Reasons for... or against?

Someone listed two reasons why "we need" a Speaker of the House to be chosen as soon as possible. 

1) So that the feds can send "aid packages" (political payoffs or bribes) to Ukraine and Israel, and
2) to avoid the scheduled (and entirely fake) "government shutdown" by passing a budget.

Hmmm. Both of those sound like excellent arguments against ever again filling that phony position. They'll have to do better if they intend to convince me I need a Speaker of the House.

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This is the way. In Israel and everywhere.

I don't necessarily believe "the news" even when it's something I desperately want to be true. 

Case in point: An example of armed defense-- not offense-- when the invaders attacked Israel. And the defenders won. 

If this is true it illustrates perfectly what I've been saying about how you can defeat a gang of bad guys without becoming a bad guy yourself. 

If it isn't true, it's still an illustration of how it would be done. This is the way.

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Passive statism

There are those who don't hold government "jobs", who don't necessarily believe government is essential to life, and who don't support everything government does, but who don't entirely reject the idea of governing others, either. 

These are the passive statists.

They are not nearly as harmful to society as those who take an active role in imposing government on the rest of us. But they aren't harmless, either.

The religious cult of statism requires a large number of people to just go along with it, even if they don't do much to support it. At least they aren't openly defying or ignoring it. And there are an awful lot of them! They are uncritically accepting many of its lies and "the narrative" because it's just easier.

And it is easier. It takes work to think for yourself and to buck the trends. It can make you unpopular to rock the boat. I think it's worth the extra effort because I think liberty is more valuable than anything any government could possibly provide. Most are unwilling to put in the extra effort, especially at the risk of getting on government's-- and your neighbors'-- bad side.

I guess I can't really blame them, even as I wish they'd make different choices.

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Letting devils control you

I suppose if my neighbor's teenage son attacks my daughter it would be OK for me to burn the neighbor's house to the ground and kill everyone inside. What else can I do? He was using his mom and younger siblings (and perhaps a hostage) as human shields; maybe he even had them locked in a closet so they couldn't get away, so their blood is on his hands. I'm the good guy here.

He's a bad guy-- no question about it. If his family didn't kick him out or kill him, then they are complicit in his crimes. They are fair game at that point. He made me do it by his actions.

I'm blameless. Right?

Wrong. So wrong.

Revenge is wrong, even if you call it "war" and say it's for "national security". Even if bad guys come from somewhere you can identify and then target. Revenge-- punishment-- is not justice, but the opposite of justice. 

Bad guys exist. You are within your rights to use violence in defense against them. You are not within your rights to become bad guys because they were bad first-- even if that's what happened.

It would have been ethical for a sniper to have taken out Hitler because he was an ongoing credible threat.
It was evil to firebomb Dresden or to nuke Japan.

I don't support any state or any government military. It amazes me that anyone does, when I would think they would know better. But people do. Just like they support The Blue Line Mafia against their own interests. Do you realize how much theft, slavery, and other archation is required to even keep a government military operational? I can't support that, even if they somehow managed to refrain from doing anything evil in other countries. 

Most people seem to kind of like war. At least as long as they aren't personally fighting in it. It gives them a team to cheer, villains to jeer, and a Grand Purpose to get behind. It's exciting. I don't have that reaction at all.

I support the victims, not the perpetrators. On all sides. I hate the perpetrators-- the bad guys-- on all sides. And there are plenty of them to go around.

It's rough to stand firm when the world around you is half-crazed with militaristic statism. It makes me feel like an outcast. An outcast who is watching otherwise normal people go nuts, "The Purge"-style, doing and supporting evil while saying I am wrong if I don't join in the human sacrifice.

It would be so much easier for me to just "Rah-rah Israel!" just as it would have been easier to have said, "I stand with Ukraine". I could do so, but I would be lying and I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Is it principles? Is it naivety-- "Sometimes you have to do things like this in the real world."? 

Well, if supporting evil is a requirement for living in "the real world" then I'm simply not interested. You go ahead, though.

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Collective punishment of the innocent

If anyone comes to my town and bulldozes my house, or my neighbors' houses, shoots at us, or otherwise archates against us because of something the US government and its military did to them, they are bad guys. There's no wiggle room.

Even though the US government and its military are unequivocal bad guys who always do horrible things worldwide. They deserve whatever they get, but they are not us. I don't support them or their actions. Don't clump me in with them.

