Are We Einsteins?
Besides being a scientific genius, Einstein did and said 3 very profound things.

First, he said that the most powerful thing in the Universe was compound interest.

Second, he said the thing that he understood the least was income taxes!

Third, when offered the Presidency of Israel in the 1940's, he turned it down!

What can we learn from this? How can we Einstein-ize our Party? How can we Einstein-ize South Dakota?

First, the South Dakota LP SHOULD use the most powerful thing in the Universe, compund interest!

Wouldn't our members have more of a positive effect in life if we had the compound interest savvy to be financially independent, even financially outrageously abundant?

Rather than bow to the Dollarocracy and the almost-permamently self-disenfranchised 30-40% of the population, we can actually be economically free (in a cool way) to do what we like--shouldn't Self-Governors like us ACTUALLY be self-governing financially, that is, we actually spend our dollars like Ultra Free people, on products and projects that help people self-liberate themselves?!

Since Einstein was stumped by the income tax code (and it has only become more complicated in the 51 years after Einstein's death), that makes our job easier.

Get rid of as many taxes as possible! Let's start with the "HOLY COW" of South Dakota taxes--
the sales tax.

When Einstein turned down being the leader of Israel, he knew that his best talents were not being a political leader. Know thyself. Albert Einstein was smart--he went with what he did best!

We can do the same.

Some of us run for office, the rest of us are quite happy doing other creative things.

Einstein-ize the Libertarian Party? (I'm sure many Libertarians remember that Einstein was a socialist and a pacifist, too!)

What do I mean?

Everything in life is a miracle, or else there are no miracles. Einstein believed in the first option.

Since life is a miracle, and we are talking about and LIVING Liberty, then let's appreciate this miracle, and add MORE miracles to our lives every day, both in and outside of the electoral arena!

Dandelions thrive in the sun, without government programs.

Let us launch many cool things, all done by ourselves and the many friendly people who will love making history with us, all on our own nickels!

Alex Martin

Dollar-ocracy? Better Way!
Many people have noticed that he or she who spends the most money usually wins elections.

Dollar-ocracy.

Instead of bemoaning that situation, let's create a better situation!

Let's say we INVENT a newer, better way of Self-Governors like us governing our own lives and prospering in all ways (spiritually, financially, being happy and free!)

Let's just call this Better Way!

Let's decide that we are LIVING this better way RIGHT NOW, months or years before there is a Libertarian Majority in Pierre.

Not only are we LIVING this ultra-Cool Better Way now, we are doing this casually and creatively, just like mathematicians jotting down new equations on a blackboard or notebook. We are DESIGNING the Ultra Cool Better Way now!

How will this be done? It will be easy if we decide that it is easy, difficult if we believe it is difficult.

There are many things we can do now, write blogs like this, create BlogPapers, maybe even create a Blog-ocracy in one or two counties in South Dakota (of course, it will not have any legal power, just some cool folks doing cool, ultra-liberating things!), run for office, set up taco feed fundraisers to bring more money into the Party, or write Ultra Cool books that will show Libertarian mind techniques to peoplke who would like to Live As Yoda Does!

Let's take the mystery out of democracy.

Three functions:

Pass laws, spend tax money, pass resolutions!

Let's look at what we create:

Spend our money, resolve to do cool things to help humanity!

Right now, we can do TWO out of those 3 things.

That's a lot of leverage!

So if a guy or gal creates a Taxation Is Theft Taco place in Wasta or Kadoka, and this business prospers because we are optimistic to the point of many-million returns, then the owner or owners of the Taxation is Theft Taco chain can simply say:

Cool! We will spend money and help libertarian ideas (like our taco joint) grow, and we will help these local nonprofit libertarian groups do Ultra Cool
nonprofit projects that will help many people!

The idea is cool:

Our non-legislatures RESOLVE to do things that have never been done before.

Our power is to THINK, BE HAPPY, and LIVE FREE!

As we prosper now, throughout time, we will change election history, too!

Let's decide that it is Ultra Easy, blog-ocracies can create and invent new solutions better and faster than legislatures can, and that we can do it with less money, too!

A dandelion growing in a ditch doesn't ask for a
government program. It glows in the sun, and yet prospers when it is rainy, too!

Likewise, us. Optimistically, its happening now, or pessimistically, "it won't happen in our lifetime."

Our lifetimes are too precious and too ultra cool to waste it in negative words.

Aex Martin

Will you run and make a difference or will you do nothing?
In 2006, we have some of the EASIEST requirements for getting on the ballot in South Dakota for legislative, county, State and Federal offices: often just 1 or 2 signatures, and for Governor or US Congress, just 20 valid Libertarian signatures?

It's EASY!

Decide to run! You will make a difference IMMEDIATELY--you'll give people the gift of CHOICE.
Thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of people will have a LIBERTARIAN to vote for! (Instead of the one or two parties that usually run things).

It doesn't get any easier than ONE signature!

For the rest of February and March, don't complain about state, local or Federal government.

Get a petition (from the Secretary of State's website or e-mail us, we'll send you one!), fill it out, have it notarized, send it in!

Make history, and do it your own way--if you prefer to campaign in a t-shirt or while eating salsa and watching old movies, do it your way!

The truly mediocre will succeed until GOOD PEOPLE like you and me stand up, and get our petitions turned in, so that people can then vote their conscience, and they'll be able to tell their friends, children and grandchildren: "I voted Libertarian in 2006, because they had good ideas!"

David and Goliath: Limos and Taxis
I found an interesting comment posted by a Libertarian named Michael Morrison concerning the
North Carolina Libertarian Party's lawsuit against North Carolina for equal elections.

http://ballot-access.org/2005/09/26/nc-libertarians-denied-temporary-restraining-order/

"I was a Libertarian even before the national LP was formed in 1971 (and a libertarian even earlier).
I say that first because I want to say second that I am getting concerned about the many, many lawsuits filed by various branches of the party.
Most libertarians, and I suppose most Libertarians, are fearful of activist courts and judges.
Too often suits are attempted end runs around the legal process, around laws and state codes and even constitutions.
Of course Libertarians should be on the ballot — every ballot, in my opinion.
But if a Libertarian Party has so few members it falls off, if it fails to legally qualify for ballot status, then a primary might be more of an embarrassment than a success.
Plus there is the moral question of forcing governments to spend taxpayers’ (stolen) money for our political activities.
I wonder if the money spent on lawsuits wouldn’t be better spent recruiting new members.
It could buy ads, it could hire meeting halls and pay for speakers, all activities that might do much more to help the party grow than all the lawsuits."

This helps us look at the issue of how resources should be used.

Would it be better to spend time and money litigating so there would equal ballot access for all political parties in the state? Or would it be better to do as Mr. Morrison suggests, grow the Party, run ads, have Libertarians run as independents in some races?

And then the issue of by engaging the State in a legal battle for equal ballot access, the state then wastes money defending their two tier system of Parties.

I think looking at seeing how much money the state spends on things is not the right way of looking at the issue. Any state usually has oodles of pet projects that different representatives want funded.

