DST compromise

The past week, I have slept more hours, but have been more tired. It's always the same after "Daylight Saving [sic] Time" is imposed.

Just to prove how reasonable I am, I'll occasionally offer a compromise on something I feel strongly about.

Here's my compromise with supporters of DST (Government Wrong Time):

Stop changing the clocks for DST, but affirm and declare that any business that wishes to open and close an hour early, can- without penalty- so its employees can have an extra hour of daylight after work.

Who could possibly object?

It’s exactly the same as "observing" DST, without the lie of changing the clocks.

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Socialist- delusional fascists eaten alive with envy

Socialists may just be the most delusional faction of authoritarian fascists.

They always believe only the undeserving rich (apparently everyone with more money than they have) will be forced to give up their money and property. Envy is their entire ideology.

They say they are only calling for "fairness" and "sharing". Sharing means giving someone YOUR property, not the property you've stolen from others.

They say they're only "giving everyone food and healthcare". By forcing others to pay for it.

They believe they are the opposite of fascists. While they act completely fascistic.

One told me to read Marx's "Capital", and when I admitted that I had, I was called a liar, since I said it was nonsense and Marx was wrong. I was told I am too stupid to understand it. I'll admit, I don't remember much of it anymore, because it was too ridiculous and obviously wrong to bother to commit to memory.

I guess I'm just not envious enough to be a socialist. I don't want to steal your stuff or have a gang steal it from you on my behalf. Seems like this is getting to be a rare quality these days.

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The Difference is clear

There’s a fundamental difference between people who believe in government and those who don’t.

The other evening, my dad ended up on the floor in my parents' kitchen. My mom tried to help him up for about an hour, then she called me, and I rushed over to help. Others showed up, as well.

I was the only male there, and none of the females present were strong enough to be of much help in lifting a terribly obese, 85-year-old man (who was basically dead-weight) into a chair.

After about 30 minutes and many innovative attempts, someone went for help*. She went to the police chief's house and brought him over. Together, we got my dad lifted into a chair in no time.

Sometimes cops can be useful, but there were plenty of people closer who could have been asked for help, including a guy next door who would have been happy to lend a hand. It would never occur to me to go to the police- not even an individual cop- to ask for help. Not unless there were no other options. I don't want them involved in anything. It's rarely worth the risk.

That's the difference between people who believe in government and those who don't.

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*Calling the EMTs here is a hit-or-miss thing. If no one in this town responds within a few minutes (which is common), then the EMTs from the town across the railroad tracks, in the next state, will respond. But their response time depends on the trains at the crossing and whether one is stopped, blocking the road. We have hundreds of trains per day through here, so you've got at least a 50% chance of being delayed by a few minutes (or longer) anytime you try to cross the tracks. Trains don't move for emergency vehicles, either.

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You don't want to be government's pet

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 5, 2025)

The SNAP crisis has shown a flaw in encouraging people to become dependent on government for anything essential. If you allow yourself to become dependent on government, it will own you.

Why would you do this to yourself? To your family?

This isn't only about food, but about a job, your personal safety, health care, or anything else you expect government to provide. Being dependent on government- something you have no real control over, and which relies on a steady stream of stolen money- is a terrible idea.

Pure self-sufficiency is impossible, but it should remain a guiding principle. It's preferable to not be a burden on others, but to be able to help them when you can. You can't do this if you are too dependent on someone else for your basic needs.

When you're dependent, the best case is that you'll be treated like a pampered pet. You may be taken care of, but you're not in control of your life or your destiny. You may be fed what someone else wants you to eat, and you may get neutered. Literally and figuratively.

The worst case is that you'll be treated like a slave. You aren't in control of your own life, but are under the control of people who don't care what happens to you. They may feed you as long as it serves their purposes and they can use you, but they don't care what happens to you if those purposes change. You're not important to them. You're fooling yourself if you believe you are; if you believe they really care more about you than about their power over you.

If you become dependent on someone else, you've given them the power to hurt you. All they have to do is withhold whatever you've come to rely on and use your anguish as a bargaining chip. Congratulations, you are now a political pawn to be used by political criminals to get whatever they want.

If you decide to riot or steal because of the situation, you've played right into their hands by doing what they were hoping you'd do. They might have said they don't want you to do these things, but they are lying. Your disruptive behavior gives them the excuses they've been hoping for.

I don't want you to put yourself in this position. Do what you can to cut the chains of dependence.

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Don't be puppet for government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for October 1, 2025)

If you change your behavior strictly because of what someone you dislike thinks you should or shouldn't do, you are their puppet.

