I predicted it for years, and for years people told me I was nuts. Twice I tried to sell articles based on this premise and was told in no uncertain terms to pound sand – once by JPFO fergodsake, which sorta made me doubt myself.
I’ve made a lot of political predictions and been proven wrong many times. This is not my forté. But just you watch – I’m not wrong about this. Reality is finally catching up with Joel’s paranoid imagination.
They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
Little Bear 2009-2018
Laddie the Amazing Torso Boy 2011-2020
"Freedom Outlaw. It’s not what you do; it’s how you do it. It’s an attitude — from which actions always follow. It’s a do-it-yourself occupation. And a lifetime vocation."
- Claire Wolfe, Backwoods Home Companion, 6-07-10
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.
- G. K. Chesterton
"If every Jewish and anti-Nazi family in Germany had owned a Mauser rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition and the will to use it, Adolf Hitler would be a little-known footnote to the history of the Weimar Republic."
- Aaron Zelman
"Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force."
- Barbie
"Never underestimate the ability of shit to find a fan."
- F. Paul Wilson
"You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs." The sophistry of villains - Bah!
- Robert A. Heinlein, Double Star
“Truth is, I’m not specifically interested in an armed society. What I want is a free society.”
- George Potter
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.
- D. H. Lawrence
Aristippus passed Diogenes as he was washing lentils.
He said, “If you could but learn to flatter the king, you would not have to live on lentils.”
Diogenes said, “And if you could learn to live on lentils, you would not have to flatter the king.”
Sandy Hook was a Gun Free Zone. So was the Westroads Mall. And the Aurora Theater. And Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Should I go on? They were all Gun Free Zones.
– Reality
“Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
"Civilization is the process of setting man free from men."
- Ayn Rand
If ever a man should ask you
For your business or your name
Tell him to go and fuck himself
Tell his friends to do the same.
For a man who'd trade his liberty
For a safe and dreamless sleep
Doesn't deserve the both of them
And neither shall he keep.
- Frank Turner
Don't be afraid to try something big, just because you're an amateur. The Ark was built by amateurs. The Titanic was built by professionals.
- Anon
"Nothing scares a police officer more than the threat of being treated the way that they treat people every day."
- Anon
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
- Gen. James Mattis
"Lust for power is the most flagrant of all the passions."
- Tacitus
"The man who knows what freedom means will find a way to be free."
- F.A. "Baldy" Harper
"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
- William James
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
- Viktor Frankl
The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country.
- Milton Friedman
“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”
- William Faulkner
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.
- Ernest Hemingway
"Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
John Moses Browning - The most badass Mormon who ever lived.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.'"
- Ronald Reagan
The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.
- James A. Baldwin
"It is better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war."
- Anon
“I tried to live in such a way that, when dying, I would rather feel happy than scared.”
– Witold Pilecki
Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master.
- Sallust
"Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark."
- Lazarus Long
Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.
– Christopher Morley
“I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man.”
-Frederick Douglass
ESSE QUAM VIDERI –
To be, rather than to seem
– Marcus Tullius Cicero
“A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give.”
– Ida B. Wells
Do what thy manhood bid thee do; from none but self expect applause.
He noblest lives and noblest dies, who makes and keeps his self made laws
– Sir Richard Burton
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
– Winston Churchill
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth.”
― Father Alfred d’Souza
I don’t see where that invasion had anything to do with “quartering soldiers,” not even close. It was a home invasion, pure and simple. Bloated, arrogant parasites squatted for a little while. At least they didn’t eat up all the food and drink all the booze, then bust out all the walls and trash the rest of the place. (I’m guessing here, since that wasn’t reported.)
In any case, per that third amendment, all the gov. has to do is pass some “law” to make it all hunky dory anyway. There’s a “war” on you know, and we are the enemies.
“No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, _but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”_
See they can do anything they want, and sometimes they even pretend to justify it with “laws.”
But I am very curious why they unhooked the TV and game thing… What were they actually DOING? They obviously were not looking out the window all that time.
I don’t predict it’ll win, ML. Only that it’ll happen. 🙂
You predict WHAT will happen? What will/won’t “win?” The invasions are already happening, and have been for some time. I’m saying that this sort of petty vandalism has nothing to do with “quartering soldiers” or the third amendment.
