Insulting my mind

Some insults are more fun than others.

One semi-common insult that is a little fun which I have flung at me is "pseudo-intellectual". I've been insulted this way nearly ever since I got out of school. I'm guessing it has something to do with my thinking/writing style, and that I say things people don't want to hear but that they may not know how to refute.

Another cutesy insult that has recently cropped up is saying I need to learn about the Dunning-Kruger Effect-- which I already know about-- because it explains my ignorant opinions. I admit I am as susceptible to that effect as anyone. It's interesting to me how my critics-- even after I admit this possibility-- never entertain the possibility that it might also apply to them. It never even enters their minds.

Usually, I get these insults after someone corrects my wrongthink out of the goodness of their heart, and I systematically dismantle their objection. 

This happened just a few days ago when someone insisted I admit that not all cops are bad; that they are individuals who can't be judged collectively. Then he generously suggested I revise my post to reflect this information and let him know once I have done so. 

In response, instead of revising my post, I went through his flawed assertions one by one, laying out why I said what I said. That's when he responded by calling me a pseudo-intellectual. The thanks I get for trying to explain things in enough detail for him to follow the trail with ease is an insult. How should I feel about that? Well, if I hadn't been so snarky toward him I would feel worse.

I also triggered this in someone a couple of days ago because he was making Covid-19 out to be (almost) an extinction-level threat, and I said the panic was unnecessary. He launched into multiple expletives and kept saying I was too stupid to engage with (and kept engaging anyway) and that I needed to research the Dunning-Kruger Effect. 

I think I really lit his fuse when I pointed out that no one wants to be seen as fighting a weak kitten, so they always portray their enemy as a strong dragon. I also told him my parents had both contracted and recovered from Covid, and that my dad even had multiple co-morbidities. He said he suspected I was lying.

I do not have a college degree. Never claimed to. I did attend college for 2 unfocused years-- my best subject, by far, was astronomy. I don't read the "right things". I don't automatically accept the claims of "authority", but I don't automatically dismiss them, either. I do my best to explain my thoughts clearly, and I know I sometimes don't. I guess this makes me a pseudo-intellectual who is too unaware of my mental limitations to realize how dumb I am. At least, according to some people.

If my writing style makes people think I'm trying to pass myself off as an intellectual, that's not my intention. I doubt I could pass for one if I tried. I'm also not going to dumb down what I write (although I admit I do try to do so for the newspaper columns, but that's another story). What you read is what you get.

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"Police" is the behavior

 

I've said it before, but it bears repeating.

A "police officer" is a person who commits the act of policing; of enforcing legislation for political bullies in exchange for stolen money. "Police" is not the person, it is the set of behaviors the person commits. This is why it isn't "collectivist" to admit there are no good cops.

It is utterly impossible for there to be such a thing as a "good cop". Good people do not commit the acts that fall under the description of what police do.

Police commit acts of legislation enforcement as the core, defining characteristic of being police. Just like rapists commit acts of rape as the act which makes them rapists. The label is all about the acts committed, not the people committing them. Do different things, be given a different label.

If you will lower yourself to commit those unethical acts, it doesn't matter if you save puppies, too. You are a bad guy. When you are acting as a "police officer" you are doing wrong, even if you help someone in the moment. 

To be a police officer you demonstrate a lack of ethics by doing those acts which earn you the title. It is not collectivism to judge individuals by what they do rather than who they are.

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Trump's $750 payment to society's enemy

 

Am I bothered that Donald Trump only "paid" $750 in taxes in some specific years?

That's like asking if I'm bothered that some billionaire only donated $750 to ISIS, Antifa, or to the KKK.

Or, like asking whether I'm bothered that someone only gave a mugger $750 rather than the million$ the mugger would have preferred.

I'm more bothered that the bad guys got any money from him. I'd rather he'd "paid" them nothing.

Taxation is theft, and theft is wrong no matter who it victimizes. I don't want Kamala Harris to "pay" any taxes. I don't even want Hillary Clinton to "pay" any taxes. 

