Tag: You’re Doing it Right

Minnesota is Fighting the Good Fight

While a majority of other states in the Union have rolled over and recommended fascists as their presidential candidates of choice Minnesota has been fighting the good fight. Instead of surrendering to the media’s propaganda that Romney is the chosen one we’ve given that dictator wannabe some headaches:

Mitt Romney may be the supposed frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination – but he’s not the most popular GOP candidate in Minnesota. Texas Congressman Ron Paul swept the 3rd, 5th and 6th Congressional District conventions over the weekend. Paul landed nine of nine state delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Paul also won one delegate in Minnesota’s 7th District March 31st while Rick Santorum picked up two. The four remaining districts will chose their delegates and alternates this weekend. Paul’s campaign is banking on Santorum backers throwing their support behind him. Romney finished third in Minnesota’s February caucuses which were non-binding.

This is one of the few times I can say I’m actually proud of my state. While every other state has been elevating Romney or Santorum as their recommended ruler for the next four years Minnesota is working hard to elevate the one candidate who doesn’t want to run our lives. At this rate when we have a choice between Obama and Obama Romney I can proudly say my state wasn’t responsible for the mess.

It’s Called Payback

How many people do you know that have spent time in one of the state’s cages? How many of those people were later found innocent of any wrongdoing? How many of the people found guilty were actually guilty of a crime involving a victim? The state loves to throw innocent people into cages and it’s always good to read stories about payback:

Venus Green, who was 87 when she was handcuffed, roughed up and injured by police, will receive $95,000 as part of a settlement with Baltimore City. The city chose to settle the case instead of taking a chance in front of a jury.

“We thought we would have a difficult time in front of a city jury, or any jury,” Baltimore City solicitor George Nilson said.

[…]

In July 2009, Green’s grandson, Tallie, was shot and wounded. Tallie said he was shot at a convenience store, but police insisted it happened inside Green’s house and that the shooter was either Tallie or Green.

“Police kept questioning him. They wouldn’t let the ambulance attendant treat him,” Green said. “So, I got up and said, ‘Sir, would you please let the attendants treat him? He’s in pain,'” Green said.
Green said the officer said to her, “Oh, you did it, come on, let’s go inside. I’ll prove where that blood is. You did it.”

Police wanted to go the basement, where Tallie lived, but Green refused on the basis that the police did not have a warrant.

[…]

A struggle ensued between a male officer and Green.

“He dragged me, threw me across the chair, put handcuffs on me and just started calling me the ‘b’ name. He ridiculed me,” Green said.

An officer went into the basement and Green locked him inside.

“She locked the door, the basement door. She basically took matters into her own hands,” Nilson said.

“This was my private home, and if I latched it, that was my prerogative because he had no search warrant to go in my basement. So, I had to right to latch it,” Green said.

Venus Green is awesome. Since she was on her way to a cage for a crime she didn’t commit it is only fitting that she tossed her aggressor in a cage as well.

Outside the Box Thinking can Saves Lives

Sometimes you just need to be creative tosave lives:

A suicidal man clung to an overpass high above Interstate 94 Monday morning, facing near-certain death if he jumped or fell.

But a quick-thinking state trooper found an ingenious way to save him: He summoned a convoy of 18-wheelers that had been stuck in halted traffic beneath the Groveland Avenue bridge as the emergency unfolded at about 10 a.m.

Trooper Carl Hoffman rounded up a six-pack of the big rigs, positioning the trucks one by one to break a potential plunge to the pavement about 25 feet below.

“It really speaks to the trooper’s ingenuity,” Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said. “‘Hey, we can shorten his fall and he’d be less likely to harm himself.'”

In a way the story is kind of comical. When the trooper guided semi trucks below the man threatening to jump he would shuffle away from the semis, only to have the trooper position another semi under the jumper. Being creative and having the ability to think quickly are important.

Free Market Currency

I read that Ron Paul introduced HR 1098, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011. The bill is straightforward, if passed it would abolish current legal tender laws that are used by the state to enact tight economic control over the populace:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011’.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF LEGAL TENDER LAWS.

(a) In General- Section 5103 of title 31, United States Code (relating to legal tender), is hereby repealed.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for subchapter I of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 5103 and inserting the following new item:
‘5103. [Repealed].’.

SEC. 3. NO TAX ON CERTAIN COINS AND BULLION.

(a) In General- Notwithstanding any other provision of law–

(1) no tax may be imposed on (or with respect to the sale, exchange, or other disposition of) any coin, medal, token, or gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium bullion, whether issued by a State, the United States, a foreign government, or any other person; and

(2) no State may assess any tax or fee on any currency, or any other monetary instrument, which is used in the transaction of interstate commerce or commerce with a foreign country, and which is subject to the enjoyment of legal tender status under article I, section 10 of the United States Constitution.

(b) Effective Date- This section shall take effect on December 31, 2011, but shall not apply to taxes or fees imposed before such date.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF SUPERFLUOUS SECTIONS.

