Skytrooper

Having read so many mixed reviews of the Nana hotel, I spent two nights there in May. The only room available on short notice was a standard and I was surprised it wasn’t as bad as many folks reported. I only saw one cockroach as opposed to two such bugs at the more expensive Omni Tower later during my trip. I was especially pleased at having a large bathtub with genuinely hot water; something more expensive hotels in Thailand often lack. I wasn’t as impressed with the Nana’s included breakfast buffet as some members are, but it’s still better than the limited menu breakfast available complimentary to guests at Omni Tower. The Nana hotel’s location is definitely hard to beat. ___________________________________________________________________ Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody does it. — Sathya Sai Baba

I can't vouch for whether this hotel is "guest friendly" or not, but I found it to be so outstanding for the price that I wish to bring it to your attention. A few weeks ago, I stayed at the Rydges Amora Tapae hotel in Chiang Mai. This is one of the newest hotels in town, located directly adjacent to the Old City and about a 15-minute walk to the Night Bazaar (halfway through that walk takes you to an area of beer bars). My room was spacious, modern, fully-equipped, and (unlike so many Thai hotels) there was plenty of hot water for the bathtub/shower. Booking using www.sawadee.com for a minimum of 3 nights, I was able to get a daily room rate of 1,000 baht, including taxes, service charges, a fantastic breakfast buffet, and round-trip airport transfers. The only minor negatives I noticed are they charge a fee of around 100 baht a day if you use the in-room safe and there's no English language news station among the numerous TV channels. I wish I knew of a hotel as nice with such a great breakfast buffet and transfers for twice that price in Bangkok and/or Pattaya. I really think it would be worth checking with the hotel for their policy on unregistered guests. Regardless of their official policy, I suspect a tip to the security guard at the hotel entrance would preclude any problems.

I just returned from LOS a few days ago. One morning, I tried the breakfast buffet at the Lek hotel when (around 8 AM) a pile driver operating behind the hotel started up. I don't know how long the noise lasted during the day, but it made me appreciate my decision to stay at the Residence Garden.

Originally posted by Flash_Basbo (resident Sicilian-American statist, liar, and coward): The word you're looking for is "paranoia." Paranoia (noun): a psychosis characterized by systematized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations; a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Here's a word you have down pat — Coward: one who shows disgraceful fear or timidity. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Every collectivist rides in on a Trojan horse of “emergency.†It was the tactic of Lenin, Hitler, and Mussolini. In the collectivist sweep over a dozen minor countries of Europe, it was the cry of men striving to get on horseback. And “emergency†became the justification of the subsequent steps. This technique of creating emergency is the greatest achievement that demagoguery attains. — Herbert Hoover All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the rights of the people at large... It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of. — Albert Gallatin, 7 October 1789

Originally posted by wombat: Per Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, it's spelled "reeducation." I don't instruct Aussies in how to get drunk, belch, scratch themselves, use vulgar language, speak with a bizarre accent, raise inferior grade beef, or engage in "unnatural" acts; kindly don't seek to give me advice on correct English usage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ability to cope with the unforeseen is the measure of a man. — The Guru One conclusion we drew in Columbia is that crime does pay—as long as the victim wants it to. As long as millions of Americans will pay any amount of money in order to poison themselves, there will be people who will furnish them the poison. The evil lies with the consumer. Without him, the drug kings would be shining shoes and washing trucks. — Jeff Cooper, 1987 Traveling unarmed is like boating without a lifejacket. — The Guru

Originally posted by tazzydevil: A target range holds the same appeal for Flash_Basbo as a libertarian book store or a military recruiting office. Originally posted by Flash_Basbo (resident Sicilian-American statist, liar, and coward): 1. So you're visiting your comrades and political bedfellows in Vietnam; what a surprise. Be sure and visit the former "political reeducation camps" where Vietnamese who weren't keen on living in your idea of a "modern society" were imprisoned, tortured, and often killed. You'll get a kick out of it and perhaps bring some fresh ideas back to the People's Republic of Illinois with you. 2. Be sure and drop by Havana on your way home and share a cigar and rum with your statist colleague, Fidel. 3. "Places to avoid?" Anywhere within ten grid squares of any former Cav troopers, recondos, paratroopers, or other RVN combat veterans or the victims/next of kin of the tyranny you advocate would be a good idea. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and inalienable rights of man. — Thomas Jefferson Since the protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of a government, it is the only proper subject of legislation: all laws must be based on individual rights and aimed at their protection. — Ayn Rand Three millions of people so dead to all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves would have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest. — William Pitt

Originally posted by nidnoyham: If I see a lion, Cape buffalo, grizzly bear or even Herb chasing after you, I'll keep your opinion in mind and conserve my ammuntion. Unlike BATF agents, to the best of my knowledge, a whale shark has never betrayed its sworn oath and/or deprived any person of their unalienable individual liberties. Originally posted by raykaytat: Stan is really a stock market tycoon who (probably to confuse U.K. tax officials) just pretends to be a poorly-educated working stiff. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is no crueler form of tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. — Baron de Montesquieu

