They Hate Us...

...for our Alaskan Salmon!!!

Roberts climbs out of his truck and slams the door.

He is a square-jawed man with a slow, deliberate way of talking. He looks out at Nushagak Bay, which remains frozen until the end of April. No boat can enter or leave the harbor until the ice breaks up. He shakes his head. "This is Dillingham, Alaska, folks," he says. "I don't think we have to worry about Osama bin Laden."

That is, unless Bin Laden wants to go salmon fishing.

Dillingham is a hub in the Bristol Bay region, which is famous among fishermen for its sockeye runs.

More here...

You just can't make this shit up!!!

Hat tip to Gunner over at No Quarters...

"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Why I am Optimistic...

I began awakening about the same time as Szechuan Death. It was difficult at first. I had to do a lot of research and then I had to learn to discard most of the education I had gained in the prior 30 years or so. It didn't fit. It could not be made to model actual conditions. It was wrong. There are many reasons why it was wrong, but the most evident was because the state wanted it to be wrong.

Now that I have learned some truths about history, about economics, about states, things have become quite clear. I don't need to battle the state. The state requires my support. I only need to deny that support and the state will collapse. I have stated it many times on this blog (and others), "IGNORE THE STATE". Now many of you are fearful of ignoring the state. That is understanable as that is what you have been trained to. But if you want freedom, you need to start thinking for yourselves, protect yourselves, and most of all support yourselves.

Szechuan Death has his own perspective that closely mirrors my own:

Most Root Strikers, in my estimation, came to their beliefs because they are officially broken, factory defects in a world not of their making whose functions are strange and counterintuitive, where everything seems at least the slightest bit "wrong." Because of their perception of the craziness of the things they are told and made to do whether they will or no, whether that perception was conscious or not, they started pulling and tugging at threads around them until a couple came loose. They did not and do not BELEEEEEEEEEEEVE On The State like they were supposed to, never completely, and so consequently went looking for other explanations and found 'em, back when it was hard (or harder, at any rate) to do. That's my story, in a nutshell; I've been broken since Day One, non-traditional all the way, a freak from the word Go. I've had a general low-level dislike for things which violate that natural law which all of us are born knowing but most somehow manage to forget, but only since 1998 have I made any strides toward understanding the larger picture and its mechanics, largely due to the improved access to information the Information Age has afforded the general public. Now, here I am, scribbling out little screeds in my spare time, one of the phosphorescent plankton flagellating about in a decaying Leviathan's wake, doing my best to keep afloat and prosper. That's my "how," and from what I've read, it's scarcely unique. Most heartening is that it seems to be getting less and less unique as time goes on.

The danger to the State is not that these people, these heretics and apostates of its Cult, will band together and work to destroy it; it is far more insidious, and far more overwhelming, than that. These people have access to the information that was previously unavailable due to cost, or inconvenience, or both. These people are replicating this information, analyzing it, reading it, disseminating it, discussing it, and refining it, all without realizing or caring that they are only meant to be burning it during the Two Minutes' Hate. They pound little drums for Liberty all across the planet, and slowly those drums are coming into synchronization of their own accord, converging on one single, pure harmonic, the low seismic thrumming of Truth and self-fulfilled prophecies that even the oblivious are feeling and swaying to. These people are wise and canny; they do not need the State, and feel no love for it in their breasts, and will not be there to prop it up when it begins to fall under its own weight. And that is, perhaps, the greatest danger they pose; that while they may not lift a hand to harm they sure won't lift a hand to help, that they will, at the very end, the last extremity, that crucial hour when all good men must come to the aid of their Crown so that the unthinkable prospect of an outbreak of uncontrolled human activity can be stifled, will finally render unto those panic-stricken, directive-spewing, impotent toadies of Caesar begging for assistance and compliance just that which is due them, the immortal wisdom of the fat sage Cartman: "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

And the by-now-certain-to-occur, once-in-a-millennium opportunity to deliver that line and walk away smiling to live our lives free, that is why we should be optimistic.

More here...

It really is that simple.

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."
-- Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

Our Marxist Government...

...no, not Karl...The Marx Brothers...

Bill Bonner explains...

