Freebird!
"It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expense, either by sumptuary laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expense, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will." -- Adam Smithand:
"Put me clearly on the record: I don't want to 'reform' Social Security or 'rescue' it or 'adjust it to the new realities of the 21st century.' No, I want to hit it in the head with a shovel and bury it in a New Jersey landfill. It is time to kill the rotten, lousy, 'rip off your kids to keep granny in bingo cards' Ponzi scheme that we call Social Security, but would be more accurately described as 'the government taking money from poor, hard-working young families and giving just enough of it to retirees to keep them broke, too'." -- Michael Grahamand:
"Before the election of local, state or federal legislators, be sure to find out where they stand on the issue of education. For the federal government to be involved in education at all is in blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution. Don't fall for socialist con words like 'choice' or 'accountability' in education. In socialist doublespeak 'choice' means you might be permitted to choose among several different government schools in your area (all of which are promoting the same socialist programs). 'Accountability' means accountable to government, not to parents. Make it known in no uncertain terms that you want to take back the educational system that made America the greatest nation on earth -- FREEDOM in education!" -- Debbie O'Haraand:
"[Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid] has written a letter to the senate majority leader, William Frist pleading for him not to [use the 'nuclear' option to break the Democrat filibusters of judges] and threatening that if they do it the Democrats will block any legislation except that having to do with national security or critical government services. What Reid doesn't understand is that what he considers a threat, conservatives for the most part will view as a promise. The idea of the Senate not passing legislation is a thrilling one indeed, one that most conservatives will endorse. As for those who favor lots of new laws, they will have no one to blame but the Reid-led Democrats. In other words it seems to me that Reid is offering the Republicans a chance to have their cake and eat it, too." -- Lyn Nofziger
# Mark Davis at Strike the Root - Organizing Society - If you follow only one link from this page today, make it this one. Brilliant exposition of why and how anarchy is the natural order of a peaceful society. [root]
Anarchy is the natural order of human existence that arises from the desire to survive and associate as free individuals. Time is on the side of society, and we should be optimistic that the state form of organizing society will diminish over time because it infects human nature and must eventually be rejected. Anarchy is the only method of organizing society that is compatible with human nature, and the state is a parasite on society. The great difficulty for statists is how to suck more and more life out of a society without killing the host. The great difficulty for anarchists is how to kill the parasite without committing suicide in the process. The advantage that anarchists have over statists is that the state needs society, while society doesn't need the state. For anarchy to survive and eventually prevail over the state, all we need to do is stop voting and supporting state institutions as much as possible without going to jail, build relationships and associations with other free thinking people, thus supporting peaceful society, and enjoy life.
...
Organizing society requires voluntary agreement by individuals to join (including the ability to secede from the organization) to be peaceful. Before we can reorganize the society we live in, it is useful to consider how humans have organized societies in the past and why those attempts have become infected by states. The most common terms framing the debate seeking an understanding of and describing how order in society is created and maintained are statism vs. anarchy, with order vs. chaos simply superimposed right over the top of them. Statism is thus construed as synonymous with order and anarchy synonymous with chaos. Those promoting a free society should challenge this commonly accepted view.
...
The threat of chaos in the absence of state controls (or state authority) is a fearful myth spread by the wizards who control the levers of statecraft in their effort to bind a society to its dictates. This myth is belied by the obvious deteriorating respect for the authority of the state as it relies on more and more force and deception to maintain its power, further sickening the host society. The state is thus self-defeating, and inherently its authority becomes respected and accepted less and less by individuals over time because it is built on the use or threat of force (and violence) to establish its authority. Credibility is replaced by fear and civilized society deteriorates.
# Strike the Root - Reprint Rights - I liked Mr. Davis' article above so much that I wanted to mirror it, to ensure that it wouldn't get lost. I happened on this, though. Sheesh, it's not like anybody is paying them for these stories. You'd think they'd encourage mirrors. I certainly feel that way about my stories, the few I write. As long as you credit me, and link to my site, feel free to spread my writings and photos far and wide.
If you're a webmaster and you liked the column you just read, feel free to link to it. That's how the Web works: You link to me and I link to you. STR pays for many, if not most, of the columns that are published here. These columns are the property of STR and the author, and re-publishing them on your site without permission from both is theft. If you do so, your site will be permanently shunned; STR will never link to anything on your site, and in the future may include the name of your site on a list of sites that have stolen columns from STR.
# Jason Fry at The Wall Street Journal - Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling 'Freebird!' In a Crowded Theater - I haven't been to a concert in so long that I didn't know about this. But I have been to concerts since Skynyrd recorded this hit, and didn't hear anyone request it. [picks]
So what do the members of Skynyrd think of the tradition? Johnny Van Zant, Ronnie's brother and the band's singer since 1987, says "it's not an insult at all -- I think it's kind of cool. It's fun, and people are doing it in a fun way. That's what music's supposed to be about."
