Fake news was best in the old days

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 14, 2016)

Why the sudden uproar over "fake news"? Apparently, because many on the political Left blame so-called fake news for Trump's election.

There has always been fake news. Nineteenth century newspapers were peppered with delicious tales of sea monsters, mysterious airships, and ape men presented as news. Today, press releases from government agencies are routinely presented without disclaimers. Both are likely to be outlandish fiction.

If a story confirms what you want to believe, be suspicious. If it sounds too juicy to be true, it's probably not true.

Keep this in mind when following any news story.

One problem is those with an agenda who present stories which support their side; ignoring stories which are just as credible, but support another side. Or no side at all. Sometimes stories are technically true, but slanted.

Everyone is biased, even when they don't mean to be. The honest ones admit it and tell you their bias. I don't report news, but if I did it would be with a libertarian bias. I will always prefer liberty over slavery. Every time. "Taxation" is theft and I'll never pretend politics is a "noble profession". Those with the opposite bias present taxation as the price of civilization, and government employment as a public service. Which bias is more honest?

Sometimes what is called "fake news" is actually satire. Many satirical websites pose as serious news sources and anyone can get fooled occasionally. To save face, some get angry over being fooled.

No one is obligated to hold your hand and explain to you that critical thinking is... well, critical. When reading something online, follow the source and see if it also warns of the impending takeover of civilization by Sea Monkeys. If so, the story you were reading may not be completely credible. It's your responsibility to figure it out; not the government's job to tell you who is "real" and who isn't. There should never be any such thing as an authorized "licensed journalist".

Then too, what is called "fake news" is often simply news the opposition doesn't want generally known. Too bad for them.

There obviously were fake or slanted news stories which favored Trump, just as there were those which favored Clinton. It's inevitable.

Personally, I'd like to see a few more stories of fantastic airships with their alien crews leaning out the window, waving and dropping Ambrosia to picnicking families down below. The old days had the best fake news!

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Cops and shootings

When am I OK with a cop shooting someone?
When I'd be OK with anyone shooting someone in that situation.

When am I OK with someone shooting a cop?
When I'd be OK with anyone being shot in that situation.

 A person's employer doesn't matter in that regard.

If a cop doesn't like it, he can quit being a parasite and go find an HONEST job.

Just before one of those NOT OK shootings

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Lethal threats from trespassers

OK, so I'm confused.

If I go into someone's yard, and they tell me to leave, and I don't, so they chase me out, they are somehow the bad guy?

Or maybe I'm just pacing the road in front of their house, periodically aiming a rifle through their window. If they tell me to stop it, or aim their rifle at me, they are threatening me?

What if I break down their door, rape their daughters, smash up the place a bit, and they fight back. They are the bad guy for fighting me, and I'm a hero?

So, why do people worship the US military doing the same things I just described the fictional me doing, but doing them on a massive scale?

If you are flying war planes in a threatening manner around someone's home territory, YOU are the bad guy. You deserve to have those planes shot down. The pilots are being bad guys and deserve to die. If you call any objection or resistance to your planes "aggression" you are lying.

If you are a military employee breaking stuff and threatening people in someone else's home territory, and you get shot, YOU were the bad guy. It's no different from a homeowner shooting a burglar or rapist he catches in his house.

If you are sailing your war ship off the coast of someone's territory, as some sort of "show of force", YOU are the one provoking. It's not "aggression" for the locals to object or take action against you.

I've heard lots of absurdities along these lines over the past several days. US military supporters complaining that US weaponry is being "attacked" and "threatened" while trespassing and threatening. The choice of words they are using to describe these events is dishonest in the extreme. A whole new level of lying to shape the thinking of those who don't think.

The lies are wearing thin. The liars look like fools to anyone other than the brainwashed military lovers, because they are fools. And aggressors- archators. The US military are bad guys, even if their enemies are ALSO bad guys. You can't do right by doing wrong, then lying about what is going on.

Trespassers looking for victims

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Support Law Enforcement

I am totally in favor of supporting law enforcement.

With a trap door.

Temporarily.

Just until the rope can be placed around its steroid-thickened neck.

Then I quickly withdraw that support.

No, I'm not calling for the death of any particular individual who lowers himself to do that "job", but of the entire idea that "laws" are a legitimate thing which should be enforced.

Cops are scum because the "job" is scummy. "Police" is an act of aggression and theft, not the vermin committing the act.

You can never make doing a bad thing into something noble or good. No matter how you try.

Yes, archators can ethically be killed in self defense, and a badge doesn't give them immunity from consequences of being a thug. I want every participant in every "no knock raid" to die in the attempt, every single time, without exception. Good guys would never behave that way. Good people would never support those who do.

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Possessed by statist delusions

If someone believes in X, and uses that belief to kill and steal, it doesn't matter much that X is all in their head.

The harm they cause is real, but, its not X's fault; it is theirs alone. They have to be the one to make the choice to be the bad guy.

After all, X-- be it "authority", government, religion, or whatever-- can't actually do anything. It's all the individual's choice.