We had a lot of fun with the "End of History" concept. It is so arrogant...so imbecilic...so preposterous, we chuckled every time we said the words. But, it helped explain why the options market had gone dead and why Americans are ready to go so deep into debt. It explained why investors buy 30-year U.S. debt at less than 5% yields, why people lend money to Third World countries at yields so low, you'd think they were going to pay the money back, and why Dow stocks still sell for 20 times earnings. Nobody expects history to cause any trouble.

"End of history? Beginning of nonsense," Maggie Thatcher is said to have remarked. But investors and neocons loved the idea. They don't realize it themselves, of course, but the new conservatives are a species of Marxists – not followers of Karl, but of Harpo, Chico and Groucho – with the world-improving pretensions and messianic delusions of Lenin and Che. They think they can build a better world by telling other people what to do. They are not the first to believe it, but they must be among the most inept.

More here...

I am reminded of a scene in "V for Vendetta", where a national talkshow host substitutes the government approved script for one making fun of the chancellor and his propaganda against V. A faux chancellor is introduced to the audience and then a faux V begins sabotaging the chancellor's appearence. Benny Hill background music and accelerated studio chase around scenes, involving faux troopers, add to the comedy. When V is fianlly caught by the troopers, he is unmasked by the chancellor to reveal...the chancellor. Both chancellors then order the troops to shoot the other chancellor and of course the confused but well conditioned troops shoot...both chancellors.

The scene is meant as a tongue-only-slightly-in-cheek question of, "Who is the real terrorist?"

Most apropos in today's police states...

"Wherever a man goes, men will pursue him and paw him with their dirty institutions, and, if they can, constrain him to belong to their desperate oddfellow society." -- Henry David Thoreau

Striking a Chord...

WorldNetDaily has published an anonymous hit piece on "V for Vendetta". It appears that the movie hit closer to home than I had thought. Reality is sometimes a tough thing to look at, face to face. The fact that this "review" is at the top of WND's Sunday edition is very telling...

According to the nameless diatribe:

Ted Baehr, a columnist for WND and the president of the Christian magazine Movieguide called it "a vile, pro-terrorist piece of neo-Marxist, left-wing propaganda filled with radical sexual politics and nasty attacks on religion and Christianity. "

Really??
Other than the motto of the state, "Strength through Unity, Unity through Faith", and a quick look at a Quran, under glass, there is no mention of religion and nothing of Christianity. Baehr's definition of terrorism apparently includes all violence against tyranny. Glad to know it. I hope to read about his admonitons of the US wars against tyranny, very soon. But I won't hold my breath. He, no doubt, includes our founding fathers as terrorists and would exalt their hanging with as much vitriol as he exudes in his review. Ironically, Baehr's review sounds more like one of Chancellor Sutler's raves (quote: "I WANT EVERYONE TO REMEMBER WHY THEY NEED US!!!) at his propaganda team.

WND's managing editor is also quoted...

"This is the marketing of terrorism," said WND Managing Editor David Kupelian, author of the bestselling book, "The Marketing of Evil." "When I saw Britain's Parliament building coming down in the final scene, I couldn't help thinking of the World Trade Center towers coming down.

"Many people around the world actually think the 9-11 terrorists were heroes," he added, "because they think America is evil. 'Vendetta' will push a few more lost souls over the edge, helping them believe the monsters threatening to annihilate multitudes of Americans in future attacks are heroic freedom fighters, not terrorists. The movie intentionally blurs the line between the two."

WND was supposedly started to combat the media bias toward out-of-control statism. How sad it is that it has become a tool of the state.

General note to TPTB (the powers that be)...
...when you do montrous things...you create...monsters...

I'm off to go see the movie...again!!!

UPDATE:

On the second viewing, I discovered I had somehow forgot all about the priest who was promoted to bishop, a decidedly Catholic thing and possibly attributable to Christianity, though I have come to disassociate Catholicism from Christianity after the scandal of the sexual predations of catholic priests, which were then covered up and the priests relocated to new hunting grounds.

And, of course, Natalie Portman prancing around in ponytails, ribbons and knee socks had a hand in the distraction as well. ;)

So there was a vague, indirect reference to possible Christianity... my apologies to Herr Baehr...

"People should not fear their government, the government should fear their people." -- V, V for Vendetta


"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson


"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself... Almost inevitably, he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable." -- H.L. Mencken


Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. And, ideas are bulletproof. -- V, V for Vendetta

V...

...for Vendetta...

