I think we may have won something here
A groundswell of people, myself included were collectively holding our breath in Katrina’s aftermath. Failure to prepare and respond at the federal, state, local, and personal level precipitated a disaster with few peers that unfolded in a steady stream before my eyes, on the TV news, online news and blogs, and mms:// feeds from the broadcast stations in the affected area. I was mesmerized over the shear magnitude of the disaster, as it gave way to the looting, the plight of the Superdome refugees, and then something else entirely.
A line in the sand.
“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” -William Pitt the Elder
There was a mandatory evacuation order in place. People were being forcefully evacuated. People were having their arms confiscated to encourage them to leave. This was surreal and left me wondering if someone was loading people in boxcars.
Then there was the video of Patricia Konie getting body slammed by a jackbooted thug imported from California (with curiously edited footage) [mirror][mirror]…
…and then there was reports that some reporters were having their firearms stolen[PDF], and reports that Blackwater security was exempt (because, you know, some are more equal than others)…..
…and then there was this video of Ashton O’Dwyer, a lawyer from New Orleans, and I’ll always remember his quote, “Treat me with benign neglect!”. What was even more memorable, was what he did as he walked back to his never flooded, armed, presumably sufficiently stockpiled home. He traced a line with his finger, and showed the world his line in the sand…
..and Tam asked Claire if it was time yet , and Claire says “The only question now is how to be effective.” …
…and Countertop gets in his thousand words in, while Say Uncle has his own words. Geek with a .45 talks about the extent of the emergency powers and how they don’t trump the constitution of LA and the USA, while in his comments, someone says “Molan Labe!”…
… and Paw Paw, a good guy LEO from Louisiana, who is probably uncomfortable with having a target painted on his forehead by some zealot with an overly broad brush, urges people to stay calm, surrender, take names and sue later, while his comments remind him of a LEO named Lon Horiuchi that walked after murdering an unarmed, nursing mother, who was holding an “assault baby”. Gotta love that Sovereign immunity.
Meanwhile, in a whole different ‘vers, the front line police, the ones that didn’t go AWOL or resign, apparently protested being forced to carry out an illegal order, remembering their oaths. This is rumor, but it needs to be said, and it needs to be said now. When you are knee deep in flood waters with floating bodies and debris, blogsphere is a million miles away, and I doubt the outrage by bloggers ever hit their ears. Apparently some LEOs remembered their oaths, and protested. There is news that the federal troops would not be forcing people to evacuate, though there is no word yet from the chief executive officer, or his minions, about the gun sweeps.
This is what we have won. This is the story that needs to be told.
This is not a paper victory. A paper victory is like a paper profit, there might be something there, but it’s not really real until you cash it in. The striking down of the first “Gun-Free School Zones Act” by the Supreme Court is a paper victory, especially since Congress turned right around and passed the second, nearly identical “Gun-Free School Zones Act” that’s currently hanging over our heads, despite us electing a “pro-RKBA” Congress and a “pro-RKBA” President.
People really stood up and said “you will not seize my guns” and the police really backed down. The “mop-up” that needs to occur now is for bloggers to keep this story from becoming a footnote to Katrina. As much as the Mainstream Media like to tell us we stink, they keep an ear to our world and a hand in the public eye. Police are going to rotate out for some rest and eventually they will read blogs. We can’t trust the MSM to tell their story, so we have to take on that burden ourselves. The police and the citizens who stood up need to tell their story. People need to be removed from office, and people need to go to jail.
Oh, and people need to sue. Perhaps the NRA might actually be useful at that. When the emergency officials said that they were going to prevent coverage of the end stage body recovery by the press, CNN filed suit Friday, and got a restraining order Saturday (last paragraph). In contrast, when the seize orders came down, and enough members called the NRA, they finally issued a wishy-washy press statement. Shame on you, LaPierre. Oh, how I wish we still had Neal Knox with us.
This, more than anything is the lesson to be learned from Katrina. The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting, it isn’t about self-defense, and it isn’t about protecting your family and property from looters. Although those are all existing inalienable rights, the Second is about killing tyrants. The Second is about telling would be tyrants to stand down. The Second is about reminding people that no emergency on this earth allows them to become tyrants, even for -a moment, even if it is in someone’s ?best interest?. When you have accepted that, take a moment to consider how close we came to not having that right enumerated at all. That right is as valid today as when it was drafted.
OK, so we’ve gotta push and really win this one. It comes at a time when many of us have nearly given up hope.
Let’s get to work, we’ve got a Republic to save.
Update 2005-09-23 bonus thuggery, Patricia Konie, now with even more footage (but still missing that critical cut, what’s up with that, Ken Wayne?)
charley hardman Says :
many disagreements with this post. i think amendments 1-9 (including the second) of the US constitution are a joke, that most in the “from my cold dead hands” crowd will always give up their arms to “law enforcement”, that the NRA will never be useful for gun owners, and that saving this “republic” is not only impossible, but undesirable. “good guy” LEO? not spouting that drivel. how many of the “cold dead hands” crowd killed tyrants, of which there were many? how many tyrants are now dead because of their crimes?
shameful, in all directions. the enemy is here, and it is only force that will bring them into line. sad, but true. this country is dying a long, messy death.
