Freedom Tribe

I’ve been keeping an eye out for news from Belarus in the wake of the bombing. As is typical of our media, now that the bleeding is over, their eyes have mostly turned elsewhere. Having Belarusian friends provides more of an insider’s view—as does the experience of Lobo and the snolfs, freshly returned from a visit to that part of the world. The contrasts between the situations—and people—of that country and this are rich in irony.

Dear friend and fellow LRT Knight Carl Bussjaeger offered an amusing peek at some psychobabble ... and in poking around, I found the other psychotic babble, which is not so pleasant.

Via the LRT discussion list comes word that JPFO founder Aaron Zelman died on December 21. I wasn’t fortunate enough to meet him in person, but did communicate with him a few times. His energy and creativity were palpable even in email. He will be sorely missed ... and I hope JPFO continues their important work. My condolences to Aaron’s family and friends.

Guns And Weed
Because there's no such thing as "half-free."

Catching up on some blog reading lately, I came across something that was so suffused with irony I can’t help but remark on it ... even though I have misgivings about doing so.

It is wonderful to see that our dear Uncle Warren is back to making music.

A good deal of my absence here—and the lightness of subject when I do post—can be attributed solely to fear.

I’m finding some interesting, er, artifacts as I sift through stuff I’ve been carrying around for years. One thing that caught my attention last night is a copy of Fifth Estate’s spring/summer 2005 issue. I believe it was an essay—the title of which I’ve used for this ramble—that sparked something within me.

My dear friend Carl Bussjaeger shared some good tidings with me, and has given permission for me to share with y’all. Let’s step in to the library ...

Bill St. Clair very kindly emailed me this morning, bringing my attention to an addition to one of his web sites that he thought I would particularly appreciate. Even though we’ve not yet met in person, he knows me well.

I expect that many freedom-loving individuals would answer that question in the negative; but some would aver otherwise, pointing to the power of a jury as a (perhaps “the”) remaining check on the state’s dominance. I’ve pondered that issue for some time—wanting to be convinced by the arguments, truth be told, but never making it that far. The primary obstacle is the vanishingly small role juries directly play in most people’s lives. How many adults are tapped for jury duty? Out of those who go, how many actually serve? How many times does an average person sit on a jury? I have no numbers to pin to those questions, but it should be clear that I am skeptical that an activity that at best probably commands only a few hours of a person’s life is going to be seen as enormously important to him.

Another assertion that would likely be offered is that juries can make or break laws—and that does affect many people, as we all live under the burden of the laws of our jurisdiction. But again, I have problems ... Jury nullification depends upon at least one informed, courageous person; and the voir dire process actively seeks to eliminate such individuals from juries. That person must also keep his intentions secret until deliberations, else a mistrial could be called. Even that doesn’t guarantee that a mistrial won’t happen.

But—and here’s the heart of the matter—all the jury power in the world won’t make a bit of difference if the judge plays fast and loose with his power in the courtroom. A judge has a variety of means by which he can skew a trial, including what he allows as evidence, lines of questioning the lawyers are allowed to pursue, and the instructions he gives to the jury before they retire for deliberation.

Some judges have apparently become so brazen that they will not allow the jury access to the actual law(s) under consideration in a case. Pete Hendrickson says that’s what happened to him in his recently-concluded trial with the IRS.

My friend Mike Gogulski apparently learned that lesson back in September, although he just published information about his unfortunate encounter with some Slovak policemen. As happens here in the USSA with disturbing frequency, Mike called them for help, and instead they turned on him.

I’m not sure what Mike intends to do from here, but he has requested support and I am giving it, by helping to publicize his story and archiving a copy of the report in case his web site is yanked. I can’t at present upload it here for sharing, but will happily email the PDF to those who request it. For now, it and other formats are available in Mike’s blog post I linked earlier; my dear friend Tom Ender has also archived Mike’s report.

If anyone wonders whether Mike is worth supporting, in addition to his fine blog I recommend reading my interview of him. Mike walks the walk, and surely is an inspiration to many.

Yesterday evening, I finally cracked. The pressure has been building since ... well, I don’t even remember when Wolfie and I first started talking about it.

My friend Peter and I have discussed the speculation surrounding what may lie ahead for this country, and those who live here, a fair bit. Being a much better multi–tasker than I, he has offered a stimulating perspective in a new essay, American Winter. It’s fairly long, full of cogent observations and asides, and I barely finished skimming it before starting to tell you nine about it—so I don’t have any deep thoughts of my own to offer at present.

That is probably not news to regulars here—after all, my interview of B.W. Richardson displayed my high regard of him; and I’ve pointed to several of his blog posts here. But if you’ve not been by Montag ... lately, take a mosey over there and you should easily see why I’ve titled this ramble thusly. He’s been on a powerful tear lately—and lest you think you can suss out my favorites based on my commenting pattern there, to that I say “Nay!” Of late I’ve been racing the heat as well as very busy, so I often let great bits slip by without comment.

But today’s post is simply too good to let pass, nor to keep to myself. Hie thee over there and bask in his inspiring words. Thank you very much, my friend.