Category Archives: Gubmint

Political rants and libertarian propaganda.

Grasshoppers and Grasshoppettes: Let Us Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I am especially thankful for the all the bright voices of Liberty vigilantly watching the steady trespassing of government meddling in our lives and dutifully sounding the alarm. Below is a list of some of guardians of freedom for whom I am especially grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!


The Adam Smith Institute
  The ASI is Britain’s leading innovator of market economic policies. Since 1977, it has played a key role in the analysis and development of public policies and has published over 300 influential policy reports. It has been part of a worldwide movement towards free markets and free trade.

Advocates for Self-Government
  Find out whether you’re a Libertarian and just don’t realize it… take the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.

American Legislative Exchange Council – ALEC
  More than a quarter century ago, a small group of state legislators and conservative policy advocates met in Chicago to implement a vision: A bipartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty.
Alliance for the Separation of School & State  The Alliance is a grass-roots non-profit organization dedicated to rediscovering the original American public education system — privately operated, open to the public.
American Policy Center A privately funded, nonprofit grassroots action and education foundation, dedicated to the promotion of free enterprise and limited government regulations over commerce and individuals. Excellent source about the “Green agenda”, “sustainability”, “Goals 2000.”
Anti-War.com If you want no-holds-barred reality about war, Anti-War.com is it. This site is devoted to the cause of non-interventionism and is read by libertarians, pacifists, leftists, “greens,” and independents alike, as well as many on the Right who agree with our opposition to imperialism.
Ballot Access News   Richard Winger’s always-current information on ballot access issues from around the U.S.
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee  “Talk to your friends, talk to your community, talk to the people in Northampton. Start a Bill of Rights Defense Committee in your own town or city, and try and pass similar legislation where you live. The more places that fight back against the “Patriot” Act, the weaker it becomes.”
Capitalist Chicks   In a Capitalistic society where all minds are free to create and produce, women have been trail blazing in fields that were once male dominated. We are doctors, lawyers, astronauts, engineers, athletes, CEO’s, and even geeks and gamers. Capitalist Chicks: we are the productive women of the up and coming generation.
Capital Research Center  was established in 1984 to study critical issues in philanthropy, with a special focus on non-profit “public interest” and advocacy groups, the funding sources which sustain them, their agendas (open and hidden), and their impact on public policy and society.
Capitalism Magazine  is a daily magazine providing articles from a pro-capitalist, laissez-faire, pro-individual rights perspective. Seven days a week Capitalism Magazine readers are treated to an intellectual feast of ideas that help them defend the values they hold dear.
CapWeb  A good starting point for Federal information, CapWeb was designed to be an effective means of providing information about Congress and links to related Internet resources via the World Wide Web.
Castle Coalition This website seeks to give you ideas and tools to wage this battle [eminent domain] yourself, in your own community. It is also our hope that the Castle Coalition will be a way for activists to network with each other and give support, ideas, and advice.
The Cato Institute  Promoting public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
Citizens Against Government Waste  Billed as America’s #1 taxpayer watchdog, CAGW is the source of the annual Congressional Pig Book covering pork-barrel expenditures.
Citizens for a Sound Economy … recruits, educates, trains and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of volunteer activists to fight for less government, lower taxes, and more freedom.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute   a pro-market, public policy group committed to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government. Founded in 1984 by Fred L. Smith, Jr., CEI emphasizes the marketing and implementation of classical liberal ideals.
cyberSLAPP   is sponsored by a coalition of civil liberties and privacy groups (listed below) who have come together to protect the right to speak freely and anonymously on the internet. That right is endangered by a new form of lawsuit, called a “CyberSLAPP” suit, which threatens to overturn the promise of anonymous online speech and chill the freedom of expression that is central to the online world.
Evergreen Freedom Foundation As a public policy research organization based in Olympia, Washington, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation is contributing to the renewal of civil government around the time-honored truths of freedom, justice, sacrifice, and stewardship. These ideals are permanent; they transcend politics.
F.E.A.R.   Forfeiture Endangers American Rights… an organization fighting against unconstitutional, immoral government seizure of private property. If YOU are a victim of forfeiture, go to Help for Victims or email to victims@fear.org or phone 888-FEAR-001
F.E.E.   The Foundation for Economic Education, the oldest research organization dedicated to the preservation of individual freedom and the private property order.
FACT  An example of a valuable site that survived on one man’s passion. The award-winning FACT Web site is intended to be a resource for anyone wanting to learn about the First Amendment. It provides information on all the liberties guaranteed by the amendment.
FEC Info (now part of PoliticalMoneyLine)  Web site built by the former webmaster of the Federal Elections Commission… this is the site he TRIED to get the FEC to offer to the public. Very complete and easy to use. A place to discover who gave what to which Federal candidates when. Updated the same day the data becomes available.
FIRE  …is a nonprofit educational foundation devoted to free speech, individual liberty, religious freedom, the rights of conscience, legal equality, due process, and academic freedom on our nation’s campuses.
the Free Radical  Politics, Economics and Life as if Freedom Mattered- is a New Zealand-based Objectivist/libertarian magazine, the only one of its kind in this country, currently published bi-monthly.
Freedom.org  Our mission is to assist and encourage individuals and organizations to advance America’s vision of individual freedom, private property rights, free markets, and national sovereignty. This site covers Sovereignty International, Environmental Conservation Organization, Environmental Perspectives, Inc., and Freedom Week
Freedom’s Nest  Great minds at your finger tips! Quotations, categorized by subject and by author… an excellent source of quotations, especially on the general subjects around freedom.

