Some things to think about regarding Arms in society:
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
-George Washington
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
-Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment (1764).
“The inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right...”
-Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, District of Columbia v. Heller
Point One: Arms in a polite society, with knowledge by all that they may be present, reduces criminal activity. With thanks to John Lott and Gary Kleck for their seminal research on the subject; and with thanks to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson for stating something that was obvious even in the 18th century.
An arm of personal defense - a concealable arm if you will - ensures your ability to exercise your right to self defense. This right of self defense was acknowledged long before we had a Constitution, was stated openly in the beginning of the Declaration of Independence ("Right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"), and was recently reaffirmed in the Heller decision.
A free citizen should therefore own a handgun, be proficient in its use, and have it available at all times.
NEXT,
"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
-1 Timothy 5:8 (NKJV)
Point Two: Every citizen should have the means of providing for his own needs and the needs of his family, and to defend the same. To do any less is to abdicate that responsibility to others, whose own interests are not the same, and who will subjugate that person or allow them to perish. In times of economic calamity, civil unrest, or severe disruption of services, a person should be able to put meat on their table and secure their home.
A free citizen should therefore own BOTH a hunting rifle and a shotgun, be proficient in their use, and have them available at all times.
FINALLY,
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature."
-The Oath of United States Citizenship
Point Three: New citizens of the United States (those being newly Naturalized) state the above oath to protect and defend the constitution from all enemies Foreign and Domestic. I am of the opinion that all natural-born citizens of the United States should affirm the same oath upon reaching the Age of Majority. All civil servants, military enlistees and officers, and elected and appointed members of Government swear by this same oath. The oath requires the citizenry (all who are not Pacifist Objectors) to be willing and able to take up arms if required to do so.
It is ultimately incumbent upon the citizenry as a whole to defend this country.
A free citizen should therefore own a weapon of the style and type generally considered for use in war (a weapon type usually mislabeled as an "Assault Rifle"), be proficient in its use, and have it available at all times.
Summary: Taken together these three points advocate for the ownership, ready availability, and proficiency in usage of four different weapons. These points advocate for handguns (and shotguns) for defense of person and family, shotguns and rifles for provision of food for person and family, and war rifles for defense of town, city, state, and country.
I believe that these arms are foundational for the success and continued existence of our way of life in the United States. I believe that every able citizen has a duty to self and to others to be sufficient and proficient in their own support. I believe that every able citizen has a duty to defend themselves and to defend their country. I believe that, for an able citizen, anything less than having these abilities and the willingness to use them makes that able citizen a parasite and a drain on society, and one who undermines the very fabric that this society was crafted from.
Please note this very important exception: Persons who are no longer "able" due to injuries or incapacitation incurred in the execution of service to Country should be accorded every benefit that a free society can afford to them. They have paid their price, and they deserve every honor that their service has earned.
This is my stand. What's yours?
Pax,
Newbius
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Liberty lost.
If you read my last post, I tried to make a case for Liberty. I tried to make the case that Government is not your Mommy, Daddy, or Nanny. It is not Government’s responsibility to provide for your welfare, ensure your employment, or give you medical services for free.
In the eyes of the Framers, Government existed to provide very basic services. Everything not delineated as a core function of Government is reserved to the States, or to the People.
Government’s primary function was envisioned as securing Liberty for the People. This was to be accomplished by ensuring that personal property rights would remain inviolate. We were to be protected from enemies Foreign and Domestic by means of Militias and a standing Army. We were to be assured that there would be uniformity of rights accorded to the People, and that those rights would be recognized among the many states. We were to be assured that commerce would be allowed freely among parties, even across state lines. We were to be left as Free People, to pursue our own means and our own livelihood without interference by Government, so long as we did not infringe upon another's rights.
How did we get from that ideal to where we are now?
Fear.
We got here because people got afraid.
We got here because an ambitious President, using a cowardly Congress, and with complicity from a Supreme Court more interested in keeping their jobs than in protecting Liberty, made it so. We got here because of the New Deal.
Once politicians figured out that it was easy to steal from the many to give to the few, it became easy to fool the people that Government was beneficent. People then forgot that THEY were the Government, and that they were allowing themselves to be bonded into Slavery through nominal taxation and Governmental largess, bought at the price of their Liberty.
