Don't make politician your leader

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 27, 2019)

It was once a common theme in science fiction humor for a flying saucer to land in front of witnesses, with Little Green Men coming out to say: "Take us to your leader".

If this happened to you, to whom would you take them?

Do you have a leader, and if so, who? Most people seem to think of a politician in this case-- perhaps a president-- but who in their right mind wants to follow a politician? Why would they?

It's similar to the mistake of looking to politicians as role models. No one who seeks political power is worthy to be your role model.

If you mistake a politician for a leader you will be led astray. You're better off on your own, even if you don't know for sure where you're going. Your own mistakes will not be as disastrous as the mistake of following a politician, even under the worst case scenario.

Politicians rarely lead. Their normal approach is to rule. If you doubt this, refuse to "follow" where a politician tells you to go. If you're allowed to take your own path without punishment, then perhaps the politician was also a leader. If, instead, threats of government violence result from your independence, you aren't dealing with a leader, but with a ruler.

You don't need a leader most of the time, if ever, and you never need to be ruled. You know your own life better than anyone else. Why follow someone who doesn't know where you need to go? Especially a person who probably can't even run their own life very well, as seems to always be the case with politicians, much less run everyone else's life successfully.

A leader will be on the front line when a threat is faced. Not hiding behind wave after wave of cannon fodder, nor sitting in an office getting reports and sending orders. If they send you into danger while they stay safe, facing nothing more deadly than the risk of losing the next election, they are not a leader.

I've never seen a politician I would want as my leader. You may feel differently. I wouldn't forbid you to follow whoever you like, nor force you to follow someone you didn't want to follow. I ask the same in return.

So if Little Green Men ever walk up and ask you to, "Take us to your leader", I hope you'll respond with, "That would be me. What can I do for you?"

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Pro-crime people

You can't be pro-police and anti-crime. If you say you are, you're lying.

I see this delusion all the time. People support the largest organized crime gang in existence-- the Blue Line Gang-- and pretend it's because they hate crime. That makes no sense whatsoever.

If you are pro-police you are pro-crime.

Sure, maybe you choose to be violated by the members of this crime gang instead of being violated by the members of a competing crime gang, but I don't see that as a plus.

Freelance gang members are generally seen as fair game during any attack. Shoot one and you might not be punished.
But shoot a Blue Line Gangster in self-defense and the power and violence of the government religion will be brought down on you.

People who support police are supporting crime. Much worse crime than that supported by any other crime supporters. When they claim otherwise they have zero credibility.

Speaking of the religion of government, have you seen this powerful video?

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Water preps pay off

Just a little note to mention something interesting.

A bit over 2 weeks ago was the windstorm that ripped away my shingles and knocked out the power for 15.5 hours. Well, Thursday afternoon the whole town (as far as I know) lost water when a water main burst and flooded part of town.

The water was back on Friday morning, but we are under a 72-hour "boil order" now. As if anyone would need to warn me to boil the water... But, I don't need their water. I'll make it on my stored water until Monday (if that's still when the boil order ends), easily. In fact, I've barely dipped into what I have stored.

I did tape off the faucets (as in the picture above) as a reminder to not use the tap water. Habits are hard to buck!

Twice, in two weeks (plus one day) I've relied on my "preps" to smooth over a situation that would have been worse if I hadn't prepared. Even my parents had stored water due to my advice.

Fun times!

UPDATE:
I should know better than to ever listen to government about anything. The incompetence is a standard feature. And, honestly, I wasn't trusting them much.
Monday the 72-hour boil order came to an end. I checked around and no one had heard any different. Just now (Tuesday, 7:30 pm), almost 2 days later, I find out they had extended it until tomorrow at noon-- unless they decide something different by then. Good job keeping the people informed, morons.

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Environmental impacts

Who is the problem: the person who drops an apple core in his yard or the person who keeps a tire fire going behind his house?

Why should the person who drops an apple core be punished while the guy with the tire fire gets a pass? Or, if not a "pass", at least doesn't get held to the same standards as the other guy.

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You don't get to avoid consequences

There are consequences to EVERY choice.

This is something I've said more times than I can count. Even the right choice will have consequences, and they won't all be good ones.

Yet, so many times I see people justifying support for archation by pointing out the consequences of choosing the other path. As if I'm pretending there won't be consequences if only you do the right thing. You don't get to magically avoid consequences just because you do what's right. That would be nice, but it's not reality.

There are consequences to being a libertarian.
There are consequences for being a bank robber.
There are consequences for working for the IRS.

Consequences are utterly inescapable, and you can't know for certain what the consequences will be. You can't make your decision based on concrete knowledge of what consequences will come from your choice, because you can't have concrete knowledge of every consequence you'll face.

If you comply with a counterfeit "law", there will be consequences.
If, instead, you defy the counterfeit "law"... there will be consequences. In the long run, you can't know which consequences will be worse. It's dependent on so many factors-- including luck.

If you take this job, there will be consequences.
If you turn down the job there will be other consequences.

If you v*te, there will be consequences.
If you decline to participate in going through the motions of choosing (or rejecting) a particular master there will be consequences.

The best you can do, in my opinion, is to not do things that make you feel guilty-- which make you feel like you can't live with yourself-- and let the pieces fall where they may.

For me that means I choose to not archate and I don't support those who do. As consistently as possible. And then deal with the consequences as they arise.

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No one owes "reparations"

Because it seems all the Left Statists who are wanting to be the next U.S. godfather of politics are jumping on the "reparations" bandwagon, I thought it might be a good time to repost something from last year.

