It's like herding cats. What we really need is a John Galt, V, or Manuel O'Kelly to step up and lead the revolution before it's too late. Maybe that's why I like Libertarian fiction so much... it's the only 'place' where we can actually win.
Thanks for The Moon. I've not read it yet. I'm closer to being a Winston Smith or an Eddie Willers - certainly no John Galt. My ambition is getting off the grid rather than saving the world. Libertarian fiction is all we have as the revolution will never come - except in our minds, and how we choose to live our lives. My only goal is to put enough away that I have no further obligations - from there, emigrate and live as privately as possible while still taking part in activities I find enriching. This feels hollow, but I have no delusions about changing anything. My only fear is that the looters manage to somehow fuck up trading before I can retire. Legislation like this and the ID cards thing puts the horrors in me like nothing else on earth. The glib use of torture does not bode well for the future. How long before this is used domestically, as a matter of routine? How long before there are practically no economic freedoms left? All of these regulations forced down from on high in the guise of preventing "money laundering" and "terrorist financing" are nothing more than the foundations for a system of capital controls. A future with no privacy, needing to seek government permission for everything (see validation of ID cards for employment, financial transactions, etc- if the State "accidentally" turn you off, you can't make any transactions). Horrifying. The worst thing of all is that 99.9% of the population would think you are a kook for talking about any of this. The "nothing to hide" crowd. All kept ignorant and fearful and anxious for their next fix of American Idol (or similar regional equivalents). Our enemy is not corrupt officials, or the state itself, but nearly every person in the world as they cannot think! Trading truly is a lonely business. I doubt there is a single truly successful trader who has not grasped the implications of this beyond the markets. In working out how the markets are made to work you crack the rest of it too. This is our punishment for having the courage to examine ourselves and ask the difficult questions. I do not complain, as the alternative is ignorance. Herding cats...sounds like you talk from personal experience...I am sorry
It is happening today, although I suspect they want to get it in writing. There is a great disconnect today between those governing and the governed. A bad omen for US future.
+10 The long and plodding march towards a Police State accelerated dramatically since 911. The end of Habeus, Miranda Rights, and the President a defacto King George empowered to assassinate and disappear any American citizen on a whim, IS Tyranny. This IS Tyranny. Then there's the homegrown terrorist act. All this legislation just sets the table. Once passed, and another 911 *conveniently* flies under the radar, that's it. The biggest Gestpo in history will be going door-to-door for us Patriots while the Velvet Glove blitzes TV to scare the shit out of America. "Don't worry. Be Calm. It's all for your safety. The evil American terrorists will hurt you. We need to round them up to protect the Country." Except those terrorists are you. Now you're being rounded up, along with your family. No lawyer. No rights. No charges. You're gone. American Citizens. This is a nightmare, folks. A lot of people laughed at guys like me, gnome and ratboy 5 years ago when Bush doubled Government and turned the military apparatia inward, on the American People. Now, Mr Hope and Change flies three sheets to the wind, and sends the Police State Agenda into overdrive. Look whose behind it. The Executive and Congress. They are setting up a Dictatorship in this Country. Right now. Infront of our eyes. We're in danger.