Taxi Drivers are Mining for Coal

Taxi drivers are now mining coal! I wonder if Uber will come up with an app for that?

"Some coal storage facilities have had to shop from supermarkets."

People are resorting to burning garbage.

And, of course, by-law enforcement is now involved,

"The city, meanwhile, is sending patrols to check on the places they know are popular with miners." (will Uber miners be exempt?)

"We are also spending more money on the sand we use to fill in the holes."

If this were just another Monty Python skit, it would be piss-pants funny, but it's the reality of what happens when governments create crises to "prevent" crises. JUST like they did with COVID.

It's all just another example of the unintended consequences of expecting politicians to come up with "solutions."

Climate idiocy-caused energy crisis revives illegal backyard coal mining in Poland:

"Coal is as little as a meter below the surface in fields, recreation areas and even gardens. Four men can unearth a ton per hour & make $220 each for half a day’s work."https://t.co/kwgy8wmR8Q

— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) November 28, 2022

And now this:

Washington Post Tells Americans To EAT BUGS As They Can No Longer Afford Traditional Seasonal Dinners

Pay With Cash

Correction:

December 20, 2022

In the following essay, I reported that I had not received a refund from GiveSendGo. This was incorrect. Upon check through my credit card statements, I was able to confirn that I had received a refund on March 26, 2022. My apologies to GiveSendGo for this disinformation.

At first, I embedded this video at the bottom of this rant. Then I decided, it's so good that it belongs at the top. Brand used to irritate me, but lately, he has been bang on.

From before.

I noticed that the Russell Brand clip was, inexplicably, spliced out of the Tucker stream, so I googled it and found his rant from three weeks ago. This might be the one.

Maybe it was because I was in the cab business that I could see what was coming so easily. It started around 25 years ago when the credit card companies prevented me from buying good-tasting American cigarettes from Switzerland. I had read about how the U.S. government was strong-arming credit card companies to stop processing internet tobacco sales. When it happened to me, I knew why.

It started with tobacco, but how much of a fool do you have to be to have thought it would end there? Now it's plastic bags, meat, and road space. Oh! And I almost forgot about the lockdowns, masks, and vaccinations. 

All were incremental steps toward transferring, even the most basic human choices, to government officials.

They even prescribed the number of guests you could have over for Christmas. Do you remember that? Or has it gone down the same memory hole that has been replaced by, "No one ever said that the vaccines would stop infections and prevent transmission!" Like pre-2020 vaccines did.

Then there was the push toward computerizing taxicab dispatch, along with GPS tracking. Followed by the mandatory cameras. I felt each turn of the screw.

It's like assembling a jig-saw puzzle. A very easy one. The final picture is crystal clear.  Add a dash of authoritarian collectivism, our dominant political fashion, and you don't even have to do any work. The pieces all fall nicely into place.

Then there was the problem I had getting a sticker when I bought an ex taxi Crown Vic, because my insurance policy was not showing up on the IBC COMPUTER! Even though I had bona fide coverage AND a fucking pink slip.

The IBC link is gone? I wonder what that is about? Try this one.

I argued with the girl behind the counter and even got angry with her, until she pointed out that she had no control of the situation. Until the policy showed up in the database, the printer would NOT spit out the permit.

At which point, I envisioned myself arguing with the order taker at a McDonald's restaurant, trying to explain to me that there was no way she could process my order for a quarter pounder with cheese combo, because I had already exceeded my monthly beef quota. "It's to save the planet," she would cheerfully remind me.

I'm hearing that a lot lately when I ask for a bag in the grocery checkout line.

Finally, there was the freezing of the GoFundMe account for the trucker convoy. I had not made a donation, but when the devious fuckers froze the trucker's account, I searched for another platform and found GiveSendGo. I sent them $10 U.S.

That too was frozen, and as of today, it still hasn't been refunded.

And, yes, that sleazy c*nt of a liberal leftist "thought influencer," Dean Blundell, published the hacked list of all the GiveSendGo donors on his website.

His sleazy act, which he deleted a short while later, did not displease me. It was a gift. It was a public demonstration of just how low these leftists will go to crush those who oppose them. And since the Dean Blundells of the world are now deeply entrenched in all of the power centers, do you still think Biden won the 2020 election?

Keep in mind the fact that most voters don't know what the fuck they are doing, and that the political machinery know this, and uses it, to frame its message.

So, yes, Central Bank Digital Currencies represent a grave threat to that remnant of the population who still value their privacy, and their freedom.

...

Other stuff.

The media & excess deaths: Disgracefully complicit by their silence. pic.twitter.com/zMq5EjgWg5

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) November 26, 2022

Yes.

One thing I am also finding strange, is how Statistics Canada seems to be dragging their feet now in presenting the charts for all-cause mortality in Canada. Their charts have not been updated since July, 2022. I don't recall them being so slow in the past. I have been particiularly interested in the mortality stats, since the COVID response, for people in the 0 to 44 year age bracket.

Died Suddenly

Child labour banned, except when mandated by government

Government is evil.

October 5, 2009

It doesn't matter anymore where you choose to look. As government grows, its true nature becomes easier and easier to see.

In addition to their warm embrace of formerly illegal numbers rackets, our governments are engaged in wholesale theft, deceit, extortion, blackmail, kidnapping, intimidation, expropriation, property destruction and murder.

Whenever a private citizen engages in any of the above, we call him a criminal.

But if any of the above are committed by legislators, cops, judges, jailers, by-law inspectors, children's aid workers, revenue agents, bomber pilots or, now, high school principals, we don't bat an eye.

Why is that, I wonder?

More to the point, how does a nation, or an entire civilization, of, for the most part, decent and peaceful people, who would not think of engaging in theft, intimidation or murder, come to accept the day-to-day application of these methods by the institution they have been led to believe works for them?

If you are not Michael Moore, let me ask you this:

Between the evil institution of capitalism (exchange) and the touchy, feely, warm and cuddly institution of government (coercion,) if you had to err on the side of caution, who in your mind would most closely be associated with the following traits:

"Theft, deceit, extortion, blackmail, kidnapping, intimidation, expropriation, property destruction and murder."

Walmart? Canadian Tire? Exxon? Or government?

