Market Anarchist Blogs

I just learned that Today is Lysander Spooner's Birthday. If he were still alive he would be 198. Spooner was an amazing philosopher and activist. His writings covered everything from abolition to the illegitimacy of the state. He was a real renaissance man.

I have been intrigued by Spooner ever since I read his classic piece Vices Are Not Crimes. Take for instance the opening section
"Vices are those acts by which a man harms himself or his property.

Crimes are those acts by which one man harms the person or property of another.

Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons or property.

In vices, the very essence of crime --- that is, the design to injure the person or property of another --- is wanting.

It is a maxim of the law that there can be no crime without a criminal intent; that is, without the intent to invade the person or property of another. But no one ever practises a vice with any such criminal intent. He practises his vice for his own happiness solely, and not from any malice toward others.

Unless this clear distinction between vices and crimes be made and recognized by the laws, there can be on earth no such thing as individual right, liberty, or property; no such things as the right of one man to the control of his own person and property, and the corresponding and coequal rights of another man to the control of his own person and property.

For a government to declare a vice to be a crime, and to punish it as such, is an attempt to falsify the very nature of things. It is as absurd as it would be to declare truth to be falsehood, or falsehood truth."

Very simple yet very powerful. It's also pretty hard to argue. Some of the language might seem dated, but the arguments are clear enough to use in an everyday conversation. . .and that is an area where dissidents are lacking.

Our arguments and ideas often come off as being not only radical but ridiculous as well. We need to work on fine tuning our message in order to convey our ideas and break the statist mentality.

It is my opinion that reading and digesting Lysander Spooner is a step in the right direction.

I found this on the History News Network:

Wall St. Journal: Strip J. Edgar Hoover's name from FBI headquarters

Source: WSJ (1-10-06)

In the course of an editorial about congressional opposition to the administration's eavesdropping program, the WSJ recommends that what congress really should be doing is renaming the FBI building.

J. Edgar Hoover, the editorial states, was the worst public servant in US history.

Quoting from the editorial:

Eternal vigilance, it's been rightly said, is the price of liberty. But Americans are not well served by politicians in Washington who keep crying wolf over imagined violations of their civil rights.

The latest hysteria surrounds the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping of terror suspects. Congress is planning hearings, and even many usually sound legislators continue to question the White House. But it's become clear in the weeks since the story broke that Administrations of both parties as well as the courts have always held that warrants are not required for such intelligence gathering.

We'd also have an easier time taking our solons seriously if they'd ever demonstrated they understand what the real abuse of surveillance powers looks like. A good place to start would be stripping J. Edgar Hoover's name from FBI headquarters.

For at least 30 years, Congress has known full well that Hoover didn't serve nearly five decades as FBI director because he was indispensable, but because he'd amassed potentially embarrassing information on the elected leaders who might have wanted to remove him from his post. Hoover was also willing to use the FBI illegitimately to spy on the politically difficult likes of Martin Luther King Jr. It has even been suggested that Hoover engineered Lyndon Johnson's nomination for the Vice Presidency by threatening JFK with the revelation of his extramarital affairs. That Hoover's name continues to adorn FBI headquarters needlessly shames every one of the honest civil servants who report for work there on a daily basis.

But don't just take our word about Hoover. Ask federal judge Laurence Silberman, who as acting Attorney General in the 1970s was one of the few Americans to examine Hoover's files after his death and who, having served as an appeals judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, knows a thing or two about the use and abuse of executive power. Judge Silberman has described Hoover as a "sewer" and "the worst public servant in our history." Last summer we published an op-ed in which the judge elaborated on what he'd seen in those files, though no one in Congress seemed to pick up on it.

Contrast Hoover's abuses with the program the Bush Administration's critics have described. No one has found any evidence of any spying recently on anybody's domestic political enemies. Instead, the "controversial" NSA surveillance has been directed at people with unambiguous al Qaeda connections. Nor was it a secret in the sense of being hidden from other parts of government.

This is a rough draft of an article that I am working on for a friend's zine. I would appreciate comments, feedback, constructive criticism, etc. either through email or as a comment.

Sustainability, Mutual Aid, and Liberation
by Chris Lempa
8lempa8 (at) wildmail.com

“The mutual-aid tendency in humans has so remote an origin, and is so deeply interwoven with all the past evolution of the human race, that it has been maintained by mankind up to the present time, notwithstanding all vicissitudes of history.” - Peter Kropotkin, Mutual Aid

With New Orleans looking like Iraq it is now a good time to think about the rebuilding process. Initially I agreed with Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert that rebuilding the disaster prone area didn't make much sense, but I changed my mind. Done correctly New Orleans can become a model of sustainable development and Mutual Aid.

The first step would be to keep the Army Corps of Engineers as far away as possible. Ideally the Corps would be disbanded since they have caused much more harm than good. There are plenty of truly sustainable architecture and engineering firms that can replace this antiquated agency.

Next would be to invite community leaders, local entrepreneurs, architects, engineers and concerned citizens to draw up a comprehensive plan of their ideal city. The importance of wetlands as a natural barrier must be stressed. A November 1, 2005 BBC story reported that, “coastal scientists have been arguing for years that the re-engineering of the delta was leaving the population living there dangerously exposed to storm surges created by hurricanes.” (Katrina damage blamed on wetlands loss, Tim Hirsch, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4393852.stm) It is no coincidence that one of the most devastated areas, St. Bernard Parish, lies just south of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). The MRGO is a canal that drives “straight through an area of dense swampland, and local people have been campaigning for years to get it closed, claiming that it provided a "hurricane highway" which threatened the communities east of the city.” (ibid) As the Winter 2006 issue of the OnEarth Magazine reports, “wetlands help control floods, filter toxins and impurities from water, and support migratory birds. If Louisiana's coastal wetlands had remained intact, the devastation from Katrina would have been less severe.” (Paving Houston's Wetlands , Josh Harkinson, http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06win/frontlines4.asp) In other words, the loss of wetlands are responsible for much of the damage.

