Federal spies in the sky

Congratulations, you now live in Orwell’s America:

Today EFF posted several thousand pages of new drone license records and a new map that tracks the location of drone flights across the United States.  These records, received as a result of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), come from state and local law enforcement agencies, universities and—for the first time—three branches of the U.S. military: the Air Force, Marine Corps, and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

Perhaps the scariest is the technology carried by a Reaper drone the Air Force is flying near Lincoln, Nevada and in areas of California and Utah. This drone uses “Gorgon Stare” technology, which Wikipedia defines as “a spherical array of nine cameras attached to an aerial drone . . . capable of capturing motion imagery of an entire city.” This imagery “can then be analyzed by humans or an artificial intelligence, such as the Mind’s Eye project” being developed by DARPA.

It’s hard to imagine how this technology is going to be misused, isn’t it?  The idea that Americans are in any way still a free people is becoming increasingly ludicrous.  And, of course, the spies aren’t all in the sky either.

The FBI records the emails of nearly all US citizens, including members
of congress, according to NSA whistleblower William Binney. In an
interview with RT, he warned that the government can use this
information against anyone.

The need for “sexism” in literature

In which I address a common complaint concerning female roles in fantasy literature at Alpha Game:

The problem with what Wohl advocates is that by putting modern views
on sexual roles and intersexual relations into the minds, mouths, and
worse, structures of an imaginary historical society, it destroys the
very structural foundations that make the society historical and the dramatic storylines credible – in some cases, even possible.  It’s problem similar to the one faced by secular writers,
who wish to simultaneously eliminate religion from their fictional medieval societies,
and yet retain the dramatic conflict created by the divine right of
kings.  However, it is more severe because the sexual aspect touches upon the
most concrete basis of every society: its ability to sustain itself
through the propagation of its members.

The “sexism” of
which Wohl and many of his commenters complain isn’t cultural, it is
simply the logical consequences of biological and martial imperatives.

Errata etc

Team OCD compiled a list of some 225 errata in the ebook, most of which were simple typos, for the final proof of the hardcover which went off to the printers yesterday.  That is actually pretty good in a book this size; the three EW books that were published by Pocket turned out to have over 300 combined in about the same number of words when we prepared the texts for the ebooks.  The upshot is that while I appreciate being sent the occasional typo or error spotted, it’s probably not necessary in this case as we almost surely have it identified based on those that have been sent to me thus far.

I really have to thank everyone who ordered the ebook yesterday; we assumed there would be lower first-day sales due to the preorders and the higher price of A Throne of Bones compared to A Magic Broken.  And yet, the combined total of the preorders and the Amazon orders was higher than the Amazon orders for AMB; it was nearly half again as many as I’d anticipated.

Anyhow, I hope you’re enjoying the book and encourage you to post reviews on Amazon when you finish it.  I’d also encourage you to tell others, particularly Martin fans, about it, since it’s not going to be appearing in any bookstores.  If you are enjoying it, then you’ll probably be pleased to hear that Kirk and I were discussing the cover for Book Two today; I can’t guarantee anything, but there is a chance it will be even more striking than the one for Book One.  Speaking of which, I’ve seen the final dust jacket and can confirm that the rest of the it lives up to the cover.  I think those who have gone the hardcover route won’t be disappointed; for all its size, it’s shaping up to be a very attractive book. 

MJS has posted the second review; here is an excerpt from it:

The novel is more meat and substance than polish and style, though even
the political intrigue was well-written enough that it kept my
attention, which is often not the case. Vox does an excellent job of
piquing your interest and then taking developments in way you don’t
expect. He’s also not shy about killing characters, yet does so in a way
that again compares favorably to Mr. Martin’s nihilistic bloodbath.
This is not a book for children; there is graphic violence and
unflinching presentation of evil. Yet neither is glorified, and though
the world is realistically portrayed with few truly good men, there is
no moral ambivalence here either.

One thing that might amuse some of you is that it wasn’t until reading that review that I suddenly realized I no longer need to write a sequel to Summa Elvetica anymore.  I had become so accustomed to thinking of Arts of Dark and Light as its own creature that I actually forgot the new series can reasonably be considered the oft-requested continuation of the story begun in the shorter novel.