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The odds are almost certain that some of my ancestors were enslaved by the ancestors of someone else sometime in the past. When do I get my "reparations" for this slavery?

Of course, the odds are just as good that some of my ancestors also enslaved the ancestors of someone else sometime in the past. I guess any "reparations" cancel out.

And I'm OK with that because I have never personally been enslaved (if you don't count the attempts to govern me) nor have I ever personally enslaved anyone. I'm against enslaving anyone for any reason... and always have been. Even the kinds of slavery the "majority" approves of.

Abolitionists like me carry no guilt over slavery which was committed in the past-- long before we were born-- and can't owe anyone for krimes (which were then legal and "moral", but never ethical) of the past which I didn't commit and don't support. It's ridiculous that anyone could believe otherwise.
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Gear post: Buck 501 and "odds and ends"

Click to enlarge

Finishing off the belt and its accessories.

To begin, there's my Buck 501 lockback knife. This is really the only piece in this post that counts as "gear".

My first wife gave this knife to me for my birthday sometime in the late 1980s. I've carried it pretty much daily since then. Only a year or so after I got it, a cow-orker borrowed it and tried to pry a button off a cash register and snapped off the tip. I forgave him but educated him on things NOT to do with a knife. I reshaped the blade and carried it in its damaged state until a couple of years ago. Then I sent it to Buck and got it repaired. Why didn't I do this sooner?

The knife is small, but I've found it the most useful knife size for most everyday tasks. I love my Buck 110, but it's clumsy for a lot of the things I do, so I always go back to this one.

This knife rides on my right side; the front-most belt accessory.

Of course, every good knife needs a good sheath. Unfortunately, all it gets is this sheath I made for it when it was new. I have re-stitched it a few times over the decades, but it is still holding up.

Then we have my belt buckle. It's hand-forged from iron in the mountainman style.

It's slightly over 2.5" in diameter. I either got it in the late 1980s or the early 1990s (the more I think about it, the less sure I am). It's not one of those things I think about much, it's just there and dependable.

I don't even remember where I got this buckle. Either at a mountainman rendezvous or through a buckskinner's catalog. It has outlasted at least 2 belts, and will probably outlast me.

Last, there's the belt keeper to control the end of the belt. I made it from the extra of the previous belt, back when I first got that one from Tandy Leather. It was still good so it got moved to this new belt a couple of years ago when the previous belt just got too stretched to keep wearing. (That belt is now a shoulder strap on a canvas bag I have.)

I suppose the belt should get an honorable mention, too. It's just a regular strap of unfinished vegetable tanned leather, 1.5" wide. Oiled occasionally (as are all the leather belt accessories).

And that finishes up what's around my hips. Next? Maybe what's in my vest.

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The root of the problems

When I have problems with my fellow humans it's invariably when I stray from libertarian principles.

This was true even before I knew anything of libertarian principles. Back before I first heard of "libertarians" (from a statist) as people who "liked drugs and hated taxes". And yes, that was the first thing I remember hearing someone say about these people called "libertarians.

When I did first hear of them I thought they sounded like crazy people. Not anyone I could ever relate to. Of course, I was probably around 15 or 16 years old, with a poorly functioning prefrontal cortex in my immature brain.

I had the same reaction 10 or so years later when I first became aware of modern mountainmen or "buckskinners".

Yet, I can still see how my problems with other humans back then were caused by me not respecting their rights and their self-ownership.

I've never been the most social person. But dealing with others has gotten a lot easier since then, even as I've become more aware of the violations committed by others. And when something does go awry it's usually easy to see where I failed myself by stepping outside what I have a right to do. I hate when that happens, but it's educational and I hope I learn from it.

Has your experience been similar?

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Courts have institutionalized revenge

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 20, 2019)

I'll never understand how the output of the government's court system passes for "justice". If you ever find justice in a courtroom it will be a fluke; an accident.

Justice doesn't require government, or even laws. Those only obstruct justice.

Justice is the attempt to return a victim to their pre-violation condition. Justice is made unnecessary by self-defense, which nips crime in the bud. Justice is mainly restitution, if self-defense fails.

The state is never the victim, and is never owed compensation from a wrongdoer; only the individual human victim or their survivors are owed.

The right to defend yourself against bad guys does not come from laws. Laws are not what creates a debt from an act of aggression or properly violation, and they don't create your right to restitution. You have those rights whether or not laws agree.

Punishment isn't justice. I understand the desire to see a person suffer when their actions have hurt you. I've been there. But that's not justice, it's revenge; justice's polar opposite. Government courts-- the misnamed "justice system"-- are founded on ritualized revenge.

Maybe you believe revenge is justified, and if so, remember this if you're ever on the other side. I don't believe revenge is justifiable, even though I have personally wanted revenge a few times in my life. I was wrong. If you embrace revenge through government courts, you are also wrong.

This doesn't mean people "just get away with it". Could you continue to treat someone like a good person, knowing they did wrong and never tried to make it right? Justice is your job. You can't pawn it off on anyone else.

You have the right to shun unrepentant violators. If not for government's laws you would be free to shun them to death-- to refuse to sell them food, housing, energy, clothing, or any other necessity-- and to convince others to join you. Those who intentionally harm people but won't take full responsibility aren't worthy of your consideration or help. Leave them to the wolves. You would be well within your rights, and their cold, lonely death would be an acceptable substitute for justice.

