We can't afford U.S. government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for March 11, 2026)

I can't afford the government I'm saddled with now; I certainly can't afford extra government. Military strikes on other countries always result in more government at home, at a higher cost.

The current foolishness in the Middle East has already caused local fuel prices to spike, which will drive up the price of everything else.

I warned people during the first round of Covid "stimulus" handouts that it would cause higher prices. I was right. Are you doing so well you can afford to pay even more for everything you buy, just so the US federal government can strut around, cosplaying as a police force for the whole world? I'm not, and I can't. I'll bet there are more people in my position than not.

If you've fallen for the propaganda, you're probably angry at me now. Take that as a sign you need to engage in some quiet self-reflection.

The US government really wants you to believe Iran, or the next designated enemy, is the greatest threat to you and me, but it isn't. If they hated us for our freedom, they would be our best buddies now. The US government has been doing their job for them.

The US government, with its state and local affiliates, is a much greater threat to your life, liberty, and property than any foreign power in the past century. This includes the old Soviet Union. Which one takes a large percentage of your money before you even see it? Which one then takes more of your money every time you buy something, or demands it in ransom so you're allowed to keep what you already own? Which one makes and enforces arbitrary rules about the way you're allowed to live?

I'll give you a hint: it's not Iran's evil government.

Right now, I'm not extorted to prop up an Iranian government, but if the US government wins this fight, I will be. Just as we are robbed to fund other former enemies and historical allies. It's an unsustainable and criminal system.

If you want a government which goes around the world, intervening in everyone's business, making enemies who are willing to travel here to hurt Americans because of the meddlesome US government, and dictating how you live, then you pay for it without anyone else's help. I don't want it, I can't afford it, and I haven't been brainwashed enough to tolerate it.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

Robocops are frauds

I oppose archation.

Therefore, I oppose government.
Therefore, I oppose legislation (counterfeit “law”).
Therefore, I oppose the existence of "law enforcement" (police).
Therefore, I oppose traffic police.

If traffic cops are to exist anyway, even though they shouldn't, then they must not be allowed to make contact with anyone who cannot be clearly seen with the naked eye, driving dangerously. 

If the "offense" relies on technology such as radar, traffic cameras, or a breathalyzer to detect, it's not real. It's certainly not worth robbing or killing people over.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Governments only differ in unimportant ways

It's somewhat simple-minded to distinguish between various flavors of government. All of them are the same in all the ways that really matter- some are just worse than others.

All governments violate natural human rights and therefore forfeit their privilege to exist.

All governments are communist.
All are fascist.
All are authoritarian tyrannies. 
All governments are criminal operations.

Including the one you believe in.

The only distinguishing factor is how much power they each have.

The more powerful they are, the more they violate rights.
The more criminality they can get away with.
The more important it is to eradicate them from the fabric of the Universe.

A "limited government" would be the same, but would have a bit less power until it escaped its limits. Which it would. Government can not be limited. It will not allow us mere peasants, pointing to founding documents, to limit it. It knows what's best for us. And it means to govern us with whatever cruelty it takes to make us understand this.

Walk away. Stop complying. And then, when it insists we aren't "allowed" to do that, bring out the torches, pitchforks, and tar and feathers. Liberty is ours to claim... or reclaim. No government can change that fact.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Erupting with anticipation

I've had a rough couple of days. Well, really, the past couple of months have been a massively stressful mess. So, here's something happy. (Well, something that makes me happy, anyway.)

Uberti, the Italian reproduction gunmaker, is going to start making and selling a replica of the Volcanic pistol!

I've wanted one of these guns for decades- ever since I first saw one in a book on guns of the Old West. 

Malcolm Reynolds' pistol in Firefly (and the one in Serenity) reminded me of the Volcanic in some ways, and that made me want one even more. (Until someone starts making a working model of that gun.)

No one made Volcanic replicas (that I could find), and the originals were a wee bit out of my price range.

So, when I stumbled across a video announcing that Uberti will start selling a replica Volcanic "next year", I knew this was something I was going to start trying to save up for. I've seen speculation on the price, but I won't pay attention to that until it's actually offered for sale.