FIJA- the Fully-Informed Jury Association
  This group is working to protect the Constitutional right that is an important protection against an oppressive government and any bad laws.
The Future of Freedom Foundation   FFF aims to influence the course of thinking so that individuals abandon a commitment to the philosophy of socialism, the welfare state, and the managed economy and move toward the philosophy of freedom.
The World Wide Web Gun Defense Clock  Author J. Neil Schulman’s site showing the number of times a gun is used defensively. Also contains a lot of research information about gun use.
Gun Owners of America   GOA remains the only national organization that is actively pushing the Citizen’s Self-Defense Act designed to protect innocent civilians, who use a gun in self-defense, from anti-gun prosecutors. GOA is also the only national organization fighting to repeal the Brady instant “registration” check, and is alone in pushing truly constitutional CCW legislation that allows law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm without a permit.
Healing Our WorldThe Other Piece of the Puzzle A truly remarkable book by Dr. Mary J. Ruwart  This is the way Liberty should be presented to the world.
The Heartland Institute  Founded in 1984, Heartland was the first think tank in the nation to focus on free-market solutions to state and local public policy problems. Today, it has a staff of eight and a budget of $1.2 million.
The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
iFeminists.com  A portal for 21st century feminism, edited by Wendy McElroy. Includes an introduction to the ifeminist movement, opportunities for personal interaction, and a wealth of resources.
Institute for Humane Studies  from George Mason University, IHS is a unique organization that assists undergraduate and graduate students who have a special interest in individual liberty.
Institute for Justice If you seek a courtroom champion for individual liberty, free market solutions, and limited government, look only as far as the Institute for Justice. Welcome to the site of the public interest law firm that’s in court on behalf of your rights.
International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) is an association of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a free and peaceful world, respect for individual rights and liberties, and an open and competitive economic system based on voluntary exchange and free trade. The association exists to promote the exchange of information and ideas, to study diverse strategies and to foster fellowship.
IWF – the Independent Women’s Forum  Since 1992, the Independent Women’s Forum has been taking on the old feminist establishment – and winning. The women who make up the IWF are not radical ideologues. They’re businesswomen, economists, lawyers, truck drivers, police officers, teachers, and homemakers.
The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible:   A Free Market Odyssey By: Ken Schoolland – JG has been awarded the first annual Leonard Read Book Award, the Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education, September Book of the Month by Free-Market.Net of the Henry Hazlitt Foundation and has been Twice awarded the GEORGE WASHINGTON HONOR MEDALS.
The Junkman   The Junkman Science site… learn how we are constantly deceived by “scientific” studies used as justification for still more government control measures. The Junkman is qualified, scholarly, yet humorous.
KeepAndBearArms.com is about helping lawful people maintain their abilities to protect themselves and the people they love effectively from anyone who would do them harm – through legal, private ownership and use of guns. We also stand for the repealing of all gun laws which infringe on the civil rights of peaceable women and men to defend their own lives and property.
LewRockwell.com  Lew Rockwell, founder and president of the Mises Institute in Auburn, Ala., and vice president of the Center for Libertarian Studies in Burlingame, Cal., is an opponent of the central state, its wars and its socialism… and was a student and colleague of Murray N. Rothbard. A great site of essays by many commentators, all on anti-state, anti-war, pro-market issues.
Libertarian International   THE MISSION of LIBERTARIAN INTERNATIONAL is to coordinate various initiatives in the defense of individual liberty throughout the world. Formally, Libertarian International is a non-profit foundation registered in the Netherlands.
Libertarianz  is the Libertarian party of New Zealand, a libertarian/objectivist group with a very classy web site. Libertarianz is a very new but determined group that “shakes and moves”.
Libertarian Party (National)  National Philosophy and Positions, membership information, history, news and candidates from all over the nation
libertyguide.com  The ultimate e-guide to liberty, from the Institute for Humane Studies
Liberty Belles  Gun control increases violent crime by shifting the balance of power to the criminal while simultaneously disarming helpless victims. Women must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself. –Susan B. Anthony, July, 1871
Liberty For All From its meager conception to the international circulation that it now enjoys, Liberty For All has remained a beacon for an individual’s right to freely speak his/her mind as the founders intended from the birth of a nation.
Liberty Matters  Dedicated to Current Issues, Strategies and Public Policy of Constitutional Consequence.
LibertyStory.net  the largest web resource on the history of liberty – by Jim Powell, author of “Triumph of Liberty”, called a “literary achievement” by the Wall Street Times. Since 1988, Powell has been a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Since 1992, he has been editor of Laissez Faire Books, the world’s largest source of books on liberty, with readers in 90 countries.
Living History Associates Ltd.  is a business which brings four centuries of memorable history to life for diverse audiences throughout Virginia, neighboring states, and occasionally out of the country. Living History Associates educates and entertains people of all ages through a variety of innovative services.
