Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Privilege

I have stated on more than one occasion that the purpose of government throughout history (with apologies to Thomas Jefferson) has not been the protection of individual rights, but the protection and expansion of the privileges and power of the privileged and powerful.  In fact the definition of the word privilege is:
a special benefit, exemption from a duty, or immunity from penalty, given to a particular person, a group or a class of people
The latin roots of the word mean "private law."

So you can imagine my (lack of) shock when I read about California Public Employees' Magical Immunity to Traffic Tickets (h/t: Instapundit):
"They've exempted themselves from the rules they're enforcing," said Chad Dornsife, director of the Best Highway Safety Practices Institute. "They know it, is what's really sick about this. This isn't some surprise that when the camera comes out they don’t have to worry about it."…

"It's a courtesy, law enforcement to law enforcement," San Francisco Police Sgt. Tom Lee said. "We let it go."
Want to avoid traffic tickets?  Get a special license plate only issued to .gov employees.  Don't like Obamacare? Beg your lawmaker for a waiver. If you're a lawmaker, give yourself an exemption"Exempt(ing) themselves from the rules they're enforcing" is SOP for the powerful and privileged.  I don't understand why anyone would be surprised.  Why should the law apply to them?  They have private law.

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