How to Derail a Grassroots Movement

This story was very interesting. There's a group of people dedicated to infiltrating and subverting the "Tea Party" movement, and I'm not referring to Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. (Since then, crashtheteaparty.org no longer exists. Once they were publicly outed, they probably took their website private. I got a 404 error when I tried loading the site.)

Their goal is to go to "Tea Party" rallies and recite racist slogans and act disruptive.

Are these people undercover cops? Are they funded by other statists? Are they just plain scumbags? That's irrelevant.

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are trying to infiltrate and subvert the Tea Party movement, albeit less flagrantly dishonestly. They're probably thinking "Here's a large group of angry people! I'll go and declare that I'm their leader! Some of them will be dumb enough to believe me!"

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck sincerely believe their own lies. It's hard to be sure if they're acting maliciously, or if they're so stupid that they don't know any better. That's irrelevant. The mainstream media discusses minarchism and not proper market anarchism. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are minarchists and not market anarchists; otherwise, they wouldn't be advertised on the mainstream media at all.

The main qualification for being a "Tea Party Leader" seems to be "A mainstream media program interviews you." That gives Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck a forum that more unplugged people don't have access to. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck sincerely believe their own pro-State brainwashing. They're advocating for minarchism and "Make the government smaller!" rather than "All taxation is theft!"

Everyone knows who is the leader of the Republican Party or Democratic Party. For a decentralized grassroots movement, there's no official leader.

There's no state licensing requirement for calling yourself a "Tea Party Leader". People should be required to get a permit from the State, before calling themselves an anarchist.

There's a lot of people looking to infiltrate or subvert the Tea Party movement. Some of them are professional disinformation agents. Some of them are scumbags. Some of them are brainwashed statists looking for an audience. If membership is open to all, you're going to attract some undesirables.

Allegedly, some Tea Party members are aware of the "Infiltrate and subvert!" tactics. They're quick to point out undercover cops, troublemakers, or scumbags.

The main difference in the Tea Party movement is the Internet. The slaves may directly share information and bypass the State media information monopoly. State parasites would love to cripple or censor the Internet. That cat is out of the bag. State thugs can't censor or cripple the Internet, without offending everyone.

The State propaganda engine excels at creating fake grassroots movements. A genuine grassroots movement is denounced as fake. The phrase "Tea Party" may become negative. The most intelligent slaves are learning the real truth. At this point, State thugs can't cripple the Internet without crippling the economy. State thugs can't kidnap/torture/arrest everyone who understands "Taxation is theft! Government is one huge extortion racket!"

Righthaven vs. Charles Johnson (RadGeek)

At the urging of one Anonymous UK commenter, I've been investigating "legal extortion". My post on BMI/ASCAP/SESAC has been pretty popular, according to Google Analytics. I noticed another legal extortion scam by Righthaven, Stevens Media, and the Las Vegas Review Journal.

I'm working on a more detailed Righthaven post. While researching this post, I stumbled across this article. Charles Johnson (RadGeek) is being sued by Righthaven for copyright infringement! Charles Johnson hasn't mentioned this on his blog yet, so I assume he doesn't know. That reporter (Steve Green) claims to have attempted to contact Charles Johnson.

I guess I'm "breaking" this story, at least in the "left libertarian" blogging circle.

RadGeek is being sued over this post. Most of the text seems to be copied from {I'm not linking to those scum.}. RadGeek didn't cite the source, which qualifies as "slightly immoral but not illegal". He seemed to be illustrating the mainstream media pro-State troll bias.

He's being sued over posting the article on the libertarianleft.org aggregator site, and not on his original blog.

This should be interesting. A group of well-connected lawyers are abusing the State legal system to extort from a well-informed anarchist.

I briefly considered copying one of their articles, just to get the free publicity associated with a frivolous lawsuit and a successful pro se defense. However, I have better things to do. I'll see how Charles Johnson handles it. Fighting stupid civil lawsuits falls under "Fighting bad guys bad guys on their turf." Besides, Charles Johnson lives in Las Vegas, making a pro se defense feasible.

