The Militant Libertarian

I'm pissed off and I'm a libertarian. What else you wanna know?

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Phrases to Steal By

From the Common Sense email list:

Usually, politicians use 50-cent words to puff up two-bit ideas. When it comes to taking away people's land, they do the opposite. They use three phrases — "eminent domain," "economic development," "master plan" — and they mean big money.

A baseball stadium, or a strip mall, or a department store looks better — to the politicians — than whatever's already on a piece of property.

So they take the property away and give it to someone else, whether the owner likes it or not.

Eminent domain is supposed to let government do necessary things like build roads and run utility lines. Today, it's a way to beef up a town's tax base by replacing homes, small businesses — even churches — with high volume enterprises or gentrified housing.

Take Elizabeth Fernando. She's lost three properties to the city of Indianapolis. First for an athletic facility. Then for a convention center. Now, they're taking her parking garage for — get this — parking! The city's restoring some "historic" apartments next door, and wants a flat lot instead of a garage.

Normandy, Missouri, pondered seizing a convent — a convent! — to put in a strip mall. Thankfully, a higher power intervened.

Nearby St. Louis declared a building "blighted" and seized it. Why? Because the owners refused to give its tenant, a department store, a new long-term lease . . . and the city fathers wanted that store to stay there.

Eminent domain used to mean a necessary taking. These days, it just means political thievery.

This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.

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Friday, August 13, 2004

The Party of God

I posted the following to a message forum for the Constitution Party. It's an observation that fits any political party, though.

In my opinion, no political party, candidate, or platform should be considered as "religion." In my experience, with any political party, I have found that there are a host of people who use one or all of these things as a replacement for religion in their lives.

Most people have a driving need for religion of some kind, whether it be organized or not, to give their lives meaning. Many, in their search for this, do not realize it's religion they're after and replace religion with Internet chat rooms, pornography, books, politics, and anything else you can name. These are commonly called "addictive personalities," but I don't think the term stretches far enough.

It's possible to be politically motivated and to work hard to promote a party, candidate, or ideal without becoming a "zealot" for the "cause" and thus stepping into the realm of religious zeal with your work.

For many, however, it's an easy step and comes naturally. I find these people to be the most dangerous: not only to the political party/candidate/etc., but also to the cause and many times to themselves.

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Thursday, August 12, 2004

Arrested, Charged, and Hauled Off In Chains...for selling copies of the U.S. Constitution

This series of articles is from a friend of mine, Fran, who knows these people well. I have met them once, but only briefly. After three years of court battles, they've won their case, but in the meantime lost jobs, homes, and more. There is now a lawsuit against the Sheriff's and the D.A.'s offices for $12.5 million to recover the money, property, and legal fees lost thanks to this tyranny.

Read on:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16895
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16910
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17045
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17067
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17051
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17058

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Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Statue of Liberty Reopens


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Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Time Reporter Held in Contempt Over CIA Leak Case

By CURT ANDERSON
Aug 10, 2004, 02:56

A federal judge held a reporter for Time magazine in contempt of court Monday for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer.

In an order issued July 20 but not made public until Monday, U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ruled that Time's Matthew Cooper and Meet the Press host Tim Russert were required to testify "regarding alleged conversations they had with a specified executive branch official."

NBC News issued a statement saying that Russert already had been interviewed under oath by prosecutors on Saturday under an agreement to avoid a protracted court fight. The interview concerned a July 2003 phone conversation he had with Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

To read the rest: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_5007.shtml

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Monday, August 09, 2004

Ashcroft wins Internet wiretap system

Ashcroft wins Internet wiretap system

By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Aug 4 2004 8:27AM
U.S. regulators on Wednesday ruled tentatively in favor of an FBI and Justice Department proposal that would compel Internet broadband and VoIP providers to open their networks up to easy surveillance by law enforcement agencies.

At issue is the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), a federal law that mandates surveillance backdoors in U.S. telephone networks, allowing the FBI to start listening in on a target's phone calls within minutes of receiving court approval. Last March, the Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration jointly petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a ruling that cable modem companies and other broadband providers are also covered by the law.

"Our support for law enforcement is unwavering," said FCC chairman Michael Powell...

Read entire story here: http://www.securityfocus.com/news/9263

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New Book Reviews Area

I've consolidated all of the book reviews I've done, plus those I was running at "Save Liberty Book Reviews" into their own little area on this site. If you're looking for good, liberty/freedom-oriented books to read, check out the book reviews area.

I'll continue to post new reviews here, but they'll always be available in the book reviews area as well. There is a new button to the left, which replaces the "Rules of the Blog" button that no one ever accessed. :)

Flex your mind!

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Sunday, August 08, 2004

Their Weakest Link Announces Their Real Intentions...

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--President George W. Bush

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Not-so-Funnies




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