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Libertarian
Commentary on The News
Posted May 08, 2012By Nathan A. Barton © 2012 Due to travel last week and the convention in Nevada this week, the commentary is a lot shorter and a lot later than usual: my fault and not our beloved publisher and editor's fault. I DO, in a lot of ways, feel more optimistic about the future of this land and people than usual - not because I am feeling any better about the government or the economy, but because I have been around a lot of good people for the last four days who are trying, in many ways, both to change and prepare for the future, and to regain the liberty we've lost for our children and theirs. Even so, the news is not always that great, and I'm hitting some of the items this week that remind us that WE CANNOT accept the conditions and the circumstances in which we now live: we can, shall, and must LIVE FREE. Monday, April 30, 2012 Self-Defense Utah: Armed Citizen stops man knifing people in store (ABC local 4, Salt Lake) A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith’s store. Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith’s employee Dorothy Espinoza says, “He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people.” Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. “There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms.” Then, before the suspect could find another victim – a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. “A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith’s grabbed him.” Another example of lives saved by a person with a gun. Are we ALL ready to do that? Self-Defense Ohio: Robbers shot in shootout with off-duty police officer (WOIO News) "Three suspects accused of robbing and shooting an off-duty Cleveland Police Officer have officially been charged. The shooting happened around 11:30pm near W.52nd Street and Detroit Avenue when three males approached the off-duty officer and pulled out a gun. The officer pulled his gun too and the group exchanged gunfire. Officer Dwayne Borders, 45, was shot in the torso. The first suspect was shot in the abdomen and the second suspect was shot in the leg. The third suspect fled the scene without injury." (04/27/12) An off-duty cop has no more (or LESS) right to carry a gun and defend himself; and there should be no difference in the charges for criminals who attack (and shoot) such a person. Self-Defense Texas: Knife threat ended by two gunshots (KLTV News) "Officers learned that Lewis Hampton, a white male age 41, had threatened several people with a large knife. One white male, who was threatened by Hampton, had a handgun in his possession. He confronted Hampton in an effort to protect himself and others. Hampton continued to use the knife and continued to threaten the victim and others. Hampton eventually cut the victim with the knife at which point the victim shot Hampton. After being shot, Hampton continued to verbally threaten and attack him. The victim shot Hampton again. At this point, other people were able to subdue Hampton until Tyler Police arrived." (04/29/12) I am not sure if the man who shot this knifeman is a "victim" or not. He sought to AND DID defend others. No deaths resulted, which again is why being armed is good for us, and for society. Mama's Note: It is no less "good for us" if shots are fired and criminals die. They have made the choice to be aggressors, and the responsibility for the consequences are totally on their own heads. Politics 2012 Threat from mounting public job losses tested Obama’s economic strategy (CNSNews.com) As the economic recovery has struggled to pick up speed, one of the biggest stumbling blocks has been job losses in state and local governments, which have been on the rise for much of President Obama’s term. No, really? The public employee unions are worried, and this can hurt the First Citizen in multiple ways. Good. Theft (of liberty) by government House hopeful about a cybersecurity bill (CNSNews.com) House Republicans and Democrats expressed optimism Friday about sending a cybersecurity bill to President Barack Obama this year despite significant disagreements with the Senate and the White House. The House delivered a strong bipartisan vote Thursday for the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act despite a White House veto threat. The bill would encourage companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to help prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists. Can we continue to put up with a Congress that seeks so earnestly for ways to steal our liberty like this? Every week we have yet a new attack bill like this one. Politics 2012 Wisconsin Democrats divided over who to best oust Walker in recall election (CNSNews.com) MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democrats organized the protests that gripped the state. They turned Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to strip public unions of their collective bargaining