Public Figure?

public figure

n. in the law of defamation (libel and slander), a personage of great public interest or familiarity like a government official, politician, celebrity, business leader,movie star, or sports hero. Incorrect harmful statements published about a public figure cannot be the basis of a lawsuit for defamation unless there is proof that the writer or publisher intentionally defamed the person with malice (hate). (See: defamation, libel, slander)

The trolls erroneously claim that since I'm a public figure they can do anything they like while the very core of their ruse depends on the fact that the vast majority of people have never heard of me. They know that many will unquestioningly accept whatever they see on the Internet as 'the truth.' That's the source of their never ending side-splitting laughter. The very fact that they're laughing proves I'm not a public figure and I certainly do not deserve such malicious attacks designed to ruin my business via ruining my reputation. Attacking my family is completely outrageous. My son is not a public figure.

I have actually received email apologizing to me because they really believed I was a racist anti-semite until they bothered to take the time to learn the truth. They would not have to do make such a discovery if I were a public figure. Of course, trolls do not worry about logic and reason. They are mostly anonymous. Some day, at least one of them will be held accountable for malicious libel.

--BG

Hating Trolls are Against Free Speech

Internet trolls continue to disseminate their meme that I'm against free speech. Ridiculous. I'm for freedom of speech. Hate speech is not free speech when it is LIBEL and infringes on copyrights. That's against the law. Trolls do not own Facebook and they should not be using it as a megaphone to cry for the murder of human beings. That's what they're doing in direct violation of stated community standards. Apparently some trolls are too stupid to understand this, but hate does tend to appeal to stupid minds.

Those same trolls ARE free to set up their own sites and pay for it themselves. Andrew Anglin does this with his ridiculous and cartoonish Nazi site. It's his nickel, so he's free to spew all the hate he likes there and we're free to ignore him. The problem is, many of the haters aren't satisfied with their own dreadful hole in the wall sites. Few people want to visit their ugly, boring hate hives. I say boring because they post the same predictable hate day in and day out. It's not only deplorable, it's dull.

They want to get noticed and make hate go mainstream. They want hate to go 'viral.' That makes them feel trumped-up and important instead of the nobodies they really are. If they can convince young minds through repetitious hate that it's somehow acceptable to murder groups of people because they're not really human (Hitler did this with the Jews), then we've got big trouble.

Speak out against hate on social media. Hate is censorious speech. Hate is tolerated as the price of free speech, but hate speech should not be endorsed. The haters' goal is to drown out reasoned debate on serious problems. In my case, their constant hate speech and libel has muddied the waters and compromised my ability to communicate. The trolls continuously forge my signature, deface my work and libel my name. The trolls are against MY free speech. Hate is against free speech.

ANDREW ANGLIN, NAZI TROLL

ANDREW ANGLIN, HYPOCRITE

ANDREW ANGLIN, PHILIPPINES

ANDREW ANGLIN THE PUNK

GREG ANGLIN AND HIS NAZI SON

We need to send a message

Time for Justice

http://www.gofundme.com/helpbengarrison

Justice is expensive and we need help in our battle against Internet trolls. While hate speech is legal in the U.S., libel, defamation and copyright infringement are not. I've been attacked by trolls for five years now--ever since I began drawing anti-Federal Reserve and anti-police state cartoons. They've also attacked my wife and my son. A cyber investigator has tracked down a few of the perpetrators and we have the evidence, but we need help with legal fees to pursue a case. We need to send a message to the troll community that sometimes their cyber bullying has consequences. If you can donate a few bucks to the cause, it would be much appreciated. I will continue to update the progress on my blog. --Ben Garrison

This sounds familiar

Max Keiser:

Maxcoin has a lot of haters. The thing about these haters is that facts don’t matter to them. Their purpose in life is to spread piss and vinegar. Most of these haters are blind followers of the “oh, it’s cool to hate Max Keiser” movement. They have no original thoughts or facts to support their negative claims. Indeed it’s quite clear that most of these guys are probably in their early 20s, have no meaningful source of steady income, and choose instead to live in their parents’ basements, sitting in front of a troll box 22 hours of each day and tending to their group masturbation hate efforts. They can’t be bothered to actually watch/listen to Keiser to understand his credentials because that would require disconnecting from the hive mind for 30 minutes, which might lead to their sudden death.
Read more at http://www.maxkeiser.com/#YMjPTqPhSA9yA5QF.99

http://www.maxkeiser.com/

Why the Stock Market Doesn't Crash

Why doesn't the stock market crash? The short answer: There is no longer a free market in America.