Last week, when government came out with the cautionary advice to not take Tylenol (Acetaminophen) during pregnancy- advice which actually agrees completely with Tylenol's published advice- there were reports of pregnant women on the political Left going against this advice and taking the medicine to spite Robert Kennedy Jr. and President Trump. Some made videos of their act of defiance, just to do the opposite of what the current regime told them they probably shouldn't do.

Again, advice that Tylenol's manufacturer has been giving for years.

That's not rational behavior.

I've also seen people on the political Right do dumb things as a reaction just because the Democrats in power advised them against doing it. Or mandated them to do it.

I knew someone who littered because the "environmentalists" on the Left told her not to. Truthfully, I've known two people who did this- and I picked up after them when I could, because I'm not an irresponsible idiot who is easily manipulated by politics. It's not smart to soil your own nest, even if someone you dislike tells you it's a bad idea.

There are people on the Right who now refuse any vaccinations just because the sketchy Covid shots made vaccinations a Democrat virtue.

This is no more rational than what the Left was apparently doing last week. Truth is truth, no matter who says it.

Long ago, someone pointed out to me that if I alter my behavior for no reason but to defy someone, they are controlling me as surely as if I were obeying their every command. I don't want to be a puppet.

Wouldn't you feel stupid if you ended up damaging your health, the health of your child, or costing yourself extra money simply because you wanted to do the opposite of what some politician told you?

It's smarter to weigh everything someone tells you to do. If it makes sense and is good for you, do it. If it seems like it would be bad for you, do something else. Check with sources you trust- the less political, the better. You might even be wrong sometimes. Make your choices and accept the consequences. Never put yourself in danger for no better reason than to figuratively spit in the face of a politician. Be smarter. Think for yourself.

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Fatal involvement

The looming food stamp riots show one thing clearly: Government shouldn't be involved. In anything. It doesn't matter what the topic is.

Government shouldn't be involved in food distribution. When it is, look what happens.

That's not all, though.

Government shouldn't be involved in healthcare, justice, security, business/economy, money, making rules, education, transportation, arbitration, defense, or any of the other things government tries to involve itself in.
Even more dangerous are the things which government decides to enforce its artificial monopoly over.

Central planning is always a flop. Every time it is tried, it fails. If you believe it didn't fail in some instance, it's because government got involved in (and destroyed) education.

Also, I have no objection whatsoever to anyone decisively ending a food thief who believes they are entitled to the food in a store. That person can choose whether or not to be a thief, and if that's the choice they make, I have no pity when that choice has deadly consequences. There is ALWAYS a better option than theft.

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A throwback to the crazy year

I was going through some saved items, while looking for something else, and came across a screenshot of someone's "face-mask flip out" from early July 2020. I won't share the details or name the commenter (who I recognize from my liberty circle*) because I didn't save the context- I don't know if it was in response to something I wrote, or to something else. But it was a magnificent meltdown.

I only saved it because the person came completely unhinged that someone might oppose mandatory masking, which I thought was weird. And he was flipping out over the suspicion that masks might reduce the blood oxygen levels in wearers. It was interesting at the time. Maybe more so now, in hindsight.

I did my own breathing experiment later, so that wasn't what triggered him, but his outburst is probably what inspired me to test it for myself.

I have saved other things of this sort over the years, and when I run across them, I always wonder if the person stands by it, if they changed their mind, or if they've rewritten their personal history to remove the insanity. "That was my position all along!"

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*I found him on FB. He apparently now hates all of us because if we aren't on board with the Left-wing authoritarianism he prefers, then we are Right-wing authoritarians. Wingism is terribly seductive. So he probably still stands by it.

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Don't nurture your anxieties

How did it happen that so large a segment of the population decided to flaunt all their anxieties and try to shame the rest of us into coddling them?

I don't like crowds. I don't feel the need to wear a pin proclaiming this "problem", nor to discuss it with strangers, or to expect everyone to coddle me because I don't like crowds.

The same with heights, big dogs, and most carnival rides.

It is what it is, and I adjust. I either avoid those situations or I suck it up and deal with it, knowing the problem is mine, not yours.

The same goes for everyone I've been around most of my life. Everyone has their preferences and they adjust, too.

This isn't good enough for so many (generally younger) people now. They want you to know every issue they have. They have no intention of working them out, but they want the world to bend to accommodate them.

If it does, it's not doing them any favors. In fact, treating them this way is probably only going to make their anxieties grow bigger and more numerous. They're never expected to grow up, so why would they? It's easier to wear a pin and talk about how awful it is that they have to have this issue.

And, if you hang out with a crowd that makes you believe wearing a pin that says "Ask before hugging" is necessary, then you're obviously hanging out with the wrong people. Maybe not wrong for everyone, but wrong for you. You have the right to be that way, but why would you? 

