How could a libertarian anarchist become a police informant, you ask? It’s quite simple really. According to the grapevine, a bright college-age libertarian lady studying in Philadelphia stands accused by Pennsylvania state police of selling drugs they don’t like to an undercover cop on seven occasions. She’s looking at seven [reportedly now thirteen (13)] felonies.

Faced with a disaster of these proportions, the young lady reportedly accepted an opportunity to expedite her release from jail (and possibly reduce her sentence) by going to work as an informant. Three people have been arrested as a result of her collaboration, I am told.

If you’d like to support these victims of her informant work and survivors of the war on (some) drugs, please donate whatever you can here. Every little bit helps.

Libertarians and anarchists around the country are denouncing her, as I’m sure you can imagine. Cups of righteous indignation from uninvolved third parties are running over right and left. “Just let her know that she failed as an anarchist,” opined one comfortable Facebook commenter. “God damned whore-swine. No empathy possesing [sic] Nazi monster,” roared another one. Luckily he was unhurt by the weight of his own irony.

Yet another anarchist went so far as to speak for the entire community saying, “Yeah we don’t fuck around when one of our own turns traitor.”

As sad as this situation is, it’s also rife with learning opportunities. Here are my takeaways: (1) This could happen to any of us; (2) Illegal activities and public activism are not compatible; and (3) The evolution will not happen like Atlas Shrugged or Alongside Night.

“I’m Shocked!”

Prison is a different world – cold, concrete and alien. Your every move is watched and limited. You have no control over the air you breathe, the water you drink, the clothes you wear or the food you eat. It is literally unreal. And until you are in there, you can’t imagine what it is like or what you will do to recover your illusion of being in control of your own life.

The criticisms of the young lady amount to so much Casablanca-style “I’m shocked!”s. Here’s why:

• Our most prominent and admired leaders encourage us on a regular basis to engage in agorism (unsanctioned or illegal commerce) as a part of our activism.
• Some of us, including impressionable young people, actually follow their suggestion!
• When you engage in illegal activities, you become vulnerable to police oppression and manipulation (because they can hang prison time over your head).
• The police are an aggressive bunch and as such have ways to coerce you into doing what they want – kind of like when someone has a gun to your head.

Simply shocking that these circumstances would lead to a libertarian turning informant, right? Who could have imagined an agorist being targeted by the cops and pressured to do their bidding!?

The simple fact is that any one of us can be turned at any time by any sufficiently aggressive entity. We all have just one shot at life. None of us wants to rot (or worse) in prison. Many of us have families that depend on our continued economic and sentimental activities. We, more than the rest of the population, hold dear our day-to-day freedom. Pending court dates, felony charges, house arrest, lawyers and tracking bracelets wear harder on our psyches. This young lady got caught, but you could be next.

A Public Agorist is an Oxymoron

You can’t be a prominent and public anarchist activist and engage in illegal activities on a sustained and significant basis at the same time. The two roles just aren’t compatible in today’s political climate. As activists, we arouse resentment and a desire to hurt us. As agorists, we make ourselves vulnerable to being hurt under color of law. Choose one role or the other, but never both.

Your Life is Really Happening

We can’t expect to engage in risky behavior like drug dealing without having to suffer the state’s punishment sooner or later. This is not a philosophical novel. There is little glory in prison and you won’t be able to skip over the boring parts.

I find myself (and others) frequently living in the fantasy world of ideology. X should exist today so I’m going to live as if it already does. We should live our philosophies now – fully and completely. But we must also temper our idealism with real-world practicality. You can have a bigger impact on the outside than you can in prison.

Can She be Trusted?

One topic that’s being hotly debated is whether the young lady can ever be trusted again. This is not a yes/no question. It’s a sliding scale. And the answer may change over time. Given enough pressure, even the most militant of us can cave under state pressure. For example, if I had to choose between my son being in the hands of social workers or snitching on a friend, I can assure you that I would seriously consider snitching on you! So I’m not writing off the young lady. Nor am I looking to conduct any business with her either!

None of Our Lives Will Ever be the Same

“This isn’t a game,” lectured yet another critic of the young lady. “She got people who trusted her in deep, deep trouble. Their lives may very well never be the same again. That is NOT acceptable. That is despicable.”

None of our lives are the same. None of us are what we should or could be. And the reason is the cooperation and sanction we give to aggression (including the governments of the world). While we worry about possible prison time for a few, the planet is burning due to oppression and injustice. Our struggle is so much bigger than this – and none of us have clean hands.

