The crowdfunding test, part 2

Now, for comparison, I've started a GiveSendGo campaign. Exact same wording and everything-- I started to give more details (to say specifically it's to help me buy a gun), but decided that wouldn't be a fair test. I didn't even try to inspire tribe competitiveness by mentioning the GFM campaign and asking them to beat it.

I did raise the amount by a little because I am giving GiveSendGo a percentage (it was voluntary!) and to cover the percentage charged by the donation processor.

Now I'll watch and see.

Again-- this is not a critical need. It is just a frivolous fun thing I'd like. Don't stretch your finances thin by donating. I'd rather get lots of small donations than just a few big ones anyway.

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You do you

I don't have to like anything someone else likes. Me not liking it doesn't-- or shouldn't-- affect your enjoyment in the slightest.

So why do so many people act as though it does?

If I don't like something another person likes I'm not going to try to stop them from having/doing it. This obviously excludes if someone likes to rape or steal-- anything that violates others I have the right to stop them from doing.

But if I don't like your hairstyle or hair color? Or the clothes you wear? Who cares? It's none of my business anyway. Don't ask my opinion if you don't want to hear the truth.

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Taiwan is China's Confederacy. They left the abusive "Union", but the political criminals of that former union refuse to accept the divorce and will probably end up killing a huge number of their own kin to overthrow the results of that election and force them back in. I imagine that's how the US will react once Texas leaves.

Choose!

"If you could only have one X, which would you choose?" One what? 

This is a question I see posed a lot about a wide variety of topics and things, from knives and guns to shoes and vehicles.

I don't let myself get painted into such corners very often. I understand that it would always depend on the specific situation. 

Where in the world do I find myself when this choice is forced on me?
What are the circumstances?
How much warning will there be?

What is available, both for me to choose from and in the world outside?
What season of the year is it?

How long is the situation likely to last? Days, months, or forever?  
What physical condition am I in?

All of those factors will affect my choice on everything.

This is why my bugout bag is too heavy. Depending on the specific circumstances I intend to discard things I'm not likely to need this time; caching them for later, if possible.

It's also why I EDC. If I don't have the opportunity to choose my "only one", I am at least carrying something useful for any situation I find thrust upon me. And I also know skills beat stuff.

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Don't forget the fundraiser for the rotating, cylindrical liberty pill dispenser. Share it widely and let's see what happens.

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I really, truly appreciate it!

It's possible I just dreamed up the most evil superpower imaginable: The Unhealing Touch.
One touch from someone with this power would make any old scar open back up, becoming a fresh wound again (imagine if the victim had survived open-heart surgery). Any broken bone returns to its freshly broken condition; any internal injuries sustained over the course of a life return. At a minimum, their belly button would start bleeding. And it all happens at once.
Come to think of it, I know people with this superpower... if you're talking about emotional wounds.

Wait... what was his "job"?

The upcoming local primary election I had previously mentioned as splitting along ethnic lines seems to have seen those lines blur a little recently. Not a lot, but some.

The non-Hispanic candidate for the judgeship is the former sheriff who was forced to retire-- due to some rule that was on the books-- when he started running for county judge. (His parents were friends with my grandparents, but I don't know him personally.)

His campaign signs declare his "Integrity, Honesty, Experience". Really?

People of integrity and honesty don't go into legislation enforcement. If they do, any integrity and honesty will be quickly sacrificed in order to keep the parasitic "job", paid with stolen money. But it's the "experience" part that I find most disturbing.

He was the sheriff, not a judge. I see no claim that he has ever been a judge. Is he saying he acted as a judge in his position of sheriff? How? Did he decide which counterfeit "laws" to enforce and which ones to ignore? I know he frequently enforced prohibition and anti-gun legislation and "speeding" rules-- it was in the newspaper's weekly "Sheriff's Report". Or did he hand out punishment to those he captured? I don't think either of those things is a sheriff's "job", and if he did them anyway it discredits the "Integrity, Honesty" claim.

Not that I think the other guy is any better. His slogan is something about it being time for a change. Yes, it is always time for some changes. But there are positive changes and negative changes. You don't make negative changes just because you want to change something. Maybe it's time to abolish the position of county judge. That could be a positive change that removes one more political criminal from a position of power.

I don't need either of them.

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Don't forget the fundraiser for the rotating, cylindrical liberty pill dispenser. Share it widely and let's see what happens.

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(Not exactly) Just a test

I went ahead and opened the GoFu**Me campaign to see if
1) I can raise the money for the Liberty Pill Dispenser or
2) They'll figure out what it's for and remove the campaign and
3) How long until the campaign is removed.

At least, history suggests they'll refund any donations if the campaign is removed. And, on the off-chance it all goes through (and anyone donates), maybe I'll get to buy something non-essential, but fun.

On with the experiment. Here's the link again: https://gofund.me/d02d93b3

Added: So far, it's still up. But also has zero engagement. How's that for staying under the radar?

