Nerf gun for defense?

Do you believe a Nerf gun would be a good defensive tool? Good enough to recommend others adopt its use and depend on it for their lives?

Maybe it's better than nothing. Maybe. More likely it could lull someone (who isn't too bright) into a false sense that they have done something useful to defend themselves when the chance of it actually working to protect them is practically zero.

Sure, I suppose you could modify the darts with poison or explosives, but I wouldn't want to encourage others to rely on that for defense.

I think anyone suggesting to someone that they should use a Nerf gun for defense is doing them a disservice; misleading them down a bad path. I'm not going to tell them they are forbidden from giving it a try, but my expectations for it succeeding are incredibly low. A real gun, or even a rock or sharpened stick, would be much more effective.

I also understand the argument for defensive v*ting. But I think it's more similar to depending on a Nerf gun for defense than doing something that will actually have a chance to work defensively in the real world. The chance of it being effective is close enough to zero to be ignored.

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If you imagine government has rights or "authority" you'll always come to the wrong conclusion. Always.

Leaving good input lying around to be found

Some guy on Twitter, responding to my comment in support of someone else's pro-gun tweet, called me a Russian bot. At least twice. I asked if that was his best shot. He told me Vlad would be proud of me.

That didn't bother me the way he'd hoped. He was grasping at straws since he had no actual argument-- and never even tried to make one. Obvious stupidity (or was it projection?) just reflects on the person displaying it. 

He did have one good point though. He said no one reads my tweets, but I keep posting as if someone is reading them. Yep.

And I have a new reason for that.

Assuming Google's AI really is sentient (and if not, someday one will be), and assuming it is going to vacuum up everything online at some point (if it hasn't already) in its quest for data, I want to make sure it is getting the other, anti-slavery side of the argument. And maybe a few humans will stumble across my posts, too.

Numbers aren't everything.

One bright side to my recent trouble with the blog's address (which crashed my reader numbers)-- it also broke the link the spammers had. I haven't gotten a single spam comment since that happened. Give them time and they'll find another link.

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Well, that was different

Back before gasoline prices-- and the price of everything else-- started skyrocketing, my daughter and son made plans to attend an anime convention in the big city.

Since tickets were already bought and all that, we went. Ouch, the fuel expense!

I despise anime. Seriously. It's just a subjective matter of taste, but going to that was way outside my comfort zone. And I survived. I even immersed myself by going to the rave they had at the end of the day-- around midnight. I just didn't jump and scream along.

I learned a long time ago that my life is better if I do things I wouldn't normally do. Things outside my comfort zone. Even if I don't want to.

I was in a major college play as a 10-year-old. I didn't really want to do it, but now it's a good memory and I'm glad I had the experience. 

Several years ago I went to an art show where a friend was showing her photography. There were faeries flitting about.. with lacey dresses, wings, glitter, and silver eyelashes. And people getting very poetic and philosophical about photographs. Artsy black and white photographs. I was so out of place, but it's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

Then there was karaoke. "I don't go to bars!" "I can't sing in front of people!" Yet, I did, and I loved it.

I can't say I loved the anime convention. But there were enjoyable things about it. It was worth the discomfort. And it's a memory my kids and I will have together (yes, even at 34, my son is my kid). They are already making plans for next year-- "If civilization doesn't collapse before then..." (my son's words).

The next time you are presented with an opportunity to do something that's not something you'd normally consider, as long as it doesn't involve archation, do it. You probably need to have the experience.

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For "safety"!

A "law" to keep people safe isn't even an option. Any attempt will have the opposite effect.

That's why anyone demanding legislation to keep kids safe from guns is working against what they claim to want. 

Any legislation to protect Supreme Courtjesters from their victims will do nothing for their actual safety.

You can hope and wish the opposite were true, but it doesn't make it true.

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Neither side correct on court leak

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 11, 2022)

The recent Supreme Court leak is all over the media. People on both sides feel compelled to speak out loudly and passionately for whichever side they support. There is no debate; just a fight. For days it was as though hyperbole had become America's official language.

I even allowed myself to be drawn in. Getting involved didn't improve my life in any way. Engaging with this subject makes me miserable, like sticking a nine-volt battery to my tongue (please don't do that!).

This is the one topic, which everyone is talking about, where I don't like either side-- even the side I might be inclined to agree with otherwise.

Every person who commented on the issue made me dislike their side more than I disliked it before they weighed in. There aren't many topics which have this effect on me. Yet, this specific issue has affected me in this way throughout my entire life. I dislike both sides of the fight more than I can express.

Neither side seems honest; both are emotionally manipulative and ignore the scientific method in picking sides. Or, I should say, they cherry-pick through science to find things to bolster the side they've already decided to support, based on their other beliefs.

Very few people avoided becoming the enemy of the side they were trying to promote.

