Up to you to make 2021 better

 (My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 30, 2020)

Was the year 2020 not to your liking? Do you want 2021 to be better? Then make it better. It's mostly up to you.

There will be things beyond your control, but you can choose how you feel about them and how you react to them.

You can be stampeded over a cliff by those who gain power from your fear and compliance, or you can be responsible for yourself.

You can act on the science promoted by political hysterics, or on the science which shows there's no need to panic and zero reasons to give up liberty. The calmer path has never backfired on me.

I'm more than ready to take back the liberty which was trampled and stolen over the past year. "No" is a powerful word; one which should be used more often. It won't make you popular, because standing firm isn't popular with those who'd prefer you go along and not make a fuss, no matter what's being done to you.

You don't have to make a scene over every ridiculous demand. Pick your battles. If you don't have a clear line in the sand-- a line you won't be pushed across-- you need to find where yours is. Then stick to it no matter the cost.

As many have pointed out, if you won't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

It'll be hard if you're on your own. If others see you making a stand, maybe they'll be inspired to join you. If not, it's still better to do the right thing alone than to go with the crowd doing the wrong thing. Or allowing the wrong thing to be done to you and others.

I'm on your side as long as you aren't violating the life, liberty, or property of any other human being. So, I'm probably not on your side if you're using politics-- government and legislation.

If your great-grandkids were to ask you what you did when liberty was on the line back in 2021, wouldn't you rather be able to answer with your head held high, saying you refused to help politicians and politicized "experts" destroy America, or would you rather admit you didn't speak out but went along because it was safer? I'd be ashamed to have to give this answer. I can do better.

If 2020 wasn't the best year, look in the mirror to see who's responsible for making 2021 better.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

When statists get stepped on by the State

"Some government regulation is necessary, but this time it has gone too far."

This is what a statist who has been harmed by the state says.

How often do you see this statement, or something similar? Pretty much every day, right?

No, government regulation-- by legislation or by edict-- is not "necessary". Let the market regulate, instead. If regulation is actually necessary, it will happen organically without coercion.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

End the FAA

Here, Elon. Print out and fill in your permit.

I don't like any agency of the feral government, but right now I especially hate the FAA (almost as much as I hate the ATF, IRS, DEA, etc.). 

I enjoy following the SpaceX Starship development down in south Texas. I'm excited to watch the next test flight. After several weather delays, it was scheduled to launch Thursday. Then the FAA decided to interfere.

The low-down slimy FAA pulled their flight permit (or whatever it is called) at the last minute; the morning of the planned test flight. And refuses to issue another one until their demands are met.

How does the FAA imagine they have "authority" to be issuing or withholding permits to anyone for anything? Wow, I hate that kind of arrogance.

They've demanded more info from SpaceX on the flight. As if they couldn't have asked earlier, before the flight was scheduled. (The individual bureaucrat responsible needs to be sued as an individual for the entire cost of the preparations that were wasted.) 

Obviously, the FAA is staffed with useless bureaucratic piles of crap throwing their weight around. They have no legitimate "authority" over anyone. But they'll murder you to keep up the pretense if that's what it takes.

The FAA went from being a useless bureaucratic annoyance to a threat to the future of the human race. An enemy of every human being.

If anyone can take them down, it's Elon Musk*. I doubt it will come to that, but if it does I don't think it will go the way they imagine. I can think of several things he could do-- but I'll let him come up with his own ideas which would undoubtedly be even better.

At a minimum, SpaceX needs to drop the fawning "and thank you to the FAA for..." that they recite at the end of each launch broadcast. Why thank your mortal enemy?

Abolish the harmful FAA. Use its ruins as a toxic waste dump-- oh, wait, it's already worse than that! No free country would put up with such a monstrosity.

-

*I understand the valid criticisms leveled against Musk's cronyism, and I agree with it all.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

The same question, phrased differently

Consistency scares people. Some people claim that consistency means you're stuck in a rut. If you believe one answer fits every problem, you aren't being rational. You could be a cultist. I agree with that to some extent.

But these same people also keep asking questions that are really the same question phrased differently, so in that situation, one answer does apply. It has to.

Isn't "taxation" necessary? No.
Should government regulate guns? No.
Should government be able to mandate masks and shutdowns? No.
Isn't it OK for cops to shoot people who refuse to cooperate? No.

Isn't security more important than liberty? No.

Aren't business licenses necessary? No.
Should government make up rules to help some people at the expense of others? No.
Should government bail out banks/corporations/Wall Street? No.