Push your boundaries a little. Allow yourself to experience discomfort. It will be good for you.

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Mandatory medications

Opioids relieve pain. There's no question this is true. In this case, shouldn't government make opioids mandatory for those suffering from headaches?

This is quite similar to the arguments in favor of mandatory vaccinations.

In both cases, only the benefits are considered; the health risks are ignored. "One-size-fits-all" is the standard. Government violence is used (or threatened) to impose someone's opinion, and consent is violated.

If you're in favor of making vaccines mandatory, why not opioids?

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There were signs

What obvious symptoms of mental illness was the evil loser in Minneapolis showing?

• The biggie was that he shot into a church full of people. Children, mostly. Intending to kill as many as possible. By this time, it was too late to do anything about him. Mentally healthy people don't do this.
• He had sexual dysphoria and body dysmorphia.
• He had written a manifesto full of hate.
• The things he had written on his weapons and magazines.
• He was hyper-politicized. 
• He blamed others for his problems.
• His social media posts.

These weren't the causes of his mental illness, but they were symptoms. Any single symptom- other than the shooting itself- was just a symptom. Having one or two symptoms doesn't guarantee someone will choose to be an evil loser, but the more symptoms a person has, the more likely it is to happen.

Mental illness frequently manifests as hyper-politicization. You’ll see it all over the place if you’re paying attention.

Some symptoms were cries for intervention, when it could have made a difference. Before it was too late.

There's a guy who lives about 3 houses from me. He spray-painted a sort of manifesto on the sides of his house a few years ago. I used to talk with him fairly often. When I talked with him, his thoughts were full of irrational beliefs, apparent hallucinations, and magical thinking. One big problem I had with him was that he seemingly developed too much interest in my daughter, and she was 6 or 7 years old at the time. So, yes, I distanced myself and watched him closely. He ended up in jail on drug charges for a while, and has kept to himself more since then- which isn't necessarily a good sign. 

I'm not a trained psychologist, but I can tell you for sure this guy seemed to be mentally ill. You could see it on his face and in his eyes. I consider him a potential danger- as does probably everyone who has met him. Since I haven't spoken to him in several years, I might be wrong. He may be fine now (although I've seen no signs of that, either). Am I going to take the risk? No. He showed enough signs that he seemed like a threat.

There's another guy in town who shows clear signs of mental illness. You can see it in his face. He's a cashier in one of the few local stores. I go there less than I used to before he worked there, especially since his problems became more pronounced. He always seems miserable and quite angry at the world. I do worry he might snap one day, so I limit my exposure, smile, and remain alert. If I knew him better, I'm pretty sure there are more symptoms I'm not aware of. I might be wrong, but it's not worth the risk.

There are others in town who I would consider more quirky. Maybe not quite in touch with reality, but harmless and even happy. The elderly woman who tells me the town council is using witchcraft to cause dirt to pile up in her yard so they can steal her house doesn't seem like she'd hurt anyone over this complaint. She's not a miserable person in spite of being magically targeted by the Satan Worshipers she says run the town. (I can't rationally dispute this accusation.)

Mental illness isn't a guarantee that someone will choose to be an evil loser. Most don't. But evil losers come overwhelmingly from that part of the population, so you need to pay attention and not ignore the signs and symptoms. 

It's not polite or socially acceptable to observe that someone is showing symptoms of mental illness. To say you can see it in their eyes and face. I'm OK with not being polite, if that's the case. And I've never been particularly socially acceptable anyway.

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Throw off the conditioning

Humans evolved to recognize mental illness in others- for self-preservation. 

You know it's true. If you've interacted with a beggar on a corner, you've probably experienced this effect. You can sense it when someone isn't right in the head. No degree in psychology is necessary.

One time, I was staying with a friend, and while she was gone, a guy she knew (but who I didn't) came to the door. I made the mistake of opening it to speak to him, and I knew instantly I was in danger because he was mentally ill. And drunk. (I was glad I was armed, and I was holding my defensive tool out of sight as I coaxed him back out the door.)

That's not the only personal example, and I'm sure you have some of your own.

Most people have been conditioned to be too polite to call it out when they encounter mental illness, and this keeps leading to tragedy. Throw off the conditioning. People will get angry at you. It's a small price to pay.

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We need to outlaw government slavery

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for July 9, 2025)

Note: This is NOT the headline I would have written for this.

Defenders of government like to pretend government isn't slavery. They also pretend government is necessary and ethical; without it, humans would not survive and would have never advanced beyond the Stone Age.

