It is the Very Basic Foundation of RV Boondocking. The life I've chosen is one which requires a certain specific ingredient without which it cannot exist.
Liberty.
If I do not Live in Liberty... I cannot pursue my dreams. The burdens, restrictions and life directions being imposed by an arrogant society threaten that Liberty. They Threaten and Inhibit a man's ability to Pursue his happiness whatever his dreams might be.
The remodeling of our culture from one of the Right to; "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" into this abhorrent Thing that is growing today; where so many believe they have the RIGHT, the Entitlement to possess virtually anything their neighbor has, and all they have to do is demand that the government transfer that "property" to them, is likely the saddest thing I've ever witnessed.
Make No mistake. Understand Clearly... That is what you are talking about when you speak of entitlement. You are stealing from your Neighbor.
Do you think the government paymaster walks up to some magic window with a bucket, pulls a lever and out flows the gold to finance all the lusted for entitlements?
Government produces... Nothing. Not one fake penny. It never has, it never will. To give you whatever wealth it grants... It must first TAKE that wealth from someone else, from your Neighbor. Redistribution of wealth by Brute, uncaring, Force.
Your Neighbor spent much time working to produce whatever wealth he's been fortunate enough to control. It is his. It was gained, in exchange for a large chunk of his very life.
When YOU demand that that wealth shall be taken from him, your neighbor, it matters not one bit what you intend to spend that asset on. It is Stolen Property. A great part of his LIFE is Stolen, making him in the process, a Slave... and you, as the one demanding that action, a Thief.
... IF ... You are one demanding Entitlement.
The only thing I can say is it is unwise for a pick pocket to get caught with his hand... in MY pocket.
I don't say that all downtrodden be forgotten. What I say is that it should not be rewarded. It is only compassionate and generous when it is a voluntary act by each person. In the end, each of us is responsible for their own life. One way or the other.
Life is not fair. It never has been. It never will be. Wishing it weren't so is like wishing the sun would rise in the west. You can wish it, but it is NEVER going to happen. Get Over It.
When I see a hurt man, or woman, I offer aid. When I've seen a destitute man standing in the rain I've given him a tarp to shelter himself. I've defended those under assault. I've put myself at risk in defense of others. Hell, I got an award from the State Patrol for diving into a brawl in defense of a Trooper. So the claims that I am a cold hearted motherless son fall on deaf ears.
I've always prided myself that even if I was in total, opposite, disagreement with someone, I could see, I could comprehend how they could believe as they did. I could understand how they'd come to their opinion, wrong though I might think that opinion to be.
Today, I often find myself dumbstruck, unable to comprehend the thought process that brought someone to the ideas they speak. Unable to understand how they cannot see the catastrophe they are producing with their twisted logic and disregard for the Rights of Others, while they pursue their Entitlements of convenience.
We are living in an age of unrestrained Government Power and Government Authority with all controls rapidly being removed.
It has been said that we live in a Democracy. THAT, is not, and never was what our Laws say. The Law speaks of A Republic, a Representative Democracy. A system where the Majority rules but the RIGHTS of the Individual and the Minority are protected.
A Democracy, Majority Rule, has been described by philosophers much greater in ability than I as "Mob Rule."
It appears that the Mob is in power. The actions of this society have been perverted with 1984 double speak.
Because the thefts themselves cannot be defended it is always attempted to divert attention from the issues at hand by assaulting the speaker's IQ or labeling him/her with various names... such as misogynist, psychopath or other such insults... ignoring the points they spoke of, assaulting only the individual, with loud shouts intended to drown out the conversation.
Many will run and hide from such attacks... afraid of the consequences... I've been called every name known to man, or woman... Boo Hoo... poor me.
One name that will never stick, arrogant though I might sound is; Coward.
If you want to speak of reality and solutions and compassion and co-operation, I'm all ears. If you want to promote entitlement, slavery, socialism (no matter how much you deny that entitlements are the very life blood of socialism)...
... you will find this worn out old buzzard an unrepentant, and un-yielding adversary.
- BK Gore
29 comments:
What I do not understand, is how someone can delude themselves enough to believe that Limbaugh promotes liberty. The other side is wrong but that does not make Limbaugh right. Look at Limbaugh's record. He is an enemy of liberty. Why would someone concerned with spreading liberty be tuning into his show?
