Freedom Updates: May 10, 2001

Repeal Growth Controls

Growth control is about control, not growth. First, politicians fight like mad to get subsidies and discriminatory tax policies in order to bring big businesses into Denver. Boondoggle International Airport is a case in point. Both Bill Owens and Wellington Webb fly around the world to drum up increased growth for Colorado.

And now Owens has called a special legislative session to pass laws letting politicians control growth to a greater extent.

Professor George Reisman recently posted a speech that aptly describes Colorado lawmakers:

So far is the failure of socialism from being a failure of reason that it would be much more appropriate to describe it as a failure of lunacy: the lunacy of believing that the thinking and planning of one man or a handful of men could be substituted for the thinking and planning of tens and hundreds of millions of men cooperating under capitalism and its division of labor and price system. (Of course, because they never bothered to read von Mises, the intellectuals do not even know that ordinary people do in fact engage in economic planning, planning that is integrated and harmonized by the price system. From the abysmally ignorant perspective of the intellectuals, ordinary people are chickens without heads. Thinking and planning are allegedly actions that only government officials can perform.) http://www.capitalism.net./articles/Environmentalism%20Refuted.htm

Why do politicians think they can do a better job at managing growth than can individuals interacting on the free market? In truth, they don't think that. They simply don't think about the matter at all, and instead rush headlong into more socialism without a serious moment's reflection.

British Crime Wave

We already knew violent crime was on the rise in England, far surpassing rates in the United States. The 2000 International Crime Victims Survey told us that.

A recent CBS story confirms the trend. In addition, the English are losing their basic civil rights of privacy and jury trials over the matter, a topic considered by Dave Kopel and co-authors in the June Liberty Magazine. But Britain is disarmed! How could violent crime be going up? Look at it from the criminal's point of view, and the answer is obvious.

The British government's tough as nails reaction to a rise in violent crime is raising worries that a pillar of civil rights, the jury trial, might be sacrificed to satisfy a concerned public....

"There is a real crime problem in Britain," said Geoffrey Robertson, a trial lawyer. "London is more dangerous these days than New York." Last year, CBS News reported that the government's own crime statistics revealed that Britain is an increasingly violent society....

And all of this is happening in the country that gave America its basic concepts of justice. One of those legal rights that the government is now chipping away at, trial by jury, was guaranteed, on the banks of the river Thames at Runnymede, when King John signed the Magna Carta nearly 800 years ago. That historic document held that, "No Freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land." (http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,289279-412,00.shtml, Runnymede, England, May 3, 2001)

While you're at it, check out the companion story at http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,210074-412,00.shtml.

A person is more likely to be burglarized, almost twice as likely to be robbed, and two-and-a-half times more likely to be assaulted there than in America....

While assaults may be up, Britain can still claim one of the lowest murder rates in Western Europe. However, if guns were added to Britain's violent mix, says Shepherd, "it would be mayhem." Crime trends suggest mayhem might be on the way. This year there have already been hundreds of shootings in British cities, dozens in London alone -- three of them in one evening recently.

But how is that possible? The law says people can't have guns, right? Maybe, just maybe, criminals don't obey the law. But that doesn't fit in with the utopian, head-in-the-sand thinking of the anti-gun lobby. Speaking for the Million Mom March at a recent state legislative hearing, an immigrant from England said, "People don't have guns in England." Unfortunately, that's true only of law-abiding citizens.

Gutless Old Party

Stephen Moore of National Review writes:

Don't look now, but with the budget agreement reached this week, it now appears that federal spending is going to end up growing at about seven percent this year -- or about twice the spending rate under Bill Clinton. Good thing we've got Republicans in charge to keep government as small and confined as possible.(http://www.nationalreview.com/balance/balance050401.shtml)

We all know Bush is a little slow, so I'll clue him in: Moore is being sarcassisistic.

