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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>John Clark via extropy-chat<br><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] ccp struggles<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>On Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 5:56 PM spike jones via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote: <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>> </span></i></span><i>Stathis, without the right to bear arms, the people have no rights at all,</i><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>And that's why today life in New Zealand, Canada and Denmark is indistinguishable from what life was like under Stalin in the USSR or in Nazi Germany,..... oh wait... <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>John, I had perceived you as a guy who doesn’t trust the US government. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>> </span></i></span><i>but rather only a list of grudging permissions which may be taken away at the government’s whim.</i><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>>…But things are very different in America because the US army knows that an angry redneck with a shotgun…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The angry redneck and the military are on the same side.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>>…could easily destroy a M1 Abrams battle tank or a F-22 jet fighter…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Neither of those weapons are brought to bear against angry rednecks on American soil.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>>…Because of this 19,510 Americans had the freedom to get murdered last year (6 per 100,000)…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Had we no right to bear arms, that number would have been in the millions. The right to bear arms protects Americans against the bad guys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>>…I said it before I'll say it again, regardless of how beautiful a theory is if it doesn't fit the facts it must be abandoned…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>John feel free to abandon any theory you wish. That is why we have a second amendment, for those who wish to abandon the theory that Americans have rights.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>> </span></i></span><i>There are Americans who will argue Americans’ civil rights can be rescinded at the government’s whim,</i><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>>…That is true. I've even heard of an American who I believe happens to be the head of the government's executive branch say "<i>I have the right to do anything</i>" and "<i>I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about</i>" and "<i>The federal government has absolute power</i>" and "<i>When somebody is the president of the United States their authority is total</i>." But we have rednecks with shotguns so we have no need to worry.</span> <span style='font-size:13.5pt'>John K Clark</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It worked: the federal government did not take over and assume dictatorial control of the country or violate Americans’ constitutional rights. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Aren’t you glad we have a constitution? So am I.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike <o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>