12/03/08

Gun Patriots: In 2004,
Will We Support The Constitution, Or Ignore It.
By Michael Gaddy

Author’s note: I differentiate between gun-owners and gun-patriots because those who simply own guns do not possess the passion or dedication of a true patriot. Such patriots are, unfortunately, in a distinct minority in this country.

In the 2004 election, those of us who cherish the God given right to freedom and the possession of those tools necessary to protect that freedom, have a pivotal choice to make: Do we support those who honor our Constitution or those who are engaged in the incremental dismantling of the tenants of that parchment?

For obvious reasons, the democrats cannot even be considered in this decision. They long ago signed on to the socialist bandwagon and their quest for the total disarming of all citizens. There is no difference between Kerry and Clinton. They both would pose as hunters/sportsmen so as to deceive many into believing they support gun ownership, but when have you ever heard one of them speak of using that firearm to defend one’s life, family or freedom? Is that not the sole reason we have the Second Amendment? (Read the rest here)

The 7-11 Commission - A Ton Of Baloney!
By Ted Lang © 2004

First, an explanation of government reports: they follow the same format as Cato Institute Policy Analysis Reports. The report is first summarized briefly up front in a section entitled “executive summary” and then followed by the complete report.

One thing is clear and a bit surprising; as the report approaches the million mark in sales, indicating that Americans are becoming more dedicated to finding out what’s going on within their government, this thickly-sliced baloney is going to give them all the wrong answers and send their struggling minds searching in all the wrong places.

Every voluminous report starts with an executive summary. Thankfully, I was able to download the executive summary of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, termed simply the “9-11 Commission,” from The New York Times. It was jointly chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean and former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton [D-IN] (Read the rest here)

The Revolution of 1800 and the USA PATRIOT Act
By William J. Watkins

In this election year, there are significant parallels between the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Enacted in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the PATRIOT Act has augmented the power of federal authorities to pry into the affairs of innocent Americans. In the summer of 1798, the United States Congress passed and President John Adams signed similar legislation. At base, the Alien and Sedition Acts prohibited criticism of the federal government and gave President Adams the power to deport any alien he viewed as suspicious. Americans found guilty of sedition faced prison terms of up to five years and hefty fines. In certain circumstances, aliens remaining in the United States could be imprisoned “so long as, in the opinion of the President, the public safety may require.”

This legislation made a mockery of the First Amendment and deprived aliens of basic due process of law. The Alien and Sedition Acts were the federal government’s first direct assault on American civil liberties. From this assault and the response, we can learn lessons relevant to our own time. (Read the rest here)

The Free Market Is the High Road
by Bart Frazier

Nothing could raise our standard of living more than freeing the economy from our meddling government. When people are able to live free of government regulation, they prosper — goods become cheaper, standards of living go up, and individual liberty is expanded.

Today, government regulates almost every aspect of our lives, including how we educate our children, what we build on our land, how chicken is packaged, how much gas our cars use, what we use for money, what we spray in our gardens, what countries we visit, what we ingest, what we’re paid for our work, how many and what kind of fish we can catch, where we protest, how much money we give to politicians, sex, marriage, and just about every other facet of life that should be no one’s business but our own.

This is costly, not only in terms of liberty but also in terms of prosperity. Free markets maximize both.

(Read the rest here)

Libertarian Commentary on The Day's News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

Commentary is on Rational Review News Digest while FMN is on vacation.

1) Six US troops, seven collaborators killed in Iraq
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Guys, please! I'm having to put my overshoes on - the propaganda is getting a bit deep in here. First, there is nothing in the story to indicate that the Iraqi security guys killed are collaborationists, as usually defined. Obviously, AP/Times-Dispatch doesn't have Webster's to hand, either, when they call the killers insurgents. But both the summary/extract and the entire story miss the whole point of these events: the increasing Iraqi-on-Iraqi and Muslim-on-Muslim killing. The deaths of at least six in a Sunni-Shi'ia battle elsewhere was buried in the story. The Iraqis, like the former Yugoslavians before then, and a dozen other nationalities, are tearing themselves apart. The unfortunate and wrong US intervention/invasion didn't start this, it just moved it into a new phase.

