Beware counterfeits

I have a counterfeit Morgan silver dollar that I bought from eBay years ago. I didn't even realize it was counterfeit until years later, after I'd learned a little more and was examining my silver. Now I keep it as a reminder that I can be fooled, I'd probably sell it if someone wanted a counterfeit Morgan, though.

I'm sure I even gave the scammer good feedback at the time. 

The US Constitution is another counterfeit that once fooled me. I once thought it protected individual liberty. Then I encountered Hologram of Liberty by Kenneth W. Royce. But I was already almost there anyway because of Lysander Spooner and others-- as well as because of my own observations over the years. So it told me what I already believed.

More recently the Covid pandemic almost pulled me in. I was ready to panic-- not to impose anything on anyone else of course, just personally, as an individual. Fortunately, I recognized it as a counterfeit existential threat before I had given up my sovereignty or betrayed my principles. You can watch my thoughts about it progress over time by checking out, in chronological order, all the posts tagged "coronavirus". 

You are surrounded by counterfeits that you are supposed to accept as the real deal. The corporate media is counterfeit "news". Politicized doctors are counterfeit experts. Politicians are counterfeit leaders. Corporations are counterfeit "persons" with counterfeit rights. There are even people demanding you allow them (or someone on their behalf) to violate your real rights in favor of their counterfeit "rights". Don't be taken.

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Are you scared of the future?

Do things you read or hear scare you about the future? Or do you take note and go on with life?

I've discovered that some of the preppers' videos I watch are scaring others in the household. Those videos don't scare me at all. Instead of fear, I feel better informed and more prepared. And I get valuable ideas.

I don't think there's any reason to be scared if there's something you can do about a situation.

There may be a reason to be scared if there's nothing you can do about it, but fear is still probably pointless. If a planet-killer asteroid is heading toward us, fear seems like an understandable reaction, even if it's not productive since there's nothing you can do about it.

But nothing I've heard from any preppers is reason to be scared. They are reasons to prepare. 

I'm not scared of Mad Max world-- I don't want it, but I'm not scared. I don't want my daughter to feel hunger when there's nothing I can do about it. That's why I prep. She might be more concerned about a world without "social" media, but that seems like a beneficial development to me. We'd push through that "crisis".

For most of the situations preppers discuss, I feel I could navigate my way through them. Maybe that's false confidence. I've made it through a lot of things that could have killed me. Looking back they don't seem nearly as difficult as they did at the time, and most of them taught me things to avoid.

I don't think there's anything to be scared of-- no, not even authoritarianism. Just keep learning and be open to better ideas. And try to help calm down anyone around you who is afraid of the future. Panicky people around you isn't going to be helpful.

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Real world better than metaverse

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 1, 2021)

Have you been hearing about the metaverse? What is the metaverse? It's "virtual reality" taken to another level. Like experiencing the internet as though it's the world you live in-- to see and hear it all around you as if it's physically real. Imagine the best video game you've ever seen, but so much better you have a hard time believing your character isn't actually you, doing all the things your character is doing, surrounded by other people's characters experiencing the same.

It's not just about playing games, though. Business, social groups, education, and other features of the real world would be there, too. Anything from the real world, or anything someone can imagine, could be present in the metaverse.

I can see limitless benefits... and limitless downsides.

Some think it may replace reality for most people when the technology gets good enough. People might choose to spend all their time in the metaverse instead of the real world. When I see those obsessed with online gaming or other escapism, I think it's possible.

I see the attraction. You could avoid your boring, unpleasant reality. You could be the superhero. You could experience things and places you could never experience in real life. You could form relationships and even make money. Yes, you'll still need money to keep your meatbody alive and your internet bill paid or you'll lose your connection to the metaverse, which would probably feel like death.

Will this just be another thing people become addicted to? Yes.

Anything enjoyable is addictive, and things which can be specifically tailored to be addictive, such as the metaverse, will be especially addictive to those who are vulnerable to addiction. I'm guessing that's somewhere between 10% and 40% of people when you include everything people already get addicted to. For something like the metaverse, the percentage might be higher.