And the ultimate point is that the “amendments” never meant a damn thing or had anything to do with our liberty to start with. sigh Once the “rulers” were given the power to “rule,” there was no limit to the power they could assume. The “constitution” and self ownership are mutually exclusive, and nothing whatsoever can change that. You either own yourself, or you don’t. If you own yourself, you don’t “need” any stinking constitution. 🙁
It’s always been interesting to me that the 2A is the only one without a weasel phrase… unless you take the “militia” statement as that, of course. But all the rest of them have some version of “reasonable,” or “as prescribed by law” or some out for the “rulers” to do whatever anyway.
And, of course, the weasel words and exceptions have been used generously from the beginning. It was planned that way…
And the only thing to be done about it is to remove that power… to take back self ownership… to debunk the idea that anybody has any legitimate authority AT ALL to control the lives and property of others. Until then, the troops will move in, or do any damned thing they please because, ultimately, most people will ALLOW it… believing that somehow they actually do have that authority, even if they are abusing it.
Deep breath, ML. Calm blue ocean. 🙂
You and I are on the same page. Like you and many TUAK regulars I don’ need no steenking constitution or court to tell me what my rights are. But lots of fine (if naive) people still lean on the constitution, just as they keep voting for politicians in the hope that this time they’ll actually get a conscience and do their constitutional duty. For such people, federal court cases are important.
All I’m saying, and maybe I should have been more specific, is that there is an increasing number of stories in which militarized police evacuate and occupy the homes of people who are accused of no crime, completely without reference to any warrant, for whatever purpose and period of time they choose. If that’s not quartering troops, I don’t know what you call it. (troops quartered in private homes in the 18th century also routinely practiced casual vandalism – not to mention theft and rape.) Those law enforcement organizations are frequently sued after the fact. Sooner or later those cases will find their way into federal courts, and sooner or later somebody’s going to try to challenge the practice on third amendment grounds. I don’t predict that the challenges will win, though that would be nice. I do predict that they’ll be tried.
I understand that, Joel. That’s just the problem. By going to “court,” the bogus “authority” is encouraged and reinforced. People then don’t question the legitimacy of the state authority, just continue to believe they must elect/hire the “right people” to wield that authority.
When people stop ALLOWING it… by whatever means, then there will be some hope of ending the invasions and every other evil practice by our would-be masters.
Not saying it would be easy, comfortable or in any way safe to do that, of course. Just that it is the only actual remedy. And the really good news is that more people seem to be understanding THAT these days.
Every time someone defies the mala prohibita “law,” carries without a “permit,” builds something without asking nanny’s permission, a thousand or even a million things thinking people do every day… it all counts. It is that kind of withdrawal of the bogus authority that has to come first, naturally. Just as you and I live our whole lives… and you are a perfect example of that person.
Once people are comfortable with some critical thinking and deciding for themselves… they can advance eventually to shooting the bastards.
We’re not there yet…
Unplugging electrical devices? That’s an easy one. They were doing things they didn’t want the NSA to know about. 🙂
And Joel, I’m with you on the observation in the first place. Sure, anything court-related that actually happens may be wholly “sound and fury, signifying nothing”…except that it is still an indicator that someone else is progressing along the path and is no longer strictly trapped at “it can’t happen here”. Even if I can’t personally support either, I’d still prefer the extra breathing room of actual minarchism to this no-longer-creeping-but-full-scale-sprinting totalitarianism that so many seem so hellbent on these days.
My own Third Amendment interest is a bit more as a strict completism thing. When I’m working on someone to get over the “can’t happen here” bump, I love to point out that the government afflicting us (to use a Grigg-ism) has already violated the entirety of the Bill of Rights, not just one or two parts. (Most people, at least, seem aware of, and are irritated by, one or two parts, even if they don’t yet acknowledge the rest.) The least obvious part of that for most people seems to be the Third Amendment, and I’ve long had to work at it to get the image across. In that sense, at least, a few actual court cases would help make the point. 🙂
In the end, of course, people have to let go of the whole thing, because The Big Loophole is woven into the very fabric of the system’s existence, and politics can never be the solution to the problem if politics is the problem. But I, for one, can also personally attest that this journey takes time for some*, and recognizing that we’re even past the point of the Third Amendment–involuntarily housing the standing army–just might knock over the tipping point of illusions for a certain kind of thick head that I happen to recognize well.
____________________________
* for which, ML, I will always owe you a debt of gratitude. Your patience with me paid off!