To understand where the Hegelian Dialectic is trying to herd you, it is necessary to listen to what everyone is saying. To defend yourself you must understand where the assault is. Coming from.
Oh, so you already understand that Limbaugh is just a collectivist on the right attacking a collectivist on the left?
With the sheeple in the middle being obediently herded where the "power" wants them to go. Is there any other sort of "talking head" on the propaganda media today?
I suppose not. Still can't stomach listening to Limbaugh even if it's for opposition research. Very brave of you.
I rarely do... The most difficult thing in this divisive time is to try to maintain a constructive dialog... And get people to understand that the "Rights" of Liberty are Not subject to Negotiation.
It's going to be a very long and difficult process. When something as complex as how our republic should be governed devolves into "red team" vs. "blue team", I think it might be too late.
Agreed. The "Them or Us" mentality is the greatest road block to any progress. That said, in the meantime, if the foundation upon which our entire culture stands, our Liberty, is permitted to be demolished in the interest of the transient, imagined and short term security of "entitlement" ... It's Game Over.
Anyone who sacrifices essential Liberty for transient security will deserve and receive Neither. -Benjamin Franklin ( a fairly Accurate quote)
Limbaugh isn't the issue, and neither is Fluke. This issue is Liberty vs Socialism and the big problem with socialism is that it relies upon using other peoples money. But it's actually far worse than that because the government is the big fat greedy middleman deciding how much of your hard earned money he will take, how much he will keep for himself, and how much he will give and to whom he shall give it. And that folks, is the real issue.
Mike,
That all leads to corporate welfare. Both the right and the left have no real issue with that as it keeps them in power. Sad but true.
Government produces nothing? Anyone using government services is a leach? Right? Get the hell off government land, and out of Forest Service campgrounds!! And, if you get a serious ailment don't go to a hospital because you can't afford treatment. Just crawl off on non-government land and die! You aren’t as smart as you once appeared to be Brian!
1. The land does not belong to the Government. It belongs to us, the people. Actually some would argue it belongs to the Boss not government or the people either. And if the wolf the coyote and the Beaver Is allowed to live on it Then I demand the same Rights of a Wolf a coyote and a Beaver.
2. Yes I use Forest Service Campgrounds, for which I pay the campground fee. No free ride there.
3. ANYONE who knows me knows I have always said; "If I can afford the treatment I will buy it, otherwise, I will get better, or I will die. And no matter how much socialized medicine you recieved with stolen funds... You will die as well.
4. Government has a purpose. It is Not to redistribute wealth.
5. For a lot of years we paid well into five figures of income tax. We paid Property tax. We pay untold hundreds in fuel taxes and federal excise taxes on tires to support the highway system. the list of taxes and fees we pay goes on and on and on... With those "Takings" becoming over the years the much greater half.
... And yet they want more.
So, I got lost there... Since the government did not produce the land, and since the campgrounds were built with the wealth of the people... And I pay my own medical bills... And any government service is operated with whatever is left after said government has siphoned off its cut.... Just what exactly was it you believe gov't produced sir?
Larry,
I think the idea is that government is at best inefficient, and at worst, corrupt. While government does provide services, that does not mean that they produce anything. All functions of government are paid for by tax dollars (which are taken by force) or by simply printing money (which devalues our currency, causes inflation, etc). While nobody can say what the result would be if certain government functions were to be privatized, it is hard to argue that it could get any worse. The only way to even begin doing that would necessitate having a free market which we currently do not have.
Why is it that those who demand the socialist redistribution of property are never willing to debate the principles and philosophies of their position? They always go straight to ridiculing the intelligence of anyone who has the gall to resist?
LarryM I think you just provided some perfect examples to back up what Brian said.
First, the Feddel Gummint did NOT produce the land that he camps on. It was stolen as a 'spoils of war' after the Mexican War. Ask La Raza if the Gummint produced the land and they will tell you that they are 'entitled' to have it given back to them.
Second, the campgrounds were NOT produced by the Gummint. They were built using money that was taken (stolen) from the people of this country through taxation. If there is any 'entitlement' to be had I would say the people of this country are entitled to camp in them.
Third, are you suggesting that Brian can not die on Gummint land? Are there only certain individuals that are entitled to that privilege.
Fourth, if he were to go to a hospital and could not pay then in our society, in the past, the hospital would bear the expense. Now, with OmabaCare he will be partially 'entitled' to some of other peoples money that the Gummint has taken (stolen) through taxes from other people. The Gummint has NOT produced anything that did not exist prior to his entering the hospital.
