Snapshot of the State

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul......

......than the way in which it treats its children."
Nelson Mandela

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Policemen hit a child with batons during clashes with garment workers protesting over poor working conditions.

DVD Reviews

Katyn:
This Polish made drama revolves around the Katyn massacre where 20,000 Polish military officers were murdered by the invading Soviets in 1940. The film focuses less on the military aspects of the event and more on those who were left behind and how they dealt with the tragedy, as well as the lies created about the massacre.
Recommended

Sherlock Holmes:
I always enjoy watching the versatile Robert Downey work. Here he plays the literary detective figure in an entertaining, action filled romp.
Recommended

Auschwitz- Inside the Nazi State:
This 4.5 hour BBC documentary takes a detailed, comprehensive look at the famous concentration/death camp from its initial planning stages right up and beyond its liberation. This extremely thorough program impresses me with the fact that the state performs only one task efficiently- killing.
Recommended

American Radical- The Trials of Norman Finkelstein:
An inspiring documentary examining the life and work of the author and professor who is one of the leading Jewish critics of the Israeli state. He takes on all critics, despite their sometime hateful rebukes. I always enjoy listening to those who gracefully and courageously challenge the conventional wisdom.
Recommended

The Hurt Locker:
Shot documentary style (which is very appropriate for a movie about war), this drama follows the exploits of a US Army explosive ordnance disposal team in Iraq. The issue of the rightness or wrongness of war is not covered in exchanges between the characters. Their focus is how to stay alive and sane in a chaotic, deadly, and unpredictable situation. It’s interesting that the leading roles are played by relative unknowns while more well known actors play the minor roles.
Recommended

A Serious Man:
The latest by my favorite movie makers, The Coen brothers. Although I wouldn’t rate this work as one of their best, it has all the quirkiness and wonderful, subtle humor typical of their work. This “very Jewish” film revolves around the life of a Jewish professor who suffers one setback after another in his personal and professional life, inspiring him to seek answers about life’s purpose.
Recommended

Crazy Heart:
Jeff Bridges shows he’s deserving of his Oscar. A well written and acted drama about a middle aged country singer/songwriter whose career is going nowhere. I get the feeling that Bridges has been waiting to play this kind of role his whole career. He seems totally involved in it. His singing performances combine the swagger of Waylon Jennings and the folksy delivery of Guy Clark. An excellent story from start to finish.
Recommended

Avatar:
Technically, this movie is brilliant at showing what is possible with movie making. But it also has a well developed story line that makes sense without being entirely predictable. Technical wizardly is useless without a solid story to be told. This one doesn’t disappoint. A very entertaining underdog movie that also includes a few life lessons.
Recommended

Defendor:
Woody Harrelson plays a mentally challenged man who reinvents himself as a super hero, fighting crime. His role is both hilarious and moving, particularly when you discover his character’s personal history and underlying motivation. Harrelson shines in his role, as do several other actors in this sweet, little gem.
Recommended

The Messenger:
Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster play Army notification officers whose job is notifying next of kin of their loved one’s death. The two characters have differing opinions on how to approach such a difficult assignment- one by the book and the other not.
Recommended

Inglorious Basterds:
Quentin Tarantino gives his take on WWII. Brad Pitt leads a group of Jewish Allied soldiers, dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi occupied France. Pitt’s character is hilarious but he’s almost overshadowed by the hysterically inspired performance of Christoph Waltz as the Jew Hunter.
Recommended

The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall:
This is a dramatization of the 2003 shooting of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall by IDF forces in Gaza, while he was attempting to rescue children during a shooting. The film focuses on the courageous investigation done by his family to seek answers and justice. A good look at the arrogance, stonewalling, and whitewashing of the facts that is typical of the Israeli state. My only complaint is we get little personal background on Mr. Hurndall.
Recommended

Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues- A Musical Journey:
This 7-disc series produced by Scorsese explores the history and character of the blues from the viewpoint of seven different directors. A true visual and musical treat. No blues fan, or anyone interested in learning more about this uniquely American art form, should miss viewing this series.
Recommended

Five Minutes of Heaven:
Liam Neeson is a murderer in violence torn, 1975 Northern Ireland who attempts a reconciliation with his victim’s younger brother (James Nesbitt), 33 years later. An intense, well acted look at the powerful and sometime debilitating emotions of guilt and revenge and that hard to reach goal of forgiveness.
Recommended

Nightjohn:
A plantation owner in the Ante-bellum south purchases a slave without the knowledge that he knows how to read. He begins to teach a precocious, young girl her letters which leads to all sortsof disruption.
Recommended

Edge of Darkness:
And darkness is in ample supply with Mel Gibson at his gritty best. He plays a Boston police detective looking to find why his daughter is murdered and lets nothing stand in his way. The movie brings up a very scary, false flag scenario that the US state may very well use in the future.
Recommended

The Obama Deception:
The Alex Jones gang outlines how The Magic Negro is just another well marketed puppet of the ruling elites. The documentary also points out his campaign lies and the continuance and even escalation of Bush’s criminal policies.
Recommended

Light Flashes

More kids trapped in sweltering cars are dying

Is it just me, or are people getting stupider and stupider? How can a parent “forget” that their small child is still in the car? How can even small children not know how to get themselves out of a car after entering an unattended vehicle? I clearly recall shooting a BB gun at age 4. I have to assume I also had the capability of letting myself out of a locked vehicle.

“Safety advocates said the deaths have been more prevalent since the mid-1990s when parent-drivers were required to put their children in the back seat, where they are safer in transit but more likely to be forgotten.”

What an excellent example of a well-intentioned law that brings unintended tragic consequences. The child is literally trapped and unable to free himself. The state seems to enjoy seeing people strapped, belted, restrained, locked in, chained and even caged “for their own good” - Even if it kills them.


Tiny turtle thwarts taxiing jet's takeoff

Questions:

1) Is there any common sense left in the world?

2) Apparently, dealing with the TSA terrorists is not enough of an annoyance. Airlines must also think it appropriate to treat their customers like dirt.

3) Was it really necessary to inconvenience a plane full of people to rid the flight of a small turtle? Just to comply with a “regulation?”

4) Why do people fly anymore?


Fort Worth police issue warnings over backyard beer machine

“The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says that any money transaction for alcohol is illegal without a permit or liquor license.”