Every government employee is guilty of this, even when they believe what they are doing is good or necessary. For one thing, it is all financed by theft. That destroys any "good" that might have otherwise come of it. Every bit.

They shouldn't ever do it. No matter what beliefs are in their brain, being acted out.

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Discomfort and agony

"My discomfort is a monumental tragedy of epic proportions-- maybe not even survivable. But yours? Yours is trivial, you whiner, and you need to just shut up and deal with it."

Or, at least that's the message most people seem to be sending. Not just statists, but almost all statists.

I do think most people are addicted to comfort. Even me. But I also understand the difference between comfort and necessity. Liberty is a necessity, which is often shoved aside to make way for comfort for the weak losers who find liberty inconvenient or scary.

Physical discomfort can be a problem. It really can. I have slept lying in cold, standing water. I've had a kidney stone so painful I was curled into the fetal position on the floor. And don't even ask about the bike wreck when I was 12, and its aftermath! Makes me shudder to remember! And there have been various other painful or uncomfortable times besides those. But the psychological pain of being violated on a daily basis by statists and other archators is just as real. But statists can't see any possible way they are causing pain, and if they do, they don't care. It's "worth it" to them.

Somehow they believe their discomfort at being slightly chilly and having to put on a sweater compares to the psychic pain of longing for liberty.

Yeah, it's a problem. And yeah, I sometimes roll my eyes and make fun of those who fall into this trap. But, I know they feel the same way about my discomfort, so I guess we are even.

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"We don't care"

That IS the truth behind the sign. 

It's not really about guns.

They don't care.

Your life doesn't matter to them.

Every justification is a lie. 

Don't let them get away with lying to you. 

Let them know you know what the sign means. 

Every time is is displayed anywhere. 

Under any "justification". 

This sign is ruder than someone spitting in your eye.

It is a lethal threat.

Don't apologize for them.

Don't cover for them.

It is what it is.

The truth may hurt their feelings, but it is still the truth.

Every single time.

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The Constitution- not even good toilet paper

The Constitution was a really bad idea to begin with, but it doesn't even do what its supporters claim it could do. If the US fe(de)ral government was once "limited" by the Constitution, then I guess I don't understand what "limited" means. "If only we had held the government to it". Ha ha ha!

Anymore, "Constitutional" just means "whatever the court decides government should be able to get away with". If the government wants it, it will be constitutional enough. Especially if following the Constitution would require disbanding huge segments of the Fe(de)ral government- such as the BATFEces (and every other clearly unconstitutional agency) and all the "laws" they impose and enforce.

No more military. No more departments of education, "the interior", or anything else. No more FBI, NSA, TSA, etc., etc. No more "Social Security", ObamaCare, Medicare/Medicaid, subsidies. No more income tax (or IRS). No more War on Politically Incorrect Drugs. In fact, practically no more fe(de)ral government at all. At least 99.999999% of the US fe(de)ral government is obviously, with crystal clarity and no room for quibbling, prohibited from existing under the Constitution. An honest reading would require it be instantly, without hesitation, abolished and disbanded. No adjustment period allowed.

And the courts won't allow that to happen, no matter how dishonest they have to be to keep the scam going.

It doesn't even matter if anyone with a reading comprehension level above that of the average 10 year old can see that such an agency or "law" clearly is not permitted by the Constitution- if it serves the State, it will somehow be "constitutional".

As in cases like this.

I can't even bring myself to care anymore about constitutionality- and I did care back when I began to explore liberty seriously. I mean, I knew the Constitution was a failure, but I wished it hadn't been. Now I see it as nothing but an excuse to impose a State.

Those who still see some legitimacy in government, and some value in the Constitution, may mean well, but they are no friend of liberty. They are supporting their own worst enemy. Stockholm Syndrome, for sure.

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Ignoring reality has consequences

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 7, 2016)

When you ignore the rules of reality, you get hurt.

Notice I don't say when you break reality's rules, because those rules can't be broken. They can only be accepted or ignored. Ignore them at your peril.

Take gravity, for example. If you ignore gravity you will suffer, and you may even fall to your death. Once you accept the reality of gravity, you can use the rules governing it to fly or even to experience "weightlessness" in orbit. Neither is a case of defying gravity, but of using it to do things which seem to go against what you expect from gravity. You don't even need to know why gravity exists, or how it works, to accept and use it. You just need to know it exists and be able to measure its effect.

If someone walks off the edge of a cliff, you can expect them to fall to the ground far below and splatter like a ripe watermelon. Maybe bushes will slow their fall, or deep water at the bottom will cushion their landing, but don't depend on it. Nothing will truly defeat gravity unless you can turn off the rules of the Universe- and you can't.

There are also rules of civil behavior you ignore at your own risk. Those rules weren't dreamed up by any legislator and don't rely on anyone enforcing them.

If you choose to use violence against the non-violent, a chain of events will be set in motion. The same goes if you violate the property of others.

You may believe you are exempt from the effects due to imaginary rules someone created. Rules designed to give the illusion of authority to those who feel entitled to break the real rules. Their dreamed-up rules can't change reality.

