Sunday, October 19, 2008

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“There was no doubt all kinds of sin and vice and debauchery in Jesus’ time. Moreover, Christianity was an outlaw religion for the first few centuries of its existence. Yet, we never hear Jesus or Paul or anyone else talking about “mobilizing” Christian voters to ‘take back Rome‘.”
Doug Newman

“Cooperation doesn’t come out of the barrel of a gun. Is it too much to ask that the self-righteous busy bodies spend only their own money (or money given voluntarily to them) and stop making war on the rest of us?”

“My philosophy: Win the battle for freedom in your own head, against your own ignorance, first. Enter the battlefield of ideas and share them with others, if you like, soon thereafter. Worry about who pays for the roads in Libertopia much later, if ever. Trust a bureaucrat, even a well-armed bureaucrat, with the future, never.”
Wilton D. Alston

“Politicians claim the financial industry needs more regulation, but when I'm being robbed I don't want the cops to subsidize the robbery and I don't want them to "regulate" it either. I want them to stop it. When they don't, I smell a payoff.”
Joe Schembrie

“Only our own government possesses the motive, means, and opportunity to tyrannize us. Only our own government has already significantly curtailed our liberty.”
Michael Rozeff

From the Darkness:
"This crisis demonstrates beyond doubt that a global capital market requires much stronger global cooperation and supervision. And we need to ensure that we have an effective global early warning system to alert us across continents to economic and financial risk."

"We are proposing a world leaders' meeting in which we must agree the principles and policies for restructuring the financial system across the globe." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

"The government's role will be limited and temporary. These measures are not intended to take over the free market, but to preserve it."
Lying GW Bush defending the government’s bank “investment.”

Image Review of the Week


Friday, October 17, 2008

The State is Obsolete

"The chancellor was correct- he was obsolete. But so is the state, the entity he worshipped."

I’ve been viewing episodes of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone on a local TV station. Most are quite enjoyable but one has stood out from the others, and I highly recommend this episode as “must see” TV. The episode is entitled “Obsolete Man” and is brilliantly conceived and written. It not only terrifically demonstrates the state’s obsoleteness but its illegitimacy, as well. Mr. Serling sums it up accurately:

“Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of man- that state is obsolete. A case to be filed under “M” for Mankind…in the Twilight Zone.”

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The State Protects Us From Wayward Chickens

There is no limit to how and where the state seeks control over the lives of individuals. And, of course, this control is backed up by the threat of violence. There also seems to be no limit to how ridiculous the state is willing to appear while asserting its illegitimate authority.

State agents will even go to the extreme of issuing an arrest warrant for an “illegal” chicken to make its point that it and only it controls the actions and decisions of individuals.

Forget the fact that the animal’s owner received no complaints from neighbors or customers. A rule is a rule! Forget the idea that an exception could be peacefully negotiated. A rule is a rule- and it must be obeyed to the letter! The fact that the rooster walked around the shop for years with no complaints proves the state’s untenable argument.

It’s good to see Mr. Scheel has a sense of humor about his ordeal while competently illustrating the farcical predicament with which he finds himself. It’s also comforting to know that he is fighting this needless act of aggression by overpaid bureaucrats with too much time on their hands.
The state’s pursuance of this matter proves that the chicken’s presence at Mr. Scheel’s business is not the threat but rather Mr. Scheel’s “uncooperative nature” and refusal to be told what to do with his animal on his property.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Government Expansion Called ‘Growth’

The MSM always seems to gleefully point out areas where government growth “fuels” economic growth and prosperity. The Houston Chronicle reports how various towns along the Mexican border have received an economic “boost” due to the recent growth of the U.S. Border Patrol.

To view such developments as a positive development indicates a warped view of true prosperity. A prime economic driving force in these border communities is now a government enterprise that restricts the free movement of people while arresting and caging those that refuse to comply to enforcement of arbitrary political boundaries.

The free movement of people is a necessity for true economic development and growth. The future of these communities are now dependent on an operation funded in part by stolen money (taxes) and the rest by deficit spending (borrowing)- hardly a recipe for steady, responsible growth. Rather than having vital capital invested in useful, new products and services that people require, that money is applied to non-productive and even harmful activity.
The Chronicle reports that many residents “grumble that heightened security has hampered business by creating longer waits to cross the border.” Exactly. These particular residents know commerce cannot flourish when the movements of people and their money are bottlenecked by Stalinist checkpoints and imprisoned behind walls.

