All Politics is cheating

(Please read the note at the bottom)

Nobody likes a cheater. We prefer that other people live up to their agreements; usually even when we have already broken our end of the deal. But many people don't recognize that using government to get your way is cheating.

There are only two ways to get something done between two or more people. You can convince the other person to go along and cooperate for your mutual benefit. This is referred to as the "economic method". Or you can force them to go along against their will, regardless of whether or not it is in their best interest. This is called the "political method". If others agree in going along with you, there is no excuse to govern them; if they do not, many people think it's OK to skip straight to the "forcing them" step rather than continuing the attempt to convince them.

"Forcing them" can be a legitimate action IF the other person is attacking the innocent or stealing. A libertarian recognizes this as a legitimate use of force since force was already initiated by the other person. If the other person is neither attacking nor stealing, then resorting to force makes you the one in the wrong. Even worse, if your actions consist of aggression or theft, while their actions are merely intended to resist your abuse, then you are doubly wrong.

Bringing this down to the local level, what is the solution to this area's water issues? Does it involve working together in a consensual manner to work out a solution? Or does it involve using confiscated money (and other property) and imposed laws, with their inevitable enforcement, to force everyone into a "one size fits all and everyone pays, regardless" box? If no one is allowed to opt out, it is not consensual. Stirring up another hornet's nest, what about "blight"? Do you try to convince or do you simply violate the other person's property rights because you don't like the way they choose to use their own property? If you think you must resort to the government solution in either case, you are cheating.

Not every problem has a solution. That is just reality. Of those problems which can be solved, some have a solution that isn't implemented because of the eager willingness to resort to the political method instead of doing the hard work of thinking and finding a consensual solution. After all, if you believe you can simply grab the magic wand of "the law" at the first sign of an impasse, you are less likely to keep thinking and working toward a real solution. Sure you can "get things done" by cheating, but at what cost?

*****

(This was to have been my Clovis News Journal column for this week, but was rejected by the publisher because he says not all politics is cheating. In saying this, he gave me the idea for my headline.

This difficulty I keep having prompted me to ask the editor for some clarification. I asked if my columns are supposed to represent my opinion, or the editorial opinion of the Clovis News Journal. If my column is representing the editorial opinion of the paper, then I can totally understand why I have so many problems getting published (and I probably should be paid more), but if it is supposed to represent my personal opinion, then I don't get it. Surely the other columns that get published express opinions that are not in line with the paper's editorial positions- at least it seems that is the case to me when I read them. In any case, the editor answered that the columns are supposed to represent my opinion only. So how do they justify rejecting my columns on that basis?

Since this means I am out my pay for this week, please donate to help me make up the shortfall, or buy some stuff from me.)

Time's Up flags available!

(I'm pinning this post to the top for a little while, so scroll down to see new stuff.)

Once again I have some Time's Up flags to sell. See details here: Dull 'Hawk's Shop

Update: Check out this idea

Fast forward to the past?

Some days I am ready to chuck all the electronic technology and writing efforts and just go back to being a simple mountainman.

I am a libertarian and an anarchist because it is the right thing to do. I have never chosen a path because it is popular. I'll continue to be who I am. But I swear, some days...

Stayed tuned.

Time's Up flag - Liberty in the breeze

Looks good, doesn't it! Order yours today!

"People of the Gun" site

Why not put your face out there as supporting the basic individual right to own and to carry whatever weapon you want, in any way you see fit, openly or concealed, without asking permission of anyone, ever?

Join the People of the Gun. You might as well. You're already on "The List".

"Bubble Theory" roundup

Thanks to Thomas Knapp and his objections to this theory, I continue to be challenged to hone the way I attempt to explain it. That is a good thing. I am not being sarcastic here. Kn@ppster has always been a decent guy and a thoughtful ally on the road to liberty. He is just keeping me on my toes. Some day he may convince me yet.

For background and an explanation of what I am talking about when I mention "the bubble theory of personal property rights", see here and here and here and here and (most recently) here.

Because I believe this is a self-evident truth, yet I recognize that many people don't agree, I have to act in the only way I think is right as I try to spread the idea.

This means that I will always try to respect the wishes of property owners who do not agree with me. This means I will consider an "invitation" that puts conditions on what is inside my pockets as a non-invitation. (I will, however, assume liberty unless informed otherwise beforehand.)

But mainly, it means that I will continue to act as I always have and not try to make it my business to fret about what is inside your pockets. It has never occurred to me to think about it in the past, even before I "took the red pill", and I see no reason to begin worrying about it now or in the future. The change, if one is to occur, has to start somewhere, and I have started with myself. Why not join me?

Take back your republic?

The company that is producing the flags for me is also making some "Time's Up" T-shirts with the Tea Party motto "Take Back Your Republic" added across the top. I don't really care for that motto very much, but I had an idea.

I will sell those shirts with one "minor" alteration. I will use red fabric paint to cross out "republic" and add "Liberty!"

Since it will be done by hand the final look will vary somewhat from shirt to shirt.

They will cost $20 each, with $3.00 shipping and handling. Or one half ounce of silver for the shirt and shipping.

Let me know if you want one of these shirts, and what size you need, and I will place an order. Obviously, it will take a little longer to get the shirts to you since I will need to order and paint them.

These are now added to my "shop".

Update: I've added a couple pics of the results of my modification of a couple shirts. Hand scrawled, so no two will be exactly alike. I like the graffiti effect anyway.

Government's April Fool Joke

Government can't prevent the random psychopath by treating us all like potential psychopaths.

Yet that's a common justification for all sorts of liberty-crushing "laws" given by the government extremists. "April Fool!" if you buy it!

DWI excuse snares another non-driver

Since I stopped writing for Examiner I haven't paid nearly as much attention to the ABQ news, even though I am still subscribed to the sites. But this story just jumped out at me and begged for a comment.

The Bernalillo county law abuser/district attorney has decided it is OK to charge a woman with DWI for allowing another person who was drunk to drive.

According to the story- “This is a ‘this can happen to me’ story for anybody who’s ever decided, I’m going to have a designated driver who’s not quite as drunk as I am,” said district attorney spokesman Pat Davis.

OK, so the woman was drunk too. And she is expected to have the ability to judge whether the other guy was drunk and whether it was a good idea to let him drive?

The ratchet keeps going in the only direction it can move. And it will continue until the ratchet is destroyed completely in an act of self defense.

Four Stages

I have noticed that a lot of things go through 4 stages.

1- First they are (or are believed to be) necessary.

2- Then some do-gooder decides since they are necessary, they must be made mandatory.

3- Then after a time they become unnecessary due to changes.

4- After being unnecessary for a time, they become actually detrimental.

In other words, progress or society gets damaged all because someone decided to add an extra stage to the natural procession. This could be avoided by skipping the mandate; by doing this you'll probably avoid the "detrimental" stage altogether.

Proposal to taxaholics

When people make the bizarre claim that my use of government-monopolized roads or other "services" means I consent to the taxation being taken to pay for them, it makes no sense to me. Obviously. In many cases, what choice do I have? To pay and then choose to not use that which my money paid for? Or to refuse to pay and be murdered by goons of The State?

But, here's a proposal: I will stop using any government-provided service that I am not willing to pay for. In fact, I will show my seriousness by not using the "service" for a year FIRST. I will pay for that which I use, whether provided by the market or by The State. (Of course, I'd like to see the government monopoly broken and replaced by the market so I have a choice of whom I give my business to. But I'll not demand that happen before I act.) After that I want to hear no more prattling from the statists about it. Is it a deal?