Phuket is the center for the best diving around Thailand. As drpaul854 mentioned, a live aboard will cut into your other activities, but it's the best choice for a serious diver. I actually prefer the diving around Hin Muang (Purple Rock) than the Similans. Encountering a whale shark is sheer good luck, but I did get to swim alongside one by Hin Muang in 1996. There are some decent day trips to dive sites out of Phuket, but the visibility often isn't too great. I'm not sure what effect, if any, the 2004 tsunami had on some dive sites. If you're going to LOS for diving, it's important to time your visit to coincide with the best weather for the area in which you're diving.

leemo, Thanks to the Flash_Basbo types, I'm in no position to send you money, but I will pm you with a list of recommended programs, mostly freeware.

Originally posted by greenhorn: The U.K. hasn't made more than a dent in its WWI debt to the USA, let alone paying off WWI and WWII debt "this or next year." Don't let reality intrude into your posts, however. Originally posted by greenhorn: I never said Commonwealth servicemen didn't use U.S.-manufactured tanks. Don't let the fact I never said or remotely thought that keep you from attributing it to me, however. Brits were delighted to get U.S.-made tanks. Considering the alternative was using British-made tanks, I understand their rationale. If you seriously want to examine some real cracker box "tanks," check out the pathetic examples cranked out by Flash_Basbo's Italian brethren. Italian tanks made Japanese tanks look good. Originally posted by greenhorn: I guess you just forgot to explain why the Russians begged for those 4,000 inferior M-4 Shermans. Originally posted by greenhorn: "Rust buckets?" Oh, you mean those 50 WWI era U.S. destroyers you blokes begged FDR to send to England, partly because you desperately needed more destroyers and partly because you sought to embroil the USA in your war (just like you chaps did in WWI). Originally posted by greenhorn: "Revionist?" [sic] In the unlikely event you seriously want to learn about "old [evil and gullible] Woodrow," I invite your attention to The Illusion of Victory by Thomas Fleming. Wilson was aghast at the British/French terms for the Treaty of Versailles. He was also a human vegetable due to stokes at the time the treaty was signed. While not one American in a thousand (then or now) is aware of it, Wilson's doltish wife and her cronies ran the U.S. government for months. You, "ignorant?" I can't imagine an ignorant member on this board of rocket scientists. Next, you'll be suggesting there's a resident collection of liars, vulgar knaves, and/or amoral statists. Originally posted by greenhorn: Do you have a world map handy? Check out the proximity of France and the U.K. to Germany then locate the USA (BTW, we're on a different continent across all that blue space). Ignoring which countries were directly responsible for the Treaty of Versailles, which countries were at more risk from a rearmed Germany with Adolf Hitler at the helm (a little Navy lingo for the ex-squids)? If you can't figure this out for yourself, ask a Yank tourist or a reasonably bright child. That's right; when Americans mind our own business, we're "isolationists." When we intervene overseas, we're war-mongering imperialists. Unless, of course, we're rescuing Limey/Frog/Belgian/Dutch/etc. bacon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you study the domestic polices of the Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administrations, and compare them with the policies of Adolf Hitler and his mentor, Benito Mussolini, you will eventually come — however reluctantly — to the conclusion that World War II was not a conflict between fascism and something else, as advertised, but a conflict between competing brands of fascism. — L. Neil Smith, 15 June 2003 Government, today, has grown too strong to be safe. There are no longer any citizens in the world; there are only subjects. They work day in and day out for their masters; they are bound to die for their masters at call. Out of this working and dying they tend to get less and less. On some bright morning tomorrow, a geological epoch or two hence, they will come to the end of their endurance, and then such newspapers as survive will have a first-page story well worth its black headlines. — H. L. Mencken, 1925

