Friday, March 12, 2010

Government 'requests'- The answer is always 'no'

Government 'requests'- The answer is always 'no'

The standard response to any government "request", demand, or threat should be a firm "No". Whether it is the census, a demand to comply with a new "law", or any other authoritarian nonsense.

Now, I realize it is hard to actually look a person in the eye and refuse to cooperate with them. I know from personal experience it is even hard to talk to a flesh-and-blood vampire of the State on the phone and refuse to cooperate when they are being desperately polite. Especially when that person is simply trying to do their job, and they think their job is "good" for society (even as it harms the individuals who comprise that society). You will be labeled a "troublemaker" and the simple-minded bureaucrat will not understand why you don't just give in. I'm certain it is the same in Albuquerque as it is everywhere else.

I don't judge anyone for doing what they feel they must. But I ask you to really think about it the next time you are presented with the choice to stand up for yourself or grovel on your knees. Because, really, there is no choice.

Speaking of the census; don't forget that there is no justification for it that passes the "baloney test". Read this again if you need a reminder.

Guns in restaurants

Guns in restaurants

Now that Governor Richardson has made it "legal" you may soon be dining in a restaurant, which serves some alcohol, next to someone carrying a concealed weapon; a situation which would have been utterly impossible under the old prohibition. Or, at least that is the government's story.

Sorry to disappoint the governor, but people have always carried into those restaurants anyway.
Both good people who understand the concept of "better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6" and bad guys who obviously have no ethical problem breaking laws which prohibit theft, murder, and other acts of aggression and who will never be stopped by a silly "law" prohibiting them from carrying a gun somewhere.

Notice, too, that attacking innocent people with that gun is still not permitted. Unless you are a LEO, of course, judging by the "Only Ones" news. In the world of real right and wrong, it's all about the act of aggression, not the tool you use.

Next time you are dining in a restaurant in Albuquerque, look around you. Is the person sitting at the next booth or table armed? By its very definition, if that person is carrying a concealed weapon, how would you know?

You have always had a basic human right which predates even the very first government ever imagined to own and to carry ("keep and bear") any weapon you think will help you survive an attack, regardless of any governmental wishes, restrictions, or "laws". Use it.
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ID "borrowing"?

A while back I had the odd experience of running across a MySpace profile which appears to be me, but which I didn't set up. That profile picture is my cartoonified self which I use frequently, and those are some of my links. Could the bad link to my blog have been the point of the whole thing? To phish information? Or could it have been an honest mistake in linking? Some info is obviously wrong. Here is my real MySpace profile.

I sent the other "me" a friend request, but I guess "I" haven't logged in since then. Very odd, indeed.

I'm not quite sure whether to be flattered or creeped out. At least the fake "me" hasn't posted anything (as far as I can see) that offends me or drags my reputation through the dirt (worse than I do on my own, I mean). I suppose it just goes to show the utility of googling yourself from time to time.