Killing over opinions is depraved

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 17, 2025)

If you are on the side that believes it's justifiable to kill people over their opinions, you're on the bad side.

If your ideas are so fragile and empty that you'll resort to censorship or murder to prevent someone from continuing to dismantle them with reasoned debate, you've already lost. You've admitted you have no counterargument.

When you feel you have to silence the opposition with a bullet instead of presenting better ideas of your own, you've broadcast to the world that you have no better ideas. Even if the one you silenced was wrong. Especially if they were wrong.

It's why I'm a free speech absolutist: let the bad guys reveal themselves and their schemes openly. Those who resort to threats, intimidation, censorship, or murder in an attempt to silence their opposition do so because it's all they have.

I don't always agree with any individual. Not even fellow liberty lovers. As for the rest, some people have opinions I find repugnant. I don't need to kill them, even if I were so pathetic I thought it was acceptable, because I trust the strength of my arguments. Always.

Sometimes I'll choose not to engage in debate with someone because it's obvious they are simply reciting a script, completely devoid of thought. Anti-gun advocates are particularly prone to this nearly every time you engage with them. In this case, I may toy with them for a while, giving them enough rope to entangle themselves, realize their mistake, and run away. Or they may double down, which is even funnier.

If, during a debate, I realize the other person has a stronger argument with valid points, I will change my mind. I'd rather be on the right side than "win" an argument, even if it means adopting a new perspective. I'm never afraid to engage with those who disagree with me, as long as their disagreement remains civil.

I've received credible death threats over these columns. It's been a few years, but it raised my awareness of the risks involved in expressing opinions which some people- especially those radicalized into aggression by their influencers- despise. I'm completely empathetic to anyone who speaks out and gets unhinged people angry enough to act with aggression, either personally or by hiring someone to do it on their behalf.

Murdering a person over their opinions is vile; something only a depraved, evil loser would even think of doing.

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The opposite of pragmatism

The opposite of pragmatism isn't Utopianism, as so many pragmatism addicts want to pretend. You have to do what works, but within the limits of what you have a right to do. Deciding you're not going to violate others isn't "Utopian".

I hate those who justify evil on pragmatic grounds more than just about anyone.

I understand why they do it- evil frequently works, so it’s obviously “pragmatic”. But it’s still wrong. If your argument is for being pragmatic, without considering whether it's ethical or not, I'm not going to respect your opinion at all. Nor will I cooperate with your schemes.

Pragmatism of some sort is a nearly universal political trait. It forms the basis for justifying anything a politically minded person wants to justify. The only counterargument would be if this evil had never "worked" anywhere at any time. But of course it has. Archation "works", it's just unethical.

Museum robberies can get you the crown jewels.
A mugging can get you some money.
Killing someone will stop them from saying things you don't like- although this is less effective in the age of video recording.

Governing others, and extorting money from them, will fund "services".

But, it's wrong to do any of that. Doing it anyway makes you the bad guy- the real criminal, even if your criminal acts have been "legalized" by the criminal gang you work for.

Crime can be pragmatic if you've set up a system to make sure it "works" and no one can effectively opt out. It's still wrong.

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Quite a pickle

The Left calls us "Far-Right Nazis" because we don’t go along with their insane authoritarianism, and the Right says we "only help Democrats" because we won’t v*te for their worst candidates and support their worst policies.

Neither has the self-awareness of a pickle.

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Foam weapons, plastic beads, and "Ron Swanson libertarians"

I used to be involved in "buckskinning"; recreating the pre-1840 mountain man Rocky Mountain fur trade era. I still hold it dear.

One big principle in that hobby- at least while in camp- is "no plastic" and nothing that is obviously anachronistic for that time period. Even things like cameras/phones and necessary medical equipment are supposed to be kept hidden or disguised in a period-correct manner. You couldn't wear a naugahyde fringed jacket and microfiber suede pants and expect to get any respect in camp.

That's why my eyeglasses were always an antique style. Plus, I just prefer the look and feel of the old stuff.

When I moved here, there were no local buckshinning groups. I'm much too broke to travel anymore, so I can't get to their rendezvous, and my tipi is damaged, plus my lodgepoles were stolen years ago.

