"Better than..."

"Better than..."?

One of my ex-wives used to complain that I thought I was better than everyone else. While she was wrong about that, if she had said better than some other people, she would have been right, although I didn't want to admit it at the time. And, you know what? I still feel the same.

She thought I felt I was better than poor people who shopped at the dented can store she used to like to go to. She was right, but not for the reason she thought. I am better than people who are rude and pushy. Every time I went there, some shopper - not the same one each time- would elbow me aside to look through the cans I was looking at.

I am better than that. I won't shove people aside. When they did that it made them "less than" in my eyes.

But it doesn't stop there. I am better than people who steal. I am better than people who use coercion.

There is plenty room for others to still feel better than me. If you are still married to your first wife, or if you have a good job that pays well and gives you satisfaction, or if you are smarter, more helpful, more friendly... the list could go on indefinitely.

All people have the exact same rights. In that way no one is better than anyone else. But I'd be willing to bet that almost everyone is better than most others in some way. It would be sad if they weren't.

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Accepting change

I had a bit of insight into myself that I decided to share.

I easily adopt or adapt to new things that I see as better.

I was thinking about this as I washed dishes. Yes, I do domestic chores. Anyway... not too long ago I figured out a more efficient pattern for arranging the dishes in the drain rack, and immediately began using the newer arrangement. The other (occasional) dishwasher still uses the old pattern.

In many other areas of life I have done the same. I may have been doing something the same way all my life, but when I discover- or am shown- a better way, I usually adopt it quickly. If it holds up, I keep it. If not, I may scrap it and go back to the old way, or once the "spell" is broken, I may research and look for other possibilities. Now, my "new way" may not be new to anyone but me, and my "old way" may not be the way anyone else has ever done anything; I am only talking about "new" or "old" in regards to the way I have been doing things.

I think this is why I am an anarchist/libertarian/voluntaryist. The old way worked OK for me until I started seeing the flaws, and then discovered a better way that didn't have all the flaws. So, I kept adopting "new" ways- tweaking what works to eliminate more flaws- until I got to where I am. Which will probably keep being tweaked.

I have also noticed that most people don't seem to let go of their old ways as easily as I do. Maybe they are more emotionally attached or something. This may mean I am lacking in some emotional component.

Maybe what I lack is unconditional loyalty.

That might just be the problem. After all, I tend to do the same in my relationships. When one ceases to "work" for me, I may try for a while to fix it, but if nothing changes fairly quickly, I stop having any emotional investment in it. I start keeping my eyes open for something better.

I'm not saying any of this is the best way to be; just how I am.

What do you think?

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There is no consent

There is a billboard in the next town that shows a girl, passed out on a couch, surrounded by liquor bottles. The caption states "Just because she isn't saying 'no' doesn't mean she's saying 'yes'."

True. And the same goes for any other kind of supposed "implied consent" as well.

Just because I am not shooting reavers/cops, bureaucrats, and politicians doesn't mean I consent to be subject to their rule. Only a rapist would believe otherwise.

Besides, I am saying "no". Over and over. In language that leaves no room for misinterpretation. But, the rapists of State refuse to hear since it is not in a language that they comprehend. Only brutal, naked force would be understood by thugs such as themselves. They are lucky I am peaceable and my trigger is so difficult to trip.

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Blocked paths and robbery

In the old days reavers known as "highwaymen" would block roads with downed trees so they could rob travelers.

Some of the intended victims didn't submit so easily, and some thieves died. Some of the surviving reavers got wise and realized it would be helpful if they could find a way to get their victims to stop fighting back.

So, now most reavers use speed limits instead of logs.

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We all lose during election time

We all lose during election time

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 13, 2012)

I can give you a prediction about the next presidential election almost a year before it happens. Ready? The US government will win and America will lose. The status quo will be elected once more.

There isn't a bit of difference between any of the candidates who will end up on the ballot in the "possible winners" spots. Democrat, Republican, Republicrat, or Demopublican. They all stand for more government, more "laws", and less liberty. The only difference is in their individual angle of attack. They easily get this government-extremist agenda pushed through by fanning the flames of fear that their own favored policies sparked.

