My name is
David Robins:
Christian, lead developer (resume), writer, photographer, runner,
libertarian (voluntaryist),
and student.
This is also my son David Geoffrey Robins' site.
Natural political progression
Political ·Wednesday April 27, 2011 @ 20:46 EDT (link)
Liberal: callow youth default—brainwashed by government schools to think the government is supernaturally wise and does good, that it does what it does through consent, even perhaps a "social contract"; that taxes are voluntary, and can be spent better by the government than individuals. Burns books instead of reading them (except the Communist Manifesto and whatever their liberal professors have written).
Neoconservative: doesn't believe everything government does is good any more—starts to believe in cutbacks, in limits, in some individual responsibility (eliminate personal welfare), but still fine with aggressive wars, tariffs, licensing of professions, corporate welfare, and government control of banking. Can talk a good line, but fundamentals are shaky and doesn't delve too deep because of the moral implications.
(Goldwater) Conservative/minarchist libertarian: realizes government screws up almost everything it touches; that taxes are taken and wasted; has an uneasy feeling that the political process is broken; government should be limited to police, courts, and military, or at least to "constitutional" size. Some attempt at consistency and principles: you own what you produce, and so forth. Reads books instead of burning them.
Voluntaryist/libertarian anarchist: understands government cannot be kept limited; that taxes are collected through extortion, that regulation is a non-monetary tax, that the state cannot follow its own laws (e.g., against theft and violence), and is unfit to exist in any society calling itself "free". Understands non-aggression axiom and its foundation on self-ownership. Knows what "metaphysics" is.
Books finished: The Food and Drink Police, Temple of the Winds.
Anarcho-capitalist flag stand
News, Political ·Monday April 18, 2011 @ 01:51 EDT (link)
Inspired by this tea party visitor—perhaps a tad too confrontational, but it was disgusting the way they treated him—I ordered a black and gold anarcho-capitalist flag from the only place I could find it—and one of the most free markets out there, with, to a large degree its own effective security and dispute resolution—eBay. It arrived, as specified, about a week ago, as promised—a polymer flag (much thinner material than the thick cloth in the video) with two grommets along a white strip at the end for attachment.
I then set out to figure out how to support the flag; I wandered over to Home Depot and initially thought about using wood but settled on ¾" white PVC pipe (reminiscent of my target stand, which used black ABS pipe). There were two sub-plans: a straight length (joined in the middle by a coupler so it could break down for transport) with a cap on the top and two screw eyes to attach the flag, so it could be attached and waved; and the second, shown here since it's what I built (although the other could still be built as an alternate without interference) is a hanger, like those used to hang banners around town at holidays: it adds a cross-bar to the top of the straight post, and attaches the flag via screw eyes on each side. As shown it's attached to a 6' length of pipe, which was actually the remainder; two 5' lengths are meant to be used, but that's higher than our roof (and using one means the flag touches the floor; it's 3' x 5').
Parts list:
- 2 ¾" PVC pipe 10' lengths (cut to 5' + 5', 2' + 2' + 6')
- 3 ¾" PVC pipe endcaps (for the top in plan 1 or the cross-bar in 2)
- 1 ¾" PVC pipe tee (non-threaded) to attach 2' crossbars
- 4 #8 screw eyes (actually had to buy 2 packets of 3)
I brought a hacksaw and tape measure to the store but the actually had all that and a miter box too a few aisles over (for trim) so I cut it at the store: beat trying to cut it in the parking lot.
It's a little late for tax day rallies this year, but it was a cheap and fun project and it'll be ready for future events now.
Atlas Shrugged part I movie
News, Media ·Friday April 15, 2011 @ 17:51 EDT (link)
Went to see it at 1445 at the Lincoln Square Cinemas, supposedly with CLAMS, but only a couple others showed up, none I knew by sight, and we didn't sit together: we sat lower down so Honey wouldn't be blocked (still an excellent seat—front center of the second block of seats, with plenty of leg room).
We thought the movie was quite good; it captured the book well and being set in the future was no loss, as they explained why trains were again necessary (basically the government had done to the nation what they did to Detroit). Taylor Schilling (who we knew as Veronica from the short-lived drama Mercy) did a good job playing Dagny, as did the other actors; portrayals were good, they stayed on-message (as one would expect with the Ayn Rand Institute owning the rights and probably maintaining script approval at least). On the whole worth the money; a well done production; we're looking forward to part II.
