More choices than Red or Blue

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 24, 2023)

Politics changes hearts and minds. Not in a good way. The more partisan the politics, the worse the obvious damage.

Politics brainwashes people. It drives reasoned thought right out of the human brain. Being too political doesn't do good things to your emotions, either. I try to warn people of this danger, whether they want to hear it or not. They usually don't want to...read the rest...

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Only you can provide your own safety

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 20, 2023)

If you depend on government-- or anyone else-- to save you from danger, you're risking your life unnecessarily.

The tragic wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui are awful beyond words. I hate when horrible things happen to people who are just going about their lives.

Unfortunately, the fires were probably far more deadly than they would have otherwise been because too many people have been conditioned to be dependent on someone else to tell them when they are in danger and what to do about it.

When dependency overrides your self-preservation instinct it's not helpful.

I never want to see people encouraged to become dependent on someone else. "Let the professionals handle it" is a good way to create a helpless population. It may be good for government, but it isn't good for the community.

It's so easy to be seduced into letting someone else take responsibility for your safety. Especially since taking responsibility for yourself can attract unwanted attention and ridicule. Or even get you into legal trouble. The fear of being laughed at for evacuating or taking other defensive actions before others see any danger looming is enough to make many people wait too long to escape.

You have the senses of sight, smell, and hearing to help warn you of danger. Other people can also help you become aware of a threat they saw coming but you didn't notice yet. Use every advantage you can get.

But warning systems can fail. Other people can be wrong or have other priorities. You must stay aware for your own sake. Part of awareness is realizing no one else is as responsible for your safety as you are.

This applies whether the danger is crime, natural disasters, disease, or tyrannical government. Don't wait until everyone else recognizes the danger, or until someone "official" tells you it's time to act.

I want to help keep others safe when possible. If I see someone in danger I'll step in if I can. The problem is, I can't be everywhere. You are the only person who's always there when danger threatens you. No matter how pure someone else's intentions might be, they are not suited for the job of protecting you. It is up to you, and always has been.

Watch out for yourself, take action when you need to, and do your best to help others along the way.

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The spider web

Government has a benefit, at least if you are a government supremacist. One policy will create multiple problems that statists can use to justify more government and more policies which create more problems leading to more policies etc. ad infinitum, making an eternal positive feedback loop.

Because it's a web of connections, every part links to multiple other parts.

Just to give you an idea of how this works—  

Prohibition creates crime and huge profits for cartels, which empowers (and employs) legislation enforcers, and creates incentives to get drugs to customers living under prohibition which lets government supremacists claim justification for more "border" control in the name of fighting crime which is created by prohibition. Who benefits from prohibition? Not you or me.

Need more?

Handouts create dependency which creates a bigger demand for handouts. Handouts create incentives for people from other lands to want to come here, which makes people want unconstitutional "secure borders" to prevent people from coming here, which is exactly what "coyotes" need for their business model, and since prohibition has artificially inflated the price of drugs, they do a little lucrative drug smuggling too.

Still not convinced?

Anti-gun rules cause crime which causes dishonest or stupid people to scream for more anti-gun rules, which will cause more crime, etc. We already know the solution to crime: defense of life, liberty, and property. Government doesn't want crime solved because this wouldn't benefit them.

And even all those "different" topics are connected in various ways. More and more examples could be shown, all leading to the same place.

Government causes problems that government supremacists insist can only be solved by more government, which will only create more problems, and the cycle spins out of control with society and liberty sacrificed on the altar to The State.

Don't be part of the problem; be part of the real solution.

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A dumb, socialist name for the market?

People who hate capitalism tend to reflexively embrace socialism. As if it's either/or.

If socialism could be done with unanimous consent-- zero coercion whatsoever, including specifically government violence-- I would have no problem with people giving it their best shot. Just leave me out of it.

If you define capitalism as the market, free from government interference, where profits are reinvested into the economy, then I like capitalism. In other words, if "capitalism" is just a dumb socialist name for the market, then it is superior in every way to socialism.

