Another fun sight at the Carolina Renaissance Festival is the tree man. As you can see from the picture, he's, well, as tall as a tree. He can walk around a little bit. And he doesn't talk much -- after all, he IS a tree.

(click to enlarge)

Previously:
Magician
Dextre Tripp
Jewels of the Caravan
Blackenshear the Curious
The London Broil
Dextre Tripp

Posted by: Ogre at 07:01 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.

Yes, I shall indeed be voting today, despite having no good reason to vote. And for those who are interested, there will be plenty of better and more comprehensive coverage of the election today than the Ogre can provide (because some of us have to work for a living).

Instead, today, I'd like to pre-empt all regular programming for this essay about freedom. Other than the afternoon's Renaissance Festival review post, there will be no other posts here today. Instead, feel free to read and digest this single short post about freedom.

Freedom, to many people, is a relative concept. Personally, I like freedom. I like freedom a lot. I am willing to, and have, put my life on the line just for this strange concept of freedom. But true freedom is gone from this world, and it is highly unlikely to ever return.

Now certainly, you'd get no argument from me that The United States of America is the freest country in the world. Of that I have no doubt. After all, there's a reason those refugees keep coming here from nearly every country in the world. But yet I maintain we are not free. We may be more free than anyone else, but we're still nowhere near free.

To some, this is rather obvious. If you doubt that you are free, I challenge you to make it through one single day without either asking government for permission to do something or paying them a tribute. Go ahead, give it a shot. If you're thinking you'd just go out camping in your backyard, that won't work because you've got to pay taxes on that yard or the government will take it. I submit that there is literally nothing that can be done today without asking government permission or paying a government fee.

But that's not what this post is about. If you disagree that our freedoms are limited in America, there's not much point in your reading much further. The rest of this post assumes that you agree that government causes us to not be as free as we could be.

My problem is that not only are we not free, but I find it highly unlikely that ever again, as long as this current society reigns, will there ever be any chance for actual freedom in the world today. Why? Because freedom isn't nice.

Now freedom isn't mean, either. In fact, freedom is completely neutral when it comes to feelings and emotions. It is, however, good, just as the absence of freedom is evil. But our society, both in America and around the world, simply cannot handle, and cannot deal with anything that's "not nice."

Freedom requires responsibility. Freedom says that you reap what you sow. Freedom say that nothing is free. And that's just not nice. That's not compassionate. "For the Children" has been the rallying cry for the anti-freedom population for decades -- and it still works every single time.

In recent years, many have quoted Ben Franklin, who said something to the effect of "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." While that is true, we have moved far beyond that state today. We are not giving up liberty for safety, we are giving up freedom for compassion -- and our society has become so compassionate, we are simply not willing to give that freedom back.

For example, if there is a starving child in the street, what should be done about it? In a truly free country, a free society, any single person or organization would be completely free to help that child however they see fit. However, in today's compassionate society, that is not what happens. Instead, those who work are punished, fined, and jailed if they do not pay that fine; so that this poor child may have food. The child has to do literally nothing to obtain that food. Now, would freedom have allowed that child to starve? In a word, yes. Freedom would allow people to make bad choices -- and those bad choices could, and indeed often would, result in death.

So is freedom bad for allowing death? No, freedom is freedom because it allows people to choose the options that lead to death. If you are prevented from being allowed to make that choice, you are no longer free.

Now our society has taken that example above and expanded it beyond what the founders of our country could ever have believed. Do you know that there are now 3 generations of people who live in a house where not a single person in the entire family has ever worked a day in their life? How is that possible? Simple: by taking freedom away from others and giving cash to those who do not work to reward them for not working. In a truly free society, what would happen to those who do not work -- either by choice or because they are unable?

In previous decades, those who could not work due to physical maladies would be cared for by their families, by the churches, or at private hospitals (usually run by churches). They may not have lived a luxurious life, but live they did, due to the voluntary works of the individuals who wished to sacrifice, because they had freedom and the ability to do so. Those who would not work would perhaps be taken care of by the same entities, but with freedom, that very same entity had the freedom and option to decide that they would no longer support a person who refused to work. Most often in that case, the person who refused to work would either be forced to work, or they would simply die. That's not compassionate, but that's freedom.

I could outline various other cases and example wherein freedom would allow people to die. Once again, part of being free means to take responsibility for your actions, and being free to make the wrong choice that might result in your own personal injury or even in your death. Freedom is not safe. Freedom is not friendly and compassionate. Freedom is, however, free.