Thom Hartmann interview

THOM HARTMANN: Vox
Day, which is Latin for “the voice of God.” VoxDay.blogspot.com, his
website; Christian libertarian; author of several books, including A
Throne Of Bones, just out today. The blog is “Vox Popoli”, which would be the voice of the people. So, Voice of God, welcome.

VOX DAY: Thanks, Tom.
TH: Great to have you with us. You are a self-professed secessionist. Explain this to me.
VD: The way that I would begin it is that I would say that I favor
self-determination for all peoples, whether they’re American, whether
they’re Scottish, whether they’re Catalonian…
TH: You know, any person, including yourself, can hop on a plane and
go to any other country, and if you can get them to take you, you’re
there.
VD: I am. I’ve lived in Europe for 13, 14 years now
TH: Ok. So, you know . . . what’s the problem?
VD: I don’t have any problem, it’s simply an intellectual
thing. It’s simply understanding that, throughout the course of human
history, it is entirely normal for groups of people to come together for
a period of time, and then break apart after a while.  You
know, this is a pattern of history that has existed for as
long as man has written these things down. In fact, in that new novel
that you mentioned, it’s based on the Roman social war of 91BC, which
was, essentially, a secessionist movement, even though they ended up
joining the empire after all.
TH:
So you’re suggesting … let’s translate this into simple English. Are
you suggesting that the citizens of any particular state, on a majority
vote, should be able to simply withdraw themselves from the union as
states did in 1860?
VD: Of course. We’re seeing it happen right now in Scotland. We think it’s unthinkable because America is such a short-lived….
TH:
But Scotland has historically been a separate country. And, they have
profoundly different . . . I spent a fair amount of time in Scotland.
And it’s a very different culture from British culture. And they have
fought wars over the years. I mean, you know, what’s his name, the crazy
actor, Mel Gibson, made a movie out of one of them.  I
mean, they fought wars with the British. England, historically, was a
separate country, just because they happened to be on the same island.
And you could argue that the only reason Scotland was part of the United
Kingdom was because they were conquered, and now they’re “unconquering” themselves.  That’s very different from states voluntarily joining a union like we have here in the United States.
VD:
But they weren’t conquered. They came together as part of the voluntary
Acts of Union from 1707. Their voluntarily, democratically-supported
union has lasted more than twice as long as the history of the United
States [Union].(1)  And so, we’re seeing this all over the world.  We’re
seeing Catalonia, which has been part of Castilian Spain for even
longer than Scotland’s been part of the United Kingdom, voting, again democratically, left and right joining together, to vote the secessionists into power.…
TH:
Right. But, again, don’t you think that that’s because they’re sick and
tired of Spain being part of the EU, and thus having lost their
national sovereignty, and so they’re going to claim their own national
sovereignty and withdraw themselves from the EU?
VD:
That might be the case with the Catalonians. That’s not the case with
the Scottish. The Scottish actually want to get out of the United
Kingdom, and then join  the EU in their own right which….
TH: Which seems crazy to me.
VD:
It’s totally crazy to me, too. But that’s the whole point about
self-determination. What is it to us as Americans or whatever we might
be …
TH:
So do you think Lincoln should have just said when the South seceded,
even before… A number of the states seceded after he was elected but
before he was installed into office, because back then the elections
were in November and you were sworn into office in March. And during
that time, you had a bunch of states that said, “Ok, that’s it, we’re
out of here”… that he should have just said, “Goodbye”?
VD:
Oh, absolutely. In fact, the interesting thing is that before Lincoln,
about, maybe, 30 years before that, the secessionist states were the New
England states. They were the ones who were talking about seceding. I
don’t recall what the deal was, why they were interested. But it was
never really questioned that a state had the right to voluntarily leave