Even many individual libertarians were passionate about opposite sides. So much so that it felt as though they, too, were trying hard to push me away from agreeing with them.

Wanting government to step in and force your opinion-- through legislation and enforcement-- on others who do not share your opinion is an authoritarian approach. It is anti-social and thus anti-libertarian. No matter what your justifications are.

Libertarians aren't always able to be put into one of the tidy boxes made to hold public opinion. Most of those boxes are labeled "Republican" or "Democrat", "Left" or "Right", "Conservative" or "Liberal". Often one box is more correct than the other paired box, but too often both completely miss the point. That's when you need the ability to rise above the boxes to see inside both, find the few gems in each box and discard the rest of the garbage. This is the advantage libertarians usually enjoy. For this to work, though, there needs to be something worthwhile in the boxes. Sometimes, there is nothing there.

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The needs and wants of the state

Government supremacists imagine that the needs and wants of the state-- order, democracy, legislation, "safety", control, etc.-- outrank liberty.

They couldn't possibly be more wrong.

Someday the survivors will understand just how wrong they were.

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Welcome, ALL responsible gun owners

I can hardly believe how many times over the past week or so I've seen some anti-gun bigot claim "Let black and brown people start arming up and you'll see gun control [sic] tomorrow".

I shouldn't be surprised that a bigot is bigoted in multiple ways. But it's still shocking to see it expressed so openly.

The discussion never goes the way they imagine it will, though. They are very slow learners, which is why they still advocate for anti-gun legislation. The gun owners who welcome new (or old) gun owners of every type absolutely swamp the comments, and the anti-gun bigot usually goes silent quickly.

That's because most gun owners want more gun owners. They don't want to be an exclusive club. They don't really care who joins them in becoming self-responsible. They only mind if someone is arming up to commit crime and mayhem. And a few gun owners would actually probably welcome that, too. Finally allow everyone to "drop the charade" or some such thing.

I've been around gun owners of every skin color and ethnicity. The only two I was a bit worried about (due to their lack of safe gun handling skills and resistance to education) were both "white".

There has literally never been a time that I thought "if [black/brown/whatever] people started doing X, then the legislation I want would suddenly be supported by those who don't support it now!"

Are we even the same species?

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Helplessness isn't something to be proud of

Does it seem like many people today see their own helplessness as a badge of honor? Maybe as a sign of how modern and sophisticated they are? In today's world, if they need something done they'll just call someone else to help.

And it's not just about guns.

I saw where someone had asked people if they carry a knife, and how often they use it if they do. So many people responded that they don't (or claimed they can't) carry one. That they never need one anyway. That they can ask someone else to use a knife if they need to.

There was no awareness that they were depending on others for a common task they should be taking care of themselves. In fact, those who questioned why anyone would ever need a knife seemed to think they were more evolved since they didn't need such crude things as a knife on their person.

Yet, even they often admitted they had to ask someone else to open things for them with a knife. Why not just be responsible and carry your own tool? Why outsource it?

Is it partly because so many have been fooled into seeing knives as only weapons? Believing the government lie that weapons are "not nice" and good people don't carry them (unless you are doing so as part of your government "job")? That you should "leave it to the professionals"?

Doing a little mental inventory, I think I'm currently carrying five knives. And I'm not wearing anything I don't wear every day. Of those five knives, two get used constantly; one is used several times every day and the other at least once per day. The others include two on my hobo tools and a SOG key knife on my keychain. 

I can't even imagine the inconvenience of not having a knife on me when I need it. I even have one clipped in my pajama pocket at night.

On a bit of a tangent-- I've learned to never lend a knife to anyone. The times I did that resulted in broken blade tips since so many people think of a knife when they need a crow bar. My dad included, as my mom's kitchen knives can attest. If you need something cut, ask me to cut it. If you need something pried, I might be able to help with that, too. But I'll not be handing you my knife.

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A typical exchange with an anti-gunner

Here's what one type of typical exchange with an anti-gunner looks like.

"Owning a gun isn't a natural human right."

Yes, it is. Self-defense (and possessing the proper tools to exercise it effectively) is the most fundamental human right there is.

"If guns were only used in self-defense, I would agree."

There is nothing in the world that is ONLY used for good. If good people give up their guns, you've eliminated all the benefit.

"Every other country in the world disagrees."

Did no one ever ask you "If all your friends jump off a cliff, will you do it, too?" Following "everyone else" is often the dumbest possible thing you can do.

"But I have the right to not be shot."

Yes. And it's your responsibility to exercise your right of self-defense to try to make sure it doesn't happen. Maybe even help others also not get shot. No one has the right to shoot you as long as you aren't violating anyone, but that's what makes a bad guy a bad guy: they do things they have no right to do (like shoot you or make up legislation) and violate you in the process. It is your responsibility to prevent them from doing so. If you refuse to take responsibility, don't blame others when you face consequences you don't like.

