Zion, IL
By A.B. Dada
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I watched the Fox News debate last night on my cell phone, dribbling data at a measly 120kbps with jittery video and a pause to stream every 15 seconds. It was worth it — Ron Paul did an absolutely great job. I’m ecstatic that he showed his anger at the status quo, at Fox News and their repeated thought that the United States is the Federal government instead of the People. He used the right amount of anger, the right amount of truth and the right amount of conscience to really turn heads, including the heads of at least 4 dozen people who watched the debate on my request. Not one of those 4 dozen people are Republicans, or even Libertarians, but they all had their mind changed about Paul. I figure there are 400,000 Paul supporters as of right now who really know him — to win, he needs each supporter to convince another 100 friends and family to take notice.

Paul’s performance was exactly what we freedom lovers need to do when confronted by our own friends and family who are pro-force and pro-State. Historically, I always backed down from debate because I figured it was the non-Christian, non-peaceful thing to do. Like Gandhi, I do believe in non-resistance and non-intervention in the lives of others. But now I see Gandhi (and Paul), both believe in a different tactic: non-resistance when you’re attached, and non-intervention when you’re not invited. When a relative or friend opens the door to support a State mission that would affect me directly, I have snapped back to present the facts to them about how previous State missions have failed, and their desire will fail, too.

I used to ridicule people, just like Chris Wallace of Fox News tried to ridicule Paul in the debates. Yet I’ve seen that ridiculing people only makes them stronger in their believe — just as Chris Wallace’s ridicule of Paul will only make his supporters believe deeper, and give non-supporters a pause to rethink what Paul stands for. Instead of ridiculing, you must defend your beliefs strongly, with intelligent debate and the sponsorship of truth over lies.

Our government lies. Paul reminded the world of that last night — why should we believe the Federal government on Iran when they lied and lied and lied on Iraq? Is the oil paying for it? No, you and I are. Was Iraq a cake walk? No, and the surge has only caused a new surge of defense by the homeland of Iraq. Were there WMDs in Iraq? No. Was Iraq capable of launching an attack on the U.S. or even Israel? No. When a soldier murders another, is that the United States People? No, it is a select group of people in government who have co-opted our name towards their ends and means: world domination.

Thank you, Dr. Paul, for standing up and not standing down. Thank you for pointing your finger at the callous liars who want the Mainstream Media to just be a shill for the growing State. Thank you for telling the world exactly what we all need to hear: let’s get out of using force against others, and instead reap profits and power through peaceful trade, communications and less government, not more.

Yes, I support the ending of the CIA. If we need intelligence, let the hackers of the U.S. openly work to obtain information as needed. Pay private companies such as Blackwater to go to the world and bring back what is needed, in an open and free system so all citizens can peruse them online if they want. Most of our intelligence activities today surround trying to keep secret the fraud and crimes the State has committed around the world to usurp foreign governments and replace their leaders with puppets for our leaders.

Yes, I support ending of the IRS. If you work, you should keep every dollar to yourself, for you, your family, your home, your future, your drug habit, your entertainment, your loves. If you want to support Israel, do it with the money you saved. If you want to support Iran, do it with the money you saved. It is YOUR money, not the States. It was said last night that we work until May just to pay for the State. This is untrue — we are all working until almost July with every paycheck in the first half of the year basically paying for government around us. 1/2 of our household income is lost to the State, and lost to providing freedom, security and safety for our own households.

Yes, I support ending of the Department of Homeland Security. My own family has trouble flying because some of them have names that are the same as some “evil person” in another country. I am sick of seeing military in airports, and all government employees who have the prime job of spying on me are military. Let the airlines decide if the pilots should be armed, or if passengers should be armed, and let the consumers decide which airlines to travel on. You want security? Get rid of laws that prevent any individual from defending themselves — see if a terrorist or an evildoer would dare step on United States ground if they had no idea who is armed and who isn’t.

Dr. Paul said good things, and he said them in anger and frustration. The Democrats (all of them), and the remainder of the Republicans are the status quo: we will end up with MORE government, LESS freedom, MORE taxes or fees, LESS money for ourselves, MORE wars, LESS friendliness, and a worsening economy and family structure. We don’t need government, we don’t want government, and we should never be ones to support the idea that more government in ANY area will make things better.

To the State: get off my lawn.

To my family who supports the State: You’re wrong. If you say you’re Christian but support murder (war), theft (taxes) and slavery (jail/draft), you aren’t living the life that Christ promoted.

To my friends who support the State: Don’t complain to me anymore that you can’t pay your mortgage or your bills. You did this to yourself, please reap what you’ve sown.

To everyone else: Don’t back down. Today is the day to get mad to those who have lied to you, to those who have stolen from you, to those who continue to keep you in bondage and prevent you from doing best for yourself and your family. The rest of the world can take care of themselves.

Zion, IL
by A.B. Dada
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Michael Vick is being villified in every mainstream and blog news and opinion piece I’ve found, other than a few rare pieces at the LRC it seems. He’s being tossed out for being cruel to animals, and he’s plead guilty on Federal charges with a chance that the state will also toss in some criminal charges, to boot. From what we can see in the media and blogosphere, Vick has no friends. I’ll be the first to stand behind him and offer not just my friendship, but my defense of an extremely talented entertainer with a long history of poverty and restraint by the State that says they’re only there to help.

