Government has too much power

  (My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 18, 2020)

One thing which has been demonstrated beyond any doubt by both the pandemic and the recent presidential election is that government has too much power over our lives.

If government didn't have the power to force you to close your business because a new cold virus showed up, and punish you if you ignored its demands, the American economy would still be strong. Much tragedy could have been avoided. The pandemic would have most likely run its course and be only a memory by now.

I understand the reason behind dragging it out was to prevent overwhelming hospitals with more patients than they can handle. Yet I also know this only means the virus gets to keep being used as a political excuse. Viruses don't go away, but the problems they cause can fade if allowed to do so. Covid-19 isn't the real problem; government power justified by the virus is.

If you ignore the shutdowns, government will send armed people after you, and your authority-worshiping neighbors will cheer for them. The crab that tries to escape the pot will be pulled back down by the others. Most humans seem to want to see others suffer the same fate they suffer.

Those who crave power over your life are getting too much of what they crave as long as they can blame the virus. They aren't going to let it go willingly.

Speaking of power: It wouldn't matter who the president is if the president and his minions didn't have the power to harm-- or hypothetically to help-- us. There would be no incentive to either steal an election or to keep digging up apparent election fraud. It simply wouldn't be important enough to care about.

Yet, people do want the office, and they have their reasons. The prestige of the office comes from the power it wields. This power is unconstitutional and excessive., but it is worth fighting over for people who lust for power.

The presidency isn't the only place unethical government power over your life shows up. In fact, it is a problem at every layer of political government.

This situation is not right. What can be done about it?

Voting for a different politician to fill a particular office isn't going to improve matters unless you believe shuffling a few cancer cells inside a tumor is a good plan. There's got to be a better idea.

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Scott Adams' butterfly

Recently I heard Scott Adams make the claim that the reason people feel OK about not always wearing a mask, "social distancing" [sic], and taking the other panicdemic measures the "experts" tell us to take is because we don't know exactly who our acts will kill. He says cognitive dissonance protects us from accepting our responsibility. 

If this is what he believes, other people may believe the same.

I think he's wrong, and here's why.

His argument is based on misapplying "the butterfly effect"; almost imperceptible initial conditions can have huge unpredictable ramifications later in distant places. It's a well-studied part of chaos theory. To illustrate: the flap of a butterfly's wings in Japan can move a tiny bit of air, and after a long chain of events, each building on what happened before (cause and effect), cause a hurricane that hits North America killing dozens of people.

That may actually be the case, but that doesn't mean the butterfly is to blame. There are infinite other unknowable factors, many of which are going to be bigger and contribute more. Someone's laugh is going to move more air than the butterfly's wings, and be more likely to affect the future. And that's not their fault, either.

Not only do you not know who you are going to kill if you don't wear a mask, you also can't know that you did kill anyone by not wearing a mask. Chances are, you didn't.

If you're going down this rabbit hole anyway, you need to accept that the act of wearing a mask could have the same sort of chaotic cascade effect down the line. The mask might divert a virus that would not have otherwise drifted into the path of a passing person, infecting them so that they can infect someone else who dies. It's ridiculous to fret over such things-- they are out of your control.

You can't control for every variable, nor can you predict what eventual effect each act will have.

If you are actually sick, it is your responsibility, to the best of your ability, to not infect others. A mask isn't enough in that case. 

If someone is uniquely vulnerable, it is their responsibility to stay away from other people. And, still, tragedies will happen. Even with a virus that has such a minuscule death rate as this one.

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Post-selection fun and games on Quora

I thought I'd share a Quora answer I recently posted. There have been a lot of questions about the recent presidential selection, and a large percentage of them are along this theme:

A

re the people that aren’t acknowledging or accepting the election results in denial or is it delusional behaviors? Or is it considered more of a personality trait, such as a dogmatic follower, perhaps?

My answer:

I don’t have a dog in this fight, being against all politics and those who use politics. But…

While those who aren’t acknowledging or accepting the election results may be doing so for all the reasons you listed, and perhaps even more, the same can be said for those who do accept the election results.

Look, there has never been a legitimate election. This wasn’t going to magically be the first one ever.

And this time you had all the national mainstream media, the social media companies, the entire entertainment industry, political activists in other countries, etc. telling people for years that Trump was “literally Hitler”. If you wouldn’t cheat to defeat such a person, then what good are you? Because I would.