the union because, otherwise, if they didn’t have the right to
voluntarily leave, then it was just another militarily imposed empire.
TH: But that right is not laid out in the constitution.
VD: I’m sorry?
TH: That right is not laid out in the constitution.
VD:
Well, no, because the constitution has to do with the rights of the
federal government. It doesn’t have anything to do with the rights of
the states. If you’re writing a document limiting the federal
government….
TH: Well, actually, it does. It gives the federal government, for example, the right to regulate commerce between the states.
VD: Sure.
TH:
It says how states shall apportion their electors. It says how states
shall determine the number of representatives they’re sending to
Washington, DC. There are a lot of rules for the states in the
constitution.
VD: And those are all things that have to do with the operation of the
federal government. It doesn’t have anything to do with the operation of
the sovereign and several states.  Obviously, when you join a group, you agree to abide by the rules of that group.
TH:
So if Texas secedes, and becomes the independent nation of Texas, what
happens to those Americans in Texas who consider themselves Americans
who don’t want secession?
VD:
Well, presumably in a democratic country, in a free and democratic
country, those people would either have to decide if they wanted to stay
and accept it, the same way that the people in America at the time of
the revolutionary war …  You know,
many them either moved to Canada, or moved back to England, or in some
cases they just decided to stay and become Americans. It would be up to
them, and presumably the Texans would be focused enough on freedom that
they would let those people do whatever it was they wanted.
TH: What is it about the United States that …  first of all, what state do you live in?
VD: I don’t. Like I said, I’ve lived in Italy for 13 years.
TH: So you live in Italy right now?
VD: Yeah. I used to live in Minnesota.
TH:
In Minnesota. So… you really don’t have a dog in this fight. Doesn’t
that diminish your credibility somewhat in making these kind of
statements? I mean, this isn’t going to affect you.
VD:
Well, no, of course it’s going to affect me in the sense that I have friends and family there. I mean, I wouldn’t say that…
Would you say about somebody who lived in the states who has family back
in Scotland that they have no … Of course there’s an interest. But my
primary interest in this, as in practically everything, is primarily
intellectual.  Am I going to shed
any massive tears if Catalonia breaks away from Spain? No. Am I going to
be terribly upset if Texas decides to be independent? No. If you
support self-determination for one group of people in the world, you
should support it for everyone. And why shouldn’t Americans have the
same right of self-determination that we support for the people in
Libya, for the people in Egypt, for the people…
TH:
But most of the states who are talking about secession are states that,
for every dollar that they send to Washington, DC, they get back $1.10,
$1.20, $1.30. Texas gets more federal money in than they send out. So
when they secede, first of all, all the military bases in the state
would close. And that’s not even included in that equation that I just
shared with you. Secondly, everybody loses their Social Security,
Medicare, Medicaid, all those other things.  How is that state going to exist?
VD: First of all, Texas is not going to have any trouble existing,
because Texas is, would be one of the, I believe, twenty largest
economies in the world, thirty largest economies in the world. I mean,
if …
TH: Not without federal infrastructure.
VD:
Obviously it might not be quite as easy for them. But whether it is or
not, that’s their right to say. It’s not for you or me to decide. If
Delaware, for example … let’s take the most absurd example … Delaware
would be like, … Lichtenstein or something. Now, you wouldn’t think that they would have any business going independent.
But if they want to go independent and live in grass huts and that sort
of thing, what is that to you or me? That’s what freedom is all about,
is allowing people freedom to make stupid choices.
TH:
Well, you make a very compelling and libertarian argument…. Hm.
Interesting. I wonder if this is going to be THE thing for the
Republican Party.