The reason for the state’s restricting voluntary trade between consenting individuals always comes down to this fact: The state objects to any activity that doesn’t pay tribute (taxes, permit purchases, licensing, etc.) to the state gang.
If the neighbors have an objection to this activity, why not approach the homeowner themselves in a civil manner and politely discuss their concern?

Why send armed thugs to do your dirty work? This can only result in unnecessary violence and/or mistrust between neighbors.

Chief Bernal welcomes probe of Brown Jr. funeral escort

The tragic irony of the son of the Dallas Police chief being a cop killer is overwhelming enough. Now it comes out that this murderer received a 12 motorcycle police escort to his burial! I’m sure the other man he murdered (an innocent gentlemen enjoying a Father’s Day celebration with his family) did not receive such a perk.

Robert Redford wants artists to push government

And do it with YOUR money, of course. Redford’s Sundance Film Festival has been suckling at the Federal teat for years.

“Redford started the Sundance Film Festival with a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Now it generates $90 million over 10 days for Utah.”

Redford makes it sound as if the claimed $90 million of economic benefit was equally apportioned between all residents of the state. Of course, only a relative handful of individuals directly benefit. Wouldn’t it be more peaceful and ethical to secure investment for the festival from those individuals that actually benefit from it? Then we could avoid the violence, theft, ill will, and argument about the necessity of state involvement in such activity.

But then, it’s just so much easier to use clever marketing and political bribes to just STEAL the money. Right, Rob?


Dallas residents join 'town hall' on U.S. debt

Please notice that among the “top consensus picks” of “pre-packaged options,” not ONE included any kind of spending cut or elimination. They ALL call for still more extraction of wealth from the state’s enslaved subjects.

Amerikan serfs still seem hesitant to withdraw their belief in a free lunch, all paid for with other people’s money.

This meeting was moderated by the “non-partisan” organization, America Speaks. How can you claim to be “non-partisan” when you display an obvious bias toward command and control government centered in Washington D.C.? Why are only state controlled solutions offered to state caused problems? Look at their list of contributors. Do you recognize any liberty oriented groups among them?

Count this event as just another propaganda scam, convincing the lowly serfs that they actually have some control over their self-proclaimed rulers

Crackdown on illegal gaming in Hunt County

Once again, the state abhors and will not tolerate competition. Private gaming competes with the state’s business of gambling- the lottery. That’s the game where Boobus spends his measly paycheck on useless tickets and the money is then redistributed to the state’s long and growing client list of parasites.

LP Board of Ed candidate no "paper tiger"

No self-proclaimed “libertarian” would have anything but contempt and disgust toward any state gangster operated Board of Education- let alone seek to become part of it. If her goal was to dismantle and abolish such a board from within, her goal might be useful. But it appears that she just wants to be part of the illegitimate game of state controlled education enforced at the point of a gun.

Will Ms. Parsons please explain to me how is it moral and ethical to FORCE me and others to finance the education of other people’s children? Will Ms. Parsons please explain to me why the tyranny of democratic majority should decide how children are educated and just who pays for it? Will Ms. Parsons please explain to me when and where did I consent to be a participant and contributor to such an arrangement? And would she please explain to me where and how she and her fellow state cultists secured the moral authority to enforce such a non-consensual agreement?

This is what you call “freedom?”

Ms. Parsons doesn’t even seem to meet the standard of a “paper tiger.” I would describe her instead as the state’s compliant kitten.

Mass. Rep. Nyman dies after being found in pool


Maybe he drowned in the debt he helped create.

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“Darwinism destroyed the concept of natural law. If the universe is evolving in autonomous, unpredictable ways, in terms of such random phenomena as genetic mutation, there can be no such thing as natural law. No social order is permanent; no legal order is permanent. The laws change as society changes.”
Gary North

“The operation of government intensifies ethnic divisions and escalates social conflict. Nationalism, whether defined along ethnic or ideological lines, involves one group of people ruling over another. As people struggle for advantage, conflict ensues. And politicians will exploit this conflict to deflect criticism of their destructive policies.
Anarchy, by contrast, entails that no person rule over another. People are not entitled to special rights based on the ethnicity, gender or other category they find themselves in. So long as they do not violate the ability of others to exercise maximum individual liberty they are allowed to live where and how they wish.”
Darian Worden

“A nation’s government is the creation of its people, the thinking goes. It represents them, and its interests are aligned with the interests of 'its' people. The notion that those in government have their own agendas that have nothing to do with the well-being or expressed interests of 'the people,' and that they pursue these agendas to the detriment of 'the people,' is heresy in this worldview. It is a worldview that persists despite an endless parade of corruption and broken campaign promises to demonstrate its fallacy.”
Bretigne Shaffer

“The Internet lets people relate to each other purely as individuals, instead of viewing themselves as American or French or Brazilian, seeing themselves as citizens of some nation-state. I think in the future people are likely to see each other as citizens of informal organizations – not countries – and will seek each other out on the Internet and join together on that basis.”
Doug Casey

“Abolishing the institution of slavery was a good start, but only a start. Coercive government is in fact nothing but slavery by stealth; when a ruling elite can take (or direct) as much as they please of your time, your actions, and your money, then de facto slavery is in season. That some people may have voted for a particular part of what transpires is no more helpful to the victims than was the divine right of kings and other fantasy justifications for control of the many by the few. Likewise, that some slavemasters may be kinder than others does not make the slavery itself right or acceptable, or safe for the slaves of even the kindest master; masters come and go, and again, the tendency is for outright psychopaths to rise to Power at the expense of more compassionate souls.”
Glen Allport

“Of all the ‘ideas’ out there, statism has shown itself to be the ultimate ‘idealistic’ and ‘Utopian’ dream. It has been tried, in every imaginable permutation, for thousands of years and it always fails. Always. Why think ‘next time we'll get it right’ against all evidence?”
Kent McManigal

“Anyone who wants to vote probably shouldn't be allowed to vote. Voting is the first step towards zombification - trying to get something without actually working for it. People who can't get what they want by honest trade or innocent persuasion turn to the ballot box. The next thing you know they're voting for Hugo Chavez.”
Bill Bonner

“The hubris of government is that multi-thousand page bills can actually accurately describe and account for the complexity of the real world, where hundreds of millions of economic actors interact in virtually infinite combinations.”
From CivilSocietyTrust.org

“Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generation which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies.”
Thomas Paine

“Limiting the power of the state, once it has been granted a territorial monopoly of legislation, is impossible, a self-contradictory goal. To believe that it is possible to limit government power – other than by subjecting it to competition, i.e., by not allowing monopoly privileges of any kind to arise in the first place – is to assume that the nature of Man changes as the result of the establishment of government (very much like the miraculous transformation of Man that socialists believe to happen with the onset of socialism).”
Hans-Hermann Hoppe

“The public acceptance of war is the default position that perpetuates its insanity. ‘Truth’ is the input that "does not compute" within the logic of the war system, and the state undertakes every precaution – such as censorship, labeling documents and other discomforting facts as ‘top secret’ – to silence any doubts that might be raised as to the validity of the propagandized campaign on behalf of death and destruction.”
Butler Shaffer

“Many of the people who argue for the necessity of the state believe that humankind is essentially petty and cruel and thus make the case for a centralized political system to maintain order, peace, and prosperity. But if humankind is all of those naughty things, then how are the people in government any different? If people are profit-seeking and brutal, then they don’t become magnificently well-intentioned and public-spirited after joining the state.”
Ross Kenyon

“We need to announce that we do not accept the legitimacy of the regime. This regime is blatantly, openly and proudly violating our natural rights. It is not legitimate within the clear understanding of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence. Thus, you have no moral obligation to support it. Withdrawing moral support for the regime is critical since public support is the very basis of the regime’s power.”
James Ostrowski

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From the Darkness:

"The battle for food is a matter of national security."
An unidentified official from the Venezuelan Food Ministry.

“So I say to my friends on the Internet, relax. Take a look at the bill. And this is something that we need to protect our country.
Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too.”
Sen. Joe Lieberman, defending, a bill that would give President Obama a "kill switch" to shut down parts of the Internet.

“So, we probably won’t have to have that test of whether or not there’s [constitutional] authority. Certainly, he had some moral authority that they responded to.”
Sen. Ben Nelson, when asked whether President Obama has the constitutional authority to have BP surrender the stockholders’ money without due process of law.

“I am of the opinion that, since there is an ongoing war, since the threat is permanent, since the intention of the enemy in this case is to annihilate you, the right doctrine is one of pre-emption and not of retaliation.”
Shabtai Shavit, a former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, pushing for a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

“The CBP’s work is grounded in the fundamental belief that government should work to improve the lives of the people it serves. The CBP maintains a deep commitment to ensuring that public policies and programs respond effectively to the needs and interests of lower-income individuals, families, and communities throughout California.”
From the California Budget Project website. [Yes, those “programs” worked so well that now your state is bankrupt.]

“Mr. President, I want to see the boot on the neck of BP tonight. I want to see some finger-pointing whether it's in your personality or not and it's OK tonight to act kind of like a dictator and call the shots saying this is the way it's going to be. BP has lied to the citizens of this country long enough. It's been one misstep after another. One lie, one half-truth after another. It's time for the President of the United States to lay it out there in full force for the citizens of the United States and make it very clear that BP is going to make us whole, whole again and whole for a long time.”
MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, before Obama’s speech about the Gulf Coast oil spill.

“In a way, Obama is standing above the country- above the world, a sort of God. He’s going to be bring all different sides together.”
Evan Thomas, MSNBC

“Right now the Germans are dragging their neighbours into deflation, which threatens a long phase of stagnation. And that leads to nationalism, social unrest and xenophobia. Democracy itself could be at risk.”
George Soros, economic and historical illiterate.

"Border security is primarily a responsibility of federal government […] we cannot have 50 different state legislations. It will not work."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano [Wrong, Janet. There’s absolutely nothing in the US Constitution that authorizes the federal government to secure state borders from immigrants.]

“The beginning of UAV flights over the west-Texas portion of our border with Mexico marks an important advancement for border security in our state. We are working hard to make round-the-clock surveillance the standard for all 2,000 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, pushing for more Big Brother surveillance drones in out skies.

"The strategy continues to have NATO's support and our forces will continue to carry it out. We will stay for as long as it takes to do our job."

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, reacting to the naming of Gen David Petraeus as Head Killer in charge of Afghanistan genocide [What exactly IS the job and how will you know when it is completed?]

"Sadly we need disasters like this [BP oil rig explosion] to show people. Some people don't believe in climate warming - like those who don't believe there was a Holocaust.”

Paul McCartney

"I call on all human rights activists in the world - go to Tehran, that's where there is a human rights violation."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, enforcer of the murderous blockade of Gaza.

"The public has nothing to fear with this legislation and the way the police will use this legislation. It really comes down to a case of common sense and officer discretion. If you're approaching that fence line, we want to know why. We're bound by duty to protect the people that are going be within that fence line. If you refuse to tell us [why you're there], then we have to assume that your purposes are not of a peaceful nature."
Sgt. Tim Burrows of the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit, defending new regulations, specifically empowering those policing the G8/G20 summit.

“If this were Texas, a state that borders Mexico, I would have to look twice at this, but it’s Arizona, a state that is removed from the border…”
Peggy West, geography-challenged Milwaukee county supervisor, during debate on a measure about boycotting the state of Arizona.

"Students who spent their valuable, precious time diving through dumpsters before this event in order to silence someone ... what a wasted resource."
Sarah Palin, commenting on students that found part of her speaking contract in a dumpster. [Hey, Legs- Just who is attempting to “silence” anyone by seeking the truth? And for how long now have you had the thouroughly Marixst attitude that people are “resources?”]

Light Flashes

Dallas violated own zoning ordinances for senior homes

This a great illustration of the failure of any kind of central planning. No one individual or ruling group of individuals can possibly have all the knowledge and information necessary to plan economic activity. Here, in a very isolated context, the ruling authority that decides how many senior centers to allow in an area didn’t even have any idea how many senior centers already existed!

Texas Democrats go to court over Green Party

Tyrants HATE competition and like any other street gang, will do what is necessary to prevent a competing war lord to invade their turf.


No shooting required: Concealed weapon licenses with a twist

What a sweet end-around one of the goofy laws state gangsters saddle us with- in this case, requiring a license for carrying a firearm. The conceal carry license take less time and is easier to get in Utah. Yet, Texas (by law) respects the holder of such licenses (as well as from other states) within their territorial boundaries. Of course, the Texas gangsters are outraged by the competition and loss of control of their human livestock.

