Iraq? Er... I meant to say "Syria"

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 17 Apr 2003 12:00:00 GMT

Sign seen outside a church: [smith2004]

Don't let worry kill you
Let the Church help

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul." -- G. B. Shaw

and:

"We have a president for whom English is a second language. He's like 'We have to get rid of dictators,' but he's pretty much one himself." --Robin Williams

and:

Today President Bush announced that all this time he's been misprouncing the word "Iraq." He said it's actually pronounced "Syria." -- Jay Leno

and:

"The White House accelerated efforts Friday to set up a civil authority in Iraq. The country has no taxes, no drug laws, no drinking age, no speed limits, and no government. President Bush must get control of the place before the idea catches on." -- Argus Hamilton

Michael Gilson De Lemos at LewRockwell.com - A Day Without Government - Iraq's week without government has resulted in much looting. But is it the lack of government or the nature of the former government that has caused this looting. Mr. De Lemos chooses the latter. I concur. [lew]

A natural "government" exists, what Thomas Paine called society, among human beings that is voluntary, decentralized, and returns naturally if allowed. It consists not only of natural institutions from family to associations, but may also involve people naturally electing people they personally know -- family members, friends -- in communities of perhaps, as Aristotle and Jefferson implied, no more than 5,000 to represent them and handle affairs of general interest as direct agents. This action at a neighborhood level of no more than a few blocks where respected people, elders and trustworthy individuals of long standing are brought to the fore is what is supposed to generate the leaders of official government. The Founders understood this, and had no intention of replacing with the official government this formative base. The difference is that modern Libertarians say official government, meant then to do little, is as Jefferson and others suspected not even needed to do that, and is better supplemented by the free market , tolerance, and general discussion -- not a coerced government , conformism, and propaganda. Paine was a seer saying if he had to choose between voluntary society or even minimal government, he would abandon government.

Craig Russellat Strike the Root - Remember Waco - don't ever forget. [market]

And, finally, please join me in saying a prayer for those who died at the brutal hands of the United States Government in that terrible fire on April 19, 1993. Don't forget: next time, it could be someone you know.

Next time, it could be you.

Jeff Quinn at GunBlast - Paco Kelly Does It Again! The "Baby Scorp'n" Rimfire Tool - a review of a simple tool for converting .22 rimfire round-nose or flat-nose bullets into hollow point with a center post. Improves accuracy and terminal performance.

Tim Robbins at The National Press Club via Common Dreams - A Chill Wind is Blowing in This Nation... - A speech given on Tuesday. I listened to a talk radio host drag this over the coals on my drive home Tuesday night. It's actually a pretty good description of the importance of the First Amendment at times of large differences of opinion. [whatreallyhappened]

In this time when a citizenry applauds the liberation of a country as it lives in fear of its own freedom, when an administration official releases an attack ad questioning the patriotism of a legless Vietnam veteran running for Congress, when people all over the country fear reprisal if they use their right to free speech, it is time to get angry. It is time to get fierce. And it doesn't take much to shift the tide. My 11-year-old nephew, mentioned earlier, a shy kid who never talks in class, stood up to his history teacher who was questioning Susan's patriotism. "That's my aunt you're talking about. Stop it." And the stunned teacher backtracks and began stammering compliments in embarrassment.

Josh Frank at Dissident Voice - An Open letter to the Citizens of Iraq - an apology from one American to the people of Iraq. [whatreallyhappened]

I will end by saying, my thoughts are with you, my hopes are with you. Your great culture will once again overcome a horrific atrocity -- an atrocity I condemn -- an atrocity my government committed -- an atrocity for which, I am deeply sorry.

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries - 15 April 2003: April Showers - we won round two against the Jihadis, where's round three; the oustanding performance of our military; Sergeant Herman Hanneken's assassination of the Haiti chief-of-state, "In the long run, the greatest weapon of mass destruction is stupidity." -- Thomas Sowell; the "Smith & Wesson Colt"; shooting speed boats from a helicopter with a 50 BMG rifle; the strange case of three students showing up at Gunsite and receiving their brand new guns as shipments to the school; the world's greatest trophy: the Shinano, a Japanese carrier sunk by a U.S. submarine; reports of Mr. Cooper's death were greatly exagerated; the luck/skill tradeoff in marksmanship; democracy in the Middle East; the sad case of a stray bull in darkest Carolina; "Hawkins Fist"; good sea stories from the front; more accurate rifles in Iraq?; the importance of stripping and cleaning a rifle's bolt; avoid the J-ladder in competition, unless you know how it operates; "When you go to war you do so with wrath. Without wrath you will not fight well."; kudos for Jim West's "Co-pilot"; don't bring a pistol to a rifle class; kudos for Gods and Generals; Gunsite's "precision rifle course"; the "California Twitch"; when our warriors return, oh the stories they'll tell; Francophobia considered silly; Mr. Cooper distinguished as a collector of "funny hats"; current airport security considered silly; a shooting sling is useless unless the slign elbow is supported; GW's burden.

Canoe News - Manitoba won't prosecute firearm registration offences - good for them. [claire]

"We have been opposed to the federal government's registry scheme right from the beginning," Attorney General Gord Mackintosh said in a news release. "There is no benefit to the public in making criminals out of hunters and farmers, and it is a waste of time and resources to have provincial Crown attorneys prosecuting registration offences." Alberta and Saskatchewan have also said they won't prosecute charges under the federal law.

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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