The domestic enemies who rule this little town have crossed a line. The politicians and all the legislation enforcers have declared war on the residents.
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Those who want you to doubt that anarchy (self-ownership and individual responsibility) is the best, most moral, and ethical way to live among others are asking you to accept that theft, aggression, superstition, and slavery are better.
The same applies to any other set of "laws".
Counterfeit "law" from any source doesn't apply to anyone unless they agree to it. Since all counterfeit "law" is based on religious ideas rather than ethics, it's all actually a sort of Sharia anyway. It only applies to the believers.
But they'll say we can't live without rules. They'd be right.
Real Law- natural law- applies to everyone. Don't murder, kidnap, steal, attack, defraud, govern, or otherwise aspire to violate life, liberty, or property; don't archate. Not even if your religious "law" says you're allowed or obligated to do so. If you do any of these things anyway, you owe restitution. Pay it.
Counterfeit "law" violates natural law, so it is all null and void before it even begins.
But its cult will rob, cage, and murder you for breaking it, and the brainwashed masses will cheer and say you should have complied. That's how you know this isn't real law, but a set of rights violations on a pedestal.
Especially when you hate other people more than you value liberty. And when you desperately want to justify some sort of archation/government.
Watching this play out has always bothered me, but as the heat gets turned up, I see it happening more. And with greater intensity. It's going to get innocent people killed.
People are getting mad at the wrong people.
It's like two ants of different species trapped in a jar and shaken by the nasty kid, attacking each other instead of the real enemy. The one who put you in the jar and shook you is the enemy, not the other victim in the same jar.
Don't entertain the Ancestral Enemy. Don't perform for it. That's what government wants you to do.
And most people oblige.
I really think it's because it's easier than being consistent, ethical, and rational.
That doesn't make sense to me.
I don't hold back or coddle them when they come at me with their delusional statism, but I'm not going to blame a drunk for the things he says while drunk. Even though there are consequences.
And politics is a drug. People under the influence aren't rational. They can't be. And the impairment doesn't wear off with time. It has to be treated with an antidote; taken voluntarily or not at all.
I can know someone is a statist, but until they force me to defend myself from them, I can be nice. I can smile at the crazy thoughts they express without confronting them. They might even misinterpret my smile as agreement. It happens.
Statists already hate other statists just because they prefer a different flavor of slavery, and they never stop going at each other's throats because of it. There's always a tension there, which seems odd to me, since I see them as all on the same team. They are like twins who get drunk and start fighting over their shared misunderstanding of a dream someone once told them about.
I'm there to remind them that they have more in common than not.
My little town- population just over 1400 or so- is in a water emergency. Because its government screwed up.
Now, we residents are ordered to reduce our water usage by at least 20% and stop ALL outdoor use of water, or else.
The "else" includes warnings, increasing tiers of "fines", and having your water shut off until the crisis is over. Will it ever be over when they've been saying for years that the wells are running dry because the aquifer is being drained? Maybe once the water towers are full again they'll remove the penalties. I can hope.
I'm not too worried about water in the short term. I have as much water stored as I can fit in the nooks and crannies of my house, and I have several cases of bottled water for drinking. And several filled canteens.
The bigger issue is making sure my parents are set- and discovering they'd dumped the two 6-gallon cans of water I'd filled for them. They still have an 8-gallon jug, though. I've also helped them arrange to refill the other two at my sister's house in the bigger town across the state line that isn't currently having an immediate water emergency. But, seriously...
Less than two weeks ago, I was chewed out for all the stored water in out-of-the-way spots around the house that weren't as out of the way as someone would have liked. Funny how quickly that tune changed with one notice from the local Rulers. This has been a recurring theme in my life. "Why are you doing this? It's inconvenient and stupid!" to "Yes, we were prepared, so we're OK."
If I only had to watch out for myself, things would be so much smoother.
Anyway...
If it would rain, I would also catch rainwater to use, but that's historically the root of the problem in the region.