The Ludwig von Mises Institute  is the research and educational center of classical liberalism and the Austrian School of economics. Working in the intellectual tradition of Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995), with a vast array of publications, programs, and fellowships.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy … assists policy makers, scholars, business people, the media and the public by providing objective analysis of Michigan issues, and is broadening the debate on issues that has for many years been dominated by the belief that government intervention should be the standard solution.
Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana — both the consumption of marijuana, and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is prison. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.
The National Anxiety Center Online  Founded in 1990 by Alan Caruba, a veteran business and science writer, the National Anxiety Center is a response to all the “Earth is Doomed!” stories in the media.
The National Center of Policy Analysis  NCPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. The NCPA’s goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector./i>
National Wilderness Institute  NWI is dedicated to using science to guide the wise management of natural resources for the benefit and enjoyment of people. NWI recognizes the direct, positive relationship between freedom and progress and environmental quality, and champions private stewardship which enhances nature’s bounty while encouraging economic growth.
The Objectivist Center  The goal of The Objectivist Center is to help create a new culture in our society, a culture in tune with the entrepreneurial spirit of the new economy, a culture that affirms the core Objectivist values of reason, individualism, freedom, and achievement.
Pacific Research Institute  The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), founded in 1979 promotes individual freedom and personal responsibility.
The Petition Project  We’ve all heard that there is a “scientific consensus” that Global Warming is a danger that must cause us to cut back on fossil-fuel usage. Here’s the REAL scientific consensus! Currently, there are 19,300 signers, of which 16,800 are real American scientists… 10 times the number who signed in support of the myth of Global Warming. read the Petition, and see the names of the signers
Pioneer Institute Massachusetts’ leading think tank, promotes research that challenges the conventional wisdom on public policy issues. Committed to individual freedom and responsibility, limited and accountable government, and the application of free market principles to state and local policy.
Pro Libertate a Swiss division of the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL): The Libertarian International Pro Libertate is an association for the promotion of libertarian ideas and their consequent applications to the different fields of economics, law and society. Pro Libertate advocates individual liberty based on the strict enforcement of property rights and the free will of everyone as well as true economic freedom as it is realized through laissez-faire capitalism and free-trade
Rational Review Home of the Rational Review News Digest, a free subscription daily news and commentary email, Rational Review was conceived as an answer to the conventional “conservative” and “liberal” commentary that dominates the American political scene. You’ll often find No Force, No Fraud articles in the RRND commentary section.
Reason Online the monthly print magazine of . free minds and free markets. It covers politics, culture, and ideas through a provocative mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews.
The Reason Foundation and magazine   A National Public-policy think tank. Reason magazine is one of the nations’s leading magazines of policy and politics.
The Robinson Curriculum  Self-Teaching K-12 Homeschool. The Complete Curriculum Home School Parents Have Been Waiting For Is Here. Teach your children to teach themselves and to acquire superior knowledge as did many of America’s most outstanding citizens in the days before socialism in education.
The Second Amendment Sisters  … came about in December 1999, when a group of women decided they had enough: enough of the distortion, the misrepresentation, and the reproach from the anti-Second Amendment crowd.
Strike The Root  is a daily journal of current events and commentary from a libertarian/market anarchist perspective.
The Tax Foundation The mission of the Tax Foundation is to educate taxpayers about tax policy and the total tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government. Great source for research on taxes.
Taxpayers for Common Sense Politicians of both parties in Washington, D.C. continue to recklessly spend your money. Despite the nearly six trillion dollar national debt, billions of your dollars are wasted each year. TCS is an independent voice for American taxpayers. TCS is dedicated to cutting wasteful government spending and subsidies in order to achieve a responsible and efficient government that lives within its means.
Tech Central Station  is here to help provide the right answers to many of those [thorny political and public policy] questions with the news, analysis, research, and commentary you need to understand how technology is changing and shaping our world, and how you can make sense of it all.
Thomas   Acting under the directive of the leadership of the 104th Congress to make Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public, a Library of Congress team brought the THOMAS World Wide Web system online in January 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress.
U.S. Term Limits  Mission Statement : To rally Americans to restore citizen control of government by limiting the terms of politicians at the local, state and congressional levels.