Maybe there is a minimalist way of doing things that would ensure that libertarians would be on the ballot and yet libertarian things and projects would get done?

Let's look at David and Goliath.

(They didn't end up in the court system!)

Did David beat Goliath with brute force, WWF Style?

No!

David got the five smooth stones, aimed them, and took care of Goliath with very careful aim.

Now elections are a lot different than a battle between David and Goliath.

We face 2 Goliath Parties that are always on the ballot. Yes, there are signature requirements in South Dakota, and they are met fair and square. Both of these Goliath parties always get 2 1/2% of the vote in the Governor's race every 4 years. Consequently, those 2 Parties are always recognized Parties.

We are definitely the Davids in the electoral process. The smaller of the Goliath Parties, the Democratic Party is about 180 times bigger than us, as far as registered voters is concerned.

Some Libertarians might say: Oh, I get it, you are saying if we take on the 2 Goliath Parties in elections by acting like Goliaths (having a lot of members, spending a lot of money on media buys), we will either lose because we do not have Goliath (big) resources to match our Goliath appetites(running a tradional campaign, albeit with Libertarian values), or if we win, it might be because we end up sounding like the other 2 Parties (a fear that many libertarians are concerned about).

All I am saying now is simple: If we are David, we should act like David. Which means, no traditional campaigning.

Are we winning because we are the Party of Principle?
No.

Do the 2 Big Parties have principles? Yes, they do. Principles that tend to bigger government, more taxes, too many dumb regulations and laws, the opposite of our ideal of smaller and smarter government.

So if the old way (traditional campaigning) doesn't work for us, why do we insist on doing it again and again?

What would the new way be? What would David do?

I think the main realization is that we can win without having a majority of the voters.

That seems illogical when we know that it a 2 way State Senate race, a plurality of one (or a good coin flip) is needed.

Yet in a State House race where there are just 4 candidates (for 2 seats), just 26% is needed in a close race. Less than 26% in a close 5 way race.
Less than 50% in a close 3 way State Senate race.

The mathematics of that seems obvious.

I will ask another wild question.

Is it possible to win where we are now, with out numbers at less than 1% of the resgistered voters?

Think of the question:

What would David do?

(Strategy-wise, setting aside any religious ideas).

What would inspire us and MANY OTHERS?

I will look at this in 2 ways: the traditional political races and other ways.

TRADITIONAL PUBLIC OFFICE RACES.

Our efforts should be very concentrated. The two races that would be the most significant would be:

The Governor's Race (not easy to win, but we can increase our percentages and gain new members)

Select State House and State Senate Races. Winning ONE of these races would be a great victory for Libertarians. Maybe 2 strategies could be: Find a traditional 4 way race (2 Republicans, 2 Democrats) and enter a Libertarian there. Or find a State Senate race where this one candidate running usually unopposed. In the State House race, in a close contest, 21% could possibly send the Libertarian candidate to Pierre. In a 3 way State Senate race, possibly 34% would be enough for a Libertarian to win.

The financial cost of winning: Governor's race, millions of dollars.

State House or State Senate: Possibly $4,000-$15,000 in a non-urban district.

Some Libertarians like the idea of running for mayor in a small town and winning. This is fine. Its just that Governor and Legislature are higher profile races and would INSPIRE more people.

OTHER WAYS.

Here's where, if we are more creative, we win!

State law allows Precinct Committeemen and Precinct Committeewomen to be elected simply by filling out a form and handing in to the County Auditor before the deadline.

Since most Libertarians who choose to do this would be unopposed, they would end up being given a Certificate of election by their County Auditor.

One Prencinct Committeewoman and One Precinct Committeeman can be elected PER PRECINCT, for eacdh Party!

So for example, in a precinct in Jones County, 2
Libertarians, 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats, and 2 Constitution Party people can be elected.

I went to one county near Sioux Falls a few years ago, and out of 5 Precincts, ZERO Democrats and maybe 1 or 2 Republicans had chosen to run and be elected as Precinct Committeemen/women.

When Libertarians start to get elected to these positions, what does this allow them to do?

Basically, they would be Great Ambassadors of the libertarian message. They would have no budget to oversee, no laws to vote for or against. But they would be Elected Libertarians, and they would be spreading the message--hey, you can be a cool libertarian like me and get elected, too!

The other thing is that the First Amendment gives us the right to peaceably assemble.

So at our State Convention in June 2005, non-affiliated Self-Governors associations were approved.

"Agreement to encourage the establishment of local “Self-Governors” clubs as non-affiliated cross-party organizations to encourage local political involvement and ideas." From the Minutes of the 2005 SDLP Annual Convention

So whether you call your local non-Party group: Self-Governors of Stanley County or Libertarian Council of Brookings or Libertarian Governors of
Yankton County, here is another chance for you to
get together with other libertarians, get ELECTED (if you choose to be a leader in one of these groups) and to a) send your best ideas to the SDLP and b) hopefully find a few people who would want to run for local, county, legislative, State or Federal office.

So any Libertarian in South Dakota can get elected TWICE, easily, as a Precinct Committeeman/woman in even numbered years, and as a President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Governor, Senator or Visionary (get creative with titles!) in a local Self-Governors Club or Libertarian Council.

Getting elected twice in South Dakota?

Sounds like a great deal!

One more idea I have for the regulat races for Governor, State Offices, legislative offices:

GO HOLLYWOOD

Let's get creative.

Let's be inspired and inspire many others!

Let's keep a permanent record of our races.

On film!

I think digital cameras cost about $400-$500. Videotape is widely available at many stores.
The actors/actresses are free!

Yes, you would be your own Director (as well as candidate).

Find a few people who want to help you out with your film.

It would be a great inspiring documentary about how libertarian folks in 2006 would be saying:

"Look! We are doing great things! We hope to get elected and do great things for South Dakota!"

Getting on the ballot makes your race real.

Making a documentary of it (even a 30-60 minute documentary would be fun!) makes your campaign
PERMANENT and INSPIRING.

For us, what is politics?

Maybe, ultimately, it is a way of INSPIRING many people with our words, ideas, actions and accomplishments.

In turn, those many inspired people can do great things far into the future.

We all know that regaining ballot access and taking a ballot access issue all the way to a State Supreme Court is very costly financially. I agree somewhat with Mr. Morrison's post.

Any more ideas?

Can we minimize our efforts and maximize our harvest, our returns?

Is there such a thing as being a minimalist libertarian?

The last time a big party went down in flames was the Whig Party, and that was 150 years ago.

Libertarians now can be elected as Precinct Committeemen and Precinct Committeewomen AND as leaders of the new Self-Governors or Libertarian Councils.

I think minimalist libertarians are people that can get a lot done with a little effort. That itself would be HUGELY inspiring.

Perhaps our Self-Governors groups can think of dozens ro hundreds of ways to do this.

Granted, elections for public office take huge amounts of time and effort.

But some of the minimalist ideas will allow us to
spread libertarian ideas, and cause more successful projects to be THOUGHT OF and DONE (and bring us closer to when more and more Libertarians are elected in public elections).

