Tyranny or Liberty: What are we on the cusp of?

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. 
When the government fears the people, there is liberty. 
-- Thomas Jefferson

I Propose a $1-Billion-Coin, Get-Out-Of Debt Scheme

The $1-trillion-coin concept will never see the light of day. The Federal Reserve and the big banks would never stand for the "market stability" created by such a "cut and dry" solution. I think the concept will be whittled down to a $1-billion-coin scheme. Here's why:

The Fed has backed itself into a corner with interest rates, therefor it can't perform as much of its weekly magic of inventing and destroying currency (fake money). In an unholy alliance between the "private" reserve and government, the Fed will transfer some of it's magical powers to the Treasury. The Treasury can mint $1 billion coins weekly, then on every Friday it can announce how many trinkets it is releasing into "circulation" (to the Fed).

A $1-billion-coin scheme would better allow the government and the Fed to "respond to market realities." HA. HA.

Credit: The New York Times

But back to reality!?! Nobel Laureate [for Economics-LOL] Paul Krugman ACTUALLY THINKS the $1-trillion-coin scheme could replace the need for raising the debt ceiling. He really wrote so in "Rage Against the Coin" in his weekly column, The Conscious of a Liberal [What?].

I still think the $1 billion coins have a better chance of seeing the light of d̶a̶y̶ the Federal Reserve vault. They would just be more conducive to money manipulation, because of their  l̶i̶q̶u̶i̶d̶i̶t̶y̶ divisibility.

The Shared Right To Nullify

Nullification - it's not just for states anymore. Actually, it never was JUST for states.

Proposed nullification by a state:

1 AN ACT relating to firearms; providing that any federal law
2 which attempts to ban a semi-automatic firearm or to limit
3 the size of a magazine of a firearm or other limitation on
4 firearms in this state shall be unenforceable in Wyoming;
5 providing a penalty; and providing for an effective date.

- State of Wyoming, HOUSE BILL NO. HB0104, Firearm Protection Act

Nullification by a local government:

"My office will not comply with any federal action which violates the United States Constitution or the Kentucky Constitution which I swore uphold." 

- Sheriff Denny Peyman, Jackson County, Kentucky

Nullification by an individual:

"I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and [Diane Feinstein's] misinformation campaign against the American public."

- Cpl Joshua Boston, USMC (Ret)

Today's Tinfoil Hatter is Tomorrow's Well-Informed Citizen

To paraphrase Ron Paul on InfoWars with Alex Jones: What was thought to be crackpot prophecy a decade ago has come to pass in reference to what our government is doing with monetary policy and our person freedoms.


So when there is semi-concern for being a tinfoil hatter on blogs like The Smallest Minority, I am bothered and comforted at the same time. It is easy to see a massive government conspiracy, and it is easy to see plain-old business as usual. The truth is most likely somewhere in between. So be scared, be critical, and keep thinking.

Side Note:
I am still on the fence about DHS and other agencies purchasing so much ammo. Maybe they will shoot it all up practicing. But on the flip side, the Department of Education has no need for SWAT teams. Also, most other agencies have no legitimate reason for LEOs. We have too many agencies running around enforcing statutes (unlaws) for victimless crimes. And if the agencies stop practicing for long enough, then they will have a shitload of ammo.

It's Not A Freedom System; It's ...

Fascism. It's a hot-button word. Dangerous. Divisive. But I can't find another word for what our government is - or has been - turning into.

Socialism? Well, there are socialistic elements to it. The easiest description for the socialism we see in our country today is: socialism - a panacea for the angered masses. Socialism in our current government system is a tool - not the system. National socialism was a misnomer for Germany's style of fascism. And to put a fine point on it, here's what Gerald Celente said on Lew Rockwell's podcast January 4:

The entire game is rigged. I began by saying: "Too big to failed." The big corporations are in control. What is that? ... The definition of fascism, according to Mussolini, is the merger of state and corporate powers. The corporate powers are in control.

But Benito Mussolini provided us with a polite term:

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. (Brainyquotes.com)

But there is a problem. Apparently, Mussolini didn't say that. Oops. No matter. What fascism did was incorporate corporations into the state. That's like what the 14th Amendment to our constitution did, when it guaranteed - in a round about way - corporations personhood. Personhood was apparently granted earlier by Supreme Court decision. 

As a side note, states have incorporated marriage into the state by granting marriage licenses.

So what are we left with? Is the marriage of big business and big government fascism or corporatism? Well, it's not freedom. Let's call it statism. And I'll define it myself:

Statism - the marriage of the state with itself in an unholy alliance with any other power that serves the state.

"Elementary" Philosophers - Private Arms

Suggested by Stephen P. Halbrook PhD in "That Every Man Be Armed:"

Pro Private Arms:
Aristotle:
"Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of arms." (quoted on Quotes on the Rights to Bear Arms by Eric S. Raymond) Cicero:
"I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right."(quoted in "The Sword & The Tome" by David Kopel) Algernon Sidney:
"Nay, all laws must fall, human societies that subsist by them must be dissolved, and all innocent persons be exposed to the violence of most wicked, if men might not justly defend themselves against injustice by their own natural right, when the ways prescribed by public authority cannot be taken." (quoted in "The Scottish and English Religious Roots of the American Right to Arms" by David Kopel) Also:
John Locke
Machiavelli

Anti Private Arms:
Plato
Caesar
Robert Filmer
Also:
Jean Bodin
Thomas Hobbes

New Year's Resolution: Finding The Good In People

Credit: The Washington Monthly

As one of my New Year's resolutions, I am focusing on finding the good in people. Since I disagree with just about everything Paul Krugman writes, Piers Morgan is a blithering idiot, and I want to ease into this resolution, I’ll start with President Obama.

