Prohibition has opposite effect

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for October 19, 2022)

Isn't it better to not create a problem in the first place than to try to fix it after it happens?

I appreciate those organizing a trash pick-up day, and those who took time out of their week to participate. I appreciate the people who don't toss their trash around in the first place. and those who regularly pick up litter whenever they see it, even more.

If there is a pre-existing problem, make sure any solution you try isn't going to have the unintended consequence of making things worse. In some cases, much worse. Such as what has happened with the War on Politically Incorrect Drugs.

I understand the desire to try to stop people from abusing, and dying of, dangerous drugs like Fentanyl. However, it would have been better to have never started down the doomed path of prohibition which made Fentanyl (and the stronger drugs which will replace it) inevitable.

With litter and prohibition, irresponsible people made a mess and the rest of us have to deal with it. But picking up trash doesn't make litter worse, while prohibition does make drug abuse much worse.

Trash is the easier problem to deal with because no one attacks you for picking up litter, but if you try to help get rid of trashy "mala prohibita" laws-- counterfeit "laws" which make crimes of things which aren't wrong, only forbidden-- such as drug laws, you risk being harmed by those whose jobs depend on those fake crimes being treated as though they are real. In a strange upside-down way, you're treated like the bad guy.

So many of the problems society faces were created or made worse by someone-- possibly with good intentions-- deciding to use political government to address an issue.

The war on poverty, waged with handouts of money confiscated from workers, trapped many people into generational poverty which is nearly impossible to escape.

Laws mandating safety have made people helpless to use judgment to keep themselves from being injured.

Legislation against guns has made everyone more vulnerable to bad people who have no intention of following the rules anyway.

These "cures" were worse than the disease.

Keep doing the same dumb things and you'll keep getting the same bad results. It's so much better to stop creating these problems out of situations which could have been easy to handle if you hadn't fertilized them and made them grow.

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Don't trust the title

Did you realize there are people out there who still don't know that legislative bills are deceptively named? And that they all get filled with junk that has nothing to do with the titular topic, but can make the whole thing a really bad idea to approve?

They believe that the Patriot Act was actually patriotic, that the "Safer communities" acts make communities safer, and a Respect for Marriage Act would somehow codify "respect" for marriage. Instead of the opposite. And they believe that's all those bills would do.

If it's a bill, you can know it will be given a name that is the opposite of what it embodies, and it will be filled with irrelevant, harmful legislative trash. If congressvermin have any shred of ethics left they will v*te against every bill every time.

Even if a bill has some good stuff in it, it should be v*ted down anyway just because no more legislation is needed, and it all needs to be abolished.

Government licenses are among the most useless and harmful things I can imagine.

Are you operating your vehicle in a reasonable manner? If so, I respect your driving abilities and no government needs to get involved to either "respect" or sanction your driving with a license or recognition of your license from another state. No government involvement is wanted or needed.

You tell me you're married? That's good enough for me. I consider you married. I don't need to go ask a government bureaucrat whether or not I should "respect" your marriage. I have never once asked someone if they are "really married-- like, does the government say you're married?" As if that matters to me.

And, obviously, since I don't want government to meddle in your life, I don't want them to use your marriage status-- married or not--  as an excuse to molest you or reward you. Your rights don't depend on your relationships with other people. 

"But what about contract disputes?" If the two (or more) of you are splitting up and have a dispute, find arbitration-- the state isn't necessary for this either.

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Political libertarianism

It seems to me that political libertarianism is a separate thing from libertarianism. There is obviously a lot of overlap, and there's a load of friction where that overlap occurs. Friction can be good or bad-- it can wear away rough spots that need to be removed. But the friction in this case seems mostly destructive.

What do I mean by "political libertarianism"? Political libertarianism is concerned with pragmatism, politics, government, v*ting, the LP (and party politics in general), and not "scaring the women and children" with harsh truths. It seems to hate something external to itself more than it loves liberty.

I've watched political libertarianism used to justify police, "borders", war, taxation, and many other statist problems.

I think all libertarians slip into political libertarianism sometimes-- it has happened to me-- but some choose to wallow in it. I don't think anything beyond a quick dip is healthy-- and I'm not sure how healthy even the quickest splash really is.

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Getting what others deserve

I approve of Trump running for president again. 

Not because I want him to be president (I really don't care either way and I don't need a president), but because he breaks the brains of those who hate him. That does amuse me somewhat.

No, I'm not going to v*te for him. Nor for one of his opponents. But if I'm going to be subjected to political drama, it might as well be entertaining in some way.

I had supposed that once Trump was out of office the TDS would subside and its sufferers would shut their pieholes about him and move on to some other topic. But, no. I was wrong. They can't let him go (they are much more attached to him than even his supporters). If I'm going to have to listen to it anyway, it might as well be for something real-- an actual sitting president that makes them crazy, not an irrelevant former president they can't get over.

