Don't mug R2D2

Some people are promoting the idea of taxing robots "instead of people".
I'm guessing these are the same people who used to argue for a "flat tax".

You can't tax a robot because robots own nothing. If you pretend to tax a robot, you're only taxing the human who owns the robot. You are stealing a portion of that robot's value from the owner of the robot.

Even if you ignore that inconvenient fact, the money is still going to fund government. 

You're diverting money away from the economy and dumping it down a black hole of desperation and misery.

Funding government is always the unethical choice.

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Worthless pseudo-certification

Government is the last entity I’d ever want certifying anything or anyone. 

If you’ve ever watched one of government’s "firearms experts" trying to disassemble a simple pistol, you can explain to me why you believe these clowns should be certifying firearms, firearms accessories, or procedures.
Or illegally making up any rules they’ll (also illegally) apply to firearms or firearms businesses.

Some of these supposed experts even think a shoelace is a machine gun- for punishment purposes, at least. They are clowns.

I’m no firearms expert, but I know firearms well enough to see government experts’ utter incompetence. 

The Gell-Mann Amnesia effect would be my only excuse to avoid the recognition that this incompetence is systemic across government. Because it is.

Since I don’t suffer from that particular cognitive blindness, I know government shouldn’t be certifying anyone or anything at all.

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We have to trust liberty completely

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 18, 2026)

Few people understand liberty. Even fewer trust it to work.

As Voltairine de Cleyre wrote in 1908, "[T]he sin our fathers sinned was that they did not trust liberty wholly".

They thought America could have liberty along with a central government- a state. It didn't work. Now we are stuck with a growing police state, and the tatters of our remaining liberty are being criminalized at an astonishing rate. This won't end well.

Liberty is indivisible- it can't be broken into pieces and remain liberty. You can't respect it selectively (for some people, in some areas, some of the time) and call it "liberty". True liberty requires consistent respect for everyone's rights, everywhere, all the time.

Critics of liberty often pick apart one small aspect they dislike, arguing either that this single piece "won't work" in isolation or that removing it disproves all of liberty. They then act as if they've won the debate, but they're missing the point entirely.

All elements of liberty are deeply interconnected, like parts of an ecosystem. You can't remove one part while keeping everything else unchanged, and claim you've shown a flaw with liberty. Government's very existence cripples liberty.

A common pro-government argument claims you can't have "open borders" and a welfare state. I agree. Easy fix! End all government welfare. This isn't the answer they want, though. They don't dislike welfare; just migrants.

This is how it looks any time people attempt to argue against a free society, like saying that without legislation enforcement, criminals would run rampant. Yes, they would... if you ignore self-defense, consequences, and social pressure (things legislation attempts to thwart).

It's a dishonest argument.

It’s like taking a malfunctioning rocket engine, removing critical parts you don't like the look of instead of addressing the bad piece, then pretending you won because the engine still doesn't work. Of course it won’t. It’s a system. A rocket engine's fuel pump won't lift a rocket into orbit by itself, nor can an engine designed to require a fuel pump function without one.

This government-supremacist argument doesn't work and looks dumb. Unless you're the one making the argument to others who do the same thing, and you're patting each other on the back for being clever.

Government is the enemy of liberty. Claiming this as proof liberty is unworkable is like noticing scammers exist, and this proves money is useless. Trust liberty completely; distrust all who fear it.

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It's a big, flashing clue

When reality doesn't conform to your beliefs, you have some choices to make. 

You can change your beliefs.
You can keep your beliefs while suffering the discomfort of others not agreeing with you.
You can use threats and aggression to force others to adopt your flawed beliefs (or act as though they did).

Statism always seems to choose the path of coercion. The path of trying to make reality irrelevant by forcing people to ignore it- or else.

This is how you know they are wrong.

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They'll have to work it out

Republicans are as out of touch with reality as Democrats are, only in slightly different ways.

Part of the evidence for this is that they'll call you a Democrat any time you disagree with them for being irrational.

Just like the Democrats call you a Republican any time you disagree with them for being irrational.

I feel a little bad that reality just doesn't support their beliefs, but that's not my fault, nor is it my responsibility to coddle them in their distress.

My responsibility is to not archate, and not demand that others do so on my behalf. Other than that, they'll have to work it out on their own- and calling me names won't help them get there.

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Hoping I’m not psychic

I don’t have (or believe in) precognitive dreams. Even if they are real, I hope this isn’t my first one.

Saturday morning (around 3:30am), I dreamed of a rocket explosion. In my dream, I was watching the launch of a rocket with a center core and 2 side boosters. Just as the engines fired, there was an explosion at the bottom of the center core, just above the nozzle/s, and the whole thing blew apart, mostly destroying the launch mount as well.

