Earth isn't flat and government isn't good

  (My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 6, 2021)

Have you ever run into someone who believes the Earth is flat? I was shocked to discover such people exist. Many of them also believe the moon is a hologram, gravity doesn't exist, and space isn't real. It's a bewildering experience listening to them try to make their case while fending off evidence to the contrary.

To them, everything is faked. They believe it empowers government somehow to lie about the shape of the Earth. They've never been able to explain to me how this works, and I still see no connection.

Imagine how it would feel to be completely surrounded by people who believe this and base their day-to-day decisions on this belief.

What if they tried to force you to act as though you believed this is true, too? Could you really change your beliefs in response to their threats? Would you pretend to agree so they'd stop harassing you? I hope you wouldn't change your mind because of the social pressure they'd use on you.

Would you get tired of people telling you the Earth is flat and refusing to listen to any evidence which pokes holes in their belief? Can you imagine being in that situation?

It's the same feeling I get listening to people claiming political government is inevitable, necessary, or even desirable. They may as well be singing the praises of cancer and recommending we all get a fatal case of it.

The arguments they use in favor of their position all come down to some variation of government breaking your leg, handing you a crutch stolen from some other victim, then demanding to be thanked for "helping" you. This kind of help I can do without.

Yet, I understand them better than they probably imagine since I used to believe this, too. That's right, back when I was much younger, I was a bit of a government-supremacist just like most other people still are. Only now I see why the arguments I once leaned on are as flimsy as "Flat Earth Theory".

People who still believe the Earth is flat-- I mean, that government isn't cancer-- don't care to consider the opposing evidence, but I will.

If someone could show me proof, or even convincing evidence I'm wrong, I would consider it. All proof and evidence I've ever been shown is easily refuted. The Earth is not flat and government isn't beneficial.

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Not my problem, why should I care?

There's a common worldview that can be illustrated as: "It doesn't matter to me so it shouldn't matter to anyone else."

I see this take pretty often.

Maybe that new legislation doesn't affect you. For this reason, you might not care.

I care if legislation affects you negatively even if it doesn't affect me at all.

If the legislation is good for me but violates your rights, then I'm still against it. Of course, I'm always against legislation, so that's not surprising.

But it also happens when people observe that someone else's hobby or interest is destroyed or hindered in some way. Such as, I kind of hate "sports", but it still bothers me that some women's sports participation is impacted when men, cosplaying as women, are allowed to play against women in supposedly "women-only" events. 

Personally, I wouldn't care if all sports of that sort went away; I only care at all because others care. If sex isn't going to be recognized as a real thing anymore (even though it still is real), then just eliminate sports sex categories and let people of similar ability compete with each other. I'm still not going to watch, but I care somewhat.

I have fallen into this way of looking at things before, though. 

When ground-based astronomers and astronomy hobbyists complained about the early, brightly reflective, Starlink satellites making bright streaks across their photos, I callously pointed out that ground-based astronomy is obsolete. I also mentioned that you can track when and where the satellites will pass, and so you don't have to complain about your astronomical photos being ruined. 

Saying ground-based astronomy was obsolete made some people go crazy at me, but an astronomy professor told me the same thing decades ago, so it's not just my opinion. But, I-- even being an enthusiast for astronomy-- wasn't affected by the issue, so I didn't feel that anyone else should care, either. But maybe I should, just to be consistent

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Scott Adams: King of the Straw Men

Scott Adams is adept at setting up straw men to take down.

For example--

When people observe that the pandemic (if real in the way it is being presented by politicians and their lackeys) is being used to condition people to be compliant, he misrepresents this by saying they are arguing that there was a meeting between politicians from all over the world where they hatched the plot to create the pandemic and use it to train compliance into the populations. 

He changed the argument being made, regardless of whether the original argument was reasonable or not.

He's arguing against something that exists only in his own mind, because he probably can't argue convincingly against the actual observation which has been made. (Although, I'm not saying there's no one who believes this happened; there probably is.) This is a textbook example of the straw man argument.

He does this with guns, with trans"gender" issues, with copsucking, with the Constitution, and with any topic where he can promote government-supremacism. He simply takes whichever position increases government power. He doesn't do so by honestly addressing the criticisms, but by constructing flimsy straw men he can tear apart-- without acknowledging the actual argument against his side. Is he doing this just to prop up his own fragile belief system? It sure looks that way.

I still listen to him because when he's right, he's right. But when he's wrong it's because he's taking the government-supremacist side, almost without exception.

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A little bit of good doesn't justify evil

Over and over again I am stunned to see the lengths people will go to so they can keep believing in political government.

No matter what it does, no matter the actual results, they defend its existence in the face of 5000+ years of evidence. Even if they admit government sometimes commits great evil-- more than any other group has ever managed to commit-- they won't face the flawed premise it is built upon: that wrong isn't wrong if enough people sanction it.

They seem to imagine that any potential good justifies the very real evil.