Ripping away the judicial mystique
Law, Economics ·Friday April 15, 2011 @ 00:19 EDT (link)
Theory: the reason why legal penalties are so arbitrary—arbitrarily harsh, that is, never arbitrarily low—is that the courts do not want people to be able to test them or to become a useful service. They want to be a "big deal"; a false pomp and majesty where god—or the king, acting in his stead as was the "divine right" myth—comes in and blesses the worshipful supplicants with guidance and a verdict (or directs a jury to same, doing their best to ensure they don't do anything "radical" such as nullifying bad law). Fees are added everywhere for everything; reams of paper must be filed in triplicate. If it were commonplace and simple, the shroud would be removed; it would be a common thing for two disputants to drop in (rather than have the most inconvenient date possible assigned to them by god's secretary, forcing them to come to a distant location with poor parking), argue without the redoubled expense and obfuscation of lawyers, get a verdict; and the detailed verdict would be published on the Internet for discussion and critique.
Yes! Critique! Why should not any man with half a brain, even without a political appointment be able to discuss with his fellows the judge's—who after all, is but a man—decision, the weighing of evidence, the logic or lack thereof, fairness, and so forth, for both civil and criminal matters. The jury may not nullify: but the court of rational men may put the law through the wringer! Sure, court cases are discussed today: but usually just the big ones, and with whatever drabs and trickles of information the court allows to slip, graciously, to the unwashed masses. We can do better than that; these are our employees, and their work product is ours, lock, stock, and streaming video.
So artificial barriers to use are set up: the supply of judges is artificially limited; they are given powers to jail people for nothing ("contempt"), rather than the powers of a private property owner or agent to merely remove disturbances. After being made artificially scarce, they are robed and given high benches in expensively furnished (thanks, taxpayers!) rooms to sit and pronounce judgment, frequently on the unwilling who have done no wrong. The plethora of laws aid them in this power, and together with the "prosecutor" they gang up on individuals to extract terror, wealth, and life (time) from them in a singularly corrupt and involuntary system.
How would a free system be different? First, the supply of judges would be a market good: anyone could offer their services, and respect and thus use of particular judges would depend on their reputation for fairness. Nor would "the rich" have particular advantage: a judge whose decision was "for sale" would not attract consenting customers, and that's the only kind of customers that would be possible. Due to the supply, and the fact that customers have to be persuaded rather than being forced, judges would be incentivized to make their service convenient: paperwork at a minimum; some may forbid lawyers. Judicial services will also want to demonstrate their openness: in most cases court will be videoed, and generally broadcast live on the Internet with the exception of some sensitive matters which would be edited and broadcast with necessary redaction. To show fairness, judicial services would open their records, publish their cases (transcripts and the aforementioned videos), and judges would (as they do now) write the reasons for their opinions, but with a view to being approachable rather than an eye to the law journals (or some may write two opinions, at their choice).
These services could indeed be put to the "test" cheaply (much like hidden camera shows evaluate mechanics to see if they're ripping off clients): people could see how the same dispute was resolved across adjudicators without paying an arm and a leg in court and lawyer fees, losing a day of work (heck, the judge might even come to the person's place of business or a mutually agreed-upon spot, especially lesser-known ones desiring to build a good reputation), and with the risk of jail or other rights infringement. (Can't help you regarding victimless "crimes"; they wouldn't exist. I suppose a court could be asked if there was sufficient evidence that someone used drugs for a private employer, or, heck, a parent, though….) For actual crimes, in the Rothbardian sense of aggressive acts against individuals or their property, the opinion of a court can be taken to one's private protection agency or dispute resolution organization (DRO) and justify proceedings—including retaliatory force—against the criminal.
More Walter Block: against taxation, minarchy, public schools, and slavery
Political, Economics ·Thursday April 14, 2011 @ 01:15 EDT (link)
Read a couple more Walter Block articles tonight (some written with other authors; see individual articles):
All quite good and up to his usual standards. A little while ago I opened a raft of tabs from his publications page, and am slowly working my way through them, while reading a few full books, both paper and PDF, at the same time. Great writer, very clear, prone to making devastatingly incisive attacks on weak arguments.
New photo viewer
News ·Sunday April 10, 2011 @ 20:07 EDT (link)
The first post to use the new viewer was the FN SCAR post, which has a couple pictures up. The RSS feed uses flat photos still because Facebook and other importers probably don't allow CSS/Javascript through anyway. This viewer is based on jQuery.popeye 2.0, with a few modifications.
There's also one random photo on this post because I was doing some testing to ensure that having multiple photo sets on the same page worked properly. Seems to be fine. Still some things I want to fix and tidy up, though.
Books finished: Blood of the Fold.
Ultimate rifle case, not so great sling
News ·Thursday March 31, 2011 @ 11:22 EDT (link)
I bought a ModGear Ultimate Rifle Case (42", OD green) for the SCAR; really like it, lots of pockets, fits the rifle really well, appears to be good workmanship. Thought of going with tan to match the rifle but the green looks good. Getting it online was almost $30 cheaper than buying it locally (~$50 vs. ~$77 at WCA with tax, or 54% more); I like to buy local when I can, but not at that premium. You can also see the anarcho-capitalist flag I picked up from eBay recently in the background.