rights into a national Democratic cause. They got the signatures they needed to force a recall election, and then some. So what? Let Wisconsin fall into chaos: the unions must lose, if there is any hope for the liberty of the state. First Citizen Obama criticized in reversal on child farm-labor regulations (CNSNews.com) The Obama administration’s move to scrap a plan that would prevent some children from working in dangerous farm jobs drew sharp rebukes Friday from child-welfare advocates who claim the president caved in to election-year pressure from farmers and Republicans. No doubt he DID - as he should have. These idiots are the type that thinks milk comes from a carton or jug, that meat is harvested, pre-package, and that horse-meat is evil. Notice the wording of this article and compare to the actual regulations: "Under the rules, children under 18 would be prevented by the federal government from working 'in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials' and prohibited 'places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.' This is no "small inconvenience:" it is the destruction of a way of life. Government-run, tax-funded schools - Culture wars Dartmouth: Dorm Assignments Will Not be 'Limited by Traditional Gender Binary' (CNSNews.com) Dartmouth College is expanding its "gender neutral" housing program, opening up more rooms where "students of any gender can cohabitate," the school newspaper, The Dartmouth, reported last week. The Ivy League school's website says Dartmouth "seeks to provide a living environment welcoming to all gender identities; one not limited by the traditional gender binary." For a private college, this would be no problem - but for a taxpayer-supported school, this is beyond the pale. Government-run, tax-funded schools - Culture wars Florida's New Video-Game Magnet School Now Accepting Applications (CNSNews.com) Once more, if this were a private school - more power to them! (But a private school would be denied accreditation if it were to do this.) To use stolen money for this is more than disgusting. Stupid UN Tricks 2012 Kofi Annan Wants $7.5 Million to Cover Expenses for His Syrian Peace Mission (CNSNews.com) Any excuse to build his wealth and power, apparently - even when it is a total failure. I suppose that this is making lemonade out of lemons. Stupid Politics 2012 Romney Joins Calls for U.S. to Protect Pro-Life Chinese Activist Who Exposed Forced Abortion (CNSNews.com) This is NOT US business - it may and could be something for Americans to volunteer to do, but this is NOT the function or purpose of the fedgov. Theft by government Gov’t $15.6T in Debt Funds 16 Programs to Teach Citizens ‘Financial Literacy’ (CNSNews.com) Incredible stupidity on the part of anyone who takes this class. I don’t think this is a case of the cobbler’s children being shoeless. Theft - not just BY government - Stupid politics 2012 Romney Urges Young People to Take Economic Risks, Even Borrow From Mom and Dad (CNSNews.com) And HE is an alternative to the current resident of 1600 PA? For government to have anything to do with this is indeed stupid. Politics 2012 - First Citizen Obama Using Bin Laden Killing As Campaign Tool (CNSNews.com) Gross and disgusting indeed. I cannot stomach this - to take credit from pride in others killing even an evil man. Politics 2012 FCC: TV Stations Must Post Rates for Campaign Ads (CNSNews.com) Fairness in pricing - especially in an industry so heavily controlled and regulated by government - and so corrupt, is best served by POSTING fees where anyone can see. And then honoring them. We'll see if the second one can happen. Supid government Stifling New Cures: The True Cost of Lengthy Clinical Drug Trials (MANHATTAN INSTITUTE) The enormous cost and risk of Phase III trials create incentives for researchers and investors to avoid work on medications for the chronic conditions and illnesses that pose the greatest threat to Americans... Once more we see the dirty fingers of government in the medicine (as in the food) we are "allowed" to have. Stupid government - Government-run, Tax-funded Schools States Must Reject National Education Standards While There Is Still Time (HERITAGE FOUNDATION) The Common Core State Standards Initiative undermines competition among differing curricula, thereby limiting the ability of the best course packages to rise to the top... Just one more step in the complete degradation of education in the United States; definitely to be fought - but not in THIS forum: the best way to fight it is to get children OUT of government schools. Theft by government How the Swiss "Debt Brake" Tamed Government (Wall Street Journal) Before Switzerland's "debt brake" went into effect in 2003, government spending was expanding by an average of 4.3 percent per year; since then it's increased by only 2.6 percent annually... Pretty poor brake, if it doesn’t stop the train. Yeah, 2.6 is better than 4.3, but what is needed is 0.0 - no, even in Switzerland, a NEGATIVE “expansion