I’m sure the next Texas state legislature will end this “loophole” during their next gang summit, which occurs (fortunately) only every two years.

Richardson ISD faces violation for polluting creek

No surprise here. The state, which claims to protect us from pollution, is probably the largest polluter out there.

"Though polluters often face fines, Dallas said it would likely ask the district to just clean it up.”

The state is always lenient on one of its own whenever they violate the very laws they claim to uphold and enforce. If this had been a private business doing the polluting, it would have been unmercifully looted through fines.

Homeland Security to use drones along border

How wonderful. Texas will suffer still another USG invasion- this time it’s Big Brother snooping from above. I feel so much safer now that my rulers seek to actively protect me from people crossing meaningless, arbitrary boundaries and from honest businessmen (who the state smears as drug “smugglers”) looking to satisfy customers in voluntary trade transactions.

How long before these drones are soaring above the interstate highways looking for any kind of “illicit” or “illegal” activity? How long before they are constantly buzzing about the larger cities looking for more of their livestock to harass? Certainly there are more potential targets within a larger population. How long before one of these drones collides with a commercial or private aircraft? Will the dead just be considered more collateral damage? We’re at war, after all!

I see where Arizona is being blessed with Project Roadrunner (don’t you love these cute, catchy names?), “an integrated license plate reader recognition (LPR) system, to target both north- and southbound drug trafficking and other illegal activity along the Southwest border.” I guess it won’t be long before Texas politi-gangsters will be crying out for just such a program on their turf.
　

A Closed Mouth Catches No Flies?

"As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport."
William Shakespeare

Whip Me, Beat Me, (and Finally) Chain Me!

The daily parade of videos exposing physical abuse by state agents (primarily local police forces) has sovereign individuals everywhere voicing righteous outrage. But I don’t think enough attention has been given to a less visible abuse that continues the evolution of state tyranny from mere annoyance to outright shackling.

This article about ankle bracelet monitors extols the virtues and supposed effectiveness of government putting DWI “violators” in electronic leg irons:

“The bracelet measures alcohol consumption by reading vapors given off in perspiration. It samples a person's sweat every 30 minutes, then transmits the readings to the company daily.”

I find this spooky and even terrifying that state agents literally monitor the creation and movement of your bodily fluids in order to coerce avoidance from what they consider an illicit activity- drinking alcohol. There is also the ridiculous, unspoken assumption that just because an individual imbibes alcohol, he will drink to intoxication AND then drive an automobile.

This monitoring becomes even spookier with the revelation that there is still another, complementing device that state agents prefer- a GPS monitor:

"If we did get a reading that they are drinking, we'd know exactly where they were so we could go out and get them if we wanted to."

Does that mean merely sending a couple LEOs to pick you up and cage you or can it mean (at least in the future) sending the latest drone aircraft technology your way to turn your carcass into toast?

There seems to be virtually no limit on the amount of abuse the state is willing to perpetrate on its subjects, and nearly no limit to the abuse the public is willing to endure. The tyranny has surpassed merely verbal restrictions on our lives, the violation of which results being caged like an animal. Now, the more “humane” and “cost effective” approach is to literally being physically restrained and controlled like a dog on a leash.

What next? Will there be ankle bracelets that monitor brain activity to assure your masters that you are not thinking corrupting “anti-government” thoughts or considering subversive activities? Will new, more sophisticated monitors record what your eyes view- books read, television programs watched, people you talk to and associate with?

Rest assured that ambitious and creative government employees and contractors are feverishly working (supported and enriched by your stolen tax dollars) at finding new ways to effectively curb “inappropriate” behavior and create even more compliant and obedient subjects.　　
　

Now, Be Honest.......

HAVEN'T YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS?

A “release” of pent up rage can be emotionally helpful, but at the risk of having your privates tased.

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“It is not nations that find the use of force necessary and morally justified; it is governments — make that hack politicians — who then proceed to hoodwink their populations into believing them.”
Sheldon Richman

“Deterrence and revenge are high on the list of fables that only serve to make the world a perpetually fallen place. State-sponsored execution was reinstated decades ago, and yet many of us live in cities which have not seen falling murder rates but rather quite the opposite. Ronald Reagan’s sacred myths about the death penalty win elections but they don’t save the souls of our cities.”
Michael E. Lawrence

“So, the government that foolishly limited BP's maximum liability, the government that claimed it knew where best to drill, the government that actually stopped locals from protecting their own shoreline — that would be that same government that bankrupted Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Post Office, Amtrak and virtually everything it has managed — now wants to decide who gets BP's cash.”
Judge Andrew Napolitano

“There is nothing good that can’t be done by free individuals cooperating and competing as they choose. Authority will only disrupt and subjugate, attempting to control cooperation and competition on terms favorable to those in charge.”
Darian Worden

“Simplicity and truth of character are not produced by the constraint of laws, nor by the authority of the state, and absolutely no one can be forced or legislated into a state of blessedness; the means required are faithful and brotherly admonition, sound education, and, above all, free use of the individual judgment.”
Benedict de Spinoza

“There is no real debate between conservatives and liberals, just an argument over how to distribute the spoils of the system. Welfare or warfare.”
Mark Davis

“There is no economic reason why 100% of the expenditures on education should not be paid for by the parents of students or by the students themselves, when they reach college or graduate school level. There is also nothing that says that a government has the moral authority to coerce parents who hold to one view of education, or one view of how the world works, to subsidize the educations of other families, whose children attend schools that teach a view of the world closer to that approved by the subsidized parents.”
Gary North

“The world is becoming increasingly decentralized; the horizontal is replacing the vertical. Such changes are not being occasioned by ideological thinking, but by the pragmatic necessities of sustaining life. Just as a tree does not grow from the top down, the lives of individuals and of societies cannot be directed by external authorities, no matter how long they have been revered. It is becoming more evident to more people that there is nothing that anyone in power can do to resolve the problems created by political thinking. More and more of us are discovering just how weak is any system that must rely on threats and violence to achieve its ends.”
Butler Shaffer

"After a long life, and thirty years in the public school trenches, I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius only because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves.”
John Taylor Gatto

