Ali Hassan Massoud's Columns
The Origins of Authoritarianism in the Democratic State
"In a democracy however...the public’s every wish must be accommodated and acted upon instantly. And so laws are passed, regulations, specifications, and instructions are published, and are continually added to. And of course Zogs must be hired and armed in order to make it all work. And there’s the rub. The problems that all these rules, laws, and red tape address are minor and usually temporary; but the government-approved solution is nearly always permanent." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
No Military Honors for Me, Thanks
" Why should all of us pay for lavish and expensive state funerals for the same people, who while living, breathing, active politicians, were excoriating and smearing each other with their every breath?" Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Interesting Stuff I've Learned From Being an STR Guest Editor
"What
has been occurring to me recently, though, is that more and more news stories
from such staid outlets as the New York
Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the
"I just hope I have the wherewithal to escape this nascent but growing police state before such days come." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
The Concept of a Perfect State Is an Oxymoron
" Once you agree that the state serves some useful or necessary purpose in human existence, the rest is quibbling over the details of your enslavement and oppression." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
A Market Response to the Statists' War on Gun Makers
Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"My reaction, and more importantly my self-analysis of my reaction, led me to conclude that, despite what I had previously believed, my Gulf War experiences had not completely turned away or blunted my impulse toward violence when I feel threatened or enraged." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
The Chemical Ali Political Consciousness Evolutionary Time Line
By "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Observations on Urban and Rural Attitudes Toward the State
"If a problem does come up, [rural people] tend to think: 'What am I gonna do about this?' The urbanite calls his city councilman to see what he’s gonna do about whatever problem Mr. Urbanite has." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
What the West Doesn't Get About the Danish 'Cartoons'
"Whatever creed or belief one has, it is not wrong to demand that people who wish tolerance and respect for themselves and their beliefs grant it to others even in the face of outrageous provocation." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"Navies are merely pirates by another name and with different flags than the Jolly Roger." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Recommended books by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Entangling Alliances You Can Never Escape From
"The
generation that prosecuted WWII is long gone. Roosevelt, Truman, Acheson,
Marshall, and all the rest of the diplomats and generals are either long dead
or in senescence. Yet their diplomatic and legal constructs are still in place
generations later. Why?
"No king, no king! La la la la la!" Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Would I Hire Mercenaries? Hell Yes!
"If Blackwater or whoever I hire screws up, I have recourse against them. I can fire them, replace them, and/or sue them for damages. What recourse do I have against the NOPD?" Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Why and How the West Is Hoist by Its Own Petard
A review of Osama: The Making of a Terrorist, by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Terrorists as English as Tea and Crumpets
" I went through US Army Basic Combat Training after my sophomore year of high school because making milkshakes at the neighborhood Dairy Queen for minimum wage or something similar (as my friends all were) seemed so boring and lame. Shooting automatic weapons, running through obstacle courses, throwing hand grenades and such seemed so much cooler." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Obedience Is a Choice. So Is Liberty.
"Differ as they may in uniform, their purpose is always the same: They use their guns to tell people on the government's behalf to shut up, settle down, get in line, pay up, pipe down, and move along." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"Here is what I see as the real issue. The statist-oriented governing classes...hate the thought that people will discover that they can actually rule themselves." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Colonel David Hackworth RIP and Observations on Collective Defense
"The
trouble with 'natural' warriors like Hack (and I believe they do exist) is that
under statist governance, they are used for aggression abroad and repression at
home and not for defense or to respond to natural disasters or other emergencies.
"I have been involved over the years with the Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties. I have been part of non-partisan electoral efforts to pass or defeat specific referenda or ballot proposals, too. Not any more, though." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"Fully understanding the actual nature of war simply cannot be learned any other way but by experience. More is the pity, too." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Finkelstein Republicans and Other Mutant Political Animals I Have Known
"I understand that no one, no matter how noble and righteous they may think they are, really is. We all have our guilty pleasures, secret foibles, and secrets." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
The 'No Child Left Behind Law' Is Left Behind by Utah
Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"Why in the hell are generations long dead able to decide for us the living what the laws shall be and on what they shall be based upon?" Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"I think theory formulation is a fundamental step toward rational action. However, that said, at some point you stop being a genuine radical and become a wanker if you are obsessed with it." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Public Order and Safety Absent a State
"My concerns, judgment, and expense are the only criteria. I cannot foist any of the costs for my fence or alarm system on my neighbors, smokers, beer drinkers, or income earners, by using the extortion processes of electoral politics." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
So Ali, If You're So Smart, Where the Hell Is Your Enclave?
"So the choice I am faced with is, should I do it so my family and myself can live free, safe, and secure, or just dig in and try to ride out Leviathan’s collapse?" Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Real Philanthropy Requires Some Rich Guy's Money
"How
much philanthropy is accomplished in dirt poor
Why I Am Not a Party Animal Anymore
"It is hard sometimes to understand why people just don't see that my opinion about everything is so rational, moral, and just plain cool. Everything and everyone would just be soooo much better off if they'd just follow me and let me make all their personal choices and decisions." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"...the “fundamental premise of classical liberalism is an assumption that people are basically rational and wise. Yet this flies right in the face of the most common libertarian lament--that those idiots out there keep electing statists and every resulting policy has been just plain awful." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Often don't make good choices. Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
It depends on what you're trying to survive. Column by "Chemical" Ali Massoud.
Japantown, R.I.P.: An American Holocaust
"The death of Japantown is why I will never trust a constitution, laws, or any politician’s promise that if things get ugly, not to worry. I know better. It can happen here. It did happen here." Column by "Chemical" Ali Massoud.
How Can Terrorism Ever Be a Rational Choice?
"Terrorists are created because a situation they find intolerable persists without recourse. Terrorism as a tactic it is practiced because it can and does often work." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Please Don't Call Officer Charles a Pig!
"Cops scare me more than they reassure me. I can honestly say I’ve never had a positive experience with them." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
"Coming as I do from the Great Lakes area, I know full well that college football is about as close as we come to having an official State-sanctioned religion." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Some of My Best Friends Are Libertarians. No, Really.
"Some of my friends vote. And I say that with the same heavyheartedness as if I was admitting that some of them smoke cigarettes, cheat on their spouses, drink too much, or spend the rent money at the racetrack." Column by "Chemical Ali" Massoud.
Thoughts on Race, Enclaves and Kicking Sleeping Dogs
Column by "Chemical" Ali Massoud.
On Being Hated in Your Own Home
"'Amen to that bro,' someone I didn't see chimed in. I heard others, total strangers endorsing his call for revenge and genocide. I didn't look up to see who said what and who 'amened' it. I just wanted out of that coffee shop. Right then and forever." Column by "Chemical" Ali Massoud.
"So when I refer to anarchy or anarchism, it is in this context. A society that is absent a large, controlling entity regardless of what this entity happens to be: corporations, religious institutions, political parties, criminal gangs, military forces, wild, leaderless mobs or anything or anyone else." Column by "Chemical" Ali Massoud.
Column by new Root Striker "Chemical" Ali Hassan Massoud.