State-Smashing

Nigel Farage: Nigel Lawson calls time on the three-pint Eurosceptic heroes

"When a group of unknown political players set up Ukip in 1993, the idea that the UK might someday re-establish its independence and leave the European Union was at best a minority pursuit. Now, no less a man than Lord Lawson advocates the idea, and validates Ukip’s arguments. Clearly nobody now doubts that it is a valid position. The reaction to Lord Lawson’s view has been to ask what damage it will do internally, to David Cameron’s embattled Conservative Party, and there has been speculation about the timing of the statement. Rarely has such a chasm opened up in British political history. The Europe divide has echoes of earlier times; it is Big Politics, writ in a digital age." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: Nigel Lawson calls time on the three-pint Eurosceptic heroes

Community Charge (UK) – 1990 Opposition

"As the amount of the Community Charge began to rise and the inefficiency of local councils in collection of the tax became apparent, large numbers of people refused to pay. Local councils tried to respond with enforcement measures, but these were largely ineffective against such huge numbers of non-payers - up to 30% of former ratepayers in some areas refused to pay. In November 1990, South Yorkshire police said they were planning to refuse to arrest Community Charge defaulters even when instructed to by the courts because it would be 'physically impossible for the police because of the large number of defaulters.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCommunity Charge (UK) – 1990 Opposition

Federal Government Rating Hits New Low Among Americans

"For the first time since Barack Obama became president, more Democrats say they have an unfavorable view of the federal government in Washington than a favorable view (51% unfavorable vs. 41% favorable). Favorable opinions of the federal government among Republicans, already quite low in 2012 (20% favorable), have fallen even further, to 13% currently. Notably, politically divided state governments get positive ratings from members of both parties. In the 13 states with divided governments – those in which the governor and a majority of state legislators are from different parties – majorities of both Republicans and Democrats express favorable opinions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Government Rating Hits New Low Among Americans

Keene Activist Threatened With Eighty-One Years In Prison For Weed

"The thing that Rich is counting on to stop the hammer from falling—and reward him for standing up for his why-can’t-I-sell-some-fucking-pot-to-my-friends principles—isn’t a traditional legal argument. It’s pretty much assumed that Rich did technically break the (unjust) law by selling weed. What he’s banking on is that the jury will 'nullify' his case—in other words, they’ll come to the conclusion that the statutes he violated shouldn’t exist in the first place and there’s no reason to send him to jail. That’s not such a far-fetched idea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKeene Activist Threatened With Eighty-One Years In Prison For Weed

Portugal’s elder statesman calls for ‘Argentine-style’ default

"Portugal's leading elder statesman has called on the country to copy Argentina and default on its debt to avert economic collapse, a move that would lead to near certain ejection from the euro. Mario Soares, who steered the country to democracy after the Salazar dictatorship, said all political forces should unite to 'bring down the government' and repudiate the austerity policies of the EU-IMF Troika. 'Portugal will never be able to pay its debts, however much it impoverishes itself. If you can’t pay, the only solution is not to pay. When Argentina was in crisis it didn’t pay. Did anything happen? No, nothing happened,' he told Antena 1." Continue reading →

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Iron Age burial site points to long-lost glories of Gaul

"During this time, the Celts expanded from their core territory in central Europe to as far afield as northern Scotland and the Atlantic coast of Spain. They clashed with the emerging Roman empire, whose writers recorded the invaders as pale-skinned savages, dressed in breeches with bleached hair, who cut off their enemies’ heads, preserving those of high rank in cedar oil. The barbarian image, though, has been dispelled by historical research in recent decades. It has laid bare a complex civilisation that had a mastery of metal and a trading system which spanned Europe and generated great wealth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIron Age burial site points to long-lost glories of Gaul

Secrets Police Don’t Want You To Know

"Angry at the malicious and callous demeanor of those that supposedly worked for the greater good of the People Eddie began to carefully research and document the relationships between the various statutes and the legislative enactments that created them, especially the 'ad valorem' property tax, and eventually the federal income tax. He has since spent the past eleven years researching the various Texas Codes such as the Transportation Code. Much to the dismay of many municipalities, police officers, and prosecutors he has thrown a very large monkey wrench into the gears of their money machine, using their own laws!" Continue reading →

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Wild and Free: The Libertarian Philosophy of Henry David Thoreau

"Many people seem to have an idea of an isolated, possibly misanthropic hermit who would disapprove of anyone who came near his secluded home. And if they find out that he did not live in the middle of nowhere, which he never claimed to, then he gets branded a big phony. Sometimes a big deal is made of him having meals with his family in Concord, but considering Thoreau’s contributions to the family pencil-making business over his lifetime, his obvious skill at craftsmanship, and the meals that he served visitors at Walden, his alleged mooching appears to actually be a sign of social involvement and reciprocity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWild and Free: The Libertarian Philosophy of Henry David Thoreau