Government is childishness

I notice my young daughter is skilled in the art of bait and switch.  "Let's go outside" becomes "Let's go to the playground" as soon as we are outside, which then becomes "No, I meant the other playground" (which is farther away) as soon as we head across the street.  Even the farther playground can become a waystation for McDonald's or something... if I let it.

Dealing with her bait and switch tactics makes me laugh.  But some people's bait and switch is no laughing matter.

"Let us take care of you in your old age" became "Let us take care of your medical bills when you can't pay them" which became "It's illegal to work without our tracking number and permission".  Sure, there were a lot more steps than that.

It's the same with "immigration", guns, drugs, "taxation", regulation, licensing, and everything else people have allowed the perverted molesters of State to get away with having some say in.

In everything that government-employed bureaucrats and other thugs do, they employ the old bait and switch routine.  Get you to accept the first step, and then keep changing the goal and taking advantage of your momentum.

Which goes to show that all "government" is stuck in 5-year old behavior of some sort. Whether it's communism, bait and switch, or being afraid of imaginary monsters.  Sometimes you just wanna grab those supposed "adults" by the collar and warn them to grow up.

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Fourth of July

Independence Day is dead. Long live The Fourth of July.

It used to bother me that people never called the day "Independence Day".  But I finally realized they were right all along. I was wrong. It isn't Independence Day.  Not anymore.

Now it's all about dependence.  Dependence upon military worship- called "patriotism".  Dependence upon what the "laws" allow you to do to celebrate the watered down version of the holiday.  It's all about worshiping the greatest enemy that America ever faced- The State.  The way "The 4th" is celebrated now is spitting in the face of the original reason for the holiday.

I'm against "capital punishment" but it seems that the honest way to celebrate Independence Day, a real Independence Day, would be to tar and feather, or hang- depending on the damage the individual has done- a few anti-liberty bigot politicians.  Each and every year.  That would be appropriate to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  It would serve as a warning that the death of independence will not go unpunished.

But that's just wishful thinking.  So instead I will honor independence in my own mind while I ignore everyone around me celebrating The Fourth of July.

And I'll fly my own flag, thank you very much...
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Spreading cowardice

What causes cowardice?

I think it is a suspicion that you can't handle a situation.  Maybe due to lots of past failure.  Or because you have been discouraged- or prevented- from testing your wings. 

"Government" seems to be designed to prevent people from gaining the necessary experience which would lead to confidence.  Or to bravery. 

And without cowards "government" would wither away and die.  It (well, those who call themselves members of that coercive, thieving gang) breeds what it needs. 

I plan to work towards countering the brainwashing.

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You can't give away what you don't possess

You can't give away what you don't possess

(My Clovis News Journal column for May 31, 2013)

Can you give me an actual living, breathing, Tyrannosaurus rex? No. Why not? Because you don't have one to give. You can't give away something you don't possess- especially if it doesn't exist.

So how can you pretend to give government employees the authority to do things on your behalf which you never had the authority to do on your own? Things such as to forbid guns in some circumstances, some methods of carry, or to certain people. Or to kick in doors to get drugs. Or to require licenses for driving or conducting business. Or to take a percentage of everyone's property.

The truth is, you can't give that authority because you never possessed it; no one did- it never even existed. In every case it's completely wrong to do those things since no one has the authority to violate the fundamental rights, under Natural Law, of their fellow humans. When someone chooses to do those things anyway they become an enemy to other individuals, and by extension, to society. Even to civilization.

Theft, aggression, and every other violation of individual sovereignty need to be seen as the destructive forces they are, and they need to be universally rejected, not delegated to some authority.

As one example of this truth, police don't have any "special authority"- or at least they were never intended to. Just as you hire someone to haul your trash to the landfill, even though you are perfectly capable of doing so yourself but would rather not be bothered with the mundane task, police were to be paid to do full-time what everyone had the authority to do anyway: stop theft and aggression.