I don't accept that, even as I'm able to recognize the "good" that can be sometimes accomplished (though never justified) by committing evil.

I accept that sometimes government does the right thing-- even government's gang of thugs occasionally does something worthwhile. Sometimes government gets good results. Where I part ways with the government-supremacists is that I recognize that good results or even sometimes "doing the right thing" doesn't excuse the institutionalized theft and/or coercion required to get there.

Doing wrong and having it turn out well anyway never excuses doing the wrong thing.

Was any medical knowledge gained by the Tuskegee Syphilis "study"? Probably, but that doesn't justify it. It was still evil.

Might mask mandates and forced shutdowns slow the spread of a virus? It doesn't matter because it's still wrong to do those things. Even if you are really scared of the virus.

Might draconian "border security" and "immigration" control prevent some problems? Probably, but that doesn't make it right-- get rid of the root cause of the potential problems (v*ting, welfare, and anti-defense legislation) instead of thrashing at the leaves.

It's entirely possible you could find some innocent individual who is still alive because of some specific anti-gun legislation. Even if there weren't a trade-off with lives lost as a result of such counterfeit rules, it's still wrong to violate the natural human right to own and to carry weapons.

Yet because people keep asking the wrong questions (because they either don't like the right ones or don't even know what to ask) they keep getting the wrong "answers". And this allows them to keep believing that somehow, some way, political government is something other than a cancer.

Responsible people who have worthwhile principles have to accept that they have no right to violate others just because they have (or believe they have) a good goal in mind.

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Privileges-- loaned-out rights

I've heard some people argue there are no such things as rights; only privileges. But if rights don't exist, neither can privileges.

A right is something you can do just because no one else has the right to prevent you from doing it. Something you can do because you were born human. (Which is everything that doesn't violate the equal and identical rights of anyone else.)

A privilege is when someone else lets you use their right in some limited way. Basically, they let you appear to "violate" their right-- with their permission-- for a set time, often in exchange for something they want, like money or information.

If they didn't have a right, they couldn't loan it to you.

Since rights can only be individual, not collective, and government can therefore have no rights, government can't even grant privileges. And they certainly don't have the "right" to ration or otherwise violate the rights of human beings in any way.

Even every argument against rights only destroys the justification for political government even harder.

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President* Biden

The most suspicious point in favor of there having been election funnybusiness (a safe euphemism?) on a large enough scale to change the outcome is how desperate those on the "winning" side are to sweep the idea under the rug. To make it an off-limits topic. To ban the topic from the conversation in any way they can get away with.

It looks to me as though they already know and are afraid others will figure it out.

And do what, exactly? 

At this point, the most that would happen is for Biden's presidency to come with an asterisk in future fringe history books. He still has the power to do all the damage he can think of while he occupies the office-- just like those who came before him, whether any of them were legitimately [sic] elected or not.

Of course, I don't believe in or advocate mob rule. There has never been a legitimate election and there never will be. So I'm not the kind of person they need to keep in the dark. It's all those they want to keep playing the rigged game. Those people have got to keep believing, because if they were to become like me, the whole tower of Dunder Mifflin complaint forms would collapse in a jumbled heap.

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Up to you to make 2021 better

 (My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 30, 2020)

Was the year 2020 not to your liking? Do you want 2021 to be better? Then make it better. It's mostly up to you.

There will be things beyond your control, but you can choose how you feel about them and how you react to them.

You can be stampeded over a cliff by those who gain power from your fear and compliance, or you can be responsible for yourself.

You can act on the science promoted by political hysterics, or on the science which shows there's no need to panic and zero reasons to give up liberty. The calmer path has never backfired on me.

I'm more than ready to take back the liberty which was trampled and stolen over the past year. "No" is a powerful word; one which should be used more often. It won't make you popular, because standing firm isn't popular with those who'd prefer you go along and not make a fuss, no matter what's being done to you.

You don't have to make a scene over every ridiculous demand. Pick your battles. If you don't have a clear line in the sand-- a line you won't be pushed across-- you need to find where yours is. Then stick to it no matter the cost.

As many have pointed out, if you won't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

It'll be hard if you're on your own. If others see you making a stand, maybe they'll be inspired to join you. If not, it's still better to do the right thing alone than to go with the crowd doing the wrong thing. Or allowing the wrong thing to be done to you and others.

I'm on your side as long as you aren't violating the life, liberty, or property of any other human being. So, I'm probably not on your side if you're using politics-- government and legislation.

If your great-grandkids were to ask you what you did when liberty was on the line back in 2021, wouldn't you rather be able to answer with your head held high, saying you refused to help politicians and politicized "experts" destroy America, or would you rather admit you didn't speak out but went along because it was safer? I'd be ashamed to have to give this answer. I can do better.

If 2020 wasn't the best year, look in the mirror to see who's responsible for making 2021 better.

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When statists get stepped on by the State

"Some government regulation is necessary, but this time it has gone too far."

This is what a statist who has been harmed by the state says.