“A cynic once said that while a petty thief will find himself behind bars or dangling from the end of a rope, the most powerful criminals are those who run the jails and operate the gallows. The corporatist plutocracy controlling our country is determined to make a prophet of that anonymous cynic."
Will Grigg

“Indeed, there is nothing out of the ordinary about politicians calling for mass murder, torture, preemptive war and other acts of barbarism, while their careers remain intact. Meanwhile, a comment that can be construed as racist, or offensive to certain groups, can ruin a mere plebeian. We have elevated name-calling to a higher offense than advocating (state-sanctioned) mass murder and wars of aggression. That the hypocrisy of this is not evident to everyone is an indication of our collective blindness to acts of evil when they are committed by those in authority.”
Bretigne Shaffer

“There is no middle ground between coercion and non-aggression. Trying to dismantle systems of coercion by gaining the ability to use coercion is not only inconsistent with the ends of voluntaryism and a free society but our participation in electoral democracy signals our consent to be governed by democracy.”
Ross Kenyon

“Most economic, political and military events are just business as usual for financial elites and the industries beholden to them. They take advantage of real or contrived economic crises, military operations and foreign conflicts the way stockbrokers churn stocks to generate commissions. The collateral damage, causalities, wealth transfers, confiscation and mass hardship are just tricks of the trade.”
Ron Holland

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From the Darkness:

“If you read it and you have a problem, you’re misreading it.”
John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and President Barack Obama’s top science adviser, refusing to discuss his past, controversial work.

“……Ron Paul is one of the many elected representatives who we have that doesn't even have a basic understanding of fundamental economics, let alone more complex issues and better ways to hedge against inflation than buying gold. Gold is a complex instrument. You know, it speaks to a bigger point. He doesn't even know what he's doing.”
Ron Insana, CNBC analyst, who knows so much about economics that his hedge fund went broke.

“When people don’t show up when we ask them to ... all it does is increases our interest in what they’re doing and why they didn’t show up. It was a stupid mistake for them not to show up, and I say shame on them.”
Sen. John Rockefeller, upset that Apple and Google didn’t participate in an April hearing on children’s online privacy in an April hearing on children’s online privacy.

“Turkey is responsible for the nine deaths aboard that ship. It is not Israel that’s responsible. If Israel is at fault in any way, it’s by falling into the trap that was set for them by Turkey.”

Rep. Shelley Berkley, on the Gaza aid flotilla massacre.

“We begin to have to do stupid things if the supplemental is not passed by July 4."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates threatening senators if Congress doesn’t approve a $33 billion supplemental spending request by July 4.

"I think frankly that the narrative ... has been too negative. I think that we are regaining the initiative. I think that we are making headway."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on the US getting its butt kicked in Afghanistan.

"I deeply apologize to the families of the honored fallen resting in that hallowed ground who may now question the care afforded to their loved ones.”
Army Secretary John McHugh, apologizing after an investigation revealed that potentially hundreds of the 300,000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery have been misidentified or misplaced. [Yes, you cared for them so well up to now. That's why they were killed.]

“Christians have an obligation to all persecuted people, but especially the Jews.”
Chuck Colson

“BP notes the fall in its share price in US trading last night. The company is not aware of any reason which justifies this share price movement.”
From a BP press release, June 10, 2010

"I have the utmost respect for Judge Garza. It's just unfortunate this was happening."
La Joya, TX city administrator Mike Alaniz, commenting on the arrest of La Joya Municipal Court Judge Joe Henry Garza for allegedly using traffic fines paid by those who appeared before him to pay his personal credit card. [State thieves always seem to “respect" one another and consider it “unfortunate” when they are caught.]

“Well, when every other state around us is passing dramatic legislation to get rid of their illegal aliens I've got to say yes.”.
Texas State Representative Leo Berman, on a bill to bring an Arizona-type immigration law to Texas.

“We -- the government and the people of the United States -- need to stand up for the Iranian people. We need to make their goals our goals, their interests our interests, their work our work.”
John McCain [That’s why we need to bomb them- right, Johnny?]

“The First Amendment protects radical opinions, but we need the legal tools to do things like monitor the recruitment of terrorists via the Internet.
We can significantly advance security without having a deleterious impact on individual rights in most instances. At the same time, there are situations where trade-offs are inevitable."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

A Real Confidence Builder

Gen. David Petreaus, one of the highest ranking soldier boys of the state’s defense monopoly, briefly collapsed while testifying before a Senate committee. Were the TV lights and imbecilic questioning from Senate fools just too intense? This certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in an institution that claims to be the superior fighting force of the world. It was dehydration, you say? So, the man who is directing a war of occupation and nation building does not have the common sense to drink water and keep himself hydrated?

Where’s the outcry? If BP’s Tony Heyward had suffered the same fate, there would be interminable discussion in the state controlled media about Heyward’s qualifications, and whether he can “handle the pressure” and is “up to the job.” But if an individual wears the state’s clown suit, adorned with a massive display of pretty ribbons and gaudy scrap medal, he is given a pass and shielded from criticism.

Is it any surprise that the institution Petraeus represents, despite having the most powerful and destructive arsenal in history, has difficulty (even after nine years) defeating an insurgency whose most ferocious weapons are crude, homemade bombs left on the side of the road? Heck, one of its top warriors can’t even take care of his own hydration needs!

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“In the world there is rationality and there is wackiness. Democrats and Republicans argue over which brand of wackiness is better and ignore the rationality. They debate replacing liberty with their own particular form of toxic statism, pretending that it is not deadly.”
Kent McManigal

“Government is a blunt instrument of violence that one day might do something you like but the next day will do something you abhor. Better to leave things to us—people—acting together privately."
John Stossel

“Destroying the oceans and endangering life on planet earth could be called a mistake. But destroying the economy is malicious mischief. Which is what the feds are doing.”
Bill Bonner

“When someone wears a uniform, that individual has chosen to identify himself with the group his uniform represents. The police uniform represents the authority of the state. It is a visible sign that they protect and serve state power.
Uniforms are frequently used as a substitute for personal responsibility. We are supposed to automatically respect military personnel for the uniforms they wear, but we are not supposed to hold them as individuals responsible for what they do while wearing the uniform.”
Darian Worden

“Time and again it has been proven that the Keynesian system of big government and fiat paper money are abject failures in the long run. However, the nature of government is to ignore reality when there is an avenue that allows growth in power and control.
The truth is the laws of economics are constant and real, no matter how inconvenient they might be to politicians and bankers.”
Ron Paul

“[Paul] Krugman's solution is deeply impractical, to the point of absurdity. He proposes that the feds spend money they don't have to cure the problems caused by spending money they didn't have. It's like starting the roofing at the peak of the roof. It will look like a roof. It just won't shed water.”
Bill Bonner

“The North Korean mindset and the American statist mindset is that people belong to society, much as bees belong to a hive, and cannot be permitted to interfere with the proper functioning of society through self-destructive behavior.”
Jacob Hornberger

**************************************************

From the Darkness:

"He wouldn't be working for me after any of those statements."
B. Obama, referring the BP CEO Tony Hayward, after giving his honest opinion about the Gulf oil spill. [Hey Barry. Your “company” is bankrupt. Hayward’s company is quite profitable. Who knows more about their business?]