If only society would return to this principle, and individuals would take responsibility for themselves again instead of leaning on the crutch, it would solve a lot of problems.

As it is, police are now believed to have special authority; authority that never existed and therefore can not be delegated to them by you or anyone. This imaginary "special authority" creates an "us vs. them" gulf that will only keep growing wider and more dangerous until it is stopped cold, and reversed.

Police are only one small facet of the problem. Any "law" that pretends to give any government employee more authority than any random person on the street is not a legitimate law. In fact, as their boss, you have more real authority than the job can ever confer upon them. Never let the uppity servants order the masters around, and never tolerate their violation of anyone's liberty.

That is within your rightful authority.

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Keeping your promises to a murderer

Let's say your best friend swears you to secrecy before he will tell you something juicy.  Then, after you swore to keep his secret, he tells you he raped and murdered a young girl.  Who in their right mind would believe the promise to keep the secret was more important than an attempt at justice?  Or to inform others of the danger he poses?  Who would be angry with you for breaking your oath to the murderous rapist?

And why is the Edward Snowden case any different?

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Again with the cowards

The guy whose fear opened my eyes to the cowardice surrounding me wasn't really one of those "powards".  He lacked any real power.  But he was grateful for the powards who had made up, and enforced, the rules that gave him the fragile illusion of "safety".  The illusion that he had accidentally glimpsed a crack in.

You could see the fear in his eyes as he spoke of the GUN he had almost encountered.

These cowards will never feel "safe enough".  They would really like for everyone else to be as afraid as they are.  Those who aren't shine the light of pity on the fearful.  They expose the shortcoming.  The cowards don't want to feel bad about themselves, so they would like to reduce everyone else to a quivering puddle so they'll have no one exposing them for the pathetic people they truly are.

So they advocate, pass, support, and enforce all manner of pointless and counterproductive "laws" that can never really even make them feel safe, while seeking to harm- yes, HARM- those who aren't as cowardly.  Their rules actually make them much less safe by empowering the real bad guys.  Which makes me wonder if the cowards actually get a thrill out of being fearful.

Of course, these "laws" could also be explained by the fact that the people who advocate, pass, support, and enforce them are just plain evil.  So you are seeing the results of evil and/or cowardice.

There are things I am afraid of.  Heights.  Aggressive large dogs.  Probably something else, too.  The difference is that I am not such a coward that I want to level the world to remove all heights, ban people from washing windows on skyscrapers, or make big dogs "illegal".  I know my fears are my problem and it isn't your obligation to coddle me.

Maybe this is why I feel such contempt for cowards.  I have fears; I deal with them without violating you.  Why won't they do the same?  I think it's high time I insist they do.

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Down With Powards!

Down With Powards! 

(My latest contribution to The Libertarian Enterprise)

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that America has become a culture of cowards.

"No guns" = cowardice. "War on terrorism" = cowardice. "War on Politically Incorrect Drugs" = cowardice.

Cowards, cowards, cowards, everywhere cowards, cowering in their pools of cowardice. I am saddened and disgusted by displays of overt cowardice. I don't want my kids to suffer from your cowardice or to catch it from you. I'd rather they not be exposed to it, either. And I want them to know it when they see it.

Cowards hide behind "policies" that they falsely believe will protect them from the oh-so-scary and dangerous world. But their policies just reinforce their cowardice, infect others, and attempt to weed out the non-cowards. As they say: The Brave die once; a coward dies a thousand times—at least once each and every day, I would bet.

I had a little discussion with a couple of city employees a few days ago. Because of the way I dress, they were worried I might be armed. They even got "the vapors" over the knife on my belt and asked me to leave it in my car. As far as they know, I complied.

As I was leaving, one followed me outside to explain that there had been an incident the night before with an ARMED PERSON with A GUN on the premises! That is why they were twitchy and cautious. No indication there had actually been any aggression committed, but that's beside the point to the cowards of the world.