Playing the blame game is what slaves do. To argue amongst ourselves whether it is the gunmaker’s fault or the soldier who pulled the trigger’s or the general who gave the order or the victim who failed to resist “enough” is a pointless circle jerk.

The government can and does make all kinds of people commit all kinds of self-destructive actions every single day. Who is to say you won’t fall victim too? Are you really qualified to throw the first stone?

If you want to live in a world where young libertarians don’t inform on their friends, set aside your judgment – and your illusions. Live liberty, and it’s counterpart, love. You can’t have one without the other. And you can’t love and judge at the same time. The power of aggression is limitless as long as we remain fearful little mice, scuttering in the shadows and covetous of the creature comforts we’ve managed to carve out for ourselves.

Other Blog Reactions

Tom Knapp: When the Comrade Beside You Falls …

David Zemens: It’s all fun and games until you’re faced with the difficult proposition of martyring yourself for a cause

Deanna Aeanad: In Response to “Everything” (or What Really Happened and Why I Have Made the Choices That I Have) (Facebook)

James Tuttle: C4SS and Stacy Litz

I‘m always surprised when people don’t grok the concept of leadership. I don’t know why but I seem to regularly “get it” on an instinctual basis. So it’s like having a sixth sense. It baffles me when others don’t share that sense experience with me.

What do I mean by leadership? Leadership is not about electing or appointing people to give orders that others are obligated to follow. Leadership is about stepping forward when everyone else wants to step back. It’s about putting your neck out there with an idea and a plan of action. It’s about following through on that plan – with action! It’s about showing others how their impossible dreams actually are possible, and now. Leadership is entirely voluntary and mutual. You can have as many leaders as you want and only pay as much attention to each as you desire. You can be a leader to as many people as you can honestly manage to satisfy.

Leadership is a service and it is provided in a marketplace. Leadership is essential to our quest for freedom and justice. Without it, we are simply a slew of individuals in the same physical, mental or spiritual space. With it, we can be an organized mastermind (see Napolean Hill) working wonders beyond the mere sum of our individual parts.

To the rugged atomizer individualists who say, “Poppycock!” to any talk of people working together mutually with other individuals towards a common goal, I offer this quote as my final thought on the relationship between the individual and the group:

“We can­not live only for our­selves. A thou­sand fibers con­nect us with our fel­low men.” -Her­man Melville

This one is also relevant:

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” – Napolean Hill

How to Develop Leadership?

But if you don’t feel like a leader, how do you develop the leadership sense? Find something you really care about. An issue, a person, a country, a world. Research the issue. Make sure you care about it a lot. How much? So much so that you can’t imagine not neutralizing the threat. Start writing about it. You will find other, like-minded individuals. Now talk to them about what can be done. Collect ideas. Keep searching for your own inspiration. Take a shower, go for a run or do whatever else gets your creative brain into gear.

Now do something. Start small. Build up. Take risks. But make sure you know your risk profile. Don’t go overboard early on in a search for internet fame. This is a long term struggle. It’s a game of chess. Take it slowly and think (a lot) before acting.

But, whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of thinking individual action alone is enough. It simply is not. Don’t kid yourself. Did Gandhi make the British Empire step back on all his lonesome? No. He put his leadership out there and worked with millions of people. Did Martin Luther King or Malcolm X or Rosa Parks achieve their victories all on their own? Absolutely not! It took many many people working together in concerted action with a leadership marketplace.

Sure, it takes an individual spark or sparks to start a fire. Such as what Rosa Parks did. Such as what Julian Heicklen does. And that is leadership! But it’s not enough. Where would Rosa Parks be without the many who joined her? Where would Julian Heicklen be without the videographers, the call flooders and the journalists?

So when I post something like this to my Facebook profile:

If someone hasn’t already organized an effort to boycott movie theaters (over SOPA) then one of my anarchist comrades should do it.

And get responses like these:

George, to boycott them assumes we are currently going to see movie now! lol It’s been well over a year since I’ve been to a theater as too much of what’s make just plain sucks.

I’ve been boycotting theaters for years. I haven’t supported the industry in years.

[And I see this attitude over and over again when working with We Won't Flyers.]

