End the War on Freedom - Links and Commentary from my Crypto-Anarcho-Libertarian Perspective

David E. Young Interview

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:04:40 -0500

David Codrea and David E. Young at The War on Guns - An interview with the author of The Origin of the Second Amendment ($30) and The Founders' View of the Right to Bear Arms ($30). You can order his books from those Amazon links or via snail mail to the publisher via secondamendmentinfo.com.

Quote:

DC: So what is the purpose of the Second Amendment? Insurrection? A National Guard? Hunting? Self defense?

DY: The goal of the Second Amendment is to secure the free state the people have authorized against possible future tyranny. This requires that the militia, the able-bodied males, be capable of effective self-embodying defensive action, something which is dependent on them having access to their own arms and knowledge of their use. The only way to assure this against misconstruction and abuse of the government's powers is to protect the right of individuals to have and use arms for any legitimate purposes. The overriding concern is mutual defense against government tyranny, which is entirely dependent upon each individual having the right and ability to defend himself so he can associate with others for defense of the community if ever necessary. Hunting and target shooting, etc., are clearly beneficial aspects of this right, and since they involve having and using arms, are protected. I have emphasized the developmental historical examples relating to these points in The Founders' View.

...

DY: I specialize in study of the Constitutional Era and, to a lesser extent, the Colonial and Revolutionary Eras. Remember that my area of expertise is the development and adoption of the Second Amendment ending with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson's announcement regarding ratification of the Bill of Rights amendments on March 1, 1792. Historical questions about anything after that date are simply requests for my personal opinion based on my best guess.

Talking to the Police

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:48:09 -0500

Prof. James Duane & Officer George Bruch at Regent University School of Law - good video of a presentation to law students on why they should never, ever, allow their clients to talk to the police. They have nothing whatsoever to gain, and, even if innocent, can give the police everything they need to get a conviction, even if they had nothing whatsoever before the "interview". Prof. Duane states the thesis, and Officer Bruch confirms it from his experience. You can watch streaming video at the article link or download it, in two parts, from iTunes, here. That's what I did.

Who's crashing our tea party?

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:29:23 -0500

Vin Suprynowicz at The Las Vegas Review-Journal - what really happened at the Nevada Republican Party Convention. [gsc]

Quote:

First, America does not have two major parties. It has one major party -- the Incumbent Party -- which is divided into two social clubs, the Republicrats and the Demopublicans.

This single party has a single agenda: Tell the voters you stand for "change," and then deliver them no change at all, except incremental further steps toward the brand of state socialism popularized by Bismarck, Mussolini, Hitler and Roosevelt the Second.

If we have two different major parties, tell me which one, placed in power, would quickly end the War on Drugs; pull our troops out of 103 nations overseas; restore the Second Amendment right to own a machine gun without having to sign your name or show a photo ID; end the actuarially bankrupt and constitutionally unauthorized Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Ponzi schemes; shut down the Federal Reserve Board and put us back on a sound, non-inflating dollar made of gold and/or silver. Tell me which one would declare that children belong to their parents, shutting down the state "Child Protection" kidnapping racket (kids have been kidnapped and killed for an offense as minor as mom not "getting them their shots" -- see Cameron Justin Demery, Oct. 14, 1996) and the vastly expensive Government Youth Propaganda Camps which are dumbing down our children into quasi-literate sociopaths.

That would be "change." And the One Party has none to offer.

The Energy Non-Crisis

Fri, 09 May 2008 05:59:57 -0500

Lindsey Williams at Google Video - 75 minute talk about Mr. Williams' book (more). He claims that "there is as much crude oil on the north slope of Alaska as there is in Saudi Arabia... potentially enough crude oil ... to supply the United States of America for over 200 years... Russia has just dug some super deep wells... they have found massive amounts of oil. The world is nowhere near to running out of oil... 'Since Lindsey left the Prudoe Bay oil field as Chaplain, we since have discovered another field as large as Gull Island. America has everything we need on the north shore of Alaska.'" Same with natural gas. He discovered this in the late seventies, after being invited to Alaska as a preacher, and allowed into the inner circle of the oil company executives there. According to Mr. Williams, the existence of that oil was classified the day after it was discovered. There's another copy of this video here.

