Free Republic

Blue Helmets and an Unpleasant Truth Mark Penman There are still a lot of people who are sickened by the deterioration of our country, and a handful (who apparently retain some faith in their fellow man) are on the lookout for outside forces which can be targeted and brought down, specific enemies whose defeat would go very far in bringing America back to its founding principles of limited government and individual liberty. You know, conspiracy nuts. Didja ever see They Might Be Giants? It's a 1971 movie with George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward, and a cast of dozens. While not...

I ain't no Senator's Son As reported in the last issue of The Razor Wire, Senator Richard Shelby's son, Claude Shelby was apprehended at Atlanta's Hartfield airport with 13.8 grams of hashish in his possession. The Senator's son received a misdemeanor possession charge and ordered to pay a $500 administrative fine. The following is correspondence between Jerry Lundy, Sr. and his Senator, Richard Shelby. Jerry's son, Lonnie is a prisoner of the drug war, serving life without the possibility of parole. Jerry Lundy had written his senator to ask for a dialog on drug sentencing and the use of informants. ...

GUN-SHOW BILL IS NOT WHAT THEY SAY LOTS OF NEW MATERIAL UP AT: http://www.gunlaws.com/newstuff.htm Re: S. 890, The McCain-Lieberman Bill: "Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001." by Alan Korwin, Author Gun Laws of America Mass media publicity on the newly proposed gun-show bill is grossly inaccurate. The bill has almost nothing to do with what you've probably heard so far. The so-called "gun-show loophole" headlines are a minor detail and basically obscure what the bill really does. I've just finished studying the eight pages of legalese. Here is it what it calls for: 1. Unprecedented ...

The Drug War - A Noble Failure? by Jonathan Bird Since President Nixon launched his war on drugs in 1968, the battle to prohibit the use of narcotics and other illicit substances has met with little success. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 26.7 million Americans used an illicit drug last month. Despite extensive drug education programs, tough penalties for drug possession and distribution, and military interdiction, we are nowhere close to winning the war on drugs. Yet rather than searching for alternatives to prohibition, the response of each president since Nixon has been to ...

Abortion and Rights: Applying Libertarian Principles Correctly [ The Library ] [ Life, Rights, and Rock 'n' Roll ] [ Links ] [ Order Literature ] [ Contacting Us ] Abortion and Rights: Applying Libertarian Principles Correctly by Doris Gordon Libertarians for Life Copyright 1995, 1999 About This Article In arguing that abortion should not be legal, pro-lifers generally focus on proving that a human being's life begins at conception. This argument often fails to persuade, because it does not confront the right of the woman to control her own body. Many pro-lifers talk as if they have lost the rights argument — or worse that they can never win it — and they end up painting ...

The Federalist No. 10 The Federalist No. 10[1] JAMES MADISON November 22, 1787 To the People of the State of New York: AMONG the numerous advantages promised by a wellconstructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction. The friend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to this dangerous vice. He will not fail, therefore, to set a due value on any plan which, without violating the principles to which he is attached, provides a ...

Goebbels at Nuremberg -- 1934 by Joseph Goebbels It is difficult to define the concept of propaganda thoroughly and precisely. This is especially true since in past decades it was subject to unfavorable definitions, particularly as the enemy defined it with regards to us Germans. First, then, we must defend it. Those abroad sometimes claim that in the past we Germans were particularly good in this area, but that unfortunately is not consistent with the facts. We learned this all too clearly during the World War. While the enemy states produced unprecedented atrocity propaganda aimed at Germany throughout the whole ...

The Law by Frederick Bastiat Preface When a reviewer wishes to give special recognition to a book, he predicts that it will still be read "a hundred years from now." The Law, first published as a pamphlet in June, 1850, is already more than a hundred years old. And because its truths are eternal, it will still be read when another century has passed. Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, statesman, and author. He did most of his writing during the years just before - and immediately following -- the Revolution of February 1848. This was the period when ...

Principles of Tyranny by Jon Roland Definition of tyranny Tyranny is usually thought of as cruel and oppressive, and it often is, but the original definition of the term was rule by persons who lack legitimacy, whether they be malign or benevolent. Historically, benign tyrannies have tended to be insecure, and to try to maintain their power by becoming increasingly oppressive. Therefore, rule that initially seems benign is inherently dangerous, and the only security is to maintain legitimacy — an unbroken accountability to the people through the framework of a written constitution that provides for election of key officials ...