Of course there was election fraud— specifically targeted in the places where it would do the most good and have the lowest chance of being discovered and/or thrown out. There’s plenty of evidence, but no proof. You can’t have proof when no one will seriously look at the evidence, and no one has the courage to do so. Again, because that has the chance of getting the election results tossed out, and they aren’t willing to risk it because of what they’ve been trained to believe about Trump. The cities would burn to the ground, and federal judges care more about that than anything else.

So, you can form your own opinion about what drives the people who disagree with your beliefs as to the election results. But as long as you ignore the reality, your beliefs are just as delusional as anyone else’s.

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"During a pandemic"

Have you noticed any of the people who want to redefine everything "during a pandemic"?

What rights should people have "during a pandemic"?
What rights do people lose "during a pandemic"?
What should government do to protect people "during a pandemic"?
What businesses are essential "during a pandemic"?
Which businesses should be shut down "during a pandemic"?

It's a sickness. Might I even suggest, a pandemic?

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War is never optimal

I don't want war. I don't think any sane person does, even when they accept it might be inevitable.

I'm not talking about invading a country on the other side of the planet to "bring them democracy" or some other dumb thing like that. I'm talking about being backed into a corner and fighting for your life, liberty, and property against those who want to extinguish it all. Which, probably means defending yourself from the government that pretends to own you, since that's almost always going to be the primary threat.

Accepting this harsh reality is not the same as wanting war. It means accepting your responsibility.

But those lecturing about how this stance means we don't understand the horrors of war, and that anyone admitting they might have to fight tyranny is a loser, might just be the ones who end up helping load the cattle cars. 

One even told me that lines in the sand are for "politicians and larpers". Then he devolved into babbling angry nonsense demanding to know everything I'm doing. Fed, is that you?

Whenever you make a principled stand, you're going to alienate a lot of people who want to go along to get along. And that's OK. They were never on your side to begin with.

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The most unproductive handicap

I'm impressed when anyone accomplishes anything in spite of government-- especially in those cases where government is very interested in what they are doing. Particularly anything that scares government. Space launches and gun invention being two obvious examples.

Government is like a handicap or a disease. If you're going to accomplish something great, it probably can't completely stop you. But it certainly doesn't make it easier. It adds another level of difficulty and makes your achievement that much more impressive.

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The Covid-19 vaccine

Sure, I'll take the vaccine. I'll need to wait a while to see evidence that it is safe over the long term and that it has been adequately tested, though. Twenty years should do it. I'm no one's guinea pig. 

That's if Covid-19 is still even on the radar as a problem by then. 

Otherwise, no thanks.

But, see how cooperative I'm being? 

Plus, I'm trusting science because I'm giving it time to do its thing. I'm not going to rush science into a bad mistake. Certainly not over a new variety of cold virus. That would be foolish.

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Little difference between candidates

 (My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 11, 2020)

I was wrong. I was sure Donald Trump would win easily, in spite of years of political and personal attacks from his various opponents.

I knew there was "Anyone but Trump" sentiment out there, but I just couldn't imagine anyone but a few people on the fringe would actually vote for Joe Biden.

The last time I was this surprised at people taking a candidate seriously was when I discovered that people were actually considering Bill Clinton a credible choice back in 1992. Some of them were even excited about him! You could have heard my jaw hit the floor when I discovered this.

In spite of the polls leading up to this election, I still couldn't believe anyone imagined Biden was less bad than Trump.

Yet, almost exactly half of the voters apparently saw things differently.

After December 14, when the Electoral College votes, someone I don't like will end up as president. Half of the people will say the election was fraudulent; half of the people will say the voters have spoken.

No matter who ends up being sworn in as president on January 20-- Trump, Biden, or Harris-- I was wrong because I thought Trump would win easily and the result would be obvious. That didn't happen.

You might be surprised-- or not-- when I admit it doesn't make much difference to me either way.

There will still be people claiming the imaginary authority to control my life. This control will be the same no matter who holds the office, differing only in minor details.

The political left and the political right work together to destroy liberty a little at a time. First from one angle, then they switch places and nibble away from a slightly different direction. This isn't going to change until they are stopped, and it probably won't be stopped at the ballot box.