At least I have time to save up for it, since it's not for sale yet, and many times gun companies' time estimates are a little overly optimistic. So, maybe in the next few years, as long as everything goes well.

I'm assuming the internals will be improved over the originals- the video may have hinted at that. It will also be chambered for modern .380 ACP ammo, rather than "rocket ball" ammo, which is a good thing. 

I am determined to get one of these. I've never decided to get a specific gun before it even came on the market. Until now. I also know that getting an early production model means more potential problems. I don't even care.

Now the question will be, 6" or 8" barrel? And will it fit the Malcolm Reynolds belt holster I got as a gift several years ago?

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Government's dictionary

Government constantly tries to co-opt liberty words

Words such as "marketplace", "rights". and even the word "liberty" itself!

Orwell predicted it. Or noticed it, since government has probably always done this.

If government can confuse you about what words mean and cause you to think they might mean the opposite of what they've meant before, then government can prevent you from thinking clearly. It can make some concepts literally unthinkable.

ObamaCare is the opposite of a health care "marketplace", even if that's the word they use to label it.

Rights are the opposite of privileges, even though government wants you to believe you only have the right to do what they approve of- which is what a privilege is.

And liberty does not mean "temporarily, with permission", like government uses the word in a military context.

Dishonest and deceptive to the core!

Do what you want and use words however you prefer, but if you buy- and use- the government definitions, you're not helping people understand liberty.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

RIP Butterscotch

Butterscotch “Butters”

7-22-2012 to 4-9-2026

You were a good cat. I love you.

Not a perfect system...

This illustration could be my parents talking to me. We actually had this conversation- although it was decades ago. Most likely while I was in high school; before I'd heard of libertarians and when I probably thought anarchists were bushy-mustached bomb throwers.

But, that assumption about the system is wrong. Anyone who thinks this way is wrong. It’s the best system they can imagine or are willing to consider; not the best there is or could be. Not even close.

They are far from being alone in this belief. The vast majority of humans, regardless of the specific system they find themselves yoked with, share this delusion.

Only govschooling or some other intensive cult indoctrination could brainwash people to this point. 

Again, as happens so often, I wonder how I dodged that bullet.. or if I'd be better off believing the lies with the rest of them.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Full liberty makes our lives better

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for March 4, 2026)

My life is better when your liberty is fully respected. So I want you to live in liberty to its fullest.

Liberty is the freedom to do all you have a right to do; everything which doesn't violate someone else's life, liberty, or property. Liberty is freedom tempered with responsibility.

Thomas Jefferson observed, "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others." He went on to say, "I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual."

None of these definitions includes the military's perverse use of the word "liberty" to mean "restricted action with permission and an expiration date". Those who crave control often employ this Orwellian tactic of using a word to mean its opposite.

I don't fear your liberty. Since liberty is the freedom to do everything you have a right to do, and nothing you have a right to do can violate me (or anyone else), I want you to exercise your rightful liberty every day of your life, all the time, without the fear of legislation enforcers and freelance creeps trying to stop or punish you. Then, I want the same for myself.

I wish more people felt as I do. The world would be a better place if that were the case.

If you are free to exercise your liberty, you'll probably be happier. You'll definitely be more mature and responsible. If not at first, soon. You'll learn. People can't learn to be responsible while being treated like children under the fist of an abusive parent.

If I were one of those people who wants to control others, who believes in the imaginary right to govern, I would feel differently. I could lie and say it's for your own good, for safety, or "for the children", but it would really be for my own ego or fear. I might not want you doing things you have a right to do, but which I wouldn't choose to do myself. Things which annoy me. I might believe it's OK to use government violence to stop you. It's not.

There's no legitimate excuse to obstruct another's liberty.

Liberty is your birthright as a human being. Embrace it and live it to make a better life for us all.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

Maybe I can help

For those who think they've won some debate by saying "America is a continent!", maybe I can help.

America is a country- I would prefer the term "region", but it is what it is. America is the land and the people of that specific region. Once, it was also a culture; for some, it still may be. Few understand the foundation of that culture anymore, but imagine it was something cheaper that they prefer.

