End the War on Freedom

# I got and used a Gmail invitation. They seem to be all over if you're interested. If I get any, I'll post them to the GmailInvitations page on my Geekism wiki (an idea that never took off) for whomever grabs them first.

Gmail rocks! It's fast, snappy even. It comes pre-trained for spam recognition (which works better than Thunderbird, but not as well as POPFile). There's even a spell checker. I've instructed NearlyFreeSpeech to forward all my mail there so that I can try out the virus filtering and everything else. If it's as solid as it is nice, I may never look back. Did I mention that it's fast?

It is now possible for me to efficiently do all my weblog and communications with a web browser and an SSH client, though I'll likely stick with a local Emacs session for blogging unless I don't have my machine. Appgate's Mindterm SSH client appears to be an industry standard. It is usable as a Java application, or, if you get or make a signed version, as an applet. And there are plenty of useable signed applets out there. Just Google search for mindterm or ssh applet. Most of the hits are intended for users of the sites they're on, but many of them can be redirected to wherever you'd like. Handy if you're in an internet cafe.

Did I remember to tell you how unbelievably FAST Gmail is?

Of course, I won't really know how much I like it until a week or two. If it remains always available and I don't see evidence of it bouncing my Yahoo Groups mail (which I had turned off and was reading in the web interface because of Yahoo's horrible bounce behavior) or losing my stored messages, I'll stick with it.

# Darryl Treat at The Price of Liberty - Ugly Guns: The First And Second Amendments Compared - good short reasoning why we need to keep the first and second amendments to the U.S. Constitution unencumbered by restrictions. [price]

Our First Amendment protects Free Speech, even vile, hateful speech, and I am quite certain that a case can be made that many millions of people have perished in this world due to the poisonous oratory of a few. Our First Amendment also provides for the Free Exercise of Religion, even vile, hateful religions, and I am quite certain that a case can be made that many millions of people have perished in this world due to the poisonous religious beliefs of a few. Our First Amendment protects Freedom of the Press, even a vile, hateful and dishonest Press, and I am quite certain that a case can be made that many millions of people have perished in this world due to the poisonous words of a few. Our First Amendment also protects the Freedom to Peaceably Assemble, even vile, hateful assemblages of people, and I am quite certain that a case can be made that many millions of people have perished in this world due to assemblies of hate and intolerance conducted by a few.

Likewise, our Second Amendment protects The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms, even hateful people bearing ugly arms with sinister thoughts, and I am quite certain that a case can be made that many millions of people have perished in this world due to hateful people bearing arms for reprehensible reasons.

# weebies at Strike the Root - What Does 'Support the Troops' Mean? - it means teaching them that they've had the wool pulled over their eyes in being led to believe that by killing and stealing for the state they are doing something honorable. [root]

What people need to understand is that the state does not have the right to murder and steal. The state encourages a false "patriotism" where murdering and stealing for the state is considered legal. Soldiers are just hit men for the state. Some can handle this. Most realize that what they are doing is wrong, and this leads to mental problems. All the people who approve of war, and shout "support the troops," what they really mean is to support them as cannon fodder, to accumulate wealth for a few elites, and then discard them after their usefulness to the criminal activities of the state is over.

I used to believe in "support the troops" while opposing the government policy. I changed my mind when I realized that the military troops are just the hit men for carrying out the state's murder and theft. Saying "support the troops" while opposing the government is equivalent to saying, "I oppose the mafia but support the mafia's hit men."

The Iraqi freedom fighters battling the imperial troops are really the ones fighting for liberty. They are the ones who more closely resemble the American revolutionaries who fought a foreign power for independence. As their actions hasten the demise of the American empire, they are also indirectly fighting for our liberty too.

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Though individuals may have good intentions when working for the state, they are just cogs in the machinery of state that accomplishes evil. Most people who are in the military are too young to actually know what they are getting involved with. They have been fully indoctrinated that it is their patriotic duty to murder and steal for the state. While I cannot condone any of their criminal activities for the state, I do understand that most are the victims of the state and its deception.

The problem is that people who should know better don't speak out and set the record straight. They give legitimacy to these activities that are not warranted or in our best interest. It is no wonder that so many young people are taken in by the lies of the state because they see no one telling them that it is wrong to be paid murders and thieves for the state. These young people, who would be shocked if we told them to join the mafia, are told it is their patriotic duty to join the state mafia.

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The best way to support these young people who make the tragic mistake of enlisting in the military of the state is to help them see the error of their ways. We need to show them that the state is a criminal enterprise, and that it is not right to murder and steal for the state. Hopefully we can convince them that the state is a completely obsolete, unnecessary evil, that they need to resist the state, and embrace the free market and the true freedom it provides.

Those warmongers who ask for 100% unconditional support for their barbaric crimes against humanity are the true enemies of the troops. They are the ones who willingly sacrifice the blood of their countrymen to advance their own personal agenda. They are the most dangerous threat to humanity.

# Federal Observer - Attempt to dump mental screening fails - Ron Paul's H.AMDT.739, an amendment to H.R.5006, "Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes", failed by a vote of 95 to 315. Click here for Sierra Times discussion. I sent the following to my Congress Critter, John Sweeney: [sierra]

I note with dismay that you voted against Ron Paul's amendment to the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Act for FY 2005 (H.AMDT.739 to H.R.5006). This amendment would have forbidden the use of any money in this appropriation to support the mandatory mental health screening of school children.

Shame on you, sir. Shame.

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