Every pullback is met with shouts of 'buy!' on CNBC and back up it goes. The market goes up despite the threat of war, a possible epidemic and lackluster performances of major companies (Netflix and Amazon are recent examples). It goes up despite high unemployment, lack of buying by consumers and abysmal housing starts. If an asteroid hits the Earth, would the market then collapse? Probably not.

Everyone knows why. It's not a big secret. The Federal Reserve keeps things propped up with endless quantitative easing. They may claim they are 'tapering,' but that's just a token. The Fed may talk about raising interest rates 'down the road,' but they are posturing. They cannot raise rates. The debt has become so massive that it almost transcends imagination. The debt level is nearing $18 trillion, with unfunded liabilities are $127 trillion (Source: Forbes).

Roughly every taxpayer owes over a million bucks. Raising interest rates would make the debt, which has already gone past the point where it could ever be paid off, unmanageable. Taxes would have to be raised drastically. The middle class and small businesses would, as usual, bear the brunt of that. Many global corporations pay zero in taxes thanks to our thoroughly corrupt system. Small businesses take the brunt. Raising taxes even further would bankrupt many. Many would be pushed to the edge into outright revolt. Maybe we should be revolting already, considering how crooked the IRS has become.

Ending the easy money and raising rates would crash the market. That would hurt those who own most of the stock market--the top 1 percent. After all, most Americans own little or no stocks. The middle class is going away and the poor are forced to accept food stamps in record numbers. Most people can't afford stocks--especially at bubble prices. The mainstream media are saying the unemployment figures are low and the economy is humming along just fine and dandy. Try telling that to a jobless college graduate burdened with enormous debt. The job figures are cooked by government propaganda ministries. Real unemployment is over 20 percent. Housing starts remain stagnant. Industries have been sent to slave labor overseas. Real wages are stagnant while the cost of food has risen. Too many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and are burdened with credit card debt.

Meanwhile, the stock market keeps rising, so the media are barking 'all is well!' All IS well for those at the very top. Especially for the 1/10th of the 1 percent. Those that control the printing press make sure the money keeps getting printed and flowing into their coffers. That money doesn't go to the middle class or small businesses. OH NO! It goes to the global banks and corporations who own and control everything and everyone--including Congress. It goes into the stock market and to the companies they own. They are doing quite well and probably hope that most of us 'useless eaters' just go ahead and die so they can enjoy their fantastic paradise of wealth in peace.

When will it end? It will end when the dollar loses its world supremacy. When King Dollar gets dethroned, then we might see some serious crashing. That's why there's endless war. Nobody is allowed to leave the buck umbrella. Certainly not Saddam. Not Gaddafi. Not even Russia.

It's time to end the Fed. It's time to end the sick plutocracy that allows a few at the top to get fabulously richer while most Americans get poorer. If we counterfeit, we get sent to prison. Those who own the printing press can do it at will and without accountability. Those at the very top definitely will not give up their private printing press without a fight. The Congress won't end the Fed. After all, both parties are largely the same and owned by the Fed. They're not on the side of the people. They're on the side of the central banks that own the Fed.

That's why we need a third party--the Libertarian Party.

--Ben Garrison

Tuesday update: The Dow continues to climb back up toward all time highs. 
Friday update: The Dow is at all time highs while silver and gold continue to get slammed.

Butt nut troll exposed

Trolls continue to ramp up their attacks on me. The troll who calls himself 'Butt nut' is so despicable and low that he has attacked my wife and even my son. He wants to destroy my business. He has stamped my name onto a vile anti-Muhammed cartoon and expressed hope that I could get murdered. Yes, he even wants me murdered. Why? Because he is a far-left Obama fanatic and he doesn't like my libertarian cartoons. He gets on /pol and pretends he's a Nazi in order to encourage Nazis there to pile on and attack me. He is very arrogant and he will never stop attacking me. He's made me his hobby. (Aside from growing tiny fruit trees. He also has a giant fruit blossom tattooed on his chest).

