Ways to support what I do, if you think I'm useful

I'm editing this post to make it a aggregation of various ways you can help me and show your support for what I do. If that's something you want to do.

Please understand: I know my financial problems are 100% my fault and my problem. I made choices and I'm experiencing the consequences. You aren't obligated to help in any way, nor do I expect you to. If you'd like to help in spite of that...

PayPal is the fastest way to get money into my hands. 

Venmo is also good, but slightly slower and more complicated.

I have a couple of campaigns on GiveSendGo: my medical bills and my ongoing project to help the stray cats around my house. 

I also have a parallel fundraiser on GoFundMe for the medical bills. 

If you'd rather send something in the mail, send an email to the contact email found elsewhere on the page and ask for my address.

Whatever you choose to do, thank you.

(I removed the links to the eclipse trip for the obvious reason that it is over and done.)

"Hooray for our side!"

I know that a major reason I don’t get much support or popularity is that I won’t join one of the teams. 

To be popular, you have to be a team player, and not say things that go against that team's narrative. I don't do that. The teams are mostly wrong. On everything.

I'll never be popular as long as lies are such a major component of the popular narrative. It's a trade-off, but usually worth it. I still think the world would be better off if more people listened to me and those like me.

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I was wrong

I recently learned I was wrong (again). It happens.

I said the Texas government wasn’t allowed, by the Constitution, to control immigration. 

Thomas Knapp pointed out that the same clause of the Constitution that forbids the federal government from controlling immigration allows the states to regulate immigration into their states— if read in a certain way. I have read that clause many times, but was focused on what it did to the feds, blind to what it allows of the states.

He also pointed out that this doesn’t make it moral, just “constitutional”. The Constitution allows many unethical things.

I’m still opposed to authorization reactions to anything. I still believe private solutions are better. If property owners want to fence off their property they have the right to do so. Government, be it the Texas or federal, has no rights. None. It has power— the power to do wrong and get away with it.

I hate being wrong, but I learn more from being wrong than from being right.

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Civil war coming?

Is America heading for civil war? "Civil War 2.0"?

No. Not just no, but it would be impossible to have a second civil war.

That's because America has never yet had a civil war. Regardless of what your government-approved history course told you.

There was a revolution, following secession, in 1776; war between America and Great Britain— two separate countries.

Then in the 1860s, again following secession, there was a war between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America— two separate countries. Countries that Lincoln and other thugs wanted to force into unification.

A true civil war is when two factions are using military force and fighting for control of one government, and that hasn’t happened here. 

Any "normal" election is closer to a civil war than any war between separate countries is-- all that's lacking is the shooting, which I could see happening; you already have two opposing factions fighting for control of one government.

The situation between the Texas government and the US federal government won’t become a civil war. Even if it broke up the “united” States. 

Texas isn’t likely to try to take over and control the US federal government. I’m not sure what you’d call it if the feds tried to take over and control the Texas government, but it wouldn’t meet the criteria to be a civil war, nor would it cause one. Secession isn’t a civil war, nor can it result in one. 

If the current situation causes war, it can’t— by definition— be a civil war. Unless you torture, stretch, and twist the definition of "civil war" so that it can include the American "Civil War", which would be a dishonest and political thing to do. Even if a dictionary does it.

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New year time to accept reality

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 31, 2023)

There haven't been many years where, as New Year's Day approached, I thought "I'm glad I survived this one; I wasn't sure I would". This has been one of those years.

It was a year marked with unrelated random health emergencies, financial crises partly caused by those health emergencies, and general trouble.

I'm glad to see the year end and I'm hoping next year will be better.

If your past twelve months were rough, I hope the coming year is smooth sailing. If the past year has been good to you, I hope it was merely a hint at the great things to come.

One common thread I noticed running through all the troubles this past year was that government never made any situation better and seemed actively determined to make each of them worse in some way. Often, in multiple ways.

I can't figure out why anyone would want to keep this parasitic institution around. It's like insisting you need your alien brain slug and don't want anyone pointing out the harm it's doing to your health. It's a net negative in your life and for society and you don't need it (but it spends a lot of your money trying to fool you into believing you do).

If this thought offends you or hurts your feelings you might need to realize reality doesn't care about your feelings. Reality simply is, whether you like it or not.

A new year is a great time to decide to accept reality anew. Work with how things are, and if you don't like them, see if you can do something to change the way things are and will be into the future. Change is going to happen; see if you can guide it.

