Vin in NH

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sat, 28 Sep 2002 12:00:00 GMT

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt

Vin Suprynowicz is taking his Ballad of Carl Drega book tour tonight to the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's annual convention in Nashua. I will probably drive there to hear him speak, though it will make for a late night. Dinner starts at the Holiday Inn at 6pm. Vin's speech is after dinner.

The Washington Times - Anti-gun nonsense - an editorial applauding Robert L. Ehrlich's support of H.R. 2037, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act", which protects firearms and ammo manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits. [firearmnews]

Mr. Ehrlich voted in favor of H.R. 2037, which, among other things, would limit the vulnerability of firearms manufacturers to civil lawsuits. Since the 1990s, attempts have been made to bankrupt firearms manufacturers by holding them financially responsible for loss of life, injuries and other damages caused by criminals who use firearms that happen to have a brand name.

Thus, a Smith and Wesson revolver purchased legally but used at some later point to further a criminal act becomes the responsibility of Smith and Wesson. This is like holding General Motors responsible for the person who drives his Corvette sports car at 140 mph. Both the car and the gun have the potential to be misused. But neither are inherently dangerous -- and any unlawful use to which they are put by their owners is certainly something neither the automaker nor the gun manufacturer can control. To suggest otherwise is a distortion of cause and effect, which would open the door to potentially limitless lawsuits affecting just about any consumer good one could think of.

David Saltonstall at NY Daily News - Smoke ban goes private: Clubs group for war with mayor - New York's new mayor is proving himself to be a smoking nazi. Banning smoking in so-called "public" places is already none of his business, but now he has stated his intent to extend the ban to private clubs. It's time for Big Apple smokers to blog smoke in Mr. Bloomberg's face. [villagechoice]

I received a message from the Smoke Free Action Network, encouraging me to send emails in support of smokefree workplace legislation. I sent the following email:

Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 08:26:00 -0400
To: "Joe Cherner" <Joe@smokefree.org>
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Subject: Re: [JoeCherner-Announce]Smokefree legislation where you live
Cc: bill@billstclair.com

Mr. Cherner,

You are a fascist.

A fascist is a person who believes, sort of, in the concept of property, but believes the state has the right to control how people use their property.

I am a capitalist. I believe that noone but the property owner has the right to say anything whatsoever about how a person uses their property. If I own a restaurant, I, and only I, may decide whether smoking is allowed on the premises. If you don't like my rules, noone forces you to eat or work there.

If you attempt to force me to disallow smoking on my property, if you attempt to force me to do anything I don't want on my property, I am well within my rights to shoot you dead.

Stop your fascism. Now.

-Bill St. Clair
bill@billstclair.com

At 07:01 AM 9/28/2002 -0400, you wrote:

************************************
To send a letter in support of smokefree workplace legislation
where you live, go to http://www.smokefree.org
************************************

All truth passes through three stages:

First it is ridiculed.
Second it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident

Smokefree workplace legislation, first ridiculed, then violently opposed, is now being accepted as self-evident throughout the U.S. The states of California and Delaware, along with dozens of cities have passed smokefree legislation for ALL workers (including office, restaurant, bar, bingo, bowling, nightclub, and casino workers). Many other states and cities, such as New York City and Boston, have introduced such legislation and are expected to vote this year.

ALL workers (including office, restaurant, bar, bingo, bowling, nightclub, and casino workers) deserve a safe, healthy, smokefree work environment. No one should have to breathe tobacco smoke pollution to hold a job, because it causes cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. The health of all workers is equally important. No one should be allowed to make someone else sick.

If you would like to send a letter in support of smokefree workplace legislation where you live, go to http://www.smokefree.org

All the best,

Joe

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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