LIBERTY: We can’t be the world’s police!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2006/tle393-20061112-09.html

http://tinyurl.com/yfdq2f

A Word to the Unwise
by L. Neil Smith

***Begin Quote***

First, we are not the cops of the world. Every time we try to be, young Americans die by the thousands, instead of living to discover a cure for cancer or a matter-antimatter drive—or simply getting married and raising children and grandchildren in peace, freedom, and prosperity.

***End Quote***

L. Neil Smith, in addition to being a great writer, is a pithy libertarian commentator.

His ten points are well taken.

But, there is zero chance that either “major” party will listen. Our only hope is that the people will throw them both out.


JOBSEARCH: Introverts need to network as well

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/networking/
20030211-osemarin.html?cjpartner=mktw

http://tinyurl.com/y5uszm

 

Networking Strategies For Shy Professionals
By Judy Rosemarin

***Begin Quote***

Unlike extroverts, you aren’t energized by contact with others. Frankly, you prefer being alone.

***End Quote***

I’m not sure that is how I’d describe it. But from childhood, we were trained “to be rarely seen and not heard”.

As an ITSJ, techies are used to working on tough technical problems. Heads down. Fingers to keyboard. And, you get used to it.


GUNS: What good are guns against the government?

Monday, November 13, 2006

http://www.jtk3.com/laissezfirearm/strossen.htm

***Begin Quote***

Letter to Reason magazine
Ms. Postrel:

Nadine Strossen’s rationale for the ACLU’s abandonment of the right to keep and bear arms is: “What it [the pro-gun position] comes down to is the very strong belief that having a gun in your home is something that can ultimately fend off the power of a tyrannical government. I find that really unpersuasive in the 20th-century context. Maybe it made sense in the 18th century.”

Recent history offers numerous examples of lightly-armed men able to inflict grievous damage on vastly superior forces. Afghanistan’s mujahadeen, initially equipped with archaic Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles, stalled the Soviet Red Army for many years before receiving the advanced weapons from the West that finally tipped the balance of power in their favor. Chad’s desert fighters managed to repel Moammar Gadhafi’s tanks by the insanely brave expedient of shooting-up enemy supply convoys, mounting Libyan anti-armor weapons thus captured on their Toyota pickup trucks, and then charging the invaders in packs. In the former Yugoslavia, 5,000 Croat defenders carrying hunting rifles and Kalashnikovs were able to protect the city of Vukovar against 25,000 army troops and Chetnik irregulars backed by Soviet T-84 tanks and heavy artillery for eighty-nine days before they depleted their ammunition supplies and were overrun.

LF

***End Quote***

This is a great post.

Don’t forget: Gandhi’s defiance of the British in India after WW2, the ’44 Warsw Ghetto Uprising, and the ’56 Hungarian Revolution.

Against a tyrannical American government, there would be some “interesting” resistance.

First, you have to figure that the Bloods and Crypts would want to continue their current drug business. Since they haven’t been impacted by current methods, one would reasonably assume that they wouldn’t be impacted by future efforts. Given that they corrupt the cops, one would expect it to continue. These gangs would mount a very good light infantry, which in their own neighborhoods, would be impossible to root out. Especially since they, like all Fourth Generation forces, would blend in with the populace, and emerge to fight that asymmetrical war.

Second, the Gubamint runs on money. If it becomes too tyrannical, then the economy will grind to a halt. As the tax rate rises, and the inflation rate rises, they will “net” less and less value. Running a fascist state requires an economy. The leaders, and politicians, will want to be kept in the appropriate style befitting their “regal” position. It’s hard to be a King, if the subjects don’t pay or work. All we need is for the people to decide that it’s a good idea to work a little less, use a metal based “medallion”, do some bartering, grow a “victory garden”, and do other “muck up the works” activities. And there will be a lot of hungry politicians!

Third, the Ross book “Unintended Consequences” demonstrates how the ruling class can be brought to its collective knees. In the book, people just start killing bureaucrats and politicians. Like the internet, it would be possible to have leader-less bloody revolution. Pick out a government worker and kill them! It wouldn’t take long for the word to spread among the government workers that if you value your life, find a new line of work. That’s Fourth Generation warfare at its heart. I think to some extent that is what we are seeing in Iraq.

