Cheating by changing the rules mid-game

Also known as "ex post facto laws". These are laws which make illegal an act that was legal when committed, increase the penalties for an infraction after it has been committed, or change the rules of evidence to make conviction easier. Supposedly the Constitution forbids this sort of governmental cheating, but in practice it is standard procedure in Police State USA.

And, when popular opinion is against the targets of these rule changes, no one seems to care.

Two common targets of these kind of "laws" are sex offenders and those who were convicted of domestic violence. I have heard other categories may be subject to these "laws" in certain places. 

Yes, they might be horrible people. On the other hand, they may have agreed to plead guilty, believing it better to just get this ugly business behind them-- after all, the accepted punishment seemed tolerable-- only to find the rules changed later, after the debt was thought to be paid.

It's dangerous to even stand with these victims of government cheating and against these kinds of "laws", because you'll be seen as standing with a hated class of people. However, if government can violate the Constitution to heap more punishments on those you hate, it can do the same to you.

Just imagine if you paid a "fine" for speeding a decade ago, then suddenly a new "law" says if you have ever pleaded guilty to a traffic offense (and they define paying the "fine" as an admission of guilt) you forever "lose your right" to own or operate a motor vehicle. And you will also be prohibited from owning firearms or any "dangerous weapon" for the rest of your life. And whatever else they decide to saddle you with. Perhaps a registry you are required to inform of your every move so they can keep tabs on you.

What's to stop the government from coming up with exciting new punishments whenever it suits them? To the cheering, or the yawns, of a population who doesn't see it as affecting them at all, but only "Those People"; those "criminals".

Don't think it could happen? Then you don't understand the nature of government.

If you're OK with government doing this to some people, who do you expect to come to your defense if (or when) government decides to do it to you?

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Personal responsibility not that difficult

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 24, 2017)

Responsibility seems to be in short supply these days. It's an endangered species; unpopular and under-valued.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Being responsible isn't hard. Don't hurt anyone on purpose, and be accountable if you hurt someone by accident. Clean up after yourself. When you finish with something, put it back where you got it. Do what you say you'll do.

Do you live responsibly, or do you leave a trail of disgusted victims in your wake?

If a person drives dangerously or aggressively, even if they don't cause an accident, they will scare other drivers and make them angry. These scared, angry drivers will decide it's a wonderful idea to have police swarming the roadways, interfering with travel and shaking down travelers. Some of us would rather not have to deal with the mess created by irresponsible drivers.

What about those who find it hilarious to smash glass bottles around picnic tables-- like the teenager I saw do this last week? They are short-sighted and childish. Their amusement matters to them more than a child cut by broken glass. They are costing you by making otherwise reasonable people believe they need to use tax money to clean up these messes. The lack of forethought or concern is inhuman. I picked up his broken glass, by the way.

Irresponsible people give others excuses to try to govern them with "laws". This hands government an opportunity to destroy everyone's liberty because of the behavior of a foolish minority. Hold irresponsible people accountable for their behavior, but don't treat everyone as if they are irresponsible. People live up, or down, to your expectations.

Being responsible for your own behavior doesn't only apply to situations where others might decide you need to be governed.

If someone eats in a fast food place, makes a huge mess by leaving trash on the table and food on the floor, they make dining there more expensive, because more work is needed to recover from their presence. Maybe they don't mind paying more for the privilege of being irresponsible and not cleaning up after their children, and in this case perhaps they'd be happy to pay an extra fee to cover their behavior. The rest of us shouldn't subsidize them.

You don't even necessarily need to try to make the world a better place for your having been here; just don't work to make it worse. It's really not that difficult.

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Non-verbal communication: government

I can communicate so many things without words. Many nice, friendly things, without even using any standardized sign language. I know, because I've done it with people who couldn't hear and people who spoke no language in common with me. And we always managed to get the point across.

But think about how to wordlessly communicate the concept of "government"; The State.

I suppose grabbing someone by the shoulders and shaking them, or slapping their face, would work. I seriously can't see how you would make it understood that you are speaking of government without showing it is thieving and aggressive. Because that is the defining trait which changes an act into a State-like act, different from all other types of behavior.

But, then I wonder why it would be necessary to communicate such awful things to someone.

It's not voluntary; it's aggressive

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First prize!

I will toot my own horn a bit. 🎺

I have excelled beyond all competition in one area: I have conducted the least successful fund-raiser in history! I actually lost ground during it. Hey, there is one thing I do exceptionally well.

I might as well find humor in the situation. Right? 😉

A smart person would take this as a sign to try something different...