If you decide to steal, trespass, or shove people around, even if you claim authority under made-up "laws", there will be repercussions. The fallout may not be what you or your victims expect. It may not even be timely- you don't know precisely when you'll hit the ground. Usually those who use the "political means"-- non-consensual tactics resulting in a winner and a loser-- to get what they want deny the possibility of unpleasant consequences to themselves. They will be surprised.

You won't avoid the costs you incur, even though the bill may not come when you'd expect and may not be what you expect.

No one is immune to consequences. Reality doesn't allow that option.

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Disarmed "warriors"

I don't support or appreciate ANY government military. Not here, there, or anywhere, at any time throughout history. There are reasons for that, and I accept that all statists, of every degree, disagree vehemently with me.

Regardless of statists' feelings, government militaries are never on the side of liberty or freedom; concepts they can't even begin to understand.

That being said, if you have a government military, keeping the participants disarmed seems really stupid. If you are going to have a military, the whole point- the only point- is for them to be armed and able to deal with threats. If you can't trust the participants around each other, or around the "public", while armed, you can't trust them at all. So, either they are untrustworthy, or you are a sniveling coward. Or both. If you can't trust the participants, how can you expect me to?

And putting "No Guns" signs on your facilities makes you look ridiculous. Who is going to take you seriously if you are so scared of armed people that you feel the need to post "We don't care if you die" signs at your doors? I mean, really. You want to be seen as tough and dangerous and all that, and yet you fear me with a gun? Pathetic.

Either choose to have a real military, individually armed 100% of the time, or disband and go home, leave the stolen money in the pockets of the people you were pretending to protect, bulldoze the Pentagon, sell off the weapons, and let the militia handle it.

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Parking space games

Even if there were no "handicap" spaces, and no associated "fines" (theft by government), I would leave the close spots for those who need them.

I can walk, and I'm not usually in much of a hurry. It's just the decent thing to do.

But I don't get worked up over those who don't do what I do. I don't even really care when someone "illegally" parks in handicap spaces. If you believe you need a close spot, it's not my place to second-guess you.

Honestly, it bothers me more to see all those who park on the places with the yellow stripes saying "this is NOT a parking space". These areas are not government-mandated; they are designated by the property owner as places where he doesn't want you to park, for whatever reason. Probably so others can navigate the parking lot, judging by what I've seen. Yet, look at how many people basically spit in the property owner's face, saying "I'm too important to listen to you". I see it as self-important laziness- or worse. But, if that's how someone chooses to self-identify, I'll believe them.

The way I see it, decency is a choice. You either choose it, or it's probably not even on your radar. Selfishness and self-centeredness are capable of hiding the decent choices from just about anyone. "Laws" have atrophied most people's decency reflex. If it's "legal" or not gets used instead. Government is a crutch in more ways than one, and it weakens those who rely on it too much.

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The delicious, toxic bagel of statism

Statism is like a very-expired, contaminated cinnamon raisin bagel.

How do I know? Because I have experienced both.

Once upon a time, the girl I was married to worked in a nursing home. She would often bring home expired food that was being tossed out. At some point, she brought home a package of cinnamon raisin bagels.

I didn't ever get a real lunch break at my job, so I would often just grab something I could munch if I got hungry. (I still can only eat one actual meal per day.) One day, rummaging around in the back of the refrigerator for "lunch food", I stumbled across this bag of bagels. Yummy!

I took it to work and tossed it on the shelf where I usually put such things.

That day, a little while after "lunch", I started not feeling well. Not nausea, but dizziness. It passed.

The next day, not long after "lunch" I got hit with the most severe dizziness I have ever experienced. I couldn't stand. I couldn't sit. I ended up lying flat on the floor upstairs, out of sight of customers, gripping the carpet (the shop was previously a house and had semi-shag carpet) while my boss complained at me for doing so. I told her she didn't have to pay me for the time I couldn't work, but that wasn't the issue as much as was my inconveniencing her by making her have to stay at the store until I recovered.

As I lay there trying not to fall sideways, or up, I remembered how I had felt the day before, not long after I ate the bagel. I connected the dots and realized the bagels had probably grown some sort of nice fungus which was affecting me. As soon as I expressed this to my boss, she tossed the remaining bagels in the trash.

It took a couple of hours, but the dizziness passed. I dug the bagels out of the trash and checked their "best by" date. They were only a year or so out of date.

Maybe I should have presented them to a pharmacologist- I might have discovered an awesome new drug. But I didn't think of that at the time.

Anyway, this is similar to statism. It looks delicious. It passes the smell test for almost everyone. But it screws with your brain once you internalize it, because it contains toxins you can't easily detect. Those of us who don't swallow it watch those who have done so flailing around, unable to do the simplest things for themselves. But they don't even realize how silly they look, or how helpless they are.

If only statism wore off after a few hours like bagel fungus does.

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As a comedian, I suck

On Facebook, for no particular reason other than something I read made me think back to that politician who was once quoted as insisting the "income tax" was "voluntary", I posted:

As of today, subscriptions to my blog are voluntary.
You can pay, or spend the rest of your life in a cage (or die if you resist). But since you have that choice, or you can choose to move to North Korea instead of paying, it's voluntary. Right?
I mean, the "tax" collectors at the IRS wouldn't lie about what "voluntary" means, would they?

