tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post4212070770285292145..comments2024-03-24T00:09:55.586-05:00Comments on The Field Lab: How To Be Independent For DummiesJohn Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12783305402239706779noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-33842120761977782292014-08-12T11:54:45.666-05:002014-08-12T11:54:45.666-05:00it's not the trash guy. It's the fact tha...it's not the trash guy. It's the fact that they created highways -by taking land from others - that you benefit from.<br /><br />the taxes pay for maintenance and operations.<br /><br />you and your land would be almost worthless if you had to pay other landowners for access ....over their land to yours.<br /><br />If you support public roads - you support government and then taking others land, and it's hypocrisy to pretend otherwise.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-4944157808249950762014-08-12T11:44:39.843-05:002014-08-12T11:44:39.843-05:00I said "directly". The state of Texas di...I said "directly". The state of Texas did run the longest state highway across my property. And it has easements as well as regulations no one alive ever voted for.<br />I pay huge amounts of federal and state fuel taxes as well as on each vehicle and trailer - though that stops next month. Farm tags! Yea!<br />I'm never compensated by the Government they don't even maintain the fence along the highway, pickup trash, they cut the grass once a year but don't give it to me to use as hay.<br />but that's all state and county. So, I can have a greater impact and louder voice.<br />The left - coast and northeastern - bloc have very little in common with my way of life, I certainly don't speak for John, a refugee who's [seemed to] embrace being a Texan as much as me, a sixth generation Texan.<br />those in Chicago or Seattle set up your communes and urbane jungles as you wish. Leave Texas and many other countries in the Nation alone.the fed is never the place to start micromanaging society because we are many societies. Out of many, one. We are not a melting pot but a stew (I'd say chli, and chili doesn't have beans in it). Each region, society, country or Sovereign State in the nation adds to its flavor like spices.<br />nope. New federal law. All shall have beans, and it's kidney beans for crying out loud! Yankees don't know how to make chili, nor even pick the pinto bean. They can go on the side with the cornbread.<br />heck, 20 years ago when you ordered iced tea in Texas you got it unsweetened. Now people think sweet tea is a Texas thing. It's not. It's southern. I don't even want Dallas, Houston or Austin or their suburbs telling me how to live.<br />i own the dirt under my feet to the center of the earth's molten core, and at High Noon i own the sun. I (as you should be) am a Sovereign Man.<br />BigBuchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01265565055181459277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-73897732293886388142014-08-12T09:47:43.786-05:002014-08-12T09:47:43.786-05:00you don't receive goods and services over publ...you don't receive goods and services over public roads - the property of which they sit - was taken from others and essentially given to you?<br /><br /><br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-25347574355709089802014-08-12T09:40:44.806-05:002014-08-12T09:40:44.806-05:00Obviously, mine is the correct one.
I don't ...Obviously, mine is the correct one. <br />I don't have the inclination to research your assertion re: the Louisiana Purchase, in order to debate 200 year old actions. Though I'd start with Madison not Jefferson as far as constitutional issues.<br />I do know the knowledge that the life I have chosen in the Texas Hill Country and that of someone on Long Island are different enough that the masterminds in DC do not have the ability to enact laws or regulations that can equitably address the two. Thus, the intent of the founders and men before them recognized that rule should begin at home, locally.<br />you may see no need for a firearm let alone a large magazine modern sporting rifle. I step on my porch and can ge accosted by coyotes, wild tucked hogs, rabid foxes, etc. I do not use the interstates directly. You do benefit from my continued ability to pay my taxes, thus my personal defense is contributory to your interstate.<br />Our rights are not granted by the government but it can try to impinge on them.<br />BigBuchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01265565055181459277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-71033212450004469712014-08-12T09:09:22.604-05:002014-08-12T09:09:22.604-05:00The problem is that the opponents do not have a sh...The problem is that the opponents do not have a shared definition of what limited govt is - and after you consider all of their combined ideas - you get - no govt.<br /><br />they cannot even agree among themselves on what level of govt we should have (or not).<br /><br />In terms of what is in the Constitution - there are a plethora of agencies to included homeland security, FBI, CIA, that are not in the Constitution.<br /><br />Nor is the ability to buy land as none other than Jefferson himself was accused of violating the Constitution when he bought the Louisiana Purchase.Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-28049040392604454202014-08-12T07:29:55.558-05:002014-08-12T07:29:55.558-05:00I do not think anyone here, or over the age of 21,...I do not think anyone here, or over the age of 21, are calling for NO government. A lot of us see the beauty of limited government. The Founders did.BigBuchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01265565055181459277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-7707887422206888982014-07-13T16:20:06.894-05:002014-07-13T16:20:06.894-05:00well I agree... but I suspect some who say it is o...well I agree... but I suspect some who say it is out of control now don't think it was when we invaded Iraq and tortured people.<br /><br />;-)Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-32446156865131973492014-07-13T13:23:10.540-05:002014-07-13T13:23:10.540-05:00The fed govt was out of control when it invaded an...The fed govt was out of control when it invaded another country based on bogus intelligence and when it politicized the dept of justice and instituted torture. It's less out of control now.I M Seinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13591865232737102582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-67528265677638539482014-07-11T11:07:45.423-05:002014-07-11T11:07:45.423-05:00okay.. Federal... not State and not Local?