Brian, good post and good discussion.
"I prefer dangerous freedom to peaceful slavery." --Thomas Jefferson
Brian, you are right on and its amazing the seemingly smart folks that dont get it.I guess a poor dumb cowboy does not have a right to be smart. Maybe if those years you spent in the military were spent in some ivy league school esisting on govt grants and you had some community organizin rather than cow organizin experience, you would get it. This Rush-Fluke thing is a Fluke, as they say. It was a grand opening for developement of gender warfare. First it was class warfare, then they took aim on the catholics, I saw the other day the grand prophet himself accusing the Vatican of laundering money. Its called divide and conquer.There are some genius socialist working overtime to take over our country. One last comment one the Fluke matter-I dont like the words spoken by Limbaugh, but I much less like the famous c--- term applied by Bill Mahar to Sarah Palen. As far as I am concerned, that is the most awful word in our language. Where was the outrage? I am no Limbaugh fan, I lkie the message but not the messenger.If your going to place yourself on a pedestal,you cant have his multiple marriage record or drug issues. Your recent blog mentioned slavery. Our previous period of slavery was horrible and placed physical constrants and punishment on its subjects. What do you call it today when our big govt through its many entitlement programs takes away some folks ability to earn and think for themselves. Being left with no initiative in itself is certainly something which could be worse than slavery, if you cant care or think for yourself.By the way, is case some of your critical audience notices, the word organizin was not mispelled, it was in the cowboy dialect. yes and unlike Mr or Ms anonymous, I will use my name.
Holy smokes Brian!!! I like your passion on this! And I enjoyed the comment discussion.
I've been trying to tell EVERYBODY, that will listen, to stop bickering between themselves over Rep. or Dem.
bullshit. It's what the powers that be want!
Thanks for speaking up.
Brian,
The first thing you should do is move to Somalia, where they have very little in the way of government oppressing them. Make sure you deposit all your money in one of their banks while you’re at it. The point being, that we all benefit from the government we have. Of course Libertarians prefer not to have to pay for it, or they think they should pay only what they think they should pay for it. Right? Which, we all know, would be next to nothing. Isn’t that true Brian?
Good government, which provides the protection of the Common Law in this country, costs money Brian! Don’t you think that those who benefit most from this good government should pay according to how greatly they have benefited? Freedom and good government cost money. And a LOT MORE money than any Libertarian would admit. Without our government taxes, we’d have a government not unlike that of Somalia.
You should go back and study the America we had when the Robber Barons ran this country at the beginning of the 20th century. We had no labor laws, no rights for workers, and no (or maybe only just one) National Parks;. The laissez faire that you love ruled the land. Power resided in the hands of the very few, and the ordinary man, or woman, lived basically a subsistence life… because that’s what made for the biggest profits for the powerful.
The arguments you make against present day government are exactly the arguments made then against government setting aside certain areas for our National Parks as public lands. The next time you go out to boondock, you should find some private land to do it on Brian! Without the government “redistributing” the wealth, which you now rant so fervently against, you wouldn’t be enjoying the public lands as you now do. They’d all be Private lands!! And, you personally certainly didn’t pay for the public lands you now enjoy. People who came before you did.
I doubt you’ll crawl off somewhere in some hole, and let yourself die if you come down with a serious health problem you can’t afford to pay for Brian. If you do, you’ll be just about the first person who ever did that. You’ll go to a hospital, tell them you can’t pay, and EXPECT that they will be humane, and help you. All the while, you’ll be bitching about how government is picking over your bones like a vulture. Won’t you? Don’t be a hypocrite Brian.
Brian, you need to examine exactly what this country would look like if it had always been ruled by the Libertarian principals you espouse, and lip-synch with Limbaugh. There wouldn’t be any place for you to roam free. You’d be a peon somewhere working for the man til you dropped!! There are worse things than paying taxes Brian, and that’s living in a society where only the powerful have a say. And they would pay the least amount of taxes possible. Look at Romney and the taxes he paid. Percentage wise, 7 points less than most working families.
Look at the time of the Robber Barons. We’ve been there before. Left to Libertarian principals, we’d be there again. Think for yourself Brian!
Like I said sir, I am dumbstruck.
