enemy of the state

I am in good company.

Perhaps the greatest ever is Murray Rothbard (March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995). I use the present tense because he not only was an economic, cultural and political genius, he also was a prolific author of books that clearly explained the real world in contrast to the ones the supreme charlatans would have us believe in. His lessons live on through his writings and his students.

I am a relatively inconsequential disciple of his, with America’s Great Depression and What Has Government Done to Our Money? among the more significant books in my reference library. Those two, by the way, along with Albert Jay Nock’s Our Enemy, The State and F. A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom would be a great start for anyone wanting to understand The State and our relationship with it.

The links above take you to Mises.org where you can order high quality physical books or download electronic versions for free. As of today, I am officially done with Amazon as you will understand shortly.

I now don my Enemy of the State tinfoil hat.

Just after TSA took over the nation’s airport terminals, I was travelling to a Libertarian Party State Chairs and Executive Directors conference. Of well over a hundred people queued up to board the aircraft in Boise, I alone was pulled from the middle of line to have my belongings spread over a long table top. After the last person disappeared down the gangway the squad of freshly minted goons ALLOWED me to go. I uncerimoniously scooped my stuff into the previously carefully packed bags, ran down the gangway yelling “WAIT” to the closing door. I made it…just.

Aboard the van from the airport to our Houston convention center I related my boarding tale. Of eleven of us in the vehicle heading to this convention, NINE had the same treatment!

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you.

We hosted twice and became friends with presidential candidate Michael Badnarik who regaled us with numerous Deep State stories even more egregious, and impressive in the literal sense of that word. Among them was spending the evening of the USofA-wide-broadcast Presidential Debates until 2 AM in jail with the Green Party presidential candidate. No charges were made. The reasons they were pulled out of the audience were never explained.

I know I am being watched. If you love The State as much as I do, you also are being watched. Edward Snowden revealed the comprehensive data collection taking place, but to have them take the next step and look at the data requires a bit more than being your average plodding drone.

Now my Amazon ordering is getting hinky. So is my debit card. The message is clear:
We can turn your electronic transactions off any time we want.

You, too, can be an Enemy of The State…Any time…any of the thousands of nameless apparatchiks can flip a switch to put you there on a whim, and thanks to the All Seeing Eye, every aspect of your life is open to their ministrations.

Get used to it.

Tinfoil hats aren’t all that uncomfortable.