Minimalist, amazing?

Yes, we are!

Alex Martin

Transients?
What happens to transients?

They get arrested. Some move on. Some change their lives.

I remember seeing dozens of "hoboes" at Library Park just west of downtown Phoenix.

Does government treat the electors (those 18 and older, registered and unregistered voters) as hoboes?
You haven't voted in the last 2 or 3 elections, we're dropping you from the voter rolls...

In the mythology of hoboes, some of them ended up in California and did OK.

Any report that big government is here to stay permanently is a but premature.

Taxes are transient. They go down and up.
Sales taxes have been here since the 1930's.
51% of the voters in a Referendum can make
them go away.

The Two Parties are transient. 200 plus years for the Democrats, 151 years for the Republicans.
Have they been here for a long time? Yes. Do many of their candidates get elected and hold office? Yes. Will those Parties be around forever?

That is for the people to decide.

Before you throw your hands up in despair, remember this...

A few people, dedicated to sincere change, can make a huge difference.

It just takes a few.

It might be the under-employed Dude hauling in carts at Wal-mart.

It might be a waitress or a truck driver.

It might be a college or high school student.

It might be anyone!

It might even be..... that homeless man or woman, who decided not to seek solutions, but to be a solution, a person who lives for positive answers.

Can it happen?

Is it happening?

That is up to you, and the transient ideas that go through your mind.

One of those transient ideas, if you think about it, or write the idea down, could make a HUGE DIFFERENCE
for hundreds of thousands of people in South Dakota.

Those who are "at home" with receiving and entertaining new ideas as welcome strangers, those are the people who will change SOuth Dakota for the better!

This will happen at the ballot box, in the marketplace, on TV, on the radiowaves, in the newspapers, all over!

It will be visible.

Arrest (or stop) those transient ideas that you receive. Write a few good ones down. Post them in this blog.

Then throw a little party!

Celebrate the victory of those ideas! In advance!
Today!

Now Playing: Tales From The Outback by Bryan Lutter
“I’d be a lot better off if every pheasant in the country croaked!”

Now why is that such a common statement amongst so many farmers? I’ll explain at the end of this op/ed why ring-neck loathing became South Dakota’s other popular fall sport.

First, let me go off on a tangent, I promise to bring it all together at the end.

Is property tax the best way to fund schools?

The answer lies in the ancient meaning behind the word “tax”, which derives from an older word, “exaction”. Look it up and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The point is that if monies paid to government by an individual were “free will” we’d call them donations. The difference between a tax and a donation is same as the difference between rape and making love.

The solution to this problem? I’m not making this up, I’m borrowing it from six-thousand year-old Greek people. Liturgy, even 5,000 years after the Greeks invented it, remains the smartest way to pay for public projects. Donations and scholarships citing the name of the giver are examples of what the ancient Greeks called liturgy.

Here’s how it works in real life: Hillary and I spend less than $200 anonymously in total property tax. If and only if, a scholarship program were to replace a decent portion of property taxes for local K-12 school students, Hill and I would likely chip in much more than that between the two School Districts in Sanborn County. Why, because newspaper profits depend on both schools equally. People who get the most good out of a school are morally obligated to pay for it, not necessarily a landlord.

When a student receives a scholarship, they receive with it a vested interest to make something of themselves not from the public in general, but from specific individuals providing the scholarship. History shows the latter achieves better results.

History also proves that the same people who scream about taxes become the first to donate the most in a liturgy system. It isn’t the question of the loss of money that’s at issue; it’s the principle of a system which allows voters to help themselves to it which gets folks fired up.

Liturgies also solve the issue of when to close or build a school. If individual donors want to provide adequate funds out of their own pocket to build a school for a dozen students or even just one student, then so be it. Taxes destroy the spirit of liturgy, and I can site dozens of examples were liturgies bring in four times the money if they replace taxes.

Now, where was I going by talking about all the farmers who get forced into excessive land costs due to the pheasant industry? This same problem arises whenever agriculture is forced to compete against any commercial or residential interests for land. That is why zoning Ag land at a lower rate than supermarket land makes sense to a lot of people.

There is nothing agricultural whatsoever about planting trees down the middle of what once was a perfectly productive wheat field. There is nothing agricultural whatsoever about CRP. These examples are NOT a gray area! Point blank, trees and CRP deter, not enhance raising food, so how can they get zoned agricultural? It’s bad enough when local people get away without paying commercial property tax rates when destroying land that could raise food. It’s even worse when fat cats from out-of-state pull off this shenanigan.

How is it possible that a pheasant hunter from Chicago can buy productive farmland in SD, utterly destroy it by planting it to trees and CRP, bring in his corporate buddies to enjoy it, and still pay agricultural tax rates?

If these guys don’t pay commercial property tax rates, then why do the folks on Main Street? Maybe everyone should pay Ag rates including homeowners?

How is it possible we can charge out-of-state hunters more for licenses, but we can’t whack them more for taxes on land? If SD law doesn’t allow citizenship to differentiate on tax rates, then perhaps the Game, Fish, and Pricks should charge everyone the same for licenses. What’s the difference?

Is replacing property taxes with scholarships a great idea? Yes.

Will it happen? Maybe in another 5,000 years at soonest.

How long will we continue granting low Ag property tax rates to politically-connected commercial interests? Forever.

Send hate mail to bryanl@santel.net

How does a Libertarian society grow?
A book by Michael Cloud called THE SECRETS OF LIBERTARIAN PERSUASION probably is very good reading:

http://www.theadvocates.org/secrets.html

http://www.theadvocates.org/secrets-review.html

I'm sure we could learn a lot by reading that book!

My idea or question today is this:

How can we grow libertarian reality in South Dakota today? Or libertarian projects, libertarian ideas.

Basically, the government of South Dakota (both State and County and City levels) is similar to a very expensive, well-guarded jet.

The two main parties spend MILLIONS of dollars trying to get into the cockpit and pilot the plane.

The book referred to above suggests that we can persuade people to vote Libertarian.

Of course, this is possible. But is libertarianism strictly about persuading people and winning elections? IS IT BIGGER THAN THAT?

And I will add:

IS IT MORE FUN THAN THAT?

Does the Republican Party today have any resemblance to the Republican Party of the early 1860's, when Abraham Lincoln was President?

Does the Democratic Party today have any resemblance to the Democratic-Republican Party of 1805, when Jefferson was President, and all internal taxes in the US had been abolished?

The answer: No to both questions.

So when a person goes into a voting booth and votes for one of the 2 big parties, they are not voting for
Lincoln or Jefferson. They are voting according to their images or impressions of the candidate that is running.

As Libertarians, we might say to people that we want to have a government more like Jefferson's or Washington's--a lot less taxes, no entangling foreign alliances. And a few people will be persuaded by the solidness of our ideas.

But isn't the election system a very expensive, high-stakes game that is played, and the winner often takes all, and then raises taxes, and passes more laws, and jails more people?