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A product of government schooling educates me

On a "social" media platform, someone responded to my statement, "My appreciation for education explains my opposition to schooling. Especially government schooling" with this gem: "so you rather have religious indoctrination. You should read a history book" (all grammatical and spelling errors as in the originals).

I replied, "False dichotomy. Plus, government is the primary religion of our time,"

So this genius, "gayuncle2", struck back with, "I don't think you understand how dichotomy works religion is the biggest danger to our society and democracy now [...] Read a hustory book there is a reason tgey called it the dark ages"

So, he doesn't understand what a false dichotomy is and is trying to cover for that shortcoming. A product of the schools he thinks educated him, no doubt.

I responded again: "Government is the biggest religion. And, yes, it is a threat to society, as is democracy (mob rule).  Government indoctrination is why you believe otherwise."

Not sure I'll bother to respond again, but it is educational to interact with these people on occasion if only to see why society is in such trouble. "The more you know..."

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GoFu**Me is a cheater

Like many people, I was recently disappointed by the revelation of GoFu**Me's dishonest business practices. Disappointed, but not particularly surprised in these w0ke times.

I've used their service 4 times in the past-- once just to get some operating funds, twice for cats in need of medical help, and once to help someone else in the family after a tragedy. It worked well for those situations since they had no political overtones. I've donated through them many more times than that, and I am under the impression the money went where I wanted it to go.

Not sure I'll ever use them for myself again, though; not if I can find someone else I trust more. Someone not infected with Left-Statism-- I'd prefer no Statism whatsoever, but that may be unrealistic in these Statist times.

Most people say they don't want anyone to be able to raise money for terrorists, so they make allowances for such dishonest practices, even if it occasionally harms someone they might like. Making rules (and exceptions) for extreme situations makes for bad rules. Besides, who gets to define "terrorist"? The worse terrorists.

Yes, I realize the Ancestral Enemies enforce rules against sending money to those they don't like. No point in having more stringent rules than they do, though. I'd be pushing the envelope the other direction.

Me, I say you do what you want with your money-- donate to Biden, ISIS, or anyone else, no matter how bad they are, if that's what you want to do. It's your money.

If a company is going to allow funds to be donated, but then later say they'll decide if it'll be sent to the intended recipient or not, they've lost my trust. That's what they did with the donations to the Canadian Truckers (that should link to the better option). To me, they lost their say in that part of the process when they collected the first donation for that cause. After that, if they don't like where it's heading, they can change their rules for next time. But don't cheat by changing (or adding) rules in midstream.

When GFM's first choice was to send all the money-- 9+ million dollars of it-- to someone they approved of instead of the intended recipients, that was just about unforgivable. At least they reversed that stupid decision and said they'd refund all the donations. That wasn't enough, but it was better than outright stealing the money as was their first inclination.

As a protest, I thought briefly about setting up a GFM fundraiser for a "rotating cylindrical liberty pill dispenser" I've been wanting, to do a review on it just for fun. To see if I could word things ambiguously in such a way that it wouldn't be immediately flagged and removed before I got the money to purchase the item to review. But, worded in such a way that the donors knew exactly what I was talking about-- no fraud on my end. Who knows, I still might do that in the near future just to see what happens. But one thing I won't count on is actually getting any money that is collected. Not with them controlling the payout and getting to judge whether it is worthy or not.

Otherwise, I'll be waiting to see where all this goes, and who comes out of this looking better than GFM. It wouldn't take a lot.

Update: Nothing. Which isn't too surprising since I haven't put much effort into promoting this. But now I've started a campaign with a non-w0ke competitor, just to see what, if anything, happens. Again, yes, I would like to get the money to buy this gun, but this is not a critical situation. Don't put yourself out to donate. Plus, I'd rather get a lot of small donations than a few big ones. But do share it if you don't mind.

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Modern life not from government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 12, 2022)

The conveniences of the modern world are all around us all the time, but I don't think I'll ever take them for granted.

One of my grandmothers grew up in this area during the Dust Bowl days. Her big family was crowded into a two-room, dirt-floored shack without indoor plumbing or electricity. They traveled by horse-drawn wagon and their water was dipped from a cistern; they didn't even have a windmill. They picked cotton by hand, dragging the heavy sacks behind them. She grew up living basically the same life as someone born in this region a hundred years earlier could have lived.

The Great Depression probably didn't even affect her family, at least it never figured into any of the stories she told about growing up.

When I was a kid, the old shack was still standing and I visited it with her a couple of times.

Their life wasn't easy, but it was good enough.

So maybe it's understandable that I can still marvel at things like indoor plumbing with running water and flush toilets and at electricity.

It's not as though I've ever had to live without those things, but I realize how few of the people who have ever been alive had them.