Immediately after suing, Righthaven is offering settlements of around $5k-$7k. They are banking on the fact that the cost of hiring a lawyer is greater than the cost of settling. It's an excellent example of legal extortion.

Due to lobbying by the media cartel, copyright law is ridiculously unfairly biased in favor of copyright owners.

What are RadGeek's options?

In order of increasing desirability, RadGeek's options are:

1. Hire a State-licensed lawyer.
2. Bend over and settle.
3. Ignore the lawsuit, let them get a default judgement, and then let them try and collect it.
4. Defend yourself pro se.
   

Hiring a lawyer seems like the worst option. As the Anonymous UK commenter likes to point out, the lawyer will take your money and you'll probably lose anyway.

RadGeek could bend over and settle. That also seems cowardly.

If you're a hardcore anarchist, "Ignore it and make them try and collect." seems attractive. Even via default judgement, the judge may not award much. I could not do this, because I have State paper investments that could be seized. I don't know if RadGeek has any assets in the State system that could be seized.

For this reason, a secure agorist alternate banking system is needed. Then, if State thugs attempt to extort from you, you're safe because your savings are safely hidden.

Another option, if you're almost broke, is "Ignore it, default, and then declare bankruptcy."

RadGeek lives in Las Vegas. That makes a pro se defense feasible. Most of Righthaven's victims are not in Nevada. Nevada's judges have erred, ruling that Nevada is the proper venue for these lawsuits.

Righthaven is banking on the fact that the lawsuit is a prohibitive cost for out-of-state defendants. Personally, I'd take a Las Vegas vacation and pursue a pro se defense. I don't have anything that could be considered infringing. I never copy more than a tiny excerpt.

I guess I now must have a policy of "*NEVER* cite a mainstream media source". You never know when one will adopt Righthaven thuggish tactics. This is risky for any website owner. You're also liable for reader comments, unless you register with the Copyright Office for DMCA safe harbor.

Assuming that RadGeek decides to pursue a pro se defense, what arguments should he make? In decreasing order of importance, the arguments he should make are:

• jury nullification (You can make a "jury nullification" argument in civil trials as well as criminal. It's the discretion of the judge, whether to allow it or not.)
• fair use
• barratry, according to common law and not an explicit Federal law (A judge may not allow this argument.)
• a newspaper article does not meet the legal definition of "literary work"
• the plaintiffs are violating the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically rule 11b
• violations of rule 11b, for filing multiple lawsuits without making a reasonable settlement offer first
• violations of rule 11b, for demanding the victim's domain name, even though copyright law and precedent don't support that
• violations of rule 11b, for demanding maximum statutory damages; there's no way a reasonable judge or jury would award that much
• even if copyright infringement occurred, plaintiffs should only get the statutory minimum
• even if copyright infringement occurred, plaintiffs should not be reimbursed for legal expenses

Anyway, this should be interesting. I'm surprised that nobody else noticed yet that RadGeek is being sued for copyright infringement.

Warren Buffet Likes Estate Taxes

Warren Buffet is an outspoken advocate for estate taxes. A pro-State troll says "Isn't that nice! He's advocating that insiders give up their wealth."

Insiders use charities and trusts to dodge taxes. Warren Buffet's charity helps him avoid estate taxes. His children will pay themselves a salary, when they administer the trust. By donating their wealth to charity, billionaires avoid taxes while simultaneously controlling their wealth. Many "charities" actually spend their money promoting pro-State propaganda.

Who is hurt most by estate taxes? Small business owners are hurt the most. Typically, a small family-owned business valued at $10M-$200M is forced to sell, to pay the estate tax bill.

Who specializes in buying small family-owned businesses? Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway buy these businesses! It's in Warren Buffet's rational self-interest to advocate for estate taxes. It's an opportunity for him to buy businesses in an estate tax foreclosure sale.

Estate taxes force the sale of businesses from non-insiders to insiders. The banksters use their money-printing power to buy the business. The banksters print the money that pays the estate tax bill.

