What kind of revolution are we fighting anyway?

Let's be clear. We aren't going to win a guns against guns, toe to toe bash up against the government. It's what they do: break things and kill people. Don't try and compete with the professionals.

On the flip side, I'm not advocating unarmed passive resistance. By all means, arm yourself.

What for? We aren't going to be snipping at blue helmeted troops. However, a well armed citizenry does help keep things polite. The police are less likely to drag you away in the middle of the night if they are met with a hail of bullets. Then they retreat to their squad car, only to find the driver shot and the vehicle in flames. The Nazi's and the KGB would not have been so successful against an armed citizenry with a bit of backbone.

Having some basic self defense capability is always a good idea. There are enough thugs out there, both state sponsored and freelance.

What we are fighting against is an unholy marriage between big business and government. Corporations have more rights than individuals. Until that is reversed, the government will serve their masters. Corporations are using money they get from us to take away our power and freedoms.

The solution is quite simple. Don't give them any more money. Banks foreclosed on your house? Raised your interest rate to 30%? Tired of the government bailing out the banks while you suffer? Then destroy them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uop5R7E314 Don't let it being in French put you off, it's subtitled. Simply put, if enough people take their money out of the banks, they will collapse. No need to fire a shot.

Every time a person does business with local small business instead of a giant corporation, a blow for victory is struck. When the deal is done completely in barter, or even as a favor, it's a double blow for victory. The Federal Reserve has only one product, when we don't use it, they lose just a bit more power.

Looks like things have gone too far with the TSA. There's open resistance. People are avoiding the scanners, overloading the hand grope system. Many have decided not to fly at all. Expect the airlines to freak out pretty soon. Only government bailouts have keep them in business as it is. They run on thin margins. Expect some to beg for government relief and others to go out of business. Fine by me. As long as they support the TSA dog and pony show, they can suffer the consequences.

Remember when the Federal government wanted to chip all livestock, right down to backyard chickens? Now they want to regulate people's backyard gardens. They can pass any law they want, but if everyone ignores it, it won't get enforced. Sure, they can make an example of a few farmers, but that'll only get us mad.

If you ever get on a jury, remember that you are not just judging the person, the law itself can be judged. (in spite of any instructions the judge may give the jury) If juries won't convict people because the laws are unfair, then the laws will have to change. This attitude may be why I was thrown off two juries and replaced by alternates on day one. If nothing else, proclaiming to believe in jury nullification will get you out of jury duty.

Government can do actions outside of the normal legal system. In the past, many have resorted to making people disappear. That works on a case by case basis, but only in the short term. A government that rules by brute force loses legitimacy. The iron fist is pulled from the velvet glove for all to see. The government "for the people" facade is shattered. It becomes very clear to everyone who the enemy is.

Does anyone out there still trust big media? Why? They aren't in the business of upsetting the cozy big business/government partnership. It's all about selling ad revenue. It's not about the truth.

Expect restrictions on the Internet. They hate our freedom.

When you run your vehicle on home brewed biofuel you starve the beast of road tax. When you grow your own food, make your own electricity, collect your own water -you gain a measure of freedom. People have voluntarily reduced their income to the point where they pay no income taxes. If the big corporations don't pay taxes, why should you?

Here's a controversial tactic. First, some history. The Roman Empire was able to expand and gain wealth at the same time. It was easy in the early days. Wealth from conquered lands fed back into the empire. That worked for quite a while. Problems arose when the conquered lands stopped sending money to Rome and Rome had to send money the other way. Maybe it was in the form of services the empire had to perform. Sometimes it just reached the point where the cost of military occupation exceeded the wealth extracted from the land.

The tactic? Make the government pay. Collect everything you can from the system: unemployment benefits, food stamps, heating assistance, medical services -anything at all. Make sure the system pays more to you than you pay to it. Some people don't want to do that, and I can respect their personal choice. However, it is one more bullet for your gun. Something to keep in mind as your situation changes.

At some point the government will be faced with a choice: either serve the people, or serve big business. Should it decide to serve the people, it has a chance of still being around in the future. If it doesn't it will be less and less relevant to people's lives and eventually all support for it will dry up.

Starving the businesses that have stolen our rights serves two purposes. They are punished directly -hit in the pocketbook. (If they wise up, they can change and survive.) Secondly, as corporations weaken, their influence with the government is weakened.

We can have a revolution without firing a single shot. The beauty of this form of resistance is that we can live better right now. Eating local food is healthier. Backing away from the corporate money system gives us more time to enjoy our lives. Doing more for ourselves, be it growing a garden, installing a solar panel, or fixing our stuff, gives us a sense of empowerment.

Non violent happy people having a good time, yet undermining the system, is something the business/government forces doesn't have the proper tools to fight.

If you want to live such a life, just do it. (as I steal back a corporate slogan.)

-Sixbears