(1)  Just to be clear, I can do the math.  I was referring to the post-1865 Union that was forcibly imposed, not the voluntary one that lasted from 1776 to 1861.

I’d call that a two-for-one

By voting for independence, Scotland will automatically leave the EU:

Scotland ‘would have to apply to EU and lose UK’s opt-out after separation’ Scotland would have to apply to the EU and lose the UK’s opt-out from the euro if voters back separation in the forthcoming referendum, the European Commission is claimed to have confirmed. In what would be a significant blow to Alex Salmond, the commission is said to
have drafted a letter to a Lords committee rejecting his claim that Scotland
would automatically inherit the UK’s membership.

Of course, the European Commission is lying, as it usually does.  I guarantee you that if Scotland voted to leave the UK, the EU will claim after the fact that it is still an EU member.  These guys know they didn’t get on the fascist gravy train by forcing fewer people pay their economic protection money.

The only reason they are discouraging the Scottish vote for independence from the UK is because without the Scots, the English and Welsh Euroskeptics will have a majority.

Speaking of Scotland, you can get an interesting perspective on secession and Scottish history from my interview with Thom Hartmann yesterday.  I’ll be posting a transcript sent in by SL soon.

Expect more Californication

I have no problem with California and New York City jacking up their tax rates to the Moon… so long as they keep their residents there:

Gerald Prante, an economics professor at Lynchburg College in Virginia, and Austin John, a Lynchburg economics student, calculated marginal tax rates — the highest rates on the highest levels of income — for all 50 states. They combined state, federal and, where applicable, local income taxes, plus payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare and included the deductibility of some taxes.

Proposition 30 added three percentage points to the marginal state income tax rate for California’s highest-income taxpayers, bringing it to 13.3 percent. That action raised California over other high-tax jurisdictions to a marginal rate of 51.9 percent, slightly higher than New York City’s level. Hawaii was the only other place with a calculated rate above 50 percent.

The problem, of course, is that higher taxes cause left-leaning voters who support them to flee those high-tax jurisdictions, who then Californicate their new places of residence.  And so the disease spreads.  Given that border walls present their own evils and are not presently possible without secession, I think the problem is best resolved by not permitting anyone with less than 18 years residence to vote on state and local affairs.  The mechanism is already there in the age-related voting laws, just make them dependent upon 18 years of residence rather than age.

One would hope that after 18 years, either some sense would have been inculcated into them, or more likely, they would have moved on again.

We’re number 19!

John Hawkins has Vox Popoli at #19 on his list of top 60 conservative blogs.  I think that’s pretty good for a libertarian who is only slightly more conservative than Vladimir Lenin crossed with Alaric the Visigoth.

In potentially related news, I’m going to be appearing on The Thom Hartmann Program at 4 PM Eastern to discuss the secession movement inside and outside the USA.  This has the potential to be a bit more interesting than usual because apparently it is a left-leaning program.  You can listen live via stream at www.thomhartmann.com.

Obamateach and the post-college tax

After all, you didn’t build that university degree:

Student Loan debt in the U.S. recently crossed the $1 trillion mark,
with a good chunk of that owed to the U.S. government. In an attempt to
streamline the whole process, a soon-to-be-introduced bill would replace
the current system of debt collection with automatic payroll deductions
tied to the borrower’s income.

I wonder how long it will be before it will become illegal to pay for your own college, thus allowing Washington to tap directly into your paycheck perpetuity as compensation for the government investment in your K-16+ education.  We already have a working model for free education with the Obamacare model.  Obamateach is the obvious next step educational for a society moving rapidly Forward! into the 21st century.

A THRONE OF BONES is out

In Selenoth, the race of Man is on the ascendant. The ancient
dragons sleep. The ghastly Witchkings are no more; their evil
power destroyed by the courage of Men and the fearsome magic of
the Elves. The Dwarves have retreated to the kingdoms of the
Underdeep, the trolls hide in their mountains, and even the savage
orc tribes have learned to dread the iron discipline of Amorr’s
mighty legions. But after four hundred years of mutual suspicion,
the rivalry between two of the Houses Martial that rule the
Amorran Senate threatens to turn violent, and unrest sparks
rebellion throughout the imperial provinces. In the north, the
barbarian reavers who have long plagued the coasts of the White
Sea beg for the royal protection of the King of Savondir, as they
flee a vicious race of wolf-demons. In the east, the war drums
echo throughout the mountains as orcs and goblins gather in great
numbers, summoned by their bestial gods.
And when the Most Holy and
Sanctified Father is found dead in his bed, leaving the Ivory
Throne of the Apostles unclaimed, the temptation to seize the
Sacred College and wield Holy Mother Church as a weapon is more
than some fallen souls can resist.

