Recent comments

“when a murderer is hanged, there is only one person at the ceremony who is not guilty of murder.” ~ George Orwell It is nearly impossible, for me, to imagine a more ridiculous statement! But, then, it is about what I'd expect from someone who reportedly wrote to Cyril Connolly from Barcelona on 8 June 1937 stating: "I have seen wonderful things and at last really believe in Socialism, which I never did before".

I second that, Suverans2. And I'll add that my response to Paul's last comment should have included an acknowledgment of his idea that "how the message is presented is important" and that people basically don't want to hear about their own emotional damage. (My response was, I fear, a bit snarky and defensive). So I agree with Paul's pont, and at the same time I think it's important for more people to understand that unlove and other trauma to children HURTS them, and that THAT is a major reason why the world is in such a mess and that liberty is hard to find and erodes back into tyranny every time. Knowledge (in this case of the cause of neurosis and other psychopathology, and of their role in tyranny) is a critically-important tool for improvement, AND, at the same time, many (most?) people shy away from the topic, because it is inherently painful. This argues, again, for multiple approaches from multiple people who understand the paradigm but explain it in their own way; when enough discussions on the topic of liberty AND compassion are taking place, when enough people hear the phrase "the Doctrine of Love and Freedom" and have been exposed to at least some of the framework by different writers and speakers -- some of whom "click" for them even if others don't -- then we'll be on our way to improvement.

Ya gotta love that "sincere and abject" apology!!!

Thanks again, Glen.

Actually, Paul Hein, the one they call Jesus 'reportedly' said, at Mark 9:40, "For he that is not against us is on our part [side]," and at Luke 9:50 "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us". And, for those of us who wish only to be left alone, i.e. not forcefully imposed upon, this is just fine. "The collectivists are eternal enemies of all religions, because they recognize that if people have a religious faith they have a loyalty to something other than the STATE, and collectivists do not like that, the STATE must be all. The state must be religion, the people must literally worship the state as their salvation, and some of the earlier writers, on this topic, have even said so in plain English, that collectivism must become the new religion of man." ~ G. Edward Griffin _____________________________________________________________________________________ "Consistent with this reasoning, out of more than 1,500 distinct cultures throughout the world documented in The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, only 19 contain any reference to atheism. Not only do these 19 cultures exist far outside of our ancestral home in the African savanna, but all 19 of them without an exception are former Communist societies. There are no non-former-Communist cultures described in The Encyclopedia as containing any significant segment of atheists." ~ Satoshi Kanazawa

Nice column, Mr. Taylor! People have been systematically mislead about the nature of capitalism -- and many other important things. Saying the truth, getting the facts out there for people to see and consider, is terribly important. I particularly liked this: ". . . most examples that critics of capitalism cite as excesses and abuses are not the results of market forces, but government intervention . . ." Excellent point! Nearly every bad thing people complain and worry about "the market" doing is actually done -- directly and indirectly -- by government. Corporatism, for instance, is just corporations making use of government coercion for their own benefit. Most of today's "regulation" is exactly that -- corporatism -- rather than anything that protects consumers or the environment. Very often, this "regulation" is directly harmful to consumers or to the environment.

Why on earth would conservative, big business forces want to "hijack the concept of anarchism"?

Probably one of the worst articles on anarchism or anarcho-capitalism that I have ever read. It was so riddled with assumptions, inaccuracies and just flat out crap, that the only thing i can use it for is an examination into the mind of an "anarchist" who doesn't understand that voluntary market exchange is the basis of anarchy. I think the guy that wrote this article needs to read the STR article put up today about the Orwellian altering of the meaning of words to displace proper political debates.

Time to abolish compulsory schooling too! Impressive ideas Lawrence. I wish you all much success with this endeavor!

And, who are the "bad guys"? Anyone who disagrees, resists or opposes, them or their master(s); "They are just like us". "Accusations of human rights abuses, killings and politically motivated arrests have surfaced, including assaults on a university president and arrests of opposition politicians."

...the natural law is fundamental to human existence... ~ C.S. Lewis According to Clive, it is the "deep magic" that everyone knows.

Tzo, As usual, your words do not promote emotion or reaction. They only promote ideas and thinking. Outstanding.

Mark: Thanks for posting this link over at HaleBobb. Although you wrote it 4 1/2 years ago, it is perhaps more poignant today at the outset of the 2012 dog and pony show as it was in 2007. I must have been "off the air" at the time. Sam

This is a classic tzo. Well done!

KenK, there was no mention of "constitutional arguments" in that story. And, to maintain continuity of thought, you should have, in my opinion, written, "A "right" you can't exercise without being rousted isn't a right". Unfortunately, it would still have been just as untrue a statement, however; just because the bully-in-the-schoolyard is capable of taking your lunch money, does not mean that you do not have a "just claim" to it, i.e. a "right" to it. ________________________________________________________________________________________ roust ...2 informal treat roughly; harass : the detectives who had rousted him the night of the murder ~ Oxford Dictionaries

Amazing. It's stories like this that have persuaded me that constitutional arguments are just water treading. Sooner or later you'll get tired and sink. We have the same problem in my area with open carry. Certain sheriffs and police chiefs just don't like it even though they admit it's legal and so you get rousted for it no matter what. A "right" you can't exercise without permission isn't a right.

Suverans2: Thanks for pointing out the absurdity of KenK, the troll.

G'day rita, You may already know this, but in case you don't, you can click on the "edit" below your post and make corrections.

Thumb in the air for Paul.

"It's incumbent upon the officer to make contact" -- and whether the contact turns into detainment depends on the circumstances encountered by the officer. It's been my observation that the people most likely to be "detained" for resisting arrest are the ones who have broken no law. Gee, I wonder why the governemt is broke.