It’s a little frustrating. I didn’t ask you to be a follower of a boycott or to pound your chest about your years-long boycott. I asked you to ORGANIZE a boycott. I invited you to be a leader. I invited you to build power. Power is what wins political battles. For those of us not in the 1%, that means leadership. It means organizing. It means a lot of smart, but also hard, work. Power will not flow your way until you are willing to earn it. And without power, you can forget about moving your issue forward or protecting a person, a country or a world.

Am I being unreasonable? Am I asking too much? Are some of us born leaders, born persuaders and the rest of us doomed to a secondary status by birth, unable to step forward, unable to muster courage, take risks and persuade others? NO! This is an excuse. Recognize it as such and TRY. Try to be a leader. Keep trying, don’t give up and you will meet with success. If you give up, then I will know that you don’t really care all that much about your issue, your people, your country or your world. Is that what you want others to think of you?

No man is an island. And why would anyone want to be? If you are reading this article, you want a better world. You want more freedom and more justice. Leverage the network effect. Become a leader. Make something happen. Don’t rest on your imaginary laurels. Step up. If you don’t know how – and have a burning desire to be a leader – contact me and I will mentor you.

‘Capitalism’ is a funny word. It means so many different things to so many different people, that it’s become entirely useless as a basis for any kind of rational or constructive communication. For some, it is a vessel to romanticize and to pour all their dreams into. For others, it is a trashcan they fill with their complaints and most cynical expectations for the future. But what is capitalism, at its root?

Some will mention wage labor, others exploitation and yet others will talk of free trade. But I think the defining feature is the ability to accumulate lots and lots and lots of stuff (capital). And then, most importantly, to have a third party protect your ability to control that stuff even when you’re not using it. That third party, of course, is the state (the government).

(Does it have to be a state? No. But I don’t think a non-aggressive organization will go to the same lengths as the state to protect property.)

Without this ability to accumulate and have your title to said stuff protected at little to no cost to yourself, things like wage labor, exploitation and managed trade could not happen. These all depend on the power imbalances that stem from the state protecting capitalists’ control of their property.

I don’t think capitalism would survive without the state. In a stateless society, people would be freer to rise up against people who attempt to control more property than they actually use. Acting in concert, great numbers of people could, in the worst case, purchase arms, form a defense force and fight capitalists on a more level playing field. Squatters, worker-owned cooperatives and similar direct actors would take control of more of the capitalists’ property. In the process, their power would be eaten away.

To those who say that capitalism is free trade, nothing more and nothing less, that is not its defining characteristic. Free trade can happen under many different ideological systems. Free trade is blooming right now in China in the midst of an ostensibly socialist system. Free trade can happen in an anarchist society. I don’t doubt that free trade even happened in the Soviet Union, where some may have bartered vodka for bread (or the opposite), for example.

Neither is exploitation a defining characteristic of capitalism, since it can happen anywhere there is an imbalance of power, including under socialist, communist, democratic or plain old totalitarian regimes. In other words, exploitation is not unique to capitalism.

So that’s my problem with capitalism: that some privileged people get to accumulate tons of stuff at other’s expense by using the government to shield them from market action. By market action, I mean homesteading of property the capitalists aren’t themselves using.

So, I’m not high on capitalism (anymore). What am I into? I like the idea that people’s possessions should be respected. These are the things an individual uses on a regular basis to live his life. I would include all the tools and toys a person uses in their home and business, including a reasonable amount of land to live on, to use for recreation and producing food; and everything that goes with their business.

If a person prospers legitimately, I have no basis to challenge any accumulation of wealth. But I take issue with absentee control of things, especially natural resources. There is an argument that the earth is the common heritage of all people. I find this convincing. So for one person to deny others the reasonable use of this common heritage is not legitimate.

For example, if someone fences off 1,000 acres of land but consistently uses only 2, I don’t consider that legitimate. Simply being first to fence is not a solid foundation for denying this common heritage to others. If someone needed land and had a solid intention to use it to sustain his life, I would support that person in any attempt to homestead a reasonable parcel out of the 1,000 acres.

A capitalist might argue that the the first-fencer mixed his labor with the land or registered title and so it was now “a part of him” (which sounds a little too mystical for my tastes). But the first-fencer only mixed his labor with the 2 acres he is using and the thin strip of land the fence is on. What about the other ~998 acres? He hasn’t done anything there. So I don’t even think the homesteading principle supports the first-fencer’s actions.

