Alif jerked his backpack over one shoulder. “I just feel like this whole thing is getting out of control.” “We’re living in a city run by an emir from one of the most inbred families on earth, where a few censors can throw someone in jail for writing things on the Internet and falling in love with the wrong person.” Dina reached out to be helped to her feet. “It went out of control a long time ago.” —– Alif the Unseen By G. Willow Wilson Grove Press, 2012 Alif (not a name, but a letter of the alphabet) is…
Category: Resistance
Sometimes you need to say “no” to Big Brother
The responses to yesterday’s post on Terry and the checkpoint goons — about evenly divided between “Good man, Terry!” and “He really didn’t win” (Or “Good man, Terry! But he really didn’t win”) got me thinking once again about the different styles among Freedom Outlaws. I suspect that this blog tends to attract a big share of Ghosts — people who’d rather quietly — but determinedly — go around Authoritah than confront it. But clearly there are plenty of Agitators hereabouts, also. I’m curious. Which type of Freedom Outlaw best fits you? Ghost? Agitator? Mole? Or Cockapoo? And what actions…
Click for Part II Three thousand four hundred and fifty-one days after being dragged out of his vehicle & arrested at an illegal roadblock conducted by Tohono O’odham tribal police (with the assistance of U.S. Customs agents and the U.S. Border Patrol), Terry Bressi settled his lawsuit. He received a $210,000 check. From the moment he filed his suit, he fought for exactly 3,087 days — all the while driving in the same area and becoming a target of enforcer rage. It wasn’t a complete victory. No individual officer paid a penalty. No principle of law was changed. Nevertheless, he…
Judge acquits Oregon man who stripped naked to protest TSA snoopery & gropery. (Tip o’ hat to PT) I always knew there was some reason I liked Lenovo. Aside from the fact that they make good computers, I mean. Wow. Just wow. Put yourself in this position: You inherit a multi-media work by a famous artist. However, because of the media used, the federal government forbids you to sell it. You’d go to prison if you did. So every appraiser says its value is $0. Ah, but not the IRS . They not only want millions in taxes, but the…
T’was mentioned recently in these parts that James Howard Kunstler, agree with him or not, writes like a demon on some unholy combo of LSD and steroids. This week he does it again. One can only stand aside and regard him with awe: The word lamppost is popping up lately with alarming frequency in connection with the word banker in all kinds of respectable places, and I don’t think this refers to, say, men in Armani suits searching for their car keys where the light is shining on the sidewalk after quaffing a few rare cuvee jeroboams of Louis Roederer…
I guess there’s always hope. Man recovers sports car that was stolen from him 42 years ago. “The notion of leaving money in private pockets is never considered — perhaps because it would be an unnatural act.” The return of SOPA. Just starve the beast. Bravo, Judy Morris! Now mind you, if you intend (for heaven knows what reason) to link to any page belonging the London 2012 Olympics organization, you’re only allowed to do it if you’re not being mean to them. So, since I know what nice folk you all are, here the link to their terms-of-use page.…
Ah, now here’s a nice little (dirty bomb) monkeywrench of the surveillance state. Nothing (narcos) new in the concept (ahem, I wrote about doing this with email waaaaaaay back in one of those early books and even then I probably stole the (yellowcake*) idea from others who had it first). But elegant (jihad) execution. And a good article. (H/T MLS) Speaking of the surveillance state, here’s an update on the progress of the upcoming “untappable” ISP. Are “they” going to let Nicholas Merrill do it? And look! The NSA chief’s lips are moving! You know what that means. Amazon and…
The Dollar Vigilante has a new feature — a monthly advice column called “Dear Slavey.” It started off with a bang on July 2, when “Slavey” advised some poor credit-card serf to “Just. Don’t. Pay.” No surprise, this drew feedback and some heated back-and-forthing about the morality of keeping one’s pledges. Slavey’s position is that banks are corrupt from top to bottom and unilaterally change their “agreements” with us at will, so eff ’em all. Besides, businesses walk away from billions of dollars in debt without an eyeblink. He does warn, however, that in some states you can now be…
Our politicians should be so partisan! (H/T MJR) Another reason to have a dog. Or at least let the kidlets play in the dirt. Sweet dog-and-his-boy story via MamaLiberty. Oy. Now the security state is worried about drone hijackings. Me, I figure some of my friends could make better uses of drones than the gummint ever will. Bacon or bagel for breakfast? Well, if you don’t count the nitrates … Wendy McElroy has a new book out. Sounds like a must-read. Small-scale farming. Not just cool and trendy — but creating a new profit model? Considering relocating offshore? Panama just…
Happy Independence Day, one and all. Yeah, I know. “Independent of what?” you might ask. King George was a pussycat compared with today’s rulers. But we can still celebrate the ideal if not a national reality. And for sure, for always, we can celebrate our own inner independence. —– This is going to be short. I have just one thing to say. And while I’d like to put it in rhyme and make it an anthem, time and lack of talent demand prose: Don’t fall with the empire. People tell us that declaring (or going off and living) individual freedom…