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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael M who wrote (75388)	3/2/2000 11:47:00 AM
From: nihil	Respond to of 108807

I particularly despise the conspiracy of labor unions and building codes that require me to hire a licensed plumber to hook up my solar hot water heater to my house's water system, as if I couldn't install a check valve right way round; or that requires me to hire a licensed electrician to install the pump for my solar system as if I cannot turn off the main switch; or a licensed physician to buy a package of penicillin as if I couldn't read the PDR and understand it; or a veterinarian to buy streptomycin for my dogs; or a optometrist to order cheap duplicate contact lenses; or a licensed automechanic to get a safety check on a car I rebuilt; or licensed mechanic before I could buy refrigerant for my air-conditioner; I hate to overpay the port pilots who have a closed shop; I hate to pay too many licensed pilots in a plane; and licensed sewage operators in a sewage plant; and so on. If these restrictions actually contributed some benefit, it might be okay in some circumstances, but in fact the water lines get contaminated by professionals, the buildings built by licensed professional engineers fall down or become "sick buildings" not to mention their ugliness; the building inspectors collect bribes; the health inspectors approve restaurants that sell swill; physicians kill thousands of patients every year by negligence; sick chickens and hamburgers carefully inspected by government approved inspectors poison people every year (not to mention kangaroo meat in the hamburger -- leaping lizards). Remember that all the contamination at the government's nuclear plants (e.g. Paducah, Richmond) were caused by licensed engineers. Remember that the neglect of syphilitic blacks in the Alabama study was done by licensed physicians. Remember the Titanic was designed by licensed naval architects. Remember the Union Carbide if India insecticide plant in Bhopal was designed by licensed engineers. Remember that the New York and LA cops who murdered poor blacks were sworn officers and union members who covered up for each other. Remember that teachers in our wretched schools are certificated by the state. Licensing of occupations is a monopolistic racket intended to enrich the union members who support the politicians who impose the laws. They are rarely justifiable by any real benefit to the public. The are never in fact administered to benefit any one except the licensees. (No one else is interested). Remember that extensive quotation of a book to refute its fallacies is not fair use but criminal. Those who have used Dianetics and other publications of Scientology to criticize its fallacies have been convicted of a crime? Remember that quotation of lengthy passages of music for parody or ridicule is criminal. Remember that a non licensee using patented cell lines even if they are drawn from the defendant are criminal. Remember that making drugs that save lives without license is criminal, even if the owner refuses to license the patent which was developed with government subsidies. The enemy of economic efficiency, of health, and safety, or truth and decency is monopoly, whether of patents, copyrights, trade marks (I hope the "M" doesn't stand for MacDonald or you couldn't use it on your restaurant in Scotland) or simple truth. The only way we can have free markets is to make everyone free to do what they will and make them personally liable for injury resulting from their mistakes. Infringements of these artificial and unnecessary monopolies are nearly always victimless crimes. No one is injured by an inferior knockoff of a Gucci bag. No one is injured by a superior knockoff of a Gucci bag. Every customer gets what he perceives to be a product, suitable to his needs andworth what he pays for it. If Gucci cannot produce good quality that customers will seek out, then let it perish. Once the music leaves the horn, or the words are published they belong to the world. Did you know in ancient Rome that the law of the city (the twelve tables) was kept secret from the people? Did you know that in some U.S. states the published laws and court decisions belong to legal publishers (especially West Law), and you could be imprisoned for quoting them if they cared to enforce the copyright law? I know that's wrong. I think all monopoly is wrong. I think monopoly enforced by government with criminal sanctions is a very great wrong. There may be, now and then, some excuse for a particular monopoly. Even then, in most instances, some less restrictive alternative (such as non-governmental certification) might satisfy the need. J.S.G. Boggs draws pen and ink duplicates of U.S. currency as works of art. He insists on spending his art at face value. The framed bills sell at large premiums to face value. They are collector prizes. Various governments have prosecuted him but have never won. They are not imitations, they are the bills themselves. I loved Han van Meegeren, the 1930's and 40's painter who created old masters (especially Vermeers) and sold some of them to Reichsmarshal Goering after they had been authenticated by great experts. After the war, he was prosecuted by the Dutch for selling national treasures to the Nazis. He painted one while imprisoned -- "Christ at Emmaus" I believe. The judges finally believed and many people praised him for his creative cheating of der Dicke. He was still imprisoned for forgery art.