Open letter to a local cop

You are the local cop. I see you everywhere, and watch as you break some of the "laws" I have seen you enforce against others. I know that it is human nature to justify your own behavior, but seeing this disgusts me. It's not that I think you should stop doing the things I see you do; it's that you should stop enforcing those "laws" against others. That's not why I am writing, though.

You may be a "nice" guy. You may even really try to help the community. Most of the time you seem friendly- as long as you are not acting in an "official capacity". I still try to avoid you whenever I can, because although you are a person, I can't trust you to not act as a cop if something triggers you. It's the same reason I won't sleep with a rabid skunk in my bed no matter how tame it seems.

Above all, I pity you. By joining forces with the worst enemy the people in America, and all of humanity, have ever faced you made yourself into a villain. You aligned yourself with the powerful bad guys who think it is their duty to tell other people how to live regardless of natural law, and think they deserve to be supported by the fruits of the labor of those they attempt to rule- in direct violation of natural law. And, by accepting a cut of the loot from those parasites in exchange for imposing their will on your neighbors, you became a parasite yourself. And, often, a thug. Your behavior is no better than any other gang member. You may (usually?) abide by your gang's rules, but when those rules are wrong, that isn't a point in your favor.

Probably no one other than me has ever pointed this truth out to you.

And now that you know the truth, you have a choice. You can change careers, or you can pretend that what I said isn't true and keep on doing what you are doing. But by taking the second path you go from having your guilt extenuated by ignorance to a willing embrace of evil. Your choice will show where your heart lies. Because, even if you never enforce another counterfeit "law" for the rest of your life, you are still living off of money taken by threat of violence from people who do not hand it over willingly. You are receiving stolen property, knowing full-well where it came from. That is enough to erase all the good you might ever do.

So, what is your decision?

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Thinkfullness about thankfullness

Thanksgiving is here again. So, what am I thankful for? A lot.

Among the thankfulness is this: I am so thankful to all my readers for stopping by.

I'm not as "big" as a lot of the bloggers I admire, but it warms my heart to know that you actually take time out of your busy day to read what's on my mind.

So, thank you all.

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Choice means running own life

Choice means running own life

(My CNJ column for October 21, 2011.)

You do have a choice, but it is not the choice you are usually presented with. The real choice is between being responsible for governing your own life or allowing someone else to govern you. To put it more bluntly, the choice is between liberty and slavery. However, if you listen to anyone other than libertarians you will be told that the choice is between limiting liberty in a "reasonable manner" and succumbing to chaotic death and destruction at the hands of others. Wrong.

Life is not really reducible to a choice between a fascist State or a murderous free-for-all. People who try to pretend these are the only available options are not being truthful. Or, perhaps they have been brainwashed into being unable to see any other options.

How many times have you heard the equivalent of "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists"? Or seen someone try to make the point that you must either violate a stranger's rights or watch your children be molested? How many times have you heard the "self-evident" opinion expressed that there is only a choice between tax-financed government schools with compulsory attendance or mass illiteracy and general ignorance. How many "experts" go on television, after an awful criminal act makes the news, to insist government must pass and enforce more gun laws or tragic shootings will continue to occur?

How many people are brave enough to admit that the collectivist "solution" in each of these cases ends up causing more of the problem?

Those who profit from scaring you into believing you face only the two extremes are happy that you are willing to believe it. It makes their work easier if you don't think for yourself. Fear is not a good emotional condition to be in while making decisions. It leads to draconian "for the children" laws that will ultimately hurt the children- if not immediately, then almost certainly once they become adults.

No one can claim fear isn't a powerful motivator, or that false dichotomies, and "for the children" doesn't usually work. That's why the strategies will continue to be popular. However, when you notice these tactics being used you should realize you are being manipulated, and it is not for your benefit or for the benefit of your children. It is strictly for the benefit of those who want to run your life. Don't fall for it.

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"Greater Good"? Neither.

I recently ran into the term "greater good" again. And, as is always the case, the "greater good" being discussed was not great or good.

That term is invariably used to describe harming some individuals in order to promote some group's agenda. The group, through its individual members, decides that the individuals it targets are doing something that is "bad" for "society", and so they must be sacrificed. Sometimes the sacrifice doesn't result in the targeted individuals' actual, physical death, but other times it does.

And the murderers feel smug and get awards for the "good" they have done, while hiding behind the group, and lies, to avoid justice.

I never bought it, and I never will.

The only "greater good" is to respect the life, liberty, and property of every individual. Nothing can be greater than that, and that is the root of all good. Anything less great or less good is evil.

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TV's "Parks & Recreation"

I've been watching the show "Parks & Recreation" on Netflix. Late at night. It is about a fictional town's parks and recreation department, which is headed by a fictional libertarian.

At least the character says he's a libertarian.

Don't get me wrong. I like the character. He has some libertarian characteristics. He also has some anti-social characteristics and some quasi-conservative characteristics. But he is much too eager to accept the government's say on things, and its limits on natural rights, to be a libertarian. Plus, you know, he works for the government. (OK, I accept that it does happen.)

For example: He gave another character a handgun as a 21st birthday gift, and then went on to talk about holding it for her until she got her "license". If you're going to give someone a gun, why wait until the "law" says it is OK, and why make a big deal about licensing and other such nonsense. I suppose you could make the argument that he just wanted an excuse to hang on to the .22 caliber mouse gun a little longer, but that isn't believable. No, I think it showed he is a statist.

Even more telling; he seems to know nothing of the Zero Aggression Principle, or anything else that defines libertarianism.

It bothers me that this may be the only reference to libertarianism that some people will ever see, and it is just plain wrong. They will come away with the notion that "libertarian" means selfish, aimlessly anti-government, and slightly misanthropic, without any guiding principle. But, then, that's what "The Powers That Be" and the mainstream media believe... or want everyone else to believe. It's like having a show about a horse, but using a camel in the starring role.

Still, if you want an amusing way to waste some time, it's a funny show. I can even watch it, in spite of it being about government, and get a laugh.

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Lying on the internet, sex predators, and The State

If lying on the internet is now a federal crime, that means that LEOs pretending to be 15 year-old girls looking for sex with older men are also committing a federal crime.

The State and its sex predators can't have it both ways.

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"Public goods"?

The term "public good" is used to justify a lot of theft and coercion.

There is no such thing as a "public good".

Instead, there is only a tradition that says "the market can't provide this, so we must use the force of the government to provide it by forcing people who don't want it to pay for it".

But that's a lie, and the supposed "public goods" will change from place to place and over time, depending on what the local thieves/politicians want to steal your money for.

Here and now it is roads and "national defense" [sic]. In other places and during other times it has been other things. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that "witchcraft intervention" has been a "public good" somewhere at some time.

If something is wanted (never mind whether it is needed) there will be a market for that thing (or service) and those willing to provide it. No theft or coercion necessary.

Added: a lot more discussion has been carried out here.

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Here we come, a-waffling...

Anyone else ever notice (if you bother to waste your attention on such things) that politicians either waffle all over the "political" map, or they find the most idiotic stance they possibly can and then stand absolutely firm in their idiocy- immune to reason, logic, or decency?

And then those who choose to participate in politics act surprised at the mess that results.

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Kinder? Gentler? Me?

My editor at the paper emailed me after my latest submission (to be published Friday). He commented about me being "kinder and gentler" recently. What?!? Kinder? Gentler? Am I losing my touch?