Let me say this again as clearly as I can: I don’t hate Jews. I don’t hate Muslims. I don’t attack people based on their skin color, religion, country of origin or their sexual preference. I’ve never drawn a racist or anti-Semitic cartoon in my life.

When my cartoons began getting defaced with words such as "Zog" and "Goyim" starting back in 2009, I didn't even know what those words meant. One thing I do know: I never received hate mail from Jews. The Jews I have met have been fine, caring people and they're the only ones who have tried to help me remove libel on Face Book—and they did that even though I know that few of them agree with my politics. They have helped me and they have done it for free. 

If you see a racist or anti-Semitic cartoon with my name stamped onto it, bear in mind that Ben Garrison did not draw it. 

--Ben Garrison

Ben Garrison Believes in Free Speech

Ben Garrison is a libertarian who believes in free speech. He also favors smaller government and adherence to the Constitution. While hate speech is legal in America, copyright infringement and libel are not. Those things are against the law. People have to make a living and when they are impersonated, defamed and libeled, their name and online reputations are sullied, which makes it more difficult for them to find work.

Hate speech is not permitted on social media--Facebook in particular. There are stated community standards. It's not a violation of 'free speech' when pages calling for the murder of human beings get removed. Trolls do not own Facebook. Nazis are perfectly free to set up their own hate sites and pay for their own servers. Those who do usually have a hat in hand--begging donors for 'support.' To get support, they need attention. That's why they stir up trouble and attack people for no reason. They are children stamping their feet so folks will notice them. The trolls gain some sort of sick, sadistic satisfaction from doing this, but most likely they simply want more traffic on their boring web sites. They want to profit from their hate. Hate is a commodity to them. They want to harvest the haters.

Libertarians are not anarchists, and so it should come as no surprise when a libertarian disagrees with the 'anything-goes-including-vicious-libel' trolls. Libertarians respect property--including intellectual property that is copyrighted. Hate-spewing trolls seem to believe that free speech means they can destroy whomever they wish by posting their 'memes' of libel. They claim a copyright is meaningless. There is no such thing as ownership. They think they are free to edit and deface someone's writing or artwork and then publish it on their site while asking for donations.

Their bullying and defamation is used for entertainment and they want to get paid for doing it. It's done with malice. How do I know? I've received hate mail asking me if my business is suffering. They want to ruin my commercial art business. That's malice. Those who say they can do it because I'm a 'public figure' are wrong. I'm hardly a public figure. Very few know who Ben Garrison is. Just ask anyone on the street. Nope. I'm not a public figure. Even if I were, it's no excuse to trash my reputation using obvious malice. Those who do want to find out who the artist Ben Garrison is via internet searches are now forced to wade through all sorts of disgusting rubbish posted by the trolls.

The haters are so blinded by their own hatred that they're incapable of understanding the difference between libertarianism and anarchism. Their 'philosophy' (if it can be called that) consists of anti-semitism, racial slurs and other ad hominem attacks. It's difficult to tell whether they're really serious about their philosophy of hate or if they're merely spewing nonsense in order to gain attention and money. The 'chuckleheads' also do it for the 'lulz.' (Chuckleheads is a word I came up with to describe them).

When someone rightfully tries to remove Nazi troll libel, the chuckleheads get very angry. They are crybabies when it comes to this matter. They scream, "Muh free speech!" -- even though they have no problem with trampling on the free speech of others by posting defamation and libel. They do not respect free speech. If given the power, they'd take it away from others just like Hitler did.

They're weaklings who have probably been hurt and bullied at some time during their lives. They have discovered that they now have the ability to easily bully others on the internet. They quickly spurt crocodile tears when their libelous hate is threatened.

The Internet Hate Machine

Trolls don't believe in free speech. They overwhelm and shut down reasoned debate and replace it with blind hatred. They believe in hate speech, which is a form of censorship. 

