On Wed, 22 Jun 2016 06:53:32 -0700 (PDT),
milt....@gmail.com wrote:
>On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 10:44:11 AM UTC-7, David Hartung wrote:
>> On 06/21/2016 10:09 AM, Kurt Lochner wrote:
>> > Gun advocates fancy themselves champions of the Constitution. They
>> > misunderstand and abuse the Second Amendment
>> > need of revision. I don’t believe we should ban guns, however, and I
>> > accept that the Second Amendment is defensible. The unfortunate reality
>> > is that we live in a country in which there are more guns than people,
>> > where the soft targets outnumber the hard ones. Self-defense is
>> > therefore a legitimate concern. So long as the guns are on the streets
>> > and criminals have access to them, law-abiding citizens deserve the
>> > right to protect themselves.
>> >
>> > But defenders of the Second Amendment often rely on another
>> > justification. The argument, simply stated, is that the right to bear
>> > arms exists to protect the people from a tyrannical government. It’s
>> > “the ultimate check against governmental tyranny,” as Ted Cruz recently
>> > put it. There’s a superficial logic to this claim, but it doesn’t
>> > survive scrutiny. First, a “well-regulated” militia, the alleged
>> > mechanism of this check, is to be controlled by Congress according to
>> > the Constitution. States are allowed to appoint officers and train the
>> > militia, but Congress is given unfettered authority over it. So the
>> > “well-regulated” militia clause is not intended as a “check against
>> > governmental tyranny.” On the contrary, it’s an instrument of state power.
>> >
>> > But what about the practical argument that an armed citizenry is the
>> > best way to keep the state at bay? This, too, is false, and there is
>> > plenty of data to prove it.
>> >
>> > There’s an assumption that political power and violence are equivalent;
>> > that force is always and everywhere the most reliable means of achieving
>> > a political outcome. It’s true that violence is occasionally necessary
>> > (in a geopolitical context, for example), but how useful it is varies
>> > considerably. Understanding the constituents of power is critical. Gene
>> > Sharp, a pioneer of strategic nonviolence, defined political power thus:
>> > “The totality of means, influences, and pressures – including authority,
>> > rewards, and sanctions – available for use to achieve the objectives of
>> > the power-holder, especially the institutions of government, the State,
>> > and groups opposing either of them.”
>> >
>> > What’s crucial about this conception is that political power is not
>> > monolithically grounded in the state, which almost always has a monopoly
>> > on physical force. Rather, political power is pluralistic; it stems from
>> > external sources beyond the power-holder and depends, in part, upon the
>> > consent of the governed. This is another way of saying state power is
>> > contingent. Physical violence can subdue people, but that’s all it can
>> > do. And it’s very difficult to rule over a people without their tacit
>> > consent or active support.
>> >
>> > Armed individuals or even organized militias cannot defeat the United
>> > States government militarily. This ought to be obvious on its face,
>> > given the state’s overwhelming advantage in terms of resources and
>> > capabilities. Gather all the AR-15s you like. If Uncle Sam decides to
>> > detain you, he will – eventually. Having a few guns will complicate
>> > things, but it won’t negate the power asymmetry.
>>
>> The fact that you consider Salon to be credible says much about you,
>> none of it good.
>>
>> From the article you cited:
>> [...]
>> Here’s why Sharp’s view of power matters: If it’s true that rulers
>> depend upon the consent of the ruled, withdrawing that consent is the
>> most effective means of displacing power. To bring the government to its
>> knees, the people need only raise the costs of oppression. A few
>> thousand militiamen with guns is a nuisance to organized state power,
>> but tens of millions of people in the streets (a la Tahrir Square in
>> Egypt) is a revolution in consciousness. Mass mobilization of that
>> magnitude shuts down a society, renders it ungovernable. It’s a complete
>> withdrawal from the system and a way of applying power without violence.
>> It’s the people using the one material advantage they have over the
>> state: numbers.
>> [...]
>>
>> How did that work for the people of Tianeman square?
>>
>> Tens of millions of unarmed people will accomplish nothing if the
>> government is willing to kill them all to achieve its purposes. However,
>> tens of thousands of armed citizens can accomplish much, even of the
>> government is willing to kill.
>
>Oh, yeah, one more thing.
>
>If you think the reason the Second Amendment exists is so that citizens can repel an invasion by their own government... wow. The fantasy is strong with this one.
<LOL> Actually, the 2nd Amendment was written pretty much for that
very reason, Dummy. Apparently Milt never studied American History.
"You're arguing with someone who studies Constitutional
Law as a hobby. I read court cases as part of my job,
but also for fun. "
--Milt Shook.. Jul 17 1997
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.current-events.usa/msg/e5aafcd491c9ecf5?hl=en&
"That's it. I STUDY and write papers on the Constitution,
and have as mentors two of the top constitutional
scholars in the country. "
--Milt.Shook.. 1997/06/12
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.dan-quayle/msg/68b31af32fbde46d?dmode=source&hl=en
..and yet Shook really believes that he can sue a private party under the First Amendment as he claims below...
"Your boss (supposing you work for a private employer) fires
you because you held a Bush rally in your back yard. You should
sue him, but on what basis? Your First Amendment rights, of
course."
--Milt Shook
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.rush-limbaugh/msg/b37ce113a46a2ef9
CAnyon NOte:
"The First Amendment, unfortunately, only limits the coercive powers
of the Government [..]"
http://www.workrights.org/issue_whistle/wb_legislative_brief.html /freedom1.html