Find the humor

When you are swimming against the current it helps to have a sense of humor about it all.

I enjoy watching movies and TV shows and considering solutions that don't involve theft or coercion to the melodramatic problems they pose- everything voluntary.

It gets easier all the time.

I also overhear (or read) people getting all worked up over things that wouldn't even be an issue in a free society. Like whether "illegal immigrants" should be permitted to have drivers licenses, and how the state can do that and still be "Real ID compliant". What? Talk about making nothin' out of nothin'... carry the nothin'...

It's like imaginative children worrying about whether Batman could defeat Spiderman during a zombie attack, using Calvin and Hobbes' cardboard box time machine as a weapon.

And that can also make me smile, as long as I don't get caught up in the absurdity of it all.

Yes, there are serious problems out there that shouldn't be ignored, but life can't be all work and no play, or what's the point?

It can also be amusing to propose a liberty-respecting solution and sit back and watch the teeth-gnashing. It's like tossing a dye-containing steak to a pack of ravenous hyenas; their faces get covered in funny colors but they can't see it.

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Obama’s anti-gun orders criminal

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 15, 2016- Obviously, in spite of the headline, the criminal actions don't stop with Obama, but extend to every politician, bureaucrat, or cop who has ever advocated, passed, or enforced even the most "minor" anti-gun "law".)

Are you worried by Obama’s latest anti-gun executive orders? Don’t be. He and his accomplices have no more authority to make up laws regarding guns than I do to demand you paint your house orange.

Don’t believe me?

Consider: The Second Amendment — which, as an amendment, over-rides anything to the contrary in the original Constitution — makes devising or enforcing any law as to guns, by any level of government, a serious crime. You are not bound to obey criminals, not even if they claim they are enforcing a law.

Second of all, even repealing the Second Amendment can't make the core human right to own and to carry any kind of weapon you wish, in any way you see fit, everywhere you go, without ever asking permission from any government employee, go away. Nothing can.

The right existed before the first government was forced on a population, it will exist long after the last government decomposes on the corpses it helped pile up, and it exists everywhere in the Universe where any human being lives. Including North Korea, Chicago, or the post office- in spite of any claims to the contrary.

No one who works for government has any say in who buys, sell, owns, or carries a gun. They have no say in anything regarding any weapons they don't personally own. Not legally; not morally.

This is common sense about guns. It is reasonable, and it is true.

Don't think bullies won't arrest (kidnap, under color of law) or murder you for exercising your rights, though. Bad guys will always be on the prowl to get you. Be alert.

It is up to you to either pretend anti-liberty executive orders and laws have authority over you, or to recognize they don't and live in liberty. No one can make this choice for you.

Liberty is the freedom to do anything which doesn't violate anyone else. Liberty, including the unconditional human right to own and to carry weapons (what "keep and bear arms" means), is your birthright. Liberty, though, never includes a right to threaten or harm anyone who isn't violating you, since that would damage the other person's rights.

Rights are equal and identical no matter who you are, where you were born, or where you happen to be.

So, do the right thing, don't worry about what politicians or their hired guns say, and watch out for those who live to violate you. It's the human thing to do, regardless of what bubbles up from the cesspools of government.

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What's the Constitution good for?

There is only one thing the US Constitution is good for: showing how the US government refused to be held back, and refused to abide by the contract it agreed to. That's it.

It was a mess from the beginning- it set up a State. Never a wise move, nor an ethical one.

Then, the bullies who tested its limits and got away with it- and by that I mean they lived another day- stretched it beyond all recognition.

The only time I'll bother mentioning the Constitution is when I want to show how criminal the government is.

Might as well toss it aside (you, I mean- the government already did so) and get on with surviving in a world where some bullies call themselves "government" and make it their goal to violate you and your property however they can get away with.

Don't pretend the Constitution ever protected your rights. Don't think you can save it and protect your rights into the future by getting politicians to anoint the "right" Supreme Courtjester. You, and you alone, are responsible for protecting your rights. I'll help if and when I can. But a long-dead document isn't going to help a bit.

Labels, like reality, can be limiting

The popular aversion to "labeling" ("I reject gender stereotypes"... "I don't call myself 'libertarian'") seems really silly to me.

Seems these people are too self-absorbed to admit that they aren't completely unique in every aspect of their lives. It's trendy and hip. But it's also painfully pretentious.

