I’m curious as to how free people in Japan are.
I’d suppose that like anywhere else, freedom is a function of how much money one has. The person who has to take whatever job they can find is less free than someone with skills in high demand. A wealthy person is more free than someone in poverty.
Modern mortgages may be a form of serfdom, btw. Bankers run the world and what better tether is there, from their point of view? Keep most people enslaved and skin 'em too.
I think New Hampshire should be at the top of the list of “free states”. No income tax, no sales tax, the only state with no helmet law and no seatbelt law (unless you’re a minor).
NH was one of the first states to oppose the federal REAL ID law. The legislature passed a law making it illegal to comply.
With regard to the 2nd Amendment. NH a “shall issue” state and proud of it. A personal right to carry is in the constitution (for those not otherwise disallowed). If you don’t have a concealed carry permit, open carry is allowed everywhere but in courtrooms, even in the largest city in the state as evidenced in this video.
The Free State Project is in the process of recruiting 20,000 liberty-loving people to move to New Hampshire. According to the FSP, they chose New Hampshire “because it has the lowest state and local tax burden in the continental U.S., the second-lowest level of dependence on federal spending in the U.S., a citizen legislature where state house representatives have not raised their $100 per year salary since 1889, the lowest crime levels in the U.S., a dynamic economy with plenty of jobs and investment, and a culture of individual responsibility indicated by, for example, an absence of seatbelt and helmet requirements for adults.”
Oh yeah, the NH has the best state motto: Live Free or Die.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
I’m curious as to how free people in Japan are.
In a phrase, “not very.”
Prison time is possible for CARRYING A KNIFE.[/quote]
Well, that varies. I’ve been carrying a knife for years now, even in Tokyo, and not once has a cop hassled me about it.
Yeah, this is true. However, I think it’s true of almost any country.
Very true, and a gigantic pain in the ass.
Well, here I have no firsthand experience, but a friend of mine was up on murder charges, and I think they kept him in jail for three months before his trial. He was later acquitted (it was judged to be justifiable homicide).
Well, here I have to kind of disagree. I’ve done plenty that society has perhaps frowned on, particulary in my twenties. As I recall, it was pretty easy.
And if a foreigner tried to open a bank account, or apply for credit card in the States, what form of ID would they be required to present? Having never been a foreigner in the US, I actually don’t know, and I’m betting that you don’t either.
Ha! I remember that. They tried to name him “Akuma,” which would be like an American trying to name his kid “Satan.”
Anyway, I’m just givin’ you shit, Chushin. It’s true, Japan does not pride itself on being a free country, but rather a peaceful country (“heiwa na kuni”). Peace and freedom very seldom coexist for very long.
As for your question, HH, Japanese people, by and large, don’t want to be free. They like having Mommy Government make their decisions for them, remind them not to do dangerous things, and generally protect them from harm.
So you could say that Japanese are relatively free from crime, free from risk, and for the most part free from the hazards of unconventional thoughts and ideas.
I’ve become bored with this kind of freedom. That, and I’m beginning to miss 20-ounce sirloin steaks, wide open spaces, privacy, and my M-14. Hence this thread.
Lixy, Alaska sounds pretty good, to tell you the truth. Anybody here ever lived there?
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
As for your question, HH, Japanese people, by and large, don’t want to be free. They like having Mommy Government make their decisions for them, remind them not to do dangerous things, and generally protect them from harm.
So you could say that Japanese are relatively free from crime, free from risk, and for the most part free from the hazards of unconventional thoughts and ideas.
I’ve become bored with this kind of freedom. That, and I’m beginning to miss 20-ounce sirloin steaks, wide open spaces, privacy, and my M-14. Hence this thread.
Lixy, Alaska sounds pretty good, to tell you the truth. Anybody here ever lived there? [/quote]
Alaska has no state income tax and they pay you some of the pipeline money. I didn’t live there but stayed 2 weeks with friends. Beautiful place. Lots of libs though. Don’t know how they limit freedom.
Prices are often double what they are in the lower 48, esp outside of Anchorage.
I live in Alaska. Prices are higher, cost of living is higher. But wages are higher. I’m 23 years old, I make 30k a year. I could make more if I got a job in the private sector. But I like 2+ paid vacation days off a month and holidays off.
This place is definitely the land of the free. If you know where to live, there is basically no law in some of the outlying communities. I live in Juneau, the police have little to do in town but catch Domestic Violence and DWI. Living somewhere farther north is probably better. Cops have more to do, and would basically leave you to your own devices provided you don’t do anything that garnishes too much attention.