Almost immediately, a guy posted a response:

Laughing my @$$ off no one is going to pay you to look at your d@mn blog if you have relevant information for our situation you would be giving it away for free not asking for money  

(edited for rude words)

OK, so he didn't get the joke; maybe he didn't see the winky face. And apparently he has never heard of punctuation.

But, then... I got to thinking. Is that true? Valuable (relevant) information must be given away? Only crap gets paid for? And that's how you can tell the difference between the two? There's no good information in a book that's for sale, but if the author (or someone else?) gives you the book for free, the information in it suddenly has value?  That seems a strange kind of thinking.

I would imagine some valuable information is bought and sold, while some is given away, but to say that only free information has any worth seems... odd.

I mean, yes, my blog is free. More free than it used to be, even, since I have opened up all the previously "subscriber-only" posts. Does this mean it now contains "relevant information"?

Does this apply to other contributions as well? If I do a good job flipping burgers, I have to do it for free. If I'm a competent brain surgeon, I can't charge for my services. Only the hacks and con men can expect payment. Or, does it only apply to information?

As a way to put my "resolution" into action, I have adopted "Don't be mean to stupid people" on Facebook and in face-to-face interactions. So, I didn't give him a reply beyond "Whoosh" (the sound of the joke flying over his head). Perhaps I should thank him for showing me how some percentage of people think- although I suppose elections have already shown the prevalence of the entitlement mentality pretty clearly.

Relax, it was just a joke. Just not a very good one, apparently.

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Statists believe they're smart, but...

...then they say things like how terrible new "synthetic marijuana" is, and how this problem is due to marijuana legalization around the country.

... or that Islamic terrorists are a big problem, so "we" need to keep using the US military to meddle in their lands so as to create more of them.

... they come up with bizarre "crimes" such as "trespassing on public property".

And then we see exactly how "smart" statists actually are.

Sorry, but if you believe more government will solve a problem, you ARE the problem. And none too bright.

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Don't help cops feel useful

I don't want cops to feel useful, wanted, or needed.

I'd rather they struggle to walk the boredom tightrope between donuts and steroids without anyone inviting them into their life. If they are going to be collecting their ill-gotten paychecks anyway, I'd rather they be sitting in the donut shop than out "on the streets". It keeps the harm they do to a minimum. I don't want them "earning their pay" by committing acts of enforcement. Not even against my worst enemy.

I don't want cops to feel useful, wanted, or needed. Because they aren't.

Let the only official duties they perform be robbing drivers, molesting property owners, and other acts of archation. Period. Don't let them do anything to feel useful, wanted, or needed.

I understand calling them when your insurance company demands it. I also consider that requirement an act of aggression by the insurance company, but good luck finding one that doesn't insist on involving cops.

But, otherwise, PLEASE don't call the cops. For your own safety's sake, if nothing else. There is no situation so bad it can't be made much worse by inviting a cop into the mix.

Plus, I don't want cops to feel useful, wanted, or needed.

Call me instead. Or call a neighbor. Or handle it yourself. Or call a crackhead- your life will be in less danger from him or her, I promise you.

But don't do anything to help cops feel useful, wanted, or needed. They are parasites on society. Let them feel that way. Let that feeling lead them to make better choices. Or not. Not my problem.

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All assistance should be voluntary

(My Eastern New Mexico News [formerly the Clovis News Journal] column for November 30, 2016)

Help one another, voluntarily (my chosen headline)

It is once again the season to remember the less fortunate. On one hand, you shouldn't need an annual reminder to be good to other people, but on the other hand, sometimes it's fortunate the calendar has a few such reminders built in.

If someone wants to help those in need, there is nothing stopping her from freely giving her own money and time to those she feels deserve help.

Yet most who feel more money should be spent on their favorite government programs are never content to simply chip in-- they demand laws forcing everyone else to do the same.

It's the opposite of generosity, compassion, or caring. Those things are better expressed individual to individual.

If someone truly believes the government is best able to help those in need, he's completely free to write the U.S. Treasury a check to spend on welfare-- or on a new drone to crash into a Middle Eastern wedding. Relying on taxation to pay for anything is unnecessary.

For those of us opposed to bullying of any sort, it is essential for all the help to be totally voluntary.

You don't need a "law" to remind you to help people. If you care, no tax is necessary to get you to donate. In fact, taxation reduces the amount you are able to use to help others. No "law" can change the act of forcing people to donate into an act of generosity. No one can be charitable with other people's money, nor is it kindness to hand over your own money under threat. Putting government in charge of such an extortion scheme doesn't change its immoral nature.

Instead of giving your cousin another cute plastic knick-knack to dust or forget, spend the money on someone who needs it; someone you feel is deserving. No one should be making that determination for you, either. When you personally know the circumstances of the person you help, you know their needs better, and care more, than any bureaucrat distributing pillaged funds possibly can.