Anyway, I send thanks to all my continuing supporters, those who did help out during the fund raiser, and all those who have helped in the past, as well.

Government is insanity in action

All government is based on the insane notion that it's OK to use violence against those who disagree with you.

And that idea will always lead to State-like behavior: archation.

Just let the victim choose his own bully, and it's OK

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Security services - Dispatches from Libertopia

A new post over at Dispatches from Libertopia.

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Liberty- it's all or nothing

If you are against liberty in one area, you are against liberty.

If you are for anti-gun "laws", you are against liberty.

If you support cops, you are against liberty.

If you are for the War on Politically Incorrect Drugs, you are against liberty.

If you are wishy-washy about the right of association, you are against liberty.

If you don't respect property rights, you are against liberty.

If you are for a government "solution" to anything, you are against liberty.

You can pick and choose the bits of liberty you personally exercise, but not which bits you unconditionally respect and support. Not and still value liberty.

You may still be a nice person; you may even be mainly "good", but by undercutting liberty anywhere, you undermine it all.

1 or 0? There is no 0.9

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Random thoughts

You can't save those who don't want to be saved. They'll always find a way to self destruct, and they'll drag you down with them if you let them.

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The only way you can say cops are good is to redefine "good" especially for them. To carve exceptions for evil acts when done by cops so that you can claim those evil acts aren't evil as long as a cop is committing them. In other words, you must lie.

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I've been seeing a lot of cognitive dissonance lately. Especially when I tell the truth about cops. And it often turns into hostility and hatred aimed at me. I wonder if this of how people in 1930s Germany were treated when they tried to warn others about what was happening around them. People are so desperate to believe the goodness and legitimacy of government that they drive away those who try to warn them.

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Peace isn't as worthy as liberty. Peace is the desire of every violator who wants you to go along to get along.

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I WILL "appropriate" your culture!

I am nothing but cultural appropriation. From my head to my toes; from birth until today. I don't expect that to change and I will never feel guilty about it.

You should be proud that I value your culture enough to "appropriate" parts of it. I'm not going to copy junk.

All human ideas, inventions, and such are available for us ALL to incorporate-- or "appropriate". We are all human. We can even incorporate "culture" or whatever from other species if we want. It is your right as a sapient being. Don't let any idiot make you feel bad because they tell you otherwise. They are lying.

Appropriate away!

You have an entire planet, and hundreds of thousands of years (at least) of ideas and clothing and art to choose from. Pick the good. Reject the bad. Make yourself the best you can be.

Dare you appropriate the Crow-Magnum Man's culture?

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Copsuckers can be funny

The other day I accidentally ended up in an online conversation centered around the fact that ALL cops are bad guys and gang members.

The other person in the conversation disagreed strongly. Even though she's always posting about her own illegal (but ethical) activities, and apparently ignoring who puts her in danger. She posted all the tired old justifications and apologetics-- it was like she had her own copy of The Copsucker's Handbook (I should write that!), and had memorized it. I responded to a couple of her points, but she was flooding the thread faster than I could write. I even tried to call a truce and drop the subject a couple of times, but she wouldn't let it go. Copsuckers are so sensitive!

Finally she asked me to explain how I can hold that opinion about cops, and how I can say they are a gang. I said "OK". (It's easy to do, and not difficult to lay out clearly enough that anyone who isn't blinded by their religion can see.) But before I could post even the first bit I was writing, she told me to go to a different group to post my response-- which seems counterproductive since that's not where all the lead-up had occurred. So I asked "why?"

Instead of answering that question, she started proclaiming how angry she was with me. Finally she squeezed out this gem:

Writers are gang members! And I hate them all and wish they would shoot each other and die! The world would be a better place! 

(She also told me I think I'm "so smart", but I'm stupid, and said she would never talk to me again, but that's not relevant.) 

Well, shall we compare the claims?

Show me the writer gang. Go on, show me.
(I can show you the cop gang-- I can drive you past their clubhouse-- I can show you their gang signs, symbols, and tattoos-- I can translate some of their street talk-- and I can show you how their gang membership drives their loyalties and behavior.)

Writers are all over the place as far as their beliefs, ethics, and principles go. Not unified in anything but that they write. Some are even so low that they defend and promote government and enforcers! Perhaps you could make the claim that writers belong to many different opposing gangs, but even that is a shaky claim. But, lets just pretend the claim has merit. Writers are still better than cops.

