Honest Anarchist: 2011

The Daily Crust

In the days of yore, the daily crust meant survival. On nutritional par with gruel, these chunks of stale bread offered the minimum sustenance peasants could consume and still live to toil another day in the satanic mills. In the 21st century, exploding waistlines and exponential chin growth bear witness that the lack of food for the body is seldom an issue. Instead, a spectre is haunting the world: sustenance for the mind is needed. Through the use of cartoons and commentaries about current events, Honest Anarchist hopes to provide the minimum amount of Daily Crust for a starving body politik.

In time (cartoon)

Ripped from the headlines: examples of government intervention in market (political/economic blog)

Ripped straight from the headlines: examples of government intervention in the marketplace. These stories are all verifiable. Therefore, people can draw their own conclusions whether or not government intervention was beneficial.

Wed. Nov 2: “US fights to defend troops’ pocketbooks,” Los Angeles Times (pg. B1). Holly Petraeus (wife of David) heads Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s military affairs office. Office wants to protect service members from being taken advantage of when purchasing financial instruments (or other debt obligations). Article states that service members are often too young and inexperienced to understand contracts. What is noteworthy is that the agency is saying that people who are competent enough to sign up for the military – and possibly death and disfigurement – aren’t competent enough to read contracts before signing. If someone is not competent to read and understand a contract (and not sign it if they don’t understand), how can said incompetent person be competent enough to sign life away to military?

Thur. Nov 3: “Hard road for poor needing cars,” LA Times (pg. A1). Article is about Buy-here-pay-here used car dealerships. Federal Cash-for-clunkers program has removed 650,000 used cars from potential secondary resale market. Article notes that poor have hard time getting financing and that used car market has seen decline in inventory. Article describes many people having cars repo’d from Buy-here when they could no longer afford. How did government-subsidized removal of 650,000 used cars from secondary resale market improve the poor? How did this action lower prices in used-car market? Didn’t free-market economists warn of such a scenario prior to implementation of C4C?

Fri. Nov 4: “As rail panel seeks funds, dissent builds,” LA Times (pg. AA3). Article states that projected price for California’s high-speed rail is almost triple the amount forecasted when public vote was taken to authorize bond sales for project. The projected construction timeline has been extended 13 years (more than doubled). Article notes that, if built, first 140-mile section will sit idle until other segments are funded and built. Further, California’s proportional cost has also gone up, as forecasters have scaled back the amount private and federal investments were to cover (by some measures, California’s possible financial exposure has gone up more than ten-fold). Despite all this, Times editorial the next day (“Still on the bullet train,” pg. A14) says “it’s still a gamble worth taking.” Note the word “gamble.” Why not gamble when the $100-billion is someone else’s money? Note also that despite all the alleged profit to be made by the line, greedy capitalists have yet to build it. Some might conclude that future-revenue predictions are false (lies, perhaps?).

That brings us to today, Sat. Nov 5. Again, LA Times: “Oakland’s roots of discontent” (pg. A1). In yet another article about OWS protesters (the west-coast faction) we learn that in Oakland thirty-percent of residents cannot read above fourth-grade level. How is this possible in a state where education is a right, guaranteed to everyone regardless of immigration status?

Can all these head-scratching examples be blamed on the rich not paying their alleged fair-share of the social contract? Or are there other actors/philosophies to blame?

Comments?

The F-word: fair

Fair. If there was ever a four-letter F-word that should be banned from use in the mainstream media and politics, this is the word. Not only because it is dirty but because it no longer has meaning.