DVD Reviews

God Grew Tired of Us:
Documentary about the Lost Boys from Sudan who escaped state genocide and the few who made it to the US. What remarkable individuals. The film is a nice complement to Lost Boys of Sudan which follows a different set of refugees.
Recommended


The Madness of King George:
The film deals with the madness suffered by King George II after losing the American colonies. Nigel Hawthorne is superb as his Highness but I found the film tiresome and myself looking at the clock to see how close it was to ending.
Not recommended

Carlos Santana- Blues at Montreux- Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown:
This must have been one of the last performances by Clarence Brown before passing away in 2005, shortly after evacuating from Hurricane Katrina. A really fine performance (backed up by some incredible jazz/blues musicians) that cements Mr. Brown’s high standing in the history of American blues, jazz, and roots music. What a delightful and unique performer.
Recommended

The Band’s Visit:
A small film about an Egyptian police orchestra that travels to Israel to give a performance, but gets lost in transit. They have to rely on the help of strangers to help find their way. A nice story of two different cultures discovering their similarities as well as individuals discovering things about themselves. Quite funny at times.
Recommended

Beatles- First U.S. Visit:
Two brothers team up to film The Beatles first visit to the U.S. in 1964. They document the public pandemonium as well as many behind the scenes views of “the boys” relaxing, traveling, and visiting. One extraordinary scene- the band playing a “in the round” concert in Washington, D.C. Every song or two they pull their equipment around to a different angle so everyone in the crowd can see them. Despite the crude sound equipment and screaming fans, the sound isn’t too bad. Don't miss the interview with one of the film makers.
Recommended

A Passage to India:
A young British woman visits India in the 1920’s. Beautifully filmed and a nice look at colonial India and the arrogance and bigotry that characterized it.
Recommended

CSNY Déjà Vu:
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young tour the U.S. in 2006 on their “Freedom of Speech” tour. They travel with an embedded correspondent who documents the band and the audience’s response to the anti-war, anti-Bush slant of the performances. A good look at Your America as well as some good music.
Recommended

Vitus:
German film about a young genius and piano prodigy who finds he own way to deal with the burden of his high intellect and musical talent while seeking a normal childhood.
Recommended

American Folk-Blues Festival- 1963-66:
What a jewel. Some great performances by classic American blues performers recorded on a British television program. All are superb, but Lonnie Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe really stand out.
Recommended

Company K:
Great anti-war film based on the 1933 novel by William March. March documents his experiences as a soldier in World War I. He includes all the gritty, disgusting details that makes war the obscenity that it is.
Recommended

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?:
Morgan Spurlock travels throughout the Middle East on a comical quest to locate Osama bin Laden. He interviews many leaders and people on the street. The response is reassuring- people still generally love the American people but hate their government and its foreign policy, the social and economic stress created by this foreign policy fuels anti-U.S. extremism, and people everywhere want the same things out of life- to live in peace and raise their families.
Recommended

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Quotes of the Week


From the Light:
“Bad debts can't be made good by legislation.”
Lew Rockwell

“There are two kinds of people who stand out in the United States today: sheep and wolves. Sheep stay in their herd and follow their shepherd without questioning where he is leading them. Sheep trust that the shepherd looks out for their safety… Wolves, on the other hand, do not aimlessly follow a shepherd… Wolves question the shepherd and act in a way that forces the shepherd also to question his decisions. Wolves challenge government regulations, reject government assistance, and demand that the government recognize and protect their natural rights. They are rugged individualists.”
Andrew P. Napolitano in his book, “ A Nation of Sheep.”

From the Darkness:
“That’s what I say that I like every American I am speaking with we’re ill about this position that we been put in where it is taxpayers looking to bailout, but ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, um, helping the, oh, it’s got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and, and, putting it back on the right track; so health care reform and reducing taxes and reigning in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans and trade... we have we got to see trade as an opportunity not as, a competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we we’ve got to look at that as more opportunity, all of those things under the umbrella of job creation, this bailout is part of that...”
Sarah Palin, babbler extraordinaire

Image Review of the Week


Friday, October 10, 2008

Today's Lesson- Let Death Rain From The Sky

Here’s a poster I noticed recently at a local high school ROTC classroom. This is the mindset the state creates in your children.

Keep them away. Keep them very, very far away.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Quotes of the Week


From the Light:
“Capitalism is doing just what it should do – it is separating fools from their money. But the fools vote. After a big bubble, there are more fools than sages...and, in the United States of America, more debtors than creditors. Sooner or later, Americans will realize that they are better off destroying their own money than preserving it...and that they would prefer to stiff their creditors rather than pay their bills.”
Bill Bonner
“It was only a few months ago that all the leading men and women of this drama claimed to believe in free enterprise so fervently they were willing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars forcing it on others. It was free enterprise that separated us from the barbarians and made the country rich, they said. But now, they’re turning many of these free enterprises over to the bureaucrats to run...and desperately trying to make sure that the others don’t go broke. It’s capitalism without the creative destruction. Capitalism with seatbelts, helmets, and airbags. Capitalism without bankruptcy. It’s like taking the crucifixion out of Christianity. What’s left is as empty and foolish as a Congressman’s head.”
Bill Bonner

From the Darkness:
"I'm wiser, more experienced, but my heart and my values didn't change."
Emperor Bush, after visiting his boyhood home in Midland, TX.

"Facts are facts. Truth is truth. History is history. I always tell the truth.”
John McCain

Image Review of the Week


Image Review of the Week, by Roger Young