We have never had a libertarian government, Larry. Closest example would be Gary Johnson for 8 years as governer of New Mexico but he was still working within a predominately statist construct. What many fail to understand about libertarianism is that it not only protects individuals from force - it also protects against fraud. I think your comparison of robber barons and libertarians is way off. Your belief that Limbaugh is in any way espousing libertarianism shows a disturbing lack of knowledge on the subject.
Brian, did you just realize how smart you are, or have you been covering it up all these years.For a bald skinny cowboy with a puss gut and bad teeth you sure have a correct and intelligent way with words.If you read some of this crap some folks think your a bff with Rush. Who knows, next thing the "informed" will want to have a boycott on your publications. I am looking foreward to tomorrows edition
This thread scares me a bit. Do people equate libertarianism (small or big L) with Romney or Limbaugh? Talk about uninformed. Wow.
Be careful with your insults Sir!.
In 1979 prior to my marriage and during a period between jobs without any insurance I suffered a Life threatening ruptured appendix. Emergency surgery and a few days in the hospital had me back on my feet. How much did the medical system lose? Not one red cent. This Cowboy paid every penny. Full Boat sir. not one penny of welfare. It took me a while but it was paid.
In 1980 my daughter was born. Thousands of dollars paid by me. Every Damn penny. It took a few years.
Around five Years ago I had a prostate cancer scare. Thousands in cost. Again, I paid it... We still are.
Last year Heidi spent a day in the ER in Utah. We paid every Damn Penny.
In all these cases our income qualified us for some variety of medical welfare. Taking a handout from a corrupt, socialist, degrading system has always and will always be declined by me.
I have lived my entire life accepting responsibility for as well as the consequences of what befalls my life. Don't you dare brand me with the pathetic hypocrisy of a Socialist. That I will not tolerate sir!
I commend you. You live by what you espouse. Actually, I suspect if we talked, we'd probably agree on more than we'd disagree on. I bet that would surprise you!
Three items.
1) If you hadn't been able to pay for the timely removal of your appendix, should the doctors have let you die? You were able by your will and work to pay, but suppose you couldn’t. Suppose you had a disease that prevented you from working so you couldn’t pay such a bill? Helping such a person is a transfer of wealth. Right?
2) Did you own your ranch? If so, did you take government subsidies? It so happens that farmers/ranchers are the biggest welfare queens around. There are millionaire farmers that get millions of dollars in subsidies. This is a effectively a wealth transfer from city dwellers to farmers/ranchers. Yet, many farmers/ranchers consider themselves the definition of the self reliant American. Are they?
3) Do you believe many working Americans pay no income taxes? If so, what percentage? At the height of your ability to make money how many months do you think you had to work to pay your federal income taxes? Four? More? Less?
Unless you’re a hundred years old you didn’t pay for the federal lands you’re enjoying. In a sense those who came before you transferred wealth to you. Correct? Do you know that there were those who decried the set aside of public lands as a theft of their actual, or potential, wealth?
This wealth transfer stuff can actually get pretty complicated.
I never meant to insult you! I appologize if it seemed that way. I just think that these issues are more complicated than indicated in your original rant.
Happy Trails Brian!
1. What the doctors do should largely be a matter of Their conscience, not a government edict.
I have never advocated throwing sick and downtrodden people out in the street. But when 60% or more of an insurance dollar goes to the insurance company, and 40% or less to pay actual medical care, that is exactly what the corrupt system is doing. When it is fraudulently "reformed" for the purpose of reigning in the runaway cost and the major reform is, largely to make it illegal to NOT have the un-affordable insurance and the result is an increase in premium cost of something like 15% a year or more since... that is exactly what is happening.
2. I have never owned the ranches I worked for. I worked for family ranches and farms. The subsidies you speak of go primarily to huge corporate "Farm" entities NOT family farmers and ranchers. Get your facts straight please.
3. Who cares who pays what percentage of income tax? When the REAL tax burden exceeds 60% for everyone, arguing about how that is spread across the economy is irrelevant. Between income, property, sales, registration, fees for this fees for that, federal excise, tax upon tax the educated economists pretty much all agree the tax rate is heavily beyond 50%. That one person might find a way to receive less punishment from a corrupt system doesn't hurt me in the least. That's like complaining to the gangbanger shooting people on a bus, why did you shoot me twice and him only once? Shoot him again!