Writers, by the act of writing, don't violate anyone. I can't force you to read anything I write-- nor would I ever consider trying to do so. I can't force you to shell out money so that I can afford to keep writing-- again, why would I do such a disgusting thing? I don't believe that by writing, I have any "authority" over you. I don't believe that I am entitled, by virtue of writing, to molest you or use force against those who aren't violating anyone. If I do violate you, I don't believe I am immune to consequences just because I write. I expect that if I murder someone because I'm scared of them, my status as a writer won't protect me from a murder conviction. Again, writers are better than any cop.

I would say the pro-cop/anti-writer rant says more about the person who wrote it (wait... does that make her a "writer"?!) than about other writers. What do you think?

Anyway, it is a reminder just how delusional most of the people around me continue to be. They are "why we can't have nice things"... they love their chains and bullies too much to admit they have been duped. They are cowards. And they are growing more hostile every day.

This is totally me!

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Exploring different views worthwhile

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 17, 2017)

It is important to know where you stand on issues, and why. It's equally important to understand the position others take. Especially when those positions are the opposite of yours.

To understand the other side, you need to talk to them, and to read things written from their perspective. It might be unpleasant, but it's necessary.

I don't mean you should join them to participate in things you know are wrong. Never violate your principles, but learn why they believe what they believe and why they do what they do. It will make you a stronger, wiser person in the long run; better able to defend your position.

I recently read "Wage Labour and Capital" by Karl Marx. His errors were numerous and glaring, and I see how all governments more closely resemble Marxism than anything remotely libertarian-- especially the way they interfere in the economy. Governments share many of Marx's superstitions. They believe the economy is a pie and the size of your slice depends on the size of the other guy's slice. They imagine people will put in a lot of effort to do no more than break even. They feel individuals are assigned to a particular "class" with no hope for change. They pretend someone can determine value for another. They act as if the right price for everything can be discovered and imposed.

It's easy to show Marx was wrong; it may be harder to understand why the War on Politically Incorrect Drugs is wrong. Why government interference with, and rationing of, medical services is wrong. It may be harder yet to see why sobriety checkpoints are worse for America than drunk drivers. That liberty is always better than "safety".

Your only chance to evaluate these things is to read the justifications and excuses of the other side, and make an honest attempt to understand, even though you don't agree.

You may even change your mind about something, which isn't as painful as you might imagine. I've always found it better to change my mind than to hold a position which can't be defended honestly.

As a libertarian I have unlimited opportunities to read things from an opposite perspective. Almost all news is written under the assumption that governing others is a legitimate activity, that laws can be beneficial, and that a career in government is a life of service. Almost everyone you talk to believes the same.

It's harder for those who hold these common beliefs to explore a different perspective. It's worth the effort.

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Warning the innocent

Do you flash your lights to warn other drivers of a cop ahead, waiting to molest them?

If not, why not?

Would you alert your neighbor to a burglar climbing in her window?

Would you let a couple walking in the park know you saw a guy with a stocking over his head hiding in the bushes waiting to ambush them?

If you don't warn other drivers is it because you know the other drivers might be "speeding", so they "deserve" to get stopped?

What if your neighbor has a wall-sized television that you envy? Is it OK for that to be stolen by the burglar?

What if the couple in the park are rich and have "too much money"? Is it OK for them to be robbed?

What if the thieves in each case don't stop at theft, but attack in other ways as well? What if the burglar is also a rapist? What if the guy hiding in the bushes is also a murderer? What if the cop has "officer safety" issues and is prone to be trigger-happy when frightened by an unexpected move or by the presence of a gun that isn't under his control?

Bad guys are bad guys, and I am happy to warn others of their presence.

Highway patrol

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Statists have it upside down

Statists always make the claim that liberty-- anarchy-- can only work in tiny communities, not in the larger world.

They are confused.

The more people, the more important it is to respect everyone's rights. A large society of rights violators is not civilization. Society only works-- only results in civilization-- if most people act libertarian most of the time.

Those who use the political means are the cheaters. The cancer. Sure, civilization can survive a certain number of them, but not too many. When the percentage of archators gets too high, that's the death of the civilization. Thus, the more people who work for the State, the closer society gets to the tipping point. To death.

So, don't worry about the vacuous opinions of people who are pleased with their ignorance. You know the reality. Just keep living it.

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Fighting the urge to help

Many times I find myself watching someone fumbling with something and must repeatedly remind myself of a fact of life: I have to fight the urge to help, because help isn't always welcome. In fact, it seems it is rarely welcome. And, it isn't "help" if it is forced.

