The Association of Voluntarists in Davis

I lifted this from a conversation I was having with some friends on the subject of gun control and populace safety. I was asked some key questions about rights, and was told that rights at times must be sacrificed for the “greater good.” Specifically in this case the right to own a gun gets trumped by the “right” to be safe. I attempted to answer their questions by showing that the notion of government is immoral. I think I lay out the ground work pretty well, so I’ve posted it here for your reading pleasure. Comments welcome.

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Okay, since I’m getting the idea that you think we cannot have a peaceful society without a government, let’s start with the notion of government. It seems that the prevalent notion is that “we-the-people” created government, and that it works for us–we’re the bosses. We vote to create and mold government to suit us. Government prescribes the laws and decides what a right is and what it isn’t and therefore decides what a crime is and what it isn’t. So we can say the government is created by the consent of the governed. Supposedly, they have our consent.

But the truth is, they don’t work for us–we work for them. In fact, we are really their slaves. Let’s walk through this.

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Tags: Anarchy, Libertarian, Politics, Voluntaryism // Add Comment »

I had an emotional and intense debate on Facebook about gun control sparked by a YouTube video I posted of an interview with the father of one of the victims of the shootings in Arizona. I was surprised that instead of calling for more Brady-style laws, he instead said the shooting was “the price of liberty.” Even though I appreciated the sentiment, one of my friends took that to task. No one should have to sacrifice their little girl for liberty, and my friend was right about that. Quite right. I don’t think this was the price of liberty. I think this is the price of negligence.

There is a problem with just selling guns to anyone–for someone who is mentally unstable, an instant sale of a gun means he has it in his hands and can go kill. Even perhaps someone who has just been in a fight and who is hopping mad and screaming for revenge, it is all too easy to just run down to the store, pick up a 9mm and shoot someone up. I think we can all agree that this shouldn’t be allowed to happen.

However, I have a very big problem with the notion that in order to have safety, we have to sacrifice liberty. The idea that the only way we can protect innocent lives is for the government to step in and either ban guns, or require that everyone register and prove they are mentally fit to carry a gun, well that’s an idea I just can’t swallow.

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Tags: Anarchy, Economics, Personal // Add Comment »

The father of the nine year old girl who was murdered in the shooting in Tucson, AZ, does not support taking away guns. He explains to his son that this is what happens when you use guns to solve problems. What happened was horrible, but the father is level headed enough to recognize how wrong the notion is that restricting freedoms somehow makes us safer.

Here is the today show segment:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Marc Stevens interviews an IRS lawyer in a pretrail conference including his client. All Marc does is ask questions that the IRS attorney refuses to answer, by continually dodging the questions. Here is the article:

http://marcstevens.net/articles/309-owning-an-irs-lawyer.html

And for convenience, I’ve linked the audio file here: http://marcstevens.net/irs_dec_15A.mp3

Marc bleeped out the name of his client and the attorney’s fax number, but left everything else in the call.

What I found frustrating about the call is that the attorney dodged very important questions–one, was if she had witnesses to rely on. She kept saying, “I have no witness to call at this time” which is not answering the question. Finally she admitted that there might be a witness, but that witness might not work for the IRS anymore. This person she refused to identify. Two, I found it troubling that she would not tell Marc if she knew what the factual differences were between taxable and non-taxable income–but she claimed there was a difference. Then she refused to answer if she had admissible evidence that Marc’s client was a taxpayer and earned taxable income. I think Marc is right–she knows there is none and this is more evidence that taxation is actually theft. Anyway, Marc goes into more detail in his article above and does a better job explaining the errors the attorney was making.

Just remember, don’t go into a tax trial thinking you’re going to get a fair trial! They don’t deal in facts, apparently, just legal opinions.

Tags: Audio, Income Tax, Marc Stevens // Add Comment »

Happy New Year 2011! Today Marc Stevens will be live on the No State Project. Here is what he has to say:

“The No State Project is back live Sat. January 1, 2011. Join JT and me from 3-5pm cst, we’re welcoming a new sponsor to the show, People’s-Rights Association, a “not-for-profit” group of researchers and educators.