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You do you, but...

You might have the desire to v*te. You might have the ability, the opportunity, and the power to v*te. One thing you don't have is the "right" to v*te.

That's because such a right can't exist-- the very idea is in conflict with rights. To imagine you have the "right" to impose government or politicians or legislation on others is to deny the existence of rights.

If you are in a situation where you believe you need to v*te in self-defense, there are other, more effective ways to defend yourself. Ways that don't guarantee "collateral damage".

V*ting in "self-defense" is like firing randomly into a crowd and hoping you hit the bad guy who is violating you. Sure, it's possible you might get him, but the odds are overwhelmingly against it. If enough people join you in firing randomly into the crowd, your chances of success go up. So do your chances of harming the innocent.

Yes, if you know your target-- say a bad ballot proposal that threatens to violate your liberty-- and enough of you get together to v*te against that one thing and all of you leave the rest of the ballot blank, you could credibly claim that you v*ted in self-defense. 

But what if your side loses? Will you comply? If not, why not skip the unnecessary step?

You are almost always going to be outnumbered because [Unfortunate Truth #1]. People respond to promises that they won't have to be responsible. And bad guys run the election system from top to bottom and they count the v*tes. The game is rigged and by now you ought to know it.

I get it. I used to think liberty might be won-- or protected-- by v*ting for the less bad candidate, too. But then I observed and learned from my observations. That new information caused me to change my mind.

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I'd like more details

Go figure that this would be my most popular ever comment on (this account on) Twitter. It would be nice if that translated into actual beliefs regarding "government officials", rather than people thinking I was joking.

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Excluding "illegal immigrants"

If you don't want an "illegal immigrant" on your private property, that's your right. You can exclude anyone just like you can invite anyone (including those government forbids you to invite). 

I'll never understand how anyone imagines they can tell someone's "legal status" without checking the government paperwork and being a lawyer, but whatever. 

I may think you're a jerk, depending on your choices, but I'm not going to try to force you to allow just anyone into your home. You have every right to be an unpleasant hermit.

If, however, you have a store that is open to the public and you say "illegal immigrants" aren't welcome, I think you're in the wrong in more ways than one. Maybe you don't understand what "the public" is. If you have a store that is open to the public, there's a presumption baked in that people don't have to wait around outside your door to find out what exceptions you impose.

If you want to exclude some people, based on anything other than archation being committed right now or the credible threat of it being committed while they are in your store then don't invite the public. 

If, instead of being open to the public, you want to have a "buyer's club" sort of thing and access is granted to members only, and you choose who is allowed to be a member and who isn't, that's acceptable. I doubt I'd join, but you do whatever makes you happy.

That's different than letting someone force you to provide a service you don't offer. I don't think it's right (or sane) to force someone to "bake the cake". Who would be stupid enough to consume food or drinks prepared by someone who is doing so against their wishes? Not me! That's completely different than buying a sock from someone who doesn't like you.

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Don't care about fake laws, crimes

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

Being political leads to unfortunate outcomes. Politics never makes people act smart.

I don't think federal agents-- FBI or anyone else-- have any business digging for things over which to prosecute Hunter Biden. I don't find federal agents credible.

When someone is targeted for political reasons, whether Donald Trump or Hunter Biden, it makes those targeting them look unintelligent and corrupt. Maybe because they are unintelligent and corrupt-- as bad as their target, or worse. All politically connected people have done things truly wrong, so why do their opponents choose to be political, too?

Because it's easier.

I don't care about Hunter Biden's so-called tax crimes or gun crimes, no matter how clear the evidence may be. I have no love for the Bidens, but I don't believe there is even one legitimate tax or anti-gun rule. Not one. Accusing someone of breaking one of those fake laws is completely pointless.

The same would go for charging him with drug crimes for the things he was seen doing on video.

People want to see those connected with the other side get what's coming. The Trump-obsessed anti-Trumpers want to see Donald Trump hurt, just like the reactionary anti-Biden faction would love to see Biden hurt by targeting his son. Leave me out of your political circus.

The thing is, I only care about real crimes-- where an individual's life, liberty, or property has been violated. Trump, Biden, and every other former and future politician violates everyone in some way. Yes, even the president you like the best. If you're going to go after them for something, look at these real crimes.

No, having "classified documents" isn't real either, since government shouldn't keep any secrets from its bosses.

I don't care even a little what such laws say. Even if I wouldn't do what someone else does, if the legislation is illegitimate-- as is all gun, drug, and tax legislation-- then I am not in favor of using it against anyone. Not even someone I think is clearly a bad person. If you can't find a real crime with an individual victim, then back off. I'm not interested in using fake laws against anyone.

