OT: tolerance (was Re: Attachment test.)

[Fairlight]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:55:03PM -0700, Bill Campbell may or may not have
proven themselves an utter git by pronouncing:
> 
> Lysander Spooner pointed out in his essay ``Trial By Jury'' and
> several other works that most of the so-called ``laws'' passed by
> legislatures have no basis other than the biggest gang got together
> to legalize their plunder and power.
> 
> "If taxation without consent is not robbery, then any band of robbers
> have only to declare themselves a government, and all their robberies
> are legalized." -- Lysander Spooner, Letter to Grover Cleveland 1886

It's not actually simple robbery, it's also blackmail and extortion,
considering the lengths to which they'll go to and threats they'll make in
order to collect if they aren't paid when they first demand the money.
Three crimes for the price of one.

It would be interesting to see someone build a case for not paying taxes
based on the premise of refusing to be a party to aiding and abetting
criminal activity.  I'm sure they'd never win, but it would be interesting.

And your quote reminds me of something James P. Hogan wrote in one story:
"The really big criminals never break laws, they make them."  ("The
Anguished Dawn")

You know, we're talking about this stuff, and it's always educational
listening to you folks.

What I find flat-out disturbing is that even the liberal mass media is
rattling the sabres and raising questions as to not if, but -how badly- the
government is broken in this country.  I mean, I'm no history buff, but
while things have been obviously deteriorating for over 30 years, I can't
personally remember a time in my life -after- the death of responsible and
-real- journalism when a media outlet as liberal as CNN.com has ever raised
questions as to the effectiveness of our government the way they've been
doing this year.  

Then again, we haven't had anything this close to the Great Depression in
my lifetime until recently.

mark->
-- 
Audio panton, cogito singularis,