Speaking of being able to see...

Being able to see through the lies of all political parties is a superpower. It's not something very common in today's world.

It seems to be limited to libertarians and anarchists. Which isn't surprising.

You'll get used to being accused of being on "the other side" each time you criticize the stupidity or evil you see on one side. Or assumed to belong to a side each time you call out something a side is doing right. (Yes, they do occasionally do something right.)

Let it roll off your back.

Politics makes people stupid, and usually evil, too. It makes them blind to reality, seeing everything through the lens of politics-- a lens even worse than the one I had surgery to remove. But they don't want their flawed lens removed. It lets them imagine they see what they want to see.

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Surgery day

I’ll be arriving at the eye surgery center in about 10 minutes. I’m getting there a bit early- hopefully they’ll let me in. They were a bit adamant about not having much of a waiting area.

I’ll see how this goes. Smoothly, I’m hoping. I hate medical procedures, though.

UPDATE: I’m home. My eye feels gritty and dry. As long as the eye anesthetic was working I could see perfectly out of that eye. Now that the anesthetic has worn off I’m keeping that eye closed for comfort.

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They'll sell you out

If government does manage to get the rifle ban it drools over, don't expect any meaningful support from gun stores.

In particular, I don’t trust any gun store that promotes drug prohibition to stand up against a ban on AR15s. 

They'll roll over and sell you out, just as I've heard of them doing to people who bring in a firearm that lacks a serial number.

I understand why they feel they have to do it-- they believe they require licensing from government, and these licenses can be revoked. And will be revoked if they don't carry water for the authoritarian state. This is why licensing of any kind-- even if you feel like it's a good idea-- is one of the worst things ever.

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It might be an improvement...

My daughter asked her mom if she knew who the vice president was.
She didn't, so my daughter said "It's Kamala Harris".
Her mom said "Koala?"

So, now when I hear of Harris and her campaign, I think of a red communist koala eating your dollars, pooping out equity and gun bans.

(Image generated with Gab AI)

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I will speak out as long as I'm able

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for July 7, 2024)

You are probably familiar with the poem, First They Came, by Martin Niemöller. The one which begins, "First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist." It goes on to list more groups "they" came for.

We are living in such a time again. People in power are coming for those they don't like: often the ones who speak out against the evil being committed by political criminals in positions of power. They are coming with lawfare, inflated charges, SWAT raids, and censorship.

What would the poem say today?

First they came for the January 6ers and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a January 6er. Then they came for Donald Trump and I didn't speak out because I'm not Donald Trump. Then they came for the Republicans and I didn’t speak out because I’m not a Republican.

Remember how Niemöller's poem ends? "Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me."

When they come for me, will there be no one left to speak out for me? That's the way it might go if society stays on the same course. I don't intend to let that happen.

The reality is I have no illusions I would be last on any list to be rounded up. With this realization, from the beginning, I-- unlike the man in the poem-- have spoken out. Even though it makes people mad. I will continue to speak out against those who come for any individual for any reason besides violating the life, liberty, or property of another person. Even if I don't otherwise support anything they believe or do.

It's also an unfortunate fact of life that those who have been targeted in the past will usually target those they see as their oppressors as soon as they gain the power to do so. I've seen this happen repeatedly as long as I've been alive. It's wrong, making things worse instead of better, but they do it anyway.

With this in mind, when they come for the addicts I will speak out though I'm not an addict. Then they come for the migrants, the sexually confused, and the Democrats I will speak out though I am none of those.

Whatever happens, I will continue to speak out as long as I am able, and I hope you do, too.

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Feeling a little Jonah-ish

The world has gone mad. It didn't have far to go to get to this point, but it made the last jump pretty fast.

It could be interesting to sit and watch everything play out.

Stay armed. Stay prepared in other ways, too: food, water, off-grid energy (solar, muscle power, etc,), and above all, skills and mindset.
Do not comply.
You don't owe loyalty to any politician or state-- they've put in the work to earn your contempt. Let their chickens come home to roost.

Take care of yourself and your tribe-- however you define it. Let the archators take each other out-- out of your way; it's what they want most and what they've v*ted for. Honor their wishes. And duck!

Those who have begged for authoritarians to rule them are getting ruled good and hard. They won't learn anything through this lesson. They'll keep believing superstitions such as that money can't exist without the state because theft gives money its value. Or that government can be good and is necessary, and that anarchy is death and destruction.

