Don That Left Shoe First, It's the Law!

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 16 Dec 2004 13:00:00 GMT

# From The Federalist:

"[W]hen no risk is taken there is no freedom. It is thus that, in an industrial society, the plethora of laws made for our personal safety convert the land into a nursery, and policemen hired to protect us become self-serving busybodies." -- Alan Watts

and:

"[T]here is something that smacks of tyranny about being forced to carry a national ID card. Persons who love freedom and are fearful of losing it will oppose any effort to impose one on them." -- Lyn Nofziger

and:

"Republicans will continue to win as long as Democrats remain the first party of big government. That wouldn't be so bad, if only Republicans would stop being the second party of big government." -- Paul Jacob

and:

"If [the War on Terror] is about terrorism, and terrorism is the killing of innocent civilians, then the United States is also a terrorist." -- Brandeis Peace Studies Professor, Gordie Fellman

and:

"Scientists now say if you want your Christmas tree to last longer and look better, put vodka in the base. Isn't that a waste? Giving your tree vodka to make it look better? I say drink the vodka yourself and then everything will look better." -- Jay Leno

# Alex Ross - Sucking Democracy Dry - Village Voice cover of Bushnev doing the vampire act on Lady Liberty. Well done. Don't know if the Voice ever ran this, but it would be great if they did.

# Scrapper at Train for Strength - Workouts - some free body-weight routines. Recommended in email from Rob Pugh, who says about Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning book, "It's good stuff, if slightly overpriced. You can definitely make some good progress with the stuff in it. And the Royal Court is a great foundation for getting back in shape and making gains." I haven't tried Scrapper's workouts and don't intend to until I've done Furey's Royal Court for a while. [pugh]

Strength is an attribute that transcends gender, age, race, and social status

# putrimalu asked for my analysis of Tim Larkin's Nuclear Weapons DVDs, that I bought back in April. I read the pamphlet that came with the videos, and watched a couple of the videos. My conclusion is that though the videos present some good ideas, you really have to do this stuff to learn it. The videos strike me as primarily marketing materials for the live courses. I'm not ready to dish out that kind of cash right now. I wish Mr. Larkin sold just the pamphlet. The information there is by itself likely useful, though I'd be most happy to die of old age without ever finding out exactly how useful.

# Garry Reed, The Loose Cannon Libertarian - Future Regulators of America - an entertaining prediction of the coming rules for the donning and tying of foot coverings. Hehe.

The left foot must first be placed into the footwear and the approved fastening device (shoestring, shoelace, bootlace, cord, tie, etc.) must be tightened and securely affixed in the standard, federally approved double bow arrangement (See Section 143.2(e), Paragraph 3.7.1, "Illustrated Instructions for Manipulation of Bindings for Human Podiatal Coverings." The Right shoe may then be applied and fastened to the right foot only after the left shoe has been applied to the left foot in the previously mandated manner. Failure to follow the prescribed order of events will result in fine and/or imprisonment.

# Brad Blog Too - Clint Curtis 'stuns' Judiciary Comm Hearings in Ohio with 'jaw Dropping' Sworn Testimony! - Mr. Curtis testified, under oath, that he developed software in Florida, at the request of U.S. Congressman Tom Feeney, to rig voting machines. Wanna bet on the life expectency of Clint Curtis? [stanleyscoop]

Then, he asked curtis something like whether voting machines could be hacked. He said yes. Arnebeck asked him on what he based that opinion. He said because I wrote a program that could do it. Arnebeck asked when that happened. Curtis said feeney had asked him to design such a program at yang enterprises.

# Claire Wolfe at Backwoods Home Magazine - Y2K + 5 - Y2K passed without a hitch, but that doesn't mean you don't need to be prepared for an emergency. [claire]

# Joel Spolsky - Camels and Rubber Duckies - some analysis of how to price products, software or widgets. Enough to thorougly confuse.

When you're setting a price, you're sending a signal. If your competitor's software ranges in price from about $100 to about $500, and you decide, heck, my product is about in the middle of the road, so I'll sell it for $300, well, what message do you think you're sending to your customers? You're telling them that you think your software is "eh." I have a better idea: charge $1350. Now your customers will think, "oh, man, that stuff has to be the cat's whiskers since they're charging mad coin for it!"

And then they won't buy it because the limit on the corporate AMEX is $500.

Misery.

The more you learn about pricing, the less you seem to know.

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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

End the War on Freedom

Don That Left Shoe First, It's the Law!