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 THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 658, February 19, 2012 Freedom, Immortality, and the Stars. For me, that's what the current rEVOLution is all about.
Send Letters to editor@ncc-1776.org
Letter from Jonathan David Morris Another Letter from A.X. Perez with comment by L. Neil Smith Another Letter from L. Neil Smith Screw my Congresscritters I keep getting letters from all sorts of people asking me to send letters to my Representative in congress and my Senators. Some are for causes I support, others from people pushing goals I oppose. A few are evewn about Issues on which I am neutral. They all ask me to write my congresscritter. I can't. Due to their support of the NDAA I am not voting for these putzes. Since I am already pledged too vote against them it would be wrong by my lights to ask them for anything. So I am not signing any petitions. I won't run up a debt with these creeps I can't repay. A.X. Perez
Was that worth reading? Glorious Government and Medication Shortages
Our POTUS-With-An-Asterisk has not (much to the dismay of our "Liberal" religious true believers) been able to cure our ills with his "Stroke of the pen, law of the land" tactic of issuing a presidential fatwah. Oh, well. The simple truth of the matter is that pharmaceuticals manufacturers calculate the risk of liability lawsuits as a cost of doing business. If the profit margin expected in the manufacture of any drug does not cover the potential cost of defending or settling such lawsuits, the drug either doesn't get manufactured or it only gets made in smaller amounts to limit risk exposure. A drug that's "gone generic" (lost patent protection) competes only on the basis of lowest price, and so generics manufacturers work on VERY low profit margins. Fact of life. But their liability risks are the same as if they were charging premium prices. Drugs like the injectable forms of methotrexate are intrinsically toxic, and their use necessarily entails the high probability that the manufacturer is going to get sued. Figure it out, folks. If our Mombasa Messiah really wanted to do something effective about this crisis—he's supposedly a Harvard-trained lawyer, remember— why hasn't he used that magical "Stroke of the pen" to extend the generics manufacturers the kind of liability law reform that the American economy has been desperately needing for the past three or four decades? Could it be that the Plaintiff's Bar (the tort lawyers) OWN his narrow little illegal alien tochus? Rich Matarese
Was that worth reading? The Patrick Henry Project A few weeks ago, Western Rifle Shooters posted an idea from Ann Barndhardt. She had posted a YouTube video of her recitation of Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. She asked others to make their own videos and for someone to collect them. I spent two weeks of my spare time working on a web site to collect those videos. It is now fully functional and needs videos. Take a look, and if you're moved to do so, please record, upload to YouTube, and post on the site your own video. http://patrickhenryproject.org/ Bill St. Clair
Was that worth reading? The Read JDM Newsletter 02.13.12 A hooker. A homeless man. A self-loathing sports reporter. And the serial sniper who brings them all together in a single act of spectacular violence. It's been a long time in coming for this story (it was originally written in 2007), but today, we are proud to finally present JDM's debut novel, THE BEST SNIPER EVER, available now on Kindles and Kindle Apps everywhere: And while we're at it, we are just days away from the release of JDM's brand new novella, VERSUS NURTURE. And also be sure to check out THE HONEST TRUTH ABOUT HONEST ABE, now just 99 cents on Amazon: Finally, for those of you not currently in possession of a Kindle, or those of you currently in possession of a Nook, we'd like to share these helpful links: * Click here to buy an Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/woO1AW * Click here for the free Kindle app for your computer, cell phone, or tablet: http://amzn.to/ytcOYj * Kindle to Nook conversion: http://bit.ly/wVjCB4 Thanks to all those who have made THE BEST SNIPER EVER possible. We are thrilled to finally share it with you! Jonathan David Morris
© 2012 Jonathan David Morris Was that worth reading? Re: "In Orwell's Newspeak: "Isolation" Means Mandatory Military Service For All" by C. Jeffery Small I believe it was Robert A. Heinlein who commented that it was easier to restore eyesight to the blind tan to instill Civic virtue into someone who did not want it. His point was trhat public service reflected civic virtue, it did not instill it. Mandatory service will not teach people to serve the state out of a desire to serve the nation, it will instill a sense of enslavement and an attitude like the Stockholm Syndrome towards the state. Of course, that is the goal. A.X. Perez
Heinlein also said slavery is a nasty habit that crops up sooner or later in every civilization, under different guises. We already have tax slavery here. A friend of mine, historian
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, said in his book
Emancipating
Slaves, Enslaving Free MenIf you read the amendment, his point becomes exceedingly clear.
Did you read
my piece about Title 18, Sections 241 and 242?
