Fight.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

--US. Const. Art. VI

Let's just understand one simple thing: NO ONE has the lawful authority to pass any law, rule or regulation that contravenes or contradicts the Constitution of the United States.
The Constitution is THE SUPREME LAW and over-rules or supercedes any other law.
Period.

The NDAA does NOT nullify the Bill of Rights.
Quite the contrary, the Constitution renders the NDAA null and void from its inception.
Likewise the "Patriot Act" and a host of other disgraceful pieces of "legislation."
Congress doesn't have the authority to over-rules the Constitution.
These acts may have the color of law, but they are not, in fact, legally binding on anyone.

There is a difference between having the lawful authority to do something, and simply having the power to do something by force.

A mugger has the power by the threat of force to make you give up your wallet. That doesn't mean he has the lawful authority to take it.

A rapist may exert power over you by the threat of force and make you surrender your body. That doesn't give him the lawful authority to do it.

A murderer may have the power to kill you, but that doesn't give him the lawful authority to do so.


You have the natural and legal right to protect yourself, to resist unlawful actions even if you have to use lethal force to do it.
The law doesn't require you to meekly render your money, your body or your life to any thug who demands it.

Why should you"non-violently" (that is to say "passively") cooperate with any criminal who assaults you when you have the means to resist?

It's a simple equation:
Cooperate with a mugger, and you get mugged.
Cooperate with a rapist and you get raped.
Cooperate with a murderer and you get murdered.
Cooperate with an oppressor.....

Do the math.


sj

Wash-tey.

For Those Who Have Forgotten

This is what freedom feels like.


sj

What if....?

A Myth is as Good as a Mile

To say that I own a lot of books is like saying there’s a lot of sand in the Sahara.

Most of my furniture is books. The good furniture, anyway.

On my shelves reside old friends: Captain Blood, Scaramouche, Ivanhoe, Crazy Horse – books I first read as a child. Other, for me, keystone works such as The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Eric Fromm), Without Conscience (Robert Hare) and Lame Deer: A Seeker of Visions (Doug Boyd).

Every once in a long,while, I come across a book that I find so compelling that I all but literally can’t put it down, and afterward feel a moral imperative to share it with others.

The Vegetarian Myth, by Lierre Keith, is such a book.

For anyone interested in social justice, the environment or their own health, Ms. Keith’s book is a must-read. As a one-time vegetarian, myself, I found her reflections particularly poignant.

This is an informationally dense book, extensively referenced, and the case against vegetarianism that Ms. Keith presents is as rational and logical a presentation as you will find on any subject. Not only does she refute the false moral, political and nutritional premises that are the well-meaning foundation of vegetarianism, but she does so with tremendous compassion. She understands tem from her own experience, from her own heart.

She also connects some very disturbing dots. Why, for example, are the same handful of corporations who are the biggest war profiteers, also the corporations profiteering from manipulation of your food supply?

But more, Ms. Keith’s voice is both unique and eloquent. Her gallows-humor asides are filled with heart-rending irony. And she pulls no punches just to be “polite.” She is honest and direct, saying what she means and meaning just what she says – something as rare as hens teeth.

If you eat, or love anyone who eats, or if you live on this earth or love anyone who does, you owe it to yourself to read The Vegetarian Myth.

sj

For More:

http://lierrekeith.com

The "Good Guys" Don't Torture Anyone

Not anyone.
And they don't kidnap people, "detain" them indefinitely without charges or trial.
And they don't.....
The list is too long.
No point anymore in pretending that we're the "good guys."

sj

Read it and Weep --- or Fight.

10 Reasons the US is No Longer the Land of the Free

by

Jonathan Turley

Published on Saturday, January 14, 2012 by the Washington Post

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/14-6

Welcome to "Homeland" USA

The first time I heard Dubya use the term "homeland," a I got queasy feeling in my stomach.
I grew up calling it "national security."
That's fair: The United States is Americans' nation.
But it's not Americans' "homeland."
Americans don't have a "homeland."
That is, they have many different "homelands," not one common one.

So this change from "nation" to "homeland" just made my skin crawl with a foreboding deja vu.
It was such a "nazi" figure of speech.
And the Bush family is not without connections to the nazis.

And now there's Obama.

I didn't even think it was possible for someone to be worse than Bush.
But Obama has proved me wrong.
He has taken Bush's fledgling fascist policies and enhanced them to truly Hitlerian proportions.
And I am not engaging in hyperbole.

Consider:

1. The President alone now decides whether you will be imprisoned, tortured or killed.

2. You have no right of habeus corpus. In fact, you have no rights at all.
You will not be arraigned before a judge, you will not have access to a lawyer, you will not have a speedy trial by a jury of your peers. You will simply disappear.

3. The President alone decides when, where and how to use the military. He claims the authority to attack anyone, anywhere, for any reason -- "pre-emptively."