When the banksters finance an estate tax sale, they literally print new money to fund the purchase. The banksters then take possession of real assets. Via State restriction of the market, it's hard to start new small businesses.

What about insiders? Don't they pay estate taxes?

Consider Brian L. Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast. He inherited control of Comcast from his father. He owns special supervoting shares of Comcast. These special shares give him control, even though Comcast is a public corporation.

These shares only represent a tiny equity stake in Comcast. For estate tax purposes, these shares are only valued based on the equity stake they represent, even though these shares give Brian L. Roberts control of Comcast. It's like Brian L. Roberts is the full owner of Comcast, but he only paid estate tax based on the tiny slice of equity those shares represent.

Via option grants and equity grants, Brian L. Roberts pays himself and his friends a nice salary. In this manner, Brian L. Roberts inherited his business from his father tax-free. In the present, State insiders pass their State-backed power on to their children, more reliably than kings could 500 years ago.

Most mainstream media corporations have special supervoting shares. This gives insiders control, even though it's a public company. Mainstream media corporations are a key component of the State propaganda engine.

A small business owner works all his life to build his business. He pays the income tax and inflation tax as his business grows. When he dies, the estate tax forces him to sell. The estate tax enables the banksters to take possession of real assets.

Warren Buffet is a bankster, although he less corrupt than most. Like all big financial institutions, Berkshire Hathaway receives huge direct and indirect State subsidies.

Warren Buffet advocates for the estate tax. That isn't because he's such a swell guy. The estate tax gives him the opportunity to purchase family-owned business worth $100M-$200M. Insiders use trusts and other tricks to protect their assets.

Warren Buffet received huge direct and indirect State subsidies. Even if Warren Buffet paid full estate tax on his wealth, he still was an overall negative lifetime taxpayer. The value of State-granted perks is worth more than the taxes Warren Buffet paid.

State-backed power can be reliably passed from one generation to another. For example, Bush was President primarily because his father was President. His entire family has been looting via the State for a long time.

Taxes don't hurt State insiders. The State perks they receive are worth more than the taxes they pay. State insiders pay a negative effective taxation rate. Taxes hurt productive workers. This is the opposite of what most slaves are brainwashed to believe.

Auto IRA

There's a a rumor circulating of a new "reform". It's called the "Auto IRA".

In a regular IRA, the worker/slave gets to decide if he wants to make a contribution or not. The Auto IRA is mandatory. It's funded via a payroll tax.

Some employers have a default enrollment 401(k) plan. That isn't immoral, because the worker can always opt out. However, it is somewhat tricky. A clueless worker might be unaware that he's making a 401(k) contribution.

A pro-State troll says "Good! The State is forcing people to save for retirement!" The fallacy is that it's mandatory.

Suppose I'm starting a business and want to save my salary for seed capital. The Auto IRA, like all other taxes, makes it hard for non-insiders to accumulate capital. Instead of saving money to invest in my business, I'm forced to invest in the Auto IRA.

If you own a business, reinvesting in your business almost definitely is better than investing in the stock market. The stock market is one big scam. In your own business, you have 100% control. For a corporate stock investment, you're paying for the waste/fraud/theft of a corporate bureaucracy.

The Auto IRA forces people to invest in the stock market or bond market. The Auto IRA would be a huge State subsidy for the financial industry. Stocks and bonds are one huge scam.

(It is possible to have physical gold and silver in an IRA, via certain custodians. However, they charge fees. It's inferior to taking actual physical possession.)

If you buy/sell gold/silver for cash, avoiding immoral/unconstitutional capital gains taxes, that's a better deal than an IRA. Gold and silver have a higher expected return than stocks and bonds. With gold and silver you can trade off-the-books, avoiding taxes.

The stock market is one big scam. The State financial system will probably collapse in the next 20 years. Given that, an IRA investment is worthless. I'm seriously considering cashing out my IRAs, paying the withdrawal penalty, and buying physical gold and silver. I haven't done that yet. I'll switch all my non-IRA investments first. I might be wrong about "The State will collapse soon.", in which case holding my IRAs is a hedge against the possibility that I'm wrong.