"I'll know it if I see it..."

Is this statue "child pornography", and if it isn't, why not? Because it is old? Or famous? Or because it is "only nudity" but not "sexual"? Or...??

Could you use current artistic methods to produce a similar image today without running afoul of "the Law" and it's rabid supporters?

What about those "artistic" creations that depict no actual children (cartoons) yet end up with the "artist" being arrested? Yes, it happens.

I think that coercively exploiting children, in any way- not just sexually- is disgusting and evil. Yet I also am able to recognize that "the Law" has gotten completely perverted over the witch-hunt (no offense to actual witches) to catch child pornographers.

It's a puzzle to me.

(No actual children, or humans of any age, were harmed or exploited in the creation of this post.)

Think about it.

The only thing necessary for tyranny to triumph is for good people to pretend government is a legitimate human endeavor.

My Country, My ...

Here's a nice little song from John Ringer: link

He also has a Facebook group you can join, and he asks if you would request his song from your local radio stations.

I think those are reasonable requests, don't you? Many tactics coming from many directions. It's a good thing.

Stop lying about your theft and aggression

There is right and there is wrong. There is a clear difference between the two.

If you feel it is necessary to do the wrong thing at least be honest about it. Admit you are doing wrong and don't pretend it is right. And accept the consequences.

What makes me mad is the dishonesty of people pretending that wrong acts are good just because they believe they are necessary. They are not. Wrong acts are still wrong even if your survival depends on committing them. Even if they are "legalized".

Initiation of force is still wrong. Theft is still wrong.

If you believe you need to strike first- initiate force- because you wouldn't survive taking the ethical high-road and only striking after the other guy has initiated force, then do what you believe you must but don't claim you did the right thing. You did not, even if your action is understandable to others who might like to justify their own wrong acts by validating yours. This applies to States and to individuals. Pretending that your aggression is right makes you an attacker and a liar (or a delusional psycho).

If you think innocent people will die without taking the property of others through "taxation", admit you are stealing (or advocating theft). Be honest that the "taxation" is still wrong. Nothing can make it right. Maybe you are under the belief that it is necessary (it never is), but don't claim what you are doing is right. That claim makes you a thief and a liar (or a delusional psycho).

Just drop the BS and be honest about what you are doing, and don't be shocked when the piper must be paid. Doing the wrong thing may seem "necessary" now, but it always comes at a high price that WILL be collected sooner or later. That's just reality.

Recognize, mind your business

Recognize, mind your business (As originally written; not as published.)

"Mind your own business" used to be the American way. Or at least, the openly-proclaimed preferred way to live. Sure, there have always been gossips and nosey folk; the meddlesome neighbors and busybodies who can't seem to mind their own business, who therefore feel the need to direct your life "for your own good" (the ego boost is icing on the cake).

These people spend a lot of time concerning themselves with what others are doing, and sneaking a peek into everyone else's windows in order to make sure no one is doing things they think they should not- or as H. L. Mencken said of "puritans": suffering from "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.". When their sickness becomes the basis of "law" and punishment their harm spreads beyond their physical reach.

It used to be that these damaged people were on their own, and generally had to hide their most objectionable activities from public view. There have been exceptions, of course, such as their favorite program from an earlier generation: Prohibition- Act 1, which failed to fool people and was repealed. They regrouped and attacked again. Now they are the ones making and enforcing the "laws"; wrecking lives and destroying the economy in the process. And too few people hold them accountable for the harm they do, thinking that their actions are necessary for "the common good".

Nowadays too few people seem to be able to even recognize when something is their business and when it is not. Even libertarians can have difficulty there, although we generally think it is better to err on the side of staying out of other people's lives rather than to err on the side of sticking your nose where it may not belong.

To those who can't stay out of the lives of others, I want to ask: Isn't your own life enough for you to stay busy with? Don't you have enough to do without worrying about who others are marrying, what they are smoking, what they believe, or how they live? Do you not respect private property rights?

All of these things are just Peeping Tom telling the rest of us his perversion is not only OK, but good for his victims. His victims must be punished for objecting to his molestations and for desiring to be left alone. Sure, you can justify almost any meddling if you stretch far enough, but that doesn't make it right.

Me? Cool?

I found this test over at Keeps Dropping Keys and decided I hadn't wasted enough time today, so...

Yeah, I have never thought of myself as "cool" in any way, shape, or form. But I'm glad to see I'm not too extreme on any of the categories. I guess. Does that mean I'm balanced or boring?

Helping?

You are NOT "helping" if your "help" is not wanted.

This applies to individuals as well as governments.

My daughter was playing today and wanted to "help" a smaller child. The kid did not appreciate her "help" and fussed. She told me she just wanted to help him, but I suggested she ought to see if he wanted her help first. She may learn, at 3 1/2 years old, what no president, congresscritter, mayor, or cop has ever apparently managed to learn.

That lesson, again, is that it is not "help" if the person doesn't want it, no matter how "noble" your intentions, and no matter whether the person is in actual danger.

Book Offer

I am offering a special deal on my books from now through April 19 (Patriots' Day), 2011.

One complete set- all 5 books- for one ounce of .999 silver. That is a regular $48 dollar price tag, discounted for real money.

I'm also offering a similar deal for "junk silver" coins (pre-1965 US dimes and quarters)- the full set of books for $2 face value 90% silver coins.

After the books I have on hand are gone I'll order more if necessary, but that shouldn't slow things down too much. If you want them signed or anything, be sure and specify, since that doesn't usually occur to me.

Contact me at dullhawk@hotmail.com and we'll work out the details.

Government advertising its own idiocy

Local government pinheads have come up with a new idea: prohibiting "wireless communication devices" in the school zone.

I guess this means books are "illegal" in school now. Along with voices and minds. And even the silly sign which announces the prohibition. Anything that communicates without using a wired connection to that with which it is communicating. Right?

Of course I realize the governmentally-damaged morons intend it to mean cell phones and that sort of thing. Just like the ones I see the local cops talking and texting on (daily!), and even worse- with his nose in his cop computer, while driving through this school zone. (I really need to make a video of these cops doing so, and post it one of these days.)

I happen to live in this particular school zone. Does this mean any "wireless communication device" in my house is also now "illegal"? Good luck enforcing that against me.

Pissed beyond words... STILL steaming

I just got this email from Bernard von NotHaus:

Dear Liberty Dollar Supporters,

I sincerely regret to inform you that I was found guilty on all four counts regarding the Liberty Dollar in less than an hour on Friday, March 18. The only explanation is that a strong, anti-liberty person took control of a weak-willed jury and pushed the verdict through in record time in spite of well worded Jury Instructions. A government forfeiture hearing immediately followed the conviction. PLEASE NOTE: Your property is at risk so please continue to read these emails and take action so the government does not steal your property. An appeal is planned but that will take years. More news to follow. An unofficial, but most interesting account of the trial is available via Heather's blog at:
http://www.liberty4free.com/Liberty%20Dollar%20Trial.htm
God help you and our country as American descends into a hellish hyperinflationary future without the benefits of the Liberty Dollar.

I am very sorry our efforts to return America to value failed.

Thank you so much for your support.

