More Government Welfare, Brought To You By The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates in a bid to prove that Congress isn't the only game in town who can rob from Peter to pay Paul. Whereas Congress takes money out of your pocket and transfers it to other people deemed more deserving than you, the Federal Reserve's tactics diminish the value of what little you keep so as to shower other people with borrowed paper. Even worse, the recipients of the Fed's welfare are not the poor or the squalid, so any sentimental pretext for robbery is absent here. Responsible citizens who save their money are taking it on the chin, while the profligates are receiving insulation from their foolish choices. Is it any wonder that America is sliding from pre-eminence when its (nominal) government punishes excellence and rewards failure?

If there's a silver lining in all this lunacy, it's that our rulers cannot violate the laws of economics, even though they get away with violating the Constitution. No matter how stubbornly they cling to their hoary Keynesian theories, they cannot conjure prosperity out of debt-ridden spending, and it will be a joy to watch them scrabble around in vain to bail out their Wall Street buddies. They will continue with the formula that got them where they are, and when that formula inevitably fails, they will surely place the blame on the "free market" and call for even greater controls over our lives. One transgression begets another, ad infinitum.

Assuming I'm wrong, and the combined fiscal and monetary policies do their job, it still does nothing to justify the blatant social engineering at play here. Government's job in a free society is to enforce the rules of the game for everyone, just as a neutral referee would, not to get onto the field of play and award points to one side or another. The ability to succeed necessarily entails the ability to fail, and to the extent that government intervenes in our lives to prevent the latter, it most certainly cripples the former. What if I don't want to spend my money on plasma television sets or new cars? What if I get joy out of hoarding my money and just watching it grow? If that's how I choose to pursue happiness, then it is government's duty to protect me while I do so -- not bludgeon me into acting as it counsels. By stepping in and preventing the failure of others, the Tumor is simultaneously preventing my success.

Only Now Do They Understand (Sort Of)

It looks as though someone at lewrockwell.com has finally come around to my position that the only hope for preserving American civilization is to dissolve or disregard the Tumor. Of course, this realization surfaces now that their hero Ron Paul is fizzling in the primaries, but I've grown accustomed to my role as the ignored prophet -- Noah and Cassandra are my kinfolk.

The author of the article does commit one monumental error in his analysis, as follows:

Realistically, then, most people and the individual states do not today challenge the authority of the Constitution. They accept the U.S.A. as a legal entity. Under that condition, dissolving the U.S.A. requires a certain degree of legal maneuvering, although the secession route is still a viable option that can be exercised at any time and with justification.

When will they ever learn? Rejecting the Union does not require rejecting the Constitution, but rather honoring it. The Union and the Constitution have grown utterly irreconcilable. We must harness people's reverence for the Constitution and use it to pull away from a bastardized system of government that has no relationship to its ostensible father. There is no need to assault both.

Unfortunately, the prevailing mindset at lewrockwell.com really does dislike the Constitution and often scorns it, thereby declaring war on popular sentiment. This overly-intellectualized approach fails to appreciate that society needs its heroes and its founding "mythology," and America cannot survive without a spiritual anchor to the Founders and the Great Charter they bequeathed us. Like the leftists, however, many lewrockwellites believe that intellect alone can sustain a civilization, but there is no basis in history for this conclusion.

Back To Reality

A couple of sobering facts have come to light in the past several hours.

First, the story about the Lakota's secession was more the result of bad reporting than a groundswell of refreshing rebelliousness. It appears after all that the soul of independence and liberty has not yet found a communal incarnation, but rather soldiers on in the hearts of scattered individuals.

Second, Ron Paul didn't make a dent in the Iowa caucuses, driving home my point that there is no place in today's mainstream politics for constitutional fidelity.

In short, we're back to square one. Most Americans want their unlawful government, and they're going to get it good and hard. Escape cannot be accomplished by trying to persuade them of their folly; instead, the few of us who want to keep the flame of liberty alive must politely decline to play their game. This government is not my government, it is theirs. Let them elect the empty suit who will steal and murder on their behalf -- the rest of us should concentrate on how to make them keep it to themselves rather than inflict their psychopathy on us.

Great News!

The Lakota (a.k.a. Sioux) have announced their intent to withdraw from United States' jurisdiction, proving that they possess the intestinal fortitude that most of today's palefaces lack.

I've long feared that secession would be unlikely because community identity has been so thoroughly pulverized by relentless federal abuse and intervention, leaving behind de-racinated drones such as Economic Man. But it's refreshing to see that a reservoir of true manliness remains in this country, and among a people whom the Tumor has treated more brutally than any other. The Lakota know, as we should, that the Tumor poses a mortal threat to both us and our posterity. We should follow their example . . . that is, if we can ever cobble together a community of people whose allegiance is to something higher than the almighty dollar.