rate.” Health care - Crash of 2009 Employment-Based Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997-2010 (Employment Benefit Research Institute) Between 1997 and 2010, the percentage of workers offered health benefits from their employers decreased from 70.1 percent to 67.5 percent... Of course, I am fairly sure that this number plummeted since 2010 and will continue to drop at an increasing rate. Mama's Note: And, believe it or not, that is a good thing. People can and will find alternatives. Some worse, of course, but many will find better ones. Insurance, aside from that for truly catastrophic situations, is a large part of what has driven up the costs, and has therefore invited most of the government meddling. Theft by government - work arounds The Decision to Delay Social Security Benefits: Theory and Evidence (National Bureau of Economic Research) Delaying receiving one's Social Security benefits is actuarially advantageous for a large subset of people, particularly for real interest rates of 3.5 percent or below... This does, of course, assume you will have any benefits after the next several years. I would not hold your breath! Home front: TSA thugs Mobile app helps report unfair airport screeners (The Associated Press) WASHINGTON — A Sikh advocacy group launched a free mobile application Monday that allows travelers to complain immediately to the government if they feel they've been treated unfairly by airport screeners. Knowledge is power - and evil hates the light. The start of the solution is not just complaining to the government, but making the problem known in general so that pressure can be put on. But even that is a TEMPORARY and SHORT-TERM start to solving the problem. Security must be an individual responsibility and right. Healthcare - Theft by government State Reform of Medicaid Drug Programs (NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS) Lobbyists often obstruct state efforts to reform Medicaid drug programs, says Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis... Again, we see ONE of the reasons that government intervention in the market - even the health care market - creates problems: lobbyists use money and influence (pressure) to skew government decisions. Stupid government - Stupid people Growing Gap in Favorable Views of Federal, State Governments (Pew Research Center) Just a third of Americans have a favorable opinion of the federal government, the lowest positive rating in 15 years... Would that it were one-tenth of that: it is a shame to us that so many people are so stupid. At the same time, this comes from Pew - so take it with a big grain of salt. And further remember that is not just anarchists and minarchists that might be upset: the really hardcore authoritarians and tyranny-lovers might also be ticked off! Lots of fun. Mama's Note: Actually, the very idea that "PEW" would report this low a satisfaction rate is very interesting. Theft by government The U.S. Sugar Program: Bad for Consumers, Bad for Agriculture and Bad for America (Heritage Foundation) According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the sugar program imposes a $49 million net cost on the economy... Of course, 49 million is like tuppence to a Victorian upper-class coupon-clipper: but it is the principle of the thing. Theft by government States Without Income Taxes Rely on Varying Forms of Revenue (Tax Foundation) New Hampshire, a state without an income tax, collected 39 percent of its $2.3 billion of tax revenue from excise taxes, compared to the national average of 17.4 percent... Kind of obvious, don’t you think? Like most parasites, governments grow to the size of their food supply. Tuesday, May 01, 2012 Theft by government - Theft from government Harvard Got $5.6M in Federal Student Loans and Grants--Despite Its $31.7B Tax-Exempt Endowment (CNSNews.com) "The rich get richer?" Harvard is a fine governmental parasite: its founders and early faculty and alumni must be SO proud. For those who cannot afford it and still qualify for admission, it seems that Harvard ought to be able to grant a full-ride scholarship. But they'd rather make their students take welfare - and be a welfare bum as well. New religions: environism - Stupid government Top EPA Official Resigns Over 'Crucify' Comment (CNSNews.com) None of the rest of the "top officials" will do so, of course: "designated felon?" Truth is: EPA WANTS to crucify most private companies - even those that suck up to it on demand. (Actually, the real reason he is getting booted is because he used a religious metaphor, giving undue credence to religion and mixing church and state. (grin-humor)) Mama's Note: As a friend pointed out, the truth is that the Romans had no problem whatsoever coming into a village and murdering EVERYONE. Neither does the EPA or their life despising supporters. They will not be happy until all humans are dead. Well, maybe except THEM, of course. New religions: Environism UK: New study shows wind farms cause climate change (Telegraph (UK) via Diener Consultants) It might have to be a group award for all the wind power wind bags, for lo—it turns out that wind power may cause global warming! So says a new study out in Britain, reported in The Telegraph (“Wind farms can cause climate change finds new study”): On huge wind farms the motion of the turbines mixes the air higher in the atmosphere that is warmer, pushing up the overall temperature. Satellite data over a large area in Texas, that is now covered by four of the world’s largest wind farms, found that over a decade the local temperature went up by almost 1C as more turbines are built. This could have long term effects on wildlife living in the immediate areas of larger wind farms. That would be the wildlife that isn’t driven off by the construction ... Actually, I've found that very little wildlife (or livestock) is driven off by the construction (highway traffic killing them off is something else). Let them scream and whinge all they want. ANYthing man does changes the climate locally, and indeed, much of what we do is INTENDED to change the local climate, or the changes are factored into the BENEFITS of the project, from dams and irrigation systems to shelterbelts (windbreaks) and snow fences on roads, to vast sports complexes and arenas. Ever hear of the heat sink around cities? So? Get a life, environists! Wednesday, May 02, 2012 Europe's collapse Bye bye Cool Britannia (La Repubblica) It is official, the UK is in recession. Formerly cool and generous, London, which will elect a new mayor on May 4, has become inegalitarian and cynical, notes La Repubblica. Although it boasts a record number of billionaires, the prosperous years of the Tony Blair era seem very far off. So we see the cycle beginning again: the UK could pull down both Europe and the US. And meanwhile, on the continent: Europe's collapse Germany: Far right in green packaging (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Right-wing extremists linked to the far right NPD are increasingly making hay in politically innocuous organic farming, which they use as a means to spread neo-Nazi ideas in green packaging. Germany's troubles increase, as they are sucked dry by the rest of Europe, they have this sort of fun and games going on at home, thanks to decades of ever-growing socialism in the nanny-state. Home front - Lost liberty Wyoming: Vet threatened with arrest for giving out Bible and political material at Fort MacKenzie VA Center (see video) (govtslaves.info) Assuming this is true (the sources are suspect and we are trying to find out more), the war on religion and free speech is now being fought in remote parts of Wyoming. What more can be demanded? Self Defense California: Intruder shot (Modesto Bee) “Pierre was asleep in his bedroom, and his stepfather, Marco, was asleep on the couch when they heard a loud bang. It was the robbers kicking in the door that leads from the garage into the kitchen. The robbers headed toward the bedroom …. Pierre yelled for his stepfather, then yelled at the intruders to get out, while warding them off with the coat hanger. Marco, a Marine veteran, then came up behind the robbers with a .357 Magnum revolver.” (05/01/12) Once more, peaceful people have to defend themselves against thugs that probably have done this dozens of times with unarmed people. Self defense Alabama: 13-year-old suspect killed during robbery (WSFA News) “Birmingham police say a 13-year-old robbery suspect was shot and killed by the person he tried to rob …. the teen suspect approached a couple as they pulled into their home at the gated Skyview Condominiums …. The suspect had a T-shirt over his face like a bandana and was holding a cocked and loaded gun, Williams said. Police say the would-be robber approached the male occupant of the car and told him to ‘Get out and give it up.’ The man had his own gun in the car and shot the teenager. The teen ran a few feet, collapsed and died at the scene.” (05/01/12) Too stupid to live to be an "adult." Sad, but better than him growing up to kill and kill and kill. War on some drugs Survey: One in ten teens smoking pot frequently (Arizona Republic) "More teens are smoking marijuana, with nearly one in 10 lighting up at least 20 times a month, according to a new survey of young people. The report by the Partnership at Drugfree.org, being released today, also says abuse of prescription medicine may be easing a bit among young people in Grades 9 through 12 but still remains high. Partnership President Steve Pasierb said the mind-set among parents is that it’s just a little weed or a few pills — no biggie.” [editor’s note: The very next paragraph indicates that “harder drug use” (cocaine, heroin, meth, Pharma poisons, etc.) has indeed been reduced, alongside this “alarming” increase in weed-use. Should be good news? - SAT] (05/02/12) Steve's point is well-taken. This outfit will push the "bad news" to generate more donations and help lobbying for more government money: but no matter where