Molon Labe! (12 page)

"Does that mean that libertarians, classical liberals, constitutionalists, and conservatives have no chance of some political victory in our lifetimes? No, it doesn't. All it means is that we must honestly assess our strength and pick a fight that we can actually
win
for a change. Numerically, 50,000 paid members means a good sized town. But, we are sprinkled about a nation of nearly 300 million. We have the raw numbers to win possibly a state, but we don't have the
concentration
of numbers to elect the local dogcatcher. But . . . we could
if
enough of us packed up and relocated. We
could
concentrate our numbers somewhere and become politically effective. All it would take is perspective, planning, and commitment. It's time we all got off our asses and actually inconvenienced ourselves for Liberty.

"The trouble is that most members of the national LP, sympathetic or even harmonious with a state goal, would not lend much support to the effort. For example, why would California libertarians donate funds for a campaign in New Hampshire? As the saying goes,
All politics are local
.

"I wouldn't expect much support from the national LP. Its goal is to elect national candidates, which we have just seen is nearly impossible. Unless they snap out of their delusion and embrace our plan, we are a threat to the LP. Every campaign finance dollar we spend in our targeted state means a dollar that will not be spent trying to elect Libertarian presidents and congressmen. To them, we will be working at cross purposes.

"Accordingly, I suggest that we form a new political party in our chosen state. A party philosophically indistinguishable from the LP, but with none of the LP baggage of national aspirations.

"The LP wants to remain a national "army"? Fine. Good luck. We, however, will become the "Special Forces" of the movement. We won't fight losing wars — we will win handpicked battles, one at a time. Had the LP nominated a presidential candidate with small-unit combat experience, the LP might have figured all this out a long time ago. Instead of thinking of
strategy
like generals, they should have been thinking of unit
tactics
like noncoms and captains. But no, the LP has dreamed only of winning the war when it has not occupied even a single hill of the enemy.

"This luxurious thinking has wasted 25 years of valuable time. If we do not start making visible and dramatic gains
somewhere
, libertarians and conservatives will not be galvanized into further action. We are tired of losing across the board. Let's pick
one
winning horse and place all our bets on it. We couldn't do any worse than we already are, right?"

FREE STATE PROJECT
CHOOSES . . .
NEW HAMPSHIRE?

Only 46% of FSPers participate in vote

Exclusive to
The Modern Jeffersonian
, by "Whisk E. Rebellion" 1 October 2003

The results of the September FSP vote were announced in New York City today, though not even 1 in 2 of FSP's first 5,500 members voted for their favorite state amongst the ballot's ten choices. According to FSP sources, 65-80% of the nearly 3,000 nonvoters "abstained."

Of the 2,500 members who
did
bother to vote, New Hampshire received the most 1
^st
and 2
^nd
votes, beating out the next favored state Wyoming by 10%. Since the Eastern USA is more populated than the West, this was reflected in the FSP's members, who naturally were inclined to stay in the East.

This was most unfortunate for the free state movement at large.

First of all, New Hampshire has 2.7 times more voters than Wyoming, which
automatically
diminishes the NH/FSP's political effectiveness by 63%.

Secondly, it is
far
too crowded back East. New Hampshire has about 140 per mile
²
— twice the national average, four times that of Colorado, and
twenty-three
times Wyoming's six people/mile
²
. New Hampshire is certainly a very nice state for the random newcomer, but it cannot gracefully contain a flood of 20,000+ relocators, much less the 100,000+ needed to affect politics.

Finally, even if it could, no New England state is hospitable to a thriving gun culture, a necessary feature of a modern free state (and one sadly underappreciated by the FSP). A "thriving gun culture" does not mean 4% of adults with concealed handgun permits. It does not mean more than one skeet range per county. It doesn't even mean a preponderance of hunters every deer season.

A thriving gun culture is
much
more than that. It is a culture where
all
things related to shooting are widely and passionately enjoyed. Its members would rather go to the range than bowl or golf or watch TV. They would rather go to a gun show than a football game.

New Hampshire does
not
have a thriving gun culture. With only four or five gun shows each year (the largest being just 325 tables) and little public land to shoot on, how
could
it?

Folks
already
there have few places to become 500yd Riflemen, the smallest component of Liberty. If men serious about defending their freedoms did not have the supporting terrain (and culture) to practice putting .308 FMJ into 20" circles at nearly a third of a mile, then they could not become competent with full-power semi-auto military-pattern battle rifles. They could not become Riflemen and thus have a chance of defeating a modern military which relies too much on air and artillery. Using .223 carbines within 250yds is fighting an enemy on
his
terms. We have only marksmanship and .30 caliber power on our side. Should a fight come (and I pray that it never does), then we must engage at ranges beyond our enemy's. (They have only 250yd carbines and 50yd marksmanship.)

The only advantage a militia force has are 500yd accurate rifles. Americans cannot own battle rifles and train at such distances in the East. That means FSPers in New Hampshire will not be able to, if required, effectively fight for their liberty. Libertarian philosophy is, in the end, moot if its adherents have no final resort of armed defense, and freedom has usually required the shedding of blood on battlefields. If history has taught us anything, it's that liberty is won and maintained by
Riflemen.
As Heinlein once wrote:

The price of freedom is the
willingness
to do sudden battle, anywhere, anytime, and with utter recklessness.