An act which is of minor effort or cost to you might impact someone's life for decades to come. I know from personal experience, having been on the receiving end a few times.

I often remember those times, especially during the holiday season. It's something I'll always strive to pay forward. Taxes, regulations, and all the other government coercion only stand in the way. They invariably hurt more than they help. Let's start helping each other, instead.

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Setting myself up to fail?

I'm doing it. I'm making a New Year resolution. Unfortunately, it's not the kind that I find easy to make stick, but the other kind. I'm still going to give it a shot and, toward the long-term goal, I give myself permission to slip sometimes (although I will expect to be scolded if I do).

So, what is this resolution all about?

I am going to focus on preaching to the choir.

I'm not dropping the newspaper column, because Money, but I will try to limit my "spreading the message" to that. I may even find a more sensible focus for that column, too, if I'm lucky.

I realize I'm not going to convince fans of aggression and theft that they have been on the wrong side all their lives, and that their beloved uncle who died in some government war was on the wrong side. They don't want to hear it, and will do anything to avoid facing it.

So, I am going to try to focus on talking to YOU.

If some statists are "converted" in the process, great. If not, fine. I'm coming to see that they matter less and less to my actual life anyway.

And, just maybe, I'll come up with one of my other "resolution" type things, too. The type I have been more successful at keeping.

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"The Masses"* don't know and don't care

You and I are not going to get through to most people. They simply don't care if they are being enslaved or violated-- especially if they believe they are being protected by someone else being "controlled" on their behalf.

I see this as cowardice and laziness, but they don't.

They don't know what liberty is. They actually believe cops and troops are protecting them and their "freedom". And they don't want to know they are dead wrong. They are content (or as content as they can be, under the circumstances) in their ignorance. It comforts them.

If you speak or write honestly, you will offend them if they happen across your words.

So be it.

You are not like them.

Just know that I know you are out there. I want you to know I am with you, as long as you don't archate. In 2017 and beyond.

You are my people; my tribe. If I can consider myself to be part of a tribe.

They are the weather. Obstacles to be avoided or dealt with, but otherwise not worth getting upset over. Which makes me think it's time for a bit of a change. Stay tuned...

*When I see "The Masses" I tend to put the break between words in a different spot: "Them ...", well, you know.

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"Cop" is a choice to molest, just like "rapist"

Being a cop=rapist is a choice to behave a certain way. A way which violates the life, liberty, and property of individuals. Good people don't choose that path. Not ever. No excuses or justifications cut it.

If a rapist=cop is shot and killed for violating someone, it's not a tragedy. It is instead a triumph of good over evil. Of right over wrong.

Of course, those who support the cop=rapist will be angry. They will question why force was used against the rapist=cop, instead of something less decisive. Something like compliance in the moment, and then seeking justice afterward "if it is determined" a wrong was committed. You know if a wrong was committed- you don't need the cop=rapist's buddies deciding for you.

Ethical people won't criticize or second guess when a rapist=cop is killed in the course of his natural, evil acts, but most people aren't ethical.

If you are violating life, liberty, or property you deserve to die. No question. And this upsets those who can't come to grips with what it is they are supporting.

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Relax. Just breathe...

I need to remind myself-- over and over-- that I don't control what others do. Not even close relatives.

If they do things I consider shameful, I shouldn't let it get to me. Their choices are NOT mine, and I am not some dictator who gets to allow or forbid their actions.

I shouldn't let myself feel embarrassed. They aren't me, and I am not their master, nor would I want to be.

Still, it sometimes hurts. Especially when I see it as something that just feeds the State and makes us all a little less free in the long run. Especially if I know some will associate that person with me, and might assume I approve of what they do.

People must always be free to make their own mistakes-- even the ones they foolishly refuse to see as mistakes.

I shouldn't allow myself to get so bothered that I say nasty (even if truthful) things. I need to be better than that. But, it's a journey, and I keep getting lost along the way.

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Trust

Jyn Erso- Star Wars: Rogue One

If you want me to trust you, you WILL trust me with a gun. That is absolutely non-negotiable.

If I trust you, I'll never ask you to disarm. Not in my business, my home, or my presence. Never. 

If I do ask you to-- or if I demand it-- you'll instantly know I don't trust you and I don't like you.

And, the reverse is also true. If you ask or demand that I disarm, I'll take that as a very clear sign of how you feel about me. Trust goes both ways.

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"Free riders"

For a large number of people, their concern over "free riders"-- people who get a benefit without obviously paying for it-- is what stands between them and accepting Rightful Liberty. And that is a shame.

A common objection I have seen is that in a free society, where one would contract voluntarily with a private fire department, if your neighbor's house catches fire and your fire contractor fights it in order to save your house from damage, the neighbor has benefited from your contract without paying anything. Your neighbor is a "free rider".

True, as far as it goes.

I suppose you could have a stipulation that your fire department is not to fight fires consuming your neighbors' houses, if they have not also contracted for service, so as not to contribute to their "free-riderhood". The fire department could just sit at your house, hosing it down so the fire doesn't spread to your property. As long as the contract was agreeable to you and your fire department, you could have just about any conditions put in you like.

