Karen Senffner <karensenzATyahoo.com> wrote:

Dear family & friends,

...

Also, if you're feeling political,
as you probably should on this celebration
of our successful Revolution of 1776,
we have a movie to recommend (highly!):

Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911

Both Charles& I were inspired to write him letters.

Wishing you a very Happy 4th of July!

love to all of you,
Karen& Charles

Chuck [name withheld] wrote:

Hello from Chuck and [Linda], Happy to see you are now well grounded and no longer homeless! We were in San Francisco about 6 months ago for the first time, and loved it. Love you guys but I have to say that with your recommendation of fahrenhiet 911, your credibility slipped. Surely you don't base your opinions on his second historically inaccurate and factually devoid movie? ( this from Chuck, [Linda] would never be so offensive)!!!!!!

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 07:20:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Karen Senffner" <karenATsenffner.net>
Subject: Re: Happy July 4th from Burlingame, CA!
To: Chuck
CC: "Charles Bernard Olson" <charlesATCSMNL.com>

historically inaccurate...?
factually devoid?...

hmmm...

1. True or False:
      Bush's election was decided by the Supreme Court, 5-4.

      I am reminded of this famous quote:

            "Those who cast the votes decide nothing.
            Those who count the votes decide everything."
                  --Joseph Stalin

2. True or False:
      Bush is responsible for starting the War on Iraq.

I am reminded of Mark Twain's War Prayer:

             http://www.lone-star.net/mall/literature/warpray.htm

"...help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help
us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief;
help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander
unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst,
sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in
spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and
denied it..."

Yes, Michael Moore is creative with his film-making
(which I enjoy). This does not change the basic fact that
Mr. Bush is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people.

I'm curious -- have you seen the movie?

In any case, we love you guys too, and we're glad that you
don't base your opinions on movies.

(this from Charles, Karen would never be so *&%&#)!@!)!!!!!!

Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 10:04:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Brad Edmonds" <freedomwins2001ATyahoo.com> Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: Good article "One Drop..." -- thanks
To: "charles olson" <seussianATyahoo.com>

Thanks, Charles; sorry to be so far behind in my email. I like your three rules, though I believe they might boil into the one non-aggression axiom. Must have been a hoot to know Murray Rothbard. I didn't read a single libertarian word before about 1999, so I missed out on a lot.

Best,
Brad

charles olson <seussianATyahoo.com> wrote:

Thank you for your article
"One Drop of Government Is All It Takes".
(http://www.lewrockwell.com/edmonds/edmonds186.html)

It reminds me of a story which Murray Rothbard
told me -- how he was persuaded to be
an anarcholibertarian: Murray was arguing
with some socialists for the superiority
of the free market in all sorts of industries
and issues. He was persuasive and convincing,
and finally at the end of the evening, one
of the socialists asked about the issue of
police and courts, and Murray replied
without much thought that those were different
cases, and that the government was needed to
provide those services. After everyone
had left, Murray thought about his answer
and about how similar it sounded to the
socialists arguments for a government role
in all those other industries, and he realized
that his principles argued for a free market
approach to police and courts as well.

Anyway, I agree with you. Once you open the
door to legitimized coercion, then that
legitimized coercer has all he needs to
chip away at whatever freedom remains.

Strategically, I believe a good approach
is to repeal the U.S. Constitution --
Let's just say No to all that coercively
funded activity which is supposedly on our
behalf.

To repeal the U.S. Constitution would be
a dramatic decentralization of political
power, and yet it leaves untouched our
State and Local governments, which would
presumably be a comfort to those who
find it difficult to imagine a society
without government.

For more info, please see: http://www.CSMNL.com

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again,
Charles Olson
charlesATCSMNL.com

Dear Fellow Americans,

i, together with my beloved wife, want to help make our world a better place.

we believe that we here in our beloved country, the United States of America, would be significantly better off if we repeal the Constitution.

Our country, the United States of America, has had four defining documents. The first three stressed the freedom and independence of the states, thereby ensuring decentralized political power in our nation. The fourth defining document (the Constitution) did not, and indeed political power has become increasingly centralized in our country.

Benjamin Franklin, at the close of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787, predicted that the Constitution would be "well administered for a course of years and can only end in despotism". We believe that the trend in our country is clear, and that it is indeed towards despotism, towards tyranny.

So, with that in mind, we have composed the following hopeful history of our nation:

* 2 July 1776 - 1 March 1781: Free and Independent States:
      the Resolution of Independence (2 July 1776) and
      the Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776)
* 1 March 1781 - 21 June 1788: Sovereign, Free, and Independent States:
      the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union
* 21 June 1788 - 2 July 2004: States under a consolidated national government:
      the Constitution
* 2 July 2004 - ???: Sovereign, Free, and Independent States:
      the Resolution of Independence,
      the Declaration of Independence, and
      the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union

If we Repeal the Constitution (which would be a great decentralization of political power to the States), what would happen to the pre-existing Federal Government? Would the assets and liabilities of the Federal Government be distributed among the States? That is a question which would be decided by the United States -- the Sovereign, Free, and Independent States in Congress assembled.