Yes, I try to say things for the newspaper column that don't compromise principles of liberty in any way, while not sounding mean and nasty. I probably try harder to do that in the newspaper column than in this blog. But, I still say things in every column that I suspect might cause problems. I am still the same old me, and my attitudes and opinions haven't changed a bit. In person I am always (I think) kind and gentle. Sometimes to excess.

But to hear that about my writing is a shock.

Seriously, do I need to re-examine myself to see if I am losing my edge?

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Protesters should focus on the Fed

Protesters should focus on the Fed

My Clovis News Journal column for October 14, 2011. (I actually used the preferred spelling "protestors", but the paper changed it.)

The recent "Occupy Wall Street" events are entertaining political theater. It has been interesting to watch the Democrats derail the movement just as the Republicans derailed the Tea Party movement before. This may also partially explain why so many of the participants are missing the point. Many, if not most, of the protestors blame "capitalism" for the problems they are protesting. Some even are pushing socialism as the solution. They couldn't be more wrong. Of course, those misguided protestors have been raised to believe in the twisted ideals of socialism, so what would you expect them to cry out for?

Yes, Wall Street is corrupt. What do you expect when you have a government available to be influenced and bought? "Laws" to be manipulated and monopolies to be protected? Under such a system this exact type of corruption and cronyism is inevitable. However to confuse the current situation with capitalism is to show you have no clue what capitalism is.

Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals, rather than the government, own and control the means of production. This hasn't been the case in America in a very long time. While the ownership is still nominally private, the control- through thousands of pages of rules and regulations concerning every aspect of running a business- is by the State. Thus, no capitalism.

A more accurate term for the melding of government and "big business" (usually through the government's creation of corporations) is "fascism". Or, to use a less politically-charged word, "corporatism". Corporatism is not capitalism and is not equivalent to the free market. In fact, it is the mortal enemy of the free market and liberty of all sorts.

Some of the protestors are focusing on an even more deserving villain: The Federal Reserve. They are calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve and and end to its operation. My only disagreement with this point is that the Federal Reserve needs to be shut down regardless of whether it is ever audited or not. The US dollar has lost almost all of its value since the Federal Reserve began its counterfeiting operation back in 1913. Isn't that enough reason to abolish it? Return to sound money based upon things that can be voluntarily agreed upon to have lasting value. Gold and silver are good choices and have worked well as money for thousands of years.

I wish more of the protestors understood these simple facts rather than going with the feel-good soundbites they have been repeating endlessly.

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Pragmatarianism examined

Xerographica keeps harping on the "pragmatarian" idea of still forcibly extracting "taxes" from people, but letting them choose which thugs shall receive the stolen property.

His idea is that in this way tax slaves would be able to reward government agencies for doing what they want done, and de-fund those they don't like. (Yes, this is a simplified synopsis.) In his view, this way, if the market is really better than government, government would fade away due to lack of funds.

How?

Unless you are free to choose to send your "taxes" to a private enterprise instead of an "equivalent" government office, all the "tax" money will still end up going to government, and will be unavailable in the market. Unless I can fund the local militia instead of the Pentagon, how will my choice be honored?

Sure, I could send my "tax" money to the EPA instead of the Pentagon, but I can't choose an actual alternative to the Pentagon.

Considering this deeper: I don't want or need cops or the military. So, would any money I spend on guns, ammo, and training be subtracted from my coerced "tax" burden? After all, I am choosing to spend the protection money on the only one who really has any incentive to protect me and my family. Any money "taxed" from me is money I can't spend on my more personal defense.

If some government agencies end up completely unfunded and evaporate, that means the surviving agencies will be getting larger budgets. Agencies will always spend whatever is available. How will the total "tax" burden ever shrink? The pie will stay the same size (no, that is a lie. It will grow), but it will have fewer, larger, slices.

I'm sorry. I keep going back to this idea with the intention of finding some way to agree with it. I seriously want to like it. It seems so reasonable at first glance.

But the more I think about it the less I actually agree with it.

It's funny because this is the exact same idea I had when I was a teenager. I figured if I could pretend that every cent of the "taxes" I paid were sent to NASA (for example) I wouldn't feel so violated when paying. I could fund something I thought was doing a useful thing. (Yeah, I was terribly naive and didn't see what was really happening because of the government space monopoly.) I grew out of that notion fairly quickly as I learned and observed more.

I still can't make myself believe that theft is "better"- "less wrong"- when you can choose which thief gets the money, or that rape is "nicer" if you can choose your rapist.

I could, conditionally, support "pragmatarianism" as long as there were the option to opt out if you agree to use no government "services" [sic] unless you pay for them up front. But I would still consider those who funded government aggression and theft to be my enemy- guilty of violating the ZAP by sending others to use, or threaten, force against me.

*All government agencies named above are for illustrative purposes only. I have no intention of ever voluntarily sending any of them a cent.

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Another Statist Holy Day

On the heels of "Used Person's Day", where we are supposed to "thank a veteran for our freedom"- LOL), perhaps we should also have "Cop Day".

In honor of this day you can thank a cop for not having shot you. Yet.

It makes just as much sense.

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Day of the Used Person

I really have a hard time stomaching the "veteran" worship this day brings. It's not that I necessarily fault the "veterans". I fault the puppetmaster holding the veterans' strings, and the mindless masses who choose to not see the strings. Or the threat.

Most "veterans" probably didn't know any better and really thought that by signing up, or cooperating with their enslavement during the era of the "draft", they were doing the right thing. Of course, they were NOT- they were being used to advance the interests of a group of insane monsters who want to control the world- but few people are aware enough to realize that.

The constant barrage of "Thank you for your service" and "We thank our veterans" is enough to make me ill. There has been no "service" and I have no ownership interest in any "veterans".

People working for a mass-murdering psychopath are not to be thanked, even if they thought they were doing good. Naive intentions may matter, but the end results are extremely important, too.

The truth is the US government is the American's worst nightmare. The greatest threat America has ever faced. And the only real danger to your liberty and mine.

Want me to think you, Mr. and Ms. Military? Then walk away from your "job" and arrest your employer (the one who writes your checks, not the person the money backing the checks was stolen from). And then, when out of the clutches of the federal domestic enemies, please don't join the domestic enemies of the standing army that occupies America. We were warned about them in no uncertain terms.

Then I could honestly, without any hypocrisy or irony, say "Thank you for protecting liberty". You would then have served with honor.

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Pity Herman Cain

Herman Cain must be a truly messed-up individual. And yet there are those who think he should be allowed to rule them?

In response to the claims of sexual harassment he said "I have never acted inappropriately with anyone. Period."

I don't think there's a human alive who can honestly say that. Thank goodness! On the other hand, I'd be even more worried about him if the claim were true! That's just not healthy.

I have "acted inappropriately" with lots of people. I also enjoy it when others (particularly of the opposite sex) act "inappropriately" with me. But I guess it depends on what you consider "inappropriate". Maybe there are times "inappropriate" is appropriate.

Cain also shows a lack of understanding of reality in that he offers to take a lie detector test to "prove" he is telling the truth. Lie detector tests do not detect lies or verify truth. They are pseudo-science just like astrology and creationism. Or, maybe he knows this but is playing along to satisfy the dupes who support him.

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Running to the government

Claire Wolfe had a link that is an engaging waste of time. It is on a fishing forum and is about "weird things found in the woods". Fascinating, if you have a lot of time to waste.

It made me think of some of the things I have found over the years, but this isn't about that.