4. The military and the police are completely indistinguishable. "Homeland" Security & the CIA -- the new Gestapo -- coordinate nationwide "policing" efforts against dissidents. Law enforcement officers will be above the law, respond to the slightest infraction with lethal force and will do so with complete impunity.

5. You must now allow yourself to be searched on demand by any "law enforcement officer" of any kind, on demand. You can't get on a plane, and soon, not a train or a bus -- without submitting to a search. Your phone and email conversations will be monitored. Everything you buy, or read will be recorded. Everyplace you go will be under surveillance. You have no right to privacy.

That's not "the land of the free."
That's Nazi Germany.


sj

Beauty is in the software of the beholder....

I once blind-dated a Playboy Bunny.
Turned out she had the IQ of an actual bunny.

In my experience, "beautiful" women (and men) quite often seem to believe that their physical appearance entitles them to things they haven't earned and don't deserve -- things that less "beautiful" people have to work like hell for.
Being "cute" is their great contribution to humanity.

As you may surmise, that leaves me cold, to say the least.

The things I find "attractive" generally can't be seen on the outside.
Strength -- physical and moral.
Intelligence.
Integrity.
Those are things I find really "sexy."

But, hey, that's just me.


sj

Point of No Return

Lotsa Luck

Let’s suppose just for the moment that there really are bogeymen witches anarchists communists terrorists out to get us.

Of course that's bullshit.

But let's just suppose.

And let’s suppose just for the moment that it’s ok to have the Army come in, kick down their doors and grab them in the middle of the night, and whisk them away to some secret dungeon where they can be held forever, tortured until they confess to something, or just killed.

You know, just like the Nazis do in those old WWII movies?

Here's my question: What happens if they grab the wrong guy?

What if there are TWO guys named Joe Smith?

And what if they live in the same town?

And what if they are both about average height and weight, both married with two kids (a son and a daughter) and both drive a black Subaru.

But let's say Joe Smith the Terrorist has blue eyes and blonde hair, while Joe Smith the NON-terrorist has brown hair and brown eyes.

Don’t you think that Joe Smith the non-terrorist should have a right to go before a judge and show that he’s not the guy they’re looking for?

Shouldn’t the authorities have to prove they’ve got the right guy?

I mean, even if you don’t think an alleged “terrorist” deserves due process, what about the poor, completely innocent sap who gets picked up by mistake?

Are you going to argue that we should just "detain" (Newspeak for "kidnap and falsely imprison") everybody named Joe Smith, just to be on the "safe" side?

Or are you going to argue that the government – in this case, the military -- never makes a mistake?

Let me remind you that FUBAR, SNAFU, Charlie Foxtrot, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot are all terms that originated in the military. If you need further confirmation, talk to some veterans. You’ll discover that “military precision” is another oxymoron (from the Latin, meaning, “ a moron dumber than an ox”).

The NDAA doesn't just include the most vile and repugnant prima facie violation of the US Constitution since the Fugitive Slave Act.

It includes bits that, back home in Chicago, we would call "just plain fucking stupid."

What are you going to do about it?

sj

Now the "terrorist" is YOU

Dig THIS...

Very cool, man.


sj

A Hero's Tail

Note well that on those 50 trips carrying ammunition up the line and wounded Marines back down, she did this all on her own, without being led or "herded."

Some people just won't believe this.
They don't know much about courage.
They don't know much about loyalty.
In short, they don't know much about horses.


sj

Thanks to my friend, Dr. Sue, for sending this to me.

Truth.

Word.

The ONLY candidate speaking out against endless, pre-emptive war unconstitutionally fought at executive whim is Ron Paul.
He's out to end the Fed, dismantle the TSA, scrap the income tax, end the rapidly expanding fascist police state, and stop the phoney "war on terror."
That's right at the top of my list of things to do if I were president, myself.
I don't agree with all his ideas and I might fight him on a couple of things.
But ss far as I can tell, he's not the "best" candidate to vote for; he's the ONLY candidate to vote for.

I hope he stays out of small aircraft.

sj

Music, Music, Music....

Just finished a handful of new songs recently:

Color Blind - a dark tango, ode to a lady psychopath I once knew
There'd Be Some Changes Made - 1950's style Rockabilly protest song (check out the piano solo!)
Spanish Wine - dreamy, easy-listening "chanson de geste" with a touch of calypso
You Out-Played Me - uptempo jazz
On Wall Street - A political parody of the 60's Drifters classic "On Broadway"

You can listen to these tunes on reverbnation.com and also on facebook (look for the Spartacus Jones band page). Also on jango airplay if you're a subscriber. If you dig any of them, they're all available on CDbaby for a buck apiece.

I'm working on putting them up her on ye olde blogge,too, but apparently, anything after the longbow is too high-tech for me. Working on it.....

Meanwhile, if you're willing to do the internet gymnastics to give a listen, I'd be very grateful for any comments -- especially if you like them. :)

Thanks.


sj