My weekly commentaries are up at Center for a Stateless Society.

Monday’s column What’s In a Uniform? examines the meaning of government uniforms in light of the Red and Black Cafe controversy.

The Red and Black Cafe, an anarchist business in Portland, Oregon, became the subject of controversy after a cafe worker told a uniformed police officer to leave the building. The often overtly threatening responses from police supporters have revealed the self-serving absurdity of how government uniforms are viewed.

Today’s Stop Governing, Not Providing Services looks at what “services” are essential to government.

New York state officials are threatening to shut down non-essential government services if a state budget is not passed. But what is an essential government service anyway?

Center for a Stateless Society produces hard-hitting anarchist commentaries and in-depth studies. We are still raising funds to cover monthly expenses.

ALLiance Journal recently published its fifth issue. I’m proud to be a contributor to this excellent project.

Issue Five is centered on radical labor movements and their relation to the libertarian left. Get it at Scribd or LibertyActivism.info.

And don’t miss editors Chris Lempa and James Tuttle on Thinking Liberty tomorrow! The show runs from 8-10pm Eastern on June 1.

Exciting things at Center For a Stateless Society!

I posted my feature article for May. In The State and the Energy Monopoly I look at state and corporate control of energy production.

An advanced society requires energy – in the form of fuel or electricity – to power the devices necessary to sustain it. Politicians and capitalists would not ignore such an opportunity to exert tremendous influence over society, and their efforts to control the market in energy harm the environment and the economy for the rest of us.

Last week’s commentary, No State Solution took a look at the Gaza Blockade and the relief flotilla (which Israeli forces attacked last night).

Israel has blockaded Gaza since Hamas gained control of the area in 2007. Israeli authorities allow only a limited amount of food and medicine into Gaza, causing economic stagnation and harm to those who cannot afford expensive smuggled items. It also severely impairs construction of vital infrastructure, including that destroyed during Israel’s 2008-2009 attack on Gaza. Denouncing the importation of supplies as support for Hamas, Israeli officials have said the navy will divert the ships.

No State Solution is the first in a new style I’ve been trying to adopt for my weekly commentaries for a while: shorter pieces that would be easier to squeeze into editorial spaces without editing.

Another change is that I will now be writing two weekly commentaries, while Thomas Knapp will adopt the new role of Media Coordinator, and focus on getting our work distributed in the media. I’m very excited about this, and I think Tom will do a great job.

Of course, our jobs are easier when we get monetary support for our efforts. Please throw in for our monthly fundraiser.

Thanks to ALLy James Tuttle for creating a solid handout in support of George Donnelly.

Download the .pdf at LibertyActivism.info.

My latest commentary is up at Center for a Stateless Society.

Lots of pundits are piecing together lessons from Tuesday’s US primary elections. But what lessons might the primaries hold for anarchists in America? Read the rest

I was going to do one on the new NYPD tape recordings, but Radley Balko already did a good article about it.

Last night’s Thinking Liberty was one of the best shows we’ve done. Xaq Fixx joined us to talk about anarchism, Fr33 Agents, and DIY culture.

Download the archive from ThinkingLiberty.net.

Thinking liberty is an interactive audio broadcast where Darian, Tennyson, Bosco, and Bile banter and plot to free the world. We often have guests join us by phone, and listeners can call in or chat with us on Skype. Check out ThinkingLiberty.net for the latest updates.

George Donnelly, a Pennsylvania activist, was tackled and arrested for filming federal officers harassing pamphleteers. After being held in a federal detention center he was released under a number of oppressive conditions. He has been charged with resisting and striking federal officers, which could carry an eight year sentence. See Penn. Activist Facing 8 Years in Prison for Video.

It is well known that cops lie, and that they will accuse people of being violent to try to deflect criticism from their own actions.

I ask you to join me in supporting George, not only because he is one of the friendliest, most committed, and most principled advocates of liberty I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, but because there is so much that is important about this case.

Individuals attempting to peacefully prevent government assaults on liberty by advocating jurors exercise nullification power are harassed by agents of the state who would prefer to settle things through violence. An individual documenting this struggle, attempting to hold government officials to some kind of accountability, is violently assaulted, hauled away in chains, and put into a cage. If you believe that government officers should be held accountable for their actions and that we have the right to document what they do while on duty, then you should care about George Donnelly.

So please help George defend himself against the state.

Last night’s Thinking Liberty podcast can be downloaded from LibertyActivism.info. You might need to get a plugin to play it – if so, just click on the Ogg Vorbis link on the page and download the appropriate file for your system.

We should be getting a dedicated url for Thinking Liberty this week. This is one of the changes we’re making to the format. Now that we have our own equipment, we can make a much more reliable setup. We’ll have more guests on the show, and more ways to interact with the live broadcast. Please bear with us as we make the conversion.

Before I was involved with Center for a Stateless Society, I supported their work and asked others to do the same. My reasoning was simple: Center For a Stateless Society is the only organization that consistently produces uncompromising and original market anarchist material, neither bowing for politicians, corporations, or dogma. Now that I’m a paid news analyst, I’m asking you to help keep us at it. All the writers put a lot into our work, the organizational staff tirelessly works toward liberty, and we often go above and beyond our stated responsibilities. If you’re unfamiliar with the Center, check us out at c4ss.org. If you think this is a project worth supporting, please click the widget below to throw in some cash.

If you don’t have the funds right now, there are other ways to help the Center. You could spread our articles through Facebook, Twitter, and email. You could pass along our work in print form by a) printing the C4SS pamphlets at LibertyActivism.info and Invisible Molotov, b) making your own pamphlets out of articles you like and sending them to either site, or c) making good old flyers or broadsides by copy-pasting our works into a word processor then printing them.

And don’t hesitate to give us feedback in any of the comment threads or by email. We want to help you make a free world.

One of the people I had the pleasure of meeting at the New York Anarchist Book Fair was Scott from Firestorm Cafe and Books in Asheville, NC. It’s an anarchist space with a heavy mutualist influence.

There’s also a growing Local Exchange Trading System in Asheville.

I hope Firestorm and Asheville LETS become successful contributors to a consensual community, and I hope they help inspire folks elsewhere to move forward making liberty.