As a society today, again across America and the world, we are no longer capable of allowing people to die. We will do anything, we will spend any amount of money, and we will indeed take away any amount of freedom that is required to ensure that (some) people do not die. There is, quite literally, nothing we as a society will not do to ensure that all those who desire life will get it as long as possible, no matter their actions or choices in life. And most often the first thing that must be taken away to absolve people of the responsibility of their actions is the freedoms of others -- and that's just plain wrong.

Can you name a single elected official that actually supports freedom? When is the last time you heard your local county politician say, at a zoning board meeting, "Gee, folks, we don't have any right to tell this person what to build on their property -- it's their property, not ours?" If we were in a truly free country, you would hear that.

Have you ever heard a politician say, "I'm sorry, but we can't give away that million dollars to the poor children so they can have medicine. It's not our money to give." Again, in a free country, that would indeed be the case.

So feel free to discuss the merits of the "education lottery," the "clean air" laws, and the "health insurance for the poor." But realize that's not freedom. Go to your town meetings and oppose the building of an interchange where you don't want one. Tell your representatives to support the minimum wage. Ask for more money for the government school -- but don't tell me you support freedom.

And repeat to yourself that we're the freest country in the world. Feel free to tell me that I'm crazy and I'm welcome to leave this country any time I like. But know that you do not have freedom, and you likely never will. We, as a society, simply will not abide the real responsibility that comes with true freedom.

Freedom may not be compassionate, but freedom is good. As a society, we are no longer capable of allowing neutral freedom. We require compassion, and we will do anything to obtain it -- including destroying every semblance of freedom that exists today. We have lost freedom, and it will not soon be found again.

Oh, how I yearn for freedom.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:01 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 1473 words, total size 9 kb.

Today I present a magician...and I don't know his name. He was performing this weekend at The Carolina Renaissance Festival at the Washer Wenches stage, but I didn't catch his name. Take a careful look and see if you can see what he's doing in this picture:

This fellow was an excellent magician, working the crowd and working classic magic tricks. Towards the end he really made the cups and balls tricks interesting when oranges started showing up! And for the grand finale, SIX oranges and a cantaloupe showed up! Very impressive. He also said he's be on Letterman in a couple weeks, so I'll see what else there might be to that!

Previously:
Dextre Tripp
Jewels of the Caravan
Blackenshear the Curious
The London Broil
Dextre Tripp

Posted by: Ogre at 07:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 172 words, total size 1 kb.

Why should I bother to vote? After all, in New York, the dead are voting in record numbers. Chuck Norris says to vote for conservatives. Well there's none on the ballot anywhere near me (including the judges). I'll let you know if I spot one.

Some people that claim to like freedom are voting Democrat to teach those nasty big-government Republicans a lesson -- presumably by attempting to replace them with bigger government Democrats. And heck, according to the media, the Democrats have already won. Maybe the dead are winning with large amounts of "early voting."

Around the world, leftists are winning. Why should the US be any different? Why shouldn't we give up on freedom? Where on this entire planet, is freedom expanding? Where is freedom successful in the 21st century? It works everywhere it's tried, but no one is trying it any more.

The only possible tiny glimmer of hope for freedom left on the planet lies with The Free State Project -- and they can't seem to find 20,000 people on the entire damn planet that are interested in freedom. And oh yes, I've signed up. And I've joined as part of the first 1,000. So where's everyone else who wants freedom?

Posted by: Ogre at 04:36 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 209 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Why vote? Because my country needs me.

Posted by: oddybobo at November 06, 2006 04:41 PM (mZfwW)

2 But Oddy, you're not on my ballot and in North Carolina, it's against the law to write-in people you really want to vote for.

Posted by: Ogre at November 06, 2006 04:50 PM (oifEm)

3 What, no write in ballots? [shakes her head in disbelief] So,as one of the first 1,000 do you get a T-shirt?

Posted by: michele at November 06, 2006 05:45 PM (BN/Fu)

4 If we get 1,000, we'll get much more than t-shirts! We'll get freedom.

Posted by: Ogre at November 06, 2006 08:03 PM (oifEm)

5 I hope the first 1000 works! I've signed up as a "friend" of the FSP a while back. Busy making noise in OC, but depending on the state of the nation, NH is looking better and better. Maybe sooner than later. My kids are busy working for a scholarship in Water polo, and i just don't see NH being an advantage for them at this time. :-) When they're in college and I retire, I go up there and raise some hell with you.