Is there an easier way?

(That's a BIG question!)

Are there some really intelligent, so simple its hidden in plain sight ways that can really BOOST and INCREASE Libertarian results in South Dakota (and across the USA)?

I think there might be!

While Michael Cloud's book stringly recommends that Libertarians should use stories to persuade people (just like Jesus and Buddah did), I would like to look at another paradigm.

Persuasion versus being an example.

Some people might vote or buy a product or donate money because they were persuaded by someone (or else they were too polite to say no).

Others might say--hey, I want to be like him or her.

Some people thus might actually be BETTER persuaded by example, rather than by talking and listening.

Aren't there some inspiring examples you can think of?

There was a blind man who actually hiked ALL THE WAY UP Mount Everest! (He always had someone right in front of him, plus he was an experienced climber before he lost his sight).

Also, a woman who actually swam in Antarctica! These waters were 33 degrees! She swam almost a mile in those terribly cold waters!

Thomas Edison, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, Jennifer Lopez, the list goes on and on!

What examples could we create here in South Dakota?

Here are some big ideas:

What about a Libertarian Project that creates 8,000 jobs? (More than would be lost if Ellsworth Air Force Base closes)

What about a joint project that involves ND-SD-Manitoba-Saskatchewan and might discover some scientific breakthroughs and create many jobs?

How about creating 67 Libertarian nonprofit Think
Tanks, one in each county, and create jobs and whole new industries that way?

Are we going to pretent any longer than there are no people like Bill Gates, Thomas Edison or Anita Roddick (Body Shop) in South Dakota? Or that innovation happens everywhere else, but not in South Dakota?

We can be inspired by persuasion, by example or by being so excited by a growing project(s) that will benefit many people and are run by libertarian ideas and principles.

We know that many political decisions in the past have led to too many laws, too many people in prison, too few great jobs created.

We can either look for scapegoats (the economy, this party, that party, the Federal Government, State Government, this group, this elected official...)
or look for growing solutions, answers!

I am suggesting that South Dakota home grown solutions can get us out of the "BLAME" mind set and into the "GRATEFUL, BLESSING" mindset.

Which mindset do you choose?

Alex Martin

Communism and Fascism by Bryan Lutter
Thank you Myrna Knigge for your comments last week, I always enjoy reading what the other side thinks. It's unfortunate nobody else stepped up with the courage to pen the opposing viewpoint I trolled for the week before.

I’m afraid it’s obvious that despite spending high school English classes learning compassion instead of writing, I am good at neither. My only hope is that China and third world countries stop achieving brilliant success in education despite shoestring budgets. If we are lucky they will forget that knowledge matters and focus on compassion. That way they will be nice to us as we slave for their companies within a decade.

I’m flattered Myrna that you took me seriously, as I didn’t figure anyone did. It was nice of you to mention my knowledge of fascism and communism. However, I dug out my report cards and it turns out I received a D in every civics class I ever took.

Due to my low IQ and apparently non-existent EQ (Emotional Quotient), I gave up on making the test I promised. Instead I’ll simply cut and paste some quotes which say it all.


Here are some quotes from famous socialists/communists:

“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” - Karl Marx (Inventor of communism)

“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.”
Karl Marx
The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.
Karl Marx
The way to crush the (Rich) is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 1st dictator of USSR
The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.
Joseph Stalin 2nd dictator of USSR
“There is only one way to kill capitalism – by taxes, taxes, and more taxes.” – Karl Marx

”We are going to tax and tax, and spend and spend” –Franklin Delano Roosevelt

”We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans ...” – Bill Clinton (USA TODAY, 11 March 1993, page 2A)

“We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." (Hillary Clinton, 1993)

“We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." -- Hillary Clinton, 2005.

Generally the folks above believed the average person not capable of taking care of themselves, and that the role of government is to redistribute wealth away from the rich.

Here are quotes from famous fascists:

"The truth is that men are tired of liberty."
Benito Mussolini

"We have buried the putrid corpse of liberty." ~ Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

"It is thus necessary that the individual should come to realize that his own ego is of no importance in comparison with the existence of his nation; .... we understand only the individual's capacity to make sacrifices for the community, for his fellow man." (Adolph Hitler, 1933)

The fascists above agree with communists in that the nation should win in its struggle against the individual, but they disagree with communists on matters of ownership. Fascists allow private ownership, but believe any production and profits from that ownership belong to the government.

Below are famous liberty quotes:

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! …. give me liberty or give me death!” - Patrick Henry

"The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." – Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." – Thomas Jefferson

“The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights, cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”
Ayn Rand

"If we restrict liberty to attain security we will lose them both." Benjamin Franklin

“Liberty is not collective, it is personal. All liberty is individual liberty.” CALVIN COOLIDGE (1873-1933), U. S. President, Speech, 1924.

The folks above believe the individual should win its eternal battle against the state.

I possess excellent stories of widespread Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus and Stripe Rust in SD wheat fields. I even personally discovered a brand new strain of BYD in wheat. (Yay!!)

The Problem with writing about this is simple. I drive 100,000 miles a year looking at crops and am widely considered the foremost knowledgeable person on western row crop production. I write my stories on Saturday to unwind. The last thing I want to think about is crops, let alone write about them.

In the past I used to find other ways to unwind, and trust me, a tornado did less damage. We can argue all day long about what is best for society, but there’s no question that me plunking away in front of a computer is the least destructive thing I’ve ever done. Be glad I write these stories. Be very glad.

This Idea Has Worked Well in England!
Shadow government? An idea for the United States and for South Dakota


Originally published at http://libertys-outpost.blogspot.com/ on 9 JUN 2005.

For decades, if not centuries, Britain's parliamentary government has featured an unusual idea - that the opposition party in government should form a "shadow government" featuring "shadow ministers" and even shadow ministerial staffs. This allows the opposition to do several things, including assign responsibility for dealing with issues, prepare for an eventual accession to power, and provide a ready source of commentary to the press and elsewhere on specific issues and fields of concern. The closest thing the US has had to this concept has been the minority leaders and their subordinates (whips, etc.) in the various legislative houses. But since ministries (in the UK) are executive branch departments in the US, there had seldom been anything similar. The closest is the Democrat or GOP spokesman chosen to rebut the now traditional Saturday broadcast by the sitting president.

Of course, since there is much to argue for the fact that, philosophical differences apart, there is little if anything in actual RESULTS to distinguish between the two predominant, and old, parties, in the US, such a shadow administration is, at best, a token.

However, for the Libertarian Party, well outside the informal cartel of government power in DC and all fifty state capitols, the idea of a shadow government offers some potential, indeed.