So, I was looking for another hobby. 

I dabbled in the local SCA group a few years ago, and I had high hopes. It didn't work out. It just felt too fake for my tastes. Their focus wasn't on living, but fighting. And they used fake swords and plastic armor. I tried to get into it, but it just wasn't for me. 

There's nothing wrong with it, and if I hadn't been involved in buckskinning first, I might have fit in better.

It's the same feeling I get when I run across a "Ron Swanson libertarian"- someone's idea of what a libertarian might be, played by an actor, to seem libertarian to people who don’t understand the concept of being libertarian. 

I like the"Ron Swanson" character. He's funny, and I agree with him a lot of the time. On other things, he's just not libertarian (even if it's still funny).

Like a lot of the "libertarians" I see online. Some are just "conservatives" who prefer a little more liberty/less government in specific areas, and some are Leftists who lean a little bit toward liberty in some areas. But they seem to be wearing plastic armor and carrying foam weapons. They are giving a performance for an audience.

They may be sincere, and they are probably better than those who don't even make an effort, but they just feel too fake for my tastes. I rarely call them out, because I'd rather not alienate them. My hope is that they'll keep growing if given a chance. I also wonder how they'll ever have that chance if no one points out how off-course they are.

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No Kings-- no, not yours, either.

Just in case you imagine I'm giving "the Right" a pass recently, here's a list of some of the tyranny of the Right:

• Unconstitutional "border" enforcement and "immigrant" crackdowns.
• Anti-gun enforcement and trying hard to keep both the NFA and GCA, and all their unconstitutional crimes, intact and enforced.
• Supporting police, even when they enforce counterfeit "laws".
• Prohibition.
• Military bases in nearly every country on Earth.
• Taxing you for things they want.
• Governing others.

All these anti-liberty things are reprehensible, and I give their supporters no leeway whatsoever.

But, I'm not so stupid as to hallucinate that the only threat, the only "kings", are the rulers on the Right. That's just pathetic. I oppose their prospective kings, too.

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"Needs" or "Wants"- You don't necessarily know the difference

Anyone who argues “No one needs…” is just wrong.

Maybe no one needs a gold-plated AK-47. Some people might want one. (I don't, but some people undeniably do.)

If you only have what others say you need, you wouldn’t have a satisfying life. You could have all your biological needs met in a cage. Some people die from captivity regardless.

Everyone needs at least some of their wants met, too. Otherwise, I don’t think they can survive. They certainly won't thrive.

So to argue over whether something is a "want" or a "need" is dishonest. You don't know for sure what all the needs of another person may be-- especially not whether they'll survive if you deny them this mere "want".

No one is obligated to provide others with these wants (or needs), but everyone is obligated to stay out of your way as you provide them for yourself. Including not interfering with a background check if what you want is the gold-plated AK-47 that some people will say “No one needs”.

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The only real solution

When people discuss that troublesome region known as "The Middle East", one common debate is whether to pursue a "One State Solution" or a "Two State Solution" for the troublemakers of both sides.

Those plans are both wrong because the only sustainable solution is the No State Solution: No one gets to govern their neighbors or their enemies. States are the problem.

Will this result in regional peace? No, because the people in that area don't want peace. If they did, peace would be easily attainable. 

What it does is return aggression to a private matter between individuals. It removes any veil of legitimacy from either side in the conflict. Aggressors are just aggressors, with no justification.

If you, as an individual, wish to send your money or weapons to anyone over there, at your own expense, you should be free to do so. It is within your rights.

If you wish to buy a ticket and go there to fight against individuals you dislike, I'm not going to stop you. You may be the aggressor or the defender, but that's on you. No governments or political criminals, anywhere, for you to shift the blame to. Which is how I already see it anyway.

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Your liberty just as important as mine

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 10, 2025)

Caring about people means caring about their liberty.

Liberty is a universal principle. It isn’t just for me, those I like, or those who agree with me. It’s for everyone or it’s not liberty at all. If I didn’t care about people, I would demand my rights while trampling yours; anything to get my way. But that’s not liberty; it’s tyranny dressed up with moralizing words.