No, what gets to me is how many of those "findings"were dutifully (and immediately) reported to agents of The State. I have found my share of marijuana patches and it never even crossed my mind to run to the nearest government employee to report them. I never found a dead body, and I'm glad. I would be conflicted about what to do. I might make an anonymous tip to a funeral home or something.

Never, at any stage of my life, did the default setting in my brain involve running to the government. Is that really such an odd thing?

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Socialism weakens freedom

Socialism weakens freedom

(My Clovis News Journal/Portales News-Tribune column for September 7, 2011.)

Collectivism or socialism, in whatever form, is like a deadly parasite excreting a poison into its host. As long as your society is vibrant and healthy it can support a small amount of this societal poison. The collectivism feeds off of the rest of the society, dragging it down a little, but not enough to be noticed by the majority of the people who are busy with their own lives. A healthy society is resilient.

If the society starts to become less healthy for some reason, or if more socialism is added since "just a little more won't hurt", the effects will start to grow. Little economic problems will take longer to recover from. Each new problem will have a slightly bigger effect. A feedback loop begins.

At some point there will be too much socialism for the society to sustain. At that point there are two ways things can go from there. Either you get rid of the socialism or you watch the society die.

You can't shield your favorite bits of socialism while demanding that someone else get rid of theirs. Entitlement programs are all equal in the effects they have. Just whom "The Entitled" may be is of no consequence.

Regulations and taxation, too. Everything that is a hindrance to private property and a disincentive to be productive has a broad reach- crippling more than just the intended target.

Each bit of collectivism takes a small bite out of liberty and weakens your society just a little more. Add an intrinsically worthless fiat currency to the mix, such as the US dollar, and you have a recipe for disaster.

After a while, if the situation goes on long enough, it isn't only your society in danger, but much of civilization.

Civilization today is no longer strong enough to indulge collectivist myths and delusions. You want socialism? Then you pay for it yourself and leave the rest of us, who choose to opt out, alone. You'll have to let civilization recover for a couple hundred years before it can weather another round of your statist disease. Perhaps by then our descendants will be smart enough to realize that collectivism always fails, every time it is tried, no matter what you call it or how you justify it. It's just a matter of time.

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Epidemics and conspiracies

I wonder why there can't be an epidemic that does something beneficial- such as destroy the ageing process, or make it impossible for cancer or heart disease to damage those infected. What if something like that has happened in the past to solve a problem we don't know once existed?

Yeah, I know that since there are so many more ways to mess things up (due to entropy) than to get something right that making things worse and causing problems is the overwhelmingly more likely result, but still...

In a similar vein: Why can't there be a conspiracy to spread liberty and help people rather than to hurt individuals and hide the guilty parties? Oh, wait. I think I've said too much...

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CIA is now following YOU

So, the CIA admits it is spying on people's Twitter and facebook posts. To get a "feel" for what people think about its criminal bosses' criminal actions. That could be amusing, especially if turned against them.

I wonder what would happen if lots of people, all over the world, started posting, in a one day concerted effort on Twitter and facebook, things like "The US government is on the brink of collapse!" "US government has lost consent of the governed!" "Angry mobs lynching politicians from coast to coast!" "The US regime is falling!" "USA is dead! Liberty lives!"

Would it spread? Would perception influence reality? Would the feds step in to put an end to it all?

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The unstable are among us

I saw a conservative post this on facebook; as a biblical justification of conservatives:

Ecc 10:2- "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."

I just see it as another illustration that the Bible is fallible.

To any rational impartial observer, anything that is inclined- is leaning- is seen to be unstable. Only those who are upright, above the "right vs left" nonsense, are stable. That's the libertarians.

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Yearly Reminder- 5th of November

Remember, remember, this fifth of November,

that government is only a plot.

'Though it's the holiday season,

that is no reason

it should be forgot.

President, Congress, t'was their intent

To violate rights; our money they spent.

Thousands of "laws", each a new crime;

Liberty, it seems, had run out of time.

Elections were held to pacify some,

A new batch of scoundrels to Washington come.

Wake up, wake up, your life is your own!

Wake up, wake up, YOU sit on the throne!

And how shall we live? In true liberty!

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What's wrong with this picture?

Not that there should be a government agency dealing with guns (since the Constitution clearly makes such illegal)- or a government for that matter- but putting anti-gun extremist bureaucrats in charge of such an agency makes as much sense as putting a rapist in charge of a women's shelter.

Fast and Furious/Gunwalker shows that it is time to fire (at the minimum) the rapists... and don't hire more.

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Politics

Politics is the attempt to live among people you don't like by forcing your will on them (through government and "laws", for example).

Politics is what you use when you don’t want to bother with mutual consent to get what you want. 

Politics is the use of coercion in the allocation of resources.

Not every human action is political, only every unethical human interaction.

The mugger uses politics when he mugs someone. The murderer, rapist, kidnapper, police officer, mayor, congressvermin, president, etc. use politics.

Politics is cheating.

Politics is the use of the "political means" (government, legislation, coercion, threats, theft, etc.), where someone "wins" at the expense of someone else (win/lose), instead of the use of the "economic means" (trade, freedom of association, etc.), where everyone comes out ahead (win/win).



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Government property rights

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Government has zero property rights. Government is not a person nor an individual of any kind and can own nothing. Not only that, but individuals who are a part of government have no property rights over the "government property".

The postmaster has no property rights over the post office. The forest ranger has no property rights over the forests. The traffic cop has no property rights to the roads. The president has no property rights over "Area 51"(nor do any of his military goons) . Nor do any government employees have any authority to administer the property rights of government, because those rights don't exist. Period. Government property is stolen property and does not belong to the thief or his gang, nor their descendants. It is No Man's Land.

That doesn't mean government enforcers won't murder or kidnap you if you violate those imaginary government property rights, or any terms thereof, but when they do, it is an unvarnished murder or kidnapping. It is exactly like if a crook broke into your house, claimed it as his own, and then killed you when you returned home. So be careful of government thugs enforcing their deadly delusions.

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Movie recommendation: The Ledge

I don't normally get into doing movie reviews. Such things are just too subjective, and I don't assume your tastes mesh well with mine. But I'll make an exception now.

If you haven't seen "The Ledge" you are missing something entertaining and thought-provoking. Watch it.

It isn't the type of movie I normally want to watch. I had read about it, thought it sounded interesting, and put it on my Netflix list a month or so ago. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately I don't remember where I first read about it, so I don't know who to thank.

I started to write more about the movie, and the thoughts it brought to my mind, but erased it all to just say see it for yourself. I don't think you'll regret it- unless you'd be offended by Liv Tyler's naked breasts. And if that sort of thing offends you I doubt you'd be reading this blog.

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"When should you shoot a cop?"

"Should". That's a pretty loaded word.

Somehow I ended up on some Tea Party mailing list. The email I got from them most recently mentions a flyer (which has been blamed on Tea Party activists) that asks the question "When should you shoot a cop?"

I can't tell you when you "should" shoot a cop, but I can tell you when you would be ethically justified in shooting one: Whenever that is the best way to stop one from violating your life, liberty, or property, or to prevent the same from being committed against someone you have accepted responsibility for. In other words, exactly the same conditions that justify the shooting of any other individual. The "job" gives no immunity from "natural law" even as it gives some immunity from statutory "law".

The "should" is up to your own assessment of the situation.

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Pop in and say "Boo!"