Focusing on Solar's Cost

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:00:51 -0500

Tyler Hamilton at Technology Review - a Hollywood-based startup, Sunrgi Solar Energy Systems, has created a concentrated photovoltaic module that they expect to be able to produce electricity at a price competitive with fossil-fuel generation. Hope it works. [gsc]

Quote:

Sunrgi, which emerged out of stealth mode last week, has created a concentrated photovoltaic system that uses a lens to focus sunlight up to 2,000 times onto tiny solar cells that can convert 37.5 percent of the sun's energy into electricity. Stronger concentrations of sunlight allow engineers to use much smaller solar cells, making it more economical to use higher-efficiency--but higher-cost--cells. Sunrgi, for example, will use cells based on gallium arsenside and germanium substrates.

...

Sunrgi estimates that its system will be capable of producing electricity at a wholesale cost of five cents per kilowatt-hour. Prototypes have been built and tested both in the laboratory and in the field, and the company expects to start commercial production in 12 to 15 months...

Big Government Responsible for High Gas Prices

Tue, 06 May 2008 05:20:22 -0500

Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - Why Dr. Paul's "Affordable Gas Price Act" (HR 2415) is the best way for the federal government to lower gas prices.

Quote:

The free market can meet the American people’s demand for a reliable supply of gasoline as long as government does not distort the market through excessive taxation and regulation. Therefore, Congress should lower prices gas prices by pursuing an agenda of low taxes, regulatory relief, and sound money by passing legislation such as my Affordable Gas Act.

The Green Recession

Mon, 05 May 2008 05:37:01 -0500

Eric Englund at LewRockwel.com - Mr. England blames the environmental movement, especially Algore's human-induced-global-warming hoax, for America's economic problems. He may well be right. [lew]

Quote:

So let’s get back to the robust correlation between the rise of the green movement and the decline of the American economy. Greenies, and their political minions, are constantly bossing Americans around. Watch out for having too large of a carbon footprint. Did that bottled water come from Fiji? Recycle your paper, your plastic, your metals and don’t you dare mix any of these materials in the wrong recycling bin. Don’t water your lawn, get a low-flow toilet, and for gosh sakes replace your incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones. Are you driving an SUV? Shame on you. Think globally, but act locally. Blah, blah, blah.

An enormous amount of physical and mental energy is expended to make the green busybodies happy. None of this "work" is productive. Sure there are those who feel a sense of fulfillment by following these mind-numbing edicts from greenies – as one feels more connected to nature and to a worthy cause (I suppose). I have little doubt that green sympathizers are the same people who celebrate the income tax so that money can be forcibly taken from bad people and transferred to the good downtrodden proletariat. Hurray for April 15th! All in all, going green is a monumental waste of time and energy. It is, consequently, a drag on our economy and a proximate cause of economic decline.

MBAs, across the country, have been indoctrinated with the claptrap that just about anybody or anything can be a stakeholder in a business. It is passé to believe that simply treating employees well and pleasing customers are the keys to business success. No, it is now chic, and politically correct, to integrate varying degrees of environmentalism into a company’s business plan. For Mother Earth herself is a stakeholder in every business. The intrinsic value of nature must be acknowledged and celebrated in order for a business plan to be credible. By embracing such twaddle, it is no wonder once-great American companies are slipping into mediocrity or worse. MBAs, from top business schools, are part of the problem, not the solution.