North America is a continent; a land mass- just like South America and Australia are different continents. America is located on the continent of North America, along with Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, and several others.

The US (or "USA") is a government, a criminal organization infesting the country of America on the continent of North America. The US is the greatest enemy America has ever faced. It is opposed to everything America once stood for. Either you love America, or you support the US; trying to straddle that fence is impossible.

Govschool and other schools modeled after govschgool are the reason most people are unable to understand distinctions such as these.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

A signal, but of what?

Most virtue signaling involves signaling values that don't seem virtuous at all.

So, to me, most virtue signaling is counterproductive. It accomplishes the opposite of what was intended. 

But, I'm thinking this may be because if it's something I agree with, I don't consider it "virtue signaling", but just being a decent person. I assume those I disagree with see their side the same way.

Humans are weird, and politics makes people stupid.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Occasionally, bad cops do the right thing

I’m not always against cops.

If a cop is doing something that everyone everywhere has a natural human right to do, then I have no grounds for opposing them.

When I oppose them, it’s because they are doing something no one has the right to do, and they imagine the uniform and badge create the "right" out of thin air, just for them.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of things cops do, as part of the “job”, are in the second category. That’s when, if I’m to have worthwhile principles, I must oppose them.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Out with one crook, in with another?

I'm glad the disgusting anti-gun bigot Pam Bondi lost her "job" as the Top Crooked Lawyer in America, but I don't trust Trump (or any other political criminal) to pick a better person for that position.

Having principles is incompatible with an elite government "job" (maybe with any government "job"). A commitment to stop violating the natural human right to be armed at all times requires strong principles that don't bend to pressure from the crooked cowards who make and enforce rules. They are a powerful pressure group.

Wanna bet the next TCLA will be even worse?

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Vicious cycle of Statism

I don't get pleasure seeing someone on the side of the road being subjected to an armed robbery by a cop.

It brings me no joy to hear of an entrepreneur being taxed.

It doesn't make me happy to know of someone being arrested or imprisoned for violating some counterfeit "law".

I dislike seeing anyone being governed. Even if I think they deserve it for advocating for others to be governed or violating others in some other way. There are better ways of dealing with any problem.

Until more people feel as I do, it will be impossible to throw off the yoke of political government. It's a "Do unto others because it is done unto me" situation, which gets us nowhere worth going.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Don't trade liberty for dystopian world

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 25, 2026)

It feels like the world, and America specifically, is becoming an authoritarian dystopia. More rules, harsher punishment, more surveillance; all leading to less liberty.

What disturbs me the most is how many people seem to think this is fine. Or actively demand it because they fear or hate other people or what other people might do. Government is always willing to violate your rights and will oblige when asked to do so.

Too many people will trade liberty for a false promise of safety- a hope for something government power can never provide.

As long as they believe "other people" are getting it worse than they are, they're fine with the police state being built around them. They seem genuinely shocked when it is inevitably used against them and their rights.

Enforcers- police- act as though they have rights above and beyond those possessed by "ordinary people". Their delusion is reinforced by a lack of accountability. This is how you know America is a police state, not a free country.

Those who are politically connected and powerful regularly commit the most awful crimes with no consequences, while people the state considers expendable are killed by enforcers for not obeying conflicting orders fast enough. In the unlikely event consequences do come for the "elite", it's too little, too late, and a slap on the wrist compared to what would happen if you or I were in the same situation.

So, little by little, the dystopia grows. The police state gets worse. People who wish to be ruled deny it's a police state, but this doesn't change the facts.

Although libertarians are frequently accused of being utopian, we are the most grounded realists there are. We don't believe human nature permits some to rule over others. We realize that only the worst people are drawn down that path. I don't believe respecting liberty will result in Utopia, but it will make dystopia more difficult to maintain.

Most Utopias seem nightmarish to me, anyway. Pro-government people want to be protected, taken care of, and entertained. I want the liberty to do these things for myself, in ways that fit my values best. If your Utopia is someone else's authoritarian dystopia and violates anyone's rights in any way, you have no right to impose it on them. Not even if you're scared.

