Prohibitionists and other nasty diseases

You might suspect I hate prohibition. And you would be right.

Do I want to abuse all manner of drugs without the risk of being "legally" destroyed for doing so? Not exactly. Although, if I ever find myself in the position where a doctor is scared to prescribe me the pain relief I need due to "laws" which could end his career if he gives me what I need, you'd better believe I will want all the drugs I can get, "legally" or otherwise. And if I can get them, I will, with a perfectly clear conscience. Drug use is not wrong, even though drug abuse is often dumb.

However, prohibition isn't just about drugs. It is about some bully telling you what you are allowed (or forbidden) to do with your own life.

Prohibition is one of the most evil acts governments commit. And every act of government is evil at some level, so there is quite a competition for the bottom.

Guns are another popular target for prohibitionist pecksniffs. And again, it is people bullying you "for your own good"... and I hate that kind of person. No matter what they want to prohibit.

Governments- through those vile bullies- also enact prohibition against knives, self expression, information, sex, travel, and anything else they believe they can get away with. They are never right to do so, because prohibition is people control, nothing else. And as such, I despise it in all its forms.

(Steemit link)

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My subscriptions are down about $65 from a year ago. That may not sound like much, but when you live on the edge as I do, it's a lot. I desperately need to replace (or surpass) those subscriptions. 
A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Did you really come out "OK"?

(Previously posted to Patreon)

If you go through something and claim you came out OK, yet it causes you to support that which you went through being done to others, you may not be OK. You may be brainwashed.

I see this when the issue of "spanking" comes up. Libertarians who spank claim it doesn't violate the ZAP, when it can do nothing but. Whether it is one of those times when you "must" initiate force and then deal with the consequences, is another issue altogether- I won't open that jar of fruit flies right now.

I unwittingly performed a lifetime experiment in spanking. My first crop of kids were spanked. My current kid never has been. I see zero difference in the impact on encouraging good behavior, but a 100% improvement in how I feel about myself as a parent, and as a person. Yes, small sample size and zero objectivity.

I also see the same thing with regard to government schooling. People claim that they went through it and survived- and even got an education- so it must be fine to force everyone else to go through the same thing.

Well, I survived it too. And that is why I believe it needs to be abolished, burned to the ground, and bulldozed out of existence. Because "surviving" something is a sign it is probably not something to encourage more of. If you toss your kid off a cliff and she survives, is that a sign you should make tossing your kids off a cliff mandatory? What if you toss 100 kids and 99 of them survive? What if many of those who survive end up with lifelong disabilities due to the experience?

That people can go through government school and still support it only shows how good it is at brainwashing kids. It is a clear sign of the lifelong disability which results.

When you go through something like that and come out claiming you are OK, and not seeing that you claiming you are OK is evidence that you are not quite OK, I see something that needs to be abolished, not encouraged.

As in so many things, just because it was done to me- and I may have even done it to others, and I would prefer to not think of myself as a bad person- doesn't mean I am unable to see the harm in it, and doesn't mean I think it should be done to everyone.

Even if you survived it, don't inflict it on others "just because".

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My subscriptions are down about $65 from a year ago. That may not sound like much, but when you live on the edge as I do, it's a lot. I desperately need to replace (or surpass) those subscriptions. 
A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Too many cops committing too many wrongs

If the cops in your town are claiming that your town needs another cop because the current cops are too busy with drug cases to do anything else, it's a sign your town cops are wasting their time doing what they shouldn't be doing. Things they are completely in the wrong for doing.

That is the excuse the local Chief Wiggum has used to inflict another tax junkie on my neighbors and me. And, yes, obviously the corrupt and cowardly city council gave in to his demands. Spineless jerkwads.

Look, I don't want cops at all. Ever. Anywhere. Period. But, if there are to be cops, they certainly should only be acting to protect rights and property. And this isn't it.

The War on Politically Incorrect Drugs is only about finding new and creative ways to violate rights and property. That's what bad guys do. If cops do that, by enforcing anti-drug "laws", they ARE the bad guys. Much worse than those they are committing their acts of enforcement against.

I don't need cops, and neither do you.

(Steemit link)

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My subscriptions are down about $65 from a year ago. That may not sound like much, but when you live on the edge as I do, it's a lot. I desperately need to replace (or surpass) those subscriptions. 
A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Weekly CNJ column

It is in the paper, with the headline "Prohibition dangerous as addiction", but they haven't put it online yet.
And may not.
If they do, I'll link it here and in its own post.
If not, you can read it in a month (unless you have a subscription to the paper, then you can still read it now).

UPDATE: It's up.

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My subscriptions are down about $65 from a year ago. That may not sound like much, but when you live on the edge as I do, it's a lot. I desperately need to replace those subscriptions. 
A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Liberty Lines- Sept. 8, 2016

(Published in the Farwell, TX/Texico, NM State Line Tribune)

Drug abuse is dumb. I understand why people want programs and strategies they believe would lower the risk of someone abusing drugs. However, very often the things they grasp at are counterproductive and actually increase the risk. They are feel-good, knee-jerk reactions based on ideology, not grounded in reality.

Study after study indicates that one of the biggest risk factors involved in drug abuse and addiction is a lack of quality social connections.

One of the primary justifications for the athletic programs in government schools is that it creates camaraderie between the kids; the very type of social connection which would decrease the likelihood of drug abuse becoming a problem. If this is the case, shouldn't you be encouraging at-risk kids to get involved, rather than erecting barriers which will scare them away before they even give it a try? Programs which will end up causing greater isolation?

I understand when people pursue a chosen path in order to stay true to their ideology, but when that ideology is standing firm against science, reason, ethics, and morality they should reconsider their stance.

When a mistake has been made, publicly, it takes a big person to admit it and change course, rather than batten down the hatches and proceed onto the reef as stubborn people generally do. Correcting a mistake is the right thing to do. It takes bravery. It may cause embarrassment. But it needs to be done. Now.

The Farwell Independent Schools' "random drug testing program" is just such a mistake, and needs to be abandoned before it creates more of what the school administration and community say they want to prevent. If the school goes through with it anyway, you will then know where they stand, and why.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Archators: "pillars of the community"

It's disheartening.

People who work for government harm people while being paid with money stolen from those they harm.

Yet they are considered "pillars of the community" and given respect.

My disgust and disappointment at this state of affairs isn't going to change anything, even if I don't participate in the charade.