I weary of the argument over land. The government is not the Master... It does not own anything. It is an oppressive tool and nothing else. "All government is always oppressive." I believe it was Jefferson told us that. Possible Franklin. I'm fuzzy just now. The thing that made this nation special among all others is we kept our oppressive govt on a short leash. That leash was cut. It is long past time to tie that dog back up. I am not here "By the Govt's Leave." I am a Free man. I don't need some Kings permission to walk free on the earth.
Brian, you’re one of those people who has been convinced by talk radio that he pays A GREAT DEAL MORE IN TAXES than he actually pays.
Start by taking line 61 (total tax) of your form 1040 and divide it by line 37 (adjusted gross income). The odds of that percentages being over 20 percent are VERY SMALL. If you use form 1040EZ divide line 10 by line 25.
Try adding all the actual taxes you pay to the federal income tax you paid (social security taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, state income taxes, gasoline taxes, even vehicle license taxes). Make an effort to make a valid calculation! Divide that number by line 37. I do not believe that, no matter what you do, that you will get a percentage over 35%. Only include taxes you personally pay.
Now, just for the heck of it, back out the Social Security taxes you added in (it’s a disability and retirement insurance annuity), and back out your gasoline taxes (you aren’t forced to use the public roads with a gasoline propelled vehicle).
If you can make the above calculation (include everything), and have it based on realistic taxes paid, and get a percentage of at least 35 percent for any year starting with 2005…and show me you made a valid effort… I will send you $50. Just do not include taxes paid by others. We’re talking about the tax burden you have, right?
So, all you have to do to get my $50 is prove I am wrong. For any of six years. Using real numbers! No phony baloney BS. It should be easy money…unless you’re wrong, and I’m right.
However, I think we’re missing the bigger issue. And it’s a real big part of your anger at our government
.
Who’s making transfer’s of wealth to whom?
Mitt Romney admits that he has a Net Worth of $250,000,000 and says he paid $3,000,000 dollars in federal income taxes in 2010 on $21,700,000 of income. Is he over taxed? Paying his fair share of taxes?
He paid 13.8 percent of his income in federal income taxes, and 1.2 percent of his wealth in federal income taxes.
A woman I know aged 24 has about $5,000 Net Worth. She had income of $34,341 and paid $3,299 in federal income taxes in 2011. She paid 10.4 percent of her income in federal income taxes, and 69.9 percent of her Net Worth in federal income taxes.
A woman I know aged 63 has approximately $200,000 in Net Worth. She made $92,731 in income, and paid $14,656 in federal income taxes in 2011. She paid 15.8 percent of her income in federal income taxes, and paid 13.65 percent of her Net Worth in federal income taxes.
According to the most recent data the top 5 percent of Americans have 72 percent of the wealth. Are they paying their fair share of taxes? If you believe conservative talk radio, they are grossly OVER TAXED.
Are they? Is Mitt Romney, who very well may be our next President, overtaxed?
Joseph Goebbels said that if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth. Benjamin Disraeli said that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Both were right.
So you tell me. Who’s paying a fair share of federal income taxes, and who’s receiving wealth transfers from whom? Maybe you should re-think this Brian. But, continue reading.
My conclusion is that our problem IS NOT wealth transfers from people like you to people of low, or middle income. Our problem is WEALTH TRANSFERS from the bottom 95 percent (people like you and I) to the top 5 percent.
I worked as Certified Public Accountant for 30 years. I never once saw a person who made more than $500,000 a year who was over taxed, or unfairly taxed. NOT ONCE.
Contrary to the lie, that has become our own Goebbels truth, that our Government’s problem is Over Spending…Our government’s real problem is that the top 5 percent of wealthy individuals in this country are not paying anywhere near their fair share of taxes. Our problem is that the bottom 95 percent are constantly transferring wealth to the top 5 percent.
(to be continued)
(continued)
Our problem is not overspending. Our problem is too little revenue from the top 5 percent. Effectively, our real problem is wealth transfers from people like you to the top 5 percent, because they are not carrying their fair share of the burden. And, I don’t care what damned lie conservative talk radio keeps telling you.
I know this is way more than enough. But, like you, I care for this country. With all its faults, and all our divisions, we still live in the greatest country on earth. However, if we don’t all come to a better understanding of the sources of our problems, things will get worse.
Beat me out of my $50 Brian. Just make a REAL calculation. Not a "REAL ECONOMIST" calculation. Should be easy, right?
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