Alternately, if your house catches fire and your fire department puts it out, your neighbor has again benefited, since his house is less likely to be damaged now. Perhaps you prefer that in this case, your fire company set fire to the neighbor's house in order to allow nature to take its course? I really hope no one would want that.

The "free rider" problem is greatly exaggerated. If people get together to build a bridge, and don't charge a toll for crossing it, does that mean an out-of-town visitor is a "free rider" if he crosses the bridge?

How would you know? He may be crossing the bridge to trade with a business owner who helped pay for the bridge; someone he wouldn't have been able to trade with had the bridge not been built. So is the business owner being cheated since he paid to help build the bridge and the visitor did not? What if this person who crosses the bridge decides to trade with a business owner who also didn't contribute to the construction of the bridge? Does this business owner never trade with the other businesses around him who contributed to the bridge? How did he get the money that he spends in these other stores? Is there no value in keeping his store open for the other people in town?

If you choose to pay for police or "national defense", are those who refuse getting a benefit for nothing? That depends if you ignore the fact that under current conditions, "national defense" endangers us all, and police are bullies and scum. Me, I'd prefer to just get rid of ALL anti-weapon "laws" and let the cost of being a thug rise back to where it belongs.

If people see a benefit in something, they will probably be willing to foot the bill. In a free society, bridges and roads and fire departments would undoubtedly be cheaper and better, since no bureaucracy is eating up the funds and producing nothing but more bureaucracy. There is no reason to whip out coercion to deal with this. A true parasite will suffer the consequences of his decisions regardless whether there is a "government" of any sort to punish him or not.

Besides, everyone will be the "free rider" at times. There is no avoiding it. I think this is only a problem if you look at the situation selfishly or from a "but that's not fair" perspective. Just accept that the times someone else is getting a "free ride" on your dime are paybacks for the times you get the same benefit. It all comes out even in the end, so don't keep a ledger trying to nit-pick every offense. Even if someone seems to come out ahead, are you really willing to give up a little of your liberty to make sure everyone pays in every instance? I'm not.

Not paying "taxes" for roads; using them anyway

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PS: Also check out this article which has another, much more detailed take on this: Small-Town Anarchy

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Updated from here

Opinions must change to fit facts

(My Clovis News Journal November 23, 2016)


How often do you change your opinion about anything? When you do, what causes the change?

With the reluctance toward changing an opinion, it's amazing anyone ever does, on anything. Yet, it is possible, and it does happen. I have changed my opinion on many things over the course of my life.

When I change my opinions, I would like for truth, reality, and reason to be the catalyst. When I'm wrong, I want to know, and I want this knowledge to change me.

I am very suspicious when anyone tries to change my opinions by appealing to emotion. It reeks of manipulation. Emotion is the preferred tool when an opinion has no facts to support it. It happens every time.

This doesn't mean I always change my opinions for the right reasons, nor does it mean flawed reasons never affect me. I'm honest enough to know anyone can fall for delusions and superstition, and we all allow our biases to color our perceptions of reality. But I don't have to like it.

Often, the more I observe and learn, the more holes I see in my previous opinions. Other times, when I ponder things I've known all along, I realize I haven't been consistent. Then I can't rest until the inconsistency is dealt with. Facts can't change to fit opinions; I must change my opinion to fit the facts.

Changing your mind in the face of new information isn't "wishy-washy", it is smart. Sticking to an opinion by ignoring new information is a sure sign of stubbornness. It may keep you popular, but it stunts you as a person.

One particular change in myself is, while my personal opinions are still largely conservative, I no longer feel entitled to use force to impose my opinions on others. In fact, I see that as one of the worst moral failures possible. Good ideas don't require force.

There are other opinions I hold which might be considered "liberal", but unlike most of those who call themselves liberal or progressive, the thought of using force-- particularly the force of the state through "laws"-- to force others to behave certain ways is completely repulsive to me.

This personal opinion has only gotten stronger over the years. No one has ever given me a compelling reason to change my opinion on the use of governmental force. Their failed justifications don't even begin to reach the level of evidence I require to change my mind.

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(Also, as the Clovis News Journal and Portales News Tribune are becoming The Eastern New Mexico News, here is another link to this column: link
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Merry Christmas

... or whichever Solstice-centric celebration, if any, you observe.

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Must suck to be statist

I am coming more and more to the conclusion that statists are miserable.

They squeal at anything that threatens to poke a hole in their belief system. They assume the worst in every situation. They assume you mean whatever will offend them the most. They strike out with hatred at the slightest opportunity.

And, it's not just in response to me, but even those who try even harder than I do to meet them halfway.

They also see any disagreement as "hatred" and being miserable. They are strange, sad little people. No matter how numerous or powerful they are. They know they are on the losing side. And this takes a toll on their attitude.

Sucks to be them, apparently.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Any donations or subscriptions are GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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If a cop kills me...

If I'm ever killed by a cop, I'm sure most of the community (however you define that) would decide I deserved it.

Probably because I don't excuse cops for archation.