Liberty is the foundation of a life worth living. It’s the ability to make your own choices, pursue your own happiness, protect your own property, and build your future without anyone’s boot on your neck. It’s a two-way street. My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. If I claim my liberty while ignoring yours, I’m not defending liberty- I’m being selfish; a bully. True liberty means recognizing that your rights matter as much as mine do, no matter how deeply we might disagree.

Consider how this plays out. If I want to speak my mind, but I demand someone censors you, I’m not defending liberty- I’m undermining it. Or property rights. I can’t demand the right to use my land as I see fit while ignoring your right to do the same. When government steps in to control one of us, it’s not just an attack on them- it’s a threat to us all. Liberty is interconnected; erode it for one, and it crumbles for everyone.

This isn’t theoretical philosophy- it’s practical reality. In every state in America, we see how government overreach stifles liberty. From burdensome regulations on small businesses to rules that chip away at self-defense rights, the pattern is clear. When someone’s liberty is violated, it sets a precedent for everyone else to be violated. If I'm smug when the “other guy” has his rights violated because I don’t like him, I’m giving government a pass to use against me next.

Caring about liberty means standing up for people you might not even like. It’s defending the rights of the loudmouth you can’t stand, the annoying neighbor, or the stranger whose choices you don’t understand. Why? Because their liberty protects yours. If I let yours be trampled, I’m inviting the same fate for myself.

So, no, I won’t demand my rights at the expense of yours. I’ll fight for both, because liberty isn’t a zero-sum game. It’s the only way we all thrive. Anything less is just selfishness cosplaying as principle.

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A throwback to the crazy year

I was going through some saved items, while looking for something else, and came across a screenshot of someone's "face-mask flip out" from early July 2020. I won't share the details or name the commenter (who I recognize from my liberty circle*) because I didn't save the context- I don't know if it was in response to something I wrote, or to something else. But it was a magnificent meltdown.

I only saved it because the person came completely unhinged that someone might oppose mandatory masking, which I thought was weird. And he was flipping out over the suspicion that masks might reduce the blood oxygen levels in wearers. It was interesting at the time. Maybe more so now, in hindsight.

I did my own breathing experiment later, so that wasn't what triggered him, but his outburst is probably what inspired me to test it for myself.

I have saved other things of this sort over the years, and when I run across them, I always wonder if the person stands by it, if they changed their mind, or if they've rewritten their personal history to remove the insanity. "That was my position all along!"

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*I found him on FB. He apparently now hates all of us because if we aren't on board with the Left-wing authoritarianism he prefers, then we are Right-wing authoritarians. Wingism is terribly seductive. So he probably still stands by it.

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War anywhere isn't good for me

It’s not good for me when the US government assists the Ukrainian government in its war.

It’s not good for me when the US government assists the Israeli government in its war.

It might be good for me if the US government negotiated an end to a war, or chose to stop being involved with these regional wars in any capacity.

Might.

If wars keep government focused outwardly, and an end to these distractions caused it to shift all that attention domestically, it could end up being bad for me. And all of us.

I still want the US government to stay out of other people's wars. And everything else. And disband.

Government is such a loser institution.

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Don't nurture your anxieties

How did it happen that so large a segment of the population decided to flaunt all their anxieties and try to shame the rest of us into coddling them?

I don't like crowds. I don't feel the need to wear a pin proclaiming this "problem", nor to discuss it with strangers, or to expect everyone to coddle me because I don't like crowds.

The same with heights, big dogs, and most carnival rides.

It is what it is, and I adjust. I either avoid those situations or I suck it up and deal with it, knowing the problem is mine, not yours.

The same goes for everyone I've been around most of my life. Everyone has their preferences and they adjust, too.

This isn't good enough for so many (generally younger) people now. They want you to know every issue they have. They have no intention of working them out, but they want the world to bend to accommodate them.

If it does, it's not doing them any favors. In fact, treating them this way is probably only going to make their anxieties grow bigger and more numerous. They're never expected to grow up, so why would they? It's easier to wear a pin and talk about how awful it is that they have to have this issue.