I'll even go further than that. I anticipate an Obama win. I'll explain why:

Republicans are too busy cutting their own throats by marginalizing and ignoring the only mainstream candidate who is distinguishable enough from Obama to handily defeat him in a head-to-head battle. You know the candidate of whom I speak: the only one Constitutionally-qualified for the job because he is the only one who adheres to the letter and intent of the document that gives the federal government its only permit to exist. That candidate is Dr. Ron Paul.

I have plenty of disagreements with Dr. Paul. Beyond the fact that he remains a part of the system. However, I do trust him to try to stay "Constitutional"; to act as he is legally authorized to act. That's something no president in several generations could honestly claim.

Whichever of the candidates actually ends up being elected, he will keep doing what Obama has been doing, only more so. On the remote chance it happens to be someone other than Obama, he will campaign by railing against things Obama has done, only to build on Obama's actions once he gets in office. It's the same story every time. Obama campaigned as an anti-Bush, but turned into a continuation of Bush- copying and building on the former's worst offenses as he added new offenses of his own. I expect no change.

But, this expectation gives a certain freedom. Once you see past the smoke and mirrors you can laugh at the show. Let the others chase their tails and tell you their insane and diseased trained monkey is better than the other guy's insane and diseased trained monkey. Look beyond the hype and see that they are all trying to get you to buy a sick monkey that will bite you.

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"Keep it in your pants"

How many times have you seen the admonition to "Keep it in your pants"?

Whether in regards to religion (or other opinions) or literally a demand that you keep your pants zipped up so that "it" doesn't show up where it isn't wanted. It is still there, whatever "it" may be, but it's not an issue as long as it doesn't show up.

It's just a simple truth that as long as you "keep it in your pants" it can't really bother anyone else or be any of their business. And, if they insist on making it "their business" they have problems- and should be avoided.

I see it as an acknowledgement that "Bubble Theory" is right, and is generally understood to be right by almost everyone- until you try to look for a "slavery is OK as long as I only do it on my own property" loophole.

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Liberty through a lens

I don't mind people seeing liberty through the lens of their own religion, until they start insisting that liberty is inextricably tied to that particular religious view.

I am an atheist. That's just me. I don't make any pretense that libertarians must be atheists. I know many who are not. I certainly don't call for any State control, regulation, prohibition, or oversight of anyone's religious views. Or non-views. Nor do I support any State endorsement or favor for any particular religious views, or non-views.

I stand up for people's religious views, and their right to hold those views, on a regular basis. Even though I think it is silly to believe in things that are beyond any sort of detection, experimentation, or objective observation.

But, I see a fairly common trend that disturbs me. It is when someone who views liberty through the lens of their particular religion demands that everyone view it the same way. Or when some aspect of the State only disturbs them when it ruffles their religious feathers. Such a narrow focus is dangerous.

Sure, a lens can bring things into focus and make you see more clearly. If the lens is the exactly correct one. There are infinite "wrong" lenses and only one right lens, and only a few that are better than nothing. Results count, and by the results I see evidence, strong evidence, that looking through liberty only through the lens of religious faith gives a distorted view.

Long ago I looked through that lens. I see more clearly now that it dropped away. But, what you see is your business until you start demanding everyone see it your way, or you'll have nothing to do with them. Too few of us care about liberty to be that divisive.

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Bad guys prove most people are decent

An internal combustion engine only functions when the temperature around it is a lot cooler than the heat it is generating inside itself. The imbalance is what gives it power. All things that "do work" depend on an imbalance in order to work. Waterfalls, windmills, whatever.

I think the same truth transfers to social situations.

Being a bad guy only "works" if the vast majority of people around you are good.

If everyone is running around robbing and attacking, there's no profit to it. The bad guy would get nowhere. In fact, as the percentage of bad guys increased, the "success" of being a thug would decrease.