Feel like using the witching hours to do some haunting, but prefer to do your haunting in cyberspace? Then pop on over here to visit some comments. Witness someone who just hates me, and someone else (I suppose) who hates all gun owners in general (and admits it).

Since the post was about being ruled, and ruling, by fear, Halloween seems an appropriate time to scare the sheep.

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"I'm from the government and I'm here to eat your brains!"

Boo!

Sorry, but I didn't write a new tale of terror to post today. Here's a re-link to my little Halloween story from last year: The Werewolf

Have a happy Halloween and don't let the Statists catch you!

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My philosophy

In honor of Halloween, and to give you a bit of a fright, here is my personal philosophy in a nutshell:

The individual is the atom of humanity.

All rights reside inside, are centered upon, and flow from, the individual, alone. Your rights do not overlap anyone else's rights- your rights end where the other person's rights begin. No one can have rights over another individual's body. A mutually-consensual contract can be valid as long as it does not violate anyone's rights to their own property, self, or rights.

No group can have any right that each individual in the group does not have.

You have a right to do anything that does not initiate force, or take or damage another's property. It isn't always a good thing to do everything you have a right to do. Everything has consequences, even doing the right thing.

You should not do anything that initiates force upon any individual.

You should not do anything that takes or damages any other individual's property.

If you go ahead and do something you have no right to do, you should expect consequences, and to be a good person you must accept and deal with those consequences without using the consequences as an excuse to do something else wrong.

Evil is any action that harms someone (or their property) who is not attacking or stealing from anyone. People aren't evil; actions are. However a person who is engaging in evil acts could be called evil without stretching the truth too far.

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Freedom basis of libertarianism

Freedom basis of libertarianism

(My weekly Clovis News Journal column for September 30, 2011.)

Libertarianism rests upon the answers to a few questions. Which is better: Freedom or slavery? Honest possession or theft? Truth or falsehood?

For any random individual the answer might be "it depends". For one thing, define "better".

Society prospers as individuals prosper. It is not right to make different rules for different people. This isn't to say "one size fits all", but that if something is true, it is true for all people for all times. If it is wrong for me to do something to you, then it is also wrong for you to do the same to me. It is universal.

One individual might be harmed by freedom. Either his own or someone else's. Should he be able to infringe on the freedoms of other people to prevent himself being harmed? Yes, but only if those others wish to express their freedom by attacking or stealing. Should other people be able to infringe on his freedom to prevent him from hurting himself? No. That individual has the choice to exercise his freedom, or not, even if his choice would harm himself. It's the same choice we all have.

If you claim slavery is better than freedom, that means you believe everyone should be a slave to someone else. Even the slave owners. That's socialism. Yet, there are always individuals, those who make the rules they are willing to enforce with violence, who aren't forced to follow those rules. Those who are most insistent on imposing this system on everyone else exempt themselves, either openly or in practice. Slavery is not best, even in the eyes of the would-be slave master.

A random individual might claim theft is better as long as he is the one receiving the stolen goods. If this were actually true, then as soon as the tables were turned, and everyone began taking advantage of the new morality and stealing his stuff, he would probably change his mind. Once again you can reverse roles to see through the propaganda.

Some people obviously prefer lies over truth. "Do these jeans make me look fat?" or "Do you think my sister is cuter than me?" Those are questions that are not always safe to answer truthfully. Not quite a "verbal grenade", but very close. But are lies "better"? No. All things, even the truth, come with consequences.

So, for most individuals, freedom, property rights, and truth- the foundations of libertarianism- are preferable to the alternatives. Libertarianism is still the most ethical way ever discovered for dealing with others.

The meaning of "The Pledge"

What "they" are really saying when they recite "the Pledge of Allegiance":

I give my promise of loyalty to the banner made of cloth that is a symbol of the criminal government that now rules the country of America,

And to the empire for which it now stands.

One nation, under (some nebulous interpretation of) God (that we only think we can force you to agree on), til death do us part (because if you try to leave, I will kill you),

With blah-blah-blah* and something-something* for all.

*Words that the reciters haven't got the faintest clue what they mean.

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In "praise" of the donut munchers

As long as you are force to "pay" for a government employee's existence, you'd be better off to have one who does nothing.

A conscientious government employee is violating you twice. Not only are they robbing you, but they are also raping your rights with everything they accomplish. And someday they may actually kill you.

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Listen to FREEDOM FEENS!

This is always an interesting podcast, and I highly recommend it.

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Americanism is a real problem

Americanism. I guess that's what I'd call the mental problem infecting a large percentage of those around me.

You know the type:

Stuck in a fictional myth of the 1950s as The Golden Era. Borderism. Religionism. Militarism. Guns "from my cold, dead hands"... but only as long as we can keep them away from the "wrong people". Infected with just a tinge of "White supremacism". A deep fear of "brown people" or change of just about any sort. A love of punishment and revenge. An abiding belief that Democracy, along with The Constitution, is the Alpha and the Omega of freedom. Clinging to the demonstrably false belief that cops are the good guys. Symbols of the USA are worshiped, and no fault can ever be found in the global actions of the US government.

It is nostalgia elevated to religion. Kind of like the Amish.

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The lazy man's way: authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is the lazy way out.

When I am tired or distracted it would be so much easier to just "lay down the law" with my daughter than to think things through, that it becomes a great temptation.

It is more time-consuming and requires more thought to pursue libertarian parenting. It is a lot of work to be logical, consistent, reasonable, and listen to (or consider) counter-arguments. It's easier to just say "because I said so", even in cases where you are operating from a flawed perspective or with insufficient data. Because I have seen the harm that comes from that style of "parenting" I try to avoid that trap.

But, like I say, it can be a lot of work. Most worthwhile things are.

On the other hand, a little effort now saves a lot of trouble in the future.

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Politicians and their "values"

I see a lot of puppeticians who claim to have "values". And a lot of their sheeplike followers believe them.

"Dedicated to the values of idiocy" is not a virtue. Yet, it seems those who are dedicated to such are venerated and put upon a pedestal by their equally deluded followers. Sad.

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Don't let government stop you

Don't let government stop you

(My Clovis News Journal column for September 22, 2011.)

What is it you most would like to do if you had no onerous regulations and laws holding you back? What would you do with liberty?

This is a question libertarian author and novelist L. Neil Smith has posed in the past. It is still one of the best ways to awaken to the potential that liberty has in store for you. Just think about it.

I seriously doubt that you would daydream of a career as a robber or attacker. Nor would I. Why imagine the worst of others? Even if someone else did have those types of ambitions, there would still be the equal and identical rights of others, backed up by an absence of restrictions on self defense and defense of property, to prevent him from becoming a real problem. It isn't as if laws, and the chance of being caught by the enforcers, stop bad people from being bad now.

Many of us would probably dream of starting a business or pursuing a hobby that is just too difficult with government looking over your shoulder; demanding you jump through certain hoops for permission, and then demanding a cut of your efforts if you make a profit. Or, even when you don't.

The trick is that you need to come to the realization that your wishes depend on you leaving the other guy alone to pursue his dreams as well. Do you want to follow your dreams enough to stop preventing him from following his? You only get as much liberty as you respect in the other guy.

Do you want to keep your guns bad enough that you will stay out of your neighbor's marriage? Do you enjoy your raw milk products enough that you will stop worrying about what the cancer patient across the street is smoking? Do you value your religious beliefs enough to stop trying to interfere with the other guy's religious practices? Do you want to keep your own property enough that you stop justifying the theft of someone else's property? Do you want to live your life as you see fit enough to fight for the right of your enemy to do the same?