And thanks to Bob Smith for the list of links.

Mrs. Samurai Says…Be Careful What You Wish For

The Samurai has linked to some really good, thought-provoking political articles lately. They inspired me to write my own little election summary. Thought you might like to see what the Mrs. has to say about all this. Here goes…

Democrats’ reactions to President Bush’s re-election have been extreme, to say the least. People are seeking therapy, researching Canadian residency requirements, and even committing suicide. But if they are feeling depressed, perhaps it should be from a sense of guilt. The Democratic Party, more than any other group in our country, has worked tirelessly for decades to increase the scope and power of government to shape our society according to their vision. And they succeeded – at least in the ‘increasing government’ part.

But there’s a catch. For all of their talk of smaller government, the Republicans are always more than happy to take the reins of the Federal leviathan and steer it in the direction they want – to the utter horror of those very people who inadvertently put the power in their hands. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate this whole big Federal government thing.

The colonists overthrew a tyrannical government, set up a system based on liberty, and quickly became a prosperous nation and beacon of hope for the world. It’s important to recognize that America was a tremendous success story not because of what the government did, but what it DIDN’T do. It didn’t treat citizens as property, overly tax them, disarm them, over-regulate them, wage imperial wars around the world, interfere with freedom of speech and worship, circumvent due process, and so on. I speak, of course, in the past tense.

George Washington said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force.” While you might agree with the way one group uses that force, you never know whose control it will be in next. Washington went on to say, “Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master.” Not sure you agree? Think of how you’d feel if you received an IRS audit notice in the mail tomorrow.

Next time, vote for Liberty.

An Open Letter to Liberals

To all you suicidal liberals still simpering after the repudiation you endured in the last election: you have a friend in J.D. Tuccile. He feels your pain and offers you an open and heartfelt invitation to join forces in taking America back.

Now, as for this new-found secessionist sentiment of yours and this talk of a looming civil war between progressive blue states and reactionary red states …

Ummm … are you sure you’re up to it?

It was all well and good when your side was running the show to sniff at the Second Amendment and say that the government should have a monopoly on force. You insisted that any talk of resisting the powers-that-be was just SO reactionary (you DO remember our little chat after the Waco unpleasantness, don’t you?). But the world looks a little bit different when the cops work for the opposition, doesn’t it? If you plan to redraw national borders, you’re going to want something of a heavier caliber than those sharply worded e-mails you’ve been circulating. Frankly, the other side is heavily armed; you’re not.

It’s OK. My friends and I are here to help. But we’ll have to come to an understanding. If we’re going to work together, you’re going to have to stop trying to shove your god down the throat of nonbelievers.

No, I don’t have you confused with Bob Jones. I know you call yourself an agnostic. But whatever you call yourself, just like the Bush supporters you worship an awesome god in whom you put all faith — and you think the rest of us should do the same. The Bushies call their god Jehovah and you call your god Government. As happy as I am to hear, yet again, about the sainted John F. Kennedy who died for our sins, I don’t plan on joining your church. Just as I’m unenthusiastic about coughing up a tithe to appease the other side’s Lord in Heaven, I don’t really hanker to make a cash sacrifice to your Lord in D.C.