Bernard von NotHaus
Monetary Architect

Bernard, YOU are not the one to be sorry. There is no guilt on your part and you should feel no shame.

Like I said before, this injustice is just plain wrong. A man who didn't just do nothing wrong; he did the right thing, and is being punished by those who are actively doing the wrong thing every day with every breath they take. That prosecutor, judge, and every scumbag on that jury are not worthy to lick the toilet clean after Bernard uses it.

I'd still like to see them forced to do so, however.

Pissed beyond words- Liberty Dollar verdict is WRONG

I have to admit it: I feel enraged.

Something in the news has made me more angry than I ever remember being about something that didn't hit me personally. That "something" is the conviction of Bernard VonNothaus of the Liberty Dollar.

The government agents committed theft. The government dragged the case out rather than giving Bernard a fair and timely trial; meeting every deadline by only minutes. The government lied to get a conviction. The judge lied to get a conviction. The jury failed in its duty in order to return a conviction. There is plenty guilt, but where is the shame?

Every evil committed in connection with this case was committed by those associated with the government, or by the jury members who should have known better than to convict an obviously innocent man.

Usually I can forgive a jury since I know juries are selected to weed out anyone with any brains or ethical sense. This time I am too angry to let the jurors off on account of gross stupidity. They should have known better. If you are too stupid to be informed, you are just what the government looks for in a juror. A stupid cud chewer only too happy to be nothing more than a rubber stamp for the government's agenda.

Bernard NEVER presented the Liberty Dollar as US currency, and would have been insulted to have his REAL money be confused with the government's worthless FRNs or over-priced inferior silver coins.

I remember from the very first time I found the Liberty Dollar how careful he was to keep harping on the fact that it was NOT US currency or even a coin (although a coin it indeed is- in spite of government lies to the contrary which he was trying to coddle for his own protection).

He even had a statement from an "official" of the US government itself affirming that the Liberty Dollar WAS NOT "COUNTERFEIT" and WAS "LEGAL". And then the lying, kidnapping murderers stole his property and caged him anyway.

I saw an ironic statement somewhere yesterday (I forget where) that said: when has it ever been the case that "counterfeit money" was worth more than "real money"? Exactly right. There IS counterfeiting going on, but not by Liberty Dollar. The Federal Reserve is the world's biggest, most brutal and evil counterfeiter. And the government thugs who pursued and prosecuted Bernard (and the other victims of this case), and the taterheads who sat on that jury, are complicit in the counterfeiting and the kidnapping and theft. They are the domestic terrorists. I'd like to see them ALL held accountable.

Update: Part 2

Relying on help disaster in itself

Relying on help disaster in itself (As originally written; not as published.)

The videos and stories coming out of Japan in the wake of the major earthquake and tsunami are heartbreaking. The fact that so many people did so little personal preparation, counting instead on government's promise to "take care of things", should be educational.

Sure, you and I may be high and dry on the Llano Estacado, and a major earthquake in our neighborhood is unlikely while a tsunami is simply not going to happen here without an asteroid hitting the Gulf of Mexico. In which case we'd be incinerated by the blast wave before the water got to us anyway. Some things can't be planned for.

Every location has the potential for a major catastrophe. It could be a natural one like a tornado, blizzard, or a pandemic, or it could be a man-made one such as a nearby military base drawing an attack to the area, a food shortage, or martial law being declared.

We need to be aware of the things that can happen right where we are at all times. We need to have a plan that doesn't involve waiting for government to disarm us, force us from our homes, herd us into a gym, and making us stand in line to hand us MREs. We should have a plan to provide clean drinking water for ourselves rather than hoping the water tanker makes it to us before it runs dry. We need to have the means and the knowledge to watch out for ourselves, our family, and our neighbors. Thinking someone else will take care of us after disaster strikes is inviting worse disaster. It is taking a papercut and turning it into a decapitation.

Now, as they say, the best laid plans can always fail. Your emergency supplies might get blown away along with your home, or you might get caught miles away from your family and home when The Event strikes. You can't plan for every contingency, but you can plan for those you can foresee. And you can have backup plans that are flexible.

Some people might think of this as being "paranoid". It isn't. It is being responsible for ourselves just as people have always needed to be, regardless of assurances to the contrary. Your great grandparents would approve of your responsible planning since it is something they did on a daily basis.

Plan for the worst while hoping for the best and continually striving for better. You can even make a game of it. It can be fun and empowering.

Kent knows! I knew that I knew!

Sometimes I get curious about the oddest things. This is one of those times.

I wondered what my name, "kent", might mean in other languages. So, I went to Google translate and went through all the listed languages to see what might pop up.

Mostly, it meant nothing other than "kent", however, in a couple of languages "kent" means "city". Not particularly exciting to me. But Dutch was a different story. Supposedly, in Dutch, "kent" means "knows". Yeah!

Now, I'm not gonna go all "Fred" on the world, or anything. But I did appreciate that little tidbit.

Spread the meme

Just wanted to drop some reminders.

Please check out my books, and either download the free versions or buy the paper versions. And encourage others to do the same. I am not scholarly or anything, but I hope that is part of the reason my books, like this blog, can help spread the hunger for liberty.

Also, watch and share all my "Basics of Liberty" videos. It costs you nothing and maybe can help some person teetering on the fence decide to hop off on the liberty side instead of falling over the Cliffs of Statism hidden in the mist and shadows on the other side.

Spy on your kids and you create stealth kids

The question in the newspaper poll asked whether it is OK for parents to spy on their kids.

I am in the minority.

I voted "no".

If you spy on your kids, you are violating their trust. In that case expect them to hide things from you. I would if I suspected someone might be spying on me. It doesn't matter if I were doing something wrong or not. Wouldn't you? Why would anyone expect kids to act any differently?

Isn't this just the "PATRIOT [sic] Act" brought down to the level of a family? "If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?" It isn't about "hiding" anything, it is about preserving your privacy. Anyone who thinks it's OK to spy on others is not anyone trustworthy.

If you excuse this behavior, it isn't much of a stretch to excuse molesting your kids "for their own safety" like the TSA does.

Price of gas got you down?

Just one possible solution to the coming economic crisis. I hope the video shows up.

Driving well or obeying "laws": choose

I can either drive well, or I can obey "traffic laws". Can't do both, and I doubt anyone else can either. Sorry, LEOs and copsuckers.

Driving is a fluid, chaotic situation where a person must adapt to changing circumstances quickly. If you also must only do so in ways that are approved by moronic legislators to be enforced by moronic LEOs, you are at a disadvantage.

I have long observed how driving ability deteriorates when a cop car (mobile oppression unit) is visible. Yes, people slow down, but they also stop paying attention to other drivers and how they are driving. You can watch your speedometer, or you can pay attention to the traffic and road conditions- you can't do both.

Traffic cops/highway patrol/highwaymen are a public nuisance and a danger to society. As such they need to be eliminated as "career choices" for the mentally-challenged drones who are inclined to choose that path.

Jealousy

I've probably mentioned it before, but I absolutely despise revenge and jealousy. I have been guilty of both of those in years past, though very rarely. I have also been the target of both.

In the case of jealousy, I consider it halfway toward abuse. The force has been initiated in the mind- and without great care, it will be initiated for real very soon.

If you are jealous, you need to end the relationship that you are jealous about. Actually, you should just accept that the relationship is already over if you are jealous.