But you can’t live life without property, say the capitalists. Yes, you can. You can live life with possessions, the things you control and use. You absolutely can live life without those things that you don’t use but control (property). If you don’t use them, that right there shows that you do not need them in order to live.

I invite reasoned criticism of my comments here. Anything else I do not tolerate.

In the latest attack by governments on free people, Michael Bloomberg of New York City has ordered his police to evict Occupy Wall Streeters from Zucotti Park. If this wasn’t bad enough, I noticed a libertarian friend post this today:

My thoughts regarding the clearing out Zucotti Park: Good! Zucotti Park is privately owned, therefore, no one has the right to engage in activities its owner deems unsuitable. The property owners were trespassed upon and the protesters initiated force against the property owners. Therefore, the property owners have every right to retaliatory self-defense.

This, sadly, is glib, reactionary and characteristic of the worst kind of right-libertarian thinking. Do any clear-thinking Ayn-Randians recognize the context-dropping that is evident in the above paragraph? Let’s take a closer look.

1. How did they come by it?

First, how did the current owner (Brookfield Office Properties Inc.) become owners of record for it? Did they use state privilege to get it? To earn the money they used to buy it? Or was it some kind of gift from the state?

According to Wikipedia, Zucotti park was created when US Steel wanted to build a building in New York City a little higher than what government officials would allow. In return for government permission, US Steel created the park.

So far I have been unable to find when or how the current owner acquired the park.

US Steel and Brookfield Office Properties Inc. are large corporations. They have benefited from, at the very least, government-granted limited liability protection. This enables them to escape complete accountability for their actions.

Brookfield Office Properties Inc. is a real estate company. It is likely that it benefited from the recent government-created real estate bubble. It may also benefit from various government incentives routinely granted at the local level for construction of arenas, large buildings, etc. Finally, real estate often requires large bank loans. Banks are chartered by the state. They use a state-controlled and -manipulated currency. And banks have the exclusive privilege of using fractional reserve banking to issue more loans than they likely could in a freed market. Finally, the government, through the Federal Reserve, keeps interest rates low. This makes it cheaper for those who borrow, such as real estate companies, and less rewarding for those who save, such as individual workers.

It’s been some time since I have studied the history of US Steel but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that it had benefited from tariffs on imported steel and other bailouts, price controls and/or war contracts.

In conclusion, the park has its origins in state privilege and state control. State power, as readers of this blog will know, is used by some to disadvantage others. It is unfair and illegitimate. Thus you can hardly claim that the current owners have a solid claim to control the park.

2. Do the owners of record use the property?

Second, do the owners of record use the property? When was the last time? Who is actually using the property?

There is an idea called usufruct. Among other meanings, this is the concept that those who use an item of property are the rightful owners, or at least their right to use it should be respected. And this makes sense to me. Any owner of record who doesn’t use their property is a specie of absentee landlord. Why should someone who never uses something have control over it and the people who do actually use it? This makes no sense to me.

Historically, absentee landlordism is a known evil. We can talk about the Irish example, the indigo farmers in India that Gandhi helped or sharecropping in the Southern US after the civil war. But none of them are pretty. Absentee landlordism is a way for some people to control others’ use of natural resources – the earth that is our common human heritage.

3. Did the occupiers agree to abide by the owner of record’s rules?

Third, are there signs posted to the effect that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) people are not wanted? Were they told they weren’t wanted there? Did the OWS people voluntarily agree to any certain conditions regarding their use of the space?

I haven’t been to Zucotti park, so I don’t know what signs are posted. But I have read that it is exempt from the city government’s nightly curfew. I don’t know if the occupiers were warned about the pending eviction. But I highly doubt that any occupier freely signed a legitimate contract that set any terms for their use of the space.

When we have a space that is not being used by its owner of record but is being used by the public, isn’t it a de facto commons? I think so. Even under current US law (in some areas at least), if one abandons a property and others take up its use, under certain conditions the new users can become the owners of record. If it is a commons, or is de facto owned by the public, whatever Brookfield Office Properties Inc. has to say is null and void. The current users get to make the rules.

If everyday patrons of the park are being denied their normal ability to enjoy the space by the occupiers, then that would be a legitimate cause for action – by a legitimate arbitrator or defense force.

4. Did the owners of record ask the cops to clear it?

Fourth, did the owners of record ask the cops to clear it?

One month ago, they did just that. But they withdrew that request the next day.

