Black Friday, 2002
"I don't deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either." -- Jack Bennyand:
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." -- Henry J. Tillman
From kaba:
"The essence of constitutionalism in a democracy is not merely to shape and condition the nature of majorities, but also to stipulate that certain things are impermissible, no matter how large and fervent a majority might want them." -- George Willand:
"I will fight til Hell freezes over; then I will fight on the ice." -- BrianWilson.net
Billy Beck - Two--Four - Mr. Beck, of No Treason fame, now has his own weblog. [notreasonblog]
George F. Smith at Laissez Faire Electronic Times - Freedom Is for Fighters - traces the loss of liberty in the country that was once its home. Killed by the teaching of altruism in the government schools. But it's not too late to fight.
In a country that's politically free, the government, if there is one, serves only to protect people against the initiation of physical force. The land of the free means people can run their lives as they see fit, as long as they don't coerce others.
Political freedom distinguished America from all other nations. When we won our revolution, we didn't become a military dictatorship. We didn't become a dictatorship of the "people." We didn't become a dictatorship of the majority. We didn't become a tyranny of the rich and the elitists.
We became a country where that most hated of all souls rules, the individual. And what did this soul rule? Himself. For the first time in history, government mostly left people alone through recognition of their right to be free.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg at The New York Times - Justice Dept. Seeks to Seal Vaccine Papers - mercury in vaccines? Autism? What mercury? What autism? [lew]
Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette - The right to bear arms - A reminder to Pittsburgh residents that Pennsylvania's constitution is even clearer than most about the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. [kaba]
Jim Davidson at The Libertarian Nation Foundation - Somalia and Anarchy - a piece from the summer of 2001 about the state of the state in Somalia (basically, there is no state, but there IS respect for property and contract).
Let me go further, though: nobody gives you freedom. You aren't free unless you claim and defend your freedom. A state doesn't make you free. It taxes you, it imposes upon you, it regulates your conduct, and it may pretend to offer guarantees of safety. But a state cannot make you free, and isn't interested in the task. A state serves the interests of those who control the state; anyone else who derives any benefit from the state may be getting a "free ride" which is unlikely to last. And, of course, the cost of those perceived benefits are enormous, paid for by taxes.
A constitution doesn't make you free. It also makes a lousy bullet-proof vest. I prefer Kevlar and those nice ceramic inserts.
Your neighbors don't make you free, the police don't make you free, and your education doesn't make you free (though it can be very helpful). You are the only person who is able to make you free. You either arrange for your freedom by cooperative means and fight for it when necessary, or you submit to those who command your obedience. If you are not willing to pay the cost of freedom, you won't have it.
Lee McCracken at anti-state.com - Neo-Puritan Anarcho- Federalism - Covenant communities as public goods suppliers. [market]
Bob Wallace at LewRockwell.com - Keeping and Tending the Garden - Mr. Wallace turns a sentence in Genesis into God's command that all property should be private. I'm not sure that's what the authors of Genesis meant, but he gives some good reasons that all property should be private. [lew]
AP via The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune - Kansas man convicted of attempted rape of nonexistent girl - the enrapping cops say that he intended to rape a girl he'd heard a story about. Thing is, the girl was an invention of the entrapper. Add another thought crime to the list. [sierra]