Skype Works

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Wed, 29 Oct 2003 13:00:00 GMT

From kaba:

"The right of a citizen to bear arms, in lawful defense of himself or the State, is absolute. He does not derive it from the State government. It is one of the high powers, delegated directly to the citizen, and 'is excepted out of the general powers of government.' A law cannot be passed to infringe upon or impair it, because it is above the law, and independent of the lawmaking power." [Cockrum v. State, 24 Tex. 394, at 401-402 (1859)]

Joe Blow Skyped me yesterday evening. Not knowing each other, we didn't have a lot to talk about, but it worked quite well enough to carry on a conversation, though there was a bit of a lag in turn-around, likely due to bufferring to prevent drop-outs. I don't have any fancy headphone/microphone setup, just the built-in speakers and microphone on my laptop. Worked fine.

Russell Madden at Laissez Faire Electronic Times - You Might Be a Fascist - a long list of behaviors that just might qualify you as a fascist. [grabbe]

Fascism: a political-economic system in which citizens retain title to their property but in which the government determines how that property may or may not be used.

Harry Browne - A Forgotten Day & a Forgotten Country - yesterday was the day in 1886 that the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York Harbor. The United States is no longer the country that the French were celebrating back then. Our liberty is gone, replaced with taxation, regulation, and rampant militarism.

In 1886 there was no Federal Reserve System. The U.S. government simply minted coins from gold or silver brought to the Treasury. All paper money was issued by private banks, who redeemed the paper money on demand with gold or silver. While there occasionally were bank failures, small panics, or crashes, there was nothing to compare with the gigantic failure of the banking system and the Great Depression that occurred after the founding of the Federal Reserve System in 1913.

In 1886 there were no crimes against the state -- no drug laws, no prohibitions of any kind. People lived their own lives, and if you didn't like the way someone lived, you simply didn't associate with him. You didn't run to the legislature to try to get a law passed to change his conduct; you just stayed away from him. In 2003 there is no law regulating conduct that is so ridiculous that someone won't introduce it in the U.S. Congress or some state legislature.

...

What we have in America today is so far from what existed in 1886 that they really should replace the monument with something much more appropriate -- perhaps soldiers holding assault rifles. Call it the Statue of the World's Policeman, the Statue of the Superpower, the Statue of the National Interest, or the Statue of the All-Powerful State.

But don't try to call it Liberty. That isn't what we have today. I love that beautiful monument, and it's being desecrated by politicians who are taking its name in vain.

GeekWithA.45 - Kids' Toys - the geek plays with a toy that pronounces words you type in, discovers that it avoids pronouncing swear words, finds a swear word they forgot about (the "C" word), and asks what to do now. [geekwitha.45]

So, what am I gonna do now?

Write Congress? Alert them to the danger of these evil toys pronouncing heinous words? Hold a press conference? Take it back to the store and indignantly demand not only my money back, but that they be swept off the shelves? Sue the manufacturer for mental damages?

Nope. I'm not going to do any of that, for a number of reasons.

First off, creating things is hard, and finding mistakes is easy. Secondly, the toy is fun, and it's educational value vastly outweighs it's flaws, even if they didn't put a swear filter on it.

And the final, biggest reason of all is that we all need to stop raising such sheltered, weak minded children that mere exposure to a swear word, a bad idea, or an image is enough to ruin them for life.

Kim du Toit - General Gun Advice - some practical advice on guns, ammo, and magazines. Bottom line: you get what you pay for. [kimdutoit]

Dick Metcalf at Guns & Ammo - Benelli With A Twist - a review of Benelli's new semi-automatic R1 rifle. Currently available in .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum. Suggested retail price: $1080. [kaba]

Wiley Clapp at Guns & Ammo - Ammunition: Let's Clean House! - a review of handgun cartridges, with the intent of getting rid of those that have served their purpose and are no longer needed. Winners: 9mm Luger, .357 Sig, 9x23mm Winchester, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .454 Casull. Losers: .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .380 Auto, .38 Super, 10mm Auto, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum, .38 S&W, .41 Magnum, .45 Long Colt, assorted Cowboy Action rounds should the sport die out. No mention of the venerable .22 Long Rifle. It will live forever for practice and plinking and just-plain-fun, IMHO.

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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