According to Michael Bloomberg, mayor of the New York City government, it was his decision alone to evict the occupiers this morning.

5. Are the cops a legitimate defense force for the owners of Zucotti Park?

Fifth, are the cops a legitimate force to be used for defense against trespassers on “private” land?

No, they are not. Those who are current on Occupy Wall Street news know that the cops are agents of aggression, not defense. They have been caught pepper-spraying and otherwise initiating attacks against occupiers since practically the beginning of this occupation. An aggression force is the opposite of a defense force. An aggression force can not be taken seriously when it claims it is being used in defense. That is more akin to propaganda.

Conclusion

The occupiers and the general public who patronize Zucotti Park are the legitimate owners of the park, no matter what the local government or corporations say. The police have no legitimate authority to evict the occupiers from the park. Not even the owner of record is on record as having a pending request for any eviction.

This eviction is simple another attack by government on free people perpetrated by an aggressive police force with notorious aggressors in its ranks. There is nothing legitimate, admirable or righteous about the actions of the local government in this matter.

This is really funny. I highly encourage you to watch it. Sure, he gets some things not quite right about Ron Paul but he also hits home – hard – on a lot. Both Ron Paul and the Zeitgeist project are phenomena close to my political heart. I’ve been watching both for some time. Both have interesting and insightful things to say about our modern condition. Have a good laugh and pass it along.

That said, I am selling Agora I/O. The domain, the website and social media presences are included. Make me an offer via email to me@georgedonnelly.com.

Why am I selling? Because I’m refocusing what I spend my time on. I’ve decided that I need to focus on career, my son’s unschooling and my writing. In order to do that, I’m cutting my activism profile radically.

Shield Mutual is also for sale. You get a website that’s ready to go with a nice design and logo. The concept is spelled out nicely and it’s a good domain name.

But you’re not ready for liberty. You want the government to back off or just go away. But you haven’t stepped up your game to fill in the territory you want the state to abandon. How do you expect a (r)evolution to happen if you won’t lift a finger to to build it?

You want to end welfare. But what have you built to replace it?

You want food safety regulations to go away. But how many food safety watchdog organizations have you founded?

You want people to trust in freedom and each other. What have you done to build trust with your next door neighbors?

You want to end the wars. What have you done to build understanding among different cultures and nations?

You want liberty. But you’re not ready for it. You expect a (r)evolution to “happen” any day. You dream of collapse, the fall of the dollar, the destruction of the consumer society. But what have you done to prepare their replacements? Freedom does not just happen. It requires diligent, sustained intelligent work to build the organs of a free society.

Don’t aimlessly pine for collapse. Find the strength inside yourself to build the future. Start now. Be diligent. Stick with it. It takes a long time and a lot of tears to build a new society. Failure to act? Maybe you don’t really believe what you say you believe.

Has it occurred to you that maybe communists aren’t so scary? That capitalists use that term to mean something other than the state-run capitalism we see today? Have you considered that conservatives and socialists could live together quite contentedly as neighbors and friends, if only they could get past these divisive labels?

What are these labels, anyway? They’re generalizations. Labels are stereotyping. As such, they can, and often do, become a form of collectivization. Collectivization subsumes the differences of individuals into a collective and homogenous stereotype. All socialists want handouts. All capitalists want to exploit me. All communists want to reproduce the Soviet Union. Conservatives are heartless executioners.

The worst part is when ideological adherents take on these stereotypes and attempt to emulate them. This can lead to fundamentalism. What’s a libertarian. Oh, it’s X, Y and Z. Oh ok, that’s who I’ll become then. I’ll study up on the top authors in the field and become as much like them as possible. Because I’m a libertarian and that’s what a libertarian does.

Wrong. You are a human being first and foremost. You have been honed through millions of years of evolution to find common cause with your fellow human beings. To engage in mutual aid. To be compassionate. To help each other. To find solutions without other people’s ideologies getting in your way.

Next time you run into someone who doesn’t share your label, find out what their solutions to any given problem are. If they focus on government solutions, recognize that most people today have been conditioned to ignore most solutions that fall outside the sphere of government action. Give that person time to overcome this. Don’t rush into judgment. And you may be surprised at some unexpected compatibilities that emerge.

Remember that, more important than left vs. right, conservative vs. progressive, communist vs. capitalist, is authoritarian vs. libertarian. Anyone with any label can make the shift to libertarian and find ways to enact their solutions without hurting other people. Our job is not so much to judge but to facilitate, form friendships, listen and be good human beings. Humanity over ideology!