If, however, you choose to shun someone who made a tragic mistake, admitted it and tried to make things right, I would probably not join you. Mistakes are human. Without the intent to cause harm they can't be crimes and shouldn't be treated as crimes, even though they can hurt just as much.

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Pigeons do one thing right

A few days ago I saw a small flock of pigeons flying beside the road. All the pigeons were the same standard pigeon color, except for one. He was light brown with white wings-- beautiful, for a pigeon.

The different pigeon was still part of the flock. He wanted to belong. The others were fine with him belonging. Because he wanted to belong to the flock he didn't make an issue of his difference. He didn't demand special treatment. He didn't demand his own "space" because he was different. He didn't segregate himself.

The others didn't make an issue, either. They weren't trying to drive him away or leave him behind. It didn't seem as if any pigeon noticed any difference.

They were all just pigeons going about their pigeony business.

Pigeons have an advantage over humans in at least one area. They don't have religion (including of the political kind) to artificially divide them. Because of this advantage, they don't come to believe that any pigeon which is capable of pigeoning is somehow a lesser pigeon. They don't believe any other pigeon owes them anything or should be responsible for them. They all find their own food. No pigeon feels guilt because of it's color or pattern.

Yes, a different pigeon may attract predators. That's just nature. If it happens, it sucks for that pigeon, but it's not the other pigeons' fault.

There is still some safety in numbers, even if you're different, as long as you don't single yourself out and turn the flock against you.

I'll fly beside you as your equal, as long as you don't turn into something else and try to become predatory.

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Pinned-- (Fund)raise the roof (Update #3, more pics)

(Updates at the bottom)
Yesterday's wind storm did me some damage. Not as bad as the local building pictured above, but my shingles are done. On the house, where I've never had roof problems.

I'm going to have to come up with the deductible* to get that fixed. If I'm not mistaken, that's $1500, and I'm not sure if I then have to pay a percentage of the repairs or not. I'll be talking to the insurance people soon, although I expect they'll be very busy for a while. It was quite a day.

Use the PayPal link PayPal.me/dullhawk

Please share this anywhere you believe would help.

I'm posting this from my phone because the power hasn't been restored yet, so it may take a while to hear from me. I'm ok because I'm a prepper.

I'll update this post and answer questions once I have power and internet again. Until then, thanks.

UPDATE: Just got power back. It was off 15.5 hours, which is probably a record for me. I actually enjoy power outages, though.

Yesterday was the shingle-apocalypse, and not just for me. I saw shingles flying past most of the day. I once looked outside just as a house a block or so over had 6 or so shingles take flight. It looked like those videos of a tornado hitting a house, but without a tornado, and with only shingles. My yard is covered in shingles, but most are probably not mine. I'm assuming mine are somewhere east of here. Oklahoma, perhaps.

I drove around the area yesterday evening and there is a lot of shingle damage, and quite a few broken trees. And, the wall on that one old building collapsed as you can see in the picture above. I even saw some metal roofing peeled back on some old agricultural buildings.

Oh, and the "arms" of the railroad crossing blew off, too.

There was no "storm". No clouds or rain or anything like that; just wind. Lots and lots of wind. With some dirt.

In the early afternoon I walked the 7 blocks to my parents' house-- straight into the wind. That was probably the hardest time I've ever had walking. I was stumbling and taking the occasional step backwards to keep from falling. I'm sure I looked drunk. I couldn't keep my duster snapped. The wind kept pulling it open. I had a hand on my hat and was mostly staring straight down. I would glance ahead frequently, but my face would be pelted with gravel and other debris. I needed to see ahead to dodge shingles and other projectiles. It was interesting. My mouth was gritty for a while after I got home.

I'll be out doing some cleanup as soon as it's a little warmer. At least there's not supposed to be any serious wind today.

*Update #2-- I spoke to the insurance agent today. She said the deductible just gets subtracted from any payout, so there's no out of pocket there... however... with depreciation and such she thinks it could still be very expensive for me to get the repairs needed. How expensive? I'll see once the adjuster makes it to the house for a look and does his thing.

Update #3, pictures--

Here's what most of the yard looked like:

Notice the shingles scattered about. They probably weren't all mine. As I've said, lots of houses in town lost shingles and I saw many of them flying past my house all day.

I got up on the roof and made pictures of the damage.

My neighbor says the "official" wind speeds were in the 70 MPH range, with gusts around 100. I don't know, because I don't listen to the "news", but it was impressive. It was like a dry hurricane.

I got a call from the company who assigns the adjusters, with his contact information and an assurance he'll call within 48 hours. I'm now waiting for him to call and make an appointment. I assume they are very busy.



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"Tax debt"

There's no more ridiculous a phrase than "tax debt".

You can no more have a "tax debt" than you can be in debt to a mugger who didn't get all the money he wanted from you during the mugging.

Or in debt to a rapist who didn't get to violently dominate you exactly as he wished.

Or in debt to a disappointed would-be murderer because you didn't die after he stabbed you 37 times. You don't owe him your life.

You are not in debt to any archator who didn't get all he wanted from you. To claim otherwise is insane.

"Taxation" IS theft! Even if you don't like hearing it and don't want to admit it. The only debt involved in "taxation" is owed by those who "tax", not by their victims.

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Statist misrepresents Laissez-faire

Here's another statist lie, paraphrased for brevity:

"Sorry, libertarians. You are wrong. We know laissez-faire doesn't work, because it means there are no rules. You have to have some government, just not centralized control, because that doesn't work, either."

Yes, I heard one make that argument recently. He's wrong.