Anything which has been around such a short time can go away easier than you suppose. There's little chance they'll go away in our lifetime, but over the long term, the chances are fairly high.  If something happens and these modern conveniences go away, the radical socialists who use the environment as their excuse would quickly realize how bad this would be for the environment. Truthfully, I think they already know, they just don't care as long as it kills off most humans.

I'm not content to be dependent on modern conveniences. I enjoy making fire without lighters or matches, but the ability to make fire with primitive methods makes me value the ease of using a lighter even more highly. It's the same with every skill.

I'm grateful to all the researchers, experimenters, and workers who have given us the good things of the modern world. Some others would also like credit.

Government would like you to believe it brought about this modern world's peace, prosperity, and safety. Yet the truth is, when these things are the norm it's in spite of political government, not because of it. Appreciate the heroes, not the freeloaders.

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Covid wrap-up

Covid is a coronavirus, which means it is a cold virus. This is why it's not the flu (which is caused by influenza viruses, not coronaviruses). Arguing that Covid is or is not "like the regular flu" makes as much sense as arguing over whether a whale is or is not like a regular elephant. It's silly and makes the arguers look ignorant.

I doubt Covid was created and released intentionally (but it might have been) even though I consider it plausible-- even likely-- that it came from a government lab. 

I don't believe there was ever any meeting of all the ruling political criminals of the planet where they plotted together to use this as an excuse to grip the populations tighter and ratchet up the tyranny and authoritarianism. I think they just seize any opportunity that they can, without even thinking about it and without needing to discuss it among themselves. It's their nature as political criminals, no conspiracy needed.

Mandates-- beyond the mandator's private property-- are never within anyone's rights to impose. No emergency can justify them. Liberty matters more to me than safety (protection of life). I oppose anything that violates liberty.

The politicized experts lied. Over and over again. As usual.

I lost almost all confidence in doctors and health experts over the past couple of years. I lost respect for many others, too. From scientists and skeptics to celebrities I had previously thought were smart. The government-supremacism that some harbor came bubbling to the surface, then overflowed during this time. If you decry the "anti-science" and "conspiracy theories" of the other side without acknowledging your own, well... too bad for you.

Masks do cause a decrease in oxygen-- I did the tests on myself. Whether or not they reduce disease transmission is irrelevant to the question as to whether it's OK to impose a mask mandate. It's not. Wear one if it makes you feel better, but leave others alone to wear them or not. If you're scared to be around maskless (or "unvaccinated") people, you have the right to stay home.

The Covid shots seem unnecessary and not particularly effective, regardless of whether or not they are safe. That's the same thing I think about the yearly flu shots, and why I have never gotten one. Just not worth it to me. If you want to get a shot that you hope will make you safer, go ahead, that's your business. Just don't try to force others to take the shot, too. And don't impose or support segregation based on whether someone has the shot or not.

After going through Covid myself, I know-- for me-- it was worse than any other cold I've had... for about 6 hours on the second day, during which time it felt like a bad flu. The rest of the time it felt like a cold but without the nasal congestion and leakage, which to me is the worst part of having a cold. Even though those 6 hours were bad, with the flu I feel that bad for 3 days straight. So, it was better than the flu, by far. (I haven't actually had the flu in a decade or more, but I used to get it every year without fail.) The cough lasted a few weeks, but eventually faded away. It's mostly gone now, and hasn't bothered me for the past week or so. It was NOT worth the shutdowns and lockdowns and economic devastation to try to avoid catching (or spreading) this illness. It was not worth the fearmongering and the mental anguish that was triggered by government and the corporate media in the less-resilient members of the population.

"Long (-Haul) Covid" seems to me to merely be confirmation bias. You'll see what you're looking for. If you're a generally sickly person who has a history of health problems, after Covid you'll be diagnosed with Long Covid when nothing has really changed (you and the doctors will just have a label to put on it now). You might undergo more tests which could discover "new" (or previously undiscovered) problems which can be blamed on Covid. If you're generally a healthy person, you'll probably have the same experience with Covid that you do with other respiratory illnesses. When I've caught the flu, it usually takes me a couple of months to feel normal again-- I recovered from Covid in less than half that time.

Yes, there will probably be new variants for us to catch from now to eternity, until a real cure for coronaviruses is found. But what does it matter? That's the case with other colds and flus, and probably lots of other illnesses as well. Life goes on if you let it.

There's only one local business that asked me to put on a mask (about 6 months ago, maybe more). I didn't put one on but immediately left instead, and I haven't been back. And I probably won't go back. I'm done with the Covid stupidity, and have been for a long time.

There's no credible justification for any lockdowns, mandates, or segregation. Stop tolerating it, or ignore the "rules". Refuse to comply with the control freaks and political criminals. They are not on your side.

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Kent's Cabinet of Wonders

I have a little cabinet full of ammunition-- my "Bullet Display". It hangs on my living room wall and has followed me from place to place for many years. through all sorts of upheavals. It gets added to occasionally, but not so often anymore.

