Molon Labe!

by Boston T. Party

  What about the rights of parents who wish to keep their children in the current school system?

  You're mixing what are actually two separate issues. If some parents desire Prussian-style education, then that's their right. They can start up a private school under that format if they wish. Nobody is stopping them.

  However, no parent has the right to force childless strangers at gun-point to pay for schools, Prussian or not.

  When you say "at gunpoint" are you speaking of taxes?

  Well of course! Quit paying taxes and obese, D-student, pistol-packing agents of the State will eventually show up at your door. If you resist, they will evict you. Resist eviction, and they will kill you. Don't you know that all taxes are implicitly collected by threat of a gun? Pay or die. This is a cold, hard fact that Americans refuse to face. But, Tom, no purpose of government is so important as to justify making citizens homeless or dead.

  No tax collector has ever put a gun to my head to collect my taxes.

  I don't dispute that. However, you've been trained by the government to pay without a fuss — so, you do. (laughs) But haven't you ever resented some use of your tax dollars that you wish you could opt out of? Some U.S. military operation overseas, perhaps?

  Only about three or four times a day.

  Well, the cost of government is public knowledge. Why didn't you calculate what percentage it constituted of your income taxes and refuse to pay it on explicitly moral grounds? Even if it amounted to only $14?

  My share of it wouldn't likely be worth the trouble.

  The trouble of calculating the amount, or the trouble of standing up for your belief?

  Probably both.

  Well, then you help make my point for me. We suffer under a large central government which nips away at us one bite at a time, and we're too cowed to even quantify the injury, much less protest!

  What if nobody were required to pay taxes? Who would pay then?

  If we truly desired what we were paying for in taxes, then no coercion would really be necessary? In the free-market, we pay for a movie rather than sneaking in. We pay for a dinner rather than sneaking out. Why can't government compete for its resources like everybody else? Because folks don't like what the government is selling! (laughs)

  No, taxes are a form of robbery to fund something that the victim would not purchase voluntarily. And to top it off, the thief proclaims that he is robbing you for your own good! I stand by our right to be governed solely by our informed consent. That is at the heart of libertarian politics.

  This tired, old notion that nothing would get done but for government and taxes is horseshit. People want roads and schools and they will find some way to pay for them in the private sector.

  I don't want to force anybody to be free, yet many Americans would force me to be a slave on their Washington, D.C. plantation — if they could. It reeks of closed-shop unionism. Join or else. They should have the decency to let others live their own adult lives as they see fit.

  Such rugged individualism comes easy for a man of your race and upbringing, but it hardly seems appropriate for those disadvantaged members of our society.

  Well, men of my "race and up-bringing" are at the helm of the socialist ship of state, so why didn't I go that direction?

  Still, you can't deny that libertarianism makes much more sense for a white, wealthy entrepreneur than for a crippled minority.

  Oh, which crippled minority do you mean?

  I don't follow you.

  Well, do you mean a crippled minority who has maintained his personal dignity and works for an honest living, or a crippled minority who blames the world for his condition and votes for his government check?

  Uh, well...

  Right. You see, it has nothing to do with race, education, or handicap. It has everything to do with character.

  I know several wealthy, white businessmen so venal and conniving that I would not take their personal check. Conversely, I know a black woman in Sheridan with MS who founded what is now a thriving Internet biz and is one of the most honorable and industrious people I know.

  Those with the mentality of a master or slave or thief — whatever their race or condition — need a socialist state. Those who value private property and hard work — whatever their race or condition — only wish to be left alone, and Wyoming is America's haven for them. They're long overdue for a haven. Today, they have one! We've proven that over the past two and a half years.

  And we're not through yet. Freedom is always unfinished business.

  Thank you again Governor Preston for this second interview. It's always interesting.

  And for me, too. We're still waiting for you to visit us in Wyoming.

  It's looking more and more inviting all the time.

  For about 16,000 Wyoming Democrats in the southern counties, the January education initiatives were the last straw. Politically neutered, they had no choice but to pack up and leave for more hospitable states such as Washington, Colorado, and Oregon.

  They were more than replaced by the 22,000 libertarians who eagerly moved to the nation's sole beacon of liberty. During what was clearly a very deep national depression, only Wyoming had any vitality and promise.

  Meanwhile, the NEA and the AFT spend $14,000,000 in their propaganda campaign to derail Wyoming school privatization. If the public schools are abolished, children won't learn to read or perform simple math, the teachers' unions bellow. "They're barely learning math or reading in the public schools now!" was the countering opinion of most Wyomingites, who saw through the hysterical charges and threats.

  Cheyenne, Wyoming

  19 April 2017

  Preston glances up at the sound of Tom Parks entering his office with a rictus of grief on his face. He's never seen his assistant and friend so shocked.

  "Tom, what's wrong? Is it Molly?" asks Preston softly.