Yes, you probably do have a gender, whether you want to be identified by that gender or not. Very, very few people are perfectly balanced between genders; most tend more toward one than the other- usually almost completely. You may have qualities usually associated with both genders- that changes nothing. And it's nothing to be ashamed of- nor to celebrate. Get over yourself. And stop trying to make people feel bad for referring to you as "he" or "she".

And, if you recognize you have no right to initiate force you are libertarian. You might be a really bad libertarian if you choose to initiate force anyway, but only libertarians recognize that they have no right to initiate force.

I get it- labels can be "limiting". Especially if you are mislabeled or choose to label yourself deceptively. But, in those cases you can change, ignore the label, or demonstrate why it's wrong. And reality is always limiting. Often you can do this or that, but not both. Children don't like that reality and try really hard to deny it.

Labels are a tool, and like any tool can be good or bad. Use them wisely, but accept they are going to be used, whether you like it or not.

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Taxing Big Business

Corporations, "Wall Street", and "Big Business" don't ever pay "taxes". No matter how you "tax" them, the consumer- the "little guy": YOU and me- will always be the ones paying the "tax".

That's not meanness on their part. It is a simple economic reality "Big Business" couldn't change even if it wanted to.

"Taxes" are a cost of doing business for them- as is hiring accountants and lawyers to deal with the "taxes". If they don't figure in that cost while calculating the price they charge you, they go out of business.

"Big Business" can absorb this cost into the cost of doing business more easily than a small business can, so it will affect their costs (and customers) less than it would a small business. So, the "tax" hurts small business more than it hurts "Big Business", eliminating competition- those "taxes" are anti-business, anti-choice, and anti-consumer.

It's simple, it's harsh, and it's true.

So, if you advocate raising their "taxes" for any reason, you are "taxing" yourself. And me. And "taxing" me is robbing me, and I don't appreciate it one little bit. Knock it off!

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No explanation necessary

If you stay consistently on the side of Rightful Liberty you don't have to explain why you are for "Black Lives Matter" one month and "Ranchers' Lives Matter" another month. And if new information comes out, you don't have to change your position. "Non-Aggressor Lives Matter" is all you need to proclaim.

If you stay consistently on the side of Rightful Liberty you don't have to explain why you are for "marriage equality" this month, and for the right of bakers to refuse to bake cakes for a gay wedding next month.

If you stay consistently on the side of Rightful Liberty you don't have to explain why you are against "Sobriety checkpoints" one month, and think those who drive drunk are responsible for restitution next month. Or, a couple of hours later.

Consistency is crucial.

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Military or prison

I used to see some troublemaker teens and understand the State's offer of "military or prison".

But then I started observing, and using my brain.

I understand the thinking behind it: teens who keep getting into trouble seem to need discipline and structure, and something to give their lives meaning. Joining the military will supposedly provide that and put them into a supervised culture of camaraderie and cooperation.

So does prison.

Plus both justify more theft ("taxes") and government control. And we are told endlessly how unsafe "we" would be without either one.

Prison fosters an "us vs them" mentality among those who have gone through it- forever dividing them from everyone in society who hasn't gone through the same thing, and making them see everyone else as- at least- partly an enemy of sorts. It may (may) solve some behavior problems, but it just supersizes others.

Some people who go through prison want you to know. They make it the pivotal point in their life- one they dwell on the rest of their life, letting it define them as a person, and basing the rest of their lives on that event.

Same with the military.

Some people go through the military and move on. Some I have had the misfortune of knowing personally can't seem to do that. No matter how many years ago they got out, they never leave. They are never again free. They still let it define them, and probably always will. They are the ones getting angry while reading this.

So, "military or prison" isn't really a choice. And I can't support either institution.

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Be pro-life AND pro-choice

Anti-abortion is not the same as pro-life.

Not unless you are also against prohibition, cops, prisons, the military, and government in general. Then you could claim to be pro-life and I won't consider you a hypocrite.

I know no one personally, in real life, who is anti-abortion and also pro-life.

Instead I know a lot of people who are anti-abortion for religious reasons, and who are also supporters of prohibition, cops, prisons, the military, and government, supposedly also for religious reasons, and who don't seem to recognize their hypocrisy.

On the other hand, pro-choice is not pro-liberty if your choices differ from the choices they want you to make.

To be really pro-life would mean you are also really pro-choice. 