Money kept out of the hands of The State-- society's enemy-- is always better than money going to The State, even if it's in the hands of someone I can't stand who I believe will use it for evil. I know The State will use it to violate life, liberty, and property-- that's just a given because that's what it has always done and what it always does.

I'm glad for anyone keeping their money from The State. 

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New information will change minds

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 26, 2020)

Quick, name something you really and truly believe even though you know it's wrong. You can't, can you?

If you knew your belief was wrong, you'd change it.

It's the same for every person on Earth, no matter how different their beliefs are from yours. No matter how certain you are that they are wrong, they are just as certain your different beliefs are wrong. If they believed they were wrong they'd change their minds-- even if they wouldn't admit in public they did so.

No one believes they are wrong or they'd stop believing what they believe and would believe something else they believe is correct.

How confusing is this?

You're not going to change their minds by saying "You're wrong". You're probably not even going to change their beliefs with evidence or information, either.

I'm not claiming evidence and information are useless and can't change people's beliefs. I know from experience they can.

My beliefs have changed since I was young. In every case, I believed I was right until new information made me change my mind. Afterward, I once again believed I was right until the next time something made me change my mind again. I never much regretted changing my mind, but I occasionally wished what I believed before had been right. The old belief was more comfortable or comforting than the new belief. If I could still believe what I believed before I wouldn't have changed my belief.

I'm as sure my interpretation of the world is correct as you are sure yours is correct. I'm as sure yours is wrong where it differs from mine as you are sure of the opposite. How can this stalemate be broken, or should it be?

Although no one is going to automatically change their beliefs when presented with new evidence or information, you shouldn't let that stop you. Put it out there. Let them accept it or not.

People are more likely to accept information which agrees with what they already believe, but sometimes-- even years later-- the new information finally germinates and starts to grow. I've had people write to let me know something I said years ago finally broke through their defenses-- often due to events-- and changed their long-held beliefs. It does happen.

Never give up nor lie about what you believe to make someone comfortable, but don't be too fast to condemn those who believe differently than you do. You may end up on the same side eventually.

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Don't ask if you aren't going to listen

Government-supremacists always want to know what would happen if I got everything I want. Abolish the police, get rid of anti-gun legislation, eliminate all "taxation", complete respect for liberty, etc. "What does that mean? What then?"

But when I tell them, they ignore the answer and keep saying "Why won't you answer?"

Seriously? Are they stupid?

Yes. Yes, they are. Politics makes people stupid.

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The murder of Breonna-- it's not racism

The murder of Breonna Tayler isn't about racism. 

It's about cops being out of control. It's about the evil and destructive policy of "qualified immunity". It's about the evil practice of no-knock raids, and the expectation that people sit quietly and allow violent intruders to invade their homes without opposition. It's about the demand that you sit and die peacefully instead of shooting back at bad guys who are kicking in your door with guns drawn. And it's about prohibition.

If you want to defend cops, you are on the side of the police state.

Police are the problem; the War on Politically Incorrect Drugs is the fuel.

Some copsuckers are saying this wasn't a murder. Yeah, right.

If I break into your house with guns drawn and then kill a woman inside the house, did I murder her? Of course I did. Anyone inside that house would be right to fill me full of lead until I stop twitching. It makes zero difference if the person in my place wears a badge. If you imagine it does, you might as well move to North Korea right now, because America isn't the place for you and isn't made better by your presence.

There is always only one question to ask when cops kill someone: Was that person (or, in this case, anyone else who belonged in that house) currently violating the life, liberty, or property of anyone else? That's a big, fat nope.

Cops are scum. Nothing will change for the better until people stop pretending otherwise and start seeing them for what they are.

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Craft Holsters Falco 20S review

 

After my review of the Urban Carry G3 was posted, I was contacted by Craft Holsters and offered a holster in exchange for a review. Of course, I agreed.

I chose the It. 20S, right hand, in natural brown color, for the 1911, 5" barrel, cocked and locked, made by Falco Holsters. (here's a link to all their 1911 holsters.)

