Thursday, March 3, 2011

Paging Walter Block: Robert Reich Just Called the Gov. of Wisconsin a Dictator

The battle is joined. Dr. Block couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams it would get this good. The left in the form of Robert Reich is now correctly labeling the Governor of Wisconsin a dictator. Aren't  all governors?

In turn, the Governor wants the senate democrats arrested.

Reich thumbs:
Walker wants to arrest the 14 senators who are standing up to him. The dictator of Wisconsin should be recalled.
It's total Blockian government chaos. The government is battling itself and has no time to make new laws against its subjects.

9 comments:

  1. How do the democrats justify running away to avoid voting? Isnt the will of the majority sacred for them? Arent the democrats being undemocractic by hiding?

    This people make no sense.

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  2. Yeah sure, but meanwhile the taxpayer keeps paying and the parasitic classes keep collecting.

    This "Blockian" stalemate doesn't achieve anything, or did you supporters of the state's ground troops who do all the dirty work really think this fight is going to last all that long?

    If the unions win, all ordinary citizens are in deep sh*t, as people have more to fear from virtually immune, corrupt and/or incompetent 'ground troops' like teachers, cops, TSA enforcers and other public employees who do the actual brainwashing, groping, brutalizing, stealing and killing, than from the bureaucrats issuing the orders.
    Without people actually following those orders without impunity (thanks to their unions), the state would just be a phrase.

    Which public employee would dare violate citizens or their rights if they no longer have union back up and job security? If cops can finally get fired instead of put on paid leave for seriously brutalizing innocents, how many will think twice? But i guess that doesn't matter, because people have much more to fear from the Koch brothers, whom some anarchists seem so obsesses with because they aren't 'properly' libertarian, that they side with PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS!

    The ordinary tax payer is not benefiting from this at all. If the left wins, the looting class will be drunk with power and realize that with a *real* political fight, they'll come out the winner anyway.

    What on Earth is Walter Block thinking, that such a puny little conflict in the grand scheme of things will weaken the concept of the state itself, *especially* by choosing the side that actually wants to grow the size, power and immunity of state employees? Choosing the wrong side here will only harm the taxpayer.

    I find the viewpoint of some anarchists on this issue detestable.
    They pride themselves on being principled (unlike neolibertarians and other minarchists), yet at the first sight of an ACTUAL battle between some politician and public unions, something a lot of us are clamoring for if the politician's name was Ron Paul, the consequentialism comes out (side with the unions, it will reap better results in the long run although we have no proof whatever of this and the argument seems counter-intuitive). Seems more like people such as Lew Rockwell, whom earlier sided with corporations like Amazon even when they colluded with the state against Assange/Wikileaks because Amazon had been good to him, but who now sides with public unions over the corporate Koches because the corporate state is now suddenly too lamentable, are just afraid to contradict a man they have so much respect for.
    Where was 'principled' Rockwell about this issue before Block gave us his consequentialism?

    More and more some of these paleo-anarchists seem just like a bunch of sheep to me, copying each others viewpoints.

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  3. @Canon

    First, you need to get your facts straight. Gov. Walker is not going after union cops or firefighters (They voted for him).

    Second, Block doesn't want the unions to win. He wants to unions to gum up the works, which they are.

    How you equate Rockwell's view on Amazon which is a private company with what is going on in Wisconsin is beyond me. When the gvt put pressure on Amazon to stop dealing with Assange, what was Amazon supposed to do? Do you tell the government at tax time to go to hell becasue they use the money to fight wars overseas? Didn't think so.

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  4. Walter Block commented on many of the misconceptions/complaints about his 'union-friendly' views. Here's his (I believe) his latest...further explaining what he meant...in case it helps:

    http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block173.html

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  5. Guys, this is really all academic. While Walter Block certainly has a great point, and I am enjoying watching these parasites try to destroy each other, his position on this fight is not going to have any consequence on the outcome. I suspect neither Gov. Walker, the AWOL Democrats nor the unions have any clue who Walter Block is.

    Ultimately, the only way reduction of the government and union perks/pay/"rights" through the force of law will occur is when the the populace rejects the inevitable tax increases and/or inflation that will be necessary to fund them. Eventually, it'll be time to pay the piper.

    I recently heard Mark Steyn being interviewed (I'm not sure how the Libertarian community thinks of him, but his positions are consistently in support of freedom, liberty and significantly smaller government. He often mocks government, which I like.). When asked to comment about a recent, depressing poll that "a majority of Americans prefer not reduce entitlements," his response was something like: "So what! I suspect that American's also prefer Anne Hathaway over Kathy Bates, but they're not going to get her. At the point where more people start drawing from the system than paying in (the point of collapse for all Ponzi schemes), their entitlements WILL be reduced whether they prefer it or not."

    While we're all enjoying the fight and the government stalemate in Wisconsin, let's all hope that the day of financial reckoning comes quickly.