L. Neil Smith
From A FaceBook Conversation The human species needs three things in order to continue to exist and to evolve. It must have freedom—not some kind of babysteps system of miniature permissions, but real freedom—to go where no bureaucrat has even thought of going before. Next, H. sap. needs life extension. In London, the most developed city in the world in 1750, life expectancy at birth was 20 years, four months. What can you do with that? By 1850, thanks primarily to cotton clothing and water running through iron pipes, that number had doubled and there was an explosion of science and invention. Now, other innovations have brought us to about 80 years. None of that could have happened without some measure of freedom. And here's a research project for you: how many of humanity's greatest accomplishments were the doing of people over 40 who had finally gotten a good handle on their own lives and learned how to own and operate the human brain? In our culture, that's about when you're ready to die. That has to change. Last, but not least, we need the stars, a new and endless frontier. One source of our greatest problems is that, as a hive, we're swarming and ready head off in new directions. But the frustration is that we can't do that with NASA's little piddly-ass mother-may-I space "program". So we kill each other in vast numbers, instead. Human Hive Collapse Disorder. I said it first at least 45 years ago: Freedom, Immortality, and the Stars. For me, that's what the current rEVOLution is all about. L. Neil Smith
Was that worth reading? Talking Back to Talk Radio A measure has been introduced in the Colorado state legislature to require drug testing for welfare recipients. Conservatives are all for it, of course, and Democrats oppose it for all the wrong reasons. Denver talk show host Peter Boyles, who has demonstrated on previous occasions that he can't think his way out of a wet paper bag, is bullying callers who oppose this measure, using the fact that the cops can stop you on the highway and test you (which he acknowledges is unconstitutional, but so what?) as a precedent. I wrote him the following note, which, of course, he will ignore or ridicule. Yiou can write him at http://www.khow.com/pages/khow-feedback.html I carry no brief for welfare recipients. But when you think up reasonable-sounding excuses—or support them enthusiastically—to violate one individual's sovereignty, you can be assured they will eventually be expanded to include yours. Remember, "Oppositional Defiance Disorder" is a "disease", defined by the American Psychological Association, in which the "sufferer"—who doesn't like the authorities or whatever they do—may eventually be deprived of his Second Amendment right to obtain, own, and carry weapons. Most recently, "grief" has been redefined as a psychological disorder, as well. If you wonder how we ended up in a police state, listen to what's coming out of your mouth, and look no further than the nearest mirror. L. Neil Smith
Was that worth reading? Obama versus Mars Earlier today, a friend of mine said: I replied, While I sympathize with Dr. Zubrin to a degree, this mess is exactly what comes of relying on government for anything. Basically—and this is the reason I lost interest in the Mars Society—he's demanding a different distribution of stolen money than the current administration is planning. A falling-out among thieves. All further space exploration should be done entirely by private subscription, something that will be difficult, thanks to the Depression into which we've deliberately been plunged. That condition, however, is curable. I suggest you read my latest book, DOWN WITH POWER: Libertarian Policy In A Time Of Crisis, available at Amazon.com in dead tree form, and very soon in Kindle and similar formats (there's an audio version coming, but that will take longer). Pay particular attention the the chapter called "The Plan". I'll be speaking in Albuquerque next month (March 13-15) at the Space Technology and Applications International Forum, on my own plan to reach Mars, terraform, and settle it, which will be central to my next novel in the Ngu Family Saga (which started with Pallas and Ceres), Ares. Meanwhile, get behind Ron Paul, who will not provide us with government money to explore and develop space, but will get government the hell out of our way, which is much, much better. L. Neil Smith
Was that worth reading? Yeah Right Recently Presidente Felipe Calderon of Mexico made a speech. In it he complained about Americans buying drugs from and selling assault guns to the cartels wrecking his nation. While I am personally convinced the real problem is generations of tyranny and corruption coming home to roost I have to concede it is the US's desire for illegal drugs that is financing the cartels. Of course we could solve the problem by ending drug prohibition and crashing the price of drugs. We would also reduce our prison population, take away the pretext for militarizing the police, crashing the Constitution, seizing people's vehicles, homes and cash under civil forfeiture and otherwise end their war on us. As for ending the flow of guns into Mexico, sadly Presidente Calderon was advocating reimposing the illegal and unconstitutional black gun ban. If he was serious about ending the smuggling of guns into his country he would have asked that the US to extradite AG Holder, former Director of the BATFE Melson, FBI Director Mueller, and others involved in Operation Fast and Furious for smuggling guns to his cousin's cartel. Oh, fuck it. Mr. Calderon will bark as his masters Barack and El Chapo command. A.X. Perez
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