Utopia isn't an option; I wouldn't want it if it were. But I don't need your "safe" dystopia.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

Disguised Evil

Evil hides in plain sight. It wears a disguise and rarely looks like you'd expect evil to look.

The greatest evil often looks a lot less like Voldemort and more like Dolores Umbridge. It’s bureaucratic, legalistic, "common sense", and smiles a sickly sweet smile at you as it gleefully plots your destruction.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

There are a few conservative realists out there

There are a couple of conservatives I follow and read. Yeah, they're wrong half the time, but they are what I would consider conservative realists.

They know government is the problem and that it is evil, and in unguarded moments seem almost libertarian, but for whatever reason, they just prefer keeping The State around. 

Sometimes their reasons are religious, and other times they are cultural. Normally, it comes down to them hating someone or something more than they hate government.

They don't realize that government is the biggest threat to the things they value. They can't quite think that clearly.

Still, they sometimes have good insights and can be amusing. But I don't get caught up in their moral panics or their flawed reasons for the things they advocate.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Liberty isn't that complicated

It's a sad fact that most people aren't that bright. 

George Carlin pointed out how dumb the "average person" is, then reminded us that half are dumber than that. Scary!

OK. That's fine. There are plenty of things I'm not smart about. I can admit it.

If liberty is going to prevail, it's going to need to win over a lot of the below average people.

I love liberty enough that I'm willing to try to make it simple enough for them to understand. It can be done, by me or someone smarter than me, without compromising anything. Liberty isn't that complicated.

I love liberty more than I love feeling superior. How about you?

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Begging the wind to stop blowing

I honestly don't know what Constitutionalist statists expect me to do.

I point out that, according to the Second Amendment, all anti-gun rules are illegal. They ask if I'm OK with that, and if not, what I'm going to do about it.

Here's what I will continue to do:

I'll ignore their rules as much as possible, but I'm not going to beg the criminals to stop being criminals. It's not in their nature, nor in their interests. I may as well beg the wind to stop blowing.

It's the same way with all the other rules they make up to violate life, liberty, and property. Do you really think they'll stop if called on it? Do you believe you have another way to make them stop? V*ting? Petitioning? Memes? Speeches? Logic? They're immune to all that. They only understand power- and they have it.

They won't stop. 

Violating life, liberty, and property has to hurt, BAD, immediately for them to decide to stop. And they've set things up where this is unlikely to happen.

You're better off figuring out ways around them than wasting your time begging them to change.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Don't mug R2D2

Some people are promoting the idea of taxing robots "instead of people".
I'm guessing these are the same people who used to argue for a "flat tax".

You can't tax a robot because robots own nothing. If you pretend to tax a robot, you're only taxing the human who owns the robot. You are stealing a portion of that robot's value from the owner of the robot.

Even if you ignore that inconvenient fact, the money is still going to fund government. 

You're diverting money away from the economy and dumping it down a black hole of desperation and misery.

Funding government is always the unethical choice.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Worthless pseudo-certification

Government is the last entity I’d ever want certifying anything or anyone. 

If you’ve ever watched one of government’s "firearms experts" trying to disassemble a simple pistol, you can explain to me why you believe these clowns should be certifying firearms, firearms accessories, or procedures.
Or illegally making up any rules they’ll (also illegally) apply to firearms or firearms businesses.

Some of these supposed experts even think a shoelace is a machine gun- for punishment purposes, at least. They are clowns.

I’m no firearms expert, but I know firearms well enough to see government experts’ utter incompetence. 

The Gell-Mann Amnesia effect would be my only excuse to avoid the recognition that this incompetence is systemic across government. Because it is.

Since I don’t suffer from that particular cognitive blindness, I know government shouldn’t be certifying anyone or anything at all.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

We have to trust liberty completely

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 18, 2026)

Few people understand liberty. Even fewer trust it to work.

As Voltairine de Cleyre wrote in 1908, "[T]he sin our fathers sinned was that they did not trust liberty wholly".

