittingly repeated history when he used a phrase uttered by Gen. Custer, "Where did all these damn Tomahawks come from?"

From kaba:

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. -- Arthur Schopenhauer

russmo.com - Tribunal Justice - cartoon commentary on military tribunals. Warning: not for the squeemish.

L. Neil Smith at Sierra Times - Here We Go Again - another good Bill of Rights Enforcement article from L. Neil. You need an account to read it. Get one today. [sierra]

If habitual criminals like John McCain and Joseph Lieberman were arrested and tried for treason for endangering "the security of a free state" with their endless, insane, hoplophobic legislation, if George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Tom Ridge were similarly charged with multiple violations of laws that forbid depriving innocent individuals of their Constitutional rights, and if every goon at every airport who ever groped a passenger or pawed through his or her belongings were to join them, making little rocks out of big rocks, and washing uniforms in the prison laundry (there would be no license plates to stamp out in a free society), America would be a safe, clean, decent place to live in.

Bob Murphy at Sierra Times - Chaos Theory - most folks interpret anarchy to mean chaos. They are not necessarily related. Mr. Murphy tells us once again why he is an anarchist and proud of it. [sierra]

I should also mention that anarchy is not a good of itself; what I really desire is the truly free society. It's just that, in my opinion, only anarchy can achieve this. So, in terms of ethics or morality, I would say the highest end is freedom. But in terms of political science -- dealing with forms of government -- I would say the goal is anarchy. (To quote my friend's bumper sticker: "There's no government like no government.") This is somewhat analogous to the approach of Friedrich Hayek, who believed in democracy as the best means to a (relatively) free society. Although he was wrong in this conclusion, he was not so naive as to worship democracy per se.

Harry Browne at WorldNetDaily - What kind of century will this be? - Harry is hopeful, but not optimistic for a return to 19th century politics, "back to the libertarian foundation that provided the good we still enjoy."

Dan Harrie at The Salt Lake City Tribune - Rule OKs Weapons In Capitol - Utah is an open carry state. Someone has finally made it clear to the powers-that-be that this means they must allow concealed carry permit holders to carry concealed in the capitol building, and anyone to carry in a holster, as long as there is no round in the chamber. [kaba]

Jeff Snyder at American Handgunner - New York -- Where You Need Permission To Save Your Life - musings on handgun licensing in the Empire state. [kaba]

In Broome County, where I reside, unrestricted licenses are almost never issued. The forms provided to you by the sheriff's office contain an application for a "target" license, i.e., a license limited to carrying between your home and the range for target practice.

In Broome County, as in most counties in New York, saving your life or those of your loved ones if violently assaulted outside of the home is not a proper cause to carry a handgun, but enjoying a nice day of shooting at the target range is.

The state, evidently, just wants me to have a good time, and not worry my little head over the nasty things that might happen to me in the big, bad world. I should relax and just enjoy life.

WhatReallyHappenned.com - Fake Terror - the Road To Dictatorship - form Rome to Klinton, governments have used fake terror as an excuse to increase their power. [grabbe]

The state-sponsored schools will never tell you this, but governments routinely rely on hoaxes to sell their agendas to an otherwise reluctant public. The Romans accepted the Emperors and the Germans accepted Hitler not because they wanted to, but because the carefully crafted illusions of threat appeared to leave no other choice.

Our government too uses hoaxes to create the illusion that We The People have no choice but the direction the government wishes us to go in.

Tony Paterson at The Telegraph - Mystery of monster waves solved - some German scientists have reproduced "monster waves" in a tank. In the open ocean, these waves can be as much as 120 feet high. [lew]

Photographs of the experiments show the monster wave building into a vertical wall of water before exploding into an uncontrollable boiling mass as it collapses on itself.

"Even in the tank the effect was awe-inspiring," said Prof Clauss. "The exploding wave was so powerful that it broke through the ceiling of the building in which the tank is located," he added.

Joe Wilcox and Michael Kanellos at CNET - New iMac features flat-panel display - the much-hyped new Apple product is a new iMac with a half-dome base and a flat-panel display supported by a pivoting arm. There's also a new photo-editing application: iPhoto.

time.com - Apple's New Core - the cover story of the current issue of Time magazine.

Apple - The new iMac. Impressive specs: 700 or 800 Mhz G4, 40 or 60 gigs of disk space, superdrive that can read and write CDs and DVDs (on the most expensive model), 21.3 pounds, 3 models ranging in price from $1,299 to $1,800. [picks]

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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