Most of the cartridges it holds don't fit any firearm I have. A lot of them were in a big cardboard box of ammo (and other things) an old man once gave me at a flea market. I found homes for the ones I couldn't use-- other than keeping one of anything I didn't have in the cabinet.

People have given me cartridges after seeing the cabinet and discovering it lacks something they have. At current prices, that may not happen much anymore.

People nearly always seem to find it interesting, even if they aren't "gun people".

It's just one of the collections I have.

My son wants to inherit this cabinet and its contents when I'm gone. He hasn't asked for my skull collection or my kerosene lamp collection. Can't figure out why.

Added: After my son read this post he texted to say he would display my skulls and lamps proudly.

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Letting the terrorists define "terrorist"

And it's only gotten worse since 2012

It's telling that pro-liberty has become (to the "mainstream", anyway) synonymous with "anti-government". What this tells me is that government (and pro-government) is anti-liberty.

I believe this has always been the case; some believe there can be a pro-liberty political government.

In recent years government has tried hard to paint everyone who opposes its tyranny as a potential, or active, domestic terrorist. This is a lie.

Government is the domestic terrorist cell. It is the terrorism threat-- the biggest one and the only one any of us is likely to encounter. They try to point the finger elsewhere, at things that aren't a fraction of the threat they themselves pose. 

And why wouldn't they? They can get away with it because they define the crime.

Anyone who supports government is an enemy of liberty.

Not all governments employees are equally bad, though.

There's a difference between a librarian at the public [sic] library and the scum that works for BATFEces. Yes, both live on stolen money, but the librarian provides a service the market would otherwise provide while the BATFEces trash doesn't. Eliminate the state and there will probably still be libraries (of some sort) with librarians, but there would be no BATFEces anymore. 

Libraries serve people, BATFEces serves only the political criminals who believe they own you. Librarians aren't domestic terrorists just by existing, BATFEces employees are. That's a monumental difference.

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Know who I don't trust?

I don't trust government with my health, my safety, my security, my liberty, my property, my money, my information... nothing. 

That's because I don't trust government-- the state-- ever, with anything. I don't consider it legitimate. It's not credible. It is criminal. 

Why would I trust it or depend on it to do things right? I can't think of a reason, either.

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The Constitution's biggest mistake

I was talking to someone a while back and they were complaining that government doesn't obey the Constitution. Of course, this person is anti-"illegal immigration" and I pointed out that this, too, goes against what the Constitution allows government to do. Surprisingly, I didn't get any pushback on this. For once.

Anyway, I said that the only thing that might have saved the Constitution would have been a clause that specified that killing politicians for any reason would never be a crime and could never be punished, and which could never be rescinded without invalidating the whole document (and thus abolishing the "Union"). This shocked her, but she didn't disagree. (I mentioned this same idea in a recent reply to a comment to another post.)

Blaming our forbears for not "defending" the Constitution well enough is just silly. 

Letting government decide what's "constitutional" or not was doomed to fail-- it is always going to keep moving in the direction of more power for itself. It's always going to criminalize anything that would be effective at stopping this development.

There would have had to be a remedy that was beyond the reach of government. One that was in the hands of each and every individual; up to one person, not to the majority.

Would that have been enough? Would it have at least been better? I don't know, but it's the only thing that might have worked. The founders failed to include that, and here we are. It's too late now.

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Can't join Libertarian party, either

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 5, 2022)

I'm libertarian, uncapitalized, to separate the ethical philosophy I follow from the political party I can't.

A Libertarian, capitalized, is a member of the Libertarian Party.

Ethical libertarianism is based on the recognition that no one has the right to use-- or threaten-- violence, personally or politically, against anyone who isn't currently violating the life, liberty, or property of another. This is the guiding principle which distinguishes a libertarian from anyone else. Follow it and you're libertarian, don't and you're not.

"Classical liberals", who believe in the legitimacy of a "night watchman" state, sometimes refer to themselves as libertarians. They want a government to claim a monopoly of force and run institutions and services too important for government to be running. This is closer to what the Libertarian Party appears to stand for, but it isn't for me.

The Libertarian Party seems to value "smaller government" over liberty or any guiding principle.

Many Libertarian Party members are confused about why more libertarians won't support their party.

Maybe I would if they were more libertarian. I was once, for a year or so, a member of the Libertarian Party. I couldn't stay with the party because they didn't seem very libertarian and were too political. The politics seemed more important to them than being libertarian; so important they kept nominating candidates with completely anti-liberty positions. They probably did this because those candidates seemed more electable. I felt they ignored libertarianism for a chance to sit at the government table with Democrats and Republicans. If that's what matters to them, they can do it without me.

A half-joking description of political Libertarians goes, "Libertarians; plotting to take over the world and leave you alone". Yet some people are scared to be left alone, wanting to be told how to live, and they are going to see this as a threat. A more libertarian approach might say "Plotting to keep anyone from taking over the world so you can live life as you see fit". As long as you don't violate others.