TL;DR

Libertarian people can practice socialism, communism, capitalism and a dozen other things in the same day. They are not mutually exclusive. Socialism can be non-governmental. Socialism can be voluntary. In my family, we practice socialism and let me tell you, it works just fine.

We will never reach freedom if we let our labels get in the way of building the alliances we need in order to end the current system. This is the shortsightedness I see over and over ad nauseam in the libertarian community.

Last week I started experimenting with a vegan diet. My inspiration is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, his research on stopping and reversing heart disease, and related research. For at least 28 days, I am giving up meat, dairy, extracted oils and most sugar. I’m eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes almost exclusively. A lot of what I am eating is raw, in the form of huge salads, sliced fruit on my morning oatmeal and snack fruits throughout the day. I’m even giving up fruit juices and eating the whole fruits instead.

I’m doing this primarily for health reasons but I’m also concerned about the ethics of eating fellow earthlings and the sustainability of how most meat and dairy is produced. I’m not trying to push veganism on you. I’m experimenting. I’ve gotten some great results already and I hope you will get something out of this as well! Please check out the video above and let me know what you think.

In this short video, Brazilian filmmaker Julia Bacha argues that violent resistance gets more attention than nonviolent resistance and that this helps perpetuate the cycle of violence. Nonviolent resistance is happening around us all the time. In order for it to be viewed as a viable alternative to violence, we need to give it attention. We need to focus a spotlight on nonviolent resistance efforts.

This is very insightful. We’re constantly bombarded with news of the problems that are wars, atrocities, police abuse and random violence. We don’t hear as much about the solutions. By planning and participating in nonviolent resistance, by learning about others’ nonviolent resistance and by sharing, blogging and talking about stories and videos of nonviolent resistance, we can be a part of the solution. We can show the doubters that nonviolence is the solution to violence.

By the way, here is the trailer for the Budrus (2009) documentary mentioned in the above video. It looks great!

For handing out pamphlets in front of the Orange county courthouse in Orlando, Florida, (judge) Belvin Perry has decided to put renowned 79-year-old liberty activist and former chemistry professor Julian Heicklen in a cage for 145 days. Julian has been convicted of “external criminal contempt of court.”

Readers of this blog will remember that Julian was arrested on August 23rd for violating Perry’s order banning “first amendment activities” near his castle courthouse.

Julian is appealing his caging. Perry has granted him an audience on Monday, September 12, at which time Julian could be granted bail (pending the appeal). Mark Schmidter, who was caged 151 days on the same charge, wants to raise $10,000 to fund the appeal. No word yet on how to donate or whether Julian actually wants to hire a lawyer.

Please write to Julian at this address:

Julian Heicklen
11032297 BRC2DBAY
PO BOX 4970
Orlando, FL 32802-4970

Please call Belvin Perry at 407-836-2008 and politely but firmly let him know what he is doing wrong and what he should do to make amends.

While researching this news, I came across a couple of intriguing quotes that I’d like to comment on.

I hope Judge Perry passes peacefully in his sleep, so he will no longer be able to put peaceful people in cages.

If Belvin passes away, another man or woman will take his place and do the same thing. This is not a recipe for progress. Instead, we need to help Belvin understand which actions of his are wrong, why and how to make amends for his mistakes. We need to approach him from a position of empathy. We need to listen before speaking. And we need to be relentless.

What an absolutely heartless human being must someone be to throw an elderly man in a cage for exercising his freedom of speech.

*External* criminal contempt of court? Where does it stop: when we’re not able to speak against the robed ones on the public sidewalk, in a park, in our own homes? (Neal Conner)

What an insightful question. Where does this arbitrary and monarchical power of judges stop? What internal contortions are required for one man to cage another for something as harmless and admirable as educating the public about the historical independence of juries?

Please call Belvin at 407-836-2008. Let us know how it goes in the comments.

Update: Here are details on how to visit Julian. He apparently does wish to hire a lawyer for the appeal.

This is Brendan Brazier, a successful endurance athlete who is also a long-time vegan. This video is from his Thrive 30 program, which is a free set of video lessons on leveraging a plant-based diet for optimum performance.