Posted by: Mark in OC at November 07, 2006 05:49 PM (VyO0o)

6 I've heard from those already on the ground there that it's a good time -- I'm ready to cram some freedom down some people's throats, whether they want it or not.

Posted by: Ogre at November 07, 2006 06:24 PM (oifEm)

7 If my wife wasn't tying me to the People's Republic of Minnesota, I'd sign up. (She is not a liberal, she just doesn't want to live so far from her family)

Posted by: Echo Zoe at November 08, 2006 12:16 AM (8POA1)

8 Oh, just get her to move the whole family! (As long as they're not all liberals, too)

Posted by: Ogre at November 08, 2006 12:29 AM (GPb4I)

9 Nope, her parents are small business owners, and could definitely afford to pay all of the moving expenses.

Posted by: Echo Zoe at November 08, 2006 02:16 AM (8POA1)

10 Well, come on! Bring them along! I'm being serious here! Vote with your feet and invite everyone along to join in with freedom.

Posted by: Ogre at November 08, 2006 12:29 PM (oifEm)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

If nothing else, this shows that Republicans, and Cheney in particular, certainly have a sense of humor. Dick Cheney is going hunting on election day. After all the tasteless jokes over and over again about the last time he went hunting, in which an associate of his was accidentally shot in the face, the timing on this absolutely has to be intentional.

Either it's for the humor value, or to get the lunatics over at the Democratic Underground something shiny to look at and talk about.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:01 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 94 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Hunting Matters! Karl Rove is in control again....

Posted by: Michael at November 06, 2006 04:01 PM (JWeV4)

2 I wonder if Rove ever goes hunting.

Posted by: Ogre at November 06, 2006 04:12 PM (oifEm)

3 Do you?

Posted by: michele at November 06, 2006 04:44 PM (cV7Xy)

4 I haven't been with Cheney, if that's what you're asking.

Posted by: Ogre at November 06, 2006 04:51 PM (oifEm)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Hey, the economy's good, right? Therefore, the NC government can raise taxes to give $125 million to start a research institution for nanotechnology. After all, if government doesn't do it, no one will, right?

According the the article and the supporters of huge, bloated government, by spending this money, we can bring back the dead; we can cure Michael J. Fox; and heck, why not, maybe even cure cancer. So if you oppose raising taxes enough to throw away yet another $125 million, you're against curing cancer!

Bloated. Useless. Communist. Utterly and completely anti-freedom. Your North Carolina Democrat Party.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:05 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 107 words, total size 1 kb.

via Flight Pundit

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

Some people are like a Slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

Health freaks are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

Why does a slight tax increase cost you 50 dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you 50 cents?

In the 60s, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

We know exactly where any untaxed car is located among the millions of cars in the United States. But we haven't got a clue as to where thousands terrorists and crooks are located. Maybe we should put the DMV in charge of the police.

Posted by: Ogre at 06:23 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 192 words, total size 1 kb.

It seems that, like the Democrat Party, the Republican are simply changing their definition of words to fit their own purposes. Many who supported the Democrat Party when they were classic liberals have found the party has left them. Many have not yet realized their party has drastically morphed. Republicans are picking up on that morphing as well to their own party.

Yesterday I got an ad supporting a Republican for Congress in my district. He will win with about 75% of the vote because the district was clearly and obviously drawn to elect a Republican. His ad says: "Re-Elect Patrick McHenry for Congress. Effective. Conservative."

So, let's see what the "new" definition of "Conservative" is:

"Congressman Patrick McHenry voted against CAFTA because it would cost thousands of Western North Carolina jobs"

He's fighting to get more money out of the education bureaucracy....

I SO wish there was somewhere for people to go who actually wanted to be free, because this place sure isn't it.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:13 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 191 words, total size 1 kb.

Well, I guess that's not really news, is it? In this case, the governor is taking $1.52 million of money that people of North Carolina worked hard to obtain, and he's using it to bribe a business to come to North Carolina.

Oh, but he can't claim total credit for the "creation" of new jobs. You see The N.C. Department of Commerce, Guilford County, the City of High Point, the High Point Economic Development Corp. and the Piedmont Triad Partnership (ALL HUGE piles of taxpayer money) ALSO used truckloads of cash to bribe the business to relocate to North Carolina. But don't worry, it will create a whopping 200 jobs.