It took a little time, just under a month from when I first placed the order, for the holster to arrive. It was made-to-order and coming from Slovakia, so that wasn't a shock.  When the package was dropped off, I was a little concerned. 

The box didn't look like it had been treated well, but as it turned out, everything inside the box was fine.

Besides the holster, there was a small break-in kit included, which it turned out I didn't need because everything fit perfectly; tight enough, but not too tight.

My first impressions are that it is the nicest holster I've ever had. The leather seems like it is high quality, just the right thickness and hardness for a good holster, I think it will keep its shape over time. The stitching is perfect. The steel clip is impressively strong and serious. The strap holds the gun well and fits great, and the snap seems to hold everything in, just as it should. I can't find anything to complain about, and I tried. It's just built well, and it fits my gun perfectly.

I've been wearing it every day now for a couple of weeks and here are my thoughts.

At first, it didn't feel secure. It rides higher than the holsters I've been used to. Riding higher is nice because it doesn't dig into my groin as much as others have, but I kept feeling like it was going to fall out of my pants. I shouldn't have worried. That steel clip means business. It's not going to come off my waistband unless I take it off. I don't even notice it riding high anymore, and it now feels completely secure to me.

The gun does still jab me in the groin a bit when I squat. Not as bad as other holsters have allowed it to do. Plus, with some adjusting back and forth I've managed to minimize that even more. Unless I'm squatting on the ground (which I apparently do more than I thought) it's not an issue.

The only other issue is one that is probably unique to me. The grip of my gun ends up under my suspenders and that's an issue for drawing. I'm not sure why that didn't happen with the other holsters, but it may have been because they were deeper in my pants. This is just something I'll need to practice with. I'm sure it can be dealt with.

When I draw my gun, the holster stays open enough to allow me to reinsert it with one hand. The holster never comes out of my pants along with the gun, even if I forget to unsnap the strap before I tug-- which I have done because none of my concealment holsters has ever had a retention strap so I'm not used to it yet. In fact, if I tug hard enough, the snap will open first. Which is good.

Everything just seems to work like it's supposed to, and it looks good, too.

So to summarize, I am impressed. I'll probably never stop checking out holsters-- it's just a habit-- but I don't feel the pressing need to find something better anymore. Unless some magical TARDIS holster comes along, I don't think there will be anything better for this particular gun on this particular person.

Thank you, Craft Holsters!

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Responsibility for the police state

The people who refuse to control themselves and the people who refuse to defend themselves from those individuals who refuse to control themselves are a real problem. 

They are the opposite sides of the same counterfeit coin, and they are the justification used by so many government-supremacists for government. It's disgusting!

My sympathy for both groups is just about depleted.

Which is really not good, since so many people I otherwise respect fall into the second category. They are the people who can't imagine society without police. Those who use any means possible to justify continuing to have, and to dishonestly fund, police.

They lie and justify and whine and blame others-- but the reality is they are just begging for a police state with the power to murder on a whim. And they got it. 

But I neither want nor need it and they can't leave me out of it. 

If I could opt out, I wouldn't care how much they allowed themselves to be abused to have their fears calmed, but they can't let me opt out more than I've already done.

I'm just tired of the criminals and the cowards being in cahoots, and the rest of us being forced to suffer for it.

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VR as an outlet for unacceptable impulses?

Eventually, virtual reality (VR) will get to the point that it will be indistinguishable from real life-- all the senses will be fully involved. Other than having to take care of your biological body by eating, drinking, excreting, and (hopefully) bathing, you could "live" in a computer-generated world of your choosing. If that's what you want to do.

In this case, would you support VR for pedophiles? Totally computer-generated so that no real humans are ever involved or harmed, if it was shown to protect real kids? I know you might find that "if" hard to swallow, but that's the critical part.

I've never bought into the idea that "child pornography" that is produced using no actual humans-- drawn, written, or computer-generated-- is in itself wrong, since in that case there is no victim... even though I understand how it could whet the appetite of a pedo for the real thing. But what if something was even more satisfying to them than the real thing?

Or, could it be more satisfying? (I think the answer is obviously yes, just because of how technology works on the brain.)