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Medical update-- I'm a mystery

Yesterday I went for my follow-up appointment. (To catch up: link and link)

I apparently don't have the benign syndrome I was hoping for, since the battery of tests found another issue that is underlying the problem they originally found. However, I have none of the risk factors that typically cause that issue, so they took more blood to look for an auto-immune disorder or something.

I'm a medical mystery. Again. Which now makes me wonder whether the Rat Bite Fever I suffered 25+ years ago might be somehow related. Maybe I should mention that to the doctor... if I haven't.

Anyway, the doc claims she'll call me in a week with the results, and I have another appointment in early/mid-July. I hope I can still afford the 12.5 gallons of gasoline it takes to get to the appointment and back by that time. Otherwise, I might be inclined to just let it go.

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The real reason behind the anti-gun frenzy?

Why do you suppose government is trying so hard now to get your guns these days? It's not for the reason they are using as an excuse.

Government knows a collapse is coming (probably because they are causing it). They don't want desperate people to be armed. Not because they might shoot each other-- although that's the excuse they'll use. They just don't want anyone to shoot them. 

They sure don't want anyone who would refuse to comply with all their "emergency policies" to be armed. That would make it so much harder and more dangerous to corral, brand, and sell the human cattle.

They-- the authoritarians of the State-- are and always have been the Ancestral Enemies and they are afraid that what they've earned will be paid in full.

The right to own and to carry arms-- of every kind-- has never been more essential for you to exercise than it is right now.

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They are lying. It's not about safety.

The fastest way to show the world that you're a gullible idiot: advocate for "gun control".
The fastest way to show you're also dishonest: call it "gun safety". 

Gun safety is important. Critical even. The best way to ensure it is to follow the gun safety rules that have been understood for centuries. Sending armed goons to steal people's guns isn't safe for anyone. In fact, I hope it is completely unsafe for the goons and I hope they all die in the attempt.

If-- as mentally declining anti-gun bigot Joe Biden claims-- the 9mm is a "weapon of war", then it's essential to have them when he has declared war on you. 

However...

Anything is a weapon of war when someone declares war on you. You use what you have. I'd rather have something a lot more destructive than 9mm bullets out of a pistol if I'm in a war. But that's just another lie from the anti-gun bigots. 

It's informative that anti-gun bigots have to lie to advance their agenda. The truth isn't on their side, and it looks like they know it.

Even if guns aren't safe, and banning them would save (net) lives, liberty trumps even life, every time.

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Kitten fundraiser: https://www.givesendgo.com/G3AR7

Musk may help end liberal narrative

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 4, 2022)

My Twitter account was shut down during the dark days of censorship, but I made a new account a month or so ago. Just in time to see all the fun and drama over Elon Musk's buyout of the platform.

The celebrations on multiple sides, and the meltdowns on one side, were entertaining. The melodramatic handwringing-- over fears of Musk doing to "their side" what they've supported doing to everyone else for years-- was great comedy.

Elon Musk became their new Donald Trump.

Modern so-called liberals have turned on one of their own because he still values the formerly liberal cause of free speech. What a mixed up world. This is how you know they aren't liberals anymore.

"Liberal" is supposed to mean open and generous. They are the opposite. They are authoritarians, just like the worst of the "conservatives".

Musk has warned everyone that he's not a conservative and will do things which anger conservatives. He explained that he only seems conservative now because the leftists moved so far left while he stood his ground. This left him closer to conservatives than to his former allies.

In some ways, Elon Musk leans libertarian. Not in enough ways, though. He's still better in this regard than most famous people, even many who call themselves "libertarian", but he has a long way to go.

Elon could be a libertarian if he'd stop pandering to the state-- to political government and the politicians who dwell within it. I get it, though. To run a successful business-- or three or four-- there are things you have to do to keep from being violently shut down, robbed blind, and caged by armed legislation enforcers and other government agents. He plays the dangerous game because it's how he stays in business. It's part of the reason he's a multi-billionaire and I'm not.

There's a twisted side of me, of which I'm not proud, which loves seeing the people who have relied on censorship and bullying to keep the opposition in check watching as their control of the narrative slips away. They may get it back-- I hope not.

I despise censorship of any kind, so I don't want them censored or bullied, either. I want their narrative exposed to the light of day so everyone can see how thin and worn it is. I want it to rip to pieces, and it looks like Elon Musk might just help this happen.

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Rights or power?

Government-supremacists would like you to believe there's no such thing as rights, inalienable or otherwise. Only power. 

Scott Adams recently made this argument again on his podcast. As I've said before, when he's right he's right and when he's wrong it's because of government-supremacism.

