from:
http://zolatimes.com/V2.27/JBellth.htm
Click Here: <A HREF="http://zolatimes.com/V2.27/JBellth.htm">Jim Bell's
Theorem</A>
-----
Jim Bell's Theorem
by Zola
The wounded screams echo in my ears. Last issue we ran an article by Jim Bell
called "Assassination Politics." Some found this controversial. Not so much
the article itself (which is radical) but the fact we chose to print it.
Ho hum. When Matt Drudge ran the Monica Lewinsky story in January, and he was
the only reporter in the country reporting it, and the White House was
stonewalling as usual--that was controversial. But now, seven months after
everyone else has had their way with the facts, and after the President has
confessed, reporting the Monica Lewinsky story is decidedly not
controversial. It's pretty old hat, even though the consequences of the story
itself may not be.
When Jim Bell started his series of posts on the cypherpunk mailing list
about three years ago--the posts that became "Assassination Politics"--they
were controversial. But today, after months of raging debate, after Jim
Bell's arrest by the IRS, and after his prison conviction, Jim Bell's thesis
is well-known and there is not that much more to say about it. Reprinting it,
as we did, is not controversial. If doing so appears shocking, that is
because of the power of Bell's ideas: for "Assassination Politics" is one of
the most powerful essays on freedom written in the 1990s.
There is no self-respecting "Information Warfare" library at the Pentagon or
in the military that does not contain a copy of Jim Bell's article. Not to
mention the Satanic bibliothecas of the IRS and other government agencies.
Apparently The Laissez Faire City Times has some government-brainwashed serfs
for readers who believe material like this should be reserved to the perusal
of bureaucratically-anointed high priests, and should be kept out of the
hands of freedom advocates. Well, all the better reason we should publish the
article.
I intend to keep The Laissez Faire City Times relevant, interesting,
well-written, and thought- provoking. "Assassination Politics" meets all
these criteria. In fact, it also overlaps all three of our chosen subject
areas: freedom, finance, and the digital society. It would be hard to find a
better match up of supply and demand in my book.
But I see quite clearly what the problem is. Let's compare "Assassination
Politics" to another article like "The Tragedy of Pol Pot Women" in the same
issue. "Pol Pot Women" demonstrates poignantly how governments abuse their
citizens. It shows graphically the consequences of unbridled State power.
Most would say this is a "good" article, even though it implicitly attacks
government.
But "Pol Pot Women" is not controversial. Why not? Because of the article's
subtext: Citizens are victims. As you read the story, the subliminal
teachings pour over you like a bath of molten lead: "Governments have the
power. Citizens are victims. Citizens are victims. Citizens are victims."
Government zombies get off on this. It's like one of those "democratic"
debates that goes something like this: "You, Sir, are abusing power because
you killed 25 citizens, when you should have only killed 15!" And the Powers
That Be smile tolerantly. They have been doing this for a long time, and they
know they are not threatened.
Now we come to Jim Bell's "Assassination Politics." The first, most
provocative thing about this essay is that Jim Bell doesn't present citizens
as victims! It is no wonder the programming of the mind-controlled robots
tells them they are supposed to be upset. For the message, sub- and
supraliminal, of Bell's essay is: Citizens don't have to be victims. They can
turn the table and make government the victim, when government officials
initiate violence. This, of course, is the ultimate heresy, the final
outrage.
When Jim Bell was arrested by the IRS, newspapers reported the alarming fact
that Bell had lists giving the names and addresses of IRS agents/employees!
It didn't occur to the journalists reporting the story to note that the IRS
agents similarly had Jim Bell's name and address. (In fact, that's how the
IRS knew where to show up to arrest him.) Once again, Jim Bell wasn't acting
like the proper victim. The subtext of the news accounts: The IRS is supposed
to collect information on citizens. Citizens are not supposed to collect
information on the IRS
.
The wounded screams of IRS suck-ups echo in my ears.
Now, I don't know where these candy-assed freedom advocates came from. Many
of them may be of the variety that sets Atlas Shrugged on one corner of the
table, and tea and crumpets on the other corner, and then smile at everyone
and say, "Isn't freedom nice? Don't you think the government should give us
more of it? Would you like some tea?" Well, to these moral cowards all I have
to say is: Freedom isn't something the government gives. Freedom is something
you take.
What is amazing about Jim Bell's essay is that he was a beginner at the
concepts he was playing with. He was working through in his own mind the
consequences of a digital signature. A digital signature on an encrypted
message. And he realized you could create a lottery. A lottery whose payoff
was a reward to the person who came closest to predicting the time of death
of a given government official.
Now, you don't have to believe such a lottery is a good idea in order to
profit from reading "Assassination Politics." For Jim Bell was, among other
things, doing a thought experiment on one of the consequences of the digital
society. And you can't escape these consequences by ignoring them, any more
than you can escape the consequences of the atomic bomb by pretending it
doesn't exist.
Governments have entire departments distributed among many organizations and
think tanks whose sole purpose is to ferret out possible consequences like
those envisioned by Jim Bell. Then they marshal vast resources to turn such
consequences into practical plans for terrorizing the heathen across the
border who worship God under a different name, as well as for enslaving their
own citizens. To them, "Assassination Politics" is just a beginning. After
that, they get serious. God forbid that believers in individual sovereignty
should even by reading encounter the semblance of such a process.
Here is my prescription for those who can't bear to have their blessed
victimhood trifled with. I forbid you to ever again read The Laissez Faire
City Times. I also recommend you take a goodly dose of Prozac and return to
your sedentary somnambulation in front of the Boob Tube. And remember to keep
your mouth shut and your head bowed when the truck pulls up out front to
carry your sorry carcass off to the government glue factory.
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
All My Relations.
Omnia Bona Bonis,
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid
matters
and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
<A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
