Carl Miller – Right to travel without a license plate

I agree with this guy in principle. We should NOT be forced to get a license plate. I have argued against being forced to get a drivers license in order to use the roads I have PAID for, the car I BOUGHT, the gas I PAID for. There is NO justification under constitutional law for the state (or any other government agent) to FORCE me to submit, to BEG their permission to travel freely!
I was BORN with the INALIENABLE RIGHT to TRAVEL. FREELY! That means I can move along a public road or any other public space without interference as long as I am not bothering anyone else. That goes for the airways too! The TSA and all its bullshit security theater is a HUGE violation of my rights and IS totally unconstitutional in every way! Where’s the warrant? Where’s the probable cause? What right do those government thugs in uniforms have to restrict you in ANY way in YOUR RIGHT to travel? The answer is NONE! They have STOLEN your rights from you!

The Truth About “Organic” And “Certification”

Sad that so many people STILL believe the lie that the government is there to help them. If that was EVER true, it sure as hell is not any more!

All About Me

Todays prompt from the Daily Post is to write a post explaining “why you chose your blog’s title and what it means to you”.

I chose to call my blog “Captain Jills Journeys” for a couple of reasons.

I wanted to write a travel blog, since I love to travel and I’ve gone to a lot of interesting places (and hope to go to a lot more). So I tried to come up with words relating to that. I picked the work ‘journey’ because it sounded good with my name (Jill). I was also remembering how I used to write in my journal every day for years as I sailed around on the school ships. Journey- journal… which one? I wanted it to be about more than writing, so- ‘journey’ it is! 😉

So why call it Captain Jills Journeys (rather than just Jills Journeys)? I’ve spent most of my life on the water and worked my way up the hawsepipe to earn a captains license (finally managed an unlimited masters license a few years ago). I figured I would wind up blogging about boats and working on the water along with the travel. After all, one of the main reasons I started working at sea was the opportunity to see the world (and get paid for it!).

I also liked the alliteration and the sounds of the J’s together. It makes a short sentence and sounds cool. 🙂

I added on the tag line “she sails the seven seas in search of FREEDOM” to explain more fully what my blog (and me) are all about. My passions flow together in that sentence. I love to sail. I love to travel. And I am very intensely concerned with the issue of freedom.

Liberty and justice for all. Human rights. Individual liberty. However you want to say it. I very fervently believe that every person deserves to live the best life possible, that they should be able to chose to live the way they think is best for themselves. I do not think people should have to bow down to ANYONE.

We should all be equal under the law and any and all governments should obey the principles the US government was founded on (and no longer has any respect for). To PROTECT the “god-given” (or NATURAL) rights of the people. I just do not understand why so many people seem to feel that others have some sort of right to rule over them. I just don’t get it.

I am looking for some place in this world I can live free. I hope one day to find a place to settle down with other like minded people. A place where everyone is content to just “live and let live”. Most people think that’s some kind of fantasy, that it could never happen. So they won’t even TRY. I will at least keep on trying.

Dear Leader

If your government (local or national) accomplishes one thing this year, what would you like that to be?

That is the topic of the day from the Daily Post.

Oh boy, that is a good one for me! I had to think about it for awhile since there are SO many things I would like the government to do, or really NOT to do.

Here are just a few of the things I would LOVE to see them do: end the drug war, repeal the (misnamed) Patriot act, repeal the NDAA, abolish the TSA, abolish the NSA, bring our military back to the states and stop using them to interfere with other sovereign nations, stop the government from giving special favors Continue reading

Forward Thinking Police Chief Refuses to Treat Addicts as Criminals, Naturally He’s Being Attacked

I support any policeman who knows his ACTUAL duty. Which is to protect the rights of the people, NOT to enforce the laws. Those laws may be (and in this case, in ALL cases of victimless crimes) unjust and wrong. I salute this guy. He deserves the support of every American who’s sick to death of having our rights stripped away from us.

Saturday Sails

I got to go out sailing again yesterday! I signed up for next Saturday too. 🙂

Some people think I must be nuts. They wonder how I can spend all my time at work on various vessels, at sea somewhere, and then come home and I can’t wait to get back out on another boat to go sailing?

All I can say is: those people just aren’t sailors!

4 Things To Change Your Life in 10 Minutes

I’ve been reading this book lately. It’s called “The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth” by James Altucher. I really like his down to earth style and his sense of humor. I admire his ability to live his life the way HE chooses, and I am thankful that he decided to share his lessons in how he got to that point.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that individual liberty and personal freedom are very important to me too. I’m trying hard to find any possible way to get out of the rat race and find a way to live my life the way I want to instead of being stuck doing things the way everybody else thinks is best, only so I can stay out of jail!

I read his earlier book “Choose Yourself” a while ago and I thought he had a lot of good points. I still think so.

I have been working on his “Daily Practice” that he explains in “Choose Yourself“. He means to take care of your mental, spiritual, emotional and physical needs every day. Makes sense to me, but still hard for me to put into practice every single day.

Today, I read a chapter he calls “Four Things I Do That Can Change Your Life In The Next Ten Minutes”.

Someone asked him “what can I learn in the next 10 minutes that will be useful the rest of my life?”

I thought, what a great question! Here’s what James had to say as an answer…

“I can show you four insanely stupid things that will make the rest of your life better. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.”

Here are the 4 things:

  1. Use $2 bills
  2. Wear a doctors coat
  3. Use waiters pads
  4. Watch standup comedy

He does give a little explanation for why he does these 4 things and why they work for him. I’m kind-of interested in what you may think the reasons are. 😉

What do you think about those 4 things? Do you have any suggestions of your own? Would you do his? Why or why not? I think I’m going to give it a try, have to go find me some waiters pads and a Drs coat!

Life is Short

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Law and Order?

 

Yeah, I know I’ve been doing a lot of political posts lately. I hope it’s not getting to be too much of a downer. But one of the main reasons I started blogging was to try to get a discussion going (with me or with others) about all the things politics is doing to our nation and our world.

I’ll move on to another subject soon, I promise. 😉

This video is kind of long (16 mins). I thought John Oliver did a great job of injecting some humor into a subject that is really pretty sad. Super sad when you think about it. All those millions of people having their lives ruined, just so the powers that be can say that they are fighting the war on ‘drugs’. As this video on asset forfeiture vividly shows, it is NOT a war on drugs, it IS a war on US.

This whole asset forfeiture thing is just one way they fight their war against US. The very idea that they have the right to tell a person what they can put into their bodies (eat, drink, or otherwise consume) is a humongous fraud and a HUGE violation of the principle of individual liberty that this country was founded on.

The principle that the ONLY legitimate function of government was to PROTECT those liberties that we ALL were BORN WITH simply by the fact that we are all human beings.