Choose to not prevent people from living free of being violated, controlled, robbed, kidnapped, or being forced to deal with people they'd rather not. Choose to not prevent them from living according to their own religious beliefs, while you live by yours. Choose to not prevent them from engaging in acts you feel are wrong, as long as they don't force you to go along or fund them. Choose to not prevent them from doing anything they want, as long as they are not using violence against the non-violent or those who are not violating private property, and are not violating the property of others.

Sure, that will mean people will do things you think are wrong. Just like you will be doing things others think are equally wrong. Both of you can speak out, ridicule, and insult the other. As long as you don't physically attack or trespass- which necessarily includes making up "laws" to try to impose your will on the others.

If you are attacked or your property is violated, defend yourself. If you see someone else being victimized, defend them if you want. There will be consequences. Accept them, or don't act.

Be truly pro-life and pro-choice.

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Government just another disaster

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 8, 2016)

Maybe it’s a personal fault, but I like blizzards. I enjoy anything interesting and challenging.

The way to keep “interesting and challenging” from becoming a disaster is by planning ahead.

 I try to be as ready as possible for emergencies or problems. I have kerosene lamps in case of a blackout. I also have a fireplace, and fun and games that don’t require electricity — not even batteries.

I have emergency food and water. Most importantly, I have enthusiasm for any chance to test it all.

I am a little disappointed I almost never have a blackout. It's a testament to the power (pun intended) of the companies who actually have to keep customers relatively happy. They are motivated to do a great job. Guys with guns won't show up to kidnap you if you disconnect from the electric pole- unlike the government monopolies you are forced to use, and pay for even if you find a better option.

Besides the opportunity to use my provisions, I also enjoy seeing what I missed and need to improve. It's a learning experience and I love learning.

Sometimes those around me don't enjoy adventures as much as I do. This provides another test.

I try to enjoy other challenges too, but it can be harder. To me an impersonal blizzard is more fun to deal with than similarly destructive groups of people who only exist to make life more difficult and dangerous- in practice if not by intention. Government employees do this when they impose themselves into a difficult situation and manage to make it worse; getting in the way of those who don't need their "help". Blizzards don't show up, then demand your thanks and strut around as if you couldn't live without them.

For that matter, neither do hurricanes, earthquakes, and plagues- all of which are less destructive in the long run than government.

But, you can prepare for the inevitability of natural events, and you can do the same for the malevolent winds of government. It won't always be around. Eventually our descendants will shake their heads in amazement that we tolerated it, but for now look upon it as you would any other bothersome reality you need to learn to navigate around.

Maybe you can even turn it into a game so your children will be better at surviving it than you are. It works with blizzards and blackouts; it can work for other disasters, too.

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Rule by Defectives

(Previously posted to Patreon)

This obsession with trying to structure the world around defective people is annoying, and probably a really bad idea. Both for the individuals being coddled, and for society as a whole. Maybe even for civilization.

It's nice to do helpful things for the defective, when you can. And to encourage them to do things for themselves. What isn't nice is damaging everyone else by the effort to accommodate them. A "lowest common denominator" society is a dying society. Or, as L. Neil Smith has written, "Euro-American welfare statism's preoccupation with 'the halt and the lame' isn't an iota healthier than the obsession of ancient Egypt's priest-kings with death."

Seems like no matter what you want to do these days, there is some group of victims out there saying you can't, or you'll be hurting them.

Maybe I'm just not nice, but I just don't have much sympathy for those who think their defects entitle them to whittle away at everyone else's freedom.

Everyone is defective; not everyone is "a defective".

I'm defective. My eyesight is horrible. I'm emotionally scarred by my daughter's recent death. I'm tall enough that I constantly hit my head on things built for short people- and sometimes it really hurts (and is why I usually wear a hat, even indoors). I am unsuited for the modern world in ways I can't articulate. But I don't demand everyone make the world safe for my defects, at the expense of everyone else. It is my responsibility to accommodate myself and my needs. I know what my defects are, and I can learn- I will learn- to navigate around them.

But the defective victim whiners don't want that responsibility.

If I am allergic (one of the most over-used justifications today) to tobacco smoke or peanuts, I understand that my allergy- my defect- will limit my freedom to go where I want. It doesn't give me the right, created out of thin air, to tell you where you are allowed to smoke or eat peanuts. That's between you and the property owner.

If I go into a business and bump my head on all their doorways or hanging signage, it is my responsibility to either duck or go elsewhere.

If I can't read a sign because of my eyesight, it doesn't create a responsibility in others to make bigger signs or to give me better glasses- even if not being able to read the sign could kill me.