you stand on legalization, a drop in "harder drug use" is a good thing. If increased use of pot means lower hard-drug use, is THIS also not a good thing? Mama's Note: Good, bad or indifferent, none of this is the business of government at any level. Campaign 2012 Gingrich ends White House bid (Sacramento Bee) "Newt Gingrich can now call himself a former presidential candidate. As expected, the former House speaker has bowed out of the Republican presidential contest just short of a year after he got into the race.” (05/02/12) It is hard not to say good riddance to bad rubbish. The man is a moral cripple and severely hurt the chances of the GOP getting someone smart (like Ron Paul) to nominate. Home front - Self defense Florida: Scott rejects part of Tampa’s GOP convention victim disarmament plan (Tampa Bay Times) “Gov. Rick Scott has rejected Tampa’s request to ban concealed weapons outside the Republican National Convention. Mayor Bob Buckhorn Tuesday asked Scott to issue an executive order prohibiting the transportation of firearms in downtown Tampa during the convention, scheduled from Aug. 27-30. In a response dated the same day, Scott said Tampa is overreaching.” (05/02/12) Well, this is a bit of good news. I spoke with Steve and several other libertarians and activists from Florida this week, and they know that things are still going to be nasty in Tampa that week, but fully intend to take advantage of a lot of good opportunities to recruit people and to speak out rather boldly for liberty. Mama's Note: Folks intending to go to this event armed might consider the possibility of a serious false flag event that will further paint honest gun owners as dangerous extremists. Personally, I would not go within a thousand miles of any political gathering if I could avoid it and can see no real point to such "protest" in any case. Local tyranny - Stupid government New Jersey: Mother arrested for allegedly letting daughter use tanning booth (ABC News) “The New Jersey mother accused of allowing her 5-year-old daughter to use a tanning booth has denied the allegations after she was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment. Although Patricia Krentcil doesn’t deny that the child has been to the tanning salon with her, she says daughter Anna suffered from outdoor sunburn. … It was Anna’s school nurse who noticed she had a rash, and when the little girl told her it was from going tanning with her mother, the school notified child services.” (05/02/12) The overreach and overreaction to things like this are FAR more of a problem, than what the mother may or may not have done. Drug War Student abandoned in DEA holding cell drank own urine to survive (Rawstory) View more videos here. Daniel Chong, a 24-year old student at UC San Diego, was taken into custody during a drug raid and abandoned in a holding cell for five days without food or water, according to NBC San Diego. “They never came back, ignored all my cries and I still don’t know what happened,” he said. “I’m not sure how they could forget me.” This is America 2012: turning a victimless crime into a medieval-style death sentence - or nearly so. And virtually NO public outcry, before or after the DEA "apologized" for the "error." He's filing a lawsuit, but people should be demanding criminal trials and the dissolution of the agency. What will it take? Political Science Physicists Crack Fusion Mystery (technologyreview.com, By Kevin Bullis) One reason it's taking decades to develop fusion reactors that can generate electricity is that physicists don't completely understand what's going on in the high-temperature plasma inside a reactor. Under certain conditions, the plasma—which is where fusion reactions take place—disappears in under a millisecond. A new theory developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) explains what happens just before the plasma disappears. The explanation could help engineers design better reactors. And that might help them increase the power output of a reactor, perhaps doubling the electricity they could produce, and making fusion reactors more economical. Researchers have made a lot of progress on fusion technology—since 1970, the energy produced in experimental fusion reactors has increased by about 12 orders of magnitude, greater than the improvement in processing power in microchips over the same period, says Martin Greenwald, a fusion researcher at MIT. But for all the improvements in fusion research reactors, they still aren't useful—they don't produce more energy than they consume, and they can't be run continuously, both of which would be necessary for a power plant. Welcome to the world of political science. Look, I know that fusion can be dangerous, but this isn't a job for scientists who are concerned about how their peers (or their funding agencies) view their next paper, but for engineers and scientists who have to keep tinkering until they DO make it work -no Langley, but a Wright brother. And not an Oppenheimer but a Tesla