And, if you hang out with a crowd that makes you believe wearing a pin that says "Ask before hugging" is necessary, then you're obviously hanging out with the wrong people. Maybe not wrong for everyone, but wrong for you. You have the right to be that way, but why would you? 

Push your boundaries a little. Allow yourself to experience discomfort. It will be good for you.

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Archation (often) works

It's a sad fact that archation often works- at least temporarily. 

It's never right to violate the life, liberty, or property of another, but I can't deny it "works" if you don't worry about doing things you have no right to do. If you want to be the bad guy.

Things, both good and bad, get funded through taxation. Funded inefficently and in the wrong way, ignoring market factors, but "funded".

If you want to look like you are doing something against criminals, you can find "gun crimes" to cage them over when finding actual wrongdoing would be harder. Then you can cage them to keep them contained for a while.

And, speaking of imprisonment, at least while that one person is caged, he won't be violating anyone outside of his punishment facility. In the long run, it probably makes things worse, but statists don't worry about the long term.

Governments can threaten other governments into doing what they want by holding the population of the entire world hostage. Sometimes, the outcome might be good. Sometimes it isn't. But using innocent people as pawns does often work.

You still have no right to use archation to get your way. Governments have no rights at all. That's the whole point of archation as a concept: doing things you have no right to do. Does it work? Sure. Sometimes. It's still evil and it puts you on the wrong path.

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Politicized humans are inhumane

If you observe politicized humans, you're going to see some weird stuff.

In the past 10 minutes, I've seen all the following:

I saw some creepy political criminal insisting that the Bible says to steal from people and give that money to others in the form of services.

I saw someone who considered himself a "patriot" saying it's essential to indoctrinate children to chant a nationalist socialist pledge to Holy Pole Quilt so they'll grow up to be good people.

I saw people cheering on government committing crimes in order to "fight criminals".

I saw them demanding that government ignore the Constitution to protect a "country" that doesn't even exist without that Constitution.

Politics makes people stupid, and at least a little bit evil.

Anything you mix some politics into gets destroyed; replaced with only politics. Including human brains.

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The freeloaders

For the first time ever, one of the cats in the house has killed a mouse. But I'm not sure who to reward and who to tell to do better.

Then, a couple of them kept alerting me to more mice in the A/C closet, and I managed to trap two more. Now the cats are indicating there are no more. We'll see.

It's a good thing they are cute, because they are quite expensive for the contributions they make. Kind of like me.

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Our responsibility to defend ourselves

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 3, 2025)

Last week, another mentally ill individual chose to be an evil loser and shot into a church full of children, killing two and injuring many more.

The usual anti-gun voices immediately blamed guns and all the gun owners who didn't commit murder. They never place blame on the evil loser because that doesn't fit the agenda. Dancing in the blood of innocents is their only play, and they are experts at it.

Even some people who are generally less anti-gun chimed in to suggest mentally ill people shouldn't be allowed to own weapons. "Allowed"? By whom, and by whose imaginary authority or precognitive ability?

Weapons are a natural human right, inherent in everyone, including those who are mentally ill. Every human alive has equal and identical rights; no one has the right to commit murder.

I oppose background checks to purchase firearms. They didn't work in this case; they don't work in any other case. No one has the right to decide what another is allowed to own.

Government is clearly prohibited by the Second Amendment from making up or enforcing any rules concerning weapons. Any. Yes, government employees choose to commit the crime of "gun control" all the time; a criminal conspiracy which needs to be called out and ended. A crime is any act which violates life, liberty, or property; it's not about what objects someone owns or carries.

Instead, everyone has the right to fight back if someone decides to use their tools to harm the innocent. Background checks and all other anti-weapon rules violate this right, making it safer for evil losers to commit atrocities without facing the possibility that someone may have the means to stop them before they do what they intend.

What can be done?

People can see when someone shows signs of having a mental problem, with or without formal psychological training. It's simple self-preservation. However, most people have been trained to be too polite to say so or to act on it. Break your training.

If you notice someone showing signs that something is going wrong in their brain, admit it. Stay alert. Warn others. Get some distance between yourself and them. If it's a family member, try to get them help before it's too late. Most importantly, be ready to defend yourself and others from them at all times. You may not like it, but it's your sacred responsibility.