How far we’ve fallen. 🙁

New Year's Resolution ~ James Corbett

Good idea. I’m going to do that too. 🙂

Freedom of Speech – Remember Charlie

I really don’t know what I would do if I was seriously threatened. Would I censor myself? Would I stop doing something I loved? I can only HOPE not. I admire those people who can and do stand firm for the rest of us.
I am amazed that these nutjobs (religious fanatics) are allowed to roam free around the world today. They have proven over and over that they can NOT act in any kind of civilized manner. IMHO they should all be locked in a cage and FORCED to live out their year 600 fantasies they want to impose on the rest of us! A bunch of sick bastards should NOT be allowed to run the rest of the world, should NOT be influencing it in ANY way and absolutetly shoud NOT be forcing the rest of us to restrict our liberties or our lives in ANY way!

Mediterranean Gardens: Great Gyros!

I just got in from my regular Tuesday night meeting. Lately we’ve been going to the Mediterranean Gardens, a local Greek/Cajun restaurant. They have the best gyros in town (and really great French Dip sandwiches). Also, the baklava is really good.

But I don’t actually go there for the food. I go there for our weekly Campaign for Liberty meetups. I go there to get my weekly political fix. I can go out, have a good meal and talk politics with people who (mostly) agree with me. That’s a nice change. 😉

We talk about all kinds of things… The history of the United States, the proper function of government, the role of the Federal Reserve, the situation with our money/dollar/debt, who’s running for office (local, state, national) and do we like their plans or not…

Then we try to come up with projects to work on and things to do to increase our membership. We started a community garden (pesticide and GMO free), we’ve shown a couple of movies (Behold a Pale Horse, Atlas Shrugged), gone to a few rallies, etc. It’s really hard to do much if you don’t have a very large group of people involved. People are just so busy trying to survive now, they don’t have the time to get involved.

It’s a catch 22 situation. People are too busy to get involved, but if they don’t get involved, things will only continue to get worse and they’ll have even less time to do the things they would really like to. Instead they’ll be working harder and longer to pay the bills (and TAXES).

I have to admit. I don’t have the ability to do as much as some of the people that go. I just don’t have the energy, but I sure am glad that those other people are working so hard to keep it all going.

I wish more people really understood and took to heart the founding documents of our country. We are unique in the history of the world. These principles, that the government is made to serve US and NOT the other way around, are what made this country special. The Declaration of Independence says it perfectly…

http://calibloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DeclarationOfIndependence.jpg

A Lesson from the Aboriginal Book of Wisdom

I love this quote, it is SO true! Wake up world!! We all need to govern ourselves and forget about the rest of it!

Self Ownership

This (principle of self ownership) is what I was referring to in my earlier post (treasure).Yes, I REALLY DO treasure freedom and individual liberty above everything else.

Please watch the little video and let me know what you think. I’d appreciate hearing your objections (if any).

Also any thoughts on why you think we have (as a society) come SO far from this principle.

Thanks. 🙂

Photography Challenge 101: Treasure

I’ve been busy with other things again and falling behind on blogging. Here’s my post for Day 16: Treasure of the photography challenge.

No, not the flag (or the moon). In fact, I treasure my (and your) right to trash it if you so choose. What I really treasure are the principles that flag (or the country behind it) represents. Or, I should say, USED to represent.

Principles we mostly seem to have forgotten. Principles “our government” now seems hell bent on squeezing out of us.

The most basic of those principles is not stated explicitly in our founding documents, but it’s there. It is the principle of self-ownership. This simply means that YOU own YOUR life. No one else. Period! All else derives from that (fact).

The founding principles of America were all based on that very simple premise.

Principles announced to the world in statements like these from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

 

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Those are the things our government was established to PROTECT. Today, it does everything it can to destroy those things. So, I treasure what little there is left of them.

Home: Get Ready to Work

I’m home. But only for a short stay. I got home from my FRC (fast rescue craft) class last night. I’m leaving for my course in Leadership (management level) on Sunday. FRC was only 3 days. Leadership is 5 days. All these courses are required (by law) for me to keep my license.

So, I really only have today and tomorrow to catch up on a lot of stuff. I’ve got to go for an eye exam this morning (also required for my license- yearly). I’m going to the dentist tomorrow morning. I need to get a haircut. I need to try and get my computers fixed. I need to see about getting my house exterminated (pretty sure I’ve acquired mice since I’ve been gone- and some sort of LARGER creature that is rampaging around my attic at night).

When I get back from the leadership course (in Baltimore at MITAGS), I’ve got to get my USCG physical done (required yearly so I can keep my license). That entails blood tests I’ve got to get done for my Dr to renew my prescriptions. I’m trying to do that through an online service since it’s MUCH cheaper (and I REFUSE to get sucked in to the Obamacare trap!!)

After I get done with all the medical crap (and “training” crap) I need to do in order to keep my license (without it I am not ALLOWED to work), then I need to try to figure out my tax situation.

Since I am not working for an American company now, they don’t take anything out of my paycheck for taxes. This is the first time I’ve been in this situation. I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to pay my own taxes quarterly now. All I know is, I’ve got to get my accountant on it so I don’t get screwed (any more than usual) by the IRS next year.

I’m still in the pool at work so I’m figuring I’ll be due back around Dec 4 (leave Houston Dec 2). That means that in my “month off”, I’ll have had 14 days at home. That’s pretty typical now a days, considering all the required courses and not required (except by the company) “training” we have to take in order to keep working.

How the HELL did it come to this? A free country where most of your time is spent trying to complete government mandates (license to work, TAXES)?  A job at sea once was the ultimate in FREEDOM. You just had to do your job and nothing else mattered. Now, it’s almost the complete opposite.

First of all, if you piss in the jar and it somehow ‘fails’ the test, then you’re OUT, completely and totally. You can not work for ANYONE for a LONG time. You might as well forget about ever working at sea again. What that piss test has to do with your job is totally beyond me, it’s just a bunch of pure BULLSHIT that has tied it to your ability to do your job, but it has become all important. 🙁

After you manage to pass that hurdle, of the company deciding that they OWN your time OFF the job as well as on it, then you can try and pass the ‘physical’ hurdle. Some (very few now) companies are happy enough with the required USCG physical (which gets harder and harder every time there is some sort of incident that gets some news coverage).

Most companies now have their OWN standards. They have their OWN doctors they send you to for things like MRI’s and even psychological tests! Here’s an example of what one recently thought was important that I could do: balance on one foot on a trampoline for a couple of minutes. Another thought I needed to be able to climb up and down the stairs for 20 minutes while carrying a weight of 50 lbs (for a company where it’s not allowed to carry weights of over 35 lbs)! Remember, you can’t set off the BP/pulse monitor either while you’re doing all that!!

