Karen and Will:  The power of the statists to exercise unrestrained force against people goes to the essence of all political systems.  Being defined — even by political “scientists” — as an entity that exercises a monopoly on the use of violence within a given geographic area, the state must continue to exercise such unquestioned powers, particularly at times when its credibility and respect are in rapid decline.  The people employed to carry out such powers — be they police officers, TSA employees, militarists, bureaucrats of various stripes, etc. — are the kinds of sociopaths who are eager to exercise such unrestricted violence against others.  The state is the playground bully writ large, and state officials are unwilling to hold their bullies accountable for their wrongs because, to do so, would be to deny the very monopoly status that defines their system.

The Best of Butler Shaffer