Page 2 - Bretigne Shaffer\'s Truth and Fiction

It is time for those who profess to care about human suffering to start being honest about this. If we are truly going to take a stand for peaceful coexistence and non-harming, then we can no longer remain oblivious to the violent implications of the government acts that many of us support: from immigration restrictions to anti-trust law, mandatory GMO labeling to medical licensing, environmental and workplace regulation to taxes on cigarettes ...or indeed to taxation itself.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote32 12

You know what? People should just be able to walk into a store and buy the fucking medication they need. Or want. Or think they want. The discussion (and the phone calls and the emails and sometimes the faxes) should just end there. But it doesn't. Because Statism.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote9 0

As the Fraser Institute found for the - I don’t know, billionth? - time in its annual survey comparing freer economies with less free ones, even the poorest residents of countries with a high degree of economic freedom are far better off than even the average person living in the least free countries. Says their most recent report: “the average income of the poorest 10% in the most economically free nations is about 50% greater than the overall average income in the least free nations.” (Emphasis mine.) And life expectancy in the most free countries is seventeen years higher than...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote12 7

I have to say, I’m flattered that you’re all so eager to keep up our communication - but I should make clear that I was only away because I had some important family stuff to attend to. My absence was not in the least a sign of waning interest in our ongoing conversation. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed that you reacted this way. Yes, we have developed a certain rapport, but I think the offer of gifts was a bit excessive.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote11 4

When we got to the top of the stairs, we saw two policemen asking to see Alien Registration cards. "Oh what Bullshit!" Said Jody, "come on!" She led us around the policemen before they had a chance to stop us. From across the street, we looked back. Massoud stood there as the police went through his things, searching his pockets and his bag. "They think he's got drugs," said Jody. They asked Andrew for his Registration card. He showed it, and they waved him on. "Should we stay?" Asked Nuri. "No, we can't do anything," she said. "Ah, he'll be...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote1 0

If you learned nothing else from the 20th century’s disastrous experiments with socialism, please learn this: CENTRAL PLANNING DOES NOT WORK. And by “does not work” I mean creates poverty, waste and, if allowed to continue long enough, lots and lots of death and destruction. Please stop supporting it.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote12 5

If you've been following my attempts to unsubscribe from Bernie Sanders' mailing list, you should know that it was a nail-biting 48 hours as I waited to hear back from his team after my last missive on Thursday. So many thoughts went through my mind: Maybe they were tired of hearing from me; Maybe they weren't interested in what I had to say at all, maybe they had just been pretending all along; Maybe they were busy - we all get busy, right?; Or maybe they were all lying in a ditch somewhere! So it was with great relief that...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote19 5

Again, I do not share your love for more state violence as a response to problems caused by state violence. I am also less-than-impressed with your team's ability to perform pretty basic functions like unsubscribing people from your mailing list (this is now my third attempt). If you keep sending me your economically illiterate rantings, I might have to start sending you some of MY campaign information.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote7 5

Finally the day arrived when the cart was delivered to the apartment. There was a storage shed just off the courtyard where residents could store personal belongings and that is where it would stay at night and when it wasn’t being used. The friend of a friend of Chong’s cousin stood warily in the apartment as Nyaa handed him the deposit. He counted it out three times, licking his fingers each time and never smiling. He stood just as warily as she pulled the cart away from him in the courtyard. “Remember,” he growled, “any damage and you won’t see...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote5 0

Life is good, mused Billy Rainbow as he ambled across the wooden bridge to Kresge College. Sprinkles of sunlight drifted down through the redwoods and he could taste the scent of spring in the air - woody and fresh, with a hint of the sea that lay just below campus. Billy Rainbow had just taken some mushrooms. He had mixed them in peanut butter to eat them, and it left a funny taste in his mouth. It occurred to him that the one thing that could make his mouth taste better was chocolate. It also occurred to him that the...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote7 4

Earlier this year I spent a few days at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with my daughter who was having an EEG done. On our way home, I learned that there had been an outbreak of an antibiotic-resistant bacteria while we were there, that it had infected seven people and killed two of them. My daughter and I were fine - the infection having been limited to people using a particular kind of duodenoscope. When the story hit the news, I fully expected nationwide outcry similar to that inspired by the recent measles “epidemic” that began at Disneyland....