I can’t for the life of me think of anything good to say on my own, so I googled it. The Washington Monthly, which ironically I’ve never heard of, posted a “comprehensive” list of Obama’s accomplishments back in March 2012. Had to scroll down to #9, since the top 8 are accomplishments that I cannot accept as *good.*

"9. Repealed 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell': Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time."

EDUCATE YOURSELF! That's an Order.

All orders from this pitiful little blog are optional, as should be all orders in our armed forces (flame attraction device).

But I digressed before I started:

One thing, and one thing above all else, that all freedom apologists must do is this:

EDUCATE YOURSELF!

It doesn't take much, and if you don't like to read, then there are podcasts, audiobooks, and tons of YouTube videos. One excellent selection is this speech by Judge Napolitano (retired, I assume):


Now I suspect his past deeds, but he does say in the video that he had sworn to uphold the law. That's his get out of jail card. My get out of jail card for voting for Bush I, Perot, Gore, Bush II, etc., is labeled "Was Uneducated."

Even if you don't believe everything the writers promote, the von Mises Institute is an excellent FREE resource of videos, audiobooks, and electronic books. If you are not technically savvy enough to immediately benefit from their offerings, then educate yourself in computer technology - or blackmail an associate of yours to get the goods.

If you live outside the U.S., then don't despair. Natural law, freedom, liberty, and the market of ideas are universal and available to you no matter where you are or where you're educated (Well, that's also true for us who were brainwashed in USA government schools. Hint: I though Lincoln was a good guy, too!). A special note to those in China: I promise not to mention "aliens" in most of my future posts. I read that your government is scrubbing that dangerous word from your Internet access. (I'll try to do a China version of this post soon!).

So Long Story Short: To defend freedom in our current social environment, you need to educate yourself. (Hint: That's almost impossible to do in any public or private grade or post-secondary school).

So, here are some quick resources to start:

Tom Woods's Liberty Classroom. Under "Free Stuff" there is a hyperlink called "Learn Austrian Economics." As far as I can tell, the resources are all free.

LewRockwell.com for great podcasts. You'll probably be taken back by the anti-government stance, but the more you listen the more it makes sense.

Anarchast.com for great conversations with anarchists.

Ludwig von Mises Institute. For all the great, free books, videos, and articles.

Reason.com. Great counter point to all the liberal media - and the neo-conservativish (like FoxNews) media.


YouTube.com. Search "anarcho capitalism." You're sure to find some unreliable wacky stuff, but most of it is honest-to-god free market gold.

Security is the key to minarchist libertarian thought, and the straw that will break the back of the government's last, great monopoly (false monopoly). An (unendorsed) illustrated excerpt from David Freedman's lecture "Exploring Liberty: The Machinery of Freedom" is a must see about free-market security.

I'll try to update with more resources soon, but I might become distracted.

Natural Rights Fundamentals - Property Rights 1.0

Been reading up on natural rights, primarily "classical" versus "modern[?]." The classical view appears to be that the fundamental natural right is to do what nature intended us to. Therefore, property rights cannot be absolute, but they are still a fundamental component to the fundamental right. Also, the government is not given carte blanche to control resources.

I was happily reading along with classical natural rights. Edward Feser nicely illustrated the classical view and how property rights are secondary (though needed out of convenience and to preserve motivation) to ones right and obligation to fulfill ones nature in Natural Law, Natural Rights, and Private Property on the Library of Law and Liberty website. But I hit a hitch with Feser's example of first-claimer rights in Reply to Block on Libertarianism is Unique on Mises.org. His example - well, the one I stopped reading at - was that under modern natural law a claimant could claim air and suffocate another. If you take any law to it's extreme, then you might find an exception. And who is to say that each person in the example wasn't improving the air by breathing it and that both had claim to it - on those terms?

I got on this issue, because of a conundrum: How can natural rights be preserved in a country like the UK, where a landed aristocracy controls such a huge portion of real property? Well, researching that conundrum actually led me to a new question: Since William the Conqueror took "possession" of all the land, then "redistributed" it to "client" Norman nobility, then can the current owners be legitimate owners? As a side note, technically (apparently) the UK monarchy owns all the land in the UK.

In another side note, there is the right to ramble. In Scotland, they appear to have put a BandAid on the problem by preserving the right to ramble - or roam, Freedom to Roam. It is fair to say that the right to roam is an "ancient tradition" in Scotland, but with the land in so few hands it's a nice pressure value. It's also fair to say that that right has been expanded in other countries. Reminds me of the social-security nets that proliferated after the failed revolutions of 1848. A panacea for those itching for freedom.

So back to my main question. How are natural rights to real property real, when so much land has been misappropriated? In the UK, the Domesday Book could give an idea of who really owns the property, but the 1000-year lag and other reasons that true owners could not be determined would make any dependence on ancient rights another misappropriation. In the UK, the question is real since, apparently, landownership is not fully know, since landownership is only recorder with transactions (How can they possibly collect property taxes? Do they have property taxes?) - or the other land audit, that wasn't very specific, in the 19th century. When does a chain of misappropriation end?

If We Could All Agree To Really Protect and Defend The Constitution

In question of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.

- Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions, 1798

 If we could all agree to really "protect and defend the Constitution,"  instead of just saying the words to get a job, take an office, or be a member of a group, then we would be back on the road to preserving our freedoms.

I, CR Cobb, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. 

 - Federal Civil Servant Oath of Office, 5 U.S.C. §3331

All federal-bureaucracy employees take the above oath - even Census enumerators. It is time for them to abide by it. We all should, even if the "office" is a sales office, a checkout counter, or a machine press.

Even if you think central government - or government for that matter - is a defective concept doomed to failure, forcing it and ourselves to abide by its central tenants would chain it  - not us.

Happy New Year!