How often do you see this statement, or something similar? Pretty much every day, right?

No, government regulation-- by legislation or by edict-- is not "necessary". Let the market regulate, instead. If regulation is actually necessary, it will happen organically without coercion.

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End the FAA

Here, Elon. Print out and fill in your permit.

I don't like any agency of the feral government, but right now I especially hate the FAA (almost as much as I hate the ATF, IRS, DEA, etc.). 

I enjoy following the SpaceX Starship development down in south Texas. I'm excited to watch the next test flight. After several weather delays, it was scheduled to launch Thursday. Then the FAA decided to interfere.

The low-down slimy FAA pulled their flight permit (or whatever it is called) at the last minute; the morning of the planned test flight. And refuses to issue another one until their demands are met.

How does the FAA imagine they have "authority" to be issuing or withholding permits to anyone for anything? Wow, I hate that kind of arrogance.

They've demanded more info from SpaceX on the flight. As if they couldn't have asked earlier, before the flight was scheduled. (The individual bureaucrat responsible needs to be sued as an individual for the entire cost of the preparations that were wasted.) 

Obviously, the FAA is staffed with useless bureaucratic piles of crap throwing their weight around. They have no legitimate "authority" over anyone. But they'll murder you to keep up the pretense if that's what it takes.

The FAA went from being a useless bureaucratic annoyance to a threat to the future of the human race. An enemy of every human being.

If anyone can take them down, it's Elon Musk*. I doubt it will come to that, but if it does I don't think it will go the way they imagine. I can think of several things he could do-- but I'll let him come up with his own ideas which would undoubtedly be even better.

At a minimum, SpaceX needs to drop the fawning "and thank you to the FAA for..." that they recite at the end of each launch broadcast. Why thank your mortal enemy?

Abolish the harmful FAA. Use its ruins as a toxic waste dump-- oh, wait, it's already worse than that! No free country would put up with such a monstrosity.

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*I understand the valid criticisms leveled against Musk's cronyism, and I agree with it all.

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The same question, phrased differently

Consistency scares people. Some people claim that consistency means you're stuck in a rut. If you believe one answer fits every problem, you aren't being rational. You could be a cultist. I agree with that to some extent.

But these same people also keep asking questions that are really the same question phrased differently, so in that situation, one answer does apply. It has to.

Isn't "taxation" necessary? No.
Should government regulate guns? No.
Should government be able to mandate masks and shutdowns? No.
Isn't it OK for cops to shoot people who refuse to cooperate? No.

Isn't security more important than liberty? No.

Aren't business licenses necessary? No.
Should government make up rules to help some people at the expense of others? No.
Should government bail out banks/corporations/Wall Street? No.

Should Bitcoin be regulated? No.
Doesn't government have the right to control the border? No.

Drugs have to be regulated, right? No.

But don't you agree government has to license drivers? No.

I could go on and on.

But those aren't really different questions. All of those "different" questions come down to "Do I (or does government, on my behalf) have the right to archate?", so the answer is always going to be the same. It's always going to be "No" as long as you keep asking the same question.

Those questions are dressed up to look different to people who aren't too bright. Or who have been brainwashed into government-supremacism.

You could rephrase the above questions so the answers would always be "yes"; "Is taxation theft?" for example. But the direction remains the same. No one has the right to archate, and saying "it's the law" can't change that fact.

Yet some government-supremacists would make the claim that I'm not "credible" unless I make exceptions where I say it's OK to archate; to rape, murder, kidnap, etc. as long as I call it something else and it is being done by government employees. They'll claim that unless you make these exceptions, you're not part of the adult conversation. Who thinks this makes sense?

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Dogecoin

I would like to get in on Dogecoin, since... why not? So, if anyone is interested in donating some as an alternative to donating dollars or Bitcoin:

D6Wiw75gJbe9hzLEG7PeY22VRdVn2qfjPZ

I just set up this wallet and haven't tested it yet, so if you send some, let me know so I can check to make sure it came through.

Thanks.

UPDATE: I figured out that I could trade a little Bitcoin for some Dogecoin directly through my wallet, so I'm set if Dogecoin goes "to the moon" now. You can still donate if you want, though.

Bullies and government-supremacists

Who are these people whose opinions I don't care about even a little? Bullies. Statists/Government-supremacists. Anyone who wants to use aggression against others: Archators. Those who refuse to recognize that the "right" to archate can not exist.

I run into them everywhere; I'm sure you do, too. Most don't even realize they are the bad guys. Some see themselves as heroes, when nothing could be further from the truth. 

I recognize that ignoring their toxic opinions, or even daring to refute them, can cause them to attack me, either individually or through the violence of the state. But I can't stand to see them attacking someone who isn't going along with their cultish agenda. Sometimes I step in, even though I'd rather ignore them, knowing I will only attract their wrath, just because I can't let their attack go unanswered. 

Otherwise, I'll do what I can to avoid this or defend myself if avoidance fails, but I still don't care about their ignorant and wrongheaded opinions.

