End the War on Freedom

# Claire Wolfe at Backwoods Home Magazine - The Bug-Out Campout - three clairefiles participants, Bobaloo, Thunder, and Lightning, give their bug-out bags a field test and discover that you really really need a ground pad for winter camping. [claire]

# L. Neil Smith at The Libertarian Enterprise - The Death of Hope - thoughts on UPN's cancelling of Star Trek: Enterprise. I look forward to reading Neil's latest novel, Ceres, which he just finished writing. [tle]

The first duty of any police state is to keep its victims from escaping. Some use concrete and barbed wire. Others, recognizing that mental escape is far more dangerous than physical escape, use methods like drug laws and censorship. Permitting subjects to imagine--let alone write and produce stories of--a future that doesn't include the Omnipotent State is intolerable, a clear step in the direction of cultural suicide (an escape route which the State routinely denies to individuals).

Space represents the ultimate escape, of course. For decades, for all our lives, many of us who grew up with the idea, have believed that humanity in general, and not just government-approved jockstraps, would eventually get off this dirtball (the environmentalists can have it) and reestablish ourselves in new places--today the Solar System, tomorrow the stars--where, thanks to a reinvigorated principle of liberty, peace, prosperity, and progress would be the order of the day.

# Botach Tactical - Coldsteel Nightshade Series - fiberglass reinforced plastic knives. Inexpensive, deadly, non-magnetic. On sale now. My favorite is the Skean Dhu ($6.00), pictured below. I ordered one of those plus an FGX Tai Pan ($7.50). They listed UPS ground shipping as $7.39, but "Worldwide Express" was, unbelievably, only $1.00, so I picked that. I'll let you know if they tell me it was a misprint.

Black as a moonless night, silent as the grave, and totally undetectable...these are the qualities that make up our new lightweight Nightshade™ series. Most are detailed reproductions of existing Cold Steel favorites and some are new designs representing the newest trends in high-tech, covert construction. Made from Grivory™-- the latest in fiberglass reinforced plastic, and stronger than even the super tough Zytel® we have used in earlier models-- they are UV and heat stabilized, making them impervious to the elements.

One of the most unique features of these knives is their handles. They are made from deeply checkered Kraton that has been molded directly to the blade tangs. The use of Kraton in knife handles is a Cold Steel innovation that dates back to the early 1980's. It has been readily copied by most of our competitors because it offers a superior, slightly tacky gripping surface that is unaffected by heat, cold, or moisture. It never rusts, warps, cracks or splits even in the most extreme environments.

Our Nightshade™ knives are light enough to be tied, tucked, or taped just about anywhere on one's person. And, since they are impervious to heat, cold, moisture and extreme weather they are a natural to hide both inside and outside your house. They can be hidden virtually everywhere from the hedges and flowerpots in your yard, to the refrigerator, bookshelves, and closets in your house. Keep one in every room of the house, from the laundry room to the bathroom shower! With violent home invasions on the rise a strategically placed Nightshade™ could save the day, and even your life.

# Walt Williams at The Bozeman (Montana) Chronicle - Anti-federal bills move forward in House - Two Montana bills have easily passed the first two of three votes in the House. One, HB 304, "would prevent the state from cooperating with the federal government in establishing nationwide standards for noncommercial driver's licenses." The other, HB 366, "would exempt guns made in Montana from federal regulation under the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, as long as the guns remain inside the state." Bravo, Montana! [lrtdiscuss]