Originally posted by greenhorn: Are you referring to the WW2 started as a consequence of the unconscionable Versailles Treaty imposed by Great Britain and France? The same two countries which sat idly by while a brutal tyrant came to power in Germany and rearmed its military forces? The same two countries which watched placidly when the Rhineland was reoccupied and Austria was annexed, which sold out the Czechs, and which ignored the U.S.S.R. invasion of Poland while declaring war (years too late) on Nazi Germany? Originally posted by greenhorn: Besides invading Finland in 1939 and Poland in 1940? Depends on which Russian you're referring to. Stalin was cursing himself for letting his treaty partner attack the U.S.S.R. one year before he planned to invade Germany. In 1940, many Soviet citizens welcomed the Germans as liberators. If Flash_Basbo's pals, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, hadn't made some spectacular blunders in 1940, Russians would now be speaking German. Originally posted by greenhorn: Between 1939-1941, the overwhelming majority of Americans were minding their own business. When we do this, people like you call it "isolationism." When we needlessly interfere overseas, people like you call it Yankee imperialism and aggression. FDR, however, was actively violating the U.S. Neutrality Acts (and, as usual, lying through his teeth to the gullible American public) and seeking to embroil the USA in another foreign war. Eventually, he succeeded. And were you Brits ever happy! There was as much chance of Japan, Germany, and Italy invading and conquering America as there is of the U.K. ever repaying its WWI and WWII war loans to the USA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although Roosevelt and the New Dealers failed to end the depression, they succeeded in revolutionizing the institutions of U.S. political and economic life and in changing the country's dominant ideology. Even today, sixty-five years after the New Deal ran out of steam, its legacies remain and continue to hamper the successful operation of the market economy and to diminish individual liberties. "People in the mass," wrote H. L. Mencken, "soon grow used to anything, including even being swindled. There comes a time when the patter of the quack becomes as natural and as indubitable to their ears as the texts of Holy Writ, and when that time comes it is a dreadful job debamboozling them" Sixty-five years after the New Deal itself petered out, Americans overwhelmingly take for granted the expansive, something-for-nothing character of the federal government established by the New Dealers. For Democrats and Republicans alike, Franklin Delano Roosevelt looms as the most significant political figure of the twentieth century. However significant his legacies, though, Roosevelt deserves no reverence. He was no hero. Rather, he was an exceptionally resourceful political opportunist who harnessed the extraordinary potential for personal and party aggrandizement inherent in a uniquely troubled and turbulent period of U.S. history. By wheeling and dealing, by taxing and spending, by ranting against "economic royalists" and posturing as the friend of the common man, he got himself elected time after time. For all his undeniable political prowess, however, he prolonged the depression and greatly fostered a bloated, intrusive government that has been trampling on the people's liberties ever since. — Robert Higgs, Against Leviathan: Government Power and a Free Society (2004)

Originally posted by Barrington_Tenchanall (a.k.a. Exhibit K): Troll? You're the bloke (a little Limey lingo for you) who entered this thread with a gratuitous insult directed at Americans. Originally posted by Barrington_Tenchanall (a.k.a. Exhibit K): Indeed you are; although I submit "pathetic" would be even more accurate. Originally posted by Barrington_Tenchanall (a.k.a. Exhibit K): "Hidden behind?" Been at the booze again, eh? I wasn't aware that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand, John Locke, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, Lysander Spooner, James Madison, Vin Suprynowicz, L. Neil Smith, et al. were "racists, war criminals and general all round fucked up goons." It's not unexpected for you to demean people whose shadow you're unworthy to stand in. It's also no surprise you endorse a person being imprisoned, denied bail, counsel, a jury trial, etc. simply because he exposes your vulgarity and lack of wit and character. BTW, are you ever going to explain who "Austin" is, how you plan to "bust my chops," or where you got the delusion we'd ever met? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Must the citizen even for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. — Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849) We, the delegates of the people of Virginia, duly elected,... in behalf of the people of Virginia, declare and make known, that the powers granted under the Constitution, being derived from the people of the United States, may be resumed by them, whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or oppression; and that every power not granted thereby, remains with them and at their will: that, therefore, no right, of any denomination, can be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified. — the Virginia Act of Ratification of the United States Constitution It declares that all powers granted by the Constitution, are derived from the people of the United States; and may be resumed by them when perverted to their injury or oppression; and that every power not granted remains with them, and at their will; and that no right of any description can be cancelled, abridged, restrained or modified by Congress, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the President, or any department, or officer of the United States. Language cannot be stronger! — John C. Calhoun on the above resolution

Originally posted by Barrington_Tenchanall (a.k.a. Exhibit K): Are you functioning under the misperception that your obscene language is a satisfactory substitute for your lack of intellect and an adequate vocabulary? BTW, are you drunk again and having trouble with your Caps Lock key? "Sherman land?" Are you referring to the U.S.-manufactured Sherman tanks which American soldiers used to save your Limey bacon in WWII? BTW, the silly game you're referring to is soccer. Football is an entirely different silly game. Originally posted by Hammer: It's exceedingly unlikely Barrington_Tenchanall (a.k.a. Exhibit K) has any American friends. I'm sure he can find some vulgar, amoral forms of Eurotrash to chum around with. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the transfer society, the general public is not only poorer but also less contented, less autonomous, more rancorous, and more politicized. Individuals take part less often in voluntary community activities and more often in belligerent political contests. Genuine communities cannot breathe in the poisonous atmosphere of redistributional politics. Most important, the society that allows its government to redistribute income on a large scale necessarily sacrifices much of its liberty. Finally, one must recognize that, notwithstanding what some regard as the institutionalization of compassion, the transfer society quashes genuine virtue. Redistribution of income by means of government coercion is a form of theft. Its supporters attempt to disguise its essential character by claiming that democratic procedures give it legitimacy, but this justification is specious. Theft is theft, whether it be carried out by one thief or by a hundred million thieves acting in concert. And it is impossible to found a good society on the institutionalization of theft. — Robert Higgs, Against Leviathan: Government Power and a Free Society (2004)

