“I see the liberty of the individual not only as a great moral good in itself (or, with Lord Acton, as the highest political good), but also as the necessary condition for the flowering of all the other goods that mankind cherishes: moral virtue, civilization, the arts and sciences, economic prosperity. Out of liberty, then, stem the glories of civilized life.”Murray Rothbard
The terms “freedom” and “liberty” have become clichés in modern political parlance. Because these words are invoked so much by politicians and their ilk, their meanings are almost synonymous and used interchangeably. That’s confusing – and can be dangerous – because their definitions are actually quite different.
“Freedom” is predominently an internal construct. Viktor Frankl, the legendary Holocaust survivor who wrote Man’s Search For Meaning, said it well: “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 (in how he approaches his circumstances).”
In other words, to be free is to take ownership of what goes on between your ears, to be autonomous in thoughts first and actions second. Your freedom to act a certain way can be taken away from you – but your attitude about your circumstances cannot – making one’s freedom predominantly an internal construct.
MSNBC accidentally makes the perfect case for the Second Amendment.
“In Venezuela, gun ownership is not something that's open to everybody. So if the military have the guns, they have the power.” (H/T: @FreeBeacon)pic.twitter.com/eUFFwOnDYm
The clearest of all the laws concerning US intelligence is Section 798, 18 US Code—widely known in the Intelligence Community as “the Comint Statute,” or “the 10 and 10.” Unlike other laws, this is a “simple liability” law. Motivation, context, identity, matter not at all. You violate it, you are guilty and are punished accordingly.
Here it is:
a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, . . . any classified information—
(1) concerning the nature, preparation, or use of any code, cipher, or cryptographic system of the United States or any foreign government; or
(2) concerning the design, construction, use, maintenance, or repair of any device, apparatus, or appliance used or prepared or planned for use by the United States …or
(3) concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government; or
(4) obtained by the processes of communication intelligence . . .
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
The reasons no prosecutions have followed should be plain enough. The offenders are big people, in the permanent government and in the Democratic Party. They have a great many friends in the U.S Justice Department. From the top down, the Trump Administration has been filled by much smaller people. Loud words aside, the president has kowtowed to the intelligence agencies in every way imaginable. No prominent Republican has chosen to challenge the de facto privileged relationship between Democrats in the intelligence agencies and the media.
And so, Brennan and Clapper continue as living proof that the United States has a dual system of justice. The example of their impunity speaks louder than any speech, and reassures their leftist successors in the intelligence agencies that their channel to the Times and Post is as safe as ever.
The refusal to apply Section 798 to Brennan and Clapper —the fact that they are free men —is simply the most obvious manifestation of the fact that we have a ruling class, that it is coherent, and that it has yet to be challenged in any serious way.
My training buddies had our regular monthly get together this past weekend. We have a standing appointment at a local outdoor range to use the most out of the way pit every 4th Saturday.
What we are seeing is that this group of folks is getting better, collectively, and progressing in pounding these mechanics into our lizard brains. By pounding these mechanics in there, you free up your higher brain to do other things. When you can swap mags effortlessly, run your weapon without thought you are getting to the point where falling back to your lowest level of training isn’t a bad thing at all.
I called a couple of guys who lament their never doing any training and invited them to come shoot. They couldn’t….
One buddy wanted to check it out, he drove 2.5 hours one way to do so…
Desire to actually train is not something all have.
I see it all the time. Guys who carry a handgun semi regularly, own a few rifles they never touch and think they will just magically be John Wick when their world goes to crap in .0027 seconds one day.
Don’t tell me you took a class back in 2015, that stuff is gone if you haven’t been practicing it regularly.
You. Won’t. Be. Ready. If. You. Do. Not. Regularly. Train.
I don’t mean square range plinking. I mean practicing the real mechanics of real life weapon manipulation in a somewhat stressful environment. Buy a shot timer and use it. Do some drills, run them over and over until you get it right. Then run them some more.
No, it isn’t the same as someone shooting back, but any stress added is good medicine. Make it competitive. Talk smack to each other. Encourage each other. Talk about how to improve.
Go shoot a few matches of your choice. Don’t worry about the game aspect, use it as useful trigger time. Watch the fast guys, learn how to be fast.
Get out there and off the couch. Let the lawn go. Find a couple of guys who want to get better and get to work.
Surprise, surprise! The unhinged left is planning protests, in Raleigh, on their most sacred of days, May Day (ahem)…
Why don’t we take back May 1st for the liberty-loving people of the world? This year, we intend to, at least for the gun owners of North Carolina.GRNC has recently dubbed May 1st “Second Amendment Wednesday,” we plan to petition our representatives on that day, and we hope you will join us.
WHEN:
Wednesday, May 1, 2019, 8:30 AM (sharp)
WHERE:
North Carolina General Assembly (North Carolina Legislative Building) 16 W Jones St. Raleigh, NC 27601Meet opposite the ‘Printed Bills’ office.
In the movie Terminator 2, the character Sarah Connor is in a mental institution warning about Judgment Day – the day when Skynet wakes up and triggers a nuclear holocaust. She knows what’s coming and freaks out as she desperately tries to warn the therapist and other listeners of the approaching Armageddon.
Again, she does this because she knows – KNOWS – what will happen.
Similarly I, too, can see an ending approaching: a financial cliff stemming from the world’s debt. In a very early essay, RUNNING OUT OF FINANCIAL ROAD, I outlined the financial situation of the world. Not just the US, but the world ([] comment added for clarification of the quote, link in original):I speculate that even if we strip-mined the planet down to the Moho [to pay off the world’s indebtedness], this could not be repaid.My opinion has not changed; indeed, it is reinforced at least weekly in my readings: there will be some kind of financial reckoning for the debt – again, globally, not just in America – that we have quantitative-eased out of thin air.