A couple days ago I was with my daughter at the pool, and was watching a kid spreading her towel against the wind-- or trying to. I desperately wanted to show the kid that if she turned around and worked with the wind, it would spread her towel for her, rather than continually crumpling it at her feet. But I sat there letting nature take its course. Hoping maybe this realization would dawn on her. It didn't.

A while back I saw some people trying to break into a car. The driver had gotten out and locked the door before realizing she had left the keys lying in the seat. I walked over to ask if I could help. They said "yes". I could see what they were doing "wrong"-- or at least why what they were doing wasn't likely to work-- but they didn't want to listen to my suggestions and didn't want to move aside to let me try (or get and use the tool I suspected would work better). So I stood there watching as they kept failing and flailing. I wasn't going to impose myself on them. They were still at it an hour or so later when I left the area.

Back to the day at the pool, I saw someone taking a picture of their daughter... with the sun behind her. I wanted to point out that if they wanted to see her face, they only needed to turn a little. But I kept my thoughts and observations to myself. Maybe they wanted a silhouette.

The same applies to those who are in desperate need of rejecting belief in the state. They would rather fumble and fail than to have someone point out the obvious to them. They don't want help.

Personally, I try to keep in mind to always accept offered help. It isn't always easy. Sometimes I have to keep my mouth shut in that case, too. If I believe I know how to do something better than the person who is trying to help, I'll probably have a chance to do it my way after they give up. But, I may just learn something from them.

Be humble enough to allow people to reject your help, and to accept help when offered.

I have a small suggestion, if you don't mind...

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Islamo-loserists, and other losers

Acts of "terror" aren't. Not for me. They don't terrify me in the slightest. But they do make me angry. And they make me think.

"Terrorists" aren't terrorists if they don't create terror, but-- by killing random people-- they show they are losers.

They are all losers. No matter what motivates their acts of loserism. The fact of them being losers renders their motivation irrelevant.

Maybe they murder for politics, for their superstitions, or maybe for politics which are more accommodating to their superstitious beliefs. Whatever. It's just that, in the current world in which we live, the majority of the losers who get publicity murder random people in the name of Islam. So, they are Islamo-losers.

If they murder for a god, that god (if he exists) is obviously evil. Do they really believe an evil god who lusts for death wouldn't lie to them? Of course he would. Lies come before the call to murder-- they lead up to the murderous mission. If there were an afterlife of any sort, their evil god probably lied to them about that, too. Instead of 72 virgins (or a city with streets paved with gold, for other losers) they would be facing an early entry to an eternal roasting pit. Are they really that anxious to get started right away?

Any "leader" of this loser group who encourages them to be losers is also encouraging them-- if he believes what he's pushing-- to hurry up and exit this life so they can get started on the unimaginable suffering they earned by their act of loserism. Congrats on earning that, Losers. Hope you like it better than this miserable life of sunrises, kittens, and people who make you angry.

Just so you don't think I'm picking on Islamo-losers, the Pentagon and US government are also filled with people excited by the prospects of engaging in world-wide loserism. They just don't want to die in the process of killing random people, unlike those losers who are happy to kill themselves along with their victims. That doesn't make them any better. I guess they are Imperio-losers.

Losers initiate force; the initiation of force makes a person a loser. Don't be a loser.

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Archator vs archator

I really can't get too concerned when an archator targets archators with some freelance archation.

Whether those bad guys on either side were connected with DemoCRAPublican Party A or DemoCRAPublican Party 1 is a distraction. As is the fact that a privileged armed archator stopped the archation. This was a case of a lone archator targeting members of an archation gang and being stopped by their gang's enforcer. No good guys involved anywhere in this deal.

If they are looking for sympathy, they'll have to look elsewhere. My thought is, if you can't handle it you should reconsider dishing it out.

Archator advocating for more theft

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Abusing "Amber Alerts"

Years ago I signed up for Amber Alerts on my cellphone. It seemed like a small, crowd-sourced step I could take to help watch out for the safety of others. But, things have changed.

I can't take Amber Alerts seriously anymore, and it's because 99% of them (I'm guesstimating) are issued for custody disputes rather than actual abductions.

I feel this is a case of the alerts crying "Wolf!" to the point they have become meaningless. At least, to me. I have heard others say the same thing, so I know I'm not the only one.

Yeah, I know-- Amber Alerts are probably a statist program anyway; I'm not interested enough to really look into it. I can see a place for something similar in a free society, just like I can see a place for libraries, roads, and spaceships. If a kid goes missing, I think it's good to have as many as possible keeping an eye out to find them, even if I'm not willing to rob you to pay for the service.