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Bad people are having a tough time

Leftism is not the kind, caring, compassionate, enlightened position Leftists pretend it is.

No form of statism is.

I've seen several examples of Leftists counseling each other on how to make it through "difficult times like these". Poor babies!

I guess they mean times when not everyone wants to follow the same brand of statism they prefer. They can't believe some people don't like their brand of tyranny. This hurts their feelings terribly! They need a safe space where they can plan what they'll do to everyone who isn't 100% on their team on every issue, as soon as they can do everything their way again. They are so scared right now!

Oh, please. 

As if they aren't murderous, bigoted, hateful liars.

They'd completely lose their minds if they were capable of understanding that some of us don't want any statism at all. That we know we don't need to be governed. Not by them or by their loyal opposition, with whom they share so many personality flaws.

Their absurd "we're the reasonable people" schtick has run its course and is out of fuel. It's burning in the ditch. And they are still trying to paint it as it burns.

If they want to know how to "make it through times like these", they should see how you and I, and people like us, have been making it through the past 6000+ years, surrounded by people who would rather rob and kill us than let us live without their control over everything we do. They're just whiny because their team isn't the one with the power, on paper, at the moment.

Spoiled babies.

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Don't be monstrous

It seems obvious that no one today is more fascist than Antifa; than the Left.

Isn't it funny how often things turn out that way?

I see examples like this all the time. 

I see it in people of every political persuasion. Of every religious background. Of every ethical foundation.

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.” ― Friedrich W. Nietzsche

It's something I try to keep in mind all the time. I don't want to turn into a monster.

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Guns for everyone!

For the record, I am 100% opposed to any gun ban for anyone: any individual or category of individuals. 

It's not that I trust everyone with weapons, but that the last person who should be making the determination is anyone who believes there's such a thing as a "right" to govern others. Even if it weren't illegal for them to do so.

That's the end of it as far as I'm concerned.

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There's no government shutdown

As long as taxes are being collected, there's no government shutdown.

As long as you still have to fill out forms and have a background check to buy a gun, and you can't have it routinely shipped to your house, there's no government shutdown.

As long as you have to run the TSA's rape gauntlet to fly on a plane, there's no government shutdown.

As long as launch providers have to wait for a launch license to launch a rocket, there's no government shutdown. 

As long as you can't order ivory pistol grips from overseas, there's no government shutdown. 

As long as there's any US military activity anywhere in the world, there's no government shutdown. 

As long as there are any federal offices, agencies, or bureaus of any kind operating anywhere, there's no government shutdown. 

There is no government shutdown.

But it would be a great improvement if there were.

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The Projection Party

The Democratic Party is everything they've been accusing everyone else (not just Republicans) of being, for not agreeing 100% with their most extreme views. I can't even begin to list how many times they (and other Leftists) have done it to me.

"Whoever fights monsters should take care that in the process he does not become a monster" ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Someone didn't "take care".

There's one party that promotes and depends on racism, and it's the Democrats.

There's one party that insists on being sexist, while saying sex is less important than "gender", and that it is all a social construct, and it's the Democrats.

There's one party that engages in more fascism and downright Nazi tactics, and it's the Democrats.

There's one party that can't abide the slightest criticism or disagreement, and it's the Democrats.

There's one party that encourages and celebrates the murder of people with different opinions, and it's the Democrats. It's the party of lies, hate, and murder.

There are plenty of positions where the Republican Party is equally as bad, but Democrats don't get extra points for not being worse than Republicans on those. 

But, to hate people for belonging to such a party is the same as hating someone for being a Moonie or in that Tom Cruise cult. They are a victim. They're brainwashed, and it short-circuited (or destroyed) their rational brain.

I'm sure there must be some areas where the Republicans are worse than the Democrats. Support for police and the military, and opposing property rights, are examples I immediately think of, but then I realize Democrats are still right with them in those areas, they just express it in slightly different ways.

There’s no excuse to be a Democrat anymore. Libertarians support all the good things the Democrats support (or used to support), without supporting the evil the Democrats support.

The same goes for Republicans.
And no, this isn't an endorsement of the Libertarian Party- except in those cases when they are actually libertarian.

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