Our Lord the State

Russell D. Longcore: The Secret Government That YOU Maintain

….The government rules over a man without his consent, therefore making him a slave. But the government occasionally allows the slaves to choose their masters by a majority vote. A man is no less a slave just because he is allowed to vote on his master every certain number of years. Men are slaves because they are state property, and their lives are controlled by other men whose power over them is absolute and without responsibility….

…States that contemplate secession should NOT use the Constitution as a template, but as the founding document NOT to use to create a “new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”….

Butler Shaffer: Running on Empty

…For various reasons that go beyond a principled criticism of our centrally-directed, vertically-structured society, the institutional order is in a state of turbulence. Political, corporate, and educational systems are increasingly unable to meet even the most meager of popular expectations. Our world is becoming more and more decentralized, with vertical systems being challenged – and even replaced – by horizontal networks governed by autonomous and spontaneous human activity. In the face of such changes, the establishment has become desperate to reinforce its crumbling walls. Because the state is defined in terms of its monopoly on the use of violence, it is not surprising to see it escalating the use of brute force in an effort to maintain its position…..

Kelley Vlahos: Liz Cheney Wants to Keep America Safe

….Sadly, her recent transformation from unremarkable State Department political appointee to emboldened jihad hunter and curiously aggressive television pundit, has that cynical whiff of someone trying to position herself for political office. “It’s time for us to stand up and take this country back!” she declared, echoing, almost flatly, the same sentiments from eager pols Marco Rubio and Rep. Jim DeMint earlier that morning…..