All government is centralized control. Yes, there are differing amounts. But if there is no centralized control it's not government as people understand government. It would be something else. Centralized control-- any and all centralized control-- is cancer. There's no way to keep it from metastisizing.

Laissez-faire doesn't mean there are no rules. The rules are just not imposed by a coercive, thieving gang of molesters. Control, in this case, is provided by social interactions. By the market. By self-interest. "Bottom-up" (which works) rather than "top-down" (which doesn't).

To make the claim the statist made is terribly ignorant. He probably believes himself to be very enlightened.

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Political predators

I think there may have been a little confusion about what a political predator is.

To be clear, anyone who uses the political means instead of the economic means is a political predator.

Cops are merely a subset of political predator. As are child molesters, congressvermin, muggers, rapists, presidents, kidnappers, Supreme Courtjesters, burglars, bureaucrats, and murderers.

To distinguish between the various subsets of political predator gives some of them too much credit. They are all bad guys to some degree.

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Gear post: Phone holster

Click to embiggen

My phone holster is actually my oldest piece of gear, although it didn't start out as a phone holster.

It is made of leather (duh!) and measures 6.5" tall, 4" wide, and 2.25" thick.
It sits on my right side between the double pouch (behind it) and the sheath for my Buck 501.

It shows its age.

I made this pouch in the mid-1980s as a way to carry necessary items while working at a pet store. I carried a calculator, scissors, a pen, razor blades, and half a hacksaw blade, plus maybe a few other odds and ends that I'm forgetting. I used this pouch for years, and when I no longer worked at a pet store, the pouch ended up tossed in a box with other leather items and scraps.

When I got a new phone a couple of years ago it needed a holster because it was bigger than the previous phone (I'm not one to leave my phone lying around, or to try to keep it in a pocket). I went digging in the leather scrap box to come up with leather to make a new pouch and ran across this one. It fit perfectly!

I did add belt loops; originally I just tied it to the belt with leather thongs because I was constantly taking it off when I wasn't at work. That was no longer necessary, so loops were a better idea. As you can see, it is also tied in place.

I put a leather divider inside it, for keeping the back-up battery (seen above with the "Time's Up" sticker on it) separate from the phone. That was the only internal change.

The internal side pocket where I used to keep the short hacksaw blade is where I now keep a USB cord, and I have adapters (in the little ziplock bag-- for sharing a charge with other people) under the back-up battery. The little pocket where I used to keep razor blades is a good spot to store yet another P-38 can opener.

It has a Browncoats "Independents" patch on the flap. Frivolity!

The button is a cross-section of deer antler. I replaced the button loop about a week ago when the original one finally broke. The new loop is made from boot-top leather.

This is probably my most complex pouch. I know this isn't exactly primitive stuff here. I adjust and adapt to changing technology when it suits me. Before cell phones, people would joke with me about being the MountainMan with the cordless phone hooked on his belt at work. It's a concession to the modern world; one that doesn't really bother me because I know I can do without. Like lighters and toilet paper.

Part of my philosophy of life is to help other people. I have given other people a charge in an emergency, using the USB adapters. I once gave a P-38 to a guy who needed one. I carry extra stuff just for this reason. All because I'm one of those selfish, independent, individualistic libertarians you hear about.

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Worse than sexual predators

It seems that every day there's yet another sexual predator exposed. Good. They need to be exposed and stopped.

The problem is, there's an even worse kind of predator; a type which doesn't have to be exposed because so few people recognize what they do as predation that it isn't hidden. It is carried out in the open, and many people even admire them for it.

Few see it as wrong. But that doesn't mean it isn't wrong.

Once upon a time, few people saw slavery as wrong. But it was.

These predators of whom I speak are those who use politics "legally". All of them. They are political predators and they are molesting you and your loved ones right this minute.

Political predators are bad guys who need to be exposed-- by having the veil of legitimacy stripped from them-- and they need to be stopped.

The thing with sexual predators is that sex itself isn't inherently wrong. It can be consensual and mutually voluntary. Sexual predators are bad because they skip the consent and use the political means against their victims. Just like other political predators do.

Politics can never be truly consensual and mutually voluntary. Otherwise, politics wouldn't be necessary. You could simply agree to a relationship. Politics is never like this. Politics is non-sexual (usually) rape. Politics is slavery. Politics is theft. Politics is the realm of the predator, exclusively. Good people use the economic means when dealing with others; bad people use the political means. Anyone who uses the political means is a political predator.

Yes, this means muggers, thieves, rapists, murderers, kidnappers, and all those people are, at the foundation, political predators. But so are people who aren't considered necessarily bad guys by the public at large. They are the "legal" political predators.

Police are political predators.
Politicians are political predators.
Bureaucrats who work in government are political predators.

Do you want these people around your kids? Or yourself? I sure don't.

Stop giving political predators a pass they don't deserve.

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There's no 'one-size-fits-all' for living

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 13, 2019)

How much of what you want government to do is based on your emotions? On your feelings about what you wish other people would do or believe they should do, and your willingness to use government violence to make it happen?

If it's more than "none" it's too much.

I recently ran across a quote by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt in which he said, "Some people are less emotional, more reasoned. We call these people 'libertarians'. There's actually data on this-- that libertarians are lower on emotion, higher on reasoning ability. They have worse relationships; they care about people less, but they are better able to just reason through a lot of data."

Fortunately, he's not quite right.