We saw this movie yesterday, and I am still in the WOW zone. I want to go into more detail, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone... so ya'll comment back on this thread after you have seen the movie and I'll do another post on it.

WOW!!!


"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."
-- Milton Friedman

The Eides of March...

I look at the hillside, opposite our house, and wonder at the majik of nature. The hillside is bathed in a brown/gold mix as it climbs into new green and old/green. I love the mix of colours. The natural contrast and the natural mix. The trees have not yet leafed out, yet there is green on the hillside as such has not been seen since summer. There is gold leaf, like a lovers pendant, hanging from the trees, and a season ago...

I am transfixed... and transplexed...

The green erupting in the yard and on the hillside, overwhelm the senses...


I am at one with nature...


What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Creeping Socialism and Creepy Conservatives...

It is impossible to tell liberals from conservatives, democrats from republicans, leftists from rightists, anymore. You just can't do it. The definitions and actions of the groups and individuals, who continue to cling to those titles are too mixed to determine true principles. The Libertarians (big L) have now joined this game and no longer represent libertarian philosphy. As such they can now be attacked by the other parties as simple crackpots and inconsistent ninnies.

Steve Brenneis, over at Ars Mens Mentis, takes a dim view of libertarians because of this. He is, however, honest enough to admit the failings in the conservative party that used to represent his own views. While I do agree with Steve on his view of the Libertarian party, I would suggest that he consider his own narrative and realize he may not have correct view of libertarianism, as a philosophy, for the the very same reasons.

I've spent a lot of time and energy, especially since I left public office, castigating this and that individual for claiming to be conservative when they were, quite obviously to me, not conservative at all. This reached a peak for me lately with George W. Bush. He is an unrepentant socialist, a globalist, and a closet aristocrat. At this point, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit a little self-absorption. Bush, at least his public persona, is just about the diametric opposite of most of what I believe, politically speaking. Since I considered myself a conservative, obviously Bush couldn't possibly be one. I have come to realize I was wrong about that.

Creeping socialism has been the way in this country for lo these past forty years. Following Hayek's logic, conservatism acts as an anchor, slowing or impeding change. The conclusion isn't rocket science. Bush and his fellow "neo-cons" really do represent American conservatism now. The neo-con appellation is ironically apt with its connotation of "new conservatism." The Republican Party is now the home, for the foreseeable future, of this new conservatism.

More here...

Even though I consider the libertarian philosphy the closest to my own beliefs, I feel a kindred spirit with Steve, as I once was a conservative. The very things he laments drove me from that party, and made me realize that the system produced these results. For meaningful reform, the system must change, not just the policy.

Steve has many more terrific posts. Go read and enjoy.


"When a true genius appears in this world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." -- Jonathan Swift

And Yet More on...The Freest Country In the World...

Claire Wolfe reports...

THE OTHER SHOE DROPS ON NATIONAL ID. The pilot program for this abomination was sneaked in as land-mine legislation in 1996. It's only been a matter of time.

In a free country no one has to ask permission of the central government to earn a living. Or bank. Or travel. Or invest.

I'm personally frosted by the self-righteous quote in the linked article from former senator Alan Simpson. Way back when, I wrote a letter to a Wyoming paper, predicting what would come of his "anti-immigration" initiatives. Simpson contacted me (Wyoming; it's a small town) and we got into a heated discussion -- in which his part consisted almost entirely of denying that his BS would ever turn into national ID. Well, Mr. Simpson, welcome to the national ID state that you and your policies gave birth to. We should have "burned your humble butt" way back then. Your triumph is our failure.

The Great Mogambo Guru, master of all things monetary, mentioned Claire in this weeks article. Go Claire!!!



"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." -- Thomas Jefferson

More on...The Freest Country in the World...

It turns out that John Silveira has pondered this paradox...

Have you?

Here’s a quiz: Which is the freest country on earth? The answer’s easy. It’s the United States. Ask anyone. And why are we the freest? Not because we’re the richest. Long before we became the world’s richest nation we still regarded ourselves as the freest, and millions flocked to our shores to enjoy that freedom. The reasons we are free are: First, because of the philosophical basis upon which this country was founded. It is assumed that individuals have rights, e.g., free speech, the right to bear arms, the right of a jury trial before our peers should the government try to imprison us, seize our property, or deprive us of our lives, etc. Second, we have a Constitution that limits the powers of a central government to intrude into our lives. And third, our rights have been enshrined in the First 10 Amendments to our Constitution.