Besides, Mr. Van Zant has a confession: His wife persuaded him to see Cher in Jacksonville a couple of years ago, and he couldn't resist yelling "Freebird!" himself. "My wife is going, 'Stop! Stop!' " he recalls, laughing. "I embarrassed the hell out of her."
#
Christopher Breen at Playlist -
The Need for Weed - kule.
WeedShare.com is a song-sharing scheme that lets you sample a
song, and, if you decide to buy it, pays the artist and the channel
that got it to you. My office web censor software blocks weedshare.com
because of its rating: "copyright infringment, digital music,
entertainment". Hehe.
Paypal is the only way to fund your account, and I assume that they
pay you that way, too. They give you $5.00 for registering. Songs cost
$1.00. Downloads only work correctly in Internet Explorer, and files
can only be played in Windows Media Player, though they'll probably
use iTunes on the Mac. And there's not much music, yet. [wes]
Weed has a different view on Internet file-sharing. Instead of trying to shut down file-sharing, we think people should be paid for it. Instead of punishing fans who don't respect artists' rights, we think it makes more sense to reward those who do. Here's how it works...
# The Box O' Truth - The Rags O' Truth - a shooting experiment showing that heavy clothing stops hollow point pistol rounds from expanding, but does very little to rifle rounds. Interesting. And no, contrary to Korean war rumor, heavy clothing does not stop bullets fired from an M1 Carbine. [kimdutoit]
# David Codrea at Guns Magazine - Thinking of England - on the absurdity of the current strategey for dealing with criminals being promoted by a British "forensic psychologist". Phooey. If some thug tries to rob you, kill the bastard. If some nazi tries to arrest you for defending your life and property, kill that bastard, too. [codrea]
And what is the British "solution" to violent crime? The foremost conclusion is not to harm your attacker. Per Forensic Psychologist Dr. Ian Stephen, "If you attack the burglar, or react in an 'over the top' manner, as was recently illustrated in the case of Tony Martin who shot intruders in his Norfolk farmhouse, you will inevitably end up on the receiving end of a prison sentence that will far outstrip that imposed on the intruder in your own home."
Like Major McGrath, his counsel is surrender. "Direct contact should be avoided whenever possible ... If unavoidable, the victim should adopt a state of active passivity ... be careful what you say or do and give up valuables without a struggle. This allows the victim to take charge of the situation ... By doing nothing there is no chance of inadvertently initiating violence by saying something such as 'Please don't hurt me.'"
#
Vin Suprynowicz at The Las Vegas Review-Journal -
May I see your travel papers, please? - on the true nature of the
"driver's" license, and response to a remark on
Sunni's interview.
I'll take this opportunity to sing an old refrain. The war on (some)
drugs has nothing to do with drugs. It is a war on freedom, a war on
the Bill of Rights, a war on America's soul. End it. As Vin
Suprynowicz wrote in
Send in the Waco Killers:
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.
# L. Neil Smith - Tactical Reflections - an oldy but goody. Worth re-reading regularly. Go to it. A few morsels: [smith2004]
Conservatives are accustomed to being called fascists and are well prepared to defend themselves on that ground. Liberals are used to being called socialists. Those labels can be switched, however, and remain valid and instructive. It also catches them completely unprepared.
Do not be deceived by the mere appearance of purpose. A string with one free end will often tie itself in a knot in a high wind. That's no reason to go looking for a Great Knotmaker.
The fact that nobody asks you to sing is not an indication that you should sing louder. This sounds obvious until it's applied to matters like mass transportation. There are virtually no private mass transit companies. This does not represent the failure of the market to provide a needed service, it represents the failure of an unneeded service to go away!
The function of government is to provide you with service; the function of the media is to supply the Vaseline.
If you're not a little bit uncomfortable with your position, it isn't radical enough. How can you be too principled? Take the most extreme position you can -- you're claiming territory you won't have to fight for later, mostly against your "allies".
Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communiaction, conveying the information we call "price". Government control of the money supply is censorship, a violation of the First Amendment. Inflation is a lie.
The more fundamental position is the highest ground, allowing the most "perpendicular" attack. If he argues politics, argue ethics -- things seldom go beyond this stage. If he argues ethics, argue epistemology (look it up). If he argues epistemology, argue metaphysics. If he argues metaphysics, you're up against Darth Vader and you're in trouble. Switch back to politics and accuse him of being out of touch with everyday reality. Or ask him if he's stopped beating his wife.
"Question Authority"? To hell with that -- hang it up by its thumbs, cut off its toes, and let it drip dry!
Those who sell their liberty for security are understandable, if pitiable, creatures. Those who sell the liberty of others for wealth, power, or even a moment's respite deserve only the end of a rope.
When you boil it down, all group behavior is about eating, and all individual behavior is about sex.
