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 THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 631, August 7, 2011 "A vast paradigm shift is bringing the 8000-year Age of Authority to an end"
Send Letters to editor@ncc-1776.org
The 6th of November At the time this is written it appears Obama and Congress are about to be making a deal. TEA Party Republicans and serious liberals are seriously angry about the whole thing. It is also fair to say that people were talking themselves in to a panic where if no deal is made the economy collapses. I realize this is bull, but I also understand the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy and how investment and credit markets depend as much on people's expectations as actual economic conditions. Remember all this on 6 November 2012.
Decide for yourself if your Congressman did what he had to or was treacherous and vote accordingly. A.X. Perez
Was that worth reading? I'm a hobbit, you're a hobbit, and Boehner is a Nazgûl Pardon the mixed metaphors, but all this noise out of Mordor-on-the-Potomac (I'm SUCH a hobbit...) has been nothing but Kabuki theater, a kind of extremely expensive, extremely worthless ritual of dick-beating that has addressed neither the substance of federal deficit spending nor even what the average American could consider cosmetic mitigation. For instance: (1) Have government-to-government transfers of the American taxpayer's money ("foreign aid" channeled to the palaces and Swiss bank accounts of corrupt Third-World rapists and thugs) been discontinued? Nope. (2) Have whole departments of the federal Executive been zeroed-out, their employees pink-slipped, their buildings and other material assets sold to help pay down the deficit? (Just what the hell real NEED is there for the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Agriculture, and—especially—the Heimatsicherheitsdienst, anyway?) Oh, hell no! (3) Have the hundreds of thousands of square miles of economically valuable land within these United States "preserved" from private ownership by way of Federal takeover been sold or otherwise brought into commercial use to provide the funding our permanently incumbent politicians claim they need so desperately? Hrmh. On that last one, can you say "Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument" (September 1996) and "Screw You, Utah!" while imitating the hoarse Arkansas accent of Bubba, our former Perjurer-in-Chief? Extension is left as an exercise for the student. If the Nazgûl of our Congressional "leadership" (both Red Faction and Blue) aren't chopping back the most gaudy spending by doing things like zeroing out the Pell Grants boondoggle, how the hell are us American hobbits—trying desperately to deal with Obama's Depression—expected to fall for the illusion that there's anything going on behind the Black Gate except more scheming to pillage us? Boy, am I ever grateful to "Crash Test Johnnie" McCain for having made it so wonderfully clear how the Republican Party really thinks about us "hobbits." Rich Matarese
Was that worth reading? Get SMART! It is most a unfortunate sign of our times that the peaceful people I know and am acquainted with live in fear of being kidnapped and worse by uniformed thugs with guns. I have personally met people who were assaulted and harassed for not producing identification paperwork upon demand, a scene reminiscent of the very Soviet Union I spent the first half of my life working to destroy. I too live with the expectation of a confrontation when I decline to aid these same uniformed individuals in their persecutions of me. That is why I jumped at the opportunity to join an association of liberty-loving people who are pledging mutual aid in times of need. The Sovereign Mutual Aid Response Team (SMART) not only regularly contacts me to ensure that I am alive and kicking, in case of my kidnapping, a local team will arrange for my release and assist me in preparing a defense. An attorney is available to advise on handling interactions with law enforcement, including the use of non-government issued identification. They are in the process of extending the Porcupine 411 model to other areas to alert members of relevant issues. They are there for me in other times of crisis as well, such as severe weather, earthquake, or financial collapse, as I am there for them. You too can enjoy this security, this knowledge that when you are in need, someone has your back. They even cover couples and families with discounts for year-long and lifetime memberships. Go to SMART for all the details and make sure to use code FREA001 to get an additional 1% discount. For my friends in the Pacific Northwest, whether you are a member or not, I am always here if you need me and will do what I can to aid you as much as I can. SMART adds additional resources to enable me to aid you when you need it. Aden Freedman