It really depends on the consent of the governed. If we don’t consent, they CAN NOT govern!

I read a stat that said about 130 of the 300 million Americans own a firearm. That’s roughly one in three. It could get real messy very quickly if a consensus emerged.

Look at what happened in NOLA when the good people left. But, they don’t have to actually LEAVE. They can just look the other way for the same effect.

Remember the dead old white guys on what the tree of liberty needs?


JOBSEARCH: Use different cards, just like different resumes, for different purposes

Monday, November 13, 2006

Vista Print will, from time to time, actually print some for free if you let them advertise on the back. I’d suggest that you need different “cards” for the different types of positions you are trying to target. You do have different resumes for each genre; why not cards? If you’re hard pressed for bucks, you can print your own from that card stock they sell at the OfficeWhatever store, even though in the long run that costs more, and looks worse. So what if you throw them away. Ready, Fire, Aim!


PRODUCTIVITY: Use free file transfer services securely to move files around

Monday, November 13, 2006

I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

May I suggest a most simple work around?

If you have a big glump to transfer and it even MIGHT be private … …

(i.e., if you are NOT absolutely sure it’s public info. AND bear in mind, from my time on Wall Street, I know that interest in public info by a registered rep is in and of itself sensitive. So you may always want to err on the side of caution!)

… … then encrypt it.

Now before everyone runs for the silver bullets and garlic, it’s almost trivial.

Get any of the free zip utilities. Take your file and zip it up with the password option. (Make the password easy live NEVADA, DOPEY, or CONSTELLATION. Just not “password”!) And, upload your encrypted and compressed file.

(If you make it an executable, it’s easier the receiver.)

The receiver takes the file download and is challenged for the password.

That allows you to use a free utility service for private information. If you are really paranoid, encrypt it twice with different packages and different passwords.

imho


JOBSEARCH: A resource that may be useful

Monday, November 13, 2006

http://www.billbelknap.com/tips.php

TIPS & FUN

***Begin Quote***

If you are interested in receiving our free Survival Kit, complete the form below and you will automatically receive an email with a link to the kit:

***End Quote***

He offers a survival kit.


RANT: Hey Governor Corzine … … still wanna hear about state cars? … (continued) …

Monday, November 13, 2006

You don’t? TOO BAD!

This morning 08 Nov at 0654 est on Route 295 S at Mile 60 … …

… … a white truck td 0342 … …

… … was seen at leisurely 80 (Speed limit for serfs is 65)

… … in lots of traffic

… … tailgating the poor peon in his way

… but he was in the right lane (heading for the exit)!

Any way I am sure that he was hurrying to get to I assume trenton to protect and serve me.

Arghhh!

P.S.: Dear reader, I don’t write these every day. Just when I ARRIVE early for work, particularly agitated aggravated and have to wait for my employer workstation to get online.


LINUX: Here’s a resource of linux laptops

Monday, November 13, 2006

http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/dell.html

Have to try my old dells first.


LIBERTY: Does secession sound wacky?

Sunday, November 12, 2006

http://www.freestateobserver.com/?p=107

 

secession central (Part 2 of 2)
Posted by Friday on November 12th 2006 to Journals

***Begin Quote***

Those who gathered in Burlington, VT, last weekend discussed this, and many other fascinating issues. I had no idea that so many different groups, in all parts of the U.S., are actively working towards seceding from the de facto U.S. Empire. These are not wild-eyed crazies, either; they are, for the most part, intelligent, educated, thoughtful people who are fed up with federal tyranny, appalled by the current state of U.S. foreign policy, enraged by their tax bills, and are willing to work long and hard to extricate their state or region and become independent.

***End Quote***

Interesting! I remember the scene in the movie Gandhi, where the British General says to Gandhi, “Surely you don’t expect us to just walk away”, and the response is something like “There is simply no way that 100,000 Englishmen can govern 300 Million Indians without their cooperation”. Or something like that. So to, there is no way the very small elite can rule the people without their cooperation. That’s what the dead old white guys meant by “the consent of the governed”. Maybe Gandhi understood that instinctively. We certainly have to learn it. If we don’t consent to their “rules”, (I wouldn’t dignify what they produce as “laws”; the Law of Gravity NOW that’s a LAW!), we have to find ways to express our non-consent!