"…..I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar; we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."
B Obama, Nobel Peace Prize winner, threatening still more violence upon his subjects.

"The creation and preservation of jobs within the federal government are paramount toward rebuilding and strengthening America's economy."
Rep. Niki Tsongas

"This is a story about the power of video. This issue was anti-Semitism, within 24 hours over a million views, we find out that someone who's been reporting for 60 years, this is what she's about."
Rabbi David Nesenoff, who taped Helen Thomas making accurate comments about Israel.

“I'm not a lawyer, and don't claim to be, but Manning's distribution of classified military and State Department information during an on-going conflict would seem to be the very definition of treason.
I don't know if they still hang spies from treason, but they should. If Brad Manning is guilty of the crimes of which he is accused, he should be executed as soon as his appeals are exhausted.”
Confederate Yankee

"Yeah, we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, I'd do it again to save lives."
George W Bush, admitting he’s a war criminal.

"The right thing, overwhelmingly, is to do things that will reduce spending and/or raise revenue after the economy has recovered - specifically, wait until after the economy is strong enough that monetary policy can offset the contractionary effects of fiscal austerity.”
Paul Krugman, so-called economist. [See Bill Bonner’s quote From the Light]

"Increasingly humans will no longer be ‘in the loop’ but rather ‘on the loop’ - monitoring the execution of certain decisions. Simultaneously, advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions and act within legal and policy constraints without necessarily requiring human input."
From a US Air Force that explains how pilot less drones, operated only be Artificial Intelligence, will soon be prowling the skys.

Newspapers Are Doomed

You know newspapers are doomed when they insist on publishing “stories” such as this, warning people to drink water when it’s hot or face the consequences. I am so thankful to be informed about this substance called "water" and its relation to hot weather. What a revelation! I'll have to check it out!

It's a good thing I came across this article or I may very well have died before the end of the weekend. I can't wait for the follow up telling us we should eat food when we are hungry!

The reporter’s response to my criticism was classic- “If it saves just one life, it’s worth it!” Her editor even got in on the act and declared her story a “public service.” If that’s true, it gives you an idea about the state of the public, does it not?

This pathetic article helps confirm my observation that most newspapers these days target an audience with the intellect and reading comprehension of an 11 year old- slightly above the target audience of that boobus monstrosity called "television."

Mainstream newspaper readership is steadily declining. I sense their desperation by their staff’s hysterical comments. Their publication will soon be bankrupt, along with many others. Their declining audience is most represented by the educated, who also tend to have the most money to spend, which is what attracts their advertisers, whose money ultimately pays the reporter's salary. The only audience they'll have left will be the boobs who don't know to drink water when they're thirsty.

There's always a chance Obama (or whoever the Head Gangster happens to be in DC) will bail them out. But that will only piss off their remaining audience of boobs, who are still smart enough to understand that government bailouts are blatant thievery. Then who will be left to read their rag? The people who don't have the sense to keep from drowning by looking up at the rain?

Count Me OUT!

Much has been written the past few months on how individuals should deal with the US Census- whether to answer the form completely, partially, or ignore it altogether. Most arguments I’ve read have been from the Constitutionalist point of view, but too few from the philosophical viewpoint of a free born, sovereign individual, peacefully walking the planet.

Answering only the question asking number of residents in your household is the suggested response by Constitutionalists. This surely is a rational, consistent action if you believe that the Constitution is a legitimate document and you also consent to be the governed by the state that the document claims to empower and regulate. But what if you don’t believe either of these assertions?

Let’s first examine this issue from the Constitutionalist viewpoint. Observing the behavior of the US Government over the years clearly indicates an out of control, rogue state that daily fails to operate within its constitutional constraints. It has also been proven to be morally and financially bankrupt. The US state therefore has absolutely no legitimacy as a governing body to be obeyed- at least among free men. It could even be claimed to be illegitimate by those who have actually consented to its governance. If this governing body refuses to stay within its constitutional boundaries in extending its power over individuals (as do to do so would be inconvenient to serving its agenda), why should these same individuals cooperate at all, even when this same state performs a duty that can be constitutionally justified? Why should any ruling body be respected and obeyed when it does not obey and respect the restraints placed upon it by the governed?

To what advantage to the individual is there in cooperating in this particular state endeavor? Answering any questions posed by the state is risky business. An individual has absolutely nothing to gain from volunteering information and potentially much to lose. Read the advice of Doug Casey:

“Only a fool voluntarily gives any government any more information than it can extract on its own. They talk about how this information will help your community, and it’s your duty, etc., but you should never confuse the state with a friend. Remember your Miranda rights; any information you give can and will be used against you.”
　
Reading quotes from politi-gangsters within this article about the census, exposes these dregs for the sick, violent sociopaths they are. Examples:

"We're talking about federal funds, and we're talking about representation. Our voice in this community must be heard. It is about power, and it is about federal funding, and we must make sure that our North Texas region ... is well-represented."

"We can't plan unless we know who is there and where. I get so many visits in Washington from people telling me how much more they need. But unless we have the numbers in order to plead for it, we cannot justify it."

There you have it- the real reasons for being “counted” - power, theft of property and its redistribution, central planning by political elites, and meeting the needs and demands of the plundering democratic masses.

