ZAP

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 22 Oct 2002 12:00:00 GMT

From brad, don't know if it's true, but it wouldn't surprise me:

After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus-stop and offered everyone in the queue a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.

The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

From The Federalist:

The House of Representatives packed up and went home for elections, and we can't say we're sorry to see the Members go. Senators are lingering for a while longer, but it'd be better if they left too and didn't return until they're at least prepared to fulfill constitutional duties, like confirming judges. The best that can be said about the 107th Congress is that it managed to do less damage than usual." -- The Wall Street Journal

and:

"Firing Pin: $5.00 Hand File: $7.95 Five minutes of the criminal's time to completely alter/replace gun parts: $0.00 Total cost for a criminal to render the proposed $62,000,000 'ballistic fingerprinting' program useless: $12.95!"

From birdman:

The authorities announced this morning that the shell casing found in the rental truck that was seized in VA was not a .223 and was therefore eliminated as being associated with the Beltway Sniper.

HOLD IT!!!

For years I have predicted that a .308 shell casing loaded with a .223 sabot round would make an untraceable sniper bullet for urban use.

What is a sabot round? It is a plastic sleeve that wraps around a .223 bullet, thus protecting the bullet from coming into contact with the lands and grooves of the barrel's rifling. The outside measurement of the sleeve is .308, so it loads into a .308 shell casing perfectly, while encompassing the .223 bullet. When the bullet leaves the barrel, the sleeve splits apart and falls away, leaving the .223 bullet on its flight path to the target, unmarked by any ballistic rifling marks that can be traced back to the rifle. Oh, and by the by: It is an extremely accurate load that can be fired in short, scoped pistols like the TC Contender. If stopped and checked, the gun would be found chambered for the .308 and not the .223 everybody is looking for.

L. Neil Smith at The Libertarian Enterprise - How Many Americans Does it take to Change a Dim Bulb? - a speech L. Neil gave a little over a week ago to the Second Annual Freedom Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. He renames the Non Agression Principle (NAP) to the Zero Agression Principle (ZAP), to give the abbreviation a little more zing. Great speech! [tle]

That simple truth is that a libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyway, not in 2004, not in 2008, not in 2012. A libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyway, so he can afford to think the unthinkable in public, to speak the unspeakable, and even, occasionally, to do the undoable.

A libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyway, so he can afford to rush in where Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives fear even to think about treading. A libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyay, so he can afford to step fearlessly on every "third rail" there is in American political life.

Think about it. A libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyway, so he can afford to be the one who takes the risks, the one who breaks the ice, the one who sets the tone, the one who establishes the level of discourse in the debates he's going to be left out of anyway.

...

Government isn't about justice, it isn't about national defense, it isn't about protecting Americans from poverty or a loss of dignity, or pit bulls, or assault rifles, or underarm odor, or secondhand smoke, or crime in general - above all, it isn't about protecting Americans from crime - on the contrary, it's about extracting as high a percentage as possible of the wealth that the productive class creates before the productive class begins to notice that the whole thing is a scam. And before the productive class can begin to do something about it.

...

A libertarian presidential candidate isn't going to win anyway, so he can afford to say that all taxation is theft, and it isn't the job of a libertarian presidential candidate to cook up new ways to commit theft.

...

Any organism that will allow another organism to steal its offspring, for any reason, doesn't deserve to pass its genes on. Therefore, in the death of a police officer, social worker, or other government employee, it should be an affirmative defense that they were trying to take your children away.

Carl Bussjaeger at The Libertarian Enterprise - This is a Sniper? - calling the Maryland shooter a "sniper" is an insult to snipers. That the f.b.i. calls him that should tell you something about their shooting ability.

Kathryn A. Graham at The Libertarian Enterprise - The Pagan Libertarian Connection - Wicca and libertarianism are surprisingly similar. [tle]

That one rule that Witches must live by is called the Rede. In its simplest form, it says "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt." In most traditions, there is an explicit exemption to "harm none" for self- defense. Short of harming someone in other than self-defense, Wicca teaches that you have absolute freedom to live and pursue spiritual enlightenment in your own way.

Libertarians believe in the absolute freedom of the individual, saying only that the initiation of force by any person or government is wrong.

Initiation of force and harming someone in other than self defense sound remarkably similar. In fact, they sound an awful lot like different ways of saying exactly the same thing.

Carl Bussjaeger at The Libertariane Enterprise - Whaddaya Mean "We," Dubya? - if you're not willing, Comrade Bushnev, to actually lead the charge into war, don't expect any of the rest of us to fight for you. [tle]

Charlie Reese - A Matter Of Credibility - Bushnev has lost his, in the eyes of Mr. Reese. [lew]

Claire Wolfe at Sierra Times - The Hardyville Study on the Effectiveness of Ballistic Fingerprinting - Claire expounds some ideas from Charles Curley about why ballistic "fingerprinting" can't work. Includes some useful links to Paladin Press books on home-made firearms. [sierra]

WHDH-TV News - Cache Found in N.H. Includes Sniper Rifles, Grenades - the M1 Garand, standard issue in World War II, and available to U.S. citizens from the government's Civilian Marksmanship Program for $500, is now a "military sniper rifle". Sheesh. I sent the following message to 7 News via their contact page: [kaba]

Characterizing the M1 Garand, the standard issue rifle in World War II, as a "sniper rifle" is disingenuous. This rifle fires the .30/06 cartridge used by many deer hunters, not the .223 varmint round used recently to kill people in Maryland. It is available to U.S. citizens for $500 from the government's Civilian Marksmanship Program. There are millions of them in the hands of law-abiding Americans.

Nicole Brodeur at The Seattle Times - Behind the pistol, view is different - one anti-gunner gets a lesson in reality. [kaba]

David Carr at samizdata.net - A Guide to Self-Defence in the UK - I believe Mr. Carr made this up, but it sounds like an accurate description of your legal self-defense options in the United Kingdom. Sad. Very sad. [samizdata]

The best means of avoiding an attack or robbery in a public place is to stay at home with your cuddly toys and soft furnishings. However, if you insist on putting yourself in harms way by going out, then the advice below should prove to be of assistance.

...

If your initial warning proves to be ineffective then you may stop the attack by further expressing your disapproval or distress and generally making it clear that your alleged assailants attentions are not welcomed. Phrases that may be useful in this regard are:

"No, stop...leave me alone...."

Or

"Help...somebody help...I'm being attacked"

Or

"Aaaaaaaaargghhhhhhhhh....................."

Please remember to choose your words and terms carefully as any speech which the alleged assailant might construe as hateful or abusive could render you liable for prosecution.

Please also bear in mind the European Directive on Auditory Safety designed to curtail incidents of auditory damage or trauma caused by exposure to loud or persistent noise. As a result you are obliged to observe the Recommended Decibel Safety Levels (full details of which can be obtained from the Department of Health) when using your voice to prevent an attack. Failure to comply with the relevant regulations could render you liable to prosecution and a hefty fine.

Psychic Burrito at Slashdot - The Free State Project - Slashdot discovers The Free State Project. Far out! [smith2004]

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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