I’m not sure if the rocket in my dream was a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, NASA’s SLS, or another rocket. When I woke up, I felt like it was SLS, which is scheduled to launch soon, but that wasn't part of the dream.

Either way, I hope this doesn’t come true- I don’t like rockets being lost, and I certainly don’t want a manned rocket exploding with people on board. Not even government employees.

I figured I'd document this, making a record that would show precognition if it came to pass (which I think makes it less likely to happen, since the Universe seems averse to precognition being demonstrable).

Update: It wasn’t the Artemis II  launch, and I’m glad of that!

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Counterfeit "law" will be the downfall of the State

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it: If the state keeps cracking down on liberty, making more and more normal activities "illegal", then it will be more and more a badge of honor to be an outlaw.

The more things they turn into "crimes", the less respect the "normies" will have for their "laws". Some might even end up having contempt for "the law" like I do.

Not contempt for real Law, but for legislation and arbitrary government rules; counterfeit "laws". 

Government supremacists get very upset over me pointing out counterfeit "laws"- they demand to know how I can arbitrarily decide which laws are real and which ones aren't. 

But it's not arbitrary at all. 

If they weren't so concerned with defending a criminal organization and its evil rules, they could see it for themselves. Counterfeit "law" is having consequences, and those will only get more obvious. I don't expect the State's addiction to counterfeit "law" to be cured. I expect it to get worse. I expect more and more people to gradually start seeing it for what it is. I expect less and less respect for "the law" over time.

Statists (and Statanists) have only themselves to blame, but they'll never face reality. They'll try to put the blame everywhere but on themselves. It will be their downfall. It can't happen soon enough.

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Hooray for Afroman!

I hope I'm not alone in being satisfied by the outcome of the frivolous lawsuit against Afroman, filed by the armed goons he embarrassed.

He is a hero for free speech and against cops doing what cops feel entitled to do.

If there was to be a lawsuit, this was how it had to turn out if justice is to prevail. The loser cops had to also lose in court, not just in life.

He'd better watch his back, though, because that gang doesn't like being mocked, even though they deserve it so much. If he is the victim of a drive-by shooting anytime in the next few years, I will assume the Blue Line Mafia is 100% responsible. No matter who they find to blame as their scapegoat.

Stay safe, Afroman!

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Idiots hate your liberty

I've had something go wrong, and it has sent me spiraling into depression. I'll get over it.

But, I haven't felt like doing anything. Or writing anything.

I did make the mistake of going on X- the cat videos are nice- but I see things posted by people who really ought to know better that make me feel even worse.

I just can't believe the lengths people will go to when trying to justify government. People who really should know better, and who I think would be ashamed if they had enough self-awareness to realize what they're saying.

I even had someone (who should know better) respond to something I wrote a couple of days ago, saying if you don't like being governed, you can revoke your citizenship any time. A different spin on the "Love it or leave it" nonsense.

They said no one may have the right to govern, but "we the people" gave them the "authority" to govern in 1788. Funny, but I wasn't there, and I did no such thing.

We really are going to have to get used to being outlaws if we are to hang on to any shred of liberty. Those who should be on our side are all too happy to sacrifice us and our liberty to The State, just so they can keep the parts of government they like. Idiots.

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Association must be voluntary, by mutual consent

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 11, 2026)

If you believe the best solution to any problem, real or imagined, is to give government more control, you're off base.

The government-created issue of "immigration" illustrates this perfectly.

Liberty trumps every other concern. Government solutions to "immigration" never enhance liberty but are a direct threat to it. Even if government is doing something you want it to do, and even if you believe the trade-off is worth the cost. Nothing is worth eroding liberty.

The New Mexico government recently barred state and local government-run facilities from contracting with ICE to provide detention centers. Good, bad, misguided, or pointless? This doesn't mean others won't choose to help ICE carry out its rights violations, but New Mexico governments won't be allowed to do so. It's still government doing government stuff.

Government has no business being involved.

As with most things, I expect some localities to ignore the legislation, hoping they'll get support from the federal government.

I'm opposed to concentration camps, whatever you might call them. I'm also opposed to barring people from living where they can make mutually consensual, voluntary agreements with the property owners.

Alternatively, I'm opposed to government participating in human trafficking; importing people from other countries and spending tax money to install them in communities.

Typically, you have people on one side who want government to ignore the Constitution and "control immigration" pitted against people on the other side who want government to import every basket case from every third-world country, and then support them for the rest of their lives on tax money stolen from the productive residents.

I want government out of the game altogether. Live where you want; make it on your own.

If you only want to hire people who were born in America- or in New Mexico- that's your right. Modern legislation might disagree, but if so, it's wrong. Again.