This is an excellent bit of commentary, Paul. I believe I understand your position and certainly respect it (because it respects others, and is both intelligent and well-intentioned). I have a very unusual perspective -- meaning only that I don't know many people who share it -- and THAT, along with issues of wording, are mostly what we're talking about, in terms of differences between our views. On people being damaged: they are, that's the simple truth, and I say that plainly. I don't conceal this from them. You, Paul, are damaged. So am I. If it's easier to hear, the word "hurt" is just as accurate. People ARE hurt in early life -- if there are any exceptions to this, I don't think I have met them -- and no, for the most part, I don't think people are going to get "fixed." I certainly don't think anyone is going to get fixed or cured by reading anything I might write, because "getting cured" involves deep feeling of whatever repressed experiences someone is carrying around. The number of people willing to do that, or who even know that such a thing might be possible, is close enough to zero as to make no difference in the world as a whole. On the off-chance that anyone reading this might be interested in the idea, check out anything by Dr. Arthur Janov, starting with 1970's The Primal Scream. Janov's blog (Google it; the STR spam filter blocks almost every URL I try to add) is worth reading and is a good, bite-size-at-a-time introduction to his ideas. The basics are this: Neurosis is the repression of feeling, and the remedy is to feel. Not to talk about feelings, or come up with insight about feelings, or change your behavior, but to actually FEEL those things that were too much to feel when they happened, long ago. As I said, the number of people on the same page is, basically, zero. What people CAN do, fairly easily, is change their behavior towards pregnant women, newborns, infants, and children. You don't have to get well to do THAT. You don't have to get well to support smaller government (or no government), either. If enough people begin to understand that both freedom AND compassion are important, then they'll change their behavior accordingly, to whatever extent feels right to them (which includes whatever extent their psychological defenses allow). THAT is how the world can change for the better, even without trying to fix (most of) what's wrong with the world now, and without expecting people to get "fixed" or "cured" when, in fact, almost none of them are even interested in trying to do that. So I agree completely, Paul: it really has to come from inside. That means, to me, that future generations must be treated better than ours has been -- if so, then THEIR "insides" will be healthier, and with any luck at all, that trend will continue. We can help kick-start the process; your writing and mine, and the freedom movement in general, can help put people today in touch with the real part of themselves -- the part that knows, despite the lifetime of propaganda and repression, that both love and freedom are what every human being needs, and are what the WORLD needs if we're ever to have something better than the global tyranny being planned for us.

I emailed my kids the Jon Stewart article and clip yesterday. Theirs (and Stewart's) angst over the situation is, of course, part -- a very small part -- of the reason I would never "vote". I would never vote because voting is a violent act. I would probably vote for Dr Paul if I were forced under penalty of death to participate in the bread and circus presentation called an "election". My vote be an attempt to coerce all those who want to be subservient to agents of state to submit to Ron Paul. And to me. Under threat of violence. Under the circumstance I would need to believe that Ron Paul, if elected, could tame the beast of political authority. I don't. It would also depend upon enough of "the electorate" joining me inaugurating him gang leader. They wouldn't. But why would a sane individual get involved in this crazy making Jon Stewart so aptly pointed out? In a sense I admire Dr. Paul and my sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren for plunging ahead in the eye of this lunacy. I would like to think they might succeed in being a major force in bringing about the collapse of state. I hope more Jon Stewarts come to see and have the cojones to report as he did the absurdity of the political frolic. If so expect to see riots and dissension sufficient to snarl the state into extinction sooner than we expect. Be prepared, however, to whet your sovereignty skills in face of what will most certainly rise up to take the place of this beast called the state. It won't be pretty, but we can survive in freedom. Yes, we can. Sam.

The spook agency tying up the 'loose ends' and sanitizing the operations. Looks like they are gonna need a few more guys who will ''eat their guts and beg for seconds.'' I suppose you cannot trust the bullet stoppers to keep their mouths shut.Also they might wake up and join the right side,Can't have any rambos fighting for the otherside. Ventura does serve a purpose tho....... http://artapp.net/Jesse-Ventura's-New-B ... t-....html Among the 25 U.S. special operations forces killed in Wardak province were 22 Navy SEALS, considered to be the "best of the best." Seven Afghan troops also died. http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... ?hpt=hp_t1 The majority of the Navy SEALs who died belonged to the same covert unit that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May, though they were not the same men, the military official said. The troops died during a "quick reaction" mission to assist military personnel pinned down by insurgents in a fierce firefight, a U.S. military official told CNN. How many freedom fighters,opps i mean UNFRIENDLIES were killed?

Great comment, tzo. "teach the next generations properly from an early age" -- yep, and of course that's why every State insists on running or regulating the education process. But it's not just education; preventing emotional damage begins in the womb (there's a relevant study featured at today's PhysOrg.com about prenatal stress affecting the children of the stressed mothers, in mice for this particular study; url removed in hopes of getting this comment past STR's over-vigilant spam filter), during birth, during infancy and of course throughout childhood. Modern, hi-tech birth practices -- including the now-record number of C-sections being performed (over 25% of all US births) often cause trauma, block or weaken the mother-child bond, and otherwise cause emotional repression of pain that lasts a lifetime -- and which makes people more likely to fall victim to demogogues who promise to provide the things that stand in for what the people didn't get when they were small (love, compassion, etc) and to pin blame for whatever is unpleasant in life on scapegoat groups. The emotional repression and diminished sense of connection also make it much easier for people to support, and even to cheer on and insist upon, repressive, police-state measures (for "security" or other supposed benefits) and assaults on other groups, be they drug users or those with the wrong political views.