Originally posted by johnh101: I "know" you (and your ilk) never pass up an opportunity to denigrate the USA, just as you did in your post I responded to. You love to dish it out, but you sure can't take it. Who was it who wrote: "Having eaten mexican food in the States I can understand why !" Oh, I remember; it was you. And who wrote, "Always a good idea for the shermans to go all the way to Thailand to find a good mex restuarant"? One of your ilk. Your habit of posting vulgar, gratuitous insults is exactly the behavior of a "socially inept" person (and that's being polite). BTW, it's "Mexican," not "mexican." And "slander" is verbal; libel is written (and the truth is never slander or libel). You might ask a reasonably bright child to help you with your posts. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add “within the limits of the law,†because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. — Thomas Jefferson Liberty is not a means to a political end. It is itself the highest political end. — Lord Acton

My votes go to PIC Kitchen and the dinner buffet at the Marriott. Originally posted by johnh101: Count on a skirt-clad Scotsman to eat at a Taco Bell and base his opinion on that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. — Charles A. Beard A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others. — William Allen White

Originally posted by Eneukman: Alan, Omni Tower isn't too far from the British Embassy, but I didn't let that fact keep me from staying there. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave. — Andrew Fletcher, 1698 Those without swords can still die upon them. — Eowyn A man may conduct himself well in both adversity and good fortune, but if you want to test his character, give him power. — Abraham Lincoln, tyrant

Originally posted by Dabozman: Depending on your stride, it takes just a few minutes to reach NEP from the Omni Tower. It's probably a ten minute hike from the hotel to the Nana Skytrain station. Majestic Suites has a better location, but for just a few hundred more baht, you get a much larger, nicer room (with kitchen) and far more facilities. Remember, Omni Tower is a serviced apartment complex and not just a hotel so it has many long-term residents and the facilities/services they require. They don't offer a breakfast buffet and I'm not crazy about the limited breakfast choices you're restricted to using their coupons, but Bangkok surely has plenty of other places to eat. I don't know if it's listed at the airport's hotel booking counter. Another member who lives in Bangkok once posted that he could negotiate cheaper prices in person than their usual rates. I found the rates on the Omni Tower's website to be cheaper than booking with Asia Travel or similar agencies. I hope this information is of some assistance to you. BTW, welcome to this board. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the first one, the rest are free. — creed of resistance fighters In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. — Thomas Jefferson Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and inalienable rights of man. — Thomas Jefferson

I've stayed at the Omni Tower on Soi 4 twice and been very pleased. You can get a studio or one- or two-bedroom apartments. In November 2004, a studio (booked on their website) cost me 1,650 baht a night including breakfast coupons for two people. Studios are spacious (apartments are enormous), include a full refrigerator, microwave oven, cooking utensils, large bathtub, large bed, TV, etc. There's a decent pool, fitness center, sauna, etc. No problem whatsoever with bringing TGs back and no joiner fee. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A nation that violates the rights of its own citizens cannot claim any rights whatsoever. — Ayn Rand The issue is not war and peace, rather, how best to preserve our freedom. — General Russell E. Dougherty He who does not oppose evil by all means in his power becomes its accomplice. — David Weber, The Service of the Sword (2003)

I stayed at the RG in December 2003 and November 2004. Both times I requested a suite with a larger (3/4 size) refrigerator as shown on their website and each time I was given a suite with just a small minibar. There was also no microwave oven as shown in the preceding pictures. Every time I tried to use the pool at the rear of the hotel, Mermaid Divers was using it to give scuba classes. Also, the rooms were definitely not mopped every day, if at all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We must confine ourselves to the powers described in the Constitution, and the moment we pass it, we take an arbitrary step towards despotic government. — James Jackson, 1st U.S. Congress The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. — Thomas Jefferson Tis really astonishing that the same people, who have just emerged from a long and cruel war in defense of liberty, should now agree to fix an elective despotism upon themselves and their posterity. — Richard Henry Lee, 1788

Originally posted by nidnoyham: Now, that's a sad development. I was hoping if you'd get laid it might improve your dour outlook. First, it's "never mind about all that history stuff!" and now you're surrounded by crumbling edifices of your lost empire. BTW, with your delicate physical condition, I trust you have training wheels on your bike. I'm starting to wish I'd paid extra money for insurance on your gift. I thought $4.80 in postage was enough for a pom that pokes fun at me. Don't try to claim you never receive your pendant in order to try and con me out of my last one. Even Yanks aren't quite that gullible. You might want to check and see if Nathan is wearing it. Reagan was probably wondering why a country with (American-made) jumbo jets had him riding on a horse instead of touring in a motor vehicle as in more civilized, advanced nations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He had every quality that morons esteem in their heroes. — H. L. Mencken’s epitaph for FDR Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. — Frederic Bastiat Every collectivist rides in on a Trojan horse of “emergency.†It was the tactic of Lenin, Hitler, and Mussolini. In the collectivist sweep over a dozen minor countries of Europe, it was the cry of men striving to get on horseback. And “emergency†became the justification of the subsequent steps. This technique of creating emergency is the greatest achievement that demagoguery attains. — Herbert Hoover

