When someone does something wrong, punish everyone who hasn’t done it yet.
This is the new American legal doctrine – which seems to be based on the very old doctrine expressed by Papal Legate Arnaud Amalric, who led a crusader army in the year 1209 to exterminate heretic Cathars in northern France.
Some Catholics-in-good-standing were among the besieged heretics at the town of Beziers. When it could not be determined who was a “guilty” Cathar and who a Catholic, Amalric is said to have told his champing-at-the-bit army: Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.
Kill them all – god will recognize his own.
And everyone in the town was slaughtered.
Just as every motorcycle – and moped and scooter – is being stopped at “Motorcycle Only Checkpoints” in New York state. And some other states, which have emulated the practice.
There is no pretense of offense – other than being on two wheels. Armed government workers pull over every bike they come across and do their best to find offense – no inspection sticker, out of date tags; “improper” equipment.
Anything.
And even if they can’t find anything, they have accomplished something. They have taught the bikers a lesson about Who is Boss – which is the unwritten reason for these purposefully punitive MOCs.
The targeting of all bikers began shortly after a biker successfully “eluded” NY AGW Craig Todeschini back in 2006. Todeschini lost control of his Chevy Tahoe during the chase and was killed in the subsequent crash. In other words, by his own poor/reckless driving.
Operation 5060 – the number being the deceased AGW’s badge number – came into being the following year.
It and subsequent MOC operation were initially financed by federal saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety grants intended for educational rather than punitive purposes. Accessing the federal spigot eliminated the need to carve money out of the local AGW budget to erect and man the MOCs – and to cover the costs of the hovering helicopters and high-speed pursuit vehicles that attended the saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety checkpoints.
This made them popular with the AGWs manning the checkpoints, who got overtime and fancy new equipment to play with – as well as the pretext to lord it over people they just don’t like.
Bikers being perceived – probably rightly – as anti-Authoritah.
After federal funding of them was withdrawn in 2015, a number of states that had followed New York’s example ended the practice for lack of means – including Illinois and California. Sen. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin even went so far as to denounce the MOCs on the floor of the Senate.
But even with the federal spigot turned off, New York state continues to harass and collect from bikers. Especially in New York City – where AGWs on foot routinely run out into traffic and accost riders who’ve done absolutely nothing unlawful but are treated as if they had.
AGWs force them to stop, often in the middle of the road, and subject them to the Drill.
This sometimes includes a purposely pedantic 12-point “inspection” of the bike as well careful and lengthy examination of the biker’s “papers.” Even if no fines are issued, the biker’s time has been stolen – and his person and property molested simply because he’s on two wheels rather than four.
Which brings up an interesting aspect of all this: The patently discriminatory nature of stopping everyone on a bike just because they’re on a bike.
Imagine a Minivan Only Checkpoint.
Somewhere, surely, a minivan driver led an AGW on a high-speed chase. Therefore, every minivan driver must be presumed guilty of . . . something.
And treated accordingly.
The principle is the same – so why not apply it?
But motorcyclists are an easier target because most people aren’t motorcyclists and therefore do not feel threatened by laws and practices that target them. Some people just don’t like motorcyclists – and like the idea of hassling them. Or rather, of the government hassling them on their behalf.
Poltroonery being the flip side of control-freakery.
Just as many people aren’t gun owners – and don’t like people who do own guns, including those who haven’t shot anyone.
Commercial trucker are another category of “other” easily demonized, marginalized and then set up for what the Germans used to call sonderbehandlung – special treatment. They get stopped for no reason other than Just Because, are forced to provide papers and required to submit to various obnoxious inspections.
People on the left think it’s ok to harass MAGA people but object to being harassed by MAGA people.
The list is almost endless, which serves the purpose. Which is to set us at odds, keep us focused on controlling each other. Which is how the government controls us.
This cognitive dissonance is a function, of course, of widespread government (not “public”) schooling – which among other things aims to stunt conceptual thinking – i.e., thinking in terms of principles and applying them to particulars.
Few Americans practice the technique – and it shows, all around us.
The general tendency to not think in terms of principle accounts for the metastasizing tyranny almost everyone is complaining about, liberal and conservative – which few of either really want to see ended because they aren’t opposed to it in principle.
What they want is for the tyranny to be directed at each other.
At “terrorists.” For “safety.” Toward bikers or gun owners or pot-smokers or seatbelt refuseniks.
Not for the tyranny to end.
Not grokking that by indifference to the tyranny visited upon some, they have assured tyranny will be imposed upon all.
…
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All those Suffolk County NY cops make 100k+ after a few years on the force….I shit you not. Property taxes on a middle class home in Suffolk is 10k-18k average…depending on the town or hamlet you’re in.
Correction, Anon, STARTING pay for pigs in Suffolk is over $100K! A few years, certifications and a li’l overtime, and it’s hard not to make $200K. Then retire before 50 with a better pension than a Congressman or POTUS…. Any wonder why they are arrogant elitist pricks?
And YET, even THAT isn’t enough for the bastards! A while back, a pig, his piggy wife, and their pig friend were nabbed for planning to rob a casino. Every few months some such story pops up if ya folly the news there- Ones selling drugs, doing robberies, getting paid-off by the Mob, etc. etc.
What does AGW stand for?
Ardent Government Wanker.
Hi Ron,
Armed government worker.
Jeremy
This belongs right here.
Skip to 2:50 to smile…”bye bye dickhead”.
We’ll take our little victories where we can:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WrtWGyhUvw
Look how that cock-sucking cop risks the lives of so many civilians…..all in the name of “saaaaaaaafety”!
Hope that prick pig’s kid gets squished the next time they’re chasing someone like that; someone who probably did nobody any harm at all.
