From The American Thinker:
January 30, 2011
Outwitting Lethal Government Policies
By J.R. Dunn
Over the past fifty years, at least a half-million Americans, and perhaps many more, have died prematurely due to ill-designed and badly executed liberal programs. The causes, as I reveal in detail in Death by Liberalism, range from the criminal justice "reforms" of the 1960s, which triggered a crime wave that that killed up to 268,000 Americans, to government-mandated fuel standards responsible for up to 125,000 lives. At least a thousand people are murdered each year by the derelict insane, with many deinstitutionalized lunatics dying as well, giving us a total of as many as 70,000 deaths. The number of deaths of children under the "protection" of state child care agencies is unknown (largely concealed by "privacy" laws) but must total in the thousands. (Twenty-one children died in this manner last year in Los Angeles County alone.)
All this strikes very close to home. There are few families that have not suffered a death from one of these causes over the last half-century. It's horrifying to consider that our lives are threatened by the actions of our own government, but we must consider it or risk becoming victims. How do we protect ourselves against democide?
When confronted with a risk, we analyze it and learn as much as we can in order to take the proper steps to avoid it. The process is no different here, even with the vast power of the government involved. While democide operates on a national scale, it should not be taken as overwhelming for that reason alone. Comprising small-scale elements, it is huge only in the aggregate. Responding to the threat is far from hopeless.
Crime - Crime remains the chief democidal killer. We're still living in the backwash of the great crime explosion of the late 20th century, triggered by interference with the criminal justice system by progressive judges and Supreme Court justices. Such cases as Mapp v. Ohio and Miranda v. Arizona were intended to "level the playing field" between law enforcement and criminals. This they did, with the innocent public paying the price.
Many municipalities, courts, and police forces have not learned the lesson, and they all continue applying failed policies. In such cases, citizens must take their own protection in hand.
Self-defense is the key. "Self-defense" means weapons -- weapons that are effective at a distance, that will fend off potential criminals, that will, if possible, end the confrontation with no escalation to higher levels of violence. Only one item meets this standard: the handgun.
It is possible to criticize ownership and use of handguns on a number of grounds. We will not debate this. Some of these contentions are exaggerated, butg some are well-taken -- the threat of suicide and particularly the possibility of children toying with a loaded gun are two examples.
But as the saying goes, you may need a gun only once in your life, but when you need it, nothing else will do. Drawbacks of gun ownership are similar in nature to the drawbacks of many other common items, such as cars and electrical appliances. All are dangerous, even deadly in certain circumstances. But dangers can be minimized. Despite accidents and misadventures, it remains true that guns are unexcelled at what they do, which is to end criminal activity. According to John Lott, the leading expert on gun use, guns are utilized in confrontations with criminals up to 3 million times a year. In most cases, the simple appearance of a gun causes a felon to flee. No shot is fired, and no one is hurt.
The first order of business is to study the firearms laws of your jurisdiction. Several states and many cities have adapted the anti-gun position as policy and expressed it in law, which is often enforced with far greater ferocity that any laws aimed at actual criminals. It is no coincidence that these jurisdictions (New York City, Chicago, and the District of Columbia among them) include some of the most liberal areas in the country. Under such circumstances, the dangers presented by legal sanctions must be carefully balanced against those presented by criminals.
On purchasing a gun, care must be given to the choice of model, caliber, size, and other important factors. For instance, there are some calibers too powerful for a woman to handle. Also, a gun featuring a hammer may become entangled with clothing, purse straps, and so on. Other factors include the difference between double and single action, concealability, and size.
Obtain a carrying permit and whatever other paperwork is necessary. Take gun safety, marksmanship, and self-defense courses. Purchase of a gun safe or locking system is advisable.
Familiarize yourself with the danger levels of various neighborhoods as revealed by recent crime rates. (Somebody wishing to perform a valuable public service might consider establishing websites for each municipality charting crime rates in various neighborhoods and providing warnings of criminal activity). Take care as to where you are traveling and the routes you choose, along with your destination. Patronizing bars in grubby neighborhoods is never a good idea.
Such steps taken by enough Americans would deter crime by raising the cost of doing business among felons. It would also take the pressure off police forces (although most police oppose an armed populace, operating under the assumption that cops and "civilians," as they refer to us, exist in a state of open war), and ease budget problems in many municipalities. The fact that any such activity by law-abiding citizens is widely discouraged is simply one more example of human perversity.
Such incidents as the recent Tucson shootings, though grounds for serious reflection on a number of counts, do not alter the primary case. Once again, according to John Lott, a large number of such incidents have been curtailed by individuals wielding legal weapons.