Is the risk of the real thing what attracts them to it? I doubt that is usually the case, but I accept that it might be the case for some. Or might it be the feeling of power over another? If that's the case this obviously wouldn't satisfy those individuals. But the rest of them?

I do think it's something that should be considered instead of being dismissed automatically because "Pedos! Woodchippers! Brrrrzzzz!!"

I also think this idea might work to satisfy people who want to go on killing sprees, to govern others, or do other unethical things. Keep them addicted to their VR world that gives them exactly what they crave, in a way precisely crafted for each individual, so they stay out of my world.

I'm all for letting people do whatever makes them happy as long as it doesn't violate the life, liberty, or property of any other person-- even when I HATE what they want to do. To me, this seems like it might actually work to protect kids from predators without violating anyone in any way. Remember that being offended isn't the same as being violated.

I also realize current legislation would prohibit this... but should it?

What do you think?

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Attempts to govern irresponsible

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 19, 2020)

There's a lot of irresponsibility and selfishness in the world around us. We can choose to not be part of it.

People who litter or dump their trash are childishly irresponsible.

People who leave shopping carts in parking spaces instead of making the small effort to put them in their corrals are showing self-centered irresponsibility and a lack of respect for others.

Another example of parking lot irresponsibility is the people who park on the yellow-striped zones. This is a violation of the lot owner's property rights; it's trespassing. I have a name for those zones and those who park in them, but it's not suited for polite conversation so I won't mention it here. I also have an idea for special "parking stickers" for the windshields of those who park there.

All this is to point out that any freedom can and will be abused by someone.

I've seen people argue that commonplace irresponsibility shows why political government is necessary. They never explain how these naturally irresponsible people who won't govern their own lives can be expected to responsibly govern the lives of thousands or millions of others once getting elected. I'm not buying it, and the evidence seems to point the opposite way.

Individual irresponsibility pales in comparison to the tragedy which occurs when you give flawed humans-- which is all of us-- power over others. Giving people who hunger for control the power to impose their opinions at gunpoint is what political government is at its foundation.

I believe it was irresponsible to shut down the economy to fight a virus which is losing its power to kill-- as all such viruses seem to do over time. Irresponsible governing has damaged the economy and undoubtedly killed people, and yet this is supposed to be better than the alternative of letting people run their own lives.

I'm in favor of letting people live with the consequences of their choices, while everyone else is free to defend themselves from those bad choices when necessary. Government often makes this reasonable path illegal. All this accomplishes is making it safe to be irresponsible, encouraging more of it.

Irresponsibility is just one human flaw among many.

Libertarianism isn't a denial of human nature's flaws. It's the recognition that those flaws are universal and those who seek to govern aren't immune. In fact, seeking to govern anyone besides yourself is among the worst of flaws. It's not something I would encourage; it's irresponsible.

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When Really Bad Goons die

Politics is not an honorable job. It is a life of parasitism at best, and at its worst, it's unparalleled evil. It is always the choice to bully others rather than to do the harder work of finding mutually consensual, voluntary ways of getting along. 

It makes no sense to honor those who choose that path. 

If they champion some category of rights while violating other, equally vital rights, they are not a hero for human rights. Pretending they are, just because they died, is dishonest and is ignoring their many victims.

Saying "good riddance" to such a person is not aggression or archation, while a life spent in politics-- making or upholding legislation which is enforced with death-- is aggression. Don't get the two switched around in your head as some people seem to have done.

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Liberty, good...

 ...lack of liberty, bad.

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Writing to promote liberty is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.
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Addressing the faults of capitalism

Does capitalism "exploit labor for profit" and "advocate for relentless consumerism"?

That's what a Twitter critic of capitalism claimed. He was saying libertarians need to address these faults of capitalism.

OK.

Is it "exploitation" if you hire me, we both agree on how much you will pay me, and you profit from our arrangement so that you can continue to afford to pay me, and maybe expand the business and hire some others, and possibly make some money for yourself, too? 

Nope.