Was that worth reading? A Point to Ponder I was just reminded, in a conversation with a friend, that 25 years ago, I wrote a sword-swinging novel in which Europe has been taken over by Muslims, and there's a Caliph in Rome, instead of a Pope. The novel, still in print, is The Crystal Empire, available from Phoenix Pick, through Amazon.com. Of course these are not the Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson-style Muslims we see and hear about today, but the sort who invented algebra, descriptive astronomy, refined sugar, general hygeine, and were reasonably tolerant of others (See Rose Wilder Lane's The Discovery of Freedom). Still, I can't help reflecting that Muslims couldn't possibly do a worse job of running Europe today than Europeans have. They've lost the meaning—of Western Civilization. L. Neil Smith
Was that worth reading? Regarding: "Next Week's Adventure in Sovereign Debt" "Pay off your credit cards and chop them up, or simply abandon the unsecured debt." Would those be debts freely taken? I don't know, John. I'm not able to analyse seven billion people and their individual indebtedness. I am able to point out that bankruptcy is provided for in the constitution as a useful alternative to debt peonage and debtors prisons. Possibly you think no one should ever be expected to walk away from their debts. Possibly you prefer a system to track everyone with ear tags and GPS locator chips. Is it advising theft to advise abandoning unsecured debts? No. I don't know the particulars in each case. The fact that an unsecured debt is unsecured and carries a higher premium than a secured debt is meant to provide for the fact that the lender is aware that the borrower may stop paying on the debt, leaving the lender with limited recourse. Possibly what you are asking is whether I have analysed the contractual obligations of seven billion people with regard to each of their debts. I have not. Neither have you. Yes, lenders are unsavoury characters. And you, are you savoury? Are you making a rational claim on my time to make these inquiries of me? Possibly you should ask the borrower, or the lender, in each case. You see no excuse for refusing to repay one's debts. So what? If you believe that no one in lending commits actual fraud, you are a fool. Every individual is for herself, first. If you don't understand that, maybe you should get together with your pot-smoking buddies, gather around a campfire, and sing kumbaya. I don't care. I write those things that occur to me to write. If you like them, fine. If you don't like them, too bad. I'm not going to change what I've written. I'm not going to apologise for the fraudulent, governmentally-coercive, and violent lending practises of those involved in state-licensed lending. If you are engaged in a banking licence or lending licence operation, you should be ashamed for your role in working with the state so directly. If you don't want people to walk away from unsecured debts, what do you expect them to do? Spend time in debtor's prison? Be chained to a desk forever? I don't really care what you answer. Possibly you should reflect on the fact that your interest in what I write is greater than my interest in what you write. No, I'm not a particularly nice person. I'm blunt, direct, and unpleasant. But you will always know where I stand. Jim Davidson
Was that worth reading? Thoughts on a Bad Deal Conservatives and libertarians may be complaining about the raising of the debt ceiling and inadequacy of the the controls on the deficit it is important to see how the left is refering to us. I have seen TEA Party Republicans and their allies described as terrorists and their actions described as extortion and (redundantly) blackmail. A central premise of American democracy is that honest men may reasonably disagree. In other words the fact someone disagrees with you does not make them "the bad guy." Calling people terrorists, extortionists and (redundantly) blackmailers does not show subscription to this standard. Secondarily I have noticed complaints by the left that the wealthy are not paying their "fair share" towards curing the mess. I agree and expect that corporate welfare, even that disguised as tax credits and deductions, be eliminated. However,if a wealthy person wants to make a donation towards paying the debt and reducing the deficit I won't argue, as long as it's his own money and not from the dividends due stockholders in his corporation(s), for example. On the other hand, I have a problem with calls for raising taxes on people earning over a certain amount ($250,000.00 being the commonly bandied about sum) by other people. To put it colloquially, "It ain't your money." You have every right to give away your own money, not other people's. no matter how many people you get to vote in favor of it. A.X. Perez
Was that worth reading?
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