I found Episode 11 particularly interesting because Brendan succinctly explains the sustainability issues surrounding the consumption of meat. Sustainability is the idea that in any given system, the way it is structured can continue over the long term. For example, the use of petroleum is not a sustainable fuel source because the consensus is that it will run out. Its supply is finite and it can not be recycled. Hemp, on the other hand, is a sustainable fuel source because once the fuel produced from one crop is exhausted, another can be harvested. Solar energy is sustainable. Natural gas, not so much, because there is a finite supply.

Brendan notes that the supply of arable land is falling. As much as 70% of that land is dedicated to producing feed for animals, Brendan says. It can take 7-9 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. The rest is effectively lost. Additionally, cows that eat grain instead of grass are a significant source of methane emissions to the atmosphere. These emissions may lead to climactic changes. But Brendan explains it better than I can. So check out this short and informative video.

This is important to me because one of my goals is to live sustainably. I want to contribute to a future where people are free, empowered and not exploited. But I also want a future in which human beings can be human beings. This requires the same natural environment we have evolved in, or something close to it. We are not just eating through our grandkids’ income in the form of excessive private and government debt, we’re also eating through their planet by over-consuming in dirty ways and not recycling. We’re exhausting resources. It’s not sustainable. The disaster we are creating will not be a fun place to live in, unless we make some changes immediately.

On a side note, I’ve completed 4 days on a strict vegan diet of no eggs, meat, dairy, extracted oils, nuts or excessive refined products really of any kind. I’m eating legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Around 50% of what I’m eating is raw food. I was inspired, oddly enough, by Sanjay Gupta’s CNN special on how to become heart-attack proof. I lost a lot of respect for Sanjay over his stance on the TSA issue, but clearly his medical cred is still good.

Most impressive was the interview with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who claims that people can become heart-attack proof in as little as 28 days by following the diet I mentioned above. I encourage you to google him. Do your own research. I was pushed over the top by his health-related claims but I have wanted to abandon meats and oils for years. In college, I was mostly vegan out of poverty. For years when I lived in Japan, I hardly ate meat. In 2008 I tried a raw foods diet and failed. I am concerned about the ethics of consuming fellow earthlings, especially from a factory farm setting. I am concerned about the sustainability (or, lack thereof) of consuming meat. But with Esselstyn et al’s health information, and resulting realistic diet recommendations, I can finally do it.

I’m loving this diet. I’ll report on it more soon.

The FEC [Federal Election Commission] complaint was not a factor in canceling AVTM on RT. NOBODY takes Kincaid seriously, & the complaint had no legal basis. #

I should have said something before all the conspiracy theorists jumped on the FEC for being responsible for AVTM being cancelled. It was not a factor! #

I will be able to speak more freely about AVTM’s cancellation after concluding my legal business with RT. Until then, just know that the FEC complaint was not a factor, but Jesse Benton is. #

According to posts on Adam Kokesh’s Facebook page, the FEC complaint was “not a factor” in his departure from Russia Today (RT).

He did say, however, that Jesse Benton was a factor. Jesse Benton is apparently married to Ron Paul’s granddaughter and, according to this website, is campaign chairman of Ron Paul 2012. Here is Benton speaking about Ron Paul on MSNBC last Monday. Update: Here is a comment Adam made about Benton on his show, Adam vs The Man.

Politico.com reports that Benton takes the complaint seriously. “Our campaign accepts only legal contributions, but we are declining interviews with Russia Today until they resolve this situation,” he said. What “this situation” might be, apparently remains unknown.

There may be a possibility of Adam returning to RT once “this situation” is resolved.

I asked both Adam and the author of the FEC complaint, Clifford P. Kincaid, for interviews. Both declined.

My Take

I can only speculate on what “this situation” might be. Perhaps Jesse Benton has filed some kind of complaint or is threatening to sue RT. Maybe RT thinks Adam violated their contract. This is idle speculation. I have no idea what the real problem is and no one is talking about it. We have to wait for the release of more information.

I’ve watched Adam’s work for several years and I support him. I think he is an excellent advocate for liberty. His courage and drive are admirable. We could all learn from him. Whatever the problem, I hope he can get past it and continue his excellent media work and activism. I’ve invited Adam to participate in the Agora I/O liberty unconference September 23-25th. I hope to see him there.

Some have criticized Adam for working with RT. RT is a project of the Russian embassy and is funded in large part by the Russian government. It is a propaganda outlet. It scores propaganda points by highlighting the work of dissidents such as Adam Kokesh. It’s a mutually beneficial trade. There is nothing wrong with it and I can’t help but snicker at claims that Adam is a “Russian agent.”