Why would anyone? 

They are petulant toddlers with illegitimate power. Let them throw their tantrums and try to stay out of their reach. But don't concern yourself with what they think of you. They are just not credible, rational, or sensible. 

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Care what some people think; not what everyone "thinks"

Part of exercising your liberty comes down to not caring what everyone else thinks. Hopefully, you are able to do this in a way that doesn't come off as rude to observers, but sometimes it's not possible.

You should care what some people think. It's probably not healthy to not care what anyone thinks. You'd be a psychopath or something if that were the case. But most people "out there" aren't really worth coddling.

These people will try to bully you into doing or saying what they want. It's going to probably seem rude to them when you refuse. But how would it feel to you if you caved in? How would it look to others who see you comply with something you (and they) know isn't right? Which is worse?

I usually try to find a way to refuse to go along that isn't confrontational. Often I simply ignore them-- they aren't worth the effort. Sometimes you're not left that option. Sometimes to refuse is to be confrontational. In that case, it helps if you don't get too wrapped up in the opinions of those who are trying to bully you.

If I cared too much about what others think-- when they do not have my best interests at heart-- my liberty would be destroyed. One person at a time, they'll destroy everyone's liberty. Don't let them. Stop them at your liberty, and stop them if you see them targeting someone else. Refusing to be bullied is not the same as imposing your will on them.

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Time's Up flags-- my review

I was apprehensive about the new flags. Specifically, I was concerned about the quality. So I ordered one for myself. It (finally) arrived today.

I'm pleasantly surprised. 

No, they aren't as high quality as the original batch-- but they also cost half as much as those did, almost 15 years ago, so I didn't expect them to be. 

They are better than I had anticipated and I think they are worth the price. If I didn't think they were, I would tell you. I'm much more enthusiastic about them now than I was before seeing one in person.

If you bought a flag, feel free to send me your own review (good, bad, indifferent) and let me know whether or not I can post it.

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Yes, V*ter, you were lied to and used. Did you learn anything?

I'm kinda liking how so many who supported Bad'un are now realizing that he was never on their side. Don't they understand how politics works? (They may now.) Did they really imagine it was to benefit them?

This is a lesson I learned when I was still in my early 20s. Maybe most of those who seem surprised by recent developments are around that same age. Other than the slow learners...

They are feeling used, and the smarter ones realize they were lied to. 

"His campaign promises aren't already Law? It can't be!" 

"There were unintended consequences to the promises he has carried through on? Why didn't he tell us this was the case?"

"I'm getting the feeling we were used." Yeah, you were.

How many of them will still believe in the same old process next time? Most of them. Hope springs eternal and gullibility is almost bottomless.

But it can be amusing to watch it happen to them. I just wish you and I could stay out of the crossfire.

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Is vaccine really worth celebrating?

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 23, 2020-- This is one of those headlines that makes me go "Huh?", but such is life.)

As soon as a Covid-19 vaccine was announced, the debate began over who should get it first. To me, the answer was obvious: Give it to the politicians first. They want to be called "leaders"; let them lead for once.

This win/win solution should make everyone happy.

People who love government are generally going to be the people most likely to trust the vaccine. They probably believe politicians are valuable. They'd believe using the vaccine on the politicians first would be safe and would protect them.

Those who aren't as fond of government and politicians are probably not going to trust the vaccine as much. They'd probably be glad to see politicians used as lab rats.

If the vaccine is safe, the politicians survive and others can then try it. If it turns out the vaccine was a bit rushed, and not as safe as initially advertised, no real harm done. You can always recruit more politicians later-- if you must.

If this past year taught us anything, it taught us to not trust experts when politics is involved. If you are not skeptical about this first-ever vaccine for any kind of coronavirus, which was rushed through the process, then you haven't been paying attention to the history of pharmaceuticals. I want to see what happens over time to those who took it before I decide if I'm going to. Especially if it becomes mandatory.

I'm not anti-vaccine, but I'm anti-"mandatory" every time.

I'm not interested in seeing famous people getting vaccinated on television. How do I know that's really the vaccine and not glucose? Who makes decisions based on what famous people do? Most of them didn't get famous for being smart or making good decisions. If you follow the examples of famous people you're probably in serious danger. If they are famous for being politicians, it's even worse.

I suppose the cat's out of the bag now, though. It's too late to let politicians go first.

Now we are being told the vaccine may only be effective for a couple of months, and having been vaccinated doesn't mean you can dispense with the face mask and the anti-social "social distancing", nor will it mean the end of the shutdowns. So what's the point? Will this vaccine raise the survival rate from 99.6% up to 99.7%? I'm unconvinced.

Whatever happens, I wish you a very merry healthy Christmas!

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The truth can change

There are things which are true that you (and I) don't want to be true.

The pragmatist just says "Oh, well. That's how it is", but smart people see it as an opportunity to change what is true. Change it for the better.