He BLEW AWAY the cop and passed everyone like they were standing still… 🙂
QFT, Jeremy, QFT!
Hey Mark,
Thanks! But, I will admit, I had to research what QFT means.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Jeremy, not a great deal of conversation is had about quantum field theory.
“The Killing Fields”
When one stops to think about the cheapest commodity on the planet….
This sounds very similar to those semi checkpoints set up so AGWs can steel money from anyone driving “too many” goods at once.
“Gun control” is a prime example of blaming the law-abiding individual for the crimes of individuals. Every time there is a shooting, there are calls for “gun control”, but only on the law-abiding…
Anarchyst,
I always wondered, why it is that every time I DON’T go on a shooting rampage, people en masse clamor to have my guns taken away.
Why must I always be punished for not harming others?
“why it is that every time I DON’T go on a shooting rampage, people en masse clamor to have my guns taken away.”
Well, binary logic might suggest that if what you are doing now isn’t having the desired results……
Maybe the spree crazies are binary logical and responding to a societal inconsistency.
“‘Gun control’ is a prime example of blaming the law-abiding individual for the crimes of individuals.”
Damn straight. And let me tell you, what New York does to motorcyclists is NOTHING compares to what it does to gun owners. The Second Amendment to the Constitution quite literally DOES. NOT. EXIST. in New York. New York is practically a foreign country…
Hi X,
Prior to writing the article, I viewed a number of videos of these MOC stops. The obnoxious attitude of the AGWs is insufferable. No basically normal person could behave this way toward people who’ve done no harm and given them no reason to justify such harassment. It’s sadism under color of law. These badged goons get off on it. They enjoy Hut! Hut! Hutting! people.
It causes my mind to generate images of a gas station in Milan in the spring of ’45 … Il Duce hanging from a lamp post.
Mussolini was a prince compared to Cuomo…
Yeah, these modern tyrants, between having a population that has been thoroughly propagated for generations now with the worship of the state, AND having the technology to surveil and micro-manage everything to a level never before possible, would make Mao and Stalin and Hitler drool with envy.
Tyranny is nothing new- but the mix of tyranny and technology and mass media/universal ‘education ‘ (indoctrination/propaganda) is a new and lethal combination. We are truly living in unique times.
(Take stoopit Wop Cuomo- Andy and his daddy, along with nigger-loving communist DeBlasio, and ship ’em to Palermo… That’d go a long way toward fixing them, AND Palermo!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snuvlXq17Io
You mean like this? What a wonderful sight to see!
So many “lines in the sand” have long been obliterated.
But when it comes to freedom of travel, it’s easy to see exactly where that line was kicked away….. when capricious cop roadblocks, aka “DUI Checkpoints,” were implemented. That’s when the barn door got kicked open. By the time the court systems finished green lighting this atrocity, the horse, like Elvis, had “left the building.”
So it’s ironic when motor sickle people start whining about being singled out. The time to take a stand was so long ago that you can’t hardly see it in the rear view mirror
MikeP,
“So many “lines in the sand” have long been obliterated.”
1986 was only 33 years ago.
Sure didn’t take long to pussify an entire country.
Every day another.
And everyone’s line in the sand moves a little farther. This won’t end here either, as we all know.
Why anyone would voluntarily remain in an obviously near completed prison while the door is still open and the walls unfinished….. beyond me.
There is only one answer, leave. Vote with your feet as the other method is pointless.
Hi Anonymous,
Part of it is inertia; part of it is age (starting over in a new country is daunting if you’re not old enough to retire but too old to start – and build – a new career) and large part of it is contumaciousness. I’d rather stand my ground – even if it’s the equivalent of standing in the path of a tidal wave. I’m no He Man Rambo; just a middle aged man who’s tired and will fight, if they won’t leave me alone.
Everyone has their choice. I simply don’t understand waiting for the train to the camps.
I’m older than you. I had a career. Did not even leave my country (yet) but did did move to a very rural area to escape the taxes, monitoring, excessive enforcement…… oh yeah, and to get away from the technozombies. That last one didn’t work.
Also have sorted a bug-out spot on the other side (end?) of the planet by selling my city property, buying cheap rural property and having enough left for the escape. Second world countries are corrupt too but a quickly offered $50 will make smooth over almost anything in the second world. And most don’t seem to be trying to micro-manage the life of every inmate, er… citizen.
Hell. I could be making a huge mistake too. In this world, who fucking knows what is right anymore.
“Everyone has their choice. I simply don’t understand waiting for the train to the camps.”
In the infamous words of Don Kostyu, “When they come goose stepping down my street…”
That’s when you know you’re one day late.
Don, by the way, “killed himself” after winning a 40+ million judgement against the IRS.
Any good links to this guy’s story? I’m not able to find anything, except an article he wrote.
Brian,
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1689096/kostyu-v-united-states/
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/taxtrib/328736_619535_7.pdf
Other than that, he has been scrubbed.
He had a radio show on WCAR, founded Justice Pro-Se of Michigan, but when I found out about his funeral, I didn’t want to “commit suicide” so I didn’t attend.
Pretty much quit attending or participating in any freedom related activities.
That was in the late 1980s.
Hey Tuan,
I found a mention of him in an obscure Libertarian newsletter.
http://old.michiganlp.org/Past%20Newsletters/Michigan%20Libertarian%20Vol%2015.4%201988%20July-Aug.pdf
Interestingly, a search for “Don Kotsyu death” on Google produces this.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Don+Kotsyu+death&oq=Don+Kotsyu+death&aqs=chrome..69i57.15079j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Cheers,
Jeremy
Jeremy,
“I found a mention of him in an obscure Libertarian newsletter.”
That bummed me out. Ginny Cropsey beat me out of $1,500 for her bail.
But other than that, brought back some humorous memories.