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  6. Thank you DP, good post. What good has come from Dr. Block's article? (What does support the unions mean anyways? Donate money, join their rallies, paint our face union colors?) It has us wasting our time on a academic point and divided our ranks. A Blockian heaven? Good Grief! The absurdities abound. I think the standard term is gridlock, hardly an original concept. I agree with it as many others have for many years. Query: If a Democrat had been elected governor of Wisconsin and wanted to cut dairy subsidies to punish GOP supporters, should we then oppose him? How will ever cut back on state spending then? I agree gridlock is good and this discussion is pointless, and one wonders if a rereading of Moby Dick would be good for some of us.

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  7. @ Robert Wenzel

    "First, you need to get your facts straight. Gov. Walker is not going after union cops or firefighters (They voted for him)."

    I never said Walker is going after union cops or firefighters. What i am saying is that support for ANY public employee unions is ridiculous.
    They are based on the exact same principles so to support public unions in one area of government is to support them in others.


    "Second, Block doesn't want the unions to win. He wants to unions to gum up the works, which they are."

    He doesn't want either to win, but one *IS* going to win. The notion that this political gridlock will last is ridiculous. As i mentioned, is the taxation going to stop too?
    This gridlock is temporary, meaningless, and in the end if the unions win, everything else i mentioned will apply, which is that those who actually commit the violence in the state's name will be virtually immune and therefor have no real reason to think twice before violating individuals and their rights. Hitler meant nothing without Nazi troops. And the state means nothing without public employees. It is *their* power and virtual immunity from the consequences of their actions that needs to be broken most of all.


    "How you equate Rockwell's view on Amazon which is a private company with what is going on in Wisconsin is beyond me."

    The point is that when it comes to collusion between the government, or government officials, with a corporation or people in the corporate world, mister Rockwell is rather selective.
    Are the Koches not private people? Are they part of the government?
    He doesn't condemn Amazon for basically screwing Wikileaks/Assange in collusion with the state, but he does condemn the Koches for, oh i don't know, because some anarchists are just really obsessing over the "Kochtopus" for being faux-libertarians, i guess.
    The difference is, while Amazon screwed people who opposed the state and its crimes and secrecy, the Koches through Walker are trying to screw a bunch of looters who's livelihood depend on state violence.
    What's wrong with this picture? What's wrong with this picture is that the "principled" Rockwell is personally benefiting from Amazon, as he made sure everyone knew during the calls for boycotting Amazon, Paypal and others.

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  8. @ Robert Wenzel

    "When the gvt put pressure on Amazon to stop dealing with Assange, what was Amazon supposed to do?"

    Oh i don't know. Not being like people in WW2 who rounded up Jews?
    The point is moot, though, since Rockwell made it pretty obvious how "thankful" he is of Amazon because of his business with them. He was quite frank about where he was coming from.

    Let me ask you this: suppose you had a business and the government would pressure you (through unconstitutional means) to betray someone who shares the same views as you, would you immediately bend over?

    Either way, just because Amazon felt "compelled" to do what the gvt. said, it doesn't follow that they continue to deserve respect, support and business from "principled" anarchists.
    You want to make business-oriented decisions against principles? Fine. But then don't complain if you lose respect and support from customers. PRINCIPLED customers, that is.

    P.S. Aren't the Koches business men? Why does Amazon get the right to collude with government to do what is best for them, while the Koches don't? Whether the Koches "use" the government or not, the government would still be there throwing roadblocks in their way. Instead of waiting to be forced one way or the other, they manipulate the monopoly of violence to their advantage.
    I wouldn't call either of them principled but i certainly wouldn't be so hypocritical as to condemn the Koches while supporting Amazon, especially when Amazon ends up screwing Wikileaks (to preserve/protect business interests) while the Koches screw the looting class (to preserve/protect business interests).


    "Do you tell the government at tax time to go to hell becasue they use the money to fight wars overseas? Didn't think so."

    I'd be forced by law to pay taxes. It wouldn't hurt the state a damn bit if i refused to pay my taxes. They'd simply turn me into a cautionary tale for the rest of the country.

    Wikileaks/Assange hadn't even been charged with anything yet. Amazon's room full of high-priced lawyers (which they'll no doubt have or be able to afford) would have had a field day with the government if they forced Amazon to drop business with Assange without Assange (much less Amazon for the "crime" of doing business with him) even being charged with anything.
    So your comparison is ridiculous.

    If you think it isn't, i'd shudder to think what you would be capable of, simply because the government *could* come knocking at your door for some vague reason.

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  9. While I think Walter could've done himself a big favor by expressing his initial argument more clearly, here's why I ultimately hope the unions lose this battle: the whole country will see that rent-seeking can backfire horribly. If the unions in Wisconsin and Ohio (and everyone watching them) learns nothing from these events, I hope it's that anyone can end up on the receiving end of government force. If you live by the sword, you can die by it too.

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