LIBERTY: Bottom line. One invaluable man sacrificed; one Mom’s life ruined forever.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/
oped/articles/2006/11/11/a_town_that_doubts_iraq
_but_supports_our_veterans/page=2

http://tinyurl.com/yg6v4m

A town that doubts Iraq, but supports our veterans
By Charles D. Baker | November 11, 2006

***Begin Quote***

Through it all, his mom was gracious and stoic, breaking down only when the honor guard folded the flag that was draped over Jared’s casket and handed it to her after the burial, as she clutched it close to her chest and began to cry.

People have tried, with great success, in my opinion, to separate their feelings about the war from their support and admiration for American soldiers who serve there. This is a good thing. In almost every case, military personnel join the service to honor and protect their country, and they represent some of the finest young men and women this country has to offer. They deserve our gratitude and deep respect, and they seem to be getting it.

***End Quote***

“We” asked the man to go to war for us. He did and died. His Mom now has to live with that loss.

“We” have to DEMAND accountability from out leaders on this sacrifice. At the very least, we should rename the Swampscott town hall to the Jared Raymond Memorial Town Hall.

Politicians need to be reminded that, when they make a mistake, good people die.


LIBERTY: HOOP DREAMS is an interesting insight in being trapped by the “system”

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Last night’s “movie with Yogi” on the YES network was Hoop Dreams. It follows two young men pursuing their dream of an NBA career from High school basketball to failure.

Along the way, it does give an EXCELLENT view to what it means to be trapped by a welfare system as well as trapped in one’s own thinking or one’s own character flaws.

I don’t have an handy dandy glib advice for those fellows. Perhaps the advice keep it zipped. I think either Sowell, or Williams, or one of the other economists I read, said something like “postpone a family” and “complete school” are the two keys to escaping the welfare system. One reason I support Mercer County Homefront is they are striking at the root of poverty — people’s thinking. I can only envision what life would be like if instead of a government welfare trap that a slew of “Homefronts” across the land.

People would still be poor.

As long as resources are scarce, there will ALWAYS be the “poor”. There’s always a bottom of any bell shaped curve.

But, it doesn’t have to be demeaning, demoralizing, degrading, and demotivating. Remember the immigrant who said “I want to be from the country with fat poor people”. The poor people in this movie had stuff, but not the “smarts” to escape to a better life. Not that they were “dumb”, but that they couldn’t see thru the illusions, delusions, and propaganda. I wonder how much I can see “thru”? And, aren’t we as a society so much worse off when our fellow residents of Planet Earth can’t achieve their potential. Maybe one of these young men was supposed to cure cancer or bring world peace. But, because “we” didn’t have a system in place that allowed them to do it, it didn’t get done. Sad for all of us.

I heard so MANY things in this movie that indict the system.

The best was Spike Lee telling the McDonald’s All Americans at Princeton that “it was all about money”. My opinion of him went up listening to him spell it out.

The executive from Encyclopedia Britannica came off well. One wonders what motivated her, and what was the follow up. Dealing with poverty can be overwhelming from a personal level. One person can’t fix the system.

All in all, an eye opening, but very sad experience, for all involved. Including me!


MONEY: FIDELITY has a total view feature

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Kinda like Merrill’s Yoddlee, but better promises, and a more “Stubs” for other accounts. So, of course, I played with it.

It took me about 90 minutes to find a flaw that you can work around.

Vangard shows a joint account in both spouses view. Thus Fidelity doubl counts the entry. Thus overstating the holdings. There’s no way to partially exclude something it discovers.

Interesting.

I think you’d only find that IF you took feedback from real world users (They don’t. Tsk,tsk, shame, shame) or you had a crackerjack team.

Sigh.Will I ever find stuff I can’t break.


ALUMNI: Another week; another issue of Jasper Jottings

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Shipped! Tme to start next week’s. What improvements can I make this week? Be more methodical.


LIBERTY: It’s a sad day for Vets. So many sacrifices and losses, for what?