They thought America could have liberty along with a central government- a state. It didn't work. Now we are stuck with a growing police state, and the tatters of our remaining liberty are being criminalized at an astonishing rate. This won't end well.

Liberty is indivisible- it can't be broken into pieces and remain liberty. You can't respect it selectively (for some people, in some areas, some of the time) and call it "liberty". True liberty requires consistent respect for everyone's rights, everywhere, all the time.

Critics of liberty often pick apart one small aspect they dislike, arguing either that this single piece "won't work" in isolation or that removing it disproves all of liberty. They then act as if they've won the debate, but they're missing the point entirely.

All elements of liberty are deeply interconnected, like parts of an ecosystem. You can't remove one part while keeping everything else unchanged, and claim you've shown a flaw with liberty. Government's very existence cripples liberty.

A common pro-government argument claims you can't have "open borders" and a welfare state. I agree. Easy fix! End all government welfare. This isn't the answer they want, though. They don't dislike welfare; just migrants.

This is how it looks any time people attempt to argue against a free society, like saying that without legislation enforcement, criminals would run rampant. Yes, they would... if you ignore self-defense, consequences, and social pressure (things legislation attempts to thwart).

It's a dishonest argument.

It’s like taking a malfunctioning rocket engine, removing critical parts you don't like the look of instead of addressing the bad piece, then pretending you won because the engine still doesn't work. Of course it won’t. It’s a system. A rocket engine's fuel pump won't lift a rocket into orbit by itself, nor can an engine designed to require a fuel pump function without one.

This government-supremacist argument doesn't work and looks dumb. Unless you're the one making the argument to others who do the same thing, and you're patting each other on the back for being clever.

Government is the enemy of liberty. Claiming this as proof liberty is unworkable is like noticing scammers exist, and this proves money is useless. Trust liberty completely; distrust all who fear it.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

It's a big, flashing clue

When reality doesn't conform to your beliefs, you have some choices to make. 

You can change your beliefs.
You can keep your beliefs while suffering the discomfort of others not agreeing with you.
You can use threats and aggression to force others to adopt your flawed beliefs (or act as though they did).

Statism always seems to choose the path of coercion. The path of trying to make reality irrelevant by forcing people to ignore it- or else.

This is how you know they are wrong.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

They'll have to work it out

Republicans are as out of touch with reality as Democrats are, only in slightly different ways.

Part of the evidence for this is that they'll call you a Democrat any time you disagree with them for being irrational.

Just like the Democrats call you a Republican any time you disagree with them for being irrational.

I feel a little bad that reality just doesn't support their beliefs, but that's not my fault, nor is it my responsibility to coddle them in their distress.

My responsibility is to not archate, and not demand that others do so on my behalf. Other than that, they'll have to work it out on their own- and calling me names won't help them get there.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Hoping I’m not psychic

I don’t have (or believe in) precognitive dreams. Even if they are real, I hope this isn’t my first one.

Saturday morning (around 3:30am), I dreamed of a rocket explosion. In my dream, I was watching the launch of a rocket with a center core and 2 side boosters. Just as the engines fired, there was an explosion at the bottom of the center core, just above the nozzle/s, and the whole thing blew apart, mostly destroying the launch mount as well.

I’m not sure if the rocket in my dream was a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, NASA’s SLS, or another rocket. When I woke up, I felt like it was SLS, which is scheduled to launch soon, but that wasn't part of the dream.

Either way, I hope this doesn’t come true- I don’t like rockets being lost, and I certainly don’t want a manned rocket exploding with people on board. Not even government employees.

I figured I'd document this, making a record that would show precognition if it came to pass (which I think makes it less likely to happen, since the Universe seems averse to precognition being demonstrable).

Update: It wasn’t the Artemis II  launch, and I’m glad of that!

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Counterfeit "law" will be the downfall of the State

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it: If the state keeps cracking down on liberty, making more and more normal activities "illegal", then it will be more and more a badge of honor to be an outlaw.

The more things they turn into "crimes", the less respect the "normies" will have for their "laws". Some might even end up having contempt for "the law" like I do.