More here...

"None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe

The Freest Country in the World...

From Sara Messenger...

I’m so glad that I live in the US of A
It’s the freest country in the world
Where there’s plenty of work
You just can’t live on the pay
Yeah, it’s the freest country in the world

But this earth was once held
In indigenous hands
Before the first flag was unfurled
Stole what we could use and killed
What we could not understand
From the freest country in the world

Let the Chinese build the railroads
Let the Irish work the mines
To keep the rich in diamonds and pearls
And let Africans slave
Without so much as a dime
To build the freest country in the world

But with pride people died
For my right to vote
In the fairest system in the world
I’d like to be represented
But the chance is remote
With the highest-priced elections
In the world

More here... (including an MP3 of the song)

"Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw." - Henry David Thoreau

Cooperating (or not) with the State...

I have a post rumbling around my head. It is somewhat wide ranging but comes down to being able to determine those who strive for freedom from those who strive for control of others. In the meantime, Gary North has a great article on the coming collapse of the Empire (and probably all empires)...

The steady erosion of President Bush's popularity is the result of two primary factors: price-competitive guerilla weaponry in Iraq and price-competitive guerilla journalism in America. There is nothing he can do about either.

This marks the end of empire – not just the American empire, but empire as a system of international coercion. The world has been unable to eliminate empire as a form of political organization ever since the days of Assyria. Now that system is doomed. It is ending in the same geographical region where it began.

The central factor of the demise of empire is cost. It costs too much to organize an empire in comparison to the cost of undermining it. When costs change, production changes. When costs rise, less is demanded. The costs of empire have risen to a level where its organizational dynamics are negative. When costs fall, more is demanded. The costs of resistance continue to fall.

Fourth-generation warfare is not merely guerilla warfare. Fourth-generation warfare is a war against the legitimacy of the occupying forces. The costs of maintaining legitimacy for an empire involve both force and propaganda. Both factors are under siege by modern technology, which is not only radically price competitive but is also feature competitive. Empire is neither price competitive nor feature competitive.

The handwriting for empire is on the wall. It has been weighed in the balance and found wanting.

It's about time.

More here...


"In a capitalist society, all human relationships are voluntary. Men are free to cooperate or not, to deal with one another or not, as their own individual judgments, convictions and interests dictate." - Ayn Rand

MYOB!!!

I found this short Sci-Fi story some years ago. It was first published in 1951. I highly recommend it to those who want to see what anarchy looks like in action...

His Excellency fastened a cold eye upon him and demanded, ‘Well?’

‘He refuses to come.’ Bidworthy’s veins stood out on his forehead. ‘And, sir, if only I could have him in the space troops for a few months I’d straighten him up and teach him to move at the double.’

‘I don’t doubt that, Sergeant Major,’ the Ambassador soothed. He continued in a whispered aside to Colonel Shelton. ‘He’s a good fellow but no diplomat. Too abrupt and harsh-voiced. Better go yourself and fetch that farmer. We can’t loaf around forever waiting to learn where to begin.’

‘Very well, Your Excellency.’ Trudging across the field, Shelton caught up with the farmer, smiled pleasantly and said, ‘Good morning, my man.’

Stopping his machine, the farmer sighed as if it were one of those days one has sometimes. His eyes were dark brown, almost black as they regarded the newcomer.

‘What makes you think I’m your man.’

‘It is a figure of speech,’ explained Shelton. He could see what was wrong now. Bidworthy had fallen foul of an irascible type. They’d been like two dogs snarling at one another. Oh, well, as a high- ranking officer he was competent to handle anybody, the good and the bad, the sweet and the sour, the jovial and the liverish. Shelton went on oilily, ‘I was only trying to be courteous.’

‘It must be said,’ meditated the farmer, ‘that that is something worth trying for—if you can make it.’

Pinking a little, Shelton continued with determination, ‘I am commanded to request the pleasure of your company at the ship.’

‘Commanded?’

‘Yes.’

‘Really and truly commanded?’

‘Yes.’

The other appeared to wander into a momentary daydream before he came back and asked blandly, ‘Think they’ll get any pleasure out of my company?’

‘I’m sure of it,’ said Shelton.

‘You’re a liar,’ said the farmer.

His colour deepening, Colonel Shelton snapped, ‘I do not permit people to call me a liar.’