It was once true that humans were denied the experience of powered flight. That's not true anymore (although the nasty TSA tries as hard as they can to make it true again).

It is true that I currently have a piece of metal (accidentally) superglued to my right index finger, making it harder to type. I'm hoping this truth will change in the next few days.

Maybe it's true that humans always impose political governments on themselves and others. If so, work to change that truth into something healthier.

Truth shouldn't be a prison. If there's a truth you don't like, do what you can to make a new truth. Make the old truth a lie going into the future.

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Flag news (shipping rate increase imminent)

Just a heads up that I was informed by the flag manufacturer that the USPS is increasing their shipping rates on Monday (January 25, 2021) so the shipping cost per flag will go up an additional 60 cents. Not a big deal, but if you want to avoid the price increase, order before then.

I guess the USPS is doing such a great job they decided to give themselves a raise.

It seems that my profit margin will also decrease by a dollar, but I'll see how that goes. I already know I'm not going to get rich off of this. Maybe it won't be a big deal.

Recycled criminals

It seems to me that each new administration's government is largely composed of nasty government criminals recycled from previous administrations, plus some new blood to train to be nasty government criminals for future administrations to pick from for recycling.

I admit I may be cynical about the whole nasty circus.

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Covid wrap-up

Even the bushes are scared of The Corona

Now that it's the era of Bad'un-- you know, the "Bungle Backward Badly" guy-- the coronavirus is either effectively gone (since it has served its purpose) or it's such a big deal we'll all be ordered to wear masks all the time for 100 days (or much longer) and there'll be lockdowns for everyone. Depending on which of the random nonsensical paths is taken.

Here's my current thinking on the subject of Covid-19.

Yes, the virus probably exists. I have no way to know for sure since I don't have the equipment to see/isolate it; I'm forced to take someone else's word about it. I still think it's somewhat more likely that it is a real virus-- at least of some sort-- than that the virus doesn't even exist.

So there probably is a pandemic... in the same way that there's a pandemic of E. coli. It's probably widespread, but not a real problem except in a small percentage of cases. How much concern and tyranny is appropriate for something that is everywhere but not usually a big deal? I choose none.

I trust the science, but I do not trust politicized science interpreters. Nor do I trust their numbers even a little bit. When you count every death where the virus was present as a death caused by the virus, the numbers are going to look scarier than they really are. But it's good propaganda. Scared people are compliant people.

Instead of people questioning whether they should be scared or whether government should be controlling them, they debate how scared "we" should be and how much government should be controlling us. They ask if mask mandates and lockdowns and economic shutdowns "work" instead of realizing that no one has the right or the imaginary "authority" to be imposing them.

I still believe the government response to Covid harmed vastly more people than the virus did. Emotionally, physically, psychologically, socially, and more. Without even factoring in the economic harm.

I just can't cooperate with such people. If truth is illegal, I'll still be an outlaw.

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Variety bag special offer

I have a variety bag for one lucky reader.

I mentioned that I was sent a replacement item from Wazoo Survival Gear-- after the USPS fumbled the delivery-- but then eventually received the original order. Well, I paid for it and now I'm selling the extra. 

It is a Wazoo bushcraft necklace.

The grab bag includes the necklace plus 2 Time's Up patches and 2 original-style Time's Up stickers (for indoor use only, and not available elsewhere anymore). 

$30.00 (Paypal or Bitcoin) for all-- free shipping to the "lower 48" (elsewhere, we'll work it out).

Just contact me-- first one to tell me they want it gets it.

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Don't forget to buy a Time's Up flag while they are available!

Gun stuff

This was a bad year to be broke. It makes me almost wish I had been on the "stimulus" list because if I had, I know what I'd be spending the magic money on. As it is, I've been stretching and contorting my budget in uncomfortable ways.

What I've been doing is trying to get some gun-related stuff. While I still can-- while it is still available and "legal". 

I made one Big Purchase (with Bitcoin!), which will be seen later-- maybe in a month or so (but you'll have to be paying attention because I won't be specifically talking about it).

But mostly I've been trying to get extra standard-capacity magazines, in preparation for a 10-round limit. I still have an old Ruger magazine from the Cigar Willie years; crippled by an oversized "floor plate" to hold only 10 rounds. It's an abomination.

I did get one 10-round magazine, though. To return a rifle to its original configuration. This magazine was at a really cool western junk (and guns) store I like to browse, and I got it for $5. Awesome! There was another magazine in their parts bin, but I can't tell for sure if it fits my Ruger-- it looks like it might. I might ask the price anyway next time I go to town.

Now there's just one thing I really lack. I would like to get more ammo, but I haven't been able to. It's not readily available, and really expensive when I do find it. I feel I need more 9mm-- especially a box or two of self-defense rounds. And more .45 ACP.

I'm always wanting more .32-40 and .45 Long Colt "cowboy loads", too, but those aren't as critical. Another couple of cans of FFg black powder wouldn't be bad, either.

