moralist

It's in the New Testament and it is a reference to Christ. John 1:1 Amplified Bible (AMP) 1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [b]Himself. The original language of the Gospel according to John was Greek. "Logos" is the Greek word translated as "Word." "Logos" was an embracing term, encompassing "ordering principle" generally. How do the Amplified Bible people arrive at this term being equated with Christ? In a quick and unsuccessful Google to try to find some background on that interpretation, I came across this discussion of the differences between John and the synoptic gospels http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/john.html The material is part of a Connecticut PBS "Frontline" series From Jesus to Christ. Ellen That is not the only New testament source referring to Christ as the Word of God. Here is a far more graphic direct reference to Christ: Revelation 19:11-13 11 After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse [appeared]! The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True, and He passes judgment and wages war in righteousness (holiness, justice, and uprightness). 12 His eyes [blaze] like a flame of fire, and on His head are many kingly crowns (diadems); and He has a title (name) inscribed which He alone knows or can understand. 13 He is dressed in a robe dyed by [c]dipping in blood, and the title by which He is called is The Word of God. ...and getting religious information from secular leftist government subsidized PBS is like getting information about the Holocaust from Amahdinejad.

He certainly could have been. I was solely commenting on the source of the verse, not on it's perceived veracity. That is purely a personal choice which has absolutely nothing to do with others.

Where do you keep: your bookmarks? your passwords? your programming projects? How do you do internet banking? I consider all of those computer items you mentioned to be in the public domain. So I don't care if the government knows my passwords, or my book marks. All of my projects are publicly posted in topic specific forums where anyone can read about them. And I also have no problem with the government knowing exactly how much money I have in the bank... because it already does. There is no such thing as privacy on the internet. And anyone who fantasizes otherwise has only deluded themselves. This issue also has a broader context in that our Conscience sees everything we do.

Yes. Exactly. The internet is only the virtual world of public interactive television. It is not the real world.

It's in the New Testament and it is a reference to Christ. John 1:1 Amplified Bible (AMP) 1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [b]Himself.

That statement is referring to Christ.

I've enjoyed the Wal Mart shopping experience for many years, and see most of the same employees working there year after year. Having talked with them, I've found them to be generally happy with their lot in life and regard their duties no matter how menial they might appear, to be a useful service to others. Generally, they are people who are comfortable with finding their purpose in society. There is a general elitist disdain for the common laborer by those whose minds have been molded by the leftist government medrasas called Universities. Whereas I simply see Wal Mart employees as people who work to earn their bread, which makes them no different than myself..

My approach is to remove the government from my own life by learning how to live without needing what it only appears to offer.

This, of course, can cause problems for those who do not want their reality conquered or their universe ruled.

While reading this thread, your point jumped right off of the page. This is a critical question everyone should ask themselves: If there ever was to be a societal upheaval where would you rather be... inside of a city, or out in the country? Most everyone believes that they live in a good place, and what that means is not as much that it is good for everyone, but that it is good for them. There is also certain amount of destiny in where people live their lives, because there can be life altering consequences spun into motion by even the smallest of actions.

That was a beautiful moment which will reverberate like a liberty bell. And even though she had given the government her sanction to become its victim by seeking to be granted an entitled status, what the government did was still wrong. These events are revealing the true nature of government as well as the nature of the people who created it in their own image.

Not just survived the Coastal Commission, went around them entirely. An old timer I befriended in the area let me in on a secret... the land I wanted to buy was in an area that was ruled exempt from the Coastal Commission around 1980 or so. My only guess is that someone with a lot of what Ayn Rand called "pull" in the government wanted their own land exempted, so mine was also exempt along with it. This exemption was so obscure there wasn't even a form for it when I applied and no one knew what to do. I obtained a credentialed letter from the person who knew about it, stating that it was exempt. And even though it took the same time it would have taken for the normal process, it was worth pursuing just to not have to deal with another government bureaucracy. Events have a timing and a flow to them... So by diligently watching and patiently waiting for the right indications, it is possible to opportunistically "surf" that wave by choosing to move in harmony with it instead of stubbornly pushing and shoving trying to get my own way which would only create more obstacles.

This talk about dumps reminds me of Idiocracy... It's a funny movie about the dystopian future where no one knows what to do with trash so they just keep piling it up into mountains.

I operate under the basic assumption that there is no such thing as internet privacy, then there are no unreasonable expectations over which to be disappointed or outraged. Nothing is stored in my computer. I just use it as an empty box with an operating system to access the internet. Pictures are all in public storage in the cloud, and so are all of my public emails. This greatly simplifies my life.

You've already fully explained the reasons for your opinion, Robert. And I already understand why you hold it so it's time to let this go.

That is correct. You don't know the legality of being an owner-builder in California. And being a lawyer, you naturally assume that it is illegal, because lawyers look for illegalities. This is why your opinion is ok by me. I don't mind being thought of poorly by others when I know I'm doing what's right.

Yeah, I don't consider that to be Capitalism, because it's not actually making any money. It's just betting in a zero sum win/lose casino where one person's gain can only come at another's loss. And just because lots of people do it, that doesn't make it morally right. There are only two basic win/win actions that actually create wealth. Produce useful products for others, or do useful services for others.

I understand your disconnect, Robert. It's perfectly natural for you (as a lawyer) to accuse fraud and illegality when you don't know the prevailing State and County laws under which I operate legally just as any other developer does. (although I did it on a very small scale) This is why I don't take your comments personally and am happy to explain exactly how working to produce your own home (like they did in Galt's Gulch) can generate financial rewards for the rest of your life for any American willing to actually do it. There are two possibilities: either you presented your situation with so many selectively omitted details that your narrative was misleading on its face, or you committed tax fraud. All of the details have already been stated including Prop 13, about which you didn't inform yourself. So I'm ok with your opinion that I'm doing something illegal even though the County Tax Assessor doesn't and hasn't for more than a decade since I built. So let's just agree that's your view and leave it at that.