“We’re also going to discuss JT’s adventure in legal land and a new article I am posting this week with the audio of the pretrial conference I did with an IRS attorney. If you’ve got your own adventure, or have a question or comment about dealing with tickets, tyrants and assessments, you can join the show by calling (218)632-9399 or skype me during the show at
frankrizzo3.

“Don’t forget, I’m doing another workshop in McAllen, Texas, on Feb., 26, 2011. If you’re interested, go to http://RGVNoState.com and contact Armando.

“Thanks and happy new year, even if it doesn’t make any sense to have it at the beginning of winter. ”

Check out the No State Project today at http://lrn.fm/ today from 3-5 CST (1-3 PST)!

Tags: Anarchy, Libertarian, Talk Radio, Voluntaryism // Add Comment »

Mike P sums up my feelings about Veteran’s Day:

What exactly is it that I am supposed to thank people who are employed by the US Military for? Freedom? My well being? Wealth? How does this particular class of government employee contribute to these things in any way? As far as I can tell people employed by the US Military represent a huge threat, if not the biggest threat, to all of these things.

http://theemptiness.info/2010/11/thank-the-troops-for-what/

He makes an excellent point about the nature of the military–funded by theft, it promotes death and destruction. Why should we thank this ugly organization for anything? What proof can anyone offer that they protect our freedom?

Tags: Military // 5 Comments »

Best quote aimed at political conservatives who complain about socialism: “If you have a problem with socialized medicine, you should also have a problem with college football.”

Marc takes apart the concept of the state, and proves that it does not exist.

Tags: Anarchy, Politics, Video, Voluntaryism // Add Comment »

I was walking around with my wife and son, who, dressed as a mini-Mario, ran from door to door, taking candy and thanking the candy-providers for the treats. When he got home, he dumped his bag of candy on the dining room table, counted and sorted his spoils, and then enjoyed a few pieces before bed. Afterwards, I watched him with amusement and pride as he answered the door and extended our bowl to the trick-or-treaters and allowed them to take one each.

I was reflecting on this very interesting tradition where people voluntarily buy loads of candy and pass them out to total strangers. A completely self-organized event. It made me thankful that people can do things and create a celebration that is completely free from central management. Halloween is put on every calendar voluntarily, free from government edict, and every kid looks forward to it. Not to mention the candy makers like the holiday too.

Most children who come to our door thanked us. It seems that they appreciate being able to get “free” candy–but if you think about it, every house has candy, with few exceptions. There really is nothing free here–more like a mixture of different candies across neighborhoods. Everyone has a different take on what they want to offer. Some people buy Rolos, some people buy Kit Kats, some people buy mixes of candy. Swizzle sticks, bubble gum, tarts, etc.. Everyone comes away with a melange of candies–no two bags consisting of identical mixes. Everyone buys, everyone shares. All voluntarily.

I really like this tradition. It makes me believe that the human spirit is basically good. The tradition of opening up your house and sharing candy with total strangers is a very good one, and one that people enter into voluntarily. Could “government” be run like this? Everyone contributing voluntarily? No one is required to have a bowl of candy. But most provide one. Could we solve most if not all of our social problems this way?

I find this idea intriguing. What happens when you take the force away? Will society collapse into utter chaos? Or will people take up the cause of what needs to be done without being asked to? The spirit of Halloween makes me think the latter may be a very exciting, real and big possibility.

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From Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News By James W. Harris

The anti-market left has used this horrific tragedy to denounce privatization, limited government, and markets. They’ve blamed everyone from conservatives to libertarians to tea party activists for the horror.

In fact, they’ve blamed just about everyone except the actual people responsible for the decision — who we’ll reveal in just a moment.

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Tags: Libertarian, Politics // 1 Comment »

A friend of mine told me that if I don’t vote, then I don’t have the right to complain about the things the government does. In fact, she went as far to tell me that she would’t even listen to anything I say on the subject.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Because then I can stop trying to reach her. It’s a lot of effort on my part–it’s exhausting banging your head against a solid rock of pig-headed stubbornness .

I stopped voting because I believe that a vote in any political election  is an affirmation the system is valid and that you think how our government extracts wealth from people is a-okay. That violence employed against peaceful people who have harmed no one is the best way to treat people. That it is okay for one group of people to control another peaceful group of people.

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