Strike The Root Blog

I found this ad and had to post it. The site says that the government gives away $10B in grant money every month! (I sure hope it’s not true! Maybe they’re including Wall Street welfare..)

“Learn how I received a grant money check for $3403.19 and how you can too!

- It comes quickly from the government or state.
- It DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PAID BACK and isn’t effected by your credit.
- It doesn’t cost anything to apply for a grant, and you can apply for a bunch of them at one time.

- I got immediate access and was able to dig in right away.
- Come with a free trial, you only pay shipping.
- It offered free tech support in case I ran into trouble and
- IT HELPED ME APPLY FOR A GRANT and receive it within a few weeks. ”

It includes plenty of testimonials for “free money.” Get yours today!
http://www.usgrantsinformation.com/marla/index.php

“You haven’t proved a crime, and you can’t because it didn’t happen,” Blagojevich said. “How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?”

I believe we should mount a “Keep Blagojevich” campaign. I’ve always felt it important that we not hide problems but instead keep them visible, so that we continue to discuss them, and so that they set examples to others of things not to do. Government inherently invites corruption and special treatment for those that are currently favored and politically correct. We must continually remind the gullible–the voters–of this fact. What better way than to help a sick man keep his power over them?

A couple of  recent, fatal events involving state actors illustrate well how lives of individuals are manipulated to strengthen the master/subject relationship between individual and state.
 

First, a Dallas police officer was shot and killed on January 6th while serving a warrant. A tragedy, to be sure- particularly since the officer had a record of mentoring youth to keep them out of trouble. But any grief is tempered by the immensely huge funeral procession that accompanied the dead officer. Humility has never been a virtue for those working in law enforcement. Public expositions such as this bring to mind the reality of the relationship between the state and the individual.

The police don’t exist to protect individuals. The police exist to serve the needs of the state and collect its revenue. The police will continually remind us just who matters most (it’s not you) and just who is in charge (it’s definitely not you). The police’s obscenely ostentatious display of pomp and public expense illustrates that well.

The police are just another gang looking to control turf. The only difference between them and the street gangs is that the police wear uniforms and badges. When street gangs rob and kill individuals it’s called “crime.” When the police and state rob and kill individuals it’s called “good government” and “effective law enforcement.” The only reason the police and the state (the government gang) fight street gangs is because they are perceived as a threat to their monopoly of force and coercion.

The life and property of you meaningless, tax paying, peons is irrelevant. So, pull your cars to the side of the road and get out of their way!
 

Second, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed  January 12^th at Texas A&M University, killing one person. Much speculation has arisen over why the chopper crashed. Upon closer examination, one fact is certain- the state will only be strengthened, not weakened by such an event.

When realizing the fact that the military produces nothing but death and destruction, this should be considered a successful flight. Mission accomplished! One death and a destroyed piece of equipment amounts to an institution well-focused on what it does best!

All sarcasm aside, the tangible benefits to the state after such a tragedy are:

• Those employed as crash investigators will have plenty of work to keep them busy while they calculate just what caused the accident.
• The destroyed helicopter will have to be replaced, resulting in more job security and revenue for the ever-busy military industrial complex.
• The personnel lost will have to be replaced, creating a new assignment for aggressive military recruiters.
• The new personnel will have to be trained, clothed, fed, etc, resulting in a multitude of support opportunities.
• The treatment of the injured and the care of the deceased’s family will necessitate more work for the military medical and compensation establishment.

Add to these tangible benefits the intangible gains:
Militarists everywhere now have another dead hero to fawn over. Only the military honors those who have failed.
The media will expound on the “service” of the deceased, contributing to the statist conditioning of the populace that the military is comprised of brave, courageous folk who are our only barrier between being free and living under tyranny.
The military uses this event to expound on the dangers involved in “protecting” the populace from ever-increasing (and state created) threats.
Bastiat said, “Society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed.” Yes, society suffers but the state is strengthened, at further cost to society. Society is forced to pay for the state’s mistakes- in this case, the military’s. The state is not only tangibly compensated but intangibly strengthened.

Image Review of the Week has moved to enlightened rogue.

The Emperor faces the end of his reign….

….as it is time for him to leave….

….to a standing ”O”….

….and head for the trash bin of history:

Wax Fantasy- The new Emperor is in, the old one is….under arrest?

The Obamaniacs head to DC….

….with new plans for the tax serfs:

Good News! Her Highness’ butt isn’t too big….

….and the family is happy:

The killing continues and no one can bear to watch:

The blast of the shofar accompanies the genocide:

Just a fun ol’ time for the IDF:

Graves, graves, we need more room for graves:

Beware- tryanny can come from any direction:

One act of defiance….

