Flag Day, 2003

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sat, 14 Jun 2003 12:00:00 GMT

From kaba:

"The freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process nor to arguments grounded in social utility." -- L. Neil Smith

From unknown:

"Hey, here in Canada we have this goofy way of voting. We mark our choice on a paper ballot, the votes are counted, and by that night we get to know who got elected. Crazy, huh?" -- Jart

Mark Fiore at The Village Voice - The WMD Finder: Patience is a Virtue! - Flash video. Hehe. [villagechoice]

I'm gonna take a Father's Day break from blogging tomorrow. See you Monday, in sha' allah.

JAH: The long-awaited truth of all things on planet earth - hey. You never know... [stanleyscoop]

Kim du Toit - Flag Day - Nice painting of America's first flag and Kim's favorite flag quote. [kimdutoit]

Secret Squirrel - Freedom on a Leash - a good reminder of the difference between freedom and rights. You are free. The only thing anyone can force you to do is fall down. But you do not necessarily have the liberty to do all the things your freedom would otherwise allow you to do. The concept of rights is just a way to try to convince those who would restrict your liberty not to do so. If you ever allow yourself to be convinced that your rights are granted by the government or by your peers or by God Himself, you have given away your freedom. Don't do it. [David Crookes]

Kim du Toit - Here We Go Again - practical advice for the ladies on what to get your hubby for Father's Day, tomorrow's Hallmark holiday. [kimdutoit]

Tom Buckham at The Buffalo News - NRA chief at book signing vows to try and ease gun control in state - Wayne LaPierre signed copies of his new book, Guns, Freedom, and Terrorism, at a bookstore in Cheektowaga. I wish him luck in convincing the downstaters (Big Apple ~~communists~~ democrats) to loosen New York's draconian gun control laws. [kaba]

Jonathan Wilde at Catallarchy.net - Legislation vs. common law - a Spooner fan on the absurdity of creating law via legislation. Why common law is better.

If law is thought of as a spectrum, at one end is legislation. Legislation is law that is made by a few men for the many. It is harsh and scabrous and screams with the capriciousness of youth. Unrefined in its manner and fickle in its affectations, it caters to the select few who are powerful enough to whisper in its ear. It is enacted by decree and imposed on society without any principles as its foundation.

Ted Rall at Information Clearing House - They Impeach Murderers, Don't They? - and the Busheviks are responsible for the murders of thousands. Hang 'em high. But Bush doesn't deserve the title for the greatest mass murderer in American History. That would be Abe ~~Lincoln~~ Lenon. [unknown]

Nixon and Clinton escaped criminal prosecution for burglary, perjury and obstruction of justice. George W. Bush, however, stands accused as the greatest mass murderer in American history. The Lexington Institute estimates that the U.S. killed between 15,000 and 20,000 Iraqi troops during the fraudulently justified invasion of Iraq, plus 10,000 to 15,000 wounded. More than 150 U.S. soldiers were killed, plus more than 500 injured. A new Associated Press study of Iraqi civilian casualties confirms at least 3,240 deaths. Although Bush, Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice denied such legal niceties to the concentration-camp inmates captured in their illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, these high-ranking Administration henchmen should be quickly turned over--after impeachment proceedings for what might properly be called Slaughtergate--to an international tribunal for prosecution of war crimes.

DrugSense - DEA Uses Rave Act Threats to Block Montana NORML/SSDP Benefit - so now we know why the Rave Act was created. So that concert promoters can be coerced into cancelling politically incorrect events. It's a direct first amendment violation, for which everyone involved should be jailed under 18 USA 242. [drugsense]

Charley Hardman at LewRockwell.com - Stand and Fight - with all the pressure on our liberty, it's tempting to leave, but Mr. Hardman has discovered that we must stand and fight, though the real fight is for hearts and minds, not dead tyrants. [lew]

Paul Hein at LewRockwell.com - No Tough Questions Allowed - the Florida Muslim lady who fought removing her veil for a driver's license ID missed the boat. She should have fought the state's requirement for any license whatsoever for anything. [lew]

Sam Barros - PowerLabs High Speed CD-Rom Experiments - Mr. Barros used a Dremel tool to discover why we're nearly at the limit of CD-ROM speed. At speeds that high, they self-destruct. Hehe. [picks]

Mrs. du Toit - Minding One's Own - business, that is. Nice story.

This trend in micro-managing everything people do is really ghastly. Yeah, some people are worthless scoundrels, but there is a huge difference between a scoundrel and someone who is treated like one. Treat someone like dirt and they'll respond in kind.

Perry was just one example of how a formerly worthless employee could become valuable, just by giving them some breathing room, respect, and most importantly, trust.

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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