There really couldn't be anything else they'd be able to use as justification.

I don't aggress, nor do I violate people's property rights. I don't even threaten to do either one. But, I don't excuse their "heroes" who do, and that is the biggest sin in the statist's mind.

And, considering that most people are statists, it means killing me is justifiable in their eyes-- if I ever act on my convictions at a "bad time" and refuse to comply with the bullies they worship.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Seeking a loan

(It has been taken care of. Thank you!)

If anyone would be willing to loan me about $75 for a month (probably less, actually), I'd be willing to pay it back with an extra $5 on or before January 22, 2017.

I've been waiting for a check that is owed to me for doing some work, and it is 3 weeks late. It will come, I just don't know when. And I can't wait any more.

So, if anyone would be willing, use the Paypal link over to the right. You can put "Loan" and the agreement to pay it back +$5 in the message.

Thanks.

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The most important minority

The individual.

You are the only minority that matters.

So am I.

You are a minority of one among 7 billion-plus individuals who are not you.

So am I.

Whatever your personal religious beliefs are, more people don't share them than do. Even if you belong to the most popular religion on the planet, your fellow believers differ from each other in ways you don't even realize you differ.

Whatever your specific form of political beliefs, you are outnumbered by people who have a different take on how humans ought to interact.

Even if you are a statist, most people prefer a different flavor of statism than the specific form you favor. And if you actually believe whole-heartedly in individual Rightful Liberty, you are greatly outnumbered by those who'll find any excuse to weasel their way to justifying your violation.

Many more people have a different set of physical characteristics than your specific set- height, weight, body type, skin melanin content, hair color, eye color and shape, nose size and shape, whatever. You are a minority in everything that makes you you.

This is why you-- and I-- are the only minority that truly matters.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Wrongness is a possibility

I am perfectly willing to consider that everything I have done, every choice I have made, everything I value, believe, or know is wrong.

But, that doesn't mean I believe someone else is necessarily right. One doesn't invariably lead to the other.

Judging by results in certain areas, the evidence leads to the conclusion that I'm at least wrong sometimes. Obviously, my economic choices have been disastrous. And I could always be more useful to others, and more sociable.

In other areas, I feel more confident. The only people who seem to have issues with how I have treated them are those whom I refused to allow to violate me. I even treat statists with kindness until they archate in my presence. This part of my life has been much more successful than the other.

And this is why I am more prone to give advice on not violating others than on financial subjects.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Next, after LED lighting

Yes, this is an actual lamp I own. I found it in a junk store years ago, and bought it for a dollar. I pulled it loose from the plywood it was glued to, added a wick and some olive oil, and found that it works. 

Rather dim, but it works.

It's always good to have options.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Keeping an eye on the threats

I think it's wise to know where all the Registered Liberty Offenders around you live.

That includes all the cops and other "law enforcement", of course, but also people like the mayor and city council members or anyone else who tends to archate for money, or as an unpaid position.

This also includes freelancers such as those who break into homes and businesses and rob without the "benefit" of a badge.

Bad guys are bad because of their actions.

In the event of a civil disturbance or societal breakdown, these folk are probably going to need to be contained. Know where they live, and where they are likely to be at any particular time. Your life may depend on it.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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I will continue to defend liberty

(My Clovis News Journal column for November 16, 2016)

In the wake of the election, about half of those who continue to play the voting game are pretty upset because the candidate they didn't want to win has been foisted upon them. Or because the one they wanted, lost. This time around it was hard to see the difference in all but a few rabid fans.

Many of you are scared of what America will become during a Trump presidency. You fear a Trump administration the way others feared a Clinton presidency.

Perhaps you believe Trump will be the exception; the one candidate who won't begin breaking campaign promises the instant he takes the oath of office. I believe your fears are unfounded.

Maybe you are worried about a border wall and aggressive anti-immigrant policies being implemented. Maybe you are worried about his support for Soviet-style "stop and frisk" police state tactics. Maybe you fear he'll encourage violations against LGBTQ individuals. Maybe you have other concerns.

Whatever comes I make you this promise: in the event of a worst case scenario, I'll continue to speak out in support of your rightful liberty, just as I have been doing throughout the Obama administration, and the Bush years before that. America is the people; not the government. Government can't lead anyone anywhere they don't agree to go. Government will never inspire me to support violating anyone.

It doesn't matter to me which of your liberties are being violated, or who is doing the violating. It is unacceptable and I will speak out for you against all who seek to violate you, every time.

I don't care if the one violating you is a Republican, Democrat, Beltway Insider, an outsider, or a common criminal; male, female, of whatever "race" or religion.

No matter if it's for safety, "law and order", national security, the children, or "common sense". If you are being violated, those doing it are my enemy, too.

If I see you being violated I will do what I can, physically, to help you. If you are being targeted because of your "race", nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else which harms no one, I will do what I can to defend you. I would do the same had Clinton won.

No matter who is president, this is how decent people behave. Let's continue to look out for one another and make presidents more irrelevant than they already are. Americans will always be better than any government.