I told the guy his concern and the policy were stupid. Yes, I probably should have been more diplomatic. I said all he was doing was handing the rest of us over to the bad guys by worrying about guns. I told him no bad guy will ever obey a "no guns" sign (which wasn't displayed there anyway), and he agreed. He countered by saying that in today's world, though, you can be shot for wearing the wrong color shirt, so you can't be too careful. I said that tragic reality is directly because of policies aimed at disarming the good guys, since good guys are the only ones who would ever obey such a policy. I told him all he's doing is empowering the bad guys and giving them the advantage and encouraging them to be bold. Once again, he reluctantly agreed. I told him the policy was cowardly and made me sad. He said he is only a city employee and it's a city policy and he has to enforce it. I said that's just sad, and I walked away.

Look, if you think your anti-gun policy is enhancing "safety" or "the Peace", you are wrong. All you are doing is punishing everyone else and handing your friends and neighbors over to the aggressive parasites on a silver platter. You are basically saying "Here, I've prepared your prey for you just the way you like it. Do with them as you will before I can get other armed thugs here to sort it all out." That's the way of the coward, and it disgusts and saddens me. I want no part of your cowardice.

I'd rather face a few dangers (which would be fewer without the cowards making "policy") than be surrounded by the surrender monkeys.

Surely I am not alone in that.

I aim to recognize bravery and never silently acquiesce to the cowards in power. Down with Powards!

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Sick of cowards!

Cowards.  More specifically, "powards".  Powerful cowards.

The world is in a terrible mess because normal people have too long coddled cowards and accommodated thieves and thugs.  Most people have been too nice to call out these people who are ruining things for everyone else with their cowardice and parasitism.

Most positions of political power are held by people completely crippled with cowardice.  Just look at all the anti-gun bigots in congress and try to tell me those people aren't completely enslaved by their cowardice.

A recent event brought this home to me.

I, personally, have been too nice to cowards just about all my life.  And it is making me a little ill to think about.

Why should we who aren't crippled with cowardice bend over backwards to make the cowards more comfy?  Why would we let them dictate what we can do in order to make them feel safer- especially when it will never be enough, since the problem isn't with us or with the world, but within themselves?  Their damaged, frightened selves.

Well... more on this in a bit.

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Who's responsible for "offense"?

That you have no right to not be offended can also be stated as others have a right to offend you.  Just as long as they don't initiate force or steal/damage your property.

The offense that you feel is not part of them or of their non-coercive act, but of you and your response to them or their act. They are not responsible for your reaction.

But you are responsible for how you behave after you are offended.

That's a hard one for some people to swallow.  It has been difficult for me at some points in my life.  Things go easier for me when I keep that in mind.

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Don't misunderstand the ZAP

Saying "You have no right to initiate force" is not the same as saying "Thou shalt not initiate force".

Sometimes I wonder if people get the distinction.  Probably not, since most seem to have been programmed to see things only in terms of "Thou shalt not...".

If you feel you "must" initiate force to prevent what you believe to be a looming disaster (an obviously drunk/impaired driver, for example), then go ahead and do it with the full understanding that you are acting outside of what you have a right to do, and accept ALL the consequences, even if you feel they are not "fair".

And don't think it's OK to steal money to pay for others to do it on your behalf.  It isn't.  In fact, I think that's even worse than initiating force yourself.  It just makes more people guilty.

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Want to be a slave?

Do you consider yourself a slave to gravity?  Or to your body?

If not, why would you consider yourself a slave to "government"?

The theft and coercion that get called "government" are a reality of the world.  (Just as are theft and coercion that don't get any particular label attached.)  To say that this makes you or others a slave is a defeatist attitude.  It may be all around you, but it only enslaves you if you let it.

You have a brain.  Use it to find ways around the theft and coercion.  Find ways to use "government" against itself (not against others) when backed into a corner.  It can be satisfying to watch a pack of dogs turn on each other.