I prefer the real world-- with all its warts and scars-- because it is real. Unless we already exist in a simulated reality, which doesn't really change anything important to this discussion. I can imagine how age or disability might make me reconsider, though.

If you don't get pulled in, will the metaverse remove a lot of excess people from your daily life? It might feel like the population of the world has plummetted when so many people are staying plugged in all day. Maybe the person who avoids the metaverse will end up King of the (real) World.

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Don't fall for the brainwashing

Can you tell when someone is trying to brainwash you? 

Well, one way to know is to watch out for revealing words. Such as when they say "our government" or "your government". That's a lie, but it's one most people won't catch. That also applies to "our president" or other politicians.

Another red flag is when they speak of "leaders" when talking about rulers or politicians. Another sneaky lie.

A newer trick that emerged with AGCC ("climate change") but went viral (how punny) during the Covid overreaction is to speak of "the science" when spreading the opinions of politicized "experts". Science is a process, not a proclamation. "The science" is a lie.

If they can make you accept their deceptive words without hesitation, they can fool you into believing the world is as they would prefer you believe. Often, they are trying to make you accept the legitimacy of political government-- something which can never be legitimate.

Brainwashing doesn't have to be a complete lie but could be a half-truth presented in an untruthful way. Such as what often happens with corporate "news". In fact, it's their only gimmick.

Don't let the bullies brainwash you into giving up your individual liberty. It's never worth it.

Any comfort you get from embracing the brainwashing is fleeting. The pain could last the rest of your life.

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I'd even do a review.

Happy New Year!

I still think "New Year" is an odd concept. Especially at this arbitrary date. But whatever. It's "accepted" by almost everyone and it doesn't matter to anything real. So, happy New Year!

I'm hoping authoritarianism meets a painful death in the coming year. It has earned this much. I'll do my best to not do anything to prop it up with cowardly compliance and disgusting obedience.

I'm also hoping this will be the final nail in the Covid overreaction coffin. It's gone on way too long, and for nothing. 

I heard someone say something about a 2021 "year in review", but my brain heard "urine review". That would probably be just as interesting. I mean you were there so you know what happened. You don't need anyone to remind you. 

So here we are. Let's make the best of it. Keep prepping, go through tolfa.us again (or for the first time if you have neglected to do so until now), and keep exercising your liberty to the fullest. Don't let this be "2020 too".

Let's go Brandon and all other politicians as well. Into the dustbin of bad mistakes with you all.

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Keep believing in the rituals!

I have a long-time friend in a state far away who has been Covid-panicked from the very beginning. Back then she worked in food service in a nursing home, so I was able to relate to her panic-- it was a job requirement-- but she now works in a convenience store. The stink lingers, though.

She was over-the-top with all the prescribed prevention rituals: masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, and all the shots. And scolding me for being skeptical. Now she has Covid.

Maybe the shots did help her. She's asymptomatic and only got tested after finding out she'd been exposed. Still...

Plus, she says she'll continue to get boosters into the indefinite future if she's told to-- even after catching and recovering from Covid! She says she still "believes in" vaccines, even though (she says) she knows I don't.

She's got that wrong. I believe in vaccines... when they are helpful against a disease that's an actual threat. If a vaccine against "the common cold" were created, I probably wouldn't bother to get a Rhinovirus vaccine, even if it was 95% effective and 99.99999...% safe. Because why bother?

I don't want to control what other people do, but what people do makes me wonder about them sometimes.

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Experiences are filtered

Everyone's experience of everything is filtered.

Take the Covid example:
Health care workers probably feel Covid was more dangerous than it was because their experience of it was filtered to expose them to the worst outcomes. People who went to the doctor or hospital skewed what doctors saw happening. Those who experienced Covid as just another cold didn't go seek help. How often do you go to the doctor from a cold (assuming you aren't a hypochondriac)? I've never gone to the doctor for a cold.

Of course, my own experience of Covid was also filtered. I probably saw it as less dangerous than it was because people who were too sick to go on with their lives didn't interact with me. I saw only those who either experienced it as a cold or who-- because Covid was on their minds-- sought medical treatment but were sent away and told to treat it as a cold or flu. My personal experience was also filtered such that I came to believe "long(-haul) Covid" was confirmation bias.