The root problem is allowing anyone to hold the office of President of the United States, or any political office, and wield its political power. Strike at the root instead of thrashing at the twigs by prosecuting illegitimate "crimes".

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I need a lift

I need my spirits lifted. I don't know if it's just because November 17th is approaching, all the medical crap that is looming in a couple of months, other things that have been going on forever, or whatever. My financial circumstances certainly aren't helping. Maybe it's the combination. But whatever the reason, I'm in a dark pit. If you can tell me something that might be uplifting, I need it.

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Government supremacists embrace freedom

Government supremacists who don't understand liberty seem to be big on talking up freedom. They use this as a way to justify liberty-crushing things they want the freedom to do to you.

They'll honor government troops for dying for freedom. They'll v*te, rally, and protest for freedom. No one advocates liberty.

Freedom has become almost as distasteful to me as democracy. That's because people who focus on freedom too much always seem to want the freedom to violate others.

If banning guns is what you want to do, you want the freedom to do so.
If you want the freedom to lock down the "border" that's what you'll focus on. 

Never mind that you don't have any right to do those things-- they are anti-liberty-- but if you want to do them, you'll want the freedom to do them.

(And everyone seems to want the freedom to impose their ideas on abortion on everyone else, which is a whole other mess and seems to have been the driving force behind the recent election outcome.)

Government supremacists like freedom, but not responsible freedom (liberty). They don't seem to understand or want liberty, since liberty would limit their freedom to violate other people's life, liberty, and property in ways they want to get away with, but which are irresponsible.

Let freedom ring? No. Let liberty ring, instead. It's better in every way!

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Getting away with murder

If I decided to commit some horrible crime, perhaps a murder, and I publicly announce what I'm going to do, and to whom, but I say the victim will just have to let the courts decide afterward whether it was wrong or not (and I personally face no consequences either way), wouldn't that be premeditation at least? Wouldn't I be clearly making a credible threat, making self-defense against me ethical?

It is obvious that this is the case.

It's not hypothetical; it matters in the real world because this is exactly what anti-gun politicians do every day. 

Yet there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it until after the damage has been done because of the rules of the system, even though the bigots give plenty of warning of what they are planning to do (making credible threats), and it's already known to be a crime. 

Could no one intervene and say, "No, that's not OK. We've warned you not to murder anyone and if you attempt to do so you will be stopped, using whatever amount of violence it requires, before you can harm the victim in any way"?

Everyone is supposed to just sit and watch (and comply or be punished) until it crawls back through the court system again, just so the decision can be ignored by these same criminals in the same way again later when they impose their next legislative crime? Is there no way to shut them down "legally" once and for all?

If that's your system, screw your system!

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Welcome to the Politics Cafe

Still, people keep filing in to sit at the table and place their orders.
Then, they complain about what they are served and what it costs.

Of course, the sad truth is that even if you refuse to participate, you'll be held down and force-fed the majority's choice, and you'll be charged for the "pleasure" too. Politely declining the "meal" isn't allowed and fighting back is seen as "wrong", even by most people who don't want to eat the meal. 

And yet some people still don't see politics as the evil it is.

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Election thoughts

I don't v*te. I don't believe there's any such thing as a "legitimate election". Majority opinion-- even when supposedly constrained by a constitution-- gives no one any "right" to govern others in any way.

I don't want Republicans (or Libertarians) to have political power, but... 

I never ever from now until the end of time want any Democrat to have even the slightest amount of political power ever again. Not until and unless they reject and repudiate w0keness in all its forms completely and without reservation. The past few years have convinced me of that.

Political power is never ethical. But, to use political power to try to impose a denial of reality on a population, and to punish those who refuse to say there are "five lights"... may even be more evil than anti-gun bigotry (which Republican political criminals also suffer from).

I don't want Republicans to win, but I want Democrats to lose HARD. 

No crushing loss would be decisive enough to satisfy me, so I already know I will be disappointed. I also know that caring at all is something I should purge from myself. Politicians and their "laws" shouldn't even matter to me. I'm already OK with living as an outlaw, so why would it matter?

Of course, v*tes don't count; only counting v*tes counts. The fix is probably already in; Democrat spokescritters are already signaling that election results will take a longer time than v*ters expect, which seems almost as good as an admission that results won't be "official" until they are what those in power want. 

Will liberty get chipped away at slowly for a few more years, or will it be crushed quickly under the thumb of toxic w0keness? 

Or is all this just a reflection of how I'm feeling about everything recently?

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Musk wields the ban-hammer now

I've had my criticisms of Elon Musk in the past. He's smart enough that he ought to "get" liberty, but it may be in his financial interests not to.

However, I have to admit I'm enjoying the way he is antagonizing the Left-statists on Twitter.

I disagree with him permanently banning anyone, ever. No matter how twisted and evil they may be. That's always my position, regardless of anything else. But, if he would use a temporary ban just to make them flip out, then reinstate them after a few hours of tantruming (I know, not a word), it would just be funny.

