Month: October 2012

Violent Crime Increases for First Time in Almost 20 Years

Considering the state of the economy this news isn’t very surprising:

Violent crimes unexpectedly jumped 18 percent last year, the first rise in nearly 20 years, and property crimes rose for first time in a decade. But academic experts said the new government data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long decline in crime.

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Wednesday that the increase in the number of violent crimes was the result of an upward swing in simple assaults, which rose 22 percent, from 4 million in 2010 to 5 million last year. The incidence of rape, sexual assault and robbery remained largely unchanged, as did serious violent crime involving weapons or injury.

Before the gun control advocates start claiming that this sudden upswing is due to the increase in gun sales take note of the last sentence, which stated that serious violent crime involving weapons or injury remained mostly the same. On top of that, as expected with unemployment going nowhere but up, the number of burglaries and thefts also increased:

Property crimes were up 11 percent in 2011, from 15.4 million in 2010 to 17 million, according to the bureau’s annual national crime victimization survey. Household burglaries rose 14 percent, from 3.2 million to 3.6 million. The number of thefts jumped by 10 percent, from 11.6 million to 12.8 million.

Unfortunately things are only bound to get worse. Both major presidential candidates and almost everybody running for federal offices has no plan to fix our economic issues. Unless the state is willing to step out of the way, or is forced out of the way when it collapses, unemployment will continue to rise and people will become more and more desperate as their finances dwindle.

The State Releases One of Its Three Political Prisoners

I reported earlier this month that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were holding Leah Planet, Katherine Olejnik, and Matt Duran prisoner. Leah was being held for refusing to testify against her fellow anarchists noting that the arrests were effectively a witch hunt as the FBI was unable to obtain any evidence that lead to charges. The state has released Lead:

On July 25, Plante, along with two of her closest friends (co-conspirators, if you’re filtering reality through the brain of an FBI agent), Matt Duran and Kteeo Olejnik, were arrested after FBI agents and Joint Terrorism Task Force officers broke down her door with a battering ram.

The officers had a warrant for computers, black clothing, and “anarchist literature.” Plante was then arrested without a warrant, and for items that any of us might have in our possession right now.

[…]

On Friday, October 19, however, she was released with very little information as to why. Her only post-prison comments were attacks against misogynistic posts on her website.

Apparently it was too hard to justify caging somebody for refusing to condemn her friends. Unfortunately Matt and Katherine are still being held in cages. We’ll see how long it takes for the FBI to either create some trumped up charges or release the two and pretend there wasn’t a state sanctioned witch hunt going on.

Amy Klobuchar Selling Protection

Many people claim that the state is necessary to prosecute those who have defrauded others. Of course this raises a question: who watches the watchmen? Before becoming a senator, Amy Klobuchar was an attorney for Hennepin County. During here time she was apparently selling favors. In exchange for campaign contributes Klobuchar was apparently willing to overlook a giant ponzi scheme being performed by Tom Petters:

Documents obtained by The Daily Caller show that U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar helped keep a multibillion-dollar Ponzi schemer out of prison in the late 1990s when she was the County Attorney in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

That financial criminal, Tom Petters, presided over companies whose employees gave Klobuchar $8,500 for her re-election campaign, and would later contribute more than $120,000 toward her U.S. Senate run.

[…]

Perhaps because of the lure of Petters’ campaign cash or his deep connection to Minnesota Democratic politics, Klobuchar used the power of her office in 1999 to ensure Petters was not charged with financial crimes. And despite significant evidence against him, she cleared the way for Petters to build his multibillion-dollar illegal empire by prosecuting only his early co-conspirators.

This should come as no surprise to anybody. Those attracted to the state’s power are often sociopaths and are therefore willing to grant privileges to those offering political gain. Giving any entity a monopoly on the use of violence will ultimately end with that entity abusing its power. Time and time again we hear about state thugs taking great deals of cash in exchange for legal protections.

Whether this affects Klobuchar’s election has yet to be seen although it doesn’t appear that this news is catching on so I’m doubting it.

A Message to My Fellow Gun Rights Advocates

I know the election is looming and I know Obama has openly stated, again, that he supports a new “assault weapon” ban but we really need to talk.

With the election coming up the arguments, as expected, are getting very heated. What I can’t fathom is why advocates of gun rights are getting into such heated arguments over the presidential race. Many gun rights activists are actually arguing over which anti-gunner will be “less” of an anti-gunner. Is this what we’ve reduced ourselves to? Have we fallen so far that we’re actually willing to support an advocate of gun control so long as they’re not “worse” than another advocate of gun control? Will we throw our support behind a candidate who favors an “assault weapon” ban so long as his opponent supports an “assault weapon” ban and a ban on private sales?