If you want to warn them of their folly, go ahead. They won't thank you or even listen. Maybe a bystander will, though. If you'd rather watch them burn for their ignorance, that's fine too. At this point, whatever happens to them is because they've demanded and enabled it. I know I have no right to force them to safety.

I just hope you and I can avoid the worst of it. Preparedness will help.

If I had the ability, I might be tempted to poke and prod to see what happens. 
On one hand, the longer things take to play out, the more time you and I have to prepare.
On the other hand, the longer this goes on, the worse the final implosion will probably be. And it might be on the heads of our kids and grandchildren.

And, yet, maybe things will settle down. A little worse than before (as always), but not so bad that it crashes around our ears. The slow crawl to collapse could keep moving relentlessly onward. Like a glacier. I would like to think it could be reversed, but I see no evidence anyone but you and I are even aware of what's going on. How can it be reversed if no one will even admit what's happening?

Part of me says that previous generations have also thought the world was in trouble in their time. Some of them were right. We may be in a similar situation, but there are new variables that have never existed before. Will they make a difference? I guess we'll find out.

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Taxation gives money its value?

The guy mentioned in the previous post, who wanted me to admit to loving some forms of socialism, also has strange ideas about money. Ideas so odd that I'll just have to show you exactly what he claimed.

I've explained my understanding of money in the past.

When I said if something can't be provided voluntarily, without "taxation", it needs to go away, he countered with:

"You're effectively asking for an anarchy where everyone looks after themselves. No laws, no money. I say no money because it's something created by the state. Taxation is interesting, it's something that has to happen to give value to money. Without it you could use anything you can get people to agree on. But taxes make you need $s so the gvmt are in charge of money. There's a conversation to be had about the rate of tax though"

Yes. Anarchy, please. It's not what he claims, but that's for him to learn by experience. I'm surprised he didn't whip his Somalia out and wave it around.

Anyway, he believes money is "created by the state"? That money has no value unless it is given value through taxation? It sounds like he's describing fiat "money", not real money. 

I told him that was cute and asked if he'd like to admit to any other superstitions.

"No doubt you think money comes from the people, or business. You got a printing press laying around?"

My response was: "That’s not money. It is a substitute for money that people accept. It’s a receipt for money that no longer has money backing it up. Just the promise that government will keep stealing to prop it up. The US dollar has lost nearly 100% of its value since it [sic] the Fed began the scam."

He concluded with "As Minsky said anyone can create money, the trouble is getting other people to accept it."

He's not wrong about that. I suppose the way government pulled off the scam was to start with real money, then take away the reality of it a little at a time until nothing is left, but people still accept it out of habit when they probably shouldn't. The same scam is likely to work for anyone with the resources to pull it off.

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"But you love THIS socialism, right?"

In response to the sick Tim Walz comment about "One person's socialism is another person's neighborliness" I posted the image shared above.

A statist thought he'd get me with "Is the police department socialism? Fire department? Military? If you think any of these being controlled at the national, state, [or] civic level is a good thing then you just supported a form of socialism."

I know. And...?

No. I don't think letting government control any of those things is a good thing-- I don't support them. At least not in their government iteration. They are funded with theft ("taxation"), you can't opt out or provide a competing service for yourself (and others) and save your money. And I told him so.

So he tried a different approach: "Police & fire departments are funded by local taxes. The military is funded by the senate authorising the creation of money."

What does that have to do with the topic? But, I'll play. I told him they were still socialism and unethical. If something can’t be funded voluntarily it needs to die.

Because of his bizarre comment about money, though, and his apparent need to educate me, this then devolved into a discussion of what "money" is, which will be part 2.

Really, though. Do people who oppose political socialism have that hard a time grasping that government police, firefighters, and military don't get a free pass? That if a service is actually necessary and wanted, people will support it without being robbed and threatened?

Do socialists believe the rest of us are this clueless? And is this why they think they can get us to embrace socialism if they frame it a certain way?

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Blog alert

I'm approaching time for my eye surgeries, which means blog posts may not be as regular as normal after next Tuesday. But they may be-- I just don't know how things will go until I get there.

However, this morning as I was leaving for the final requested pre-surgery eye test, I managed to slam the end of my right index finger in the front door. 

