Triple Threat

conviction.
    There’s no point in discussing the right or wrong of what he did, much less the broader philosophical questions of taking lives in general or violence against women, say.
    But that was exactly what she was going to do now.
    Poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue once more, thoughtful, Keplar said, “Do you even know what our beliefs are?”
    “I read the Brothers of Liberty website. I—”
    “You like the graphics? Cost a pretty penny.”
    A glance at the wall. 3:14.
    Dance continued. “You advocate smaller government, virtually no taxes, decentralized banking, no large corporations, reduced military, religion in public schools. And that you have the right to violent civil disobedience. Along with some racial and ethnic theories that went out of fashion in the 1860s.”
    “Well, ‘bout that last one—truth is, we just throw that in to get checks from rednecks and border control nuts. Lot of us don’t really feel that way. But, Ms. Firecracker, you done your homework, sounds like. We’ve got more positions than you can shake a stick at but those’ll do for a start… So, argue away. This’s gonna be as much fun as Twenty Questions. But just remember, maybe I’ll talk
you
into my way of thinking, hanging up that tin star of yours and coming over to the good guys. What do you think about that?”
    “I’ll stay open-minded, if you will.”
    “Deal.”
    She thought back to what she’d read on the group’s website. “You talk about the righteousness of the individual. Agree up to a point, but we can’t survive as individuals alone. We need government. And the more people we have, with more economic and social activity, the more we need a strong central government to make sure we’re safe to go about our lives.”
    “That’s sad, Kathryn.”
    “Sad?”
    “Sure. I have more faith in humankind than you do, sounds like. We’re pretty capable of taking care of ourselves. Let me ask you: You go to the doctor from time to time, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “But not very often, right? Pretty rare, hmm? More often with the kids, I’ll bet.Sure, you have kids. I can tell.”
    She let this go with no reaction.
    3:17.
    “But what does the doctor do? Short of broken bone to set, the doctor tells you pretty much to do what your instinct told you. Take some aspirin, go to bed, drink plenty of fluids, eat fiber, go to sleep. Let the body take care of itself. And 99 percent of the time, those ideas work.” His eyes lit up. “That’s what government should do: Leave us alone 99 percent of the time.”
    “And what about the other 1 percent?” Dance asked.
    “I’ll give you that we need, let’s see, highways, airports, national defense… Ah, but what’s that last word? ‘Defense.’ You know, they used to call it the ‘War Department.’ Well, then some public relations fellas got involved and ‘War’ wouldn’t do anymore, so they changed it. But that’s a lie. See, it’s not just defense. We go poking our noses into places that we have no business being.”
    “The government regulates corporations that would exploit people.”
    He scoffed. “The government helps ‘em do it. How many congressmen go to Washington poor and come back rich? Most of them.”
    “But you’re okay with some taxes?”
    He shrugged. “To pay for roads, air traffic control and defense.”
    3:20.
    “The SEC for regulating stocks?”
    “We don’t need stocks. Ask your average Joe what the stock market is and they’ll tell ya it’s a way to make money or put something away for your retirement fund. They don’t realize that that’s
not
what it’s for. The stock market’s there to let people buy a company, like you’d go to a used car lot to buy a car. And why do you want to buy a company? Beats me. Maybe a few people’d buy stock because they like what the company does or they want to support a certain kind of business. That’s not what people want them for. Do away with stocks altogether. Learn to live off the land.”
    “You’re wrong, Wayne. Look at all the innovations corporations have created: the life-saving drugs, the medical supplies, the computers… that’s what companies have done.”
    “Sure, and iPhones and BlackBerrys and laptops have replaced parents, and kids learn their family values at porn sites.”
    “What about government providing education?”
    “Ha! That’s another racket. Professors making a few hundred thousand dollars a year for working eight months, and not