Happy April 15th

The power to tax involves the power to destroy

- John Marshall

The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know when it's through, if you are a crook or a martyr.

- Will Rogers

Taxation: How the sheep are shorn

- Edward Abbey

The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation and distorts, unbalances, and shrinks production. Total real wealth and income is made smaller than it would otherwise be. On net balance there is more poverty rather than less.

- Henry Hazlitt

It is important to remember that government interference always means either violent action or the threat of such action. The funds that a government spends for whatever purposes are levied by taxation. And taxes are paid because the taxpayers are afraid of offering resistance to the tax gatherers. They know that any disobedience or resistance is hopeless. As long as this is the state of affairs, the government is able to collect the money that it wants to spend. Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning. Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.

- Ludwig von Mises

The first great lesson to learn about taxation is that taxation is simply robbery. No more and no less. For what is "robbery"? Robbery is the taking of a man’s property by the use of violence or the threat thereof, and therefore without the victim’s consent. And yet what else is taxation?

Those who claim that taxation is, in some mystical sense, really "voluntary" should then have no qualms about getting rid of that vital feature of the law which says that failure to pay one’s taxes is criminal and subject to appropriate penalty. But does anyone seriously believe that if the payment of taxation were really made voluntary, say in the sense of contributing to the American Cancer Society, that any appreciable revenue would find itself into the coffers of government? Then why don’t we try it as an experiment for a few years, or a few decades, and find out?

But if taxation is robbery, then it follows as the night the day that those people who engage in, and live off, robbery are a gang of thieves. Hence the government is a group of thieves, and deserves, morally, aesthetically, and philosophically, to be treated exactly as a group of less socially respectable ruffians would be treated.

- Murray Rothbard

Please, Just Go Away

If you want to understand the true nature of governments and politicians, consider this definition from the great anarcho-capitalist, Murray Rothbard:

"Government is a criminal gang writ large."

The truth shall set you free. Just as you freed yourself from the trite myths of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, so to must you free yourself from the myth that governments are just and moral. Go on, make the leap; you can do it. Cleanse the soul.

I say this because I have to endure yet another criminal gang in D.C. In my post-college life, I've had to endure the Compassionate Conservative Cabal, The Clintonista Camp, the Chickenhawk Chums and now the Chicago Shakedown Artists. Assclown after assclown after assclown. Not only that, but Ivy League Assclowns. As I like to say, Ivy Leaguers are schooled, but not educated. Let's take a look...

Bush The Elder - Yale grad. Bill Clinton - Yale Law School grad. Bush The Lesser - Yale and Harvard Business School grad. Barack Obama - Columbia and Harvard Law grad. If your goal is to destroy a relatively-free, representative republic, then go with this crew. Each one worse than the last.

Bush The Elder was handed the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union. Here was his chance to scale back Reagan's burgeoning militaristic State and reap the benefits of the end of the Cold War. Instead, he prosecuted a war in Iraq and began a new Cold(and Hot) War with the Muslim world. Nice going, Corky. Meanwhile the State grew larger and larger.

Clinton continued the Iraq War with periodic bombings and a brutal embargo, itself an act of war. He also prosecuted a war in the Balkans, escalated operations in Somalia and began his own little War on Terror with questionable military strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan. Nice going, Bubba. Meanwhile, the State grew larger and larger.

Bush The Lesser, campaigning on a humble foreign policy, decided to turn things up a notch. Since "everything changed" because of 9/11, he felt emboldened to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq to defeat "terrorists." About 6 years out and we're still bogged down in both with nothing to show for it but piles of dead bodies, a collapsing economy and a collapsing empire. Nice going, Koko. Meanwhile, the State grew larger and larger.

(Another common denominator of these three is that they all retained Alan Greenspan, Columbia grad, as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve)

Obama, elected on the vague concepts of "Hope" and "Change," has ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan with another 13,000 to be deployed later. He's OK'd missle strikes in Pakistan. He's backed off his timetable of the drawdown of American troops in Iraq and sent his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, - Surprise! A Yale Law School grad - to China to beg the "Communists" to continue funding our failing empire. The irony is rich. Nice going, Slick. Meanwhile, the State grows larger and larger.