Eric calls them AGWs, but back in the day we called them helpers and Gestinja.
You remember the old bumper stickers that said “Call 911 and die?”
Today, help is available everywhere you go.
Oops,
I misspelled his name, anyway, spelled correctly, it produces this.
https://www.google.com/search?ei=um3wXMH9KuKMtgXNp7yQAg&q=Don+Kostyu+death&oq=Don+Kostyu+death&gs_l=psy-ab.12…8353.10557..13342…0.0..0.100.353.3j1……0….1..gws-wiz.hFIdFYQqzTw
Not as funny, but just as uninformative.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Anon,
Those sound like my words coming out of your mouth…err…keyboard (minus the typos, of course).
If we are willing to stay and tolerate this despicable bullshit -not just ONE thing- but one thing after another, after another- while we still have the opportunity to escape, then we hsave no right to complain.
We become nothing more than the old-school small-government Republicans, who just sat on their hands as the country was pulled out from under them.
I took the first step by getting out of the NYC metro area for a much freer (in every regard) place; and soon I will take the next step, and vacate this God-forsaken shit-hole of a country, which has become far worse than anything Stalin or Hitler or Castro ever dreamed of- because even they didn’t micro-manage people’s lives to the extent that even the freest state here now does.
If I were not planning on leaving, then it would be pointless for me to be a Libertarian/Anarchist- because what good is professing a philosophy yet not pursuing it’s tenets in one’s own life when one has a reasonable chance of actually doing so?
If we merely moan and groan about every transgression of our liberties, yet take no action to be freer, even though the quest for freedom may entail some difficulty or discomfort; then are we truly what we profess to to be?
What ever discomfort or difficulties we may experience securing greater liberty, are really a small price to pay for what we stand to gain; and generally much smaller than what many of our forefathers paid so that they and we, their children, could have a degree of freedom for a while.
I tired of complaining about the tyranny here decades ago. If we sit and take it, we are no better off than a Repugnatcan or Dumbocrap, or anyone other collectivist who tolerates what they perceive as disagreeable for the sake of convenience and ‘security’.
We all say that there is a line we will not cross and that when so and so happens we will stand our ground- but as long as we are here, we keep moving that line back further and further, just as we have done for decades now, because we know that if we don’t, we lose everything.
The only answer is to leave; case closed. There is nowhere within to escape the tyranny and violence of this technocratic police state, nor of the onslaught of ever-deepening societal and economic collapse.
I’ll watch the flames from afar; I don’t care to be in the midst of the fire, still complaining, just as I was 30 years when I saw all of this coming. What good does it do to have this knowledge and understanding which we Libertarians/Anarchists have, if we don’t use that knowledge to at least enable ourselves to live in a manner consistant with what we believe and desire?
Morning, Nunz!
I come at this from a different angle – because I’m in a position to perhaps accomplish something via my rants. And via the commentary generated here – and disseminated here. I don’t have kids, but feel obliged to try to contribute something to the net good of this ball of dirt and the general advancement of the species. As a kid, I stumbled onto Albert Jay Nock – some reading this will grok – and his notion of the Remnant hit home. If, to whatever degree, I can help keep that flame alive I will do so. And doing so means not bagging it and heading for some proverbial tropical isle. I doubt I’d be happy there, regardless!
Mornin’ Eric!
I know what you mean, Eric; and your goals and modus operandi are noble and admirable. I’ve long tried to achieve similar in real life and on forums and such by promoting the ideals of freedom and questioning the tyrannical forces which many take for granted.
In the end though, all we do is essentially preach to the choir; and a very small choir at that. The powers that be have lopng been in control of mechanisms of propaganda in this world, to the poinjt where those mechanisms are institutionalized and even self-replicating, as they were so long ago propagated and now are passed on from generation to generation.
It’s the hundreds of millions of them, vs. the handfull of “us”. Even if this site had 10 million readers and 5 million like-minded participants, it would change nothing in this world. How much less considering the handful who give enough of a dman even to post here regularly?
Even if you could get the numbers; even if enough people cared; what would the plan be? What could they do? What would be the plan of action? Vote? Revolution? Stomp their feet 🙂 ?
No offense; I say this generically, not specifically to you- but: We can not secure our own freedom here (Nor anywhere elese for thsat matter- it’s just a question of being where it is easiest to fly below the radar, at this point in history), and we certainly can’t help others secure any freedoms. We are kidding ourselves if we think that somehow a handful of liberty-lovers can overcome and dismantle the richest, most powerful, most heavily-armed technocratic police state that has ever been; one which not only exists by brute force, but by having captured the minds and hearts of the majority of it’s subjects, in whose eyes it is a veritable god.
You can’t overcome blind emotional religious sentiment with facts and logic.
At this point, if we can save ourselves, maybe can help pull a few others from the fire along the way too- but from within? From within we can’t even save ourselves; and as you well know, with the ever increasing censorship, it will not be long until sites like this are relegated to some dusty corner of the internet where no one except the choir can find them- if allowed to continue to exist at all- which will probably not be the case for much longer.
We were closer to victory 40 or 50 years ago- but the casualties have increased exponentially every year. The battle is over. We lost. If we stay in enemy territory, we must accept defeat. In my eyes, there is nothing to stay for.
You’re already on Google’s naughty list (for they are on the enemy’s side) to the point where theyu’ve hamstrung you financially. How long before they delist you completely- especially with censorship now gaining mainstream traction under the guise of eradicating “fake news”. (Any dissenting opinion is “fake news”!).
And in the end, those who desire liberty will seek it. They do not need to be taught to want it. The ones who are taught, are Libertarians for a week….then they are off on some other tengent. (I saw that happen, literally, to someone locally. TYhey embraced Libertariansim for, -I don’t even think it was a week- and then were off onto some leftist SJW-type crapola days later, when they rrealized that in a Libertarian world, no one was going to force others to accept them as “equal” or give them special standing or freebies, etc.).
