Gee, when you put it that way I guess it really isn't so bad.
[quote=moda0306]You know HB is rolling over in his grave right now, right!?[/quote]
Ha ha ha ha ha! I think Harry is doing more graveyard backflips over the Patriot Act and TSA.
Moderator: Global Moderator


Hilarious!WildAboutHarry wrote: ...
On a lighter note:
My favorite OT pet name: Dorothy Parker apparently named her pet canary Onan. Because the canary spilled its seed on the ground.

I thought so!dualstow wrote:Hilarious!
Pretty good stuff, although this has drifted off of beheadings...Constant Reader's best-known review was of A.A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner. Milne's whimsy had always nauseated her. When she came to the word hummy, her stomach revolted. "And it is that word 'hummy,' my darlings," she wrote, "that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader F'wowed up."

I'm pretty sure that there would be far less crime, and (more important) far less infringement on our freedom of all kinds, private and government, if there were no government police.WildAboutHarry wrote:Quite simply, not so. The net benefit of cops - horrible incidents notwithstanding - is positive. The presence of a police force inhibits crime. Can you imagine the interstate without police patrol? Can you imagine rates of theft, mayhem, etc. in the absence of an organized police force?moda0306 wrote:Well if we are going to talk cops vs radical Islam, overall, cops are a much, much higher form of risk to my life than a Muslim is.
And speaking of risk, we have radical Islam to thank for the Patriot Act, the TSA, and other infringements of personal liberty, in addition to the massive cost of dealing with this threat. This is a greater threat to your life and your freedom than any cop, assuming you do not engage in criminal behavior, etc.
And thanks for that point, Reub. You beat me to it.


Most bad "growth of government" things have a causative, triggering event. IMHO that doesn't absolve the government of ultimate responsibility. Or the people themselves, for that matter, if they/we approve of it.WildAboutHarry wrote:So you think the Patriot Act and the TSA are just normal "growth of government" things?Libertarian666 wrote:And actually we can thank the US Government, not radical Islam, for all those horrible infringements on our liberty.
Given how protection is something that is universally valued, I imagine a variety of private security firms would rapidly spring up, and, unlike the conventional government police forces, they would have to actually provide the promised protection because their customers would be easily free to ditch them for superior firms in the event that they behaved like modern government police officers commonly do. It would introduce market forces that we know work (us being largely Harry-Browne-following libertarians, after allWildAboutHarry wrote: And I guess without government police we can simply rely on vigilantism? That has worked out well in the past.


Since you are so fond of government, I suggest that you try North Korea.Reub wrote: If you want to try out a lawless society may I suggest that you spend some time in Yemen or Somalia? It might be the perfect hideaway for you.

I love it! This thread contains several steps along a journey of a root cause analysis (>= 5 sequential whys). Seems like most of those commenting are correct ... just answering a different "why?" along the way to the fundamental (root) cause. Some are objective, some are snarky, some are tongue-in-cheek, some are entertaining, some are rude, some are just examples of (fill in the blank to suit your worldview). If we could harness this intellect in a common path forward, woe to those who would dare to get in the way.Pointedstick wrote:Most bad "growth of government" things have a causative, triggering event. IMHO that doesn't absolve the government of ultimate responsibility. Or the people themselves, for that matter, if they/we approve of it.WildAboutHarry wrote:So you think the Patriot Act and the TSA are just normal "growth of government" things?Libertarian666 wrote:And actually we can thank the US Government, not radical Islam, for all those horrible infringements on our liberty.
Given how protection is something that is universally valued, I imagine a variety of private security firms would rapidly spring up, and, unlike the conventional government police forces, they would have to actually provide the promised protection because their customers would be easily free to ditch them for superior firms in the event that they behaved like modern government police officers commonly do. It would introduce market forces that we know work (us being largely Harry-Browne-following libertarians, after allWildAboutHarry wrote: And I guess without government police we can simply rely on vigilantism? That has worked out well in the past.) into an industry that is currently set up as a series of municipal monopolies that are largely immune to prosecution. It shouldn't take an anarchist to apply the "monopolies are bad" principle and see that the status quo is non-optimal and systemically incapable of improvement.

Ok, so we have established the bookends - North Korea and Yemen. Is the happy medium Canada, then? Mountaineer, is my comment objective, snarky, tongue-in-cheek, entertaining, or rudeLibertarian666 wrote:Since you are so fond of government, I suggest that you try North Korea.Reub wrote: If you want to try out a lawless society may I suggest that you spend some time in Yemen or Somalia? It might be the perfect hideaway for you.

Maybe Iceland, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, or the Czech Republic. Those would be my votes, at least. Canada is pretty nice too.WildAboutHarry wrote: Ok, so we have established the bookends - North Korea and Yemen. Is the happy medium Canada, then? Mountaineer, is my comment objective, snarky, tongue-in-cheek, entertaining, or rude![]()

It is most homogenous, even blended - very oster. Think about it.WildAboutHarry wrote:Ok, so we have established the bookends - North Korea and Yemen. Is the happy medium Canada, then? Mountaineer, is my comment objective, snarky, tongue-in-cheek, entertaining, or rudeLibertarian666 wrote:Since you are so fond of government, I suggest that you try North Korea.Reub wrote: If you want to try out a lawless society may I suggest that you spend some time in Yemen or Somalia? It might be the perfect hideaway for you.![]()

Switzerland for me, if I could afford it. Maybe if my new product is a big hit...Pointedstick wrote:Maybe Iceland, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, or the Czech Republic. Those would be my votes, at least. Canada is pretty nice too.WildAboutHarry wrote: Ok, so we have established the bookends - North Korea and Yemen. Is the happy medium Canada, then? Mountaineer, is my comment objective, snarky, tongue-in-cheek, entertaining, or rude![]()

Austria is supposed to be as nice, but more affordable.Libertarian666 wrote: Switzerland for me, if I could afford it. Maybe if my new product is a big hit...