Is there anything of this nature you are stocking up on? You don't have to answer that rhetorical question; it is only asked to give you something to think about.

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Speaking up-- or not

There are times, places, and situations where speaking up is fine. And safe.

Then there are times, places, and situations where your gut is going to tell you this isn't the time, place, or situation to do so. That was the case when I was at the gun counter the other day.

I think you should listen to your gut (unless your head overrules it).

Your gut might be wrong. Maybe you should have spoken up but you missed the chance, or maybe you shouldn't have when you did.

I would rather live in a society where people feel free to say what they think, even if others don't like it. Including "hate speech" [sic]. I've never encountered a good argument for restricting speech of any kind.

But there is a cost. Both for staying silent and for speaking out. I've paid (and still pay) the price for both at various times. I'm not going to heap criticism on someone for taking either path when I would have made the opposite choice. My criticism is on anyone advocating (or committing) archation.

Most of the time, in most situations, I don't hesitate to speak up when my comment is relevant. But, there are times I choose not to for whatever reason. Sometimes the reason is simply that I don't feel like getting into a debate right now. Even in that case, I still might speak up in support of someone being criticized for a reasonable opinion.

How do you handle such situations?

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Gun control doesn't stop shooters

  (My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 16, 2020)

A couple of weeks ago I was in Lubbock for a while. Before heading home I stopped by a Lubbock Walmart so I could grab a few items without being herded like a cow through a chute. As it happens, I missed the fatal shooting there by moments. I was almost surely still in the parking lot when the tragic crime occurred.

Crimes-- real crimes against life, liberty, and property-- infuriate me. There is simply no excuse. There is also no excuse for enabling such crimes with ignorant policies which help the bad guys by putting the good people at a disadvantage.

What do I mean by this?.

I mean, once again, a place with a "No guns" sign by the door was the scene of a shooting. Will wonders never cease?

Very little makes me sicker than a "No guns" sign at a business. Bad guys will never obey such signs. You might as well roll out the red carpet for those set on murder. You've offered the rest of your customers to them on a silver platter with your compliments.

A "no guns" sign has never in the entire history of the world stopped a criminal from bringing in a gun and shooting someone if it's what he's set on doing.

If someone could be stopped by a sign, he could also be stopped by someone looking him in the eye and saying "No!" In fact, that would probably be more likely to work than a sign posted by the door. At least this is personal and he knows he has been noticed and called out for his behavior.

Instead, those signs, and those who enforce them, only keep out the people who are prepared to defend the employees and customers from such criminals.

It's the polar opposite of being helpful. It's a cheap political stance-- political theater-- prioritizing feelings over reality in the name of imaginary safety.

I never want someone intent on harm to be able to pull out a gun, a knife, a stick, or a fist without being stopped cold where he stands. Not even once. Some might believe that's a little harsh, but he made a choice. When police get in the way of this result, they've done more harm than good.

I don't support criminals or those who side with them by making up or enforcing victim disarmament rules. As if there's a difference.

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Holding your tongue at the gun counter

A couple of days ago I was at the gun counter in a national sporting goods chain. A customer told the counter guy he was just looking, but then commented that he noticed that they seemed to have sold a lot of scopes in the past week. Counter guy said, "We are selling a lot of everything!" He said people are even coming in to buy .22 long guns for home defense. I knew the reasons behind that.

Another counter guy and customer were talking, and I overheard that customer expressing his opinion that Trump had been the defender of liberty, and that Biden would basically be the end of America. 

I bit my tongue to stop myself from pointing out that while Biden is openly an anti-gun bigot with big plans for your guns, Trump was sneakier about it. He pretended to be on your side while violating your rights the first opportunity he got. Trump is no friend of gun owners; unfortunately, Biden-- with the help of a majority of anti-liberty congressvermin-- will probably be much worse.

But, yeah, I said nothing. I just stood there looking complacent and oblivious. It's the best I can do in such situations.

Long ago, I decided it is best to not comment on politics while in a gun store. Other than my favorite gun store back in Colorado, but that was different (...I believe).

During my time in Pennsylvania I had visited a gun store in my first couple of days there, and as I was leaving-- on foot-- it began to rain hard enough to drown frogs. Another customer who was also leaving noticed I was on foot and offered me a ride back to my motel. On the way, he warned me that the gun shop owner was a former cop and that many of its customers were current and former cops. He told me to watch what I said in there to avoid problems. (I hadn't said anything to anyone, so I was safe.) I thanked him for the warning.

You never know when there might be a snake in the grass. Yes, the popular (with cops) thug-rug haircut can be a dead giveaway but don't rely on it.

And anyone might be Stasi.

There's a time to speak up and a time to observe and collect data. Wisdom is knowing which time it is.

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Pride

It bothers me that the word "pride" is misused for things like the various sexualities. (I am told this makes me "-phobic"; another word misuse that annoys me.) 

"Pride" is for accomplishments. There is no accomplishment in being gay, straight, white, black, American, or anything else like that. Those are very dumb things to feel "pride" over.