If, however, capitalism requires the State, then it is unworthy to exist. As is everything that requires archation including-- in every case I've ever seen-- socialism.

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A minor paperwork improvement

I propose changing the name of the office of “President of the US” to “National Embarrassment”. It seems more honest. And it will always fit, no matter who gets installed. 

It's "village idiot" on a grander scale.

Maybe it would discourage some people from seeking the position. Those who aren't convinced to change career paths are probably beyond help anyway. They deserve the title.

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An unexpected truth nugget from Andor

I ran across, and transcribed, this nugget of truth from the Star Wars series, Andor: 

“The imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks. It leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that.”

The corporation that owns Star Wars apparently hasn't wiped out all its goodness yet.

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The State is a scurvy dog

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Tell politicians to walk the plank, to go first if they want to disarm anyone, and then keelhaul them when they refuse to mind their own business and stay out of ours. 

Or, go a different route and say "I do the job, 'n' then I get paid. Go run your little world."

Of course, politicians, bureaucrats, and their ilk are the real pirates of today. The dull gray, bad kind of pirate, not the colorful, interesting kind of pirate. And much less ethical than those disgusting Somali "pirates".

So, I guess if you want to talk like a pirate, but don't want to be saying "Arrr, hand over the booty, me hearties" or other fun quips about bungholes, chum, and treasure chests, you can say awful things like "License and registration, please" and "Taxation isn't theft; it's the price we pay to live in a civilized [sic] society".

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What does politics do to people?

I get the strangest responses to my newspaper columns. Really bizarre ones.

These responses often do nothing but confirm my conviction that politics makes people stupid.

Take yesterday's column for example. One reader (obviously a product of gov-school) wrote to tell me that MLG, the Wicked Witch of the West, is doomed. What he actually said is:

They can impeach her right now she has nobody on her side that political power Wan,t save her she has a target on her back she is finished Trump 2024

I responded in my usual fashion:

They can, but will they? And impeachment isn’t enough. Will she be arrested for her crimes? If not, she or someone like her will do it again and again.

Trump pushed through an illegal ban on bump stocks and said “Take the guns first, go through due process second”. He is no friend of gun owners or liberty.

https://kentmcmanigal.blogspot.com/2023/08/real-gun-crimes-are-committed-by.html

That elicited two email responses in a row:

Trump is a friend of gun owners you are wrong with him we will make America Great Again he never lied to us like you are doing you must be a democrat God is protecting Trump i see it you sure don't you lose

And:

They will impeach her she not getting away with anything God is watching you must be a democrat or a Rino

Sigh.

I'd like him to tell me where he imagines I lied, if he can. Is he unaware of Trump's bump stock ban, or that Trump said what I quoted? Also, did he try to call me a "loser"? I think he did.

Well, I might just have to try to feel insulted!

Not sure if I'll write back to toy with him or just let it go. Depends on my mood tomorrow. What do you think I should do? What would you do?

UPDATE: I haven't responded, but that hasn't prevented him from digging himself deeper into the stupid-hole. I got another email, probably because he clicked on the link in my email to him. He says, in an email with the subject "War":

"That flag does not say time up it says don't tread on me The Trump Train is here to stay you don't care about this country God is able you believe in lies i will tell you the truth"

I'm actually starting to pity the guy.

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Doing wrong thing worse than nothing

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 17, 2023)

Political crimes aren't like ordinary crimes. They are worse...read the rest...

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Good ideas come from both sides

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 13, 2023)

A good idea is a good idea even if it comes from the worst person on Earth.

Good ideas can come from both the political right and left; conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats. When anyone on either side has a good idea I'm happy to agree with them. I'm just as eager to disagree with the bad ideas either side offers.

Respecting everyone's equal and identical rights, no matter who they are, is the best idea humans have ever had. Both political sides wade carefully into the shallows of this idea, wary of getting in too deep lest they lose their political power to run your life.