If there is no real reason for your jealousy, then you are being an idiot who is driving away that which you are jealously guarding. You are addicted and it is hurting you, and probably will hurt the other person too.

And if there is a reason to be jealous it's probably because the relationship is not a good one, it is not fulfilling needs, and you both need to just get out. Jealousy is the sign it is over. It is the final bell. Don't be a moron and keep pretending the game is still on.

Is America a police state?

Well, America is living under a police state in the form of the US government (and it's state and local collaborators).

I was thinking about this question again after reading this post on "who's your nanny?"

One thing I think people need to understand, and that I posted in the comments is that, YES, we are living under a police state. It just hasn't put its entire police state infrastructure into operation yet. But it will.

Because, as I said there, a cobra is still a cobra even if it isn't biting anyone right now.

I just don't want to live....

...in a country where a non-aggressive, non-thieving, person has a greater chance of being kidnapped or murdered by tax parasites than by freelance vermin.

Where those who demand our "papers" or claim the "authority" to scan our naked bodies and search, or steal, our private property don't run a 50/50 or higher chance of being killed in self defense each day they go do their "job".

Where few people even realize those things are obscene as long as it doesn't impact their own family.

Does this put me in the same category as grumpy old men who are embittered over the decline of (their preferred version of) the "traditional family" or "morality"? Or as prudish old women who get the vapors if they see a bit of skin or a piercing on younger women? I wonder...

Choices in an elevator: Oprah or Sheen?

So, if you were forced to make a choice, who would you rather be trapped in an elevator with for several hours: Oprah or Charlie Sheen?

Not pretending this is an earth-shattering subject or anything, but...

I'd choose Charlie Sheen. I'm assuming I'd be armed and that I'd be able to subdue him if he went crazy and got violent. I also bet it would be interesting to talk to him during a situation like that.

Oprah, on the other hand... I don't think I could forgive her for subjecting us to Oprabama. Not that the other choice was any better, but to really promote one of those morons for prez? And to brainwash your devoted minions into voting for him... Plus, I think I'd be really tempted to violate the ZAP if she started getting all "empathic" on me. It's best not to tempt fate.

Authoritarianism is the lazy man's path

Why do the vast majority of people settle into an authoritarian comfort zone, whether "right" or "left"? I have a theory: People are lazy. Including me- I readily admit it.

People prefer the path of least resistance. Unless there is a fairly powerful incentive to do more work, they won't. That makes sense.

It takes more work to resist settling into the low-energy valley of authoritarianism. Maintaining a libertarian outlook takes constant effort at first; it is standing on the peak while the winds buffet you, trying to get you to fall. The extra effort is not really a huge amount once you start being aware, but it's enough that it is hard for people to take those first few steps along that path. It's just easier to go along with the false "right/left" authoritarian crowd.

So why would anyone ever choose to be libertarian? Because people also have a tendency to complicate their lives in some way. It might be through destructive relationships, or substance abuse, or by choosing liberty when it might be easier to follow the herd off the cliffs of statism. It is almost as if they save their energy in most areas of their lives by choosing the easy path so they will have the energy available for the extra effort it takes to pursue the one or two highwires they choose to walk. It sounds crazy, I know.

Libertarianism just happens to be one of my chosen "difficult paths", and the only one that is really worth the effort.

Japanese earthquake and tsunami

It's a terrible disaster. Anytime innocent people are hurt by natural disasters or human actions I empathize. I wish I could help, but I am broke and live on the opposite side of the planet. Even a hundred years ago people living right where I do wouldn't have even heard of a similar disaster for months, if ever. I'm assuming they would have known of the existence of Japan, but that might not even be a realistic assumption.

I know what some would say I could "do", but they would be wrong. Just remember, even one person actually doing something helpful beats a million people praying for those who are hurting. Beats a billion, too.

Speaking of dreams...

This has nothing to do with the other dream I mentioned, and was a couple of days previous to the other one.

A few days ago I dreamed I was lucid dreaming, but I wasn't really lucid dreaming at the time. That seems very confusing.

Dreams do come true, just not this one. Yet.

Yesterday morning I woke up from a dream in which I had a violent encounter with an enforcer. This is not the sort of dream I normally have, and it bothered me.

Then, yesterday afternoon, as I was simply driving well within reasonable and safe speeds, and not driving wildly at all, I was pulled over by a gang of enforcers employed by The State (New Mexico, in this instance). There were at least 5 cop cars (mobile tyranny units) hidden behind hedges in a church parking lot conducting some big revenue enhancement scam (in other words, a conspiracy to commit theft).

They were stopping car after car. It was a highwayman's dream come true. The roadway thieves of earlier generations probably never imagined that their kind would some day be operating so openly and without fear of justice.

Suddenly I wondered if my dream was about to come true.

I was informed I had been "speeding". Perhaps I was going slightly faster than the posted, and quite irrationally low, "speed limit". The enforcer ended up only giving me a warning (for what? driving safely?) because he said I seemed "nice". I suppose it's a good thing he couldn't read my mind. It is also probably good for me that I was in a borrowed car, rather than my own. My own "official paperwork" is somewhat confusing and contradictory.

It is getting to the point where I don't want to drive anywhere anymore. I won't risk going out late at night due to "sobriety checkpoints" and their routine violation of property rights and the fundamental human right to travel without being molested. Now I dread even needing to go out in the daytime. It's not worth a potentially deadly encounter-which is what they all are- with a LEO.

This will get worse before it gets better. Probably much, much worse, and even the "getting better" will undoubtedly be a very nasty process. All because some people didn't stop these things when they first began decades (or centuries) ago. Putting things like this off only make it worse later.

PS: If I were a member of a church that allowed this use of church property, I wouldn't be a member long, but I wouldn't quit before I told the "leaders" just how disgusting their police state enabling is.

More laws only create more chaos

More laws only create more chaos (As written; not as published!)

Robert LeFevre, one of the bright stars of the freedom movement who is now gone, but whose legacy remains, once said with regards to liberty that most people like freedom for themselves, but as soon as they feel a fear that someone else may try to take away their freedom, they become tempted to act like a tyrant first and try to take away the freedom of those they fear. In other words, in their fear they become the very thing they were afraid of and become the embodiment of the opposite of freedom. This is what people who really love freedom and liberty need to guard against in their own lives.

I would imagine that everyone is afraid of something. Many people live under the belief that if just the right "laws" are passed and enforced, life will be safe. They believe they will then be protected from those things they fear.

This has never been the case in the entire history of civilization, but hope springs eternal, and those who wish to rule the rest of us feed on this hope for safety.

A while back someone wrote "We wouldn't need so many laws if there weren't so many idiots." This is apparently a very common opinion, but it ignores reality and the law of unintended consequences.

"Laws" create "idiots" by protecting some people from the full consequences of their actions, and by giving a false sense of security to others; encouraging them to not take responsibility for their own life. The existence of these "idiots" and the tragedies that inevitably result are then used as justification for more "laws" which in turn create more "idiots" and more tragedies. It's the same old drama that has played out for thousands of years all over the globe.

What cost "safety"? You could reduce the frequency of hangnails by cutting off every finger to ever develop one, but most people would recognize the price as too high. You might make life "safer" by outlawing liberty, too, but that cost is immeasurably higher.

