Fuck Sin Taxes

Normally I am more eloquent in my expression of my dislike for big government, but profanity is pretty much the only way I can concisely describe my dislike for what statists refer to as "sin taxes."  To all of you fundie yokels who want to tax alcohol out of existence: fuck you.  To all of you latte liberals who want to tax tobacco out of existence: fuck you.  To all of you middle American moderates who want to put "common sense" taxes on everything that offends your low moral standards: fuck you.

Sin taxes are an embodiment of everything wrong with American politics: the idea that if 51% of people personally dislike something, they have every right to use the state to force the other 49% to stop doing that something.

They are the scion of an unholy alliance between two enemies of freedom: the red state fascist Christian theocrats and the SWPL/Jewish liberal totalitarians.  In other words, they are the natural product of centrism and bipartisanship and the combination of both forms of statism that are fucking up America.

In particular, support for alcohol taxes always gets me.  In most non-Islamic cultures, alcohol plays an important role.  Alcohol was independently developed by by countless cultures.  Even the Indians of the Amazon rainforest make drinks from fermented manioc.  Yet, in both the "liberty-loving" red states and the "personal freedom-supporting" blue states of America no one bats an eye if a state doubles the tax on alcohol.

The fact that Christian fundamentalists/evangelicals/conservatives are so vocal in their support for sin taxes, especially on alcohol is surprising considering that Jesus was the ultimate bartender.  Do any of them remember the part in the Book of John where he transmuted water to wine?  If God is against alcohol consumption, as megachurch preachers blather whenever petty tyrants state legislators consider raising taxes on alcohol, why was his own Son was a miraculous vintner?

Liberals also put their hypocrisy on full display with regard to sin taxes.  Any libertarians who are stupid enough to believe liberals when they say they are in favor of "personal freedoms" and "pro-choice" should take a look at the liberal record when it comes to sin taxes.  For example, while they support marijuana legalization, they want to heavily tax it.

They have no problem with putting enough taxes on cigarettes to the point where the taxes cost more than the tobacco, ostensibly because of the public health hazard of tobacco.  The claimed public health hazards of smoking have always struck me as overblown.  I remember when my great-aunt died, her death certificate listed smoking as the cause of death even though she was in her 80s and in poor health all around.  I wonder how many other "smoking-related deaths" were like hers.  In 21st century America, doctors apparently don't think that people can die of old age anymore.

They even support putting special taxes on the use of indoor tanning.  As with tobacco, they claim this is due to the health hazards of their use.  (An alternate explanation is that feminists hate tanning salons because they make women more attractive and, as Rush says, "feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society." Thus, anything that makes women more attractive to men, including tanning, breast implants, and make-up is verboten according to feminists and manginas.)

The mental disorder called liberalism, with its support for socialism, abortion, illegal immigrants, and coddling criminals, is certainly a public health hazard that has led to far more human deaths than smoking ever will.  A tax on liberals would probably do more to save lives than a tax on cigarettes.

What sin tax proponents, both left and right, fail to realize is that it is not merely the use of tobacco, alcohol, and/or tanning that causes health problems, it is the excessive use.  If you socially smoke you probably won't get lung cancer, but if you smoke three packs a day from age 18 to 60 you probably will.  If you drink alcohol at a bar every Friday night, you probably won't develop health problems (instead your health will probably benefit), but if you chug a 12-pack of beer every night you will probably develop them.  If you use a tanning bed prior to your vacation to Hawaii you probably won't develop skin cancer, but if you use them weekly for fifty years, you might.

Proponents of sin taxes do not understand the concept of moderation.  They don't understand that many people who partake in "sinful" things such as alcohol are not compulsive or habitual users.  True, some people abuse alchol, tobacco, etc., but why should the vast majority of people capable of self-control be punished for the high time preference of a few people?  Those people will be punished for their lack of personal responsibility in due time.  There's no need to tax everyone else for it.

Happy St. Martin's Day!

Every Martin Luther King Day, we are treated to the same spectacle of the media and politicians - both Democrat and Republican - venerating America's most popular communist, adulterer, and plagiarist.  It's embarrassing that so many whites worship the man who destroyed America.

I wouldn't be surprised if within a few decades "Dr." Martin Luther King, Jr. is canonized by a major church.  The only question is, which denomination will be the first to do so?

Mainstream Conservative Organization Defends American Renaissance

When the media, including "conservative" Fox News, was promoting the claim that Jared Loughner had ties to American Renaissance, the conservative media watchdog organization Accuracy in Media stepped in to refute their claims.

What's interesting about this is the language that AIM used to describe Amren.  Normally conservatives parrot liberals and label such organizations as racist, white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and/or anti-Semitic.  Instead, AIM referred to Amren as a "conservative publication" and described it as "on the right side of the political spectrum and is politically incorrect because of its criticism of racial preference and “diversity” programs and immigration policies that weaken the strength of a country."

This is a nice development, but I'm still not holding my breath for the Tea Party movement to come to its senses on racial issues.

Incendiary Rhetoric

I find it amusing that the same people who call libertarians and conservatives who oppose Obama "tea baggers" are now complaining about the use of incendiary rhetoric in politics.