Paying attention to the (fake) "news" is another way experiences are filtered one way or another.

Thus, healthcare workers or people who believe the (fake) "news" were more likely to be concerned due to what they were exposed to, and I was less likely to be worried due to my own experience and because I don't pay much attention to the (fake) "news". 

But all of us were influenced by the way our experiences were filtered before they reached us. 

It is helpful to be aware of this effect when making decisions-- particularly before deciding to force your opinions on others under threat of violence.

I've noticed the same filtering in other things, too. All your experiences are filtered before you experience them. Being aware of that might help you navigate the world in a more realistic way.

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Being offended by "Merry Christmas" makes as much sense as being offended by "Happy Thursday". So what if you don't worship Thor or any of the other gods the days of the week are named for? Have a good Thursday (or whatever day) anyway! I'm not going to feel bad about wishing you a pleasant day-- if you choose to feel offended, that's on you.

The Holiday "No politics" zone

I can get through almost anything "social"... as long as politics (anti-social behavior) is left behind.

I am an introvert. I can enjoy time with people, but I have to recharge afterward-- and during.

We had a very busy, crowded holiday weekend. Fortunately, it all happened at my parents' house. That gives me a place to flee to, since that's only 7 blocks away.

But it was a good holiday.

Our family contains people of every sort of political inclination, and me, who's against politics. No one said anything political other than my dad's one crack about "defunding the police" during a Christmas movie scene where Santa was arrested.

The only real stressor was the big anxiety-ridden dog who came with one couple (because they couldn't find a sitter). My parents' cat is now terrified of coming in the house, but will hopefully get over it now that the intruder is gone-- all but the smell.

Everyone got along and had a good time. It's amazing what can happen if politics doesn't poison it.

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Good jury makes the right choice

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 24, 2021)

The Kyle Rittenhouse trial may have served as a canary in the coal mine. That's how I saw it.

Government doesn't respect your right of self-defense and would prefer you die at the hands of attackers. Fortunately, the jury saw through the malicious prosecution.

Unfortunately, much of the public believed the lies spun by the national media corporations to advance their anti-gun, anti-defense agenda. Rittenhouse was even called a "white supremacist" and his attackers were called "his victims".

Rittenhouse was persecuted for doing something everyone has a natural right to do. Even the attacker who testified admits he wasn't shot until he pointed his gun at Kyle. It would have been irresponsible of Kyle to allow himself to be shot.

The trial, if legitimate, would have been thrown out immediately with this admission. It wasn't.

Some excuse his attackers because Rittenhouse had a gun. So did the attacker who survived. Holding a gun is no excuse for anyone to attack you, physically or politically. Guns aren't the only tools which can kill; so can skateboards and fists.

The ridiculous prosecution even argued that someone has no right to claim self-defense if they have a gun.

To claim you lose the right to claim self-defense if you are armed with a gun is not rational, but political. First of all, rights can't be "lost". Second, who claims you've done something wrong by being prepared for an emergency?

It would be the same if the roles were reversed and Kyle had been the one to point his gun at an innocent person and be shot because of it.

To charge him with a crime and force him to defend himself from government was itself a criminal act. The dishonesty of the prosecution was astounding. The prosecutor in this case is as much a criminal thug as those Rittenhouse shot in self-defense. He had no case to stand on.

Kyle Rittenhouse was a political prisoner and is owed restitution by those who kept this farce going. Individually from their personal bank accounts and from selling their property, not from tax funds. The prosecutor-- and others-- should be destitute after committing this crime against Rittenhouse. Proper restitution would make Kyle nearly as rich as Elon Musk.

I don't believe the government court system is legitimate. I have no respect for it whatsoever. I'm still relieved it sometimes, thanks to a good jury, stumbles across the right decision.

-- PS: Support fija.org

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The Omicron variant will likely turn out to be to Covid as cowpox was to smallpox. If you know medical history you'll understand.

Merry Christmas!

Being better at thinking

Not only do most people seem to be stuck in binary ways of thinking, but they also aren't even very good at that.