Then, once you pass all that and you’re actually allowed to show up on the job, you have to complete a ream of paperwork before you can actually START even the simplest job (JSEA, risk assessment, PROMT card, etc). Oh yeah, you have to be dressed to the hilt in all sorts of ‘safety’ gear: steel-toed boots, hard hat, hearing protection, safety glasses, coveralls, gloves, lanyard for your hard hat.

But NO knife! They are ‘prohibited’ as DANGEROUS. WOW! What twisted logic we have to live by offshore.

So, here I am, a person who chose to go to sea for the FREEDOM it once offered, now suffering from an overdose of ‘safety’ which has completely destroyed the freedom. The same thing is happening on shore. All over the country.

What the HELL has happened to America? A country founded by people from all over the world who once valued their FREEDOM above all else? We’ve turned into a country of whiny-baby scaredy cats, willing and able to sue anybody and anything and blame anybody but ourselves, we need to be ‘protected’ from the big bad world and even ourselves. 🙁

I wonder is it some sort of disease? Something that causes people to lose their common sense? Or is it some kind of intentional mind control, something put out by ‘our leaders’ to get us to stop thinking for ourselves and just do whatever they tell us, no matter how stupid (no knives, airport strip searches, etc).

My guess would be the second one. 😉

Let's Talk Justice

To follow up on yesterdays post, can anybody justify this situation?

I would really like to hear from people. Please give me your reasons for why you think women should be treated as worth less than men are.

Why are they still denied a full education in so much of the world? Why are they still considered as property of some man in so many places? Why are they still not allowed to make basic decisions about their own lives in so many cultures?

I’m especially interested to hear from people with Muslim influences. Just because it seems to me that the Muslims are the worst offenders at this point in time. If you don’t think they are, can you please explain why you don’t think so, who’s worse?

I would also love to hear from people of all religions as to how they reconcile their ideas of justice and basic fairness with a god who supposedly says they should treat some people with less respect than others.

If you do worship a god who you think says that kind of thing, WHY do you continue to worship it?

Just thinking it’s past time we (the entire world) start to discuss this situation and CHANGE it. I think first we need to get to the bottom of the reasons people claim it needs to be this way in the first place.

I don’t think it’s justified, at all. For any reason.

Now, who’s up for a good argument??? 🙂

LAS

Well, I made it through another security theater without blowing my top.

I waver between frustrated anger at the fact that these people all think they’re doing me some sort of favor by stripping me of my ‘god-given’ (Constitutional- Natural) rights along with my clothing and my dignity, and incredible sadness and depression over the fact that the American people put up with all this TOTAL BULLSHIT with barely a whimper of submission.

I wonder how in the hell did a country full of risk takers, who ALL (other than the Indians) came here from somewhere else, leaving everything behind to make a new life for themselves in the land of the FREE, turn into such a bunch of whiny, irresponsible, scared shitless morons every time ‘our’ government whips up a fear frenzy?

I wonder how many people REALLY believe that “our government” has our best interests at heart, is only doing what it “has to” to ‘protect us’, is only ‘doing its job’? I wonder how in the hell they could POSSIBLY still believe all that CRAP when it’s been proven over and over and over again that ‘our’ government is full of evil bastards who would kill their own grandma if it would get them even an ounce more power!

I wonder how is it possible they’re still willing to give ‘our government’ the benefit of the doubt when it’s been proven over and over and over again how it has stolen our wealth to grow it’s own power. It’s committed numerous unjustifiable attacks against too many countries to name here. It’s committed crimes against humanity (against it’s own citizens, not just against foreigners)- MANY times in its history.

Doesn’t ANYBODY pay attention to history? Doesn’t ANYBODY think about what the hell they’re REALLY planning?

Does anybody think Americans will ever grow some balls like the people in Hong Kong have?

I wish them all the luck in the world over there. I hope they can save themselves and their country. I hope the Chinese rulers turn out to be more sensible than ‘ours’ are here. I hope they’re successful in saving their freedoms in Hong Kong and I HOPE the Americans can learn a lesson and STAND TOGETHER to fight our common enemy!

Writing 101: An Interesting Character

I met Capt Hugh a few months back at one of the weekly meetings I go to whenever I’m home. The Campaign for Liberty is an offshoot of Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign and I’m a big supporter of his views. So is Capt Hugh.

I still don’t know Capt Hugh very well. We haven’t both been home off our ships at the same time very often. He looks like an ordinary guy. Comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. Middle aged, average height and weight, nothing really special about his looks. But it all comes out when you talk to him. His passion for life and liberty, his sense of adventure, his determination to do whatever it takes to further his goals.

He doesn’t live near here. He lives up near Dallas somewhere, I think. That’s a few hours drive from here. He comes all the way down to our meetings when he’s home from work. It shows a high level of commitment to the goals we’re working toward (increasing freedom and liberty).

He works offshore like I do. He’s working as captain on some kind of oilfield support vessel. Recently he’s been working out of Africa (me too). I’m working off the Congo River, Hugh is working further north. He’s on a much smaller vessel than I am and so he gets to go into port occasionally.

If you’ve never worked out of Africa, you have no idea what that entails. It’s very chaotic and can be extremely frustrating. It takes a really special person to not only go there and do the work that needs to be done, but to ENJOY it. I’ve only met a couple of people like that so far and each of them was full of great stories and a love of life that showed through.

I follow Capt Hugh on Facebook. He’s quite an adventurer. He’s planning a vacation in Africa whenever he gets off work (who knows when). With everything going on over there, including an epidemic of Ebola, he doesn’t let it stop him. He takes the opportunity when it’s offered. A ‘free’ trip to Africa! What a deal!

Capt Hugh is not only captain of the supply vessel he is employed on, he has his own little sailboat too. That’s another feather in his cap! He’s willing to put everything he has on the line, buy a boat, fix up what he can, and then take off for parts unknown. That all shows a real spirit of adventure, love for the ocean, and a desire to find the freedom we’ve lost here.

I hope he is able to sail off soon. I’ll keep track on Facebook. It’ll inspire me to see where he winds up. I know it’ll be somewhere worth going.

Writing 101: Try Again

OK. I’m going to try this “Writing 101” thing again. I tried it before, but I was on the ship and could never find the time to do the assignments. I’m really glad the folks at WordPress decided to run this challenge again. I would like to improve my writing.

Today is the first day of the challenge. I got home late Friday after a couple of days traveling home from the ship. We were working offshore Angola (West Africa). I worked all night Wednesday and then started my voyage home Thursday morning.