As one who genuinely strives to live by the Non-Aggression Principle, cooperating in the “count” means also actively participating in the looting, disempowerment, and enslavement of others. When I allow myself to be “counted” I become, by default, party to the state’s crimes against individuals mentioned above. This is unacceptable.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “count” as, “to ascertain the total units in a collection by noting one after another.” Interestingly, the example my copy gives is, “counted sheep in the pasture.” How appropriate! The state’s subjects are seen as units of livestock to be counted- and obedient livestock, at that! To be counted means being proclaimed as one of the state’s subjects and, in the state’s view at least, consenting to be ruled and “represented.” No sovereign, free-living individual should acquiesce to such an arrogant, presumptuous assumption and arrangement.

By refusing to be “counted,” you declare to the state that you have no voluntary association with them. You assert that you refuse any created or implied consent to be “governed” or “represented.”

It’s heartening to read of so many people not willing to cooperate with the nosey and intrusive census. Not cooperating is a relatively low risk method of resistance to a tyrannical power. Why should one participate and cooperate with a government that is illegitimate? Why should one obey laws enforced by an unconstitutionally operating government that violates its OWN laws? Why should any sovereign, liberty loving individual surrender ownership of their life, property, and future to a thieving, murderous, enslaving state by being “counted” as one of its own?

Count me? Hell No! There’s only way to count me. Count me OUT!
　

Here We Go Again…….

Israeli commandos attack still another aid ship bound for Gaza. This time the aid ship made it to port and was unexpectedly traveling over land toward its destination!

Wheels on the ship! Those darn, diabolical Palestinians!

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
"In the real world, Mr. Market always wins. He always wins because he IS the real world."
Bill Bonner

“……The market tends toward an ever-evolving, ever-changing tapestry of association, with patterns that cannot be known in advance and should not be regulated by federal masters. In contrast, government's attempts to regulate association lead to disorder and social calamities.”
Lew Rockwell

“A valid contract requires voluntary offer, acceptance, and consideration. I’ve never received an offer from my rulers, so I certainly have not accepted one; and rather than consideration, I have received nothing but contempt from the rulers, who, notwithstanding the absence of any agreement, have indubitably threatened me with grave harm in the event that I fail to comply with their edicts. What monumental effrontery these people exhibit! What gives them the right to rob me and push me around? It certainly is not my desire to be a sheep for them to shear or slaughter as they deem expedient for the attainment of their own ends.”
Robert Higgs

“I believe the government response to the recession has created budgetary stress sufficient to bring about the crisis much sooner. Our generation – not our grandchildren’s – will have to deal with the consequences. If we do one thing, let’s stop bemoaning the fate of our grandchildren on this topic. We might take the issue more seriously if we realize that our own future is at risk.”
David Einhorn

“Israel murders people and then blames its victims. This appeals to American conservatives, who want the US to do the same.”
Paul Craig Roberts

“Reliance on robotic warfare has escalated from the Bush to the Obama administrations, with very little significant public debate. More than ever before, it is true that the U.S. doesn’t want our bodies to be part of warfare; there’s also not much interest in our consent. All that is required is our money.”
Kathy Kelly

“The ‘law’ is meaningless; right or wrong is what you should worry about.
Everything that is wrong was already ‘illegal’ millennia ago. No new ‘wrong’ has been discovered since the day of the Neanderthal. Evil people have tried to justify wrongs, such as slavery and theft, by passing ‘laws’ that ‘legalize’ them, but the nature of right and wrong did not change to suit the ‘law'".
Kent McManigal

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but only some are allowed to know the law; you must submit to those of higher status than you; and rules are made by rulers, but only the ruled must strictly follow them.”
Darian Worden

“Israel does not need enemies. It has itself. Or more precisely: it has its government.”
Leon Wieseltier, The New Republic

“….Self-defense is an individual right. No state, Jewish or otherwise, has the "right" to exist, and all of them -- the Israeli state emphatically included -- prosper at the expense of those they supposedly protect.”
Will Grigg

"…..When I am invited to get out of the country, I feel like someone living in a town taken over by the James Gang who has been told that if he doesn’t like being robbed and bullied by uninvited thugs, he should move to another town. To me, it seems much more fitting that the criminals get out.”
Robert Higgs

*****************************************************

From the Darkness:

“Legitimate media sources are critically important to our government.”
Michigan State Senator Bruce Patterson, introducing legislation that will regulate reporters.

"The fact that people are willing to stand up and do what’s difficult, they’re willing to stand up and do what’s frightening, and they’re willing to stand up and do what often costs, really is the measure of not just a person, but of a people."
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, giving his Memorial Day salute to the state’s robotic cannon fodder.

"A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that ... military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests -- for example when it comes to trade routes, for example when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes."
German President Horst Köhler

“If a few states experiment with compulsory voting and demonstrate its democracy- enriching potential, they might, in this way, smooth the path to national consideration.”
Williiam A. Galston, Brookings Institution, pushing for mandatory voting in the US.

“The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger'"
Dov Weisglass, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, explaining the reason for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

“Direct delivery by sea is neither appropriate nor responsible, and certainly not effective, under the circumstances.”
UN Ambassdor Alejandro Wolff, excusing Israel’s crime of attacking the aid ships to Gaza.

“I think that members of the United States Congress understand why the blockade was in place against Hamas and support it, once you start at that place, a boat that bows into the teeth of that blockade isn’t going to be viewed sympathetically.
As Israel continues to be unjustly challenged on the international stage, the United States must continue its efforts to stand up for Israel’s self-defense.” New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, defending the Israeli massacre.

“As traditional media have become less diverse and less competitive, they have also grown less responsible and less responsive to the communities that they are supposed to serve. In this same atmosphere hate speech thrives, as hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television program masquerading as news.”
Text of a letter from a coaltion of 30 media organizations, urging The Federal Communications Commission to monitor “hate speech” on talk radio and cable broadcast networks.

“Child pornography is great…. It is great because politicians understand child pornography. By playing that card, we can get them to act, and start blocking sites. And once they have done that, we can get them to start blocking file sharing sites.”
Johan Schluter, anti- piracy activist.

"This 'relief' convoy was not about humanitarian aid, as the liberal mainstream media keeps reporting. The whole operation was designed to provoke Israel, not to provide supplies to Palestinians held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Anyone who sees the video of Israeli commandos being attacked as they land on that ship knows the people aboard were vicious thugs, not 'peace activists.' The media insults our intelligence with their outright mischaracterization of who these enemies are."
Sarah Palin, earning her fat paycheck from the Zionist lobby.