There is a joke in Alaska, and it is regarding the four seasons. Which are;
Almost Winter
Winter
Still Winter and;
Construction
Summer is definitely the highlight, you just try not to go crazy during the other seasons.
The water is clean, the rain is clean. Things are generally safe. The mountains are beautiful. Along with the glaciers. I’ve been close to wild bear, deer, wolves. I could show you great fishing holes. King crab is probably the best part about winter (the season for king is in the winter)
Thanks to the tourists Alaska is becoming tame, but there are still wild parts of Alaska. Oh for example, you can carry a concealed weapon so long as you disclose it with an officer when you are being searched or pulled over.
[quote]Loose Tool wrote:
Oh yeah, the NH has the best state motto: Live Free or Die.[/quote]
I looked into the FSP seriously when I was thinking where to move when RealID passes. I finally decided that FSP wasn’t getting the job done.
1)NH voted for John Kerrey (not that voting Bush was a good idea either)
2)NH is constantly being flooded with liberals from the outlying states.
3)My friend was denied his CCW, sent it up to the supreme court there but they wouldn’t hear it.
4)NH’s seat belt laws will not stand for long. FSP proved itself unable to stop the smoking ban.
5)FSP has proven weak willed. The reason NH beat Wyoming was due to lack of will among FSP’ers to move to Wyoming, the second pick and obviously superior re: liberty than NH. The FSP wants all the conveniences of New England and to keep their freedom. They didn’t want to make genuine sacrifice and try to make something real happen in Wyoming.
6)FSP has already floundered due to political infighting.
7)Where was FSP for the Brown family?
8)FSP is full of libertarians that haven’t touched a rifle and seem to think that by quoting the Constitution they will save us all.
Such is my admittedly biased view.
mike
[quote]Arc_1mpuls3 wrote:
I live in Alaska. Prices are higher, cost of living is higher. But wages are higher. I’m 23 years old, I make 30k a year. I could make more if I got a job in the private sector. But I like 2+ paid vacation days off a month and holidays off.
This place is definitely the land of the free. If you know where to live, there is basically no law in some of the outlying communities. I live in Juneau, the police have little to do in town but catch Domestic Violence and DWI. Living somewhere farther north is probably better. Cops have more to do, and would basically leave you to your own devices provided you don’t do anything that garnishes too much attention.
There is a joke in Alaska, and it is regarding the four seasons. Which are;
Almost Winter
Winter
Still Winter and;
Construction
Summer is definitely the highlight, you just try not to go crazy during the other seasons.
The water is clean, the rain is clean. Things are generally safe. The mountains are beautiful. Along with the glaciers. I’ve been close to wild bear, deer, wolves. I could show you great fishing holes. King crab is probably the best part about winter (the season for king is in the winter)
Thanks to the tourists Alaska is becoming tame, but there are still wild parts of Alaska. Oh for example, you can carry a concealed weapon so long as you disclose it with an officer when you are being searched or pulled over.[/quote]
Arc, that is definitely some tasty food for thought.
Of all of the places I’ve considered so far, Alaska’s the place I have the least firsthand experience or knowledge, so lemme ask a few questions.
First off, high cost of living, yeah, that’s a given, since it costs more to import stuff. Then again, I live in Japan, where the cost of living is pretty high anyway. So let’s compare prices. Here’s what I pay (figuring an exchange rate of 115 yen to the dollar). Tell me what you pay in Juneau.
Gallon of milk: $5.85
Gallon of orange juice $6.95
Gallon of regular gasoline $5.11
Pound of hamburger $4.89
Pound of sirloin (not Kobe beef, obviously) $10.75
Pound of salmon $3.91
Pound of spinach, fresh $3.87
Starbucks coffee, venti size with a shot of espresso: $4.17
12-ounce bottle of Guinness Stout $3.35
Car insurance, 1 year, over-25 driver $706
Rent, 1 month, 4 BR 2-story house, not including utilities $740
7.62 NATO FMJBT Forgedaboudit.
.45 ACP JHP Forgedaboudit.
Employment: What’s the job situation look like right now for somebody who doesn’t want to work in the “public sector” (i.e. for the government) nor in an office?
Crime: I’ve heard that Alaska leads the nation in incidences of forcible rape. What the fuck? It just means that my lady friend will have a powerful handgun and a big surly dog close at hand whenever I’m not around. That’s one attraction of Alaska: Vermont carry without actually living in Vermont.
Thanks!
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
…
Rent, 1 month, 4 BR 2-story house, not including utilities $740
…
[/quote]
Are you kidding me? Do you live in the middle of the countryside?