Supposedly, government ended slavery. Government also legalized and enforced slavery for thousands of years. Now, because of rules which replaced the old rules, individual humans can no longer pretend to own other individual humans, but we are all required to act as though we are owned, collectively, with government as our master.

Our money isn't ours until government scoops its percentages out of the middle. Then it skims off more of our money every time we make a trade- and sometimes, like with property taxes, into perpetuity because someone bought property in the past.

Laying claim to the fruits of another's labor is a defining feature of slavery. Your body isn't your own, and the value its work creates is claimed by someone else. In this case, the "someone" isn't an individual who can be defended against, but a spectral collective which is nowhere, yet everywhere at once.

Government tells you what you mustn't put into your body. It forbids certain medications, and requires you to seek its permission for many more. Your body isn't your own, and government doesn't want you damaging its property.

Government would prefer you not have the most effective modern tools for defense. Not necessarily because it sides with criminals (it does), but because its employees fear you might come to realize that you need to defend your life, liberty, and property from their legalized daily assaults and theft more than from the occasional freelance thug.

Abolitionists of the 19th Century faced the excuse of "Without slaves, who will pick the cotton?" Abolitionists of today are asked, "Without government, who would build the roads?". Or invent new technology, fund science, keep a record of who owns which property, settle disputes, or dozens of other things government currently does, no matter how poorly.

Is government really necessary for these things, or have you been blinded to reality by government and its childhood indoctrination centers called "public schools"? Has this crippled your ability to think of alternatives to having the cotton picked by slaves?

If you can't figure out a way to accomplish great or mundane things without letting someone or something assert ownership over human beings, you shouldn't be making decisions about the future.

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No one should violate individual rights

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 7, 2025)

What are "rights"? While it can be said you have certain rights, it's more accurate to say no one has a right to prevent you from doing these things. Those who say "rights don't exist" are arguing backwards.

Nothing can create a right to do things no one has a right to do. Not a majority, constitutions, legislation, "public safety", or the common good. Those claiming otherwise are lying so you will let them do things you know aren't good for you, making you question whether these things might be good for society. Nothing which violates individual rights is good for society, since society is made up of individuals no one has a right to violate.

It's not that you have a right to free speech; it's that no one has a right to censor you. The flipside is that you have no right to force anyone to publish your words.

Social media companies' censorship has been largely due to government demanding they censor certain things; threatening the companies if they won't. Government, since it isn't an individual, has no rights at all, including no right to bully companies into censoring.

No one has a right to dictate what others believe or what religion they practice. On the other hand, no one has a right to violate the life, liberty, or property of another using religion as justification. This includes the religious belief in government authority, which is the most prevalent cult in the world, frequently practiced even by those who follow another religion.

No one has a right to prohibit a protest against government, nor to bar you from entering a building you own- such as any government facility. Government believers hate this one. They will murder you for acting on this because people who work for government do things no one has a right to do.

No one has a right to decide what weapons you own, carry, buy, sell, or build. Just as no one has a right to threaten or kill anyone who isn't currently a danger to life, liberty, or property.

No one has a right to prevent you from arranging for the health care, food, water, housing, and energy you need. No one has the right to force others to pay for their necessities.

Understanding a "right" as something no one has a right to stop you from doing makes it easier to separate the wheat from the chaff.

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Loose retinas are a pain. Literally.

I had my retina appointment yesterday.

I did have a small tear and an area that was in the process of detaching (the scan looked to me like it was already detached). He fixed it with a laser in the office. That was more painful than it sounds, and today my eye still hurts- although I think it's mainly the muscles around my eye that are hurting now.

Blindness averted yet again. I have a follow-up appointment next month.

He indicated that my insurance will "cover" this, or at least approve it- although I probably won't really know for a while. I'm not sure what the difference is, or if he's just being hopeful on my behalf.

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Not again!

Wednesday, my optometrist gave me the news that I may have to another eye surgery. This doesn't make me happy at all, especially since I can see so well now. That wasn't how I wanted the check-up to go.

He discovered a place in my right eye that may indicate my retina in that eye is now trying to detach. It isn't yet, and he can't see any tears or holes, but something doesn't look right. It's obvious in the scan. He says it may be nothing, but it wasn't there the last time he saw me and he thinks it needs to be looked at by a specialist. He says, "It may be a wild goose chase, but..."

So, next Wednesday I go to the retina specialist again. This is the guy who doesn't take my insurance, so we'll see how that goes, or if he'll even agree to see me.

I actually have one medical bill that is only 3 payments from being paid off, so it makes sense that I'll accrue some more before that happens.