The stock market crash of 1929 did NOT become a full-blown depression until the New Deal ushered into existence in 1933.
Really. Look it up.
The Depression was ushered into existence by a charismatic politician who decried the “evil rich”, promised welfare for the middle class, ensured jobs programs through public works for the unemployed, and payment for the indigent, elderly, and out of work. Sound familiar? It should. It is the exact same thing Obama is promising as it was then under Roosevelt. Brace yourselves for the new, New Deal; and for the new, New Depression.
So here it is folks:
If you want to break the bondage of Taxation Slavery; if you want to break the grip of “freedom by permission”; if you want to be allowed to become whatever your effort and brains and talent will afford, then say NO to the attacks on private property rights and individual Liberty.
Say NO to the attacks on the “evil rich” (using a progressive income tax), lest you be defined as “Rich” later on.
Say NO to the unlawful taking or private property so that the tax base can be increased for the city (Kelo v. New London), lest your property become the next target.
Say NO to the infringement of your Second Amendment rights through the myriad of laws that they are trying to pass, lest your right to self-defense be taken next.
Say NO to the infringements of your political speech (McCain Feingold), lest your regular speech be taken away too.
Say NO to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Welfare. Save for your own retirement, take care of your families, honor your parents and grandparents, your children and grandchildren.
Refuse to accept the ill-gotten gain of Other People’s Money, forced from them at gunpoint or threat of prison, and thus ensure your own liberty and freedom to produce.
Take a stand.
Convince others of the moral imperative that what is yours is yours, and what is theirs, is theirs. It is time for a quiet revolution of people living within their means once more, and requiring Government to do the same.
On a final note: Write a letter to any company that you hear is going before Congress looking for a handout. Quietly inform them that you will no longer do business with them if they pursue taking your money from you to pay for their failed managerial policies. Then follow through with action.
Any company that is failing, after rigging the game in their favor in the first place, deserves no place at the free-market table.
Let them fail.
This also goes for those union laborers who allowed the game to be rigged on their behalf by their parasitic union bosses, such that their host companies cannot survive under the load. You guys deserve what you get. You have killed too many industries and forced your own jobs oversees by your greed.
The piper is calling. It is time to pay.
Newbius
In the eyes of the Framers, Government existed to provide very basic services. Everything not delineated as a core function of Government is reserved to the States, or to the People.
Government’s primary function was envisioned as securing Liberty for the People. This was to be accomplished by ensuring that personal property rights would remain inviolate. We were to be protected from enemies Foreign and Domestic by means of Militias and a standing Army. We were to be assured that there would be uniformity of rights accorded to the People, and that those rights would be recognized among the many states. We were to be assured that commerce would be allowed freely among parties, even across state lines. We were to be left as Free People, to pursue our own means and our own livelihood without interference by Government, so long as we did not infringe upon another's rights.
How did we get from that ideal to where we are now?
Fear.
We got here because people got afraid.
We got here because an ambitious President, using a cowardly Congress, and with complicity from a Supreme Court more interested in keeping their jobs than in protecting Liberty, made it so. We got here because of the New Deal.
Once politicians figured out that it was easy to steal from the many to give to the few, it became easy to fool the people that Government was beneficent. People then forgot that THEY were the Government, and that they were allowing themselves to be bonded into Slavery through nominal taxation and Governmental largess, bought at the price of their Liberty.
The stock market crash of 1929 did NOT become a full-blown depression until the New Deal ushered into existence in 1933.
Really. Look it up.
The Depression was ushered into existence by a charismatic politician who decried the “evil rich”, promised welfare for the middle class, ensured jobs programs through public works for the unemployed, and payment for the indigent, elderly, and out of work. Sound familiar? It should. It is the exact same thing Obama is promising as it was then under Roosevelt. Brace yourselves for the new, New Deal; and for the new, New Depression.
So here it is folks:
If you want to break the bondage of Taxation Slavery; if you want to break the grip of “freedom by permission”; if you want to be allowed to become whatever your effort and brains and talent will afford, then say NO to the attacks on private property rights and individual Liberty.
Say NO to the attacks on the “evil rich” (using a progressive income tax), lest you be defined as “Rich” later on.