This kind of destructive invasion would be just as wrong as me going in and leveling Washington DC and killing every resident and visitor because of the evil the politicians and bureaucrats ensconced therein commit. The guilty individuals don't make everyone in their vicinity guilty by proximity. Claiming otherwise is a sign you're thinking politically, which has inevitably made you stupid (and evil). Every villain in history has claimed his victims made him do it.

It's wrong-- it's evil-- to behave in that way even if you don't see any other option. Doing the wrong thing doesn't become right just because you can't think of any other way of getting what you need.

This applies to everyone everywhere.

I suspect nearly all passive statism is based on "But what else can we do?" There are always options to committing evil.

Now, if you've decided you "have to" invade, raid, murder, and destroy, and you're OK with being considered a bad guy for doing so, then that's on you. It's your choice. I probably can't stop you or change your mind. I won't feel bad about anything that happens to you at that point. 

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Be neighborly in wake of blaze

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 10, 2023)

I saw firsthand the fear and confusion some employees of the Clovis Walmart felt after their store burned. These are our friends, family, and neighbors just trying to earn money to pay their bills; suddenly the rug was pulled out from under them through no fault of their own.

The company has stepped up, under difficult circumstances, to do what they can for the employees. This is appreciated.

My family, like so many others in the area, has been directly affected by this fire. Most people around here will eventually be affected one way or another. A few local businesses will probably benefit, as will Amazon.com.

It's popular to criticize corporations. I do it, too, though for a different reason than most.

I consider corporations either a branch of government or a too-willing lever government uses against individual liberty. Still, I would never wish destruction on any business I can choose to either patronize or avoid. As long as I am not coerced into using and paying for their services, the way government forces all its "services" on everyone, I don't consider them the enemy.

Some people criticize corporations like Walmart as a drain on the local economy, but this is short-sighted. The employees earn money which ends up being spent at businesses all around town and beyond. Without those jobs, there would be less money available to spend at all the small local businesses. It's a net positive. Businesses that understand what a store such as Walmart can and can't do can thrive even in its shadow.

I know this because I've worked for those businesses much of my life. We would send customers to Walmart for the things we couldn't compete with on price, and we focused on meeting the niche needs Walmart couldn't or wouldn't serve. It doesn't have to be a war; there are ways to coexist. In the future, understanding this will become even more crucial.

For now, be grateful that no one was physically hurt in the fire. Think of the displaced employees. Take a moment to appreciate the convenience we took for granted before it was lost. Finally, as is thoughtful, considerate, and neighborly even if there had been no fire, see if anyone you know needs you to pick something up from the store when you're heading that way.

I look forward to the store rising from the ashes as soon as possible.

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Is prepping getting a little more attention again?

Once again, events have brought prepping to the minds of people who don't generally think much about it. I'm seeing more videos on the topic again, and seeing it mentioned more in other places online.

I pretty much never stop thinking about prepping, although sometimes personal problems push it down the priority pole a bit.

I encourage everyone I know to “prep”. I always have. Getting people to listen when things don't seem pressing has been the biggest problem. With most people, anyway.

It’s always been an uphill struggle for me where my relatives are concerned, largely because of their somewhat apocalyptic religious views (especially anytime Israel is involved). But, over the years I have made some headway.

I've gotten my parents to store water, and they've always had loads of stored food. So they're probably more prepared than most. Plus, they are only slightly more than a half mile from me. I can get to them (or bring them to me) in case of emergency. I've walked to their house against 75+ MPH headwinds (it wasn't pleasant, but I made it), so I can probably get there in any situation I'm likely to face. Anything short of murderous hordes, anyway.

Several years ago, my dad asked to reborrow a gun he had given me to use as his carry gun. I wish he'd carry something more effective, but he's recoil-shy. At least he finally sees the wisdom in having something available.

The rest of the extended family, including ex-wife #1, is about the same. I encourage them to prep, but it's hard to get them to take it too seriously. Even after the Covid drama. They said at the time they should have listened to me, but the lesson faded as soon as normalcy returned. It's easier to ignore than prepare. "We made it through that, so I guess we'll be OK next time." Some of them "joke" they'll just come stay with me if anything happens. I've discouraged that plan.

I considered Covid a dress rehearsal after I saw it for what it really was. It could have been a lot worse-- if the disease had been as bad as they wanted us to believe, for example. Or, if something more dangerous threatened our existence.

You can't prepare for everything, but you can prepare for most of the more likely things. Do that. Then, for fun, you can prepare for Zombies and get yourself a little further down the road to being prepared for "everything".