Often, good ideas get more hot air than muscle. It's easy to say good things; acting on them is a lot harder and sure to anger those who liked the way it was before.

I am disappointed when one side abandons the good ideas they once had and embraces a bad idea they stole from the other side.

The Left did this when it gave up being anti-war to attack anyone who doesn't support Joe Biden's Ukrainian war to save his legacy.

The Right did the same when it gave up its small government position and replaced it with protecting Social Security, no matter what.

You could argue that neither side was ever serious about the principled positions they once held; only using them as political weapons against their opponents. You could be right, but I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

When the Democrats favored ending the stupid and evil War on Politically Incorrect Drugs, they were on the right side. When they started handing out free needles and protecting drug abusers from the residents they were violating, they weren't.

When the Republicans went hard against actual criminals, they were right. When they substituted militarized policing for personal responsibility, they dropped the ball.

The Left demanded "defund the police", and they were right. Then they fumbled by keeping rules against owning, carrying, and using the proper tools for defense. This guaranteed their good idea would fail.

It's great to let people live as they see fit, but not to sacrifice the rest of us to those who see fit to violate our life, liberty, or property.

I do my best to evaluate the idea, not where it came from. The right thing doesn't become wrong just because it comes from someone you don't like.

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Rebel scum-- the more, the merrier

Recently I've noticed that some "content creators" I've followed for years, who I used to think were too pro-government, have been moving further away from their previous position.

Including people in other countries where I don't expect that sort of thing. (This showcases a blindspot I've had.)

They are becoming, at least somewhat, anti-government. They may not be quite all the way there yet, but that's the direction they are clearly heading. It's a good sign.

Of course, it's also a sign that The State is getting too extreme even for people who were naturally inclined to support The State before, which means it is hurting more people. And people are finally noticing.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. But The Resistance is growing. Rebels are being born and made, all around the planet. 

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Hunting Hunter

Obviously I shouldn’t have to say it, but there’s no such thing as a legitimate anti-gun rule. Including those being thrown at Hunter Biden.

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Do wrong while feeling good about it

Is it just my impression, or is it true that most of the time when someone "petitions the government" it is to get government to violate someone else's rights in some way?

That is how it looks to me.

Maybe the nature of government is that violating people is what it does best, so that's what people generally think of when they think "Hey, I don't think 'those people' are being violated enough and that makes me mad!", which makes them take the next step: "I'm going to get government to violate them more on my behalf!"

Obviously, they aren't going to consider what they want a violation of anyone; they'll lie to themselves and others.

This isn't unique to "The Right" or "The Left"-- it is all statists equally. They just have different things they want to violate people over.

It seems to me that people who don't want to violate others choose to live life their own way and don't generally seek government's help or permission. 

But those who do want to violate others have two choices-- go freelance (crime) or use government (also crime) so you have plausible deniability. Those who want to think well of themselves while doing evil choose to use government violence against others rather than taking on the responsibility and doing it themselves.

They are part of the problem.

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Backward and barbaric

Anti-weapon rules are backward and barbaric. All of them. 

There's no legitimate excuse for them. They will always do the opposite of the "reason" used to justify them. Every time.

If you really care about "the children", safety, and society you will conscientiously respect liberty, not try to violate it.

Even my mother, who has always been too "law and order", thinks it's "a shame" that people have to "break the law" to do what they have a right to do. 

I moved beyond caring about that decades ago.

Anti-weapon rules are backward and barbaric, and I'm not afraid to say so to anyone who wants to impose them.

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Liberty-- It's bigger on the inside

Liberty isn't a big word. Just seven letters. But it holds the Universe.

It contains freedom and responsibility in equal parts. 

Liberty contains everything you have a right to do-- everything which doesn't violate someone else's equal and identical rights. That's a lot! It is enough.

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I forgot

I didn't even think about "9/11" this year until it was already here and others were reminding me. Others, including my daughter who was born 6 years after the event, and my son who sent the above irreverent meme about it.