The Auto IRA is one big scam. It would force people to invest in the fraudulent stock market or bond market. It's a State subsidy for the banksters. The Auto IRA would make it hard for a small business owner to raise capital via reinvested earnings/salary.

When the State collapses, an IRA investment will be worthless.

The Lost 9th And 10th Amendment

The US Constitution is not a valid contract. There still are some interesting bits.

The 9th Amendment says

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

and the 10th Amendment says

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Summarizing, they say "The Federal government is only allowed to do the things specifically enumerated here. Otherwise, it's up to individual state governments or the people."

Did State thugs ever declare "The 9th and 10th Amendment are hereby repealed!" No. That would be too obvious. Instead, State parasites take a liberal interpretation of the "commerce clause", "general welfare clause", and taxation power.

Do the 9th and 10th Amendments have any meaning? Here's an easy way to check. Has the Supreme Court ever cited the 9th or 10th Amendment as a justification for limiting Federal government power? The answer is "almost never". Therefore, the 9th and 10th Amendments are meaningless.

Consider "freedom of the press". Statists say "The Constitution grants people a free press." Actually, "freedom of the press" is a restriction on what government can do. The perspective has changed from "enumerated government powers" to "enumerated individual rights". If you take a literal interpretation of the Constitution, Congress is not allowed to restrict freedom of the press because that isn't an enumerated power. To avoid confusion later, some people insisted on a "Bill of Rights", in exchange for ratifying the Constitution. In 1787, some politicians weren't total tools like they are now. Of course, "freedom of the press" went out the window under President Adams with the Sedition Act.

This is the statist attitude. "People get their rights from the government and Constitution." The correct answer is "People have natural rights." By having "freedom of the press", that avoids silly disputes when State thugs try to kidnap/arrest/torture people based on what they write.

In the USA, you won't go to jail for "criticizing the government" Instead, you're prosecuted for something else. So many things are crimes that State prosecutors have the discretion to arrest/prosecute/imprison anyone.

The US Constitution is not a valid contract. Some fools try to appeal to the 9th or 10th Amendment, as justification for restricting State power. However, any such dispute would be decided in a biased State court.

That is the evil of the government violence/justice monopoly. When State insiders abuse their power, the dispute is settled in a State court. Only a really free market solves the "Who watches the watchers?" problem.

The correct answer on issues of the US Constitution is "The Constitution is not a valid contract. I never personally signed it. I don't have the right to withdraw my consent." It's still interesting to study law and the Constitution, because State thugs don't obey their own rules.

Treasury Debt Default?

I hear this ridiculous story circulated over and over again. It's "The US government may default on Treasury debt." They are referring to "nominal default" rather than "default via inflation". Default via inflation is guaranteed. A nominal default cannot occur, because new money/bonds can be printed to continually refinance the national debt.

"The Federal government will outright default on the national debt!" is ridiculous. The Federal government can always print more money/bonds to refinance its debt. As long as the slaves use Federal Reserve Notes as money, government can't default on its debt.

Physical Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the Treasury Department. They are sold to the Federal Reserve for the printing cost, and not for the face amount. New Federal Reserve Notes are introduced into circulation when the Federal Reserve sells them to the financial industry for the face amount via "monetizing the debt". This inflation fuels financial industry profits, or purchases the national debt.

When the Federal government has deficit spending, the Treasury issues more Treasury debt. This debt is sold to the financial industry. The financial industry sells about 10% of this debt to the Federal Reserve. Via fractional reserve banking, the financial industry creates the remaining 90% of the money required to purchase the remaining Treasury debt.

The Federal government cannot default on its debt. They can always print new bonds and Federal Reserve Notes to refinance the debt. Most new money is created electronically. New physical Federal Reserve Notes are also introduced for sufficient circulating physical money.

True inflation is 20%-30%, but yield on Treasury debt is only a couple percent. Why do banks buy Treasury debt? The answer is "leverage". Banks borrow at the Fed Funds Rate, currently 0%-0.25%, and buy Treasury debt, yielding 0.5%-4%. When banks speculate in Treasury debt, they use leverage ratios of 100x or more. Suppose the Fed Funds Rate is 0.25% and long term Treasury debt yields 3.25%. That's a profit of 3% * 100x leverage, for a profit of 300%! That's how the banksters make a profit almost every day.