Well, the first question I would ask is who, generally, has the guns?

One gets in your face with advertising and shelves full of products you can choose, or choose not, to buy, at prices which seem, perhaps surprisingly, to fluctuate. The other gets in your face, and whether you like it or not, you pay, or else. And prices that never fluctuate. They just keep going up.

Now. To another aspect of the symptoms of government cancer.

The Ontario Ministry of Education and Training is now blackmailing our children into involuntary servitude.

Community Involvement Activities As part of the diploma requirements, students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement activities. These activities may be completed at any time during their years in the secondary school program.

Ministry of Education and Training

The state, through its education monopoly, is mandating compassion. "Be kind, or else we'll try to ruin your life!" That makes me feel all touchy and feely. Does it do the same for you?

I found this on the Midland, Ontario, Secondary School site.

Italics mine.

Community Involvement—Diploma Requirements

Student's must complete 40 hours of community involvement. This requirement is to encourage students to develop awareness and understanding of civic responsibility and the role they can play in their communities. Wear a mask. Get vaccinated. Trust the "science."

Well, who could object to that? What could possibly be wrong with the government education monopoly taking an interest in the kid's civic responsibilities and the role they can play? Especially when it comes to brainwashing them into believing that a government monopoly in education is a good thing.

Students, in collaboration with their parent(s)/guardian(s), (the parents are to be co-opted into this scheme!, are responsible for selecting volunteer activities from the "Eligible Activity List".

Eligible Activity List? That means anything that reflects the official government line? Could there be a political or organized labour stink to "eligible activities? See below.

Students, their parent(s)/guardian(s) have the responsibility for completing the "Completion of Community Involvement Activities" form and handing these in to the school as required. They are also to ensure that the corresponding, total number of hours is recorded correctly on the student’s report card.

Yeah, just another mutation of the income tax form. Students and their parents have the responsibility blah, blah, and the total numbers *must* be recorded correctly. Or what? Or else. More government stink.

Community Involvement Eligible Activity List

This should be good.

Eligible activities must be without pay, outside class time, and not part of a course requirement, such as job shadowing, co-op or work experience. However, an acceptable activity that takes place during a student’s lunch break or spare periods is acceptable.

"Acceptable activity," reminds me of Ayn Rand, "Acceptable to whom and for what?" Without pay? Is work done without pay "acceptable," to the slave?

The SCDSB in consultation with School Councils, the Special Education Advisory Committee and Ontario School Board’s Insurance Exchange (OSBIE) approve the activities listed below:

Whew! All of those councils, committees and exchanges. Isn't it comforting to know we have all of these strangers, who most of us have never even heard of, that have so much influence on whether our children shall be *permitted* to graduate?

And now, drumroll to the list!

Assistance to seniors;

I like this one. Seniors—I am almost (now) one myself. Seniors are a class of citizen in our welfare state system who has been granted a form of political status. They are people who have been lucky enough to live long enough to become seniors. Those of us who are lesser citizens must now bow down to them and hope we shall be blessed with a lifelong enough to allow us to indulge in a similar state of mandated privileges.

Personally, if and when I reach that magic age, I won't be the one asking the hapless and starving cab driver for my legally mandated "seniors discount."

Well, maybe some day we will become so advanced that we will be able to identify those among us who won't live long enough to be seniors and they will be able to benefit from some mandatory "service," or handout.

Personally, if my kids have to submit to this insulting mandate in order to graduate I will do everything I can to find an "acceptable," activity which subtly, or not, drives home to them the fact that they have a right to be here, and the right to learn, regardless of whether their curiosity leads them in a direction "acceptable," to some anonymous group of committees.

I know! For the seniors part of the program, I will ask my kids to escort senior smokers outside of their government regulated nursing homes and to make sure they don't slip on ice and die of exposure to the second hand elements of nature.

Environmental projects;

Environmental projects? Would an essay on the Global Warming scam qualify as an "Acceptable Activity?"

Working with charitable and service organizations;

Like ACORN? Antifa? BLM? They could learn to smash windows, burn cars, and beat the shit out of people.

Community sports and recreation activities;

Is this the way out for them? Just join a basketball team or something?

Specific school-related activities;

None were specified. Though, after viewing some recent You-Tube videos, perhaps this activities might include writing a prayer to Obama.

Community activities;

This one seems pretty open. If my kids attend a Tea Party demonstration, would that count?

Working in health facilities.

My choice here would be to get them into some kind of program where they help people to start smoking. After all, it is well known that smokers, despite their cost to society, tend to die off faster and save tons of money in the form of old age pensions and chronic care.

Yep, it sure makes me feel good that I am being progressively relieved of the burden of making decisions.

What Was I Saying in 2009?

We are about to be skewered

November 5, 2009

Al Gore and his allies become fabulously rich on the global warming hoax.

The carbon trading scam is no different from the taxi licensing scam at work in Hamilton and most other cities.

In Hamilton, if you want to operate your own cab, you have to either purchase a license for upwards of $200,000 or lease one for what has just gone up to $14,000 a year. Greed is good. In a free market. It gets downright ugly where there is a large government footprint that isn't subject to the discipline of laissez-faire competition.

Whatever happened to the "right" to earn a living?

I own one of these licenses. I know how this system works. It's a government sponsored scam to rip off the public and to rip off the poor drivers. I would like to see this system reformed, but not in such a way that those who made a huge investment of time and/or money in the existing regime are wiped out overnight. I.E. people like me. Sorry, Ejaz, but I am too old to start over again.

The damage done locally by restrictive taxi licensing is nothing but a ripple compared to the damage that will be done by Cap and Trade. Cap and Trade is an international taxi licensing scam with this difference; instead of buying or leasing a taxi "plate," you will have to buy carbon credits to run just about any business you can think of.

Imagine you want to sell burgers out of a trailer? Well, burgers contribute to global warming. You will have to buy credits. You might even get a "plate" you can attach to your trailer with a sticker showing your quota of carbon credits, along with an expiry date.

A trailer burger operation is about all you will be thinking about because carbon intense industrial activities will go to someplace where they don't have to buy "carbon credits," like India or China.

Duh! Who'd've thunk?

