It is vain to fight totalitarianism by adopting totalitarian methods. Freedom can only be won by men unconditionally committed to the principles of freedom. The first requisite for a better social order is the return to unrestricted freedom of thought and speech. - Ludwig Von Mises
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A Vision of a Libertarian Republic - San Jose, Ca #tlot #tcot #liberty
A Vision of a Libertarian Republic - San Jose, Ca
A Vision of a Libertarian RepublicBy Edward Gonzalez, on Apr 23, 2010Since the beginning of my congressional campaign, I have received many questions regarding the libertarian philosophy, as well as how a libertarian America would look and function. Many pepper me with immediate questions of drug dealers outside their door and child exploitation. I think that many of these worries are unfounded and I hope to explain this here in a simple and concise way. A libertarian republic would be a country whose legal structure is extremely decentralized. The federal government would have the duty of maintaining a military capable of defending our borders and protecting us from invasion, a state department to deal with foreign nations, and a legal structure that allows states to settle disputes with one another without armed conflict. In order to control and coordinate these institutions, the people would elect representatives.States and cities would then be free to make or not make any laws they saw fit. Towns, cities, and states would then evolve all over the United States in an immensely diverse fashion. Total libertarian cities would exist, even experimenting with anarco-capitalist theory. Also very conservative towns and cities would arise, with strict social and religious rules while inside city limits. Those who enjoy and desire numerous public services could live in towns and cities with high taxes, while those who prefer private services would live in those areas. Even a communist community would be free to operate within a libertarian republic. All over the republic; liberal, conservative, green, libertarian, and communist communities could form and operate freely and peacefully.Restrictions on states and communities would be very few. The federal government would guarantee freedom of travel across the republic, as well as prohibit states from waging war on each other or entering into alliances with foreign nations. Business contracts signed in one state would be honored in the others in order to facilitate free trade and entrepreneurship. There is the possibility that a state or community government might become corrupt, but then people could vote with their feet by moving away from corrupt areas and into communities an... |
NC Goodwill worker finds cash in donated items #avl #NC
NC Goodwill worker finds cash in donated items
A clothes sorter at a North Carolina charity generated a lot of goodwill when she turned in thousands of dollars she found in a sock.
Yes, it is true I’m a big fan of permitting terrorists to own guns. What?, you may ask.
Liberty Maven» Liberty Maven: For Liberty, One Individual At A Time
Today at 06:30 AM
Yes, it is true I’m a big fan of permitting terrorists to own guns. What?, you may ask. Apparently, that is the attack being used by some in our almighty government who hope to infringe upon our right to defend ourselves.
Consider this recent Senate Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill:
On Tuesday, as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Lieberman held a hearing to give Lautenberg and King the opportunity to promote their bills S.1317 and H.R.2159, to prohibit the possession of firearms by people on the FBI’s “terrorist watchlist,” and Lautenberg’s S. 2820, to maintain records of approved instant background check transactions for a minimum of 180 days. The watchlist bills further propose that a person seeking relief in court from these new restrictions would be prevented from examining and challenging “evidence” against him, and that the judge deciding whether the person had been watchlisted for good reason be limited to summaries and redacted versions of such “evidence.”
So we are to rely on our government to come up with a list of people who they decide is a terrorist or has terrorist “leanings”. Well, we already are relying on our government to do this, and like many things the government gets involved in, this too is a big fat failure.
For instance, in 2008 CNN reports on a pilot who was on the “terror” watch list:
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) — James Robinson is a retired Air National Guard brigadier general and a commercial pilot for a major airline who flies passenger planes around the country.
He has even been certified by the Transportation Security Administration to carry a weapon into the cockpit as part of the government’s defense program should a terrorist try to commandeer a plane.
But there’s one problem: James Robinson, the pilot, has difficulty even getting to his plane because his name is on the government’s terrorist “watch list.”
This is not an isolated case. There have been numerous cases of mistaken identity where suddenly completely innocent people have found themselves on the “government’s” terror watch list. Here’s a more recent case of an 8-year old boy found on the list:
Najla Hicks, a photojournalist who was once cleared to fly with Vice President Al Gore, said the family was amused by the mistake at first but that quickly wore off and seven years later they are still trying to clear it up.
“I understand the need for security,” she added, “But this is ridiculous. It’s quite clear that he is 8 years old, and while he may have terroristic tendencies at home, he does not have those on a plane.”
The incompetence of so-called “watch lists” demonstrate the primary idiocy in any law attempting to prohibit guns from those on these government lists. However, there is perhaps an even stronger argument against infringing on the rights of government-labeled “terrorists” like innocent airline pilots and young children.
Do you think terrorists give any consideration to any law prohibiting them from doing anything? If that were the case the Twin Towers may still be standing today.
By nature, terrorists are criminals. Time, effort, and money spent on passing laws that will end up only applying to innocent people is time, effort, and money wasted. All of which are in short supply these days.
Ignoring their predilection for using bombs, not guns, yes, I’m absolutely in favor of permitting terrorists to own guns. If they are permitted to own guns then law-abiding citizens will be permitted to own guns and in the end, the law-abiding citizen is the best deterrent to terrorism.
Ballack ruled out after challenge from Kevin-Prince Boateng
The Guardian World News
Today at 06:36 AM
• Ballack ruled out after challenge from Kevin-Prince Boateng
• Midfielder's absence will harm Germany's bid for success
Germany's captain Michael Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup with the ankle injury he sustained playing in Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup final win over Portsmouth, the German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed.