Far left socialists and far right Nazis and trolls of all persuasions in between are routinely defacing Ben Garrison's cartoons. They add in offensive racist and Jewish caricatures, usually drawn by an anonymous racist artist going under the pen name of 'A. Wyatt Mann.' These libelous trolls also stamp the copyrighted Ben Garrison signature onto racist images that Ben did not draw.

They also impersonate Ben by stealing his name and photos and incorporate them into hate 'meme' boxes in order to defame him. They've clearly stated they're out to ruin his reputation and his ability to make a living from commercial art. One of the trolls even stated that he'd like to see Ben get murdered. Ben's family has also been attacked.

Ben Garrison is not against Jews, Muslims, African Americans, Hispanics or any other religion or ethnicity. This is a battle of ideas, not skin color, country of origin or religious heritage. Ben Garrison is against racism, bigotry and libel. Ben is against hate speech on social media where community standards are clearly stated. By 'hate speech' I'm referring to those who want to murder people based on their race or religion. Ben is for free speech and those wishing to express their hatred are free to do so on their own sites and using their own names. 

Ben Garrison is for freedom and the Constitution.

Ann Coulter's Attack on Libertarians

Here's my latest cartoon I drew for the Independent Gazette. It is a honor and privilege to have my work published on real newsprint again!

Ann Coulter is a mouthpiece for the Neocons. She is the attack dog, er, attack horse for the Republicans. She recently joked that she would track down and 'drown' Libertarian voters. Ann is somewhat horse-faced and makes a good cartoon caricature.

Another cartoon I drew for the Independent Gazette:

Dvořák Symphony No 9 "New World" Celibidache, Münchner Philharmoniker, 1991

Hillary's Presidential Race Against Herself

It's Hillary's turn. The CFR, Bilderberg Illuminati and bought-out mainstream media all say so. You will see specials on TV about 'strong women' and you will be groomed to think it's "Hillary's turn." If you disagree, you'll be smeared as sexist.

I'm all for a female presidential candidate as long as she supports the Constitution. Instead, we'll get Hillary. She's pick up where Obama has left off. There will be more war, more taxes, increasing totalitarianism and crony capitalism. The top 1/10th of the one percent will continue to get fabulously richer while the middle class will get poorer. 

In short, the same shabby system will continue to be pushed down the road. The Federal Reserve will print money for their friends and the bought-out Congress will continue to rubber stamp whatever tyranny the president has in mind. 

Hillary doesn't deserve to be president. It's NOT her turn. There has to be thousands if not millions of people more qualified--male and female. Instead the media will drum it into our heads that it's 'her turn.' She'll be jammed down the nation's throat whether people like her or not. Polls and elections will be 'controlled' to make sure she gets in. After all, 'Her Inevitableness" has all the right credentials of corruption.

Shostakovich's 5th

Here is a great symphony conducted by a great man--Leonard Bernstein.

Shostakovich was admonished by Soviet 'authorities' to write a symphony that was not 'formalist.' They wanted something easy to understand. They ordered Shostakovich to produce such a work. Here it is.

This came after Shostakovich wrote what was perhaps his greatest symphony--his 4th. It epitomized the emptiness and heartlessness of forced Soviet collectivization, industrialization and police state of the 1930s. The 4th was written around 1936, but the premiere was cancelled. It was not performed until nearly 30 years later. Shostakovich heard it performed live for the first time when he was an old man. The 4th is like a great novel. It is filled with interesting characters and unexpected plot twists. It ends at first monumentally and then mysteriously and quietly. It is not easily understood at first, but gets better with each hearing. The Soviets detested such work and made it clear to Shostakovich that he must produce something simpler and instantly understandable--or else.

Shostakovich delivered the goods. It is perhaps his most popular symphony. The third movement was an elegy to the suffering of the people under the Soviet regime. People listening knew that and many were moved to tears. It is pure Russian poetry.

The last movement is also very Russian and easy to like. The finale in particular was especially easy to understand. After all, Shostakovich was under orders. Listen for the string section at the end. They repeat the same note over and over and over again as if to say, "There. Is THIS simple enough for you?" It was Shostakovich's way of showing contempt for the Soviets and yet the ending is still marvelous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FF4HyB77hQ

Painting Sold

I sold "Sioux War Party" recently at the gallery in Bigfork. I can't tell you how good it feels to sell a work of fine art. I spent a lot of time on the painting. It was based on a watercolor sketch by CM Russell. I considered the work to be my masterpiece and someone recognized that and bought it. Hurrah!