If I were a university that competed with Ivy League schools for students, this would be my marketing campaign:

The brochure would have a picture of all of the above on the front with the slogan:

"Send your child to XXX University. At least they won't turn out like these buttfucks!"

(That's gold, Jerry, gold!)

Seriously, post-Cold War Ivy Leaguers have absolutely destroyed this country.

Animated Liberty

I recently came across this 8 min. 14 sec animated feature, which I have seen before but forgotten about. It's a good primer on the philosophy of liberty. It seems a good follow up to my previous post. Enjoy.

Thuggery by Proxy

Another election has come and gone and, to my dismay, you continue to elect politicians. The title of this post may seem provocative, but I'd like to point out the ramifications of democracy.

Thuggery - violent or brutal acts as of thugs

Proxy - A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.

One of the best lessons I've learned from Rothbard is to apply the same standards of ethics and morals to the actions of government agencies and their agents as you would an individual. When you do this, everything becomes clear.

If Neighbor A came home from work on payday and you took, by force, a portion of his pay to give to Neighbor B, would this seem just? Of course not, it's theft. Then please don't have elected officials do it for you in the form of payroll withholding, taxes and redistribution.

If you have a dispute with others, do you advance on their homes and families and neighborhoods with deadly force? Of course not, so don't have elected officials do it for you in the form of "pre-emptive" war.

If you owe someone a debt, would you fraudulently pay them with something of lesser value and not expect to reap the consequences? Then don't have elected officials do the same by controlling and debasing our currency, which is the quickest route to poverty.

If you don't like someone's lifestyle, in spite of being peaceful and non-coercive, would you detain that person and deprive them of their freedom? Then don't have politicians do it through legislation and the enforcement thereof.

If you don't like what someone drinks or ingests, in spite of being peaceful and non-coercive, would you detain that person and deprive them of their freedom? Then don't have politicians do it for you.

In other words, if some action you undertake is wrong, then it is also wrong for your proxy to do it.

The above is what takes place in a democracy where 51% tells 49% what to do. It's 3 wolves and a sheep deciding on what's for dinner. It's immoral, uncivilized and anti-social. If you're worried about a "chaotic" world without politicians and rulers, remember that "chaos defeats order because it's better organized."

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Samuel Adams:

If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

Revisionist Blogging

Pardon me while I snicker and gloat a bit. The buffoonery meter is off the charts now that these ass-clowns called nominees are engaging in debates. The only thing funnier than an Obama-McCain debate would be a Lenny and Carl debate. Come to think of it, you'd get more insight from a Simpons script. With things going into the shit-can as we speak, I'm gonna take a walk down memory lane when I was pretty hard on you, the voter, in a blog post last March.

When the economy continues to go south, I don't want to hear the complaints when Clinton, Obama or McCain doesn't know how to react. I'll tell you right now that they are all economic dumbasses. Ron Paul knows what to do because he actually is learned in economic theory and understands the causes of the current downturn.

Would anyone argue that the economy isn't going south right now? Is there a douchebag politician that still wants to stand in front of a podium and tell us that "the fundamentals are still strong."? Guess who is being interviewed on the cable networks concerning the economic meltdown? Yup, Paul. Why? Because he's the only one that understands what is going on. Guess who voted to bail out Wall St.? Yup, Obama and McCain. Is this the "change" the country can expect from Obama? I expected it from McCain, because he's admitted, on numerous occasions, that he knows nothing of economics. Reeeeaaaalllly? I'm shocked!

When the unpleasantness in the Middle East continues or escalates, don't come crying to me.

McCain has been threatening Iran for some time now and has been doing some saber rattling against Russia. I guess he won't be happy until we're fighting on five fronts. Obama has totally blown his anti-war street cred. During the primaries, he claimed to be against the war. Now that he has secured the nomination, he wants to escalate in Afghanistan, engage Pakistan and "hold Russia accountable." That's some anti-war candidate the Dems came up with. Plus, his Iraq stance has morphed from "withdrawal" to "responsible withdrawal." What the fuck does that mean? By "responsible," does he mean our troops will pick up their spent, depleted uranium rounds on the way out? Guess who's had a principled anti-war stance since day one and has not wavered? Paul.

