Winter Solstice, 2004

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 21 Dec 2004 13:00:00 GMT

# From The Federalist:

"In case anyone would like to know, we have now entered the Christmas season. Christmas as in Jesus Christ. This is not the 'happy holidays' season. It isn't even Ramadan, which until recently I thought was a hotel chain. ...[D]on't 'Happy Holidays' me because I will 'Merry Christmas' you in return. And, please, don't bother to send me cards wishing me 'Happy Holidays' or that other euphemism, 'Season's Greetings.' To these I say, 'Bah! Humbug!' This 'Happy Holidays' business is just a further effort by the nation's militant atheists and non-Christians to take the real meaning out of Christmas and unfortunately too many people who call themselves Christians are willing to go along with the anti-Christmas gang, either because they are just a little bit ashamed of being identified as Christians or else it's too much trouble to stand up for what it is they believe. ... If Christians will not stand up for their God, their religion, their beliefs, how can we count on them to stand up for anything else, including their country and their liberty?" -- Lyn Nofziger

and (a classic):

"Meaning no disrespect to the religious convictions of others, I still can't help wondering how we can explain away what to me is the greatest miracle of all and which is recorded in history. No one denies there was such a man, that he lived and that he was put to death by crucifixion. Where...is the miracle I spoke of? Well consider this and let your imagination translate the story into our own time -- possibly to your own hometown. A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father's shop. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father's shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside, walking from place to place, preaching all the while, even though he is not an ordained minister. He never gets farther than an area perhaps 100 miles wide at the most. He does this for three years. Then he is arrested, tried and convicted. There is no court of appeal, so he is executed at age 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing -- the only possessions he has. His family cannot afford a burial place for him so he is interred in a borrowed tomb. End of story? No, this uneducated, propertyless young man who...left no written word has, for 2,000 years, had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors; all the conquerors, generals and admirals; all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived -- all of them put together. How do we explain that? ...[U]nless he really was what he said he was." -- Ronald Reagan

# Agenturus.org - Comrade Santa's Coming to Town - lyrics and mp3 for an updated version of an old classic. Hehe. [trt-ny]

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not speak out
I'm telling you why
Comrade Santa's coming to town

He's got a database
He's updating it twice
And in every home
There's a bugging device
Comrade Santa's coming to town

He knows what you are thinking
And you better watch what you say
You better make sure you're politically correct
Or the elves will take you away

# My copy of L. Neil Smith and Scott Bieser's The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel arrived on Friday at my office, but I didn't get it until yesterday since I was working at home on Friday. Yay! Read a few pages last night. Laughed out loud at least three times. Looking forward to the rest.

# Ron Paul at Armed Females of America - Congressman Too Truthful - Dr. No has gotten lots of flack from his the oath-breakers who sit next to him in Congress. But he continues to fight for the American liberty. Four years old, but still relevant. [kaba]

The other day, I made a huge "gaffe" on national TV: I told the truth about the crimes of the U.S. Government. As you can imagine, the ceiling fell in, and a couple of walls too. Congressmen are supposed to support the government, I was told. Oh, it's okay to criticize around edges, but there are certain subjects a member of the House of Representatives is not supposed to bring up. But I touched the real "third rail" of American politics, and the sparks sure flew.

I was interviewed on C-SPAN's morning "Washington Journal," and I used the opportunity, as I do all such media appearances, to point out how many of our liberties have been stolen by the federal government. We must take them back. The Constitution, after all, has a very limited role for Washington, D.C.

If we stuck to the Constitution as written, we would have: no federal meddling in our schools; no Federal Reserve; no U. S. membership in the U.N.; no gun control; and no foreign aid. We would have no welfare for big corporations, or the "poor"; No American troops in 100 foreign countries; no Nafta, GATT, or "fast-track"; no arrogant federal judges usurping states rights; no attacks on private property; and no income tax. We can get rid of most of the cabinet departments, most of the agencies, and most of the budget. The government would be small, frugal, and limited.

Add comment Edit post Add post

Previous Posts:
Bill Nevins Update
Committing Poetry in Time of War
Smells like... Infamy
December 27 ... Expect "something big" ... This is it, folks
Kyoto Protocol, RIP
San Francisco Vies for Homocide Capital of the United States
Don That Left Shoe First, It's the Law!
Bill of Rights Day, 2004
Amerika's Oligarchy
The United States of Torture

Navigation

History

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