Should Bitcoin be regulated? No.
Doesn't government have the right to control the border? No.

Drugs have to be regulated, right? No.

But don't you agree government has to license drivers? No.

I could go on and on.

But those aren't really different questions. All of those "different" questions come down to "Do I (or does government, on my behalf) have the right to archate?", so the answer is always going to be the same. It's always going to be "No" as long as you keep asking the same question.

Those questions are dressed up to look different to people who aren't too bright. Or who have been brainwashed into government-supremacism.

You could rephrase the above questions so the answers would always be "yes"; "Is taxation theft?" for example. But the direction remains the same. No one has the right to archate, and saying "it's the law" can't change that fact.

Yet some government-supremacists would make the claim that I'm not "credible" unless I make exceptions where I say it's OK to archate; to rape, murder, kidnap, etc. as long as I call it something else and it is being done by government employees. They'll claim that unless you make these exceptions, you're not part of the adult conversation. Who thinks this makes sense?

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Dogecoin

I would like to get in on Dogecoin, since... why not? So, if anyone is interested in donating some as an alternative to donating dollars or Bitcoin:

D6Wiw75gJbe9hzLEG7PeY22VRdVn2qfjPZ

I just set up this wallet and haven't tested it yet, so if you send some, let me know so I can check to make sure it came through.

Thanks.

UPDATE: I figured out that I could trade a little Bitcoin for some Dogecoin directly through my wallet, so I'm set if Dogecoin goes "to the moon" now. You can still donate if you want, though.

Bullies and government-supremacists

Who are these people whose opinions I don't care about even a little? Bullies. Statists/Government-supremacists. Anyone who wants to use aggression against others: Archators. Those who refuse to recognize that the "right" to archate can not exist.

I run into them everywhere; I'm sure you do, too. Most don't even realize they are the bad guys. Some see themselves as heroes, when nothing could be further from the truth. 

I recognize that ignoring their toxic opinions, or even daring to refute them, can cause them to attack me, either individually or through the violence of the state. But I can't stand to see them attacking someone who isn't going along with their cultish agenda. Sometimes I step in, even though I'd rather ignore them, knowing I will only attract their wrath, just because I can't let their attack go unanswered. 

Otherwise, I'll do what I can to avoid this or defend myself if avoidance fails, but I still don't care about their ignorant and wrongheaded opinions.

Why would anyone? 

They are petulant toddlers with illegitimate power. Let them throw their tantrums and try to stay out of their reach. But don't concern yourself with what they think of you. They are just not credible, rational, or sensible. 

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Care what some people think; not what everyone "thinks"

Part of exercising your liberty comes down to not caring what everyone else thinks. Hopefully, you are able to do this in a way that doesn't come off as rude to observers, but sometimes it's not possible.

You should care what some people think. It's probably not healthy to not care what anyone thinks. You'd be a psychopath or something if that were the case. But most people "out there" aren't really worth coddling.

These people will try to bully you into doing or saying what they want. It's going to probably seem rude to them when you refuse. But how would it feel to you if you caved in? How would it look to others who see you comply with something you (and they) know isn't right? Which is worse?

I usually try to find a way to refuse to go along that isn't confrontational. Often I simply ignore them-- they aren't worth the effort. Sometimes you're not left that option. Sometimes to refuse is to be confrontational. In that case, it helps if you don't get too wrapped up in the opinions of those who are trying to bully you.

If I cared too much about what others think-- when they do not have my best interests at heart-- my liberty would be destroyed. One person at a time, they'll destroy everyone's liberty. Don't let them. Stop them at your liberty, and stop them if you see them targeting someone else. Refusing to be bullied is not the same as imposing your will on them.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Time's Up flags-- my review

I was apprehensive about the new flags. Specifically, I was concerned about the quality. So I ordered one for myself. It (finally) arrived today.

I'm pleasantly surprised. 

No, they aren't as high quality as the original batch-- but they also cost half as much as those did, almost 15 years ago, so I didn't expect them to be. 

They are better than I had anticipated and I think they are worth the price. If I didn't think they were, I would tell you. I'm much more enthusiastic about them now than I was before seeing one in person.

If you bought a flag, feel free to send me your own review (good, bad, indifferent) and let me know whether or not I can post it.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Yes, V*ter, you were lied to and used. Did you learn anything?

I'm kinda liking how so many who supported Bad'un are now realizing that he was never on their side. Don't they understand how politics works? (They may now.) Did they really imagine it was to benefit them?

This is a lesson I learned when I was still in my early 20s. Maybe most of those who seem surprised by recent developments are around that same age. Other than the slow learners...