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Self-Defense Awareness Day

If a particular group of nasties can declare this a "Global Day of Jihad" I guess the rest of us could declare it "Self-Defense Awareness Day".

Stay situationally aware, especially if you will be in any populated area that might look like an inviting target to evil losers of any variety. Which means, as is always wise, avoid liberty-free zones.

And if they were misquoted or mistranslated, no harm done, since you should be practicing anyway.

Don't start trouble, there won't be trouble. Right?

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War is crime

I oppose war. 

I support the natural human right of defense. 

If a government military is involved, it's not defense. Same thing if a quasi-government-like military is involved. 

If your forces are going into other people's towns, neighborhoods, and homes, to kill them and destroy things, you are not a good guy. You are doing things you don't have a right to do. The residents there have the fundamental human right to kill you in the act, no matter how evil they might otherwise be in other situations.

I get that you may be doing this in response to others doing things they had no right to do. Two wrongs don't make a right. It looks more like revenge-- "punishment"-- and I consider revenge to always be wrong (even though I totally understand the drive).

I'm no pacifist. Not even close. If you're familiar with this blog, you already know that.

There's an ethical way to respond to archators-- see the above about the natural human right of defense.

I know this opinion is about as popular as a scared, leaky skunk in an elevator. If opposing war gets me "canceled", it's worth it.

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A simple concept

What do you call a politician who makes up legislation that violates natural human rights?

A criminal.

What do you call a cop who enforces legislation that violates natural human rights?

A criminal.

What do you call a judge who upholds legislation that violates natural human rights?

A criminal.

It's not a difficult concept. They are all criminals, the same as a mugger, a rapist, a murderer, a burglar, a kidnapper, or any other criminal.

No, I take that back-- they are worse than any of those freelancers because they have the power to prevent you from doing anything to stop them. And their brainwashed minions are among us fawning over them and treating them like gods.

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Intelligence vs trainability

Intelligence is not the same thing as trainability. Trainability masquerades as intelligence, or is mistaken for intelligence. 

Both have their place.

"Getting good grades" is a sign of trainability.
Doing tricks to amaze or amuse the humans is trainability.

A minimal amount of intelligence is necessary to be trainable-- you can't train a sponge-- but people seem to be more impressed, in general, by trainability than by actual intelligence.

Those who submit to training are rewarded and praised. Those who outsmart the ones who want to train them are often not appreciated. Or even punished.

I'm usually much more impressed by intelligence than by trainability. Even though I'd appreciate it if I were able to train my cats a little more.

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Large scale archation

I don't support archators. Not if those archators are a State, not if they are a political group that acts like a State, not if they are lone archators. All of those archators are bad guys. All of them.

It doesn't matter if those archators call themselves "Hamas", "Israel", or anything else.

If the archation harms the innocent-- on any "side"-- those who committed the acts of archation are the enemy of liberty and humanity (really, that's the same thing).

It doesn't change anything if the acts are in revenge for something someone else did in the past. No harm to the innocent. Period.

If a politician (or other archator) who is individually responsible for ongoing harm is taken out, that's great. That's always an ethical option. But harming people-- who were just going about their lives-- because of something politicians are doing? Unforgivable. Hold the politicians or the individual followers accountable, don't target anyone else.

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Government no good for worst times

(FYI- This was blog post #7000, and September 3. 2023 also marked the 17th anniversary of this blog. 

Imagine that. 

My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 3, 2023)

When it’s important, when it's life and death, when it matters most— that’s precisely when you don’t need government involved. This is when you don’t need politicians and bureaucrats dictating a one-size-fits-all standard, backed with the threat of violence. This is when government power is most dangerous to society.

I'm not only talking about unusual or emergency situations. The same applies to ordinary everyday matters which are important for your health, safety, and general welfare.

Unfortunately, these are exactly the situations in which politicians and bureaucrats are most likely to demand you give them control. These are the times when it's easiest for them to convince gullible people to give them power and then go along with whatever they are told.

I believe the residents of Maui found this out the hard way. Will you learn from their tragic example without waiting to experience something similar for yourself?

Not only will the political parasites (who hope you think of them as leaders) take advantage of bad situations, they will magnify small problems and manufacture imaginary problems to this same end.

If you've been paying attention, especially for the past few years, you've probably noticed this happening

A few people are never inclined to obey authoritarians. They see political power realistically and don't fall for the cozy lies it tells.

Some people noticed the deceptive excuses the politicians and bureaucrats overused and abused to seize control, and they won't be fooled again.