If so, start now. If not, perhaps you need to get out more and develop some interests. What's stopping you? Life is waiting.

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"...nor was I discussing political agendas."

Regardless of what some people seem to believe, right and wrong isn't a "political agenda". It just so happens, though, that libertarianism is intimately concerned with right and wrong in a consistent way that no other philosophy can be. And that translates into a logical way to organize our interactions, which means "politics" to a great many observers.

Yes, that disturbs people who have no ethical foundation for their politics, but that isn't my fault. They could look to improve themselves. We all have to start some time.

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Thought of the moment

Libertarianism is not just misunderstood, it is un-understood. How much of that is willful, I'll leave to you to decide. I suspect it is a lot.

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Dependency pushers

I saw a news article that quoted some puppetician who said the Social Security [sic] increase was a good thing.

What I don't get: "Drug dealers" are treated like criminals, even though their customers are consensual. Welfare advocates are treated as heroes, even though their customers and those who actually provide the product are coerced.

Both "drug dealers" and politicians are pushing dependency. Yet, only one of those "pushers" are using coercion to obtain the product and keep the customers.

Remove the negative effects of prohibition and I'll tell you which sort I'd rather have as a next-door neighbor. And it is NOT the tax parasite.

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The killing of Gadhafi- self defense or revenge?

I can't join the majority in the celebration over the killing of Gadhafi.

Yes, he was a very, very bad guy. Almost everyone who seeks political power is. Any one of his victims would have been fully justified in killing him in self defense. But... the old monster was not a credible threat any more- he was no longer the ruler and was not engaged in an initiation of force at the time he was killed. He was killed in revenge, not in self defense. I also don't see any justice in it.

I think revenge is wrong. Understandable, but wrong. I'm not saying I would never again do anything in revenge, myself, but if I did I would be wrong. I have done a few things in revenge in the past. I was wrong.

When I smeared poison ivy all over the toilet seat, and my wife's vibrator, before I abandoned my house to her and her new boyfriend, I was wrong. If I had it to do over again I hope I would make the right decision this time. I have the benefit of years of libertarianism to guide my actions now.

The rebels, who are now falling all over themselves in the rush to set up another State to abuse them and violate their liberty, were wrong for killing Gadhafi. And they are wrong for allowing a new government to be established. Actions have consequences. Watch what happens next.

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Gunwalker, or Fast and Furious(ly insane)

As is always the case when the psychopaths who work for government choose to violate their very clear operating instructions, the "Fast and Furious"/ Gunwalker scandal is not an announcement that there need to be more "laws". Only idiot congresscritters could see it that way. No, it is a clear call to repeal all "laws" (and agencies) that made the scandal possible.

Say you were born into a neighborhood where one guy has declared himself the head of a homeowners' association that you never agreed to join, but existed before you were born. Maybe 50% of your neighbors either agree, or at least are under the impression that somebody "needs to be in charge". Vastly fewer actually think he should be "the one" or that what he does is good. Anyway, the "head guy" insists that all houses remain unlocked so that he can check them at will for burglars. When you discover that HE is the main burglar in town do you let him then make more rules that don't address the problem, do you insist on replacing him with another power-mad maniac who wants the "job", or do you install locks and arm yourself against his next intrusion?

This is as clear an illustration as possible that government is not your friend and is not necessary. It is the problem, not the solution. It needs to be abolished, or ignored to death. However, as a compromise, I would suggest the following steps the government can take to show "good faith":

Repeal any "law" that seeks to violate the Second Amendment. And that is every "law" that applies to guns in any way. Yes, even the "pro-gun laws". The government is forbidden from addressing guns. Obey or die.

Abolish any agency or bureaucracy that deals with enforcing any of the forbidden "laws" that affect guns. And don't try to be cute by shifting the "job" to someone else. The "job" is illegal. Treat it as such, with enthusiastic fervor.

Repeal any "law" that makes it a "crime" to resist or kill any government employee who tries to violate any person's rights or property in any way.

Repeal, repeal, repeal. No, there shouldn't be a "law". Anything less shows that government is only sorry its tools got caught.

Follow this path and there would never be another scandal like Gunwalker. Follow a similar path every time government breaks its own rules, those which govern its existence, and before long we'd actually live in a free society.

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Who would Jesus vote for?

I am not being facetious; I am completely serious.

Please ask this of your Christian friends who vote. Especially pose the question to ones who, like some of my family members, say they will vote for Perry, Cain, or Romney because they "have to vote for someone".

Who would Jesus vote for? Do you really think he would vote for the "lesser of two evils"? Isn't that like choosing to commit the lesser of two sins? Do you really think he would want you to vote for the lesser of two evils?

Christians who vote are not obeying his admonition to "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" and are instead giving Caesar that which does not belong to Caesar: their attention, time, and respect.

Grow up. Withdraw consent.

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A horrible thought

I just saw another news report of a kid who was taken from his family by government force because it was claimed he was abused. Now he has been taken from the foster family that he was placed with because it is being claimed they also abused him.

Do some kids attract abuse?

I'm not saying he "deserved it" or brought it upon himself in any way, but I have to wonder if some kids trigger a sort of "immune response" in ethically-weak adults around them that makes abuse more likely.

If I were in charge of placing homeless kids with families (in a free market sort of way), I'd first make sure the foster family members were all followers of the ZAP. Obviously the current "system" doesn't work.

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Little learned in last 10 years

Little learned in last 10 years

(My Clovis News Journal column for Sept. 16, 2011. As written, not as published.)

Last weekend America observed the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Apparently few Americans have learned anything in the past ten years. At least, that is the lesson I take away from what I saw of the commemorations.

If the terrorists hate us for our freedom, they must love us now. The US government has cancelled freedom and only allows us to exercise certain privileges, at their discretion and within "sensible" limits, in place of freedom now.

The only part of the Bill of Rights that isn't obviously violated by the federal government on a daily basis across America is the Third Amendment. Yet, I believe even the spirit and intent of that one is violated by having a standing military and unendable wars. The rest of the Bill of Rights is a laughingstock to those who work in government.

In other words, the federal government did the terrorists' "work" for them. Why are Americans not gathering goose feathers and heating pots of tar? Or taking up pitchforks and torches? Can Americans really be so afraid of a phantom menace that they think trading priceless liberty for false security is a good trade?

Governments cause terrorism just as surely as a virus causes smallpox- and the solution is the same. Most of the "9/11" commemorations seemed to celebrate the cause rather than notice the solution.

Want to defeat terrorism? Abolish gun control and stop making it hard for the first line of defense (that's you and me, folks) to do its job. Stop meddling in the affairs of other people around the globe. Not "isolationism", but non-interference. Close the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA. In fact, abolish any government agency, program, or law which diminishes liberty in any way. Take away the ability of the US government, and all its local co-conspirators, to infringe on any individual right from this moment on. Learn a lesson from history rather than seeming determined to repeat the worst mistakes.

You can also change the way you think. Refuse to be afraid. Don't fly flags (either the federal "Stars and Stripes" or a more authentic American flag) at half-mast in defeat, but from the top of the pole as a display of determination. Stand tall and unbowed when remembering that America survived the pathetic attempt to destroy it. Stop giving terrorists what they want!

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A difference that makes no difference is not a difference

Ack! The idiots strike again.

I saw where someone was having a hissy fit because they read someone who was comparing communists and nazis and not making a big deal about the "differences" between the two.