Western labour unions have already made China the largest steel producer in the world! Who could not have seen that coming? Don't you just love how much unions have done to help "working people?" In China! Now, the working people our unions have "helped," are serving burgers and fries to customers who have borrowed the money from the Chinese.

Comic Interlude
---------------

Brought to you by none other than the famous Blueline cab driver, Spaceman.

"How do the monkeys in Africa fight each other?

"They use Gorilla warfare."

Second Comic Interlude
Don't you just love how much unions have done to help "working people?" In China. Now the working people our unions have "helped," are serving burgers and fries to customers who have borrowed the money from the Chinese.

Who will you be buying these carbon credits from?

People like Al Gore and Goldman Sachs. Enron wanted some of this action too.

Gore is the one whose movie has been brainwashing your children with the help of the public education system, to scare the hell out of your kids and butter them up for unquestioning acceptance of what is coming straight at them; a big green bulldozer. Public education has a very large government footprint. They will be telling their grandkids stories like, "Yep, when I was knee high to a grasshopper, we were actually allowed to keep our lights on past eight o'clock!" Those young eyes will be glowing with disbelief.

One in eight or so American kids reportedly have been traumatized by Gore's advertising campaign. They think the world is going to end. If global warming *is* a grand hoax to make certain people rich, do not forget how it's promoters chose to exploit and frighten our children to further their agenda. How low will they go? Are we looking into the face of evil? Or am I just crazy?

Man, this is so hilarious. An entire civilization committing mass suicide. I must be crazy.

There are other goodies in Cap and Trade too. Don't forget, Dalton is bringing this abominable scheme to Ontario. We will have enforcement officers in every city with the power to come into your home an make sure it has a low carbon footprint. How do you like that idea?

And if they find anything that is substandard they will have the power to compel you to spend the money to fix it. And if you DON'T fix it within the prescribed time, you will be deemed to be occupying your own home illegally.

Smart meters anyone?

How about computer chips in your garbage cans as in the UK?

Are you READY for GREEN HELL?

Are you angry yet????

Who'd've thunk?

July 20, 2009

"Perhaps the biggest impact on the Earth's climate over time has been the sun."

Duh? Who'd've thunk?!

I just want to emphasize a few quotes from the article that has since disappeared from the web,

"But without government action on climate change, some business analysts say green companies backed by KPCB are either unlikely to be profitable or that their growth will be slow."

"Companies in the KPCB portfolio, as start-up companies, might be in greater need of a helping hand from government policy changes, but the larger, more established firms in the GIM portfolio also could benefit if the government manipulates the current market by mandating alternative fuels or imposing a cap and trade system."

"It would be very helpful if you have government initiative. Without it, it will take longer for these to be economically viable,"

"Wind power, solar and biofuels all operate on tax subsidies or purchase requirements," Ely told Cybercast News Service. "The government stimulates demand. The most notorious subsidy is the 51 cent gas credit for ethanol."

(italics mine)

Yep, the Government stimulates demand. Even our local government has got into the game of "stimulating demand," by forcing all licensed cab drivers to take a ridiculous "Skills and Service Training Program," for cab drivers which, has already forced 1400 cab drivers to waste at least $130 and at least 11,200 hours on this legislated "stimulus."

The school teaches nothing of value to experienced cab drivers. Even new rookie drivers will walk out of this program with almost no practical knowledge of the job they are about to perform. (Ok, drivers will have been advised to be nice to their customers and immigrants will have been advised of making "eye contact." - is that worth 8 hours and $130?)

Based on those numbers, the school has already earned 1,400 X $130 = $182,000 from just the first module of the course. After all three modules have been completed, the school will have grossed about $546,000, all of which shall have been sucked from the pockets of people, most of whom, earn about half the Ontario minimum wage.

Yep, and if we could stimulate the prosthetics industry by cutting off people's hands or gouging out their eyes, maybe KPCB could make some money from that too.

One of the wonderful things about capitalism is that it forces business to expend its efforts on providing goods and services desired by consumers who vote with their dollars.

As government cancer continues to spread, the value of those consumer dollar votes continues to shrink (in more ways than one,) as business reorients itself to being politically driven rather than consumer driven.

We, the people, are being seriously ripped off.

But if the sun shuts down, we've got a problem. It is the sun, not the Earth, that's hanging in the balance.

My Theory

July 13, 2009

It's a simple theory. Capitalism, for one reason or another, comes to be the prevailing economic order.

It results in unprecedented wealth creation.

The wealth created is not equally distributed.

My knowledge of history is spotty at best but tell me something, back in say the tenth century, would there have been much discussion about socialized medicine, public housing, government pensions, "free" education and so on?

I kinda doubt it.

Well, once material wealth abounds, so do socialists. They see their role instead as making use of their social conscience. The coercive power of the state is the only way their social conscience can be realized. So the socialists get into politics and try to reallocate wealth along the lines of their own deep compassion.

And then you get democracy. Mob rule. Two wolves and a sheep voting on the dinner menu, not realizing they are all cooked now.

Anyway, enough of my feeble ranting. I am getting too old for this shit. Here is the content of an email I got from a friend. The title is "TOMBSTONE---A MUST SEE." An image of a tombstone with the inscription:

---

United States of America
Born: July 4, 1776
Died: Nov 4, 2008
SUICIDE

and here is the text

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the Presidential election:

• Number of States won by: Democrats:19 Republicans: 29
• Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000
• Population of counties won by: Democrats:127 million Republicans: 143 million
• Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.

Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals, and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

the message goes on to say,

If you are in favour of this, then by all means, delete this message.

If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

---

I think this message is very much half true. The part I don't like is the way it suggests the Republican Party is the way out of this mess. They have had their chances and failed repeatedly.

Nor do I believe the Libertarian party would have made a difference.

The only thing that will make a real difference is an intellectual revolution. And that ain't going to happen. Too many people have been through government controlled education. They might not know how to read or write, but their faith in the State is unshakable.

Want to see the future of America? Well, just take a look at California.

My Transition into Faith

July 13, 2009

I am rarely entertained by debates between atheists and theists. I can usually see through the attempts of the theists to prove the unprovable. Sometimes, though, the theist comes up with something that sounds very plausible.

I just stumbled upon an exception to debates between theists and atheists, which fail to entertain me. D'Souza vs. Hitchens at Freedomfest 2008 are a pleasure to watch.