The only education real Libertarians/Anarchists need, is to see the tyranny around them. If they can not see it for themselves at this point, then there is little help for them.
They are escaping and they are coming here. The number of NY tags on vehicles driving around Atlanta right now is obscene. Combined with Hollywood moving in, it’s getting crappy here real quick.
They wear their tags on the front of their vehicles with pride as if we look up to them from being from NY. Meanwhile us Southerners just want them to leave. Just like illegal immigrants, they aren’t assimilating. They are gonna vote to make ATL just like NYC.
I’m already making plans to get out.
Jason, I’m beginning to think that the reason they’re over-running NY with third-world cretins and criminals, and homegrown communists is to purposely send the hoards of liberal NY douches to these other states en mass and remake them into NY- complete with gun prohibition and degradation of what remains of traditional culture in said places.
And that’s exactly what the transplants do- turn their new digs into an even crappier version of downstate NY. Just look at FL and NC!
GA has been on their radar for quite some time- my late uncle moved there in the early 80’s- to a small town- Rincon- and there was already an established flock of escapees…..but they were the early birds- the “good ones” who got out early.
The current ones….pffffft! They’re the scum who stuck it out as long as they could, and are only leaving now because they a)Can’t afford to stay (even if they have what seems like a good pension by normal standards), and b)Are finally disgusted with the rock-bottom quality of life (But don’t realize what caused it, or that they are part of the problem- so will of course recreate it).
Yep…definitely time to get out! Stay away from all the places where the blue-state refugees are going: FL SC NC TN TX. Or any state that has a big city and expansive suburbs. Very few blue-staters will venture into the wilds…and the ones who do, aren’t usually the ones ya need to worry about. But if the state has a big city and decent suburbs, they’ll end up there in sufficient numbers to change the whole state politically.
On the other hand…they might bring some Jews! (Well, that’ll “turn” the state even faster!)
they’ll end up there in sufficient numbers to change the whole state politically
Yep. That has already happened with the exodus of Massholes to New Hampshire, getting the execrable Jeanne Shaheen elected senator from what once was a bastion of common sense.
Some places are too far from Liberaltopia, or don’t have enough of an economy, to attract big-city liberals. These are the places to which the Soros machine is importing “refugees”, of course with the active connivance of the local Republicans, as long as they get their share of the taxpayer dollars that fund the resettlement agencies.
PS. Anon,
One thing I disagree with you on, is the Second World. I believe we need to relocate to the Third World. The Second World is already well along the way to establishing the infrastructure of tyranny- and they’re doing it unabashedly under the banner of socialism.
They’ve been fast-tracking it too. Unlike here, where they have to do things gradually, because there are still enough people who hold some semblance of lip-service to some of the principles of liberty -who would revolt if things were done too fast; and where they must make some show of at least making a pretense of constitutionality… not so in the Second World- where they can just go POOF! and institute a National ID card overnight; or property taxces where none existed before; and state-corporate funded surveillance projects (Just like here- but faster and more efficiently).
The Secopnd World is already just the light version of what we have here…and soon to be the exact replica, or even worse, of what we have here. SW might have been attractive in the past- but as of the last decade or two, it is essentially over, there.
By contrast, much of the Third World, if not being interfered with by thge US or the UN, simply doesn’t have the resources to establish the levels of tyranny we are seeking to escape, even if they want to; even if some of the laws pertaining to it are already on the books. They may effect some control in the big cities/population centers…and at the borders- but there is a lot of freedom to be had most other places; I believe that these are the only places left on earth where we can successfully fly below the radar, and will be able to continue to for our lifetimes- and wioth the added benefit that they are places where one can live on practicvally nothing, so that we can avoid participation in the world’s economic system, which is becoming increasingly a major tool of tyranny no matterr where one is- and is going to get much worse.
What would you consider Second World vs. Third World? How would you rate each? Could you give examples of countries that meet each criterion? I’m curious, because I go back and forth on the leaving question…
Hard to make a hard and fast definition, MM- But I’d say Second World nations are larger nations and or smaller ones which are actively pursuing technological and economic development- such as Mexico; Brazil, Costa Rica, Uraguay…. Ones with large modern cities…or large cities which they are seeking to modernize; and of course, lots of government/layers of gov’t, even in the more rural areas/small cities and towns.
Third World I consider to be where they do not have much (or any) modern infrastructure; no world-class cities; not a lot of government (Usually just one or at most two layers) and are not seeking to modernize/build modern infrastructure (with it’s resultant cost; obligation to foreignpowers/UN; and need for social engineering of ‘human capital’).
Of course, there are gray areas between them.
The thing to remember, is that there is NO Libertarian paradise on earth. Onlyu places where one can more easily fly below the radar/escape control by living in remoter areas because the countries don’t police those areas, as they have limited resources and concentrate on using them where the population is the densest, and thus they will be most effective.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t areas of some second world countries which wouldn’t fit the bill. For instance, I believe there are areas in Argentina that might be suitable for us. Some might even find more remote places in Mexico O.K.- although I personally would avoid any place where a non-national can’t own property and is subject to expulsion at any time for any reason- such as is the case in Mexico. But for, say someone who wanted to rent a house or apartment in a small city or town…..there are places even there where one can still have a great degree of freedom compared to here.
It’s all dependent on what you’re looking for. And the thing is, a lot of this stuff you can not ascertain remotely- you have to do some traveling and exploring and see for yourself, and follow rabbit trails, and learn of the local idiosyncrasies.