This is a good thing in my eyes. It demonstrates that the vast majority of people are good, otherwise there would be no benefit to being bad.

Bad guys try to short-circuit this by joining government, but even that only "works" for them because we, the good people, still vastly outnumber the bad guys. Some day the good guys may wake up to this fact- and on that day the bad guys will have a very, very bad day. Or, partial day.

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Initiating force

I have once again violated the Zero Aggression Principle. And, once again, I am OK with that.

My daughter touched a hot burner on top of the stove and burned her fingers. I grabbed her, and quite against her will, forcibly held her fingers under cold, running water. Yet, even as I did it I realized that even if it were the right thing to do, I had no right to initiate force and do it. That is how the ZAP works in real-life situations, and is why it is so resilient.

But, as I have pointed out in the past, sometimes you have to do what you believe to be the right thing and accept any consequences that come from your actions.

I do.

Would she demand restitution? I'll ask her, but even after I explain what restitution is, I don't think she will.

And, she is OK, other than a few blisters.

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Prohibition MUST continue!

This was to be my Clovis News Journal column for February 10, 2012, but it was rejected. The reasons are probably obvious, considering this region. Plus my writing skills were said to not be good enough to actually pull it off. Oh well. See what you think.

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(Imagine if the prohibition that is currently tearing our society apart were aimed at a different target instead. Please don't get angry before you read it all.)

Some people are calling for an end to the war on Bibles. How can these "soft on crime" types fail to see the lives destroyed by Bibles? To give up now, through re-legalization, is to admit defeat. The law is the only thing stopping many of our fellow citizens from reading Bibles now. Lives are at stake!

Re-legalization advocates claim the Bibles themselves harm very few, rather it's the justice system and societal consequences of being caught that cause most of the problems. Nonsense!

Bibles make some people "feel good". They give them a sense of transcendence; make them believe they are a part of something "bigger than themselves"; that they are special in some way. That's delusional and can be fatal!.

Think of all the families torn apart because a parent was caught with a Bible, or even printing out Bibles to give to innocent children. Consider all the brave BEA (Bible Enforcement Administration) agents and local officers who have been killed, fighting on your behalf, in this war. Each time they go out to make an arrest they risk not coming home to their family. Behind that door they are about to kick in could be someone ready to defend their imagined "right" to own and to read Scriptures.

Consider that the majority of Americans in prison first started down the wrong track by reading or trafficking in Bibles and, once assimilated into the prison culture, got involved in other criminal activities. You say their mind is their own, and what they put into it is their business? Look at the consequences of acting on this belief.

People seem to believe it's a joke. They put Bible-related stickers and emblems on their cars. They flippantly wear clothes with Bible-inspired quotes. Bibles are illegal, and all Bible readers and Scripture pushers are, by definition, criminals! If you support them you should be arrested, too!

If Bible prohibition weren't a good idea, why is it so popular? Bible-tests are now standard practice in order to get a job- no one would want their lives or safety endangered by someone who believes they can pray and alter reality. Do you really want your brain surgeon, your airline pilot, or the teen driver on the street to believe that? This is just too dangerous to be permitted to continue without society trying to do something about it! The war on Bibles must continue, even though Bibles can probably never be completely eliminated. If it saves just one life...

(OK, back to here and now. Horrible, isn't it? Think it could never happen? If you believe the law makes enforcement right, wait until you are on the other side of the law.)

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"Tragedy of the Commons" at work

Anyone who doesn't believe "the tragedy of the commons" is real should watch kids who have access to an alcohol hand sanitizer dispenser.

I have observed it myself multiple times in the fast food joint play area.

I'm sure the dispensers are mandated by some stupid "law" in order to keep the kids from spreading their kid germs to other kids who have their own germs, but the kids love the stuff, and use it up about as fast as it gets replenished.

Each kid seems afraid that if they don't use all they can, the others will get it all. So they push and shove and grab all they can until it is gone.

And some adults think this can be changed and eliminated from human nature (or animal behavior). How silly!