I don't support politics of any sort. I understand the appeal of winning political office, if only to keep someone worse from getting the power. I don't see any benefit in gaining the office if you betrayed your principles to win. If you're going to act like the people you replaced, why bother? Unless it's only about the power.

Also: Why I can't be a conservative, and Why I can't be a liberal

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I could sure use some monetary influx.

Reality and truth are the enemies of w0keness. But w0keness doesn't worry either of them at all.

Choose: prosperity or government

It's gotten to the point where you're going to have to make a choice-- do you want to keep supporting political government or do you want America (or any place where you live) to enjoy prosperity?

Political government is a drain. It's a millstone around your neck; shackles on your hands and feet.

It's expensive to fund and it destroys prosperity wherever it exists. It gets in the way of trade and still demands a cut of every trade you manage to make in spite of its interference. It steals your property to fund gangs who claim to protect your property. It enslaves and molests and calls this "freedom" and "security". It picks fights and then forces you to die in its place. 

It's a parasite posing as the host.

Enough!

Wouldn't you rather build up your society instead of letting government tear it down? I know I would.

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The freak show

Social media is a freak show.

Sure, it's probably always been one, but it only seems worse now. 

I don't have TikTok, but have recently been "treated" to some of its "amazing" content by others. Largely it seems to be a contest to see who can act the most mentally ill to attract views. People actually watch these "content creators" nap, eat, or suck on a baby bottle.

On second thought, it may be that the worse mental issues are on the viewer's side of the screen.

Suddenly girls selling bodily gases in jars almost seems noble.

And I thought Facebook was dumb! (Well, it is, but by comparison, it looks sophisticated and intelligent.)

But, whatever. It's not breaking my leg or picking my pocket. I'm not being forced to participate or fund it. I'm just observing the situation... and backing away slowly.

By avoiding such things as much as possible, I'm gaining an advantage over those pulled in by the time-wasting sites. At least it makes me feel better about myself.

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Criminals on a crime spree-- BATFEces spins out of control

Crime, real crime, is an action that violates life, liberty, or property. Sometimes these actions also violate legislation, not that this matters. Of course, that irrelevant bit is the only part government-- a gang of criminals-- cares about.

Any government making up or enforcing any rules concerning weapons is crime.

The BATFE (they like to be known as the "ATF") is a gang of criminals, founded by another gang of criminals-- in direct violation of that gang's charter-- to commit crimes against gun owners. Their very existence is a crime, and every act they commit is another crime.

Now, this gang of criminals is raiding Amish dairy farms, kidnapping YouTubers, and kidnapping people over little sheets of metal that these goons dishonestly call a machine gun. This reminds me of when these criminals declared shoelaces to be machine guns in an earlier era. Stupid, or just evil? Even if they were machine guns, enforcing any government policy against them-- or any weapon-- is a crime. 

It has also recently been discovered that this gang of criminals is keeping records-- in clear violation of the laws which apply to their actions-- of something like a billion guns (and thus, the owners of those guns). If you ever imagined they weren't keeping track, you're vulnerable to sleazy bridge salesmen.

No good person would work for this gang UNLESS it was as a mole, working diligently to destroy every record they could get their hands on and otherwise saving people from the clutches of the gang. 

The BATFEces needs to be flushed away. Their criminal task not reassigned to anyone else, but abolished, and all records shredded, burned, along with all their computers, which should be ground into dust along with their charred bones. Why would anyone tolerate the existence of this criminal gang?

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Hey Canadians, "Time's Up" is for everyone

Recent events have demonstrated the stunning evil of the government-supremacists, and the depth of their lies.

Some such losers on Reddit were celebrating a truck driver being fired for draping a "right-wing terrorist flag" on his company truck. Because those Reddit losers are so w0ke and informed and all. 

A "listed terrorist entity"? Listed by whom? The Southern Poverty-pushing "Law" Center? LOL!! Zero credibility there.

It was only a "Three-percenter" flag. I disagree with the statism of many (or most) of the Threepers, but they aren't terrorists. (I accept that they might terrorize cowardly Left-Statists, though. But what opposition wouldn't?) I even incorporated the "III"-- with the permission of the originator-- into my proposed coin design that never got off the ground. 

This "terrorist" characterization is a lie just like the dangerous lie about Oathkeepers, another group I fundamentally disagree with, but which I won't lie about for Social Credit points.

I understand that a trucking company has the right to employ whomever it wants, and can prohibit any signs or flags on its trucks. Yes, they are jerks for firing the driver regardless, especially if they allow pro-tyranny designs, but whatever.

Anyway, I got to thinking: Time's Up flags would work just as well for liberty-hungry Canadians. I know the Gadsden flag isn't really part of their history, but this one could be. It applies everywhere, regardless of which authoritarians are trying to stamp out liberty.