It's the same if you wish to discriminate on any basis for employment, housing, services, or whatever. Forced association is a violation of everyone's rights. If you don't want to be around me, why would I want government to force us together? That wouldn't be good for either of us. All association must be voluntary and by mutual consent. I wouldn't want to eat a cake baked by someone forced to "Bake the cake", to borrow a phrase from another case of forced association.

Government fouls everything it touches, including human interactions. It's never the solution.

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Simple, painless solutions

If you won’t wear a hat, I don’t want to listen to you complain about the sun in your eyes.

It's funny how often that translates into other areas of life, too.

A solution that is simple, costs almost nothing, doesn't take time or effort, doesn't hurt, is safe, and doesn't disrupt your life in any way- but people won't do it just because they don't want to. They don't like the solution. Complaining is more satisfying.

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Being useful or being used

It's interesting to me how many times I find it necessary to remind people that not allowing myself to be controlled is not the same as me controlling the person who wants to control me.

Refusing to be used by you doesn't violate your rights. You have no right to use others.

If you have a mutual understanding that you'll do some specific thing for someone, that's not what I'm talking about when I say "being used". That's just being helpful or useful, voluntarily of your own free will. Consent is the key.

As much as I hate mowing and yard work, I do it for my parents to be helpful. I don't resent it or feel like I am being used. They've done things for me, too.

Being used can create resentment and devalue you. It's akin to slavery. Being useful can make you feel good, even if it's not particularly enjoyable in and of itself.

Government employees don't get this distinction (almost by definition), but many freelancers also don't get it. Governing others is just another way of using others; of controlling them in ways no one has a right to do. It's not exclusive to bureaucrats and other political criminals. 

Refusing to be controlled, in this case, can be a valid form of self-defense. The control freaks won't like it.

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DST compromise

The past week, I have slept more hours, but have been more tired. It's always the same after "Daylight Saving [sic] Time" is imposed.

Just to prove how reasonable I am, I'll occasionally offer a compromise on something I feel strongly about.

Here's my compromise with supporters of DST (Government Wrong Time):

Stop changing the clocks for DST, but affirm and declare that any business that wishes to open and close an hour early, can- without penalty- so its employees can have an extra hour of daylight after work.

Who could possibly object?

It’s exactly the same as "observing" DST, without the lie of changing the clocks.

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The fate of government

You know things are upside down when government does what it wants, and the people have to beg government for permission to exercise their basic human rights. Government acts as though it possesses rights, and people don't.

It's getting worse.

Government counts on it always moving in this direction. That's a dangerous bet to make.

Government, you treat your superiors as the enemy, and they are likely to eventually get the message. And when they do, you're done. You're outnumbered. You may put a lot of stock in your fighter jets, bombs, and tanks, but people operate those tools. People give the orders. People you treat as the enemy as long as you aren't directly pulling their strings. People who have friends and family that you treat as your enemy. People who still depend on society made up of other people.

You can't win this war, even though it looks like you are winning the battles. To govern others is to fail.  To govern others while treating them as your enemy is to beg them to destroy you. Either directly, or by walking away and ignoring your tantrums. You only govern as long as people comply. It's time the people stopped complying; stopped obeying. You've earned this. It's your inevitable fate.

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Fighting to stay wrong

I saw a post where a woman was praising a good guy with a gun for stopping a recent attempted mass shooting.

An anti-gun bigot piped up, demanding she give him "a couple more" examples of this thing he claimed was incredibly rare- a good guy with a gun stopping a mass shooting. 

The original poster asked if he would publicly apologize if she gave him 2 examples.

He came back and said that 2 examples out of "500 mass shooting incidents per year" would be meaningless and would only show how rarely a good guy with a gun stops a mass shooting.
Hey, he was the one who specifically mentioned "a couple"; it's too bad if he suddenly got scared when he realized she could give him that, and more. As others pointed out.

In other words, he admitted he wasn't really interested in facts. He had his agenda, and he was sticking to the script, no matter what.

Other people tore his dishonesty and bad stats apart in the comments, but all he did was buckle down and deny, deflect, and try to move the goalposts (which he also denied doing).

I've watched the same thing happen so many times. They make a demand for evidence, but then change their demand as soon as they realize what they've stepped into. And usually, it's "No, that doesn't count!, It's not a source I trust because it doesn't affirm my beliefs!"

You're not going to argue something out of a position they weren't argued in to. You can't fight an illogical delusion with logic. 

It's funny to watch them fight so hard to stay wrong.

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He did that. He is still doing that.

I hate high gas prices because I can't afford them. I found the Biden "I did that!" gas pump stickers hilarious when Biden's governing incompetence caused gas prices to rise. 

Now, it's Trump's turn to accept the blame (as if politicians will ever do that) for his horrible government policies that have made my local gas prices go up a full dollar- from 2.59 to 3.59- in less than a week.