Libertarians are not less emotional, but-- at our best-- we are less controlled by our emotions. I can hate drug abuse and still understand I have no right to use government violence to impose drug prohibition. As long as I don't let emotion overpower reason I won't advocate harming someone who isn't violating anyone's life, liberty, or property.

Libertarians know a crime requires the intent to harm. An accident might result in the same harm as a crime would, but without an intention to violate someone there is no crime. Emotions triggered by the event might try to steer us along a different path, but it would be a wrong path. A debt is often created by an accident, but again, a debt isn't a crime. To confuse these things creates tragedy for individuals and sickness in society.

He's also wrong about libertarians caring less about people.  I care about people very much. This is why I don't accept any justification for violating them. How can staunchly respecting people's natural human rights be mistaken for not caring?

It's not "caring" to use taxation to steal from some in order to fund government programs which keep people impoverished. It's not caring to force people to live as you believe they should,

So would I support government if only libertarians, with their superior ability to reason, were in charge? Not at all. Even those who are better able to reason have no right to govern anyone but themselves.

No matter how well a person can reason through data, they can never know all the circumstances of everyone else's life as thoroughly as each individual can know their own life. There is no "one-size-fits-all" way to feed a family, dress, or live... or to govern. It's foolish to pretend otherwise.

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Mistakes and wrongs

I've made so many mistakes over the course of my life. And I've committed so many wrongs.

Many of my mistakes haunt me when I think of them. Each one undoubtedly set my life on a different course. When I think of them I sometimes want to punch myself in the face and mutter "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

If the "many-worlds" interpretation of quantum physics is correct, there are countless versions of me out there who didn't make the same mistakes I've made (they made other mistakes). I wonder what those versions are experiencing as a result. What mistakes did I avoid making?

And when I think of the wrongs I've committed... if I believed in punishment rather than justice, as so many do, I would probably kill myself.

I never did anything like robbery, rape, kidnapping, or murder, but wrong enough that I wish I hadn't done them.

One good thing is that I haven't committed as many wrongs since my early 20s or so. I'm sure I've committed smaller wrongs, but nothing I dwell on. I've focused more on making mistakes since then.

No matter what anyone else thinks of me, I'm my own worst critic. But the cats love me.

I do think I'm getting better with the passing years. Coming to understand rights and responsibilities was a big part of that improvement. The best anyone can do is to be a better person than year-ago you was.

I also have to remember that in very real ways, I am not that same person I was. Not only have all my cells been replaced since then, but my mind has other contents. I'm a different person than I was when I was 20 or 30, and certainly different than when I was a teen. At some point you've got to let the past be the past and move forward. Remember and enjoy the good parts of the past; let go of and forgive yourself for the bad parts. That will help make you a better person, too.

Now, if I could really convince myself of this and put it into action. It's a process.

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Disavow and flee while you can!

I'm no fan of president Trump. It's sad that I have to say this first for fear of being misunderstood. To be clear: I need no president nor representative of any kind. I don't need your government or your "laws" or your enforcers. Keep them to yourself if you insist on having them. They are worth less than worthless.

But, back to the point... I just roll my eyes at how it seems to be dangerous to have worked with Trump, for him, or to know him. The Left Statists in government seem determined to punish (and cage) anyone who has been associated with him. They can't seem to get him, so they'll go after anyone who has ever been around him for more than 10 minutes.

I can't take any of it seriously. It's just a broken-down circus, without anything even marginally entertaining, at this point.

But it makes me glad I didn't ever meet Trump-- I don't want to have a target on my back.

I wonder if those going after Trump's associates realize they just look like witch hunters of "Olden Tymes". I'm tired of them and their clowning and I wouldn't pay any attention to them, but "news" keeps leaking in.

I wonder how they would have liked it if the "other side" [sic] had gone after everyone who was ever associated with Obama in the same way. (I would bring up Hillary's-- and Bill's-- associates, but they seem to have their own form of "bad luck" that has nothing to do with her opponents.) I guess this means it's open season on any future president's acquaintances. From now on. If you know someone with political aspirations, get away from them now!

The Left Statists need to stop acting like sore losers. But that's kind of the Statist Way, so I don't see it happening.

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Reminder: I need roof help, badly! and fast!

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Cops are always DWI

There is no such thing as a police officer driving without being impaired. Not ever.

They are always under the influence of their imagined "authority". It's a powerful drug and it causes them to drive erratically. Their permanent condition of intoxication kills innocent people-- and some of the guilty cops, too.

It causes them to engage in high-speed chases. But when the cop kills innocent people he and his gang-- The Blue Line Gang-- will blame the person they were chasing. This is a filthy lie.

It causes them to make U-turns in unsafe conditions-- one of the local cops wrecked the cop car he drives (pictured above before the wreck) and seriously injured a random motorist a year or so back by doing just this in order to catch someone "speeding" a little-- something much less dangerous than what the cop did.

It causes them to believe they can text, make phone calls, and use their onboard computer terminals (to try to find reasons to stop and molest other motorists) more safely than lesser people like us. They can't. Their "training" doesn't make them superhuman.

Every cop is a junkie. No cop should be behind the wheel of a car under any circumstances. Never. But most certainly never under the excuse of "policing traffic". They are worse than any problem they pretend to fight. They are dangerous hypocrites. Get them off the roads, and keep them off the roads.

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Reminder: I could really use some help, including help to cover the $1500 deductible on my roof after the wind yesterday removed many shingles. As I write this the wind is trying to remove my roof, too. I'm hoping it fails to do so.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Gear post: Double pouch

Click to enlarge

This pouch was almost completely remade recently. It was originally made of leather from an old boot top (you can see the old version in this pic from an old post). It was too thin and wore out after only 6 or so years. So late last year I made it again with thicker leather, reusing only the old back piece with the belt loop.