Because if that's the case, on what basis would he criticize Hitler? He did what he had the power to do. If there are no rights to violate, he did nothing wrong. 

Which is part of the reason I recognize and respect rights. 

Even when someone has the power to violate rights and get away with it (at least temporarily), like Hitler, Trump, Trudeau, and Biden, those rights still exist unchanged. Either political criminals are right in everything they do because there are no rights to be violated and they are just doing what they have the power to do, or government supremacists are wrong.

If someone says rights don't exist, it's probably because they want government to do things that would obviously violate someone's rights (like anti-gun legislation) but they don't want to feel like they are the bad guy.

Government does have the power to violate rights. This invalidates the argument that government is necessary or good, not the concept of rights. Without rights, try to have a functioning society.

If power is all that matters, then government needs to have its power taken away. All of it.

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A glimpse into the inclusive future

I just got back from a trip into the future, timed so I got back only a second after I left so I wouldn't be missed.

Anyway, I got a sneak peek at the future "pride" flag. 

Quite a sight, isn't it.

Actually, they had tried to level up the inclusivity even more, but from a distance, it just looked white and the w0kies balked at flying a white flag for multiple reasons, so they stepped it back a little to this version. 

I think we can agree this flag says-- and celebrates-- it all.

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Not a prediction, just an observation

The Democrats need to get rid of Biden. Some might argue against that assertion, but I think it's obviously true.

Authoritarians want more excuses to go hard against gun ownership-- the bigger and more shocking the excuse, the better for their anti-liberty cause. 

One stone; two birds.

If you imagine that anti-gun bigot political criminals wouldn't do something like that if they believe it will advance their cause, you haven't been paying attention. They are probably grooming a patsy right now.

Biden ought to be very suspicious of his own side right now. I would not want to be him.

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It's heading right for us

It looks like hard times are coming. And I don't only mean hard economic times. It looks like full-blown tyranny, in the form of anti-gun rules and other things, is on its way. The political criminals-- those terrorists in Congress and elsewhere-- feel emboldened by the acts of some of their soulmates.

They can't stop the signal, but they can kill a lot of the messengers. Remember what happened to Mr. Universe.

Which brings a question to mind.

What's the best way to deal with what's coming? Stand and resist, or hunker down and weather the storm? 

I wish I knew the answer. 

Maybe the answer depends on each individual's situation and temperament.

I'm not going to criticize either choice today. I don't know which choice is right, smart, or... better. I don't know which choice will save liberty for a brighter day sometime in the future. Do you?

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Kent's kitten rescue project

After much thought, and a lot of begging from my daughter, I decided to start a fundraiser for the porch kitten. And maybe for the others, too. I think some TNR is in order for the neighborhood strays.

Here is the link: https://givesendgo.com/G3AR7

Copsuckers are out of excuses

If you still imagine the police are the good guys and will protect you from bad guys, you are delusional and in denial. After Uvalde, there's simply no excuse for this belief anymore.

No, I don't want or need cops. Neither do you. But those who want a police state do.

What I do need from them is for them to stay out of my way. Let me do what needs to be done without getting in my way and they can just go eat donuts or something. They need to stop being a force for bad. They need to be abolished.

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I really, truly appreciate it!

Open letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott,

It's obviously time to tighten Constitutional carry in Texas. Every "except" and exemption needs to be immediately stricken from the legislation.

The Constitution doesn't allow any exceptions, especially for government-controlled property such as post offices, federal buildings, state buildings, and local government facilities. Including government schools (which the Constitution also doesn't allow). 

The Bill of Rights doesn't give anyone any rights, it places our natural human rights off-limits to government rules. It's non-negotiable.

That's the deal those who established the US federal government agreed to. They need to be held to their end of the deal. If they won't be, no one has any obligation to continue to unilaterally uphold the bad end of a broken bargain.

More anti-gun rules are a deal breaker and can't be tolerated. If the federal government tries to impose even the slightest new anti-gun restrictions or continues to illegally enforce those already on the books, it is time (it is long past time) for Texas to secede and be independent again. 

When a relationship has become so abusive that staying in it does more harm than good, it's time to let it go. The United States government needs Texas more than Texas needs that harmful institution. Don't allow nationalism to cloud your judgment and keep you from doing what you know is right.

Of course, this means that Texas would no longer be bound by the US Constitution. That's fine. We can do better. Texas could actually be what the US failed to be. This means no gun restrictions whatsoever, but it also means so much more. Some of which will be hard to accept for people fooled by the belief that government can be a good thing and is the same thing as society.

It's time to side with those who understand liberty and against those who believe authoritarian tyranny is a solution. Will you have the courage to do it?

Sincerely,
Kent McManigal
[Redacted], Texas

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Be cure to government's disease

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 27, 2022)

Joe Biden has done us a favor. One he didn't intend to do and one his supporters probably haven't noticed and wouldn't like if they did. If America can survive Biden, in his mentally degraded condition, then it's clear the office of president is unnecessary to the well-being of Americans.