"Never forget"?

They don't want me remembering because I'm going to remember things that are not approved of. I find it really hard to get worked up over the event now. 

I'd be more inclined to "remember" if the US feds hadn't gone and done everything we were supposed to imagine "the terrorists" were trying to do.

Remember, "They hate us for our freedom"... and "they" are the politicians and bureaucrats who enable the police state we find ourselves living in. I hate them for their tyranny and authoritarianism.

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Anti-gun bigots are getting desperate

I was just recently saying I think it's a bad idea to call natural human rights "Constitutional rights" or "Second Amendment rights" and then the evil, tyrannical governor of New Mexico-- also known as The Wicked Witch of the West-- decided to illustrate my point for me.

I'm sure you've seen the news practically everywhere, but if not, just search for "New Mexico governor suspends Second Amendment".

Since "Constitutional" smells like it is tied somehow to government, it's easy for an evil government "official" to claim any such rights can be suspended. Just like the Second Amendment could be abolished (or ignored into irrelevance).

Since the right to own and to carry weapons is a natural human right, any Ruler trying to "suspend" the right is outing herself as an evil dictator. In this case, she's also a criminal (felon) who committed her crimes in the open, with cameras recording, and without even trying to hide it.

But, she's always been trash. This isn't new, it's just more blatant than usual.

Fortunately, no one is going to comply. Even legislation enforcers have been quoted as saying they aren't going to enforce her rule. 

However, the legislation enforcers present when she made her announcement showed themselves to be enemies of the people and derelict in their primary duty when they didn't immediately interrupt her tyranny theater by arresting her on stage as she spoke.

I'm glad that for this current mess, I'm on the Texas side of the (arbitrary) government "border" that says one mafia owns me rather than a different mafia. I'm doubly glad I don't live in Albuquerque, although there were plans to go there in the next couple of weeks.

Combined with all the recent attacks by the BATFEces Mafia, it's obvious the anti-gun bigots are desperate. Watch out for more damage from their death throes in the near future. But don't rescue them from themselves. Let them DIE.

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Be neighborly in wake of blaze

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 10, 2023)

I saw firsthand the fear and confusion some employees of the Clovis Walmart felt after their store burned. These are our friends, family, and neighbors just trying to earn money to pay their bills; suddenly the rug was pulled out from under them through no fault of their own...read the rest...

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Let me share the lovely melody of liberty with you

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 6, 2023)

Do you ever get a tune stuck in your head; playing on a loop in your mind whether you want it to or not? Hopefully, it's something you enjoy. For me, the sound of "liberty" is always playing in the background. Besides being something I love, it drowns out the competing songs of "safety", "victimhood", and "nationalism".

Those who hear those alternate songs can't usually hear "liberty". At best, they'll hear the cheap substitute, "freedom"* (*void where prohibited).

I try to relate, but it's like trying to imagine how the world is experienced through the senses of a jellyfish; something so alien I have no frame of reference. The most I can do for those hearing the other songs is to stay out of their way; let them dance to their tune.

It would be nice if they'd do the same for others. Sadly, that's not how "safety", "victimhood", and "nationalism" work-- everyone gets assimilated and subjugated to the melody... or else.

I'd like to share the experience of hearing "liberty" with those who don't hear it. Unfortunately, if they don't hear it, it probably means they don't want to. They're most likely comfortable with the more familiar tunes.

"Safety" is a selfish illusion. You're never going to be safe while you're alive. To feel safe you'll have to violently control everyone around you, usually through legislation. This can't be satisfying.

"Victimhood" could be lumped with "safety". It's also a selfish way to approach life. If you feel everyone is victimizing you, you'll either act like a victim or become a bully. Neither is healthy.

"Nationalism" is idolatry. It's easy enough to see it in someone expressing a variety of nationalism you don't share. It's rare to take an honest look in the mirror, though. When "nationalism" leads to wars on the other side of the planet, occupation of other countries, or imperialism, it's a death cult. If you criticize the death cults of others while praising your own, you're not on the right side.