The hissy-fitter was mainly upset that people who were commenting on the "Occupy" protestors don't know that communists are on the "extreme left" while nazis are on the "far right". As if that imaginary distinction makes a difference!

Does it really matter if the rabid animal chewing your throat is a cat or a dog?

Nazis and communists are identical in the only way that matters. They are both murderous monsters when given the power of The State. And they are not the only ones who should never be given that power. The same is true of every ideology. The only solution is to allow (and encourage) The State to evaporate.

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The Statist's Burden

In a past century it was called "the white man's burden". Now it isn't the burden of the "white man", but of statists of every "race" who feel the "burden" to spread their particular brand of State- be it democracy or Islam- in order to rescue everyone else from their own "depravity" or chaos.

Well, Statist, is your burden too heavy? I can relieve you of your burden right now. Your "statist's burden" is all in your head. You are unwanted. Go away and take your misplaced "burden" with you. You don't need to "save" us wretched anarchists from freedom.

We don't need your police. We don't need your "laws". We don't need you to "protect" us from contaminated food, or from the improper use of our devices. We don't need you to try to direct traffic. We don't need you to imprison people for eating or smoking whatever they choose. We don't need you to provide for "the common good" or "public" anything. We don't need you to keep us safe from (other) terrorists or to secure the borders.

We don't need YOU. Seriously. We really don't need you. So just stop being a dick and get on with your life and don't force us to defend ourselves from your unwanted attention. It's the only way to avoid the approaching unpleasantness.

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Perpetual motion and "taxation"

Recently I again ran into the erroneous belief that government employees pay "taxes". This is a myth that just keeps on walking around, undead and looking for brains to munch.

The fact of the matter: Government employees pay no taxes. Ever. Zero. Period.

The pretense that they do is the financial equivalent of a perpetual motion device that keeps the economically ignorant among us (more) content with the status quo.

All government employee pay comes from government-confiscated "taxes", and all the "taxes" they pay go "back" to government. (The money never actually left the government's bloody hands in the first place.) Plus some money is always lost in the shuffle between parties. The lost money is equivalent to the waste heat in a mechanical system.

Put another way: If I paid you $100 dollars, but then demanded you pay a "tax" of 20% back to me, did I just give you $100 or did I give you only $80? Contrast it with this scenario: If I paid you $100 but you immediately paid a third party $20, I have actually, in fact, paid you $100 even if you passed some of it along to someone else. There is a difference.

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Results-oriented parenting or a control freak?

I overheard something disturbing recently.

A dad was speaking to some other parents and said "I will raise these girls way different because I have a different end result in mind."

On the surface I'm not sure why it disturbed me. We all "raise" our kids in the way we think will produce the best results. As if we could ever know which "results" would be "best", or what would produce those results.

But there was some type of arrogance to that statement that really got to me. To think you can have any "end" in mind for your kids- it just seemed creepy to me. Added to the fact that the guy was sporting a semi-military haircut, wearing a T-shirt with a military logo, and going on and on about different Republican presidential candidates without mentioning that they are all authoriturd puppeticians (with one sorta-exception whom he never mentioned) - it all added up to a control-freak authoritarian in my mind.

Maybe I am wrong.

I didn't know the guy and wasn't sitting that close to him. I forced myself to sit and not speak up or snort in derision. It was hard. I've grown as a person.

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Silverblog

Check out Silver's blog. It is full of nutrition for your starving mind!

(Thanks to Claire for the heads-up.)

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A "disgusting rant"

I am angry. Exposure to idiots has that effect on me. I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but it is difficult to ignore. I am only human. So, since my "rants are disgusting and very difficult to take seriously" I might as well give the statist perverts a real rant.

This time it is the really stupid comments from those who see nothing wrong with agents of the State entrapping people and charging them with sex crimes against "children" (15 years old is NOT a child) who did not exist. Even if the LEO predators never initiated contact, and never said anything to lead the alleged "pedophile" on and escalate the sexuality of the situation, what they do as a part of their "job" is still wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right.

I would like to scream at the commenters "Look, Moron! Your stupid belief that you must either choose between The State or having your child molested is ridiculous and false." But statists are apparently too dumb to understand that obvious fact.

There is a better way to combat this problem. One that doesn't require you to become the bad guy or support the actions of bad guys.

There is only one person who will always be there when my daughter is in trouble. I want that person to be able to protect her. And that one person is she, herself. Sure, I would prefer to always be there to protect her, myself. That isn't possible and to act as though it is sets her up for tragedy. To train her to rely on agents of the State is child abuse. It is teaching her helplessness. I won't do that!

So, to any statist perverts out there: I do NOT support pedophiles who act upon their desires by actually attacking or deceiving children in order to take advantage of them. But that doesn't mean I support agents of the State who are paid with stolen money, lie, attack, kidnap, and murder- as well as often sexually attack the innocent. You can oppose both types of bad guys, and in fact, if you are consistent and ethical, you WILL.

So, how's THAT for a "disgusting rant"?

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Sexual solicitation of children- or not.

Just as there is actual child pornography- which involves the abuse and exploitation of innocent children, as opposed to the majority of "child pornography" which does nothing of the sort- there is actual sexual solicitation of children, as opposed to the vast majority of acts which are called "sexual solicitation of children" which most absolutely are NOT.

This recent case stinks to "high heaven" of entrapment. Some ignoramuses will whine "but if it saves one child it's worth it to entrap a few innocent people". BS! Two wrongs don't make a right, no matter how desperately you wish that were the case.

Added to this absurdity is the fact that a 15 year old (like the completely imaginary human in the above case) is almost never still a "child"- except in the eyes of the ignorant State (which would prefer we all remain helpless children under its "laws"- to be "protected" and controlled to death).

Teach your children about reality. Teach them that there are bad people out there who will seek to exploit them if they can. Teach them how to stay alert. Earn and keep their trust! Teach them to defend themselves with the most effective tools ever invented for that purpose. And don't ever, ever rely on the predators of the State to "protect" them from freelance predators.

Sexually abusing or exploiting anyone is never right. Regardless of age. You are subject to self defensive actions by your victim or a rescuer. You could legitimately be killed and I wouldn't shed a tear. But there is no "one size fits all" formula that can be used as a broad brush to decide who to target for punishment- and NO VICTIM- NO "CRIME"!

And, then, when your children have grown up (whether you want to accept it or not) and take the responsibility to make decisions (sexual or otherwise) you don't like, show that you are also an adult and don't use The State as a way to punish the object of your anger.

(The picture is from an old post, but still very applicable.)

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Most laws in U.S. unnecessary

Most laws in U.S. unnecessary

(My Clovis News Journal column for September 9, 2011. As written, not as published. Judging by facebook "shares", this one was very popular!)

The system is broken. Almost every law, particularly every new law passed in the past several decades, is not based upon right or wrong, but upon opinion or value judgments. The US imprisons, or traps in its "justice system", more people, percentage-wise, than did Stalin in the USSR, and more than China ever has.

You, yes YOU- even if you are a kindergarten teacher, a police officer, a pastor, or a quiet grandmother- commit an average of three federal felonies every day of your life. That average number will inevitably increase as more things are made illegal, and as already illegal things are made "more illegal".

It doesn't mean you are bad; it means the laws are wrong. America is suffering from law pollution. Back in a somewhat more liberty-respecting era, the Supreme Court declared that a "law" which violates the Constitution is not really a law and can't be enforced. It doesn't even need to be repealed. Any law which violates Natural Law is even less legitimate; it is counterfeit, even if it is "Constitutional". Yet, look how many people now believe you must obey a counterfeit "law" until it is repealed.