nidnoyham (aka Stan), If I were a Brit (shudder) and embarrassed over how much my people had degenerated, I might say "Never mind about all that history stuff!," too. Come to think of it, things aren't much better on this side of the pond. Today makes seven days since I mailed your birthday present. Please let me know if it arrived safely or whether it was pocketed by a thieving limey postal worker. I'm sorry to hear about your back problem spreading to your derriere. It's possible your condition may be psychosomatic. Perhaps your conscience is bothering you for not being nicer to a certain Yank. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is only one thing which gathers people for sedition, and that is oppression. — John Locke This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or the revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. — Abraham Lincoln (he changed his tune after becoming president) When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. — Edmund Burke I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. — Thomas Jefferson

impy mac, 1. There’s nothing unusual about people (especially Brits) abandoning the field of civil discourse after insulting me when they’re unable to defend their positions with reason and facts. Gee, I was really hoping to read how you planned to defend yourself and/or your family from vicious thugs after you’ve willingly allowed yourself to be rendered unarmed and helpless. I guess your scheme is to call your assailants “arrogant†and turn your back on them. 2. I’ve never contended “no-one else is [not] allowed to have their own point of view.†If you enjoy accusing other people of writing things they never wrote (or even thought), you surely joined the right board. Your notion that all opinions are worthy of equal (or any) respect, however, is not only wrong, but downright bizarre. If you think I’m going to accord any respect to the opinions of Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, FDR, Bill & Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, et al. or consider them as worthy as the beliefs of Thomas Jefferson, Lysander Spooner, Ayn Rand, Vin Suprynowicz, Claire Wolfe, et al. then you’re seriously mistaken. Do I have “scorn†for people who’ve willingly sacrificed their personal freedom in exchange for an irrational illusion of safety? Yes, indeed. BTW, that makes me “rational,†not “arrogant.†3. How did the descendants of John Locke and William Blackstone become so confused and/or contemptuous of unalienable individual rights? My opinions which you callously disdain were formed by many years of study, reason, personal experience, and empirical evidence. Your opinions which you demand other people blindly “respect†were clearly formed on the basis of wishful thinking, inadequate research, and flawed reasoning. 4. Let’s see if I understand this right. In your opinion, it was perfectly OK for American Indians to “slaughter and steal†because they neither understood or believed in individual rights (or capitalism, science, civilization, etc.). However, it was immoral for European immigrants (most of whom also didn’t believe in individual rights, especially for persons with different skin pigmentation) to engage in less egregious conduct. The largest number of deaths of American Indians (mostly from disease and some from retaliation against Indian attacks) occurred before the USA even existed. After the USA was created, there was nothing unusual (then or now) about Americans (particularly politicians and judges) ignoring the Constitution. If not sharing your apparent high opinion of the vile, ignorant, amoral American Indian murderers, robbers, rapists, child molesters, etc. I was confined with makes me a “Tyrant†in your uninformed opinion then I can live with that. Contrary to a widespread misconception, being a libertarian doesn’t mean I don’t live in the real world. With one exception, the American Indians I’ve encountered (in and out of prison) make many black criminals seem like praiseworthy people by comparison. 5. I fought against tyranny in wars in six countries on two continents. I contributed thousands of dollars to political candidates and organizations in a futile effort to stem the rising tide of statism, usurpation, and tyranny in America. It was while "seeking a peaceful redress of grievances," writing published articles trying to warn my countrymen of their eroding personal liberty and the criminal misdeeds of federal agents, that directly led to my imprisonment. If it’s any comfort to you, great civil libertarians such as Janet Reno, Louis Freeh, Bill Clinton, et al. share your opinion about my “arrogant writings.†They stepped on me like a bug. BTW, contrary to your specious claims, I’ve never violated any person’s individual rights. A human being, whether a government goon or a private criminal, who initiates the use of force to deprive other people of their rights (life, liberty, property, etc.) have voluntarily sacrificed his or her right to life or liberty. If you cannot grasp this then perhaps that’s why Britons who defend themselves from assault are often punished more harshly than their attackers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. All the reasons which make the initiation of physical force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative. — Ayn Rand ... in a free society government uses force only in retaliation against those who violate individual rights, while under tyranny the state initiates the use of force against those who have violated the rights of no one. — R. W. Grant, The Incredible Bread Machine (1999) Every drone who “just follows orders†has made a choice to do so. Every brute who enforces bad laws makes a choice to be brutal and a choice to enforce those laws. Every person who becomes a TV zombie rather than an active human being makes a choice to do so every time he turns on the TV set. Every bureaucrat who practices taxation without representation because it’s safe, easy and lucrative, chooses to perpetuate tyranny. Every bureaucrat who practices taxation without representation because he gets his jollies from control also makes a choice, for his own pleasure. Every lawyer who goes along with a corrupt system is personally responsible for her cooperation with evil. Every clerk in the county courthouse who willingly looks the other way while citizens are abused is, at best, a parasite and at worst, an abuser. And yes, the police officer who staffs the roadblock or joins in the raid is as fully, personally, powerfully responsible for every moment of his participation, and every single harm that results. He actively gave his moral sanction to illegal and abusive activity and she should be held fully accountable. To claim that the individual cop or the individual bureau-cog isn’t responsible smacks of elitism. Do you mean to say there is one class of human beings incapable of responsibility of choice, and another, superior, class that makes all the world’s decisions and simply moves the lesser human beings around as pawns? Bullwah. I will no more excuse the cop at the roadblock that I will excuse the guard at the Nazi concentration camp. The BATF**k who kicks in your door because you’re a gun owner is as responsible as the storm trooper who came to haul away the Jews. The FBI sniper who shoots the mother is as morally reprehensible and legally responsible as the freelance sniper who gets up in a tower and blasts at strangers. As long as we make it comfortable for the “little guys†by failing to hold them fully responsible for their actions, then the “big guys†will always be able to find people willing and eager to make the choice to be pawns. If we, en masse, as communities of free individuals, make it uncomfortable for so many “little guys†that they refuse to conduct the roadblocks, gon on the raids, make the drug busts, confiscate the guns or otherwise take away our freedom—our moral choices just might stymie the “big guys†plans. We might also—oh wonder of wonders—win some newly conscious moral human beings to our side. — Claire Wolfe, I Am Not A Number (1998)

