August 05, 2005

Churches and Concealed Carry
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." US Bill of Rights, Article I

"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." US Bill of Rights, Article II

Are these two articles mutually exclusive? According to people, to churches, in various places such as Minnesota, the answer is yes. A man in Hennepin County is suing to get the new Minnesota Conceal Carry Law made unconstitutional on the grounds that "Religious institutions should have the right to control their own property and to be able to worship without firearms.'' In doing this, he is representing a Lutheran church and a Unitarian church. This is, of course, ironic, since it was by force of arms that ancestral Lutherans in Germany and elsewhere defended their right to even assemble to worship God by the dictates of their conscience, and the Unitarian church, like its sister United Church of Christ, traces its ancestry from the Puritan Congregational churches of New England: those pilgrims whose silhouettes with tall hats and blunderbusses walking to thanksgiving (church) services we put up in November. (Read the rest here)

The Coming Storm
Susan Callaway, Editor

I've been called a pessimist - and much worse, of course. As much as I would love to see the hopeful future come, the reality of ever increasing evil and injustice stands squarely in the way. Each day the news - what we are allowed to see - tells of more and more encroachment by government on our privacy and liberty, property and productivity.

Each new outrage brings cries from the hopeful that "this time" the people will awaken and begin to fight the tyranny, but those who actually even protest are few and far between. Those who continue to trust in the law and constitution are many, and it is hard to imagine the depths of slavery they will endure before they finally admit that they waited too long. We are already tied hand and foot and resistance by isolated individuals is inspiring, but futile in affecting any change in the tyrants. (Read the rest here)

Privacy - The Census Crisis
By Richard C. Evey

I received a letter from the United States Government, Department of Commerce, U. S. Census Bureau. The letter stated that I was selected by address, not by name. The survey was called the "American Community Survey" and is needed to collect data on topics like education, housing, and jobs. The letter went to tell me that the data will be used to reduce traffic congestion, provide job training and heeded health care.

A few days later the survey arrived with instructions and an 800 number to call if I needed any help. The letter went on to tell me that the data would be used to decide where new schools, hospitals and fire stations are needed and that the data will be used by communities to plan for emergency situations. They went on to tell me that my answers will be kept confidential and that I am required by law to complete the survey.

Already I have a problem with the survey. I have been told two different reasons why the federal government needs this data and who was going to get it. (Read the rest here)

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Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2005

Is it my imagination, or are things falling apart ever faster around the world? We have military coups in Africa, new socialist and old communist dictators frothing at the mouth around the world, and elected officials sounding more militaristic, socialist, and communist in the First World. Maybe everything IS coming to a crisis. At least today that seems the case, as we look at the crazy, crazy world - but then, to encourage us, we can see the little things that people are doing to both stay sane and to fight for liberty!

World Government Insanities

Mauritania: Army officers overthrow president
Independent [UK]
"A group of army officers seized power in the northwest African state of Mauritania yesterday in an apparently bloodless coup. They announced a military junta would rule the Islamic nation for up to two years. President Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Taya, who himself seized power in a coup two decades ago, had left the country for the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia. He arrived yesterday in nearby Niger. Islamist leaders in Mauritania have staunchly opposed Mr. Taya, criticising him for building close ties with Israel. He supported Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War, but switched allegiances in the late 1990s, allying himself with the US. The first exploitation of the vast offshore reserves of petroleum owned by the impoverished nation of three million is expected in the first quarter of 2006." (08/03/05)

The new junta named itself for "justice and freedom" and no doubt will provide neither, not that what they replaced was much, either. Mauritania (named for the Moors, some of whom fled there when the Spanish and Portuguese finally pushed the Islamic invaders out of Iberia just over 500 years ago after almost 700 years of occupation) is divided into three antagonistic groups: Arabs and related Arabic speaking people; "native" north African desert dwellers, and the descendents of various groups of slaves from across Africa and Europe. Like much of modern Africa, the nation is a convenient drawing of lines that crosses ethnic and traditional boundaries, and blood does not erase them. (Read the rest here)

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