Give us this day our daily bread (cartoon)

Arnold feels good (cartoon)

FDR slims (cartoon)

Davey Hansen learns a life-lesson (cartoon)

Crystal ball (cartoon)

Don't retreat -- reload (cartoon)

The path to citizenship (cartoon)

Third time's a charm (cartoon)

Obama's tools to remake American (cartoon)

The city of Bell curve (cartoon)

Street art (cartoon)

Stand up and fight (cartoon)

Slam dunk (cartoon)

Plug the damn hole (cartoon)

Obama topples twin towers (cartoon)

Obama oath (cartoon)

Nato fetch (cartoon)

Liberty bound (cartoon)

Invisible hand (cartoon)

Hot air Obama (cartoon)

Human shield (cartoon)

Fat waste (cartoon)

the duplicitous U.S. foreign policy regarding Taiwan (blog)

Since January, 1979 the official stated U.S. policy is that Taiwan is not a sovereign nation but is part of the People's Republic of China proper (The PRC, which is the sovereign). And yet the United States not only sent an aircraft carrier group to Taiwan's defense against China during the Clinton administration, the U.S. continues to sell weapons to Taiwan despite the objections by China. The U.S. State Department even admits "the [Taiwanese] military's primary purpose is the defense against the PRC."

Distilled, this means that although Taiwan is part of China, the U.S. will spend lives and treasure defending Taiwan should the U.S.-recognized mother-country invade its own territory.

Does this mean Taiwan will come to the aid of California when the state is invaded by Obama's so-called Justice Department during his efforts to eradicate medical marijuana?

Hope floats (cartoon)

Holder constitution (cartoon)

Grim reefer (cartoon)

Low-tech terrorism (cartoon)

Demjanjuk deported (cartoon)

Deflation Obama (cartoon)

Carjacking Chrysler (cartoon)

Atzlan or bust (cartoon)

and the band played on (cartoon)

America's Watchmen (cartoon)

On being bullied (personal blog)

I hear the distinctive sound of someone running full-bore. Curiously, the sound disappears but is unaccompanied by the requisite skid that comes with stopping.

A foot -- the business-end of a flying Tae Kwon Do kick -- lands dead-center in my back. I stumble forward, barely managing to stay on my feet.

Saving a life, and leaving three to drown

“Help me!”

I drift past him at about 10 knots and I hear his desperate cries for help. He is caught in the impact zone at Schoolyards and completely spent from the salvo of waves the southern hemisphere is unleashing upon Orange County in general and upon him specifically. While his cohorts on the beach watch -- fins in hand, happy to be out alive -- the bodysurfer is pummeled ceaselessly.

I want to see Janet Jackson's nipples.

"I want to see Janet Jackson's nipples." So much so that I wrote the FCC and told them

Bait and Switch (in progress)

Apologize for bait and switch to those who were expecting a true anarchist site, instead of libertarian.

For reasons that will be fleshed out in blog posts, HA waivers between Anarchist and libertarian. Want to be libertarian philosophically, but politician push me to anarchy. Every law or new tax.
Politican cannot have power to redistribute income in a democracy, will alway be abused. will invariably trade public money for votes and campaign contributions, often at the expense of class divisions.
This is a play on the confusion or purposeful misbranding of libertarians as anarchists. The classic strawman

Honest Anarchist's Rule of Four

1) Government is force.

2) Force shall not be introduced into a relationship except in self-defense.

3) No one shall deprive another of what is rightfully his or hers ("rightfully" means he or she created, wrote, filmed, drew, earned, invented, discovered, grew, purchased, inherited, bartered for, or otherwise obtained from theretofore rightful owner without theft, force or fraud).

4) I am not my brother's keeper; nor is he mine. This means people should be free to succeed or fail on own merit and free to help or not help others succeed.

Definitions:

The meanings of words or phrases as understood and used by Honest Anarchist. This meaning may be inconsistent with others' definitions, hence Honest's pre-emptive attempt to clarify. It is not an attempt to obfuscate but rather to reach a common springboard from which to launch or understand the debate. Despite any inconsistencies, the definitions should fall within what's considered an acceptable usage, even if archaic. Some words are coined by Honest and are likely not to be defined elsewhere (ex. Dictocracy). Unless Honest's meanings are so egregiously incorrect as to make his arguments incoherent, please assume the usage for the argument's sake. That said, Honest welcomes comments on corrections and will redefine any term should he be convinced its usage is incorrect or highly misleading or should the new definition be more concise.