But the way it is currently being implemented isn't going to keep working.

"Custody" is a result of government meddling in the first place, and isn't something I put any stock in.

I can understand when the parent who has gone to the State, and asked to be given possession of a child, finds out that the other parent has ignored the dictates of the State and taken off with the kid, and gets panicky. Just to think that someone would ignore the dictates of The Court!

I'm not even saying that a parent could never be a danger to a kid. For goodness sake, many of those parents probably work for the State-- some might even be cops! And some might be bad guys in other, completely unrelated ways. So, yeah, they could pose an actual risk to the kid. But, if alerts are going to be issued for custody disputes, there probably ought to be a different category of "alert" for those cases. That's all I'm saying.

In a free society, I'll bet there would be.

And until there is, I will be paying less and less attention to Amber Alerts. I find that tragic and preventable.

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Stop poisoning yourself first

If you are taking a medicine that is poisoning you-- killing you, the smart thing to do is to stop taking it. Now!

There is nothing else you could do that will help you as much as this one simple act. No antidote, no alternative, nothing. Just stop ingesting the poison.

Don't wait until you find another medicine to replace it with. You can deal with that later, after you've stopped killing yourself. If you actually need something else. You may well discover you don't. You may find your problems stem from the poison you thought was supposed to help.

Well, the State is also a deadly poison, administered into your life through statism-- mostly of your own doing. You shouldn't wait until you find a replacement to stop ingesting more of it. Just stop. Now.

And, yet, so many demand a replacement be perfected before they'll even consider stopping the poisoning of themselves and their loved ones.

Do they even realize how totally insane this is?

Only addicts fail to realize it, and act on it. How addicted are the statists you know?

Of course, it will be labeled "Miracle Cure. 100% Safe!"

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Government shouldn't be in medicine

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 10, 2017)

It's 2017, ObamaCare has morphed into TrumpCare, and it's still not about "care". Instead, it's about government controlling a huge segment of the economy, taking away choice, and robbing people to pay for things they may not want. Government has no business meddling in medicine.

People are also still arguing over whether health care is a right. All rights concern what others have no right to do to you, not what others owe you. For example: no one has a right to forbid you to own and carry a gun-- to "keep and bear arms"-- but you have no right to demand someone give you a gun to "keep and bear".

Health care is also a human right. You have a right to do whatever you feel you need to in order to stay healthy, or to get healthy again if you are sick or injured. You have the right to use, grow, manufacture, or buy any and all drugs, services, or practices you believe will help your health, or help you deal with physical or emotional pain.

No one has the right to interfere-- not in the name of preventing drug abuse or anything else. No politician's opinion (often mistakenly referred to as a "law") can change your rights into crimes. The DEA, and its War on Politically Incorrect Drugs, is wrong even if you approve of their crusade against Americans.  If your choices cause worse problems, you are back at square one and no one is obligated to rescue you.

Although health care is a right, you have no right to force anyone else to provide your health care; to force doctors, nurses, or hospitals to give you their services. You have no right to force pharmacists to give you medicine you need to survive. You have no right to force others to pay for your health care, not with their money nor their time and labor. To pretend otherwise is to promote slavery.

Socialized medicine-- any government involvement in health care whatsoever-- is unhealthy, whether it comes from Barack Obama or Donald Trump. To quibble over details is to ignore the real issue: you have the right to any kind of health care you can buy or negotiate for yourself, no one can ever have the right to meddle in your choices, but you have no right to demand anyone be enslaved on your behalf. Insist on a separation of medicine and state.

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Run all you want

Telling kids "Don't run!" is a waste of breath, and causes frustration for everyone.

I understand the reasons for it, but I also see that it is completely pointless, and probably counter-productive.

Running is how kids naturally and normally move from place to place. It just is. You aren't going to change that with rules. Nor should you.

Instead, let them run. In the process, maybe they'll learn to watch where they are going and how to not fall. Or learn how to fall well, and bounce back up. There will be bumps and bruises, and maybe knocked-out teeth and concussions. The alternative is probably worse in the long run.

It's the same with adults. Let them take risks, make mistakes, and fail. How else will they ever learn? The State and all it's "laws"-- imposing someone's ideas about "safety"-- are making people pitiful, delicate, and inept. It's going to hurt when that bandaid gets ripped off... and it WILL get ripped off sooner or later. The longer the delay, the more it will hurt, and the more who will not survive.

Yet, this is someone's idea of "safety"? You aren't protecting. You aren't helping.

Might as well say "No breathing"

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