Buty one thing is certain: Almost ANYWHERE you go, outside of the US, Canada, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, will offer a LOT more individual day-to-day freedom than here- even many of the socialized countries (not that I’d recommend them!) do not micro-manage as maniacally as the we do here now (They tend to do it more through economics, and if you can be independent/evade the system, you can even have more freedom there than here!)
And few countries, except military dictatorships, are as violent as the US has become, with it’s black-costumed pigs and other armed goiv’t agencies. In many other places in the world, the avedrage non-violent, non-criminal citizen does not have to worry about being abused or killed over mundane things like traffic stops and family squabbles. It’s worth leaving just to get away from having to live with that mindset.
Nunzio,
I have a couple of ideas where I’d like to go; it’d likely be south of the border. I would have to come back here once a year to get a few things I can’t get outside the US; I’m figuring that out now. Once I can figure that out, I’ll be well on my way out the door.
I know that there’s no libertarian paradise. All I’m looking for is a place were I can live my life and be LEFT THE HELL ALONE; I’m looking for a place where I don’t have to worry about the cops killing me if I look the wrong way. You get the idea…
Exactly, Mark- That’s all I want too; I think that’s what all of us want. There are many “flavors” of that all around the world; if we’re realistic, we can find what will suit us without too much difficulty at all.
There are perks to this, too! In poking around, we just may find something that we weren’t even looking for. I mean, I’m all about having land in the country and being quiet and private- but from seeing some of these places I’ve looked into, I wouldn’t be surprised if I might even be willing to do a stint in a house in a town or small city in a freer place- for a while anyway- just as a diversion and something different to enjoy for a while; something which is no longer feasible here because of the overblown tyranny in such places…but might well be a joy in a more traditional place.
There’s just so much out there- in a way, it’s almost a good thing that we’re being driven from here- as we might never know what we are missing out on, if we had not been prompted to explore.
I’m 57 now- and hopefully my mother will be around for a few more years; so I may well be 60 or more before I can leave; but I could even see myself spending the rest of my life just exploring and seeing what’s out there; poking around the little nooks and crannies of more obscure (and cheap) places- maybe enjoying a place for a year or two or three…and then moving on and doing the same in the next, and just getting to experience the great variety; or maybe I’ll find a place inb the country that feels like home and where I’ll be content to settle permanently…
There’s no need to look upon expatriation as bad thing. Some of the best times in my life were when I was younger and used to explore and experience many different things/styles of life….and doing so again might just keep the old mind and body in shape.
By contrast, here in the US, everywhere is the same; the same BS. I don’t want to go anywhere, because I live in one of the nicest places. But the prospect of the unknown/unfamiliar, and of being free to travel and exist without harassment…just opens up a whole new world and awakens some old spirits!
It was the same with leaving NY. Some people leave and want to recreate exactly what they left. They go where all the other NYers go, and end up turning their new locale into a replica of what they left, but still don’t have all of the things they left behind. Those are the people who end up being miserable.
Then there are those of us who leave and are happy to leave it all behind. The few familiar things that we may have liked, we are willing to give up as the price of finding greater joy in many other aspects of our lives- and we are the ones who love our new digs, and prosper and glory in the better lives we have found.
Hey Eric,
“contumaciousness”
On top of libertarian theory, thoughtful discussion, great car and bike reviews and the best on-line liberty community available, we are treated to obscure vocabulary lessons. How could anyone not donate to this place?
Cheers,
Jeremy
Death by a thousand cuts. Or pin pricks. From a thousand different pins.
“Heck, it’s only a 5 minute hassle, you gonna risk everything over a 5 minute hassle?”
Of course not. So we have to wait for someone who’s got FU money to take up the cause. Except that guy doesn’t exist, doesn’t care enough either, or might even agree with the policy. And if someone did fight the policy and won, well, that’s just one. There are still 999 more pins to deal with. Each one just as innocuous by itself. But a few million here and there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.
The difference between an entrepreneur and working man is that the working man thinks the way to get rich is to get one man to pay him a million dollars, while the entrepreneur tries to get a million people to pay him a buck. Unfortunately the local governments have figured out this insight and are all in. And if they have make an example out of a few “customers” well, that’s really their own fault right? (We can’t blame the assault victim, but Uncle gets a pass)
Thing is when the state is faced with that one guy who has the money to burn or is simply willing to take the hit and fight in court they simply drop the charges against him to preserve the greater racket.
Those rackets successfully ended take decades to do so. Meanwhile they’ve created countless more.
We need our own George Soros, someone who can totally fund our side…
MM, that only works when the guy with the $$ is on the same side as the guys with the big guns; otherwise, they take him down and steal his money. Soros only can do what he does, because they let him, because he represents their agenda. If he were at odds with them, they would simply villify him and do to him what they are doing to Assange.
And nobody with that kind of money would be on our side…because you don’t amass that kind of money by advocating liberty and individualism; you amass it by using the various powers and privileges of the state.
What they’re doing to Assange is a CRIME!
Like how Soros worked with the Nazis, right? He called that a happy time in his life…
Funny thing too, Brent, In NY, there was an organization that one could join for help fighting Constitutional issues (mainly property rights) against the local township and village/town/city governments- like if one were cited for renting an “illegal apartment” [One defined by the Nazis as one not having been inspected and permitted by them]- The org.’s lawyers would win virtually every case they were hired for- easy-peasy, ’cause the laws are so damned unconstitutional- and being fought in some low-level court in front of judges who were likely there because they were being punished for something.
So you’d see them, win a case for an “unpermitted apartment” that someone was renting out in their house; or getting a lien removed that was placed on someone’s hoiuse because they didn’t get a permit to fix their deck railing, and didn’t pay the fines; or because some guy mowing lawns didn’t get a “contractor’s license” and a bidness license, and a dba (even though he was using his own name!)….they win these cases- and then the judge would call the next case for the very same issues- only it was some guy defending himself, or who had hired just a typical lawyer…..and they would lose.