impy mac, Your last post may place you in contention for the largest number of fallacies and misconceptions contained in a single post on this board. I’ll attempt to address these points without offending your delicate sensibilities: 1. Once again, governments do not create or confer rights. When the Framers wrote the Bill of Rights they enumerated certain individual rights then known to exist (before the USA was even a nation) and prohibited the newly-created central government from infringing or abrogating these liberties. They enacted the Ninth Amendment to allow for the fact it would be difficult or impossible to list all such rights. The Declaration of Independence recognized individual rights as unalienable. The RKBA existed in England long before the USA became a separate country. 2. You have the right of self-preservation. You do not have a “right to live in a society without fear of intimidation through violence or weapons.†In case it escaped your attention, there are plenty of armed criminals in the UK. The “hot†burglary rate in the UK and Australia has skyrocketed since you folks adopted your victim disarmament laws. By enacting laws which disarm only decent people, you’re insuring only criminals and government minions are armed. If rendering yourself unarmed and effectively helpless makes you “feel safer†(as is typical among many American women) then you’re both seriously mistaken and irrational. The violent career criminals I was confined with for nine years just love your anti-gun laws. Such absurd laws make their lives much safer. There’s nothing they fear (and hate) more than armed private citizens. 3. The fact the UK abolished capital punishment doesn’t mean its subjects who refuse to surrender their firearms will not be killed by armed police in the process of disarming people unwilling to be disarmed. It was resistance by Americans who refused to be disarmed on 19 April 1775 that started our War for Independence. 4. The “weak point†of democracy is not “the idiots at the top.†To the contrary, the weak point of democracy is the ignorance, stupidity, and avarice of much of the electorate (the “idiots at the bottom†if you like). It was Winston Churchill who said: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.†Not only were Adolf Hitler and other Nazi politicians elected, their popularity among most Germans increased after democracy was largely abolished. The worst tyrants in U.S. history were elected and then reelected again. FDR, the worst of the bunch, died during his fourth term as president. 5. Once again, the USA was never intended to be a democracy. The Framers created a constitutional republic with carefully limited government powers (those expressly delegated in Article I, Section 8) and written guarantees of individual liberty. The Framers established a system of federalism with powers spread between the states and a modest central government, no direct election of senators or the president, no income taxes, and safeguards for personal freedom. Unfortunately, thanks to duplicitous politicians and a dull-witted populace, the ink on the Bill of Rights was barely dry before members of Congress betrayed their sworn oaths by enacting the Sedition Act of 1798. Things have grown steadily worse ever since. I’ve discussed this at great length on this board (and been vilified for doing so). 6. Once again, there is nothing incompatible about democracy and slavery. In a democracy, if a majority of the electorate wants to enslave or steal the property of a minority there’s nothing to stop it. That’s the essence of a democracy; the majority gets whatever it wants. You have the bizarre notion that democracy equals freedom or individual rights. That’s not true by definition and is only a result of wishful thinking on your part. What’s a better system than democracy? While a seriously-flawed document, the U.S. Constitution after incorporating the Bill of Rights, offered the best system of government in the world. However, when politicians and judges betray the written limitations on government power and circumvent the written safeguards for liberty and a populace of dullards allows such usurpations to occur then the result is tyranny. 7. The only legitimate purpose of a government (and “Lawâ€) is to protect and preserve individual rights. Laws (at least "just" laws) do not “restrain†individual rights. Why does someone exercising free speech, assembly, religion, possession of arms, trial by jury, having an attorney, being safe from warrantless searches and seizures, etc. “scare the hell out of†you? Your eagerness to render yourself helpless against private or government orcs would, however, “scare the hell out of me.