I'm doing my best to cut back, even while understanding that "the tragedy of the commons" means many residents won't. I'm using stored water to keep the birdbath filled- I'm sneaking out after dark to fill it. I'm also, at the same time, using stored water to try to keep my struggling sunchokes going. And I'm giving water to the stray cats on my porch. I'm abiding by the rules, but since my Jedi powers aren't strong, there's no point in attracting imperial attention and having to answer questions about where the water came from.
Of course, a couple of years ago, the town added electronic spyware to our water meters, supposedly to make it easier to bill us. Now they are saying they are digitally monitoring our water usage on a daily basis, to see who is complying and who isn't. I warned locals that this would happen. No one cared. You know how it goes.
Anyway, I'll bet I've cut my water usage (through the meter) by much more than 20%. Coincidentally, I fixed my dripping faucet last weekend, just in time, apparently. Later, I'll increase my usage when I'm storing up water again. It's just what I do.
I posted this observation on X a few days ago and upset someone with whom I normally agree. I guess he wants to believe government can be legitimate more than he values liberty.
Anyway, here's how it is:
Socialism is, according to dictionary.com, "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government." (Although socialists get a little slippery whenever they don't like a specific definition. They don't like being pinned down.)
Statists claim government has the "right" to tax and regulate businesses. The power to tax and/or regulate is the power to control and destroy. The right to destroy or control something is a hallmark of ownership. The "right" to tax and regulate is an expression of government's claim to ownership (even if generally hidden from view). Government heavily taxes and regulates businesses. Government- ALL government- thus seizes the means of production- while pretending this isn't what it's doing.
On X, I was told I was using the wrong definition of socialism, so I asked how he defines it, and he never responded. As I pointed out above, no matter how you define it, someone will complain.
Government is socialism. All governments are socialist.
Statists- those who believe governing others is a legitimate human endeavor- are therefore socialists.
Just maybe that has something to do with it.
I’m not saying those things are wrong, (except the Federal Reserve and taxes) just that previous generations didn’t have those things siphoning off their money.
Without the Federal Reserve and taxes, I doubt those "luxuries" would even be a problem.
Government is the "luxury" we can't afford.
Either straight-up politics, or politics posing as another religion.
There may be other factors, as well, but even those may be influenced by politics.
Sometimes you can see this is the case by the targets they choose. Other times, it's not obvious until you find a manifesto or social media postings exposing their political leanings and delusions.
Once you believe it's sometimes OK to violate life, liberty, and property "for a cause", it's a short hop to feeling justified in killing people who might disagree with you on the specifics.
Politics is nothing but justifying the violation of rights. If you are opposed to having some rights violated and you believe the solution is to violate other rights, you're not really disagreeing with your opponent. You're negotiating. You're still being political.
If you reject ALL excuses to violate rights and defend everyone's life, liberty, and property, you're not being political. You're saying "no" to politics.
Politics is a cult. A death cult. It leads inevitably to violating human rights.
Standing against politics is ethics in action.
Don't tread on ANYONE!
Yeah, they were weird comments. There are a lot of evil losers, and many of them are, and have been, "white". So?
I don't personally care who the evil loser is or what he looks like; I'm going to call him out as an evil loser.
Skin color is one of the most irrelevant superficial traits there is. You don't choose that the way you might choose a religion or a political ideology. It's an accident of birth and has zero bearing on WHO YOU ARE. Anyone of any "race" can choose to be a positive force or a negative one; a good person or an archator. No one is locked into a particular path because of their skin color, their ethnicity, or where they were born.
An evil loser isn't one of "my people" even if he looks exactly like me. We have nothing of importance in common.
Racism is stupid and evil, and so is anti-gun bigotry. Racists and anti-gun bigots are left grasping at straws, while better people look at them like they are freaks.
Imagine being so useless that you care more about the "race" of a murderer than about his actions. Getting giddy at the thought that this one doesn't look like your relative isn't a win.
Imagine wanting regular people to be helpless when confronted by evil, or imagining they should be forced to wait for the Blue Line Mafia to finally arrive to draw chalk lines and "save them". All because you hate guns more than you care about people- of any "race".
The racist anti-gun bigots should be ashamed, and probably would be if they were smarter.