Modern American government is huge. Even if a single Libertarian party member were able to respond as would be desirable to every pronouncement by a state cabinet member or department head, there is not enough time in the day (especially for volunteers). The same thing can be said of key legislative committee chairs, again at both the state and federal level. However, the appointment (or even, within the party, election) of shadow "secretaries" and shadow "chairs" of key departments and committees would allow for specialization AND time to respond in a given area of interest, as well as a certain legitimacy: "Today, Libertarian shadow Secretary of Defense John Smith condemned Secretary Rumsfeld's call for 50,000 more troops in Iraq" has a better ring than "Libertarian activist and spokesman John Smith condemned..." This will also encourage specialization and additional thought about specific political and governmental problems, which apply both to political/election efforts and to non-political libertarian efforts. For example, a series of web or telephone conferences between the fifty state shadow Attorneys General about how to respond to new mandates on Drivers Licenses would produce some very valuable ideas and information, as well as contacts and possibly, media attention. It would encourage cooperation in various efforts, including ballot initiatives, voter registration drives, and nonpolitical activities such as monetary alternatives and personal defense initiatives.

In addition, by appointing such shadow cabinet/chair positions several years in advance of elections, the opportunities for public speaking and attention in the media would increase. If shadow appointments to all legislative seats were done two years in advance, it would be a way of determining candidates for the elected office well in advance, AND give some more credence to their campaign. Jana Jones, appointed in 2006 as the Libertarian Party shadow County Commission Chair, who has been writing letters to the editor, commentaries, and making press releases for almost a year and a half prior to formally announcing she will run AGAINST the current Democratic Chair, has some visibility (and knowledge) that would otherwise not be there.

As liberty continues to be eroded away at the same rate as soil washing away from a freshly plowed field in Iowa during a cloud-burst, the existence of shadow government officials at all levels may be a valuable survival tool which will keep the present precarious state of affairs from being replaced by some kind of outright dictatorship (military or otherwise). This is really NOT a new idea: the pre-Revolutionary Committees of Correspondence in the Thirteen Colonies were very much shadow governments, and the Continental Congress, itself much a product of those committees, was an illegal or at least extra-governmental organization in the eyes of the Crown and the Crown's governments in the Colonies.

This is not offered as a panacea or as anything but yet another tool to use in the cause of liberty; one which will serve both political and non-political efforts.

If you are interested in this concept and wish to explore it, please (1) share this with other libertarians, (2) respond to this web-site with your ideas, comments, and encouragement, and (3) begin forming your own LOCAL shadow government. Start with your town, housing association, school board, or county.

Democracy Vs, Representative Republic by Bryan Lutter
Democracy Vs. Representative Republic


By Bryan Lutter

Nearly two million innocent black South Africans are dead because of Hollywood liberals. The infant mortality rate amongst rural blacks prior to the US government imposed South African Democracy was 40 percent. That is atrocious, but not as atrocious as today’s 63%.

Here we are at the ten-year anniversary of the fall of Apartheid. The folks in Hollywood rejoiced their role in convincing our people to impose economic sanctions on South Africa, thus creating excess misery in a land 10,000 miles away.

Before democracy, the South African black population boasted the highest per-capita income on the entire African continent. Despite crippling economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the U.N., South African blacks enjoyed the highest literacy rate on the continent. Nearly all blacks had jobs, and supported themselves. Granted their living standard sucked by western standards do to the sanctions heralded by such economic Einstein’s as Susan Sarandon. Sanctions seldom destroy the rich, mainly the poor.

South Africa now owns the continent’s largest welfare state and labor union movement. As a direct result the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 43%. Starvation is out of control despite rich natural and agricultural resources.

Tax rates imposed by majority rule broke the business people. Nelson Mandela lost his temper at factory owners and skilled workers who moved to a friendlier business climate. Evidently even a half starved dog runs away when kicked enough at home.

I talked to a friend who remains a citizen of South Africa. He told me his son took an entrance exam for medical school and scored in the top 90%, but was told they couldn’t take more students of his skin color. If his skin color were that of the majority, his score would only have to be in the top 65% to enter, so much for majority rule making sense.

He told me, “My cousin is a South African who teaches college engineering classes. He was told he could not apply for an open position at a local University, because of his minority skin color.” This open teaching position had no other applicants and remained open when he left that rotten democracy to come to America where he now teaches engineering courses at a University in Colorado.

“The poorest people in my country had it better under Apartheid. Democracy leads to mass starvation. If this is what democracy is about then I want nothing to do with it.” Remains the quote he gave me that I found most moving.

Today 50% of the population lives below the poverty level. Ten years of democracy in South Africa shaved ten years off the average life expectancy. Let’s do the math; you have a country of 43 million people. They live 10 years less because of a socialist system. That’s a loss of 430 million life years. Divide that by 55, the old life expectancy, and you have 781,818 killed lifetimes. Now take the new infant mortality rate, subtract from it the pre-democracy one, and multiply it times the current population of 43 million. That’s another 989,000 lifetimes gone, for a total of 1,770,818 destroyed lifetimes, almost all of which belonging to poor black folks. The remaining people get to vote, is the trade worth it?

I wonder if U2’s Bono and all the Hollywood liberals who work the citizens of this country into a frantic tizzy over social justice in Africa realize they are directly responsible for the death of over 1.7 million impoverished black people.

When one of these murderers comes on my television to accept some humanity award I want to scream at them. The real heroes in this world create jobs and raise the market for labor. You know these people, they’re the ones the media points to like criminals and demonized by Hollywood.

The Easy Way
I like some of the dictionary definitions of "easy". I think it shows us the way:

1. Capable of being accomplished or acquired with ease; posing no difficulty: an easy victory; an easy problem.
2. Requiring or exhibiting little effort or endeavor; undemanding:
3. Free from worry, anxiety, trouble, or pain: My mind was easy, knowing that I had done my best.
1. Affording comfort or relief; soothing: soft light that was easy on the eyes.
2. Prosperous; well-off: easy living; easy circumstances.

Isn't that neat?

Easy means prosperous, relaxed, accomplishing something with ease...

This should be our way of thinking.

Any cool idea, goal, or project.

Easy...is the way to do it.

Alex Martin

Dell and the Swiss Model
For your pleasure, I will give you the links to 2 very interesting articles on the Dell Computer Company and the Swiss model of democracy:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.07/dell.html

http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/swiss-canton-system.html

I was also reading that the most successful Libertarian movement in the world is in Costa Rica. They started a Party there in 1994. It currently has about 10% of their National Assembly. This is after about 10 years.

Let's look at Dell's model for success:

"Dell's combination of direct-to-consumer sales and just-in-time manufacturing means practically no inventory - and unparalleled success in matching product offerings to consumer demand."

The appearance is that this might have no relevance to politics---after all, Democrats and Republicans have been winning most elections for a long time.

Let's look at the concepts, though.

Direct to consumer sales + just in time manufacturing = success (sales)

How would this translate to the Libertarian Party or to politics?

(You see I am not afraid to ask big questions!)

Direct to the consumer means that Dell basically cuts out middlemen, meaning retail stores. I think half of Dell's sales are on the internet, probably the opther half are phone calls coming in from newspaper, magazine and TV ads.

Just in time manufacturing means that Dell has such a good relationship with suppliers, so they reduce their inventory to a very small amount, and their suppliers deliver the parts at the last minute.