What I can do is treat all people as people, based not on their "job" or position, but on how they treat others. Until someone isn't nice to me, I will be nice to them. I will give them the benefit of a doubt, as a person, even if their "job" is evil and disgusting. If someone is a jerk, their "job" doesn't change how I see them.

If they live on theft and by aggression, I'm not going to excuse them because of the position they hold. Archators are archators. I will expect better of everyone.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

All politics, laws lead to slavery

(My Clovis News Journal column for August 5, 2016)

Political slavery hidden in plain sight (my chosen headline)

All politics comes down to slavery; mainstream politics being pro-slavery, regardless of any denials.

The "Right" and the "Left" may quibble over details, and whether you are owned by "society" or "the State" (usually conflating the two), but they never question that you are owned.

Under politics, you-- life, body, labor, and property-- can be used against your will, and most believe you should accept your lot.

You can be prevented from ingesting what you choose. This drives prohibition-- The War on Politically Incorrect Drugs and anti-alcohol laws-- as well as laws against large soft drinks, raw milk, and experimental medicines.

Your labor can be taken against your will. One form of coerced physical labor is conscription: "the draft". We may soon see it again; this time to include young women.

You can be forced into labor to maintain your property as the local rulers demand. Do you prefer wildflowers or a garden to a mowed lawn? Too bad. Your property isn't yours; you must work to maintain your property as government specifies. Another part of your life taken against your will.

Your property can be stolen outright, as with "taxation" or eminent domain, or some of your property's value can be destroyed by preventing you from using it as you see fit. Since you spent part of your life acquiring that property, taking any of its value from you is the same as stealing some of your life. It's time you can't get back.

Believe you own your house or land free and clear? Try not paying the annual "property tax" ransom on it and see what happens. You are forced to keep working for someone else, giving them some of your property, or government steals it all.

You can also be punished for using your body in ways the state doesn't approve, such as with prostitution or gambling. Laws similarly prevent you from contracting with a potential employer outside the bounds of what the State allows, as with "minimum wage laws".

If you'll notice, all the above are interconnected- they are all the same: slavery.

I am an abolitionist; I don't want you to be a slave. I oppose slavery in all forms- even the types you might say aren't too bad, or believe necessary. I hope you realize you own yourself and can decide where your life, labor, and property go, even if you choose servitude. Please don't let any person or group of people enslave you.

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If you get any value from my labors, consider rewarding me with your financial support. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me stay online. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Wake up while it's still a choice

Years ago I had a really good friend I could discuss anything with. On almost every subject we were either in complete agreement, or close to it.

But, one day he got drunk and called me up, tearing into me over my opinion of cops.

I don't even know why the subject crossed his mind at that moment, because we never really discussed cops. It was more or less an untouched topic, and for it to suddenly cause anger in him confused me. I don't really remember how I responded to him at the time, though. Probably like I would respond to any angry drunk spouting nonsense.

Well, fast forward about a week or so, and he calls me again. This time telling me that he always thought I was crazy for what I thought about cops and other government, but he now realized I was right.

The difference was that the evening before, cops had shown up at his door and treated him like a criminal; threatening him and tossing accusations. It was a wake-up call for him.

Why is it that so few people can see reality before it bites them in the butt? Why do they have to be violated before recognizing that others are being violated? It's something I have a hard time understanding.

I never want to be one of those people who ignores evil until it directly affects them or those they love. I don't have to be murdered to understand that murder is evil.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Working for government

It isn't right to work for government. Not at any level.

You probably don't want to admit that if you work for government and like your paycheck, but it doesn't change reality.

A job that comes with a government paycheck- financed with money stolen from others (or counterfeited by the Federal Reserve, as the case may be)- is NOT an honest job. No matter how good it makes you feel. No matter if you believe you are doing a good thing. You aren't.

A government paycheck is welfare, but of a type that is much more harmful than simply getting money for nothing- a government paycheck is welfare given as a reward for harming people. It doesn't matter that the recipient claims they "worked for it".

I feel sorry for those who go into denial over this and try to make excuses or point fingers elsewhere.

Why would I say that it isn't right to have a government job, knowing it will hurt feelings of people I know personally and care about? Because I do care about them and don't want to see them compromising themselves. I don't really care if strangers I don't like choose archation over cooperation. People I don't like probably suck anyway, so what else would I expect from them? But people I care about? I don't want them lowering themselves to that level. As tempting as it may be, and as rewarding as the paycheck is, it isn't right and they need to know.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Random thoughts

Here is a selection of "status updates" I have posted on Facebook recently. This is what happens to the random thoughts that form inside my head. Some turn into blog posts, but most just fade away.

Enjoy.

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An election is the act of choosing a new paint job for the tank which is plowing through your house and crushing your children.

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I dislike old wives tales, and consider them ignorant and harmful.

Such as that cats will smother babies, that you shouldn't swim for an hour after eating, or that government can be good.

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If America really were the "home of the brave", then it would still be the "land of the free". In fact, not in myth.

"The brave" would never have allowed politicians with their laws and their cops to get America in the stranglehold it is in. They would have shot them long, long ago, and stood up against them then and now.

Pseudo-bravery fought for the state. With the state. And supports the state and all its trappings. Pseudo-bravery is cowardice.

Real bravery withdraws consent and lets the state collapse without support. In spite of what others say about it, or threaten to do to you.

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Among a population which believes in "authority", box cutters become weapons of mass destruction.

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Some behaviors are wrong. Such as violating someone's life, liberty, or property.

If you engage in these behaviors you have done wrong. If these behaviors are a daily part of your life, you are a bad guy. If engaging in these behaviors is a condition of you keeping a particular job, the job is evil and you are a bad guy for holding that "job". Period. There is no wiggle room there.

Pointing this out isn't "collectivist", or a refusal to understand why it is done. It isn't extremism to notice and call attention to this fact. It isn't "throwing out the baby with the bath water".

You may not like it. You may block me for calling you out on your inconsistency and hypocrisy. But it doesn't change reality just because you don't like it.

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The "State of Texas" decided to certify a 15 year-old murder suspect as an adult.

If he can be "certified as an adult" in order to give the state what it wants, why can't others be certified as an adult when it comes to sex, or alcohol, or whatever it is the state doesn't want them to have access to?

And, since he's been certified as an adult, can he now do all the "adult things" with official approval, or is this a case of where it comes with only the penalties and none of the benefits? We both know the answer to that one.