This is what I do. Most people act as though government is a concrete thing with rights or authority. This is the reality I have to work with. I do my best to point out to these people that the emperor has no clothes. They can believe me or they can continue to live in a fantasy world-- it's not something I control.

What I can do is keep telling the truth, hoping it makes an eventual impact. Making a better future than might otherwise be. The Universe doesn't care if anyone has a good year. It's our job, as humans, to help each other have the best year possible. Telling the truth is a good start.

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Invasion?

Is Texas experiencing an invasion? Does the "invasion clause" of the Constitution (Article IV, section 4) mean any "invasion" or does it only apply to a military/paramilitary invasion? 

It seems that Texas Governor Abbott did one thing right. I'm going to assume he searched the US Constitution, looking for some legal way to stop "immigration" or to close "the border", and since that's not in there, he found a different path. His only hope was to claim an invasion was occurring.

Is it true? Is this honest or is it a typical political lie?

Honestly, I can see both sides. 

Dictionary.com defines "invasion" as:

1. an act or instance of invading or entering as an enemy, especially by an army. (emphasis mine)
2. the entrance or advent of anything troublesome or harmful, as disease.

If the people coming here were shooting or machete-ing their way into Texas the first definition would fit. "Entry, plus enmity". Since they aren't, you'd have to be able to read their minds to see their motivations; there are no overt signs they are entering as enemies. Ignoring any counterfeit "laws" regulating "immigration" doesn't meet the criteria.

You could argue some unknown number of them are entering to form or join "sleeper cells". If so, the proper way to deal with that is to encourage the entire American population to stay armed and ready to defend life, liberty, and property from any enemies, foreign or domestic, at all times, everywhere they happen to be. In other words, ditch every single anti-gun rule on the books and all anti-defense legislation. Anything else is equivalent to mass murder, even in the best of times. It is a crime against humanity in the event of an invasion.

If definition #1 fit the situation, the best thing government could do would be to get out of the way. Let the militia handle it by repelling or shooting any combatants encountered. The most legitimate thing the National Guard could do in that case is to hand their weapons over to the militia. (For all the dumb statists out there it needs to be pointed out that the National Guard is NOT the militia, but came along much later.) Maybe they could pass out water bottles and provide medical care, too. All other branches of government military need to stay out of the way unless they are willing to do the same. The government's military isn't a help.

It would be easier to apply definition #2 to the current situation. The case could be made, even if I think you'd have to be collectivist to make it. I could be persuaded by this definition, at least in some individual cases. Cases requiring an individual response and solution.

My 1949 edition of Funk & Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary includes a third definition of “invasion”:

“3 Encroachment, as by an act of intrusion or trespass…”

"Encroachment"? "...to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads". Who gets to define "proper"? "Established" by whom and by what rights? "Usual limits"? It opens a lot more questions. But I can see how it might fit the circumstances... if looked at in a certain way.

If anyone— migrants, border control, Texas cops, federal troops, or whoever— is trespassing on private property they are subject to consequences. If they die, oh well. 

Unfortunately for borderists, the US government does not own all the land inside the “borders” it claims. Crossing government "borders" to enter “public” (government) land (or entering a government building on January 6th) is not trespassing in any real sense. There is no legitimate rightful owner to violate.

Crossing a private property line is another matter.

If, as I’ve heard, the razor-wire fences in question are on private property with the consent (or at the request) of the landowners, then the feds need to back off. If they refuse, I don’t care what happens to them. “S, S, & S”, as ranchers say. And good riddance.

No matter how you want to define "invasion", an authoritarian response is never the right way to go. More government power and control is never going to improve the situation. Let the people handle any problem, if there's a problem.

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Absent government, it wouldn't be an issue

This situation between the Texas government and the US government could get "interesting". Do both sides actually believe they are right, or have the Constitution on their side? Delusion.

It’s unfortunate that the “laws” in America are so bad that “immigration” is seen as a problem. Or even an issue at all.

It’s a sign that welfare needs to be done away with. That all criminalization of armed defense against property crimes needs to go away forever. That self-defense against attackers-- all attackers-- needs to be encouraged rather than punished. It's why it's utterly stupid to allow politics, democracy, and v*ting to have any power to violate individual rights and liberty.

These are the types of counterfeit rules that allow sick borderists to try to escalate the police state to “secure the border”. They can get away with pretending it's about defense when government is allowed to criminalize actual defense.

It’s right to protect society from criminals, but it’s wrong to do it the way they are trying to do it; by making America into an open-air prison camp. 