So here’s the deal: If you agree to let me live my own life according to my own values, so long as I don’t trample on your rights, I’ll agree to do the same by you. Think about it; if we all lived according to that sort of understanding, the stakes would be an awful lot lower when your side lost an election. Then you could go about your business without taking time out to chat with immigration lawyers or draw maps with creative new borders on them. [read more]

Global Flu Pandemic

Get ready, it’s coming…

Between a quarter and a third of the world’s population will fall ill, according to new World Health Organization estimates, and 1 per cent of the sick will die.

Do the math and the numbers defy credulity; between 16 million and 21 million people would die in a matter of mere months. In Canada, 80,000 to 106,000 people would be expected to succumb.

Armed with that math, think of the consequences. Panic. Crippled health-care systems. Economic disruption on a global scale. Grounded airlines. Distribution networks that will grind to a halt. Social instability.

Or, “three years of a given hell,” as a leading U.S. epidemiologist, Michael Osterholm, puts it: “I can’t think of any other risk, terrorism or Mother Nature included, that could potentially pose any greater risk to society than this.” [read more]

The flu vaccine does more harm than good–just as well that it’s in short supply. Instead, focus on staying healthy and building up your immune system.

Americans and Amerikans

With samurai precision, Anthony Gregory separates the wheat from the chaff, the Americans from the Amerikans.

[T]hroughout its early history, America was great to the extent that the
government was limited, and kept out of people’s affairs. America was tarnished and
bloodied to the extent that government grew and gained power. The same is true
today, when we have a much larger government than even the least libertarian
Founding Fathers would have ever imagined or desired. To the extent that America
is now great, it is because of what government doesn’t do, not what it does.
And today’s nationalists are not cheering on America when they cheer on the
police-warfare state and lash out at its critics. They are cheering on Amerika —
the nationalized, bureaucratized, militarized version of our country. [read more]

Heads: They win. Tails: We Lose

L. Neil Smith, of The Libertarian Enterprise, wrote a scathing wrapup of the election and a thank you to our excellent Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik:

In hindsight, this election yielded exactly the results one would have expected from 120 million products of the public school system. Half of the voters wanted Daddy to protect them from the nasty bad A-rabs. The other half of the voters wanted Mommy to protect them from Daddy. [read more]

Samurai Radio for 11/05/2004

Topics: post-election wrap-up both nationally and in New Hampshire; who are the Libertarians; government programs never accomplish what they intend; educate yourself about Liberty. (13 minutes)

Your Hosts: Samurai Appliance Repair Man and Mrs. Samurai

Listen to streaming audio:

Download the MP3 file of this show here (right-click and select save to download the file).

Most People are Libertarians…And Don’t Even Know It!

Take the World's Smallest Political QuizNot exactly a conservative? Not precisely a liberal? Not quite sure at all? What do those labels mean, anyway? Most people have the nagging feeling that this left-right, liberal-conservative pap that Big Media smears us with every day is far too narrow a view. The fact is that these labels are not only meaningless, but they exclude millions of people.

Relax–the Samurai has just what you need to figure it all out: The World’s Smallest Political Quiz. Quick, easy, painless and, most of all, revealing–you just might learn something about yourself!

If You’re a Dumbass, Please Don’t Vote!

I don’t understand all these bleeting appeals to get out and vote. Could someone please answer this question for me: if people are ignorant about the pressing issues of the day, the principles of individual liberty upon which this nation was founded, or the basic structure and function of our government, then why in the hell do we want these boobs casting votes that affect all of us?

Oh wait, I can hear the whining and caterwauling now, “Hey, Samurai, you’re too cynical about people!” Ok, how ’bout some numbers? Warning: the following contains factual information, including statistics, and a TV-talking head is NOT supplied to inject this information directly into that void between your ears. You have to actually read it…just like you would a ballot.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
by James W. Harris

New Study: Shocking Voter Ignorance

A new study by the libertarian Cato Institute indicates that a shockingly large
number of U.S. voters are almost totally ignorant about the issues and
candidates they vote on.

“Overall, close to one-third of Americans can be categorized as ‘know-nothings’
almost completely ignorant of relevant political information,” writes Ilya
Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, in “When Ignorance Isn’t Bliss:
How Political Ignorance Threatens Democracy.”