Government is so bizarre.

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If it isn't possible to remain ethical/good and defeat evil, then good is a losing position and will be wiped out regardless.
Because once you stop being ethical/good, good has lost anyway.

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There is reality, and there is the opposite.

Those who rely on the opposite of reality want to make you feel bad about choosing reality.
They'll try to say things to make you doubt that reality exists.

Or they'll try to insist that their "reality" is just as valid as any other.

If all else fails they'll say "We'll just have to agree to disagree". That's the sign that they are simply not going to entertain reality- it offends them.

Reality doesn't care that some people choose to be offended by its existence. It just is.

Strangely, rejection of reality seems to not be as fatal as you might expect. I guess that's a lucky break for most humans, and a sort of tragedy for the rest.

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Most drug abuse is simply dumb. Not evil, just dumb.

But there is one kind of drug abuse that is evil. Using the fact that drug abuse happens as an excuse to violate people to "prevent" that abuse is an abuse of drugs.

Prohibitionists are the most vile drug abusers possible. They are the truly evil drug abusers.

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Whenever I see someone complaining that a situation was made worse by "government's failure to act", I know the reality is somewhat different.

The situation may have been made worse by individuals foolishly waiting for government to act, rather than taking it upon themselves to do what they know needs to be done.

The only way government can actually make a situation worse is by doing something- often by preventing others from doing the right thing. If you believe otherwise, you may have mind problems.

Maybe government should do exploratory surgery inside your head to fix it. After all, you wouldn't want government to fail to act, would you?

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I am so disappointed in the people of this town.

I opened our little weekly paper and was so upset at what was inside I couldn't even keep reading.

First of all, the town thieves are hiring a third badge scum. That's the last thing any town needs. More cops means they will "find" more "crime"- they'll have to justify the stolen money they receive, after all.

Then I read that the school superintendent is implementing a random sexual molestation program at the school. They are calling it "random drug testing", but it relies on urinalysis, and if they watch the kids pee, they are molesting them- and if they don't, the kids will beat the test.

Why are these evil idiots not being run out of town on a rail, after being tarred and feathered? I know- because the people of the town support archation.

It makes me physically sick that people can be so dangerously ignorant.

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So this election season, the "Libertarian" Party nominated a Republican archator and a Democrat archator, while the Republican Party nominated a Democrat archator, and the Democratic Party nominated a Neocon archator.

Notice a theme there?

Why on earth would you v*te?

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What is the opposite on an anarchist?

It's not a statist, or even an authoritarian.

Nope, It's an archator.

Archators include statists, authoritarians, muggers, rapists, kidnappers, nice government employees, nasty government employees, cops, DemoCRAPublicans, malicious trespassers, borderists, copsuckers, flag wavers, slavers, banksters, the mafia, street gangs, nationalists, and anyone else who archates.

Be decent. Don't archate.

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Hey, Chief Wiggum.

I don't find it comforting or helpful that you drive around the school looking for victims to rob. Your presence is a distraction to the drivers and you make the kids less safe while you seek victims.

Go away.

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Nationalism is incompatible with reason, ethics, decency, and sense. It turns people into vile, murder-lusting robots.

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Learning should be FUN!!
Government schooling turns it into a chore.
When you make something unpleasant, you will get less of it.
Government schools cause ignorance, and create a life-long aversion to learning in most people.

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Is it "apathy" to refuse to beg politicians to not violate you?
Sure doesn't seem that way to me, but people who want you to "take political action" frame it that way.

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See what you miss out on if you aren't "friends" with me on Facebook?

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

10 years of blogging

As of today, it's been 10 years since I began this blog. I can hardly believe it. I never dreamed I would have enough to say to keep a blog going for even a week. And yet, here we are.

So much has happened since then. Some good, some horribly bad. As I type these words I am only about 7 blocks from where I sat when I made the very first post- even though I didn't actually live anywhere near here at the time.

In spite of what some people want to believe, I have changed many of my views and opinions in that time, and you can see some of those changes if you read the early embarrassing posts. After all, the only reason I began to blog was because I was running for president, and another Libertarian Party presidential hopeful signed me up for the blog and sent me the link and password and "challenged" me to blog. I thought at the time it was an odd challenge, and probably pointless. But, it wouldn't cost anything other than a little time. Right?

That was a strange experience. I had begun my campaign, but never claimed to be running as a Libertarian Party candidate and didn't really expect anyone to notice me, but someone from the LP found me and ... well, it was quite a ride while it lasted.

I believe the blog was the best thing to come from that experience. So, thank you for that, Gene Chapman. Although, I also found some really great people as a result, too.

I don't know what the next 10 years will bring. I should probably be grateful for that. I remain hopeful.

I hope you'll stick around and see where this goes. Even though 10 years is a nice round number, I don't plan to quit just yet.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

The appeal of statism

(Previously posted to Patreon-
Please consider subscribing. You can subscribe for 1 penny per month. Seriously. Is it not worth 1 cent per month to read the Patreon posts?)

Don't ever imagine that I don't understand the appeal of statism.

Statism can be warm, comfy, and cozy. Snug like a baby's blanket. You don't need to worry about what to do. Just do as you're told. No responsibilities. No doubts. You don't need to think for yourself. Just let the nice man take care of you. Reality is what you are told it is. Just believe.

All that is required of you is that you ignore the archation- the initiation of force and the violation of property rights- which is the defining characteristic of statism.

In a way statism is like a good drug. Just go with the flow, and enjoy the feeling, without fear.

It covers every situation so you don't need to bother yourself with thought.

It's funny because one complaint I have often heard about libertarianism is that it claims to cover every situation. That it leaves no space for nuance. That it takes away your need to consider every situation separately, to see if it fits.

Well, do you really need to agonize whether you should stick your tongue in a light socket every time you see one? Or might you have already worked out for yourself that it's not a good idea?

You probably also expect that if you release a brick over your foot, it will fall. It may hit your foot, and if it does, it will probably hurt. Do you really need to start from scratch each time you are holding a brick, wondering if it would fall this time?

Guess what- you have no right to archate. You either figured it out on your own or were told that by a libertarian at some point or you wouldn't be here reading these words, but if someone told you, I hope you didn't simply accept it at face value. I hope you instead examined why it is true.