Do you see a pattern forming here?

I don't think I could have been more prescient on the following one. And it's not that I'm some genius savant. It's just coming to terms with politics and politicians - they are liars and murderers and thieves. No other way to put it. So, we should not be surprised when they lie, kill and steal. Time for all you voters to take the red pill and come to terms with it yourselves.

When you are taxed at ever higher levels or the printing presses are revved up to fund McCain's adventures abroad or some version of universal health care or a bailout of the banks and mortgage companies, don't even bother protesting. I ain't listening. Paul is the only candidate who is fiscally sound.

Need I say any more? McCain may be the worst Republican nominee of all time and that's because he's a Democrat. How funny is that? And Obama should be up at least 10 pts. on McCain, but I'm afraid he's lost some of the independent vote due to his new pro-war stances. If he manages to lose to McCain, he should have to turn in his "Corrupt Chicago Politician" card.

I'd seriously like to hear from McCain and Obama supporters in defense of your man.

VPs

John Nance Garner

"The vice presidency isn't worth a pitcher of warm spit."

- John Nance Garner

And that's how it should be. If the original constitution hadn't been so corrupted or ignored, this idea of the "experience" level of a VP candidate would be a non-issue. Right now, Sarah Palin's supposed lack of experience is being attacked. She was "only" a mayor of a small town in Alaska, she was "only" the Governor of the sparsely populated state of Alaska. Supposedly, this is a detriment because she has no foreign policy experience and, oh my God, she would only be a "heartbeat away from the Presidency." Ummmm, how much foreign policy experience do you think Gov. Reagan had? Or Gov. Carter. Or Gov. Clinton. Or Gov. Bush.

In contrast to that, you have someone like John McCain who, he tells us, has vast experience in foreign policy. And he's a belligerent, bellicose old fuck. I'll tell you one foreign policy he has experience with - if you bomb civilians, get shot down and captured, then the locals just may beat the living tar out of you.

While we're on the subject, what experience does Obama have to be President? He was only a community activist. He was only an Illinois State Senator for a few years. He was only a US Senator for a few years. So what? And what of Joe Biden? His only job since the age of 28 has been a trough-feeding US Senator. So what? I was a licensed stock broker for Charles Schwab for seven years, but that didn't mean I was qualified to be CFO.

Now let's see how adherence to the original constitution would make this debate moot.

Originally, the VP was the Presidential candidate that got the 2nd most electoral votes. Under this method, there wouldn't be this nonsensical aura around choosing a running mate.

Since the VP was the runner up in the Presidential race, the only qualifications were that the person be a natural born citizen and at least 35 years of age.

The VP's only constitutional duties are to preside over the Senate and break any tie votes. A monkey handler at the San Diego Zoo is qualified for that.

What I'm getting at is that this idea of having an experienced VP that is ready to take over the reins of the Presidency is only a problem because past Presidents and VPs have overstepped their constitutional boundries. As the saying goes, no matter who you vote for, a politician always wins.

I'm thinking of using this as my slogan for the upcoming election season. Let me know what you think:

"Mock the vote!!!!"

I kinda like that. I think it's a keeper.

FYI, this post was inspired by a YouTube video sent to me by my buddy, Audie. It's a CNN appearance on Larry King by James Carville. I understand that Carville is a character and is a straight shooter. I'd probably enjoy sitting around a fire, drinking whiskey and listening to him and Fred Thompson tell stories. Other than that, I got no use for either of them.

The Republican National Convention

I'm gonna start this post by pitching a bitch. Today was Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic at the Target Center in Minneapolis, which is a counter convention to the RNC. C-Span 2 announced that they would cover the entire rally. At about 7:15, they broke into a FEMA press conference to talk about Hurricane Gustave. So, I switched over to C-Span 1 and lo and behold they were still broadcasting the RNC. C'mon, how transparent. In terms of disaster, Gustave was a bust. We don't need to hear some press conference where you pat yourselves on the back for something you couldn't control. I almost expected them to claim that their pre-landfall response scared Hurricane Gustave from a category 3 down to a category 2.