The reality is that bad things happen. You could criminalize every last shred of liberty and freedom, and even if you refused to admit this is a bad thing in itself, other bad things would still happen every single day without fail. No "laws" can change this. There is no Utopia. No one is able to guard you from harm better than yourself. Accept your responsibility, for it lies with no one else.

Why don't I just shut up?

Back when I was in high school, in a zoology class, the teacher was giving us a test on the classification of various pickled or otherwise prepared critters. We were allowed to look over the various dead things, along with their classifications, before the test.

I was glancing over the specimens without thinking too much about it until I came to a mislabeled fish. It was clearly a tiny flounder (a "bony fish") of the type commonly sold in pet stores, yet it was labeled as a "skate" and classified as "Class: Chondrichthyes" ("cartilaginous fish").

I pointed out this error to the teacher. To me, it was a critical mistake, on the level of claiming a dolphin is a fish or a bat is a bird. But the teacher just said, "for our purposes, it is a Chondrichthyes".

I said he was misleading his students in this way; he was not educating them but giving them false information. In fact, I just wouldn't shut up about it.

He said I was "beating a dead horse" and I needed to "drop it". Even on my test, though, I wrote a comment about "mislabeled as..." rather than just letting it go.

Yes, I was a pain even then.

That's why I still speak out. I value the truth. Truth, even when inconvenient, painful, or annoying is still better than a comforting lie. Liberty is better for the individual than The State. Taxation is theft. The military is anti-liberty and pro-tyranny. And no amount of denial will change the facts.

Added:
I've recently realized this is why I won't go along with the "transgender" lie or the "non-binary" nonsense. If it's a flounder, it's a flounder even if it imagines it is (or lies about being) a skate. I won't lie or go along with a lie (or a delusion) just because I'm told to do so. You aren't helping by going along. If you identify the speeding truck that's coming at you as a butterfly, it's still a truck and will kill you if you don't move out of its way. No matter how much it hurts your feelings to admit it's really a truck. Reality doesn't care about your feelings. Every cell in your body will testify against you if you misidentify your sex (and "gender" is a feature of some words, not of biological lifeforms-- another lie). Now, you might get away with it if I can't tell by looking, and I don't really care in that case. But if I can tell by looking that you are lying about what you are, I'm not going to go along with the lie. And I'm not sorry.

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"Men's Rights"- My take on Scott Adams' post

I mentioned the Dilbert Blog's post on "Men's rights" (since deleted for "too much attention") and my relevant observations previously. So here ya go...

He posts a laundry list of supposed "unfair treatment" of men:

...examples of unfair treatment of men include many elements of the legal system, the military draft in some cases, the lower life expectancies of men, the higher suicide rates for men, circumcision, and the growing number of government agencies that are primarily for women.

• The inequality in the legal system is a real problem, and in fact goes a long ways toward demonstrating that the legal system is entirely illegitimate. Get rid of the government's monopoly on the "legal system" and this ceases to be a real problem.

• The military draft is slavery. It is wrong no matter who is enslaved by whom. Make sure no one can ever again enslave another without facing the consequences and this isn't an issue.

• No one has a "right" to have the same life expectancy as anyone else. That's just biology and chance. Your own behavior can also impact your life expectancy, and that is neither "fair" nor "unfair". It's just reality. Which brings us to the related matter of suicide. Suicide is a choice and isn't forced on anyone. While societal pressures may contribute to a higher rate for men, the blame ultimately lies with the person who kills himself.

• Circumcision is barbaric, yet until parents, including the fathers, realize that genital mutilation is wrong, it will still happen. Guys are probably close to 50% of the problem here- we can't lay it all on anyone else.

• Government agencies set up "primarily for women" are no different than any other government agencies. The agencies are the problem; not who they are supposedly set up to benefit. The only real beneficiary is the government. Creating dependency doesn't help the women that are targeted.

Then there are the "social aspects" that he mentions. "Manners" and the fact that "society discourages male behavior whereas female behavior is celebrated. Exceptions are the fields of sports, humor, and war. Men are allowed to do what they want in those areas".

Sure, there may be some costs associated with going along, but in most cases you only impose these costs on yourself to avoid the costs of refusing. Maybe the supposed higher pay of men compared to women (something that has never happened in my favor, though) is partial compensation for men having to put up with some of this feminization of society.

In the end, civilization will be the real loser if men's natural strengths keep being suppressed. The women who steered civilization over this particular cliff (and the men who helped them do it) won't escape the consequences even while they try to blame men.

Commenting repetition

I often find myself reluctant to comment on some blogs because I don't feel like having to endlessly defend my views from the same old misguided anti-liberty objections. Once I comment I feel obligated to follow through even knowing where it will go before I start. It's like a broken record that always shows up no matter which record I think I am playing.

I was thinking about this when I read a since-deleted post on Dilbert Blog on "Men's rights". (It gained "too much attention", he said.)

I had some thoughts on his post, yet I know if I comment the debate will go the same direction it always goes when I comment (if I am not ignored). No matter what I address, or how unrelated the subject is, the objections always take the same path, and even though I feel quite capable of dealing with any of the "liberty-phobics'" objections effectively, I get tired of having to say the same thing that I have said hundreds of times, and that others are saying, and have said for hundreds of years. Yes, I often copy and paste from things I have written before, but that has become so tiresome.

Sure, I could just post and run. There is no real obligation to follow through- that is just me imposing rules on myself. It just seems it would be better to say nothing than to not carry on to the bitter (or occasionally sweet) end.

So, I'll just state my opinion on the "Men's Rights" post here.

The .009 Scam has run its course

I'm talking about adding that ubiquitous 9/10 of a cent added to the price of every gallon of gasoline.

Even considering the fact that it is stated in the posted price- it is still an attempt to psychologically trick people into believing the gasoline is a little cheaper than it really is. That makes it a scam.

It was always a dishonest practice, now it is a pointless one as well. Back when gas cost 35 cents per gallon, that extra 9/10 of a cent was a significant percentage of the price. Over 2.25%, in fact. That made it even worse.

Is your integrity so unimportant to you, as a gas station owner, that you still feel the need to skim that extra 9/10 of a cent when the gasoline costs $3.40 or more per gallon? That scammed 9/10 of a penny is now only about a quarter of a percent of the price, and will continue to be less significant as the price rises.

Yes, I realize that if a person buys 15 gallons, you get the same profit off that 9/10 of a cent whether the price per gallon is 35 cents, or $5.45. Round the price up to the next whole penny, and you can add another 1/10 of a cent to the total honestly.

I would like to see a gas station (or franchise) owner step up and publicly reject the traditional price scamming game. Just round it up to the honest whole-cent price, and publicize that you did it. I'll bet you'd get more business just as a reward for rejecting the scam. At the least, you'd be trading a dishonest psychological trick for an honest one.

Lose the tail

A libertarian who supports or advocates The State (or "borders", or any "taxation", or the military, or whatever) is being inconsistent.

It doesn't mean he is not a libertarian. He is like a human being with a tail. The tail does not mean he is not human, but the tail is not a human feature. It is an anomaly. It is an inconsistency.

(OK, I'll admit it, I always wanted a tail. A big fluffy wolf tail would be nice. But that's another issue.)

When the game is rigged against you...

...refuse to play the game anymore.

Sure, it would be better if you refused to "play" as soon as you realize it is rigged whether you are on the losing side or the winning side. Most people just don't realize the game is rigged unless it is rigged against them. That's just human nature.