Once you figure out why it is true, and why it remains true, you don't need to stress over it every time the issue raises its head. Once you figure it out for yourself, you see there is no need to worry yourself silly every time you find yourself in a situation where you have the opportunity to initiate force or violate property. You have no right to do so. Not ever. But you can choose to do things you have no right to do if you think you must; and then pay the price. And, it always comes at a price.

So, I guess statism is easy, and the opposite is hard. Abolition / Voluntaryism / Abolition / Libertarianism requires you to think. To have principles. To live by those principles. And to accept responsibility. It's no wonder statism is more popular.

It's still wrong, though.

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

People, good and bad

Just like good people can do bad things, bad people can do good things. Even really bad guys can sometimes do the right thing.

Doing one bad thing won't necessarily make a good person bad, not if it can be rectified and doesn't become a pattern, nor will doing one good thing make a bad person good.

However, if you keep doing bad things you will stop being a good person pretty fast- much faster than a bad person who keeps doing good things will become a good person.

Bad can contain more good before it becomes good, than good can contain bad.

It's that whole "In any compromise between food and poison, death always wins" thing.

So, if you want to be a good person, it is pretty important to avoid doing bad things, because it's a lot harder to regain your good than to lose it.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to supporters of this blog. I probably couldn't keep doing this without you.

Fairness isn't a real thing

Whenever I hear someone complaining that this or that "isn't fair" I have a really hard time not rolling my eyes.

Of course things aren't fair. They are just now getting a clue?

Sometimes I tell them the same thing I have told my 9 year-old daughter: "Fair" isn't a real thing. Don't expect it.

It's funny how rarely I hear that particular complaint from my daughter, even with other kids whining about it constantly all around her. She tends to focus on real things, things I might actually be able to help her solve, rather than worrying that the world isn't fair.

But, that the Universe isn't fair is no excuse for me to not try to make people believe it is when they are dealing with me. The Universe isn't fair, and doesn't care, or love, or try to help. That is MY job.

As Dilbert's Scott Adams has pointed out, "Fair" is just a concept invented so children and idiots could participate in discussions. And boy, do they rely on it!

If fair were a feature of reality-- of the Universe-- I would be making a lot more money based on how much work I do. Both with my writing and with the things I do for other people, unpaid. But it isn't, and I don't. I'm not going to stop because of this lack of fairness.

If I could figure out how to consistently turn effort and output into money, I would share the secret with everyone so it would no longer be a secret. It would only be "fair".

There are a lot of other people in the same or worse situations. Some fighting "unfairness" beyond anything I can comprehend. I'm glad I'm not in their shoes; aware I could find myself there without warning.

So, no, the world isn't fair. But you can fake it, and for one bright and shining moment, make someone believe it might sometimes be. That is within your power.

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Free market works despite laws

(My Clovis News Journal column for July 29, 2016)

Most people do the right thing (my chosen headline)

I try to assume everyone is generally decent until they prove otherwise. If they weren't, society would be impossible; government or no government. Good people don't need to be governed, bad people can't be, and smart bad people become government.

Look for problems, and you'll find them. If you treat people as you want to be treated, most will meet you halfway.

My dad and I recently set up his motor home in a small, privately owned RV park. While we were eating lunch about 20 miles away, one of the park owners was fiddling with the water spigot and negligently turned on the water to the motor home's "black water" flush-out hose. "Black water" is the RV euphemism for sewage.

As we were heading back, we got a call saying water was running out of the motor home. Why they didn't turn off the water as soon as they noticed is a mystery. When we got back to the park, it was worse than we feared. Water was flowing out of the RV anywhere it could escape. The "black water" tank had filled, breaking the toilet valve, and was overflowing into the motor home, and beyond.

Inside the RV was a horror show, particularly for my mom's cat who had stowed away and was awaiting a ride home.

We cleaned up the mess the best we could, readied the motor home for travel, and brought it back for cleaning and repair.

The RV park owners gracefully offered to pay for damages and cleaning.

Now, you can say this isn't how things always work out, and you would be right. Some people would say "not my problem". But, would you patronize their business ever again? Would your word-of-mouth advertising send them new customers? How long would they stay in business?

In a free society this would be the norm, rather than the exception. In fact, I believe it already is-- outside of government-- since people who depend on you making the choice to voluntarily spend your money with them want to keep you happy.

Only those you are forced to pay-- government bureaucracies-- can completely ignore your satisfaction. What do they care? If you refuse to pay for their services, they will send armed bullies to either get your money or kill you.

On the other hand, the free market works, even when crippled by having to work around government's made up laws. I'm happy to give it a chance.

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If you get any value from my labors, consider rewarding me with your financial support. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me stay online. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always stepping up. .

Prohibition is drug abuse

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Churches contaminated by cops

I get it that bad guys are welcomed in churches, supposedly so they can be convinced to repent- which means, don't continue to do the bad thing anymore. People in churches usually want to give bad guys a chance to stop being bad guys, and I can respect that.

But what if the bad guys don't even admit they are doing anything wrong?

Would your church allow an unrepentant murderer to attend without calling him out on it? Without demanding he turn from his ways and atone? Probably even insisting that he accept the painful and unpleasant consequences for his actions?

Would a church just let a rapist who admits he has non-voluntary sex with people on a daily basis, but who denies he's doing anything wrong by doing so (perhaps rejecting the label of "rape" for his actions), keep sitting among the members? Sunday after Sunday, without calling him aside about what he continues to do?

If your church allows cops to attend, without insisting they turn from their ways and stop being a cop, it is doing the exact same thing. If they attend church in uniform, it's even worse. In this case they are celebrating and advertising what they do. Probably even being prideful about it. And delusional church members may even believe they are doing a good thing!

But there are no good cops, and good people can't support cops without compromising away their good. It doesn't change matters if you are sitting in a pew, or standing behind a pulpit. If you condone what cops do, you have no moral high ground from which to speak to anyone about moral matters. You are an empty shell.

If I attended church I couldn't continue to attend one that didn't ask cops who showed up for services to turn from their ways. Relentlessly, until they change "jobs" or stop attending. My dislike for hypocrisy and inconsistency just wouldn't let me stay.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

I'm nice, but I won't lie to you

People who know me consider me a nice guy, so it shocks them when I refuse to lie and say cops are OK people. (And actually, the same goes for all politicians and bureaucrats- they are not OK. Not ever!) I will always admit that cops are bad guys.

"Polite society" just doesn't do that!

Since I am nice, people expect me to excuse cops, or go with the hilariously absurd "few bad apples" narrative. I won't do it.