The KNS AR-15 sling I bought for it unfortunately didn't fit—one end was a normal strap on a quick-release buckle, the other a swivel; the swivel didn't fit into the SCAR's attachment point. Hard to see the sizes on the site; live and learn, etc.; I'll keep it to use on my 10/22 (when I attach swivel mounts, perhaps for Appleseed), or some other rifle, or as a backup for the AR-15. I've ordered a replacement sling—and a scope, both from Botach Tactical, but they delayed the scope "3-4 weeks" even though they said nothing about it before the order was placed, which seems like a dirty trick from here.
Bitcoin paper and presentation
News, Technical, Political, School, Trading, Media, Economics ·Wednesday March 30, 2011 @ 00:42 EDT (link)
My final Master's course, Practical Applications of Modern Cryptography (CSEP 590, which is the catch-all course number for "new" courses) required a final project and presentation in lieu of an exam. I am making my final presentation and paper available online—attribute them if you use them, but otherwise use them as you see fit to advance the cause of liberty.
Greenfield rights infringement
News, Political, Law ·Wednesday March 30, 2011 @ 00:27 EDT (link)
There is an email-writing campaign on behalf of Adam Mueller and Pete Eyre, arrested in 2010 in Greenfield, MA for filming police, and charged with illegal wiretapping (despite recording in plain sight) and other sundry crimes (e.g., resisting arrest, when they practiced passive non-resistance). Videos and a detailed timeline are available on CopBlock.org, a great site that collects videos and evidence of police misconduct. To borrow from L. Neil Smith in his (beta) book Where We Stand: Over the hundreds of years of police activity in the US, none have had to contend with such a thing as individuals who have their own portable recorders and information sources—hearing them whimper about the Internet (which is shining light on their many abuses) is nothing but sweet music to my ears.
Here is the letter I sent to EyesonGreenfield@gmail.com, which is collecting them to forward on to Greenfield's police, the judge in the case, city council, and so forth:
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to lend my support to Adam Mueller and Pete Eyre, arrested
last year in Greenfield, MA for no other reason than the police had the
power (force) to do so: "might makes right"! They had harmed nobody;
they had not even broken any rules; and for that they are subjected to
violent incarceration and infringement against their right to liberty.
Is that how things work in the town of Greenfield, in the state of
Massachusetts, in America? This violence against peaceful people must
stop. The people of Greenfield and their representatives must step up
and say, "It stops here."
Restoration of America as a nation ruled by
moral laws rather than arbitrary and capricious men must begin at the
local level. I call upon people of conscience to abjure the wickedness
that condemns harmless acts and to free Mr. Mueller and Mr. Eyre, with
apologies for the aggravation they have been put through and grateful
acknowledgment and thanks for the wake-up call that these two and their
supporters were able to deliver. It is time that victimless so-called
crimes with arbitrary penalties enacted by petty, officious employees of
the state—our servants!—were put to rest as a relic of a barbaric
past. May it begin in Greenfield.
David B. Robins, BMath, MS
Writing an email is an easy thing to do and the cause is certainly just and worth the time to set a few thoughts to paper (perhaps it aims a little high, but one's principles should energize a reach for the stars).
Books finished: The Witling, Hamilton's Curse.
First range trip, SCAR 17S
News, Guns ·Friday March 25, 2011 @ 21:17 EDT (link)
Left work early, 1530; got to the range (SVRC) around 1600; just one person was there, shooting in the pistol pit, so I set up my spotting scope, rifle rest, etc. on a table, got a cease-fire, and put out some targets at 50 yards (which I eventually moved to 25 because my eyes are ozard and they were half-size targets—two rings on a letter-sized sheet—to begin with). I was using the iron sights today; no scope yet, but I plan to try it with my EOTech from the AR-15 and perhaps get an ACOG for it. Nobody else was shooting at the rifle range the whole time I was there; one guy wandered over to give me the lock from the gate (don't know why he took it off; usually I just leave it there, sometimes locked to the gate… person I gave it to when I left thought it odd too) and admired the rifle; couple more showed up to shoot what sounded like .22s in the pistol pit; that was all. It was sunny driving over but then started to rain, which displeased me not at all because I expected it kept the range traffic light.
I was hitting the metal targets at the far end (200') of the range easily with all of the ammo I tried (a 20-round box of American Eagle, some BVAC 150 gr., and some German surplus); but shooting at the paper targets made it clear that I do need to get an optic. Generally, great gun; other reviewers were right about the recoil being very manageable; it's comparable to the AR-15. The main difference is that it's noticeably louder (one guy in the pistol pit said the same thing). Also looking for a case and sling (also in FDE) and some extra mags (which I've had little luck funding).
I left the range around 1700 and got home about 1730; traffic wasn't bad. Friday traffic is always a little weird; sometimes some people are off, or leave early; on balance it's lighter than other days. Good shooting… need to pick up some more ammo; I only have 70 more rounds of .308.
Books finished: Jury Nullification.
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