Guns and Drugs... Drugs and Guns...
"They [the Bill of Rights] are as clear as the Ten Commandments.... Herein are the sentinels which guard the doors of every home from invasion of coercion, intimidation and fear. Herein is the expression of the spirit of men who would forever be free." --Herbert Hoover
From Quotes of the Day:
"Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." -- H. L. Mencken
From samizdata:
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." -- Margaret Thatcherand:
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." -- Sir Winston Churchill
From smith2004:
New National Anthem
by: SliderEH 10/11/02
Now that all of us Americans think as one.....
LET'S CLAP!!!!
If you're happy and you know it, bomb Iraq (clap clap).
If you're happy and you know it, bomb Iraq (clap clap).
If you're happy and you know it,
And you really want to show it
If you're happy and you know it, bomb Iraq.
If your equities are falling, bomb Iraq.
If your equities are falling, bomb Iraq.
If your equities are falling,
And your losses are appalling
If your equities are falling, bomb Iraq.
If the euro keeps on climbing, bomb Iraq.
If the euro keeps on climbing, bomb Iraq.
If the euro keeps on climbing,
Put your trust in W's timing,
If the euro keeps on climbing, bomb Iraq.
If the GDP is shrinking, bomb Iraq,
If the GDP is shrinking, bomb Iraq,
If the GDP is shrinking,
And W's back to drinking,
If the GDP is shrinking, bomb Iraq.
If the GOP is hurtin' , bomb Iraq.
If the GOP is hurtin' , bomb Iraq.
If the GOP is hurtin'
And November looks uncertain
If the GOP is hurtin' , bomb Iraq.
Are they checking Halliburton? Bomb Iraq.
Are they checking Halliburton? Bomb Iraq.
If they're checking Halliburton
And for Cheney jail looks certain
If they're checking Halliburton, bomb Iraq.
If your brother is a turkey, bomb Iraq.
If your brother is a turkey, bomb Iraq.
If your brother is a turkey
And Florida's goin' bazerk-y
If your brother is a turkey, bomb Iraq.
If the pundits call you "moron," bomb Iraq.
If the pundits call you "moron," bomb Iraq.
If the pundits call you moron
Then it's time to get your war on
If the pundits call you "moron," bomb Iraq.
If Noelle gets caught with crack...bomb Iraq.
If Noelle gets caught with crack...bomb Iraq.
If Noelle gets caught with crack
And the twins drop booze for smack
If Noelle gets caught with crack...bomb Iraq.
To divert public attention bomb Iraq.
To divert public attention bomb Iraq.
To divert public attention
From the doings of your henchmen
To divert public attention bomb Iraq.
To get drilling in the Artic, bomb Iraq,
To get drilling in the Artic, bomb Iraq,
You can run us out of oil,
With the Middle East aboil,
To get drilling in the Artic, bomb Iraq.
If you've lost track of Osama, bomb Iraq;
If you've lost track of Osama, bomb Iraq;
If you've lost track of Osama,
Send Saddam a big "Yo' mama!",
If you've lost track of Osama, bomb Iraq.
If Al Qaeda's getting rowdy, bomb Iraq;
If Al Qaeda's getting rowdy, bomb Iraq;
If Al Qaeda's getting rowdy,
Never mind that they're all Saudi,
If Al Qaeda's getting rowdy, bomb Iraq.
russmo.com - War Vote - cartoon commentary on last week's vote in Congress for Bushnev's war. Ooh.
Tom Tomorrow - American Invasion! - a new reality show. Hehe. [lew]
It's the show that puts you in the driver's seat of American Imperialism.
GI Party - Eradicating Terrorists - a plan for getting rid of the last remaining terrorists in Afghanistan. Hehe. [trt-ny]
The latest plan to drive the terrorists out of Afghanistan's mountainous regions is to send in a team of Alabama Special Forces.
I wrote the following in response to a message at trt-ny bemoaning that the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor of New York smokes pot:
It's too bad that the fact that Scott Jeffrey likes to get high now and then appears to disqualify him in some people's minds. Do you drink an occasional beer? Do you like to smoke a cigarette or a pipe or cigar now and then? Well, I've got news for you. Cannabis (aka marijuana) is less harmful in every way than your alcohol or nicotine. I know this from personal experience. I no longer imbibe any of them, quit cold turkey in 1983, but I've tried all three, extensively, and from where I'm sitting, cannabis is the least harmful, by a long shot. And it has invaluable medical uses, and food and fiber uses. We should have replaced trees with (industrial) cannabis for making our paper a long time ago.and later in the same thread, I wrote:
I intend to vote for Mr. Jeffrey, mostly because I want to be able to register as a Libertarian [In New York, 50,000 votes for a party's candidate for governor allows people to register for that party]. If you intend to vote your guns, and I hope you do, then Mr. Jeffrey and Thomas Golisano are really your only choices for governor, besides writing in Louis Wein, which is an even longer shot than Mr. Golisano (see http://scopeny.org/ratings02.html).