Marriage is rigged against men- not due to the institution of marriage itself, but due to "legal" interference. Why anyone would want government to sanction or regulate their relationships is beyond me.

Voting and politics is rigged against liberty. It is simply not possible to vote for a real increase in liberty. The system selects against anyone who even understands liberty and could make a positive difference.

Employment is now rigged against men, especially "white" men. I have been told, right to my face- in person, that I could not be hired because I was a "white male". They still took my application in order to give the appearance of fairness, but at least I was warned not to expect anything to come of it.

There may be other things that are rigged that I simply haven't run up against, or noticed. Maybe because they are rigged in my favor.

I have nothing against those who benefit from the rigged game. Very few of them had anything to do with it. Almost none of them even see that anything is rigged, since as I said before it is hard to see that things are rigged unless they are rigged against you.

I intend to not play when I discover a rigged game. I'll find a more suitable one or establish my own game, instead. Agorism is a good example of one response to a rigged game.

Morality vs Ethics- the definitions

I don't mean the same thing when I use the words "morality" and "ethics". I do not consider those words to be interchangeable, but to have discrete meanings, at least when I use them now.

Briefly:
Ethics = objective right and wrong.
Morality = subjective right and wrong; "situational ethics".

More detailed version:

When I think of "morality" I think of what the majority believes is right, here, now, in this situation. Usually it is a religious majority, but not always. Often, today, it is a collectivist statist majority (which, actually, is still a religious system).

This belief can (and usually does) change over time. It can be founded upon actual right and wrong, but only incidentally. It is usually very subjective, even though those who base their opinions upon it claim vehemently otherwise. Murder is objectively wrong and can be considered immoral, but so can silly things like smoking pot or having sex with certain consenting individuals. And murder can also be considered "moral" in some cases, if The State or a religion says it is OK. Morality can be based upon whatever is "legal" or criminalized. In this case, an act may be "moral" one day, and "immoral" the next. This is absurd to the extreme!

(Note: I have been told that what I am calling "morality" is actually "mores". So, to clarify this point, because I'd rather be right than be stubborn, I looked up the word "mores", and I got this definition:
"the essential or characteristic customs and conventions of a community". No, that's not what I am talking about. Customs and characteristics of a community might partly encompass morals and ethics, but seems separate from both.)

Ethics are what I think of as objective right and wrong. Unchangeable regardless of the prevailing culture. Based upon the Zero Archation Principle, and the recognition that such acts are never within your rights-- no matter what pretty names you give them, and no matter which "authority" claims in this instance they are OK. Ethics stay rooted in place.

Added: I just saw the best explanation ever, from "The Wrath of Khan", concerning the difference between the two:

"Ethics stem from the objective and reciprocal claims to self and property ownership. 

Morals stem from the subjective value judgments of self and property worth. 

Ethics exclusively concern rights and violations thereof. Morals concern values and violations thereof. Force can only be used when rights are violated. Social pressure when societal norms are violated."

Another great explanation of the difference between morality and ethics comes from R R Schoettker:

"To me ethics is the distinction between right and wrong behavior and a preference for doing the right in practice while morality is just the collective social approximation of this structured so that at any particular time or place whatever is expedient for the majority is roughly adhered to. As any honest observer can attest a mere social morality can still encompass a significant degree of plainly unethical behavior." 

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"Thank you for your service"?

I read something in the weekly local paper that really pissed me off. It's probably better to vent a little here than to send another letter to the editor. This paper has no website, so I can't link to the original, unfortunately.

It was about some poor young deluded State pawn who was injured while in the military.

While committing the evil act of occupying a foreign country (Iraq) for "his" government, he was injured by a roadside bomb set by the locals. Of course, those defending their own territory were referred to as "terrorists" in the article. Sorry, but the invaders are the terrorists, not those using violence* to kill the invaders. But, The State's tools will never face that reality since it would require them to accept that they are the bad guys who would not get injured or killed in Iraq if they stopped doing the wrong thing.

The misguided kid then spoke of how anxious he is to get back to Iraq so he can continue killing people for the US government. He repeated the common hypnotic chant "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here" as his justification for getting his rocks off murdering people. No, you poor idiot; you fight them over there and give them a reason to come over here and fight. For generations yet to come. You are endangering your family, your yet-to-be-born children, your friends, and your neighbors by your acts of aggression and your total lack of ethics. And you are endangering me and those I love, too. Inexcusable!

Then, the columnist got all philosophic about how young fools, pardon- "heroes", like this are shouldering the burden of defending America. He wrote of the sacrifices they make, and how their families never know when they could be sent overseas, or whether they will ever come home. He is so proud of them. I could gag.

You are NOT "defending your nation"; you are propping up a corrupt global empire. Good job.

So, yeah, "Thank you for your service" in killing innocent people who are no threat to anyone who isn't being an aggressive invader.

Better yet, learn what Liberty really means, and STOP supporting those who are destroying it. Choose the right side to support against those who are the real threat. You won't even need to travel very far, and certainly won't need to cross any oceans.

*A bomb is indiscriminate, and could have injured innocent people as well, so I don't think this is an acceptable way to defend yourself or your home in most cases. "Collateral damage" is NEVER acceptable; not at any level. Yet, when the invaders are so technologically superior, sometimes you may feel forced to do things that are wrong and face the consequences, while recognizing you are stepping beyond what you have a right to do. I can't state categorically if this is the case in this instance.

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Legislators need to rethink laws

Legislators need to rethink laws

(As originally written; not as published)

The poll which appeared in this paper, concerning "The Portales Ten"- the individuals charged with the "crime" of gambling at the Portales Country Club- gives me hope. It showed that a substantial percentage of those who took the poll recognize that laws can be wrong.

A third of the respondents took a libertarian view. Perhaps it was the soft libertarian view, which even the early Supreme Court agreed with, that "laws" which are not based upon specific Constitutional authority are already null and void without further action. That is encouraging. Perhaps some of those respondents even thought more deeply and recognized that if the "law" violates the basic human right to live as you see fit, as long as you don't cause actual harm to any innocent individual, the "law" is illegitimate.

The people who voted that the "law" needs to be changed so that travesties like this don't occur in the future are at least pointing in the right direction. Perhaps they actually agree more with libertarians, while still wishing to remove the specter of arrest for those who dare cross the misguided "law". Perhaps they still feel an obligation to obey "laws" even in cases where the "law" is obviously wrong, until they are able to convince The State to agree with them. As more and more things get criminalized, this feeling will fade.

The only ones I really pity are those who voted "Yes. The law is the law" and those who violate it should be charged. This is the position that is completely devoid of any ethical compass whatsoever.

"Laws" are suggested, written, passed, and enforced by fallible individuals and are wrong-headed as often as not, even in the best of circumstances. In recent decades the balance has shifted so that the vast majority of "laws" are now counterfeit "laws"- they are written in "legalese" so they look like a real law, and they are enforced against people with force up to, and including, deadly force- yet they are not based upon the necessary foundation- the protection of an individual or his property from coercion- that underlies all real law. Counterfeit "laws" are an attempt to regulate or control something other than aggression or theft/fraud.

Everything that is actually wrong, and a great many things that are not, was already illegal centuries ago. New legislation is just a jobs program for people who can't do anything constructive. Society needs no new "laws"; it just needs to get rid of, or ignore, the bad ones. The only thing, if any, that a legislative body should be doing nowdays, rather than passing new "laws" or trying to patch bad "laws" to make them less bad, is abolishing counterfeit "laws". That would keep them busy for decades.