It's like everything he does is done to poke them just enough to make them act really stupid in response. Planned or not, it's amusing.

It's even more hilarious seeing them contradicting themselves when it's their own side facing the axe instead of their opposition-- only months ago so many were cheering the "other side" getting treated the same way-- or even worse. Especially since I think Musk is joking and the previous Twits were clearly not.

Again, I don't want anyone banned ever for any reason. Free speech is non-negotiable and I want evil people to feel free to express their evil so the rest of us know who they are and what they are thinking. It's just a personal flaw of mine that makes me enjoy seeing them melt down over being treated the way they've been treating others for years.

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Be glad about what's not going wrong

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

It's easy to focus on our problems; on what's going wrong. It's harder to notice what's not going wrong right now. It's good to find a balance between the two.

I'm thankful we didn't have a devastating hurricane blow through this area last week. I'm also glad we aren't in the middle of a violent war, trying to defend our homes from the military of an invading government from a neighboring country. Not everyone in the world can say the same. Shouldn't we be grateful for the problems we don't have?

Nothing is perfect. If you look hard enough you can find things to worry about anywhere. In this region, we are vulnerable to an uncertain water supply, made worse by an unending drought, but nothing immediate is threatening us right now.

We all have our individual day-to-day troubles. We'd still have those even if some horrible external event were affecting us, too. Maybe even if it were crowding our personal problems from our minds. In that case, we'd have all our mundane problems made worse by some life-threatening threat piled on top. As it is, you have the opportunity to face your individual trouble without the distractions of civilization crumbling around you. Take advantage of this chance. It may not last forever.

This is one reason I think it's a good idea to be a prepper: it relieves some of the pressure so you can focus on the things we all face daily without having to worry about some big "what if" sneaking up on you. If you don't have to worry about running out of food, water, or toilet paper you can spend more time thinking about how to improve your health or your relationships. Or working on a hobby you enjoy.

I'm not suggesting you bury your head in the sand or ignore potential threats until it's too late. Pay attention, but don't let yourself be distracted from living your life. Again, finding the right balance is the key.

We are at the mercy of nature and politics. You can't control hurricanes or wars. You can be prepared for things outside of your control so they don't cause as much harm as they might otherwise.

Be happy when those things you can't control aren't wrecking your life. Let yourself enjoy whatever you can. Occasionally stop and be glad about the things that aren't going wrong.

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Poor Dull'Hawk's Almanac

Early to bed and early to rise probably means that the stupidity called Daylight "Saving" Time ended today.

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Government supremacists sabotage liberty

I've written about this before, but I keep seeing more and more people making these dumb arguments, so I guess my work isn't done.

Defunding (on the road to abolishing) the police is the right thing to do. Yes, really. 

However... the places most likely to defund the police are also the places most likely to violate the natural human right to own and to carry weapons without permission, and most likely to criminalize defending life, liberty, and property with those effective weapons. They planned to fail.

It is stupid beyond measure to defund the police and then use counterfeit rules to empower criminals to make it appear that police are necessary.

If crime increases after the Blue Line Gang has been reined in a little, it doesn't mean you need police; it means you need to be responsible for your own defense. Any political criminals trying to prevent you from doing so are a big part of the problem. It doesn't mean you shouldn't defund the police, it means they sabotaged the plan. It wouldn't surprise me if police, with the support of police unions, are a source of at least a significant chunk of the additional crime, just to show the serfs "why they need us".

It's the same sort of nonsense you'll hear from borderists who say you can't have "open borders" and a welfare system. They are right, but the correct, ethical solution is to get rid of the socialism problem-- welfare-- not to allow government to enforce socialized immigration controls until they decide to get rid of the socialized welfare (which they never will if you give them a choice).

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Dead former mayors and migrant farm workers

I was visiting with someone yesterday when the topic of the town's previous mayor came up on the occasion of his transformation into a good politician. The guy's funeral was underway at that moment.

I disliked the guy because he was a politician. He was an authoritarian who I wrote against a time or two before I gave up on trying to write for the small weekly paper here in town.

The person I was visiting with didn't even think about the actual authoritarianism of the guy. No, his complaint was that this mayor had "allowed" someone to house "illegals" [sic] in town.

A farmer owns a house in town and he lets the workers who need a place to live stay in it while they work for him for a month or so a couple of times each year. Seems perfectly consensual to me. Where's the problem?

Of course, there is no evidence the fellows who stay in the house in question are "illegal" [sic]; they are simply migrant agricultural workers from Mexico. Why assume they are breaking even a counterfeit "immigration law"? But this is the assumption many people here make. I am nearly alone in not caring about it at all. As long as you don't violate any individual's life, liberty, or property that's what matters to me.