Sure, if the corporate media or Left-Statist liars ever discovered the design it would get called "right-wing" and a "terrorist flag" too. Those liars can't think outside of their box, so would be desperate to categorize it in a way that makes sense in their hallucination, no matter how wrong they are. So in a way, I'm glad the design never got famous, even though it has had some close calls over the years. This way it can still have some utility without the baggage.

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Bits and pieces-- Bad neighbors, Neil Young, and Canadian Truckers

Bad neighbors: There are two neighboring households I'd like to feed to the wolves. One can't be bothered to get their trash in the dumpster. Often doesn't even put it in bags, so that it blows around. They also toss in trash cans full of used toilet paper(!), so you can imagine my joy at that blowing around. The other trespasses regularly, just walking through my yard right past the "No trespassing" sign. When they were moving in, they actually parked their cars in my yard. And their visitors-- of which there are many since they often have large gatherings-- park and partly block my driveway for entire days. I've tried being nice and I've also been reduced to telling them to stay out of my yard. No effect. I've also watched them throw fast food bags from their vehicles into my yard. They are just the worst. Thank goodness for the one neighbor who doesn't do anything like these others, but who is nice, respectful, and helpful.

Neil Young: In my opinion, he's a piece of trash, just like anyone who demands censorship (or like my bad neighbors). As far as I know, I've never listened to one of his songs. The only thing I know of him I heard in the song Sweet Home Alabama, which gave me a negative impression of him that has stuck. It looks like he's been doing this sort of thing for many decades. I'm always going to side against the person who says "Do what I demand or I'm taking my toys and going home". All he did by making this demand was make my impression of him even more negative than it was before. I don't need him around, anyhow.

Canadian truckers: How is it "fascist" to demand an end to fascism? Well, that's what it is according to the Covidians and government-supremacists. I'm never in favor of a protest getting in the way of normal people who are just trying to go about their lives. But, in this case, the truckers are trying to stop others from getting in the way of normal people trying to go about their lives, so it's a little fuzzier than usual. And I always hate the control freaks a little extra. See the above about Neil Young.

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For your tool kit

I don't know if you've ever run across it, but I recently found the videos by Academy of Ideas, and all of the ones I've watched so far are excellent. Here's an example: Why We Can't Vote Our Way to Freedom (They are also on Vimeo)

I wasn't familiar with this group/individual/academy before I ran across a video from them a week or so back. Maybe you already knew about them.

It's another tool to place in your kit, alongside TOLFA and (I hope) my blog. Take advantage of it.

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Politics divides

There's a primary election coming up locally. So, there are yard signs popping up like statist toadstools.

This time, there's a twist. You can tell the ethnicity of the political addicts with yard signs by which of the two candidates they are supporting. I also heard someone refer to one of the candidates as "that Mexican". So politics magnifies the problems that already exist-- and how could they not, considering the coercive nature of the ritual?

Politics is just sick. I don't need either of those political criminals to have any power over me.

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Can't call myself a political liberal

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 29, 2021)

Once upon a time, the word "liberal" was used to describe people who were "generous", "open-minded", and "accepting of other opinions". It was closely related to the word "liberty". This description no longer applies to political liberals. Describing their backward-thinking as "progressive" or their nightmarish denial of reality as "woke" is equally ridiculous.

This doesn't mean they are always wrong. I agree that everyone has value, but their value has nothing to do with superficial features like sex, race, or ethnicity. They have value because they are human.

I don't agree that historical wrongdoing justifies punishment today. Slavery in our ancestors' day doesn't justify slavery today; calling it "reparations" or "social justice" doesn't change anything.

I agree that drug prohibition is wrong. Drug abuse is stupid, but prohibition is evil. This doesn't mean I am responsible for protecting drug abusers from the consequences of their actions. I am not obligated to pay for their drugs, their needles, their healthcare, or the basic needs they can no longer provide for themselves because of their drug abuse. Nor am I obligated to tolerate my rights being violated because of their choices.

Political liberals seem to not understand: if you shelter people from the consequences of their mistakes they won't learn to avoid mistakes. You get more of anything you encourage.

If you prohibit people from defending themselves with effective tools, you'll encourage more people to commit crimes. Defunding the police wouldn't be a problem if people weren't forbidden to defend themselves (and others). It's not about police, it's about all consequences.

Political liberals today are very defensive of democracy. Yet, democracy is nothing more than mob rule; might (through superior numbers) makes right. The mob gets to decide what rights you are allowed to exercise. This isn't a workable system.

This is why I can't be what is called a "classical liberal" either; I can't believe in the right, or political authority, to govern others. Even if the governing is done lightly, it's still beyond what anyone has a right to do. You have the right to govern yourself, but no one else. Democracy or a constitutional republic can't create this right out of thin air.

So, while I am generous, open-minded, and accepting, and I value liberty above everything, I can't be politically liberal; I understand people too well. Maybe someday liberals will become truly liberal and we can then be on the same side.