(a) In General- Title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking sections 486 (relating to uttering coins of gold, silver, or other metal) and 489 (making or possessing likeness of coins).

(b) Conforming Amendment to Table of Sections- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 25 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the items relating to the sections stricken by subsection (a).

(c) Special Rule Concerning Retroactive Effect- Any prosecution under the sections stricken by subsection (a) shall abate upon the taking effect of this section. Any previous conviction under those sections shall be null and void.

Money, in the true sense of the word, is nothing more than a good that facilitates trade. Barter is a pain in the ass because it’s very difficult to find the exact goods somebody else needs. If you want to buy a box of ammunition and the person selling ammunition needs a dozen eggs, half of a pound of ground beef, and a pair of socks you’re going to have to trade for all of those items first. To overcome this complexity the market eventually began using what we think of as money today.

Historically speaking gold and silver have been chosen as money as both commodities have several traits that are desirable in money. Gold and silver coins are easily divided for the performance of smaller transactions, durable (they won’t rust away on you), and portable. Both metals also have intrinsic value meaning they can actually be used to manufacture stuff if nobody is willing to take them as money anymore.

Most states now legally mandate a currency and that currency is always fait, that is to say it has no intrinsic value. Fiat currencies are the stuff of dreams to governments because it allows them to effectively dictate the value and print whatever quantity they need to pay for whatever exorbitantly expensive project their heart is currently set on. Unfortunately these traits that make fiat currency the cat’s meow to the state also make that very same currency toxic to individuals like you and me. The phenomenon known as inflation is a product of fiat currencies. When the state prints more money to pay off whatever project it deems desirable it decreases the purchasing power of everybody holding that currency.

Unfortunately one needs to hold United States dollars because the state mandates you pay all taxes in dollars and requires individuals to accept dollars as payments for debts:

United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.

Legal tender laws are downright evil. When the state demands all individuals accept Federal Reserve notes they are really saying, “OK serf listen up, you will trade any good or service you have for this piece of paper with a number and the picture of a dead president printed on it. This piece of paper will also constantly be in a state of devaluation.” The libertarian in me love this bill but the agorist in my doesn’t really see the point.

The only thing you need to do to accept an alternate currency is… accept an alternate currency. Do you want to be pain in silver bullion? Trade your goods or services for silver bullion. Want BitCoins? Only trade your goods and services for BitCoins. In fact one of the keystones of the agorist movement is alternative currencies. Let’s face it, the state derives a great deal of power from forcing people to use their currency. It is both the reason why agorists prefer dealing in alternate currencies and why this bill will never pass.

Volunteer Community Security

Many people seem to believe that the state is the only option for delivering community security. These are usually the same people who believe the state must build the roads, deliver the mail, deliver water, and provider fire services. In truth the state is needed for none of these things and one community has turned to volunteers to provider community security:

Redlands volunteers now outnumber paid officers five to one and, even with a 25 percent reduction to their police force in 2007, their violent crime rates have decreased steadily.

And it doesn’t cost tax payers a dime.

“Our volunteer program is completely self-sustainable,” Martinez says. “They raise their own money, they buy their own cars. None of the money comes out of the general fund.

The program even includes an air support unit, complete with 30 volunteer pilots and a prop plane.

There is a video at the link. Some people will point out that the volunteers are volunteering for the Redland Police Department (RPD) but that’s irrelevant as RPD doesn’t provide any funding to the volunteer organization, they raise their own money and buy their own equipment. If RPD went away the volunteers would still be able to function (except the state wouldn’t allow them to because they wouldn’t be volunteering for the state and therefore would be restricted in what they could do).

Libertarianism Outside the United States

Many people often claim that libertarianism is a phenomenon restricted to the United States. This is hogwash. Libertarianism is everywhere people are burdened by the state they live under. Take for example India:


Picture found on Reddit

The list he’s holding is just a sample of the monetary burdens imposed upon him by the Indian state. When you read through it you become aware of just how many different taxes, fines, and fees a business man ends up paying to the state. Everybody who claims some people aren’t paying their “fair share” can shove it because the “fair share,” according to the state, is everything you’ve got.

The Canadian Long Gun Registry is Dead

Good news for my northern neighbors, the Canadian long gun registry has finally been put down:

The Conservative government vowed during the 2011 election to eliminate the long-gun registry. On Wednesday night, the bill to officially end the registry had its final vote in the Senate — leaving only a signature from the Governor General needed to officially kill the registry.

That signature signing Bill C-19 into law should come Thursday morning.

By a vote of 50-27, senators approved the bill, marking the last political hurdle needed to kill the registry.

It’s good to see Canada finally killing off the $2.7 billion registry that didn’t manage to solve a single crime. Of course the battle isn’t entirely over as Quebec has made it known that they want to maintain their own registry:

The Quebec government has asked repeatedly that records on Quebec residents be transferred so the province can create its own registry, but the federal government has steadfastly rejected the request.

Hopefully the federal government continues to maintain tight control over the long gun registry data. If Quebec wants to implement its own registry make it cost them dearly for their stupidity.