In my humble cab driver view, both show a deep desire to know and understand the truth, whatever it may be. Both also bring with them a powerful arsenal of knowledge with which to make their case.

After watching, I am still an atheist.

I shall probably remain an atheist until such time as perhaps I face some dire emergency. Maybe I will find myself in a foxhole, with bombs blowing up all over the place, and a hoard of angry environmentalists coming over the hill to stick a bayonet in my gut for using my toaster too many times, or for buying black market carbon credit ration books, so I can get more than my fair share of Angus burgers at McD's.

What would those ration books look like? I am guessing; a thin little booklet with each page containing a grid of squares… and every time you buy a burger or gasoline or whatever, the clerk will stamp one of the empty squares with an image of Al Gore. Man that is so, uhm, WWII—you know, another great crisis that statists did not let go to waste. No, today we would have a swipe card that we can refill online at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Don't you just hate that Tim Horton's radio ad… "Jim, Jim, Jim, if only everyone could see the world through your rose-coloured glasses."

Or maybe, God forbid, just as Canada finally sees "the light," and dismantles the fraud of government funded medical care, I will have some doctor tell me my tobacco habit has just made me the unlucky one of the nine other smokers who did not get cancer, and that the only hope I have of surviving is to undergo very expensive treatments, or hope for a miracle.

Well, I sure hell can't afford expensive treatments. If I had any cash left at all, I would go for the miracle with the best odds, in my estimation, of succeeding… yes, I would buy lottery tickets. Lots of them.

But what if I were actually in a foxhole in some war type scenario? I've seen lots of movies and historical documentaries of war stuff. There always seems to be a religious guy around… a Chaplin or a witch doctor or something, to comfort the men. (Ooga booga!)

But there never seem to be any lottery huts. Damn!

Ok, so here I am, in need of a miracle with nothing but a garbage can full of pieces of paper with "Play Again," or, "Good Luck," written on them. Cough.

Ok, I AM ONE STUBBORN BASTARD. And now that I have truly run out of options, I think my mental economics have finally got me cornered into being a true believer. The audacity of hope finally appeals to me. After all, what have I got to lose from investing the only thing I have left, which is my ability to pick true from false based on my, necessarily limited, view of the universe, in this "fund," that promises me riches beyond the grave.

If I am wrong and there is a god, this last throw of the dice probably won't work. My sudden "belief," would be no more sincere than an official apology coerced from me from a Canadian Human Rights Commission for incorrect opinions on more secular matters. And God, being no fool, would see right through me.

So I guess, I still ain't buying into this cosmic ghost notion no matter how dire a scenario I envision.

Well, I do have one final test of belief. God, or Allah or Thor or whichever one of you is the ONE TRUE GOD… here is the deal. I will pray.

Here is my simple prayer:

God, or whomever… please, please, please. Deposit one million dollars directly into my checking account before noon tomorrow… and just in case there is hyperinflation coming. Put about a million bucks worth of gold and silver in the trunk of my car. (Ok, if that is too daunting, make about half of it in physical bullion and the other half in Canadian precious metals and energy sector funds.)

If you want to add a little drama to the whole occasion, by all means, put some really bright object in the sky, with a beam of light pointing directly to my underground parking lot.

When you have done all of this for me, I will be a believer.

Or, if what I have written here really pisses you off, well, I guess you can have a bolt of lightning strike me at any time. Or I could get hit by a truck, or stabbed in an altercation, or have a heart attack.

In which case, you will have proved yourself, not that it will benefit me much. And not that it will benefit you much, either. After all, you have all the power, it costs you nothing to exercise your power. You seem to be obsessed with having me believe in you, with or without credible evidence.

So why don't you just wire the funds?

Divide and Conquer

From July 9, 2009

Here is an example of how insane things are getting as state carcinoma continues to metastasize.

This Spec article tells us a lot.

1—once again we have an example of the OPP choosing not to enforce the law.

As the number of laws continue to increase, the enforcement of laws becomes ever more difficult. More people who, a few years ago, were law-abiding, are now becoming outlaws despite the fact they are doing nothing different today.

At first glance, it may seem ironic. As the number of laws grows, the more anarchic society becomes, but this ought to surprise no one. Even governments have limited resources. They cannot possibly enforce all of these new laws. In the end, the law will be enforced only when it is politically advantageous or when used as a tool to "get someone," you don't like… as our ridiculous "Human Rights," Commissions have so aptly demonstrated.

In the end, law becomes a mere tool of the powerful in pursuit of their own interests (See "Cap and Trade.") The guy with the biggest stick gets his way. This was one problem government was supposed to solve.

But don't expect the government to "solve," any problem it chooses to address. Any solution would put it, and it's obscenely paid workforce, out of business.

Therefore, expect any problem the government decides to solve to get worse. (And even if it doesn't get worse, don't expect those who derive their bread and butter from state activities to admit it. For example, now that government has got itself into the business of controlling the earth's climate, don't expect them to back off no matter which way the temperature goes. "Climate control," has become a new branch of government, and it will not let go of this new opportunity to create vast new bureaucracies…. too many salaries, research grants and, now, business profits, depend on it.)

Climate control is now poised to take up it's position alongside other laughable government run enterprises, from education and health care to public roads, oh, and I almost forgot…. the enforcement of law and order.)

We should expect to see more of this phenomenon as the tentacles of the state wind themselves further and deeper into our lives.

2—Too many laws mean one hand of the state doesn't know what the other hand is doing.

The owners of the properties on which these smoke shops have been erected are being persecuted by the county for violating by-laws and zoning, even though they were not the instigators of the problem.

What ever happended (yes, happended, don't make fun of me or I will launch an HRC complaint over my hurt feelings,) to the idea of justice?

I remember hearing that, in accordance with our western legal tradition, justice should be blind. Well, when the county inspectors start putting the hurt on these property owners for actions beyond their control, obviously, those charged with the responsibility of administering justice are the blind ones. Or they are just damned stupid. Or apathetic. Take your pick. They work for the government. What have we learned to expect?

Or they could argue they are merely enforcing the law… which is what they are supposed to be doing… but, who but the naive would buy that crap these days?