As far as I can tell, they never cause trouble. There is no crime wave in town while they are here to work. The guys are friendly and wave and say "Hi" when I walk past. It would never occur to me to inquire as to what government permissions they have to be here. 

Some people based their complaint on the fact that several adult men stay in the house-- it's not a "family unit". The formerly living former mayor said there was no law requiring a landlord to only rent to a family unit, which angered the borderists in town. They wanted him to "do something" about it. They were just looking for any "legal" means to stop the property owner from using his property and from hiring people willing to work for him. They wanted more socialism. In that case, the mayor said "No".

Even a politician I dislike can sometimes do the right thing and stay out of people's business.

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S&W serial number question

If anyone out there has a copy of the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, I have a request.

I have a Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight which I would like to find out the manufacture date. Can anyone help? The internet has been spectacularly unhelpful.

Serial number is AAR9xxx.

I also have another S&W (actually, in my dad's possession) that I would like to see if the book has some info on, but it's more complicated-- by the apparent presence of multiple serial numbers-- and I will discuss that in the comments if anyone has the book and is able to help.

I can't see spending the money on a book just to look up two dates. But if someone already has it...

Thanks!

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Don't bother

If you abolish government it will only leave a vacuum and someone else will become a new government. Maybe even worse!

At least that's the argument I hear whenever I point out that government is always an unnecessary evil.

I guess if that's the case... Since you're going to die someday no matter what anyone does, there's no point in eating, defending yourself, or opposing murder.

Right?

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Mr. Pelosi's little problem

I disavow this hilarious meme

I don't care if Mr. Pelosi had a gay date or a gay lover. Whatever floats his boat.

What I do care about is how this event has been used as a political weapon by political people. Trying desperately to spin the narrative in a particular direction and pin the blame on people who didn't do it and had nothing to do with it. Whatever "it" may have been.

Just like when anti-gun bigots try to pin mass murder on gun owners who had nothing to do with it.

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When is healthcare not healthcare?

Under the current system in America, if you can't afford healthcare you might not be able to get it.

Under "free" healthcare if you can't afford it you'll be forced, through taxation, to pay for it anyway, and you may still not be able to get it; many die waiting to be seen or treated. Canada and the UK clearly show this result.

Are there problems with healthcare in America? Yes. Primarily caused by government meddling in what should have been allowed to be a market. Having government meddle even more-- or take over-- isn't a solution, it's doubling down on the problems.

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Don't make enemies over politics

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 28, 2022)

Politics divides.

If you distrust your neighbor because of political differences, it's not your neighbor-- or you-- who's at fault. It's politics. Some would have you believe we are at war with each other, but your neighbors aren't the enemy, even if they follow the enemy. Or if you do. Don't let politics make you hate each other-- that would be a tragedy.

I've heard people claim "everything is political". This is not a healthy way of looking at life-- it's not even a smart claim. Things are only political if someone makes them political by threatening to use government violence against any who disagree with them. That's what politics is.

The major political parties infesting America are both guilty of antisocial behavior. Whichever side has the most government and corporate power at the moment is usually the worst offender, but this top position never lasts. Currently, it's the left, but this hasn't always been the case.

Nothing should have been made political to begin with. It was and we are paying the price.

A new cold virus shouldn't have been made political. People could have been warned it existed, then allowed to decide what to do with the information. Medical advice based on the best guesses could have even been offered. This wasn't what happened. Instead, some people decided government should be used to force everyone to do what those in power imagined was the best thing to do. Control-freaks among us helped government tyrants impose their will on the people.

Now the economy is damaged; inflation has frittered away the value of our money, and broken people point fingers at each other instead of blaming the guilty ones who caused it.

I always try to assume the best of people until they show me this trust is misplaced.

Unless a person comes up to you on the street and shoves a gun or a law in your face, assume they aren't one of the bad guys. If they treat you right by respecting your liberty, give them the same courtesy.

Those who won't respect your liberty may not understand the harm they are doing by supporting a political policy. They may not have considered the effects, only believing the lies told to them by the political criminals they follow.

Let's not treat each other as the enemy. Our real enemies don't want us united. They feed on the power you give them, so starve them instead.

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Pelosis in the news

Do you like this photo of a couple of my homemade Pelosis?

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BATFE is a crooked gang of molesters

It's more clear than ever, that-- besides being entirely illegal/unconstitutional-- The BATFEces crime gang doesn't act in good faith.

To fight against the new Texas suppressor freedom law, the parasites of the ATF are arguing that they can "tax" and control suppressors because suppressors aren't firearms and therefore aren't protected by the Second Amendment. 

I'm sure you see at least one flaw in that dishonest argument. Well, there are more.

If suppressors aren't "firearms" then why does the illegitimate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives think it should have any say in them? Suppressors are also not alcohol, tobacco, or explosives. They aren't the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, not-firearms, and Explosives. If they aren't firearms then the thugs at the ATF need to shut up and leave them alone.

