Being the ardent patriot and son of the revolution as I am, my mind is often a buzz with political thought. I sift through the political philosophies of Aristotle to (my hero) Thomas Jefferson. I am constantly on the search for solutions to today’s problems.

As I am well aware, the people must take it upon themselves to change the things that are not right. But more to the point: on one particular day as I was driving down the road an epiphany, if you will, happened upon my inquisitive mind. This epiphany pertains to the Occupation of Iraq by American troops. As it stands now the fate of these soldiers on foreign soil is in the hands of the President of the United States.

Voters are now scrambling to find a candidate in the Presidential election that suits their particular beliefs on this issue. As I am sure you are now rapt with attention, I will have you wait no longer for me to reveal the epiphany to you. It is this:
The description to keep American troops in Iraq is NOT up to us; it is up to the Iraqis! They are a SOVEREIGN nation, with a people who’s voice should be SOVEREIGN.

The United States government has NO AUTHORITY WHATSOEVER to have its soldiers anywhere in Iraq without permission. Don’t you see now? It is so simple! I cannot believe for so long we have quarreled over a solution that was staring us in the face. I cannot believe that for this long the US Government has left it up to AMERICAN citizens to decide the fate of IRAQI citizens. For that matter I cannot believe that it is seen as Constitutional for the American Government to decide the fate of any foreign nation’s people.

We have lost over a thousand troops to create a nation where government is one that is of the people, by the people, for the people, however we have not asked the PEOPLE if our troops should be occupying their homeland. I hope that now, you see the truth.uth.

On Friday, Dick Heller, plaintiff in the

Read Reason’s write-up here, and a Washington Post blog writeup here.

I suspect that the fact that Heller was the sole registrant since the ban “lifted” (an empty, locked gun is essentially useless if you really need it for on-the-spot protection) is a result of no one knowing what on earth is happening with the registration process, which guns are allowed, etc.

Sometimes you hear this sort of argument: “This is America, if you don’t like it, pack your bags and leave.”

Of course the person making the argument always presumes that his beliefs are the only true “American” beliefs. The presumption in the “get the fuck out” argument is always that one’s own arguments are infallible. This is problematic, because the presumption can never be true: “America” is an abstract; at best it is a conglomeration of many, many diverse individuals with many divergent opinions and belief sets.

Now that we have concluded the presumption is never true, we need to take a long, hard look at the argument. Most proponents of this argument subscribe to some variation of a belief in “the land of the Free,” which is a good point from which to start. This is the land of the “free,” alright, if you don’t like what I’m doing with my freedom, how’s about you get the fuck out? If I don’t like social security, or welfare, or the war on terror, or a giant fucking wall on the Mexican border, I shouldn’t have to leave. You’re the one who wants it, after all. Feel free to exclude me from OASDI and AFDC benefits, hell, for all I care, build a fucking tunnel between my house and Mexico. Why do I have to leave?

Because, honestly, it sounds like it’s your problem - not mine.

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But really, the point I want to make, is that if you do believe in a land of the “free,” then ultimately nobody should ever be called upon to leave on account of someone else’s mere displeasure or disagreement. Just ignore the stuff that doesn’t affect you, associate with people with whom you share common ideals, goals, hobbies, beliefs, values, etc., and let everyone else do the same.

If you’re incapable of doing this, stop trying to tell people that you believe in freedom when you fucking hate its guts.

Surely a back order is evidence of sales, and sales should mean that I receive a royalty check for whatever has sold. So far, you have taken my name off the product’s description, and when I called , nobody answered the phone.

What’s going on guys?