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"Immigration control"

Recently a post on the War on Guns blog gave me inspiration to re-address an old "problem". My comment:

The harder the govgoons make it for people to immigrate, the more it weeds out the good immigrants.

It's like "gun control" [sic]. The bad guys will always be armed, so the "laws" only disarm the good people (the dumb ones, anyway). Anti-immigration "laws" will only keep out those who really want to be "legal"; the gangsters will always get in.

I'm sure many otherwise rational people, particularly "Patriotic Gun Owners" of the sort that slobber on Shire Reave Joe Arpaio's rear end, don't want to see it in this light, but it will still always be the absolute truth.

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Libertarians come in various forms

Libertarians come in various forms

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 6, 1012)

I've heard it said that getting libertarians together for any project is as difficult as herding cats*. Perhaps that is why I like most cats better than I like most dogs: I'm not terribly fond of the blindly obedient personality. I will admit I'd appreciate it if my cat would clean up her own gooey hairball messes.

I think one reason it is hard to get libertarians together is the nature of individual liberty. What is important to me may not matter at all to the next libertarian. While I spend a large portion of my life writing about liberty (because it energizes me), other libertarians are busy living their own lives in their own way, focusing on their own priorities, and most are not at all concerned with spreading the philosophy. And that is perfectly fine. I am aware there are areas of my life which would benefit if the writing didn't get so much of my time.

I recently sat down for a chat with another local libertarian and was struck by how different from mine was the path which brought him to this philosophy. Different experiences, backgrounds, and lives, leading to the same basic realization- that liberty matters and is not negotiable. Like every libertarian I have ever met, he was extremely intelligent, common-sensical, and stimulating to talk to. And just plain nice. The main difference I can see is that he isn't as publicly outspoken as I am. But that doesn't mean he isn't doing just as much, or more, to promote liberty in his own way.

Among libertarians, even among those libertarians concerned with spreading a love and understanding of liberty, there are differences of opinion as to which methods work. Some are still convinced they can "vote themselves free", while others see no evidence of this. Some prefer "preaching to the choir", while others enjoy stepping into the lions' den to try to show fans of coercion-based statutory "law" the superiority of voluntary action. Some think that it is a waste of time doing anything other than just living their life as they see fit to the best of their ability, and never try to help those who don't want to be helped. "Just let the wagon go into the ravine if those on board insist on staying the course."

Personally, I think there is a place for all those strategies, and it will take a little of all the above to once more make the world excited, and safe, for liberty. I'm not going to be too hard on anyone who is working toward the same goal.

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* I actually had a guy comment on the newspaper site that " The herding cats comment was by the inventor of modern Libertarianism to show how easy it was to organize them." Seriously? He thinks that's what it means? Has he ever been around cats OR libertarians? I have my doubts.

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"But you might HURT someone!"

I think I've discovered something about myself:

I'm not that impressed (or scared) by "might hurt someone", or "dangerous". I suppose that may color a lot of my opinions.

I'm not saying that I don't see people do things I consider to be dangerous and think to myself "That idiot is going to hurt someone, someday". It's just that my "solution" is never to send The State after that person, but instead to watch out for myself and others and do my best to keep them out of the idiots' way.

We all do things that onlookers would probably think are dangerous and that might hurt someone. If you can do those things without ever harming anyone, then why the complaints? If you do hurt someone, then restitution! Are you sure you can afford it? (Oh, wait. I forgot there isn't much danger of you actually having to answer that question in this justice-free society, where The State pretends putting you in a cage will "make it all better". Morons.)

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Sacrificing the healthy to the sick

Sometimes, some people have a serious problem. That's sad. But it can be made worse when everyone else is expected to have their lives and rights tossed aside for the few with the problem.

One example is a peanut allergy. Yeah, it's tragic and can be fatal. I am sorry, but it is the responsibility of the person with the allergy to make sure they avoid peanuts. It is not my responsibility to protect them. I am not going to walk around chanting "Unclean!" so that those who have to avoid peanuts will stay away from me.