I may say nothing if I don't have time to get into an argument, or if I don't believe you will be swayed. Never mistake my silence as agreement, though.

I am nice, but more than that, I am too good a person to lie to spare your feelings.

Your friendly uncle who is a cop is a bad guy. A scum. An archator. You need to accept reality, but if you choose not to, I won't lie to help you avoid the truth. That wouldn't be good of me- or nice, either.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Pirates and cops- but I repeat myself

I like pirates. Not the real pirates who archate, but fictional pirates who are often noble scoundrels and outlaws, but who don't really do much evil (and do none in the real world, because they are fictional). And I love their weapons and how they dress.

I recognize the difference between the fictional pirates I love and the real ones, who are all scum.

Too bad people who admire cops (one type of real-life pirates) can't do the same. They like- often to the point of worship- actual bad guys. You just shouldn't do that.

I have liked some fictional cops. Just like with pirates, I realize fiction isn't reality.

I won't call for your murder if you defend yourself with deadly force from a real-life pirate, whether he's a cop or not.

Cop lovers are delusional.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Magic words

Magic words. So many people place hope in them. If they find the "right" definition, it will banish the bullies of the State, or otherwise protect them. Or so they believe.

Here's a free clue: the bullies of the State don't give a crap about your definitions- even if they are correct. They don't give a crap about mine, either.

They are going to do what they are going to do. No recitation of magical words will make them change their minds or their behavior.

But... what definitions can do is change the way YOU think about things. In a big way. They can make you see reality in a different light. That is where they are useful and helpful, not in court or when facing Blue Line Gang scum.

Maybe- just maybe- used correctly, definitions can change someone else's mind, too.

(Steemit link)

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Lying to Government

I was raised to always tell the truth, although I have often fallen short of that goal. I don't even like lying to save someone's feelings from being hurt. My second wife used to ridicule me for not lying "enough".

So this may seem uncharacteristic.

I think it is often more moral and ethical to lie to government agents and bureaucrats than it is to be truthful with them. It may be dangerous to do the right thing, though.

If you had lived in Nazi Germany, would you have lied to protect hidden Jews? It was illegal and dangerous to do so. But it was the right thing to do.

Would you feel guilty if you got mugged and hid the fact that you have $20 in your shoe? Are you obligated to reveal it to the mugger so he can take it? Only a fool would say "yes". 

In a consensual relationship, I can see the point of being totally open with the other party (although even that may not be best, and may damage any relationship).

No one is obligated to be truthful in a coercive "relationship" such as between you and The State or a freelance mugger. 

It's a small matter of degree between protecting innocent people from freelance bullies, and lying to an IRS agent about your neighbor's off-the-books home business. It may well be a matter of survival to your neighbor.

One of the most important times to lie to government is when you have a chance to be selected for a jury. This is one of your few opportunities to save someone from government in a concrete way.

Tyranny fighter Julian Heicklen reminds us:

Judge will tell jurors they must uphold the law as he gives it.
If you are a dishonorable person, you will agree.
If you are an honest person you will decline and be removed as a juror.
If you are an honorable person, you will agree and then ignore the oath.

It can not be wrong to lie to keep someone from being violated by someone else. Not ever.

(Steemit link)

(Updated from a really old post)

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Archate

Archate (ark-ate)

verb

to initiate force; to use violence against someone who isn't being violent; to start the fight; to throw the first punch; to attack without a credible imminent threat of being attacked;
also, to violate the private property of another, to steal, rob, "tax"; to malevolently trespass; to force others to use their property in a particular way, or to prevent them from using their property as they wish, even though it would violate no other person or property; to bully or govern.

From "arch(ós)" leader, king, ruler , and "-ate", the exercise of such a function

Forms- Archate, archation, archator: one who archates.

This is the meaning of "tread on", as in "Don't tread on me" (or anyone!).

I am an anarchist. I do not archate, nor do I support those who do.

"No human being has the right, under ANY circumstances, to archate, nor to advocate or delegate archation."

Of course, since the Zero Aggression Principle (linked above) isn't a "thou shalt not" to be applied to others, but is instead a promise from me to you, letting you know what to expect in dealings with me, you are free to archate, but you are stepping outside what you have a right to do if you choose to do so, and in that case anyone has the right to defend themselves from you. No job or position can give you the right to archate, because such a right doesn't exist and therefore can not be delegated to anyone.

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Manipulated into v*ting

I don't need a president. I don't support Trump or Clinton (or Johnson, or even Vermin Supreme). I won't v*te. I have no pony in the show, but...

It is obvious to me how badly the mainstream mass media wants Hillary to win. So they do everything they can to paint Trump as UltraHitler, and to fool The People into v*ting for Hillary Clinton. It's so obvious it should be embarrassing to them.

Hillary's shortcomings, health problems, and crimes are ignored or glossed over. Everything Trump does is snatched up, latched onto, and twisted into the worst possible interpretation and then harped on endlessly. The mainstream mass media is absolutely desperate for Hillary to be president. Desperate!

If I were a v*ter, I'd v*te for anyone other than Hillary for that reason alone. I hate feeling manipulated. But, if I change my behavior just because the mass media wants me to do one thing, and I do the opposite, I have still been manipulated. Every v*ter has been manipulated in one way or the other. It's unavoidable.

The best option is still to refuse to v*te. Why keep playing a rigged game against liars? You really don't have to, you know.

(Steemit link)

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Free market helps economy grow

(My Clovis News Journal column for July 22, 2016)

Liberty gives prosperity a chance (my choice for the headline)

How's the economy treating you?

Unless you have a job where people are forced to pay for your services whether they want them or not, things could probably be better.

You may have many ideas which could bring in money by offering products and services to people. You just need the chance.

The main limiting factor is often the roadblocks to economic growth erected by government. Things like permits, licenses, taxes, and all the other laws and regulations which seem to exist for no reason but to destroy the economy, one entrepreneur at a time.

The most effective lie used to justify those economy destroyers is that without them you'd harm your customers. But, in a free market, how long would your business-- or you-- last if you were known to be harming your customers?

Consider what most people imagine as a worst case outcome of a free market.

Yes, in a truly free society you'd be able to set up shop selling heroin. Without a license, to anyone, with no government to watch over your shoulder. Does that scare you? It shouldn't. That's how it has always been, except for the past century or so. The drug abuse problem has never been worse than under prohibition, plus prohibition breeds violent crime.