I was basically up for about 60 hours straight, not counting the few minutes at a time I managed to doze off on the plane(s). I’ve had a couple of days to rest up and catch up on mail, etc so I hope I can find the time now to keep up with the assignments for this challenge. 🙂

Today’s assignment is pretty easy. It’s to “JUST WRITE”. Just like talking, I can always find something to say, I can always find things to write. Who knows if anyone will listen to what I have to say either way I put my thoughts out there? It seems most of the time I am ignored. 🙁

I think I have some good ideas and some good solutions to a lot of the things no one likes to see happening around the world. It’s all about FREEDOM. Too bad I’m not the dictator of the world. What a paradox. 😉

I would SO love to see this world full of people where everyone is able to live their lives the way they choose. I would love to see everyone able to live to their fullest potential. I would love to see everyone have enough to eat and comfortable surroundings and work that they enjoy.

I used to have long arguments with my best friend J. about this kind of thing. I told her once I would love to buy an island. I would have to buy it so that it would be mine, as legitimately mine as it would be possible to be. (Not to get into the whole argument about is it really legitimate for people to own land at all). I just don’t want it to be claimed by any government, they would ALL be totally against everything I’m trying to do.

I would turn that island into my own country. Anyone could come there and do anything they wanted to do, as long as they didn’t hurt anyone else (no murder, rape, robbery, etc). That is my basic premise in life. That is the idea that I live by.

Of course the USA would probably bomb the hell of my island. There’s NO WAY they would allow the world to see that a place with REAL freedom could exist and prosper. It would prove to the entire world what a fraud (and a danger to the entire planet) the US has become.

Yes, on my island you could drive without a license, without wearing seatbelts or helmets. You could drink or get high on whatever you wanted to (but you would be responsible for your actions whether high or not). There would be no spying allowed for any reason. There would be no universal ID such as social security has become (and therefore a magnet for identity theft). There would be no such things as ‘guilty property’ (asset forfeiture), money laundering laws, etc. Yes, there would be legal gambling and prostitution and there would be no such thing as a ‘victimless crime’. You could work at whatever you chose, for whoever you chose, for whatever wages and benefits you chose. There would be no government licensing of anything.

Since this island is based completely on voluntary action, I can see people working together to provide all the things we need and want without resorting to the use of force. If we need roads, schools, etc, people will come up with ways to provide them just like they did in colonial times in the USA. I can’t even think of anything we would need taxes for, so there probably wouldn’t even be any of those! 🙂

I would base my laws on the US constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights and I would follow the letter and the INTENTION of those documents! That being to promote INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM! To keep the people in control of the government and NOT the other way around.

We would get into huge arguments about what exactly was meant by the word “hurt”. I told her, I think it would have to be defined as an ‘objective’ hurt. Something obvious to everyone else. Otherwise, anyone could just make anything up they wanted.

I think it would have to be something ‘proveable’. Something that you could prove actually happened to you and that it actually did hurt you. You should be able to prove real harm.

So, we got into all these arguments over ‘what if?’…

‘what if she moved in next door to my multi-million dollar mansion and built a junkyard?’, (who said I would have a multi-million dollar mansion? I just spent all my money to buy this island!

‘what if she came to my (multi-million dollar mansion) and shit on my floor?’ (multi-million dollar mansion??), if she shit on my floor on purpose, then I think I would throw her out of my house. If she was sick or something and couldn’t control herself, then I think I would send her to the hospital but still get her out of my house!

‘what if somebody’s feelings got hurt?’ see above point about being objective and proveable

‘what if somebody trashed your boat?’ unbelieveable! they would have to pay restitution for the damages and/or they would get deported!

After a while of this kind of thing, we both got sick of the argument. I decided I would not really want to be dictator after all. It’s too much work!

I really just want to be left alone to live my life in peace. I don’t want to BE alone, I just want to be LEFT alone. There’s a huge difference.

It seems very few people understand where I’m coming from. Almost everyone seems to think people are somehow better off with other people running their lives instead of themselves. I am totally in opposition to that idea.

This is why I am searching so hard to find some PLACE where I can live the rest of my life. It is no longer possible to have that in the USA. The country that was founded to allow people exactly that freedom.

My only hope now is to somehow get out of the US permanently and find some out of the way place where the people will just accept you for who you are. Where they are happy to live and let live. Where their government does not have the resources to constantly interfere. And if it does, where the people will force it to back off!!!

So, OK, I’ve rambled on now for over the 20 minutes the assignment called for. Hope some of you made it all the way to the end. 😉

Any comments on this subject (or any other) is always appreciated. 🙂

 

 

These people are animals…REALLY???

An EXCELLENT post from the Culture Monk! Hopefully he is starting a conversation that we all really ought to be having. I completely agree with his comments about the news media (mainstream news media) and I am SO glad we now have the internet to help us learn the truth about what’s going on in the world and to bypass the lies the psychopaths in power wish us to believe.
I have been promoting the libertarian outlook for a long time. I think they deserve at LEAST the opportunity to have their views known in the public forum. The mainstream news media does all it can to discredit their views and label any politician who espouses them as a ‘nutjob’!
Who’s nuts” Someone who believes in freedom and liberty. or someone who prefers to use FORCE on every issue?

The Freedom Myth

the more we can spread this information (which is the truth about what’s going on), the better off we’ll be.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Relic

This is my entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Relic. Here’s the story behind the photos I chose for my entry.

I took a trip to Indonesia a couple of years ago to look into having a sailboat built for me. I have been trying to find a way to move out of the USA for years.

The main hold up has been that no other country will give me a work visa (unless I can do something no one else in their country can do). I thought about teaching English (TEFL) and I still think about doing that sometimes (maybe I will one of these days, but I hate to  put myself in a situation where that is my only option. I started writing and blogging as another option to hopefully help me make a living without being stuck in the USA.

I am looking for more freedom. I don’t want to jump from the frying pan of the USA (which is rapidly becoming a police state) into a situation where I don’t really know the rules and have restricted myself by not having the finances (because I had to take a low paying job) to get out of any trouble I don’t know enough to stay out of.

So, maybe I’m trying to have my cake and eat it too, but I really think we all deserve to live a wonderful life. The life WE choose. Free to do the things we enjoy, in the physical location we want to be.

I don’t agree with borders in principle. I don’t agree with the idea of any political authority. “Leaders” are just regular people and governments are just groups of people. None of them are any more special than you or me. I believe we are ALL equal under the law (natural law) and we should ALL have the same opportunity to live our own lives without interference.

I think we ALL have the inherent right to do anything we want as long as we don’t hurt anyone else (who has the same rights as we do). The founding fathers of the USA enshrined that principle in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (Bill of Rights), but the government we have now has corrupted that ideal beyond belief.

We are already FAR beyond the point where the original colonists revolted. I keep wondering WTF has happened to the American people that they submit without question to things like the TSA groping their children in the airports.

