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To: Huck
I've heard of Spooner. He is an obscure 19th century American weirdo dredged up usually by hard core libertarians. These hard core libs overlap with revisionist neorebs--they share common hatreds (The USA, The Constitution, the rule of law)

Now that's an odd statement for you to make. Spooner always insisted his love for the constitution _so long as it was interpreted and read under its original and true sense_. At a time when other abolitionists like Garrison were burning copies of it to incite public furor and calling the Constitution a "pact with the devil," Spooner became its greatest champion from that movement. Even in his later argument against the document's application, "The constitution of no authority," he made it explicit that his quarrel was not with the document as properly interpreted but rather with the abuse of it exercised by the state. As for the rule of law, Spooner was as strict as one could be in his adherence to the common law that underlies our judicial system.

and common heroes (Jefferson, Calhoun, Henry).

It's odd that you would consider any of those three men "un-american." I have a strong suspicion that the overwhelming majority of this forum would find that proposition, especially in the case of Jefferson, to be an absurdity in itself.

If I recall correctly, Spooner was a radical Northeastern brahmin, the type of dude who would have made John Muir seem normal. For GOP Capitalist to quote him, it's like a conservative quoting Alan Deschowitz and saying "see, this is one of your guys, he's waaay out there and even he says such and such.

You recall incorrectly. Spooner was a New England abolitionist lawyer with strong libertarian view of government in the extreme Jeffersonian sense. He viewed the state as a corrupt institution that was at odds with liberty, was often predicated upon oppression, and accordingly needed to be guarded against by the restraints of consent - a position that most real conservatives today would find agreeable.

Which is all well and good, except that you would have to know more about Spooner, and the historical context, to have any chance of properly interpreting the information.

If you doubt the context of what I posted or believe that I have somehow misrepresented Spooner's words, by all means look him up yourself and prove me wrong. Until then have a nice day.

107 posted on 09/01/2003 8:19:01 PM PDT by GOPcapitalist
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To: GOPcapitalist
Now that's an odd statement for you to make. Spooner always insisted his love for the constitution _so long as it was interpreted and read under its original and true sense_.

LOL! A left wing anarchist who believed the Constitution was unlawful just wants the Constitution interpreted his way? Imagine that! LOL!

As an advocate of Natural Law Theory and an opponent of government and legislation, Spooner considered the Constitution itself to be unlawful.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander_Spooner

It's odd that you would consider any of those three men [Jefferson, Calhoun, Henry]"un-american."

Interestingly, I did not say that any of those three men were unamerican. I notice that didn't stop you from placing it in quotation marks, as if I had said it. Dilorenzo would be proud of you.

You recall incorrectly. Spooner was a New England abolitionist lawyer

A New England Brahmin, as I stated.

with strong libertarian view of government in the extreme Jeffersonian sense.

LOL. Whatsa matter? Can't spell anarchist? How about libertarian socialist?

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/secG7.html

Incidentally, I think it's so cute that someone has taught you a few fallacies and you are getting a chance to practice them. Just be careful. You can take a thing too far. I had a vision of you in the audience at a Don Rickles show jumping up and exclaiming "Ad hominem! Ad hominem!"

Do you get it yet? I STILL don't think you do. In fact, you haven't even perceived yet that you are missing something.

112 posted on 09/02/2003 6:15:37 AM PDT by Huck
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