Space thrilling despite government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 14, 2018)

Space exploration thrills me. I've followed Apollo moon landings, Skylab, various Martian landers and rovers, Space Shuttle launches, and every other manned or robotic mission I could watch.

So I got even more excited when private individuals became serious about going to space. The latest feat-- last week's launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and "Starman" to the asteroid belt-- was amazing.

Many people dislike Musk for making deals with government, and I completely understand their disgust. I share it-- tempered with a dose of harsh reality.

While I would prefer private space travel, free of the stain of tax money, I realize there is no such thing in the real world, yet.

Unless you keep your space project secret, government is going to discover what you're doing and demand you beg for licenses. Refuse, and they will kill you. Such a project is too big to hide, and any test flights will be shot down (if the military jets can catch them) and your launch facility will be invaded and possibly bombed; your other property stolen by government employees "just following orders".

The FAA has no "authority" but has power masquerading as "authority". Unless you can hide from or outrun the hired guns of the State, seeking government permission, for the time being, is probably unavoidable.

But, what about accepting "tax" money to help finance your project? This bothers me about Musk's endeavor.

Yet the part which disappoints me most is that he accepts government payloads, including US military payloads. That's just wrong. Yes, I realize the landscape of the real world in which he must currently operate dictates a certain partnership with those who believe they own the sky and everything above and below it. You buy government favors both by accepting the stolen money and by taking on government as a "paying customer". Otherwise, your business and your life will be destroyed. It doesn't make it right, but how could anyone manage to avoid this?

I would prefer this not be the case. I don't think I could enter into such a "partnership" with government, even knowing it might eventually result in people escaping the grasp of the State. This is part of why I'm not a billionaire, and why Elon Musk is.

Whatever you think of space travel, anything which helps people move off-planet, and out of the reach of governments, will greatly benefit the future of the human species.

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Lies cause weakness

American culture, if there is such a thing, is weak and pitiful from decades (or more) of telling lies. And from glossing over lies that are told. Lies always cause weakness.

But the lies are understandable in a way.

Lies feel safe and cozy. Especially when they are told and retold. When the lies bring you together and make you feel a part of a community you have a special place to fit in.

Truth is often lonely and painful. I know.

I wish I could tell the lies and feel accepted and warm. But it wouldn't change the truth. I wish I could say that cops are good guys, that taxation is the price of a civilized society, and that it's good to support government because God tells me to in Romans 13. I wish I could believe in "authority" and that it is for my own good and the good of the children. I wish I could believe government schools are "public" centers of education. That citizenship is a wonderful thing. Those are comforting lies because of the beliefs of those around me. Telling those lies to myself and others would help me fit in and feel welcomed. But they are still lies.

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Self-centered and entitled

People with an attitude of entitlement are a drain on the world. A net negative.

I know someone like this. She believes the world and all those in it exist for her convenience. If she wants someone to go out of their way for her, and they dare say "no", her response is "What are you doing that's so important that you can't?" She believes if someone has something they aren't currently using, she should be able to take it if she wants it. The world revolves around her, and yet she despises people she sees as needing to be the "center of attention".

Of course, this is the same attitude held by most government employees.

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Fake "responsibilities"

Did you know there are fake responsibilities people will try to guilt you into accepting? It's true.

Such as your "responsibility" to v*te. Or to comply with counterfeit "laws". Or to "pay your taxes".

These fake responsibilities are handy tools for the control freaks. They give them leverage against people whose ethical foundation makes them want to accept their responsibilities while confusing them with lies.

You have the responsibility to not violate the rights of others; to respect their liberty. This includes keeping agreements you voluntarily took part in. You have no responsibility to prop up the State. You have no responsibility to protect people from the consequences of their own evil behavior.

Sometimes it takes a lot of work living up to your responsibilities. You certainly don't need to be wasting effort on the fake responsibilities you have been tricked into believing you have. Stick to the real stuff, and leave the fake stuff to the useful idiots.

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Armed and dangerous

I support the right of every human to own and to carry a gun. Period. That doesn't mean I trust every armed person. There are some people who simply can not be trusted with guns, even though they have the right to own and carry them and no one has the right to forbid it. Those are separate issues.

I've known some of those who couldn't be trusted with a gun. They are simply too dangerous or unstable to trust. With or without a gun.

A guy who comes to mind was very reckless, spastic, and impulsive. I went out shooting with him once. Only once. Never again. He had no muzzle awareness and wouldn't keep his finger off the trigger. He left town saying it was his intention to join the military-- they deserved the likes of him.