Say NO to the unlawful taking or private property so that the tax base can be increased for the city (Kelo v. New London), lest your property become the next target.
Say NO to the infringement of your Second Amendment rights through the myriad of laws that they are trying to pass, lest your right to self-defense be taken next.
Say NO to the infringements of your political speech (McCain Feingold), lest your regular speech be taken away too.
Say NO to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Welfare. Save for your own retirement, take care of your families, honor your parents and grandparents, your children and grandchildren.
Refuse to accept the ill-gotten gain of Other People’s Money, forced from them at gunpoint or threat of prison, and thus ensure your own liberty and freedom to produce.
Take a stand.
Convince others of the moral imperative that what is yours is yours, and what is theirs, is theirs. It is time for a quiet revolution of people living within their means once more, and requiring Government to do the same.
On a final note: Write a letter to any company that you hear is going before Congress looking for a handout. Quietly inform them that you will no longer do business with them if they pursue taking your money from you to pay for their failed managerial policies. Then follow through with action.
Any company that is failing, after rigging the game in their favor in the first place, deserves no place at the free-market table.
Let them fail.
This also goes for those union laborers who allowed the game to be rigged on their behalf by their parasitic union bosses, such that their host companies cannot survive under the load. You guys deserve what you get. You have killed too many industries and forced your own jobs oversees by your greed.
The piper is calling. It is time to pay.
Newbius
Monday, November 3, 2008
Liberty and Independence
From the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
This is so obvious we don't even need to belabor the point, "DUH!"
"...All men are created equal"
Created means we acknowledge a Creator, and nobody has a special standing in the eyes of a just system.
"...they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"
Your rights are God-given and are inviolate, not privileges of the State
"...among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
You have a right to your own life (and the right to defend that life from those who would attempt to harm you); You have a right to be free and to live in any manner that you see fit, so long as you do not infringe on the rights of others; You have the right to achieve to the level of your industry and effort, but with no guarantee of success.
These are the principles upon which this country was founded.
As a Citizen, you have the right to pursue your living in whatever way you feel is best for you. The government has no obligation to provide for your livelihood. If you think they do, move to Cuba. You are not a ward of the state. You have no rightful claim on the industry of others. You have no legal claim to the output of another. Only Thugs, Criminals, and Politicians will tell you differently.
Any person who attempts to gain your favor by offering to you the fruits of someone else's labor is nothing more than a thief. Accepting that ill-gotten gain makes you a thief too, and no amount of self delusion will change this. If you attempt to better your station in life at the expense of another, you have infringed on their rights as an individual, and your victory is hollow. If you attempt to influence the government process to "Game" the system in your favor, you are engaging in legalized thuggery.
The system of governance which protects the rights of the individual above all else is the system that is the most free. Liberty demands that the system protect the rights of the individual to be secure in their property and possessions. Liberty demands that the system protect the rights of individuals against those who would try to do harm to them. Liberty demands that the system not be the aggressor.
If the person you vote for tomorrow does not represent the ideals of Liberty, then you have no claim of injury when YOUR liberty is threatened by his actions. You have a clear choice in front of you.
Make an informed decision.
Choose Liberty.
Pax,
Newbius
"We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
This is so obvious we don't even need to belabor the point, "DUH!"
"...All men are created equal"
Created means we acknowledge a Creator, and nobody has a special standing in the eyes of a just system.
"...they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"
Your rights are God-given and are inviolate, not privileges of the State
"...among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
You have a right to your own life (and the right to defend that life from those who would attempt to harm you); You have a right to be free and to live in any manner that you see fit, so long as you do not infringe on the rights of others; You have the right to achieve to the level of your industry and effort, but with no guarantee of success.
These are the principles upon which this country was founded.
As a Citizen, you have the right to pursue your living in whatever way you feel is best for you. The government has no obligation to provide for your livelihood. If you think they do, move to Cuba. You are not a ward of the state. You have no rightful claim on the industry of others. You have no legal claim to the output of another. Only Thugs, Criminals, and Politicians will tell you differently.