Liberty, or anyone who understands and respects it, is never on the ballot.

I need to prepare for slightly different attacks on my liberty under a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris administration than under four more years of Donald Trump. It's the difference between preparing for a hurricane instead of a blizzard. It's probably good that Biden has already indicated which of our natural human rights he intends to declare war on. It gives everyone a chance to prepare in case he's the one who recites the oath of office. A little prior warning is always welcome.

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"How can I fail today?"

That may seem a defeatist way to think, but it actually spurs me to action.

I've never succeeded. At anything. I could either let that fact paralyze me; make me think "What's the point of even trying?" and just stay in bed (I was there 20 years ago for a few months-- don't want to do that again), or I can let it motivate me to try something else. Recently I decided to embrace the second way with enthusiasm.

Every day I get up and ask myself what I can fail at today, and then I do something. Something I assume will fail. But at least I've done something. 

Maybe I also learned from it-- learned what doesn't work-- but I've learned. And maybe, someday, one of those somethings will fail to fail.

This keeps me trying new things. It gives me boldness to not worry that it will fail-- I assume it will. This is freedom. The more failures I can accumulate, the more chance something will eventually succeed. No matter what facet of life I'm dabbling in. If not, maybe I can be the champion of failing. Is there an award for that?

Even if everything continues to fail, at least I didn't just lie in a corner and rot. I stayed busy. Kept trying. That's got to count for something, right?

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Opportunities all around

It may be largely confirmation bias, but it sure does seem like my view of how things work has been really good at predicting what will happen. Yeah, I missed the mainstream-accepted result of the presidential selection, but I never claimed elections were legitimate anyway-- quite the opposite. Still, you can count that as a loss for my prediction abilities.

But as for what's going on with the panicdemic and society and government in general, I haven't been surprised much. 

I'm a little surprised that people who I can't relate to, in big cities far away, are putting up with what's being done to them... but then, they also put up with disarmament rules that I couldn't tolerate. I can't really relate to enthusiastic slaves no matter what the situation is.

Around here, at least on the Texas side, tolerance for the Covid rules is about gone. It lingered a little longer than I thought it would, but I am not surprised that it's pretty much done. I wish my New Mexico neighbors would stand up to the tyrants who pretend to own them, too. But I know it's hard to do. Maybe they'll be inspired by their Texas friends.

I'm happy to see more people getting sick of government, even if it's just because government looks like it's going to be against "their side" for a while. Whatever works. Now, to get them to give up on it altogether while they are susceptible. This may turn out to be an unusual opportunity.

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Your legislation can't alter rights

A nasty politician wants to change Texas' "Castle Doctrine" rule. But she says she's not trying to do away with it, only "require a homeowner to exhaust the potential of safely retreating into their habitation before using deadly force in defense of themselves or their property."

So, like other politicians, she's lying.

That is EXACTLY the same as repealing "Castle Doctrine".

She makes some bad assumptions. She's assuming that the bad guy only wants to steal, not rape, murder, or kidnap. She's also assuming that legislation can change rights.

Politics makes people stupid, and when it gives them power, it makes them commit evil, too.

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Selling liberty

You can't sell everyone liberty with the same sales pitch. Everyone has their priorities and they differ from person to person.

You never need to lie about it, but you might have to tailor your message differently depending on the person. No way is wrong, but they are different.

If they are a "Who will build the roads?" type, you would approach them differently than if they are a gun-rights supporter. You don't even need to point out-- yet-- that all liberty is really the same. Let them focus on what appeals to them, then slowly let the rest dawn on them over time. That's how it was for me.

The thing is, liberty matters to everyone, even if they deny it in public. You just have to find the approach which resonates with the person you're trying to reach. If one approach doesn't seem to be getting to them, try something else. And there's no need to hound them. Drop your truths and then give them time to germinate. It helps if you're a living example, too.

Because, in case you need to be reminded, too: liberty always works and it is always superior to the alternatives.

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Rights vs. imaginary "rights"

All real rights are "negative rights"-- no one has the right to get in the way of anyone exercising them. But that sounds so... negative. It's accurate but unfortunate.

It would be better to call them "real rights", or even just "rights".