†Your assertion you “choose not to live in fear of someone pulling a gun†on you would be amusing if you didn’t take it seriously. If the prospect of an armed hoodlum bothers you, then please be aware that, by definition, criminals do not obey laws. A person inclined to rob or murder you is unlikely to adhere to an anti-gun law. The fact you’ve irrationally substituted “fear†with an illusion of safety will be of utterly no use to you if you’re ever confronted by a single armed thug or a group of unarmed, but still dangerous, malefactors. In that event, it will be interesting to see how your wishful thinking and enlightened views on victim disarmament preserve your life and/or property. Does not carrying a jack and spare tire in your vehicle eliminate your “fear†of ever getting a flat tire? 8. Most Americans during the early decades of the USA couldn’t vote. Unless they happened to be slaves, they still lived in the freest nation in history. Since the Nazis were lawfully elected to power (therefore “representative†of the people’s wishes) and their popularity increased after they effectively destroyed most personal freedom in Germany then I guess what they did was OK with you. Since you possess less genuine liberty than a Brit did a century ago, I wouldn’t say your “system was changed for the better.†When Britain first imposed anti-gun laws in 1919, your rulers didn’t do so “to make life safer for the majority of the people.†They enacted such laws out of fear common British peasants would follow the example of the Russian Revolution and start executing aristocrats (the chaps who wrote the laws). Politicians at the time admitted “fear of crime†was merely a pretext (just as their vile counterparts in the USA do). 9. I’m still waiting for you or some other European to explain why it was OK for American Indians to “slaughter†one another and steal their neighbors' lands yet immoral when European settlers and their descendants engaged in generally less egregious conduct. The largest number of deaths among American aborigines occurred as a consequence of diseases they had no immunity against. The concept of unalienable individual rights didn’t exist among Indians until they became, partially, assimilated as U.S. citizens, and is still not widely endorsed among them. They’ve got the notions of welfare and ignorance down pat, however. I’m not sure which group is more ignorant about the history of American Indians; Europeans or the Indians themselves. I’ve yet to encounter an American Indian aware that his ancestors arrived in North America from Asia or that horses didn’t exist here until Europeans brought such animals with them. 10. I haven’t “resorted to name calling†with you (BTW, if you can’t handle being called “names,†usually vulgar ones, you really joined the wrong board). When I wrote that most people (including yourself) are ignorant, docile, and apathetic about their eroding liberty, that’s merely a recognition of objective reality. It was not intended as an insult. When I tell a board member who claims to have two graduate degrees (yet can’t spell “graduate degrees") that his spelling skills are inferior to many third graders, that’s not an insult, but a statement of fact. Your idea of what “democracy†actually means is an example of typical ignorance. Democracy is nothing more than “rule of the majority†(Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition). History is replete with examples of majoritarian tyranny. The fact you served 16 years in the military has no connection with your present condition of docility and apathy regarding your government’s deprivation of Britons’ individual liberties. Military personnel are often clueless about freedom and are frequently used to suppress or eradicate individual liberty. Again, history is replete with such examples. 11. In the 1920s and 1930s, most “law-abiding†British subjects allowed themselves to be disarmed by a government that didn’t trust them with weapons. In 1940, you folks paid for advertisements in American magazines begging Yanks to send their privately-owned firearms to England to arm yourselves against an anticipated German invasion. After World War II, you not only failed to return these firearms to their original owners, you destroyed them so they’re no longer available if the Germans, Russians, or any other nation’s soldiers decide to pay you a visit. I realize you don’t think it can happen again. That’s what your countrymen in the 1920s and 1930s thought, too. You may choose to live as a defenseless serf armed only with wishful thinking and those privileges your rulers and a dull-witted majority allow you; I do not. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. — Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. — H. L. Mencken Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities. — Ayn Rand Fifty-one percent of a nation can establish a totalitarian regime, suppress minorities and still remain democratic. — Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