We have gone from a country where we had a revolution over a 4% tax on TEA, to a country where the government routinely locks up people for LIFE for mere possession of a harmless plant!?!

OK, enough with the politics (for now). 😉

I went to Indonesia look into buying a boat. I thought I could build a business with it that would allow me to live in a foreign country. I thought if I had a means to support myself, I could make the move. Too bad the price of the boats had gone up so much since I first heard about them. There was really no way I could afford one.

Unless it was one like the ones in these pictures. 🙁

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/relic/

Statism is Dying

Statism is Dying.

I sure as hell HOPE so! Nothing deserves it more. Nothing would make me happier!

I REALLY want to be able to live at least part of my life with the freedom I was promised as a child! Instead of watching it slowly stolen from me day by day here in the former “land of the free”.

I got this article from The Dollar Vigilante in my email today. I just HAD to pass it on in it’s entirety. I thought it was an excellent explanation of my views on government and the state. The videos are excellent, especially the second one by Josie the Outlaw.

I have been in an extended argument with some of my friends on Facebook over this kind of thing. I can’t seem to get them to understand the benefits of freedom and the sick, soul killing abuse of statism (or rule by others in any form).

I always have a hard time explaining what I mean and why the way I think about things actually makes much more sense than the way things are. Why I am still a ‘dreamer’.

My basic premise is that I own MYSELF. The principle of self-ownership is what everything else comes from. I think it’s pretty self evident, but apparently it’s not. Too many people just don’t seem to get it.

I don’t get it. I don’t understand them at all. Why do SO many people argue against that most basic principle? Why do SO many people feel they do not, could not, SHOULD not own their own lives?

IMHO, we are all born free, we all deserve to live as FREE human beings, since we ARE free from birth! Regardless of what other people say or do, they do NOT own you! IF they try to act like they do, then they are WRONG and you DO have a right to overthrow them in any manner you choose!

In my eyes, there is a very basic struggle going on world wide. It is the fight for individual liberty vs Statism; slavery and power over others.

I will ALWAYS be on the side of individual liberty and will do whatever I can to help that side.

I am still waiting for my friends (or anyone else) to come up with some good (LOGICAL) reasons for why anyone (other than a sociopath/psychopath) would support the other side.

Any takers?

Zero to Hero-Day (16)- 17: Focusing on Formatting

Oh well, I still haven’t come up with anything to say about the assignment for Day 16 (prompt: reputation). So I never did write a post on the subject.

Reading the assignment for Day 17, I have already looked at quite a few of other Zero to Hero participants and commented on some of their posts. I really enjoyed reading some of the very different takes on that one subject. It sure brings to the forefront the beauty of blogging, that even tho we are all here and all doing pretty much the same thing, there is still SO much variety! 🙂

OK, since I didn’t do a post on the prompt, I am going to write a post today about something else. 😉

And, to follow along with the challenge, I will use 2 (or more) of the suggested formatting tools (“block quotes, preformatting, or an ordered or unordered list”).

I'm not really sure what is meant by 'preformatting'. 
So I guess I'll just write a little bit til I can see what happens.

Here we go. It doesn't really seem to do much of anything. Changes the 
font and looks like it cuts off the space I can write in a little bit. 
Also makes a black space around my writing while I have the 'preformatted'
box checked.

OK, so that’s that. I learned something new. 🙂

Since today is a holiday here in the US, it’s Martin Luther King Jr Day, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes of his. Also using the ‘blockquotes’ formatting tool.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I really like all 3 of those quotes. I have always been a fierce believer in freedom in all its forms and hold the fact that our governments entire purpose is to uphold individual liberty as our greatest accomplishment here in the USA.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,…

Declaration of Independence

I am SO sad to see what has been happening here in the last few years.

What happened to all those people who were around back when Martin Luther King Jr was out protesting against the wrongs of society? Why aren’t those people STILL trying???

Things have surely NOT been fixed! Obama is NOT the answer.

I was pretty young back in the 60’s when Martin Luther King Jr was around in person, but I read a lot. I read a lot of history and politics and social studies, etc. I think people were trying to create a more free, more just, more peaceful and prosperous society.

WTF happened??? The people who were protesting back then are the ones in power now. People like the Clintons for instance. They grew up and now they are the ones upholding all the same old crap they used to fight so hard against! 🙁

Things like…

  1. the War on (some) Drugs
  2. (Unjust) Foreign Wars
  3. Big Government
  4. Big Business
  5. The SYSTEM

It makes me sad to see how many people just don’t get any of the things I try to bring to their attention. Things like why it’s so bad that we have given up our freedom and liberty for the TSA, NSA, NDAA, PATRIOT ACT, FACTA, etc, etc, etc. Never-ending big government information gathering and CONTROL of every tiny little aspect of life here in this ONCE free country.

I just don’t understand how a once free people (and we were SO much more free even when I was a kid) can give up so much and not even seem to care. Most people I talk to think it’s somehow a GOOD thing.

Have they never read or seen George Orwells 1984? or Animal Farm? Or any of the numerous other books describing how power ALWAYS corrupts? Or how lack of privacy (spy programs) turns society into a dreary, bleak, isolated, sad, destructive, sick mess that eventually sucks dry every bit of human decency, compassion and creativity?

I wonder what will it take? What will have to happen for people to WAKE UP and take back THEIR lives and their freedoms? I sure don’t know but I hope with all my heart and soul it will happen soon, before we have to go through another total collapse of civilization.

We ARE all in the same boat together. We only have one planet (unless we can hurry the hell up and get ourselves to Mars PDQ)! It’s a global civilization now and for better or worse, we do all influence each other now in numerous ways. I hope I can be a force on the side of peace and freedom.

I hope this blog can help. 🙂

Frog in Hot Water

The Tribal Mentality.

tribalmentality

Here’s another excellent article from The Dollar Vigilante. It was written by Latin America Editor Adil Elias (check the link, you can read it in English or Spanish). I’ve subscribed to TDV for a while now and I always enjoy reading their articles. I like to hear from all of their writers and enjoy hearing about their adventures.

Sometimes reading a post makes me laugh, sometimes it makes me cry (seriously), sometimes it infuriates me, but it always holds my attention and makes me think.

It usually makes me think about how the HELL did we allow our freedom to disappear? Yes, the foreigners still flock here, they believe our propaganda. And yes, we are better off and more free here than if we lived in Somalia or North Korea. But we have lost SO MUCH. We were once the envy of the world. Now, not so much. 🙁

I know what’s happening, it’s like the story about the frog in a pot of boiling water. Throw him in when the waters at room temperature and he’s just fine with it. Turn up the heat very gradually and by the time the water’s hot enough to concern him, it’s too late and we have frog legs for dinner.