Any person who attempts to gain your favor by offering to you the fruits of someone else's labor is nothing more than a thief. Accepting that ill-gotten gain makes you a thief too, and no amount of self delusion will change this. If you attempt to better your station in life at the expense of another, you have infringed on their rights as an individual, and your victory is hollow. If you attempt to influence the government process to "Game" the system in your favor, you are engaging in legalized thuggery.
The system of governance which protects the rights of the individual above all else is the system that is the most free. Liberty demands that the system protect the rights of the individual to be secure in their property and possessions. Liberty demands that the system protect the rights of individuals against those who would try to do harm to them. Liberty demands that the system not be the aggressor.
If the person you vote for tomorrow does not represent the ideals of Liberty, then you have no claim of injury when YOUR liberty is threatened by his actions. You have a clear choice in front of you.
Make an informed decision.
Choose Liberty.
Pax,
Newbius
Polls and the Bradley Effect
...also known as "Vote, you idiot!"
Prediction.
I've been looking at this for 2 weeks now. The best I can figure is that one of two things is going to happen. Either Obama has fooled everyone and wins in a landslide. Or, enough people wake up and we have something like that map in the link above. I am hoping for the latter.
If you do as I did and research the "Wilder Effect", subsequently known as the "Bradley Effect", you will find out something interesting. Namely, that people lie to pollsters. Specifically, they lie to pollsters about their level of support for Liberal African-American Democrats.
This works both ways.
In heavily African-American communities, respondents understate their support for the candidate for fear of appearing that race is the only reason that they are for him. In more cosmopolitan communities, people overstate their support to pollsters for the candidate in order to appear more tolerant.
How will this break for THIS liberal Democrat candidate? Too soon to tell. It will really all come down to turnout in the swing states.
Just like always.
The map I linked to was based upon the polls as of 10/20 or 10/21. Well before the news broke about the L.A. Times story suppression on Rashid Khalidi. Well before the news leaked that S.F. Chronicle squashed a little tidbit from Obama about his being perfectly comfortable bankrupting the Coal industry in America through Cap and Trade. The map assumes that any poll that shows Obama ahead within the margin of error OR by less than 11% overall is actually going to be a state that McCain wins.
Sounds screwy doesn't it?
I thought so too until 10/31 when Rush Limbaugh broke some leaks from inside the Obama campaign. Those leaks stated that basically the Obama camp is NOT going to count a state as won unless the polls show a lead by greater than 10%. They are worried about the Bradley Effect too.
I will be in line when the polls open on 11/4. Then I am going to go to the local McCain headquarters in Fredericksburg and volunteer to help get out the vote.
It isn't over yet.
Pax
Newbius
Prediction.
I've been looking at this for 2 weeks now. The best I can figure is that one of two things is going to happen. Either Obama has fooled everyone and wins in a landslide. Or, enough people wake up and we have something like that map in the link above. I am hoping for the latter.
If you do as I did and research the "Wilder Effect", subsequently known as the "Bradley Effect", you will find out something interesting. Namely, that people lie to pollsters. Specifically, they lie to pollsters about their level of support for Liberal African-American Democrats.
This works both ways.
In heavily African-American communities, respondents understate their support for the candidate for fear of appearing that race is the only reason that they are for him. In more cosmopolitan communities, people overstate their support to pollsters for the candidate in order to appear more tolerant.
How will this break for THIS liberal Democrat candidate? Too soon to tell. It will really all come down to turnout in the swing states.
Just like always.
The map I linked to was based upon the polls as of 10/20 or 10/21. Well before the news broke about the L.A. Times story suppression on Rashid Khalidi. Well before the news leaked that S.F. Chronicle squashed a little tidbit from Obama about his being perfectly comfortable bankrupting the Coal industry in America through Cap and Trade. The map assumes that any poll that shows Obama ahead within the margin of error OR by less than 11% overall is actually going to be a state that McCain wins.
Sounds screwy doesn't it?
I thought so too until 10/31 when Rush Limbaugh broke some leaks from inside the Obama campaign. Those leaks stated that basically the Obama camp is NOT going to count a state as won unless the polls show a lead by greater than 10%. They are worried about the Bradley Effect too.
I will be in line when the polls open on 11/4. Then I am going to go to the local McCain headquarters in Fredericksburg and volunteer to help get out the vote.
It isn't over yet.
Pax
Newbius
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