A free market heroin seller would be personally responsible if he sold a contaminated product, sold to someone who didn't understand the dangers, or cheated customers. There would be no corporation to hide behind. It would be in his best interest to sell responsibly, and to make sure his customers understood the dangers. Yes, some people would still abuse his product, and some would die. Prohibition never prevents this, either. But there would be no crime associated with his business.

If a customer wrecked his life with addiction, he couldn't end up on welfare (including a prison stay) financed by robbing his neighbors through taxation. If he needed financial help, he (along with any family who stayed around) could appeal to the charitable nature of others. If he is known as a bad or untrustworthy person, he'd have a hard time finding someone willing to help. Just as it should be.

You probably have better ideas of what you'd do in the absence of the State. The same rules of the market would apply to your venture, as well.

Liberty doesn't result from prosperity; liberty gives birth to prosperity. It's time to bring liberty-- and prosperity-- back to America.

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Doomsaying is fun!

I'm not sure why it crossed my mind today, but I found myself feeling nostalgic for "The Y2K bug".

I never believed Y2K would cause any real problem, but I enjoyed pretending it might, and imagining what I should do just in case.

The funny thing is, I didn't actually do anything different than things I always did anyway. But it was fun. All my life I have done various things to make sure I am ready for TEOTWAWKI/TSHTF scenarios. That was just another- and an experience I could share with other people for a change.

I enjoyed comparing notes with others to see what they were ready for- or felt they weren't yet ready for. And allaying the fears of those who actually believed something would come of it. Those were the days before I joined the online world, so all my discussions about it were were face-to-face.

Then, when midnight rolled around for New Year's 2000, I was sitting beside a campfire, dressed in buckskin clothes, with a rifle beside me and a pistol on my belt- in other words, pretty much how I spent all my time back then, anyway. I wasn't even watching a clock- although I knew from the distant sound of shots or fireworks when the time had come.

I hate to say it, but I would like another Y2K-type "crisis" to come along. Nothing since then- not the religious "End Times" predictions, or asteroid scares- has quite measured up.

(Steemit link)

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Division of labor

Division of labor is a good thing. I want to know how to do everything, but that's just not realistic. There are things that are complicated enough that it is really good there are experts available for me to hire.

Youtube has helped me do things I would have never attempted before. It's one thing to read about doing something, but quite another to watch someone demonstrating how to do it. I've encountered that reality in many areas of life.

By learning to do things for myself, I have saved a lot of money, and I have helped other people save money, too. And that's a great feeling. I do feel a little bad that by doing things myself I am keeping money out of the hands of someone who has become an expert and depends on being hired to do a job. But often, I don't have the money to hire them anyway, so it's either do it myself or do without.

The plus side for the professionals is that sometimes my attempt at handling it myself ends up screwing things up worse to the point I have to spend even more money to have them undo what I've done. 

And there are some things I just don't want to do, or don't believe I can do right that I will hire professionals to do. Sometimes it's almost as much so they can bring the right tools to the job as anything else.

I can't afford to buy every tool I need for some jobs. I realize you can borrow tools at many "public" libraries, or rent them (although the local rental place went out of business), but a lot of times I don't know I'll need a tool until I'm halfway into the job, and by then it's too late to try to track down what I need.

So, yes, I am a big fan of the division of labor.

Even if I believe division of labor is a good thing, there are some jobs I won't hire anyone to do, including "jobs" I don't think should be done at all.

"Jobs" like law enforcing, lawmaking, and otherwise governing. "Jobs" like enforcing a "national border", being in the military, or keeping people in prison and killing some of them in a premeditated manner, To force me to hire people to do a job I either prefer to do myself or don't want done at all is wrong. It is a violation of my life, liberty, and property. It is something I would never think of doing to any other person, and I am disgusted by those who advocate doing it to me.

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

What crimes would Jesus commit?

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.

I won't be adding this plea to the posts after today. 

If you want to upvote me on Steemit, follow me there.

Thank you.)

A lot of them.

Have you ever considered the crimes of Jesus? Just off the top of my head I can think of several: Practicing medicine without a license. Moonshining (turning water into wine, rather than corn into whiskey). Interfering with officers of the law. Vagrancy. I don't think he ever applied for a permit for the large public gatherings- or parades- which formed around him.

If I thought about it a bit longer, I'm sure I could think of many more of his "crimes".

With a list like that, how long do you think he would make it in Police State USA? Not 3 years, I'll bet. It's no wonder he didn't show up today, but 2000 years ago when the State was just beginning to be the problem. It would be a very different story today- all centered on his prison cell, I would imagine.

Not only that, but he didn't support "borders". He never supported v*ting to choose a master. He never advocated a new "law", or enforcing existing "laws" against individuals, or carrying out a death penalty. He never suggested that just because something was immoral, it should also be illegal. He didn't ask his disciples if they had a permit before telling them to get and carry a sword.

He was completely opposite his modern fan club in almost every respect.

I'm not making the claim that he was an anarchist or libertarian, like I have seen so many others make. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Certainly he was much more anarchist and libertarian than his supporters today are.

It should be very embarrassing to Christians that I, an atheist, am much more Christ-like than most of them (there are exceptions, of course). Every Christian in my real-world life is a big supporter of the US police state, "laws" against almost everything, and never-ending wars around the globe. I know some who are right now desperately trying to find a way to use the violence of the State to drive away some people who are not harming them in the slightest, but whom they suspect "might" be undocumented "immigrants" from Mexico. How Christlike is that? Not even a smidgen. They should be embarrassed to the point of tears- but I'm the one who keeps trying to point out their error... and being ignored.

Supporting counterfeit "laws" is wrong. It is not even slightly "Christian".

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Worst, except for all the other ways?

(Previously posted to Patreon)

"Slavery is the worst way to get the cotton picked, except for all the others." ~ Average Nice Guy 1850s

Just because you can't imagine something better is no excuse to keep doing the wrong thing. If your method violates life, liberty, or property, it is wrong. You shouldn't do it even if you think it's the best possible way. The "lesser of two evils". Not getting the cotton picked would have been economically disastrous. Having slaves pick it was still evil.

 Picking cotton by hand was hard labor. My grandmother did it when she was young, and I remember her descriptions of how it hurt to be stooped over, dragging a heavy bag slowly through the field for hours and hours. And the raw, bleeding fingers which resulted. Yet, she and her sisters did it. More or less voluntarily. It would have been evil of them to force others to do the work for them even if it would have meant their own starvation and my non-existence (imagine how happy that thought would make some people!).