I agree that there is not necessarily a connection between guns and drugs. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is enshrined in the second amendment to our Constitution. Vegetables are not mentioned. Ours is supposed to be a government of enumerated powers. Hence I believe that the liberty to grow, sell, and ingest vegetables, for food, medicine, religion, or fun, is protected by the ninth amendment.
In my opinion, it would serve both parties to realize that we are both on the receiving end of a continually escalating war on our liberty. Our particular vices are only convenient rallying cries for the enemy. If you have said nothing as they've come for the drug users, don't expect there to be anyone left to say anything when they come for the gun owners.
Unfortunately, many druggies are disgusted by gunnies and vice-versa. Personally, I just want to be left alone. If you don't hurt my family or steal our stuff, nothing you do in the privacy of your own home (or gun range) is any of my business. I expect the same consideration.
The war on guns (drugs) has nothing to do with guns (drugs). It is a war on freedom. End it.
Bill St. Clair
P.S. (for those who don't know me) I began my fight for liberty speaking out against the drug war. Now I spend more time speaking out against the gun war. Twenty years ago, I was a druggie. Now I spend a few hours at the range almost every week.
Teresa Riordan at The New York Times -
Tiny Bar Codes on Bullets 
- one more thing for government to
mandate that will do nothing to stop crime, but will jack up the price
of a gun and remove more of our vanishing privacy. [firearmnews]
Charley Reese - The Greatest Civic Sin - every war since the war of northern aggression was started with lies. [lew]
We have become a nation of liars. The politicians lie, journalists lie, corporate CEOs lie, and stockbrokers and other salesmen lie. Advertisers lie. Businesses lie. Preachers and priests and rabbis lie. And because of those lies, the young in our own and in other countries die or have their lives blighted by wounds, disease and poverty. As Thomas Jefferson said, if God is just, we're in trouble.
Jon Dougherty at World Net Daily - Gun-rights groups undeterred by attacks: Say fewer gun laws would help protect public in D.C. area - Larry Pratt of GOA and Aaron Zelman of JPFO tell it like it is about the D.C. area sniper attacks. If the people there were armed, he (they?) would probably have been shot already. [kaba]
Sherry F. Colb at CNN - South Dakota proposed jury nullification amendment should be rejected - A good exploration of the amendment to South Dakota's constitution that it's citizens will vote on in November. Good exploration. Wrong conclusion. Juries exist to protect citizens from government. They are intended to allow every juror the choice of vetoing the law. I hope South Dakota approves this amendment to send a message to robed tyrants everywhere. From KABA's comments on this story: [kaba]
Jury nullification is among the final handful of barricades that prevents the "justice" system from destroying what is left of liberty. In a day where judges and attorneys tamper with juries to the point of deciding cases in advance, an amendment like this is not only a breath of fresh air, every state should take such positive steps. All liberty advocates in South Dakota are encouraged to support this move come election day.
In essence, one educated and self-empowered gunowner on a jury could end the persecution of a fellow gunowner who did nothing more than exercise his or her basic Constitutional rights.
Garry Reed, The Loose Cannon Libertarian - Scrooge McDuck Capitalism - Mr. Reed learned all he needed to know about capitalism from Donald Duck's Uncle, Scrooge McDuck. Value lies in productive work, providing a product that people want, not dollar bills or stock certificates or balance sheets.
I've never quite understood the psychology of capitalist bashers. I've seen the images of young WTO demonstrators shattering Starbucks windows while wearing Levis and Adidas, drinking Pepsi and coordinating their protests on cell phones. Who do they think will create their favorite goodies if not capitalists? Bureaucrats? Psychic channelers? The People's Natural Altruistic Collective Manufacturing Co-op and Poetry Center of Berkeley, California?
Rachel Lucas - Osama dead Laden - Ms. Lucas thinks Osama is dead. Her logic sounds good to me. [rachel]
The turd is dead. I'll believe otherwise when I see him dancing around in a cave brandishing the latest edition of Newsweek.
Perry de Havilland at Samizdata.net - Rip out the roots - one man's response to the Bali bombing. [samizdata]
Find the people who planned this, the people who carried it out and the people who support them. Find them and you find the only 'cause' that matters. Rip their 'root cause' out by the roots and apply a blow torch. Kill them. I don't give a damn what their grievances are. Just kill them.
Hunters Against Terrorists is a Yahoo group started by Mark Ferran "to teach law-abiding hunters about State Laws that authorize Hunters afield to use deadly physical force to defend innocent life against Terrorists and other criminals."
In the wake of the Official and Media suggestions that "hunters" and .223 caliber "hunting rifles" may be responsible for the terroristic murders committed by a sniper in Maryland, the Group's title distinguishes Hunters FROM Terrorists.
...
"Terrorists are always in season."