They just don’t care. Precedent; honor; enlightenment….it’s all out the window- what applies to one, doesn’t apply to the next if they don’t know the magic words.
The sad part is, the people who used that org and won, may’ve won the battles…but they still lose the war; as eventually the cost of fighting all of those battles mounts up- not to mention wearing one down emotionally, in a place where the local governments are extremely tenacious. They say “We’re gonna fight! We’re not gonna leave!”- and they wimn a few battles…and then realize that it’s a never-ending process, and not worth it- and they either knuckle-under…or leave for freer climes. (The arguments I’d get from NYers about leaving NY were the very same as the ones I get here about leaving the country!)
So are there any other states besides NY that do this? I’ve never heard about this before. That’s insanity!
I think it’s mainly NYC. I’ve been to NY state (Port Jervis area), and I’ve never run into that…
They do it all over, and in other states as well (There are no rest areas in NYC)- It’s not like they do it every day, everywhere. They do it at select locations at certain times, so your odds of seeing it, unless you’re on the roads every day, are slim. Sam,e as with the DOT setting up shop and doing random inspections on commercial vehicles….you never know where they’re gonna be- and in southern NY especially, where there are millions of miles of roads and millions of people in every county…and maybe one or two units for each county even for several counties, your particular odds of seeing it are quite low, unless you just happen to be where they are at the time. (And NY is especially pernicious, as they duplicate the efforts of the state agencies with county and even township/borough agencies)
So glad I moved out of NY years ago. Don’t see that here in NC, but I have been subjected to a random traffic stop for no reason.
Hey Eric,
Luckily we have a Constitution that renders such a program illegal. Any day now it will sprout wings and fly, guns in hand, to NY and put an end to this abuse!
Cheers,
Jeremy
LOL. That was a good one.
Hi Jeremy,
Indeed! The 4th Amendment has done such a good job of protecting me (and others) from “unreasonable” searches and seizures… I am proud to be an American… where at least I know I’m freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I’ve read that Lee Greenwood is CIA.
Whatever he is or may be, one thing he is not, is intelligent and neither are his fans.
The constitution of the United States does not protect you here, in it’s original intent, it’s my understanding that it’s only concern is the general government but I suppose the fella with the funny hat ruined all that when he decided to murder thousands of innocent people in a sovereign nation.
Hey Devin,
The Constitution does not actually protect anyone, nor limit government. That was the point of my, hopefully humorous, quip.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Hey Devin,
Despite my snarkiness, the incorporation doctrine that followed from the 14th amendment does extend the 4th amendment to the States. My point is, so what? Neither the Constitution, nor subsequent interpretations thereof, are self enforcing. No matter what people believe, the Constitution means exactly what those empowered to decide, say it means.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Devin,
“I suppose the fella with the funny hat ruined all that”
Which fella?
And what hat?
Shriner’s?
This is the mentality taught in government school.
Some kid was bad? New restrictive policies and rules for everyone.
I travel US-59 here in houston and DAILY watch the ‘trucker police’ pull over big rigs just for existing and to give them the shakedown when no visible infractions have been committed.
Too many cops. Thanks to the War On Terror™ and the federal fun money doled out to prevent the next mushroom cloud in your town (actually only New York or Washington DC have enough media concentration to matter), there are about 10X too many police, all looking for something to do. So they seek out the “other” like the hispanic, the black, and now the odd hobbyist. If you fly a drone and aren’t part of a search and rescue team, you’re probably up to no good. If you’re setting up an antenna for ham radio and not part of a EMCOM exercise, you might be doing something “unsafe.” Riding a two wheeled vehicle is right out (unless you have a grey beard, pot belly and POW/MIA jacket). Basically if you’re doing anything that isn’t watching the game and drinking federally approved alcoholic beverages, you are amongst “the other” and subject to additional screening.
Amen, RK…
It recalls to mind the quip posted the other day about manufacturing criminals by making laws against everything – or just about. But the thing which depresses me most – which I have witnessed develop over the course of my own life – is the dissipation of the once-prevalent notion that you needed to have done something (illegal) before you got punished. I can remember, as a kid, watching old WB cartoon reruns with the Edgar G. Robinson character sneering at the badged one and saying, “you ain’t got nothing on me, copper!”
Eric,
“making laws against everything – or just about.”
What is NOT covered by law?
I’d really like to know.
Hey Tuan,
“What is NOT covered by law?”
Masturbation? Well, at least since 2003. Scalia, of course, argued passionately that the “people” (meaning State legislators) must be allowed to ban self-gratification, lest the Republic dissolve into ruin by establishing Federal Supremacy over the States. He conveniently ignored the fact that this occurred a long time ago. Also, he failed to be concerned about this “principle” when California legalized medical marijuana. Apparently, FedCo is perfectly within it’s rights to bar States from legalizing marijuana but, the right of “States” to ban butt-fucking, blow jobs and self pleasure, must be kept intact.
Cheers,
Jeremy
‘On 22 November 2014, the National Report published an article titled “Mom Calls 911 On Masturbating Teenage Son; Boy Arrested, Charged With New ‘Self-Rape‘ State Law.” In the article and a related video, the site claimed 15-year-old Paul Horner of Phoenix, Arizona, was facing several years in prison under Arizona’s controversial new self-rape law:’
Hi PJ,
I’m pretty sure that’s a fake story. I have not found any corroborating evidence outside of the original source except, hilariously, that change.org seems to have fallen for it.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Sure but the problem is that we are not sure!
It could have happened, both the laws and the cops are that stupid (not to mention the mothers.)