With "liberty" playing in your mind, though, you give as much as you get. You can't be selfish about it because if you try to take someone else's liberty, you're chipping away at your own. You'll either learn to not do that, or you'll lose your own liberty.

I want to share the beautiful melody of liberty with you, not take anything from you. Care to listen?

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Responsibility doesn't go away if you ignore it

The local Walmart fire may have been arson. 

At least, that's the latest report (which has other interesting details).

The news reports don't say so, but I suspect the guy they are looking for in connection with the fire is one of the "homeless" beggars who hang around the big stores in the area. I'm making this assumption based on his appearance in the photo that is being circulated-- so, yes, I am being judgmental and jumping to conclusions.

The regular beggar squad is probably pretty upset at being displaced and having their best location taken from them by the fire. I wonder how they feel if they know it might be the fault of one of their own.

The stores have been very accommodating of the presence of beggars in the past. None are particularly pushy in this area (unlike those in Albuquerque) so they are pretty easy to coexist with. But, it is obvious they all have mental illness/addiction issues.

There has recently been a beggar with his "God bless you" sign, who-- if you don't give him something-- will flip the sign around to expose a less friendly message. I never saw him myself, but heard others commenting about his sign. Wonder if that's the guy who is suspected of having something to do with the fire. I wouldn't be surprised.

Even if you're homeless, it's your responsibility to not violate others. Including attacking, stealing, trespassing, and setting fires. Of course, mental illness may make it impossible to recognize your responsibility to not violate others. In that case, people may be forced to defend themselves from you. Your mental illness doesn't take away someone else's right to defense. Including if you are trying to set fire to a building people are in. Fire is a deadly weapon.

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Not making the argument they imagine

"You're mad about this, but let me explain why it's already been worse than this for a long time. Get over it."

So many times when government supremacists make the case that you shouldn't be angry that government can get away with violating your liberty, they seem to be trying to make the case that your liberty was never safe from government in the first place. I agree. 

Where I disagree is when they then pivot to saying you need to get over it and just accept the situation.

Instead of looking like a reason you should accept the violations, they are making the best argument for abolishing the State.

Scott Adams, on his Thursday live stream, was talking about the case in which Liberty Safe (which neither respects liberty nor keeps property safe) told the Federal Blue Line Mafia how to get into a customer's gun safe (of course, Scott had ALL the important details wrong). 

As usual, when he's right he's right; when he's wrong it's because of his government supremacism.

As a government supremacist, he apparently believes "law enforcement" [sic] needs to have a way to get into people's safes. That's not a reason to accept this violation of your property, it's a reason to abolish the State.

Then, to keep making his case, he was talking about the fear of digital money and how it is misplaced because government has been able to cut off your money any time they want for a long time. Again, not a reason to accept the situation, but a reason to abolish the State.

He makes the same case about your privacy-- it's been gone a long time, so why are you talking about it?

He's not the only one with this blind spot. It's a defining feature of statists/government supremacists.

I know all the arguments for allowing The State to exist. I have heard and evaluated them all-- I haven't seen an original justifcation in decades. They are all balderdash. They are a child's reasoning.

When even government supremacists admit that the State is there to violate you, but then try to justify it with twisted "reasons", it's a clear indication they know they are on the wrong side, even if they don't want to admit it.

The State has been allowed to molest humanity for too long. Abolish it.

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Lessons from the J6 penalties

Everyone jailed for the January 6 protest is nothing but a political prisoner-- even if I disagree with their reasons and politics. It completely exposes the nature of the US government to anyone who cares to look. (But if they haven't realized by now...)

The severe "January 6th" prison sentences teach me one lesson: If I ever deem it necessary to go to Washington DC because of something government has done, it’s pointless to go unarmed and with the intention to merely protest. If it's important enough to travel to that hideous swamp, go all out. There's nothing to lose. (I can't imagine anything that would get me to show up there, regardless.)

