Bill of Rights Enforcement! Now!
Hey, guys. I was just telling you my vision of the perfect society. I doubt we're gonna get there in my lifetime, but I'm gonna continue to hold it up as a goal.
The problem with the system we have now is that it rewards liars and cheats. Those are the people who rise to the top in a democracy. That's why democracy is a really bad idea. Democracy is three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. Democracy is three nineteen year-old boys and your seventeen year-old daughter voting on what they're going to do tonight.
But guess what? America is not a democracy. It's a constitutional republic. The difference is very important. In a democracy, the mob can vote for anything they want. Whatever the majority says is imposed on the minority, whether they like it or not. In a constitutional republic, the constitution severely restricts the domain of government power. We happen to have a democratic republic, where we use majority vote to make decisions within the tiny domain carved out by the Constitution. How we make those decisions hardly matters. We could use unanimous consent or let the tallest man decide. The important part is the tiny domain. That means that for 99% of the things the majority might want to impose, they're not allowed to because it's unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, people have lost sight of this. Our local, county, state, and federal government bodies routinely pass unconstitutional laws, and the police routinely enforce them. Though I would prefer anarcho-capitalism to our constitutional republic, I'm willing to live with what we have, if the constitution is narrowly interpreted and rabidly enforced. L. Neil Smith, Aaron Zelman, and company call this "Bill of Rights Enforcement". That means any congressman who voted for Klinton's so-called "assault weapons" ban is a criminal. He should be jailed for at least five years and forever forbidden from government service. The same goes for any BATF agent who enforces it. And any cop who searches your car without a warrant, or steals it (er... seizes your assets) without a trial because he finds a marijuana seed on the floor. And don't get me started on campaign finance "reform": blatant violation of the first amendment. And don't even mention the USA PATRIOT act: high treason.
So go ahead and think of my anarcho-capitalist society as Billy's pipe dream. But help me to establish a Bill of Rights culture, a society that lets those elected or appointed to office know, in no uncertain terms, that if they violate their oath of office to protect and defend the constitution, they will pay dearly.
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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 bears 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
Swing Dance Alaska - The Zoot Suit Riots - why Zoot Suits are illegal in Los Angeles. [tle]
The Libertarian Enterprise Letter from Robert Shea - a man's right to choose. I like it. [tle]
L. Reichard White at The Libertarian Enterprise - Dis-Mything 9-11 Part 1: Protected My Ass - first in a series. Many good examples from the press of the following: [tle]
O.K. So now we know they can't really protect us. And we know they know.
And they dont' want us to protect ourselves . . .
This all raises a few questions don't you think?
Since they know they can't protect us, is what they are doing - - - the so-called USA PATRIOT Act, etc. - - - just political, irrelevant, inane, expensive, and counter productive as usual? Or is it worse than that?
Patrick K Martin at The Libertarian Enterprise - Anarchists, Who Cares Which Wing? - Why Mr. Martin believes that anarchy won't work. [tle]
James J Odle at The Libertarian Enterprise - A Challenge To The Drug Warriors - the war on some drugs is a an eighty year old failure. But you knew that. [tle]
Wendy McElroy at The Libertarian Enterprise - It's Time To Privatize Marriage - makes sense to me. [tle]
Get politics out of marriage: privatize it. Make marriage an enforceable contract between two people who agree on the terms of union and of divorce, including the terms of child custody and support. The contract could be as broadly or narrowly phrased as people wish. In the nature of marriage, most contracts would probably be broadly defined, leaving many or most details to private and personal negotiation: for example, who does the dishes. In all likelihood, those areas that now cause such social turmoil are the ones that would be narrowly defined: for example, who gets the custody of children upon divorce and what are the support arrangements.
Harry Browne at WorldNetDaily - Welcome to the War on Terrorism, comrade - This is from last Thursday, before TIPS became history (yeah, right), but it's still worth a read.
When we had a Bill of Rights in America, it assured you of a right to have an attorney present, a right to confront your accusers, a right to know the charge against you, a right to reasonable bail, a right to a public and speedy trial before a jury of your peers.
But that was before America was attacked in an unprovoked and vicious act. And so now we must all be willing to sacrifice -- and accept whatever the government thinks best. You said that yourself, right? And the TIPS program may give you the honor to be one of the first Americans to sacrifice.
John Stossel on ABC - War on Drugs, a War on Ourselves - Next Tuesday, July 30, at 10pm in most places, ABC will air a special on the drug war. Don't miss it. I couldn't find a listing at abc.com, but this is at least some evidence that they'll be showing it on the ABC affilliate in my area. Go to zap2it.com for listings in your area. [smith2004]