Not contempt for real Law, but for legislation and arbitrary government rules; counterfeit "laws". 

Government supremacists get very upset over me pointing out counterfeit "laws"- they demand to know how I can arbitrarily decide which laws are real and which ones aren't. 

But it's not arbitrary at all. 

If they weren't so concerned with defending a criminal organization and its evil rules, they could see it for themselves. Counterfeit "law" is having consequences, and those will only get more obvious. I don't expect the State's addiction to counterfeit "law" to be cured. I expect it to get worse. I expect more and more people to gradually start seeing it for what it is. I expect less and less respect for "the law" over time.

Statists (and Statanists) have only themselves to blame, but they'll never face reality. They'll try to put the blame everywhere but on themselves. It will be their downfall. It can't happen soon enough.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Hooray for Afroman!

I hope I'm not alone in being satisfied by the outcome of the frivolous lawsuit against Afroman, filed by the armed goons he embarrassed.

He is a hero for free speech and against cops doing what cops feel entitled to do.

If there was to be a lawsuit, this was how it had to turn out if justice is to prevail. The loser cops had to also lose in court, not just in life.

He'd better watch his back, though, because that gang doesn't like being mocked, even though they deserve it so much. If he is the victim of a drive-by shooting anytime in the next few years, I will assume the Blue Line Mafia is 100% responsible. No matter who they find to blame as their scapegoat.

Stay safe, Afroman!

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Idiots hate your liberty

I've had something go wrong, and it has sent me spiraling into depression. I'll get over it.

But, I haven't felt like doing anything. Or writing anything.

I did make the mistake of going on X- the cat videos are nice- but I see things posted by people who really ought to know better that make me feel even worse.

I just can't believe the lengths people will go to when trying to justify government. People who really should know better, and who I think would be ashamed if they had enough self-awareness to realize what they're saying.

I even had someone (who should know better) respond to something I wrote a couple of days ago, saying if you don't like being governed, you can revoke your citizenship any time. A different spin on the "Love it or leave it" nonsense.

They said no one may have the right to govern, but "we the people" gave them the "authority" to govern in 1788. Funny, but I wasn't there, and I did no such thing.

We really are going to have to get used to being outlaws if we are to hang on to any shred of liberty. Those who should be on our side are all too happy to sacrifice us and our liberty to The State, just so they can keep the parts of government they like. Idiots.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Association must be voluntary, by mutual consent

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 11, 2026)

If you believe the best solution to any problem, real or imagined, is to give government more control, you're off base.

The government-created issue of "immigration" illustrates this perfectly.

Liberty trumps every other concern. Government solutions to "immigration" never enhance liberty but are a direct threat to it. Even if government is doing something you want it to do, and even if you believe the trade-off is worth the cost. Nothing is worth eroding liberty.

The New Mexico government recently barred state and local government-run facilities from contracting with ICE to provide detention centers. Good, bad, misguided, or pointless? This doesn't mean others won't choose to help ICE carry out its rights violations, but New Mexico governments won't be allowed to do so. It's still government doing government stuff.

Government has no business being involved.

As with most things, I expect some localities to ignore the legislation, hoping they'll get support from the federal government.

I'm opposed to concentration camps, whatever you might call them. I'm also opposed to barring people from living where they can make mutually consensual, voluntary agreements with the property owners.

Alternatively, I'm opposed to government participating in human trafficking; importing people from other countries and spending tax money to install them in communities.

Typically, you have people on one side who want government to ignore the Constitution and "control immigration" pitted against people on the other side who want government to import every basket case from every third-world country, and then support them for the rest of their lives on tax money stolen from the productive residents.

I want government out of the game altogether. Live where you want; make it on your own.

If you only want to hire people who were born in America- or in New Mexico- that's your right. Modern legislation might disagree, but if so, it's wrong. Again.

It's the same if you wish to discriminate on any basis for employment, housing, services, or whatever. Forced association is a violation of everyone's rights. If you don't want to be around me, why would I want government to force us together? That wouldn't be good for either of us. All association must be voluntary and by mutual consent. I wouldn't want to eat a cake baked by someone forced to "Bake the cake", to borrow a phrase from another case of forced association.