That the evil loser took time out of his murder spree to shoot Tesla vehicles tells you everything you need to know about his motivation. Yeah, it was at least partly political (Politics makes people stupid and, usually, at least a bit evil).
When I did a "search" for the incident, I had to go halfway down the page before it even mentioned or showed the hero.
When I specified I wanted news about the hero, it kept pairing photos of him in his shooting stance with the words "Idaho shooter causes multiple fatalities". Not clarifying that this man wasn't the shooter, but the hero who saved lives with his gun.
It feels intentional.
Because it is.
I've noticed the anti-gun bigots are really mad over this incident- not at the evil loser, but at the good guy and his gun. They are clearly signaling that they are also evil losers. And they v*te.
I can see it. I'm sure you can see it, too.
Those who are deep into it- hypnotized by it- can't see it. Reality is an inconvenience to their ideologies, so it will be ignored as though it doesn't exist.
New "truths" will replace reality in their minds. Untrue "truths" that make them more comfortable, but don't equip them to live in the real world very well, even as they try to make the real world operate as though their dishonest "truths" are reality.
They'll hate you for rejecting their "truths". But that's fine with me.
It's still a lie that anyone has the right to govern another, that taxation isn't theft, that cops are the good guys, that spyware makes you safe, that only government should have guns, and that democracy is a good thing.
It's almost amazing to watch them twist and turn, trying to force reality to bend to their wishes.
It is!
Just watch:
I oppose Trump's wars, his obsession with "America's greatest ally", his tariffs and associated lies, his "law enforcement" fetish, his continuation of generational anti-gun bigotry (while pretending he's different), his border crackdown, and his strange religious hypocrisy. I oppose theocracy of any sort, governments of any variety, and cultures that normalize treating people as property or rightsless children. I oppose spyware watching people to see if they can be caught committing a "crime". I oppose pretending government has "rights", can own property, or make up policies. I oppose all this and other things too numerous to list.
And I can say all this without rainbow-colored hair, a single facial greebly, making abortion a rite of passage to be checked off the bucket list, or "gender" pronouns in my bio.
More importantly, I can say it without supporting Palestine (or any other State or quasi-state), and without coddling the behavior of government-imported third-worlders who prefer crime to fair trade and mutual consent.
I can say it without believing that people who have shown they have no intention to stop archating should be given chance after chance to change (or be kept safe from their next intended victim's weapon, in a cage, at my expense!).
I can say it without advocating socialism/communism; without having a democracy fetish and believing that v*ting is a right. Without hating rich people or successful businesses. Without pretending that taxation is anything other than aggressive extortion at gunpoint. Without supporting Democrat politicians who are just as bad as the Republicans, but in slightly different ways.
"Right" and "Left" are two sides of the same cow pie, but far less useful. You don't need to climb a lightning rod or jump down a well to signal you're on a "side". You just need to respect liberty and defend it from all archators, liars, and censors.
I'm conservative. I believe there are some things worth conserving, such as liberty, some aspects of some cultures, and good ethical principles. There are good things about the past that I believe should be preserved.
I'm liberal. I believe in respecting the liberty of others. I believe in the goodness of overflowing generosity and kindness.
I'm a progressive. I believe progress can be good, as long as it doesn't sacrifice the rights of the individual. There is potential in the future that should be explored.
I'm an individual. I believe society is nothing without the individuals who comprise it. The individual is the smallest minority; the only one that counts.
I'm a sentinel. I believe in the right to address aggressors quickly, harshly, and with finality. On a one-to-one basis, at the scene of the attack without getting government involved.
I am an outlaw. I have zero respect for counterfeit "laws" or any rules that violate the natural rights of humans.
I'm a collectivist. I believe cooperation is good and useful because there are things no individual can do alone. If you're forced to participate, it isn't cooperation, but slavery.
You may have noticed I'm using those words differently than the way the toxic factions associated with those words generally use them. So be it. Do as you will, but don't be toxic.
I agree.
You have a right to form a government.
You have a right to own and to carry weapons, including firearms.
You have no right to impose your government on others against their will.