Thomas James Norton: Undermining the Constitution: Preface Preface The writing of this book was impelled (or compelled) by the very manifest indifference of the people of the United States to the constitutional doctrines of their country. This had been developing so rapidly that all ideas of constitutionalism seemed to have passed out of the American mind. That is, indefensible proposals and practices against the plainest limitations on power set in the Constitution provoked no objections even from the Bar. For two decades no great debate on a constitutional subject had been heard in either House of Congress. The National Education ...

In pursuit of public service A third of fed workers may retire by 2006 WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Connecticut businessman who worked briefly for the Justice Department during the Kennedy administration has donated $25 million to start a nonprofit organization to spur interest in government service. The Washington-based Partnership for Public Service will target students and mid-career workers and hopes to tap into the growing interest in community service. "The challenge is how can we convert this interest ... into a similar commitment to government service," Samuel J. Heyman said at a news conference. The announcement came as Sen. George ...

House Approves $32.8B Spending Bill AP Headlines By Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The House approved a $32.8 billion measure on Wednesday that finances the Treasury Department and other agencies and includes big increases for the Internal Revenue Service. The measure, approved by 339-85, needs only Senate approval before it can move to the White House for President Bush's expected signature. The bill, for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, would provide $2 billion more than last year and $400 million more than Bush requested. Many of this year's spending bills are receiving extra money under a budget deal Bush ...

Authorities: Added security has crimped flow of drugs into Detroit area Associated Press 11/2/01 DETROIT (AP) -- Tighter security at airports and border crossings since the Sept. 11 terror attacks has slowed the flow of illegal drugs into metropolitan Detroit, law enforcement authorities say. "Supply and demand," said Oakland County sheriff's Lt. Joseph Quisenberry, who heads the multi-jurisdictional Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team. "Demand is still there, but the supply is drying up. So costs go up." The shortage has boosted the cost of narcotics by 30 percent or more, although demand for drugs such as marijuana and cocaine remains ...

With the recent patriotism renewal, and heightened awareness of flat etiquette, I would like to remind my fellow freepers about the proper disposal of our national symbol.I recently attended a Boy Scouts fall camporee and we retired 14 Old Glories, and one thing that was brought up was that many do not know that there is a proper method of retiring our flag, and there are a few organizations that will perform the service for you.Obviously, the Boy Scouts will and so will the American Legion, the VFW, and I am sure there are others out there that be pleased ...

Marijuana Laws Hurt People and Help Drug Dealers! Families of the sick and dying, not big government, should decide whether compassionate medical use of marijuana for serious ailments under a doctors care is right for them. The Personal Responsibility Amendment Ballot Initiative Petition Drive is an attempt to bring balance and clarity to the "War on Drugs" in Michigan by focusing on drug education and treatment as the best way to prevent abuse, and by legalizing hemp farming and decriminalizing compassionate medical and adult private use of homegrown marijuana kept responsibly away from kids, cars, and the public. This will ...

On Monday night, 34-year-old Grover Crosslin was shot dead by an FBI agent on his Vandalia, Mich. property. Crosslin had been charged with growing marijuana, felony possession of a firearm and maintaining a drug house. He was also the owner of Rainbow Farm, a campground that had become the home of peaceful gatherings and fundraisers for marijuana decriminalization initiatives and hemp-related causes. By all accounts, he was a kind man, whom friends describe as having “a heart of gold.” So what caused an otherwise peaceful man to take matters into his own hands and find himself in a four-day ...

The Law's Victims In The War On Drugs It's a strange twist of justice in the land of freedom. A law designed to give cops the right to confiscate and keep the luxurious possessions of major drug dealers mostly ensnares the modest homes, cars and cash of ordinary, law-abiding people. They step off a plane or answer their front door and suddenly lose everything they've worked for. They are not arrested or tried for any crime. But there is punishment, and it's severe. This six-day series chronicles a frightening turn in the war on drugs. Ten months of research ...

I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the argument it contains against a particular Providence, though you allow a general Providence, you strike at the foundations of all religion. For, without the belief of a Providence that takes cognisance of, guards, and guides, and may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship a Deity, to fear his displeasure, or to pray for his protection. I will not enter into any discussion of your principles, though you seem to desire it. At present I shall only give you my opinion that, though your reasons are subtle, ...

Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson ... To believe your own thought to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men - that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost ... There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing ...

Gun Board approves about 220 weapons permits Friday, August 24, 2001 By Steven Hepker Staff Writer Thursday's action means Jackson County has issued more permits than any county since the new concealed-weapons law took effect July 1. The Jackson County Gun Board approved more concealed-weapons permits Thursday than it has in any previous year, and 200-plus more likely will be passed in September. The board approved about 220 permits in about 21Ú2 hours. "Jackson County is way ahead of the curve, and I'm really impressed with how they have handled the new law," said Ross Dykman, executive director of the ...