Don't accept the status of slave that the thugs and goons would want you to accept.  Navigate the real world the best you can, always living by the ZAP, and never giving the bad guys more power than they really possess.

"Government" exists.  You are not a slave to it unless you want to be.

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Column incubator for feds' ideas

Column incubator for feds' ideas

(My Clovis News Journal column for May 24, 2013)

Federal employees must read my columns and use the warnings therein as a blueprint for future schemes, just as Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and George Orwell's "1984" seem to have been adopted as suggestions for governing rather than as the dire warnings they should have been.

Recent news that the National Transportation Safety Board is seeking to further lower the "legal standard" for the blood alcohol content that would be called "drunk"- to 0.05%- echoes a warning I gave in a previous column in this space about a hypothetical future where driving after eating a turkey dinner is criminalized as "driving under the influence". Welcome to the future.

No one I know of thinks driving while drunk is a good idea. There is, however, a legal concept known as "prior restraint". Actions that "might" harm someone can't be a real crime and can't legitimately be punished as one. Otherwise everything you do would be illegal and make you subject to arrest. Which might just be the real goal, after all.

Every action has some probability of causing harm, and the "law" is a poor method of deciding what the odds are. Unless an incident occurs where someone has actually been hurt or private property has been damaged, there is no individual victim and no crime can have been committed. No matter what the "law" might say, how strictly it is enforced, or how much you disapprove of the action involved. "The majority" may want to punish "pre-crime", but it will always be wrong to do so.

Anytime a "law" is expanded to criminalize more people- even if the intentions are supposedly good- a larger net has been cast and it creates more criminals and further delegitimizes everything else the "law" is expected to accomplish. It's a form of inflation- the more of something you make, the less each unit of it is worth.

The "law" can't lose much more value and continue to exist in any meaningful way. For an increasing number of people it has already lost all legitimacy.

Instead of "prior restraint", what is needed is real restitution for any and all harm that is done to an individual victim (which is never the State)- no matter the circumstances.

If you cause a wreck and an innocent person dies as a result, what does it matter whether you were drunk, texting, "running a license plate", sleepy, scolding a child, or sneezing? Do you really think the family of the dead victim cares what your excuse is? They don't, unless it happens to be their adopted "cause".

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Mixing eras for enjoyment

As you may have realized, I am not a man much constrained by any particular historical era.  I have been known to be dressed in buckskins with a cell phone on my belt next to my flintlock pistol and bowie knife.

I tend to go with whatever works, as long as it doesn't violate my principles.

In following this personal quirk I discovered a cool way to listen to the music on my cell phone.  I turn on the music and place the phone in the horn of my knock-off victrola and enjoy the rich sound, amplified enough to actually be heard perfectly.

Yeah, it works.

Try it some time, assuming you have one.  A phone that plays music, I mean.

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In the dog house. Again.

My Clovis News Journal columns may be watered-down a bit more- at least for a while.

The publisher is unhappy that the theme "government is theft and coercion" seems to keep cropping up and I have been instructed to avoid mentioning that particular 800-pound gorilla until he cools off.  Or until he stops paying attention to me again.  I'm usually OK until he notices me.  Yes, a lot of that is my fault.

I realize that I have a very thin rope to walk in my newspaper columns.  I will not compromise the message or the principles, but I also have to try to offer it in as gentle a way as possible.  Don't wanna startle the herd and cause a stampede.

So, for a while, I have to find ways to promote the idea of voluntary, consensual society, without contrasting it to the current situation too obviously.

If I didn't need the money/pittance, and if I didn't get so much positive feedback- in person- from people I run into around town, it wouldn't be worth it.  But, I can see I am making a difference in at least some individual lives around me, and that is as powerful a motivator as the money (which is desperately needed).

I really need to start asking the "locals" who tell me how much they appreciate my columns to please consider sending the publisher an email letting him know.  I'd like him to hear from someone other than the local politicians and partisans who apparently have such a problem with him publishing my columns.  But I invariably think of it when it's too late.