This is getting ridiculous. I honestly can’t believe so many activists in the gun rights community are arguing in favor of an anti-gunner like Romney just because he’s not as anti-gun as Obama. I know people love politics and using the political means to achieve their goals. That’s fine, you can keep doing that without having to sell your soul. The president is only one piece of the political gun rights puzzle and a rather minor piece at that. In order to get a new “assault weapon” ban through legislation needs to be passed by the House and the Senate before the president even has the opportunity to sign it. Since the presidency is a lost cause when it comes to gun rights why not focus on controlling Congress? So long as one of the two houses are held by pro-gun candidates getting gun control legislation through will be difficult.

The bottom line is this: the more energy you expend on the already lost presidential election the less energy you’ll have to expend on congressional battles. I realize that the president is the most well-known political figure in this country and therefore he’s the guy you want to focus on but there’s no point if neither candidate will deliver what you want. Why not focus on the potentially winnable battle even if it will be less glorious? Sure, nobody will likely hear about whatever congress critter you’ve worked to get elected but if he is a supporter of gun rights you’ll have actually achieved something.

Of course you don’t need to rely on the political means to achieve victory. You could always practice civil disobedience, jury nullification, or agorism. We now have the technology to render gun control entirely irrelevant, let’s use it.

A Frightening Reenactment of History

The most worrisome thing about economic depressions may not be the devastation they bring up the people, it may be the people’s susceptibility to those promising fixes. History gives us countless examples of tyrants obtaining power because they offer a fix to economic depressions. Of all the examples one of the most frightening was the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany after World War I. World War I left Germany economically devastated and Adolf Hitler promises to fix that, which he did for a short while. Now it seems Greece is reenacting Germany’s plight as fascist are gaining more influence and power:

Greece’s far-right party, Golden Dawn, won 18 parliamentary seats in the June election with a campaign openly hostile to illegal immigrants and there are now allegations that some Greek police are supporting the party.

Golden Dawn, Greece’s fascist party, have been promising fixes to the economic failures and people are slowly signing on. The party’s primary support seems to be coming from the police, which isn’t surprising given the authoritarian nature of many police officers. In fact some of the police in Greece have even gone so far as to send victims to members of Golden Dawn:

Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party is increasingly assuming the role of law enforcement officers on the streets of the bankrupt country, with mounting evidence that Athenians are being openly directed by police to seek help from the neo-Nazi group, analysts, activists and lawyers say.

In return, a growing number of Greek crime victims have come to see the party, whose symbol bears an uncanny resemblance to the swastika, as a “protector”.

One victim of crime, an eloquent US-trained civil servant, told the Guardian of her family’s shock at being referred to the party when her mother recently called the police following an incident involving Albanian immigrants in their downtown apartment block.

“They immediately said if it’s an issue with immigrants go to Golden Dawn,” said the 38-year-old, who fearing for her job and safety, spoke only on condition of anonymity. “We don’t condone Golden Dawn but there is an acute social problem that has come with the breakdown of feeling of security among lower and middle class people in the urban centre,” she said. “If the police and official mechanism can’t deliver and there is no recourse to justice, then you have to turn to other maverick solutions.”

One of my friends likes to say that history doesn’t repeat itself but it does follow parallel tracks. I believe what’s happening in Greece is one of those parallel tracks. Similar circumstances to Germany have lead to the gradual rising power of a nationalistic authoritarian regime. Currently people are scoffing at Golden Dawn because they hold so few elected offices but people also scoffed at the Nazi Party in its early days. History shows us that people are more than happy to surrender control to tyrants if those tyrants offer something of sufficient value.

We’re seeing the start of something that could get extremely ugly in Greece. I only hope that something happens to stop it before it gets out of control.

What’s in a Word

Words are powerful tools that can convey any number of ideas. Unfortunately, as with any tool, words can be used for both good and evil. Some people use words to express ideas of liberty, others use words to entertain, but the state uses words to deceive:

“Never believe anything until it is officially denied,” is a useful saying, advising scepticism towards whatever the government claims to be doing. This is the right mental attitude for any journalist or observer of the political scene. But for sniffing out official or journalistic mendacity, evasion and ignorance, a good guide is the use of tired and misleading words or phrases, their real purpose being not to illuminate but to conceal.

Suspicion of an attempt to deceive should be aroused by any sighting of the word “community”, as in “international community” or “Islamic community”: the phrases suggest solidarity and consensus of opinion where it does not exist. More toxic are policies pretending that there is something called “the community” that can look after people hitherto cared for by the state. When care in the community was introduced in Britain, it meant that people living in mental hospitals which were being sold by the government were kicked out to be looked after by a community that either feared or ignored them.

A good wordsmith can portray one idea while actually saying the exact opposite. By saying the “Islamic community” supports terrorism a politician can portray every Muslim as a supporter of terrorism without actually saying every Muslim supports terrorism. The article has many more examples of words to keep an ear open for.

