“The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a “warm body” democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction…. Once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader — the barbarians enter Rome.
To Sail Beyond the Sunset Robert A.Heinlein
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. — C. S. Lewis
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary -- H.L. Mencken
There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. R. Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)
If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for, but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong. If this is too blind for your taste, consult some well-meaning fool (there is always one around) and ask his advice. Then vote the other way. This enables you to be a good citizen (if such is your wish) without spending the enormous amount of time on it that truly intelligent exercise of franchise requires. R. Heinlein (Time Enough for Love)
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert Heinlein
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? . . ."
". . . After all, you knew ahead of time that those bluecaps were out at night for no good purpose. And you could be sure ahead of time that you,d be cracking the skull of a cutthroat. Or what about the Black Maria sitting out there on the street with one lonely chauffeur"what if it had been driven off or its tires spiked? The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!"
The Gulag Archipelago - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“Did you really think we want those laws observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them to be broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against... We’re after power and we mean it... There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Reardon, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”
- Ayn Rand, ‘Atlas Shrugged’ 1957
The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.
"On August 9, 1932, the government decreed the death penalty for those convicted of ‘political’ murder. The next night a band of Nazis invaded the home of a Communist worker in the Silesian village of Potempa and stomped him to death, kicking his larynx to pieces. When the killer s were arrested, tried, and sentenced in accordance with the new law, Hitler responded with threats and demonstrations. On Sept. 2, the government gave its answer: the death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. The killers were freed by Hitler next year. "
"The civilized men in the country did not know what to do. In the words of one historian, the moderates voiced desperate "appeals to reason… [But] their techniques were distinctly out of tune with the wild emotionalism that seemed to have gripped a large part of the nation"
"The civility cherished by the civilized men had finally been defeated by their ideas, although they did not know that this was the cause. After years of preaching contradictions and of evading principles with an anti-ideological shrug, these men were astonished to see the nation conclude that man cannot live by principles, that reason is no guide to action, and that anything goes. After years of institutionalizing interest-group warfare, which they had justified as sacrifice or collective service, these men were astonished to see hostile gangs take to the streets and demand one another’s sacrifice. After years of undercutting the mind by preaching the primacy of gentle feeling (whether ‘progressive’, religious, or skeptical), these men were astonished to find that they had nothing more to say, and that there was no one left to listen."
"The moderates were helpless. The authorities were helpless. The killers were taking over. On January 30, 1933, after due attention to every requirement of German law and of the Weimar Constitution, Nazi rule was made official… It took six months for the Chancellor to transform the country into a totalitarian state."
Leonard Peikoff - The Ominous Parallels - 1980
Handy tagline list:
Europeans killed 6 million Jews. In return they got 40 million muslims. Karma's a bitch.
In God I trust. Everybody else shows me their hands.
Two months and still no bill from Cong. Pence. Some plan, eh?
Jesus loves you. mohamet wants you dead.
When decadance walks the halls of power, depravity rules the side streets.
Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.®
If it's worth shooting, it's worth shooting twice.
Ammo is cheap. I'm not.
Why not pardon Sirhan Sirhan? The bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is still free.
Report every single illegal alien you meet. 1-866-DHS-2ICE.
Hiring illegal aliens is a crime. Report it: 1-866-DHS-2ICE
islam is not a religion. It's a death cult. Let's give 'em what they want.
Beer should be stored in a cool, dark place.
Be able to find your clothes and your weapons in the dark.
Finally this is for the pro-amnesty crowd on FR.
we can't deport these people that would be impossible that poll is flawed the people who conducted it are nuts and probably Dems or agents of Zogby those people just come here to build buildings and grow food what's your problem do you want Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House and Harry Reid as President of the Senate when did you become a Bush Hater a wall will cost too much money and it won't work you people are just a bunch of Mexican hating racists don't you know that lettuce will cost $40.00 a head if all those people go home most of those people just want to work hard and do the jobs Americans won't do didn't you hear the President say he was against illegal immigration this country was built by immigrants so who are you to deny them the chance to come here for a better life my parents and grandparents were all immigrants why can't you just leave these poor day laborers alone all they want to do is paint houses or build houses or live in houses or be around houses or be above houses but not below houses unless those houses have a finished basement finished basements are nice I like finished basements never mind about the basements don't you know those people pay taxes just like the rest of us they're not breaking any laws ok so they are breaking the law but just little itty bitty laws not great big laws that are serious laws just the laws that we passed when we were kidding or drunk or high or something so don't worry about those laws it's only a felony the second time they come here the first time its a misdemeanor