right?...okay.. Federal... not State and not Local?<br /><br />right?<br /><br />what part of the Feds besides the NSA? <br /><br />folks do realize that we take in about 1.3T in income taxes and spend more than a trillion on national defense, right?<br /><br />that's not only DOD - it's Homeland Security, Border Patrol, NASA military satellites, DOE nuclear ships reactors and weapons, NSA, CIA, FBI, etc.<br /><br />see page 56 to see the income tax revenues:<br /><br />http://www.fms.treas.gov/fr/12frusg/12frusg.pdf<br /><br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-73245014729341790922014-07-11T08:41:16.539-05:002014-07-11T08:41:16.539-05:00I thought this discussion WAS about Federal govern...I thought this discussion WAS about Federal government. The Federal government is out of control. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16154628771774506399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-58187419457400014552014-07-11T04:41:38.073-05:002014-07-11T04:41:38.073-05:00re: " basic services for the community, the g...re: " basic services for the community, the government is way beyond that role for the last 60 years now and there is no end in sight to the powers they will seize."<br /><br />lets be more specific<br /><br />specific examples - <br /><br />local govt<br />state govt<br />federal govt<br /><br />name some specifics - <br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-63038969864955709652014-07-11T04:34:01.050-05:002014-07-11T04:34:01.050-05:00re: " OK Larry, we all like our roads but it&...re: " OK Larry, we all like our roads but it's a weak example since no one objects to govt participation in public infrastructure."<br /><br />"participation" is a disingenuous description.<br /><br />Govt builds transport/commerce infrastructure - period - not the private sector - from the first ports, canals, and railroads to the roads and pipelines and electrical grid corridors - all done by govt getting the right-of-ways.<br /><br /> "How about the spying and lying? Do you approve of that?"<br /><br />No. I think the NSA is out of control.<br /><br />" No one objects to the government doing public investment in basic services for the community, the government is way beyond that role for the last 60 years now and there is no end in sight to the powers they will seize."<br /><br />that's edging into conspiracy theory territory IMHO.<br /> <br />"Government workers may not be the so called 1% but they are pretty much the top 5% now with their outsized salaries and health care for life, unreal pensions etc at the private sectors expense."<br /><br />do you think that the number of govt employees is higher now than before?<br /><br />do you include the DOD when you talk about govt employees?<br /><br />" You may be one of them I suppose. Frankly I didn't even see any attack on government in this piece anyway, where do you see that? Being independent is not particularly anti government in the world I came up in."<br /><br />you'll find that 3/4 of govt employees and contractors work for "defense" not just DOD but Homeland Security, BorderPatrol, CIA, NSA, etc. that's where your high paid govt is - not the Park Service on BLM or Post Office.Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-83446928535526058702014-07-11T00:19:24.516-05:002014-07-11T00:19:24.516-05:00OK Larry, we all like our roads but it's a wea...OK Larry, we all like our roads but it's a weak example since no one objects to govt participation in public infrastructure. How about the spying and lying? Do you approve of that? No one objects to the government doing public investment in basic services for the community, the government is way beyond that role for the last 60 years now and there is no end in sight to the powers they will seize. <br />Government workers may not be the so called 1% but they are pretty much the top 5% now with their outsized salaries and health care for life, unreal pensions etc at the private sectors expense. You may be one of them I suppose. Frankly I didn't even see any attack on government in this piece anyway, where do you see that? Being independent is not particularly anti government in the world I came up in. bayriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01973602394952630821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-43277981646568225422014-07-10T05:18:57.289-05:002014-07-10T05:18:57.289-05:00re: " Believe me, we can easily build and mai...re: " Believe me, we can easily build and maintain roads without government involvement although I don't object to their participation"<br /><br />the history says we don't and how do you build roads if the folks who own land in the path don't want to sell? Not only roads rail and pipeline and rivers.<br /><br />John was able to buy his property because of a road - a road the private sector would never have built - like virtually all of the roads in Texas that could have been built BEFORE Texas did but did not.<br /><br />Govt is flawed and evil at times but you have to have it, not only for transport but law and order and protection of property rights and things like public hospitals, GPS satellites, and much more.<br /><br />the anti-govt fervor combined with religion is corrosive and destructive.