The Democratic-Republican Party

The two main political parties have more similarities than differences. I was amused when I noticed that the original name for the "Democratic Party" was the "Democratic-Republican Party', with Thomas Jefferson as one of the main leaders.

Economic Police State

In a Police State, the police ask every person "Papers please!", and kidnap people who don't have the right papers. Most people know that's evil, because everyone is inconvenienced.

In the USA, any small business owner risks a "Papers please!" demand by State thugs. If the papers are not in order, then the economic secret police will kidnap you. The laws are so complicated that any business owner is practically guaranteed to have violations.

In Nazi Germany, you were encouraged to rat out your neighbors if they were protecting Jews. In the Soviet Union, you were encouraged to rat out your neighbors if they are hiding food or goods. In the USA, you are encouraged to rat out your neighbor is he is operating a business without a permit. You are encouraged to rat out your neighbor if he is engaging in forbidden economic activity or has forbidden plants/guns.

On the NYC subway, I saw a sign "$1000 reward if you report someone with an unlicensed gun!" My reaction to that sign is "Would anyone really sell out their gun-owning friend/relative for only $1000?" $1000 was insultingly low. Do the State police have credibility, regarding paying the reward? Can someone abuse the process by filing a false tip?

Suppose you file an Anonymous complaint "FSK is growing marijuana in his basement." (I'm not.) State thugs conduct a no-knock raid of my home. I ask the State thugs "WTF? Why did you raid my home?" They will reply "We got an Anonymous tip?" I ask "Who?" They will say "Sorry, FSK. Anonymous tips are confidential." This encourages fraud. Someone could file a false complaint. Some undercover cop could file the false complaint, just so they could raid my home. Many things are illegal that aren't real crimes, further encouraging abuse.

Suppose I operate a restaurant out of my home. Someone with a State restaurant license has an economic incentive to file a complaint against me. I don't even get to find out who filed the complaint! The State police are a private army, protecting State-licensed businesses from competition.

There are undercover cops who troll the Internet, looking for people operating a business without a State permit. These undercover cops are really economic secret police. For that reason, agorists should not use Craigslist or eBay. "Write agoristbay" is on my todo list.

The NYPD has a division of troops that focuses solely on kidnapping people who "operate a taxi without a permit". Due to "asset forfeiture" laws, the NYPD can steal your car without even a trial, if they accuse you of illegally operating a taxi. This special NYPD unit is literally a private army, working for the State taxi medallion cartel. The medallion owners have a very lucrative monopoly. They can afford to spend money lobbying the State to crack down on competition. Via taxes, everyone in NYC pays the cost of NYPD medallion cartel enforcement. If the medallion owners had to maintain their own private army, then the extortion racket wouldn't be profitable. Also, if they had their own private army, the slaves wouldn't recognize the violence as legitimate.

Even though the NYPD is working to stifle taxi competition, there still are people who conclude that the risk/reward ratio is worth it. I read that the unlicensed commuter vans have a relatively sophisticated agorist setup. If a licensed commuter van files a complaint with the State, then he finds his van vandalized. (Technically, that's not a violation of the Non-Aggression principle.) If police set up a roadblock, the unlicensed vans find out about it, and they avoid capture. The cost of a State permit is *EXPENSIVE*, so the unlicensed vans have a huge economic incentive to ignore the law. Amusingly, the transit workers' union is also lobbying for a crackdown on "illegal" transportation.

If I attempt practical agorism, I'm competing with State-licensed businesses. Those businesses have an economic incentive to rat me out to the State, to shut down competition. The State thug thinks "I'm enforcing 'Rule of law!'", but he's an economic terrorist.

Most laws are designed to protect insiders from competition, rather than true best practices.

There's another "advantage" of State licensing requirements. Now, State bureaucrats know who's operating a business. They know who to shake down for taxation/extortion money. Most people are complacent wage slaves. This gives State thugs the resources to crack down on people who desire economic freedom.