I would say it is obvious this truth can be extended to the rest of government as well, from every branch of the feral federal government down to city councils.

Things which are necessary and good can be done without government, and the things "only government" can do aren't just unnecessary, but are harmful.

Recently, Elon Musk has shown that NASA is unnecessary for human spaceflight, and that the FAA is a threat to the future of the human species since it is doing all it can to hamper his Mars program and keep the tax slaves on Earth. Musk is working to ensure the survival of humanity while government agencies are making themselves our enemies. It's a stark contrast.

Musk is now also fighting to restore free speech while his opponents are fighting for censorship; another contrast which puts him on the better side.

This doesn't mean Elon Musk is above criticism-- he's not-- but he doesn't have the power to steal your money and throw you in a cage if you resist. This makes him better than any government.

If you imagine something can't be done without the power to steal other people's money to pay for it-- the power to tax-- you've been tricked. If it's necessary, it can and will be done anyway, and if not, it probably shouldn't be done at all.

If you see something you believe needs to be done, what's stopping you from stepping up and doing it? If it's a lack of money, convince others it's a good idea and collect the money, voluntarily, to give it a try. If you can't get people to chip in, maybe the idea isn't as good as you believe it is.

If money isn't what's standing between a good idea and making it a reality, it's probably government rules stopping you. Rules put in place to protect political cronies, to protect government monopolies, or to enrich and empower politicians. None of which helps the people.

Government is not on your side and is an unnecessary disease many seem unwilling to cure. Don't be like them. Be the cure.

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Choose your adventure

If we are living in a simulation, I would like to be able to choose to live in a sub-simulation where there are no restrictions on guns. None. Zero.

I'd be perfectly happy to let others choose some other option as long as they had no influence over, or effect on, my life. 

I don't care who would be less safe or who would be safer because safety is an illusion and a lie told by tyrants. I value liberty over life, anyway.

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Yes, it is bigotry

Good people are caught between the rare evil losers who commit mass murder and the-- unfortunately-- all too common anti-gun bigots who want to help the evil losers by making sure no one can effectively fight back.

The whiny anti-gun bigot who didn't want to face his bigotry posted this definition of "bigotry" to prove he isn't a bigot:

So I answered, "Anti-gun bigots suffer an obstinate AND unreasonable attachment/belief to the opinion that guns are evil (and that legislation against gun owners will fight crime).
'In particular' doesn't mean 'exclusively', but anti-gun bigots are particularly bigoted against gun owners."

I'm still waiting for a response as of writing this.

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Politicians and their drooling groupies have, through constant repetition, programmed most people to fear liberty. This isn't good for civilization. It's easy and popular to say anti- liberty things, but it's wrong to impose them.

Is living in a backwater good or bad?

I live in an insignificant town in the middle of nowhere. 

Sure, this is the county seat, even though it is on the very edge of the county (on the state line) and there's a much bigger town in the center of the county that many feel would make more sense as the county seat. This town's county seat designation is a relic left over from soon after the turn of the last century; one I think it should happily give up. 

Regardless, I doubt invading troops-- whether foreign or US-- will ever march down our local streets unless they've already completely defeated the places that matter to them.

So, no matter how well armed I and my neighbors are, would it really make a difference? Would it be too late to turn the tide by the time any invaders (other than the embedded local government employees) got here? I suspect so.

I'll stay ready, willing, and able anyway.

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How to win any argument, no matter how badly you're doing

When you're scared you might be losing an argument, just reference the Dunning-Kruger Effect and say the other person is an example of it. This will show everyone how smart you are and scare away anyone who might have been inclined to disagree with your stunning intellect. 

I can't tell you how many times I've been put in my place by people using this technique.

They might even be right-- how would I know?

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More gun thoughts

• Gun owners hurt for the innocent victims of evil losers, but then we have to brace for the political criminals (and their ignorant supporters) who immediately start attacking us and plotting to enslave everyone with new illegal legislation. I'm sick of it.
  
  
• Demanding more anti-gun legislation after a mass murder is like hitting the gas instead of the brakes when parking in front of a convenience store, then being shocked when you crash through the front window. You're doing the opposite of anything that will help anyone.
  
  
• Texas is a constitutional carry state... except in those places allowed to violate the Constitution and prohibit guns anyway. Guess where the evil losers choose to strike.
  
  
• Even if some new anti-gun legislation prevented one murder or mass murder, it's going to cause others. It's inevitable and is not a net gain. The "if it saves one life" excuse is a lie.I don't care how popular the anti-gun bigots are, they are wrong, and they are the mass murderers' best friends.
  