That is exactly what has been going on here in America with regards to our freedom. I know in some ways our freedom has been increasing. I can say that about communications for example. In lots of ways, things have improved in the last 100 years. We have telephone, fax, mobile phones, TV, computers, and internet.

All of those things have given us so many choices and improved our lives. Those things have increased our personal liberty. But that same technology is also being used against us in a lot of different ways.

Most people paid no attention to the fact that the US government has been increasingly violating our privacy. Edward Snowden took huge risks to break the news (again, since nobody paid attention any of the other times these spy programs have been reported).

No one had any major problem with the FBI wiretapping criminals, but now the ‘authorities’ capture EVERY SINGLE PHONE CALL from EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US! Same with everything you ever do or ever have done online. Same with tracking everywhere you go and everything you do. Everything you buy and everything you read. What you do at home and who you do it with.

We are living in a world to rival the worst nightmares of George Orwell and Franz Kafka. Yes, seriously! We have the technology, the money and the means to allow ‘our’ leaders to transgress against us in the most invasive ways.

1984 was supposed to be a WARNING, not a road map!!!

Our ‘leaders’ have decided it’s right and proper that they spy on EVERYTHING WE EVER SAY OR DO or even THINK! They are even collecting our DNA!! Of course, it’s all for our ‘own good’.

Really?

And do you REALLY want to live in a society where the people ‘in charge’ have access to all that information? To be used for any purpose they desire, to sell it to whoever they feel like, or to use it against us? The way I look at it, it is OUR information, it belongs to US and I did NOT give permission for anyone to use ANY of my information other than the people I specifically give it to.

I do NOT want my location tracked with cameras in every store, bank, street corner, and public place, cel phone triangulation programs and RFID chips! I do NOT want red light cameras, toll booths, license plate scanners, and black boxes (now required to be installed in all new vehicles) tracking every trip I make!

I do NOT want every conversation I make, every comment and keystroke I make, every item I buy, every person I associate with, every book I read, every club I join, every show I watch, etc. recorded and stored for all time!

I do NOT want my medical records spread about the internet for anyone to see, just because some kid with a bug up his ass wants to pay me back. I do NOT want my credit screwed up for years because (even) one bad apple in any of the dozens of companies I deal with abuses my social security number!

I do NOT want to live in a society where people have to think about ANY of these things going in in their lives. I could not call anyplace that did that kind of thing a civilization, it is the complete opposite of a civilized society!

I do NOT want to live in a place where people censor themselves and live in fear of being caught out, violated, spied on and blackmailed over any little thing. That IS what happens when people have no respect for personal privacy. Look at the historical record.

Take a good look at Nazi Germany. Take a good look at the Soviet Union. Take a good look at the Chinese and their Great Leap Forward. There are many, many examples.

I hope you’ll read the article in the link. I really can’t do it justice. I hope you’ll think about what he says about the organization of society and the way our ‘leaders’ function. I hope more and more and more people will think it over and decide to take back their lives and their freedoms from the power hungry thugs who somehow have managed to take over almost the entire world.

We will never have a decent world until we deal with these people. We all deserve to live in a world of peace, prosperity and freedom. I see some signs of change. The internet is a huge help in spreading the word, that YES, it IS possible! Let’s make it happen!!!

Here’s to a new awakening in the new year!

Privacy Malpractice

Privacy Malpractice | Laissez-Faire Bookstore.

I’m not sure how many people are aware of this, but once Obamacare (ACA) goes into effect you will have ZERO privacy. ALL your medical records will be out there in cyberspace for anyone who gives a hoot to see (and post it all over the web if they so choose).

Yeah, lots of people tell me that’s a bunch of BS, it’ll never happen. Well, the high ups in the administration have ALREADY said (admitted) that “no one should have ANY expectation of privacy” for their medical records.

In case you’re not aware, a ‘law’ had already been passed a while back that forces your medical providers to transfer all of your medical records to a digital form. This was done supposedly to ensure that people in the hospital could access your records in an emergency or your pharmacist could read your Dr prescription.

Yeah, it’s always for our own good. 🙁

Of course, once you put something onto a computer, you have to worry a LOT more about what happens to it. A file cabinet in a locked Drs office IS actually a LOT more secure then any computerized record. Unless, of course, your Dr is willing to violate the ‘law’ for YOU and actually uphold his oath to keep YOUR best interests in mind. He would have to buy some pretty serious privacy software and most Drs are just not going to do that.

Most of them prefer to violate their duty to YOU and instead turn over all your records which SHOULD be private to whatever government goon happens to ask for them!

Now, Obamacare takes that situation and makes it incredibly worse! Now, instead of just having your records in the possession of your personal health care providers, (and your insurance company, and your employer, and whoever those people decide to hand them over to), ALL of your medical information will go into a HUGE government database ‘with NO expectation of privacy”.

I don’t know about you, but I REALLY don’t like the idea of all my medical information floating around in cyberspace for anyone who knows how to hack a computer to play with! Do YOU really want your social security number, your name, age, birthday, address out there? Just THAT information is enough for any identity thief to ruin your life for YEARS if not decades!

Add to that basic information, your ENTIRE medical history! Whenever I bring up a mention of my concern for privacy, so many people spout the statement “if you’re not doing anything WRONG, then you should have nothing to worry about”. REALLY???

Do you REALLY want it publicized all over the internet that you went to see a shrink? had some serious drug/alcohol problems? you’re taking antidepressants? or anti-anxiety meds? or maybe you’d like it spread around that you have some sort of STD like herpes? or AIDS?

The point is, that it is YOUR information and it should be up to YOU where that information winds up and who else gets to see it. It’s bad enough already that it’s going to be seen by your insurance company and your employer! Do you REALLY think those people have YOUR best interests in mind?

Read the article, it has a lot of good points, especially about how to protect yourself. I wish I had better news, but it looks like unless you’re willing to spend a lot of time and effort or go completely off the grid, we are all going to have to get used to living in a fishbowl. 🙁

You would think that by now people would KNOW that is incredibly destructive to any kind of civilized society! People have a RIGHT to privacy for good reason!

3 Unconventional Ways to Super-Charge Your Savings

3 Unconventional Ways to Super-Charge Your Savings.

This is a link to a post on a blog I follow. The blog is by Paula Pant and is called Afford Anything. Paula is the one who taught us about blogging at the AWAI Boston workshop I went to back in August. She was very helpful to me in getting this blog of mine started.

I am always trying to find ways to save money. My goal is to save enough so I can ‘retire’. I want to move overseas somewhere. Somewhere I can afford to live the way I want to. Somewhere more affordable. Somewhere more free (since we have lost SO much freedom here in the USA). 🙁

So I’m always looking for ways to save more money, earn more money, etc. That would help move me further toward my goal. Paula has some good suggestions in her post. I love it that she always encourages us to think outside the box.