  "No, sir, my wife's fine." He collects himself for several seconds and then says, "Governor, we just got word from Washington."

  Preston frowns. "Oh, hell. What have they done now?"

  Tom's eyes tear up as he says, "Phil Miles has been found dead." "What?"

  "Yes, sir, I'm sorry. At the National Arboretum, where he went to see the azaleas in bloom. An alleged suicide, but it looks like he was VF'ed. Vince Fostered. Even the Post is describing the scene as 'suspicious.'"

  Swearing under his breath, Preston stands briskly and leans on his desk. He shakes his head and says, "They finally caught on to him Tom. I told him not to contact us for a while, but they caught on to him and killed him. On the anniversary of Concord and Lexington, as a big 'Fuck You!' Bastards!"

  He sighs deeply and sits back down, deflated. "Tom, the privatization of our schools has just suffered its first battlefield KIA. We must see this thing through, for our children. And for Phillip Roland Miles. He believed so much in what we are doing, and" — Preston falters — "and he didn't even live here!"

  The Governor drops his grieving head in his hands and sobs.

  Preston slid into a black funk for nearly two weeks. Only when James, Jr. announced that his girlfriend Katherine had accepted his marriage proposal did Preston snap out of it. Katherine, a concert stage classical guitarist was already so much part of the Preston family that James and Juliette had considered her like a second daughter for nearly a year. Hanna adored her like a big sister. James, Jr.'s engagement was one of the few bright spots in his dad's life for months, until the August election.

  Douglas, Wyoming

  June 2017

  Local Laissez-Faire Party members welcome their newest member, Douglas Bleth, formerly the SAC of the Casper FBI Field Office. Bleth retired early from the Bureau at a drastic cut in pension benefits because he "could no longer in good conscience remain employed by an organization with such a history of violating not only its own internal policy and guidelines, but the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution." The obvious murder of Phillip Miles, emblematic of Washington's insane lust for power, had been t
he last straw for Douglas Bleth.

  Governor Preston sends him a warm note of congratulations, commending him for demonstrating "superb ethics and a deep love of country."

  Wyoming Special Election

  August 2017

  On the ballot are three proposed amendments:

  "Constitutional Amendment A: To repeal the following language from Article 21, section 23:

  The following article [sections] shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state:"

  "Constitutional Amendment B: To repeal Article 21, section 28:

  The legislature shall make laws for the establishment and maintenance of systems of public schools which shall be open to all children of the state and free from sectarian control."

  "and Article 7, section 1:

  The legislature shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a complete and uniform system of public instruction, embracing free elementary schools of every needed kind and grade, a university with such technical and professional departments as the public good may require and the means of the state allow, and such other institutions as may be necessary."

  "Constitutional Amendment C:

  Neither shall the state, nor any county, city or town, assess, levy, impose, or collect any sales or ad valorem tax on any homestead real estate or improvements thereof."

  C passes by an 84% majority. B passes by a 57% majority. A passes by a 62% majority. The voters of Wyoming choose to privatize education.

  The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.

  — John Stuart Mill

  Cheyenne, Wyoming

  Federal District Court

  September 2017

  Several organizations, such as the NEA, AFT, and other public school teachers' unions, sued the State of Wyoming. If victorious they would be entitled to, under the Equal Access to Justice Act of 1980, recovery of all legal expenses because they allegedly advanced a policy inherent to public interest legislation on behalf of a significant class of persons. Such is known as the "private attorney general" concept.

  This had been expected by Preston's team.

  After outlining the history of private education in America, its unlawful and unconstitutional usurpation by state and federal government, and the manifest failure of government schools to adequately educate the children of America, the Wyoming Solicitor General concludes his oral argument.

  "There have been historical problems with irrevocable clauses in constitutions. First of all, such have a history of simply being ignored. The federalists ignored Article XIII, Section 1 of the Articles of Confederation which declared the Union to be perpetual and stipulated that any changes must be ratified by all 13 states. In The Federalist #40, Madison argued that it was ridiculous for 12 states to be stymied by Rhode Island's adherence to the Articles, and 'dismiss[ed] it without further observation.'

  "Secondly, the clause does not specify what is 'consent of the United States' Does it require a simple majority of Congress? A two-thirds majority? Must the President consent? Hence, the clause is void for vagueness.

  "Thirdly, the clause refers to the United States, a government which conceivably may not function or even exist in the future. Hence, the clause is prima facie conditionally revocable.

  "Lastly, the clause itself is inherently contradictory with other language in the document. If the Wyoming constitution may be, according to Article 20, amended by the people, then the people may amend the entire constitution, including Article 21. This must be so because the people have the inherent right and power to inaugurate a totally new constitution invalidating the previous one. The US Constitution accomplished precisely this when it invalidated the Articles of Confederation of 1781. Article 21, section 23 violates the ultimately subordinate nature of constitutions to their creators, the people.