 After slavery was (sort of) abolished, cotton still got picked. Better ways were invented, even if people in some places, such as my grandmother's family on the Llano Estacado of the Texas panhandle, couldn't afford technology, and lived as people had lived over a hundred years before.

 Sometimes you have to first stop committing evil before there's incentive for average "nice people" to go ahead and consider better options.

 "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."~ Winston S. Churchill

 And so it is with poor old Winnie's delusion.

 There are better ways to govern. None of them involve mob rule or forming a State. One particularly better way involves the Covenant of Unanimous Consent. It doesn't matter if you like democracy, or can't imagine forcing people to do what you want without it. Maybe your mindset is backward. Democracy is wrong, in part because governing others is wrong, no matter how you go about it. And, in spite of Churchill's assertion, there is at least one much better way. Try it.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Instead of doing wrong, just don't

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

You don't need an alternative to doing the wrong thing. Just don't do the wrong thing.

Just because you aren't sure what to do instead of doing the wrong thing is no excuse to keep doing the wrong thing.

It doesn't matter if you don't know what to do instead of "taxing" people. "Taxation" is theft. It is wrong. Don't do it any more for any reason.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand who will stop bad guys from preying on the innocent if you don't have police. Having police- financed by theft, enforcing "laws" which are mostly evil, and who are almost entirely unaccountable- is wrong. Period. You have to stop, no matter what you fear might happen without them.

It doesn't matter if you don't know how children will get educated without "public" schools. It is wrong to finance schools with theft. It is wrong to hold homes and property hostage to pay for schools and teachers. It is wrong to keep kids prisoners with "compulsory attendance laws", and to subject them to sexual molestation in the name of "random drug tests". It is wrong. It is wrong to put a criminal organization in the position where it can brainwash kids into believing it isn't a criminal organization, but is synonymous with society. Just don't do it, because it is wrong.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand where roads, justice, protection, safety, libraries, parks, etc. will come from if you don't allow a State- a "government"- to provide them by robbing and attacking your neighbors. Providing them through a State- in other words through theft and aggression- is wrong.

To stop doing wrong is more important than having an alternative fully worked out before you stop doing wrong. Stop doing wrong first, and allow people the freedom to solve the problems voluntarily.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

What is "being a cop" all about?

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

Ask a cop, or someone who supports cops, what being a cop is all about, and you may get something along the lines of "cops protect and serve the people, being the thin blue line of protection between the citizen and the guys who want to harm them".

That sounds good. I've heard them parrot some version of this all my life. It's happy "Officer Friendly" propaganda.

But, what do cops actually do?

They enforce "laws", most of which do nothing but violate the life, liberty, and property to prop up the opinions of politicians and lawyers.

Cops are the guys who most often end up harming "citizens" exactly like those they pretend to protect you from. Trading one bad guy for another isn't a net benefit. And when you are forced to finance the bad guy's career to your own detriment, that's even worse.

Cops have been given special privileges due to their connections. They believe their "job" entitles them to extra "rights"- rights which don't exist and therefore can't be granted by anyone to anyone.

I don't "need" cops and neither do you. If you believe you do, you might want to hide somewhere soft and warm so that reality doesn't scare you further.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Citizen

Dictionary.com defines "citizen" as someone who "owes allegiance to its [sic] government and is entitled to its protection". 

It sounds more like a description of slavery. Let's check that out: 

"Slave"- someone who "owes allegiance to its master and is entitled to his protection". 

That sure sounds like what they are describing. 

The reality is "citizen" is just a fancy word for "slave".

"Owe allegiance"? You owe government-- and obviously when they use the word "government" they mean State-- nothing but contempt, regardless of which government you refer to.

The only thing you can be "entitled" to from any government is to be left alone. To not be violated in life, liberty, or property. It's the same thing everyone owes you. 

Government can't protect anyone, "citizen"/slave or not.

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"Everyone else does it..."

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

Is it OK to do wrong, just because other people do?

Maybe for you, but not for me. I live by the Zero Aggression Principle (ZAP) whether you do or not. It doesn't matter, and your choice doesn't affect mine. The ZAP is a promise from me to you about how I will interact with you; to tell you what to expect. It doesn't obligate you.

If you choose to initiate force or violate my property, you might also take my adherence to the ZAP as a warning.

But, just because most other people choose to initiate force and violate private property-- either in person or by sending bullies to do it on their behalf-- I had better just suck it up and become the same as they are. Right?

Liberty has an uphill battle for certain. Until people actually understand the issues, they'll keep straying off-course in the same sad ways. "Statism is bad... unless it is doing something I want it to do, then you have to go along. Pay your taxes, have your property rights violated in the name of National Borders and such. You might allow people on your property who I don't like. It's for your own good, and anarchy is Utopian, and no one really lives that way. Etc. etc. etc."

It's almost enough to make a guy say "Screw it, Just go with the crowd. Eat babies, or whatever, because everyone else says it is necessary, and no one else will ever agree with you that it's wrong."

Almost... but not quite.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Today’s counterfeit laws not ethical

(My Clovis News Journal column for July 15, 2016 I was really, seriously unhappy with the headline assigned to this one, and got in trouble with the editor for saying so on Facebook. But I am still unhappy with it.)

"You are the government" is one of the most useful lies ever crafted by the bullies who mean to enslave you.

If you are to blame, you can't blame anyone else. If a "law" makes gun ownership or drug use or driving without a seat belt "illegal", you can't really blame the people who wrote the "law", nor their hired guns who violently enforce it. It's your own fault.

But, truth gets in the way.

If I were government, I could fire all legislators, police, and bureaucrats, because they'd work for me. I could abolish all the harmful laws they have created. I can't, because I am not the government.

If I were the government, no one would be violating you in the name of the law. Former enforcers would be paying restitution to everyone they've harmed through committing acts of enforcement.

If you vote, how often do you find yourself on the winning side? Even when your guy wins, do the politicians in power do what you want them to do? Not the "majority", but you, individually? Probably not very often.

It would be bad enough if their new laws were real laws, but none of them are. Haven't been for centuries. All recent laws are counterfeit "laws".

A counterfeit "law" looks like a real law. It is described in more or less precise language, by lawyers. It is recorded in a government office. Judges act as though it is binding. Officers will kill to enforce even the most minor and arbitrary of these "laws"- if you fail to instantly obey their every demand to the letter, or if you accidentally scare or confuse them while complying.