The Rev. Wright

Sat, 03 May 2008 06:03:45 -0500

Charley Reese at LewRockwell.com - Mr. Reese respects Reverend Jeremiah Wright. From what little I've read of his opinions, I do too. I certainly don't agree with everything he says, but he has the temerity to say unpopular things and stick to his guns about his opnions. I respect that a lot. [lew]

Quote:

Now, in the first place, this was the old guilt-by-association gimmick – Sen. Obama, you either have to denounce this man or we will assume you agree with and condone all of his views. Bull. The Rev. Wright is not part of the Obama campaign, doesn't write his speeches and doesn't speak for him. Obama should have said: "Look, we have no connection except a personal one. I've told you I don't agree with all of his views, but I cherish his friendship, and if you don't like that, you can go to hell. And if you have any questions about him or his views, ask him, not me." Then he should have stuck to his campaign message and ignored any questions about the Rev. Wright.

Quote

Sat, 03 May 2008 04:07:14 -0500

From gsc:

"For my own part, I expect the war against individual liberty to move into additional renewed phases of overt violence. To me, the strategic implications of water-borne properties make them ill suited for what I see coming. I prefer mountainous terrain. Given what I expect of the filthy, putrescent, evil, heinous, murdering, raping, mutilating, torturing, thieving scum who run the major governments of the world, I think the sense of 4th Generation Conflict, that one survives and hits back as opportunity
arises, strongly motivates a choice of difficult terrain in which to move..."

-- Jim Davidson

N.Y. lawsuit against 37 gun makers dismissed

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:53:38 -0500

Rhonda Cook at The Atlanta Journal Constitution - Michael Bloomberg's lawsuit against gun stores who sold guns that were later found in New York City was dismissed on Wednesday by a federal appeals court. Good. Now let's hope that the countersuits are successful, and that Bloomberg himself is forced to pay millions of his own money. More related stories here.

Michael Bloomberg, Serial Killer

Thu, 01 May 2008 15:13:51 -0500

L. Neil Smith at JPFO - forbidding people from possessing self-defense tools, under color of law, is morally equivalent to murder. Hopefully, Bloomberg and Richard Daley and other victim disarmers will swing for their crimes before they die of old age. [jpfo]

Quote:

At this point, I want to make it clear that this is not a parable. It is not a metaphor, a simile, or any kind of analogy. It is an accurate, point-for-point description of the criminal behavior of the authorities in many of America's biggest cities -- New York, Chicago, Denver -- where you are forbidden to carry, or in some cases to own, a weapon of self-defense. Instead of using their resources to pursue criminals, the police in these jurisdictions are busy preventing you from exercising the unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right of every man, woman, and responsible child to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

The crime I'm guilty of in my scenario is the crime they're guilty of in real life. Through force or the threat of force, they pin your arms and make you helpless while robbers, rapists, and killers do whatever they like with you. Certain of these authorities are even guiltier because they've mounted a deliberate, nation-wide effort to spread their particular kind of deadly criminality as far and wide as possible.

What Ron Paul’s Book Accomplishes

Thu, 01 May 2008 04:32:27 -0500

Thomas E. Woods, Jr. at LewRockwell.com - nine things accomplished by Ron Paul's new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto ($11.55 plus shipping). I ordered a copy. [lew]

Quote:

9. For your friends who have heard of Ron Paul only in caricature, or have never heard of him at all, it shows him to be a learned, thoughtful, and mature statesman. Its arguments are consistently persuasive, and it’s written in a way that keeps your attention from the first page to the last. It is a book that can change minds.

And we sure need plenty of that.

The revolution will not be pasteurized

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:10:53 -0500

Nathanael Johnson at Harpers - pretty good coverage of the science and politics of raw milk. I mostly avoid milk, since my colds are much milder without it, but I have found raw milk to be worlds better than the pasteurized/homoginized variety. Raw milk is alive, vibrant, real. Pasteurized is dead, boring, mechanical. Public health my ass. If people want to drink raw milk, it ain't nobody's business. [root]

Quote:

If the police actions against Schmidt and other farmers have been overzealous, they are nevertheless motivated by a real threat. The requirement for pasteurization—heating milk to at least 161 degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen seconds—neutralizes such deadly bacteria as Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and salmonella. Between 1919, when only a third of the milk in Massachusetts was pasteurized, and 1939, when almost all of it was, the number of outbreaks of milk-borne disease fell by nearly 90 percent. Indeed, pasteurization is part of a much broader security cordon set up in the past century to protect people from germs. Although milk has a special place on the watch list (it’s not washable and comes out of apertures that sit just below the orifice of excretion), all foods are subject to scrutiny. The thing that makes our defense against raw milk so interesting, however, is the mounting evidence that these health measures also could be doing us great harm.