Because there are so many government entities involved, it will be impossible to determine the exact amount of taxpayer funds wasted on this bribery. Extremely conservative estimates would put the total at $200 million. For 200 jobs. Yes, the state of North Carolina just spend over $1 MILLION per person to create 200 jobs that pay an average of $33,695. And they think that it's a good thing.

This is your Democrat-led North Carolina government.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:03 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 193 words, total size 1 kb.

I know, I know, I introduced you to Dextre Tripp earlier in the week. But you know, I enjoy his show so much, I've got to show him twice. Heck, you might even get to see another glimpse of him next week, too -- he's that good.

This shot is during his fire and water show. He balances on the top of the ladder, then lights off 300 firecrackers, then lets everyone throw water balloons at him! Is this guy crazy, or what?

(Click to enlarge

Previously:
Jewels of the Caravan
Blackenshear the Curious
The London Broil
Dextre Tripp

Posted by: Ogre at 07:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 148 words, total size 1 kb.

Isn't this little guy beautiful?

Posted by: Ogre at 05:04 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 35 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Pigeon = rat with wings.

Posted by: Quality Weenie at November 03, 2006 05:19 PM (U8gb+)

2 Normally, I'd completely agree with you...but this is NOT a New York City pigeon!

Posted by: Ogre at November 03, 2006 07:33 PM (oifEm)

3 Hey! You leave our winged rats alone. Only we can disparage them cause we live them. After all, we don't calling all you Southern folk rednecks and all you Michiganders.... uh... what do they call them anyway, unemployed assembly workders? Oh yes I went there! It's called transferrence. Yes, I'm beginning to feel better already by picking on you people.

Posted by: michele at November 03, 2006 08:42 PM (cV7Xy)

4 There was a comedian once who really made fun of New York pidgeons. He said something along the lines of "What's up with their call? There's so much pollution that their call is stuck in their throat! They can't even make normal bird sounds!"

Posted by: Ogre at November 03, 2006 08:48 PM (oifEm)

5 LOL! so true!

Posted by: michele at November 03, 2006 09:39 PM (y9UuV)

6 I'd imitate them for you to make the joke visual, but I'm thinking that's not going to work here...

Posted by: Ogre at November 03, 2006 10:55 PM (196ug)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

It's about time. Women that were human shields were killed by Israelis. Folks, if you want to be a human shield for terrorists, prepare to die. This is another example of so-called "peaceful" participants in the war on terror. It's a war. People will die. Want it to end? Get the muslims (Hamas, et al) to stop.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:59 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 63 words, total size 1 kb.

Oh my. This is dangerous.

Want FREE BEER? Click here.

Blame Tammi, she pointed this one out to me.

Posted by: Ogre at 04:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 45 words, total size 1 kb.

I heard a radio ad on the way into work today. Sue Myrick (R-NC9) gets it. I can't find the text of the ad, but it general goes something like this:

Radical muslim jihadists want to kill us. And they are coming across our southern border. I want to stop them. I want to add guards to the southern border and I voted for a border fence.

She gets it, she really does.

Keep in mind when you vote next week, this IS the Republican Congress. Sure, Bush has some serious problems with the border and immigration, but he's not up for election, the Congress is. Vote Republican if you support Sue's position. Vote Democrat if you oppose it.

Posted by: Ogre at 03:08 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 127 words, total size 1 kb.

The sorry, utterly useless morons at WakeUpWalMart again complain about freedom. These people are so full of irrational hatred, it never ceases to amaze me. I have some problems with some WalMart policies, but they are based on freedom, not hatred.

The organization actually claims that WalMart DARES to attempt to cut labor costs. Seriously. They are complaining that a company wants to cut costs. Would they be happier of WalMart raised all their prices? What absolutely irrational stupidity!

Chris Kofinis, a spokesman for the deranged anti-freedom morons, claims that it's anti-family to actually require people to show up for work. He claims that WalMart has adopted a new, restrictive attendance policy. Obviously, Chris has never worked a day in his life. EVERY place I've worked will fire you for not showing up. Apparently WalMart DOESN'T. I've fired people who have been late TWICE before. I guess Chris would really hate me for exercising my freedom. And make no mistake about it -- this is very clearly and obviously STRONGLY anti-freedom. You see, if WalMart cannot fire people for not showing up for work, then according to Chris, everyone has a right to be paid for staying home. That's assanine.