Being against "vaccine" mandates doesn't mean you hate vaccines. Those are completely different, unrelated, issues.

Being against police doesn't mean you like crime.

Being against political government doesn't mean you want chaos.

Being against democracy doesn't mean you support autocracy.

See the jumbled "thinking" involved in all these thinking mistakes?

That's not even the end of it.

Being opposed to something doesn't mean you're afraid of it. I'm against "vaccine" dictates, police, political government, and democracy, but I'm not afraid of those things. Nor am I afraid of Covid, crime, chaos, or autocracy.

People who are driven by fear see fear where it doesn't exist. Maybe it helps them feel better about themselves. I feel sorry for them, but I can't arrange my life to comfort them.

And, just because I say "Merry Christmas" doesn't mean I'm against every other Winter Solstice celebration. There's room for all of them. The more, the... well... merrier!

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I'd prefer Dr. Frankenstein

I really dislike Fauci. 

I have had a negative reaction to Dr. A. "SciencePersonified" Fauci (full first name: Anti) from the beginning. Something about his face and his eyes and voice and mannerisms, but also because I don't like what he says. If he said things I agree with, maybe my reaction to him would be more positive. 

We'll never know.

He just doesn't seem trustworthy to me. 

Of course, trustworthiness is subjective. I couldn't trust him, but maybe you could. Your impression of him might be completely opposite of mine. If he doesn't seem repellent to you, do you agree with what he pushes? Or should I have reversed the order to ask "If you agree with what he pushes, does he not seem repellent to you?"

No president has had this negative of an effect on me. Not one. That makes Fauci special-- in a "class" with that harpy Hillary Clinton and that murderous David Chipman guy.

If Fauci said drinking clean water is essential to staying healthy, I'd keep drinking water. But then I already know this is true and his proclamation wouldn't make any difference. If he said new data shows I need to put a spoonful of sewage in my drinking water (or in my veins) to keep from getting sick, I would ignore him (and advise others to ignore him, too). His opinions don't sway me either way. 

No, I shouldn't let myself be influenced by how repellent I find a political criminal. Maybe he's right about everything and I'm a fool for discounting his advice. I'm willing to take the chance.

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Imagine being so blinded by your religious devotion to the Cult of Covid that you believe "vaccine hesitancy" is the same as being anti-science or a conspiracy theorist. I guess in their minds, rational people just accept anything they are told, without question or pause, by someone who chants "It's Science, Baby!". Nutjobs.

Daughter ramblings

I'm thankful my daughter still talks to me. I've seen families where that wasn't the case.

My daughter was just telling me a couple of days ago that Christmas isn't as exciting for her as it was when she was younger. I explained that as a little kid, you're very excited by what you get, but that as you get older, that excitement is replaced by excitement over what you give. If you want to feel Christmas excitement, give gifts you are excited to give. It made sense to her.

I hope she's able to appreciate the wisdom I offer. Haha.

At least she doesn't roll her eyes at me-- that I see. That doesn't mean we never have friction between us. 

I tried to immunize her years ago by warning her that hormonal changes were coming that would make her hate me for no real reason, but that I would love her through it all and we'd be OK in the end. Back then she said that she could never hate me... but that was then. Some days I think she almost crosses the line. The next few years might be interesting.

She's at the age (14) where every w0ke pronouncement sounds like truth, and actual truth is ugly and unwanted. Truth sounds mean, and social [sic] media and her friends tell her it is horrible and backward. 

She sometimes tries to sell me some w0ke; I don't buy it.

I just listen to her saying her piece. I agree when she's on the right path; I usually say nothing when she's off in the w0keweeds. Sometimes I try to say something much later to make her think a little more about what she had accepted as true, but that is crazy once you examine it outside the bubble.

Speaking of weed...

Yesterday we were picking up an item for someone else at a flea market on the New Mexico side of our territory. Just inside the door, the guy had a scraggly marijuana plant growing in a pot. I nudged my daughter and told her what it was. She said later she hadn't even seen the plant (I admit, her observational skills are normal), and wouldn't have known what it was until I told her.

We burned some gas and spent some money just hanging out together all day. We had some hours to kill and we didn't want to be home without something to keep our minds busy. Vet offices need waiting rooms.

