Predictions take paying attention

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 15, 2021)

This past spring I noticed a bigger than usual crop of the plant that becomes tumbleweeds when it dies and the wind blows. I told a few people to be ready for an epic tumbleweed season this year. Then, I failed to see many tumbleweeds last month and wondered what had happened to them all.

It turns out they had all gone to Oasis State Park to plot their attack.

So, I was right about the bumper crop, but I missed where they were going. I can't win 'em all.

Some things are easy to predict based on what you see happening in the world around you, but you have to pay attention to your surroundings.

When you watch government counterfeiting trillions of dollars and calling it a stimulus, you can predict Inflation. I predicted it early in the pandemic overreaction and got scolded mightily for doing so, but it's happening. No one who took me to task for warning of inflation on the horizon has apologized. I won't hold my breath.

When governments get away with telling people what to wear, ordering them to inject sketchy substances into their bodies, and dictating whether they can open their business, go to work, or even leave the house, you can predict authoritarianism is on the rise. It's being scaled back in some places but is still getting worse in others. The people have the choice as to whether it continues or gets stamped out. I have no prediction for how that will play out.

You could have also predicted shortages of goods based on a combination of the authoritarians' central planning schemes and too much efficiency. Central planning never worked in the Soviet Union and it won't work in America. It seems as though the market is routing around the damage caused by government interference and, at least for now, the shortages aren't as bad as they could be. It's an ongoing battle and I predict if the market doesn't win, there will be rough times ahead.

If you understand how viruses evolve, you could have easily predicted the end of Covid as a real threat. If you understand how government works, you could also have predicted Covid's continued usefulness as a political ploy.

The best predictions happen when you notice what's going on around you and view things realistically based on how the Universe works. You do have to be paying attention, though.

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How much would you bet that all cold viruses started, once upon a time, much more serious than they are now and turned into a minor annoyance over time? Just as Covid seems to be doing. Imagine if we allowed the political criminals-- our Ancestral Enemies-- to molest us using every one of those cold viruses as justification.

Defending the right to steal

Imagine if the Ancestral Enemies spent much of their time and effort defending the "right to steal". In places other than Seattle and San Francisco, I mean.

And imagine if even those who opposed a blanket "right to steal" were OK with theft as long as the thieves had government-approved papers showing they were citizens. 

Even if you had a private club where the members were permitted to steal from each other-- it was a condition of membership to agree to it-- this would describe a privilege, not a right.

The same applies to any imaginary "right to murder", "right to rape", or whatever. The very idea is ridiculous.

The "right to v*te" is equally ridiculous. You can't have any "right" to impose political criminals or their legislation on anyone but yourself. Being in the majority and fetishizing the process doesn't change this.

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The benefit of the Covid shot will drop over time, especially with Omicron (and future even weaker variants).
The risk of the Covid shot will likely remain stable unless the shot's ingredients are changed, even if that risk is never known. At some point, those non-parallel lines have to cross, if they haven't already, and the risks will outweigh the benefits.

Time's Up flags on Zazzle

At the suggestion of a reader, I tried Zazzle for the flags. That will probably work for now.

Time's Up flag
by KentForLiberty

The flags aren't regular flags, but are "house flags". They are more expensive, since I'm not subsidizing them this way. Still, it's better than nothing, and even though I won't make much from them, I won't be losing money by simply offering them for sale. It's a net win.

I was also able to add car flags.

Time's Up car flag
by KentForLiberty

So, there they are. Feel free to buy as many as you want.

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Play with fire and you'll get burned

I knew Stewart Rhodes-- online-- back before he started Oathkeepers. I've been critical of the group because I don't think the kind of people he tried to influence to not be criminal scum are redeemable. But I don't blame him for trying. It's good to do your best before writing off an entire category of people as tools of the Ancestral Enemies.

I also criticized the group because, obviously, they ignored the numerous violations committed just by joining the legislation enforcement gang or the government's military-- before any other crimes were committed.

But, Stewart always seemed sincere and optimistic. And peaceful and liberty-loving. If he became "far-right", he changed since I knew him-- but why would I believe anything the fake news says about him? That would be stupid. His only flaws were that he believed in the Constitution and wanted to work within the rigged system, playing by its rules. He wanted to effect a positive change and avoid war. And he got screwed.

Those who arrested him-- kidnapped him at gunpoint-- violated their oaths by doing so. Where were those who were keeping their oaths by defending him from the violators?

Rhodes' arrest is a warning to not get involved in politics. Don't try to play the rigged game by their rules. They are the enemy and they will use your friendliness against you. 

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Extra strong marijuana = Stumbleweed.