Post Gets Sentimental

Sometimes, even the popular media get a little sentimental over the old federal system that used to be in place among the United States. The Denver Post's May 6 editorial notes,

It wasn't long ago that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist appealed to Congress to slow down or, better yet, stop the trend toward the federalization of crime. It is obvious that Congress still isn't listening. (http://denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,73%257E29631,00.html)

The powers of the United States Congress are laid out in Article I, Section 8. The federal government is given power over the following types of crimes: monetary counterfeiting, "felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations." In addition, the federal government has power over certain civil matters, such as copyright and bankruptcy. Note that Congress has the power to enact such laws, not the duty.

The Tenth Amendment states clearly: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

So maybe soon the Post will demand the repeal of all national laws pertaining to drugs and firearms, as those laws are unconstitutional. Yea, I'll hold my breath.

Million Moms Squelch Debate

The Million Moms appear to be deathly afraid of having an honest debate about civil arms. Clarence Lovell relayed the following e-mail:

From: Clarence Lovell
To: millionmommarch_denver Moderator
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: File - unsubscribe

Well, I see you unsubscribed me rather than intelligently discuss issues and seek the truth.... The offer and challenge remain - resubscribe me and maturedly discuss issues - if you think you are up to it. A closed mine is a sign of weakness and insecurity or ulterior motives....

----- Original Message ----- From: "millionmommarch_denver Moderator"
millionmommarch_denver-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: c.e.lovell@worldnet.att.net
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 9:45 AM
Subject: File - unsubscribe

>You have been unsubscribed from the millionmommarch_denver yahoo group.

For the record, I have an open subscription policy. If you want to join, go for it! In addition, I make a point to publish contrary views when submitted. (I even hope at least one federal agent is monitoring my site: my attitude is, maybe he or she will learn something.)

Along the same lines, Ed Williamson sent out an e-mail recently discussing the Million Mom March in Tennessee:

From: Ed Williamson
To: dracw@earthlink.net Save Address
CC: national@millionmommarch.org Save Address
Subject: Why can't we talk?
Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 11:14:52 +0000

Dr. Anne Whitefield
President
Middle Tennessee Chapter
Million Mom March

Dear Dr. Whitefield,

On May 4th we invited you to speak at the Freedom Rally to be held at the state capitol in Nashville, Tennessee on Mother's Day. We regret that you have chosen to ignore our offer to explain the thinking of the Million Mom March to those in attendance.

Since your organization has chosen Mother's Day to conduct anti-2nd Amendment protests around our great nation it seemed appropriate to offer you the opportunity to appear at our Mother's Day Freedom Rally.

Perhaps another time or place will be more convenient for you. The Rights Education Fund stands ready to debate the Second Amendment with you or your representative at any time. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to arrange the details.

Respectfully,

Ed Williamson
President, Rights Education Fund

"Original invitation:

Your organization, the Million Mom March, has chosen Mother's Day, and the symbolism afforded by that day, to conduct national demonstrations against the right of the citizens of this nation to defend themselves, their families and their property. In response, Rights Education Fund, joined by the Tennessee Firearms Association, Second Amendment Sisters, Friends of the NRA, Mother's Arms and Women Against Gun Control will conduct a Freedom Rally on the steps of the state capitol in Nashville on that day.

In order to provide a better understanding of the Second Amendment, and the various issues involved in the debate over attempts to violate that amendment, we wish to invite you to participate in our Freedom Rally and offer your organization's rationale to those in attendance.

We offer you our microphone and our respectful attention.

May we count on your appearance and participation? Please contact me at your earliest convenience at 865-919-4308."

IRS Slacks Off

The May 9 Rocky Mountain News ran a Scripps Howard story by Lance Gay which describes the work ethic of IRS agents:

A sampling of Internal Revenue Service employees found that they used about half their online time at work to visit sex sites, gamble, trade stocks, participate in chat rooms and do other nonwork-related activity...

My immediate reaction was, yippie! Maybe if they spend more time getting off on porn, they'll spend less time screwing tax payers.