The past few days both of us have been a bit anxious because Whiskers-- our one-eyed rescue kitten-- was going in for his hernia surgery. He came out of it in great spirits. He still has one issue, but we'll work on solving that.

The kitten is one bond between us, but we have a pretty good relationship beyond that-- at least so far. We can still talk about anything. I don't take it for granted!

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The other side isn't what's evil

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 17, 2021)

It's popular to paint the other political side as evil. The people probably aren't, but their ideas and actions may be. Remember-- you are "the other side" to them.

Evil isn't just whatever you don't like. That would be too easy. Evil is any action which violates someone who isn't currently violating the life, liberty, or property of another; an act which harms someone who doesn't deserve to be harmed at this moment.

Philip Zimbardo, who became famous for his 1971 Stanford prison experiment, in his book The Lucifer Effect, defines evil like this: “Evil consists in intentionally behaving in ways that harm, abuse, demean, dehumanize, or destroy innocent others—or using one’s authority and systemic power to encourage or permit others to do so on your behalf.”  I appreciate that he counts as evil the use of political "authority" to influence others to do evil.

People aren't evil, but they can commit evil. Some seem to prefer it. I think it's useful shorthand to refer to someone as "evil" when they consistently and repeatedly commit acts of evil, even if it's not exactly accurate.

So how can you tell if the "other side" is the evil side, or if your side is? Check to see which is violating the life, liberty, or property of another. Sometimes you'll discover both sides promote evil, but in different ways.

Do you support the use of government violence-- through enforcement of legislation-- to take people's money or other property?

Do you advocate the use of government violence to punish people for their choice to use substances you believe they shouldn't use?

Do you approve when government violence is used against those who defended themselves from attackers in a way you didn't like or used weapons you don't believe they should use?

Do you applaud the use of government violence to ignore private property rights and the right of association in favor of government borders?

Do you favor government violence forcing parents to have their children indoctrinated into beliefs which are useful for the state?

Can you see how all these political preferences harm the life, liberty, and property of people who aren't currently harming anyone else? Do you engage in mental gymnastics to try to justify any of these positions anyway? If you can't see this for what it is, you may think of the other side as "evil" while embracing your own brand of the stuff.

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"Law" enforcement is NOT the solution to crime. Not any more than amputation is the solution to a splinter-- or the possibility of getting a splinter. It only makes things worse, even though it might-- might-- reduce the appearance of crime if you wear blinders. In reality, it just shifts the direction most crime comes from slightly.

Carefully crafted failure

You can't be surprised that an idea fails when you've put artificial constraints on it to make sure it can't succeed. When you've planned things so it must fail.

Defunding the police-- as invariably done by city governments-- is one such idea.

If you defund (or abolish) the police-- without simultaneously encouraging the population to effectively defend their life, liberty, and property from all violators-- crime is going to increase. 

This failure doesn't mean police are essential. It means you rigged the outcome so it would look like they are. And the Blue Line Gang members still employed will be the ones targeting the people trying to defend life, liberty, and property to make it dangerous to do so.

Any mayor who doesn't ditch all anti-gun legislation and policies is sacrificing the population so The Gang will win. They didn't even try to solve anything, but did everything in their power to make things worse. This is because government can't allow the people to see that it is their biggest problem. "I want EVERYONE to remember WHY THEY NEED US!" 

To the lamppost with any such mayor.

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Government's job

Government's job is not to protect people. Its job (if political government were ever legitimate and actually had a job to do) is to protect the rights of people. Of individuals. Against all violators, including, especially, its employees.

There's a gigantic gap-- a planet-splitting chasm-- between those two things.

"Protecting people" means violating their rights when they have the right to do dangerous things-- which they do. It's the excuse of slavers and abusive parents.

Protecting your rights means you are going to be at greater risk. It's a matter of putting liberty before life.

That government almost always (I'm being unreasonably generous here) violates your rights, putting your safety-- or worse "public safety"-- first, means government isn't doing its ONE JOB. It simply isn't possible for government to do what its only justification for existing would demand. Toss it out. That's no baby, and that's not bathwater.

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