I'm not good at typing under optimal circumstances. I use 3 fingers, and now I've lost the use of one of those-- the primary one and the one I depend on for using the mouse-- for a couple of days or so. Depending on how long it keeps throbbing. 11.5 hours and it's still exceedingly painful, but maybe it will not be as bad by morning.

Anyway, if blog posts are a little less reliable for a while, that's the reason... or the reasons. I'll do what I can. I did manage to get one written and scheduled for tomorrow morning, and I wrote this.

Yay, me.

(UPDATE: It's morning. The back (proximal) half of my fingernail is a nice blackish-purple color and my fingertip is swollen and a little red. The finger still hurts, but it is usable as long as I don't hit the keys too hard.)

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Playing the "slur" card

Nasty people who want to stop discussion now call anything they don't like a “slur”. I've seen it and so have you.

It is one of the most irrelevant, dishonest, manipulative, censor-y things anyone can pull when they have nothing to stand on.

Most of the time it’s just a lie.

I saw a video of George Snuffleupagus interviewing some guy, and George, because he's a racist, just wanted to talk about "race". He kept going back to that topic no matter what. It was disgusting-- I don't even know (or care) who the man being interviewed was (probably a politician). The other guy was trying to get back on topic, but to derail the conversation, George would accuse him of using a "slur" again and again. And I never saw him using one.

If accurate observation feels like an insult-- a "slur"-- to you, you're probably the liar.
If you are feeling insulted on behalf of someone else, let them speak for themselves. They don't need your infantilizing.

Call me what you want. It's either true or it's not, but I'm slur-proof. I have had statists try their best. They've expected me to feel insulted when they've called me an anarchist. This is accurate and I'm not insulted. They've tried to label me a "globalist", but since this is a lie it has no power over me. It's just showing them to be ignorant.

If you want to try to "slur" me based on my true characteristics-- "race", sex, sexual orientation, beliefs, or whatever-- it's not going to happen. I am what I am. I'm not so fragile that I'm going to scream "slur!" over it. It's either true or it isn't. None of it is anything to feel insulted over.

Statists get all bent out of shape when it is pointed out to them that they are statists. Like it's a "slur" rather than an accurate assessment of their position. They believe that governing others is a legitimate human endeavor, but they apparently don't want to admit it. If your stance brings you shame, maybe you should reconsider and change something in yourself.

If anyone tries to use the "slur" card, that's not going to go the way they want, either.

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Who's the hater?

To me, it seems like the more w0ke someone is, the more they hate people in general. 

I know someone who’s quite w0ke and who often accuses me of hating people I don’t hate. Yet they are the one constantly saying how much they hate people. And wanting people to be controlled by legislation. 

I want people to live in liberty, free of authoritarianism. This w0ke individual does not seem to want this, but keeps advocating the opposite.

You have to hate people to want more legislation enslaving them and to want more enforcers imposing legislation on them.

It doesn’t look like an anomaly to me since I keep observing this same behavior in others.

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It seems almost intentional

I oppose government borders and restrictions on people moving where they want to go.

But I also oppose governments importing people or encouraging them to move in by offering or giving them handouts and preferential treatment, even and especially when they refuse to assimilate and, instead, choose aggression and intimidation. Which is why I understand borderists, even though I disagree with them.

I also oppose governments disarming the people and forbidding them from defending their life, liberty, and property from ALL archators- foreign and domestic.

I oppose governments pretending to be the final arbiter of justice. Giving some people cover when they violate others- because “they come from a different culture” or something like that.

I oppose the idea that rights are subject to a v*te. It doesn’t matter if those v*ting on whether rights will be respected or not were born on the other side of the planet or next door. The majority being against rights, and using the superstitious idea of government to impose their will is stupid and evil.

I oppose government.

It’s no wonder this sort of situation explodes in anger and disorder. It probably guarantees it, given time.

It’s a recipe for disaster. For violence. For death. Hopefully for insurrection and rebellion.

I wonder if governments do this intentionally to cause societal trouble so they can crack down on the population. To have an excuse to become even more authoritarian and violent toward the population. It wouldn’t surprise me. Whether calculated or not, it creates a crisis government uses to gain power. Government is the real enemy.