so cut them some slack ok Michelle Malkin hates President Bush she's a nutcase who's never been right about anything yea she is really hot but she's still nuts Peggy Noonan is nuts too we used to like her but now she's criticized the President so she goes in the nuts column who really really wants to see Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House because she really wants to see Bush impeached and don't you know that Pat Buchanan is nuts too well we always knew that just thought I'd toss that in there even though he really hasn't said much about this illegal immigration thing maybe Peggy and Michelle have a secret plot to get Bush impeached so the Dems can crown them the first two women President and VP no way that would never happen and how could you possibly suspect the Chamber of Commerce they're just hardworking businessmen and women trying to make a buck who cares if they hire a few illegals what's the big deal I don't see why everyone here gets so worked up about it I mean like I said it's only little bitty laws they break not like the really important tax laws ok so they break tax laws but that doesn't really matter do you really want Hillary to be President that’s it I’m calling the mods.. Bueller…Bueller…what if you need Ferris Bueller someday then where will you be this stuff makes it’s own sauce when you add water you have to vote Republican no matter what and it doesn’t matter if the Republican is a pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, anti-2nd amendment, pro amnesty RINO like Olympia Snowe because the majority is the mostest important thing of all and don’t you ever forget it mister don’t make me come over there I’ll turn this thread around and go home so fast it’ll make your head spin we haven’t talked about Ann Coulter yet she’s another one that criticized President Bush on this issue I think she’s too skinny but folks around here seem to like her at least they used to till she criticized President Bush on the illegal immigration issue now she’s just a skinny skank who probably hangs out at DU late at night all by herself posting curse words about Karl Rove and plotting the loss of the Republican majority in the House and the Senate because she really really wants Hillary to make her Secretary of State or something we never really liked her all that much anyway and besides it doesn’t matter that these illegal aliens are committing crimes just by being here and many of them go on to commit more serious crimes you can’t prove that ok well maybe you can prove that but it doesn’t matter because the Republican majority is the most important thing in the whole world ever and if you vote against one single Republican one single time well then you just don’t let the door hit you in the backside quick someone post a picture of Red from That 70’s Show calling everyone a Dumbass yea that’ll swing the undecided over to your side let’s see if we can get someone mad enough he or she will say something that’s really offensive then we can get the Mods to kick them out of here and a moose bit my sister once now she can’t eat any cheese at all beeber what beeber I just stuned it right over there a minute ago this is how FreeRepublic has always worked your mileage may very or it may vary whatever it takes Lou Dobbs is a nutcase he’s never been right about anything either and we can’t put the Guard on the border because they aren’t trained for it I mean we can send them to Iraq and let them keep terrorists out of Iraq but they can’t do the same thing in Texas or Arizona because it just wouldn’t work I know let’s all send Freepmails to each other talking about how the people who want illegal immigrants are deported are really, really stupid then we’ll send Freepmails to those people and tell them to stop posting to us on the illegal alien threads or well get huffy and call the Mods never mind that I don’t read your stupid Freepmails I just delete them as soon as I see who they’re from so how do you like them apples and Oh My God he hates these cans run Mr. Hartoonian run and now let’s throw in something that’s completely off the topic of illegal aliens so we can show how clever we are even though people just go wow that was really off topic and kind of dumb and those illegal aliens well they don’t murder rape rob stab shoot garrote or molest all that many people so cut ‘em a break will you there just here to do the jobs that all you folks who were born here or got naturalized the good old fashioned legal way are too lazy or stupid to do and how could you be so heartless and cruel and coldhearted as to expect people who come to this country to actually obey the law why that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard what do you mean you want people to obey the law what are you a Communist or something I sure hope no one puts a picture of Helen Thomas in this thread you’re just a fringe voter nobody cares about you Mr. Pink don’t tip Charlie don’t surf Mr. Blond whips out his gun and starts saying he’s gonna blow me away and blah blah blah…..
Oh and you can kiss my ass, too.
Regards,
L
Ping lists:
Avian Flu:
2ndreconmarine; Fitzcarraldo; Covenantor; Mother Abigail; EBH; Dog Gone; proud American in Canada; neverdem; RadioAstronomer; Ichneumon; Battle Axe; FrogMom; djf; Boundless; AntiGuv; armymarinemom; El Gato; Ernest_at_the_Beach; united1000; UCANSEE2; EternalHope; Petronski; null and void; Semper911; Paul_Denton; redgolum; ordinaryguy; Amalie; little jeremiah; Old Professer; dc-zoo; nuclady; Gabz; EchoFoxtrot1; King Prout; tdewey10; Zap Brannigan; Pan_Yans Wife; Heatseeker; Jedidah; kanawa; bitt; Lessismore; datura; genefromjersey; nicolezmomma; THEUPMAN; txflake; rustbucket; Cboldt; Mears; tet68; BP2; PDT; Domestic Church; ken5050; TXBSAFH; UnsinkableMollyBrown; Mr. Atos; Oorang; HP8753; Carilisa; Myrddin; blam; brazzaville; technochick99; Bear Wash; Not a 60s Hippy; feefee; NautiNurse; Smokin’ Joe; Yaelle; backhoe; xVIer; balrog666; Gritty; trubluolyguy; Kelly_2000; the mo; Gamecock; Boomer Geezer; KSApplePie_Two; Jet Jaguar; wildandcrazyrussian; ex-Texan; Trident/Delta; fatima; Americalover; bitt; georgiabelle; Boomer Geezer; rang1995; Iowa Granny; tomahawk; conservativecorner; Killingtime; teawithmisswilliams; dd5339; alarm rider; Judith Anne; ModelBreaker; Termite_Commander;toast;sneakers;LucyT;realpatriot;OB1kNOb;KevinB;Ronaldus Magnus;grey_whiskers;spectre;Lady GOP;BellStar;MaeWest;OwenKellogg;Lurker;seasaidh;KoRn;kallisti;M0sby;lynchaj;Don Joe;
part of the fidius.org network