Even if they were firearms, the ATF gang is legally prohibited from doing anything about them. Not that this stops that criminal gang.

They are also claiming that Texas residents can only challenge the petulant BATFEces' unconstitutional enforcement of its unconstitutional suppressor rules if they've applied for permission to pay the suppressor tax and... what? Been denied or arrested, or ?? The entire point of the new law is that the ATF goons have no jurisdiction, so why would anyone apply to a criminal agency without jurisdiction for permission that the law says isn't required? Their argument makes no sense. Not surprising, is it?

But what would you expect from a criminal gang whose entire existence centers around directly breaking the law and molesting non-criminals?

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Me, being me.

I've never blocked anyone on Twitter, but recently decided I was just seeing too much stupidity there for my own good, so I started muting a lot of the accounts that were pushing politics too hard. Just to stop seeing so much negativity.

I'm not sure what the difference is between muting and blocking, other than it seems I can still see the tweets if someone I follow is laughing at something they tweeted.

Sometimes, before I mute a dumb political account, I respond to that which brought them to my attention in the first place. With this account, it was the first thing of theirs I'd ever seen. It was enough.

I have to admit, I'm kinda happy with that one.

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How to destroy your mind in one easy step

(But, topped with monkey poop)

Politics makes people stupid.

I know I say this a lot, but that's because it keeps proving true.

Take the recent debate in Pennsylvania between political criminal wannabes Fetterman and Oz. 

Each side says, apparently without irony, that "their guy" destroyed the other guy.
Both really can't be true, but that's how minds crippled by politics see it.

Put down the crack politics pipe. It's not doing your mind any favors.

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2ndAmendmentShirts.com

If you like pro-gun (and pro-2A) and pro-liberty shirts (and flags) you might like to check out the wares at 2ndAmendmentShirts.com.

The store is from the folks at Ammo.com and Libertas Bella. They reached out to me to ask if I would let you know about their products, possibly in exchange for a shirt as thanks. I am glad to do so, shirt or not. I've worked with them, linking to several of their excellent posts, in the past. They seem pretty solid friends of liberty.

I like to see businesses that promote liberty thrive. How about you?

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"Doom!" Or, "Don't worry; it has never happened"

Anytime I see some report that says "[X] is the worst it has been since [some year I lived through]", I think "So?" I made it through that one and I think my chances are pretty good to make it through this, too. 

On the other hand, I also remember lots of times people said "[X] has never happened; it's not going to happen now" just before it happened.

Will TSHTF? Probably not in the next year-- it hasn't yet (although 2020 was a limited practice run). Am I going to be complacent because I think TEOTWAWKI is unlikely? Nope. I'm going to prep like I know it's coming next week. Just because it hasn't happened yet is no guarantee it won't ever happen. In fact, over the long term, it's probably inevitable. I just don't know when.

If something kills me in the midst of the present or future "interesting times", it will probably be something ordinary and boring (to observers), not anything unusual and interesting. Part of me would prefer to go out fighting to survive a Mad Max world instead of some mundane health issue. I suspect a lot of people may feel the same way. But that's unlikely.

To those who fear TEOTWAWKI, I say you probably don't have anything to worry about. Prep anyway since it will soothe your worries a little. And if I'm wrong, prepping is what you should be doing to get ready. Whatever comes, your response should be the same: prep.

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Here come the Betophiles

Beto O'Fakehispanic irritates me more than most political criminal wannabes. 

Much more. It's how I imagine TDS sufferers must feel when they see or think of Donald Trump.

It's not just his face, but his smug anti-gun bigotry, which is pretty much the only song and dance he seems to know.

I've come up with a name for his supporters that I use on social media: Betophiles.
It fits and is 100% accurate and honest. And it's catchy. His campaign should send me a huge check as thanks for coming up with this.

I say his supporters should stand up and loudly proclaim in public that they are proud Betophiles. I think they should adopt the hashtag #Betophiles to identify themselves. They need to let themselves be seen and heard for who they support.

Wouldn't that be fun for everyone?

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Politicians aren't better than you

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 21, 2022)

It seems it should be obvious to everyone by now: those who seek positions of political power can't even run their own lives; they certainly shouldn't be allowed to run yours. No one is less qualified to do so.

Just look at the news. Locally, nationally, and internationally-- those with political power are drawn to criminal behavior like Junebugs to porch lights.

They are not better than you. They are not smarter or wiser, more moral, or more expert. They aren't entitled to decide how you should live your life. They shouldn't have power over a hamster, much less over other humans.

Sometimes, what they want you to do (or want you to not do) is the same thing you already want. Letting them believe they are governing isn't going to hurt anything too much-- other than perhaps making them bolder. All too often though, they demand you behave in ways which aren't in your interest. Things which will actually hurt you in some way. Complying with their demands may be safer than defying them. but you lose either way.