Time's Up for the flags

Last call for Time's Up flags. I'm closing the Shopify store sometime next week regardless of whether any sell between now and then. I've been losing money on them, so it's time to pack it in.

I may consider trying it again if people start asking for them in the future, but I have to sell at least 3 or 4 per month to break even, and that number may get higher in the future. I still have a couple I can sell myself (through eBay), but the price is going way up on those right now.

I'm glad I was able to help some people get them after several years of none being available. 

UPDATE: I took the suggestion to try Zazzle, and here is what I came up with: link and link. I'll post a new blog about it, too.

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Anasazi

Government-- political government-- is the Ancestral Enemy of humanity. It's our Anasazi.

Can't put liberty in a jar

It's tough to accept that my contribution to the world has less market value than jars of bad air. But apparently, that's the case. It can be discouraging.

I know liberty isn't particularly popular, but sometimes events demonstrate just how unpopular it really is, compared to other things. 

But the market will do what the market will do. The marketplace of ideas might just squeeze out some things in favor of others. If so, that's just how it is.

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Authoritarianism is unacceptable

There is no justification for authoritarianism that is good enough to convince me. None.

Authoritarianism is a violation of liberty and fundamental individual rights. That's the end of the discussion for me.

I don't care if they say it will save lives-- even if it's true.
I don't care if they are scared to lose their culture-- any culture that makes room for authoritarianism isn't worth saving. I don't care if they are scared of other things, real or hypothetical.
Nasty excuses like equity and "social justice" won't sway me. 

Either they find a voluntary way-- a win/win-- to get what they want through unanimous consent or they accept the loss and move on. I will not bend on this.

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Just give me a shady vine and a good view

There may be a prepper tendency to want to watch the world burn. At least, I am susceptible to that tendency.

I know it wouldn't be good for anyone, including me, but sometimes you just get tired of watching morons and political criminals destroying stuff and you just get to the point where you say "Screw it all. Let them have the destruction they've been trying so hard to get."

They've earned it.

I get to that point a couple of times per year. I'm teetering on the brink of that right now.

Just let them deny reality-- but stay out of the way. Reality isn't going to be forgiving.
Let them try to destroy liberty. Liberty always strikes back.

I've even seen government-supremacists showing doubt in their beloved institution recently. They want to believe government is legitimate, but government is working hard to poke holes in that delusion. 

You should have seen the reaction I got from one the other day when they were complaining about the most recent fraudulent election, but then pivoted to complaining about "illegal aliens" and I mentioned that the Constitution doesn't allow government to control "immigration". After a brief pause followed by a short explanation, I got a "Huh" and they moved on without objection. They seem ready to accept some truth they weren't ready for before. And I think it's all thanks to government behavior and overreach. When something puts in the extra work to prove itself illegitimate, you might as well accept it.

Either enough people will start getting a clue that disaster will be avoided, or they won't. I'm kind of past caring which way it goes... at least for now.

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If not, tell me how I can.

Best to let people make own choices

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 8, 2021)

I love people. I also know that humans are deeply flawed. This combination explains why I'm a libertarian.

Every other position insists that no one is smart enough to run their own life while also believing most people are smart enough to run the lives of people they've never met. This running of strangers' lives is carried out through voting and wielding political power. It's not a realistic position.

The libertarian position recognizes that most people are better at running their own lives than others would be and no one is qualified to run the lives of other people, not by a vote nor by having political power. Plus, no one has the right to run anyone else's life.

This doesn't mean everyone will be successful at running their own life.

Those few who can't are free to ask for help from those who are equally free to help or not, or they can choose to do things-- commit crimes-- which may result in suffering acts of self-defense directed against them. They are free to choose their path, but complaining about where the path leads won't change things.

Even those who can't run their own lives have the right to try, and no one has the right or the imaginary political authority to forbid them from trying. Letting them do it wrong is the right thing to do if they won't listen to your advice.

The person who tries to control others is worse than the person who won't control himself, regardless of how things turn out. I speak as someone who has suffered from the bad choices of people who didn't control themselves, so don't imagine I have some rosy picture of everything being butterflies and rainbows if people are left to make their own choices.

Some of those you think can't run their own lives have simply never been given the chance. Either they've been coddled like children and told others are doing what's best for them, or they have been punished for making choices others don't like.

The loving thing to do is to give them the chance and let them live with the consequences of their choices. This includes being held accountable and owing restitution for any actual harm they cause. How can they ever be functional members of society otherwise? Most people live up, or down, to your expectations. Keep your hands off and give them the chance.

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Suspender holster

I've shared my journey to find a good EDC holster, but I haven't shown (or I don't think I have) my backup.

This is a holster I made for my little NAA mini-revolver. It attaches to my suspenders, and is worn under my vest. Cute, ain't it? I guess it could be called a "susPEWnder holster".