But yes, there's more! WalMart also has decided to allow employees some options when it comes to health care -- and again, according to scumbag Chris, that's BAD! And of course, if health care costs go up, employees shouldn't have to pay for it. In their view, everyone has the personal right to health care, AND they shouldn't have to pay for it. That's slavery people, plain and simple -- because if I don't have to pay for health care, but YOU have to provide it, what freedom do you have?

People like this need to be put out on the street to fend for themselves -- if they are listened to, freedom and liberty will continue to decline until we have none left. Oh, how I yearn for freedom.

Raven agrees.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:03 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 340 words, total size 2 kb.

The board in Winston-Salem is discussing how much money to spend and where to spend it on "economic strategies" to "ensure more jobs come to the state." Again, there is only ONE possible reaction to this "news" that can come from anyone even remotely interested in freedom:

WHY?!?

Government creating jobs is absolutely wrong. That's exactly how socialism and communism work: government creates the jobs. Government should, instead, DECREASE jobs in the state by firing 3/4 of the damn state employees and bureaucrats. And if you're a state employee, yes, I'm talking to you. If the government did that, know what would happen? The economy of North Carolina would absolutely EXPLODE as freedom took hold and others who wanted freedom would absolutely FLOCK to the state to take part of the new opportunities.

But that would require elected officials who wanted freedom. Not too likely in North Carolina, and it'll never happen as long as Democrats are in control of the state legislature.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:05 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 249 words, total size 2 kb.

*** Update: Added the picture!

Today, highlighting acts I like at the Carolina Renaissance Festival, I'd like to present The Jewels of the Caravan. Very, VERY unfortunately, I forgot to upload the picture last night, so I have no picture to show you of them. Now feel free to head on over to their web site, where you can see much better pictures than anything *I* could take.

This is a "high-energy troupe performs a variety of ethnic dance and music, influenced by India, Africa and the Middle East. Invigorating the festivities with the gypsy spirit of celebration, they captivate their audience." And they're not kidding.

(Click to enlarge)

It's a great show, but unfortunately, it's show times often conflict with Dextre's shows, so I don't get to see this show too many times -- much to my regret. Folks, it's more than just some lovely ladies up and dancing -- even though it is that, too. You will be memorized by the skills and abilities of this group. They are extremely talented, and I can't imagine the time and effort that goes into learning how to dance that well together.

Yet another show that I highly, highly recommend if you can find the time to head out to the festival. This weekend, I'll be there all afternoon Sunday, hopefully taking more pictures of some acts I didn't get last weekend! Be sure to keep coming back if you want to read more reviews, or just to visit the festival vicariously as some do.

Previously:
Blackenshear the Curious
The London Broil
Dextre Tripp

Posted by: Ogre at 07:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 272 words, total size 2 kb.

Crossposted from Stop The ACLU

I was going to talk about the dishonest argument the ACLU made in its attack on Hazelton, PA for trying to crackdown on illegal immigration problems. They argued that it was not the place of small communities to create laws fashioned to their own unique problems on illegal immigration, but the Federal government's responsibility. Of course this argument does not reflect the ACLU's true beliefs on the topic. If the Federal government created a similar law as Hazelton the ACLU would find a different argument to oppose it. The argument was, however, good enough to convince a Clinton appointed judge to temporarily block their ordinances. more...

Posted by: Ogre at 05:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 1145 words, total size 9 kb.

The Jim Black (speaker of the NC House, Democrat, guilty of elections violations and possibly more, strongly supported by Democrats across the state) situation gets more and more interesting. Now Jim Black is claiming that Michael Decker, the Republican who was paid cash to switch parties and ensure Democrats would retain power (and gerrymander for 10 years), has openly lied while under oath.

That's a pretty strong accusation, isn't it? It's not a lie about sex, so apparently it really counts as a lie. Either way, Black is now openly saying that Decker is a perjurer. So now, someone should get some (more) jail time. If Decker is indeed lying, he should be charged with perjury and throw in jail. If Decker's telling the truth, then Black is lying, and needs to go to jail on federal corruption and racketeering charges.

The Meck Deck is following this closely as well.

Posted by: Ogre at 03:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 160 words, total size 1 kb.

By Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous

Here is an update of candidate positions/incumbent positions on the FairTax. More information like this can be found at the "FairTax Scorecard."

Posted by: Ogre at 03:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 351 words, total size 6 kb.