The sea can look peaceful. Then come the sharks. On Jan 20, 1:52 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > "Apologists for government undertake bizarre mental contortions to show that > we have consented to be taxed. Balderdash. I was never asked to consent, and > I’m sure you weren’t either. I refuse to accept the nonsensical argument that > by not vacating the parcel of land I purchased, I have signaled my “tacit > consent” to be plundered and bullied. That implies the government owns the > territory it rules and therefore can set the conditions under which it is > used. That sounds like feudalism. Are we merely tenants of the governmental > landlord? > "Built on the power to tax (legally steal) are myriad other powers that > entail the threat of violence against peaceful individuals. If you wish to > buy things from people outside the jurisdiction claimed by the U.S. > government, you may do so only on the terms it permits under its trade laws. > If you wish to invite to your home or business someone who lives outside that > jurisdiction, again, you can do so only under terms laid down by the > government’s immigration rules. You are not free to make your own decisions > in the matter. > "If you don’t want your money given to others say, Wall Street banks, auto > companies, welfare recipients, stem-cell researchers, military contractors, > the Israeli air force, the Iraqi and Afghan rulers too bad. You have no say. > Correction: you have one impotent vote every four years. That’s virtually the > same as no say."The Peaceful Transfer of Violent PowerbySheldon > Richman,January 19, 2009At the risk of raining on the parade, I suggest that > the inaugural festivities are not what they appear. Barack Obama says the > pomp and circumstance are not about him but are a celebration of democracy. > “For the forty-third time, we will execute the peaceful transfer of power > from one president to the next,” he said. > He’s right, but not quite as he meant it. The peaceful transition from the > Bush to the Obama regime is indeed the occasion, but let’s focus on exactly > what is being transferred. Despite the oratory about hope, change, and > renewal, government as someone, perhaps George Washington, said “is not > reason; it is not eloquence; it is force.” If that is right and I contend it > is then in the inauguration we have the irony of a peaceful transfer of > something that is anything but peaceful: the legal power to use physical > force. > This is something to celebrate? > The question would be fair no matter who succeeded George W. Bush. It’s not > so much the man but the office that warrants our distrust and (to use > Jefferson’s term) jealousy. To modify the words of Judge Gideon Tucker: No > person’s life, liberty, and property are safe as long as the occupant of the > White House possesses the powers that are invested in the presidency (and > government generally). > The essence of government as we know it is the power to use force against > people who have never harmed anyone. The most basic power is the power to > tax. Indeed, government could do nothing without it. The power to tax is the > legal authority to compel people to surrender their money to the state under > penalty of fine, imprisonment, and worse for refusal. Whether or not one > thinks this power is good (I don’t), one cannot deny that it is based on the > threat to commit violence against the nonviolent. > Thus, this week we witness the peaceful transfer of the authority to commit > legal plunder. > Apologists for government undertake bizarre mental contortions to show that > we have consented to be taxed. Balderdash. I was never asked to consent, and > I’m sure you weren’t either. I refuse to accept the nonsensical argument that > by not vacating the parcel of land I purchased, I have signaled my “tacit > consent” to be plundered and bullied. That implies the government owns the > territory it rules and therefore can set the conditions under which it is > used. That sounds like feudalism. Are we merely tenants of the governmental > landlord? > Built on the power to tax (legally steal) are myriad other powers that entail > the threat of violence against peaceful individuals. If you wish to buy > things from people outside the jurisdiction claimed by the U.S. government, > you may do so only on the terms it permits under its trade laws. If you wish > to invite to your home or business someone who lives outside that > jurisdiction, again, you can do so only under terms laid down by the > government’s immigration rules. You are not free to make your own decisions > in the matter. > If you don’t want your money given to others say, Wall Street banks, auto > companies, welfare recipients, stem-cell researchers, military contractors, > the Israeli air force, the Iraqi and Afghan rulers too bad. You have no say. > Correction: you have one impotent vote every four years. That’s virtually the > same as no say. > If you don’t want the armed forces killing people in your name, again, too > bad. No one asked you. > If you don’t want the Treasury and the Federal Reserve stealing your > hard-earned money through deficits and inflation, you may as well shut up. > It’s going to happen anyway. > This is the power the peaceful transfer of which we celebrate. > We might wonder why inaugurations aren’t more sober affairs. Why all the > hoopla? The answer is simple. Government is a horrendous and exploitative > imposition on most of us. From the rulers’ perspective, there is always the > danger that we may figure this out and refuse to go along. Hence the need for > regular propaganda spectacles to reinforce the myth thatweare the government. > The Who’s Pete Townshend, alas, was wrong. Most of us are getting fooled > again.http://www.fff.org/comment/com0901h.asp --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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