“The precision is unsurpassed in the history of human conflict. No one’s come up with a better alternative, assuming they see value in trying to stop killers like al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. This is a policy of legitimate and lawful self-defense, driven by absolute necessity’”
Anonymous American government official, defending recent unmanned drone airstrikes initiated by the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Through this document, we seek to prompt discussion of whether to recommend policy changes to support the ongoing 'reinvention' of journalism, and, if so, which specific proposals appear most useful, feasible, platform-neutral, resistant to bias, and unlikely to cause unintended consequences in addressing emerging gaps in news coverage."
From a FTC report, listing potential policy recommendations to “reinvent the field of journalism.”

“Revelation 13 depicts the state as a totalitarian beast – a metaphor for Rome, which was persecuting the Christians. This passage serves as a clear warning about the abuse of governmental power. But a power-hungry government is clearly an aberration and violation of the proper role of government in protecting its citizens and upholding the demands of fairness and justice. To disparage government per se – to see government as the central problem in society – is simply not a biblical position.”
Jim Wallis of Sojourners

How Come?

How come He can heal the waters?…………..



……………but not stop the rain?

Resist the Collectivist View of History

After reading Anna Morgenstern’s Memorial Day: Remembering the Dead, I was struck by a common (though understandable) error that even the most ardent anarchists and voluntaryists make. Though Anna’s description and analysis of war gangsterism is dead on accurate, I find her views on the (misnamed) Civil War and WWII surprisingly statist.

I’ve come to believe that it is useful to not only analyze present day events from the point of view of a free born, sovereign, stateless, anti-collectivist individual, but also to scrutinize historical events from that same viewpoint.

Anna presents the case that the above mentioned wars may be two rare examples where US state-approved wars were justified as “fighting for its citizen’s freedom.” First off, I find it laughable that any state, an organization that maintains its power by physically and financially enslaving it subjects, can legitimately claim the moral stand of freeing anyone.

That said, the (misnamed) Civil War was never conceived or executed in any way as a battle against slavery. Not until Lincoln (an avowed white supremacist, indifferent to anyone’s bondage) grasped the abolition cause to rally back from impending military defeat, did the anti-slavery cause get mentioned. At the time of the battle of Fort Sumter, there were more slaves living in the North than in the South! Many Northern slave owners, when seeing the error of their ways, did not outright free their slaves but merely sold them!

Though abolition was a moral and necessary cause, it was never necessary to initiate total war, the destruction of entire cities, and the killing of over 600,000 people. The US and Haiti, as far as I’m aware of, are the only two states that found it necessary to kill on a massive scale to end slavery. The solution to offer was the same then, as now, for any sovereign, anti-state individual- peaceful persuasion and financial incentive. Educating individuals, one by one (as anti-state, pro-life individuals do to fight abortion) on the evil and immorality of human bondage would have been the peaceful and productive approach rather than to fight a devastating war- a war followed by state sponsored Reconstruction that created enmity between the races that remains to this day.

Offering financial incentives is also a very effective approach- by illustrating how labor is more efficient and productive if it is a voluntary work force. Slavery does not make economic sense and can be proven to hinder widespread prosperity. I’m sure many slave owners would have been content to having their slaves purchase their freedom by way of private benefactors. This may be a distasteful option to many, but it would certainly prevent the deaths of many to liberate a few.

Even if the only way to end slavery was through violence, the best way would have been through privately financed and operated militias to assist a slave uprising. The loss of life would have been minimal, compared to Lincoln’s abomination.

This brings us to WWII. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, at first look, certainly seems a justified reason for the US state to initiate war. But when seeing the US blockade of Japan (a terrorist act, usually resisted by military action) and FDR’s unquestionable provocations towards that country, it makes it difficult to be surprised that Japan, or any other state, would not retaliate. Consider it state-to-state blowback. Both parties share guilt in this dispute. It’s a shame that FDR’s complicity was not exposed at the time. US involvement in the Pacific may have been shortened or even prevented entirely.

Admittedly, overcoming the war fever afflicting the US state’s subjects would have been difficult to counter with peaceful reasoning and damning information against their deceptive masters (as it still is today with the public’s war furor created by 9/11). The point to be remembered is the US state was partly responsible for escalating this conflict with Japan and “protecting” or “freeing” anyone was certainly not its inspiration for doing so.

Fighting Hitler and defending Europe was absolutely no concern of the US state. Yes, its involvement did help “protect” and “free” Europeans, but that is not the supposed function of the US state. Its involvement was illegitimate. It had absolutely no moral or ethical basis to tax, plunder, and kidnap (through the military draft) its subjects, forcing them to support its military actions against Hitler and his allies. If any Americans wished to assist with the military action against Hitler they should have grabbed a rifle, traveled to Europe and joined the resistance. Or individuals could have manned and financed private military units to ally with European state militaries or any other worthy resistance organizations.

In the absence of a state, I honestly can not see such destruction as in WWII occurring. Sure, there might be small skirmishes between various groups or militias. But they would be short lived, as those involved quickly realize it is not in their best interest to continue. And it is doubtful that any of these organizations would have the means to finance the massive firepower characteristic of even small states. States don’t need to ask for the means to purchase their arsenal, they merely take it.

It’s never the purpose of any state-created and executed war to free, liberate, or protect anyone. Its purpose is to expand the power of the state over its own subjects and any new ones it can enslave. Its purpose is to benefit the military contractors and bankers who profit from war’s carnage and return the favor through political patronage and graft.

Whether you’re viewing the state of war in present day or examining those of the past, war is always unnecessary, devastating and with long lasting consequences (including creating even more wars). With every new war a new precedent is set. With the (misnamed) Civil War, the idea of total war and war on civilians became an acceptable practice. With WWII (an expansion of war on civilians) came the idea that the use of any weapon or method, no matter how horrible, can be justified against an enemy. Recall the firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo and the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Creation of states (criminal syndicates) is the ultimate failure of human reason. War is the ultimate extension of the state’s hypocrisy, illegitimacy, and moral turpitude. Ironically, war is also the greatest source of its power. Humanity and civilization is impoverished and weakened while servitude and collectivism is nurtured and strengthened.

Whether analyzing present day events or evaluating the past, war is never justified. There is always an alternative. The state’s existence and actions (including war) can be shown to be just as unnecessary and illegitimate 150 years ago as they are today.