No one who would wear a government uniform can be trusted with a gun-- and that especially applies to cops. I don't trust them with a gun any more than I would trust an angry diseased monkey with a loaded and cocked gun with a hair trigger and no safety. Anyone who would demean themselves enough to become a government tool obviously has serious issues with authoritarianism and aggression.

This doesn't mean I'll ask government to keep guns out of their hands. It means I will consider them dangerous morons and always try to stay away from them. It means I will warn others to be alert around them. This sort of person deserves to be shunned to death unless they grow up and take responsibility-- which would begin with shedding the uniform and making an honest effort at becoming a good guy.

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You support... that?

There are businesses around which display support for Blue Line Gang molesters on their electronic signs. I'm glad to know what they support so I can spend my money elsewhere. 

There are houses which fly the Blue Line Gang molester flag; the flag that declares that the lives of molesters are more important than yours or mine. I'm glad to know where these people live so I can avoid them and leave them to their heroes in an emergency.

There are cars driving around with stickers on them advertising their support for the molester gang. I encourage them to let themselves be known everywhere they go.

I'll always encourage the enemies of all that is decent to display who they are and what they support. It's helpful to know where anti-liberty bigots are.

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Taxation is...

Taxation is theft.
Taxation is theft.
Taxation is theft.
Taxation is theft!

I remember how I felt the first time I heard it. I was shocked. But then I tried to consider any possible way it might not be true. I never did find any flaws in the reasoning. Taxation IS theft.

It needs to be repeated until it is a cliche.
Until it is no longer shocking but is, instead, boring.
Until people who hear it roll their eyes, not because it's a crazy notion, but because it's something everyone simply knows already.

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Laws frequently only cause harm

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 7, 2018)

Laws can't solve anything, and often destroy things which worked. Sometimes this is due to the unintended consequences of trying to stop something which might actually be harmful, but more often it is due to the person who made the rule simply not understanding how things work in the real world.

Being harmed by laws is probably more common than being helped or protected by them. It's a consequence of meddling; one I have personally experienced.

Years ago I was looking for a job after moving across the country. I had checked the "help wanted" ads, and they were all for huge corporations with horrible working conditions I wasn't anxious to endure. So, I set out to explore the area and see what else I could discover. I checked out businesses I thought I'd like to work for. Mostly small family businesses, since those are the ones where I've always fit in best.

There were so many little shops which looked interesting. Some in industries I had experience with. But I kept running into the same problem.

One day, for example, I found a dim and dusty sporting goods store. It was obvious they didn't have time to clean or arrange their inventory, yet they seemed to care about their customers. They were friendly and likable, and I knew I could help them. I really wanted the chance to show them I could benefit their business.

Unfortunately, like all the small businesses I spoke to, they couldn't afford to hire an employee. They couldn't afford to pay anyone "minimum wage", nor could they afford all the other costs-- taxes, paperwork, insurance-- associated with legally having an employee.

I wasn't ready to give up so easily, since any money was better than none.

Outlaw that I am, I begged to be allowed to work "under the table" for an amount agreeable to both of us, but they weren't willing to risk being caught making a mutually acceptable, consensual arrangement with me that violated "laws". "Laws" which hurt us both.

I was protected out of a job by not being allowed to work where I wanted, for an amount someone was willing to pay. When I think of all the people like me who are priced out of the job market by rules they don't want and which hurt them in the long run, I get angry at those who pretend to care about people while hurting them for their own good.

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"Daylight Saving Time" is stupidity

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Why sacrifice your children to him?

Horace Mann's "lethal monster" - that's what Jim Davies called kinderprison. That's a pretty accurate description of that obsolete institution of compliance and indoctrination. Oh, it works pretty well for compliance and indoctrination, just not at all well for education, which is the lie which is told to justify it.

It seems Horace Mann would be reviled by all who value education and liberty, and honored by those who support the Prussian System of child abuse.

Many "parents" support government schools as a babysitting service. They could get a better deal if they kept the money which is stolen in support of the schools, and spent it somewhere that competed for their business. I'll bet more actual education would be offered, as well.

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A historical villain

Sir Robert Peel- one of history's true villains.

Not only because he was the Prime Archator of a State, but because he committed an act much worse-- one which still hurts liberty even to this day.

What was this terrible offense? He established "modern policing". Nothing he could have done could have atoned for that crime against humanity.

He remains a Registered Liberty Offender for this evil act.

