Habeus Corpus Survives, So Far

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sat, 27 Dec 2003 13:00:00 GMT

From survivalarts:

"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin." -- Mark Twain

Jacob G. Hornberger at The Future of Freedom Foundation - Judicial Blows against Military Tyranny - commentary on the recent court rulings barring the U.S. from chanting a magic incantation like "enemy combatant" and then holding someone incommunicado without charges, representation, or even notice. We'll see how the Busheviks respond. If they get the Supremes to agree with them, or just ignore the ruling, it'll be one more nail in the coffin of the Bill of Rights. No more fifth or sixth amendment. And we, the militia, are the only enforcement the courts can count on if the executive branch does not honor their rulings. [lew]

Why is the ruling in the Padilla case so critically important to the American people? Because as we have consistently held here at The Future of Freedom Foundation since September 11, if U.S. military officials are permitted to exercise such omnipotent power over the American people -- the same kind of power that is wielded by the military in Pakistan and Burma -- then the quaint belief that the American people are still free constitutes nothing more than a "life of the lie."

Among the absolutely necessary prerequisites for a free society are the procedural protections accorded by due process of law and the writ of habeas corpus. No one can be considered free when his life, liberty, and property are subject to nothing more than the arbitrary whims of government officials, especially those in the military. Our Founders understood that important principle of liberty, which is why they fought so hard to ensure the inclusion of these protections in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Mike Freeman at The New York Times - More N.F.L. Players Turn to Guns for a Sense of Security - heaven forefend! [scopeny]

No one knows exactly how many of the N.F.L.'s nearly 1,700 players are armed. That is in part because some possess illegal guns, purchased without a permit on the black market. The league also does not keep track of which players have permits to possess guns. Many players and others in the N.F.L. said they believe more players are armed than ever before, with their rough estimates running from perhaps half of the league's players to as many as 90 percent.

"The culture has definitely changed," Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, an 11-year veteran, said. "It's probably true that more players own guns now than when I first came into the league. That's because it doesn't feel safe being an athlete in public anymore.

I wrote the following letter to the editor:

To: letters@nytimes.com
Subject: Letter to the editor
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 07:39:32 -0500

Mike Freeman, in his December 26 column about NFL players owning guns for security, appeared to be talking about handguns, but he just said "guns". In most of free America, outside of the Big Apple that is, people can buy long guns without any permit or license except the Second Amendment. I myself have a number of times in the last couple of years walked into a gun store in Albany with my credit card or a wad of cash in hand, laid down my driver's license, filled out a short form, and walked out with a rifle or shotgun and a supply of ammo. New York's Sullivan Act makes that more complicated with handguns. But in many of America's freer states (I know of 9, but will be surprised if such states are not in the majority), that's all it takes to legally acquire a handgun. And where guns are hard to get legally, New York City and Washington D.C. come to mind, the free (aka black) market provides, as always with anything people want that government has made hard or artificially expensive to get (can you say "cigarettes"? Thought you could).

I'm glad to hear that NFL players have armed themselves. They have realized that their lives are in danger and have asserted their right to life by acquiring the most effective known self-defense tool, the handgun. Like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, self-defense is a bodily function that you cannot safely or effectively delegate to someone else. The police will usually not be there during the two second emergency period when you really need them. A handgun will. Unless you've allowed yourself to be disarmed by government. And if you live in the Big Apple, and obey the law, you have.

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Quotes

Government doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Can't. But there are lots of good people. Love them.

-- Bill St. Clair

The Atlanta Declaration

Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

-- L. Neil Smith

Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.

-- L. Neil Smith

A Penalty Clause for the Bill of Rights

Any official, appointed or elected, at any level of government, who attempts, through legislative act or other means, to nullify, evade, or avoid the provisions of the first ten amendments to this Constitution, or of the Thirteenth Amendment, shall be summarily removed from office, and, upon conviction, deprived of all pay and benefits including pension, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

-- L. Neil Smith

Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

-- John Lott, commenting on the National Academy of Sciences report on gun control laws.

Who is a libertarian?

Zero Aggression Principle ("Zap")

"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."

-- L. Neil Smith

(Formerly called the "Non-Aggression Principle", or "NAP")

Why Did It Have to be... Guns?

Make no mistake: all politicians -- even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership -- hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician -- or political philosophy -- can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude -- toward your ownership and use of weapons -- conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

-- L. Neil Smith

Concise

"Tell me," I was once asked, "What do you think about gun control? Give me the short answer." To which I replied, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

Also from The Atlanta Declaration:

... like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, it turns out that self-defense is a bodily function one cannot safely or effectively delegate to a second party.

-- L. Neil Smith

This does not mean that "Marijuana should be available by prescription." It means that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion.

-- Vin Suprynowicz

If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.

-- Edward Abbey

The state can only survive as long as a majority is programmed to believe that theft isn't wrong if it's called taxation or asset forfeiture or eminent domain, that assault and kidnapping isn't wrong if it's called arrest, that mass murder isn't wrong if it's called war.

-- Bill St. Clair