3—Finally, the whole thing hinges on tobacco politics.

Why are these smoke shops even there in the first place?

Well, here is my short answer…. government decided to involve itself in the health care business.

Great (and deeply caring) Canadian politicians decided it would be a great idea to use the power of the state to make sure *someone* pays for everyone's health care.

And we adopted socialized medicine.

And when the government started paying our medical bills, of course, they could not help but take a keen interest in our health.

That is when personal freedom really started to take a hit. Seat belt laws and helmet laws are two examples of extremely intrusive violations of liberty. Even Joe Six-pack is willing to relinquish his freedom to choose the level of risk with his own original argument… "I pay taxes for healthcare… if my neighbour behaves in a risky manner, it costs me money. Therefore, it is the risky behaviour, (not socialized medicine) that should be banned."

And so it goes.

And now the government is deeply engaged in another social engineering project… tobacco control.

The punitive taxes imposed on tobacco products have led to a booming trade on the reservations… and on disputed land.

So they set up their little shacks, and those who own the property upon which those shacks have been erected wind up in trouble with the local authorities… and the OPP, once again, fail to enforce the law.

And where, in the absence of this state monstrosity, we would have had harmony…

"Rob Smolka, co-owner of the market, said the smoke shop was set up by a former employee who lives on Six Nations reserve. She also believes her new business is on unsurrendered Six Nations land. Smolka said he and his partner are not upset by the move, though he said he has been visited by a county by-law inspector who told them the shop must go by Friday, or they will face charges."

Smolka isn't upset that the former employee has set up the smoke shack… but "the LAW," has now made them adversaries.

I think I would prefer pure anarchy with distributed power over the kind of anarchy that gives Leviathan, (Government Inc.) the biggest stick.

Twitter is Still Censoring Content

Here is the "potentially harmful" link.

Who is Harry Reid?

July 2, 2009

To be fair, I did not know the answer to a lot of these questions. By selectively editing the responses you could make supporters of any party or ideology look like idiots.

So, despite how dumb this video makes Obama supporters look, I have to say... well, I think the technique is clever but it could be used against just about anyone you chooose to dislike.

I have recently met, in my cab, college and university students who told me they were libertarians. Now libertarianism is something I *do* know a little bit about... I may not know who Harry Reid is, but I sure as hell know who Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, Frederic Bastiat, Von Mises, Hayek, Ayn Rand and many more were (dead white people) and I have to say some of these young "libertarians," were just as clueless as the people shown in the video. One of them told me, "I am a libertarian but I draw the line when it comes to government medicare." Hmmm... yeah, some "libertarian."

So I am going to show how dumb I am by trying to answer some of the questions right now without doing any research.

Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the house, I think.

I don't know who Harry Reid is.

Bill Ayers? I have no idea. I have heard the name and I suspect he is someone I would not like very much at all.

Who campaigned in 57 states? I think even I would have chuckled at that question. Hell, I don't know... it would have to be some joke candidate.

I did know who said his policies would bankrupt the coal industry. If pressed prior to knowing, I don't know who I would have guessed. A guy talking about his own policies this honestly? These kind of policies? Well, in a poll conducted by the other side similar to the one depicted here I would have answered, "I don't know, probably some whacked-out Green party candidate or PETA member or something. Maybe Janine Garofolo... but she wasn't a candidate. (thank goodness!)"

But I knew the answer to that one because I follow junkscience.com and I watched a few YouTube videos on the Cap and Trade scam.

I would have answered Obama as the wealth distributor. And I don't need to see that little, seemingly too short clip, to believe that this is exactly what Obama believes, or pretends to believe, in. Wealth "redistribution," is just so sexy and kewl.... like a Che Guevera T-shirt or poster, until they come for your wealth.... or what is left of it after the central banks have cleaned out what is left of your savings accounts.

On the other hand, to demonstrate that some of what I thought I knew, which apparently wasn't true, I thought that Sarah Palin *did* say she could see Russia from her house. I don't know why I believed that. Obviously I picked it up somewhere from the buzz in the media and on the web.

Democracy. The art of manipulating the mob. It's a job ain't it? A system without checks and balances where success is achieved by manipulating the pathetically ignorant, who have just as much right to vote as anyone else.

It's a market! (well sort of. But it's not a consumer market. It's politics driven.)

Tell me this isn't true... that an entire political PR industry depends upon this lofty process? Another purely political market siphoning dollars away from the production of that which the people really want and need into artificial markets created by the state.

Would H&R Block even exist in a free country? Think of all of the time, skill and resources that are poured into the cesspool of compliance with income tax laws. (Remember the "power saw," deduction? I always used to laugh at that one.)

It's interesting ain't it? How some of the things you think you know ain't true.

Oh, I knew about Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter only because of the Letterman stink.

The chick who admits she is "Not as informed as I thought I was," is a very cute and sweet young lady who, dare I say it, has less of a clue than I. She doesn't deserve what she has coming to her.

(If the embedded video doesn't play look for it here.)

Ok, after my rant I looked up Harry Reid on Google. Well, I watched the video on his website. I was not surprised. He is a politician who cares about... well in this case.. about diabetes. And getting covered by insurance.

Why would someone who cares about kids with diabetes be talking to Harry Reid? (A man who cares.)

Well, I am a pretty simple minded guy, as amply demonstrated above.... but correct me if I am wrong... Harry Reid is a politician.. and he can write a law which will force insurance companies to pay for diabetes treatment for these poor kids. Like the law in Kentucky(?) which forces insurance companies to include hair transplants in the policies they write.

What a nice man. He cares about these kids...

... not enough though, to chose a medical career specializing in diabetes treatment, over a career in politics which gives him a shot at forcing someone else pay the bill.

Definition of a liberal: A guy who would give a poor man the shirt off someone else's back. Well, at the beginning of this diatribe, I did not know who Harry Reid was. I think I have a pretty good idea now.

I don't know... perhaps I am old fashioned... but to be convinced of this man's touching concern for the plight of those afflicted, it would have been nice to see him pull out his checkbook.

Maybe they just forgot to include that part in the video. Yeah, right.

And finally. Bill Ayers, I did a little, poor man's research on you. Those of us who value liberty might be able to use a guy with some of your talents. Too bad you are on the left.