Sales means that Dell, the corporation, has a lot of product being shipped out 6-7 days a week, and very little inventory clogging their warehouses.

How on earth would this relate to a political party, such as ours, that believes that less government would promote freedom and prosperity the most?

Remember, Michael Dell started out in Austin, Texas as a 19 year old making computers in his dorm room in 1983. He incorporated in 1984, so Dell has been here for about 20 years. The Libertarian Party has been here for slightly over 30 years.

Let's look at the right side of the equation. Sales for most political parties has meant winning elections either with a majority or plurality of votes. By that standard, if we in the USA are to be as successful as the Costa Rican Libertarian/Classical Liberal Party, we would have to zoom from maybe about 1% of the vote up to 10% of the seats in the South Dakota legislature. That would be 11 seats in the House and/or Senate. When that happens, would Libertarian bills get passed and could we override a non-Libertarian Governor's veto?

So maybe, for the Libertarian Party, this equation might have to modified. We could change "elections" to "increase election wins and libertarian lifestyle ". "Lifestyle" would signify that at most, there is one day each year where Libertarians can get elected for school board, city offices or state or Federal offices. The other 364 days are "non-election" days.

Having a Party that only thinks that elections are important is the same as having a store that is open only one day a year!

What happens to kids age 10 to 17 with Dell? Are they able to buy computers? Yes! Some of them save their money, have checking accounts, they might give their cash to mom or dad, and a check is written and Dell delivers the computers to them!

Are elections set up this way?

No!

You're 17 on election day, sorry, you can't vote.

The electorate, of course, is a numerically smaller group of people, than those who can buy computers.

"Lifestyle" means that Libertarians understand that elections are important and also there are many other social activities that are important, too, that people of all ages can relate to.

Let's look at the left side of the equation.

Direct to consumer sales. What would be the Libertarian equivalent?

Let's see how it works.

Someone wants a computer. (It works this way with virtually any computer company. I am not endorsing Dell. I do not own a Dell computer. They are perhaps the best example of the direct sales model in the world. We can learn from their example. Gosh, what if a bunch of libertarians got together and sold computers?)

They go onto a website.

They configure their system and pay for it with a credit card. A day or so later, the system is shipped from the factory to the customer.

Now, the question we can ask is, are we making it easy for anyone (18 or older or kids interested in libertarian ideas) to do business with us?

Again, we have to look past the "we can vote in November if we are 18" model that is currently our American political system.

Dell is ultra accessible. Anyone with a valid credit card who lives in a country where computers can be exported from the USA to them, hey they can get a computer?

In our Party, whether we are talking about Ayn Rand, Harry Browne, Lysander Spooner, Jefferson, or any other libertarian thinker, we have to decide what our "product" is.

One product can be "winning elections in November."

But we need to have other products.

How do people interact?

We eat, drink, dance, drive cars and trucks, read books, go walking, hiking...there are thousands of activities that we do every day.

Each of these social interactions involves choices.
Choices that involve liberty or restrictions known as laws.

What would be some examples of Libertarian "products"? (Remember, I am trying to hook this up to the Dell business model!)

Businesses, nonprofits, think tanks, Libertarian-established and operated parks, libraries, art galleries, music halls, opera houses,
basically anything that we see out in the "real world", there can be a libertarian version of it.

So for direct to consumer sales, maybe we could put in our equation this idea: easy access

In other words, our Party and like-minded Libertarian businesses, nonprofits and organizations would be ultra-easy to access, so people could try things out and say: "Hey, this is so much better than what I was used to!"

The last part of the equation is: just-in-time manufacturing.

Dell does not leave a huge inventory sitting around, which ties up money, warehouse space and labor. In other words, they are efficient.

What do we, as Libertarians, warehouse? Ideas, projects, ballot questions, attempts to persuade voters, legislators, Congressmen adn Congresswomen?

We have to ask ourselves a bigger question.

What are we making? Are we getting what we are making quickly enough, so people can marvel at what we are doing? Or are we just rolling out product one day in November every 2 years?

Granted, most people would rather go out an buy pizza, videos and coffee than have to change their thinking.

What exactly are we trying to make?

Here we run into the paradox of being a libertarian.
I think this applies equally whether a person is a left-libertarian, center-libertarian, or a conservative-libertarian.

Here's the paradox:

We are trying to get what is big (in employees and dollars, basically, state, local and Federal government), and make it smaller, more efficient and smarter.

Wow!

It's an unlikely (but real) combination of intelligence, losing weight (or size) and focus (laws and institutions that don't work).

Here's my idea on the just-in-time manufacturing part of the equation.

Would anyone buy a computer with 30 year old parts? 1973 parts?

No.

If computers have changed a lot since the 1970's, don't ideas change, too?

Granted, the basic principles of liberty and less government, those ideas are still the same.

But ideas are expressed uniquely by us, and we constantly receive new ideas that hopefully will illustrate and bring to life our basic ideas.

So just-in-time manufacturing might mean (to us) a faster way of getting our newer ideas out (ideas which support and grow from our basic principles) to the public, so they can "buy" or "agree" with them.

With our paradox, I think a lot of people wouldn't mind becoming smarter and more efficient, but some people would object to having "less" money or goodies from the government.

That is why, as Party, I think we will be judged by voters and nonvoters alike, on what we produce or create.

Political Parties create or produce ideas and people willing to stand by those ideas. The electorate decides which ideas they are comfortable with.

Like Dell, are we willing to shorten the pipeline, and get things out to the public, consumers, voters, people in an easy and quick way, and somehow prove to them that we walk our talk by giving them solid (non-electoral) examples of what we have done that is cool and great?

(Our "suppliers" are libertarians of the past and present, our inventory is ideas that we attempt to create in South Dakota!)

SO for just-in-time manfacturing, maybe we could put this into the equation:

quick and easy access

So what is our re-constituted equation?

easy access + quick and easy access = election and lifestyle wins

Can we simplify this even further?

ultra easy access = optimal winning (ever day in elections and lifestyle).

Gosh, I hope I haven't rambled! I probably have not done justice to the Dell business model.

The article on Swiss Democracy? One writer calls it an experiment. It also consists of three levels:
communes (maybe like precincts)
cantons (almost like states)
Confederation (the Federal government)

Also, the article says that Switzerland is highly decentralized.

Could this be a model for us, on the level of the Canton of South Dakota, and the communes-precincts of our state, too?

I think the article says that there are 3,000 communes per canton in Switzerland. We had 827 precnincts in the 2004 election--to get our State/Canton up to Swiss style, we have to almost quadruple that to 3,000 or so!

Of course, this could be quite difficult to do without a majority of the legislature and a concurring Governor. However...

While State Law allows one Prencinct Commiteeman and one precinct Committeewoman per precinct (aha, we 're up to about 1650 people now!), then perhaps each County oprganization could elect 2 more people per precinct, and call them Deputy Precinct Committeemen/Commiteewoman. Four per precinct, thus over 3,000 elected Libertarians. Maybe that would be a lot simpler than trying to figure out where 3,000 precincts/communes would be set up.