The importance of local wetlands would not be lost on those with a vested interest in the community. Local entrepreneurs, community leaders, etc., have more of a natural interest in a soundly rebuilt New Orleans. This only makes sense considering that they would not only be involved in commerce, they would also be living there. Of course it would also make sense to look at new, innovative forms of architecture. While there is something to be said about the beauty of Victorian and Baroque architecture, it is very likely that other forms are more suitable for the Gulf Coast's natural environment. Since some areas need to be completely rebuilt, it only makes sense to look at new, cutting edge, forms of architecture, commerce, etc. To assure that this process is completed as efficiently as possible, various firms should be allowed to submit designs and bids. This process needs to be completely transparent and open. This is a critical issue and cannot be stressed enough.

Aside from sustainable development, Mutual Aid Organizations (MAOs) must also play a critical role. In a brilliant article written shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit Trevor Simons explained that it is essential to have MAOs set up so that we are not relying on bureaucracies for help when disaster strikes.

I could paraphrase Simons or explain the theories of mutual aid, but I feel that it would be best to quote Simons at length.
We must organize grassroots evacuation, reconstruction and medic teams, prepared to respond to potential disasters in our communities. We must foster the values of mutual aid and independence from the state when these disasters strike.
We should have networks between communities in case of evacuation: housing, food, medical supplies and clean water should be a phone call away. We can work with existing neighborhood, community, religious organizations and schools where possible. Trainings should be held for basic first aid certification and street medic skills. Lists of available shelters and resources should be made available in ever community. If evacuation is necessary, familiar places should be used for meeting to arrange carpools, or if arrangements can be made, buses. (Katrina is Our Failure, Too, Trevor Simons, http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=72&ItemID;=8676)
In other words we must rely on ourselves and our communities to prepare and recoup after disasters, both natural and human-made. MAOs will vary from community to community based on the varying needs. They will also be able to help out in neighboring communities when necessary. A network of MAOs will be much more efficient that relying on the federal government or profit seeking corporations.

MAOs will not function flawlessly, especially at first, but they are an innovative solution to common everyday problems. An example that a lot of people can relate to is the volunteer fire department. This is an example of an MAO-style organization. The way each MAO runs will differ based on those involved and the needs of those they serve, but there basic role will be similar to volunteer fire departments which play a crucial role in so many towns throughout the country. The Independent Institute,, a free market think tank, published a book called the Voluntary City (http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=17). This book discusses MAOs that deal with various aspects of everyday life. While the ideas may differ from my ideal, it represents the range of ideas and possibilities surrounding the idea of a Mutual Aid based society.

This is not an ideological or political issue, nor is it limited to New Orleans and other “disaster prone” areas. Sustainability and Mutual Aid can - and more importantly should - be incorporated into our everyday lives. These two steps will help us liberate ourselves from the oppressive forces within society.

A favorite pastime of mine is to insert random statements into a conversation. These are generally off topic blurbs that are meant to be offensive, or at the very least to catch people off guard. I don't do this to be a jerk, but rather to see how people react. It's actually pretty fun.

Tonight I was at the coffee shop with Rachel and some friends when some random character came up to our table. I've seen this guy around - we'll call him JimBo - but I didn't really know, however based on the interaction it appeared that Rachel might have. JimBo began talking to her and I quickly inquired if he was hitting on my girlfriend. He looked stunned and just continued talking. JimBo then mentioned that he had seen Rachel somewhere. I snapped and demanded to know why he was stalking her.

JimBo was perplexed. He then asked what I was talking about. Instead of answering him I offered him a cookie.

Ridiculous but fun.

Today I filled out this email survey. The questions were really lame, but I must admit that I enjoyed it. Partially because it gave me a venue to talk about myself, but I also learned somethings about myself. For instance, I learned that whether or not I untie my shoes before I take them off depends on which shoes I'm wearing. I also learned that my favorite ice cream is butter pecan.

Of course I already knew these things, but I suppose that's besides the point. As dumb and ridiculous as the survey was, it was a moment to be silly. The venue allowed me to give silly, rude, and lewd answers without worryng about offending people.

I enjoyed it. In fact, I'm willing to wager that I enjoyed it more than you enjoyed reading this post.

Those that know me will agree that I'm not the most festive person in town. While it's true that I co-hosted a (War on) Christmas Party, the winter holiday season is far from my favorite time of the year. I especially dislike the New Year holiday. It's not that I mind the changing of the year, I just don't understand why it's celebrated with such fervor.

The most irritating aspect of the New Year are the resolutions. How many people actually take these things seriously? I can think of two resolutions that I have personally kept. The first one stems back to 1992 or thereabout. I made the striking proclamation that I, Christopher Alan Lempa, was never again going to eat brussel sprouts. The second resolution that I managed to keep was made in 1998. That was the year that I made a very important decision - to become a vegetarian.

Aside from those two, I can't think of a single resolution that I have kept, or made for that matter. Taking that into account I have decided to make a list of resolutions that I plan on keeping.

Without further adieu:
1) I have smashed my rose colored glasses, especially when it comes to employers. I will no longer give situations the benefit of the doubt solely because I have something to gain from it. My prime example, currently, is in the realm of employment, but this extends further.

and

2) Follow through with projects! I have started quite a few projects that for one reason or another haven't been able to finish. I really need to stop this in order to advance myself professionally and personally.

Now that I think about it, I did recently eat brussel sprouts. Thanks Rachel.