It’s inconceivable that some supposed libertarians are siding with borderist authoritarians to support and justify locking down the “border” instead of attacking the reason people see "border control" as essential and “immigration”* as a problem. Why don't they attack the root of the problem instead? I don't know.

But, I sympathize a little. They don't want "those people" moving into "their" country, but they also still want to keep a political government around for some reason. Tradition, or they can't imagine life without it, maybe? They can't even process the fact that government is forbidden to control "immigration" by the very document they worship when it supports things they want. Because yes, anything government isn't explicitly allowed to do by the Constitution is forbidden.

"Immigration" is not a problem except that government has been allowed to grow to the point where it makes it a problem for its own benefit and to increase its own power and "authority". Yes, "both sides" are doing it. Disgusting!

*Government importing people from other parts of the world is not "immigration", and is a separate issue. One caused, again, by government.

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Bad guy vs a huge gang of worse guys

I'll admit it's a personal shortcoming, but sometimes I don't mind seeing a bad guy hand other bad guys their comeuppance.

Frequently, in fiction, I root for the bad guy when he goes up against other bad guys. Often, just because I dislike them more than I dislike him. Especially if it's one bad guy against a gang of bad guys-- or worse guys.

I prefer the pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, to the English Navy.

I prefer NYC cop John McClane to Hans Gruber's gang.

Even though the Rebel Alliance wants to re-establish a government, thus I wouldn't otherwise support their cause, the Empire is still worse as long as the Empire has power. Once the Empire fell, the situation changed.

Since I don't suffer from TDS, this is how I see the current Trump campaign.

I don't need a president (neither do you), nor am I so helpless and pathetic that I need to be governed by anyone. I don't personally like or support Trump. But I dislike those who are trying to "get" him even more than I dislike him. I wouldn't mind seeing them beaten at their own game and utterly humiliated. No matter who does it.

Even an authoritarian anti-liberty bigot like Trump. He's no worse than they are.

Yes, I know they are likely to try to assassinate him if their current court schemes don't take him out. I would expect nothing less. But in the meantime, I hope they are confounded as to what's really going on, not realizing they created him.

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There's no justification for a police state

Most people seem to want a police state-- at least when it comes to imposing or forbidding things they want to mandate or prohibit.

Not me.

There are things I deeply dislike, but I would rather ridicule them or call them out than give politicized goons the power to do anything, one way or another, about them.

You have a right to ridicule the ridiculous and you have the right to speak the truth to those who deny it. Those rights are as important as the right to use force against anyone who is violating you or someone else.

You don't have the right to advocate, pass, or enforce legislation that is propped up with stolen money and depends on a police state. You may try to make the case that you are only using this political violence in defense, but you don't want to admit this is like using a nuclear weapon on a village to get a couple of bad guys among the others. Political violence can't be aimed precisely enough to avoid harming more innocents than bad guys. This is true in every case, even if well-intentioned. Even if you'd have the right to hunt down and kill the bad guy to stop him from continuing to do what he's doing.

Trying to justify a political response is justifying a police state which will eventually target you, or destroy you as "collateral damage". 

No police states, or police state tactics, ever!

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Undue power over others

I don’t like anything which gets in the way of people exercising their rights.

That includes, but isn't limited to, government/corporations. Anyone with power over someone can prevent them from doing things they have a right to do.

Perhaps the problem is letting anyone have power over others. At least, undue power. 

Then there's the subjectivity of how much power is "undue". 

Some amount of power over your young children is necessary. Some amount of power over employees is too. In those cases, when you get in the way of people doing things they have a right to do-- things that don't really have an impact over the things you need to control-- I see it as undue power.

Your kid wants to color the apple blue instead of red? Your kid wants to wear their favorite shirt to the family gathering instead of the one you picked out? Who does it hurt? Let them. It's not the same as letting your kid eat only marshmallows for a month because that's what they want.

Controlling employees is very similar. Some things actually affect their value to you in a bad way; you aren't getting what you're paying for. Other things don't. Reasonable power recognizes (and respects) the difference.

But, since there's really no choice involved in government having power over you, government power is always undue power. It is never legitimate. Not even a little.

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Problems caused and fertilized by Too Much Government

What are the problems of allowing Too Much Government to continue to infest society? They are many. 

Immigration, drugs, crime, "gun violence" "the pandemic", "foreign affairs", etc. All the problems associated with these issues are either entirely caused by, or are greatly magnified by, the existence of political government. The issues would either go away or be easily handled by free people who aren't being thwarted by legislation and the crooks who pass and enforce it.