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Subject: JPFO ALERT: Winning the Battle, Losing the War

ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America’s Aggressive Civil Rights Organization

November 10, 2006

JPFO ALERT: Winning the Battle, Losing the War

*** begin quote ***

Saturday, November 11, is Veterans Day, the day when we take
time to honor those who have bravely defended our freedoms
through military service.

Unfortunately, the freedoms that these brave young men and
women fought to preserve are quickly eroding, as our
government becomes more and more like the countries we once
fought against. Please read our article, “An Open Letter
to Our Fathers and Grandfathers: You Won the Battle, But
Lost the War” at http://www.jpfo.org/veterans.htm .

Read it, and share it with others. Don’t let the sacrifices
of our veterans be in vain.

– The Liberty Crew

*** end quote ***

The nation, if there is such a thing any more, (and we seem to let politicians estranged us over petty differences and pit us against each other fighting for scraps from their table), has paid a terrible price for its hubris. The dead old white guys gave us a republic and we have allowed it to be turned into a socialist fascist police state. The Communists won the Cold War. We have become worse than they were. Because we had liberty, slept while it was taken away, and are “fat dumb and happy” while we are slaves to that mental disease called “government”.

Michael Savage isn’t correct. “Liberalism isn’t a mental disease”. State-ism, the worship of the overpowering government to take care of our every need, that’s the mental virus that afflicts us as a mob. I fear there is no vaccine for it. It’ll take another American Revolution to change it.

When? Don’t know.

Perhaps when UN troops from other countries patrol our streets as debt collectors or resolution enforcers?


ALUMNI: MCALUMDB appears to be down

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Drop Walt an email?


TECHNOLOGY: Private and Encrypted document sharing

Friday, November 10, 2006

https://wideword.net/

Your documents are Private and Encrypted

***Begin Quote***

Write and share documents easily, quickly and privately!

With WideWord you can invite any amount of friends or partners to collaborate on a document with you. All you need to do is enter their email address and we send them an invitation straight away. WideWord ensures that the document remains secure.

***End Quote***

Interesting, but why should someone trust this, or any service provider?


FUN: Different _________!

Friday, November 10, 2006

http://www.earlytorise.com/index.php

***Begin Quote***

Steve started off the conference with a parable:

A man on a safari in Kenya gets separated from his group and wanders off, lost. He comes across an elephant lying in a clearing, nursing a foot that has been pierced by a branch.

Carefully and slowly, the man approaches the elephant. Once he gets close enough to touch the beast, the man yanks the branch from its foot. He runs back across the clearing, then stops to look back at the elephant.

The huge animal stares at him. Then it rises to its feet, walks slowly over to the man, and touches him on the forehead with its trunk. Then the gentle giant turns and walks away.

The man eventually meets up with his group and goes home.

Ten years pass.

The man goes to the zoo with some friends. At one enclosure, he notices that an elephant is staring at him intently. The elephant drops the food it is eating and approaches the fence, staring all the while at the man.

The man’s friend says, “Hey, looks like that elephant recognizes you.”

And the man starts wondering, Is this the same elephant?

As the elephant stares at him, he becomes more convinced that this is the same elephant he saved in Kenya. He goes closer to the fence. The elephant stares at him. He starts to climb the fence, despite the protests of his friends. He drops into the enclosure. The elephant stares at him. Then, slowly, the elephant reaches out its trunk and touches him on the forehead.

I know this elephant! the man thinks. Then the elephant stretches out his trunk again, and grabs the man around the waist and slams him on the ground.

It wasn’t the same elephant.

Steve got a lot of laughter from this story. But his point was that info marketing is not the same elephant.

***End Quote***

I gotta kick out of thins and a new catch phrase “different elephant”!


TECHNOLOGY: Yet Another Skype

Friday, November 10, 2006

http://www.icall.com/

Make, and receive, calls for free

***Begin Quote***

iCall features sophisticated new technology which uses your existing Internet connection (cable, DSL, wireless, or dial-up) and your PC to plug you directly in to the regular telephone network. Stick it to the man – you already pay for your Internet connection, and the Internet is changing everything!

***End Quote***

Yet Another Skype.