or an Edison - although a General Groves with a boot to their rear might be welcome! In today's world with all this garbage about careful and steady progress, and determining WHY everything works instead of WHAT works is for politicians and Tranzis - not for a free people. As the next example shows. Science Bandages Made of Edible Starch Could Dissolve On Your Skin Once You're Healed (http://www.popsci.com, By Rebecca Boyle) Finely spun starch fibers woven into a bandage could dissolve on your skin and be absorbed by your body, eliminating the sting and hassle of ripping it off in one fast motion. Starch fibers could also be used to produce toilet paper, napkins and other biodegradable products, according to researchers at Penn State. Food science researchers dissolved starch into a fluid, then spun it into long strands that can be woven into mats, according to a university news release. Anyone who has ever dissolved starch in water knows it can have some awesome physical properties, but the resulting thick paste is not that useful beyond a fun experiment or maybe thickening some soup. To spin it into thin threads, the Penn State researchers added a solvent to help the starch break down more readily. The solvent allowed it to maintain its molecular structure, and the researchers used an electrospinning device to spin the material into long strands. The fibers could then be woven like any other fiber into a wide range of materials, from bandages to paper. This is the sort of thing I'm talking about: "let's try this and see what happens!" "Look, what is this gunk and what can we do with it?" "What if we use that piece of junk over there to do something with this stuff?" Science REQUIRES not just patience and meticulous recordkeeping and logical thought, but the desire and willingness and GUTS to try things that don't always make logical sense and don't always have 10,000 pages of data and analysis to support them. Mama's Note: There are already a good number of products in use that eliminate the "sting and hassle," while providing for a healthy healing environment. I would seriously question the advisability of using a starch product for wound dressings. Starch is a wonderful medium for bacteria and fungus growth, something most of us would not want on an open wound. Thursday, May 03, 2012 Politics 2012 - First Lady [sic] Michelle Obama Predicts ‘Election Could Come Down to Those Last Few Thousand Votes’ (CNSNews.com) In which states? She thinks like a democrat, who believes that only the number of votes count. It is those few states that have a balance of voters (including Libertarians) that make a difference: we aren't electing a school class president! Home front - Self defense CBP Director: ‘Some of the Safest Communities in America’ Are on U.S.-Mexico Border (CNSNews.com) True - like El Paso and Sierra Vista. But WHY? Seems to me that it is not the CBP but rather, the high levels of armed citizenry and vocal opponents of letting government do it for them. Couple this with the idea that border jumpers are safer the further away from the border they are, and you have a good idea of the reason. Look at "Sanctuary" cities like San Fran and Denver and you will find cities that are sick and dangerous: coupled with the fact that they are monster-cities that are naturally breeding grounds and attractors for thugs of all kind: from your local 2nd-floor man and petty knife-wielding thug to your grand political and bureaucratic thugs. Stupid government - Abominable Act HHS Talking Points Give Incomplete, Distorted View of ObamaCare (CNSNews.com) Well, duh! Who is their boss? And who really believes that federal departments and agencies exist for ANYTHING other than to gather and twist and dispense power: political and money and direct force. Of course they are looking at ObummerCare through statist/socialist/Tranzi glasses. Friday, May 04, 2012 Stupid government tricks - Theft by government Holder Announces 107 Arrests Involving $452 Million in False Medicare Billings (CNSNews.com) Yes, I agree that this is government doing a job many people claim is a justification for government: prosecuting and stopping fraud (a form of aggression). BUT it is government itself that CREATED this opportunity for massive fraud - and the fraud involves stealing money from those who stole it from the people who earned it: is stealing from the government really fraud? Mama's Note: And remember that "fraud" is exactly whatever the burrocraps say it is. The "rules" are so complex and contradictory that almost anything can be used as a reason to deny payment. When that happens, it is very easy for the deniers to go the next step and call the billing "fraud." Of course there is plenty of actual fraud, and most of THAT is probably never mentioned. Most of that goes to those who play the game and scratch the backs of the "inspectors." It's a rigged game, start to finish. World Wars: European front After Russia Threatens Pre-emptive Strike on NATO Missiles, U.S. Stresses ‘Cooperation,’ ‘Common Ground’ (CNSNews.com) Obviously, Russia is threatening to do exactly what the FedGov DID do in Iraq - an aggressive, preemptive war. No wonder the US has to tap dance and cannot just condemn this as it deserves. Politics 2012 Presidential Election May Boil Down to Virginia (CNSNews.com) Last state standing? If the GOP DOES put up Romney, this is indeed likely, and the Old Dominion, if not as Tranzi and prostrate as Massachusetts or California, is not much for the GOP to depend on - with a moderate pretending to be a conservative leading it. FedGov Lies, D*** Lies, and Statistics Women Outnumber Men in Professional Field But Earn Half the Pay (CNSNews.com) Women outpaced men in professional and related fields in 2010, but earned almost half the pay, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (pdf download) As you might imagine, this is just chock-full of statistics, and the BLS can make statistics lie better than anyone else I know. The categories, the way the calculations are done, and many other things make this comparison a total fraud. This is released in time to support the First Citizen's claim of a GOP war on women: heaven knows what he will accuse the LP of. Congress in action - Theft by government Paul Ryan Budget a Moral One (Townhall.com (Star Parker)) Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, provoked some angry pushback when he claimed that not only is his proposed sweeping revamp of the U.S. budget fiscally sound but also morally sound. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Ryan said he drew inspiration from his Catholic faith. Star Parker is a good writer, but (assuming she agrees with Ryan, whom she quotes) she makes the usual fallacy, of believing that the ends justify the means, that traps so many statists and non-libertarians: and too many people who claim to be christians. I ran into this not very long ago with an employee (soon to be EX-employee unless he can learn his error): it was okay to steal some money from a petty fund in order to do something good with it (buy his ultimate employer some food). This is the popular Robin Hood fallacy (not the historical/mythic Robin Hood concept) that by doing good with what you steal, you cancel out the sin - the aggression (sin) (or even turn it into some sort of virtue!). The apostle Paul answered this, as have many christians over the years: yet people like Ryan and Parker do not see their error - yet. Government money, stolen from taxpayers (slaves), is tainted. The only moral ambiguity comes into play when you ask whether it is just the takers and givers that are immoral, or whether it is both them AND those who accept it that are sinning. Those who authorize and do it (Congress, Presidents, Commissioners, etc.; tax collectors, sheriffs who enforce its collection, etc.) are clearly committing evil (by the way, businesses who collect sales taxes are NOT evil, as they are forced to do so, on pain of fine, dissolution, and for humans, prison). Those who receive the stolen money from the government (other government employees besides the tax collectors and enforcers, such as contractors, welfare recipients, vendors, etc.) may or may not be sinning. But they may fall into the trap of those in Corinth (in First Corinthians in the Bible) who ate meat sacrificed to idols and considered themselves to be sinning. Of course, those who accept welfare (including grants and some kinds of corporate welfare) may be committing a different sin of dishonesty in getting something for nothing. But the act itself - of stealing money from taxpayers, is clearly evil - wrong - immoral - damaging. Ryan (and Parker) need to learn this: theft is theft, regardless of whether it is a free-lancer with a bandana and a gun, or a Congress with 51% OR 99.999% approval: God does not pay any attention to polls. Parker is correct that morality and economy can NOT be separated, but she does not recognize the inherent immorality of taxes in the first place. **************** Your comments and feedback are welcome! Now PoL has its own forum at The Mental Militia! Check it out Nathan Barton Written from the Four Corners, a land and community which has some (but not much) freedom left, but where even that liberty hangs by a thread. Nathan is a christian, a free-market anarchist, military officer, engineer, and writer. Feel free to contact him through The Price of Liberty. Special Feature! Add your signature to the NEW Declaration of Independence By Robert Greenslade To Read previous Commentaries, go to the archives page and click onto the link for the week. The commentaries are linked from the weekly front pages. Please note: Information about readers is never given or sold to anyone for any purpose. Remember, however, that many people can read and recover anything posted to web sites or email unless it is carefully encrypted. Please take personal responsibility for what you post anywhere. MamaLiberty) |
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