The best government is that which governs least. "Not at all" is just about right.

Maybe you think none of this is intentional, but is just because the wrong crooks hold the power. You'd be wrong. It’s not a mistake, it’s a plan to fail. A plan to hurt you and your loved ones. 

They (government employees) believe they have plausible deniability, but only with the idiots and statists among us. They are responsible. And there is an obvious way to make it right.

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Liberty greatest gift you can give

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

Just about the most valuable gift any human can give another is to fully respect the other person's liberty. As long as they aren't harming anyone else's life, liberty, or property you don't interfere. Live and let live.

You can do this for those you love and for those you only tolerate. You can even give this gift to people you don't like at all; people whose way of life or politics is disgusting to you, as long as they aren't victimizing anyone. The hardest part is being honest with yourself as to whether or not they are actually violating someone. It can be difficult to admit someone you don't like has a right to do things you don't personally approve of.

This doesn't mean you give up your right to defend yourself if they violate you-- that's never part of the deal.

Everyone is open to giving gifts to those they love and who love them; it's an extraordinary act of love to give such a nice gift to people who you know don't like you. Those who wouldn't do the same for you, and who might even wish to see you destroyed. This makes the gift more valuable.

Another good thing about liberty: you don't need a box to put it in and it never needs to be wrapped. Putting liberty in a box destroys it and any wrapping is going to detract from the gift. I know some are tempted to wrap liberty in a flag or a document, but those things don't make liberty better in any way.

Liberty is also inflation-proof.

Giving the gift of respecting liberty doesn't usually cost you anything but your pride. Sometimes this price seems the most out of reach, at least for many of us. Money is relatively easy to let go of; pride can be harder. It's a good thing pride isn't something you should hold on to anyway. Getting rid of it is going to help you, too. It's a gift which benefits the giver as much as it benefits the recipient.

So reach into that vault of pride and let some of it go in exchange for the gift of liberty for someone who needs it so you both come out better off than you were before.

Merry Christmas to you and your family, and may you feel the liberty to be your best self through the holiday and beyond.

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The existential threat

If Congress is doing anything other than abolishing legislation, it is killing America. 

Congress is a bigger threat to America-- to YOU-- than China, terrorists, fentanyl, or "Disease X". Combined.

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Statism's desperation illustrated

Statism. It's a failed cult.

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Some fantasy is more enjoyable than others

Any media where government is portrayed as the good guys is pure fantasy. Just as much as anything full of magic, dragons, or the Hogfather. 

Maybe less believable, though. To those with critical thinking skills, anyway.

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"We have a warrant"

When I'm watching any show where the cops come to the door and demand to be let in because they "have a warrant", my thought is "Well, isn't that special. The crime gang gave itself permission to commit a crime".

I'm not saying it's safe to refuse to cooperate-- it wouldn't be-- but there's nothing magical about a warrant. It's just what I described above: a criminal gang giving itself permission to trespass, rob, and or kidnap. 

Maybe their target is even a bad guy. But so are they, and they prove it by issuing and serving warrants.

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"No one is taking your legs"

If I saw off your legs, and as I do so keep repeating that I'm not violating you in any way, everyone would rightly see me as a lying monster. My words are meaningless in light of my actions.

If I gave you back your sawed-off legs and said this shows I haven’t taken anything from you because you’re still in possession of your legs, I might possibly be even worse.

Maybe I would tell you I'll allow you to get a pair of wooden peg legs-- with the proper background checks and licenses, of course. So no one is taking away your right to have legs.

This is exactly what I think of the political criminals who are actively trying to take your guns away. This is what they are doing.

Anyone with a functional brain can see that they are violating the eternal, natural human right to own and carry weapons. But they keep telling the lie that this isn’t what they are doing.

Now these vermin are wanting to make sure you can’t get the ammunition used in the most common rifle in America. And trying to make it a crime to train to protect your community (specifically against criminals like them).

Yet, they keep telling the lie that they aren’t doing what they are clearly doing: violating the Second Amendment and, more importantly, your rights.

Some extremists would probably say this shows it’s time to use those arms for their intended purpose. Those wacky extremists!

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So few words, so much wrong

In a newsletter from a "conservative" group, I saw the following statement, “The Second Amendment creates rights and responsibilities for citizens”.

No, it doesn’t. How could they squeeze that much wrong into such a short sentence?