Bless you, Kevin. I’m sorry that my patience with this is growing thin. sigh
I live in a place where people adamantly understand at least some of their inalienable authority to bear arms and defend themselves, yet have unquestioned belief in government subsidies from stolen goods for farmers and ranchers, “taxes” to support government “schools,” etc. Sometimes I just want to tear out my hair.
But it seems to me that it is most important to “cut to the chase” and challenge all of these folks with the idea that they are the only ones with any legitimate authority over their lives. Time is indeed getting short. The question I keep asking in these conversations… By what legitimate authority? And NONE can answer me rationally.
Just so you know, Joel, someone filed a third amendment lawsuit last year. Even nastier than this case- cops arrested the family for not allowing them to takeovr and occupy the house for a stake-out. They moved in and set up house once the owners were out of the way. (MamaLiberty; note that these folks tried to resist the thugs. They kicked in the door and took him down at gunpoint. So some folks are trying.)
Oh, I do know that some folks are trying!! You are, I am, Joel definitely is… but even a lot of the people who are trying still are convinced that the government has the “authority” to “enforce the laws,” even when they disagree with the laws or the methods. It is that false belief that has to change. That “Most Dangerous Superstition,” as Larken Rose calls it. And it is precisely the state religion, the god of the state, that has been indoctrinated into most people of the world over the centuries.
And it will go on, one way or another, until people can replace that god with their own individual sovereignty. The ray of hope is that so many people are starting to honestly question that religion, that god, not just complain about the priest’s morals and methods.
MamaLiberty:
I grow tired of people acting shocked – SHOCKED IT TELL YOU – when people who they’ve willingly given unquestioned power over their lives, use that power to their own selfish desires.
Chris Christie shut down a highway to punish a political opponent? Yawn…
They freak the hell out like it is some abuse of their trust, and I just belly laugh, because who the hell thinks a guy like Christie sought out and took his power over the people of New Jersey for altruistic reasons? Who thinks that about any politician? He did it specifically so he could get the power to shut down highways, and people’s lives, on a whim. It’s his thing. It’s ALL of their things.. The very people who seek power over others are the last people on Earth to whom we should grant it, and yet our political system only allows for those people.
The actual number of politicians who are in it to truly help people an make a difference are so few it is laughable that anyone thinks such a thing is common. And even those politicians aren’t excused, because they seek power to “help” people, usually at the expense of others.
The biggest joke is that the “problems” that people bring up that would exist without a coercive, violent government are generally so much less than the “problems” we face as a result of our coercive, violent government that I just can’t even put it in words.
“Without the police, people will prey on us!”
“Yeah, and WITH the police, people will prey on you, anyway, and the police will also prey on you because they can, and you won’t be able to do anything about it to boot!”
“Without the government, we won’t have roads!”
At this point, i just sigh, because anyone that believes that the government is the only thing on Earth that knows how to build a road is so far gone…
I usually try this on for size:
“Without the government, 150 million people wouldn’t have been slaughtered in war, concentration camps, famine, and purging in the 20th century. You can fear roving motorcycle gangs of gasoline thieves all you want. I’m going to just keep on fearing government, thanks much.”
Just think, though… Goober, it doesn’t make a particle of difference how pure the intentions of the rulers… none. They do not have any legitimate authority to make or enforce rules for anyone – with a possible exception of those few fools who would truly WANT them to do so. Untangled from the matrix, I don’ think there would be many of them.
Altruism is a deadly disease, and has nothing whatsoever to do with what is good, right and honorable. Altruism is the evil lie the “rulers” use to bludgeon people into false guilt over having their own life, opinion, needs and desires. FALSE guilt for clinging to the slightest inclination to be a sovereign individual, with rights and needs and interests of their own.
I’d far rather the “rulers” be ugly, corrupt, malevolent in the extreme instead of “altruistic,” self righteous smooth talkers who can convince people they are being tortured and killed “for their own good.”
Well these posts are one good reason the internet will never be censored. You all vent here and feel good about it. Nothing else happens.
You do know your rights, whatever you might think they might be, extend just as far as the barrel of the gun pointed at you – right? It was never, ever different.
It’s just now the cops have the resources to send out SWAT for every warrant, dope bust and dog fight. Officer safety is paramount. Not yours. Once you give them the resources they will always use them.
One thing I’ve learned living all over the world is the written word counts for jack shit. It’s what the guys with the guns are like and American cops are the biggest assholes in the world.