Donaldson Cousins - Growing Up Blessed

I recently helped my mom publish a book about a branch of our ancestors. It is called "Donaldson Cousins - Growing Up Blessed". She compiled the book from stories her cousins sent her, along with a lot of old pictures and some recipes.

The Frontier lasted longer here than in many places, so some of those things are interesting. As are the old pictures of that era.

There is a lot more religion/Christianity in the book than I can really stomach, but that's the lifestyle choice/orientation of my relatives.

Some events I lived through even crop up in later stories- particularly the Easter Blizzard of 1970.

If you are interested in personal accounts of life on the dry plains of the western Texas panhandle during the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and beyond, or if you know someone who might be, check it out.

"Home" again.

I just got back from a week of vacation time (tagging along with my parents). Returned to "Galt's Gulch" for a short visit while I was in the neighborhood.

Ahhhh! Nice!

Did you miss me?

I'll have a tale from the road... or maybe a couple. Stay tuned.

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Passing laws doesn't solve problem

Passing laws doesn't solve problem

(My Clovis News Journal column for June 8, 2012. I think I would have called this one "Biased toward liberty" or something, but...)

Most of the loudest voices in America are biased toward socialism and collectivism- even if they call them by other names. They slant everything they report so that it shows businesses and successful entrepreneurs in the worst possible light. They widely report innocents killed by gun-wielding thugs, but ignore the innocent lives saved because someone ignored a "gun law" and acted with bravery. They praise the collective while condemning the individual. They denigrate private property rights and liberty with their every word. Worse, they pretend they have no bias while doing it.

Everyone is biased. It's just an unavoidable fact of life, but one that is not necessarily bad. I am biased toward liberty- the freedom to do anything that doesn't violate anyone else's identical rights. I might as well admit my bias since it is probably obvious. I am always going to come down on the side of individual liberty on every issue and defend it from those who try to belittle it or fritter it away. No matter what excuse they use.

Do I not care about people? I certainly do. It means I put people above the things people created. Things created by those who claim to be protecting people while draining their life from them. It means I see that "for the children" is used as justification to use those children as pawns now, and enslave them "for the good of future generations" when they grow up.

It isn't right to pick someone else's pocket or take food out of their children's mouths to support things I like. No matter how much of your own money you give away it ceases to be generosity the moment you offer to give away someone else's money. It then becomes theft.

I want to help the poor and the helpless. I recognize that everyone has rights that are identical and equal to the rights I have, and no one, and no group, has the authority to violate those rights for any reason. I want to protect the environment. I value education highly. I want to see honest businesses prosper in a truly free market. I want to help people keep their own property safe from theft and destruction. I don't want bad guys to have the upper hand when they target someone as a potential victim.

Government is not the best way to achieve any of those ends. In fact, it is the worst possible response, and probable root cause, to any problem that has been recognized. There has never been a problem solved by passing a law; only by repealing them.

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