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Government not here to help anyone

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 19, 2025)

After watching the devastation of Hurricane Helene and now the Los Angeles wildfires, do you understand yet that government isn't there to help you? Do you understand it can't help, and generally makes things worse?

It doesn't take a disaster. Government won't save you from poverty, from health problems, from crime, or from competing governments. It isn't designed to help you; it is designed to hold, and increase, power. You are its annoying pet, or livestock to be sheared or butchered.

Taxes aren't inflicted to fund government. The Federal Reserve can dream up all the funny money government wants. Taxes, including inflation, are imposed to make sure you don't have money available for what you want and need. Taxes are designed to change your behavior and to keep you from being self-sufficient. This way you might come crawling to government, begging for its help. Help you'd be less likely to need if you were able to keep and use your own money.

When government does provide a service, it's a dim shadow of what you would choose for yourself if you had the money.

Just like the wealthy homeowners in California who hired private firefighters to save their homes once they realized the government-provided service wasn't enough. Or those who rigged up their own fire suppression systems instead of relying on government.

There are still people in western North Carolina living in tents, in winter conditions, who thought government was there to help.  Not only is government not helping, but it's blocking those, like the Amish, who want to help. It considers its own rules more important than the lives of the victims. It has even informed its victims that their property tax bills will not be adjusted to reflect their new circumstances.

If you don't yet understand how evil government is, are you waiting until it affects you, personally? Even worse, you may decide "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and become part of the problem by entering government. As well-intentioned as you may be, you can't change the mafia from the inside. Chances are, good people who accept a government job will change more than they change government. If you've paid any attention, you've seen this happen time after time.

A smarter approach is to do what you ought to be doing in spite of government. Find workarounds to help those government is ignoring or mistreating. Be the help government can't be.

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All "force" is equal?

Of all the bad justifications for the variety of theft called "taxation" I've ever run across, the one I just encountered has to be the worst:

"Keeping private property requires force and taxation requires force, so if private property isn't theft, then taxation can't be theft."

This is obviously someone who can't do logic, doesn't understand the difference between defensive force and aggression, and doesn't respect consent.

This was in the context of advocating for "free health care" for all. This is the quality of thought that goes into such positions.

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Funding inexcusable evil

Hiding “good” ways to spend stolen money in a giant government budget bill doesn’t make you the good guy. Doing the same in a smaller government funding bill isn't any better. Vivek Ramaswami demonstrated you could continue to fund the feral government with a one-page bill. If you were crooked (or dumb) enough to want to do such a thing. There's no good argument for doing so.

First, you can’t do good things through bad methods like taxation or government. The inherent bad cancels out any intended good.

Second, sneaking something like funding for childhood cancer research into a huge spending increase bill just means you’re using kids as hostages or human shields. That makes you a monster who is trying to hide behind sick kids. 

It's not a good reason to continue funding government for even one more day.

Shut it down. Shut it all down.

Government “shutdown”? Make it real and permanent and don’t look back.

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Everything within the State; nothing outside the State

Going back to a recent post, I find it fascinatingly disturbing that people who believe in the state believe there is no alternative between "I hate poor people and want them all to die" and "Taking people's money without their consent is wrong". It must be either/or to them.

If you insist that taxation is unethical (call it theft, extortion, or whatever) their interpretation is that you hate poor people and you want them to die. No state intervention = Death! Really?

To them, those are the only possible choices. I think that says a lot about them, as human beings-- and it's not good.

In response to one of these people, after being called every horrible name in the communist book, I said "If you make a cooperative medical expenses pool, and call it whatever you want, I think that's great. But you have to allow people who don't want to participate to opt out."

The reply? "Oh yeah I'm not against that", and that was the end of that. I guess the wind was out of their sails.

Is that really such a difficult thing for statists to think of? It's like the options have been programmed out of their brains. To them, if The State isn't the one doing it, no one is doing it. 

I know this is what govschooling would like to indoctrinate into kids, but is it so hard to realize that's a false narrative once you're outside that toxic influence? Apparently.

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It's the end of 2024 and "taxation" is still unethical

You can't do good through evil means.

So many seem unclear on this truth.

These people are statists, and I'm talking to them.

People are suffering and dying and in need of medical care. Yes, it's a tragedy. You can't fix that by stealing from others with "taxes". No matter how many nasty names you call those who point this out, this fact remains unchanged.

Theft is wrong. It doesn't change things if you call it "taxation" and say people will die without it.

If anything is that essential, find a solution that doesn't require harming others. If you spend all your time and effort trying to justify "taxation" you're a huge part of the problem. You could be making a positive difference, yet you choose to justify theft instead? You're blocking actual solutions because you are too attached to your ability to steal to fund things you want. That's gross.

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