Government fouls everything it touches, including human interactions. It's never the solution.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

Simple, painless solutions

If you won’t wear a hat, I don’t want to listen to you complain about the sun in your eyes.

It's funny how often that translates into other areas of life, too.

A solution that is simple, costs almost nothing, doesn't take time or effort, doesn't hurt, is safe, and doesn't disrupt your life in any way- but people won't do it just because they don't want to. They don't like the solution. Complaining is more satisfying.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Being useful or being used

It's interesting to me how many times I find it necessary to remind people that not allowing myself to be controlled is not the same as me controlling the person who wants to control me.

Refusing to be used by you doesn't violate your rights. You have no right to use others.

If you have a mutual understanding that you'll do some specific thing for someone, that's not what I'm talking about when I say "being used". That's just being helpful or useful, voluntarily of your own free will. Consent is the key.

As much as I hate mowing and yard work, I do it for my parents to be helpful. I don't resent it or feel like I am being used. They've done things for me, too.

Being used can create resentment and devalue you. It's akin to slavery. Being useful can make you feel good, even if it's not particularly enjoyable in and of itself.

Government employees don't get this distinction (almost by definition), but many freelancers also don't get it. Governing others is just another way of using others; of controlling them in ways no one has a right to do. It's not exclusive to bureaucrats and other political criminals. 

Refusing to be controlled, in this case, can be a valid form of self-defense. The control freaks won't like it.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

DST compromise

The past week, I have slept more hours, but have been more tired. It's always the same after "Daylight Saving [sic] Time" is imposed.

Just to prove how reasonable I am, I'll occasionally offer a compromise on something I feel strongly about.

Here's my compromise with supporters of DST (Government Wrong Time):

Stop changing the clocks for DST, but affirm and declare that any business that wishes to open and close an hour early, can- without penalty- so its employees can have an extra hour of daylight after work.

Who could possibly object?

It’s exactly the same as "observing" DST, without the lie of changing the clocks.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

The fate of government

You know things are upside down when government does what it wants, and the people have to beg government for permission to exercise their basic human rights. Government acts as though it possesses rights, and people don't.

It's getting worse.

Government counts on it always moving in this direction. That's a dangerous bet to make.

Government, you treat your superiors as the enemy, and they are likely to eventually get the message. And when they do, you're done. You're outnumbered. You may put a lot of stock in your fighter jets, bombs, and tanks, but people operate those tools. People give the orders. People you treat as the enemy as long as you aren't directly pulling their strings. People who have friends and family that you treat as your enemy. People who still depend on society made up of other people.

You can't win this war, even though it looks like you are winning the battles. To govern others is to fail.  To govern others while treating them as your enemy is to beg them to destroy you. Either directly, or by walking away and ignoring your tantrums. You only govern as long as people comply. It's time the people stopped complying; stopped obeying. You've earned this. It's your inevitable fate.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Fighting to stay wrong

I saw a post where a woman was praising a good guy with a gun for stopping a recent attempted mass shooting.

An anti-gun bigot piped up, demanding she give him "a couple more" examples of this thing he claimed was incredibly rare- a good guy with a gun stopping a mass shooting. 

The original poster asked if he would publicly apologize if she gave him 2 examples.

He came back and said that 2 examples out of "500 mass shooting incidents per year" would be meaningless and would only show how rarely a good guy with a gun stops a mass shooting.
Hey, he was the one who specifically mentioned "a couple"; it's too bad if he suddenly got scared when he realized she could give him that, and more. As others pointed out.

In other words, he admitted he wasn't really interested in facts. He had his agenda, and he was sticking to the script, no matter what.

Other people tore his dishonesty and bad stats apart in the comments, but all he did was buckle down and deny, deflect, and try to move the goalposts (which he also denied doing).

I've watched the same thing happen so many times. They make a demand for evidence, but then change their demand as soon as they realize what they've stepped into. And usually, it's "No, that doesn't count!, It's not a source I trust because it doesn't affirm my beliefs!"