They are feeling used, and the smarter ones realize they were lied to. 

"His campaign promises aren't already Law? It can't be!" 

"There were unintended consequences to the promises he has carried through on? Why didn't he tell us this was the case?"

"I'm getting the feeling we were used." Yeah, you were.

How many of them will still believe in the same old process next time? Most of them. Hope springs eternal and gullibility is almost bottomless.

But it can be amusing to watch it happen to them. I just wish you and I could stay out of the crossfire.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Is vaccine really worth celebrating?

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 23, 2020-- This is one of those headlines that makes me go "Huh?", but such is life.)

As soon as a Covid-19 vaccine was announced, the debate began over who should get it first. To me, the answer was obvious: Give it to the politicians first. They want to be called "leaders"; let them lead for once.

This win/win solution should make everyone happy.

People who love government are generally going to be the people most likely to trust the vaccine. They probably believe politicians are valuable. They'd believe using the vaccine on the politicians first would be safe and would protect them.

Those who aren't as fond of government and politicians are probably not going to trust the vaccine as much. They'd probably be glad to see politicians used as lab rats.

If the vaccine is safe, the politicians survive and others can then try it. If it turns out the vaccine was a bit rushed, and not as safe as initially advertised, no real harm done. You can always recruit more politicians later-- if you must.

If this past year taught us anything, it taught us to not trust experts when politics is involved. If you are not skeptical about this first-ever vaccine for any kind of coronavirus, which was rushed through the process, then you haven't been paying attention to the history of pharmaceuticals. I want to see what happens over time to those who took it before I decide if I'm going to. Especially if it becomes mandatory.

I'm not anti-vaccine, but I'm anti-"mandatory" every time.

I'm not interested in seeing famous people getting vaccinated on television. How do I know that's really the vaccine and not glucose? Who makes decisions based on what famous people do? Most of them didn't get famous for being smart or making good decisions. If you follow the examples of famous people you're probably in serious danger. If they are famous for being politicians, it's even worse.

I suppose the cat's out of the bag now, though. It's too late to let politicians go first.

Now we are being told the vaccine may only be effective for a couple of months, and having been vaccinated doesn't mean you can dispense with the face mask and the anti-social "social distancing", nor will it mean the end of the shutdowns. So what's the point? Will this vaccine raise the survival rate from 99.6% up to 99.7%? I'm unconvinced.

Whatever happens, I wish you a very merry healthy Christmas!

-

Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com

Check out my prepper community on locals

The truth can change

There are things which are true that you (and I) don't want to be true.

The pragmatist just says "Oh, well. That's how it is", but smart people see it as an opportunity to change what is true. Change it for the better.

It was once true that humans were denied the experience of powered flight. That's not true anymore (although the nasty TSA tries as hard as they can to make it true again).

It is true that I currently have a piece of metal (accidentally) superglued to my right index finger, making it harder to type. I'm hoping this truth will change in the next few days.

Maybe it's true that humans always impose political governments on themselves and others. If so, work to change that truth into something healthier.

Truth shouldn't be a prison. If there's a truth you don't like, do what you can to make a new truth. Make the old truth a lie going into the future.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Flag news (shipping rate increase imminent)

Just a heads up that I was informed by the flag manufacturer that the USPS is increasing their shipping rates on Monday (January 25, 2021) so the shipping cost per flag will go up an additional 60 cents. Not a big deal, but if you want to avoid the price increase, order before then.

I guess the USPS is doing such a great job they decided to give themselves a raise.

It seems that my profit margin will also decrease by a dollar, but I'll see how that goes. I already know I'm not going to get rich off of this. Maybe it won't be a big deal.

Recycled criminals

It seems to me that each new administration's government is largely composed of nasty government criminals recycled from previous administrations, plus some new blood to train to be nasty government criminals for future administrations to pick from for recycling.

I admit I may be cynical about the whole nasty circus.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Covid wrap-up

Even the bushes are scared of The Corona

Now that it's the era of Bad'un-- you know, the "Bungle Backward Badly" guy-- the coronavirus is either effectively gone (since it has served its purpose) or it's such a big deal we'll all be ordered to wear masks all the time for 100 days (or much longer) and there'll be lockdowns for everyone. Depending on which of the random nonsensical paths is taken.

Here's my current thinking on the subject of Covid-19.

Yes, the virus probably exists. I have no way to know for sure since I don't have the equipment to see/isolate it; I'm forced to take someone else's word about it. I still think it's somewhat more likely that it is a real virus-- at least of some sort-- than that the virus doesn't even exist.