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Keep independence part of holiday

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for June 30, 2024)

Do you celebrate Independence Day or do you celebrate the Fourth of July instead?

It’s the difference between celebrating insurrection, secession, and the violent overthrow of a tyrannical government in the cause of independence, or demonstrating your loyalty to an even more tyrannical government and its military.

I know which one most people celebrate.

Most holidays get corrupted and co-opted over time. Complaints about the commercialization of Christmas are as traditional as Christmas gifts. Yet, no holiday has changed more than Independence Day. It has become a celebration of the opposite of its original spirit. It would be as though Christmas had become a day of hatred and theft. This is probably why almost no one calls it "Independence Day" anymore, choosing instead to simply identify it by the calendar date.

I'm sure this is no accident. The US federal government would prefer you believe the holiday is about remembering it as the hero of the story for defeating the evil British government centuries ago. It wouldn't want you to think outside the box and make any inconvenient connections beyond the curated events as told in history books. Or notice that the British government of that time was less authoritarian and tyrannical than the current US federal government has become-- by a wide margin.

Independence Day is not about cookouts, fireworks, or military appreciation. It's about violently throwing off the rule of the most powerful government in the world at that time.

Unfortunately, those who accomplished this feat immediately made the fatal mistake of replacing the cancerous tumor they had removed with a "new and improved" cancerous tumor; one which has grown larger and worse than the original had ever dreamed of being. It's an error most revolutionaries make. I suppose they didn't know any better. They were apparently still suspicious of liberty in spite of their impassioned speeches praising it.

Where do you stand? With liberty and against political government, or with the majority?

Do you love liberty, or do you prefer "liberty, but"?

Do you follow the crowd which rejects liberty-- the right to do everything which doesn't violate anyone else-- preferring the freedom to do whatever you feel like doing, regardless of who you violate, as long as it's legal? Or, like a politician, do you not understand any of these words apart from what government says they mean?

Keep independence in Independence Day; it’s the reason for the season.

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It's not a political issue

The fundamental, natural human right to own and to carry weapons is NOT a political issue. It's a survival issue. On both sides.

Those who are against the right to own and to carry weapons say the weapons are the problem. The weapons threaten their survival. They blame the weapons for the acts of bad guys. This isn't too bright.

Those who respect the right to "keep and bear arms" understand that bad guys are the problem Regardless of the weapons available for them to choose from. And that bad guys will continue to be bad guys; willing to attack and murder, even if all guns magically vanished from the Earth. 

Bad guys are willing to be more brutal than good people can generally bring themselves to be. They also get more real-life practice being brutal. Even with identical weaponry this gives the bad guys an advantage. 

If you criminalize weapons, or simply make it slightly harder-- more complicated or costly-- for the good people to obtain and carry them so they'll have them available when needed, you've given the bad guys, who already have an advantage, a greater advantage. 

Because the bad guys don't care about your rules. They'll find weapons even if you ban them entirely.

So, yes, the natural human right to own and carry weapons is a survival issue. Only one side of the argument is making a smart argument that actually gives the good guys a survival advantage- or at least levels the field. 

The anti-gun side is making a terrible, stupid "argument" which gives bad guys a survival advantage. An "argument" that only works with brainwashed drones who are already on their side. Once upon a time when I was young and gullible, I seriously considered that they had a point, but then I started thinking and realized they didn't. They still don't/

They may say, like Whoopi Goldberg says, that they aren't going to take all your guns; only your AR-15. But that's only right now. If they were successful, next week they'll demand you give up something else. And something else the week after that. Not one inch.

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Upcoming surgery update

For me, not the cat...

My eye surgery was scheduled for next Wednesday but they called this morning and rescheduled. It’s been delayed by 6 days because they want to do another test.

I’ve found out the cost and all that. It’s less horrifying than I was expecting, but still stratospheric. On top of the medical expenses from last year’s multiple “events”.

I could really use some help, but only if you want to. And only if you can afford it. If requests of this nature make you upset, just ignore it please.

Whatever you choose to do, thank you.

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How can you tell it's a police state?

You and I are expected to obey government immediately. If we don't, we may be killed.

Government is allowed to take its time obeying the rules that create government and give it illegitimate power. 

If government is violating the Constitution, and even if it finds itself guilty of doing so, it is allowed to keep violating the rules for months, years, or decades without penalty. "Until the courts can work it out." There's no immediacy. There's no risk to government involved in breaking the laws.