When the penalty for doing a minor thing becomes comparable to the penalty for doing something more serious, do the thing that will make a difference. Why not?

I pointed out years ago that when you'll be punished just as severely for having a semi-automatic firearm (bump-stocks, pistol braces, FRTs)-- or even something that no one besides government's BATFEces mafia would be stupid (or dishonest) enough to call a "machinegun" when it's clearly not even a gun or a machine ("Auto Key Card")-- as for having a full-auto gun, the reasons to not get the firearm designed from the ground up as fully-automatic have been eliminated.

If you go to DC to protest-- on "public" property owned BY YOU-- an election that reasonable people say at least looks sketchy, and the penalty is in the same realm as it would have been had you shown up armed and ready to actually kick out the trespassers (Congressvermin and their staff), why do the weaker thing? The thing without any real point or possible payoff?

Not advice, just an observation.

Draconian punishment removes good reasons to tread carefully. Unintended consequences and whatnot.

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Locked out

I'm finding myself getting locked out of more and more of the online world. 

TwiXXer was just the first. I just tried to make a new account only for the purpose of watching SpaceX launches (they've announced they will only be streaming future launches to inferior phone and computer screens instead of adequate-sized TV screens), but I was blocked before I could even get the account set up. Anyone know of a good free VPN?

Recently, other services started having more "glitches" which locked me out. I usually find a way back in, but sometimes I just write it off. SubscribeStar is still dragging its feet (or ignoring me) on approving my account, which I set up on July 2.

Coincidence? Probably... but could it be the first sign of a social credit score being used to punish people who aren't enthusiastic worshipers of the State and all its minions? Probably not. But it does give me a taste of how that would feel. It isn't pleasant. Reality or not, it does feel like being curb-stomped by a Terminator.

I can't say I didn't see this coming-- although I was foolish enough to think it would come mainly from The State first.

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My shopping list is nagging me

Losing the local PlastiCrap World showed me a flaw in my preps.

So many times recently when I've used something up, instead of immediately replacing it, I think "I can't spare the money right now. I'll get it next time I'm here."

Well, now I'm either going to pay more at the stores that are still available nearby or pay more for fuel to get to the cheaper store (where I also have a discount card). My list is nagging me every time I think about it or add something else to it. Everything I use now feels like failing.

I should have bought what I needed to replace when I used up one of them.

It's not that anything critical is running low. It's just that I prefer to replace things as they are used, and I slipped a little behind on that. Now I'm paying the price.

Don't repeat my mistake, but learn from it. Don't put off getting what you know you should get when you have the chance! Don't let your preps nag you into guilt after you put off getting things too long.

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Well, that's definitely... "interesting"

I consider corporations a branch of The State-- at least in how The State uses them against liberty. Corporate censorship, anti-gun policies, and COVID collusion being examples that spring immediately to mind. However, I am still free to choose whether I deal--  or not-- with most of them.

The local facility of the consumerish corporation that I sometimes refer to as PlastiCrap World-- where the vast majority of the funds for this household come from-- burned early Sunday morning.

I would much rather it had been a police station, a courthouse, a city hall, a DMV office, an IRS office, or some other completely useless, totally coercive institution destroyed in the blaze. Some office people are forced to deal with, no matter how much we'd rather not.

But it wasn't.

I’m oddly really kind of upset over it. It doesn’t make sense even to me. 

Being a MegaCorporation, I'm hoping they rebuild and reopen soon. Either way, this is another of those "interesting times" we are occasionally cursed with.

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Government no good for worst times

(FYI- This is blog post #7000, and today also marks the 17th anniversary of this blog. 

Imagine that. 

My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 3, 2023)

When it’s important, when it's life and death, when it matters most— that’s precisely when you don’t need government involved. This is when you don’t need politicians and bureaucrats dictating a one-size-fits-all standard, backed with the threat of violence. This is when government power is most dangerous to society...read the rest...