Willingness to do sudden battle implies
capability
to do sudden battle. You must already have the tools, training, and practice to fight effectively. When you are capable and willing to fight,
then
you have options. When you are capable and willing to fight,
then
your enemy will perhaps fear and avoid you.

But not until then.

If you do not have —
right now
—an FAL, M1, M1A, or HK91, then there is something you have chosen
not
to own for your freedom.

If you
do
own such a rifle but cannot —
right now
— from offhand position hit a dinner plate at 100yds within 5 seconds on demand
without fail
, then there is a skill you have chosen
not
to earn for your freedom.

If you are not a Rifleman —
right now
— then you have announced to the world that your commitment to liberty goes only just so far. If you will not spend a summer and the price of a used jetski to become a Rifleman — to become a deadly
foe
of tyranny — then you are just mouthing platitudes, treating liberty as a hobby and expecting brave men to do your fighting
for
you.

If you're not a Rifleman — you're just a hobbyist.

By choosing to move to a state where you can't
become
a Rifleman, a hobbyist is what you'll
remain
.

The Nerf and Egghead Libertarians don't like hearing this, obviously, but facts are stubborn things.

The state that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools.

— Thucydides

FSPers in New Hampshire without battle rifles are like libertarians in Manhattan without handguns. All are at the mercy of any determined band of thugs. If you're not a Rifleman in the country or a Pistolero in the city, then you're merely food waiting to be eaten.

You can scream
No initiation of force!
all the way down your aggressor's gullet. Big deal. All fish wriggle when caught. Only fish with
teeth
are dangerous to anglers, and New Hampshire fish will find it very difficult to grow the teeth they need.

Also, New Hampshire is quite vulnerable to the counter-response of a neutralizing number of East coast liberals. Vermont had been socially and politically poisoned in exactly the same way by 1988.

Most folks living
left
of the Mississippi River, however, will not move East. They understand the magic of the West and its unique suitability for a free state initiative. Thus, about 18% of original FSPers had opted out of New Hampshire, but wish the FSP every success there.

Wyoming is
our
favorite choice. It enjoys the space, the culture, and the resources to make "Free State West" work. It's also too rugged for liberals to contemplate (and Jackson is already full).

We were moving to Wyoming regardless, but had waited until today to see if the rest of our FSP comrades would be joining us. While we are sad to lose up to 4,500 of them to New Hampshire (assuming they actually move there), we've no choice but to create a second organization for our own Western purposes.

Besides, with most national attention on the FSP, a quiet Wyoming project just might succeed. As a magician misdirects audience scrutiny to hide the hare, New Hampshire may serve to misdirect the ruling powers. The rabbit could come from a Wyoming hat, versus a New Hampshire sleeve.

2004

2004 USA political news

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

— William Pitt

In the classic American way, a lone gunman on Prozac
^®
with a so-called
"assault rifle"
opens fire on a festival crowd, killing 11 and wounding 17. Although he is killed by a randomly-armed citizen, this is not reported by the national media. What
is
widely reported is that the gunman used a 30 round
"high-capacity"
magazine in his Mini14. Accordingly, the
"Crime Bill"
of 1994, due to expire on 13 September, is renewed in perpetuity by Congress, and signed by President Bush.
"In the continuing war against terrorists, we must maintain those laws which keep our cities and families safe from gun violence,"
explains the "gun-friendly" Texan President.

I'm not for free trade and I'm not for protection.

I approve of them both, and to both have objection.

In going through life I continually find

It's a terrible business to make up one's mind.

So in spite of all comments, reproach, and predictions,

I firmly adhere to unsettled convictions.

— British House of Commons, 1903

2nd Amendment groups and Republican PACs who had expected Bush to veto the
"Crime Bill"
extension are stunned. Their rally cry of
"Second
Term
? Second
Amendment
!"
had not been taken up by Bush. 1.5 million NRA members switch to no-compromise RKBA groups, such as Gun Owners of America, Jews For the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and the Second Amendment Foundation, to name a few.

In memory of Bush 1.0 in 1992, these yet-again betrayed gunowners try to deny reelection to President Bush. This time, it doesn't work. There is no spoiler third-party Perot, and the Bush machine is laden with campaign contributions. Also, the Democratic Party fields an ineffective and vacillating candidate. Finally, much of the public is nervous about "changing horses in mid-stream" during the (Forever) War on Terrorism.

2004 USA economic news

Through a classic series of cruel bear rallies and War on Terrorism panic, the Dow falls to 6,812 as increasingly nervous capital quickly moves into commodities. All the market gains since 1995 have been given back. Gold is $515/ounce, and silver $8.60. Crude oil is $34 a barrel, and pump prices $2.50/gallon.

GOING THE DISTANCE,
NO MATTER WHAT

Fewer than half of libertarians armed

Exclusive to
The Modern Jeffersonian
, by "Whisk E. Rebellion" December 2004

In his poem "The Second Coming" Yeats squarely framed the issue:
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
Ayn Rand echoed that in
Atlas Shrugged
with:

When men reduce their virtues to the approximate, then evil acquires the force of an absolute; when loyalty to an unyielding purpose is dropped by the virtuous, it's picked up by scoundrels — and you get the indecent spectacle of a cringing, bargaining, traitorous good and a self-righteously uncompromising evil.