I am very pleased to be able to say that A Throne of Bones is now available for $4.99 for Amazon Kindle and $4.99 for Barnes and Noble Nook, as well as $34.99 in hardcover from Marcher Lord Hinterlands.  It is 852 pages in hardcover and it is not at all necessary to have read either Summa Elvetica or A Magic Broken first.  Both SE and AMB are little more than an extended chapter in the story of a perspective character from A Throne of Bones.

The Responsible Puppet was the first individual other than the editor to read it, and he kindly took the time to review it on his blog in time for this announcement.

When I reviewed `Summa Elvetica’, Vox Day’s last fiction book, I wrote,
`My feeling here is that this book could be a “The Hobbit”-like prelude
to a much more significant fictional writing.’ This, I’m pleased to say,
is what the author has done. `Throne’ is placed in the same universe as
that book and only a few years (months?) later.  And what is this
universe? Just like with Summa, imagine Rome in the fifth century,
complete with a Christian heritage. Now add in magic. And elves. And
dwarves and goblins and some kind of new immortal creature.

But the geography is completely different. The Empire is Amorr. In it,
there are two very strong family houses that are growing more and more
at odds with each other. In one of these houses, two brothers are in
conflict – for good reason…

It
is, in turn, humorous, shocking and exciting. There are beautiful
moments, there is clever dialogue, there is deep mystery. It took some
level of genius to write it. 

And because every epic fantasy needs a map, this one arguably more than most, I was fortunate to be able to once again call upon the artistic talents of JartStar.  This is the map of Selenoth and Imperial Amorr that appears in the book.

For those who have followed this process from the start and are interested in the minutiae, today marks
499 days since the two conversations with Spacebunny’s cousin and the
Original Cyberpunk about A Dance With Dragons that inspired the writing of the book.  A Throne of Bones contains
297,862 words, 15,875 of them unique.  This compares favorably with
George Martin (295,929 and 13,717, respectively), Joe Abercrombie
(191,393 and 11,260), and Louis L’Amour (94,297 and 7,598), but pales before
the greatest author of my generation, Neal Stephenson (409,365 and
29,239).  And thanks again to those who preordered, as we exceeded our goals by nearly forty percent.  The hardcovers go to press tomorrow and should arrive well in time for Christmas.

UPDATE:  It is nice to see some appreciation for Kirk’s superlative work from Instapundit: “VOX DAY’S NEW NOVEL, A Throne of Bones, is now out at Amazon. Very nice cover.” By all means, judge the book by it….

UPDATE 2: Dr. Helen mentions the release on her site too.

UPDATE 3: I’ve posted an announcement at Black Gate too, with a brief summary of the connection between the book and some of my past posts there.

Another conservative purge

How many times can Republicans purge those to their right from their ranks and still be meaningfully considered to represent the American political right?

Boehner, Majority
Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
have worked assiduously to keep conservative groups on the outside in
line as they try to strike a massive deal to keep taxes low on all
Americans and avoid spending cuts to the Pentagon and other domestic
programs. The traditional right — The Wall Street Journal editorial page,
National Review, Fox News and business-friendly analysts on CNBC — have
been lockstep in line with Boehner, the result of careful outreach by
leadership staff. But now, top House leaders suddenly find themselves under fire from entities with enormous sway in GOP politics.

The fact that the WSJ, NR, and Fox are pro-business doesn’t mean they are traditional right.  Not anymore.  Mussolini and Hitler were pro-business too.  The irony is that the right was told that they had to dutifully line up behind Mitt Romney because he was, as a moderate, more electable than the anti-bank, anti-war, Ron Paul.  Then, when Romney went down in flames just like McCain, Bush, Dole, Ford and every other elite-selected moderate before, what passes for Republican “leadership” in the House is trying to keep moving left.

If you are a conservative who is still a Republican, I have a very simple question to ask you: why?  It is becoming increasingly obvious that both conservatives and America would have been better off if the John Birch Society purged William F. Buckley rather than the other way around.