Except it’ll be free after the first of the year.

It allows free dial in, that skype and yahoo charge for.

But it is as an extension. That may be hard for people to remember.

And, the call in numbers may cause a caller to incur a toll charge.

So, it’s a maybe.

Good for outbound free calls after the first of the year, and forget all the rest.


MONEY: Return to a gold standard

Friday, November 10, 2006

http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=9717.15

***Begin Quote***

http://www.mises.org/story/2369

Return to a gold standard — or hell, a silver standard or a platinum standard or …

***End Quote***

I read this thread and two thoughts came to mind, actually three.

(1) The german hyper inflation that led to the rise of hitler. It could happen here. Politicians tax, borrow, and spend. (Sound familiar) the Fed runs the printing press. And runs it and runs it. I knew a Jewish family that send their wealth to Switzerland and the US in the form of diamond, postage stamps, and jewelry. Some of them got out; most didn’t. The old gent told me that, and his wife confirmed, that she would come by his office and take any money he collected that morning and go buy something. Anything. Because by nightfall it would be worthless. The hyper inflation was catastrophic. he would do the same thing on his way home with the afternoon’s collections. By the morning it too would be worthless. The country quickly devolved into barter, valuables, and metals. quite scary.

(2) If the us debt becomes to onerous. The Gubamint could just walk away from it. “Oh green funny pieces of paper? You should take that to the Federal Reserve Bank. We don’t have anything to do with it!” Repudiation would have some interesting consequences. If you think that the world is mad at us now, then wait till we pull the rug out from under them. The Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, and Europeans would find themselves sitting on worthless paper. It would be interesting to see it happen.

(3) There’s a “law” in Economics, (Not like a government law, but more like the Law of Gravity), that says something like “In an inflationary economy, bad money drives out good. In a deflationary one, the reverse is true.” Hyperinflation, or demonetization of a fiat currency, will imho act like a deflation (the ultimate kind). AND, if people stop taking FRBies, then money will be redefined QUICKLY into coins, “medallions”, or stuff like that.

I think we can roll back fiat currency if we educate, if we personally refuse FRBies when we can, and if we can “save” in metal backed stuff.

For example, I personally: nag people about “dead presidents” and “pretty green pieces of paper”. I like Mises’ line “only a government can take valuable paper and make it worthless by printing on it”.

For example, I REFUSE to take the dollar “gold” coin. It really annoys the cashiers who want to palm if off on me because it doesn’t fit in their draw.

For example, I make small buys of gold and silver bullion coins as “savings”. If the world goes to “hell in a hand basket”. I’ll have things of value “buried” at home.


XPfails – luggable – WDSYNC mucks up

Friday, November 10, 2006

In doing my weekly backup to my WDPASSPORT (Sams Club 44$ a while ago), it partially locked up the box. Hmmm. Reboot clears it. Argh!


RANT: Montezuma’s revenge … but I haven’t been anywhere?

Friday, November 10, 2006

Took last night off from life. Due to Montezuma! Now I haven’t been anywhere near South America; nor, have I even thought of South America, so why is he exacting his revenge on me? Aghh.

Maybe I have given myself an ulcer with trying to keep too many “plates” twirling. Hmmm?

Oh well, today will be better.

Especially since the NuJerzee taxpayers have something to show for all the money they have pumped into the pigeon hole labeled “State U”.

(Every real state has to have one right? Don’t want our distinguished Congress critters to be looked down on as rubes by their fellow fascists. Do we?)

Anyway, the Rutgers semi-professionals beat the Louisville semi-professionals in an exciting football game last night. As befits an educated and cultural elite group (in their own minds), there was no violence in the streets “celebrating” “their” victory.

(Never understood how buying a ticket to watch some men, who have sweated their butts off, who have practiced “a lot”, and who  have sacrificed a lot, when those men win, how does your ticket, your tuition bill, or your tax bill, make that”your victory”?)

In the grand scale of things, I’d have rather they announced a cure for <insert your favorite disease: aids, breast cancer, montezuma’s revenge>. But I guess you have to take joy where you find it.