We can learn a lot from the Swiss experiment.

My next post will be shorter. I promise!

Alex Martin

29 cent solution
A Martian came down to earth and said to three people:

"All I need is 29 cents, and I can solve all your problems!"

The first guy said: "Are you crazy? I'm outta here!"

The lady said: "I'm glad you're peaceful, but you're wrong!" and she left.

The last guy left with the Martian was a guy who read only comic books.

"Sure, I'll try that. How long will it take?"

The Martian smiled and said: "Do you know how much 29 cents is worth on our planet? Quite a lot! Almost like 29 of your billion dollars!"

The comic book reading guy took a quarter and 4 pennies out of his pocket and gave it to the Martian.

"Here's the money," he said. "How long before all our problems are solved?"

The Martian smiled and said: "I already solved them for myself! My ship is picking me up in 45 seconds."

The comic book reader said frantically: "But you promised you would solve all of our problems!"

The Martian smiled and said: "But I did! You just have to think of solutions. Don't think of problems. Solutions only. Thanks for the fortune!"

And the Martian flew back to his planet.

The first man that left went back to his job as an Accountant. The lady went back to being a Real Estate Broker.

But the comic book reader wetn back to his piggy bank, grabbed 58 cents, and said:

"I'm twice as rich as that Martian!"

And he was.

He went out and created solutions, made a lot of money, and better still, taught many thousands of people to think about solutions ALL DAY LONG...

The Beginning

Alex Martin

The Easiest Way--Dreaming Bigger!
Maybe the hardest thing to do is to have a small vision, and then struggle like crazy to bring it into reality, and then find out that only a minority of people who want that vision to happen. Majority rules, you lose!

Maybe the easiest thing in the world is to have a HUGE VISION, and the belief that there are MANY WAYS for this vision to happen, including elections. Yes, last year, there was the November 2nd way, but there was also the December 31st way, and the August 2nd way, and so on!

Politics doesn't trust 10 or 15 year olds to think, because they aren't 18 and they aren't registered to vote! Politics tells them to wait until they are old enough!

What would happen if Libertarians listened to the wild, great and cool ideas that are constantly being produced by young kids (and some us young kids who were born in the 50's!), and said: "Hey, we're gutsy, let's do 2 or 3 of these ideas!"

And the Libertarian Party and some loosely non-affiliated Libertarian folks went out into the wilderness of South Dakota, and they made the desert bloom!

Lysander Spooner wrote and published a book in 1879 about abolishing poverty!

Isn't that visionary? Can we do this?

New Jersey Libertarians are going to run 60 candidates (out of 80 seats) for State Legislature next year!

In Hawaii, it takes just 25 valid signatures to be on the ballot for a Statewide race!

If the Libertarian Party, even with wisdom and principles, is as serious as the 2 Big Parties, and thinks on the same level as they do, problems won;t get solved! Wasn't it Einstein who said that a higher level of thinking was required to solve problems?

What can we do to elevate or thinking?

Maybe think like a bunch of excited 10 year olds on a perpetual summer vacation, where everything seems possible!

If everything seems possible, its only because our thinking makes it so!

Faster than elections?
Given that the Libertarian Party is a political party, what else can Libertarian ideas do outside of elections? There are no elections in 2005, except for a few school board and city elections.

Let's look at the wisdom of a Merriam-Webster dictionary:

1 : an advocate of the doctrine of free will
2 a : a person who upholds the principles of absolute and unrestricted liberty especially of thought and action b capitalized : a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles

Aha! So there is something we can do in 2005.

So free will and liberty DO exist before and after elections, right?

I am not saying a political party should ignore politics. But there is some wisdom in doing that!

Does a party exist just for campaigns, for winning or losing races? What about building? What about building, presenting and DOING the BIGGEST VISION that has ever been proposed in South Dakota? And DOING the VISION, regardless of whether the Libertarian Party loses every election, or wins
a few races?

Wow! Pretty radical, right?

Aren't there a lot of things DONE outside of elections?

Did Korczak have to vote to get his great Crazy Horse Memorial project started?

Did Ted Waitt count ballots when he set up the Gateway factory in North Sioux City, and make Gateway into a huge global computer company?

Did Ted and Dorothy Hustead wait until the votes were counted before they changed Wall Drug into the entertaining and lively place that it is now?

There is DOING things and there is doing politics.
Quite different.

If the Libertarian Party in our state was to lose 99% of the races in the next 100 years, what would be the legacy that we leave? That we got a few people into city and legislative seats, and the effect was small and salutary?

Or are we aiming for something better?

Last time I checked, I saw that South Dakota was still in the United States.

And anytime you are in the US, anything great is possible!

Alex Martin

Zero Elections
What if Libertarians decided to go for the Zero?

Zero elections, that is.

Maybe fueled by some of Lysander Spooner's brilliant observations, and also by great compassion for all of humanity who lives under governments that talk democracy but smoke something else?

Here's how it works:

Spooner groups can spring up all over the country, as nonprofit associations, creating great projects and jobs in the sciences, horticulture, charities, think tanks, publishing books, virtually anything great and positive can be done when people do it via a nonprofit association (except for banking or insurance).

Instead of attempted change every 2 years at the ballot box, the Spooner Associations would be creating and living daily change. Edisons, Wright Brothers, Harriet Tubmans would be creating cool new things and helping humanity greatly.

Would these Spooner associations change elections?

No.

Would they change lives?

Yes.

I think the libertarian philosophy is about creating as many peaceful opportunities for change and growth as possible. By the people and for the people themselves.

What would be the Ultimate in this 21st century Zero Philosophy?

Tens of thousands of nonprofit Spooner Associations and Spooner Nonprofits across the USA, tens of thousands of jobs created, incredible new things created for humanity, along the level of the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, something huge and lasting.

When elections are lost, and candidates come in 2nd, 3rd or 4th, what are we left with?

Yes, a Libertarian Party that gets up out of the dust and keeps going.

I am suggesting that what Will Smith said in Independence Day would be VERY TRUE for the Spooner Associations:

"Keeps on ticking!"

Alex Martin

Einstein and Edison Weren't Elected
When does victory begin?

Many libertarians believe it is only when a Libertarian wins an election or when a bad law gets defeated or a new tax gets defeated.

In other words, every 2 years, only at election time or when the legislature meets.

Einstein and Edison did A LOT without being elected.

We can do the same.

How often can victory happen? How great can we feel when we experience victory often?

This depends entirely on how you think.

Victory can happen many hundreds or thousands or millions of times a day.

We can be happy and accomplish much.

Victory begins now.

Tragedy -- How many more?

I sang at the funeral of a sister in the church today, an old and wise lady, full of years (she died at 81), who had suffered from many illnesses in the last five years, but died surrounded by the love of her family and friends, at home, knowing she was going Home and confident of her fate. She?d had to take medicines, many treatments, and yes, she?d been on oxygen, had to eat special food, and had to be cared for, in many ways.