Same Tactics, Different Party

People, especially self-proclaimed Democrats, often chided the Bush administration for using patriotism to silence their opposition. Now that Bush is out of office and the tables have turn the Obama administration is trying its damnedest to show that there is only one party, the party of the state, by using Bush’s exact tactics to silence its opposition:

In the eight years since then, Democrats haven’t learned how to beat Bush’s tactics. What they’ve learned instead is how to mimic them. “There were very important moments in the discussion about Libya,” Obama adviser David Plouffe told CNN last night. “Gov. Romney looked like someone playing politics, and I think the president looked like a resolute commander-in-chief.” On MSNBC, Obama strategist David Axelrod said the president “is aware every single moment that he’s responsible for the lives of the Americans he sends overseas. … He feels that intensely. So it is offensive, the suggestion that somehow he would play politics with this issue.” Today on Good Morning America, Vice President Biden added:

It became so clear to the American people how Gov. Romney and the campaign continue to try to politicize a tragedy. … The president was clear: We are going to get to the bottom of this. The whole world will know it. And I think when the president turned and looked at Gov. Romney and made that assertion, saying, basically, “Don’t question me on this, in terms of my caring,” I thought it was a powerful moment.

Patriotism is a powerful and frightening tool. It allows the state to great a religious zealotry in those it expropriates from. Instead of fighting against the exploiters the people defend and even worship them. When you speak out against the exploiters the people throw out accusations of treason and being unpatriotic (as if that is supposed to be bad). The state itself uses this reverence for all it’s worth in an attempt to silence all critics. Unfortunately people often fail to see “their” party use patriotism to silence opposition, they only see it when “the other” party does it.

We must avoid succumbing to patriotism. If we allow yourselves to worship the state, to see the state as benevolent, then it becomes far easier to sucker us into supporting heinous crimes such as the stripping of liberties, wars, and ever increasing expropriation.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Laugh at Gun Control

Much of the gun rights community seems to be in a tizzy. During Tuesday’s presidential debate the issue of gun control came up. Not surprisingly both candidates played their expected parts. Mitt Romney pretended that he’s performed at 180 degree turn and is now a staunch supporter of gun rights while Barack Obama remained consistent and said he supports another “assault weapon” ban:

During their second election debate, both men largely danced around a gun-control question, a reflection of how they are wary of offending voters who support gun rights.

However, Obama did say that he would back an assault-weapons ban like the one President Bill Clinton signed in 1994. That law expired in 2004 without being renewed by Congress.

Romney signed such a ban as governor of Massachusetts, but he has indicated that he would not support banning assault weapons as president. He did not say why his stance is different now, but in winning the Republican nomination he courted conservative voters who generally oppose gun restrictions, and he was endorsed by the influential National Rifle Association.

Needless to say this move was smart for both parties. I’m sure Romney gained a few additional supporters in the form of gun rights activists who were suckered by his claimed change of heart. Likewise Obama probably enjoyed a few additional supporters in the form of gun control advocates who he has been keeping at arm’s length (until now, when he actually wants their votes). Ultimately I don’t care.

I no longer worry about an “assault weapon” ban or any other form of gun ban. You see technology has made gun control entirely impossible. Computer numerical control (CnC) machines and 3D printers allow any individual to manufacture the registered parts of many firearms in their own home. If an “assault weapon” ban goes through and AR-15 receivers become illegal to purchase then one only needs to gain access to a CnC machine and manufacture their own. One doesn’t even need to go as far as getting a CnC machine or a 3D printer, almost anybody can make an AK-47 receiver out of sheet metal. If people in a third-world country can manufacture a firearm then you and I, who enjoy the technologic advancements of the first-world, should have no problem whatsoever manufacturing firearms.

We should no longer allow ourselves to be subjected to the desires of sociopaths. If the state says we can’t have “assault weapons” then we should manufacture “assault weapons” in droves. Instead of begging politicians to allow us to keep our arms let’s work to simplify the construction of arms so that any individual can do it in their home with minimal knowledge. Once almost every person is able to manufacture a firearm in their home the entire gun control debate will become completely pointless. There is no way to control something that everybody can easily make.

Rand Paul Makes Hating Him too Easy

Even though I already have good reasons to dislike Rand Paul it’s nice to see that he’s working hard to give me more:

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is running ads in support of controversial Republican Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin in his bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill.

For the past week, RandPAC has been targeting Senate Democrats for voting against Paul’s proposal to cut foreign aid to Libya, Egypt and Pakistan.

Rand Paul is throwing his support behind Todd “Women Rarely Become Pregnant from Legitimate Rape” Akins. Normally I wouldn’t waste your time reporting on this. Nobody should be surprised that one sociopathic neocon is supporting another sociopathic neocon. However the fact that many people in the liberty movement still believe that Rand Paul will be our savior makes this stupid political move noteworthy. Obviously Rand’s opponents are going to descend on this news like vultures on a corpse and his supporters will be expected to justify his actions. It’s going to be damned difficult to justify Rand’s support of Akins since Akins’s did a wonderful job of vilifying himself in the eyes of almost everybody. Heck the Republican Party even told Akins to quite.

This should make for a very entertaining episodes of Politics: The Reality Television Show for Suckers.