On Thanksgiving, Be Grateful for Property Rights

[EasyAce]

There’s no reason to celebrate collective ownership.
By John Stossel
http://reason.com/archives/2018/11/21/on-thanksgiving-be-grateful-for-property

When we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I will give thanks for property rights.

Property rights allow each individual or family to do what we want with our small piece of the world without having to answer to the whole community.

On Thanksgiving, we'll probably be told to think of America as one big family—and for some people, government is the head of that family. That idea warms the hearts of America's new "democratic socialists."

But thinking like that nearly destroyed this nation before it began.

The Pilgrims at Plymouth didn't share a feast with Indians after arriving in 1620 because America was so filled with bounty.

Instead, the Pilgrims nearly starved to death. They'd tried to farm collectively—the entire community owning all the land and sharing everything, like socialists. Gov. William Bradford wrote, "By the spring, our food stores were used up and people grew weak and thin. Some swelled with hunger."

Then, writes Bradford, "After much debate (I) assigned each family a parcel of land... (T)his had very good success, because it made every hand industrious."

Crop production increased because workers reaped direct benefits of their own effort. They stopped hoping someone else would do the hard work . . .

---------------------------------

[GrouchoTex]

@EasyAce

While sometimes unfortunately trampled upon, I think property rights are paramount to our republic. It is a bedrock tenet of conservatism, and our ancestors were wise to understand this, almost too late for their survival, but they did come to this understanding.
Owning ones own property, unless Wealthy or Royalty, wasn't a common thing once upon a time.

[Wingnut]

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow racists, bigots, and white supremacists... Give thanks to God for giving us so many opportunities to use our white privilege to suppress, oppress, and enslave billions. Let us look forward to what new crimes we can commit in the name of white privilege this coming year...

/s>

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

@EasyAce

I can imagine a Rat Amerikka so obsessed with their own power that you and I would have to Audition before a Govt critic (by playing praiseworthy songs to the State) to own our Les Paul/s.

Only Artists deemed to have a high enough "Social Responsibility" Score would be allowed to own pro grade instruments.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

I can imagine a Rat Amerikka so obsessed with their own power that you and I would have to Audition before a Govt critic (by playing praiseworthy songs to the State) to own our Les Paul/s.

Only Artists deemed to have a high enough "Social Responsibility" Score would be allowed to own pro grade instruments.

@To-Whose-Benefit?
In my worst nightmares I imagine it only beginning there.

And then the same political animals demanding to measure my social responsibility before allowing me to keep my guitars will be the ones turning around the next moment demanding to know who killed the music programs in the schools.

[Dexter]

I'm not supposed to put a shed around my water equipment to protect it from the sun/weather. 

Sounds like somebody is breaking the rules. 

[Fishrrman]

To Whose wonders:
"Only Artists deemed to have a high enough "Social Responsibility" Score would be allowed to own pro grade instruments."

Duz that same rule apply to us banjo players...?

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

To Whose wonders:
"Only Artists deemed to have a high enough "Social Responsibility" Score would be allowed to own pro grade instruments."

Duz that same rule apply to us banjo players...?

So long as you play a left handed banjo, with matching lyrics.

[GrouchoTex]

@EasyAce

I can imagine a Rat Amerikka so obsessed with their own power that you and I would have to Audition before a Govt critic (by playing praiseworthy songs to the State) to own our Les Paul/s.

Only Artists deemed to have a high enough "Social Responsibility" Score would be allowed to own pro grade instruments.

Man, I sure hope the state likes an old man playing with a screwed up left hand, unfortunately, I have trouble with it nowadays.
I managed to squeeze out over 2 decades of barrooms and night club gigs beforehand,
Do you think they would confiscate the guitars I own, and give them to someone more "worthy"?

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Man, I sure hope the state likes an old man playing with a screwed up left hand, unfortunately, I have trouble with it nowadays.
I managed to squeeze out over 2 decades of barrooms and night club gigs beforehand,
Do you think they would confiscate the guitars I own, and give them to someone more "worthy"?

@GrouchoTex

With Rats? Never underestimate a "Compassionocrat Redistributionist".

It'll just be a matter of time before one of their grasping, greasy little bean counters gets a whiff of the astonishing rising prices of the 'Vintage' guitar market of today where even the low end stuff I always considered kindling just keeps going up.

Look at this foolish thing!

https://reverb.com/item/17263973-rare-danelectro-hawk-12-string-1960s-brown-shell-for-collectors

It's not even plywood.

The body's made of masonite, kitchen counter top material.

5 years ago I wouldn't have bothered to even pull it out of a trashcan on my way by.

[EasyAce]

@GrouchoTex

With Rats? Never underestimate a "Compassionocrat Redistributionist".

It'll just be a matter of time before one of their grasping, greasy little bean counters gets a whiff of the astonishing rising prices of the 'Vintage' guitar market of today where even the low end stuff I always considered kindling just keeps going up.