A Primer on Gun Terms for Liberals and Reporters

Whenever there is a mass shooting, the media, the gun control lobby, and liberals in general howl about our nation's "lax gun laws."  In doing so, they usually reveal themselves to be ignorant of basic gun terms.  For example, they might whine about the fact that semi-automatic handguns are freely available, without realizing that most handguns today are semi-automatic, or they might claim that AK-47s are legally available for purchase in America, failing to note that the version available is not the one that most people think of when they hear "AK-47."

So, I've created a helpful little primer for liberals and reporters (or do I repeat myself) who don't know anything about guns except that they are used by creepy tea bagging racist rednecks in flyover country.

Automatic firearm: A gun that fires and reloads automatically as long as the trigger is held down.  Purchasing or transferring one in the United States is a highly regulated, difficult, and long process.

Semi-automatic firearm: A gun in that reloads automatically, but requires the trigger to be pulled to fire one bullet.  Semi-automatic handguns and rifles are extremely common today.  Most handguns are semi-automatic, although non-semi-automatic bolt-action rifles are still popular amongst snipers and hunters.

Assault rifle: A rifle with switch allowing it to fire either automatically, semi-automatically, or in bursts (2 or 3 bullets per one pull of the trigger).

Assault weapon: A word used by politicians to refer to "scary" looking semi-automatic weapons with "scary" looking features including bayonet mounts, pistol grips, large magazines, and barrel shrouds (which are not, as Carolyn McCarthy claimed, "a shoulder thing that goes up").

AK-47: A Soviet-designed assault rifle used for over sixty years by dozens of militaries, police forces, paramilitaries, and terrorists.  AK-47s capable of automatic fire are very difficult to purchase in the US.  Buying one or any other fully automatic weapon requires a tax stamp and much paperwork.  Semi-automatic versions, which have less power than the typical hunting rifle, are as legal as any other semi-automatic rifle.

The Media Smears American Renaissance

Jared Loughner, the man who attacked Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' political event in Tuscon, lacks any coherent political ideology, but that hasn't stopped liberals from tarring him as a right-winger.  Now that the liberal media has exhausted the claims that he was inspired by Sarah Palin or Ron Paul, they are attempting to tie him to American Renaissance (Amren), Jared Taylor's organization dedicated to supporting the insterests of white Americans, limiting immigration, preserving traditional America, and openly discussing issues such as race and crime and intelligence.

This AP "news" story is typical of the media's current smearing of Amren:

Probe examines possible link to anti-gov't group

WASHINGTON (AP) — An official familiar with the Arizona shooting investigation says local authorities are looking at a possible connection between Jared Loughner and an online group known for its anti-government rhetoric.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, says this is one of several motives that local authorities are pursuing in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

So the story is entirely based on the the information provided by one anonymous sourc?  So much for writing stories with multiple reliable sources.  If you go to a journalism school, you're just wasting $40,000 to learn modern-day yellow journalism.

The anti-government organization American Renaissance is connected to the white supremacist New Century Foundation, according to an analysis by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based group that tracks hate crimes.

I was wrong.  The story isn't just based on one anonymous source.  It's based off of information provided by an anonymous source and a liberal fundraising scam the completely reliable and unbiased SPLC.  No liberal article discussing right-wing organizations is complete without a reference to the SPLC.  The liberal media quotes the SPLC like a Baptist preacher quotes the Bible.

As a libertarian, I have nothing against anti-government organizations, but American Renaissance is not one.  While most of its members are paleocons or iconoclastic libertarians, the organization itself exists to advocate for white Americans.  That does not make it inherently anti-government.

Calling the New Century Foundation "white supremacist" is simply slanderous.  If advocating for white Americans makes an organization racist, then are black advocacy groups such as the NAACP "black supremacists?"  Considering that the people who are affiliated with it tend to acknowledge that East Asians have higher IQs than Europeans, perhaps calling NCF a "yellow supremacist organization" would make more sense.

Members typically espouse anti-Semitic and anti-government views.

This is the problem with journalists.  They think that just by talking to some "sources," they become experts in everything.  Jared Taylor is pretty philo-Semitic.  He welcomes Jews to Amren conferences, even having Jewish speakers in the past.  Amren focuses on race, not Judaism.  The anti-Semite accusation is just more evidence that the anonymous journalist who wrote this AP hit piece failed to do much more research than visiting www.splcenter.org.

And why is anti-government such a pejorative term?  What's wrong about hating the thieves who take a third of your income to give to corporate supplicants, the military-industrial complex, and the lumpen?

Also, note the connotations the "reporter" is invoking.  When people think of organizations "espous[ing] anti-Semitic and anti-government views," they think of guys in Idaho marching around in SA regalia or gun-loving militiamen in the Ozarks.  American Renaissance conferences, however, consist of men in suits listening to academics and writers.

Loughner's online postings include language that is in line with such beliefs.

Loughner was a fan of The Communist Manifesto.  I wonder when the AP will write articles about anonymous sources claiming that he is affiliated with the Communist Party USA?

"News" articles like this are what make me elated whenever I read about the decay and impending end of the Old Media.