I prefer suites on the 5th or 6th floor in order to have a better view. However, when the elevator is out of service this means a bit of a hike up stairs. Some of the suites at the RG have refrigerators and others only have a small minibar. When making reservations, I always ask for a suite with a larger refrigerator and inevitably get stuck in a suite with a minibar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like a marriage that has gone bad, I believe there are enough irreconcilable differences between those who want to control and those who want to be left alone that divorce is the only peaceable alternative. — Walter E. Williams, “It’s Time to Part Company,†13 September 2000 Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. — Patrick Henry

Hello, impy mac, and welcome to the board. I’ve already thoroughly discussed each of the questions you raised and, since I’m routinely castigated for repeating myself, I’m only going to give you brief replies. You may review my past posts in the Off Topic and General Chat forum for additional information. 1. The fact you asked what liberties you’re denied “excluding†those restricted or prohibited by “Laws that have been passed by a democratically elected Government) reveals that you (and, lamentably, most people) have a seriously-flawed fundamental notion as to what constitutes a “right†vs. a “privilege.†A right is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man’s freedom of action in a social context. Only individual human beings have rights and those rights are unalienable (that which cannot be taken away). Our rights come from our existence (what some folks refer to as “natural lawâ€); they were not created nor conferred by any government. A government may protect and preserve individual rights (which is the only legitimate function of any government) or it may usurp powers and infringe and/or abrogate rights. It cannot destroy the principle of individual liberties. 2. You, I, and every other human being have certain fundamental, unalienable, individual rights. Among these are the rights of free speech, possession of arms, self-preservation, assembly, etc. As a British subject, your government forbids you at the threat of death or imprisonment from possessing most types of firearms. To possess any firearm at all in the UK is a difficult process involving you begging permission from your political masters and agreeing to conditions that would offend the intellect of a cretin. If you use your “legally possessed†firearm to defend your life from attack by vicious criminals then you face a longer term of incarceration than your attackers. 3. Your belief in democracy is both naive and irrational. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were democratically elected. The worst tyrants to ever occupy the White House were democratically elected. Ancient Athens was destroyed by democracy. In the 2,389 pages that comprise The Debate on the Constitution, which contains all relevant published writings during the period of the debate and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the word “democracy†appears three times. In each instance, the Framers used it as a term of derision. They recognized the evils of majoritarian tyranny (or mob rule) and sought to save their progeny from having to live under it. Slavery is not inconsistent with democracy. If a majority of an electorate approves of slavery then it’s codified in law as a cursory review of history will reveal. 4. The War for Southern Independence was not merely a war over slavery. It was a war of secession over the principle of self-determination. The USA touts self-determination to other countries, but we don’t practice it here at home. In case it escaped your attention, some Northern states that sent troops invading the South also practiced slavery. When General John Fremont freed slaves as the military governor of Missouri, Lincoln immediately rescinded his order and relieved Fremont from command. While not one American in a hundred today is aware of it, despite constituting a minority of the population, Southerners had to pay the bulk of federal taxes due to tariffs which penalized them for the benefit of Northern manufacturers. If you have a problem with “tyranny and oppression†then you need to study objective history books about the odious Lincoln regime. 5. I happen to be a “Native American.†I was born in California. If you mean American Indians, I’m still waiting for someone to explain why it was OK for Indians to attack and massacre neighboring tribes, yet immoral for European immigrants to engage in less egregious behavior than was customary among aborigines. A few years spent living among American Indians (as I was forced to in federal gulags) would do wonders for your opinion of cultural diversity. As a result of my experiences, I curse George Armstrong Custer for not bringing his Gatling guns along with him to the Little Big Horn. If you read the history of the Lewis & Clark expedition, you’ll see that most Indian tribes they encountered promptly wanted them to join forces in exterminating the neighboring tribes. 6. What you refer to as a “mad King and a Parliament of unrepresentative bullies†happened to be the legally-constituted British government. There was substantially more genuine individual liberty in England under that “Parliament of unrepresentative bullies†than you have now under your Parliament of representative statists. No, being a “citizen†rather than a “subject†(which is actually a better term for most contemporary Americans) didn’t save me from prison. When you live in a country where the vast majority of the populace is ignorant, docile, and apathetic over the piecemeal loss of their freedom (as are you) then you live precariously and subject to the whims of the minions of tyranny and majoritarian caprice. 7. You wrote that American colonists were right to fight against tyranny. How do you propose to ever fight against tyranny when you've willingly allowed yourself to be disarmed and rendered harmless? Originally posted by Bazle: For someone who piously claims to believe in democracy, you display precious little respect for the president a majority of American voters selected. But then you really have scant regard for democracy when it fails to implement your vile political agenda. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and inalienable rights of man. — Thomas Jefferson The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the rights of the people at large... It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of. — Albert Gallatin, 7 October 1789 Instead of being a protector of man’s rights, the government is becoming their most dangerous violator; instead of guarding freedom, the government is establishing slavery; instead of protecting men from the initiators of physical force, the government is initiating physical force and coercion in any manner and issue it pleases; instead of serving as the instrument of objectivity in human relationships, the government is creating a deadly, subterranean reign of uncertainty and fear, by means of non-objective laws whose interpretation is left to the arbitrary decisions of random bureaucrats; instead of protecting men from injury by whim, the government is arrogating to itself the power of unlimited whim—so that we are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force. — Ayn Rand