The Bradley Manning Conundrum

I'm torn on the whole Bradley Manning thing.

One one hand it is ridiculous to claim that exposing State wrong-doings is a crime. It is obvious (to rational people) that the punishment being imposed on him is way out of proportion to what he is accused of doing.

One the other hand he DID join the military. Didn't he know that the military is nothing but an organization, funded with stolen money, manned by mind-numbed slaves, set up for the purpose of building and maintaining a liberty-destroying empire, and for killing and destroying the enemies of evil authorities?

As they say, dance with the Devil and you're gonna get burned.

Maybe he didn't know any better when he joined the military. Maybe he knows better now and wouldn't make the same mistake again. He's not in a position to tell us if he now knows that the US government is a terrorist organization (with America as its main target) and he was helping it spread its particular brand of terror across the globe by being one of its drones. If he could, would he apologize now for helping the bad guys before he exposed them? Was his "leak" his apology? I'm afraid we will never know.

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Gangs are for pussies

As I do things around town I see a lot of pinheaded, gang-wanna-be graffiti. It makes me shake my head in pity at the poor idiots who wrote it.

If you want to intimidate the rest of us, become literate or find someone who IS to write your stupid garbage. I mean, seriously, I don't care how scary or "bad" you think your pathetic, idiotic gang is, when you can't spell the simplest words, or when you write letters so illegibly that no one knows what your chest-thumping threat might have been intended to be, you just come off as a moron.

Oh, and your sad artwork of your "magnificent" (snork) body parts doesn't work either. Everyone has body parts. Plus, if I was that deformed I don't think I'd wanna illustrate the problem so everyone could laugh.

Yeah, I know, you are too scared of the rest of us to try to be an individual. You feel safety in numbers. But find "numbers" who aren't as pathetic as you to hang around with. You'd be amazed how much your life would improve, and your fear would go away. People wouldn't have a reason to kill you on sight. Stop being a pussy*.

(* "Pussy" as in a soft, weak, scared, cowardly individual, not as in "feline" or any other meaning.)

"The Fred Incident"

Years ago I told a little of this story, but I think I'd like to set it all down now. I call the whole thing "The Fred Incident". The names may have been changed- or not, but you'll never know.

A few years ago I had a friend who would talk with me about his displeasure with the governmental status quo just about anytime we got to talk. I had known him for a couple of years and I trusted him and thought he sounded pretty reasonable.

He had told me he had been diagnosed as "paranoid/schizophrenic", but that he really wasn't. My only early warning was when he mentioned that he had an "alien implant" (and this was only a couple of weeks before "the incident"). I thought he was joking, and didn't think more of it. We had many long phone conversations about just about anything. He never seemed dangerous or anything.

Until "the incident".

He had loaned me, without prompting, some money to use to help a family that we both knew, and that I was staying with. I used it to buy food for the household. The next day at karaoke he asked what I had spent the money on and I told him. That was a little strange since he had loaned it to me specifically to buy food.

He seemed a little agitated. I still had the receipt and I offered it to him. We sat and talked and he started claiming I had tricked him into loaning me the money. I was a little shocked as it had been his idea. If there had been any way possible to do so, I would have paid him back immediately in order to avoid any problem, but I couldn't.

He began talking again about his "implant". He said the military had put it there decades ago. Unfortunately, I didn't take him seriously and made some joke about putting magnets inside his hat to scramble the signal. This got a red-faced spittle-laced lecture about electrical engineering. Then it began to get more personal.

The real fireworks began. He started saying that I was controlling his mind through his "implant" and that I was a "Martian". I told him that I was pretty certain I was human. He said "Why would you say that? Are you not positive?" I said I was, and he said "That is just what a Martian would say". He was getting extremely angry, too. He began pounding his fist on the table and his face was very red. I was trying to just get him calmed down at this point, but everything I did he saw as me trying to use my "Martian thought-control powers" to manipulate him.

He said I was able to force people to do things they didn't want to by getting inside their heads. He claimed I was inside his mind, reading his thoughts and putting my own in there, too. This is how I had tricked him into loaning me the money.

He became more and more upset. He spoke of the significance of his name and his initials. He went into a long discussion about his initials (M.A.T.), claiming that they were significant and meant he was to be an emissary between the Martians and Terrans. He laid out his "logic" in fine detail. Then he went on about other people's names and initials, especially focusing on John Denver.

He spoke of his own power and importance, but said he couldn't "claim to be God" (I suppose that should have been a relief).

He was talking about being in "Army Intelligence" back in the early '70s, and that he was still "in", but it was a secret. The more he spoke, the more unreal his claims became. He told of trying to drive to the Pentagon once in the middle of the night to carry out some mission, and stopping on a bridge instead of going through with it. I can't remember the specifics of this particular tale, but only that it seemed very improbable and yet I could tell he really believed it.

He claimed to be killing people "in high government positions" with mental feedback through his implant. He said he could "see" people being carried out of the Pentagon in body bags- people who had short-circuited their brains by trying to mentally influence him. His brain was stronger and was able to resist the bad things they were trying to get him to do, so he said.

He then asked me to knock him unconscious so I could kidnap him and a girl he wanted (he wanted me to knock her out, too), and take them somewhere they couldn't be tracked. He said that the only way his implant would not be able to lead his enemies to him is if he was unconscious and unable to know where he was being taken.

He did eventually calm down and I got out without harm. It was about 2 AM at this time. The next morning, very early, I called and warned the girl he wanted me to help kidnap. She freaked out a little because he had just called her up and was going to come over in about an hour. She didn't wait to hear the whole story, but hung up to call him with some excuse, then called me back to find out what had happened.

After this, I obviously wasn't close to him anymore. He was still in my circle, but I did warn a few people to watch out. Some of them never did believe that he had acted that way. One mutual friend had even been in the vicinity during his fit, but hadn't seen anything unusual. Yet, he did slip up to a couple of other people. He mentioned blowing my head off to mutual friends a few times when I sang a karaoke song he thought was written especially for him, but most never saw his bizarre behavior, and downplayed my concerns.

Added: I know now, due to encountering more people like him, that he likely suffered from the belief that is now known as being a "targeted individual".

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Preferences vs principles 2: the other side of the coin

As I said previously, most of my personal preferences could be said to be "conservative". But not all. There are a few things that could be seen as "liberal".

For example:

I despise religion of any sort. It's your business if you want to worship something/someone as long as you don't try to coerce anyone else to go along. That means you don't base "laws" on your superstitions.

I also have a lot of skepticism of "traditional morality" when it comes to sex and "family". I don't think the traditional family works too well for a lot of people. Maybe most people can force themselves into that too-round hole, but in a lot of cases it isn't a comfortable fit.

I also doubt that punishment does much to change behavior. Instead I'm afraid it simply reinforces an "us vs them" mentality in those who are punished- especially when the punishment is out of proportion to the act (such as in the case of ALL counterfeit "laws"). And I trust no State enough to give it the "authority" to kill people for any reason. (The ONLY legitimate death penalty is carried out at the time and place of the attack, by the intended victim or a rescuer.)

Preferences vs principles

Most of my personal preferences, when I have a preference, could be described as "conservative".