Anarchy, Anarchism:

a philosophy which advocates no government. A condition where no central government or ruling authority exists. Anarchy rarely occurs, as ruling authorities -- also called Strongmen -- invariably rise up, even if at the family or clan level. As such, anarchy can be understood as a relative value. For example, a contigious geographic area, say, an island, without a central government can be said to be in a state of anarchy when viewed at the macro level. When viewed at the micro level it is revealed there are ruling authorities at the tribe level: tribal chiefs: The tribes would not be anarchistic within, but the relationships among tribes would be. This is why international relations are considered anarchistic. There is no higher authority than the nation-state to enforce laws, only mob (consensus) rule. Often used synomously with chaos, although they are not completely interchangeable. Also called a Hobbesian State-of-Nature (although, again, not completely synonomous). Anarchists often advocate Natural Rights theories, which maintain that humans have inherent rights (usually the right to life and its logical corollaries, the rights to: self defense against threats to person or property, freedom of movement to seek food and shelter, the fruits of one's own labor, etc.). Not to be confused with the masked hoodlums who riot against capitalism and claim to be anarchists. Many of these are what I call left-wing anarchists -- socialists. Peel back the layers of these "anarchists" and that is usually what is found.

Dictocracy:

A Statist political-economy where the government's institutions have been captured by private interests (unions, corporations, lobbyists, etc.) bribing it to take a leading role in citizens' lives; only made possible because utopian- and corrupt politicians have devolved democracy into mob rule allowing voters access to areas once forbidden: the private economic affairs of others; self-justifies because it is a "democracy"; inherently corrupt and thus highly subject to graft. Dictocrat: Not limited to bureaucrats, one who advocates or enables a dictocracy.

Libertarian(ism):

The political philosophy that force shall only be used in self defense against an immediate threat. Such a principle of the non-initiation of the use of force prevents government from engaging in the regulation of most -- if not all -- economic affairs: since government is by its nature force, and economic relations in a free-market do not inherently use force, government has no business entering into the relationship between consenting individuals. Consistent with the philosophy would be the abolition of victimless-crime laws (prostitution, drug possession, gambling). A government run under such principle would concentrate on preventing harm (likely its sole purpose) and not on doing good. Very similar to Ayn Rand's Objectivism, if not in the articulation of the principles then in the application of them (although Ayn Rand herself would disagree vehemently).

Placemen:

Generic for Bureaucrats. Members of the public sector, often unionized. The true measure of a Placeman is whether his position creates any wealth or adds any value and therefore exists in the private sector or would exist had the function not been usurped by the State. For example, education, police, and fire services: the members aren't neccesarily Placemen because but for State intervention they might be in private industry. However, poorly performing members of this exception can be properly called Placemen, as can traffic cops who set speed traps in non-residential areas. Most people have worked with the private-sector's counterpart to the Placeman, the Paycheck (who is oftentimes related to the owner). IRS and DEA agents, members of the NLRB and most -- if not all -- bureaucrats in administrative agencies and cabinet positions can be called Placemen. Not limited to government workers but also private-sector workers that receive State subsidies instead of competing in the open, honest marketplace. Not synonomous with a Statist. Closer in meaning to a Dictocrat. What seperates the Placemen is the Placemen is driven by compensation, not philosophy. The placeman gains financially, where a Statist or Dictocrat might not.

State:

When used with a capital S (State), generic for nation, state, county, perfecture, province or any other institution or institutional representative (cop, fed, etc.) that has monopoly on the use of force and is recognized by a large enough portion of society to be considered legitimate. Without a qualifier or context suggesting otherwise, typically means nation-state. When used lower-case (state) means state, proper.