It sits on my right side, usually snugged right behind my phone holster-- it's separated a bit in the pictures so you can see it better.

This pouch was first made as a way to get some extra bulk out of my vest pockets. I no longer carry the whetstone which was in the original version. I have plenty of sharpening tools without it.

When I remade the pouch I was pleased with myself for figuring out how to make the body out of one piece of leather: with the two pouches, and that little space between where a pill case can sit. I usually use newspaper to make a pattern and then tweak it a little as I cut and sew the leather. It worked well this time.

I access this pouch the least frequently of all my pouches. You can probably see why, by the contents. But I'd rather have something and not need it than need it and not have it.

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Reminder: I could really use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

The annual mass delusion involving clocks

Did you remember to mis-set your clocks as mandated?

I did.

As someone who is not a morning person, and has no interest in being one, it aggravates me greatly. If you want to get up an hour earlier, open your business an hour earlier and close it an hour earlier, go ahead. No one is stopping you. Just leave me out of your fantasy. Why demand everyone else do it, too?

In the past I have refused to go along with the silliness. It didn't work well. But I still hate the delusion that you can "save" daylight by mis-setting your clocks. It's a lie. Does it prime people to accept other lies?

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Reminder: I could really use some "saving" help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Market always superior to government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 6, 2019)

Last week a local business delivered to my home-- even though I didn't ask and it wasn't expected. Just to be nice and to make a good impression. And it worked!

This reminded me of the difference between market services and government "services" and why I always prefer the market.

With a market business, if I don't like their service I can choose to not use them. I can use a competitor or do without. They know you have a choice, so If they want to stay in business they can't poison their customers.

If I don't shop at a particular store, they won't send armed employees to my door to force themselves on me. I'm not forced to send them money regularly whether or not I shop with them. I can even go into competition with them. They can't do anything about it unless-- through cronyism-- they use the violence of government against me. If they take that path, they are no longer part of the market, but have joined forces with the coercive sector: the State.

With government "services" there is no real choice. No matter how bad they are, I am forced to pay-- even if I never use them. When you end up facing a surly, incompetent, entitled bureaucrat you're forced to pay this employee regardless. Often I am compelled to use a "service" I don't want. If I try to opt out I will be attacked by armed government employees-- maybe not right away, but if I fail to comply with their escalating threats it will happen. Their employees know this and it shows.

Sometimes you'll get a caring government employee-- more common in the less coercive branches-- but niceness can't make up for the lack of choice.

Occasionally you'll be allowed to choose a non-government alternative, but you are still forced to pay for the unwanted government option. You can use a private school, but the government will claim this doesn't mean you can stop funding the "public" school you neither need nor want. You will pay twice.

A business in the voluntary market can't treat customers the way government services can. Not if it wants to survive.

The market will always be superior. The only reason people believe they need government police but not government grocery stores is that-- so far-- groceries aren't distributed by government. If something as critical as food can be handled by the market, lesser jobs like policing would be a snap.

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Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com

When I don't take my own advice

Less than 24 hours after saying how I try to be considerate, I did something inconsiderate. And I don't even really feel bad about it.

Yes, I have room for improvement.

In the middle of listening to someone complaining to a captive audience about "Mexicans" (and the unwillingness of the local mayor to kick them out of a house in the neighborhood), I piped up and explained to his audience "He hates Mexicans".

He said "No I don't, I just..." and went on explaining how he only doesn't like them when they live in a house near him, and there are "too many" of them in that house. So I said "Oh, he only hates them when they leave Mexico and come here". This was met with another denial and more justification.

I pointed out that the people he was complaining about have never done anything to harm him in any way. They are polite, don't cause trouble, and are hard workers. He countered that their being there a few months out of the year hurts his property value-- all the property values in the area, for that matter. I asked if he was planning to try to sell his house. "No."

I said then "lowered property values helps you by lowering the property taxes". He went on and on about how it doesn't, describing how people had paid "too much" for a nearby house several years ago, and thus raised everyone's property values and propped up the "tax" rates. I pointed out that in that case, it obviously hadn't hurt his property value any.

I've mentioned the problems I have with a few specific Hispanics/Mexicans. But only those who are violating my property rights. Others aren't violating me and I have no problem with them-- and the point of them being Hispanic/Mexican is really irrelevant (I just mentioned that because of the fact it makes me feel racist to dislike them and their violations while noticing their cultural roots) because I would dislike anyone doing the same. I know for certain he wouldn't feel the same if the house was occasionally occupied by "whites" rather than "Mexicans".

So, yeah, I was probably a jerk. But I've listened to this too many times, and I'm tired of it. But, I'll try to do better next time.

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Reminder: It's probably inconsiderate of me to mention it, but I could really use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Being considerate

I stopped by a fast food place earlier and witnessed a couple of inconsiderate individuals. I believe it was the manager's son/stepson and a friend. Not doing anything too disruptive, but just a basic lack of consideration for others. They were standing in the outer doorway, holding the door open (and thus letting the dirt-filled wind blow into the place every time the inner door opened) and blocking customers trying to enter and leave. Just so they could stand in that particular spot and talk while looking at their phones. They did this for probably 10 minutes.

They were making the customers uneasy. The manager asked them to get out of the doorway and shut the door a couple of times, only to be completely ignored. He finally put his foot down and insisted they move and didn't let up until they did.