‘You’ve just permitted it,’ the farmer pointed out. Letting it pass, Shelton insisted, ‘Are you coming to the ship?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Myob!’ said the farmer.

‘What was that?’

‘Myob!’ he repeated. It sounded like some sort of insult. Shelton went back, told the Ambassador, ‘That fellow is one of those too-clever types. At the finish all I could get out of him was ‘Myob’ whatever that means.’

‘Local slang,’ chipped in Grayder. ‘An awful lot of it develops in four centuries. I’ve come across one or two worlds where there has been so much of it that to all intents and purposes it formed a new language.’

‘He understood your speech?’ asked the Ambassador of Shelton.

‘Yes, Your Excellency. And his own is quite good. But he won’t leave his work.’ He reflected briefly, suggested, ‘If it were left to me I’d bring him in by force with an armed escort.’

‘That would encourage him to give essential information,’ commented the Ambassador with open sarcasm. He patted his stomach, smoothed his jacket, glanced down at his glossy shoes. ‘Nothing for it but to go and speak to him myself.’

Shelton was shocked. ‘Your Excellency, you can’t do that!’

‘Why can’t I?’

‘It would be undignified.’

‘I am fully aware of the fact,’said the Ambassador dryly. ‘What alternative do you suggest?’

‘We can send out a patrol to find someone more co-operative.’

‘Someone better informed, too,’ Captain Grayder offered. ‘At best we won’t get much out of one surly hayseed. I doubt whether he knows one quarter of what we require to learn.’

‘All right.’ The Ambassador dropped the idea of doing his own chores. ‘Organise a patrol and let’s have some results.’

‘A patrol,’ said Colonel Shelton to Major Hame. ‘Nominate one immediately.’

‘Call out a patrol,’ Hame ordered Lieutenant Deacon. ‘At once.’

‘Parade a patrol forthwith, Sergeant Major,’ said Deacon.

Bidworthy lumbered up the gangway, stuck his head into the airlock and shouted,’ sergeant Gleed, out with your squad and make it snappy!’ He gave a suspicious sniff and went farther into the lock. His voice gained several more decibels. ‘Who’s been smoking? By heavens, if I catch the man—’

Across the fields something quietly went chuff-chuff while fat wheels crawled along.

Please continue the story, "And Then There Were None", by Eric Russell, here...


And for a present day look at anarchy in action, check this out:

Those concerned about deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the U.S. should take heart in the knowledge that the Somalis have built up a reasonably sound telephone system by combining the operations of their local telephone companies with those of dreaded multinational corporations like Sprint. While the system isn’t perfect, it is improving steadily. Nenova and Harford note that “[v]igorous competition has pushed prices well below typical levels in Africa , and Somalia now has 112,000 fixed lines and 50,000 mobile subscribers, up from 17,000 lines before 1991.” In addition, while some calls could require connections among several different companies, “firms in Mogadishu have now agreed on interconnection standards, and those in Hargeisa appear to be following suit.”

Similarly, entrepreneurs “have divided cities into manageable quarters and provide electricity locally using secondhand generators . . . . They offer households a menu of choices (daytime, evening, or 24-hour service) and charge per lightbulb.” This may not be the sort of system to which Americans have become accustomed, but it’s a heck of a lot better than having no electricity at all, and it beats the pants off much of Iraq under U.S. occupation.

Only urban areas of Somalia have public water supplies, but—surprise, surprise—“a private system extends to all parts of the country.” Furthermore, since the price of water is unregulated, “[p]rices naturally rise in times of drought,” thus helping to conserve much-needed water in those times. Would that we had such a system here, where instead we are treated to water rationing and government threats whenever water supplies run low!

Back when the Somali government operated the lone national airline, it had “just one airplane and one international route.” With anarchy, by contrast, have come “15 firms, more than 60 aircraft, 6 international destinations, more domestic routes, and many more flights.” Not possessed of the means to ensure safety, the Somalis engage in the much-maligned outsourcing to foreign countries for airplanes, crews and maintenance.

Somalis have a private system of courts, primarily handled by traditional clan systems. When a judge tried “to levy taxes and take over the privately run port of El Ma’an ,” the Somalis wisely told him and his court to take a hike. The private court system may not be perfect, but it’s miles better than one funded by theft and given to power grabs.

More here...


"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..." Declaration Of Independence