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Silly State-loving

States-- even in the context of states such as Texas or Colorado-- are an archaic relic. They don't reflect reality. They aren't a consequence of a shared culture. They are a gerrymandered geography established to let bullies divide the spoils. They are nothing more than another level of tax farm.

When I leave the house, I cross a "state line" probably half of the times I go anywhere besides my parents' house or the annoying post office.

The only thing that state line denotes is that a different gang is now going to be the one threatening my life, liberty, and property with its "laws"-- which vary from the "laws" on the other side of that imaginary line. Some of the "laws" on one side of the line are less nasty than the "laws" on the other side. Some of the amounts of theft differ. But, really, the "line" has no significance other than to the gangs of bullies on either side.

It's funny how enthusiastic some people get over those tax farms and their gangs.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Monopolies don't listen

... and monopolies can't last without government protecting them from competition.

The only reason anyone still puts up with the US Post Office is because of ridiculous "laws" forbidding anyone from competing with them in "first class" mail delivery. This government-mandated monopoly offers poor, and sometimes surly, service.

Around here, one thing they don't offer is home delivery. If we get mail, it will be addressed to a PO Box. However, more and more companies refuse to accept a PO Box as an address, insisting on a street address. For "security"- never mind that I have explained to them that actually having a chance of getting my mail is more secure than not getting it, and if I am to get it, it WILL be through a PO Box. Period. No matter how many times you explain it, they insist.

The old postmaster had her faults, but at least she would put mail with a street address in the PO Box. The new postmaster throws a hissy fit and has issued warnings that mail addressed to a street address will be returned to sender.

Last week I was standing in line to pick up a package when he started lecturing the guy at the counter about the lack of a PO Box on the box he was handing over- warning him that starting soon, such packages would be returned to sender as "undeliverable".

The "customer" explained how some companies won't accept a PO Box. Postmaster smugly said "They'll accept it".

The next woman in line spoke up and said "No, they won't".

Postmaster: "They'll accept it".

The woman in line behind her said "No, some websites will reject the address if it has a PO Box in it".

The postmaster repeated "They'll accept it".

I was beginning to hate the guy by this point, but I didn't say anything. I've run into the same problems. But, I have found a solution.

What has worked for me so far is putting the "required" street address in the first address field, and putting the box number in the second, without "PO" in front of it. "Box 123" for example, rather than "PO Box 123". So far this has satisfied both the shippers and the post office.

Well, a couple of days ago there was a note from the post office in every box (and a bunch of them laying on the counter and in the trash can) telling people to do basically what I had already discovered, but with one mistake: it said to include "PO Box 123". I know from experience that won't work as often. If "PO" is anywhere in the address, it will sometimes be rejected. But it was amusing to see the postmaster kind of admitting he had been lying.

So, I took one of the discarded notes and wrote my own note on it with the better information. We'll see if he spreads the news, or if he'll have to backtrack again due to giving his "customers" more bad information.

Government monopolies are NEVER a good thing.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Careful who you believe

If a person does a good job of fixing my car, but believes disease is caused by evil spirits, I may still trust his automotive expertise, but I'm not going to take his health advice.

And why would I? Why expect him to be an expert in everything just because he's an expert in one area?

Of course, if this mechanic believes cars work because they are moved down the road by evil spirits, I'm not going to trust him to touch my car with a tool.

In the same way, no matter how smart someone may otherwise be, if they believe it's OK (or even "necessary") to archate, I'm not going to take their political or ethical opinions seriously. They have proved to me that they simply don't know what they are talking about on this subject. At all. Utterly clueless.

I think the olden term for this was "he's talking through his hat".

I love this hat for some reason.

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.

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Cheap, worthless "peace"

Does punishing someone-- guilty or not-- provide peace? Is peace only to be found through the government's courts and prisons?

If so, your "peace" is worse than stupid.

There was a murder in the vicinity a couple of years ago. After some astonishingly incompetent bungling by the cops*, and some false starts, they finally arrested the person they claim did it.

Due to various procedural legal things, the trial keeps getting delayed. A sister of the victim was quoted as saying "I guess we'll never have peace." She added that her family can only start healing after the trial.

What absolute pathetic garbage.

If your "peace" depends on finding someone, anyone, to punish, I would never want your brand of "peace".

*The presumed murder weapon, a bloody knife, was found by the dead woman's family the next day, stuck in the ground at the scene of the crime. After being missed by all the crime scene investigators for over 24 hours. Yeah, "we need cops".

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This blog, like all of KentforLiberty.com, is reader supported. Recent medical bills have hit me hard, cleaning me out in the midst of December birthdays and Christmas, so any donations or subscriptions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you.


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When tolerance is stretched too thin

Some days I just don't have the strength to tolerate statists. Their stubborn denial of reality. Their love of aggression and theft. It just becomes more than I can take.

I get worn down and tired and have to just ignore them for a while. Or avoid them, if possible.

Expecting rationality and consistency from them is like expecting algebra from a goldfish. Ain't gonna happen. Sometimes I fool myself into expecting too much.

However, I will admit, if I can stay aloof from their silliness, they can be quite entertaining in their absurdity.

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