Month: October 2012

Welcome to the Club Assange

I would like to take a moment to congratulate Julian Assange on receiving the prestigious award of being declared an enemy of the state:

THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States – the same legal category as the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban insurgency.

Declassified US Air Force counter-intelligence documents, released under US freedom-of-information laws, reveal that military personnel who contact WikiLeaks or WikiLeaks supporters may be at risk of being charged with “communicating with the enemy”, a military crime that carries a maximum sentence of death.

Being declared an enemy of the state isn’t always an easy task. Some individuals seeking this award resort to taking the low road of violence but Assange decided to take the high road but creating a system where the state’s secrets could be revealed for all to see. From one enemy of the state to another I welcome Assange to the club.

The hypocrisy of this declaration should be noted by everybody. The United States government claims it’s a “government of the people, by the people.” If that were the case the people would need access to all available state information in order to make informed decisions. Instead the state conceals the most important information in order to persuade the people that everything is running fine. What this demonstrates is that the United States government isn’t by the people, it’s by the oligarchs who tell the people fair tales in order to keep them placated and subservient while believing they’re in charge.

The State’s Not So Hidden Gun

While I keep trying to point out the fact that we each live under the constant threat of the state’s gun people usually don’t see it because the state is smart enough to keep that gun concealed most of the time. Yet the fact remains that any action you take that isn’t expressly approved by a state agent will be met with the threat or us of violence against your person, even if what you’re doing has been declared legal by the state:

A Wyoming sheriff’s deputy who detained a combat veteran in handcuffs for openly carrying a pistol offered to let him go if he agreed to let another deputy draw his weapon and shoot if the veteran made any sudden moves while driving away, court records show.

[…]

Pierson, 31, of Pensacola, Fla., was carrying the pistol, which is legal in Wyoming, when he was pulled over by Deputy Corry Bassett of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

In a sworn statement this month, Bassett acknowledged he offered to release Pierson if he allowed Deputy Rob Andazola to draw his weapon and cover Pierson.

What that officer meant to say was, “You want to challenge our monopoly on carrying firearms? Well then we’re just going to have to threaten to kill you, slave.”

Even when the state removes its direct threat of violence for performing an action the state’s low level goons will still make it clear that your ability to perform that action only comes at their express permission. Carrying a gun may be legal in Wyoming but that doesn’t mean a cop won’t pull their gun on you, threaten you, and even murder you because you made a “sudden move.”