Just like you have no right to start shooting randomly into a crowd of people.
You have a responsibility to govern yourself, but no right to govern others. You have no right to force your government on others, even if they refuse to take that responsibility upon themselves. (In that case, you have the right to defend yourself from them.)
You have a responsibility to stay armed so you can defend yourself and others, but you have no right to start shooting random people just because you have a right to "keep and bear arms". You also have no right to force others to own and carry weapons- even though it is their responsibility to do so.
V*ting, as an expression of your right to form a government, is the same sort of behavior as shooting random people as an expression of your right to own and to carry weapons. It's archation in both cases.
It's so predictable that anyone who doesn't expect it must be living in a cave.
I never trust them to make the smart or ethically correct choice, so I'm not disappointed. But I am disgusted.
Even a stopped clock is right once (or twice) every day. But government? Nope.
It's a stressful day for me. But I go anyway- I don't always avoid doing things outside my comfort zone. I think it's good exercise.
It was fine. Lots of food, and too many people. But I think I did well.
There's only one relative I can't bring myself to speak to. Years ago, back in the MySpace age, I had reached an agreement with his siblings to rent a house that their parents had lived in (their mom was in a nursing home). Everything was set, and I was happy because the house was far out of town- just like I prefer (or need).
But then this clown found out about the deal and chimed in. He didn't like my MySpace page. He said that because I was anti-government, I would be cooking meth in the home. So, since he was the eldest sibling, the deal was pulled out from under me at the last minute.
Yes, it was partly his property, but we had a deal.
It caused me problems and cost me. But he imagined himself the Good Guy in his white hat.
I'm still angry about it (if I see him). I sometimes wonder if he now realizes he was wrong, or if he even remembers breaking the deal. Either way, he's not worth my time. I never think about him unless I see him, and I only see him at these reunions. He can go in peace- as long as he goes.
Then they could mistake me for someone who is "closed-minded" and wants to control others. They would be wrong.
You have the right to perforate yourself in the cranium with a cordless hole puncher.
I'm not going to help you do so.
I'm not going to do it for you- except in self-defense or in defense of an innocent victim.
I'm not going to make you feel better by encouraging you to do so.
If you ask my opinion, I'll tell you not to do it.
I may even hurt your feelings if you whine about me not supporting your desire to harm yourself (or others). Yes, I'll probably tell you it's a stupid thing to do.
The same goes for many other socially popular methods of self-harm.
I oppose legislation violating your right to harm yourself, whatever your chosen method. (For that matter, I oppose ALL legislation.) It's none of the State's business or concern. That's not the same thing as thinking you should do harmful things to yourself. Those are completely different issues.
I'll stand up for your right to do something I think is stupid or self-destructive. Just don't think I'm going to participate or keep my opinion to myself.
I had wanted to make a knife sheath out of rawhide for a while, but had never done it.
Rawhide is tough to work with.
But I needed a distraction this past week, so I dug out some rawhide, made a pattern for a sheath for a Russell’s Green River Hunter knife, and got to work.
It took a few days for the rawhide to dry and give me the final results, but I think it worked well. I like how it turned out.
This town may be threatening to impose a lot more property rules on the residents. Seeking to punish anything they subjectively don't want to see. Things like "disrepair", "clutter", and so forth.
I overheard two people talking about this, and one of them- from another town- said about her town, "I wish there were more rules". Then went on to complain about a neighbor who uses his property in a way that she doesn't approve of. She is burdened by what she sees when looking in that direction.
The one from here was practically salivating over all the potential violations she can see around town, saying, "They won't be getting away with this anymore".
This attitude disgusts me.
People have a right to use their property as they see fit- as long as doing so doesn't violate someone else's REAL rights to life, liberty, and property. Being offended by seeing something isn't a violation of your rights. It's a character problem.
"But it brings down property values." Good. Then property taxes will be lower.
There's hardly a house in town that wouldn't be targeted for one thing or another, mine included. And since it's subjective, there's really no way to anticipate what's going to get under the mayor's saddle. We've gone through various enforcement obsessions, where the current rulers get tough on one ridiculous thing or another for a year or so, until they pick something else to be up in arms about, and forget about the previous emergency enforcement situation.