I made this one with some salvaged leather, from a paper pattern I created. I think I could now make an even better model since I've worked out the kinks, but I haven't bothered yet. It'll happen when it's time.

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A resolution?

Yeah, it's a week late, but I didn't resolve to be punctual.

I don't really make New Year's resolutions. I did when I was young. They usually lasted a few days.

Several years ago I made a New Year's decision-- to completely stop sitting at the computer and to only use a standing desk. That one was easy to commit to-- I got rid of the chair, built a shelf for the computer, and didn't really give myself a choice. It's handier, since I don't feel anchored down and can dash off to deal with crises (daughter, cats, etc.) much faster. It has also made me feel so much better; less "blah". I still haven't broken that one, although I have allowed myself to work from the couch a few times when I was sick.

Anyway, I saw a friend post the above Malcolm Reynolds picture and I loved it. 

Yeah, if I were to make a resolution, that would be it. I resolve to not be compliant or obedient when it comes to authoritarian demands-- no matter who is making them or how they justify them, whether they are in the name of w0keness or nationalism or whatever-- unless it is to simply avoid being shot right now. Political criminals will always be political criminals and it's sometimes useful to live to misbehave another day when they have the drop on you. Martyrdom is overrated.

Of course, that's not really much of a resolution since it's no different than last year or any year in the past few decades.

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I guess it's good news for the LP

I had supposed my recent newspaper column about why I can't be a conservative would draw fire, especially considering the local audience. I got nothing but silence. 

I didn't think any liberals would even see the next column about why I can't be a liberal, so it was no surprise that I got zero reaction to that one. 

For a reaction, I had to wait for my column about why I can't be a Libertarian. That one was specifically about the Libertarian Party (LP). I'm not even saying I hate them or would fight against them-- just that I can't support them. Because I don't consider them particularly libertarian. 

People are very defensive of the LP. That must be good news to them. If that passion translated into v*tes they'd be sure to win at the political power game. That they don't must be (additional) evidence that the game is rigged.

I actually started getting the latest batch of emails in defense of the LP several weeks ago when a "Big L" Libertarian reader of my newspaper column was confused that I was using the word "libertarian" while not endorsing the "libertarianism" of the LP. My first clue that we were discussing completely different topics was that he always capitalized the word "Libertarian". He was especially upset that I spoke out against the mask (and "vaccine") dictates, insisting that Libertarians would see that not wearing masks during a pandemic is aggression, and that people can't be trusted to do "the right thing", so they need to be controlled by The State. 

So, this isn't exactly new.

About this latest column, another respondent was also confused over capitalization; about why I capitalized "Libertarian" when discussing the Libertarian Party, but not "conservative" or "liberal" (when NOT discussing a "Conservative Party" or "Liberal Party"), apparently missing all the times I wrote "libertarian" in my column and in my replies to them. And this was happening in a conversation in response to a column about the LP vs libertarianism where I carefully spelled out the difference in capitalization due to the other guy's confusion.

Others had other objections, with one thread running through them all: people seem to feel trapped. In various ways, they told me (or hinted) that they feel they are left with no choice but to engage in politics because everyone else is doing it, thus the LP. 

One told me that withdrawing consent will not work in our current world, so you have to use the political means. 

This was in response to my quoting of Étienne de La Boétie: “Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.”

If you imagine Colossus is a specific political criminal you might see v*ting for his opponent as "supporting him no longer". If, however, you realize that Colossus is the entire idea of political government, no matter who makes it up, you'll have a different response.

Something I wish the LP supporters understood is pointed out in this quote from Bill St. Clair: "Many complain that in anarchy, warlords will take over. I've got news for them. We already live in anarchy. It's been that way since God gave free will to Adam. And warlords have already taken over. They run for election, and wear badges. The secret is realizing this truth, so that, even though you obey when you must, to avoid being kidnapped or killed by the warlords, you know what they are. They rely on the fact that most people think their authority is valid. Once that stops, and people stop obeying them en masse, there will be nothing they can do about it." 

No one is ever going to v*te their way out of this mess. Hating on those who know this fact won't make it any less true.

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Working with your enemy

Are business owners actually unaware of the nature of government, or do they really embrace it, or are they afraid to speak the truth?

A couple of examples I've seen (on video) recently: SpaceX feeling the need to thank the FAA for allowing them to launch, and gun stores not pointing out that the FBI and BATFEces thugs are criminals for the illegal things they do regarding guns. 

Why?

Is it Stockholm syndrome? Or does it come down to just pragmatically trying to not anger the thugs who can ruin your day? Or, do these businesses honestly not see that government is their enemy?

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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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