[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
…
Rent, 1 month, 4 BR 2-story house, not including utilities $740
…
Are you kidding me? Do you live in the middle of the countryside?[/quote]
Nope. Three minutes from the beach.
But don’t think in terms of an American 4BR house.
They are small bedrooms.
Here it is.
[quote]Mikeyali wrote:
7)Where was FSP for the Brown family?
[/quote]
Hey Mike.
At least one guy has lent his support. Somebody from your state, in fact. Guess who.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
BostonBarrister wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
…
Rent, 1 month, 4 BR 2-story house, not including utilities $740
…
Are you kidding me? Do you live in the middle of the countryside?
Nope. Three minutes from the beach.
But don’t think in terms of an American 4BR house.
They are small bedrooms.
Here it is.[/quote]
Here’s what the Mrs. inherited. GD barn is huge!!
[quote]Mikeyali wrote:
1)NH voted for John Kerrey (not that voting Bush was a good idea either)[/quote] Neither was a good option, so it’s a wash.
[quote]2)NH is constantly being flooded with liberals from the outlying states. [/quote] North of the notch you hardly see any flatlanders.
[quote]3)My friend was denied his CCW, sent it up to the supreme court there but they wouldn’t hear it.[/quote]NH is a “shall issue” state. So what was your friend’s crime?
[quote]4)NH’s seat belt laws will not stand for long. FSP proved itself unable to stop the smoking ban.[/quote] Name another state that currently has no helmet law and no seatbelt law.
[quote]5)FSP has proven weak willed. The reason NH beat Wyoming was due to lack of will among FSP’ers to move to Wyoming, the second pick and obviously superior re: liberty than NH. The FSP wants all the conveniences of New England and to keep their freedom. They didn’t want to make genuine sacrifice and try to make something real happen in Wyoming.[/quote] Wyoming is a nice place to visit. I wouldn’t want to live there. It appears you don’t either.
[quote]6)FSP has already floundered due to political infighting.[/quote] FSB has been ineffective because lack of critical mass. Not enough like minded people have actually made the move to NH.
[quote]7)Where was FSP for the Brown family? [/quote] FSB supported Brown. He distanced himself from them because of pacifists in the FSB ranks. Ed Brown was a tough man to get along with, let alone fight for.
[quote]8)FSP is full of libertarians that haven’t touched a rifle and seem to think that by quoting the Constitution they will save us all.[/quote]When all else fails, vote from the rooftops. Between now and then, there’s plenty of room for Constitution quoting.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
Gallon of milk: $5.85
Gallon of orange juice $6.95
Pound of hamburger $4.89
Pound of sirloin (not Kobe beef, obviously) $10.75
Pound of salmon $3.91
Pound of spinach, fresh $3.87
[/quote]
That’s on average 200% more than what I pay per calorie in the rural midwest. $5.85 for MILK? Does it have some kind of rocket fuel in it or something? $4.89 for a pound of hamburger? What the fuck? Do they butcher a grass-fed, free-range, nature-loving cow right in front of you???
It would be pretty hard for an Joe Average to get fat on that, at least on the same budget. One of the hazards of a great economy – it’s easier to get fat on cheap food.
[quote]ChuckyT wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
Gallon of milk: $5.85
Gallon of orange juice $6.95
Pound of hamburger $4.89
Pound of sirloin (not Kobe beef, obviously) $10.75
Pound of salmon $3.91
Pound of spinach, fresh $3.87
That’s on average 200% more than what I pay per calorie in the rural midwest. $5.85 for MILK? Does it have some kind of rocket fuel in it or something? $4.89 for a pound of hamburger? What the fuck? Do they butcher a grass-fed, free-range, nature-loving cow right in front of you???
It would be pretty hard for an Joe Average to get fat on that, at least on the same budget. One of the hazards of a great economy – it’s easier to get fat on cheap food.[/quote]
My school has a HUGE influx of Alaskans. Trust me, there are many fat Alaskan girls. Then again, they could have gotten fat WHILE in Idaho.