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No need to believe in it

I don't "believe in" liberty. 

Like gravity, it just is; there's no need to believe in it. It also-- like gravity-- won't stop being true if you deny it.

That's how reality works.

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They are out there. Somewhere.

Just when I was starting to wonder whether it was worth the effort to keep writing the weekly newspaper column, I got a lot of positive feedback this week. The timing was good.

One was about an apparent reprint of last week's column in the Roswell Daily Record, which I wasn't aware ever printed my columns, and which I can't find in a search. But I got a supportive note from a reader there who said that's where they read it, so it seems it was in there somewhere.

I even got a nice note from someone who was just passing through the area on their way back to Minnesota when they encountered my column-- so that was kind of cool.

Sometimes it seems so pointless to keep writing about liberty as authoritarianism and tyranny rage out of control in this country. Seeing the criminal acts being committed right now by the BATFEces thugs who just make up rules as they see fit while pretending their victims are the criminals has just about pushed me over the edge. So, it's good to see that not everyone is a cowardly government-supremacist. There are still some people out in the wild who "get it". Let's help them spread and multiply.

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Give 'em a canteen of air... maybe

Governments are a threat to life, liberty, and property. But especially to life.

Now governments on the other side of the world are posturing to fight, and the criminal government closer to home feels the need to get involved. To make me less safe, and poorer, just so it can assert its dominance.

I would put all these political jerks in a rocket and strand them on the moon to fight it out. I might even let them have a canteen of air if they begged.

I hate every political criminal on the planet. I hate that they exist, that they continue to live at our expense, and that they feel entitled to rule the rest of us. I really, honestly, without reservation, wish death on every single one of them. From presidents and prime ministers to lowly bureaucrats, tax agents, and ATF thugs. And the FAA.

The world would be better off without them taking up space and molesting the rest of us.

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A New York liar lies.

No, you authoritarian scumsucker, there is no such thing as an "illegal gun"-- there is illegal gun legislation. ALL of it, in fact.

That makes those enforcing it or invoking it-- like YOU did-- the real criminals. Anti-gun bigots are exactly as evil as bad guys who shoot people who aren't currently violating anyone.

It irritates me when liars call any object-- or person-- "illegal". Calling an object or a person "illegal" doesn't magically make it true. Objects can be used to do crime. People can do crime. But the object or person can't be "illegal", and any "laws" declaring them so are, themselves, the real crime.

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If I could clone a dinosaur, I would clone a Tyrannosaurus rex, but engineer it to have big, muscular front legs just to see if that makes it the supreme creature on Earth. Maybe those tiny arms were holding it back. I'd release it in one of those authoritarian stinkpits-- Washington DC, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Austin, etc. so as to minimize any damage to society.

The military is not liberty's friend

The military is not on your side. It is there to protect your Ancestral Enemy, the state. It will defend them from foreign threats, but also from you.

The military doesn't defend your freedom. The only freedom it defends is the freedom of political criminals to continue violating you.

Every time the state's interests and your rights clash, the military will take the side of the state-- that's who controls it and signs its checks.

People who were once in the military, but who have escaped the brainwashing, may be on your side. They aren't going to be defending the military.

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If you can and if you want to

I've tried to avoid rattling the tin cup, but it's necessary.

If you can and if you want to, please consider tossing something in. Thanks.

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US's Constitution was a mistake (Or, Why I can't be a conservative)

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 22, 2021)

There can be a difference between what a person likes and what they are willing to force on others.

Most of my preferences lean conservative: liberty, family, and keeping government out of my life.

The difference between me and political conservatives is that I don't believe it's ever ethical to use government or legislation to force my preferences on others. Therefore, I can't be politically conservative.

Another difference is I'm no fan of the Constitution. A fatal mistake was made when the founders established a political government where liberty had existed before.

For many years I was desperate to believe in and support the Constitution, and saw it as the greatest achievement in human government. Only after I stopped believing in political government of any sort could I see the Constitution clearly.

The Constitution was presented as a gift, but once unwrapped turned out to be worse than a lump of coal. It may have been the sneakiest Trojan horse in history.

I won't criticize you if you still believe in Santa or the Constitution, though.

The Constitution utterly failed to protect liberty from government; it is useful only as a measure of how deeply criminal the federal government has become.

Even conservatives seem to like the Constitution only when it aligns with their cause, ignoring it when it doesn't. Most of them happily sidestep the Constitution for their political preferences, which they want imposed by government.

They generally want immigration control, drug prohibition, federal law enforcement, an abortion ban, a permanent military, and other things which are not permitted under the Constitution. Those Big Government programs are as far from "conservative" as you can possibly get, yet they see no conflict and throw the Constitution under the bus when it gets in the way of what they want. How can they criticize the other side for doing the same thing?

The only justification for government is to protect the rights of people. Yet government is the only real threat to our rights in normal life. When something doesn't work as advertised, dump it, and learn from the mistake.