If I am distraught due to my daughter's death, it doesn't create a right for me to punch people who joke about death.

Yes, taking responsibility for myself will make my life more difficult. Learning to deal with it will hone my senses and cognitive abilities. Coddling me to remove every bump from my path will only make me more defective than I was before.

That the consequences in the case of allergies could be more serious than me bumping my head doesn't shift responsibility to someone else.

I am much, MUCH more likely to try to accommodate those who don't make demands or throw "laws" at me. Once you make demands I will view you as a jerk, and I will probably enjoy seeing your discomfort. Perhaps that's another of my defects.

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A healthy relationship with government?

There is no such thing as a healthy relationship with government.

If you ignore it, you are ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the room.

If you hate it, you'll probably obsess over hating it.

If you love it, you are loving a disease; a defect.

If you trust it, it's like a "friend" who keeps stabbing you in the back.

If you use it as a tool against other people you are a bully.

If it uses you or violates you, you will be hurt and may feel like a victim.

If you work for it, I just don't know what to say. Well, yeah I do.

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Government is evil- that's NOT "just an opinion"

The question of whether government is good or bad isn't a simple matter of opinion.

Unless you believe it can be OK to use violence against the non-violent who are also not violating your property (aggression), or you believe property violation (theft) is OK.

Governments only exist through aggression and property violations. You can try to weasel-word your way around that fact, but the fact remains. So then you have to decide if that's OK.

If you decide it's not OK, how can you believe it's a matter of opinion that something which only exists by being built of a foundation of aggression and theft is OK.

And if you decide it is OK, why would you stop at those acts committed by government employees? Maybe it would be OK for any random person to just walk up and kill you or your daughter, or take your house and kick you out naked.

Either it's OK or it's not.

Hint: It's NOT.

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The nature of reality

Imagine you were the first person to figure out the shape of the Earth or any other feature of reality.

You have done what experiments and observations you can, especially those which could show you are mistaken, and your idea holds up.

No one around you can see it, and they might ridicule you if they were told what you had discovered. But it doesn't change reality.

That's how liberty is. It doesn't matter how few people listen, or believe you, or even care one way or the other, it's still reality.

But you aren't the first. Even though when you discover it for yourself it may feel like you are. Don't be discouraged that people around you are content in their ignorance. Some people want to know reality. Find them or let them find you.

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The fault (or the glory) lies within

No one can "make" you become anything you don't already have in you- especially not when you become what you are being warned against.

Government, as in The State, may be the best argument against itself, but if you are a government worshiper, all the evidence in the world won't cut through and make you realize you're wrong.

The evil of The State didn't make me an anarchist or a libertarian, although it certainly didn't help its case.

L. Neil Smith's excellent book of essays, "Lever Action", didn't make me into a libertarian.
Larken Rose didn't make me into an anarchist.

Both of them, through their writings, helped me see something in myself; made me recognize what I already was and had always been (although painfully in denial at times). They made me think, and by thinking I came to know myself better than I had before.

So, that pathetic little worm (apologies to all noble nematodes) who claims Ayn Rand "made" him a communist* is lying. Maybe she triggered him and made him double down on the communism he was already infected with. But to blame someone else for what you have become- especially when you have become a nasty parasite of the type you were being warned against- is pretty sorry.

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*h/t Claire Wolfe and others

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"Laws" are for losers

(Previously posted to Patreon)


Law is what you do when you have poor reasons.

Or, more likely, no reasons at all.

If you believe you need to make a "law" you are admitting you don't have a good reason, so you will have cops shove their guns in people's faces instead.
You are admitting you can't hold your own in a debate.
You can't convince people to go along with you.
Your way isn't better, so you can't afford to let people choose, because they might choose to ignore you. So, like a bad loser, you throw a tantrum and pull a "law" out of your... somewhere smelly, humid and, stifling... and then attack people who don't cooperate.

Of course, you are too cowardly to attack in person, so you hire bullies- cops- to do your attacking for you. It keeps you safe from the consequences of your evil actions.

There are only two kinds of "laws": the unnecessary and the harmful.

Laws against aggression and property violations are unnecessary. You already know these things are wrong. You need no "law" to allow you to defend yourself from them. Does murder or armed robbery have to be illegal for you to know it's wrong? If it does you have an ethical problem. A "law" adds nothing but an excuse to let government punish people. And punishment is NOT justice. Especially when the lie is told claiming "the State" is somehow the innocent victim, and owed fines or the pleasure of caging the offender.