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Government bad tool for the job

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for July 30, 2023)

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence-it is force! Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

This quote is often attributed to George Washington, but scholars insist he never said it. Scholars consistently fact-check away intelligent quotes which support liberty. The most accurate quips and observations are usually denied as ever having been said. That's too bad; if Washington had said this it would have been one of the smarter things he said.

Yet, it's still not quite right.

If government is like fire, it's like a wildfire engulfing a stack of propane tanks under a daycare full of children.

Government is a tool-- a tool invariably used as an offensive weapon.  I've seen some try to compare government to firearms; a tool which is neither good nor bad. Government is much more like a bomb-- a nuclear bomb. It isn't possible to aim it accurately enough to avoid destroying the life, liberty, and property of innocent bystanders. The intention may be to only use it defensively, but this isn't possible in the real world.

Those who founded America tried to establish a defensive government which would do the one and only thing a legitimate government can do: defend the rights of the people from any who would violate them. Yet it took no time for even their young government to start being used to violate people's rights rather than protect them. Even the Constitution rejected pure defense of rights for enshrined government powers which harm life, liberty, and property. The power to tax being one of the worst.

The idea of defensive government is one which fools most people into going along with the institution which is the single greatest threat to their liberty. The tiny risk of terrorism pales in comparison to the real, everyday violations you are subjected to by the government you might believe protects you from the terrorists. You'd be better off without it.

This idea of government to protect your rights has failed every single time it has been tried. Like it or not, government remains the biggest threat to your life, liberty, and property.

When choosing a tool for defense, reach for one which, like a firearm, can be aimed at the threat with surgical precision, not for a weapon of random destruction like the Molotov Cocktail of political government.

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The solution is known

The solution to every issue under the Sun is to get politics-- government-- out of the way. Completely.

As L. Neil Smith used to say, crime is a solved problem. Government just doesn't want to let it be solved. Government relies on problems; it has no incentive to fix anything (other than elections and trials, I mean).

Get rid of legislation, then stop preventing people from defending themselves-- their life, liberty, and property-- from all violators, foreign and (the source of the real threats) domestic.

If you want to keep the problems around and make them worse, then keep throwing legislation at them. That will be the result.

People who propose political/governmental/legislative "solutions" take themselves very seriously. They hope you mistake them for "the adults in the room" just like they envision themselves to be.

They don’t want, and will not accept or truly consider, any solution unless it is a government “solution”.

They are the most foolish, misguided people in society. I simply can't see them as credible anymore. They are spoiled toddlers-- hopped up on "authority"... with weapons. 

They'll dream up every insane "what if" they think might fool you into giving them power. And many, maybe most, people will be fooled. That's how we got where we are.

It's time to reverse the trend. It's time to treat the enemies of individual liberty as exactly what they are, and NOT as sensible, reasonable people who simply have different values.

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Revolving door injustice

Governing others is a crime. A real crime, not a made-up victimless "crime". It is archation. It creates victims. It creates a debt to those victims that requires restitution. Ignoring this is injustice.

Those serial archators, at worst, get a slap on the wrist and remain free to govern again. And they will continue to do so as long as they live. There are no real consequences to prevent it. It's the worst example of revolving door "justice" there is.

One tragic example is all those political criminals who keep making up new anti-gun rules. When their new rule gets slapped down, they just commit the exact same crime as soon as possible. Usually using previous crimes they got away with as justification for the new crimes. They need to be stopped. Hard!

If I were like most people I'd say serial governing is the best argument for "three strikes, you're out". In this case, most politicians would be long overdue for life imprisonment. But I oppose imprisonment, even for something as serious as serial governing.

What I really support is for each and every political criminal's next intended victim to put a permanent end to the criminal at the moment of the attack. "But that's illegal." Of course it is, because the criminals write and enforce the rules. It doesn't make it wrong, just dangerous. 

Eventually, it's going to have to become standard practice anyway, if society is to survive. I'm not optimistic. I'm not brave (or foolish?) enough to go first. I expect the situation will continue to get worse for this very reason. Maybe someday, someone will rebuild on the ashes of what we let die.