I was wondering if anyone was making Trump "I did that!" stickers, and yes. Someone is. I was able to find them listed in several places. I'm sad that I haven't seen any on gas pumps. Yet. That's probably due to the local political demographics.

I'm not going to buy any, just like I didn't buy any of the Biden stickers, but I'm glad someone is making them. Recognizing that politicians make our lives worse is the least we can do.

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Rights are identical for everyone

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 4, 2026)

There's nothing like a political showdown to help you discover who is on your side, who isn't, and who's been a phony ally all along.

All the people, organizations, companies, and politicians who say "I'm a Second Amendment absolutist, but..." are lying. The Second Amendment doesn't come with any "unless", "except", or "but".

Is the political Left on my side? Absolutely not. They want me to hate myself, they want to steal my money and give it away, and they want to vote away any rights they don't approve of. Just like the political Right wants to violate my right to associate with whoever I choose, to criminalize standing up against kidnappers as long as the kidnappers are said to have "authority" to kidnap, and they want to legislate away any rights they don't approve of.

H.L. Mencken wrote: “The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.”

When President Trump said, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with a gun. You can’t do that", he was wrong. No government rule or politician can overturn the Constitution or alter human rights, not even if the Supreme Court agrees.

Trump said those words because he was trying to gloss over a murder committed by a member of his gang. This will only work on those preprogrammed to believe it.

Trying to find loopholes so you can violate natural human rights, or violating human rights without such a loophole, is criminal. Violating rights is what criminals do; it's the definition of "criminal". Criminals excuse and justify each other.

Defending people from those who try to violate their rights can't be a real crime. Criminalizing defense and the proper tools with which to carry it out? That's the crime.

The Second Amendment isn't about who is allowed to carry what, when, or where; it's about prohibiting government from having any role in the conversation.

If you won't stand up for the rights of those you dislike, you don't really believe in rights at all. At best, you believe in privileges- things you can do as long as some government official agrees and gives you temporary permission to do it.

If this is you, at least admit it.

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An unfortunate rite of passage

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, 3 local teenage boys were in a high-speed wreck. A head-on collision with a semi, and a subsequent fire. Two are dead; one is in bad shape, facing possible brain damage, more surgeries, and months of painful recovery (he was thrown clear at the moment of impact). 

The deceased are being identified by forensics- you can probably guess why.

They were coming home from a party, and alcohol was involved.

The crash took place on the birthday of one of the dead teen's younger sisters. She'll never have another birthday without this dark cloud hanging over it.

My daughter knows two of them, including the one who survived. This is a small town- she'd known the dead one since kindergarten. She's pretty upset over the tragedy. I've been doing a lot of listening over the past couple of days. It's rough.

It seems like everyone I know has at least one story of someone they knew being killed in a crash in high school. It's almost like a rite of passage. A terrible one.

It happened when I was in high school. It happened to someone in my daughter's mom's class while she was in high school. Just about everyone has a similar experience.

When I remember the things I did at that age that could have killed me, I'm reminded of how lucky I was. And I wasn't a particularly wild kid or a partier. I just wasn't as smart as I could have been about taking unnecessary risks.

It's just part of being a teenager. Honestly, it's a little amazing that any of us survive to adulthood. Still, you really hate to see it happen. I hurt the most for the parents and other immediate family members.

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Whichever way the wind blows

I've noticed how some people tend to dip in and out of libertarianism. 

They'll be committed statists until things don't go their way in the government realm. Then they'll become libertarian until a politician or a policy gives them hope. That's when they'll hop back out of it and embrace statism again.

Or, someone will be a libertarian until they want a politician to control something they have no right to control, then they'll be a statist until that issue blows over.

This goes back and forth over and over again. It's what happens when someone tries on fashion instead of having principles.

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Socialist- delusional fascists eaten alive with envy

Socialists may just be the most delusional faction of authoritarian fascists.

They always believe only the undeserving rich (apparently everyone with more money than they have) will be forced to give up their money and property. Envy is their entire ideology.

They say they are only calling for "fairness" and "sharing". Sharing means giving someone YOUR property, not the property you've stolen from others.

They say they're only "giving everyone food and healthcare". By forcing others to pay for it.

They believe they are the opposite of fascists. While they act completely fascistic.

One told me to read Marx's "Capital", and when I admitted that I had, I was called a liar, since I said it was nonsense and Marx was wrong. I was told I am too stupid to understand it. I'll admit, I don't remember much of it anymore, because it was too ridiculous and obviously wrong to bother to commit to memory.

I guess I'm just not envious enough to be a socialist. I don't want to steal your stuff or have a gang steal it from you on my behalf. Seems like this is getting to be a rare quality these days.

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