….cancels one act of cowardice:

Global cooling is making life difficult:

Sometimes, the odds look a bit overwhelming:

Swarm, Swarm!:

Your tax dollars at work- an RV for the moon:

Chesley B. (”Sully”) Sullenberger is a god.

Seriously. If I were to run into the guy on the street tomorrow, I would simply be in awe of his presence. That’s because Sullenberger actually crash landed a malfunctioning U.S. Airways jet on the Hudson friggin’ River and nobody was seriously injured. That is just positively amazing. It’s one of those achievements that should stand as a glaring reminder to the rest of us as to what human beings can really accomplish. That act was nothing less than the culmination of many years of intense focus, careful study and much mastering of some very tricky technical skills. Just amazing.

It’s interesting, though, that I hear so many people around me mention his experience as an F-4 fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. The upshot of these conversations is thank the gods for “our” military, so that people can learn such highly valued, life-saving skills. The irony never seems to dawn on these people that the mission of the armed forces is to destroy human life, whereas Sullenberger preserved human life.

But they also seem to forget that Sullenberger has been flying commercial airliners since about 1980, whereas he spent only six years in the Air Force. Why jump to the conclusion that what Sullenberger was able to do yesterday must have come from his military experience, rather than from his more numerous years as a commercial airline pilot?

And why this assumption that only the military could provide the kind of training needed to fly airplanes so skillfully? It’s true that many military pilots take their flying experience into the commercial airline industry. But surely if there was no military at all, that does not mean that we would all be doomed to flying in planes piloted by incompetents. There’s no reason to doubt that some of the billions and billions of dollars that would be spared from “national defense” each year would instead be spent by the airline industry itself, or currently existing flight schools, on continuously improving pilot training and education.

Interestingly, Sullenberger is the founder of a business that provides “technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.” Sullenberger’s actions yesterday demonstrate that highly skilled individuals offering their technical expertise in the marketplace in pursuit of their own personal gain—rather than myriad bureaucrats and their rules and regulations—are the most effective at keeping people safe in potentially dangerous situations.

(Cross-posted at The Postmodern Tribune.)

A radio interview with science fiction writer David Brin has stayed with me many years. The theme was about how we should stop resisting state and corporate spying but work on getting that technology to the general public to use as a means to enhance freedom.  It was years ago, and apparently, he must have been flogging a book (1999) on his theme “The Transparent Society” (which I haven’t read). But his premise is bearing out: there’s no stopping the privacy invasion, but freedom can be enhanced by technology in the hands of ordinary people. Enter: cell phone cameras in the hands of private citizens are being used to resist tyranny. Butler Schafer’s horizontal society is evolving.

More ammo for journalists:

The state wants your children….

….and this is how it gets them:

The real policy of No Child Left Behind:

Stealing money and lending it cheap:

The central planners meet to decide how to engineer the next depression:

A hopeful look at the future- tools of war become lawn ornaments:

Lots of ghosts and boogie men in Afghanistan:

The Emperor-To-Be is drowning in estrogen:

Fasten your seatbelt for a wild ride:

Hey, W.- Dodge this:

Seeking instructions how to kill for the state in the name of God and….

….Success!:

The hands of the savior or tools of the devil?  Have they ever seen a hard day’s work?:

The Emperor’s audience continues to decline in stature….

….and numbers:

Still more murder, and Israel’s (and the U.S.’s) fingerprints are everywhere:

Praise those who have the courage to resist….

….rather than cower in fear:

Gimme that old time religion….

….it’s good enough for me:

Out of our way! Just a lil’ ol’ funeral in Texas:

Genocide in Gaza, but “No comment”:

Future terrorists to keep the show going, forever and forever:

Accidental illustration- Palestinians hopelessly entangled by Zionist Israel:

The kids turn to Johnny Law for guidance….

…..and are rewarded for obedience to the state:

After all the bailouts and stimulus programs are complete, the lowly tax serf carves up what’s left:

Stand by your man.  Let history be the judge:

Shaman rituals for the Magic Negro:

The state is melting, melting:

On the lookout for terrorist coyotes. The Ex-Emperor-To-Be seems to have fewer and fewer friends:

The sky darkens as the coronation approaches (“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.”):

Just a reminder- Homeland Security is diligently protecting our shores:

Just a party girl. Please ignore the trail of bodies behind her….

Wouldn’t a dunce cap be a more appropriate product (Keepin’ America Stupid)?:

An idle GM assembly line awaits more bailouts and cheap credit:

If you enjoy the weekly Image Review on this blog, you’ll want to view the 2008 in Pictorial Review at the SurvivalAcres.com blog. Photos used in the Review have been re-organized with similar themes but new captions to create a nice summary of the year’s state-induced madness.