Looking at that relationship honestly, you could argue that either person is "exploiting" the other, depending on your perspective and how negatively you view the world.

If I agree to work for you, I must have decided the money you will pay me is worth more to me than the time was worth to me on its own. I made a profit by selling you my time. If not, why would I agree to the deal? Yeah, I understand that I need money so I can buy necessities. That's part of the calculation. I see no lopsided exploitation here, absent coercion/the political means.

And "relentless consumerism"?

If you make stuff that I want, are you forcing me to buy it? If I buy it, is that nothing but consumerism, or do I find some value in what you produced? 

I see products vanish all the time, unable to convince sufficient numbers of people to buy them. Some of my favorite products went away because not enough people liked them as much as I did. Was I a victim of "relentless consumerism" who was freed from my chains when that product was discontinued? Or did I lose out on something I really liked due to consumerism not being quite relentless enough?

I know that it all depends on how a person defines "capitalism". 

If you define it as a political system, then I would oppose it too, unless I were smart enough to see that this is a dishonestly biased way to define it. based on the beliefs of Krooked Karl Marx. He used the term to disparage what he didn't like. Maybe "capitalism" isn't really the right word.

That's why I prefer the term "the market". That keeps it apolitical. Except that people who are obsessed with politics will still try to make that political, too. If they get their way we'll all be slaves to poverty and starvation, but at least we'll die in the cold as "equals".

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I don't v*te because...

I don't feel the need to be governed. I guess I never have.

Even decades ago when I used to v*te, it wasn't because I felt that someone else could run my life better, or because I was scared of what would happen if "other people" weren't governed, it was just what responsible people do. 

Or so I believed. 

I couldn't understand people who "didn't care enough" to bother to v*te. 

I needed to v*te because "everyone else is doing it".

Of course, I finally realized that not everyone is doing it. And to my surprise, it wasn't because they were lazy or apathetic. They often had good reasons that I agreed with. Reasons I agreed with more than I agreed with the justifications for v*ting I had always bought into in the past-- "self-defensive v*ting" being the one that held the most appeal to me.

I started feeling like participating in something I didn't approve of was giving the appearance of approval. I didn't approve. I realized I had been giving an illegitimate institution-- government-- some false legitimacy by participating. 

So I finally started behaving in a way that was consistent with my values.

It didn't happen overnight. For a while I was ashamed to admit in public that I hadn't v*ted. I eventually realized I wasn't the one doing something shameful and harmful.

I'm not usually too hard on those who still v*te because I understand why they are doing it. I just no longer agree that their reasons make any sense.

Maybe they'll come around, or maybe I'll eventually change my mind again.

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Copsuckers hating me for what they imagine I said

Recently I've seen a lot of people asserting that it is NEVER OK to shoot a cop. Not under any circumstances. That's pure, weapons-grade Balonium.

When I clearly said that in the specific case of those two who were shot while sitting in their car, I would not have shot them, but I understand why someone might, I got a lot of flack.

People imagined I said those cops should have been shot at that moment under those specific conditions. But I didn't.

I was laughing at the copsuckers for hating me for what they imagined I had said.

Understanding why someone might do something isn't the same as endorsing what they did. It just means being able to think from different perspectives.

When someone is violating life, liberty, or property it is often OK to shoot them-- depending on the level of threat they pose. Ethically OK, if not "legally" OK. This doesn't change when the bad guy wears a badge. 

If it's OK to shoot Freelance Thug A under the specific circumstances, then it is OK to shoot Badged Thug A under the same circumstances. The presence of a badge doesn't change the circumstances. Not even close. 

Kidnappers deserve to be shot if they are in the act of committing a kidnapping.
Rapists deserve to be shot if they are in the act of committing a rape.
Thieves deserve to be shot in the act; murderers deserve to be shot in the act.
Attackers who are in the act of committing an attack deserve to be shot.
If they don't want to be shot they have the option of not doing those things which make it ethically OK to shoot them. Even if their paycheck depends on them doing those things. An honest job is always an option.