So there probably is a pandemic... in the same way that there's a pandemic of E. coli. It's probably widespread, but not a real problem except in a small percentage of cases. How much concern and tyranny is appropriate for something that is everywhere but not usually a big deal? I choose none.

I trust the science, but I do not trust politicized science interpreters. Nor do I trust their numbers even a little bit. When you count every death where the virus was present as a death caused by the virus, the numbers are going to look scarier than they really are. But it's good propaganda. Scared people are compliant people.

Instead of people questioning whether they should be scared or whether government should be controlling them, they debate how scared "we" should be and how much government should be controlling us. They ask if mask mandates and lockdowns and economic shutdowns "work" instead of realizing that no one has the right or the imaginary "authority" to be imposing them.

I still believe the government response to Covid harmed vastly more people than the virus did. Emotionally, physically, psychologically, socially, and more. Without even factoring in the economic harm.

I just can't cooperate with such people. If truth is illegal, I'll still be an outlaw.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Variety bag special offer

I have a variety bag for one lucky reader.

I mentioned that I was sent a replacement item from Wazoo Survival Gear-- after the USPS fumbled the delivery-- but then eventually received the original order. Well, I paid for it and now I'm selling the extra. 

It is a Wazoo bushcraft necklace.

The grab bag includes the necklace plus 2 Time's Up patches and 2 original-style Time's Up stickers (for indoor use only, and not available elsewhere anymore). 

$30.00 (Paypal or Bitcoin) for all-- free shipping to the "lower 48" (elsewhere, we'll work it out).

Just contact me-- first one to tell me they want it gets it.

-

Don't forget to buy a Time's Up flag while they are available!

Gun stuff

This was a bad year to be broke. It makes me almost wish I had been on the "stimulus" list because if I had, I know what I'd be spending the magic money on. As it is, I've been stretching and contorting my budget in uncomfortable ways.

What I've been doing is trying to get some gun-related stuff. While I still can-- while it is still available and "legal". 

I made one Big Purchase (with Bitcoin!), which will be seen later-- maybe in a month or so (but you'll have to be paying attention because I won't be specifically talking about it).

But mostly I've been trying to get extra standard-capacity magazines, in preparation for a 10-round limit. I still have an old Ruger magazine from the Cigar Willie years; crippled by an oversized "floor plate" to hold only 10 rounds. It's an abomination.

I did get one 10-round magazine, though. To return a rifle to its original configuration. This magazine was at a really cool western junk (and guns) store I like to browse, and I got it for $5. Awesome! There was another magazine in their parts bin, but I can't tell for sure if it fits my Ruger-- it looks like it might. I might ask the price anyway next time I go to town.

Now there's just one thing I really lack. I would like to get more ammo, but I haven't been able to. It's not readily available, and really expensive when I do find it. I feel I need more 9mm-- especially a box or two of self-defense rounds. And more .45 ACP.

I'm always wanting more .32-40 and .45 Long Colt "cowboy loads", too, but those aren't as critical. Another couple of cans of FFg black powder wouldn't be bad, either.

Is there anything of this nature you are stocking up on? You don't have to answer that rhetorical question; it is only asked to give you something to think about.

-

Don't forget to buy a Time's Up flag (so I can afford ammo) while they are available!

Speaking up-- or not

There are times, places, and situations where speaking up is fine. And safe.

Then there are times, places, and situations where your gut is going to tell you this isn't the time, place, or situation to do so. That was the case when I was at the gun counter the other day.

I think you should listen to your gut (unless your head overrules it).

Your gut might be wrong. Maybe you should have spoken up but you missed the chance, or maybe you shouldn't have when you did.

I would rather live in a society where people feel free to say what they think, even if others don't like it. Including "hate speech" [sic]. I've never encountered a good argument for restricting speech of any kind.

But there is a cost. Both for staying silent and for speaking out. I've paid (and still pay) the price for both at various times. I'm not going to heap criticism on someone for taking either path when I would have made the opposite choice. My criticism is on anyone advocating (or committing) archation.

Most of the time, in most situations, I don't hesitate to speak up when my comment is relevant. But, there are times I choose not to for whatever reason. Sometimes the reason is simply that I don't feel like getting into a debate right now. Even in that case, I still might speak up in support of someone being criticized for a reasonable opinion.

How do you handle such situations?

-

Don't forget to buy a Time's Up flag while they are available!

