Of the State's Minions, by the State's Minions, and for the State's Minions
"The War on Drugs exemplifies the State strangling the society it governs. It is government of the State's minions, by the State's minions, and for the State's minions. For them, the War on Drugs is a winner." -- Michael S. Rozeff
From hammer:
"A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back, he ever wants to see a fucking cross? Kind of like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on, you know." -- Bill Hicks
From kimdutoit:
"In a truly civil society peopled primarily by enlightened, sober individuals, the carriage of arms might be deemed gratuitous, but it is nonetheless harmless.
"In a society that measures up to anything less than that, the option to carry arms is a necessity."
-- GeekWithA.45
# Paine's Torch - Grateful Slave - a poem about living in a democracy. Potent stuff. [policestateusa]
# Claire Wolfe - A letter from a Mole - a letter from a "prosperous, globe-hopping businessman who pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state in taxes each year". Even this normal person has had nearly enough. I've often had similar thoughts about how I would respond to arrest for a "crime" with no authority to exist. It would be similar to what this guy says. They would have to carry me anywhere they wanted me to go. They would have to force feed me. I would tell them nothing, and help them with nothing. This would likely get me beaten and thrown in solitary. So be it. Unlike this guy, however, I would resist. Given the opportunity, I would kill my captors and then proceed to eradicate their fellow gang members until stopped. But I'd much rather just be left alone. [claire]
# Michael S. Rozeff at LewRockwell.com - War on Drugs a Big Success - very well said. This article is the source of the quote with which I began today's edition. Why gummint will never voluntarily end the war on freedom, er... some drugs. [lew]
This program has found an ideal target: prohibiting the production, circulation, and exchange of certain molecules. This target is ever-receding and ever-expanding, thus requiring and justifying ever-larger budgets and expenditures.
This program incentivizes entrepreneurs to create new molecules constantly, thus providing new targets. It encourages ever stronger, purer, and more easily transported versions of the old molecules.
This program fosters ever-stronger laws and abrogations of rights. It amplifies ancient seizure and forfeiture laws into routine tools of injustice. It invades bank records. It expands wiretapping. It turns banks into cash transactions police. It turns dogs into policemen. It turns motorists into suspects with no rights. This program nullifies the Bill of Rights.
# Crispin Sartwell at Creators Syndicate - Enlightenment - hehe. More Sartwell quotes here. [root]
Perhaps the deepest, most vexing question of human life is this: How can fallible creatures such as ourselves find the truth?
I am pleased to announce that after years of exhaustive research, I can answer this question, once and for all and unanswerably, with absolute deductive rigor. The probability that X is true is inversely proportional to the number of people who believe it. I term this The Principle of Inverted Consensus.
The principle is true precisely because everyone except me holds it to be false, as pretty a confirmation as could be wished.
# Out of the Cradle - Falcon 1 launch live coverage - a liveblog of yesterday's private spacecraft launch. The launch was scrubbed at T-minus 14 minutes due to a fuel tank leak. They will retry in 2006. [clairefiles]
# James Bovard - Bovard Blog - the pull-no-punches freedom-loving investigator started a weblog on December 12. He's advertisting a new book, shipping in January of 2006, entitled Attention Deficit Democracy. His web site doesn't say anything more about it, but the book's page at Amazon.com says that it will ship on January 5, and has this description: [claire]
Does the people's need to believe in the president trump their duty to understand, to think critically, and demand truth? Have Americans been conditioned to ignore political frauds and believe the lies perpetuated by campaign ads? James Bovard diagnoses a national malady called "Attention Deficit Democracy," characterized by a citizenry that seems to be paying less attention to facts, and is less capable of judging when their rights and liberties are under attack. Bovard's careful research combined with his characteristically caustic style will give "ADD" a whole new meaning that pundits, politicians, and we the people will find hard to ignore.
# Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Taurus Thunderbolt Pump-Action Rifle - Mr. Quinn likes this new Colt Lightning replica. He tested one in .45 Colt. It's also available in .357 Magnum, with other calibers to follow. [gunblast]
Accuracy was very good with all ammo tested. Cowboy type loads grouped within two inches at twenty-five yards; plenty accurate for Cowboy Action Shooting. Cor-Bon 200 grain jacketed hollowpoint ammo was very accurate in the Thunderbolt, grouping into five-eighths of an inch at twenty-five yards, all day long. It also turned in an impressive chronograph reading of 1556 feet-per-second from the rifle. This is standard pressure ammunition, advertised at 1100 feet per second from a revolver. I intend to try this load on whitetail deer before the season ends this year. It should work very well. The groups shot with the Thunderbolt were using the unaltered open sights. I am certain that I could make it group even better with a little alteration to the rear sight, to allow my aging eyes to better align the sights with the target. The Taurus is easy to shoot quickly and accurately. It is a fun gun; a big bore plinker, but it is also much more than that. It should be a dandy deer rifle for ranges out to about 100 yards, which is my self-imposed limit for shooting at game with open sights. Others may do better, but for me, that is my limit. Hunting in the woods, it should be just great, chambered for either the .45 Colt or the .357 Magnum.