So... How *can* we repeal the Constitution? Here's the plan:

On July 2nd, 2004, at noon local time (wherever we are), as many of us as possible stand outside in public and proclaim:

      "We the People of the United States do Repeal the Constitution."

Here is a fancy version of a Constitution-Repealing sentence, with language from the Constitution's Preamble, stressing the benevolent motivations for the Repeal of the Constitution:

We the People of the United States,
   in order to form a more perfect union,
      establish justice,
         insure domestic tranquility,
            provide for the common defense
               promote the general welfare,
                  and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,
do Repeal the Constitution of the United States of America.

if enough of us say or sing this statement, then the reform will occur.

In the interest of promoting this hopeful reform, we are creating:

      * A Song
      * A T-shirt
      * A Logo

... each with the fancy Constitution-Repealing sentence.

We warmly invite you to join us in attempting to Repeal the Constitution at noon local time on July 2, 2004!

Thank you for your love & support.

love to all,
charles & Karen

imagine 50 states independent and free. imagine world peace.

p..s. For updates, and more information, please see:
http://www.CSMNL.com

p.p.s. Happy Presidents Day!

p.p.p.s. here are some relevant quotations:

"Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, ..."
      Resolution of Independence,
      Introduced by Richard Henry Lee on 7 June 1776
      Passed by the Continental Congress on 2 July 1776

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, ..."
      Declaration of Independence
      Passed by the Continental Congress on 4 July 1776

"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, ...
      Articles of Confederation; Article II
      Ratified by the 13 States: 1 March 1781

"I smell a rat."
      -- Patrick Henry, 1787, declining to participate in the Constitutional Convention

"If we admit this consolidated government, it will be because we like a great splendid one. Some way or other we must be a great and mighty empire; we must have an army, a navy, and a number of things: When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, Sir, was then the primary object... But now, Sir, the American spirit, assisted by the ropes and chains of consolidation, is about to convert this country to a powerful and mighty empire."
      -- Patrick Henry, June 1788,
      speaking against the proposed Constitution at the Virginia Ratifying Convention

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
      "The New Colossus", a poem by Emma Lazarus (1883),
      inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty

"If we cannot by reason, by influence, by example, by strenuous effort, and by personal sacrifice, mend the bad places of civilization, we certainly cannot do it by force. "
      -- Auberon Herbert

"Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to the same extent we are sacrificing the liberties of our people."
      -- John F. Kennedy

"The Ring of Power Must Be Destroyed."
      ~ Gandalf

Dear Charles:

Do you truly believe this...and what do you think the odds are?

More power to you...but why not pick something to do with your good
time and energy where you actually have some small chance of success?

Best, John

Mon, 16 Feb 2004 10:01:56 -0500
P.S. Congratulations on your marriage and thanks for the lovely Valentine background.
cheers, John

Charles,

The solution is not in the past.
See my critique of the Declaration of Independence and
of the Articles of Confederation accessible through:

       http://morelife.org/ssip/critiques/index.html

--Paul Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
      Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
The Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org
      Rational freedom by self-sovereignty & social contracting

Charles,

I think it's great that you are willing to march to the beat of a
different drummer. I've always appreciated that about you. But I think
you're wasting your time with this idea. It's just not going to catch
on. Even the people who would be most sympathetic to your ultimate
goals would not understand the method and would resist like hell.
Better to seek change in a way that requires less education against
uphill odds.

Have you checked out Bureaucrash? http://www.bureaucrash.com.

Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>

Well Chuck,

As usual, I find your comments at best interesting. You pick and choose quotations that serve your viewpoints and ignore others when they do not. While you and I may choose different revolutionary figures to respect, I would offer you two quotes, first a short one from Thomas Jefferson and then a longer one from Ben Franklin. Actually the Ben Franklin quote is the full quote from which you take a small part, way out of context. Franklin is saying the constitution and central government is a good thing although you insinuate otherwise. While our form of government has many problems, it is by far the best in existence today, trying to offer a balance of individual and community freedoms and mutual conveniences. Without a strong federal government we would not have had women's rights, interstate highways, abortion rights and many other things when we did.

Aware of the tendency of power to degenerate into abuse, the worthies of our country have secured its independence by the establishment of a Constitution and form of government for our nation, calculated to prevent as well as to correct abuse.