I want to be able to carry guns everywhere I go without any "authority" having any say in it whatsoever.

I have no desire to use drugs without a real medical need.

I have no desire to marry a man, nor to have sex with one.

I know taxation is theft, and welfare is destructive.

I recognize that "affirmative action" is just racial or sexual discrimination codified by "law".

However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that making "laws" against non-aggressive consensual behavior by others is wrong. Actually "wrong" isn't a strong enough word. Not just "not nice" or "controlling", but absolutely, horribly evil. There is no excuse for it.

Poll contains a surprise

I was surprised that the results of this poll, which I found on the local paper's website, were so evenly split. As evenly as it is possible to split them, in fact. I was glad the spare point went to the only reasonable response.

I would interpret this poll (related to this case) to show that of those who responded, the top bar represents those who would fit the "conservative" profile; the middle bar would be those who (in this case, at least) favor a more libertarian approach; while the bottom bar are those I would consider "progressives".

Of course, the case could be made to swap the top and bottom.

The main reason I consider the bottom bar to represent those of leftward inclinations is that they are the ones who advocate changing things such as drug "laws" to legalize marijuana use rather than simply recognizing that a bad "law" carries no authority.

On the other hand, "the right" also works to change gun "laws" that happen to bother them... so maybe there is (once again) no real difference between "left" and "right"; it's always about authoritarian or libertarian after all.

Hair!

Sometimes I wonder if I would be taken more seriously if I looked more "conventional". Very often the only comments those who disagree with me can come up with are based upon my appearance- "You look so unkept..." - "Get a haircut Kent..." etc.

So, I should get a nice jackboot mohawk / idiot rug like so many LEOs do nowdays so people would "respect" me?

No thanks. If that's what it takes to be taken seriously, I'll pass.

My thought is that maybe if some of those people would grow some hair it might protect their brain from radiation damage- or whatever is causing their inability to think.

(This isn't directed at anyone who has short hair and doesn't demand that the entire world adopt their own personal style. It's only directed at the idiots who think there is something noble or superior in having short hair.)

Principles cannot be compromised

Principles cannot be compromised

It is often necessary to compromise face-to-face, but to compromise when stating principles means you have none.

Something I read a few days ago had someone referring to themselves as "ideologically extreme, behaviorally moderate". I liked that phrase.

I am serious about libertarianism. I also know that as long as someone is not attacking anyone, either physically or economically, no one has the right to try to force them to stop whatever they are doing. In that case there is always room for compromise if the other person will agree to keep their hands off your body, your property, and your life, both personally and legislatively, as long as you are not harming any innocent person. Remember that being offended is NOT the same as being harmed since harm must involve actual physical or economic damage.

Unfortunately, this proves to be difficult when people believe they have the right or the authority to control the non-aggressive, consensual behavior of those around them. But there is no such right and the authority is never real.

That is why compromise seems so difficult when a libertarian is trying to deal with a person who believes it is right to use force against someone who is not using force or stealing. All the "compromise" that such a person proposes is about how much the liberty of the other will be violated. That is not "compromise", it is losing ground that can't be regained; it is standing aside while someone harms you.

Principles can not be compromised or they are not principles. Principles are a line in the sand. Whether you defend them or not is up to you, but they don't shift around like shadows. If I am laying out the principles of libertarianism, I do no service to anyone by being wishy-washy or a "nerf libertarian". Compromise can come when you decide whether or not to defend that particular principle from this specific violator at this exact moment. Your choice may affect your life, but it doesn't change the facts of the principles one iota.

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Donate?

My daughter's unfortunate desire

We live across the street from an elementary "public school" playground.

My 3 1/2 year-old daughter sees the kids playing at recess and longs to join them. She begs to go to school.

When I try to tell her the truth about school, her mother and my parents think I am trying to brainwash her. I'm simply telling her that what she sees the kids enjoying (and most of them are seemingly enjoying themselves during recess, though some are being victimized and bullied) is NOT school. It is the joy of a brief break from the tedium that is "school".

I tell her that school is all about sitting still and being quiet and being talked (down) to. I haven't even gotten into the worst of it. The part about being trained like a Pavlovian dog to regulate your body to the ringing of bells - the part about being trained that The State is "how it's always been done, so it's the only option"- the part of being trained to submit to "authority" even when the demands are stupid and/or harmful.

She doesn't believe me. I'm not the kind of person to forbid her from trying school if that is what she really wants, but I know once in the system, it would be much harder to drop off the radar. I'd probably be forced to move and leave no forwarding address.

Repeating myself

Human Being-

I am a human being, and a Homo sapiens, and a man, and a "naked ape", and a person. These are ways of just saying the same thing with different words. That describes the species I am; what my DNA sequence would indicate to anyone checking it. To a large extent the information in those labels will also describe the conditions needed for my continued survival, which individuals I would be able to reproduce with (and what offspring would result), my size range, and in a general way, my appearance. It would also eliminate the possibility of me being a fish, even if I claimed to be one. Even if I spent a lot of time swimming. And, conversely, it provides a standard to compare others' claims. If a garden slug is claiming to be human in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, it is easy to see the claims are not true, using a variety of tests and observations. A claim doesn't make a thing true.

Libertarian-

I am also a libertarian, and an anarchist, and a sovereign individual, and a voluntaryist. These are also just ways of saying the exact same thing with different words. This description shows I value the rights and liberty of each individual. It shows I recognize I have no right to initiate force. It shows I have no room for double standards for those who reserve the authority to initiate force or theft/fraud on innocent individuals. If someone claims one of these descriptive labels, but does not fit the description, then it is simple to see the lie. If you promote a "government solution" to anything, or if you are a bomb-throwing destroyer of innocent bystanders or their property, you are NOT any of the above. You are an authoritarian thug even if you claim otherwise.

The reason I don't rely on historical quotes

In my latest CNJ column, the editor added some quotes by historical founding fathers. I agree with the quotes, but not with adding them to the column (he did ask me first, though). And here's why.

For any quote you can find by a historical figure that illustrates your point, someone will ALWAYS claim that the quote was never really said by that person. Or that he was misquoted. It happens every time.

Another hitch is that even if the quote is great, and the attribution is beyond reproach, you will often have other people point out that even if the person said what you quoted, they also said things in direct opposition to that point.

People are not perfect, and while they may have said one good quote that respects liberty for all, they almost all have (or had) some very bad habits or opinions somewhere concerning some subject. Blind spots and inconsistencies are everywhere. The quoted person may have stood up for the right of everyone to own and to carry weapons everywhere they go, yet in the next breath asserted that it was OK for The State to collect "taxes" or for people to own slaves.

If I'm going to be disputed or faulted, I would rather be the target, rather than someone I can't talk to in order to get clarification. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading the good quotes; I do!

I don't believe in "terrorists"

I don't believe in terrorists. Not as generally thought of, anyway.

There are only people who initiate force, and everyone else.

The only people who initiate force who would possibly cause terror in me are those I can't adequately resist.

The only ones I would ever feel inadequate against are those who have State permission to initiate force against me. The inadequacy comes from my recognition that they have a lot more money than me (since they can steal or print "money" without constraint), and with that money can buy lots of fancy hardware and the cooperation and "loyalty" of a lot of principle-impaired people to keep sending after me.

So, I suppose that to me, the only possible "terrorist" would be a State employee. IF that employee were able to instill terror in me, which is unlikely.