Further, Treasury yields have been crashing as the Federal Reserve keeps the Fed Funds Rate at 0%-0.25%. When the yield of a bond decreases, the price increases. For a 10 year bond, if interest rates fall 1% then the price of the bond goes up approximately 10%. Suppose Treasury prices go up 10%, and the bank has 100x leverage. That's a profit of 1000%!

Via this "illicit interest arbitrage" trade, the banksters make huge profits while the rest of the country is stuck in a severe recession/depression. These profits aren't free. Productive workers pay the cost via inflation. You savings are eroded via inflation.

Via this "illicit interest arbitage" trade, the banksters don't care what real inflation is. They profit from borrowing at the Federal Reserve and lending at higher interest rates. They lend to the government, to corporations, to mortgages, or to individuals. Lending to the government is best, because that's riskless arbitrage.

The Treasury debt default does not happen all at once. It happens gradually via inflation. Suppose that Treasury yield is 3% while true inflation is 30%. Then, Treasury debt default occurs at a rate of approximately 2% per month. It's a gradual default and not an outright default.

The banksters buy Treasury debt due to their ability to use leverage. As an individual, you'd be an idiot to buy Treasury debt. You'll be ripped off by inflation. Foreign central banks, like China, are getting similarly scammed. Their Treasury debt investment is unleveraged.

Suppose the President went on TV and said "I'm cutting everyone's Social Security check by 20%!" There probably would be riots. Via inflation, the net effect is the same.

As long as the slaves are forced/conned into using Federal Reserve Notes as money, there will be no default on the national debt. The Federal government can always print new Treasury bonds to refinance the debt.

The banksters profit via huge leverage, borrowing at the Fed Funds Rate and buying Treasury debt. These profits are pure illicit interest arbitrage, at the expense of productive workers via inflation. That's how the banksters make huge profits while the rest of the economy is stuck in a recession/depression.

The Treasury debt default does not occur all at once. It occurs gradually via inflation. If inflation gets too high and there's hyperinflation, then the State extortion racket falls apart. To avoid subsidizing the State, you should keep your long-term savings in physical gold and silver.

Personal Seat Licenses

In their new stadium, the Jets and Giants are offering "personal seat licenses" (PSLs). A "personal seat license" is one of the biggest scams in sports.

Here's how I thought "personal seat licenses" worked, when I first heard of them. You pay $X for the seat license, and then you get tickets for $0 for a certain number of years. I thought it was a lump-sum payment, buying your tickets in advance.

Actually, the PSL merely gives you the right to buy tickets. You pay for the PSL *AND* you pay for the season tickets every year. If you don't buy the season tickets, you forfeit your PSL.

If you buy a PSL, it's like saying "I'm a sucker. Please rob me." What prevents the team from jacking up prices 15%+ per year, several years after you buy the PSL? What prevents the team from cutting back and losing, after you buy the PSL?

For a traditional "season tickets" arrangement, you get to keep your seats every year. You may move to better seats, when people don't renew their tickets. The "right to renew" has some value. That gives people an incentive to buy tickets, even when the team sucks.

As I mentioned before, a dutch auction is the best way to sell tickets. That should maximize profits for the seller. Right now, tickets are sold for a fixed price. If the price is too high, there are empty seats. If the price is too low, then there's an arbitrage opportunity for scalpers.

Unfortunately, there's no incentive for ticket sellers to change. Middlemen like Ticketmaster take a huge cut of every sale. It's probably cheaper to hire a few people to answer the phone, than to pay Ticketmaster's extortionate fees. It would be straightforward to write "dutch auction" ticket selling software. (I hope someone hasn't patented it!)

"Personal seat licenses" are a ripoff. Team owners are squeezing extra money out of gullible fans. You have to buy the PSL, *AND* buy each season's tickets, with no guarantee that the ticket price won't be jacked up.