Of course, they acted like it was all a big joke and he was a fool for making an issue. It left me feeling a general dislike for the inconsiderate individuals. If I were to ever recognize them again, I would already have a bad first impression.

This is something I try to ALWAYS keep in mind. I don't want to make a bad impression on "the public" unless it happens to be an important issue where I need to take a stand, whether people like it or not. Those don't really crop up all that often in my day-to-day life.

I try to smile, hold doors open for people, say "hello", say "excuse me", and be understanding with cashiers. Even with law enforcers, I just ignore them without making an issue. It doesn't come naturally to me, because at heart (except for my karaoke days) I am a hermit. A recluse. It's not that I don't like people-- I wouldn't be libertarian if that were the case-- I'm just not naturally sociable. Yet I make an effort to not be a jerk in public.

There's an added risk because I'm recognizable around here. People recognize me from my newspaper columns. If I'm inconsiderate they might assume all libertarians are jerks. It might give them yet another excuse to not consider my points (if they ever read the columns). That wouldn't be beneficial. Being considerate of others is a small price to pay... if it's even a price at all.

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Reminder: I could really use some consideration.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Inconsistency is a hallmark of statism

Statism is so internally inconsistent that statists hallucinate inconsistency everywhere else, in everyone else. They can't even imagine anything like consistency.

I've seen statists hallucinate that the right of self-defense somehow justifies their support of an armed gang of badged government employees, funded with stolen money, imposing counterfeit rules at gunpoint, with little or no accountability. They imagine that recognizing this gang for what it is is somehow an endorsement of a free-for-all Mad Max world. They come to believe it's somehow different to shoot a rapist in the act of raping than it is to shoot a law enforcer committing an act of law enforcement.

I've seen statists claim that not supporting a government "border wall", funded with stolen money, built on stolen land, and maintained with stolen money, police state tactics, and coercion, is the same as not respecting private property rights. This is a hallucination caused by statism in the brain.

I could go on, but I'm sure you've seen plenty of examples of your own.

The statism requires this internal inconsistency in order to be maintained. They don't want to admit they have a problem, so they project their traits onto others so they won't feel bad. Being so inconsistent, they see inconsistency where it doesn't exist. They have a psychological need to find inconsistency in others to excuse it in themselves.

If people were internally consistent-- in reason and principles-- they wouldn't be statists.

Consistency doesn't guarantee an individual is right (you can be consistently wrong), but inconsistency guarantees an individual is wrong.

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Reminder: I could really use some consistent help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Background checks at Ammo.com

You and I both know no government has the "authority" to decide who isn't allowed to own a gun. Because political "authority" is a superstitious belief, not a real thing.

However, they impose their wishes on us at the point of a gun to prop up this superstitious belief. Ironic, isn't it.

Over at Ammo.com they've looked at the violation of natural human rights called the "background check". If interested, check it out: Background checks.

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Reminder: I could really use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Story time: Making fire at the picnic

I mentioned this in comments a couple days ago, but it's a fun story, so here goes:

Many years ago my extended family went to Palo Duro Canyon for the day. We planned to grill hamburgers and hot dogs for a mid-afternoon lunch-- and I planned to wander extensively. It's my favorite thing to do.

When it came time to light the charcoal in the grill, we realized no one had any matches or lighters. Yes, it was long enough ago that it was before I carried such things with me at all times.

My brother-in-law said he would head to town and buy a lighter or matches since the park store was closed. I said not to bother, I could make fire without one. Their confidence in my abilities was such that he set off to town anyway.

I scrambled around gathering what I needed for a bow drill set-up. I got a stick for the bow, a spindle, a fireboard, a socket. I even lucked out and found a big tangled wad of string in the underbrush-- this saved a lot of time since I didn't need to make cordage from scratch. I twisted the string into some serviceable cordage, gathered tinder, and sat down near the grill to get to work.

It wasn't the best setup but I still had the fire going before my brother-in-law returned. Everyone was amazed that I had done it. I don't know why they didn't believe I could do it. Hey, I may be mostly incompetent in the modern world, but when things are more primitive I'm in my element.

That's when I started making sure I always had fire making supplies with me at all times. In fact, I'm almost obsessive about it.

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Reminder: I could really use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Gear post: Belt bag

Click to enlarge

This is my main belt pouch. It holds my wallet and many other things. You can see the spyglass pouch to the right of the pouch in the top view. Looking at the backside you can see the sheath which holds the Kershaw knife. The belt bag and the knife sheath (dated 2000) are riveted together. You may notice the spyglass pouch is tied in place. That keeps it and the belt bag from wandering but keeps them removable.

I made the pouch in the early 1990s, but didn't sign and date it like I do some other things. I attached the Kershaw's sheath sometime in the past 5 years or so, even though it had been riding in that same spot for many years. 

The bag is about 6" X 6", give or take a little. It is about 3" thick, including the knife behind it. It is made of thick vegetable tanned leather, with no decoration.

The button is one I made of bone. The leather loop which goes around the button was extended long ago. The contents were straining it, so I made it longer with a cut loop of leather to take the strain off. 

I have varied the contents some over the years, depending on what I thought I needed at the time. Below are the contents of the pouch. 

Included are extra or rarely used keys plus a "peanut" lighter, my wallet (also made by me), A bow-drill socket made from a brass dog tag on a piece of leather, and a pocket made of a sword scabbard's tip, The sword scabbard pocket holds the bits above it: a mini screwdriver for eyeglasses repair and tightening, a P-38 can opener (one of several I carry), Allen wrenches, a small file, tweezers, and a (gun) bore gauge.