While on the subject of Hurricane Gustave, how transparent was the Republican grandstanding on delaying their convention out of respect for the Southerners enduring this natural disaster. Bush and Cheney and McCain all said they might not make the convention so they could focus on the unfolding natural disaster. What, actually, did they think they were going to do? Envision a scene where a distressed woman is clinging to debris and on the verge of being swept away by surge waters. McCain, on top of a levee, reaches to grab her, but...ohhhhhh, his arms are just toooooo short to reach her. That's a shame. (Look, I already know that I'm going to Hell. If McCain can carpet bomb civilians in Viet Nam and be called an American hero, then I can make fun of his short arms.)

Now, back to my regularly scheduled blog post.

The cameras were panning around the Xcel Energy arena showing many people holding signs that read "Country First." How nationalistic. Remember, Country First! Not your family, not your god, not your principles and surely not yourself. Bow to the State.

During a break in the action, they were showing a video montage on the big screen of, I guess, supposedly great Americans. They had the usual shots of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and Joe Lieberman...Joe Lieberman? What?! Are you kidding? Lincoln and Roosevelt were blowhards. I guess that makes Lieberman a blowhard, too. And everyone cheered when pictures of Ronald Reagan were shown.(boring) When anti-war types called for a withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, the Neocons smeared them as Cut and Run Democrats. Have they forgotten that in the early 80's, after the bombing of the Marine base in Lebanon, that Reagan withdrew our troops from there? Does that mean that Reagan, their icon, was a proto- Cut and Run Democrat? I think it does.



Now let's talk about the Republican nominee for President, John McCain. Here is a guy that was persona non grata in the Republican Party in 2000. Here is a guy that was on the verge of being recalled by Arizonans in 2001. Here is a guy that Joe Biden - yes, Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden - thought should be tapped as a VP for the Democrats in 2004. Do the Republicans realize that they nominated a Democrat? How sweet that all the Necon, jackass shills; like O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. - the ones that marginalized Ron Paul - are now left in the position of having to defend McCain as the nominee. Sweet, sweet irony.

Here are some of my comments concerning McCain from past posts. I stick by all of them:

McCain should just wear his dress military uniform 24/7. It's appropriate for the Banana Republic that we are morphing into and his constant war mongering and sabre rattling. The guy is unhinged. You would think that a vet who endured years as a POW in Viet Nam would be a little more judicious about going to war, but this guy would attack Canada if he could come up with a reason. I consider him the most dangerous and unstable of all the candidates. I would love to see a foreign policy debate between he and Paul.

Seriously, McCain killed himself in this debate. His verbal gymnastics in trying to convince us that Romney had "timetables" for our troops leaving Iraq, when it was obvious that the opposite was true, was quite a sight to behold. And I am no fan of Romney. Also, this guy can only think in militaristic terms even when the talk is not about the military. "I was a footsoldier in the Reagan Revolution." "I was a fighter alongside..." Blah, blah, blah.

John McCain - Had the gall to suggest to Ron Paul that he read Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Ummm, not only am I confident that he has read it, but he's read better and more important books, such as Human Action by Ludwig von Mises and Man, Economy and State by Murray Rothbard. (You're fearless blogger has read the last two. Classics.) He also went into a screed where he thought that a prescription for America was more involvement with the Peace Corps, Ameri-Corps and other nationalistic service organizations that only serve to remind you, lowly peasant, that your greatest duty is to serve the Fatherland.

Also, did you know that McCain was a POW and that Rudy Giuliani was mayor of NYC on 9-11? Snoozefest!!!!

Also, what does it say that one of the prime speaking spots went to Joe Lieberman, former Democratic nominee for VP? Do the rank and file Republicans understand that their party has been corrupted and co-opted? Maybe they aren't bright enough.

As for the selection of Sarah Palin as his VP choice, I'm not falling for it. She supposedly has a libertarian/independent streak in her. Any libertarian worth their salt would have told McCain to go pound sand.

That sad part about all this is that with such a despicable nominee like McCain, the Republicans still have a chance to win the general election. Sad, sad times.