<br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-6263896714968613312014-07-10T01:50:25.154-05:002014-07-10T01:50:25.154-05:00What is so objectionable about being independent? ...What is so objectionable about being independent? All those suggestions were perfectly reasonable and clearly in the American tradition. The writer was more critical of business interests with little mention of government. Plenty of good advice for health and happiness there.<br /><br />Believe me, we can easily build and maintain roads without government involvement although I don't object to their participation. But I do have a problem with them spying and intercepting every single electronic communication in the world, storing it in massive databases then lying to the people and even the congress about it. Don't you think that's pretty evil? Or should we embrace that as it's for our own good, to 'protect us'.bayriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01973602394952630821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-53396713549845457942014-07-07T05:43:48.736-05:002014-07-07T05:43:48.736-05:00Let's assume for the moment that your view is ...Let's assume for the moment that your view is the simple truth (I don't agree), - how is John being harmed from this "dependency" and what justifies the hate and vitriol from those on the right and especially those who claim to be religious?<br /><br />I don't get it.<br /><br />The country is not perfect. People who run it are not perfect, people who complain about it are not perfect, - but when you compare this country to the 200+ other countries - it stands tall and we should be proud of it and not running it down and bad mouthing it - especially on Independence Day.<br /><br />but something has happened to John, I do not remember him being this way so either he was not and changed or he was but did not articulate it.<br /><br />The glass is always half full and half empty and John has sadly and gradually slipped to the half-empty perspective.<br /><br />Why is this an issue for John on his blog?<br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-185162367105942562014-07-06T17:56:28.364-05:002014-07-06T17:56:28.364-05:00Government certainly has some functions... Roads, ...Government certainly has some functions... Roads, clean water, public safety, various industry oversights, etc.... I don't believe ANYONE will debate that. But, in my opinion, it's gotten, or at least is getting, out of hand....... creating a dependent society, which is unsustainable. KWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364458935654510801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-15788096510362495792014-07-06T16:38:02.939-05:002014-07-06T16:38:02.939-05:00(My family always worked for this country as best ...(My family always worked for this country as best they could. My -----grandfather, John Dickinson, signed the constitution). Just like John is a pioneer in another way settleing the West which is certainly not an easy thing to do. Those West Texans had grit.Margery Billdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589667608391862832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-59380080569506270362014-07-06T16:26:08.674-05:002014-07-06T16:26:08.674-05:00You know when Abbie Hoffman was at a rally in Hous...You know when Abbie Hoffman was at a rally in Houston, he had his back broken by a billey club. I would certainly not like the label--a dangerous political radical. This is the exact same rhetoric-dummies- that was around in the 60"s and 70's when I had a security clearance and worked for the government and then was on a college campus. Then the hippies got a bright idea. They would work within the system to make changes. And they did. The dummies people are now your work force. :-) This is our country and I am proud of it. Nothing is ever perfect but we progress. There was another parade here this weekend. A 23 year old, Spitz, from New Braunfels was brought back from Iraq. He is the 3rd man from that city to die in a gun battle so we can have our freedoms here.Margery Billdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589667608391862832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-85533266060995724652014-07-06T11:28:36.745-05:002014-07-06T11:28:36.745-05:00The problem wit our Liberal friends is not that th...The problem wit our Liberal friends is not that they are ignorant; it's just that they know so much that's not so. Ronald ReaganAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16154628771774506399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-60306738060480681472014-07-06T08:15:48.845-05:002014-07-06T08:15:48.845-05:00Just as Larry picked roads to demonstrate some of ...Just as Larry picked roads to demonstrate some of the...is "absurdities" too mean a description?...in John's "Dummies" post, I'll pick WATER. Yes, water is life or freedom or whatever metaphor was used. But not just any water - CLEAN water, free from diseases, pollutants, waste, etc. And what is the mechanism for that good water that most of us get piped into our homes? Why yes, that would be government regulations, maintenance, reservoirs, planning, etc. The "Dummies" author, I reckon, would have us turn off our municipal taps and dig wells. OK. On my rural mountain road here in CO, half the people have wells and half are on a tap. Lemme tell you that the folks on wells