State-of-Nature:

Coined by Thomas Hobbes. A historical era prior to the evolution of extended-orders (of social arrangement; i.e., economies, villages, fiefdoms, etc.). A condition of (quasi) anarchy with no formally recognized ruling authority, characterized by a struggle for resources between inhabitants of an area. Life was often brutish, with Strongmen and tribes lording over others. People maintained Natural Right to Life (and all its logical corollaries: the right to self defense, the right to seek food, shelter, a mate) although this right was not formally recognized as such. People in a SON joined together for mutual benefit and collective self-defense. Not synomous with anarchy, however. Groups can form under central control, but this does not extend beyond the clan or tribe level. (Orders more extended than this move humankind out of the State-of-Nature). Civil Society can devolve into a State-of-Nature, and States-of-Nature can exist today in remote areas that, while they may be formally under control of government, are not under practical control and won't be for any time in near future. For example, both Gilligan's island and the island in Lord of the Flies are examples of States-of-Nature occuring in modern times.

Statist(ism):

Used with an upper-case S. Including -- but not limited to -- despots, dictators, and democrats, one who advocates government (the State) take a leading role in the individual's life. There are degrees of Statism: some believe in more economic control versus social control. Statist regimes can be theocratic (Iran) or atheist (Soviet Union). Although often used generically to lump together what is considered the political Left (democrats, socialists, greens, Marxism and its derivatives...) it applies to many latter-day republican. The Statist distrusts initiative, capitalism, selfish interests, and individuals in general. The individual is subborned to the Collective. The State's primary interest is not to protect its citizens from transgression by others but to protect them largely from themselves and from the forces of nature (i.e., the need for food, shelter). Adherents believe that government should not limit itself to preventing harm but should actively do good. The State thus defines the good, with individual wants and ends concomitantly decided. To this end meaningless words and phrases like Social Justice, Fair, and the Common Good become staples in their war-chest of propaganda. The Statist political-economies often have large bodies of law devoted to victimless crimes: antitrust and labor laws; prohibitions against drugs, prostitution, and gambling, etc., although these can vary widely by regime. Citizens are usually highly taxed, with the wealthy paying more, to fund myriad State institutions (except in extractive- and petrol-States,i.e., Saudi Arabia, Iran). Depending on degree of Statism, private social institutions are eliminated entirely or usurped by those State-run. Statist leaders often manufacture enemies in order to rally citizens behind a common threat. They also have little repect, if any, for private property rights, as these are often sacrificed in the name of the People or in the application of civil rights and labor laws. Statism occurs on a scale. The null side sees anarchy: no government, often called the Hobbesian State-of-Nature. The opposite end sees totalitarianism: absolute subserviance to the State (Maoism, Stalinism, National Socialism, current-day North Korea). Because the term is so encompassing Honest Anarchist prefers to use it when discussing advocates of big government. This allows him to focus on principles of arguments versus minor details. For example, one might object to him calling President Obama a socialist. Rather than split hairs and detract from the debate, Anarchist will instead call him a Statist. There is little difference in substance, but the latter option allows Anarchist to forego proving that Obama fulfills the myriad criteria that comprise a socialist.

Suggestions for comments

Honest Anarchist encourages comments. However, if one is going to criticize, please respect the marketplace of ideas by specifically addressing Honest's arguments. No strawmen. In fact, quoting Honest is recommended when rebutting, as this allows any subsequent readers to narrow their focus with respect to the points of contention between Honest and his critics.

Same holds for insults. If Honest must be subjected to reading an insult that will live forever in cyberspace, he believes one should have the common decency to offer a reason for it. For example: "you're a facsist pig because you espouse free-market economic policies"; or," you're racist because you believe affirmative action is discrimination"; or, "you suck butt the way you drew Julian Assange wizzin' on an American flag." This helps Honest reevaluate principles in his never-ending quest for self-improvement and enlightenment.

Honest is not asking those who comment to do anything contrary to his argumentative philosophy. He attempts to address points one at a time and relishes using his intellectual-adversaries' own words against them (see, for example, the cartoons "Arnold feels good" and "Hot-air Obama"). Honest asks for the same courtesy.

Thank you for feedback.