"Positive rights" which are so popular among various types of socialists sound so much nicer. Unfortunately for those who wish otherwise, they aren't really rights. While they have the advantage of a positive-sounding name, in practice they are often very negative and destructive to actual rights and the people who have them.

A more accurate way to describe these "positive rights" would be as privileges (when by mutual consent) or imaginary rights (when imposed).

As privileges they are contingent on voluntary acceptance by the person who will be providing them to the other person. No consent; no obligation.

Positive "rights" are always going to violate actual rights ("negative rights") whenever they are imposed.

Imaginary rights are, or can easily become, slavery.

In the conflict between rights and imaginary rights, don't side with evil.

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Pondering my Bitcoin experiences

I enjoy watching the price of Bitcoin, and unlike the stock market, the price has a direct effect on me.

Since I first got into Bitcoin, its price has increased by four orders of magnitude. If it does this again in the next decade or two... and I don't spend too much of what I've got... I'll be a millionaire. There's my retirement fund. Ha ha!

I was recently wondering why I didn't buy any Bitcoin when it was really cheap. Then I remembered the reason. It wasn't that I was afraid of losing a few dollars, it was because back then the emphasis was on mining it, not buying it. I wasn't interested in mining Bitcoin so I let it pass me by for a few years. Now I wish I'd been smarter.

The first purchase I made with Bitcoin was an ounce of silver (I think it was only one ounce). Now I realize that ounce of silver cost me over $10,000 (at current Bitcoin prices, anyway). Ouch. But back then I suspected Bitcoin might fade away before long, and if I bought precious metals with it, at least I'd have something tangible.

Multiple times I would wait until my dollar balance increased enough that I felt I had some extra, then buy more metals. And I once bought someone a gift with it-- just before the price of Bitcoin took a big tumble. I was pleased with myself that day, but even that "high" was when Bitcoin was less than half what it costs now.

I have a little (OK, a lot) buyer's remorse over the things I spent Bitcoin on. There's only one thing I might still consider spending some Bitcoin on, but haven't decided whether it would ever really be worth it to me. I don't want to feel that regret again. And, at the moment I barely have enough Bitcoin to do it anyway.

Somewhere out there right now is the "next Bitcoin"-- an opportunity to spend a tiny bit of money today for a huge payoff in a few years. But I don't know what it is, and I doubt I'd trust anyone who said they knew. Not that anyone would have ill-intent, just that the future is too uncertain.

I regret not getting Bitcoin sooner, but I'm really glad I got into it when I did instead of only getting started now.

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Make nice with your neighbors

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 4, 2020)

With the election now behind us, you need to find a way to live with the neighbors who supported a different candidate than you did. The neighbor who had a sign in the yard supporting the other candidate; go make up with them. Even if their sign is still there. Don't act as though you're doing them a favor-- it's as much to your benefit as it is to theirs. Don't be a sore loser or a sore winner; be a neighbor. Forget politics for a while.

I know it's difficult, in this time when everything has been politicized, but it's important to try.

This is the trouble with politics-- or at least one of many. It's why I see politics as such a negative, anti-social influence in the world. When everything has been politicized, everything is a threat; a life and death struggle-- which it shouldn't be. Government should have never been allowed to grow this powerful nor have this much effect on our lives.

It makes me sad that people have allowed politics and the government it spawns (or is it the other way around?) to infect society like a cancer. I can't make people stop being political, but I can point out how toxic it is and show them alternatives.

Speaking out against politics isn't "being political" any more than warning kids about the dangers of drug abuse is the same as selling them drugs.

I want people to get along. I would prefer if they focused on real things instead of political things. There are enough real problems in the world without being political and creating problems from nothing.

You have a right to your life, liberty, and property. No one's political opinions can change this in any way, although political opinions do cause people to violate you while imagining they are doing the right thing. They aren't.

As long as your neighbors aren't actively violating you, and you aren't actively violating them, you can find some common ground. Just remember this when the politicians you each support start calling for rights-violating legislation aimed at one of you. All legislation violates rights in some way, which is why I never support it and don't support it being enforced.

Maybe next time there's an election you can remember to put relationships ahead of politics. Society ahead of government. People ahead of groups.

Making nice with the neighbors after a contentious election could be a good beginning.