I’m not really into budgeting so I agree that putting saving first is a great idea. A lot of financial advisers say the same thing.

If you’re lucky enough to have a 401-K, put at least enough to get the company match in there. It might not be enough to retire on, but it’s a good start. Since you never see it in your checkbook, you’ll never miss it. I always sign up first thing at a new job now. 🙂

Maybe some of you are good at saving? I have to admit, I’m not that great at it. I try and I manage to save a little, but not enough to get me where I want to be. I don’t spend much on clothes, I live in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. ALL the time. 😉

I spend my income on vacations. I LOVE to travel. I go somewhere interesting EVERY chance I get! I try to go someplace where there is something in particular I want to learn about. For example, I went to the Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, the AWAI workshops in Chicago, Miami and Boston, the Live and Invest Overseas with International Living in the Rivera Maya Mexico, the Workboat Show in New Orleans.

I took all those trips in the last couple of years. I didn’t spend a TON of money, but it didn’t help my savings plan at all either. 😉

So, according to Paula I need to ‘earn more’!

I’m trying!! OK, to be honest, I hope to find some way to earn some money from this blog. I’m hoping to get my writing and photography out there to the world. Maybe someone will like it enough to be willing to buy some of it from me. 🙂

I’m also doing the same thing Paula is doing with real estate. Very similar at least. I started buying old houses and fixing them up to rent out a few years ago. I like the whole process of hunting down a good deal, improving on what was there, and then meeting all the interesting people that I have to deal with. From the technicians to the tenants, they’re ALL interesting. 😉

I’m glad to learn from Paula that I’m on the right track. She’s been very successful at living her life the way she’s dreamed. I hope to be able to break free and live MY dreams too one of these days. 🙂

Catching Up With Capt Jill

Well, it’s been a little while now since I finished up the November Post-A-Day Challenge (National Blog Posting Month). I needed the break. I actually got home from work the day after Thanksgiving (and missed the big feast). 🙁

As usual it took me a few days to catch up on everything.

First couple of days wasted just trying to catch up on SLEEP. I hate switching over from 6-6 nights! It’s SO hard this time of year, both mentally and physically. Never see the sun, no one is awake at home, never get your body in tune with your meals and sleep schedule, etc.

Since I’m home and finally have a chance to get caught up, I thought it might be a good time to write a little about who I am, what I do and what I’m hoping to do with this blog.

OK, so, here goes… I work as a merchant mariner (Merchant Navy for the Brits). For those of you who don’t really know what that means, it’s simply someone who works on a commercial vessel. Anything from small ferries, fishing vessels, to the largest VLCC or drillships. Usually work is in one of 3 departments: deck, engine, or stewards.

I grew up on the water and started working for my father when I was very young. He had an old sailboat that he used as a commercial fishing vessel for a while and he used to make me go out with him. I HATED it!!!

As soon as I could, I got a job down the street on one of the party boats (head boats). I would go out with them on the weekends. I had a great time on those boats. I worked mainly in the galley (kitchen). I sold the passengers sandwiches and drinks.

Sometimes I helped the deckhands with the passengers. I would help them bait hooks, untangle lines, get the fish off their lines, string them up and put them on ice. When we got to the dock at the end of the day, I would help clean up the boat and get everything ready for the next trip. Maybe clean and fillet some fish for tips. I was doing pretty good for a kid and plenty to live on but I wanted to do more.

Way back then (sarcasm), the commercial fishing fleet was where it was at! The fishermen could go out for a week and come back fully loaded. Flush with cash, they were living the good life.It was wild! I wanted some of that too! But, of course, I was a girl. Not possible, or so they said. 🙁

I tried to get a job on some of the better boats. The ones who consistently brought in a good catch and treated their crews well. I got nowhere with that. I tried and tried and couldn’t find much of anything.

I finally did go out with a friend. It was a horrible trip for a lot of reasons. We did manage to catch fish but that was the only good part of it. I might go into all that at some later point, but for now, just say that was the turning point for me. I was fed up with everything going on around that place and sick of my life. Everything I wanted to do, I was told was impossible, cause “girls can’t do that”. 🙁

To cut this short, I was getting into a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have. What finally happened was that I was very lucky (tho I didn’t know that at the time) and was offered the chance to completely change my life.

I went off to school with the Oceanics and never really looked back. I may not have known at the time, but I was hooked from the minute I got off the plane in Athens and was smuggled from the airport to the hostel we stayed at in the back of a bread truck.

We spent a few months sailing around the world on traditional sailing ships. Studying things like seamanship, navigation, celestial navigation, oceanography, cultural studies, Greek, Russian, Spanish, etc. Part of our day was always spent working on the ship while we were aboard.

I learned to LOVE it! I decided before I came home that I wanted to be a ship captain and sail around the world (and get paid for it). 🙂

My grandmother was really upset! Before I went away to school, I had planned to be a doctor. She never forgave me for changing my plans. I’m sure I made the right choice, even if she never thought so. 😉

The woman who ran the school was such a great help to me (and many others). She set me up in a school in Texas where I could get started toward my goal. A small Jr College in a small town, you would never expect to find such a great deal here.

I moved to Texas to join the Ocean Marine Technology program at Brazosport College in 1978. I managed to complete the 2 year program in only 5 years! I switched from fishing to working in the oil field and now work in all kinds of different areas offshore. Lately as a DPO (dynamic positioning operator).

In school, I learned to work in both the deck and engine departments (and could work stewards dept if I wanted). In the Gulf of Mexico it gets really HOT in the summer! I was working on small boats: crew boats, production boats, standby boats. Their engine rooms were small, smelled strongly of diesel fuel, and HOT all the time! I regret it now, but I never stuck with the engine department. I never even tested for my QMED. 🙁

I still had my sights set on becoming a ship captain one day. I fought hard for a long time to get the sea time I needed to work my way up. I’ll get into that some other time. I finally managed, just a couple of years ago, to get my unlimited masters license (whoo hoo!!).

Now, I work freelance. I work mostly for a couple of temp agencies. I like it since it gives me a chance to ‘try before I buy’. It’s also nice to see how different companies run things, to see the different vessels and meet different people.

One of the best things about working freelance is that I can pretty much make my own schedule. One of the bad things is, if there is no work, I’m stuck at home with no money. Too bad I never know beforehand. 🙁

When I went back to freelancing a couple of years ago, I took the opportunity to catch up and do a lot of things I’d been wanting to do but never could (since I was always offshore when they happened). I went to a few classes and conferences, I took a couple of nice long vacations. It was great! Til the work slowed down and I wasn’t able to get right back to work when I was ready to. 🙁

Now, I’m having a big debate in my mind. Should I stick with freelance? Or, should I go back and get a regular, permanent job again? It’s SO nice to be able to take the time off when I need it, but things are changing a lot with new rules and regulations and the temp agencies are not really keeping up with all that.