You're not going to argue something out of a position they weren't argued in to. You can't fight an illogical delusion with logic. 

It's funny to watch them fight so hard to stay wrong.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

He did that. He is still doing that.

I hate high gas prices because I can't afford them. I found the Biden "I did that!" gas pump stickers hilarious when Biden's governing incompetence caused gas prices to rise. 

Now, it's Trump's turn to accept the blame (as if politicians will ever do that) for his horrible government policies that have made my local gas prices go up a full dollar- from 2.59 to 3.59- in less than a week.

I was wondering if anyone was making Trump "I did that!" stickers, and yes. Someone is. I was able to find them listed in several places. I'm sad that I haven't seen any on gas pumps. Yet. That's probably due to the local political demographics.

I'm not going to buy any, just like I didn't buy any of the Biden stickers, but I'm glad someone is making them. Recognizing that politicians make our lives worse is the least we can do.

-

Thank you for reading.
Tips, please. 

If not, that’s OK.

Rights are identical for everyone

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 4, 2026)

There's nothing like a political showdown to help you discover who is on your side, who isn't, and who's been a phony ally all along.

All the people, organizations, companies, and politicians who say "I'm a Second Amendment absolutist, but..." are lying. The Second Amendment doesn't come with any "unless", "except", or "but".

Is the political Left on my side? Absolutely not. They want me to hate myself, they want to steal my money and give it away, and they want to vote away any rights they don't approve of. Just like the political Right wants to violate my right to associate with whoever I choose, to criminalize standing up against kidnappers as long as the kidnappers are said to have "authority" to kidnap, and they want to legislate away any rights they don't approve of.

H.L. Mencken wrote: “The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.”

When President Trump said, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with a gun. You can’t do that", he was wrong. No government rule or politician can overturn the Constitution or alter human rights, not even if the Supreme Court agrees.

Trump said those words because he was trying to gloss over a murder committed by a member of his gang. This will only work on those preprogrammed to believe it.

Trying to find loopholes so you can violate natural human rights, or violating human rights without such a loophole, is criminal. Violating rights is what criminals do; it's the definition of "criminal". Criminals excuse and justify each other.

Defending people from those who try to violate their rights can't be a real crime. Criminalizing defense and the proper tools with which to carry it out? That's the crime.

The Second Amendment isn't about who is allowed to carry what, when, or where; it's about prohibiting government from having any role in the conversation.

If you won't stand up for the rights of those you dislike, you don't really believe in rights at all. At best, you believe in privileges- things you can do as long as some government official agrees and gives you temporary permission to do it.

If this is you, at least admit it.

-

Thank you for reading.
Leave a tip.

An unfortunate rite of passage

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, 3 local teenage boys were in a high-speed wreck. A head-on collision with a semi, and a subsequent fire. Two are dead; one is in bad shape, facing possible brain damage, more surgeries, and months of painful recovery (he was thrown clear at the moment of impact). 

The deceased are being identified by forensics- you can probably guess why.

They were coming home from a party, and alcohol was involved.

The crash took place on the birthday of one of the dead teen's younger sisters. She'll never have another birthday without this dark cloud hanging over it.

My daughter knows two of them, including the one who survived. This is a small town- she'd known the dead one since kindergarten. She's pretty upset over the tragedy. I've been doing a lot of listening over the past couple of days. It's rough.

It seems like everyone I know has at least one story of someone they knew being killed in a crash in high school. It's almost like a rite of passage. A terrible one.

It happened when I was in high school. It happened to someone in my daughter's mom's class while she was in high school. Just about everyone has a similar experience.

When I remember the things I did at that age that could have killed me, I'm reminded of how lucky I was. And I wasn't a particularly wild kid or a partier. I just wasn't as smart as I could have been about taking unnecessary risks.

It's just part of being a teenager. Honestly, it's a little amazing that any of us survive to adulthood. Still, you really hate to see it happen. I hurt the most for the parents and other immediate family members.

-

Thank you for reading.
If you have the financial means to donate or subscribe, that would be nice. 

If not, that’s OK.