Freedom & The War to End all Wars.

Originally posted on June 26, 2009.
(Slightly edited.)

President Nixon declared war on cancer back in 1972.

He also declared a War on Drugs in 1969. Forty years later, the war on drugs has proven itself a huge job creation success. Imagine how many people would be sad to see it end… from the drug lords in Mexico and elsewhere, to all the high school dropouts who would rather sell crack than work at McDonald's, to all the people working for the DEA, to many of the stars in the TV show, "COPS."

Oh, and I almost forgot, what would happen to the local economies where American prisons are located if the drug war ever ended? Well, they would have to be closed, like unnecessary military bases. Local economies would face collapse. Their political representatives would work very hard to prevent it.

According to the popular way of thinking, an end to the drug war would be as big a disaster as the bankruptcy of GM. It would require a bailout. (new advertising campaign… "Say YES to drugs!") Along with the car Czar's "Cash for Clunkers," would be the drug Czar's "Cash for Dope," incentive.

As if it could get any worse. Well, what if the war on poverty, declared by President Johnson 45 years ago, ever faced the disaster of succeeding?

How many social workers would find themselves flipping hamburgers or driving cabs? (it would, of course, depend on whether they actually had any real skills.)

Don't lose hope in the power of government to create extra work for people (A.K.A.—"jobs.") Depending upon how you chose to interpret this article.

No matter how much better it gets, it always seems to get worse.

And of course, it has to get worse, otherwise politicians and anti-poverty activists might actually have to find real jobs.

I remember after 911 how I laughed when I heard Bush announce another government sponsored war, the "War on Terror." It wasn't a "Hey that's funny," type of laugh, it was more like a "here we go again," type of laugh. Another war with no exit strategy. Another job for the government to pretend it is doing. Another problem requiring massive hiring. Another "too big to fail," boondoggle. (Editor's note: 11 years later, we got COVID-19—another never-ending problem for politicians to pretend to solve.)

I think I heard recently that Obama has declared an end to the war on terrorism. I think that makes a lot of sense. But coming from him? Man, that just doesn't make any sense. How could he possibly be considering letting a good crisis go to waste?

Wait, oh, I almost forgot about climate change. Now, this is one hell of a good crisis for just about anyone who derives an income from government activity. You can invest in companies that supply the titanium components of windmills and get rich in no time.

Try to find out where Al Gore is putting his money. Copy him. You will profit nicely.

And perhaps sell short on new coal-fired power plants. (This is me pretending I actually understand some of this stock market stuff. Actually, don't bother, the smart guys have probably already done all the short selling. On the other hand, perhaps the coal companies, having an incentive to pay close attention, have already figured out a way to profit from the coming rape of the middle class.)

Infrastructure spending?

Invest in cement production.

So anyway… where was I? I know when I started writing this rant I had some kind of a theme or an idea…. but, shucks, there is no beer left. How can I go on now?

It's times like this I really wish there were an official war on alcoholism… maybe I could dial 911 and tell them to get a taxi to deliver another six-pack… to "save the jobs," of government funded addiction workers.

Oh, I remember. It was the statement of a new law. Uncle Block's Law of Political Inevitability. If the government declares war on something, bet that whatever that something is, it will never end.

To prove my point, let me ask, how likely is it that the climate change bill will actually prevent the earth's climate from changing?

Neil Oliver – ‘...they want us to do what?!?

The $10US I donated to GiveSendGo for the Trucker Convoy was frozen, and a refund was never issued.

The City of Hamilton is STILL requiring vaccine verification as a condition of employment, even though the vaccine does not prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Neil Oliver mentions the scapegoating of witches, with no subsequent apology.

During the Black Death (1347-1350) thousands of Jews were massacred for vaccine denialism, or something like that. Some accounts say people also killed thousands of cats, which would have had the opposite of the intended effect, just like lockdowns, social distancing (See here,) and mass vaccination in the middle of a pandemic did.

I chose not to get vaccinated. Thankfully, my decision did no serious damage to my relationships with family and friends, though there were a few tense debates. On the other hand, I have heard many tales of the damage this issue inflicted on other families. What a pathetic spectacle.

---

On the lighter side, here is a recent conversation I had with a telemarketer.

Isn't government wonderful? (II)

June 25, 2009

After I posted the following comment on my facebook:

mmmmm.... tons of garbage building up and a pesticide ban to boot. Isn't government wonderful?

I got this response from one of my Facebook friends:

"good thing the toilets still work...garbage strikes are great...forces people to deal with their own smelly inconvenient personal waste.

but of course in the big city it ends up every where...but it still is a good reflection to people who perhaps should take their waste into a form of accountability."

To which I replied,

"I was just told that private enterpreneurs are visiting restaurants and offering to remove garbage for them. $10 a bag.

It's amazing how fast the free market snaps into action when the ugly face of government unmasks.

We don't need government employees!"

$10 a bag? Now that's what I would call accountability, regardless of where they choose to dump it. Yep, pretty good incentive to embrace the three "R's" without resorting to phony politically correct "GreenRighteousNess," - no laws, fines or mandates required. Priceless.

(Actually, prices.... prices.... )

I would love it if the strike went on forever!

The Emperor has NO CLOTHES!

Feeling Guilty

June 18, 2009

Yep, your dear old Uncle Block has experienced a slice of life behind bars. It happened a long time ago. And I was innocent. I was framed by a dishonest cop in the town of Taber, Alberta back in 1978. I managed to wriggle out of the worst of it with high-priced legal help from the firm of Harradance and Moore.

The cop walked away Scott free. It still burns me to this day to think that that criminal, who gave me a good choking in the process, was not subject to any measure of justice for what he did.

Anyway, just so you know… I have been in a jail cell and I never want to go back.

The problem these days, I find, is that, without really doing anything much different from what I have been doing since I was a teenager, I am becoming more of a lawbreaker every day.

Just kidding. I would never break the law. I have a profound reverence for the law. I mean, it's a great tool for use by lobbyists and special interest groups who want to get stuff without necessarily paying for it. And think of all the new government jobs, at union wages, that will be created as a result of all the upcoming green legislation. Law is becoming increasingly lucrative for some people.