The Second Amendment doesn't apply to "citizens" at all, in any way. It applies to government only. It creates a ban on government having any say over weapons. That’s all. Anyone's weapons. Any other suggestion means you don’t understand.

Rights can’t be created. Not by a document or anything else. Rights are eternal.

The only responsibility created applies to government; the responsibility to stay out of the way. Don't get between people-- not only "citizens"-- and their eternal, natural human right to own and to carry whatever weapons they choose. That obviously includes weapon attachments and accessories and the ammunition to feed those weapons. It also includes the invention of new and exotic weapons. Government is required to keep its "laws" off weapons entirely.

Government isn't allowed to "tax" weapons, do background checks, issue licenses, ration weapons of any type, or do anything else with regard to weapons. Weapons are off-limits to government's rules and wishes.

To ask for, propose, pass, or enforce ANY legislation concerning weapon ownership or possession is a crime. It should be treated as a crime, and those guilty of committing these crimes should be treated as the criminals they clearly are.

There is no wiggle room. 

"Conservatives" don't really like this fact any more than "progressives" do. They both want to allow government to control weapons in private hands in some way. Both are the enemy of liberty.

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Liberty needs constant maintenance

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

It would be nice if you could set liberty in motion and forget about it. Unfortunately, like a clock, you will at least have to keep winding it or replacing the battery. Or, if it has a cord, you must rely on someone else to keep the power flowing.

As long as others insist on keeping government around, liberty will have to be maintained. Some consider this a flaw. I wonder if these people took one shower years ago and expect it to last.

Entropy happens. Things tend to crumble over time because there are many more ways for anything to go wrong than to go right. There are many ways to violate liberty and one way to experience whole liberty. Each little violation of anyone's rights is a chip or a crack in the edge of liberty.

This damage needs to be fixed by someone. Defend your own liberty and fix the violations you experience. It's also necessary for you to be vigilant for damage to others.

There are ways to approach liberty, even if intentions are good, which aren't helpful.

If liberty is like a finely crafted watch, government is like a hammer. They are natural enemies.

You don't keep a watch running in good order by repeatedly hitting it with a hammer. Even a child's hollow plastic hammer isn't helpful, although it may not do any real damage. The bigger and heavier the hammer gets, and the harder it is swung, the more damage it does to the watch. Don't ask how I know.

Many people seem to believe they are helping liberty by being part of the hammer collective by joining the military, holding a government job, or entering politics. They are helping create a bigger hammer, or helping swing it at the watch face, but they are not helping the delicate internal mechanisms of liberty.

They are causing the damage those who understand and respect liberty will need to repair. Repair is easier if you can convince people to stop hitting it, but you can't wait until they grow up and understand before you start doing your part.

Any time you see someone damaging liberty, step in and do your best to fix it. You'll probably be wasting your time trying to talk them out of their actions, but there's always something you can do. Do what you can. The future of human liberty depends on you.

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It's still a crime gang

If a crime gang pays a caring person to feed homeless puppies, it’s still a crime gang.

If a crime gang gives food to people, helps them pay their bills, offers "protection", schools their children, and feeds homeless people, it's still a crime gang. Even if it calls itself "government".

Not everything a crime gang does has to look like crime. But if it gets the money for these "services" through theft ("taxes") or counterfeiting (the Federal Reserve) it's a crime gang. Everything it does is tainted by that legacy of crime. Even if you want someone to do those things.

Once you see government as just another crime gang, you are seeing reality a little better than most do.

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Ecuador: TSHTF

If "the news" is to be believed, Ecuador is experiencing TSHTF-level chaos. 

Mainly because two gangs-- freelance crime gangs and government-- are fighting each other and the ordinary people are in the crossfire. That's not a situation I would want to be in!

The only thing worse than (freelance) criminals running amok is when government responds to criminals running amok. 

I wonder what the Ecuadoran government does about ordinary people defending themselves from the bad guys. Does it respect this natural human right? Or does it, like all political governments, frown upon such things (even if it sometimes allows people to get away with it on a case-by-case basis)?

Government makes every bad situation worse. In Ecuador and in America.

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The "right" to violate rights

Since you have no right to violate the rights of others, it’s not a violation of your rights to prevent you from violating the rights of others. 

This seems a particularly difficult concept for many people to grasp. I've nearly gotten into fights over this very thing.

And then there's politics.

Much (most?) political activism today seems geared toward demanding the “right” to violate the rights of others. Usually using politics. This makes no sense apart from the fact that politics makes people stupid, and often a little evil as well.

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