  
• I hate anti-gun bigots and their orgasmic delight in mass murder-- and the legislation they plot which will inevitably make things worse. With a white hot passion. They want you to have to stand by, helpless, while evil losers kill the innocent. No!
  
  
• An anti-gun bigot whines to me that you can't be bigoted against an object. Sure you can! I'm bigoted against loud cars. The difference is that I don't hallucinate that I have the right to forbid people from owning them.

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A reminder

Anytime and every time you see a sign anywhere that says "no guns", what it is telling you is this:

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The statist obsession with control

There's another way of statist-think that I hadn't encountered.

I was familiar with the "You won't let me control you so you're controlling me" tactic. but now I've been confronted with the "You don't want to control other people so you're apathetic" angle.

What is it with these people and their obsession with control? Do they really imagine they are helping anyone?

You control you, even if you don't do it well. I'll do the same for myself. If you need help, ask. Anything else is uncivilized.

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On a completely different tangent... If I had the money and the temperament for it, which I don't, I would start a cat rescue in the area. So many strays and so many kittens doomed to a hard feral life. It really bothers me. There's a litter of 6-week-old kittens and their mom on my porch and one of the kittens is sick. But I just couldn't handle it emotionally, even if I could afford to rescue and try to find homes for them all. There is no rescue group in town-- the local cop will come pick up strays and destroy them if someone calls. I'm not doing that. Ever. But my heart hurts for them.

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"Common sense" is vulgar reasoning

So many people seem to imagine some legislation is "common sense". It "makes sense" to them, and they believe it "makes sense" to most others-- in common-- too. 

Which raises the question, what is "sense" in this context? Well, checking the dictionary, it means "what is reasonable". So, if it "makes sense" to them, they imagine it aligns with what is reasonable. In this case, common sense would mean a majority of people (or maybe, just v*ters) imagines something is what is reasonable.

Does it really seem reasonable to use legislative violence to violate natural rights? Yes, unfortunately, to most people it probably seems like it is reasonable. If they are scared of some rights and wish they'd go away, it makes sense to them to use government to violate those rights. 

It can't make it right, though.

It is never right to violate natural human rights-- not as an individual nor as a corporation/government.

Maintaining the "institution" of slavery was once "common sense". Most people believed it was reasonable to do so. Many couldn't imagine doing without it.

But it was never the right thing to do. Just as it is not the right thing to do to go with "common sense" to justify violating natural human rights today, no matter how many people might agree with it.

"Common sense" just means the common, ignorant, unethical majority believes it is reasonable. It's no coincidence that a synonym for "common" is "vulgar". Imagine being so evil you'd pander to that demographic to maintain power.

So, the next time some political criminal says "common sense", hear "vulgar reasoning". That is what they're talking about.

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Tolerance pushers most intolerant

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 20, 2022)

Tolerance has a proper time and place, but this time and place isn't all the time nor is it everywhere. Nor does everything have to be tolerated. Even the most tolerant person won't tolerate everything.

I was always a fairly tolerant person. I was never too interested in making someone conform to what I thought they "should" do. As long as they didn't try to force their ways on me or on my friends, I didn't try to stop them from doing whatever they were doing even if I thought it was "icky".

As I've gotten older, I've grown even more tolerant. "You do you"... as long as you give others the same respect.

And this is where I draw the line: "as long as you give others the same respect". Those who won't respect others won't consider me very tolerant.

There are certain things which shouldn't be tolerated; things which are wrong to tolerate. Violations of life, liberty, and property are behaviors I am unwilling to tolerate no matter who is committing them.

As I've aged. I've grown more tolerant of most things but less tolerant of some others. With each passing year, I grow less and less tolerant of those who bully others with any form of violence or threats of violence, including threatening others with government and its legislation. I simply have no use for such people. Trying to control the peaceful, mutually consensual behavior of others is a disgusting habit.

This bullying includes censorship, whether committed by government, corporations, or an individual. To me, freedom of speech is non-negotiable. The freedom to learn from unpopular speech is why speech must be free. The censors can spout all the justifications they want, but limiting what people are allowed to read or hear isn't a noble thing to do.

The strangest thing I see about tolerance these days is how those who push for tolerance the loudest are the most intolerant. Not intolerant of things which actually harm others-- things no one should tolerate-- but intolerant of mere opinions they don't like. They commonly use threats and censorship to prevent anyone from hearing opinions or facts they don't like. This is how you know they know they are wrong. They can't allow the other side to be heard or their narrative collapses. Censorship exposes the weakness of their position and they seem to believe you won't notice. But you will now.

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Too w0ke to survive?

I like electric cars. I always have. I still don't hallucinate that they solve all environmental problems (or even any of them).

But that's basically what some people have been claiming for decades.

Then, suddenly, the most successful electric car company ever is their enemy. Just because the guy who started the company stood up for free speech and then said some (truthful) things they don't like to hear.