So I try to live my life as a law-abiding citizen every day. But it ain't easy, folks. No sireee!

Sometimes I like to sit back and daydream about what I would do if I finally cracked up totally… (Extreme Libertariosis - a psychotic reaction to increased regulation of every day life by the government.)

In my daydream, I would walk into a government building with a cigarette dangling from my mouth. (A lit cigarette.) And some officer comes up to me and gives me a fine for smoking in a public place. And I laugh in his face because I am a recipient of ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program,) after Libertariosis has been judged, by the proper [government appointed] authorities, a serious debilitating illness.

So, even if they do manage to squeeze the fine out of me, I derive satisfaction from the fact that I didn't actually have to earn the money.

Yep, what a day for a daydream.

But I haven't cracked up yet… well, at least I have been able to hide the fact, to some degree, by not smoking in government buildings or bars.

I had a lady in my cab recently. We talked about the fact that smoking in cabs was now illegal in the Province of Ontario. We had a chuckle over that. I won't say whether either of us was smoking. As she got out of the cab, she winked at me and said, "I might stoop, but I won't bend over."

And that got me thinking of just how often it is, these days, I find myself stooping..... checking the rear and side view mirrors before I light one up… and the one I am lighting up came from a pack without a tax stamp on it…. And all the time, I am sitting in a "No Stopping Zone," because the local taxi regulatory authority has not the faintest clue of what it is doing. (Too many cabs, not nearly enough business to support them, hence, desperate cabbies populating "No Stopping," zones.

And then I get this ex-con in my cab, a real scary dude with all the tattoos and scars. And he tells me he wants a "flat rate," to such and such a destination. I decide, in the interest of my own safety, to accept the flat rate offer rather than argue with this person, but in so doing, I end up breaking the law yet again! It is illegal in the City of Hamilton to drive a passenger without the meter running. If I get caught, I am subject to a fine.

And the next fare is a couple of rowdy drunk guys who brag to me that they are "ironworkers." Now these guys don't even know exactly where it is they want to go, and their hearing ain't so good neether… because when they ask me if it's ok for them to smoke in my cab I tell them, "No," not because I respect the "law," that mandates I act as an unpaid smoke cop, but because I don't want these drunks dropping their ashes all over my cab or burning the seats.

But they light up anyway. (I enjoy the aroma of the *deadly* second hand smoke.) But I am still annoyed. Not by the fact that these two drunks have ignored my request… but by the fact that unless I now escalate the situation, I am breaking the law by allowing these guys to smoke. I could be fined. If I press the matter further, as Dalton McGuilty and his government have now mandated, I run the risk of having parts of my taxi vandalized, or possibly even a physical assault… all in the name of, "protecting people from certain dangers."

I have to say this. McGuilty, you and your cronies are ignorant, arrogant assholes.

And then it comes to one of those rare days when the weather is real bad…. And cabs are actually busy… and a woman with five young kids, shivering in the rain, tries to flag me down…

Do I ignore her? Or do I pull over and pick her and her kids up? Well, firstly, I have to consider the law… I am only allowed to take four passengers (car seats? Booster seats? Do I have to extinguish my smoke?) …. And being the law-abiding citizen I am, I decide to leave her and her kids in the wind and rain.

Thank you, government, for making simple decisions so complicated.

At the end of the trip, the lady gives me a tip. I forget to write it down, and now I am guilty of another crime, because my master claims to have the right to know about every penny that is put into my hand.

Frederic Douglas said, "I stole this head, these limbs, this body from my master and ran off with them."

So I guess I am a thief too.

And then, finally, when the shift is over… well, I don't want to tell you about the evil, politically incorrect thoughts that occupy my mind…. Nor about certain other furtive illegal acts…

So, when they finally come to break down my door… I wonder will I get any time off for the hours I spent obeying the law? (while sleeping.)

Feeling Good?

June 5, 2009

But I ain't feeling good. My sense is that our liberty is being taken away from us at an accelerating rate (along with anything we have tried to build or save.)

So why does it even occur to me that I should be feeling good at all? Well, I have been a libertarian since I was twenty years old. And up until, oh, say, about five years ago, I was dogged by the prevailing ignorance of what libertarianism stands for.

This has definitely changed of late.

Other than my friends, or rather, those who had remained so despite my persistent badgering about the malignancy of the state, about 98% of the people I knew, or met, would respond in identical fashion whenever the conversation resulted in me declaring that I was a "Libertarian."

"Libber what?" was the standard refrain.

Well, more people are at least pretending to know what libertarianism means these days, so I guess I should feel good about that. What I feel bad about is that we are still so overwhelmingly outnumbered. Hostility toward liberty still prevails.

I was having a conversation this evening with a cab driver friend of mine which turned rather acrimonious. He accused me of being too pessimistic or lacking in sense of humour or some such thing to which I replied, more or less, "Man, if you aren't pessimistic right now you must be drunk, sleeping or dead."

Now this guy told me he shared my disgust with government, however, based on other statements I have heard him make from time to time, I didn't really believe him. So the debate devolved to a point where each of us challenged the other to provide an example of a politician who didn't absolutely reek of moral hypocrisy.

I told him that, in my opinion all politicians are moral degenerates. He strenuously disagreed. It was like a game of chess at this point. He had opened himself up for me to move in for the kill. I challenged him to name one elected politician who, in his opinion, actually cared about people. And I even betted him that once he told me why he thought so, I would be able to succinctly describe why his nominee was nothing but a fraud.

He did not disappoint me.

His example of a "good politician," was Daniel Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, I don't read newspapers, so I am pretty much ill-informed about stuff. And Daniel Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, is someone I have never heard of.

I was not interested so much in what Daniel Williams actually stands for as to how my friend would explain, in his own words, why he thought Daniel Williams was somehow different from other politicians.

Well, as I interpret his response, it went something like this:

Some women experienced injustice in their dealings with the Newfoundland socialist medicare program and decided to sue the government. They apparently had some difficulty in launching their suit, so Daniel Williams came to the rescue.

Again, I was not so much interested in the minute details of Daniel William's alleged political heroism as I was in my friend's interpretation of said heroism.

