Liberty Lost
Sam Aurelius Milam III
The
alleged terrorist apprehended on December 14 while trying to cross the
border at Port Angeles, Washington, has reminded me again of the casual
attitude that people have toward their liberty. With appalling indifference,
they've accepted the "necessity" for "tougher" surveillance at the border.
Such a lack of concern makes me wonder if self-government is really such
a good idea after all. A terrorist threat doesn't justify a routine
presumption of guilt and a requirement that innocent people must prove
their innocence by submitting to random, warrantless, and unprovoked searches.
The police state that will result from such flawed reasoning will be far
more harmful than the "terrorists" against which it allegedly provides
protection. If people really prefer such police state security instead
of liberty, then they don't deserve either the liberty or the self-government
that should secure it.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Free Trade
Sam Aurelius Milam III
The
Seattle WTO circus is over, but the "free trade" circus will continue.
For some reason, people have accepted the stupid notion that free trade
can't exist unless it's regulated by a world-spanning authority.
In fact, regulation doesn't cause free trade. It prevents it.
If we want free trade, then we should abolish the WTO and all of the other
New World Order institutions, whatever their excuse for existence.
Opposition to such monsters doesn't necessarily indicate isolationism or
protectionism. Any nation that wants a trade agreement with another
nation can negotiate it, just as nations have always done. The WTO
won't enhance the process. It will regulate it, supervise it, judge
it, and stifle it. Uniform regulation doesn't equal free trade.
More
generally, if we want to return power to the people then we must begin
by taking it away from the institutions. The bigger the institution,
the more important it is that we remove its power.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Choice vs Prejudice
Sam Aurelius Milam III
The
tedious trial between Microsoft and the "Justice" Department is another
good example of the lengths to which people will go for the sake of a prejudice.
In fact, there was never a need for the trial. We had a much better
way to address the alleged monopoly — competition.
Microsoft
has a monopoly on operating systems? Not really. Microsoft
has a monopoly only among customers who refuse to buy anything but a Windows
computer. Let's not call it a monopoly when the customers have a
choice and refuse to use it. Windows isn't even a Microsoft invention.
From the very beginning, it was an imitation of the Macintosh Finder, which
was invented several years earlier, which still exists, and which still
provides an alternative to Windows. If someone doesn't like the way
Microsoft is designing or marketing its product, then that person can still
buy from the competition — Macintosh.
Being
a Macintosh user, I've been subjected to all of the lame objections to
the Mac. I assure you that on my Macintosh I can select the browser
that I want to run, designate whatever I want to appear on my startup screen,
and set which software I want to open at startup. None of it is "controlled"
by Microsoft. My Mac will do anything that a similar vintage PC will
do. Neither system is perfect, but if somebody continues to struggle
with the "monopoly" when buying a Macintosh would solve the problem, and
doesn't get the Mac just because he doesn't "like" them, then I have to
question his priorities. If he'd rather have the "Justice" Department
regulate the industry than go to the trouble of changing brands, then he
deserves what he gets — a regulated industry.
The
"monopoly" wasn't caused by Microsoft, but by customers who refused to
use the available competition. Maybe the result will be a bigger,
uglier monopoly. The industry might end up being run by the government
instead of by Microsoft.
For
either monopoly, we have only the customers to blame.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Frontiersman@ida.net |
Frontiersman,
479 E. 700 N., Firth, Idaho 83236
Also see The Pharos Connection at http://www.ida.net/users/pharos/ |
January 2000
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