I have so many things I’d like to be doing when I’m NOT working. I’ve been trying for a long time to work less and spend more time doing what I like. I’d retire now if I could afford it and I’m working hard towards being able to do that. I have a couple of side businesses.

One is vending machines. I thought that was a great idea. A way for me to slowly work up to having enough income to be able to stop sailing all the time. That didn’t work out for me. I still think it’s a good plan IF I had the time to go find good placements for my machines.

One is real estate. I’m a slumlord like my father was. 😉 No, just kidding. I buy old, run down properties (cheap) and fix them up to rent them out. I started out just buying a place on the water to put a boat (that’s another story). I bought a nice beach house but then wound up renting it out. I’m actually in the process at the moment of fixing it all up again. Hoping to find some new tenants soon. 🙂

I met a really great Realtor while in the process of getting that house and she’s been helping me ever since. I’ve got a few properties now and they do keep me busy while I’m home.

I love to read, I’ve always got a book in my hand! I’ve just finished ‘Half the Sky’, a very good book but kind-of depressing. It’ll stir you up, but then has suggestions for what YOU can do to work off that anger you felt while reading. Right now I’m reading something different,  ‘Choose Yourself’ by James Altucher (who has a blog I also follow).

I like to go to local events like the beach cleanup I wrote about earlier or the JaGa Fest for the great reggae music. That’s where I took those fireworks photos (http://captjillsjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/weekly-photo-c…ight-celebrate), or the Biker and Blues Fest I plan on doing a post on (soon).

I love to go sailing. I joined a local club called Sail-La-Vie and go out with them when I can. It’s always a lot of fun. I also started my own meetup group, called Mariners Meetup. It’s a way for us old salts to get out and about, do something other then just hang around the house watching TV.

I try to keep up with politics, I’m into FREEDOM and trying my best to keep from losing any more of it here. If I’m home I go to the Campaign for Liberty meetings every Tuesday night. We have a bunch of projects we’re working on like our community garden (on hold for winter) and movie night. Last week we were talking about alternative energy and how to get off the grid.

I LOVE to travel (yes, eventually I will get around to posting some travel posts- I promise!). I like to write and take pictures, and enjoy going to workshops about that kind of thing. In fact, that’s how I started this blog.

I went to the AWAI travel writing/photography workshop in Boston back in August and they had a little bit about blogging. I started this blog right before I went up there so I could ask lots of questions and hopefully learn how to make a good blog. Actually, I heard that you could earn money from blogging and I wanted to learn how to do THAT!

So far, I haven’t learned how to do that. 🙁 I’m still trying to figure that part out. If you noticed, I put a link to Amazon down towards the bottom right. I haven’t figured out how to make that work properly tho. It’s supposed to be an Amazon blog and show the posts, but all it shows is the link to 4-5 different links on Amazon. Maybe some of you know what I’m doing wrong and can help me? 😉

I am trying to improve all the time. On here and in real life. 🙂 Now you know what I do when I’m working and when I’m home. Now you know why sometimes I don’t feel like posting for a little while. I do really enjoy it, but sometimes I just get run down. I don’t want this to wind up feeling like a chore, like something else I HAVE to do.

I hope I can keep this interesting and entertaining for all of us for a long time. Thanks for visiting me. 🙂

What Would a Free Society Look Like?

What Would a Free Society Look Like? | Laissez-Faire Bookstore.

I liked this article by Jacob Hornberger of the Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org). I used to belong to them and got these neat little books every month. They always had some great essays by Hornberger, Sheldon Richman and others. I still have a few around the house.

Hornberger is a great advocate for freedom and this short little essay of his is an example. It asks some good questions and at least gets you thinking. At least it did me and I hope it will others. 🙂

You must know enough about me by now to know that I am VERY much in favor of a free society. 😉 I have been a Libertarian for years, working to restore this country to some semblance of the free society we USED to have. I would REALLY like to see the USA return to its founding principles of freedom and liberty for all.

No, we were never perfect, but our principles were (are) sound. Our most basic principle is that of self ownership. Freedom to decide how YOU want to live YOUR life! Since we fought the American Revolution to ensure that one basic human right, our people have fought constantly for freedom.

We have fought against slavery, for womens’ rights, for workers rights, for minority rights, etc. Even today, our soldiers are fighting for what they were TOLD was someones freedom (regardless of whether what they were told was a lie, those soldiers believed it when they left home to fight).

These principles, which hold that the individual is important, are no longer respected in America. Even though it was our support for individual liberty that formed the basis for the most free and prosperous country in the history of the planet. 🙁

Since we stopped following those principles and no longer have any respect for individual liberty, we’ve been going backwards in every way. Most people here don’t agree with me.

They’ll come up with all kinds of excuses and false premises as to what’s wrong with this country. They’ll grasp at any straw to avoid the fact that we have lost most of our liberty already and what’s left of it is fading fast.

They have been manipulated by the government and the media to believe that they are better off trading their freedom for security.

Ben Franklin said it best over 200 years ago…

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

I agree with Ben! He was a pretty sharp guy and he sure as hell knew what he was talking about when he made that statement!

I am NOT willing to trade my freedom for any kind of security, it’s NOT worth it! I will take my chances with whatever the world brings my way. I only want the FREEDOM to be able to live MY life the way I choose, just like everybody else should be able to do.

I can think of SO many things I could do if our government had not grown so big. Rules and regulations everywhere. Nit picking and harassing me every time I try to break out of the mold and try to do something different. New ideas for businesses, etc. I can imagine that expanding to all the other people around me and the absolute explosion of creativity, which will foster prosperity, which will foster peace.

I can imagine with that freedom that people would be much happier, much more productive, much more friendly open and caring. Just think for a minute what would you do if you had a 30-50% raise.

Would you spend the extra money on something useful or enjoyable? Go back to school, take a trip, buy a bike, etc? Would you spend it on charity? Would you use the TIME instead to spend more time with your friends and family? Would you take the time to relax and just enjoy life?

Just think how much better off we’d all be with less stress in our lives! I’m pretty sure a LOT of that stress comes from work. How many people are just working for the money? I know plenty of people like that. They HATE their jobs, they’re miserable but they can’t quit. They need the money.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all could work at something we loved and didn’t need to worry about the paycheck?  If we cut government back down to its constitutional limits, you would GET that raise! We might even be able to stop choosing jobs only for the money. Imagine!! 🙂

What do YOU think a truly free society would look like? Would you like it? Or do you think you wouldn’t like it? Why?