Don't Worry, Buy Duct Tape

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Mon, 17 Feb 2003 13:00:00 GMT

Media Mike - Don't Worry, Buy Duct Tape - hilarious rendition of Bobby McFerrin's classic. Requires Real Player. More songs here. [scopeny]

There's a new issue of Doing Freedom: CYA: February 2003.

J.J. Johnson at Sierra Times - SAVING FACE: A Message to the Bush Administration - some plain talk to which the D.C. cadre would do well to listen.

To Bush, and Co.: What would happen if we woke up one morning and heard that all the weapons and troop installations in North Korea were smoldering ruins? Would there be too much protest? Would it be that difficult to walk to the podium and justify your actions? How many Congressman (especially out west) would really have something negative to say?

Let's look at the positive signs: folks see a full overnight blitz of one cantankerous country, with what's left of the standing army surrendering in droves. Western threat solved... then send a loving, charming delegation to Iraq with a North Korea satellite photo album.

"Hey, Saddam -- THIS is what a disarmed country looks like."

I'd bet there'd be a lot of changed minds in Iraq and at the UN.

...

If the Bush Administration deems Iraq is such a threat to our nation, and the UN wants to stand in the way, then why not simply tell the United Nations delegations something purely diplomatic:

"Dear members of the World Body:

Due to the heightened threat status in this country, the United States is currently not able to ensure the safety of the members here. Therefore, we are closing the UN building immediately, for security reasons. We suggest this delegation find another country more suitable to their taste and their safety. During your move, the United States will be reviewing our need to send a delegation, since it's obvious our nation's safety isn't a primary concern of this body. Oh, and by the way, we won't be sending money or troops for your disposal either."

Sincerely,
The United States of America.

...

NEWSFLASH: The American people will not tolerate living in fear and chaos for long periods of time. Nor will they tolerate being attacked and targeted around the world and even in our own country. The talk we're hearing: people taking matters into their own hands. This might cause a little friction with those secret 'emergency plans' government officials may be cooking up at this time. Let's be blunt so there is no misunderstanding: Passing laws that makes 'everyone a terrorist' will do just that -- make everyone become "terrorists". Then it won't be about protecting America's freedom anymore -- it'll be about the federal government maintaining its control of the public at large, and anyone found 'fighting for freedom' will be considered a 'terrorist'.

Listen up Washington: The American people aren't as stupid as you'd like to think. You know people are out there buying more than just duct tape and plastic, but let's not go into details. Don't consider this a threat. Consider it reality. If America is plunged into chaos (due to government stupidity), edicts from On High will become less important than actions to be taken locally. It may come to a point where local actions may fly in the face of federal law. Don't kill the messenger here, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who is aware of this. It's probably a hot topic of discussion inside the beltway, behind closed doors these days.

The Libertarian Enterprise - Letter from Jack Jerome - Mr. Jerome has finally flipped his lid. And with good reason. [tle]

I recognize that separately these few examples seem innocent enough, but taken together they begin to weave a tapestry that looks eerily familiar to students of both history and speculative fiction. It's the footprint of dictatorship, and if you look down, you can see its outlines on your chest.

L. Neil Smith at The Libertarian Enterprise - What Ever Happenned to TV? - bemoans the death of good broadcast television and the drek that has replaced it. Presents an idea to turn things around. [tle]

What are these programs being replaced with? For the most part, police state "reality" shows in which "heroic" police officers pursue despicable badguys, smash their cars up, smash their doors down, and smash their teeth in--and a neat if mendacious disclaimer at the end of the program assures us that nobody's rights were violated in the process of enforcing unconstitutional laws. I've always believed that the real purpose of such shows is to desensitize the American public and get them accustomed to living under a vile, violent, and absolute despotism.

...

None of these programs offer heroes, or set standards to aspire to (except those considered necessary in Soviet Man). Instead, they act constantly to lower the bar by showing us carefully-selected specimens of failed humanity--or in some instances hiring actors to portray them -- in an effort to convince us all that human beings are animals, unfit to live their own lives, and that everyone must be watched by the government, nurtured, and kept from hurting ourselves and each other.

...

Write to the sponsors, instead, whose ads precede and follow each program segment. The connection between sponsor and program isn't as direct as it once was. I don't think that matters. Don't be specific. Tell them you find the current program revolting and that you want to see something better. Send a copy to the Federal Communications Commission.

That'll wake up the sponsors if nothing else does.

John Taylor at The Libertarian Enterprise - She's Dead ... Wrapped in Plastic - on the death liberty in America. [tle]

(New Berlin, Untied Statists of Amerika)--"Lady Liberty", the icon of Amerikan freedom, was found dead today, apparently asphyxiated. She was wrapped head to foot in regulation plastic and red duct tape. Forensic specialists are examining the body for signs of rape, though it appears that she expired without a struggle.

William Stone, III at The Libertarian Enterprise - Endgame - there's no going back. The terror alerts and the Amerikan KBG are here to stay, until the endgame, that is, which will happen in our lifetimes. I hope Mr. Stone is right, though he forgot to say how incredibly painful it will be. [tle]

Jim Lesczynski at The Libertarian Enteprise - Ernie, Bernie and Me - the originator of the New York City "Guns for Tots" protest tells his story. [tle]

Every freedom lover has his breaking point, when he decides he has had enough of the encroaching nanny/police state and will fight back. I stood by and did nothing when Republican Governor George Pataki - endorsed by the NRA - enacted his five-point gun control plan. I said little when New York City voters passed a referendum last year raising the legal age of ownership for rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21, thereby striking a blow against the 36 young adults out of a city of 8 million people who had registered such long-arms with the NYPD.

But when they came for the squirt guns, I decided I had enough. They would take my Super Soaker away from me when they pried it from my cold, wet hands.

...

Guns for Tots will continue to pay dividends for the Manhattan Libertarian Party. We lost a few LINOs, who are now finding a better home for themselves in the NY GOP, but we've also received new inquiries and new donations as a result of Guns for Tots. We also have a great idea for a fundraiser.

We're thinking about charging everyone $100 a ticket to watch Bernie Goetz and me take a walk down 110th Street. Carrying squirt guns.

JPFO - Something Conspicuously Missing from the Media Survival Lists - Guns, of course. [jpfo]

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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