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Helping, hurting, or ?

It's a question everyone needs to stop and ask themselves occasionally: Am I helping or hurting, or am I completely irrelevant?

I've been told I'm all three. Sometimes on the same day.

Some people have told me of the positive difference I've made. That's always welcome and appreciated.

I'm not going to compromise or equivocate. Some people have told me this hurts the cause of liberty because it's "extreme". This doesn't feel as good as the positive affirmations, but it's still appreciated. Feedback is useful.

Then, others have told me it doesn't matter what I say or do because no one's listening to hear it. I know that's not true since I can see how many hits this blog gets in a day. Obviously, simply seeing the post doesn't mean anyone is getting the message, or that they agree. But it's something. I may still be irrelevant in the grand scheme, but I'm doing what I can do to the best of my ability, for as long as I feel like doing it.

I'm still flyin'.

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Anti-education from schools

Mark Twain once said, “If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.”

I updated that to: If you don't watch "the news" you might be uninformed. If you do watch "the news" you will be misinformed.

It's time for an expansion covering what goes on in "public" schools. If you don’t attend school you might be uneducated. If you do, you will be miseducated. You will be indoctrinated into believing falsehoods.

The historically Pignorant "teacher" in Colorado who kept insisting the Gadsden flag was supportive of slavery is just one example. What other lies is she repeating to the inmates under her thumb? How are her lies helping these kids? Would they really be worse off doing anything other than sitting in that school?

Update-- I've seen reports the school has backed down. But what other crap are they shoveling into those kids' heads that hasn't been exposed?

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You can't make other people be responsible

People are irresponsible. If you're one of my regular readers, I'm assuming this observation doesn't apply to you.

I was watching a gun video where the guy was talking about a place he has used for shooting over the years; where other shooters left so much shot-up trash around that the state has closed the area for a couple of months as a warning. And they might make the closure permanent because people aren't responsible. 

The people who are the problem aren't going to change or learn. They never do.

If you go to a place to shoot, it's up to you to pick up your own trash. Not only that, it's up to you to pick up other people's trash because they won't do it. Sure, you could say that's not your responsibility. I don't care. You need to do it anyway. Or plan on losing your favorite shooting spot.

Personally, I dislike shooting ranges. But ever since my mom's cousin sold his farm, that's my only option until I hit it rich and can buy my own land.

Near my home in Colorado, there were huge expanses of BLM land. There were two specific places where I would go to shoot. And so would lots of other people. I always picked up my own stuff before I left. Of course, other people didn't do the same. So when I finished shooting I would spend time picking up their junk, too. Sometimes a lot of time. I knew if the area wasn't taken care of, the feds would use that as an excuse to ban the activity. It wouldn't have been my fault, but I would have suffered. 

As much as I hate The State, I know that wouldn't have really been government's fault, but that of the irresponsible shooters. One type of irresponsible person or archator isn't really worse than any other. They all ruin the world for the rest of us.

No, I didn't get all the junk and trash cleaned up. That would have been impossible for one person in one day. But I always left the place better than I found it. That's always my intention, no matter the topic. Always leave things better than they were when you arrived. It's a big part of the motivation behind my writing. Spreading an understanding of liberty improves the world.

As I've mentioned before, I was an (actual) environmentalist long before I understood liberty. Understanding liberty didn't make me care less about taking care of the world. It made me care more. If I don't, who will? It's not the state's responsibility. I don't want to be taxed to fund the cleanup. It's my responsibility whether I want to face it or not. So I do.

Government doesn't really care about the environment-- it's just an excuse to control what you can do and where you can go. I've seen what passes for statist "environmental protection", and it is worse than worthless. You and I can do better, but we have to make the effort.

Face the fact that other people aren't responsible. They can't be turned responsible by punishing them. Be responsible enough that their irresponsibility doesn't hurt you more. It's more work, but responsibility is the hard half of liberty.

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