At least I'm honest when I call the Constitution a mistake and point out it's a dead issue since the federal government refuses to be constrained by it.

I'm often harder on political conservatives than I am on the statist Left. I believe conservatives ought to know better and I'm disappointed when they don't.

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No more nonsense!

Now that I've caught Covid, I can say without hesitation I would not support even the "smallest" violation of your liberty to protect me from catching this virus. Not even if those violations could have worked. 

Your liberty matters to me more than that. 

No mandates. No shutdowns. No lockdowns. No forcible quarantines. I don't support any of that authoritarian nonsense.

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The progression of my symptoms

Just in case anyone is curious, here is how my symptoms progressed over the course of this illness:

The first 28 or so hours after I knew I was getting sick (beginning Saturday mid-afternoon), I just felt a general lack of energy and increasing muscle aches. 

A little over a day later (Sunday evening), the fever hit (somewhere just above 101° F, according to a crappy digital thermometer). I got a terrible headache and chills. I was shaking so hard from the chills I thought I was going to throw up. I wasn't nauseated; my abdominal muscles were just shaking so hard I thought it was going to force everything out of my stomach. I had a hard time even walking. I went to bed.

The next morning (Monday) I was back to feeling like I had before the fever hit, which I considered a huge improvement. I never took my temperature again, but if I had a fever after that, it wasn't high enough to really notice. 

The next couple of days I had headaches, coughing (with mucus), sharp little muscle pains (like being poked with pins, mostly in my thighs), transient stabbing stomach pains, mild dizziness, and lack of energy. 

Every morning since Tuesday I have pain in my lungs that fades after I get moving. It feels as though my lungs are sticking to the inside of my ribs. That's an odd symptom I've never had from anything else before.

The only loss of taste I have experienced has been similar to how nothing tastes good any time I'm sick, so that's not important. 

I never had any nasal problems like a runny nose, stuffy nose, or sneezing, which to me is the worst part of a cold.

I now feel mostly OK. Just mild tiredness and a very mild headache. The cough is still there, but getting less annoying. I doubt I would let this keep me from doing anything I was planning to do at this point.

UPDATE 1-30-2022: I still feel fine, other than the cough that just won't go away.

UPDATE 2-7-2022: The cough is slowly fading with time. It isn't really bothering me anymore, though. I consider it finished.

And, that's the symptom report. Just the facts, no speculation. If you have a question I didn't answer, ask in a comment and I'll answer it above.

I make no claim that I know it is Covid, or that Covid exists, or whether, if it exists, it is natural or synthetic or where it came from. 

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Has the definition of "vaccine" changed?

It has certainly expanded. Which is to be expected as new technology is developed.

The current Merriam-Webster definition of "vaccine" is too long to take a screenshot of every detail and example. The screenshot at the top of this post is just the highlights, cropped.

I have a few physical dictionaries, too, so I consulted them as well.

First is the 1994 Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (I think you can click on the pictures to make them bigger):

Next is from the 1979 Webster's New World Dictionary:

And finally, from the 1951 Funk and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary (sorry it's a little blurry):

One change that seems significant to me is that the newer definition doesn't mention "immunity", but "immune response". That's a fairly big difference.

Immunity, in those dictionaries, newer to older, is defined like this:

But "immune response", which doesn't appear in the older dictionaries, is defined this way:

So, yes, the definition of "vaccine" has been changed in ways that reflect advances in medicine, but also in ways that weaken the usefulness of things that would now be defined as vaccines to the benefit of pharmaceutical companies. 

You are free to draw your own conclusions from this information.

Some people say words don't matter and shouldn't be part of the argument-- but when you use the whole definition rather than the shorthand of using the word, they don't like that, either. I always wonder why.

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The Omicronians got me

The Omicronians got me. (Well, I'm assuming that's the specific variant.)

The one person in the house who got a Covid test has tested positive, so I'm sure that's what we all have. We all got sick within 24 hours, with the same symptoms. 

I'm not upset about it.

Since I only had around 36 hours of feeling like I had a fairly bad cold, and only 6 hours of feeling like I had the flu, I call that a "win".

Plus, the worst part of a cold-- for me-- is the snuffy, runny nose, and this didn't come with that affliction, so I'm even happier with it.

Right around Christmas, I had thought-- and told some people-- that by the middle of January, I would either catch the Omicron Covid, or I wasn't going to catch Covid at all. So I was exactly on schedule, coming down with it on the 15th. Some people might not be as thrilled with this development as I am.

I still feel kind of "blah"-- worse in the mornings, better every evening, but that's sort of normal for me anyway. Mornings have never felt like "happy, healthy time" for me. I've still got various aches and pains and a cough. But I've kept going for my daily walk (or Gazelle session if it's cold outside), and I keep taking D3 and zinc. I expect to be back to normal soon. As normal as I ever am.

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