      --Thomas Jefferson
-------------------------------------------

I CONFESS that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution at present; but, sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it, for, having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that, the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment of others. Most men, indeed, as well as most sects in religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them, it is so far error. Steele, a Protestant, in a dedication, tells the Pope that the only difference between our two churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrine is, the Romish Church is infallible, and the Church of England is never in the wrong. But, though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as of that of their sect, few express it so naturally as a certain French lady, who, in a little dispute with her sister, said: "But I meet with nobody but myself that is always in the right."

In these sentiments, sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, — if they are such, — because I think a general government necessary for us, and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people, if well administered; and I believe, further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other. I doubt, too, whether any other convention we can obtain may be able to make a better Constitution; for, when you assemble a number of men, to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our counsels are confounded like those of the builders of Babel, and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats. Thus I consent, sir, to this Constitution, because I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us, in returning to our constituents, were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partisans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects and great advantages resulting naturally in our favor among foreign nations, as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength and efficiency of any government, in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of that government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its governors. I hope, therefore, for our own sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake of our posterity, that we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution wherever our influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts and endeavors to the means of having it well administered.

On the whole, sir, I cannot help expressing a wish that every member of the convention who may still have objections to it, would, with me, on this occasion, doubt a little of his own infallibility, and, to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument

      - Ben Franklin

May Peace and Capitalism Prevail. :)

Dear Charles,
Almost a year, and we're still on the same page! First off, congratulations
on the wedding. I got the pictures and it looked unbelievable. That made
me very happy this summer.

On the political tip, I've been saying this for a few years now, it's not
our country that bad, we have some of the smartest and well educated people
in the world. I think our constitution was a good idea at the time, but
over the last 200+ years, it no longer holds true. When it was written,
Black folks and natives were not even considered human! They were 2/3 of a
person. This is inherently the wrong point to found a country on. I want
We the People of today to rewrite this document as it applies to us today!
Republicans had the right idea when it comes to less government control, and
a loose interpretation of the document, however their special interests have
clouded their judgement. Let's start from square 1 and rewrite a
constitution that reflects us, the people of the USA today, fair, equal, and
multi-cultural. I'd love to help with this project with anything I can do.
Let me know! I hope all is well, and hope to hear from you soon so we can
catch-up a little.

Peace,
-josh

Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 16:21:11 -0800 (PST)
From: [name withheld]
Subject: Re: Happy Presidents Day -- Let's Destroy the Ring of Power
To: charlesATCSMNL.com

Please take my name off the mailing list for political stuff -- thanks -- Glenn

Dear Charles,

Thanks for your quick reply. I’m glad you enjoyed your stay in Amsterdam.

Your answers are certainly helpful already. And we’ll definitely check out the URL’s you included. But if you plan a more elaborate reply that’s very welcome.

Regarding your question: we strive for a classical-liberal society (a nightwatchman state, in which taxes are collected on a voluntary basis). Philosophically, most of the board member are anarcho-capitalists, though. And if and when the nighwatchman state has become a reality somewhere in the future, we will certainly explore the possibilities of privatizing police, defence and justice as a whole as well.

The URL of our website is http://www.bastiatfoundation.org (and the original, Dutch version can be found at http://www.bastiatstichting.nl). You might want to take a look at the button “What we Believe”, which is a one-page summary of why we exist and what our ideas are.

Thanks again and best wishes, René

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: charles olson [mailto:seussianATyahoo.com]
Verzonden: zondag 28 december 2003 21:18
Aan: Rene van Wissen
Onderwerp: Re: your lecture

Thanks, Rene.

Thank you for your kind remarks. i really enjoyed my visit to Amsterdam, and having the opportunity to talk.

i'm going to answer your questions quickly now, and hopefully i'll later be able to send a response with more care.

1. Could you tell me what the view of the Founding Fathers on taxes was: did they believe that it was legitimate to levy taxes by means of coercion and where can I find these views?

i believe that like today, there were a mixture of opinions, with some believing that coercing taxes from people was legitimate, and others not.

i believe that they strongly opposed taxation by Britain - "No Taxation Without Representation" was a popular slogan. People wanted representation in the British Parliament, or to elect their own assemblies who then would tax them.

i'm sorry i have no links to recommend at this time.

2,3. Could you tell me what the government in a classical-liberal society is supposed to look like: is it, for instance, a full-time profession, and how are the government employees chosen or appointed?

Do you have an article/draft of the governmental structure in a classical-liberal society.

"a classical-liberal society"... do you mean "anarchist" or "limited government"?

i believe it is possible for all the functions of government to be provided voluntarily, with no one having any monolopy on the provision of such services.