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Doom, Disaster, and Amnesty!

How about instead of getting your knickers in a knot over "Amnesty"- for or against- you accept the fact (yes, FACT) that it can never be a crime to simply move to where you would rather be, as long as you don't trespass on private property in the process?  No matter what words have been written or uttered to that effect.

Instead of hacking in futility at those branches of evil- the ones labeled "they'll overwhelm the social services" and "they'll vote for more collectivism" or "they'll take our jobs"- strike the root.

It is a disastrous idea to set up a State, or to allow one to continue.  States are always, and invariably, ONLY used to violate the rights of individuals.  None of the above "issues" would be imaginable without The State making them possible.

That is the source of any problem with "Amnesty".  Face it, accept it, and deal with it however you see fit.

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Becoming what you fight

I have expressed my opposition to government-imposed "death penalties" before.  But maybe I haven't expressed the thing I find most horrifying.  Besides the abominable error rate in convictions, that is.

It's not that I oppose the death penalty out of misplaced sympathy for murderers- I don't- it's that I hate it because of what it does to those who carry it out and those who salivate to see it done.  It turns them into murderers and revenge whores.

Death at the hands of an intended victim or a rescuer is justice- or better. It prevents the violation from being carried to conclusion- it nips it in the bud.  And it prevents the attacker from victimizing anyone else, ever again.  There is also almost no room for error, as long as no innocent bystander gets harmed in the process.  You don't get attacked by a rapist, and then in self defense kill an innocent guy who just happens to look a little like him, but was miles away at the time.  Not when the attack is in progress.  Afterwards....?

Death years later at the hands of some hired killer- paid with stolen money, no less- is murder motivated by revenge.

So, no.  I don't hate the "death penalty" because of what it does to murderers.  Death is appropriate for many of them.

But for those who kill them for The State?  It turns them into worse than those they kill. That's right- "capital punishment" is worse than almost all free lance murders- done without warning, in the heat of the moment, and without any illusion of legitimacy.

It is premeditated; clinical; ritualistic; almost religious. Barbaric in the extreme.  In large part because of the reverential way it is viewed by its fans.  Just imagine a freelance murderer going through the motions of killing his victims in the same way- the same ritual- as the State murderers do it.  You can't approve of that behavior, no matter who is doing it, and not be damaged by your approval.

It is not justice, it is the worst form of revenge. It's symbolic- cleansing society of a diseased individual. When in reality it accomplishes nothing of the sort. The "diseased individual" is already removed from society when caged.  And the ritual only creates more diseased individuals.

No "government" anywhere has employees who are perfect enough or wise enough to be trusted with the power of life and death.

There is no perfect solution.  Some innocent people will always die, and some really bad guys will always escape justice.  But that's no excuse to stick with a "solution" that is better suited to a barbaric past.  The past where "The State" also belongs.

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Your "Right" to be evil

I have been scolded by people who say that if government goes away it would violate the rights of people who want to be a government employee.  What?!

Taking away the "right" to be a cop or an IRS agent doesn't actually violate anyone's rights. It's the same as taking away the "right" to be a mass-murdering cannibal.  You have no "right" to violate other people.  Not freelance, and not as your "9 to 5 job".

If I had the ability to push "the button" and make "government" instantly evaporate- and with it, your tax-parasite "job"- I wouldn't be violating your rights in any way.

Now, not too many dedicated statists have tried this argument, but I've heard it a few times.

Sorry, but if you have a strong desire to rob and attack people, you can do it without the myth of "government legitimacy" backing you up and see how long your choice remains viable.  You'll still have the same choice you've always had: live by the economic method (voluntary trade), or by the political method (theft and coercion).

I, for one, don't fall for the lie that your evil acts are somehow mitigated by the "consent of the governed" or "the Majority" or who your employer might be.  If you act like a thug, you are a thug.