Others clamor to bring back the feeling of Big Mommy Government making all the uncomfortable decisions for them; giving them the illusion they are being protected from every "owie" and unpleasant feeling. These people will sell you out in a heartbeat, right along with any liberty you have left. They are government's favorite people.

If you make your own decisions and things go badly, accept responsibility, learn, and move on. Try to do better the next time a crisis comes along.

If you blindly obey someone who imagines they have a political quality they call "authority" and things go wrong, remember to hold them fully accountable. And don't make the same mistake twice.

I saw someone say we are in the midst of the longest, saddest, most excruciating and unsatisfying "I told you so" in the history of the world. Let's make sure to at least learn something useful from it. Such as this: if it's important, it's too important for government to touch.

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Don't let politics make you evil

Politics makes people stupid. Stupid enough to support actual evil. Sometimes, stupid enough to commit evil. In such cases, politics not only makes people stupid, it makes people evil.

If you believe I'm exaggerating, take a minute to look around. Look at politicians and those who support them. Look at the rules and policies being imposed and enforced. Look at how politics is used as an excuse to target and harass people with different preferences-- including throwing them in prison when they are on the side with less power.

If you don't see politics causing stupidity leading to evil you're not looking close enough. 

It's not a matter of different opinions leading to different paths taken. You can take a different path without forcing others along your path at bayonet point.

That would be the "different opinion" path. What's happening in the world around us isn't that path-- it's the path of coercion. The path paved with politics, making followers stupid and causing them to support and commit evil in support of their team.

I've never seen any individual made better by politics, but the examples of those made worse are endless.

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Preps and falling down on the job

Prepping never takes a break, but sometimes I let things slide longer than I should. Firewood being this year's pressing issue.

No, I don't heat the house with wood, but I like to have a supply just in case. Winter can be unpredictable. Plus, the cats (and I) really enjoy a fire now and then.

I did sweep the chimney a few weeks ago so that part is ready.

Stocking up on firewood isn't as fun as keeping my ammunition stockpile up to date (which reminds me...), but it has a bigger chance of being essential to my immediate survival. 

Unfortunately, this isn't an area where you can just run into the woods and cut trees-- there are no woods, and nearly every tree in the region was intentionally planted by someone for some reason. If you see a grove of trees, there is either a house in the middle of them or there used to be. People would get twitchy about someone harvesting firewood from those trees, plus, they are invariably the species of tree I'm not willing to work too hard for.

I do often get scrap firewood that comes from people cutting down trees that are unwanted or dead. Usually dead. That's normally Siberian elm; historically the most often planted tree around here. I dislike Siberian elm. It stinks when it burns, is difficult to split, and has sharp spikes under the bark that rip my hands open when I handle it. But it's cheap and sometimes free. This year I didn't manage to get any yet. Mostly because I was holding out hope for something better.

There are people around who sell piñon firewood they import from the mountains. I have bought some in the past and I got some as a birthday gift once. It sure smells wonderful.

I still have a little firewood left over from last year, but I feel I let my preps slide more than I like, so finding or buying firewood in the next month or so will be a priority. More of a priority than replacing the ammo I shot up last weekend.

Do you ever discover you have let some aspect of your preps slide more than you realized? It's hard to keep up with everything, but that's exactly what is needed.

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Plotting to Control is planning to fail

On a recent Scott Adams livestream he reacted to someone suggesting it would be smart to legalize drugs. In response, he gave the least credible justification for prohibition I've ever heard, but it's typical.

He immediately pivoted away from actually ending the stupid and evil War on Politically Incorrect Drugs to some system whereby government gives "free" regulated drugs to people. No one had suggested that.

As usual, he had changed the subject away from the actual argument to make a point he preferred to focus on. It's a typical government supremacist response to getting government out of any facet of life. Also known as a "straw man".

He said this version of "legalization" won't work because addicts always want "more". That's not even part of the conversation, nor should it be. It's only something that a person who still assumes government Control of the supply (and the addicts) would bring up.

Letting a government employee Control and ration something isn't the same as getting government out of the market for that thing. It's the opposite. You can't say "legalization" will fail by using the opposite as evidence unless you are being dishonest.

He said the rationed, free handout drugs which he pretended were part of the argument wouldn't be enough, so addicts would still go buy "illegal" drugs, too. Not if there's no such thing as "illegal" drugs, they won't. How hard is this to understand? That's what ending prohibition means!

He did this all under the pretense that he understands people, addicts in particular. It doesn't look as though he does. It just looks like he's grasping to justify government maintaining Control so that any solution is forbidden.