Over the past fifty years, people in developed countries began showing up in doctors’ offices with autoimmune disorders in far greater numbers. In many places, the rates of such conditions as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn’s disease have doubled and even tripled. Almost half the people living in First World nations now suffer from allergies. It turns out that people who grow up on farms are much less likely to have these problems. Perhaps, scientists hypothesized, we’ve become too clean and aren’t being exposed to the bacteria we need to prime our immune systems.

Power From the People

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:57:12 -0500

Brian Doherty at Reason - it is not hard to generate your own power, from any sort of plant matter, with old technology, a "gassifier". A group of bohemian machine-artists, spearheaded by Jim Mason, did it on a fairly large scale in San Francisco, when their grid power was turned off over building code violations. This kind of locally-generated power may provide a better solution to America's energy problems than taxes and regulations on centralized power. It's also carbon-neutral, for those in the audience who care about that (not me). [root]

Quote:

The costs in time and sanity borne by Mason and his crew were apparent. They were also far beyond what most of the non-art-obsessed will want to pay. But so were the innovations that arose from, say, the Homebrew Computer Club of Silicon Valley, that mid-’70s gang of PC enthusiasts—including a young Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak—dedicated to DIY computer making. Yet from the homebrewers’ irrational enthusiasms arose the modern world of personal computing.

We haven’t reached the point where flicking a switch for coal-fired power from far away seems as inadequate as the five-mainframes-for-the-nation computer vision that the proto-hackers of the ’70s were rebelling against. But Mason notes that all sorts of human endeavors, from our computing to our food to our transportation, have evolved away from bare resource economizing. They’ve become instead arenas for play and assertions of identity—or, as Mason likes to think of it, areas in which there is at least some opportunity to impress girls.

“We can turn power into something experiential, expressive, personal,” he says. “Not a problem to be solved but an opportunity to be explored, like the cultural movement in food from a thing you eat for raw energy to food as an idiom of pleasure, creativity, and expression, an excuse for gathering friends and family.

“Computing had a similar transformation. It wasn’t until the computer became an idiom of personal expression that it exploded into something ubiquitous as clothes on our body.

The Narrative of the 'Free Republic'

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:41:27 -0500

Stefan Molyneux at Strike the Root - Mr. Molyneux paints the United States' founding documents as so much political propaganda. He may be right. [root]

Quote:

If Mafia Gang A attacks Mafia Gang B – while claiming eternal hatred for Mafia Gang B’s evil practice of extortion – and then, as soon as it overthrows Mafia Gang B, immediately sets up its own more predatory extortion rackets, we can clearly understand that Mafia Gang A was motivated by jealousy of Mafia Gang B, not out of any fundamental dislike of their practices.

If we continue to believe the pious lies of statist propaganda, we will forever be drawn to drown ourselves in the mirage of a mythical past where people were “free.” If we continue to believe that the “founding of the Republic” – really the overthrow of a relatively benign foreign gang by a vastly more rapacious domestic gang – was defined by the moral fairy tales designed to dull the scepticism of the average citizen, then we shall be forever drawn to repeat the mistakes of the past and waste our lives believing that a new criminal gang will somehow set us free.

If we believe that the Constitution was genuinely designed to limit the power of the state, then we will forever try to limit the power of the state by revising political documents or pursuing other kinds of political solutions. If we understand that political documents are in fact mere tools of hypocritical moral propaganda, we will be no more tempted to revise them than we would to fact-check back issues of “Pravda.”