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
2005-09-16 03:54 Permalink~ PH
Standard Mischief Says :
Cool, you’ll probably hate my version of libertarianism too.
Seeing as this country has been going downhill since the Whiskey Rebellion, I kinda do and don’t agree with the save the Republic quip. If not This, what? I chose This, or at least what This could be.
I think I need to be distinct between jack booted thuggery and the LEO who didn’t follow illegal orders, after all, I’m asking them to post, and if not here then in the media of their choice.
Thanks for being number 1.
2005-09-16 07:14 Permalinkcharley hardman Says :
the biggest mistake anyone can make about the ruling class is that one might be a moral person and a ruler concurrently. that disastrous, trusting premise is at the heart of the US constitution (under which the sedition act and whiskey stomp happened soon after the ink dried). a “republic” under the US constitution must fail. doubleplus ungood to pretend otherwise.
for liberty to be preserved, it must be understood without exception that government is evil, and, consequently, that anyone seeking a position in government (as a ruler or a cog) is evil. what holds the average person from doing what he knows he should do with respect to, for example, tyrants cops? the notion that government is moral and good. this premise immediately paints as immoral and sociopathic those who oppose government. what other entity gets such a teflon coating? the fools actually see rulers as some projection of themselves — even to death! that lunacy cannot be prevented by the US constitution.
the aura of morality in government has poisoned this country beyond hope. if government is to function somewhat in the same area as liberty, then overreaching tyrants must face quick, certain destruction. that’s not happening when they are given “the benefit of the doubt” while they finger through your property and command you as an underling. however, an evil person who is constrained by the threat of certain destruction is unlikely to be a dire threat to liberty. the founders of the united states made a lot of noise on this truth, but it’s obvious from what they created that they immediately let down their guard. why? because they were the pending tyrants. sickening. look at what some of them became.
step 1 is to remove the teflon. it afflicts even you (”got a Republic to save”, “good guy LEO”). no man seeking power over others can be good. and no government (”republic”) based on a contrary presumption will ever succeed in anything but the steady erosion of liberty. if we start from those obvious truths, government might be something one could exist with. what’s it needed for? damned little.
2005-09-16 10:41 PermalinkStandard Mischief Says :
I freely admit I don’t have every facet of my personal flavor of libertarian leanings worked out. However, I’m not ready to drink your (anarcho-capitalism, I assume) brand of kool-aid. I don’t know yet if it’s electric, cyanide, or just has relativity benign high-fructose corn syrup in it. Perhaps it is ?red pill? kool-aid.
I didn’t have my notes of my objectives for this blog handy when I started it, but part of that was me figuring out what my flavor of libertarian leaning is, but that’s the meat of at least a few rants.
And right now, I’m kinda content hungry.
2005-09-16 23:23 Permalinkcharley hardman Says :
in other words, you’re confused and pussified (fearful), but not too confused to attempt derisiveness amid your ignorance. when you can point to an untruth in what i’ve written, please… full speed ahead. otherwise, all your “we?ve got a Republic to save” bullshit is just that. you want to be ruled? then be ruled. just don’t try to pretend you’re in charge while it’s happening. that is the curse of the majority of posers galumphing “cold dead hands” and other meaningless macho phrases while bending over the backs of their cars to be frisked by “LEO”s. are you a slave or a freeborn man? not much more time to choose. and here you sit, painting an embarrassment as the first step on the road to victory.
“I think we may have won something here”
kool-aid? ROFLMAO. get real. yeah, the world needs more published confusion.
2005-09-17 00:49 Permalinknot a serf Says :
Seems HARDAMN hasnt had the cruel foot of oppression stomp his ignorant head down with a m-16 on your neck….
2005-09-21 19:57 PermalinkFirstly…your nothing but a whiner,and had nothing worthy to contribute,except reasons to roll over,& take it up the tail pipe.
SECONDLY;great quote JEFFERSON:”those who would trade a little liberty for security deserve NEITHER”
FWIW…..people like you disgust me,go hang out on DU from now on….you and your defeatist,whining drone bore me.
Standard Mischief » Blog Archive » The NRA’s sooper-seekrit super secret New Orleans judgment. Says :
[...] You see, the NRA was widely criticized for not jumping in right away and filing a suit. I myself blogged, ?… when the seize orders came down, and enough members called the NRA, they finally issued a wishy-washy press statement…?, yet in their own pleading, they claim they had every right to file suit, even if they are unsure which of their members were harmed. They do, however, seem to have waited until they could get a Mr. Buell Teel on board with them. Whether or not that was a wise move on their part, I’m not going to say, as I am not a Lawyer. [...]
2005-11-27 01:27 PermalinkStandard Mischief » Blog Archive » Patricia Konie is suing! Says :
[...] Good, I was afraid she had dropped off the face of the earth. I wrote about Patricia in this blog entry, which also has several video links. [...]
2005-12-15 15:41 Permalink