I'll probably be condemned by both sides for saying this, but we have to face the reality. However wrong the USG was to invade Iraq in 2003, and however much we are to blame for making the mess worse (which is arguable, I admit), we have to admit (1) the mess was already there, (2) getting rid of Saddam was a good thing, (3) the mess needs to be cleaned up, (4) even though we can argue we didn't cause it, we meddled in it, and so to some degree, we have an obligation to at least try and repair it, or at least the part we caused, (5) if we pull out now, we WILL make the mess much worse and to boot, get a lot more Americans killed very quickly, and a LOT more Iraqis killed in the short and long run, and almost certainly guarantee a new tyranny in Iraq. It may not be possible for Iraq to solve its problems, but there is a greater chance, now that we meddled, of them doing it with Allied help, than alone.

(Read the rest here) (It's correct this time.)

Mama's note: The link to yesterday's commentary was wrong!
For the Wednesday Commentary click HERE! Sorry!

Freedom News Daily
Hidden Treasures

I mentioned in yesterday's note that I'm in Colorado for the Eris Society conference. Many of you may not know much about the Eris Society -- I hadn't heard of them until about six years ago -- so I thought I'd tell you a little about the organization.

The Eris Society is a group that arose out of Doug Casey's annual dinner parties, to which he invited friends and various intellectuals. Most of the Eris Founders are anarchocapitalists or libertarians, so many of the invited speakers shared that outlook, but it isn't a requirement for attending. The purpose of the gatherings was to stimulate discussion, hear challenging ideas, and to enjoy the company of others who valued such discourse. Speakers' topics ranged from health, culture, and technological advances across several fields, and of course, world and national politics.

As the gatherings grew, Casey's friends and he decided to make the arrangement more formal and semi-public, and the Eris Society was born. Each year, an "apple bearer" team organizes the conference, with the purpose of stirring up the attendees' ideas and presenting information that won't be found in the daily news. At last year's conference, at which I spoke on the psychology of freedom, Louis James and I were tossed the Golden Apple.

(Read the rest here)

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What Color Is the Wolf Today?
By Ivan Eland

Orange is the color currently in fashion in the nation’s capital and its main financial center. The U.S. government has once again raised the terror alert level from yellow to orange—this time in Washington, D.C. and New York City—based on information obtained from the arrest of a computer engineer in Pakistan several weeks ago. Yet by frequently changing its colors, the government has cried wolf too many times.

New Yorkers and Washingtonians are justifiably skeptical and nonchalant about the heightened warning level. Although urging Americans to “keep shopping” during all prior orange alerts, the government has never told us how to behave differently at various “threat” levels. The rhetoric by Tom Ridge, the nation’s Secretary of Homeland Security, and other anonymous U.S. officials would have us believe that the current threat level is very severe. Yet, they didn’t change the alert system to red, its highest color, probably because people would be too frightened to leave their homes for the shopping mall.

(Read the rest here)

Free "The Hunter"

Free Hunter: Collateral Damage
by Carl Bussjaeger

American Independence Day has come and gone, along with the traditional boom and glare of fireworks that bring joy to many kids, young and old.

Picture two such of the younger children: Adorable little girls just six and four years old respectively, Mikayla and Brittany. Imagine their anticipation as the big day approaches and they look forward not only to the beloved fireworks, but also to the arrival of their favorite uncle Jeff, whom they haven't seen in months.

Now picture the adorable little girls' disappointment because a suited goon in Ohio wouldn't let Uncle Jeff come see his family. Yes, Mikayla and Brittany are just two more victims of the Ashland County, Ohio prosecutor's office.

Call them "collateral damage," more innocents caught in the cross-fire as the run-amuck prosecutors pursue their vendetta against Jeffrey "Hunter" Jordan. (Read the rest here)

 

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