Gun control doesn't stop shooters

  (My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 16, 2020)

A couple of weeks ago I was in Lubbock for a while. Before heading home I stopped by a Lubbock Walmart so I could grab a few items without being herded like a cow through a chute. As it happens, I missed the fatal shooting there by moments. I was almost surely still in the parking lot when the tragic crime occurred.

Crimes-- real crimes against life, liberty, and property-- infuriate me. There is simply no excuse. There is also no excuse for enabling such crimes with ignorant policies which help the bad guys by putting the good people at a disadvantage.

What do I mean by this?.

I mean, once again, a place with a "No guns" sign by the door was the scene of a shooting. Will wonders never cease?

Very little makes me sicker than a "No guns" sign at a business. Bad guys will never obey such signs. You might as well roll out the red carpet for those set on murder. You've offered the rest of your customers to them on a silver platter with your compliments.

A "no guns" sign has never in the entire history of the world stopped a criminal from bringing in a gun and shooting someone if it's what he's set on doing.

If someone could be stopped by a sign, he could also be stopped by someone looking him in the eye and saying "No!" In fact, that would probably be more likely to work than a sign posted by the door. At least this is personal and he knows he has been noticed and called out for his behavior.

Instead, those signs, and those who enforce them, only keep out the people who are prepared to defend the employees and customers from such criminals.

It's the polar opposite of being helpful. It's a cheap political stance-- political theater-- prioritizing feelings over reality in the name of imaginary safety.

I never want someone intent on harm to be able to pull out a gun, a knife, a stick, or a fist without being stopped cold where he stands. Not even once. Some might believe that's a little harsh, but he made a choice. When police get in the way of this result, they've done more harm than good.

I don't support criminals or those who side with them by making up or enforcing victim disarmament rules. As if there's a difference.

-

Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com

Check out my prepper community on locals

Holding your tongue at the gun counter

A couple of days ago I was at the gun counter in a national sporting goods chain. A customer told the counter guy he was just looking, but then commented that he noticed that they seemed to have sold a lot of scopes in the past week. Counter guy said, "We are selling a lot of everything!" He said people are even coming in to buy .22 long guns for home defense. I knew the reasons behind that.

Another counter guy and customer were talking, and I overheard that customer expressing his opinion that Trump had been the defender of liberty, and that Biden would basically be the end of America. 

I bit my tongue to stop myself from pointing out that while Biden is openly an anti-gun bigot with big plans for your guns, Trump was sneakier about it. He pretended to be on your side while violating your rights the first opportunity he got. Trump is no friend of gun owners; unfortunately, Biden-- with the help of a majority of anti-liberty congressvermin-- will probably be much worse.

But, yeah, I said nothing. I just stood there looking complacent and oblivious. It's the best I can do in such situations.

Long ago, I decided it is best to not comment on politics while in a gun store. Other than my favorite gun store back in Colorado, but that was different (...I believe).

During my time in Pennsylvania I had visited a gun store in my first couple of days there, and as I was leaving-- on foot-- it began to rain hard enough to drown frogs. Another customer who was also leaving noticed I was on foot and offered me a ride back to my motel. On the way, he warned me that the gun shop owner was a former cop and that many of its customers were current and former cops. He told me to watch what I said in there to avoid problems. (I hadn't said anything to anyone, so I was safe.) I thanked him for the warning.

You never know when there might be a snake in the grass. Yes, the popular (with cops) thug-rug haircut can be a dead giveaway but don't rely on it.

And anyone might be Stasi.

There's a time to speak up and a time to observe and collect data. Wisdom is knowing which time it is.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!

Pride

It bothers me that the word "pride" is misused for things like the various sexualities. (I am told this makes me "-phobic"; another word misuse that annoys me.) 

"Pride" is for accomplishments. There is no accomplishment in being gay, straight, white, black, American, or anything else like that. Those are very dumb things to feel "pride" over.

To be clear, it would be just as dumb to be ashamed of those things.

However, there is another meaning of the word "pride" that actually could apply. A pride is a social group-- a family group-- of lions. A tribe.

In that case, "pride" fits perfectly.

There can be a gay pride, a white pride, a male pride, a liberty pride-- pride associated with any group which wants to express its identity. Every pride can have their own flag if they want. And many do

The Time's Up flag is my pride flag. Cops' pride flag is the Blue Line abomination. The US flag, Nazi flag, POW/MIA flag, Confederate flag, and all the other flags that express a tribal identity are pride flags.

So, even if that's not how they are using the word "pride", I'm going to give them the benefit of a doubt and pretend it is. Just because it's smarter.

- 

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com

Browse my TeeSpring shop

Check out my prepper community on locals!