YEARN for a tap - for obvious reasons. My nextdoor neighbor has a well, and is always asking me anxiously if I use any pesticides and such in my garden. He's always worried about stuff leaching into his well. And by the way, if you DO have a well: who do you think regulates industry like fracking, to keep them from pumping benzene and such into the water table? <br /><br />Also important here in CO: water rights. Yes, there are LAWS that regulate distribution and ownership of this precious resource. Otherwise an industry that uses copious amounts of water (hello, fracking?) can suck it right out of your little ole well. That's state government at work. <br /><br />By the way, is "clean water" a natural right? Lemme see if I can find that in the Constitution... <br /><br />One thing I would agree with the poster on: get involved about the things you care about. Here in CO, it's a constant battle to keep polluters at bay - to force them to be transparent about the shite they pump into our air and water. Educate yourself, vote, voice your concern. Don't fool yourself that government is the end and be-all of our nation's problems. Look to the corporations, my friend. They have done a very good job of putting out the lie that it's all the government's fault. As the "Dummies" author says, look deeper and decide for yourself.pamithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00605982455002622554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-92152777271814060522014-07-06T07:29:41.412-05:002014-07-06T07:29:41.412-05:00Sure, if anybody wants to be independent they can ...Sure, if anybody wants to be independent they can get on a raft and float around international waters powered by solar panels. Snack on ones precious metals. Eat seaweed. Be a dentist or medical doctor for yourself. <br />Maybe you could get lucky and run aground on some uninhabited rock.<br />Boondogglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08118800456620568811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-91274971622728050942014-07-06T06:22:27.557-05:002014-07-06T06:22:27.557-05:00not Texas rd 188, Texas Rd 118.
sorrynot Texas rd 188, Texas Rd 118.<br /><br />sorryLarry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-4383114102519709032014-07-06T06:21:07.465-05:002014-07-06T06:21:07.465-05:00I'm being polite here - but blunt.
How indepe...I'm being polite here - but blunt.<br /><br />How independent is anyone - without the government-provided public road system and right-of-way for phone companies to deliver phone and DSL/internet service to "off grid" folks like John?<br /><br />Roads and their right-of-ways, are one of the biggest social welfare programs in the history of this country that John beats up on more and more these days, even as he posts stuff about "un-banking" and keeping precious metals, etc.. none of which would be possible without that govt-provided road.<br /><br />Consider what Johns trips to Alpine and elsewhere would be like if the entire route was private, not govt, and not maintained by the govt and in the condition of his own road the whole distance - especially when it rains.<br /><br />want to see where the road John relies on came from?<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Highway_118#History<br /><br />Texas Route 188 (like most public roads) was built, by the government, on land taken from other private land owners and now those who blather about "independence" take it for granted as if it is their road that they are "entitled" to use.<br /><br /> The small number of people who actually live on that road also come nowhere close to paying for it's full costs. The rest of Texas citizens essentially provide that road with their taxes.<br /><br />Texas Route 118 probably would not exist - if it required the people who live on it to pay the full costs. And as a toll road - it would probably cost %50 a trip to use it.<br /><br />John relies on that "free" road, the honest truth. It's his lifeline - and he probably could not survive without it.<br /><br /> Fed Ex, UPS, the US Mail - all use that road to provide the necessary things that John needs to make a go of it.<br /><br />We're all "entitled" to use public roads, right? why? where does that "right" come from? <br /><br />Is that govt you support but not govt for other things?<br /><br />every time you pull out onto a public road - truly think about your real 'independence' because -you're not really THAT independent, you ARE relying on the government to keep that road open and usable.<br /><br /><br />Without govt, there would be no Texas Route 118 - that's the "independent" and honest truth for "dummies' that think govt is not needed.<br /><br />It's kind of hard to talk about how bad the govt is while tooling down that govt-built road in your pickup.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Larry Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02282254026681944326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6120586935905234915.post-83461446646755975242014-07-06T00:18:21.307-05:002014-07-06T00:18:21.307-05:00Oh yes, and the parades and the military jets ove...Oh yes, and the parades and the military jets overhead from San Antonio and so forth. Margery Billdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589667608391862832noreply@blogger.com