*
None of the Above
Rick Vandeven - Libertarian For US Representative (MO-8)

Happy Holidays! Now, Bend Over

Posted Saturday, December 29, 2012, at 8:48 AM

Comments

View 3 comments or respond
Community discussion is important, and we encourage you to participate as a reader and commenter. Click here to see our Guidelines. We also encourage registered users to let us know if they see something inappropriate on our site. You can do that by clicking "Report Comment" below.
  • If I'm not mistaken, the Income tax and what would become the Federal Reserve were just such "Christmas gifts".

    -- Posted by Audit The Fed on Sat, Dec 29, 2012, at 7:49 PM
  • This diatribe borders on treasonous discourse. Perhaps I am reading this as serious rhetoric rather than a rather weak attempt at satire. Either way, if you really want to make a difference in our government, first realize that this government that you describe as your enemy provides you the freedom to write and publish this rubbish without retribution. I wish you well, Mr. Vandeven, but I also hope nobody with sound political sense takes you seriously.

    -- Posted by LiberalDemocrat on Fri, Jan 4, 2013, at 9:27 AM
  • LiberalDemocrat,

    Thank you for accusing me of treason. I wear this as a badge of honor in this age when, as the one member of CONgress in recent history whom I admire, Ron Paul, once said, "truth is treason in the empire of lies". Plus, I was beginning to believe that I had lost my touch since nobody had accused me of treason in at least two weeks.

    I won't attempt to explain my "treasonous discourse" to you because doing so would be a waste of both of our time. What you are is beyond "invincible ignorance". You are a statist.

    What I will do is what I do best, make social and political commentary from a libertarian point of view in the hope that somebody will stumble upon it. I was told recently that this "treasonous discourse" (gotta love that online thesaurus, another creation of government no doubt) was in the top three hits in the area on msm.com. Granted, it was probably a slow news day, and the headline may have confused some people into believing that this was some weird porn involving elves (is that how you got here?), but this is not the first time that this has been reported to me.

    For example, the Southeast Missourian owns (an abstract concept to you, I know) this website. I give the editors of the Southeast Missourian 57 kinds of hell at every given opportunity due to their endless Republican propaganda efforts. Yet they continue to allow me to blog on their website. Why? Because I bring in readers, and advertisement hits. It is pure, unadulterated capitalism and I LOVE IT!

    But I digress!

    The government does not give us rights. As humans we are born with certain rights, some refer to these rights as "natural rights", some as "God given rights", I like the term "human rights", one of which is the right to the free expression and exchange of ideas. The government did not give me my mind, or intellect, or the computer that I am typing this on, or the internet in which I am broadcasting my ideas.

    If one believes that a "benevolent" government gives us human rights, then one also supports governments that attempt to deprive individuals of human rights through force and violence. If rights are a government's to give, then those same rights are a government's to take away. As a libertarian, I do not subscribe to this falsehood.

    Throughout history, governments, like the one that I find myself under now, would never have attempted to deprive individuals of human rights without support from authoritarians and statists like you. That is why I never blame government for doing what they always do; grow exponentially at the expense of freedom. I blame people like you who cheer on such actions. Without people like you LiberalDemocrat, we would live in a much more peaceful and prosperous world.

    -- Posted by Rick Vandeven on Fri, Jan 4, 2013, at 7:34 PM