“Most of the time,” Somin notes,” only bare majorities know which party has
control of the Senate, some 70 percent cannot name either of their state’s
senators and the vast majority cannot name any congressional candidate in their
district at the height of a campaign.”

Overall, voters tend to be “abysmally ignorant of even very basic political
information… the sheer depth of most individual voters’ ignorance is shocking to
observers not familiar with the research.”

A few examples from many in the report:

  • The Patriot Act? What’s that? Three-fourths of Americans say they know little
    or nothing about it. 58 percent say they’ve heard “nothing” or “not much” about
    it.
  • Seventy percent don’t know about the $500 billion new drug benefit added this
    year to Medicare, which Somin describes as “probably the most significant
    domestic legislation passed during the Bush administration.”
  • A majority cannot make even a rough estimate of how many Americans soldiers
    have been killed in Iraq.
  • 61 percent believe that there has been a net loss of U.S. jobs in 2004.
  • Over 60 per cent don’t know that, during President Bush’s term, there has
    been an explosion in domestic spending (about 25 percent above previous levels)
    that has enormously increased the national debt.
  • Last year, 58 percent of Americans could not name a single federal Cabinet
    department.

And such voter ignorance is, alas, nothing new:

  • In 1964, at the height of Cold War tensions, only 38 percent of the public
    knew that the Soviet Union was not a member of NATO.
  • In 1994, after Republicans took control of Congress under the
    highly-publicized leadership of Rep. Newt Gingrich, 57 percent of Americans said they’d never
    heard of Gingrich, despite the avalanche of press coverage.
  • In 1996, 67 percent couldn’t name thei
  • r congressman, and only 26 percent knew
    that senators serve six-year terms.

  • In the 2002 elections, only 3
  • 2 percent of voters knew that the Republican
    Party controlled the House.

In 1816, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free,
in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

Looking at the grave threats to liberty now facing America, one can only
conclude Jefferson was right.

(Source: Cato Institute study:
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-525es.html)

Eeyore and Mrs. Samurai

Mrs. Samurai recently found out that a very nice friend was planning to vote
for John Kerry. When asked “My heavens, why?!”, this friend, whom we will call
Eeyore, responded with her concerns (to put it mildly) about the Republican
party. Mrs. Samurai responded to these concerns in the hopes of opening Eeyore’s
eyes to the truth of the two-party scam. We thought you might enjoy this
interchange as well. Can you handle the truth?


Eeyore: The Republican Party, in all honesty, hasn’t got an inch of ground to
stand on when they talk about standing up for life. This government cares only
for the richest people in our society, and is willing to sacrifice everything
and everyone else in the attempt to ensure that the interests of that top
percent are protected.

Mrs. Samurai: In theory, Republican policies would benefit most of society by
minimizing government interference, thus allowing a vibrant economy so people
have decent jobs, and minimizing the tax burden so a one-income family can live
comfortably. Charity would stay where it belongs – in the community.
Unfortunately, Republicans do not live up to their supposed philosophy of minimal
government.

Furthermore, Republicans want to be re-elected. That can’t happen if they only
“help” the top few percent. Even if it’s self-serving, every Republican
administration tries to help the economy be better so lots of people – including the
non-rich – are doing well and will vote for them again.

Democrats, on the other hand, claim to care for the little guy, but the social
programs they institute backfire. We now have a multi-generational welfare
class. We also have the minimum wage, NAFTA and GATT, which put so much burden on
businesses located in our country that jobs have flown out across our borders.
The Democratic party has seriously betrayed the very people they claim to be
helping. The Democratic party doesn’t like to talk about it, but, there are many
big businesses who support Democrats. Even Martha Stewart is a Democrat!

Eeyore: I don’t think Bush or the people around him care, underneath the
pro-life hype, for the person that that fetus is. When the baby is one day old does
she have that same right, even if her parents don’t have health care? What
about at a year? Does she have the right to eat and have a roof over her head

Mrs. Samurai: I have to agree with the Founding Fathers here. We have the
right to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. Not the GUARANTEE of
happiness (or health care, or a roof over our heads, etc.). Before there were so many
government programs, there were lots of charity hospitals and free clinics.
These places are closing down under the weight of government regulation. I have
a doctor friend (a Republican, by the way) who got in serious trouble for
trying to see the occasional poor patient free-of-charge. Outrageous!

Eeyore: What if her father has a minimum wage job at Walmart and her mother,
with two other preschool children, is unable to work?