  "In summary, the State of Wyoming believes, and is supported by a majority of the voters, the clause of Article 21, section 23 to be void and with no force or effect. As a matter of constitutional hygiene, some may believe it preferable to repeal the language outright rather than ignore it. This does not change the fact that although the people may indeed, for the public good, delegate some of their authority and selectively restrain themselves with a constitution, they cannot 'throw away the key' of alteration as future events may prescribe that constitution's revision or abolishment. This is hardly novel legal theory. Such is the history of not only our nation and of the states, but of nations throughout time. Article 1, Section 1 of the Wyoming Constitution is abundantly clear on this point:"

  All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness; for the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner they may think proper.

  "Last month the people of Wyoming decided the issue. They want a separation of school and state, which had been the original order of things when the United States of America was founded.

  "The Article 21 sections following section 23 remain, of course, subject to revision or repeal only through the amendment process described in Article 20."

  2017 USA economic news

  A full-blown tax revolt has erupted across America. It was first brought on by young workers resisting the doubled FICA to keep the Social Security system afloat for retiring Baby Boomers, and then was picked up by most other workers.

  Retirees assert that their benefits cannot be reduced because they had made plans to rely on them (even though this was originally discouraged back in the 1930s). Workers rightly counter that FICA rates are ruinous and that they cannot afford to house and feed their own families.

  The Government, caught in the middle by generations of congressional weakness, cannot directly favor either side.

  Debts are always paid, if not by the borrower, then by the lender. Though the Baby Boomers did not quite understand it at the time, they had "lent" trillions in Social Security from 1962 to 2015 to be "repaid" by their children and grandchildren.

  Their progeny, however, increasingly refuse the "debt."

  Thus, the "lenders" must pay since the "borrowers" will not.

  The Government has only one solution — the same solution governments have always resorted to. Inflate the currency into worthless oblivion. It's the only way to force the clueless public lenders into paying off the Social Security debt.

  Yes, Baby Boomers will get their SS checks for the "full" amount. Purchasing power, however, will be another story. Not that any of it should come as a surprise. This tragic script was knowable long in advance. Any debt unpayable by the borrower must be, through default, paid by the lender. Sensible Americans back in the 1980s figured this out, and simply refused to join the racket. They were called "tax protesters."

  By 2017, millions of workers had turned into Irwin Schiff.

  Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.

  — George Orwell, 1984

  Dumped by foreigners and domestically inflated beyond recognition, this is how the intrinsically worthless Federal Reserve Note finally rushed headlong to its long-overdue demise. Whether or not the FRN would take America with it was yet a question to be answered.

  2018

  Tuscon, Arizona

  March 2018

  After months of investigation by the Arizona Attorney General, FBI Special Agent Michael "Feathers" Tipton is arrested for fabricating evidence and witness tampering. The Bureau's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) bitterly complains that Tipton is a victim of a vindictive sting operation brought on by allegations of a citizen's rights advocacy group.

  Wyoming

  Friday, 1 June 2018

  The bells of Wyoming public schools ring for t
he last time. Come September only private education will exist. The Preston administration did not deign to wait for green lights all the way to the US Supreme Court, but enacted privatization with only a Federal District Court favorable ruling. The matter had been instantly appealed to the 10th Circuit, and the Wyoming AG ignored an injunction to delay privatization until the appellate ruling. The people, legislature, and supreme court of Wyoming had spoken. If a state cherishes its internal prerogatives, then it must exercise them.

  The NEA et al were furious but could not persuade the Government to step in with force against such solidarity. Officials in Washington discounted the Wyoming school privatization as a sterile fluke which no other state had the interest or temerity in duplicating. It was Wyoming's first real constitutional challenge of federalism. D.C. blinked and the entire country knew it. The public school divestiture went ahead as scheduled back in 2016.

  Nearly 20% of the public school teachers had not been rehired. The axe had fallen on those who could not effectively teach, or were universally disliked by students and parents. The purification process of the free-market had begun. It came as a shock to many life-long government employees.

  I would like people to understand, "Your rights, you will not need them." Rights do not make you free; only by acting free can you become free....

  But to fight for the establishment of rights or for recognition of rights by one's government involves tacit subordination to the state.... Thus, the passage of concealed carry permit laws in the United States is an admission that the right to keep and bear arms no longer exists in this country.

  ...The fundamental question is not what rights do I have, but why may anyone exercise coercive authority over me in the first place? It is coercion, not freedom, which must be justified. If coercion is not legitimate, there is no need for "rights." Arguing "rights" is arguing from an acknowledged and accepted subordinate — unfree — position. So, your rights, you do not need them! They cannot and will not help you, because no government wishes to recognize them..., and it is fine with the state if you spend your life attempting to compel the state to acknowledge and respect their existence. The question is whether you will act free or how you will use your freedom....