mike
[quote]Loose Tool wrote:
Mikeyali wrote:
1)NH voted for John Kerrey (not that voting Bush was a good idea either) Neither was a good option, so it’s a wash.[/quote]
Yeah, I guess that’s true. My point is that the rest of New England is coming into NH and screwing it up.[quote]
2)NH is constantly being flooded with liberals from the outlying states. North of the notch you hardly see any flatlanders.[/quote]
That may help to have liberty minded folk in local gov’t but that just doesn’t cut it on a state and national level.[quote]
3)My friend was denied his CCW, sent it up to the supreme court there but they wouldn’t hear it.NH is a “shall issue” state. So what was your friend’s crime? [/quote]
He was driving his Porsche on a freeway in New Mexico that was a notorious drug highway. He was speeding and a cop tried to pull him over. He didn’t feel like pulling over as he was already late picking his brother up at the airport. He’s a dipshit and he owned a Porsche. Do the math. After about 30 minutes he finally pulled over because when it no longer became an empty freeway (he was pulling near a city) he decided to pull over because he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.[quote]
4)NH’s seat belt laws will not stand for long. FSP proved itself unable to stop the smoking ban. Name another state that currently has no helmet law and no seatbelt law.[/quote]
My point is that with the liberal influx there your seat belt laws will be gone soon. Here in Idaho we have the seatbelt law, but it’s not a primary offense. We have no helmet laws here either. Actually we often talk about those two, but there’s another I didn’t know was a problem until I went to Washington. Riding in truck beds. That’s okay here too. I didn’t realize some states made that illegal. [quote]
5)FSP has proven weak willed. The reason NH beat Wyoming was due to lack of will among FSP’ers to move to Wyoming, the second pick and obviously superior re: liberty than NH. The FSP wants all the conveniences of New England and to keep their freedom. They didn’t want to make genuine sacrifice and try to make something real happen in Wyoming. Wyoming is a nice place to visit. I wouldn’t want to live there. It appears you don’t either.
[/quote]
No, I don’t want to live there, though I have entertained the idea. My point though, is that FSP could have accomplished their intended goals in Wyoming. If they ever actually get their ten thousand members they could steamroll that state. As it stands though, they won’t be able to be much more than a fringe group in NH. If FSP had gone to Wyoming I’d be much more apt to go there. [quote]
6)FSP has already floundered due to political infighting. FSB has been ineffective because lack of critical mass. Not enough like minded people have actually made the move to NH.
7)Where was FSP for the Brown family? FSB supported Brown. He distanced himself from them because of pacifists in the FSB ranks. Ed Brown was a tough man to get along with, let alone fight for.[/quote]
That’s precisely my point. As I’ve said before when the Brits stepping onto the bridge at Concord we didn’t quote Locke to them; we fucking shot them. The pacifist libertarians are neither terribly useful as individuals, nor are they ideologically grounded. Out of pacifist liberertarians comes a Caesar or Napoleon. [quote]
8)FSP is full of libertarians that haven’t touched a rifle and seem to think that by quoting the Constitution they will save us all.When all else fails, vote from the rooftops. Between now and then, there’s plenty of room for Constitution quoting.
[/quote]
All this said, I still wish the FSP best of luck. I just think they are doomed for lack of will and idealogical grounding. All that said, I’ll be the first to confess (speaking of weak willed) if they got their shit together I would be over there yesterday. But as it stands there’s no point wading into a losing fight with people you have no confidence in. I mean, I’ll bet you even Ron Paul is going to get steamrolled there.
mike
[quote]ChuckyT wrote:
That’s on average 200% more than what I pay per calorie in the rural midwest.[/quote]
Which is why I doubt I’d feel the sticker shock too severely in Alaska. I’m used to the prices here.
No rocket fuel in the milk here. No hormones or antibiotics in it, either.
The grass-fed, free-range nature-loving cows actually command a lesser price than the pampered, massaged, beer-mash guzzling couch potato cows that end up as Kobe or Matsuzaka beef.
Yeah, it’s been said that America is one of the only countries in the world where the poor people are fatter than the rich.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
Mikeyali wrote:
7)Where was FSP for the Brown family?
Hey Mike.
At least one guy has lent his support. Somebody from your state, in fact. Guess who.[/quote]
Funny that you should bring him up. I went to a reading by author Jess Walter today. He spoke briefly about his first book, which was about Ruby Ridge. Then he moved onto meeting Jack Nicolson and another book he wrote as a dark comedy about our response to 9/11. Cool guy.
mike
[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
…
Rent, 1 month, 4 BR 2-story house, not including utilities $740
…
Are you kidding me? Do you live in the middle of the countryside?[/quote]
yea really. Throw another zero on the end of that if you want to live in Jersey. Mass is probably no different.
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Throw another zero on the end of that if you want to live in Jersey. Mass is probably no different.[/quote]
Well, then, I suppose it’s very lucky for me that I don’t want to live in New Jersey or Massachusetts. 
Great new avatar, by the way.