On the other hand, to wear the gang colors of the Blue Line Gang is to proclaim that you are a willing part of a gang which is fueled by stolen money and spends all its "on the clock" time enforcing legislation of varying degrees of illegitimacy, imposed upon the threat of death. Their mere presence is a credible threat to your life, liberty, and property-- more so in some situations than others, but you had better remain vigilant as long as they are around. 

Any "society" where cops can do things to you and you are prohibited to defend yourself from them is probably already a police state. Cops have no "extra" rights because those don't exist. They have no rights you don't have, but they do have extra responsibilities to avoid violating rights, and the consequences they face for doing so must be higher. If they don't like this added burden, they need to quit the "job".

Is this the same as saying "they should be shot on sight"? No. But copsuckers will read it that way-- bet on it.

I will admit I can never work up the energy to grieve over a shot gangster of any sort. Aggressors who complain about being aggressed against are just dumb whiners. Live by the sword, die by the sword. 

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Opposite sex cosplay

I have nothing against people who imagine they are in a body of the "wrong" sex and act on that belief. I defend, from any and all violators, their right to do so.

I'm a little less forgiving of those who misuse the grammar word "gender" instead of using the correct biology word "sex". I see this as intentionally muddying the waters for the purpose of deception.

Referring to a person's "gender" is as grammatically incorrect as saying "I seen Bob at the store". The word you're looking for is "sex", even if the dictionary accepts the incorrect word due to common usage.

Sex is biological and doesn't change with your "gender identity". Check someone's DNA or chromosomes and you'll be able to pin down their sex-- with exceedingly rare exceptions. How the person "identifies" isn't going to show up scientifically no matter how much they might wish it would.

Trans"gendered" people are cosplaying the opposite sex. 

You have every right to cosplay as anything you want. A vampire, a wolf, a snake, a demon, a cartoon character, a stuffed animal, or the opposite sex. 

You have the right to dress to fit your chosen persona-- or the persona you imagine is the "real you". You have the right to pay to alter your body however you see fit-- surgically cutting parts off, adding things, altering and reshaping parts, piercing things, implanting bumps and horns-- or to tattoo yourself with scales, stripes, spots, or anything else to make you feel more like what you are cosplaying as. 

I defend your right to do all of this against anyone who seeks to prevent you from doing so, even if I personally believe you are making a tragic mistake.

While you have the right to pretend to be whatever you want, you have no right to threaten or bully other people-- including using the violence of government-- to force them to act as though they believe your cosplay is biological reality. You have no right to force people to pretend with you or to bully those who won't. Legislation can't create this right.

I will defend everyone's right to resist this bullying, whatever form it takes, and no matter how you justify it.

I would say that "gender identity", when it doesn't match biological reality, is clearly a psychological issue, not a biological one. It has also been pointed out that psychology is a collection of observations in search of a science. "Gender identity" is anti-science.

That doesn't mean a male can't "feel like" a female, or vice versa. And if that's the case, I'm not going to attack them for it, even if I don't believe them when they tell me their sex/"gender" is something other than what I can see it is. 

But in the SJW world, science is the enemy. They claim "gender" roles are "cultural", and other cultures don't necessarily buy into the binary gender roles "our culture" does. They want to pretend it's all just cultural programming.

Other cultures in other times and places didn't buy into species roles, either. They believed the shaman (or others) could transform into another species. Maybe their psychology could transform, but not their DNA. They weren't really another species, no matter how much they believed they were, and scientific tests could have proved it.

What if I self-identify as an iguana? Maybe I really feel I am in the wrong species' body. 

You, looking at me, can plainly see I'm not one. Even if I wear an iguana costume or get surgery to make me more iguana-like. My claim looks absurd because it is. DNA and chromosomal evidence don't support my belief. In fact, everything points to me being a member of the Homo sapiens species.

Am I an iguana anyway, just because I self-identify as an iguana? Do I have the right to use the violence of the State to force you to refer to me as an iguana and treat me as though I am an iguana?

No!