The most evil example of an economic police State is the IRS and the income tax. IRS thugs extort small business owners. IRS bureaucrats spy on people, to see if anyone is working without their permission.

Another example of an economic police State is the treatment of gold and silver. Due to taxes and regulations, it's impractical/illegal to use gold and silver as money.

Another example of an economic police State is the ironically-named "Bank Secrecy Act". The Bank Secrecy Act requires all State-licensed banks to report "suspicious transactions". That's used to catch drug dealers and prostitutes, things that should not be illegal. It's also used to catch tax evaders. It's used to catch people who want economic privacy. The Bank Secrecy Act makes every State-licensed bank a branch of the IRS and FBI.

Another example of an economic police State is the 1099/W-2 requirement. All economic activity must be reported to the IRS/State. Employers have an obligation to withhold taxes from employees' paychecks. Every small business owner must work for the State as an unpaid tax collector and economic spy.

What criminal organization besides government could demand "Tell me everything you do. Tell me everything you own. Then, I'll figure out how much of your stuff I should steal."? What criminal besides government gets his victims to mail him a check?!

The USA is an economic police State. State thugs don't say "Papers please!" to everyone. State thugs only harass/assault small business owners. This helps preserve the illusion that the USA is a free country. Economic terrorism is more subtly evil than "Kill all the Jews!"

Economic terrorism is more subtly evil than "Round up all the small business owners and send them to death camps!" Via taxes and regulations, executives at large corporations stifle small business competition. It isn't explicitly illegal to operate a small business, but taxes and regulations are a huge handicap. For many industries, competition with the State-backed monopoly/oligopoly/cartel is explicitly illegal. Some examples of explicit State-backed monopolies/cartels are doctors, lawyers, accountants, electricity, landline telephone, cell phones, cable TV, broadcast TV/radio, and taxis.

"Economic Police State" is a good way to describe the corruption of the US economic and political system. Agorism is the best strategy for fighting the economic police State. It's not risk free, but it's the best method I've seen. Working for freedom is risky. It's also risky to be a complacent slave as the system collapses. There's no easy solution.

Are State Parasites Getting Scared?

This blog post was interesting. The author said "Anarcho-capitalism is gaining a surprising amount of popularity. A lot of people are saying 'Taxation is theft!' As statists, we should be concerned. We need to work on coming up with better propaganda!"

There's no "magic propaganda that refutes anarcho-capitalism", because "market anarchism" is the One True Theory of politics and economics. Now that I understand agorism and market anarchism, pro-State arguments are obvious nonsense.

You can't come up with a "magic argument" that refutes something that's actually true.

I'm noticing a lot more statist comments like this. It is an encouraging sign. It's an indication that the truth is spreading. Some statists are getting exasperated by frequent mentions of "Taxation is theft!" and a discussion of alternatives to the State violence monopoly.

The danger of the State isn't just State police, who might kidnap and torture you for telling the truth. The danger comes from your friends and coworkers and relatives. They will react with hostility when you say "All taxation is theft!"

The difference between now and the past is the Internet. 30 years ago, there would have been no way for me to learn the real truth. If I were forced to rely on newspapers and TV and school, my information is severely limited. The Internet enables people to bypass the State information monopoly.

Right now, statists have far superior numbers and resources. That is changing. It might only be necessary to convince the 3%-5% most skilled workers, in order for the State to collapse. That is the advantage of agorism. Agorism allows the most productive workers to thrive outside the State extortion racket.

If I explain something on my blog, and my readers enlighten other people, there's an exponential spread of the truth. At this point, the collapse of the State seems like a historic inevitability, even though State parasites have superior resources.

I'm noticing that some statists are getting frustrated, due to frequent mentions of "Taxation is theft! Who needs a government violence monopoly?" That's a good sign. The truth is sufficiently powerful. I can't imagine someone convincing me "Taxation is not theft!", now that I fully understand the truth. A State terrorist might decide to kidnap and torture me based on my understanding of the truth, but I don't see State parasites successfully convincing me that I'm wrong.