David Friedman has written extensively on this possibility:

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Libertarian/Libertarian.html

see also:

http://www.voluntaryist.com/
http://www.strike-the-root.com/
http://www.nonviolence.org/
http://www.lysanderspooner.org/

my political websites are:
  http://www.CSMNL.com
  http://www.madeirasociety.com

i hope this brief reply is helpful.

please send me your website's address once you have one,
and *Good Luck* with your project!

charles olson

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rene van Wissen <rgtvanwissenATplanet.nl> wrote:

Dear Mr. Olson/Dear Charles,

Recently I attended your lecture at the meeting of Meer Vrijheid in Amsterdam, hosted by Frank Karsten. I thought the things you said were highly interesting, and also very relevant for me and for my foundation.

In August of this year, me and a few friends founded the Frédéric Bastiat Foundation, a classical-liberal/libertarian Dutch think tank. We set out to get people acquainted with both classical liberalism and libertarianism. In particular, we try to influence opinion leaders and politicians.

We are currently working on a manifest, in which we discuss different themes, such as health care, justice, and education. One of the things we are having trouble with are taxes and government.

I have three questions for you:

- Could you tell me what the view of the Founding Fathers on taxes was: did they believe that it was legitimate to levy taxes by means of coercion and where can I find these views?

- Could you tell me what the government in a classical-liberal society is supposed to look like: is it, for instance, a full-time profession, and how are the government employees chosen or appointed?

- Do you have an article/draft of the governmental structure in a classical-liberal society.

I hope you can help me.

Best wishes,
René van Wissen
Chairman Frédéric Bastiat Foundation

Thanks for the encouragement, Charles.
All of my Self-Sovereign Individual Project writings are starting to be
published on http://strike-the-root.com
However, there has so far been no feedback. I expect this is because so
few libertarians are interested in fundamentals. Most simply like to
gripe and think that simple quick fixes are all that is necessary.

Glad to see that you are still active, but you also need to think more
fundamentally. Anti-federalism isn't the answer either. Each state
government is little better than the big Federal government. The
difference is only one of degree, not of kind. And the *degree* is still
fully open to grow worse. It is the whole idea of the need for
government per se that we must fight and eliminate. If you don't agree
with this or if you have other comments and reservations about my ideas,
then please join and post to the MoreLife Yahoo group or to the column
forum at Strike-The-Root. I don't generally discuss these issues in
private email because written public discussion on the Internet is so
much more valuable to everyone.

--Paul Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
      Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
The Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org
      Rational freedom by self-sovereignty & social contracting

charles olson wrote:
> It's Chuck here, although i go by "charles" now.
>
> i noticed that your Declaration of Individual
> Independence was posted on 6/21/2003, which
> happened to be the same day that i gave a
> talk to the Free Exchange Supper Club here
> in San Francisco entitled:
>
> "Anti-Federalism: An Idea Whose Time Has Come"
>
> i spoke of how the "Federalists" were really
> nationalists, and how the ratification of
> the constitution was quite a shady affair.
>
> i also spoke in favor of an expanded Bill of
> Rights. i think that if such a Bill of Rights
> were comprehensive enough, it could be all the
> constitution that we need.
>
> anyway, it looks like you are doing some very
> good work. i myself would love to see major
> progress toward freedom, and i am looking around
> at different strategies. i wish there were a country
> in the world where our free market ideas were being
> implemented.
>
> well, i just thought i'd say hello, and more power to ya!
>
> charles
>
>
> =====
> Let's decentralize!
>
> The people of the U.S.S.R. did it.
> So can we!
>
> http://www.CSMNL.com

Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 23:09:51 -0700
To: candieleeATCSMNL.com
Subject: Did you make good on your promise?

Please tell me you took my mail to Salinas.  Not that I don't trust you, but when I came home and told my wife I gave our tax return to a seven foot green-guy who maybe just a little bit on the anti-government side, well you know. Saw your web site, very interesting.  The links the states official sites is handy.  Like I said I do defend your right to free speech and we need the all the balance in government we can get.

Respectfully
[name withheld]

I just finished watching the video...

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You

       for holding such an awesome vision of what could happen. The message is simple and powerful and filled with humor and wildness and love. And only a magnigicent fool like you could deliver it the way you do. I was laughing out loud and felt its compelling mission simultaneously.

The time is soooo right....everyone I know is sick of how things are going in our government and all established "order" is crumbling before our eyes. What a great time to be alive.

...[name withheld]

From: GardenPartyMafiaATaol.com
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 17:34:09 EDT
Subject: support
To: guestbookATcsmnl.com

Hey man, i saw you first in Washington DC, telling us your proposition. i got your card, and the youth large tshirt from that you said would be like a muscle shirt for me. hey, it fits. hehe anyway, i support your cause and understand the reasons you have for doing all this. if i can help out in anyway, email me. GardenPartyMafia@aol.com
~Dan