If the roles were reversed and you "identify" as an iguana I'm still going to treat you as a human, including fully respecting all your human rights. You have the right to believe you are an iguana and I have the right to know you aren't one, no matter what you believe. I don't have the right to force you to stop pretending, and you don't have the right to force me to pretend along with you.

I am totally against bullying others into pretending along with those who've embraced the fantasy that they are in a body of the wrong sex.

The bullies punish people who speak the truth. Such as author J. K. Rowling when she honestly and accurately pointed out that the correct word for "people who menstruate" is "women"-- to the horror and bottomless anger of science-deniers.

Later, CNN joined in the lying by refusing to call "people with a cervix" females. These lies don't help anyone and they avoid reality.

When you attack someone for being truthful you bring me into the fight. You are on the wrong side. To claim you are defending your rights by bullying those who are not suggesting violating your rights in any way is wrong.

I've seen the claim that [facing reality] "erases trans legitimacy". Pointing out the biological reality doesn't erase anyone's legitimacy. If you take it that way you are living in a delusion. No one's opinions can "delegitimize" you; only you can do that to yourself. 

Well, reality can do it, too, if your idea of self goes against reality. Again, the issue is with you, not with other people.

Can we call a truce? I may refuse to call a male "she" (and I'm most certainly not going to try to learn all sorts of silly new made-up and unnecessary "gender" words), but I would never dream of using the state to force anyone to behave in a "gender appropriate way", even if there's any such thing. None of my business.

Every human alive has equal and identical rights. Psychological issues can't change that fact. Nothing can. I will respect your life, liberty, and property-- your human rights-- even if I don't play along with your cosplay. Those are separate issues. I will stand with anyone whose rights are being violated by bullying from any side.

It's not "transphobic" to resist and oppose bullying.

Furthermore, if you love someone, shouldn't you love them enough to speak the truth even if they don't want to hear it?

I understand the disappointment of being told your fantasy isn't real, but are you doing them any favors when you pretend along with them so that reality doesn't burst their bubble? I don't think you are.

Now, maybe you agree with me and maybe you don't. But this is honestly how I see it and if I claimed to see it otherwise I would be lying.

See also: Cancel culture is real

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YOU get to decide if I get paid.
I hope I add something you find valuable enough to support.

Stimulus may be last nail for dollar

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 12, 2020)

Government actions have consequences.

Some people were happy with the so-called stimulus checks they got from the federal government. Most of them are excited about the prospects of getting another one.

One such fan of stimulus checks was complaining to me a while ago after realizing prices on some necessary items have gone up a noticeable amount.

Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I said "Remember the stimulus check you were so thrilled to get a couple of months ago? You're starting to pay for it."

I could have added, "Expect it to get worse".

The more dollars created, the less each individual dollar is worth. When a dollar is worth less, it takes more of them to buy things.

Look at the recent price of gold, silver, and Bitcoin. As the U.S. dollar loses value, their prices go up.

It's called "inflation", but most people get it backwards. It doesn't mean things are getting more expensive; it means dollars are getting cheaper. Inflation means you can get more dollars for a roll of toilet paper than before.

People who are unaware of this economic fact might complain about the wrong things and blame the other victims-- manufacturers and retailers-- instead of the guilty party. Government will do almost anything to keep the people from realizing who's to blame.

Don't expect the trend to be a straight line. The value of a dollar will be unstable, going up and down over the short term. Prices will rise and fall because the value of a dollar isn't the only thing affecting prices. Supply, demand, and innovation also affect what things cost. This is why, even though the dollar's value is fading, prices don't always only get higher.

In the long term, the dollar is doomed. It was probably already doomed, having lost over ninety-six percent of its value since the Federal Reserve was created. A dollar today is worth less than four cents compared to a dollar before government policy began its destruction.

The Covid-19 spending, conjuring dollars out of thin air, might be the final nail in the coffin. Or, people may continue to tolerate a "dollar" worth a few cents if enough of them imagine it's worth more. You can't predict what people will do. I never believed anyone would tolerate having the economy shut down and being forced to wear masks, but here we are.

Has anyone told you recently we are living in interesting times?