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Gun rights or copsucking? Your choice.

If you consider yourself a gun rights enthusiast, but you support cops and the military, you aren't Ready to Rumble, you are Ready to Crumble. Ready to willingly cave in to whatever "law" your heroes decide to enforce against you.

Don't fool yourself-- if they have to choose between the paycheck/pension/social status, and respecting your rights, you will be tossed aside like anonymous skid-marked underwear hanging on their doorknob.

You are throwing your support behind your enemies-- the very people who will be treading on you while prying the guns out of your cold, dead hands. Assuming you didn't hand over all your guns immediately when your heroes demanded you do so.

There are few creatures as pathetic as a cop-supporting gun-rights enthusiast. What other molesters do they throw their support behind?

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Pragmatic non-pragmatism

I am not a pragmatist.

I don't think pragmatism can ever justify archation.

However, if I can convince a person that archation isn't pragmatic, and this convinces him to avoid archation, it's a tool I am willing to use.

Isn't that rather pragmatic of me?

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Prime Archators

A Prime Archator is a person who is at the top of a government, especially a national government.

This includes presidents, prime ministers, kings and queens, tsars, or any other such positions which rely on the belief in political "authority".

These are the people who instruct others to archate on behalf of the State.

I suppose you could have minor Prime Archators, too. Mayors, police chiefs, and the head of other gangs which live by archation could be Prime Archators in their limited realm.

It's bad enough to be an archator. It's orders of magnitude worse to be a Prime Archator.

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Scammers and their enthusiastic victims

An acquaintance of mine has a job which frequently involves sending electronic money transfers for individuals. A huge chunk of that money is sent to Nigeria (and other "less than ideal" places). Often the senders are elderly, or people who are really lonely (the two categories overlap). And she sees the same people come in over and over again. They often want to tell her the story of why they are sending the money.

To her credit, she has tried to tell the people they are being scammed (and has gotten in some trouble at work for doing so). The denial is strong and none of them want to believe it. They will go to any lengths to tell her she's wrong.

One guy is sending money to a "woman" who is coming to America to be his bride. She keeps needing more and more money due to various problems that crop up. But, finally, a week or so back, he was sending her the money for the plane ticket! Hallelujah!

But, oops. Apparently, her taxi was involved in a terrible wreck on the way to the airport. Now she's in the hospital unable to speak, but the hospital was able to get in touch with the man to tell him how much he must send to pay her hospital bill. So that she can recover and come marry him, of course. Ugh.

It's the same story every time. And she's seen every variation.

She has practically given up trying to help the people-- although she did save a guy from getting scammed out of $9,000 a few months back, and he was very grateful. Of course, he was back sending money to someone else before the week was out.

Part of me thinks "a fool and his money are soon parted". Another part of me feels really bad for the fools, and a deep hatred for the scammers who take advantage of them.

Part of me is also angry at the fools, knowing that as long as idiots keep making scamming pay, evil people will keep going into the business of scamming. Those who send the money only encourage the scammers and recruit more of them into the ranks. It pisses me off.

I've seen libertarians justify scammers by saying no one is forcing their victims to pay; that it is voluntary. That, again, if you're too or gullible to keep your money, then you deserve getting scammed. I don't see it that way. I see it as a property rights violation-- theft, by lying. Lies told to harm the innocent, facilitating theft, seems to be archation in my mind.

I think I would be fired from the job my acquaintance holds because I don't think I could be a middle-man in the scamming business.

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Tide Pods and "gun control"

Does eating Tide Pods kill off the regions of the brain responsible for rational thought, so that those who have taken that "challenge" lose the ability to avoid supporting anti-gun "laws"

Or, are really stupid and gullible people just more likely to fall for both self-destructive things?

Does it matter what causes the stupidity? (See how I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt by not automatically assuming they are all simply evil?)

From now on when I see some teen or young "adult" out whining for the State to rape the populace of America in the name of "gun control", I'll picture the little darling uttering his words of stupidity while chewing on a Tide Pod, foam dripping from his flapping lips.

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Libertarianism means respect

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 31, 2018)

I am not libertarian because I expect to get anything from it.  Well, that's not completely true.  I should say I am not libertarian because I expect to get anything from you because of it. I don't even necessarily expect civilized behavior from others.

Respect for life, liberty, and property-- without excuses-- is the hallmark of both libertarianism and civilization. I expect civilized behavior only from other libertarians, and not even all of them manage to deliver. After all, they are still only human.