Back when everyone else was wearing a fanny pack, this was on my hip. It has been mistaken for a gun holster many times. Maybe it keeps people polite in my presence.

Tangent time: I don't wear my belt through belt loops. In fact, I remove the belt loops from my jeans and put suspender buttons on them instead. My "Old West" pants don't even come with belt loops. I wear the belt slung lower than the loops would allow, so it doesn't rest on my hip bones. Much better for me that way. Years ago my bony hips were always bruised and hurting from my belt digging in. I had to cinch the belt so tight to keep my pants up that it really got to be painful. That was before I even carried much on the belt (other than a knife or two). My "Old West" pants didn't have loops, so I wore suspenders and discovered that was much more comfortable. So I adapted.

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Reminder: I could really use some help filling the wallet in my belt pouch with funds.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Interface

I've signed up on Interface by WhenHub.

Truthfully, I'm not yet sure how it works, or how to tell you to find me on there. If there seems to be an interest in it, I'll dig in more deeply and see what I can figure out.

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Free will

Is free will a real thing, or is it not?

Statists like to believe in free will because that way they can feel OK with imprisoning and murdering people for the crimes they commit. Even many statists who admit they don't believe in free will say that to govern they have to pretend it exists-- otherwise, no one could really be accountable for his actions; they are predetermined. I see that as a cop-out.

People who view the Universe as deterministic-- where each particle interaction affects other particle motions in ways which are predictable according to the laws of physics-- mostly believe free will is an illusion.

I believe they are forgetting a critical branch of physics.

Quantum physics, with its fuzziness and indeterminacy, seems (to me) to leave room for free will.

So, yes, I believe in free will, even while acknowledging that the laws of the Universe acting on every atom in our bodies (including in our brains) can push us toward certain actions. Embrace your quantumness and reject archation. You do have the choice.

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Reminder: I could really use some help, but you have free will in the matter.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

There's no way to know everything

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 30, 2019)

It's a bitter pill to swallow, and one many people can't accept, but you and I can never know everything.

This means if you want to act politically, you'll come from a place of ignorance whether you mean to or not.

I can't know the ultimate reality about Anthropogenic Global Climate Change-- commonly called "Global Warming".
I can't know all the possible consequences of building a new "Berlin Wall" between America and Mexico.
I can't know how a total gun ban would affect actual aggression statistics.
I can't know all the consequences of adopting fully socialized medicine in America.
I can't know exactly what my life would be like without police, government schools, taxation, laws, and all the rest of the socialistic things I would like to see go away.

And it doesn't really matter.

It's enough to know when something violates other people's rights and liberty; to understand I have no right to violate others even if I can't know with certainty how things would go if no one violates them. This knowledge-- that I have no right to violate others-- is sufficient and essential.

There are people who are arrogant enough to believe they can know it all. They may claim the reason you don't know it all is because you won't research it for yourself, or you're just not smart enough. They are dishonest.

They don't know it all. They only know enough to be satisfied with the position they've taken; a position which justifies their favorite violations of life, liberty, and property. If your research leads you to a different opinion, they'll claim you don't know enough until you agree with them.

They expect to use government against those who don't agree with them on whatever issue they care most about. They'd like to have you on their side; superior numbers, expressed through a vote, to gang up and force others to go along with what they believe. Yet, even if they are right in their beliefs, they aren't right about how to carry them out. No one has the right to use government violence to force you to go along with them. Such a right has never existed and can't be invented.

Accept that no one can know everything and that no matter what you know it can't give you the right to govern others, nor to select people to govern them on your behalf. This knowledge will liberate you. That's one thing I can know for certain.

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Statism is malware

The statist brain is a malfunctioning machine.

At a minimum, it has been infected with malware (often intentionally downloaded in government schools) which makes it unable to ask certain questions, especially if the answers would expose the malfunction.

It is unable to process certain answers; can't even be aware of them in many cases.

The malfunction makes the statist brain resistant to repair. It keeps redirecting back to the malware rather than allowing the virus to be quarantined and removed.

When the malfunction causes a person to commit evil acts, individuals (and ultimately society) are harmed. The statist brain is harmful to the individual who possesses it and to all those the malfunctioning individual encounters.

Can this malfunction be repaired? If so, how? Yes, "kill them all" would end the statist brain malfunction (assuming it's not a signature of the malfunction), but fewer brains doesn't seem optimal.

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Reminder: I could really use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

Spreading the message of liberty

One thing I have to keep reminding myself: my newspaper column is not about the money, which is extremely minimal for the amount of work that goes into it. It's about exposing people to the message of liberty-- people who would never otherwise be exposed.

For that reason, it continues to be worth it as long as I am allowed to keep writing them.

I admit, though, that coming up with topics every week for the column is a killer. It's something which occupies a lot of my time, every single day.

The paper would prefer to focus on local concerns, and not so much on national or international stuff. But so little that happens locally inspires ideas. Or, the things which do happen drag on for years, and I don't need to keep rehashing them. Otherwise, it's just the same old things happening, over and over again.

A lot of things just don't interest or inspire me. I generally don't care much what some politician says or does. I'm not that interested in their "laws". The evil deeds of the cops are too commonplace to rail against every time they get exposed.

I would rather not do too many philosophy columns, but without idea-inspiring events, that's where I tend to go.

So, if you have any constructive ideas, let me know.

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Reminder: I could always use some help.

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Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.