Cars - The second-largest democidal killer is automobile fuel standards, and particularly the CAFE standards. These were passed in the mid-'70s as an answer to a bogus "oil shortage." They were intended to lower gasoline use and protect the environment, and they succeeded at neither. Instead, they have killed from 41,000 to 125,000 drivers and passengers, depending on methodology used.
The answer here is to avoid the type of cars -- the class often dismissed as "skateboards," which are lightweight, ill-designed, and engineered to use as little fuel as possible -- that the government would dearly like you to buy. Unfortunately, most if not all subcompact to mid-sized vehicles fit this description. They are dangerous and must be avoided.
A particular example is the PT Cruiser, the first of the "cute" compact trucks, which came briefly into vogue over the past decade before dropping in popularity in recent years. I drove one belonging to a friend a number of times. It was a deathtrap -- underpowered and with no rear visibility to speak of (the rear window was set at such an angle as to make it next to impossible to see anything through it). I later learned that the side panels were so flimsy as to provide no measurable collision protection.
The PT Cruiser was intended to appeal to women (the rear window was designed that way to provide a feeling of "coziness" and security). It is more suited to a role under the big top. It's a blessing that production of the thing ceased last year.
The choice for truly secure, safe motor vehicles is limited to the pickup or the SUV. While it's undeniably true that the SUV was designed by Satan to bring about the downfall of Man, it remains the primary choice for a safe family vehicle. The second choice, relegated to that status by considerations of internal space, is the pickup. (I myself drove a Silverado for many years.) These vehicles soak up a lot of fuel. They use a lot of resources. But they will keep you and your family alive where the government-approved go-carts will not.
Wildlife - Most people have little idea how deeply nature penetrates into developed urban and suburban areas. Wildlife tends to be nocturnal, so its activities remain hidden. All the same, many urban areas are rewilding. I live in an unquestionably urban district which has at least two families of deer, a number of raccoons, and several hawks, as well as various unidentifiables heard going about their business of a midnight. Eventually, the coyotes will be moving in, and we'll see real trouble.
Familiarize yourself with the local animal life and their habits --- gain sure knowledge as to whether anything exists that can threaten your family. Above all, ascertain whether any government functionary from Interior or Fish and Wildlife has plans to release T-Rexes or dire wolves in the region because "they used to be native here," a policy that has been quietly put into effect (without consultation with local authorities or citizens) as regards cougars, grizzlies, and wolves in recent decades. If an attack or the threat of one occurs, do not hesitate to take out the offending animal; neither wildlife protection nor gun prohibition laws should be respected in such a case. The Green effort to reduce the citizenry to the level of prey must cease.
Child Protection Agencies - Think twice about turning any child over to such an outfit. Apart from the fact that it's next to impossible to extricate the child after taking such a step, bringing in social workers can be compared to turning a child over to the Orcs. Scarcely a week goes by without ghastly headlines appearing somewhere in the country concerning children murdered, maimed, or dreadfully abused while in the hands of these organizations. This is the fruit of the federalization of the child-rescue system in the 1970s, which resulted in typical bureaucratic degradation. Domestic troubles involving children can be very difficult, but all possible alternatives -- family, church, private charities -- should be investigated before calling in the government. The guilt incurred by sending a child to her death must be next to impossible to bear.
Lightbulbs - Hoard. Incandescent bulbs are going for a buck or two a package these days. You won't be able to get them for love or money a couple years down the line. Or do you like the idea of being ordered to fill your home with fragile glass objects requiring an eight-hour decontamination procedure if broken?
Inhalers - Several deaths and cases of brain damage have occurred since the classic CFC asthma inhalers, the ones that actually work, were banned in the U.S. through the action of Carol M. Browner, the federal government's departing chief Green hired gun. Such inhalers are available overseas from outlets easily found on the net. It's a pity that ordering them for delivery in the U.S. is illegal. If that weren't the case, I'd suggest that asthmatics and others suffering pulmonary disorders form private buying clubs to purchase in bulk. But that might be taken as inciting to conspiracy to violate the customs laws, so I won't.
Other Green Threats - Environmentalists are constantly coming up with new efforts to assist, amuse, and entertain the snail darters, minnow smelts, and polar bears, usually at the expense of humanity as a whole. The Greens contend that the major driver of environmental degradation is simply too many humans. They view all means of lowering these numbers with strong approval. Keep an eye out and never forget: however innocent a Green policy may look, it's always aimed at you.