The REAL Ben Garrison

I posted on /pol for the first time today. Yes, it was the real me and this is the proof. For the record, I, Ben Garrison, am neither anti-Semitic nor a Nazi. The hate memes repeated there have nothing to do with me.

It's good that there's a place for unfettered dialogue and expression, but all-too often the conversations are reduced to the lowest common denominator: Hate.

Hate is like a bar room brawl. Instead of having a lively discussion with friends over a beer, all attention gets riveted to the brawl. Conversation ends and hate takes over.

The hate memes must be repeated over and over by their perpetrators. That's why the same hate memes are reposted daily on /pol with mind-numbing regularity. The same 'Jew-meme' character rubbing his hands together is seen hourly. The same Hitler memes are repeated ad nauseum. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see posts that escape morass of hate? Hate is not cool. Hate is destructive. Hate is boring. You've been there. You've done that.

4chan is a disgusting snake pit of hate. It's a perpetual 7th grade hell of put-downs and lies. Don't expect it to ever mature.

4chan long ago surrendered to the FBI due to illegal content allowed on /b. It's now a honeypot to snare criminals. That's fine, but it's also being used to smear and discredit those who really do value free speech. Are you a blogger who values liberty and the Constitution? Are you against the unfolding police state? On /pol you can expect to be smeared regularly. You'll be called anti-Semitic and a racist. Straw men and ad hominem attacks are typical tactics used by the far-left who grab the spigot of hate on /pol and aim it at their libertarian targets. Anyone can post using the name Ben Garrison--or any other name. It's a free for all of impersonation, lies and deception. There's no responsibility or accountability there.

Never believe anything you might read on 4chan's /pol. Any so-called 'free speech' existing there operates at a very low level of consciousness. Stay away.

The Internet Hate Machine

Far left socialists and far right Nazis and trolls of all persuasions in between are routinely defacing Ben Garrison's cartoons. They add in offensive racist and Jewish caricatures, usually drawn by an anonymous racist artist going under the pen name of 'A. Wyatt Mann.' These libelous trolls also stamp the copyrighted Ben Garrison signature onto racist images that Ben did not draw.

They also impersonate Ben by stealing his name and photos and incorporate them into hate 'meme' boxes in order to defame him. They've clearly stated they're out to ruin his reputation and his ability to make a living from commercial art. One of the trolls even stated that he'd like to see Ben get murdered. Ben's family has also been attacked.

Ben Garrison is not against Jews, Muslims, African Americans, Hispanics or any other religion or ethnicity. This is a battle of ideas, not skin color, country of origin or religious heritage. Ben Garrison is against racism, bigotry and libel. Ben is against hate speech on social media where community standards are clearly stated. By 'hate speech' I'm referring to those who want to murder people based on their race or religion. Ben is for free speech and those wishing to express their hatred are free to do so on their own sites and using their own names. 

Ben Garrison is for freedom and the Constitution.

Meanwhile, in Andrew Anglin's basement...”Go away, hatin!'”

Trolls continue to hammer away at me and my reputation on Reddit, 4chan, Twitter and Facebook. They've even attacked my wife and kid. Yes, that's how low they go...there is no bottom to their cesspool.

Let me reiterate: Ben Garrison has never drawn a single racist or anti-Semitic cartoon. If you see my cartoons defaced into hate, rest assured I did not draw them.

For those who skimmed over what I just wrote let me repeat: I've never penned a racist or anti-Semitic cartoon. I've never hated Jews.

What I care about are the deeds of men--not their religion or skin color. If they do laudable things like Ron Paul has, I will draw positive cartoons praising him. If they do corrupt or downright criminal things such as what Obama has done, I will skewer him with cartoons. It has nothing to do with the color of his skin.

When my cartoons began getting defaced with words such as "Zog" and "Goyim" starting back in 2009, I didn't even know what these words meant. One thing I do know--I never received hate mail from Jews. The Jews I have met have been fine, caring people and they're the only ones who have tried to help me remove libel on Facebook--and they did that even though I know that few of them agree with my politics. They've helped me and they've done it for free. Freedom of kindness.