Death is something that comes to all of us. Every day this column is filled with reports of people dying, or being killed. Sometimes it is a person in the middle of committing violent aggression against someone, and while it is sad that a person has to die, it is far better that the aggressor be killed than their intended victim, whether it is a jewel thief attacking a courier, a drunk invading a home, a bunch of ?freedom-fighter? thugs shooting up passer-bys on an Iraqi street, or some kind of govgoon. But it is still not good, not the preferred way to deal with violence and aggression, and we must recognize that is the case.



On the other hand, all too often, the death is CAUSED by the aggressor. Often, that is a outlaw or criminal: a mugger or thief or berzerker (like the young Chippewa man earlier this week). Sometimes, there are multiple aggressors involved: a ?big? thug (whether you call them king, baron, dictator, president, premier, or whatever, right on down to mayor or board chairman or block warden) who tells (or ?suggests? [?Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest??]) lesser goons to go out and do thus-and-so: haul them into jail, throw them across the border, beat them up, pour castor oil down their throat, or simply kill them. And there are so many ways to kill people, and it seems as though the goons (state type or private type agressors) delight in thinking up new ones, even after we, the people, tell them that they can?t use some methods. So they knife, and shoot, and burn, and drown, and beat their victims to death with clubs or chains or rocks or just with their fists. We report some of those, too, although nothing like really happens each day. We grow tired of the ?bad news? of so many people dying. It?s human nature.



Someone once said, ?One death is a tragedy, a thousand are statistics.? Any day, I expect to report one more death ? and it will be a tragedy. And while this tragedy only has one victim (at least directly), the death is being caused by dozens of people, directly and indirectly. And it is a nasty sort of death: from a combination of starvation and dehydration, to a person who cannot physically feed herself. It isn?t ?allowing her to die? ? it is killing her in a premeditated and intentionally painful way, and it is being done by her ?husband? with the active agreement and concurrence of several dozen men in black ? the judges that rule this land with an iron hand, who worship ?Law? (as they define it) and forget that law was made for men, who worship order and precedent and procedure, who are quick to punish those who offend them while allowing obvious injustice and evil to escape without penalty. They made the ?wicked judge? of Jesus? parable look like a merciful and compassionate man; they make the Pharisees appear as moderate and flexible. And they are killing this woman on purpose, despite many reasons not to, and as part of deliberate conspiracy to force the people of this country to bow to their will ? and their whims.



She is only one woman ? dozens like her die everyday, whether on the highways in accidents, in dirty urban alleys from muggings, in drug prisons, or just because they get sick and die. But she may very well be the cause of ?Terri?s Revolution? in which the 40% or so of Americans, who think that government should exist to protect life and not to take it, finally rise up and say enough is enough. Yes, a revolution ? although it is possible to have revolutions without bloodshed ? and maybe this can be one of them. A revolution against reigning judges, from the level of a local traffic court to the Supremes themselves, and against those who enable their monarchial rule: lawyers and legal types and, yes, legislators. This nation is nearing that point ? and we must ask, if not now, when? If we cannot prevent her death, can we, by action, at least HONOR her death?



How many more must die because of imperial judges who let loose people like the killer of Jessica on the public, who allow government thugs to go out and steal and endanger and kill, who allow a husband to kill his sick wife under the guise of law, who take away our freedoms to speak, to pray, to worship (or to not worship), and all the other thousand crimes (moral, not legal) which our ?judicial? system has inflicted upon Americans and the world? Would my sister not be allowed to live once her illness has been diagnosed as ?terminal? in a world ruled by these demons in human form ? would we have been singing at her funeral five years ago, instead of today? Would she have died confined to a hospice bed after someone pulled the tubes that let her eat and drink out?



The powder barrel has been opened and the bung thrown away, the fuse is laid, the powder train is ready , and the match is close to hand. Will Terri be the encouragement for several thousand people to pick up that match and strike it? Or is it too late?



Nathan Barton



You may republish this, but only in its entirety, with or without the author's name. (C) 2005 Information Inc.

Three Clues
1. From the FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX movie with Dennis Quaid:

FLY ABOVE THE DESERT

2. From Perry Marshall's analysis of the Wright Brothers:

WORK ON THE WINGS, THE DESIGN OF THE PLANE

3. From Vernon Howard's great book PSYCHO-PICTOGRAPHY (Chapter 11)

"...We need do only whatever we can do at the present moment."

A higher level of thinking will allow us to fly easily above the desert.

The design is more important than the power of the engine.

One step at a time, every step is a success.

Alex Martin

The Flight of the Phoenix--2005
I won't give away the plot of the movie, but you should see THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX.

There are some very subtle libertarian principles in the movie.

I will just give away 2 parts of the plot.

They escape from the desert because they REDESIGN their plane, and make it SMALLER.

The plane crashed because it was carrying TOO MUCH WEIGHT.

This relates very well to what we see as Federal and State governments decide that bigger budgets are better.

As you watch this movie, pay attention to the part about the REDESIGN of the plane!

This relates closely to what we are doing as libertarians.

Yes, we favor a smaller state that governs best by doing least.

But how do we get there?

Watch the movie, and think things over!

Many people think our country, economy, political system and foreign military policy might be a desert.

How do we get out of the desert?

REDESIGN the plane! (See also my previous essay on Kitty Hawk)

The old idea that MORE MONEY is the answer to all problems is simply that, an old idea!

Before David faced Goliath, did he write up a business plan?

The new idea is:

REDESIGN THE PLANE!

This relates not only as to how governments will be in the near future (smaller, smarter, wiser, more compassionate, more aware of the limits of power) as well as how we can proceed now!

Scientists have said that the laws of physics can not explain why bumblebees can fly! According to the laws of physics, bumblebees shouldn't be flying!

This also explains to us why the current ideas of politics can be suspended--because we are thinking like the Wright Brothers, acting like bumblebees, and redesigning our planes!

What could this mean for us now in 2005?

It means that different thinking will lead to a different design not only of how we live our daily lives, but also how the South Dakota Libertarian Party works and helps create a new reality.

Maybe we need to look at ourselves as DESIGNERS, designers of a new reality, designers of the new ways that liberty and freedom will be delivered.

Yes, we see the political system where change appears to be slow, where freedoms don't seem to expand to where they should be.

But that is simply the design of the plane that crashed in the desert.

Our REDESIGN starts today, will be in many areas of our daily lives, will transform not only how the South Dakota Libertarian Party looks at things, but also will ultimately lead to huge changes as liberty expands in our state.

I hope I haven't spoiled the movie for you!

Our REDESIGN will result in LIBERTY flying on great tireless wings!

Maybe this is how the redesign works: we change our thoughts first, our daily lives next, the Libertarian Party next (if we feel the structure or activities of the Party need to change), and then as these changes occur, we will be surprised when we reach a QUANTUM CHANGE, and things change faster than we thought they would!

As Quantum Change Redesigners, we will be inventing, creating, testing and FLYING Liberty-minded ideas and projects that may seem absurd at first thought, but will ultra-positively WOW! us as they succeed, again and again!

Enjoy the movie!

Alex Martin