Oracle Sues Google Over Java/Android

This story is interesting. Oracle bought out Sun, which owned some patents relating to Java. Google used Java in their Android mobile phone. Oracle is now suing Google over patent infringement.

I thought that Java was supposed to be an "open language". I guess it isn't. That shows the fallacy of relying on a language controlled by a large corporation. Sun may have been more openminded, but that policy ends after an acquisition by Oracle.

Oracle is a "patent troll" now? When a corporation is losing its market share, the executives start relying on lawsuits and corporate welfare, rather than making a good product.

Oracle is suing Google. Oracle is threatening to sue manufacturers who make Android phones. This lawsuit is a boon for Apple.

Google used Java in their Android phone. Oracle is selling a "smartphone-enhanced" version of Java. Instead of buying smartphone-enhanced Java from Oracle, Google's software engineers wrote their own implementation of Java. Oracle claims this implementation of Java infringes on Oracle's patents.

When Oracle bought Sun, they also acquired control of mySQL. Some people say that this is a risk, for businesses that use mySQL. Oracle has cut back support for mySQL, because mySQL directly competes with Oracle's database product. However, someone could "fork" the public version of mySQL. The only thing Oracle owns is the "mySQL" name, and the right to sell non-GPL versions of mySQL.

Some people say "Smartphone technology is patented and owned by several large corporations. It's illegal for someone to start a new smartphone business. It's practically guaranteed they'd be violating someone's patent."

State insiders use patents to quash competition. Under the guise of "Rule of law! Protect the little inventor!", insiders use patents to extort and prevent competition.

Lawsuits regarding patents/trademarks/copyrights are completely "legal extortion". The plaintiff in an "intellectual property" lawsuit is using the corrupt State "justice" system to extort.

"Intellectual property" is not property. "Intellectual property" is an evil fnord that sets the debate in the wrong frame. It should be called "intellectual unproperty".

Suppose I was a prospective juror in the Oracle vs. Google software patent lawsuit. As a software engineer, I'm automatically disqualified. I know too much about software. Therefore, I'm ineligible to be a juror!

Really, the judge and jury in a software patent lawsuit should all be software engineers. The corrupt State legal system has it backwards.

The judge knows nothing about software. The jury knows nothing about software. Given those conditions, why not roll the dice and sue? Oracle gains $1B+ if they win. The only cost is their legal fees if they lose.

The judge is trying to determine "What is legal?", when he knows nothing about software. How can the trial outcome possibly be fair?

Patents are not a valid form of property. "Protect the little guy inventor!" is the official excuse for patents. As actually implemented, insiders use patent lawsuits and the threat of a patent lawsuit to extort. Copying an idea is not like stealing a car.

There's a massive State brainwashing campaign to convince people "Patents are property." There's a massive State brainwashing campaign to convince people that "intellectual property" should be treated like real property.

Oracle is suing Google for patent infringement. This is entirely legal extortion. The judge and jury know nothing about software. The "justice" system is completely corrupt. Why shouldn't Oracle's CEO take a gamble and sue Google? If they're wrong, they only lose their legal expenses. If they're right, they win $1B+.

In the corrupt USA legal system, if you have a successful business, other people will file lawsuits to extort from you. The most desirable legal extortion victim is one with tangible assets that can be stolen. If you have a successful business, State parasites have a free option to sue you and extort part of your business.

Even if you ultimately prevail in trial, the "legal extortion" victim doesn't recover his legal expenses.

Homeland Security Works For Disney?

This article on Techdirt made me say "WTF?" The Department of Homeland Security raided a bunch of sites for illegally distributing movies. They made this announcement from Disney's corporate office.

Why is "Homeland Security" enforcing copyrights and trademarks now? What happened to "protecting us from terrorists"?