This doesn't mean the situation is hopeless, unless we keep doing the same dumb things that led us to this point. When you find yourself standing in a hole, it's not time to use a different shovel, it's time to stop digging.

The solution is at hand and is demonstrated by how we each normally live our lives. Freedom of association. Respect for other people's property. Self defense. Mind your own business. Embrace voluntaryism (note to editor: spell check doesn't like the word "voluntaryism", but that is the correct spelling) and make decisions by unanimous consent. Pay for what you use, don't use what you are not willing to pay for, don't force anyone to pay for, or participate in, anything they'd rather not. Consider how a group orders a pizza- those who want it, and are willing to pay for it, decide which toppings to get, and those who can't compromise on toppings can't be forced to pay for a pizza they do not want.

If you are only paying for what you want, just like everyone else is, it won't even matter if those things cost more. You'll still come out ahead, since you will be paying for so many fewer things in total. And those things no one wants bad enough to pay for would go away. It's simple and it works.

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Cops face a choice in California- and elsewhere

So, the feds are over-stepping their imaginary "authority" once again. This time threatening to shut down California medical marijuana dispensaries.

Some day, sooner or later, this kind of evil/stupidity will be the nail in their coffin (or the dirt on their mass grave). Maybe not this time, but it is inevitable. It will happen.

This is a fight they can not win. Not in the long run. Why do they insist on fighting it? Because they are dumb enough to believe in the permanence of a State. Something that has never been and never will be. A delusion. And they are betting their very lives on it.

Some day this sort of thuggish behavior will bring out the defensive nature of their targeted victims. It is right to defend yourself and your property. No "law" can ever change that fact. When the tipping point is reached it will be a sad day for the families of the enforcers.

But, there is time. Enforcers can either start serving and protecting their masters, rather than victimizing them on behalf of insane control freaks in DC (and locally)... or they can quit their tax-parasite "jobs" and go straight. They have a choice and no one knows for sure when the time to make that choice has expired. It might be tomorrow. It might be the day the thugs move to shut down the first dispensary. Or, it might have been yesterday.

Think, if that is not beyond your ability, Mr. Policeman. I'm only trying to save your hide.

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Push the button, Frank

Imagine there is a button you could push to immediately make every law enforcement officer in the world instantly drop dead. Or maybe drop dead as soon as he or she wasn't doing something like driving a car, to avoid innocent deaths. I would not push that button.

On the other hand, imagine the button has been reprogrammed so that it will make any cop drop dead the instant he or she initiates force, theft/fraud, or commits that specific-to-enforcers-crime of enforcing a counterfeit "law". Would I push that button? You'd better believe it.

I believe the end result would be identical.

(In case you are bewildered about the headline, it's from MST3K.)

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"Officer safety"

"Officer safety".

That's one term that gets me riled up.

If the vile, verminous tax parasites known as "law enforcement officers" can murder people on the pretext of "officer safety", then why shouldn't those who hold dangerous jobs be protecting themselves from the consequences of their career choice as well?

Shouldn't fishermen be allowed to drain the oceans using "fisherman safety" as justification?

Shouldn't farmers be refusing to plow, plant, and harvest (and probably salting the earth) in the name of "farmer safety"?

Loggers should start forest fires to get rid of all the trees with the excuse that this increases "logger safety".

Of course those with honest jobs- the fishermen, farmers, and loggers- aren't extorting money from the fish, fields, and forests. If they destroy the things they depend upon they know they have destroyed themselves. Cops aren't smart enough to figure that out.

If a cop is concerned with "officer safety" to the point he feels the need to murder those he depends upon for his career, then he needs a different job.

NO ONE "needs" a cop.

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Hank Williams Jr's mouth

I'm seeing some "buzz" this morning about Hank Williams Jr. being "disassociated" with Monday Night Football by ESPN over a comment he made. A comment that wasn't a fawning love-fest for Obama.

Who cares?

The comment he made was utterly insignificant. For anyone to get worked up over it they had to be as brittle as a freeze-dried rose petal. "Oh, but he said 'Hitler'!" Once again, if the analogy is true, it is true. If it is not, then it won't stand.

I have absolutely no use for football, or any other team sport. I can't boycott something I never cared about. But this whole thing is just so silly. The NFL's use of the TSA gate-rapists against their customers is a much bigger deal.

What I have seen here is two factions of the Authoritarians pointing fingers and calling names; trying to show the other faction is worse. Guess what: both are anti-liberty and that's all I care about.

Hank Jr. has an absolute right to say anything he wants to say (even to falsely yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater)- and accept any and all consequences.

ESPN (and any other business) has the right to fire, or stop using, any individual for any reason at all- or no reason. Freedom of association, and all that.

But to pretend that there is a penny's worth of difference between the statists of the "right" and the statists of the "left" is mind-bogglingly ignorant.

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Most founders were libertarians

Most founders were libertarians
(At least, the fairly decent ones.)

(My Clovis News Journal column for September, 2, 2011. As written, not as published.)

Some of America's founders were scientists- and were very good ones to the best of their ability, considering the prevailing culture they lived in, and to the extent their understanding, available resources, and equipment would allow. They had some ideas that are very quaint, and wrong, as we can now see clearly because of advances made since then, looking back as we do from the early 21st century. Electromagnetism, DNA, and quantum physics were beyond them. However, no one could reasonably claim they didn't try.

Most of the founders of America were also libertarians, although the term hadn't yet been coined. They were libertarians to the best of their ability and to the extent that the world they were immersed in allowed them to understand liberty. Sure, they had some inconsistencies that are pretty obvious to us now. No one is immune to the culture they find themselves a part of. That doesn't mean we discount the huge philosophical leap they undertook, over and beyond their contemporaries, but it also doesn't mean we should be content to remain where they were and not put our better understanding into practice.

For the time in which they lived, those who founded America were probably even more radical about liberty, compared to their neighbors, than I am compared to the average person today. That is pretty incredible.

What bothers me is that too many people today claim to value liberty, but can't seem to move beyond a late-18th century conception of its principles. They still believe some people are exempt, or unqualified for self-ownership. "Liberty is OK for me, but I'm not so sure you can handle it" seems to be a prevailing notion. That may have been fine for most people back when America was founded, but it is antiquated today, plus it invariably leads to egregious violations of basic human rights.

The founders even understood that rights did not depend on where you lived. Nowhere in the Bill of Rights will you see any claim that the listed rights- actually "non-negotiable prohibitions on government actions" would be a more accurate description- depended upon the citizenship of the person. Rights were rights, and things that were prohibited to government were always prohibited no matter who the government might have been targeting.

That is one thing the founders got dead-on right. Even if those who have governed since then have managed to obscure the truth.

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Some people just don't get liberty

Like this guy.

So, I tried to educate him (or, at least, anyone who might read the article). This is my response:

If you don't understand why anyone other than a cop needs a gun in a city council meeting (or anywhere else), then you really don't understand why anyone, including a cop, ever needs a gun anywhere. It isn't even about "need". Those "ill-mannered and volatile" golfers you golf with (why associate with that type of people?) would be better behaved if everyone around them were armed. I've seen it in real life, more than once. Bad people straighten up when their boorish behavior could have consequences. Mayors included. Bad people will also NOT obey prohibitions on guns, so a gun ban only gives them free rein. Good people outnumber bad people, so any attempt to create a "gun-free zone" just levels the playing field to the benefit of the bad guys. It gives the predators among us an advantage. Why do this?