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Protective talismans

I was reading an article about some private group "illegally" painting crosswalks on streets because the local thugs who claim ownership of the streets wouldn't.  They said the lack of painted crosswalks was too dangerous, and that several members of their group had been hit by cars due to the lack of clearly marked crosswalks.

They took the initiative and did something, with their own time and money, that they believed needed to be done.  And didn't violate anyone's property rights in doing so.

I don't have a problem with that (even though the local thugs had a big enough problem that they spent as much money scraping away the crosswalks as it would have cost to paint them in the first place), but it does raise some other questions in my mind.

Whatever happened to pedestrians (as people) being responsible for watching out for themselves?

Whether I am walking, biking, or driving I know my safety is MY responsibility. I never assume the other guy sees me or cares whether or not he runs over me.  Sure, it is nice if others are watching out for me, but I don't trust my life on that gamble.  I don't assume that a stop sign means oncoming cars will stop.  Or that a "law" that says they must will make it so.

The ultimate responsibility for my safety is mine- not that I can always avoid accidents. That doesn't absolve anyone else from their responsibility if their carelessness causes an accident.  So, sure, I might seek restitution for harm if someone else is at fault. That has nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

But seriously, does anyone really believe that paint on the asphalt will prevent accidents?  Stripes painted on a road accomplish nothing real- it's magical thinking to believe they do.

My question to those who trust signs, paint, and "laws":  What other magical talismans do you believe in?  Do you blindly trust stop signs to physically stop oncoming cars, too?  Do you never look for yourself, trusting that the signs and paint will reach out and protect you from harm?  It seems some people do.

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Appeasement contortionists

If an act qualifies as theft, or aggression, or is wrong in some other way, I don't care who is doing it or what excuse they use- it is wrong.  Your wishes won't change that.

To pretend I only object when the evil act is committed by a government employee is completely missing the point and is in denial of what I care about.

To twist yourself around and upside down to try to appease the thief/aggressor/bad guy- because you feel he is "necessary" in some way- destroys your credibility.

Just sayin'

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Using right tool for the job is key

Using right tool for the job is key

(My Clovis News Journal column for May 17, 2013)

Humans have always created tools to give them more power than would be available with bare hands.

Hammers, can openers, computers, and guns are tools.

The State- what most people mean when they talk about "the government"- is also a tool.

Any tool can be used in ways that could be said to be good and bad. However, only one tool- The State- can't be adequately aimed and can never be used without creating victims.

Some people compare my desire for the end of The State with the demands of anti-gun advocates for the end of privately owned firearms. Just as with guns, they claim it isn't the tool, but how the tool is used. That would be true if it were possible to use the tool of The State without harming the innocent.

Imagine being forced to pay for a neighbor's gun and ammunition, even though you know he is dangerous and plans to harm innocent people. His right to own a gun does not negate your right to keep your own money or your right to defend yourself from him when he endangers life, liberty, and property. Nor does the human right to own and to carry a gun include a right to use that gun to harm innocent people in any way.

Similarly, your right to organize doesn't negate anyone else's right to live peacefully however they see fit.

The State is a singular kind of tool. Even when "good" results from its use, it comes at the cost of some amount of bad. That bad is an inherent part of the tool- one that can't be eliminated without abandoning the tool. If you don't have coercion and theft, then you have a voluntary arrangement, and it is, by definition, not The State.

You might like some of the "services" The State provides you, but do you stop to think about the true cost? People who don't want those services are forced to pay for them regardless. This is like using a gun that fires two bullets simultaneously every time the trigger is pulled- one at the target, and another in a random direction from an unseen barrel.

The State probably isn't going away soon, so if you love it and want to keep it around, don't worry. You'll never lose your security blanket because of me. Only you can free yourself by growing to accept your responsibilities, giving up theft and coercion, and working out your conflicts using the economic method rather than the political method.

The tool of The State is dangerous and obsolete. You can do better.

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