Vick was raised in one of the worst ghettos in the U.S. — the Hampton Roads East End section in Virginia. Hampton Roads is a pure ghetto with subsidized housing, a lack of public protection by the police, and could be one of the worst places in the country to try to raise a family. His parents both were hard workers, and it is evident that even with all the odds against Vick, he succeeded in exiting an area where infinite welfare is the most common life of the typical resident. He went on to becoming one of the highest paid sports entertainers in the industry, with massive sponsorships, endorsements and fan support. I don’t have many heroes in my life, but I know how to pick them out after researching them. I’d rather have my future son want to be dedicated to succeeding like Vick than like Paris Hilton, that’s for sure.

Now Vick is on the verge of losing his career forever: Federal charges (felony and misdemeanor) on actions where I see no Federal power to make laws over. From what I can tell, Vick is being charged using a variety of RICO-era statutes. A quick browse of the Constitution shows that Congress can only pass crime laws covering piracy, counterfeiting and treason — Vick’s actions fall under none of these. RICO is an unconstitutional law, originally intended to go after the Mafia, but now used against common citizens for actions that should only be regulated (if at all) at the state and local level. I see no power of the Federal Government to judge actions against animals, or even actions against humans, in terms of murder or abuse. For the same reason I am against any abortion policy at the Federal level, I am also against any violent-crime laws at the Federal level.

What exactly did Vick do? He bred dogs to kill each other for sport. It sounds awful. I have 6 cats, and I am definitely an animal lover, but I am also an animal hater. I love a big, raw steak. I eat crawdads out of the river fresh and live. I’ll be the first to chomp on locally-gamed venison jerky, and I’ve hunted pheasant and turkey in my years. I’ve skinned squirrel and catfish, and I’ve run over more than one animal while speeding down US 41. It’s gruesome, but we’re humans, bred to survive and live healthily, and that includes the consumption of animals for both pleasure and sustenance. I even like to spend the day at the horsetrack, marveling at man’s ability to wage dominion over the lesser beings.

Do I support animal abuse? Absolutely not, but I also don’t support forcing my definition (or anyone else’s) of animal abuse on others. Our moral judgment allows us to withdraw from markets where we feel there is an injustice committed. Some people won’t eat meat, or even honey, because of the their stance on what defines animal abuse. Would you want hot dogs and bologna to be withdrawn from the shelves because of how animals are treated? Then do so by not buying it, and telling others your side of the story on your blog. Ever been to a chicken ranch or a turkey farm? You’be surprised at how vicious animals may be treated at the average meat-generating farm. It’s a fact of life, one that we’re quick to ignore when it comes to our own consumption. Again, I love to eat meat, so I accept that animals are not treated with the same respect as humans.

Again, we don’t just chase and kill animals for sustenance — we also do it for fun. On pheasant hunting trips, we always had dogs who were trained to chase and kill the birds, even if we didn’t slay them with a bullet. The dogs’ training sessions were not unlike what Vick did between dog and dog — these dogs were trained to kill the birds on sight and command. Away from the hunt, the dogs were surprisingly docile, and even friendly to other animals. But their sole purpose was the killing of another animal. I’m glad it isn’t a crime to hunt pheasant in that way, and the bonding relationships I formed with other humans was a rarity in my life.

While I don’t support dog fighting, I also don’t understand why it is all of a sudden a big news issue. In the area I live in (Zion, Illinois), there is a large African American population, and I’ve seen a few amateur dog fights taking place while driving past an alley in the primarily black parts of town. It happens. It may be cultural, it might be something that a particular segment of society sees no problem with. For me, the idea of a unanimocracy encompasses the ability of individuals within a group to decide what is right and what is wrong. If a bunch of retirees decide they want to sit in an alley and pummel each other for sport, it is not my place to set laws on that group as long as it is voluntary. Many will say that I am wrong in comparing this to dog fighting, but dogs are not humans. They are animals, with a history of being trained to kill, maim and defend themselves against other beasts. Sure, we’ve domiciled dogs as pets, but in many countries they’re still dinner, too. Is it wrong for a man to go and kill a dog, drain its blood, skin it, salt it, and hang it out to dry to serve dinner to his family? Again, sustenance. Is it wrong for a man to go hunting in the woods for wild dogs? How is it different from turkeys or squirrels?

After all my thinking, I still can’t think of what Vick did that was so terrible. His dog fighting business, while mostly disgusting to me, still had a market of willing participants who engaged in the fights. These people voted with their time and their dollars in what they thought was morally acceptable, and they hurt no humans in doing so. Our Constitution was written to protect the rights of the PEOPLE, not to give government endless power or protect the rights of beasts. For me, the best way to eradicate the market of dog fighting is to not partake in it, and don’t support those who do. You are free to start a blog and try to convince people like Vick that dog fighting is wrong, but sending this man to jail and ending his career makes no sense from a freedom perspective.

He hurt no human. He violated no human’s rights. He stole from no one, defrauded no one, and violated no contracts or agreements with anyone. To me, that is called a victimless crime, no more horrific than slaying a pig for pork sausages. Speaking of pork sausages, I’m off to my grocery store to pick up a fresh pound of bacon — and my body and soul will be pleased at the sustenance, the flavor, the entertainment of eating and the fun I’ll have inviting my friends over for a bacon BBQ. Maybe I’m just as evil as Michael Vick, but it is not your right to judge me as long as I’m not harming you directly, or taking away your freedoms.

Michael Vick: I wish I could tell you to scream “Get off my lawn” to the monsters who wish to enslave you and steal from you your livelihood. Slavery in America hasn’t ended, it just changed its name to “The Court, the Jail, and the Powers that be.”