To be clear, it would be just as dumb to be ashamed of those things.

However, there is another meaning of the word "pride" that actually could apply. A pride is a social group-- a family group-- of lions. A tribe.

In that case, "pride" fits perfectly.

There can be a gay pride, a white pride, a male pride, a liberty pride-- pride associated with any group which wants to express its identity. Every pride can have their own flag if they want. And many do

The Time's Up flag is my pride flag. Cops' pride flag is the Blue Line abomination. The US flag, Nazi flag, POW/MIA flag, Confederate flag, and all the other flags that express a tribal identity are pride flags.

So, even if that's not how they are using the word "pride", I'm going to give them the benefit of a doubt and pretend it is. Just because it's smarter.

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Want a laugh?

 Check out the updates on the most recent blog post for a laugh.

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USPS is failing me

Right after Christmas, I ordered a couple of items with Christmas money. And I'm still waiting for them to arrive. 

Both were sent United [sic] States Postal Service. Both have tracking numbers, but...

One apparently disappeared into the USPS system immediately after leaving the Denver distribution center, and the other has been criss-crossing the country, coast to coast, ever since it shipped. It got as close as Dallas twice, but then passed me by and ended up on the other side of the country again. Seriously, it doesn't stop going one direction until it bounces off the coastline, when it just changes direction like a very slow game of Pong. (Update: 1-15-2021-- It is back in Dallas again. Third time now. Where will it go next?)

Neither case seems to be the seller's fault in any way. 

In fact, one (Wazoo Survival Gear- not a paid link) was nice enough to ship out a replacement after I gave them a head's up that their package seems to have disappeared somewhere between Denver and here. I wasn't expecting them to do that, I just wanted to let them know there might be a problem. (Update: 1-15-2021-- The original shipment arrived today, and I immediately emailed to let them know and offer to pay for the replacement if it's too late to cancel it.)

So I don't blame the sellers. I blame the USPS.

Yes, I understand "Covid blah blah blah...". Delays, unprecedented volume, etc. But this isn't a delay, it is incompetence. Stuff is staying in the system far longer than necessary, taking up more of their employees' limited time. No real business could be this incompetent and stay in business. 

The local USPS employees are nice and helpful, but the USPS as a system is everything wrong with a big (semi)government bureaucracy. No real accountability being one big problem.

The holsters I have reviewed come from Slovakia and arrive faster, but they are shipped by a non-government business. And I got something else that was shipped through FedEx and it got here in 2 days. What a difference being a real business makes.

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"Unity"

The incoming Parasitic Political Figurehead (PPF)* spent a lot of breath after the recent selection ritual calling for "unity". (Funny, he didn't want "unity" before the ritual, only afterward.)

This was before the Expedition to Congress-- after which the mask slipped a bit with his people. Now they are frothing at the mouth to punish-- literally-- anyone who isn't "of The Body". 

They sure were quick to drop the "unity" mantra.

I'm OK with that.

I have no intention of uniting with him and his gang. Not a chance.

Why would I ever sink so low as to unite with those who believe it's OK to violate others-- to use the political means? I haven't done so in the past and I'm not about to start now. Unity with bad guys isn't anything to advocate or to be proud of. Nope. They are on their own.

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*PPF Uncle Joe Bad'un has clearly indicated he is planning to declare war on gun owners when he ascends to power, and his gang is positioned to waste no time in doing so. Hopefully, their absurd, pointless vendetta against Trump will distract them for a while to give us a little more time to prepare. But I'm not counting on it. So if I seem more hostile toward him than you believe is reasonable, that's why. He has set his sights on ME. (Although, I don't have to wait to be targeted personally to oppose legislation-- I oppose it all automatically.)

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You can always try to make papyrus...

If you were in a small town a couple hundred years ago and wanted to get your message out, you could have letters published in the local paper.

If the paper decided it didn't want your message to get out, maybe because a powerful local politician didn't want your idea out in society so the paper got "influenced" and stopped publishing your letters, you could probably go to another paper-- hopefully, a paper owned by a different individual. Even if it were in the next town over, your message can still be read where it can make a difference. 

What happens if, in fact, all the papers available to you in a real-world sense are owned by the cronies of that powerful politician, or politicians who share his agenda? He doesn't want your message to get out, and his friends help him so to it that it doesn't. Not effectively, anyway.

If no one would publish you, you could start your own paper, even if you had to write each copy by hand. So you decide to print your own flyers. 

But no one will sell you paper for the same reason-- all the paper sellers are buddies with the political enemy. All the ink sellers, too. 

If you point out the problem, some people might say all those businesses have a right to refuse to do business with you. Even if it means your message goes unheard. After all, you have a right to speak and write; no one is obligated to let you do so using their medium. 

You could learn to make papyrus and ink, or start inscribing clay tablets. And your message's reach gets smaller and smaller.

And you can still stand in your living room and speak as freely as you want, 24 hours per day. (in that era, anyway, maybe not today.) Your words can neither help nor hurt anyone this way, but you can speak them.