I think I may have responded to his example in an impolite manner. I think I laughed out loud. My response, (from a failing memory,) was something like ha ha ha, the best you can come up with is a guy who is willing to blow taxpayer money, (money someone else earned,) because he cares so much about these old ladies? Excuse me if such deep sentiment does not emotionally touch me. (It doesn't.)

And again, the conversation devolved even further into accusations about whether I cared about the victims of Katrina etc.

And hence lies the key to my enduring pessimism.

Too many people are willing to surrender too much power to the political classes. The idea that government, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, can somehow solve problems at the point of their most basic tool, the gun or any of its progeny, is manifestly ridiculous. The gun can only procure, via threat of its employment, that which has *already* been created via freedom! (at the same time that their power and scope expands along with the proliferation of problems to the extent that they even have to manufacture problems, like man made CO2 generation,)

Let me try to put this another way. Evil businessmen in a free country see a problem, like homelessness, or hunger, or lack of mobility, or a perceived need to address the human condition of body odour or providing mindless entertainment to a population no longer encumbered by the need to work from dawn to dusk for the mere basics of survival. What do these evil profit motivated people do?

Well, to address homelessness, they build housing. To address hunger, they produce food. To address the human yearning for mobility, they produce cars. And so on.

Real Problems. Real solutions.

Clearly they have an incentive to keep on doing what they do. A free people will always be willing to exchange whatever they have worked to produce for that which the businessmen have worked to produce.

Now when we get to politicians... I have one simple question.... what if there were no problems? Where would *their* market be? How would they eek out a profit in a problem free world?

Timothy Leary made a statement years ago which I really liked. "The function of government should be to put itself out of business." Does anyone alive today seriously believe that government would want to follow this advice?

Well, yes. Libertarians think so. But we're outnumbered.

So instead we can look for the production of ever more "problems," for our governments to solve.

Talk about a recession proof business!

Canada: Human Rights Joke

This rant is from an email I sent on May 6, 2009. Was I over the target?

In Canada there is no right to own property. (You can own it in name, but the government tell's you how to use it. It seems to me there is not much point in being the "owner," if you can't decide how to make use of your property.)

The only people standing up for property rights in Canada these days are the socialists! That may seem ironic to some of you but it's so true. No one is more adamant about the right to property than the socialists... so long as it is property belonging to someone else.

In Canada there is no right to privacy. (If you don't believe me try telling the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to mind their own business when they demand you reveal your income to them.)

There is no right to freedom of association in Canada. There are many laws now which force you to deal with other people even if you would rather not. And if you disobey any of these laws, you can get into a lot of trouble.

Freedom of speech is severely restricted in many ways. It is illegal to advertise certain legal products. Through the CCRT, Canadian radio and TV stations are required to air a lot of home grown crap regardless, even, of whether their Canadian audience wants it. Various, so called, "Human Rights Commissions," in Canada have launched serious attacks on free speech in recent years as Ezra Levant (see link) and Mark Steyn, among others, have painfully discovered.

I think it goes without saying that if you are not free to say what is on your mind then you are not really free to think.

Hmmm... but no matter how the minutiae of our lives become ever more a matter of government control we can always derive some comfort from knowing, "Die Gedanken sind frei."

Well, that's how it worked for millennia. I am not so sure even this last refuge will remain secure.

If I go into sci-fi mode I see this: there will come a day when we won't need keyboards, mice and screens etc. to connect with the world wide web. Our minds will be directly connected somehow... maybe with some micro chip. (I think something like this is already happening.)

It will be great! We will be able to have instant, real-time chats with the billions of other web users. We will be able to check the spekking of words, (sic - he he, I meant spellig.) not that there will be any need to spell. If we want to know if there was a lot more asteroid activity before life appeared on earth, all we will have to do is wonder... and the best answers available will be right there in our mind, courtesy of googleneuron.com. The cyber-sex will be awesome!

Forget about sticking those earbuds in.... just close your eyes and listen to The Doors man! (or mon, depending on your era... maybe also "dudes," or "buddy," or "bro.") Wanna watch a movie? No problem. Just make sure you are not driving a car. (car?) Certainly, if the technology advances this far... the communication highway will be a two-way street. At first it will be voluntary... like the first ISP you signed up with. Then it will become a Human Right.

"today, there is a big push by the United Nations to make internet access a human right." -- source.

Oh no, not another human right! "Right's imply responsibilities," say the statists.

The connection between socialized medicine and the loss of personal liberty ought to be well understood by now. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Increasing political involvement in the provision of health care has gone hand-in-glove with increasing control of personal behaviour, from the wearing of seatbelts and helmets to the enjoyment of tobacco and the pleasure of pizza and burgers.

The same thing will certainly apply once the government starts pretending that it is supplying people with cerebral content via the internet.

And again, being a two way street, those in authority will come up with a million very persuasive reasons as to why they should have access to the content of your mind, just as they now have access to the content of your bank account.

Internet connection will become mandatory ... just like government funded education.

Most people won't have a problem with this. Why should we expect them to? They already bend over, without question, at the demands of the income tax man. (Who would build the roads and "educate," our children?)

And most of them won't have to worry because, the government just won't have enough resources to monitor every thought of every single human being, just as today they don't monitor every single bank account... unless the transaction involves more than $10,000 or whatever it is right now.

No, the thought monitoring will concentrate more on keywords.

We already have a pretty good indication as to what some of these keywords might be, courtesy of our Canadian Human Rights commissions and the DHS. They would be words like,

- Ron Paul

- libertarian

- Islam

- Constitution

- global warming is a scam

- mmmmm Marlboro!

Keywords like, "He shoots, he scores!" will be ignored. Or "nice boobs," wait... no that one might offend feminists.

How about, "I could go for a nice juicy steak right now." Well, this one would depend, not so much as whether the Greens object to it, as to whether their agenda has been met and we are all living (dying) in caves, eating raw meat (uhm, I mean vegetables.... unless the new group PETV has also sprouted up.) No, if the Greens finally prevail we'll be back to communication through smoke signals (Ooops... fire... CO2) ... make that drum beats (so long as the skin is not made from an animal or a petro-chemical.)

Well, we can always eat bugs. Pesticide bans will ensure there will be lots of those around. Yum.

"None Are So Enslaved as Those Who Falsely Believe They Are Free."