If /pol wants to collectively hate Jews, that's your prerogative. Leave the Ben Garrison name off of your blind hatred.

"Go away!...hatin'!"

Andrew Anglin, Nazi punk.

His dad, Greg Anglin, encourages him.

Lemon Head of Hate

Don't play it. 

Does the two party system work?

I often receive email with suggestions for cartoons. Many are good ideas that require a little development. Many go undrawn simply because I don't have the time. Lance sent me an an excellent idea that I quickly drew. It shows how voters habitually insist on validating the R. vs. D., left vs. right paradigm with their votes. They have allowed themselves to be imprisoned by the two parties.

The two corrupt parties will often use their power to exclude third party candidates. This has to stop. This country needs a viable third party. The Libertarian Party. --Ben Garrison

http://grrrgraphics.wordpress.com/

Zero Hedge

Thanks to zerohedge.com for republishing my cartoon.

I have not penned a lot of new cartoons this year, but I do have a lot of good ideas for more and will be drawing them soon. I also have an ebook in the works.

--Ben Garrison

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-13/picturing-march-tyranny

Cartoonist and muckraker--soon to return!

As many of my friends know, I've been the target of vicious attacks by trolls. It has been going on for nearly five years. Their goal is to ruin my online reputation and 'turn' me into a Nazi. The name 'Ben Garrison' the artist has been ruined. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous--and it is ridiculous. My father was a WWII vet who was part of a generation who fought against such fascism. My best friend's grandfather was in a Nazi prison camp. I detest Nazis. Hitler destroyed Germany. The good people in that country unfairly continue to endure the shame he caused. Hitler deserves perpetual condemnation--NOT praise. Yet the new Nazis attempt to influence young minds and draw them to their cause on places such as the 4chan 'pol' board. Let me clue you young people in: Hitler was NOT cool. He killed millions of innocent men, women and children.

I detest and condemn the neo-Nazi's attempts to rewrite history and claim the holocaust never happened. It did happened. It was documented by the US Army and many others. It's a fact of history. I've seen the Nazis make fun of it. They've made fun of Anne Frank. They are disgusting. They are the lowest of the low. Please young people--do not go down this path. It leads toward destruction. We human beings are all the same species. We all experience the same emotions. We are all capable of great things. Let's all advance in consciousness. Hate is not a high level of consciousness.

As an artist and cartoonist, I want to seek out truth. In my quest to do this, I've been smeared, defamed and libeled as an an anti-semitic racist by young chuckleheads who do it for the 'lulz.' This can happen to any citizen journalist. The haters detest those of us who attempt to ring alarm bells. Those of us who are presumptuous enough to think we can 'make a difference' are targeted most of all. We are not perfect and they look for weaknesses to exploit. "AHA!" He or she said or linked to this, that or the other...therefore they're worthy of our attack!"

Who are the trolls? Most likely they are frustrated young people leading empty, dead-end lives. They are extremely unhappy. They are pizza deliverers and burger flippers with no future. Those that try to help them are hated the most. Someone told me I should pity them. These young people think they can't make a difference and detest those who try.

The Nazis are a different story. They are few and most people ignore them. They are either laughed at and/or scorned. Rightfully so. Their ideology is empty. Their art is empty. There was a thread on one Nazi board where they talked about art. It was so crude and ignorant that my sides left the galaxy. The consciousness of these Nazis (if they have such a thing) is low. From them it's nothing but hate hate hate. BUT...they now have a loud voice on the internet due to the fact that they enjoy relative anonymity. 

I remain a libertarian cartoonist. I am for freedom. With freedom comes responsibility. Freedom of speech does not mean people are free to further their cause by destroying the reputations of others with lies. 

Ben Garrison

Here is a painting I did recently...now featured at ArtFusion, a gallery in Bigfork, Mt.

Happy New Year!

Here's a photo of me in my studio. I'm working on my latest painting. It's based on a watercolor by Charles M. Russell--a Sioux Indian war party. I'm liking it a lot, but that doesn't necessarily mean anyone else will. That's ok.

--Ben