You still have your freedom of speech... right?

Not really.

No, the local paper is not the government, but what if it were owned by the local politician's best friend? Or a political crony of some sort? Someone who isn't technically an agent of government but acts in that capacity anyway.

And, it's not "censorship" to stifle your freedom of speech as long as it's not being stifled by government through legislation. But that's who is stifling it, due to conflicts of interest. The politician doesn't want his buddies to allow you to have a platform, so they don't. Or, maybe the people who can keep your message hidden just have their own agenda that meshes nicely with that of the politician.

Others may claim you still have freedom of speech, and that you aren't being censored by government, but what's the reality of your situation?

About the same situation with regard to your freedom of speech as is going on today.

No, Twitter, Facebook, and Google are not "private businesses"-- they are corporations run by government-supremacist cronies of (almost exclusively) Left-Statist politicians, or who coincidentally share the same government-supremacist agenda with those political parasites. 

Even if they were "private businesses", it's not OK to violate people just because they accepted an invitation to your yard and you only violate them while they are there and because they are using your property.

I would never do that to someone, and I can't respect anyone who does.

Just because you aren't a "conservative", don't think you aren't going to be targeted. If you are anyone other than a w0ke Left-statist, you are in the crosshairs. Maybe you think by saying the correct, supportive things they'll eat you last. Maybe.

This isn't a good situation. It is dangerous to stifle speech, even if you can dishonestly, but with technical accuracy, claim it isn't censorship and that people still have freedom of speech, just not where it can make a difference. I hope those who are trying to stomp out free speech in this purge suffer the consequences. Hard.

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A little note on Section 230 or whatever. You know the thing...

I'm opposed to legislation. ALL legislation. As I understand it, that particular legislation protected social media platforms from being held accountable for what their users said-- as long as the platforms didn't edit those comments (becoming the publisher of said comments in the process). Once they started editing what their users said, the legislation no longer applied to them anyway because they had become, essentially, the writers, not just the platform.
I'm probably wrong about all of that, but it seems to me to be a moot point either way.

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Take back your own responsibility

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 9, 2020)

Like it or not, everyone has the responsibility to make their own decisions. If they decide to wear a mask because they believe it will keep them (or others) safe, they are free to do so. They are violating their responsibility when they threaten to use government violence to force others to wear a mask.

People have the responsibility to run their business without intentionally causing harm. Customers have the responsibility to choose which businesses to use. Anyone who dictates how other people's businesses must be run is violating their responsibility to not harm others.

Responsibility is hard, and it's uncomfortable for a lot of people. They'll listen to, and obey, politicians instead of doing what is responsible and right.

You are responsible for your body, your actions, and your property. Your main responsibility is to not violate the life, liberty, or property of any other person. Responsibility can be scary. It seems most people would rather shift their responsibility to government, and government would be happy to take it.

Except, you can't give your responsibilities to others. You can only pretend to do so. You are still responsible for anything done on your behalf.

Responsibility is power. You can decide whether to use this power or ignore it, but loaning your power to others isn't wise. When your power is used by others to harm people, the responsibility is still yours. Letting government borrow your responsibility is like loaning a gun to someone who has a history of robbing banks and admits he plans to do so again. It's unethical and irresponsible to loan your power to any such person or group of people.

If you abdicate your responsibility anyway, government will claim it. Then, they will pervert it. They will misuse your responsibility-- your power-- to violate the rights of others. When you consent to what is being done, the responsibility is on your shoulders. Stop consenting for your power to be used against others in harmful ways.

Take back your responsibility and hang on to it like the treasure it is.

Realistically, it isn't safe to take your power back from those who want it. They'll threaten and punish you. Your neighbors will probably stand against you. The brainwashing is strong, and after 12 or more years of indoctrination in government schools-- or government-friendly schools-- most people simply can't overcome it.

Do it anyway. It's the right thing.

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Want a Time's Up flag?

If you want a Time's Up flag of your very own, I am selling them on eBay.

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Hey, statism-- Time's Up!

In the past month or two-- basically since November 3rd's political ritual-- my Time's Up design has been getting a lot of attention again.

After the Expedition to Congress on January 6th, the attention ramped up even more.

I would like to pretend this means people are getting smart (or ethical) and rejecting politics, which is the main message of "Time's Up", but realistically I know it's probably mostly "conservatives" who are upset at the generally reported results of November 3rd's political ritual. If things had gone their way they wouldn't be noticing my design so much.

I never try to hide or water down the message. I'm glad for the sales of patches (I wish it would translate into sales of TeeSpring products, too) but it is not a statist design-- not for any faction of statism. The eBay listing says as much for all to read. And I never pretend otherwise. Not even for more sales. 

Statism is being shown for what it is for anyone to see if they look. It has been running on borrowed time. 

Time's Up for statism; for all forms of political government and those who support such a barbaric, uncivilized, antisocial abomination.

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