These arbitrary demands are usually in their interests, though, and they'll dream up excuses to pretend they aren't arbitrary. Their real reason is less noble.

What they demand you give up for them-- for "the good of society"-- invariably gives them more power and usually enriches them in some way as well. They exempt themselves from the rules they impose if these rules would hamper their own ambitions too much. They believe they are a higher class of human.

They commonly frame their policies as good for society, but this is a lie.

If something isn't good for individuals, it isn't good for society. Society is nothing but all the individuals and their actions combined. It's not something politicians can, or should, control.

People who seek political power are the last people who should be allowed to have it. The temptation to misuse this power is too great. You've heard the old saying about power tending to corrupt people and absolute power corrupting them absolutely. If you respect someone, why would you put them in the position to be corrupted and ruined? This is why you never vote for someone you like. Never vote for anyone you don't like, either.

You have the right to run your own life, even if you are fooled into giving up control to politicians. Don't be fooled.

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"Quiet quitting"? I would prefer quiet rebellion

To some extent, you get the "laws" you comply with.

I feel bad for Canadians, especially after Fidel Trudeau's handgun freeze, but they've been too compliant over the years and it has led to this.

Of course, I think Americans are also too compliant.

They were too compliant when driver's licenses were imposed. They were too compliant when the National Firearms Act was imposed. They were too compliant when government sent them to die for the military-industrial complex. They were too compliant when "social security" and income taxation were imposed.

And they are too compliant now with just about everything from the Covid shot and mandates to whatever is happening in gov-schools.

America was founded on rebellion and without rebellion ceases to exist. Is it too late?

I want to see some rebellion. It doesn't even need to be violent rebellion-- if enough people would just ignore the wishes of the political criminals so that their plans fail I'd be thrilled. Even if it included issues I would be on the other side of.

Call it quiet rebellion. Just stop acting as though the political criminals own you-- because they don't. They are the bad guys. 

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When someone says "our democracy"...

Any political person who uses the term "our democracy" has instantly lost any hint of credibility on that topic. It's so dumb it's laughable.

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Choosing the best situation for yourself

I suppose it's good that you can still choose a location that respects the rights that are most important to you. At least, to some extent.

I'm not concerned with abortion access personally (which may or may not actually be a right-- depending on how you see it), but I am adamant that my right to own and to carry weapons be respected. So, small-town Texas is better for me than big-city California. Even here, I'm not going to tempt the Blue Line Gangsters by flaunting my rights in their faces. I don't trust any cops, anywhere, ever.

Other people are free to choose differently if they rank their own rights differently.

I feel bad for those who feel stuck in a place that violates their rights in ways that bother them the most. I was once in their place and I hated it. I felt trapped and couldn't wait to get back to freer territory. Those who had lived there all their lives didn't even notice what was so oppressive to me. I couldn't ignore the authoritarianism. I had to escape from the East.

Are there freedoms that could make other places more attractive to me? Yes. Without a doubt. 

For one thing, I miss the Rocky Mountains a lot. The freedom of wandering the wilderness, and all the joy that brings. But Colorado has changed too much since I lived there and I'm not sure I would feel as free there anymore. I admit, I (and everyone else I knew) basically ignored Denver's authoritarian edicts, so I wasn't as affected as I could have been. But even as badly as I miss the mountains, I'm not sure I would be a good fit there now. Of course, the Rockies cover a lot of territory, so maybe someday I'll head back to some part of them, but in a place not so polluted by transplanted California tyranny.

At least for now, that option is still open. I don't take it for granted that this will always be the case.

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"I'm NOT going to read some rando's blog post!"

And that's why you'll continue to be ignorant.

I get this response over and over when in the middle of a discussion someone says something I've already addressed in a blog post (or several) and I link to it so the explanation can be laid out in detail. Yes, I could type it all out again, or I could copy and paste the whole post, but why?

Well, one reason to do so is that most people seem to refuse to read a blog post that applies to the situation. That seems odd to me. I've never refused to read anything sent to me to explain someone else's position or beliefs. Not once. If it's especially long, I may skim it-- but I have never "yelled" at anyone for sending a link, whether to a blog post or an article, yet that happens to me all the time.

I suppose the difference might be that I always want to know if I'm wrong. If there's a valid point that I'm missing that bolsters the other side (or destroys my side), I want to be aware of it. It may or may not change my mind-- to do so it would have to present something new that I hadn't already considered-- but I still want to know what the arguments for the other side are.

So many others don't seem to think the same way. It seems this is because they would rather make claims, not a case for what they are saying.

