For my first post, I figure I’ll come in with a bang. I’ll start by going straight for the jugular of the concept of government, and point out why government- at least no contemporary, existing government- cannot possibly be construed as good, in any sense of the word. I aim to showcase and even use the supposed “logic” of government in order to make a refutation. From the Social Contract to the Hobbesian Theory of Human Nature to Utilitarian justifications, I will knock each one down and expose it for the veil of force and violence that it is. (more…)
This past weekend I went to the theater to see the newest Batman movie, The Dark Knight.The movie was pretty good, very dark but good.The Joker was played by the late Heath Ledger and I must say he did a great job of getting across the psychosis and madness of the character without going all campy.One metaphor I took from the movie is the fact that government could not solve the problems plaguing the city.It took a private entity, The Batman, to get the job done.
This blog post isn’t about the movie or my weekend but rather something I saw before the movie that I just had to comment on. Call me jaded or cynical but I am always looking for the hidden meaning/agenda behind advertisements and messages in general; it can be quite interesting once you get past the high gloss façade.Most of the time these messages are very obvious and other times, more sinister.
Here’s a comment left by an inhabitant of Keene about “code enforcer” Carl Patten Jr. on my original video post, followed by my comments:
I am a resident of Keene who (reluctantly) filed a complaint back in April with Keene Code Enforcement against a neighbor for having an unregistered truck on our property line, as well as running a business out of our quiet, residential zone…not to mention filling up our deeded right of ways with his unused camper and business equipment. My complaint was passed to Carl Patten who called me on the telephone and in a very condescending manner told me that our neighbors were within their rights to park as many trucks as they wanted and that he ‘didn’t see’ the engine block sitting in the driveway, or the pallet of bricks and stone that are strewn about the driveway…nor did he notice the unregistered truck in their yard. Next thing I learned, Carl is FRIENDS with this person who is clearly violating our deeded rights. Our Realtor was told by code enforcement last week that I called to have the file closed a few months ago(which I did not). So….now that I hear about your situation, I can clearly see that Mr. Patten brings favoritism into his work ethic…hmmm, perhaps he would allow you to put a couch in MY front yard and you and your tenants can do all the bird watching you would like because obviously, on my street, this stuff is allowed. We may be on different sides of the political track but we obviously have a similar gripe about how a city employee handles his job…Good luck to you…I am definitely staying tuned.
Tina, thank you for sharing your story. What you are seeing here is not an isolated incident but instead quite typical of government. Because government is funded through coercion, its agents can rule arbitrarily and capriciously, punish their enemies, and reward their friends. If you decide you’ve had it with them and refused to pay a portion of their “property tax bill”, they could try to take your house from you! No business in the voluntary society operates in this manner.
I’m not sure what “side of the political track” you’re on, but I assure you I’m not on either side. I believe politics just leads us into conflict over who should rule the other. It is an endless conflict as multiple interest groups struggle to wrest control of the violence of the state away from each other. (more…)
Liberty activists called WKBK’s Talkback this morning to discuss education, but could barely get a word in as Fred Parsells talked over top OTN’s Sam and I and then hung up on us. Talkback used to be a show where callers could have their questions heard and answered, but it seems our questions are too challenging or thought provoking, so we are now being marginalized. Perhaps we just need more callers. Can you help?
Please join us in calling the program with a pro-liberty viewpoint. Get details and discuss on this Free Keene forum thread.
An Olympic caliber haze has China looking to enact more drastic measures to clean up the cloud of pollution in Beijing’s skies. This article goes on to say, “Pollution has been a pressing concern for the Games, as local organizers have promised to hold a ‘Green Olympics,’ despite the air that often ranks among the most polluted in the world.”
I hope that the conditions remain as bad as they are to show the world the truth of everyday Beijing.
I am aware this has little to do with Keene but it speaks to a larger point about how this one current distraction being pawned off on the vapid TV viewing masses is so utterly absurd.
Don’t worry about the wars in the Mideast, we need to fix the planet first.
In a system where all power is supposedly based on the consent of the governed, where all men are created equally, what happens when one questions the legitimacy and the very nature of government? Watch this video and find out how government solves market needs in a very different way than private companies sseking a profit.
Liberty activists called WKBK’s Talkback this morning to discuss education, but could barely get a word in as Fred Parsells talked over top OTN’s Sam and I and then hung up on us. Talkback used to be a show where callers could have their questions heard and answered, but it seems our questions are too challenging or thought provoking, so we are now being marginalized. Perhaps we just need more callers. Can you help?