If it did happen the cops would have quickly lost the booking details and denied all knowledge.
Happens all the time.
Hey PJ,
Are you suggesting that this particular story might be true or that, given the state of “law” today, such a story is not completely implausible? If it’s the second, I agree, as there doesn’t seem to be any limit to government invasiveness. For instance, I wish this:
https://reason.com/2019/05/28/strip-searched-cops-holly-curry/ or this:
https://reason.com/2019/05/29/16-year-old-girl-sex-porn-child-court-case/
were parodies, but they’re not.
There is no Arizona self rape law, but there are plenty of real laws that are just as ridiculous.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Hey PJ,
National Report is a parody site, looks kind of funny.
http://nationalreport.net/
Cheers,
Jeremy
New ‘Self-Rape‘
He had it coming.
Did you see how he was dressed!
So far, existing hasn’t been outlawed…yet. Movies like “I, Robot” and “The Terminator” come to mind.
Blue,
What about loitering?
Sorry, I meant human existence in general. The movies I listed were a reference to some form of artificial intelligence deeming us humans as a “threat” and must be “taken care of”; ergo, humanity will be banned for “safety reasons”.
Blue,
“ergo, humanity will be banned for “safety reasons”.”
Like when Janet Reno cooked the children in order to save those same children?
“The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
Ayn Rand
It’s not even that, it’s this idea that the state can anticipate every potential problem and somehow prevent it. We all see foreshadowing in movies all the time, it’s a common plot element. Several of the standard character archetypes in literature dovetail well with foreshadowing plot elements. This plays with our minds and causes some of us to think they’re clairvoyant. Especially when they see themselves as one of the archetypes.
https://writerswrite.co.za/the-12-common-archetypes/
The state see themselves as Bruce Willis desperately running up the stairwell, hoping to get to the helicopter before it takes off. “If only” he had a remote shutdown device, the bad guy wouldn’t have gotten away. “If only” the terrorists could have been screened for boxcutters prior to 9/11. But then again, who can forget the scene in Casino when Nicky kills a man with his pen? When experts sit around in Strangelove mode, every problem they dream up has a solution. Real life, no so much. But then again, real life isn’t a movie either.
Hi ReadyKillowatt….
“(unless you have a grey beard, pot belly and POW/MIA jacket)…..lol…..
Although no pot belly or grey beard I do think the government should have brought the poor bastards home.
In the Ist Air Cav we had a motto,,, no one left behind. As far as I know that pretty much held. The government/Pentagon let those individuals rot. Probably dead now,,, for surly forgotten.
Who was the biggest proponent of leaving them there? John McCain, whom I believe was the first POW returned.
I have no problem when I see one of those you speak of wearing the jacket and apparently still cares in a country that doesn’t.
The government/Pentagon let those individuals rot
In case anyone thinks Ken is just blowing smoke, take the time to read an article that very convincingly makes that case. The author is Sydney Schanberg, the guy whose reporting is behind the movie “The Killing Fields”.
But it seems to me the flying of the POW/MIA flag everywhere is just a different form of virtue signaling. So you raise “awareness” as if there’s still anyone over 20 who doesn’t know about the Vietnam MIAs. Big deal.
The cause is worthy, but the action is circumspect.
Hi RK,
I’m very sympathetically inclined toward anyone who got drafted – that is, impressed – to “serve” as cannon fodder in Vietnam or any other object of the government-corporate nexus’ evil machinations. The draftee had no choice, really. But people who volunteer to get paid to serve as the instruments of government-corporate machinations are at best deluded mercenaries and at worst AGWs.
I don’t thank them for their service because I didn’t ask them to – and have no interest in the “services” they perform.
Many of the volunteers are duped. Then they realize they were duped. Hence the issues veterans face are so much worse than what the horrors of war alone cause.
Hey Brent,
“Many of the volunteers are duped. Then they realize they were duped. Hence the issues veterans face are so much worse than what the horrors of war alone cause.”
Have you seen this?
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-us-army-asked-twitter-how-service-has-impacted-people-the-answers-were-gut-wrenching-a28442c59e4f
“The US Army Asked Twitter How Service Has Impacted People. The Answers Were Gut-Wrenching.”
Many of these volunteers are naive, vulnerable kids who have been cynically exploited by an institution that intentionally appeals to the odd mix of idealism and hubris that exists among many young people, especially males.
Kind Regards,
Jeremy
No not that specifically and I won’t look at it because I know what it will be and I rather not be exposed to more of such stories.
General Butler laid it out in just a few words:
” WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. “
Morning, Jeremy!
My childhood interest in airplanes almost got me in Big Trouble – and not in Little China. I gave serious thought, while in college, to ROTC/OCS and the Navy. Because the idea of becoming a pilot – and being able to drive a military airplane – was extremely tempting. I was saved only by my already well-developed distaste for Authority.
A few years afterward, I became friends with an older guy who was a Naval aviator during the Vietnam unpleasantness. He confirmed I’d made the right decision…
Hey Eric,
That’s right. I left out the other traits common to young people, especially men, that they exploit. Namely, adventurousness and risk taking.
Maybe there should be a military predator list, after all these recruiters are objectively more dangerous to children than many on the sexual predator lists.
Cheers,
Jeremy
That’s funny, Eric!
I could just picture YOU dropping some Napalm on some “Gooks”….NOT!
Funny too, because my one Libertarian real-life friend has also always been enthralled with planes. He’s always had models of AF planes hanging all over his house; I’d always find it very disheartening to see all the models of the machinery of death and destruction and empire on display in the home of a Libertarian! It woulld be like me having Aleister Crowley books!
Hi Nunz!
It was the afterburners that appealed – not the bombing! If I had the bucks, I’d do a Travolta – only rather than a 707 (which in my opinion was the apotheosis of commercial aviation) it’d be a restored F8 Crusader. Christ, can you imagine it?