But Remember, Guns are Bad News for Women

Linoge over at Walls of the City likes to point out the absurdity of the common anti-gunner myth that guns are bad news for women. Chalk another one up to those bad news tools for women:

An armed 16 year old entered a FL convenience store, demanded money and began firing at the female clerk. The clerk is a concealed weapons permit holder and drew a gun carried on her person. The clerk fired at least one shot at the suspect, hitting him. The would be robber later died from his injuries. More info in the video below.

And there was also another recent story that demonstrates the dangers firearms hold for women:

“First he tried to grab it, but I jerked it away and fired,” she said. “So I really didn’t have time to aim.”

She said one of the men said, “Oh, hell no,” and they took off running up North Shamrock Street.

[…]

She said, “Every woman needs to get a concealed weapons permit and carry a gun, because it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t be here.”

So much for criminals taking her gun and using it against her. I’m glad enough stories like these finally being reported for the average person to see how full of it anti-gunners are.

Human Achievement Hour

March 30th is a day when we’re supposed to turn off all of our lights, forgo the use of electronic devices, and otherwise act like we’re in the fucking stone age for one hour. This idiotic idea has been going on for a few years and it’s called Earth Hour. During Earth Hour I always make it a point to turn on all of my lights, computers, and run my truck because I like celebrating the fact we’re not living in the stone age. Well this year I wasn’t alone because Earth Hour has been renamed Human Achievement Hour:

The Competitive Enterprise Institute plans to recognize “Human Achievement Hour” between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on March 28, 2009 to coincide with Earth Hour, a period of time during which governments, individuals, and corporations have agreed to dim or shut off lights in an effort to draw attention to climate change. Anyone not foregoing the use of electricity in that hour is, by default, celebrating the achievements of human beings.

We salute the people who keep the lights on and produce the energy that helps make human achievement possible.

Green and private conservation are fine. We have no problem with an individual (or group) that wants to sit naked in the dark without heat, clothing, or light. Additionally, we would have no problem with the group holding a pro-green technology rally. That is their choice. But when this group stages a “global election” with the express purpose of influencing “government policies to take action against global warming,” we have every right as individuals to express our vote for the opposite

Sadly Human Achievement Hour has already passed for the year but if I know my readers, and I believe I do, most of you likely had every light, computer, and red dot sight turned on. The achievements of the human race should not be looked down upon, they should be embraced and celebrated. How many lives have been saved by medical technologies made possible through the invention of electricity? How many man hours have been saved by these wonderful devices we call computers? How much more connected are we as a race with the invention of the Internet? All of these things, things many environmentalists decry as evil, are the products of human minds.

Whenever an enviro-Nazi (I would call them environmentalists but most of them don’t respect private property) tells you electricity is killing the planet remind them that they wouldn’t likely be alive without it since electricity makes many medical marvels possible. When they tell you automobiles are evil remind them that American cities are dependent on them, we couldn’t live in our cities as they’re currently designed without the invention of automobiles. Don’t let people get away with decrying the achievements of great minds, point out their idiocy so all can point and laugh at those who advocate we return to the stone age.

The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Property Owners

EDIT: 2012-03-22: 12:33: Zerg539 pointed out what I entirely missed, this ruling simply allows Sacketts to take this case to court. Ignore what I said below, I now longer thing this ruling is good enough. If something the government does appears to be good, it’s probably not. Also, I should read things a bit closer from time to time.

The Supreme Court, the same court that rules property can be seized via eminent domain when influential property owners desired it, has actually made a ruling in favor of land owners. Sackett v. EPA started when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told Mike Sackett that he couldn’t develop the property he purchased because it was a wetland, unless of course he paid the EPA a $250,000 extortion fee for a permit who would then decide whether or not the land could be developed (even when you pay the extortion fee you have no guarantee). The Supreme Court ruled that Sackett could develop his property:

The position taken in this case by the Federal Government—a position that the Court now squarely rejects—would have put the property rights of ordinary Americans entirely at the mercy of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) employees.

The reach of the Clean Water Act is notoriously unclear. Any piece of land that is wet at least part of the year is in danger of being classified by EPA employees as wetlands covered by the Act, and according to the Federal Government, if property owners begin to construct a home on a lot that the agency thinks possesses the requisite wetness, the property owners are at the agency’s mercy. The EPA may issue a compliance order demanding that the owners cease construction, engage in expensive remedial measures, and abandon any use of the property. If the owners do not do the EPA’s bidding, they may be fined up to $75,000 per day ($37,500 for violating the Act and another $37,500 for violating the compliance order). And if the owners want their day in court to show that their lot does not include covered wetlands, well, as a practical matter, that is just too bad. Until the EPA sues them, they are blocked from access to the courts, and the EPA may wait as long as it wants before deciding to sue. By that time, the potential fines may easily have reached the millions. In a nation that values due process, not to mention private property, such treatment is unthinkable.

The complete ruling can be found here [PDF]. It’s good to see justice appearing once in a while, although it’s sad that Sackett had to suffer the expensive in time and money just so he could build a damned house on his property.