I think you have a complete misunderstanding of the First Amendment issues surrounding speaking to the city council while wearing a hat- it has nothing to do with "the assumption you can’t talk with a bare head". Words are only a part of the right of freedom of speech. The hat is also part of the expression of opinion. The mayor feels he and the other government employees deserve "respect" that is demonstrated by the removal of the hat. Leaving the hat on is making a political statement (the exact kind the 1st Amendment was written to protect) that government employees are the lowly servants, not the exalted masters. That right existed before the 1st Amendment was written, and will continue to exist no matter what "laws" are passed or enforced. Rulers and tyrants (even petty ones) might not like it, but truth remains truth.

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Monument to idiocy

Thursday, when I first saw these 12 pairs of shoes hanging from the power line at the park where my daughter and I went to feed the ducks and vermin, I thought "Idiots!"

I thought that some parents were probably very unhappy, if they even knew that the shoes had been lost.

That made me think about how many parents "give" things to their kids, yet still feel a sense of ownership over things that are not their own. If the kids own the shoes, even if the parents gave the shoes to them, then the shoes are not the parents' property. Neither are the kids.

Then I wondered if the shoes' owners had tossed them up there, or whether people had done that to other people's shoes as a "joke" or just to be nasty. If you own something, it is yours to use or destroy. If someone "lost" the shoes for someone else, even as a "joke", that is theft and destruction of property.

Then I got to thinking a little more.

If the shoes were thrown there by their owners, then the only real issue is that the owner of the power line has been violated. People have made a mess on someone else's property that will have to be cleaned up. They are not taking responsibility for their actions.

My thoughts had gone full circle back to "Idiots!"

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Liberty Lines 9-29-2011

(Originally published in the State Line Tribune, September 29,2011. No, I don't want a "government job", nor do I think having a county government is legitimate. I was trying to point out the ridiculousness of the situation in a way that the statists who might read the column would get.)

I see that Parmer County is being forced, by legislative fiat, to hire a new employee who is neither wanted nor needed. Governmental "wisdom" (cough-cough) handed down (or up) from Austin dictates that there must be a county auditor. Being the problem solving, libertarian individual I am, I have an obvious answer in the form of a two-step compromise (my first choice being the abolition of the county government).

Step 1- Appoint me Parmer County auditor, and then completely ignore me.

Step 2- Let the CPA firm who is currently doing the job continue to do so, and direct any and all official inquiries to them. Nothing would change.

I am willing to focus my energies on doing the best thing any government employee can ever do: absolutely nothing. At the only proper pay rate: zero. Being opposed to all taxation on principle, I would obviously refuse any pay or benefits. No salary, no office, no business cards or letterhead. Nothing. For once you would actually get your money's worth.

Perhaps in this way I would set an example for all government employees to follow. Who knows, it might even catch on while there is still a choice. Ignore my offer and you run the high risk of appointing someone with "a vision". Ambition to rule, thus to interfere in the lives of others, is one of the scariest traits any government employee can have. Isn't it time to try the alternative?

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Getting back on track and being "prickly"

There will always be obstacles. You just gotta bulldoze your way through them. And don't let yourself be the biggest obstacle in your life. Knowing and doing are two different things, though.

I hate the fact that I allow emotions get me down, as has been the case recently.

In my head I think that if I had either money or love I'd be able to weather times of stress better. Maybe that is just wishful thinking. The other little voice in my head says I should have the strength to weather rough times inside myself. The truth may lie somewhere in between.

I was a little taken aback by Aretae's comment "...what with you being a bit more prickly than me". I'm not complaining at all about that comment, so if you are reading this, Aretae, don't think I am. It made me think. Am I "prickly"?

I guess that depends. My writings are not the place for compromise. That comes in my real-life interactions with the people I am around. So, yes, in my blog I probably am "prickly". In real life I am much harder on myself than I am on anyone else. These are my principles, after all. I may choose to shun the worst tools of State that I am aware of, but I make a lot of allowances for people who are just trying to get through life the best they can, even when their path makes them do the wrong thing according to my understanding of right and wrong. In fact, I find that I am more forgiving than the statists I am around. If asked my opinion, I give it; no holds barred. But I don't go around screaming "Repent!" at those who don't ask for it. I even go along with a lot of the religious practices of my family, and keep my opinions to myself when they start saying religious things; even though it causes me pain and stress. Just to "be nice".

But I admit there are some things I refuse to do because I know in my head, and in my "heart", that they are wrong. I don't want to set a bad example for my kids or for anyone else who may be watching. I don't want to be forced to avert my eyes and mumble excuses about being pragmatic or "just following orders/doing my job" when caught doing the wrong thing. In the short term life might be easier if I waffled; in the long term... I guess we'll see. At least my conscience has never nagged me after I did the "libertarian thing".

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Don't read this

As I have mentioned before, I spent many years working in pet shops. Back when I got my first pet shop job I was pretty clueless about the governmental barriers to success that had been erected. I was already not a fan of government, but I just wasn't aware of how badly government had mangled the marketplace. That awareness came soon enough.

Over the years I saw more and more licenses "required" in order to keep the business open. I saw more and more things (and animals) criminalized. I saw more and more effective pet medications taken off the market due to governmental fears that they might be "abused". I saw more and more ridiculous hoops and rituals that were "required" in order to not be in violation of some "law" added every year.

There were "laws" regulating signs, fire extinguishers, parking, advertising, etc. That was above and beyond the "pet shop specific" stuff saying how you were required to house certain animals, what you could sell in the state and what you couldn't, and all that sort of thing. There were probably "laws" regarding keeping the animals fed and their quarters clean, but I never ran into any of that stuff. Although "health department" goons did come snooping a few times, but they never said anything.

And I knowingly and willingly violated many of those "laws" each and every day. I had to. To follow them all "to the letter" would have resulted in paralysis. Every working minute would have been wasted on some bureaucratic nonsense that had nothing to do with the welfare of the animals in my care or the customers who also depended upon me.

I lied on forms. I told customers that if they lied on the forms that were "required" when they bought certain animals (like those dangerous parakeets and iguanas!) that there would be no way for any enforcers to know. I even stared down bureaucrats who showed up to make sure I was following all their edicts and examine all the paperwork.

It got bad enough that I don't want to work in a pet store ever again. Not until The State dies.

Anytime I look into any other business venture I might enjoy, I run into more of the same. And that's the problem. There is nothing I can do to make money "legally" anymore that is worth the trouble. At least nothing I am comfortable/competent doing. I'm too tired to work to avoid the traps. I don't feel like being subjected to molestation in order to get a job. I don't feel like giving out some governmentally-mandated number (either my own or Elvis' orphaned number) in order to be hired. My family would not support my decision to do things "extra-legally" (even though I would not do anything dishonest or aggressive to get money).

The things I have done that I thought might make money have not worked out that well. Most ended up costing more than they brought in. I know that means I should keep trying and experimenting, but I am having a dry spell for ideas and a lack of any money to pursue anything anyway. I am also not getting any emotional support here at home, but instead am being drained of any positivity and ambition. The past performance of my attempts is used against me.

I hate to admit it, but right now I feel like giving up. I know you don't come here to read that. That's why posting has been sparse here and basically non-existent on Dispatches from Libertopia. I hope this passes soon.

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