I haven't posted here in a few weeks, in deference to the general agreement among libertarians of 'Republican Good, Democrat Bad'. But the unfolding events in the Middle East today need to be addressed.
Only a few weeks ago, we were told that the people of Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen had a right to self-determination without outside interference. These impoverished, resource-poor countries factored little. But when the revolts started spreading to Wall Street puppet regimes in Bahrain, the tune changed. Nobody seemed interested in the fact that Saudi and UAE were upholding the Bahraini regime; instead, an 'opposition' arose out of nowhere in Libya.
Where was all the talk of sovereignty then? Wall Street wants Libya's oil; they wanted an excuse for intervention; and today, they got it. Missles are raining down on Libya even as I'm writing this. Intervention was 'necessary', especially as it appeared Qaddafi was about to put down the obviously-orchestrated 'revolt' and sabotage Wall Street's interests there.
Does anybody doubt any longer that there really is no government in the United States; and that the institution posing as a government is nothing but a tool of Wall Street? The 'revolt' in Libya was a product of Corporate money, just like the so-called Teabag 'revolt' is here. The Teabaggers here have acted as the toadies of International Finance, just as their phony counterparts in North Africa are; dissolving local governments and threating to use corporate militias to enforce their will.
And yes, the Democrats are just guilty, Obama acting as the tool of these same corporate looters. Today Obama's mask came off completely and his actions finally revealed that he is nothing but a shill of the real government, the Corporate Elite.
Maybe it's time the friends of liberty stopped pretending that the 'government' is the enemy. It is nothing but the enforcement arm of the corporate looters to which it is wholly beholden.
Eric,
Evidently you are frustrated and angry, or you wouldn't keep using terms like "teabagger", "toadies", "shill", etc. But your valid point comparing reactions to events in Libya and Bahrain is undermined by your partisan hyperbole equating the uprising in Libya with the Tea Party movement in the United States and branding both as simply products of corporate money. Insisting on viewing the Middle East through the lens of partisan U.S. politics does a disservice to the people of the region who are seeking greater freedom. Criticizing international efforts to help people in Libya and writing in a manner that makes you sound like an apologist for the dictator Gadhafi does nothing for the oppressed people of Bahrain -- arguably it does the opposite.
You accuse libertarians of "pretending that the government [which you put in quotes for some reason] is the enemy". But if government were "nothing but the enforcement arm of the corporate looters" as you say, that would be reason enough to see it as an impediment to freedom, would it not? Without government to give them subsidies, extend them preferential legal treatment, and commit aggression on their behalf, etc., what is your typical corporation but a group of people trying to sell you stuff, which you can do business with or not as you choose?
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
P.S. - I would see your critique as more realistic if you made an effort to distinguish among different companies and their different interests, as you would between different governments, instead of just "pretending" (your term) that they have some monolithic agenda.
P.P.S. - Gadhafi is the only one I've heard about using militias during the current events in the Middle East, bringing in paid mercenaries from other African countries to suppress the Libyan uprising. Not that there is anything inherently bad about non-government militias or mercenaries -- their morality or lack thereof is determined by their actions and the causes they serve.
Eric said
Maybe it's time the friends of liberty stopped pretending that the 'government' is the enemy. It is nothing but the enforcement arm of the corporate looters to which it is wholly beholden.
Isn't the enforcement arm of the looters also "the enemy"???
Mike
Actually the "enforcement arm" is the real enemy, no matter who the looters
happen to be. Many people will accept a dishonest buck if somebody else will
steal it for them. Even more people will take the loot when the "enforcer" is
the government.
In Libya, the war seems to be keeping oil off the market, not increasing the
supply. The price will probably stay up, too. A dictator can sell resources
more cheaply than an honest government.
Harland Harrison
LP of San Mateo County CA
No enforcement arm, no problem. Without the enforcement arm Wall Street can go ahead and play games, and nobody will care.
Marcy
No, Guys:
Without the enforcement arm, Wall Street will simply purchase another one. That's what taking over the Tea Party here was all about, and what all these military massacres in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Panama, Pakistan, and Libya have been all about.
It's time to face facts: the battle for liberty is OVER!! OUR SIDE LOST!!!! The transnationals own every venue for change: in Michigan and Ohio the Teabag governor is even nullifying elected offices to replace them with appointed kommisars. In Wisconsin, the Teabag governor has threatened to import foreign mercenaries from Wackenhut to crush protests.
Don't tell me that the 'people will wake up' either. I've been politically active since I was in high school---nearly 25 years now. The American people are, collectively, nothing but a bunch of dumbasses who'll tolerate any humiliation the Corporate/Government thugs dish out on them as long as they have their reality TV, prescription dope, and a welfare check.
This is another reality check: they American people have tolerated police 'sobriety checkpoints'; mandatory drug testing, seat-belt laws; full-body scans and airport gropings; metal detectors and other warrantless searches. They've tolerated numerous corporate bailouts; unequal taxations; outsourcing; currency manipulation; and other blatant economic crimes. They've tolerated stolen elections, and military slaughters of innocent Americans at Waco and during Hurricane Katrina. They've tolerated a Supreme Court that's stolen their voting rights; their gun rights; and their property rights. They've passively watched Corporate killers devastate a dozen or so foreign countries, torture their citizens, and incarcerate/execute them with either sham trials or no trials at all. They've tolerated the same in our own country; with a rampant prison-industrial complex profiting off victimless crimes.
The list could continue. The proof's in the pudding though: the American people are FINISHED as a free people. It's time to think in new terms, what they are I don't know yet. But political change, outreach &c is completely hopeless now.
Dear Eric,
The fact that I concur with 95% of what you state makes it difficult for me to respond! Not a smidgen of doubt that we as a people have been complacently losing our Constitutional liberties since around the 30's. The loss has come as a result of promises -- pay taxes and we promise you a richer nation; submit to body scanning and we promise you a safer nation; bomb the heck out of the Middle East and we promise you SUV's. Therefore, I am still hoping that libertarians will use much more efficiently than thus far equally resonant arguments (promises) that will promote, rather than stifle, the Constitutional liberties of the majority of the nation. So, I agree with much of what you say, but disagree that we should wait inactively until someone comes up with new terms of battle.
LPSF is planning a voter registration drive and literature distribution for next weekend. Good time to think about what promises need to be promoted.
Marcy
Well put, Marcy. Eric, can you come out to SF State one of these weekends and help us promote the Libertarian Party, register new voters, and recruit people for a libertarian student group?
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Marcy/Starchild:
I'll be dropping by a meeting when I get out to SF next LOL. Business has me tied up for awhile yet, though.
Marcy: I wasn't saying we should sit idly by waiting for someone to come up with answer. I was saying that nothing we've done has worked so far, and I haven't any suggestions as to what else to do. I don't think traditional political avenues; voting, organizing, networking, even protesting work any more and will be even less effective in the future. It looks to me like our two choices are get out or go down with the ship.
Eric said:
It looks to me like our two choices are get out or go down with the ship.
As an alternative strategy, why not get out and live on the ship , rather than go down with it?
See http://seasteading.org
Terry