Mrs. Samurai: Minimum wage laws have actually forced a decrease in the wages
that could be earned by people who are not brand-new to the work force (i.e.,
teenagers). Our awful tax burden has created the situation where many families
cannot survive well on one income. Democrats and Republicans alike have
contributed to the decline in real wages over the last few decades. I don’t know
which party has been the most deceitful.

Eeyore: If a child, heaven forbid, is not American, does she have the right not
to be bombed in an attempt for America to secure the oil that lies under the
earth by her home, so that people can continue to drive SUVs and other new cars?

Mrs. Samurai: We do not belong in Iraq, but I don’t buy that we went there
over oil. It’s bigger than that. There are a lot of forces in our government
pushing for increased involvement in the Middle East, particularly the
pro-Israel-at-any-cost segment. And don’t forget that the Democrats got us into Vietnam
and also bombed Kosovo and aspirin factories. Again, neither party makes us or
the rest of the world safer.

Eeyore: Does a child have the right not to have to breathe foul air or dirty
water that’s been polluted by the companies owned by those fat cats who found it
so much to their advantage to sing her praises in the the months before she was
born?

Mrs. Samurai: Be sure you include many Federal politicians of both parties in
your “fat cat” moniker. I was an environmental engineer for several years
before having kids, so I’ve got some background here. A large amount of the
pollution to date has occurred because government has ALLOWED industries to pollute
government property. The U.S. government has been a terrible steward – under
both parties. Private property ownership encourages cleaner practices because
people want to protect what they own.

If you still suspect that we need government to make sure we don’t pollute,
consider this: Cars built in the 1960’s polluted less than those in previous
decades. Did the EPA come down on the auto manufacturers? No – the EPA didn’t
exist yet. The cars became cleaner because that’s what people wanted, and that’s
what they got as soon as the technology existed.

Big corporations are a problem in many ways. But it’s important to know that
they have flourished in our country precisely because there is a powerful
Federal government. There is an incredible regulatory burden on business, and
smaller businesses are at a decided disadvantage when trying to keep up with them.
Big corporations have tax advantages over smaller businesses as well. The
reason big corporations give so much to BOTH Democrat and Republican campaigns is
that politicians at the Federal level have a lot of power to grant favors. If we
could significantly scale back the Federal government, then these people would
have no big favors to bestow and smaller businesses would have more of a chance
to flourish. As citizens and consumers, we would in turn have more influence
over them.

Eeyore: In other words, you can’t be for life if you protect the first nine
months of a person and then damn to hell all the months and years that follow.

Mrs. Samurai: Just because someone doesn’t think a government program should
take care of a lot of these needs doesn’t mean they don’t care about these
people. Many of us know from experience that government programs hurt a lot of the
people they are supposed to help and that private charities are generally more
efficient and successful. As Harry Browne said, “If there seem to be ten
thousand people who can’t help themselves, pass a law to help them and there will
suddenly be ten million who can’t help themselves. The new law will provide the
incentive to qualify as needy.”

Eeyore: I cannot support all of the Democratic positions (the stand on
abortion, and stem cell research, for example). But I do not support the Republicans
on anything. Even the way they talk about abortion seems to me to be so
hypocritical that I feel offended by their rhetoric. They use the emotional issue of
abortion to mask their true feelings about the value of human life.

Mrs. Samurai: I think your condemnation goes a bit too far. I know an awful
lot of Republicans personally who are amazingly compassionate people. Granted,
there can be a big difference between the upper echelons of a political party
and the rest. That’s true for both parties. The guys at the top get their
supporters to believe they are going to help them, but it’s a lie. I am offended
equally by the rhetoric of both parties!

Eeyore: Our country is in the most dangerous position that it has been in
during my lifetime, if not in its history. If Bush gets in again, I don’t think we
will ever recover as a nation or as a world.

Mrs. Samurai: The Democrats are great at scaring people with their rhetoric,
but Bush is simply the result of more than a century of the centralization of
power in the Federal government by both parties. We have a professional class of
politicians and bureaucrats whose main goal in life is to keep their positions,
not to do what’s actually best for people. The Democrats and Republicans play
a game where they pretend to have huge differences so we feel like we’re making
a choice when we vote, but things never really change for the better under
either party. I always thought everyone accepted the axiom that “power corrupts.”
How can we keep giving them more and more and expect something better to come
of it?

Vote Libertarian!!!