Foreign Diseases - If you live on the Texas border, or in fact anywhere in the Southwest, pay close attention to epidemics breaking out across the line. As of 2010, we may add southern Florida to this list. In July 2010, the Centers for Disease Control released the results of a study showing that up to 20% of the inhabitants of the Keys had been exposed to Dengue Fever, also known as "bonebreak fever" for the pain it causes. Dengue is returning to endemic status in Texas after being banished by DDT. We know that Obama will refuse to close the border amid an epidemic because he has done exactly that already.
There also exists one upcoming threat, almost measureless in difficulty, that will undoubtedly affect us all. That is ObamaCare, the thus far successful effort to socialize the health care industry. The ultimate goal, as clearly demonstrated by the appointment of Donald Berwick, is the creation of a system patterned on the British National Health Service (NHS). And that's the thing, because the NHS -- overbudgeted, staffed with incompetents, and top-heavy with bureaucrats -- has developed into one of the great killer instrumentalities of the Western world. Studies commissioned by the British government itself have revealed an accidental death rate among NHS patients of up to 95,000 a year. The equivalent number in a U.S. system would be 450,000 deaths annually.
But it doesn't end with accidental deaths. In recent years, the NHS has adopted a program known benignly as the Liverpool Care Pathway. By means of this protocol, aged or extremely ill patients can be labeled terminal by a single doctor (the Nazis required three in their odious T4 program), whereupon all food and water is cut off, and the patient is given heavy sedation. Death usually occurs within a week. Hundreds of cases are on record where families have been forced to rescue elderly relations from this procedure. There is no known case where hospital staff cooperated. Often, attempts are made to have the family arrested or escorted out by police. As for how many of the lonely or socially isolated have been sacrificed in this manner, we have no idea. This is what Sarah Palin was referring to when she spoke of "death panels." Ob-la-di, ob-la-da!
Steps that should be taken to meet this threat include cultivating relationships with medical personnel -- doctors, nurses, and so on. Become a volunteer at hospitals or other health care institutions. By this means, you will be able to establish useful personal networks as well as being able to obtain information otherwise closed to the public.
A black market in medical care will come into being -- it is very likely coming into being as you read these words. Ask around your place of work and associations you belong to (health and fitness clubs in particular) to learn if any such network is emerging in your area. Make whatever contacts or arrangements are necessary.
When hospitalized even for a minor procedure (U.K. patients have been killed using the LCP for suffering broken legs and stomach viruses), make an effort to inform the staff that you have people on the outside. Have a relative, a friend, or a coworker contact you through the hospital system on a regular basis. Conversely, if an aged or chronically ill relative or friend is hospitalized, make the effort to remain in contact during this period. It would also be advisable to speak to doctors and nurses involved in the case to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings.
Much advanced future medical care will occur overseas, in Mexico, on the Caribbean islands, and in the Latin American littoral (outside Venezuela, needless to say). Medical tourism is the wave of the future. Keep on top of developments in the overseas treatment field. It is likely to be covered in business, lifestyle, and specialized publications both on the net and in print. An information clearinghouse website would be a guaranteed moneymaker under such circumstances. I hereby toss the idea into the ring.
It's very likely that foreign sources will offer health plans redeemable only at foreign clinics. Look into these when they appear. An online brokerage for such plans will also make the virtual register ring.
Efforts such as these will prove useful in protecting individuals against an out-of-control government -- one that has, like so many others before it, appointed itself judge, executioner, and gravedigger for its own people. Did I hear cries that this is the United States, the nation of the Declaration, the first free Constitution, the Federalist, the Emancipation Proclamation? That none of this should be happening here? I hear that. I acknowledge it, I sympathize, and I agree.
But freedom from such threats and protection of rights require exercise of political will, which has not occurred often enough in the past half-century. Instead we have wasted our time on nonsense and trivia (marijuana legalization, radfeminism, homeless "rights") while the actual basis of our freedoms has been surreptitiously chipped away.
In the end, democide must be conquered by politics. Enablers in the federal government, whether politicians or bureaucrats, must be detected, exposed, expelled, and punished. They must be confronted by the public they have so grievously harmed and forced to recant. Why are they in favor of CAFE? What is the point of placing predators in populated areas? Why have child-protection agencies been allowed to become so degraded? If those answers are unsatisfactory -- which they will be -- then vote 'em out, put 'em on trial, and lock 'em up. There is no excuse for lethal governmental policies anywhere, anytime, for any reason.
Only then we will see an end to democide. This is the sole long-term solution. And it will come. No ruler, no matter how impressive and all-powerful, has ever survived brutalizing his own people to no purpose. It will be no different here.
J.R. Dunn is consulting editor of American Thinker and the author of Death by Liberalism.