I'm already mad at the town rulers for vandalizing two streets this past week by installing "speed bumps". What's next? Flock spyware?
If the town does go through with it, I will be photographing every "violation" at the mayor's property and putting it online. Yes, I will go to war.
It's a tragedy to see.
I just wish there was a way to avoid being collateral damage during their carnival of self-destruction.
However, I believe everyone has the right to be irresponsible... in certain ways. By this I mean, not all irresponsibility automatically violates someone else.
But no one has the right to violate others in an attempt to avoid the personal consequences of their own irresponsibility.
That’s where I see so many go wrong. Including most of those who support, pass, and enforce "laws" designed to punish irresponsibility.
It's completely beyond them why anyone would oppose those things. (Some feel the same about the spyware.)
It doesn't matter how clearly you explain. Some say they supposedly "hate government", too.
They have a deep-seated desire to "respect" those who are the greatest danger to their liberty. A much greater threat than anyone in any other country.
In TV and movies, there are good cops and good military pawns. That's called fiction. Many people fall for the propaganda because they can't distinguish between reality and fiction.
I blame govschooling and the media.
Yes, I realize some of those government personnel were fooled into joining. Some were pressured and couldn't resist. Some didn't see another path. Some needed the money. Some thought it would make them respected. They were innocent victims... at first.
Some wanted to do good. They failed.
Some craved the power they saw coming from such a position- either immediately or down the line. Those are the truly evil ones.
The harsh reality is that they are all hurting, not helping. They are empowering the state by remaining on the "job". That's not an ethical thing to do. It doesn't earn my respect or my thanks. Please quit!
I'm not sure how you can get one without the other.
Plus, I realize the things I see as the annoyances are likely to be someone else's wonders of technology.
Because I can be the same way about some things.
For example, I hate manual transmissions in cars, while most "car people" love them. Maybe that's because I'm not a car person, and I just want vehicles to get me where I need to go with the least hassle possible- and I don't need to feel like I am controlling every little function. It's probably why I'm not too opposed to self-driving cars, while being suspicious of the technology making that possible.
One thing I've never felt this way about is guns. I love everything from iron and wood matchlocks to full autos in polymer and stainless alloys. Each has its place. I wouldn't want to depend on a matchlock for self-defense, even though I might enjoy shooting them for fun. (I've never actually shot anything more "primitive" than a flintlock, though.)
I wouldn't want a "smart gun" with biometrics, just like I wouldn't want a car with the same thing. I have no desire to be vetted by a gun or a car; judged "worthy" or "unworthy" of operating either one. That's one of those modern annoyances I hate, and that those who want to control us are pushing for.
I'm willing to do without any technology that gets too intrusive. In that case, the old things are probably better for me, even if less advanced. Plus, the old things have their own charm, and sometimes, getting acquainted with the less advanced stuff can make you appreciate the modern stuff a little more. Until you've had to make fire under primitive conditions, you won't appreciate Bic lighters- or an electronic lighter- as much. But that's because a lighter is a modern advancement, not a modern annoyance.
Appreciate the differences, and find your own lines between the two. I think it will make you a more well-rounded individual.
Or, that's my take on it.
No matter how bad it is for the rest of us.
People get tired of fighting, they can't keep watching, and government intends to have its way with us.
I'm not sure what I can do about it, other than change my attitude and accept that this is the way it is at this time, and keep reminding people that there's a better way.
Is the problem internal to me? Or is there a real danger that I need to be aware of? Statists would say- and have- that it's my problem. That this is just how it is, and if I don't get on board, I'm going to be steamrolled.
But they'll lie and try to brainwash you into believing that's the reason they do it.
No one ever surveils you for your own good.
But they'll lie and try to brainwash you into believing that's the reason they do it.
No one ever governs you for your own good.
But they'll lie and try to brainwash you into believing that's the reason they do it.
And far too many people- usually the loudest, most ignorant minority (there's a strong correlation there)- will fall for it and cheer to have it imposed on us all.