Why is "Homeland Security" making a press release from Disney's office? They're obviously Disney employees.

This illustrates the evil of a growing Police State. Insiders use the State's police power for corporate welfare, rather than to protect people. Assuming the validity of "intellectual property", copyright and trademark infringement should be civil and not criminal.

"Intellectual property" is not property. Intellectual property laws explicitly encourage abuse of the State police/justice monopoly.

Congress Killed Superman

This story was hilarious. In the 1976 copyright law, Congress added a clause saying "After 56 years, original authors, or their heirs, may reclaim their copyright, even if they sold it."

A "work for hire" doesn't count. For example, the software I write in my wage slave job is a "work for hire". Even though I'm the sole author, I can't ask to reclaim my copyright after 56 years. (not that I would want to)

Superman was developed by two artists, before it was sold to DC Comics. It was not a "work for hire". Their contact with DC Comics said "We sell you the rights to Superman forever." However, the 1976 copyright law overrides that clause of the contract.

The heirs of Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, the original authors, sued Time-Warner, who now owns DC Comics, to get their copyright back. The two parties could not reach a settlement. This led to a bizarre Solomon-like ruling.

Some parts of the Superman story were written by the original authors. Other parts were added later. Siegel's heirs could only reclaim copyright to the parts they wrote. "Supeman is vulnerable to kryptonite!", "Superman can fly!", and "Lex Luthor" are still owned by DC Comics.

The two parties could not reach an agreement. The rights to Superman were split among two parties. The net effect is that *NOBODY* can legally write a Superman story.

Another issue is "Who owns the rights to the Superman cartoons/movies that were already made?" How does the revenue from that get split? The recent Superman movie was started after the "reclaim copyright" lawsuit was filed.

Intellectual property law leads to stupid lawsuits like this one. Even if you believe in "intellectual property", copyright was supposed to be "for a limited time". The correct answer is that "intellectual property" is not property.

Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Alice in Wonderland, and Charles Dickens are all public domain. Anybody can make a story based on them. Everything from the 20th century is locked up by copyright and owned/controlled by a corporation. That is silly.

If I tried to make and sell my own Superman story, I would be sued. That is wrong. Superman should be in the public domain.

"Intellectual property" is not property. "Intellectual property" is the artificial creation of an abusive State. There's a massive State brainwashing campaign to convince people that "intellectual property" should be treated like real property. The phrase "intellectual property" sets the debate in the wrong frame. It should be "intellectual unproperty".

A pro-State troll says "Copyright protects the little guy artist. Patents protect the small inventor." The actual implementation is the opposite. Copyrights and patents are abused by insiders at large corporations. All lawsuits regarding copyrights and patents are really a type of "legal extortion". If you're a small artist, it's hard to do anything without infringing on someone's copyright. If you're a small business owner, it's hard to avoid infringing someone else's patent.

"Intellectual property" law will always lead to stupid lawsuits like the one that killed Superman.

Had To Reinstall Vista - USB Ports Stopped Working

The USB ports on my PC mysteriously stopped working. My printer was working erratically. My LG envTouch's connection to my PC was working erratically.

It got worse and worse and finally stopped.

At first, I thought it was a hardware problem. After doing a full Vista reinstall, I can definitely say it was 100% a Windows problem. After fiddling with the reinstall and Windows Update and installing drivers, everything's working fine again.

It seems that the "USB driver plug and play" area of Vista got corrupted.

I tried some online help suggestions, which only made things worse.

I tried "repair Vista install", but that didn't work. I had to do a full reinstall.

In prior versions of Windows, the reinstall was done in place over the old version. That's not what Vista did. It completely blew away the Windows directory, and my "program files" directory. I now have to reinstall everything.

I've noticed that, when using Windows, you have to do a "full OS reinstall" every 2-3 years. I guess I was due.

I'm seriously thinking of making my next PC be Linux.