Would addicts die? Yes. They already do. Would more die than under the current system? I don't know and neither does anyone else. But, it's a fundamental human right to destroy yourself. It's tragic, and I would rather people didn't, but they will, and "laws" don't prevent it from happening. 

In fact, enforcing the prohibition "laws" destroys many lives that would have otherwise not been destroyed. Much of the harm from drug abuse and almost all of the harm from drug use comes not from the drugs but from the anti-drug rules and policies.

Regardless of anything else, responsibility doesn't go away just because you were on drugs. That's a completely separate issue, one that prohibition hasn't come close to solving.

You can't say liberty won't work by using examples where you keep someone in Control.  Liberty won't fail, but it isn't given a chance.

It's one of those things that makes me want to scream and give up on brainwashed people like this.

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Education matters

Here's an education question for all my readers. 

First, a little context. I think one good quality I possess is the ability to adapt. When I think "there's got to be a better way" I don't mind changing things around to try to find that better way. I see it as a survival skill, and it has served me well many times.

Well, I'm shifting gears on how I'm educating my daughter and I'd love some input. I'm hoping for good, well-thought-out answers.

What knowledge do you believe a young person should know when they leave high school and/or start living independently? What knowledge is essential in order to be prepared for life? Beyond the obvious.

I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I want to hear yours. I really want to hear yours, so don't hold back, even if you've never posted a comment before. Please, and thank you!

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The Market

"The market" means voluntary trade without coercion. 

It is an example of spontaneous order through the action of independent individuals. An emergent property.

Government "laws" make a market impossible-- although you can still create a sort of quasi-market through the Black (or Gray) Market.

I don't usually say "free market" anymore because if it's not free, it's not the market.

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How to fix* Congress

The best way to fix Congress is to disband it entirely and replace it with nothing-- which is the best way to fix all political institutions. I'm sure you have great ideas as to how this could be accomplished expeditiously.

However, if someone needs to be weaned off of being governed, I have a gentle suggestion as to how that could be done gradually. A simple two-step process. In fact, I would apply this to every political office in the world, but let's pretend I'm limiting this solution to Congress for the moment.

1- Don't hold elections anymore-- what you've got is what you've got. No cheating by holding a special election to elect young people before this takes effect, either.

2- Don't replace those who die off, get arrested, resign, or retire. Let attrition do its work.
Then each empty seat counts as an automatic "No" v*te on every bill that would increase or maintain government power, or a "Yea" on any bill that would disband, defund, or disempower any government agency or function (we can dream that those ever get proposed). 

That means, next time the budget comes up, every empty seat is counted as a v*te against approving the budget. Every empty seat counts as a v*te against every steaming lump of legislation that any legislator drops in front of Congress.

As soon as empty seats make up at least 50% of the seats, there would be no more point in even gathering the political criminals to go through the motions anymore. Then liberty could flourish.

Yes, shut it down.

    *Fix it like you'd fix a stray that you don't want breeding ever again.

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Discrimination, because the "law" says it's OK

Back in June, I reported that my formerly favorite gun store didn't respect all rights equally. Well, the sickness has also spread to my formerly favorite gun range.

I spoke up at the gun store because I was alone. I held my tongue at the gun range Saturday because my son and his girlfriend had invited me to go shooting with them. But my son gave me a look that said he knew what I was thinking as soon as we pulled up to the office.

Of course, a gun range has an interest in saying "Don't come here to shoot if you are intoxicated". But why single out Cannabis? Probably because it's legal just over the state line. I see no signage mentioning any other medicine or intoxicant, any of which would be just as much of an issue-- some more so. That's why it doesn't strike me as a safety measure as much as discrimination.

You have every right to discriminate against anyone for any reason-- or no reason at all. But, if you discriminate against people for things they have no control over (their "race", for example) or for doing things they have a natural human right to do (ingest things, carry weapons, worship, etc.) then I'm going to think poorly of you. I may shun you.

I don't care that the gun store used the excuse "But marijuana is illegal" when I brought it up to them. Government illegitimately makes all sorts of things "illegal". Look at all the anti-weapon rules. That has no bearing on rights.

I respect those who respect rights without any "buts". I lose respect for those who don't respect or acknowledge rights they don't like. Even if the State gives them permission. That is an anti-liberty position.

The signs at the gun range and gun store look exactly like a "Whites Only" sign to me. It screams that the person displaying it is a bigot. Someone discriminating in the nastiest ways they can "legally" get away with. What else would they do if the "law" told them they could?

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