A counterfeit "law" has no ethical basis. It attempts to forbid or control something other than the use of violence against the non-violent, or the violation of individual property rights. Often, counterfeit "law" acts as though a collective-- society or the state-- can have rights which can be violated.

I don't want any counterfeit "laws" enforced on my behalf. Not one.

So pretending that I am in any way the government, doing what I know to be wrong by violating your individual rights, is a lie. Even if I were on the winning side in an election, it isn't going to change what government is or what it is doing.

You can't magically change wrong into right (or vice versa) by voting on it, nor by making up a law. And if I were the government, I wouldn't even try.

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Statists- making their own lives difficult since forever

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Why is it that so many people seem set on making so much extra trouble for themselves?

I'm not even necessarily speaking of those who seek out interpersonal "drama" when they don't have enough of it naturally. Although, they are of the same sort.

I'm talking about statists.

The world isn't perfect. There will be trouble whether you have a State and all its associated bullies and institutions or not. It's just the way it is. Some people are just bullies. If there's a State to join so they can bully in safety, the smart ones may choose that route. If there isn't, all the bullies will be freelance or form gangs that they don't call "government", but the actions remain the same. And, for the most part, the outcome does, too.

State or no State, you are going to have trouble. But with a State you get to pay extra for the thrill of being molested. You get to pay to build imposing buildings, huge office towers, fancy cars, guns (which they'll forbid you to own), weapons to be used to make enemies of people all across the globe (before being used against liberty on the streets of America by the Blue Line Gang welfare whores), and all manner of other things which will be used against your life, liberty, and property. By permitting a government to exist, you get bullied and robbed at least twice as much as you would otherwise.

So, why go to all the trouble of adding the layers of extra problems you get by supporting a State?

Anarchy is the natural state of human interactions. It's not perfect- nothing is. But why go to all the effort and expense to build an institution which will- at best- give the same results with a lot more trouble, rather than getting rid of all the extra nonsense and dealing with what trouble exists anyway by accepting reality?

I still think cowardice explains a lot.

What about you?

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Be the better person- reality is on your side

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Liberty lovers can be some of the very best people I've ever known. They stand with others, help others when they can. They reach a hand to people they don't know- statists even. They can be loving and inclusive. They can be generous to a fault, understanding, and compassionate.

I am proud to count myself among them, even as I can't hope to be half as inspiring as some are.

But... and if you've been around long you knew this was coming... liberty lovers, or, at least those who proclaim themselves to be lovers of liberty, can also be as bad as the statists they oppose.

I'm sure there are times I would be included here.

They can be unforgiving, inflexible, hypocritical, hateful, and aggressive. They can be arrogant and dismissive.

And that is a shame.

Why would anyone want to learn more about liberty with examples like that? If you're going to be miserable anyway, you can do that just fine without rejecting statism; by taking the easier route.

I am happy to report that the negative examples in the liberty crowd are greatly outnumbered by the shining examples of goodness. But the nasty guys seem to have an impact greater than those I would rather people see. They tend to be loud and get lots of attention- especially by statists who want to show how unreasonable liberty lovers are. The bad examples play right into the hands of the cowardly slavers.

It should be so easy to be a good person when you understand and love liberty. After all, you are on the right side- standing against everything negative and harmful. So, why does it seem so easy to fall into The Dark Side?

Well, I have some idea about that, based on my personal experience. I am only human and as a liberty lover, I end up dealing with a lot of statists.

Statists are infuriating. They are cowardly and want to violate everyone else to coddle their fears. They don't listen to logic and reason, but are ruled purely by emotion and propaganda. They don't want to be told that 2+2=4. and they won't pay attention when you try to show them how easy it is to demonstrate. They don't like it, so to them it simply isn't true. Or it doesn't matter one way or the other. It is easy to get angry and frustrated over their juvenile behavior.

But, you and I are the better people. I can't speak for you, but I want to be the reasonable one. The one not baited into a fight with a feces-flinging monkey. Because, even if I win the fight, I'm going to be left feeling very unhappy.

Life is too short for that.

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"Be afraid! Run away!"

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I guess I suffer from a terrible lack of fear.

Or, so some would have me believe.

Sure, there are some things I don't want to happen. One of the worst already has. There's something freeing in that, even though I'd give anything to have avoided it. I now know that the thing I always considered to be the absolute worst thing ever couldn't destroy me.

I take what measures I can to avoid bad things- but I know nothing can prevent them all. It's just the nature of reality. And I don't sit around consumed with fear.

I wish I had more money, but even without it I'll find a way to go on... or I won't. But if I don't, it won't be the lack of money that kills me. I may become socially unacceptable and living in a cave or a wikiup, but I don't worry about survival.

I try to be prepared for difficulties. I'm a bit of a "prepper". It's not out of fear, but just because it's fun, and has bailed me out of bad situations so many times that I know I'd be stupid to not be prepared. I've found that being prepared also de-fangs fear. And, like I said, it's FUN!

I don't like government or any of the bullies doing the will of those who call themselves government. But I don't fear them any more than I fear other bad guys. Or rabid wolves. They are dangers to be acknowledged, observed, avoided, and dealt with. But not feared.

I certainly don't fear the absence of The State (what most people mean when they use the word "government") or its gangs of armed bullies committing acts of enforcement to impose the opinions of "lawmakers" on me. Fearing the absence of such is as silly as fearing good health.

There's nothing special about me. I'm no once-in-a-century genius. I'm not brave, or particularly skilled. Maybe some would say my ignorance is causing me to not be afraid- that if I were smarter I would see why I should be scared all the time. I don't care to live in fear. That's not freedom or liberty.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

In need of donations or subscriptions

I had this little PS on the last post...

I recently helped someone out, and now find myself in dire need of money. Again.I'm not complaining; I knew the bind this would put me in when I did it. If anyone is in the position to help, and wants to (yes, please meet both conditions, and never feel bad if you don't), please donate and/or subscribe today. This time, Paypal would be best for me. Thanks so much!

As it turns out, my situation is worse than I thought. Besides the money I thought I was going to need, I need $62.37 in the next day. (Note: This most dire need has been met. I'm leaving the post up for now, because I could really use more help.)

So, again, if you can help, and if you want to help, please donate or subscribe through Paypal.

Thank you.

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