Another example is "gun control". Yep, around guns some people will do the wrong thing. That is NOT my fault and I resent being punished for things I did not do. I am not going to walk around chanting "Forgive me- I own guns!" so that the State and pathetically damaged individuals can attack me for being a responsible person.

Everyone has defects that they might prefer that others cater to- some of these can even be fatal. But it hurts us all to demand we order society around the problems, rather than expect those with the problems to order themselves around healthy individuals.

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Learn The Way, Grasshopper.

Sometimes the contortions of those who fawn over The State leave me in awe. It's like some kind of mental discipline beyond what I am capable of allows them to justify the unjustifiable, and ignore the obvious. They've discovered "Gov fu- The Way of the Coward".

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Disgusting authoritarians

I have read about a couple of studies that found that those who identify themselves as "conservative" are more easily disgusted. Interesting.

Not sure if the correlation indicates causation. Or, even if there is causation, which causes which. Are people who are easily disgusted drawn to "conservatism", or do "conservatives" become more easily disgusted as a way to justify their politics?

I guess someone needs to do a follow-up and watch young kids as they mature and see what happens to those who are easily disgusted in early childhood, versus those who are not.

The study got one thing glaringly wrong when it claimed "Liberals tend to disagree, and are more likely to base judgments on whether an action or a thing causes actual harm". Um, no, they don't. (I interpret this as bias on the part of the researchers.)

Which makes me wonder, what is the correlating factor that is tied to "liberals"?

I suspect it is "offense". I would like to see a study that looks at people who are easily offended and see what their politics resembles.

However, as we all know, "conservative" and "liberal" (or "progressive" if you prefer) are just silly names for authoritarian. Which makes sense. Disgust and offense are also pretty much just different names for the same feeling.

"Conservatives" may be offended by "gay marriage" while "liberals" are disgusted by gun ownership.

So, authoritarians are those who are easily offended/disgusted. And then use offensive and disgusting coercive behavior to try to force everyone else to go along with their own mental shortcomings.

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Road monopoly and "their rules"

One place a particularly pathetic defense crops up- for the absurd rules that the government road monopoly imposes- is in discussing driver's licenses.

The government apologist will say "If you don't like the rules the government enforces for using the roads the government built..." Then the apologist will either suggest we stay off the government roads completely, or build our own. Both rather stupid demands considering the reality of the world as it now exists. But, if I have to either live with the rules the government imposes, in order to have the "privilege" of traveling on "its" roads (excuse me, but who paid for them?), or else the poor, beleaguered government will just have to take its toys and go home, building and maintaining no more roads for my "benefit"... well...

My response to the government and its supporters: So stop. We'll adapt. We'll survive. We'll be fine. You are unneeded, unwanted, and totally unwelcome. You don't enrich life; you pollute it. Go away.

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Government can't "take the 5th"

Just in case puppeticians and their disgusting bureaucratic familiars forget, the 5th Amendment doesn't protect government, nor does it give the government in general an excuse to refuse to answer to you or me..

The entire Bill of Rights only exists to protect individuals from government actions. It does not exist to protect government from curious "citizens" or other interested parties. To attempt to use it in this way is wrong. People should have secrets from government; governments should have no secrets from the people.

What this means is that government secrets are not only wrong, but they are also illegal. Any ignored or rejected Freedom of Information Act request is a clear admission of wrongdoing. Any blacked out document that results from a FOI request is unambiguous evidence of guilt. Any government secret of any kind is illegal and a clear sign that the government is doing something wrong that it feels it needs to hide.

Now, you and I both know that government doesn't even bother looking for something to make its secrecy "legal", but it's good to remember that a government secret is a criminal act.

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Just when you think you have things figured out...

The paper I write a column for, the Clovis News Journal, has been sold by Freedom Communications, and bought by a new company. I'm not sure what that will mean for my continued writing for them, since Freedom Communications is "editorially libertarian", but the new owners say they will have the paper "remain conservative".

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