And, no, I’m not jealous because there’s no Jasper football. There is Jasper Rugby! Now that’s a real man’s game. No equipment. No “scholarships”. Nothing professional about it. Just played for the joy of sport.

Isn’t that what student athletics and amateur is  supposed to mean?


LIBERTY: The gold standard prevents big government

Thursday, November 9, 2006

http://www.mises.org/story/2369

Financing the Empire
By Mark Thornton
Posted on 11/9/2006

***Begin Quote***

A gold standard also helps prevent governments from starting useless spending programs, creating expensive bureaucracies, running budget deficits, and waging unnecessary wars. It can even help smooth out and even eliminate the business cycle. Economic science and history all point to the advantages of market-based money and the disadvantages of government-controlled systems.

***End Quote***

To regain our liberty, we must get back to the gold standard.


PRODUCTIVITY: Blogger in chief?

Thursday, November 9, 2006

November 13, 2006
Fortune Magazine
Page 51

Blogger in Chief
Jonathan Schwartz, 41
CEO Sum Microsystems

>10% of Sun employees blog … including general counsel

So there’s probably nothing illegal about blogging with some common sense.

>read what people thinking without walking around

Sounds like status reports.

> “Always worry about what people aren’t telling you”

Good advice.

> Ditch the desktop

A recommendation to be expected from the “Computer is the Network” company. And, what does one do when the net’s not there.

>Forget balance

True. For hunters, there’s no balance. For farmers, there’s balance, sequence, and order.

==

n.b.: There was no way to find this printed page on the net. Or at least I couldn’t find it. I would have thought that, if I went to “November 13, 2006 Fortune Page 51”.fortune.com, I’d have gotten it. Hmm?


XPfails – luggable – general slowdown

Thursday, November 9, 2006

Last night, rather early this morning, luggable came down with a case of the blahs. It seemed like everything went at a crawl. I had tapped on a link in an email (LOOKOUT?) and the FOX took forever to get to it. So, being the bright IT Guru I am, I nuke everything in sight that I thought was expendable. No improvement. So I hit the big red easy button (ALT-CNT-DEL) and SHUTDOWN. For some reason there is a difference between SHUTDOWN and RESTART. SHUTDOWN, I guess, does a real start from scratch AOT a quick restart, no scratch. Back up and running.


FUN: Tourist SHOULD win a “darwin”

Thursday, November 9, 2006

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/
2006/11/09/1162661802875.html

http://tinyurl.com/yzo2ap

 

Outcry at stupid Stefaan’s croc shock
Jamie Pandaram and Jano Gibson
November 9, 2006 – 5:06PM

***Begin Quote***

The two-metre croc will live out its days in a farm as a breeding crocodile after biting 24-year-old Belgian tourist Stefaan Vanthournout’s leg when he tried to get its attention by wading into a creek and slapping the water with a stick.

***End Quote***

http://www.darwinawards.com/

***Begin Quote***

The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who, uh, remove themselves from it…

***End Quote***

As a pro-life libertarian, I deplore any loss of human life. But when people freely do “dumb things”, and bad things result, I say “say la v”! Certainly, punishing things, animals, people is irrational. In this case, I’d allow all the dumb tourists to feed themselves to the crocs. As Judge Judy says, “beauty fades; dumb is forever”. My concern is that this tourist’s next stupidity might have an innocent victim.


LIBERTY: Need to change the political landscape

Thursday, November 9, 2006

http://www.lewrockwell.com/
manion/manion67.html

http://tinyurl.com/w3b4u

NOTA – Bene!
by Christopher Manion

***Begin Quote***

In the realm of practical wisdom, the most obvious and even desirable candidate missing from every ballot is “NOTA” – None Of The Above.

Since the early 1990s, both major parties have strived (successfully) to make it virtually impossible for competitors to run on a third-party ticket. That circumstance has, no doubt, led to the concentration of corruption in the GOP that has accelerated so markedly in recent years.

***End Quote***

Voting is an exercise in futility. The Libertarains elected some dog catchers. We need to change the landscape. The movie Gettysburg has one of the generals saying “it’s good ground”. FMPOV the political landscape in AMRIKA is not “good ground” for us little l libertarians to wage a winning campaign. So, we have to reframe the debate.