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Christmas parade in the year of Corona

The local Christmas parade of lights was Saturday evening. It was a reverse parade. The floats, decorated vehicles, and giant farm equipment covered in lights parked in the middle of Main Street, and the onlookers drove past and... on-looked.

The Corona-worthy theme was "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (although it seems only two or three participants got the memo. 

There were not many participants this year. I appreciate those who made the effort, though. It's not easy trying to do normal things while psychopathic politicians and their hired guns try to get in the way.

If everyone were as sick of the nonsense as I am, society would be back to "normal" already. I'm not scared of a new variety of cold. No politician is going to be able to make me scared of it. All they do is reinforce and multiply my disgust at their existence.

But, more and more places (on the Texas side) are ignoring the mask mandates. So, maybe some are able to think independently. Six or more months ago I was already seeing opposition to the mandates and some small acts of civil disobedience. Maybe the winds of change are getting stronger now. I'm ready for it to become a hurricane. If that makes me "inconsiderate" so be it.

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In the presence of evil

Well, that was close.

We were in Lubbock, Texas yesterday. We stopped by Walmart to grab a few things since the New Mexico stores are limiting access and you end up waiting 30 minutes or more to get inside.

We chose the one we usually stop at, since it is right on the way home. The receipt says we checked out at 3:37PM. 

At "around" 3:45PM police were called to respond to a fatal shooting.

We only got 3 items; forgot about the fourth thing we intended to get. Which it turns out is a good thing and the only reason we missed being in the store at the time of the shooting.

Nothing happened while we were inside, and even if we were still in the parking lot when the shooting happened-- which is likely-- I neither saw nor heard anything. 

I wonder why the "no guns allowed inside the store" sign beside the door didn't stop the shooter.

It makes you think.

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"Heroes" vs heroes

Living off of theft, bullying people with coercion and threats, and otherwise violating people is a more successful life strategy than respecting people's rights and leaving their life, liberty, and property alone. 

Worse still, those who live the first way are even praised, respected, and seen as the good guys. 

How is that even possible?

It's still only ethical to choose the second path.

Those of you who have chosen the second path, in spite of the sacrifices it requires, are heroes.

Thank you!

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Defund politicians until they end shutdowns

As long as any politician supports shutting down businesses, he/she/it shouldn't get paid. Shut them all down, too.

Obviously, I'm in favor of cutting off every politician's paycheck for any reason or for no reason at all, permanently and without exception. Most people aren't in favor of that.

But, at a minimum, as long as those parasites are going to force other people to do without their income, the politicians' checks should be stopped and all that money returned directly to their victims, and all forms of "taxation" should be canceled at least for the duration. That's the real stimulus that should be implemented.

I would also shut down the "Federal Reserve" to prevent it from making up more "money" to keep government going, handing the victims of government any money that's already in government accounts (and personal bank accounts of the politicians).

Once they relinquish their hold, the "back pay" shouldn't be given to them as a reward for doing the right thing, though. Just like the money their victims lost, it is gone from their hands forever.

The longer the shutdowns last, the more money the politicians lose. It's only right.

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You can experience minarchy NOW

I saw a minarchist praising this congressvermin over his tweet. He said, "I love this guy". There is so much wrong with that tweet, even acknowledging that he is kinda-sorta promoting gun rights a little bit, within government-supremacist parameters. Or is he actually promoting mob rule?

I replied to the minarchist (whom I had previously mistaken for a libertarian) "There shouldn't be FFLs nor v*ting on rights or for politicians."

That set off a storm because I hadn't realized I was going to be interacting with a minarchist.

I was lectured that I should not criticize the "most minarchist" congressvermin, I should embrace "incremental steps" because most people aren't ready for Ancapistan (a condition I've never advocated), etc. You know, all the normal stuff.

I try to not alienate minarchists-- I was once one myself. And many minarchists consider themselves libertarians. But, still...

You can basically have all the benefits of minarchy today, without having to wait the rest of your lifetime for it to replace the State which currently exists, by simply ignoring the State now. That's not enough for me, but I'll take what I can get now. I'm not going to beg for a state that "allows" what I can basically already get away with.

I can't support people who violate life, liberty, or property on a regular basis, but from what I see this must be a little harder for most people. A lot of people seem to really like certain archators and seek out exceptions for them. No exceptions exist.

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