I understand your disconnect, Robert. It's perfectly natural for you (as a lawyer) to accuse fraud and illegality when you don't know the prevailing State and County laws under which I operate legally just as any other developer does. (although I did it on a very small scale) This is why I don't take your comments personally and am happy to explain exactly how working to produce your own home (like they did in Galt's Gulch) can generate financial rewards for the rest of your life for any American willing to actually do it. Nowadays, people don't consider producing their own necessities of life anymore. They only think of buying them from someone else. While this is genuinely beneficial in many ways, there are also drawbacks in certain situations which need to be weighed when making decisions. I weighed buying versus building and just couldn't not pass up the opportunity to experience the "Galt's Gulch" adventure of becoming a producer who makes his own market, instead of a passive consumer who is subject to the whims of the market. Yes. But not arguing. Simply stating as fact. Anyone who honestly believes that they do not deserve the government they're getting, ought to seriously consider changing how they are living. Because to the extent that anyone who lives a life deserving of a decent government, to that same extent they will personally experience the decent government they deserve. What do I have as proof of this?. the fact that I enjoy my right to liberty even while living in one of the most completely liberal government "encroached" areas in the nation. Government is not the highest authority. It answers to very same moral law its citizens do. So when you answer to moral law, the government answers to you.

If you "act as your own bank and real estate agent"... It is not illegal to work to earn enough capital to fund your own financial ventures. Solvency is an essential economic principle of American Capitalism. It is also not illegal to represent yourself in any real estate transaction. These facts are obvious, are they not?

Is a certificate of occupancy needed to live in it legally? --Brant Yes. I have a C of O. The home is completely legal, and was built in one of the most heavily government regulated areas in the nation, with two overlapping regulatory bureaucracies, Department of Building and Safety and the Coastal Commission. Even though it took two and a half years and $30K to obtain a building permit, the investment was still well worth it to own a home free and clear.

I'm not making any moral arguments, but legally speaking, if the fair market value of your home is 800k and you're only paying taxes on it as if it had a value of 170k, then that's pretty clearly tax fraud. If you want to go to Federal prison to stand up on principle, then best of luck to you. I won't go to Federal prison because I am standing on principle. There's something that you're unfamiliar with since you don't live here and that is accounting for your response. California property tax assessments have operated under Proposition 13 since 1978. Since you're a lawyer I know you can easily read up on it, and then you'll understand. It's was a vote of the people from a time in the past when the American Capitalist producers actually outnumbered the liberal socialist parasites. There's also something else you don't understand. I have no power to set the assessed value on my home. I only had the power to build it. It was the County that assessed the home at their own square foot cost of building standards. Every developer in the County who has an inventory of unsold homes pays exactly the same rate. It's upon sale that the County reassesses the homes at their full market value, which in this instance would have made the property taxes about 10k a year. There's a larger point here that I'm hoping doesn't get lost in the minutia. And it is this: There are always ways to enjoy our inherent right to liberty because the government is not the source of it. This fact makes it the personal responsibility of each individual American to discover those creative "outside the box" ways for themselves. And those who don't, fully deserve to remain "inside the box" as slaves of the government they created in their own image. Ayn Rand precisely defined the principles of freedom to follow in her ideal "outside the box" description of Galt's Gulch. And even though I never met her, I still freely chose to follow her good advice... and it works beautifully.

I'm not an attorney, but I'm fairly certain what you are describing constitutes tax fraud. Actually, wait, I am an attorney. Ok. Fair enough, Robert. Please explain specifically how it is fraudulent for an American Capitalist to work, and earn, and save up the money to buy his own land and to build his own home. Since I've been using the principles Ayn Rand described in Atlas Shrugged I'd be interested to hear how they're wrong.

Of course I'm only speaking from my own direct personal life experience as well as from my observations of the world. That view is highly subjective because I'm the only one who actually experiences the consequences of my actions. So what? I can tell you that just like everyone else, I'm getting exactly the government I deserve because my own direct personal experience of the government I deserve is completely dependent on how I live. Reading Atlas Shrugged decades ago so deeply affected me that I chose to live by the economic and moral principles of Galt's Gulch even if no one else around me did. Taking this "path less travelled" set into motion a completely different set of consequences from the paths that others chose. You are quite correct. It is impossible to own a home without paying property taxes. However... how much you pay is totally your own responsibility and is completely dependent on your own actions. By acting as my own bank, developer, builder, and real estate agent, the property tax basis on my home is 170k while the current market value is 800k. America still rewards decent responsible productive solvent frugal Capitalists who produce useful products for their own personal benefit. The trick is to make business transactions with yourself. That's the Galt's Gulch way.

People elected those government officials, so its only fitting that they should get the government they deserve. To turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones all that's necessary is to cultivate the Galt's Gulch mindset, and creatively adapt to the constantly changing world. The solution to the property tax situation is so simple. Ask yourself, what did they do in Galt's Gulch? They built their own homes. The government cannot tax you on business transactions you make with yourself. So be your own bank, and buy raw land for cash. Hire yourself to be your own land developer, then hire yourself to be your own general contractor and trade laborer, so that you completely own the production pipeline from concept to finished product by building for all cash with no debt. When it's done, simply give it to yourself, move in, and enjoy it. Since the home is never actually sold, the property tax assessment remains at the wholesale developer's basis which is a small fraction of the actual market value.