Look at this foolish thing!

https://reverb.com/item/17263973-rare-danelectro-hawk-12-string-1960s-brown-shell-for-collectors

It's not even plywood.

The body's made of masonite, kitchen counter top material.

5 years ago I wouldn't have bothered to even pull it out of a trashcan on my way by.

How about . . .



(Nile Rodgers played one of those when he was the co-leader/co-chief writer and producer for Chic in the 1970s . . . )

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

@EasyAce

As if Strats weren't bright and thin enough to begin with.

Make them out of plexiglass or Lucite. Geez!

Did he have the Perspex AC30 to go with it?

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/gwb/media/bWVkaWFJZDo3NDY1OTcyMw==/?ref=

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Sorta like the 1st Teles, the Nocaster.

The voodoo about them having such a big beefy sound?

Pickups had more mids to them but the body was made of pine instead of alder or ash.

Soaked up all kinds of highs.

[EasyAce]

Sorta like the 1st Teles, the Nocaster.

The voodoo about them having such a big beefy sound?

Pickups had more mids to them but the body was made of pine instead of alder or ash.

Soaked up all kinds of highs.

I'll stay with my Les Pauls.

(Confession: I don't like Fender guitars but I love Fender amplifiers!)

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

I'll stay with my Les Pauls.

(Confession: I don't like Fender guitars but I love Fender amplifiers!)

Ditto. Along with original Dave Reeves Hiwatts, Jennings AC30TBs, most of the older Gibsons.

But I never owned a Marshall. Too much crunch. Fine for R&R rythm but single line work with them always felt like driving a dump truck with a broken axle.

The newer high gain amps are even worse. Thank (or curse) the New Metal crowd for that.

7 string guitars, tuned down even further, and they're stomping all over the bass and kick. Guys playing chug - chug - chug on the low B&E strings. So the amp companies now make them Extra Crunchy.

[EasyAce]

Ditto. Along with original Dave Reeves Hiwatts, Jennings AC30TBs, most of the older Gibsons.

But I never owned a Marshall. Too much crunch. Fine for R&R rythm but single line work with them always felt like driving a dump truck with a broken axle.

The only ones I ever heard sound right through stacks of Marshalls were Cream. And, the original Allman Brothers Band. (Duane Allman used one.)

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

@EasyAce

Ever had one of these?
https://reverb.com/item/15485647-traynor-yba-1-bass-master-1971-black-chrome

Tweed Bassman preamp, pair of EL34s and massive Hammond transformers, all hardwired tagboards.

Get it capped and gone through and it will out Fender anything the Fender Custom Shop makes at any price.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

Ever had one of these?
https://reverb.com/item/15485647-traynor-yba-1-bass-master-1971-black-chrome

Tweed Bassman preamp, pair of EL34s and massive Hammond transformers, all hardwired tagboards.

Get it capped and gone through and it will out Fender anything the Fender Custom Shop makes at any price.

@To-Whose-Benefit?
I never had one of those Traynors, but I do have a Fender Blues Junior tweed and a Twin Reverb blackface (I got a smash of a deal on it a few months ago) for slightly larger venues. Beautiful amps, beautiful cleans, just what I need, and they respond perfectly for a guy like me who plays blues on the jazzier side.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

@To-Whose-Benefit?
I never had one of those Traynors, but I do have a Fender Blues Junior tweed and a Twin Reverb blackface (I got a smash of a deal on it a few months ago) for slightly larger venues. Beautiful amps, beautiful cleans, just what I need, and they respond perfectly for a guy like me who plays blues on the jazzier side.

@EasyAce

Congrats on the Twin! Major Score.

If it's an original from the 60s they're a piece of cake to work on, and the newer ones are big enough inside so they're pretty easy to get around in too.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

Congrats on the Twin! Major Score.

If it's an original from the 60s they're a piece of cake to work on, and the newer ones are big enough inside so they're pretty easy to get around in too.

@To-Whose-Benefit?
I've always found Fenders easy if you needed to swap out tubes and adjust the spring reverb. I once had a Deluxe Reverb with ferocious early breakup. Two preamp tubes swapped. Only took me about ten minutes to do it. Voila! No more breakup. (I sold it when I got my deal on the Twin---it's a 65 reissue and lucky me, since the mother is heavy as a corpse, it came with a travel case on four-inch casters to make it easier for me to transport!)

[GrouchoTex]

@To-Whose-Benefit?
I've always found Fenders easy if you needed to swap out tubes and adjust the spring reverb. I once had a Deluxe Reverb with ferocious early breakup. Two preamp tubes swapped. Only took me about ten minutes to do it. Voila! No more breakup. (I sold it when I got my deal on the Twin---it's a 65 reissue and lucky me, since the mother is heavy as a corpse, it came with a travel case on four-inch casters to make it easier for me to transport!)

Mo old Twin Reverb weighed about as much as me, back then.

[EasyAce]

Mo old Twin Reverb weighed about as much as me, back then.

The good news further is that you only have to feed a Twin Reverb a good guitar. ;)