Ballack was injured by a tackle from Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng in which his ankle buckled. Although the midfielder tried to play on, he was forced to come off the field before the half-time interval. He left Wembley with his leg in a protective boot. The 33-year-old underwent an MRI scan in Munich this morning to assess the damage, and the scan showed ligament damage to his right ankle.
"National team captain Michael Ballack is out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa," the DFB said. "This is the result of an MRI on Monday morning in Munich. A tear of the medial collateral ligament of the right ankle was found. The right ankle is immobilised in a plaster. He will have to wear a special shoe for two weeks.
"After the diagnosis of national team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt today, a complete healing of the injury is expected. Ballack's return to training is possible at the earliest in eight weeks."
Ballack was angry about the challenge from Boateng and said yesterday: "It wasn't a good tackle. I've seen it on TV and it didn't look a good tackle. When I was on the pitch, I knew it would be really difficult to carry on. I tried, but it wasn't possible. I've had a few injuries and if you can't carry on, that's always a bad sign. Sometimes it's bruising or sometimes it's a nerve that stops you."
'Brighter Days Ahead'
'Brighter Days Ahead'
President Obama has compared himself to a lot of other presidents, including Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. He is starting to sound a lot like Herbert Hoover.US still using private spies, despite doubts
US still using private spies, despite doubts
“Top military officials have continued to rely on a secret network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to American officials and businessmen, despite concerns among some in the military about the legality of the operation. Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency officers and retired Special Operations troops into the region to collect information — some of which was used to track and kill people suspected of being militants.” (05/16/10)
Great Moments in American Statesmanship
Great Moments in American Statesmanship
Everyone knows that the United States of America is the greatest nation in human history. It is the land of the free and the home of the brave, whereas the people of other countries are for the most part caged and cowardly. So it comes as no surprise that the American people, being themselves so supremely admirable, have always advanced to positions of political and military leadership individuals who not only mirrored, but magnified the people’s own radiant character. But do not take my word for these leaders’ extraordinary virtues. Let their own words testify to their exemplary capacity to show the world just what Americans are made of. In regard to honesty, integrity, humanity, and selfless devotion to the general public interest, America’s leaders have always shined like beacons in a dark and depraved world.
* * *
Your people, sir, is a great beast.
― Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, 1792
I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.
― U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln, 1858
We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women and children.
― General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1866
It may be necessary to kill half the Filipinos in order that the remaining half of the population may be advanced to a higher plane of life than their present semi-barbarous state affords.
― Major General William Shafter, 1899
Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for.
– President
A duty to be oppressed?
A duty to be oppressed?
by Larken Rose
Do good, upstanding citizens have a moral obligation to allow themselves to be oppressed, harassed, terrorized, assaulted, and wrongfully detained or imprisoned? Most people would say “no.” But would most people actually mean it?
There are many examples of “law enforcers” treating innocent people like dirt. Random stops at “sobriety checkpoints” is a favorite of mine, since the local jackboots do that in front of my house on occasion. (In fact, they’re doing it right now, as I write this.) The border Gestapo is even worse. And a YouTube search for “police abuse” will provide you with hours of infuriating examples of fascist pigs in action.
So, do we have an obligation to put up with being treated like that? Think carefully before you answer. Because an answer of “no, we don’t,” implies that we have a right to resist it, to not cooperate. And, of course, the control freaks and megalomaniacs with the badges aren’t going to react kindly to anyone disobeying their gang. They will always escalate things to violence until they get their way.
If, for example, you believe that you have a right to not be searched without cause, a right not to be interrogated for no reason, and a right not to be detained for no reason, then logically you must also believe that you have the right to drive right through a “sobriety checkpoint” without stopping. And what if they try to forcibly stop you–as they certainly would–for exercising your rights? Do you then have an obligation to be oppressed? Or do you have the right to respond with force against force, in whatever degree it takes to overcome their attempts to detain you without just cause?
This is the horrible choice tyrants force everyone to make, on a regular basis: you either submit to their will, or you react with violence. And, unlike the badge-wearing crooks who call themselves “law enforcers,” the good people don’t like to use violence. So they almost always allow themselves to be oppressed. And that tells the tyrants that they can increase the injustice even more. The end result is … well, Frederick Douglass summed it up quite well:
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue till they have resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress.”
Let me put the point even more bluntly: Every time oppression increases, the people have only two choices: unconditionally submit, or kill the oppressors. These are the only choices, because the oppress...
Barack Obama's FCC Information Police
Barack Obama's FCC Information Police
The President warns us that Americans must beware of "the craziest claims" and "arguments" in which "information becomes a distraction" that puts "pressures" on "our democracy."Okinawa: 17,000 surround US base in protest #imperialist #tlot #tcot #liberty
Okinawa: 17,000 surround US base in protest
“Thousands of Japanese linked hands and encircled a Marine Corps base in Okinawa on Sunday to protest its presence on the island, putting more pressure on Tokyo to resolve an impasse over the base’s future. About 17,000 residents surrounded the Futenma air base early in the afternoon, chanting slogans and completing a human chain twice for several minutes each time, city official Hitoshi Nakou said. The base covers about 1.9 square miles (4.92 sq. kilometers), and sits in the middle of Ginowan, a city of about 93,000.” (05/16/10)