Laws against- or compelling- anything else are harmful. These "laws" are counterfeit. They whittle away at the foundations of civilization.

"Laws" are for losers.

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You can't go wrong doing right

I've done stupid things and smart things. Good things and bad things.

The outcomes seem to have no correlation whatsoever.

That's a bit disappointing to someone who wants to do smart, good, things and have life work out accordingly. But reality is what it is.

This is also why "pragmatism" fails. You can't know how something will turn out based on your actions, be they pragmatic or idealistic, so do the right thing.

Even if things don't turn out well, at least you didn't do the wrong thing, believing it to be more pragmatic.

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Still standing for liberty in 2016

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 1, 2016)

As 2015 ends, I find myself thinking one thought: I hope 2016 is better.

To the extent I can control it, I will try to make sure it is for myself and for those around me.

A sad fact of life is you can’t control everything that happens. No matter what, bad stuff can (and will) happen to you and those you care about. That’s just life. But you can control how you respond to events. You don’t have to let them destroy you, or take away all your joy. You don’t have to let the bad stuff win.

So, I will try to make 2016 as good as I can, and if I see opportunities where I am able to improve someone else's year, I'll do that, too.

No, I'm not going to stop calling people out for their support of socialism- not even when they call it "fairness" or "law and order". A spade will always be a spade, and making up "laws" to control anything other than aggression or property violations will always be wrong, as will making up "laws" which consecrate wrongs done in the name of governing.

I will try to be as understanding as I can with those who advocate horrendously awful things- understanding that they have their reasons; often due to their loved ones being among the perpetrators of the growing police state. It's hard to think of those you love as the bad guys who are giving their all to the destruction of American society.

There may be other reasons, too. Some are probably scared of liberty and self determination due to years of indoctrination making them fear the lack of a master; to doubt their ability to live without being told exactly what is mandated and what is forbidden in every circumstance. I'll keep trying to help them shed those fears.

I'll do what I can to help people around me discover the tools to reject the superstitious belief in "authority" and take responsibility for themselves. But, I'll try to not be a pest about it; one-trick-ponies can be tedious.

Life is too short to be a bully, or to be loyal to any government or other gang of bullies. Live your life voluntarily, without violating others. Stand up for those who are violated. It's called "doing the right thing". If enough of us do it 2016 will be a great year, no matter what the Universe flings at our faces.

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Excuses

If drug abuse turns you into a bad person, you most likely weren't a good person to begin with.

The same is true about most things people will claim corrupted them.

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Death to schools

 Education is critically important. Much too important to allow government to touch in any way, much less control. My appreciation for education explains my opposition to schooling.

Supporting "public" schools has all the ethical foundation of advocating prison for kids because you fear that otherwise they might starve or have nowhere to sleep.

To claim that without government's "public" schools, kids wouldn't be educated is like claiming that without rapists, some women wouldn't feel wanted.

Blind loyalty to statist institutions is sickening and depressing. Especially when someone ought to know better.

It apparently takes a rare person to face the reality of the evil their loved ones are deeply enmeshed in. It hurts to accept that your loved ones are harming innocent people. But honesty demands you face it.

Those indoctrination camps are how statism keeps spreading. They penetrate the young minds and reproduce once inside. You know what I consider that act, I'll bet.

They teach that "authority" is a real thing, and is where you go to learn the truth. They teach that theft and aggression are OK as long as done by "government". They train kids to be compliant and to jump at the sound of a bell. They teach what to believe rather than how to think. I hate them with every quark of my body.

I have witnessed and experienced first hand the destruction they cause to education.

Death to kinderprison. The sooner the better.

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Lord of all nanobots

I don't believe in intellectual property, but I wish I did, so I act as though I do.

I do this because I respect the efforts of those who create, and I want them rewarded for what they have done.

But I still see it as wishful thinking.

If intellectual property were a real thing, a person who invented self-replicating nanobots would own the rights to them all, no matter who bought some from him, no matter how many generations removed from him the nanobots you are talking about were, and no matter how many there were throughout the Universe.

What would make sentences different than nanobots, concerning IP?

If intellectual property were a real thing, a person would own all rights to a new dog breed he worked a lifetime to create. He would own all the offspring of the dogs he had sold- on through the years and generations.

Both of these examples are the same as saying the author or composer owns the book or song he created.

It would be nice, but it just isn't reality.

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