Mach 2, a carbon footprint bigger than West Virginia…
Hehe, I guess I’m too practical (and always have been) Eric. The only appeal planes ever held for me, was toodling along in small propeller planes. (Admittedly, I’m too practical to be fun! My first car had a Slant-6 motor….even as a kid, I was more into practicality! 😀 )
Ok, it’s time for airplane porn. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI3owgIj6zs&t=282s
Meh…
The only fun part about jets, is take-off and landing…..
(Told ya I was no fun! :p )
Ah, the last of the gunfighters. You have good taste! It would be interesting to take the F8 airframe and update it with some modern tech…
And with that old afterburning J57, it would be NOISY too… 🙂
As for a plane, an F-20 Tigershark would be cool. It was an F-5 with the J85s pulled out and an F404 engine put in; that was a 60% thrust increase. It could go from dead stop (idling) to 30,000 ft. in 2 minutes-very fast! Talk about a HOT ROD…
I’ve always been partial to general aviation myself. Much more exciting to me to fly cross country for lunch instead of driving somewhere. Living across the highway from Aspen’s Sardy Field was pure heaven for spotting private jets.
When I lived in State College I used to ride my bicycle on the road going to the airport. Often times I’d have to stop to relieve myself at the terminal. After 9/11 of course the main terminal was off-limits, but I could walk right into the GA terminal and right out onto the apron if I wished. Same thing at Sardy Field, in fact there you can have your hotel shuttle run you right to the stairs of your Gulfstream.
4 legs good, two legs better!
RK,
“4 legs good, two legs better!”
I’m partial to tricycle landing gear. But taildraggers are cool too
You ever get your FAA permission slip?
Tuanorea I keep thinking about it, but just thinking. I got my Part 107 drone cert when it came out but that became such a cluster because the FAA really has no clue I let it lapse. But it did expose me to some of the airspace and lit the fuse. Maybe in a few years when I have the money. I’ll probably never really have the time, but when has that stopped me?
Nunzio,
“I could just picture YOU dropping some Napalm on some “Gooks”….NOT!”
Let’s talk a bit about military brainwashing.
I was devastated when Saigon fell. I wanted to kill.
https://youtu.be/-NzFJxX8yoY
For 2 years prior I had been marching around chanting:
I wanna be an airborne ranger
I wanna go to Vietnam
I wanna live my life in danger
Killin Gooks and Viet Cong.
I was 14.
When I was 19 I questioned the efficacy of travel to far off lands, to meet new/interesting people, and killing them.
I even started to wonder why I would want to kill some nameless individual I had never met who posed zero threat to me.
The brainwashing works.
RK,
Back when the 286/386 computers were the mainstay, I dropped $300 on a yoke and rudder pedals. Primarily to keep my hand in flying.
I made a deal with my step kids and told them when they could take off and land without crashing, I would buy them a lesson in a real plane.
When the day arrived, the older boy went first and the instructor said he did a fairly good job. After the younger boy landed the instructor asked me how long he had been flying. He was 12. I looked at my watch and said about 25 minutes.
The instructor said he never touched the controls and only worked the radio.
Needless to say, I signed that one up for glider lessons. He soloed the day after his 14th birthday. And I bought him a 150 for his 15th birthday.
You can pick up a used yoke/pedals for under $100. I’d recommend the oldest version of Flight Simulator that will run on your equipment. A non internet version would be best IMHO.
Then when you go take your first lesson, you can keep practicing every day or two until you want to drop the cash on wet time with the instructor again.
I guarantee you’ll get your license in the bare minimum.
The awesome thing about flight simulators is being able to replicate a lesson you’ve taken or the ability to prepare for the next lesson in the syllabus.
And don’t forget, the glider license is the least expensive. After you get that, all the other ratings are simple add ons.
Besides, in the unfortunate event that you’re ever driving something when the motor quits, it isn’t something new to you.
“Maybe in a few years when I have the money.”
I’m pretty sure in a few years you will need even more money. If you start now, on the cheap, in a few years you will have your license.
My dad was opposed to Vietnam war. When I thought of enlisting and made plans to avoid the draft, I applied also to 3 colleges on premed degree to avoid the war. My college acceptance came 3 days before I was to sign the military papers. The recruiter came to our house. He pressured me greatly for an hour to put the final signature down. I didn’t having been accepted to college. 15 years later, watching an episode of Tour of Duty, I understood his anger. I was prime fodder for a tunnel rat. I must have cost him a $3000 bonus. I avoided service and graduated from college. I told my 3 sons all now in their 20s to avoid military duty and university. The 2 times they listened to me and took my advice.
A decade ago or longer, my wife was part-time teaching at a high school. She taught the “trouble-makers” she had no trouble at all with and they would do anything for her. That should give you an idea of what the rank and file teachers are like.
She got really P.O’d one day when the military recruiters showed up and took over her class.
Of course these were the financially less fortunate kids so they aimed their spiel at them for the most part.
They’d speak of the good food and lie like hell about it, telling them they could eat anything they wanted at every meal. Hell, you can have lobster if you like. Really whopping lies my wife did her best to correct the next day when they were gone and it was just her and the kids.
Their lies were so egregious the wife got apoplectic about it. Good thing I wasn’t there. I didn’t need assault charges.
When two dogs are fighting over a bone, the third dog walks away with it.
Hi Bryce,
“When two dogs are fighting over a bone, the third dog walks away with it.”
To paraphrase Randolph Bourne, “Social conflict is the health of the State”. The current hysteria over race, sexism, rape culture, white privilege, etc… is a manufactured narrative intended to keep people fighting each other while ignoring our common enemy.
Cheers,
Jeremy