The revolutionaries of the late 18th century also had help from foreign powers, notably France. Were they traitors? Was that dirty money? No. When the state hands you a TV show, you take it. And use it against them. That’s what Adam Kokesh did and that’s what any revolutionary is wise to do. Purity tests are self-destructive. In a world where practically everything comes from corporations and states, it is not wrong to take advantage of any largesse headed your way – as long as you use it for good. And that’s what Adam Kokesh is doing.

H/T Freedom’s Phoenix

Last Saturday, three lemonade entrepreneurs were arrested in Washington, DC. Their crime: selling lemonade for 10 cents per cup – without permission from the government. They’re also charged with disobedience and unlawful conduct. Watch the video yourself. This is not just an affront to the American traditiona of lemonade stands and free enterprise, it’s also a complete waste of the public’s funds.

Help put a stop to these silly charges. Strike a blow for people power. Support these courageous activists, who endured hours of taunting at the hands of DC cops (one of whom declared his willingness to enforce racial segregation laws). Together we are stronger.

Call Now

The entrepreneurs ask that we call Irvin B. Nathan, the attorney general of Washington, DC, at 202.727.3400. Their names are Megan Steward (aka Meg McLain), Kathryn Dill and Will Duffield (or, just call them the Lemonade Liberating Three). They are charged with unlawful conduct, failure to obey and selling without permit.

Please watch the video and formulate your own thoughts on this matter. Please ask that all the charges be dropped immediately.

Here is my call to Irving B. Nathan. I was connected to a “low-level intern.” Clearly we need better phone numbers for these people.

Update: You can bypass the receptionist and reach Nathan’s receptionist Valerie Scott directly at 202-724-1301. I wonder who you reach with -1302 and -1303?

Update: Here is a great call from Jim Babb of We Won’t Fly.

Join the Julian Heicklen Call Flood, too!

Julian Heicklen is a 79-year-old free-speech activist and former chemistry professor who distributed jury independence pamphlets in front of an Orlando, Florida courthouse. Get the whole story here, including video.

Please join the call flood.

1. Call Judge Belvin Perry’s office at 407-836-2008.
2. Call arresting officer Ray Shulte of the Orange County Sheriff’s office at 407-836-6069.
3. Call the Orange County Sheriffs Office at 407-836-4357.

Here is my call to Belvin Perry.

Let us know how your calls went in the comments below. If you can (legally) record it, all the better! Share that with us too.

Arrested for leaving a hotel too slowly? Prosecutor actually prosecutes the case? Witnesses lying? That’s what happened to New-Hampshire-based independent journalist Dave Ridley. Dave was interviewing politicians, as is his wont, at Nashua, New Hampshire’s Radisson hotel when staff and Nashua cops asked him to leave. He complied by walking backwards toward his far-away parking spot, all the while recording the cops. As he approached his car, Nashua cops arrested him, groped him and charged him with criminal trespass.

Dave and his lawyer, Seth Hipple, recount in the above video how hotel staff contradicted Dave’s video in their testimony to the court. The court only watched Dave’s video because Seth strenuously argued for it. And then, apparently, the judge became even more eloquent than Dave in his defense! Another pointless prosecution ends in nominal victory for a liberty activist. Kudos to Dave, Seth and those who supported him. Be sure to check out his engaging and authentic journalistic work at RidleyReport.com.

Here is the video of Dave’s arrest.

My Take

Cops and hotel staff overreacted. Dave wasn’t interfering with the flow of traffic. He wasn’t causing a disturbance. He was interviewing government officials about actions they take in their official capacities. If not for the reported presence of Joe Biden and his secret service detail, this might not have even happened. I know Dave Ridley. He’s a stand-up guy. There is no reason for him, or other independent journalists, to face this kind of abuse and persecution. He left when asked to. It’s not his fault the parking lot is so big.

If you’re concerned about big business’ special state privileges that enable it to trounce smaller and less privileged competitors, you should also be concerned about how state-sanctioned media benefits from the crushing of smaller and less privileged competitors such as Dave Ridley. Dave couldn’t get the stories he wanted. He spent time in jail. He had to defend himself in court. All of this costs time, money and energy. Independent journalists like Dave Ridley deserve our support and our patronage. If you have something to sell or promote, please consider buying an ad from Dave.