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Dangerous followers

I don't need a president, so I don't support presidential candidates. However, from observation, I have a suspicion about the future based on how I expect the followers of those candidates to behave in case of a loss. Or a "win".

I believe a Trump win in the upcoming election would be safer for me, personally, than a Biden win. It's just based on feelings and I could well be wrong. I hope I'm not since I also believe Trump will win.

Notice I said I "believe" all the above, not "think" or know".

I believe if Trump wins, the "other side" will riot and do its best to destroy everything it can, as fast as it can. Since I am far from any big cities, with their largely disarmed populations (at least, among the less aggressive residents) I am not scared for my own safety if/when this happens. I also believe the riots will be quashed by armed suburbanites before they could reach me. And since I'm in a backwater, off any beaten path, it would be hard for them to get to me unless it was intentional.

I see in the anti-Trumpers a mob with a willingness to hurt and kill people they don't believe are fully on "their side". And I'm not.

On the other hand, I don't believe Trump supporters would burn cities if Kamala Harris, in the person of Joe Biden, wins. They'll probably be angry and claim it wasn't a legitimate election (as if that's even a thing). If Harris'/Biden's more radical supporters are able to influence them-- and they must believe they'll be able to-- I'll be personally harmed by the anti-gun legislation they'll push through-- more so than Trump's anti-gun legislation (as evil as it was) managed to hurt me. 

I don't see a willingness among Trump supporters to attack people who aren't loudly siding with the others and getting in their faces, so I don't believe they would be much of a threat to me. Even if they know I'm not on their side. I have sat through the Pledge to Holy Pole Quilt without participating, and although I got a few dirty looks, no one threatened me as I've seen (on video) happen to people who were ordered by an angry mob to raise a fist and declare "black lives matter". So, again, I feel safer with a Trump win than with a Biden win.

It could just be my bias speaking. I've spent more of my life around "conservatives", and even when they disagree with me it hasn't gone as badly as the few times I've disagreed with "progressives" to their faces. 

I don't believe I was the critical variable, even though I admit I usually feel more sympathy toward misguided "Right-Statists" than I do for equally misguided "Left-Statists".

I don't feel as strongly about the election this time around, since I haven't had decades of personal loathing for Joe Biden like I had for Hillary Clinton. And even then I didn't "prefer Trump" enough to v*te against Hillary.

Of course, if the "social unrest" gets bad enough, whoever the anointed ruler turns out to be, none of us will be immune. How much damage we'll sustain remains to be seen. Interesting times, fuels by politics (which makes people stupid).

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Writing to promote liberty is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.
I hope I add something you find valuable enough to support.

"Borders", human trafficking, "freebies", and other political misdeeds

Why would anyone conflate "open borders" with government intentionally importing hordes of people from other counties and giving them your stuff? Those aren't the same thing at all. 

But it's a useful strawman. And that explains why they "get confused" when the subject comes up. After all, if you can't lie about things you can't be political.

I'm not for "open borders"; I don't believe in government borders. There's a difference between those that goes over the heads of most people. 

I'm also opposed to government doing anything, including importing people from other countries (which is human trafficking for political gain) or giving anyone other people's property.

Once again we see government pretending to be the solution to problems which wouldn't exist without it causing them in the first place. And the political people either enthusiastically going along with it or enthusiastically opposing it while unknowingly legitimizing it. It's the most common thing in the world. 

I hope you don't fall for it.

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Writing to promote liberty is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.
I hope I add something you find valuable enough to support.

Keep your Utopia to yourself

How many of other people's "good ideas" do I want no part of? Most of them.

I'm not interested in a moneyless society or solving "inequality" even if this would boost me. I don't care to live anywhere that has no offensive speech or ideas. "Problematic" means interesting. I don't want to live in a shining city where everything is perfect-- by someone else's definition of "perfect".

Most people's Utopias sound like dystopias to me.

I would rather have messy liberty than a bubble-wrapped cage.

This may mean I'm ungovernable. Does it mean I'm defective? 

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Writing to promote liberty is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.
I hope I add something you find valuable enough to support.