Recently, after a guy attacked someone for observing that cops are a threat, I spelled out-- carefully and completely-- to him why there are no "good cops" and why there can't be. He really balked when I posted a link to something relevant I had written before on the topic, telling me he didn't care what someone had written in a blog. All he could manage was to was claim, over and over again, that there are good cops (because one had helped him once) and tell me it wasn't a "hegemony" (not sure how that applied to my observation that police are a criminal gang) and that I was using false equivalencies and straw men. 

But he never even tried to address or refute my points or to make some of his own, even admitting that taxation is theft-- but he'll accept it because it funds police.  (He is also a "Constitutionalist", so that might be part of the hangup.) It was just too obvious to him that cops are the only thing keeping us from all killing each other-- using the chaos in gun-free utopian cities that "defunded police" [sic] as his evidence. When I pointed out that this is the inevitable result in places that violate the right to own and to carry weapons, with or without cops. he threw around his favorite words some more and refused to stop and think.

I have figured out that most people simply don't go through the same mental process that I do when evaluating something. That's not wrong, even if it's different, but it means they'll never be convinced in the same way I have been convinced. If they are to be convinced, it's going to take someone whose brain works more like theirs does. That's not me.

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The rise of the spoiled idiots

Pouring soup on an old painting that people generally like, or pouring milk over food and the floor of your local grocery store, to convince people it's wrong to use petroleum or dairy products is just going to make smart people dislike you. 

Gluing your hand to the wall of the art gallery after trying to ruin a painting with soup, or to the road so that you can more effectively block traffic with your pre-corpse, may even be more stupid-- it looks like you don't realize how easily skin can tear off. And those who you've made into your enemies aren't really going to care if ripping off your skin to move you out of the way causes you a lot of pain. They'll correctly point out that you did this to yourself.

Stunts like these make everyone who isn't a spoiled idiot see you as the spoiled idiot you are.

If you don't like the way something is going, or wish things would change faster, speak up smart. Make your case. Don't do things so stupid that you inspire people to push back harder. Which is the unfortunate response I've seen most often.

Also, it might help if you had a clue about economics. I'm sure that's asking too much of these products of gov-school, though.

It's interesting that this is happening in the UK where the natural human right to defend property has been turned into a "crime".

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Liberty trumps rule of the majority

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 14, 2022)

According to a recent poll, a majority of New Mexico voters approve of stiffer anti-gun legislation.

This is why the US Constitution exists, and why America was established as a republic, not a democracy: to protect individual rights from majority opinion. It places human rights beyond the reach of politics. You don't get to vote on liberty.

Whether or not this works in practice could be the subject for another conversation.

Invariably, the anti-gun faction claims that "in spite of" all the legislation they've imposed, the crime rate remains high. The truth is, the crime rate is pushed higher by those laws. Bad people will continue to break laws, no matter how harsh the consequences. Part of being a bad guy is the belief that you'll get away with it-- and a lack of consideration of consequences. This is why harsher legislation and nastier penalties will always hurt good people more than they will discourage criminals.

Democracy is nothing but mob rule; might through superior numbers makes "right". It is nothing to celebrate or fetishize. Those who place faith in democracy are telling you they don't understand what rights are, nor do they understand the dangers of letting the mob decide which rights to respect and which to ignore.

It doesn't matter what everyone wants if everyone wants to violate someone's rights.

Imagine slavery somehow makes a comeback, or at least becomes something most people are willing to consider again. It's obviously illegal-- prisons excepted-- to enslave people. What if the people demand to vote on the matter? Could an election make slavery OK? What if the vote was 99% in favor of re-instituting slavery?

If you don't have the right to do something to someone, winning a majority vote on the issue doesn't create this right. You have no right to tell anyone they aren't allowed to have some sort of gun or otherwise violate their natural rights or enslave them. No legislation, election, or majority opinion can change this.

You might still have the power to do it anyway, just as governments had the power to prop up slavery throughout most of human history. This doesn't make it right. Try it and the abolitionists will rise again, with their new version of underground railroads. The bad people will call them the "criminals", as they always do when good people defy bad government rules. I can live with that.

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Don't be a creepy cancel ghoul

I really hate the whole "cancel culture" thing. Bad.

I don't even care one bit who it is being canceled. Currently, it's mainly those who aren't Left-statists who are getting canceled, but flip the polarity and it wouldn't make it any better. I would still oppose it because it wouldn't be a bit more legitimate.

I don't care if it's Donald Trump, Alex Jones, Stephen King, or AOC. Don't do it. 

Even if you are on the correct side, you make me think you know you aren't when you "cancel" someone. If you don't like what someone says, make a better argument for what you'd say instead. Canceling them is admitting you have no argument.

It's a weak move. A dishonest, creepy, authoritarian move. I probably hate you more than whoever you canceled just because you canceled someone.

The cancel creeps don't have to care what I think, but I'm going to let them know anyway.

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