The World's Mother-In-Law

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 11 Feb 2003 13:00:00 GMT

From birdman:

"Nukes will be used in WWIII. There are too many of these terrible weapons stockpiled around the world to be secure. Some fool will unleash them, and once he does, all bets are off. Retaliations and counter-retaliations will wreck large sections of the biosphere. Isn't it terribly ironic that the world survived the prospect of nuclear annihilation in the cold war, only to see it ignite in the remote and historically less significant places of the world? For forty years US and USSR nuclear arsenals aimed at every major population center on two continents stood ready to launch. And for forty years diplomacy and spying kept the giants respectful of each other. Now the fear is that a desperate rogue state backed into a corner will set one or two off. And what is US diplomacy doing? Backing these states into a corner." -- Stephen Kane

and:

Q. What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50?
A. Your honor.

Q. What do you get if you cross a crooked lawyer with a crooked politician?
A. Chelsea Clinton.

From The Federalist:

"Once a nation becomes a democracy, the whole purpose of government changes. Instead of the government's goal being that of guaranteeing liberty, equal justice, private property, and voluntary exchange, the government embarks on the impossible task of achieving economic equality, micromanaging the economy, and protecting citizens from themselves and all their activities. The destruction of the wealth-building process, which is inherent in a free society, is never anticipated. Once it's realized that it has been undermined, it is too late to easily reverse the attacks against limited government and personal liberty." -- Ron Paul

Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - Support the President's Tax-Free Savings Plan - a no-brainer.

H.J. Res. 20, "To repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002" was introduced last Wednesday by Peter DeFazio. It has 29 cosponsors, including Dr. Paul. Sounds like a good idea to me, though I can't tell for sure until I can read the whole thing. The link is to the bill's summary & status page. It's text "has not yet been received from GPO". [birdman]

Kim du Toit - Another Turncoat - Mr. du Toit learned on last Sunday's 60 Minutes that Glock planning to ship a ballistic "fingerprinting" spent casing with every gun. This is not new news. Smith & Wesson is apparently planning to do the same. Time to boycott Glock? Time to boycott S&W again? Or should we just consider this part of the reality of doing business with New York and Maryland, which require this by law? [kimdutoit]

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries - 3 February 2003: Mid-Winter - NRA winter board meeting; the Brits have disarmed themselves; off to the SHOT show; shooting galleries at fairgrounds; browing the autobiography of Joe Foss; NRA board had no authority to name headquarters after Harlon Carter; founding a museum for the collections of Jeff Cooper, John Gannaway, and others; on the morality of hunting in response to an east coast English professor; basic rules of gunhandling should be standardized by now; the exploits of Seaman Thomas; write in support of President Bush; the "comeback of the 1911"; girl strangles ostrich; men, not gadgets, commit crimes; Joe Foss hagiography possibly coming from John Milius; Russians "pigging out" Jihadis in Chechnya; night combat requires a good handgun; NRA winter meeting in Corpus Christi; female hunting on the rise; "Peace on earth, to men of good will. All others stand by!"; fear is undignified; English language degenerating; Mesopotamia considered an ideal place to hold a war; the spirit for war; guns worth the 400 percent retail markup; assassination via facial recognition software; RPG negates need for marksmanship?; Scout rifle rare because the factory doesn't properly advertise it; Pat Rogers on combat pistols and .223 cartridge effectiveness; Bud Reynolds on war.

Fred on Everything - Letting George Do It: Pondering The World's Mother-In-Law - good anti-war screed. [birdman]

Now, if Iraq had nuclear weapons, blowing them up might be reasonable. But it doesn't. I don't care whether it has chemical weapons, and if it has smallpox, bombing won't help. So why do it? To grab the oil? Make the world safe for Israel? Historical codpiece for George? What's the scam, really?

It never stops. We're always bombing, invading, meddling, or embargoing. Nobody else does. Grenada, the Philippines, Panama, Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan twice, Laos, Lebanon twice, Somalia, Sudan, Haiti, Iraq almost twice, Yemen, Angola, Kosovo, Cuba, Libya. We're maybe about to get into a war with North Korea. In fact we have troops there as a tripwire, to be sure we get involved. What could be a better plan?

Why? Why always us? Can't we just, you know, spend an occasional Saturday night at home? North Korea is South Korea's problem, not ours, and South Korea is an industrial power. If it wants to defend itself, fine. If it doesn't, I don't care. Is Japan upset about North Korea? Then let Japan do something about it. Why are we always the International Mother?

What possible reason did we have for bombing Yugoslavia? Last I heard, Yugoslavia was in Europe. Granted, I haven't looked for a while. Maybe it moved to Mississippi or the outskirts of Detroit. Continental drift is like that. But if it's in Europe, I say it's Europe's problem. Let them bomb Yugoslavia till it squeaks. Or not. Why do I care? It's time Europe learned to diaper itself.

Sierra Times - Preparing for War Part 1: Disaster Supply Kits - first in a series of articles on preparing for disasters, be they natural or man-made. [sierra]

Alan Turin at LewRockwell.com - An Open Letter to the French Legation to the United Nations - Mr. Turin asks France to come to the aid of the American republic, but in a different way than they did 225 years ago. [lew]

What I am asking France to do is what you are already inclined to do.

Exercise your veto at the UN Security Council to deny a war resolution against Iraq.

What I ask France to do for the United States is prevent an imperial war. Put a different way: save America from homegrown imperialists whose fevered nightmare vision threatens this country's founding ideal: a nation conceived in liberty.

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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