Re: Gov't NOT Coercion? [Ian Goddard]

Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Fri, 24 Oct 1997 00:38:29 -0500 (CDT)


Kristen wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>The federal government is the landlord of the
>>property known as the United States. The rules
>>of the landlord must be followed or penalty
>>is effected. It is not coercion so long as
>>you are free to leave the U.S. property if
>>you have a problem with the contract.
>>
>>As we can see, the U.S. property arrangement
>>is not different than the "private property,"
>>for we are free to leave the U.S., therefore
>>the application of U.S. law is not coercion.
>
>
>This is an interesting argument. I haven't heard it before.
>>

>>therefore the U.S. property is forfeit, so
>>too all land claims, for your dwelling pro-
>>bably stands on once Indian territory.

My land is on an Indian reservation,
purchased from the Tribes at fair market value.

>Actually, I read an article by some anthropoligist
>a year or so ago which suggested that Native Americans
>came across the "land bridge" which now forms the tip
>of Alaska quite a while back, migrated Southward and
>not only displaced but completely wiped out a race
>of PREVIOUS Native Americans.

This appears to be the case, both on linguistic grounds and DNA
studies. At least *four* such waves of immigration took place before
the European invasion. Each one displaced the previous, causing it to
move southward. The remains of the oldest wave are in South America,
the newest in Alaska and northern Canada.

>I wish I'd kept the article, or at least took notes!
>Does anyone have more info on this? It certainly puts
>a new spin on the "America belongs to the Native Americans,
>we stole it, let's give it back" argument.

Indeed. BTW, I don't use the term "Native American", in part for the
reasons above. I call them Indians, as do all my Indian friends and
aquaintances.

>History suggests that government's ability to legislate ownership
>of an area expands ALMOST as quickly as settler's ability to
>find new places to settle.
>
>Does anyone have a good argument that suggests this won't continue
>to be the case as we expand into space/cyberspace/wherever?
>
>-k.

Hmmm. I don't think Earth governments will be physically able to
enforce space resourse claims.

Forrest Bishop
Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering
http://www.speakeasy.org/~forrestb