Just A Reminder

Sometimes it needs to be said, again and again and again, until some people get it. No-one has said it better than L. Neil Smith.

A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being for any reason whatever; nor will a libertarian advocate the initiation of force, or delegate it to anyone else.

Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim.
— L. Neil Smith

Yes. Libertarians are strong believers in property rights. We believe in self determination. A strong belief in right of self defence is a core belief. But, nowhere will you find a real libertarian who espouses genocide or the wanton destruction of innocents. These are not libertarian principles and they are a deal breaker. If you talk up actions such as these it doesn't matter if you agree with 80 or 90 % of other libertarian values. You. Aren't. A. Libertarian.

The very word is being watered down till it is becoming unrecognizable. People and politicians are calling themselves libertarians, even when it is painfully obvious that they are conservatives or even neo-conservatives. These people are damaging the brand beyond belief and it has to stop. The worst offenders may well be ensconced within the Washington Beltway in the Libertarian Party offices. That particular branch has seemingly been taken over by refugee Republicans or something similar. They certainly don't speak like libertarians and they avoid issues that libertarians are actually concerned with. If this is political expediency then it needs to be abandoned at all levels.

Too many libertarians are concerned with projecting a political image that doesn't frighten the plebs. It's too bad that they have forgotten that libertarianism is, by its very nature, a radical philosophy. Much like the Declaration of Independence was, and is, a radical document written by a radical man. It's time that libertarians started reclaiming their philosophy from the poseurs. It's time to point out that not everyone who says they're a libertarian is. If we don't stop the rot then the damage will be fatal. It may not be too late, but time is running short. It's time to call out the pretenders.

UPDATE: I meant to add a link to this in the main body yesterday, but it just didn't make it. Even the founder of the LP thinks it may be too late to save it.

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Libertarian, Nerf Libertarians

The Opening Salvo

Well, it's official now. Attorney General Eric Holder has officially announced the Obama regimes intention to the re-institute the expired "Assault Weapons Ban". Not because there is any rise in use of semi-automatic rifles in crimes in the U.S.. Nope, he wants it re-instituted because Mexico is falling apart under the strain of the failed War On Drugs.

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today. "As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.

Mr. Holder and Mr. Obama wish to further the infringement of our rights because a neighbouring country is falling apart. Because violence along the border is escalating and is already spilling over that border, they wish to disarm the very people who may need semi-automatic rifles for protection.

The Obama administration had best pay heed to the words of those out in the real world. Folks aren't going to take disarmament well and there will likely be repercussions. Hopefully, those repercussions will be at the ballot box and not in the streets. Firearms sales of semi-autos are already at an all time high, in anticipation of just such an announcement from the Obama administration. What do these bureaucrats think the reaction will be should they manage to pass another useless firearms ban? Sad to say, but these people are so stupid that they cannot even see beyond their own noses where this issue is concerned. They'd best get new glasses that let them see reality, rather than the world they exist in inside the Beltway.

I wonder if the NRA is regretting not opposing Eric Holders nomination now? Or are they still suffering from Beltway Blindness? And what will the response be from the Libertarian Party? Will they actually join in the fray for once?

For more on this join the discussion over at David Codrea's Examiner column. No doubt there will be lots to be said there and at Digg. This is just the warning shot, the battle is still to come.

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2nd Amendment, Eric Holder, Assault Weapons Ban, Obama, News, Libertarian, Mexico, Guns, Drug War


UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi weighs in and denies any push to reenact the AWB. Of course her lips were moving and we all know what that means.

Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday that the administration would push to bring back the ban. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her. The Speaker gave a flat “no” when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.

“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference.

Bailout Redux

With a deadline looming for their restructuring plans GM is waving the bankruptcy flag again.

General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), nearing a Tuesday deadline to present a viability plan to the U.S. government, is considering as one option a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would create a new company, the Wall Street Journal said in its Saturday edition.

"One plan includes a Chapter 11 filing that would assemble all of GM's viable assets, including some U.S. brands and international operations, into a new company," the newspaper said. "The undesirable assets would be liquidated or sold under protection of a bankruptcy court. Contracts with bondholders, unions, dealers and suppliers would also be reworked."

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the story said that GM could also ask for additional government funds to stave off a bankruptcy filing.

Considering that the UAW just walked out on their talks with GM, my guess is that they'll head back to Capitol Hill for another feeding session at the trough. I don't think that the Beltway Boys and Girls are going to let them declare bankruptcy. After all, "something has to be done" is their mantra these days. It would be nice if they'd just back away and let the market work out the way it's supposed to. This country has bankruptcy laws for a reason, let's let them work this time around, instead of throwing more taxpayer dollars at the problem and piling on the debt. And, while we're at it let's obey the Constitution limits that are supposedly in place. I can't find anything in it that says the government is authorised to bail out failed companies with money they took from us.

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Rushing To Disaster

So, both houses of Congress are set to vote on their "stimulus" package. Too bad they're going to vote on something that none of them have freakin' bothered to read! Or will have the time to read.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) predicted on Thursday that none of his Senate colleagues would "have the chance" to read the entire final version of the $790-billion stimulus bill before the bill comes up for a final vote in Congress.

“No, I don’t think anyone will have the chance to [read the entire bill],” Lautenberg told CNSNews.com.

The final bill, crafted by a House-Senate conference committee, was posted on the Website of the House Appropriations Committe late Thurday in two PDF files.

The first PDF was 424 pages long and the second PDF was 575 pages long, making the total bill 999 pages long. The House is expected to vote on this 999-page bill Friday, and the Senate either later Friday or Saturday. [Editor's note: The first PDF, as posted on the House Appropriations Committee website as of 8:20 AM Friday morning, had grown by 72 pages to 496 pages, increasing the length of the total document to 1,071 pages.]

Of the several senators that CNSNews.com interviewed on Thursday, only Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) claimed to have read the entire bill--and he was speaking of the preliminary version that had been approved by the Senate, not the final 999-page version that the House-Senate conference committee was still haggling over on Thursday afternoon.

When CNSNews.com asked members of both parties on Capitol Hill on Thursday whether they had read the full, final bill, not one member could say, "Yes."

Why the rush? Well, as is being reported by Drudge, it's all because of Nacy Pelosi and a planned Europe junket to Italy and other parts, so she can receive an award from the Italians.

Rep. John Culberson, TX claims the "stimulus" bill must be urgently voted on today -- because Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leaving at 6:00 PM for an 8 day trip to Europe!

Culberson made the charge on Houston's KSEV radio.

Pelosi is hoping to lead a delegation to Europe; there's a meeting with the Pope and an award from an Italian legislative group.

Calls to Pelosi's spokesman went unreturned.

In the rushing, Democrats have now broken their promise to have the public see the $790 billion bill for 48 hours before any vote.

They, those people who are going to rush to vote on this measure, are going to throw us into the fire of debt for political gain. It's not like this "stimulus" is going to actually work. Quite the opposite, in fact. This will do more damage to our economy than doing nothing would. Even though it is unlikely to work in any substantive way, give your Congressional "representatives" a call or an email on this. Demand that they not vote until the bill has been read and understood. And then vote no. We, and our children cannot afford this bill.

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