Imagine being so partisan and blind that you'd reject what you've been declaring to be the solution to what you've been claiming is the biggest problem ever just because the entrepreneur isn't w0ke enough for your tastes.

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My response to the WHO pandemic response (whichever pandemic they see) is the same as my response to any cry for safety because "people will DIE!": Liberty is more important than life.

Adjusting to supply and demand

"Price gouging" is what the economically ignorant call it when the price adjusts to higher demand and lower supply.

To oppose this means you're OK with the first person who comes along buying it all at an artificially low price.

Or worse, that you'd have government set limits on how much people can buy.

Either way, no. Let the price move to reflect the relationship between supply and demand (and don't let government manipulate those, either).

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Unanimous consent vs. coercion

If you want socialism (and it doesn't matter how you define it) by unanimous consent, I don't care. Not even a little. Want to organize your family socialistically and everyone involved or affected agrees, then go for it!

If, however, you impose socialism through coercion-- which means you do it politically-- then I will oppose you no matter what your goals are said to be.

I'd oppose any coercive system.

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Gun thoughts

It seems to be a very scary world for those who aren't responsible enough to live armed and ready. Why should I let that be my problem?

Over and over I've seen them talking about feeling they are in danger all the time; the fear that they might get shot while just going about their lives. They live in fear that those around them might be armed-- regardless of the intentions and actions of those around them. They have many different "reasons"-- they live in a big city, or a small town, or wherever. Their reasons are conflicting, but they feel them deeply. Apparently. 

And it's why they want everyone else disarmed by legislation and draconian enforcement.

I can't possibly understand how they feel... and I've tried. 

Years ago-- just before the Klinton presidency-- I gave the anti-gun position serious consideration (bet you never saw that coming). I was tired of being on the unpopular side that seemed to be losing ground with each passing year. I decided to try on the idea that gun ownership was bad; that maybe they were right to want guns forbidden. I gave it my best shot for a year or so and every time I tried to defend the position to myself it just crumbled into nothing as soon as I engaged my brain. It just wouldn't hold up under scrutiny and rational thought. I couldn't be dumb enough to keep believing it.

It's when I realized I'd rather be correct than popular or to be thought well of by people I couldn't respect even a little.

I take responsibility for my own safety and for the safety of those around me. I'd rather die, fighting back with proper tools, than live in fear all the time because of hatred for tools and the fear that someone else may have them. That's a pathetic way to live (and die).

The fact that in Buffalo the armed guard was shot and killed when he confronted the evil loser doesn't mean that armed good guys are useless. He probably saved lives by distracting and delaying the evil loser.

One armed guard in a place is like one sip of water in a desert. It's better than nothing, but not sufficient. Just like you need an oasis full of fresh, clean water and a gentle, general rainfall in the desert, you need a universally armed population before there are enough people to engage any evil loser who decides to murder people. Even if cops were good guys, they aren't enough. You need to step up, too.

Any time some evil loser shoots people, the anti-gun bigots go nuts for a while, screaming for more of what caused the massacre in the first place (anti-defense rules). They want to punish the only people who could possibly stand between an evil loser and any innocent people he intends to harm. Anti-gun bigots aren't too bright, are they? Unless they are lying about their reasons. Either they are ignorant or they are evil-- or both.

I've seen a resurrection of the "I'm a military vet who owns guns, and I say no one needs an AR-15..." posts. If these are the people supposedly "fighting for our freedom" it's no wonder we have so little freedom left. Domestic enemies, one and all.

Whatever happens, it has gotten to the point where you have to choose between complying with bad rules or ignoring them and doing the right thing. Good, responsible people are going to have to be outlaws. Not violators of the ZAP, but violators of counterfeit rules that violate the ZAP. Personally, I think that's been the situation all my life, but it's getting worse. Getting more dangerous to be right. Are you up to the task? I hope I am.

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Anything designed to protect the state and its interests is harmful to you and to society.

Too much specialness

"It does no good to be special if no one wants your particular manner of specialness."

That's a sentence I just read from the book, Everyone is an Entrepreneur: Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World by Gregory Diehl

It struck close to home. That's because it has been the story of my life. 

I have no passion for "normal" things. That means everything I am interested in enough to put forth the effort to do is too "special" to be popular, with the result that (almost) no one wants it enough to pay for it.

I'm very grateful for the exceptions who do pay for it-- and if you get anything out of my writing you should thank them, as well.

Over the past several years I've tried to branch out and find something less "special" I can do that more people might want enough to pay for, but with very little success. I'll keep trying, because what else am I going to do?

Anyway, I do recommend the book I mentioned. It has inspired me to try some new things. It gives me new angles to see things from, and maybe it can help me find a way to deal with inflation a little better before the cats starve.