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote32 5

Matt Walsh has a good piece in response to the hysteria surrounding those of us who choose not to vaccinate our children, or to opt out of some vaccines. He writes: USA Today published a column recently that suggested all “anti-vaxx” parents should be put in prison. Of course Slate agrees. Forbes contested that parents who don’t vaccinate should be sued. A recent poll found that a majority of Americans believe vaccines should be forced, and a slightly smaller majority think unvaccinated kids should be banned from schools. The TV doctor on Fox News recently called on President Barack Obama to pass federal regulations mandating...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote14 2

There was a time when there were no police departments - and it wasn't that long ago.

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote12 0

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQQpVCRLnKg&w=560&h=315]

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote10 4

As I write this, my son is running around the house naked, even though I’ve asked him twice to put his clothes on. I can hear the bathroom sink swooshing on and off as he makes a swimming pool for his zoo animals. I weigh getting up and possibly waking his baby sister, who is sleeping on my chest, against the lesser likelihood that he will catch a cold from running around the house naked and wet. I decide to stay put. The swooshing continues. I wonder how a man named Scott Oglesby would deal with my son’s exuberance, his...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote30 7

Something’s been bugging me about the discussions I see in libertarian circles about class and “privilege.” It’s not the fact that these things are being discussed - there’s nothing wrong with that - it’s what’s being omitted from most of the discussions.Take the recent debate between Cathy Reisenwitz and Julie Borowski on the pages of FEE’s The Freeman. Says Reisenwitz:“Libertarians have a choice: They can stay silent on the topic of class and privilege, and simply support policies such as ending the drug war, extending marriage to gays, and opening up immigration from a limited government perspective. Or they can...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote17 22

I wrote this nearly two years ago, at the end of the Republican National Convention after Mitt Romney had been given (yes, given) the nomination. As I see well-meaning people gearing up now for another election season (only two years away! Does the madness ever stop?), for getting "the right people" into office, I just want to repeat what I said here. If your goal is liberty, don't waste your time at the voting booth: I’ve seen many posts like this one today, from Antonia Litsinger: “Well, I'm not going to get into the classic insanity mode – doing things over and...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote6 0

Dear Mr. Brand, Let me start off by saying that I’m a huge fan. I haven’t seen your live show yet, but I’ve been really impressed by every one of your video appearances. You are brilliant, super sharp and I think have real empathy for people. I say this not to shower you with flattery but so you know that everything I say here comes from a place of genuine admiration and respect. Like you, I am a non-voter, and for much the same reasons. I’ve written about that here. You say you want a revolution. I do too. But...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote23 5

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yjUo5RUaek]

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote15 10

I must have been six or seven when my grandmother, a schoolteacher, explained to me “when we’re talking about boys and girls together, we call them all ‘he’.” I loved my Nana, but thought it was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. When I got to college, I realized that many others felt the same way. Most people were saying “he or she” and writing “s/he” – unfazed by the ridicule of the few who hadn’t caught on. This isn’t something I thought about much over the years. But a recent comment by Sharon Presley, reminded me why sexism in...

By Bretigne Shaffer Vote9 5

Bretigne Shaffer's Truth and Fiction

The Rhinoceros in the Yoga Studio Oct 1, 2015

“What the Government Costs You” Data Point of the Day: Oct 1, 2015

Bernie Sanders Endorses Free Markets! Sep 29, 2015

Team Bernie Tries to Ply Me with Gifts Sep 23, 2015

Massoud Sep 19, 2015

In Which I Do a Really Crappy Job of Ignoring the Campaign Sep 16, 2015

My Correspondence with Team Bernie Continues Sep 12, 2015

Bernie Keeps Bugging Me! Sep 10, 2015

A Machine for Washing Clothes Sep 8, 2015

Billy Rainbow and the Sexual Justice Warriors Jun 20, 2015

First They Came for the Anti-Vaxxers Apr 27, 2015

Wow – Some Sanity on Vaccines Feb 9, 2015

Policing in Perspective Jan 16, 2015

Happy Halloween from Anarcho Soccer Mom Oct 8, 2014

Mere Anarchy Loosed Upon the World Jul 21, 2014

Libertarians and ‘Privilege’ Jul 7, 2014

The Revolution Is Over – Long Live the Revolution! Jul 4, 2014

How About a Real Revolution, Russell Brand? Jul 1, 2014

We’re Statists Jun 22, 2014

Privilege and Prejudice Jun 21, 2014