I am libertarian because I don't have any desire to own you, nor do I wish to be owned. I am libertarian because I recognize your life and the products of your life-- your property-- are yours, alone, to use as you wish, as long as you don't violate anyone else. I am libertarian because I expect to be treated as I treat you, while exercising the right to defend myself and others against any who refuse to cooperate.

I don't want something for nothing. I'm not libertarian because I hate roads, parks, libraries, and food safety. I am libertarian because I know my appreciation for something doesn't justify forcing you to pay for it against your will. I am perfectly willing to pay for what I use-- however, I want to be able to choose the provider I buy the service from, and I want to be able to opt out of things I have no use for, such as police. Monopolies never serve customers' needs adequately, and never survive long without government favoritism. I prefer free enterprise, liberated markets, competition, and options over mandatory "one-size-fits-all" monopolies.

One precious thing I get from being libertarian is freedom from the stress of trying to control your life. You do your thing, and as long as you don't try to stop me from doing mine, and you violate no one, we'll have no problem.

Unfortunately, the non-libertarian crowd seems to find this civilized compromise unacceptable. They can't abide something so mature and respectful; based on mutual consent.

It doesn't change how I'll live, though. I won't call for anyone's life, liberty, and property to be violated simply because they can't respect mine. I support self-defense for anyone being violated for any reason, and I hope the bullies learn about actions and consequences before it's too late.  Someone has to take the first step toward maturity when dealing with others. Let's take the step together.

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The right to keep and bear nukes

Just because I am against any sort of violation of the right to own and to carry weapons, it doesn't mean I think everyone should have nukes. I'm opposed to anyone owning nuclear weapons-- especially governments. (But I'm also opposed to government employees possessing any sort of weapon while on the "job". They have proven they can never be trusted.)

I can't figure out how anyone could ever use nukes (on Earth, anyway) strictly defensively without damaging the life, liberty, or property of innocents ("collateral damage"). If you can't do something without archating, then it can't be a right.

Yes, I realize possessing nuclear weapons isn't the same as using them. Is not possessing nukes a credible threat to use them, which necessarily means archating? If not, then I'm wrong.

Being against the possession of nuclear weapons doesn't mean I want governments banning them from private hands. That's worse than letting the fox guard the henhouse. Much worse. Government doesn't have the right, nor does it have the imaginary quality called "authority", to forbid others from owning anything, including nuclear weapons.

Added 3-29-2018:
Here's a further explanation by someone who may know better than me why the "deterrence" of nukes is BS-- link

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Responsibility is your choice

It is your primary responsibility to not violate the rights of others; to not archate. Every other responsibility flows from that one.

I can't force you to shoulder your responsibility, but neither am I obligated to protect you from the consequences of ignoring it. Your choice; your mistake.

When you violate someone, you may face consequences you don't like. It could even result in your death.

It doesn't matter if you claim a "job" gives you the "authority" to do what you do. It doesn't. You are abandoning your responsibility if you violate anyone's liberty. You don't have the right to do so. That right doesn't exist. Nor does that kind of "authority". You are just a bad guy. An archator.

Responsible individuals respect liberty. They don't violate the rights of others. Responsible people don't govern or support government. Not ever.

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Why not be a psychopath?

Those who believe there's no basis for ethics without a god, or at least a religion, can't see there's a downside to violating others absent a supernatural referee.

I understand why they might feel that way. It's the same sort of thinking behind acceptance of government courts and police. Why not be a thug if no one is looking over your shoulder and holding you accountable?

If there is no one keeping cosmic score, why not just go through life using other people as you see fit? A completely "me first" attitude in everything?

Because while it often works as a short-term strategy, it falls apart in the long-term. Living this way is unsustainable. In fact, governing is the only way to survive such a strategy beyond the short-term. Live completely free of regard for others, on your own, and you're soon dead. Not only will people defend themselves from you, not only will people soon refuse to deal with you in any way, but other people will adopt your strategy and use it against you. Society beyond the rudimentary would be impossible. This life plan is self-defeating.

Ethics is a real thing and doesn't require a god or State to enforce it. It arises spontaneously out of living among other humans who have the same needs, desires, and feelings as you do. Your behavior has consequences.

Nothing's perfect-- some people will always seem to get away with crimes against others-- neither god nor government will change that. In fact, government makes it more likely that they will get away with it longer than otherwise. Government protects the bad guys from the consequences of their behavior much more than it protects the innocent. It always has and always will.

This illustrates why government-- the State-- is the opposite of society, not a synonym.

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