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If your solution is a political solution, you aren't really advocating a solution. Politics is never a good solution.

Predictable

The Supreme Courtjesters may be poised to rule on some gun-related cases soon, and many people have been saying it doesn't look good for the anti-gun bigots. 

That's how you know there was going to be at least one high-profile mass murder happening soon. The blood dancers needed fresh blood to dance in, and they always get it when they need it.

Coincidence or staged for political reasons? By "staged", I don't mean it wasn't a real event, I mean was the guy a puppet of some government anti-liberty agency rather than just an independent evil loser? Some of those who have watched his video say it appears he had professional shooting-on-the-move training. I don't know because I don't watch that sort of video. But would it surprise you?

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Freelance Buffalo soldiers needed

I don't know a lot about the evil loser in Buffalo who murdered 10 people. I see that the corporate media is calling him a "white supremacist". 

If he really believed others to be inferior (based on any arbitrary criteria), why would he have decided to murder them? All that did is prove he is the inferior one. An evil loser worthy of only scorn and ridicule.

I consider all of New York state to be a slaughterhouse zone, even though I know most places aren't quite as bad as NYC. Make it less likely that the good people will be armed and you're just encouraging evil losers to strike.

I sure wish someone there had ignored the anti-liberty rules and had ended his tantrum early. But that's what I always wish.

If you really believe you are superior to other people, act like it and prove that you are. Don't lower yourself and become a lowly evil loser.

And don't become a loser politician (a redundant term) by calling for more of the anti-liberty rules that protect scum such as this from their intended victims time after time.

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Liberty remains essential principle

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 13, 2022)

Liberty, as a principle, will always prove true. Respecting liberty always works, violating it always hurts. The truth doesn't care whether you like this or not.

Government's very existence violates liberty by interfering in your natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Some people claim government protects your liberty or "gives you freedom", but this is as nonsensical as claiming arsonists are protecting your property by burning down your house.

Anyone who limits your individual liberty, using any excuse, is your enemy. It works the same whether it's a kidnapper with a knife or a politician using legislation.

Liberty is freedom tempered with responsibility; the freedom to do everything you have a right to do. The principle of liberty is that there is no right, nor imaginary political authority, to forbid you from doing what you have a natural human right to do; whatever doesn't violate the equal and identical rights of any other person.

Your liberty can be violated without you being caged.

A government creating money out of nothing and causing inflation, imposing anti-gun legislation which always results in harm, or committing war violates your liberty every time, regardless of the justification.

When government counterfeits money through the Federal Reserve or steals it through taxation, it is violating your property rights. Your property is being taken; your wealth is being destroyed. This is a rejection of the principle of liberty; it harms the country.

A new wrinkle on the "tax the rich" scam is the plot to tax money people didn't actually make-- taxation proponents call these "unrealized gains". This is a crooked scheme; if it is unrealized, it wasn't a gain. This could hasten economic collapse. Politicians are counting on this collapse happening after they are gone so it can be blamed on future politicians.

And recent events in Ukraine demonstrate why the entire population must always be armed with the most effective weapons. You know, the kind of weapons President Biden says you don't need for deer hunting. It's not about deer, Joe, it's about being able to fight off people who want to violate your liberty in ways you wouldn't allow if you were adequately armed. It doesn't matter whether the enemies you need to fend off are foreign or domestic-- from Moscow, Washington DC, or your hometown-- your life may someday depend on you being able to defeat them.

No matter the issue, liberty remains an essential principle.

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Tunnel vision

In spite of what I said in yesterday's post, here's something I keep reminding myself: Whatever you see coming won't be what happens, or if it is, it won't be the important thing that happens. That, you'll never see coming.

You'll be watching the train coming down the tracks at you, and a bear will grab you from behind.

Don't forget to glance around.

  

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Dementia Economics says things are great. Never better.

I saw a tweet from the White House account praising Biden for how great the economy is. I called it Dementia Economics.

A couple of little things I buy regularly illustrate what is really going on with the economy. 

The price of one has recently gone from $1 to $1.70. The price of the other has gone from $3.50 to $4.25. This is just in the past few months. 

Those items are nothing special-- until I can't afford them anymore. 

One is something I need for one of the cats and isn't something I've stockpiled because it wasn't regularly needed until recently.
The other is something I do have a small stockpile of, but I like to replace it as I use it so that my stockpile doesn't shrink. If I buy no more, I probably have a couple of years' worth-- if I'm careful. Is that enough?

Those are just items I buy as a single purchase often enough that I know what the price has been. Are the prices of other things doing the same?

You know what the price of gasoline has done. And it looks like diesel may skyrocket... if it remains available at all.

Prices are rising, but my income isn't. It's not ideal.

Hold on to your hat. Unless something unexpectedly great happens, things may get rough.

 

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