Someday, maybe, it will have to stop. No one whose life was destroyed in the meantime gets justice. Those killed in the enforcement of the counterfeit rules can never be restored to life. No government employee faces any consequences.

The shadow of a doubt always comes down to favor The State.

This is how you know you live in a statist "society"-- a police state where government power (or imaginary "authority") is believed to be more important than individuals or their rights. It's a backward anti-society. It's what they all are at this point in history.

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Completely untrustworthy

Cops seem to feel entitled to steal, to plant evidence, and to murder. How many times has bodycam footage exposed their crimes after the fact? 

Even though they aren't usually held accountable to the same degree you or I would be, even when their crimes are indisputable.

It has been demonstrated over and over and over again that cops will lie even when their bodycams are recording.

So why would you ever trust one to be honest without a recording?

I wouldn't. Not ever.

You have to assume that any cop is lying any time he says he did nothing wrong, and any time he accuses someone of anything. Even if he's accusing them of a non-crime such as "resisting arrest" (trying to not be kidnapped) or "assaulting an officer" (fighting off an attacker).

Cops have spent all the credibility they may have once enjoyed. They've made themselves completely untrustworthy by working hard at it for decades. Don't let them play the victim.

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The Weird vs The Gross

As someone who has always been called "weird", including by family members, I'm a little annoyed that the word is being applied to people who haven't truly done the work to earn it. Even if the allegations are true, rather than standard fake news for political points.

"Weird" isn't a word I would have exclusively applied to the Right. Unfortunately, any alternate word I can come up with applies equally to the Left. Just as "weird" does. It's all a matter of perspective.

"Weird" isn't even offensive. Not like the words that really describe statists-- Authoritarian. Nasty. Copsuckers. Thieves. Ignorant. Applicable words spring easily to mind.

The Left may be a little heavier on textbook mental illness, but that depends on the issues you're looking at currently. Neither side has a monopoly on the bad stuff. Copsucking is clearly a mental problem.

But, pretending the Right is now "weird", as declared by the gross Left, this is a terribly strange world we live in.

Who would have ever thought that politics would pit the (pseudo) weird against the gross?
Why can't they all lose and go away? Forever.

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Selling doom or Utopia

I tend to not believe melodramatic people. “We’re all doomed”, or “This wonderful thing is about to happen!”.

This is a common problem with influential preppers. Usually by saying some version of: "The collapse is coming in 90/30/120 days- do this NOW!" Maybe, but don't bet your life on it happening on schedule. Just keep prepping at your best pace so you'll be better off even if the collapse surprises you, or never comes.

Don't think you're doing a service by trying to scare people into acting.

I understand that some people need a deadline to get moving. But once your prediction doesn't come true you risk losing those people forever. Then instead of helping them prepare, you've done the opposite. They aren't going to believe you-- or anyone else-- next time. They may decide prepping is paranoid and pointless.

This is what has made me stop watching videos from most of the preppers I used to watch.

The opposite side of the coin is "Bitcoin will zoom to $1M by the end of the year!" I'd like to believe it, but I don't.

If you are too over-the-top I'm going to laugh at you or ignore you. Even though you might be right. I have my own eyes, and I watch the situation. But, if I ever tell you I know what the future holds, assume I'm wrong.

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Valuable criticism?

"Logical fallacies"... "poorly written"... Those phrases are frequently the best arguments government extremists (especially copsuckers) can manage when I point out their god's flaws.

"Poorly written" is mostly subjective. I've never claimed to be a poet. Whatever floats their boat.

But "logical fallacies"? That can be demonstrated if it's real. And if so, I want to know what I've done.

When I ask for specifics... well, they are really light on those.

What they can do like champions is change the subject and deflect. You'll get the strangest responses at this point. It's like their minds have broken. If they don't flat-out run away, they may think they are making a great point. 

They'll also regularly engage in projection, engaging in exactly the sorts of logical fallacies and mind-reading they accuse you of. When others notice and point this out to them without you having to do so, it is a sweet, sweet feeling. Simply the BEST.

Anyway... I don't really care. Mostly, it's just funny. I understand that if I hang out around those kinds of places, I'm going to hear things like that. It is what it is. Maybe I'll learn something anyway. I do keep offering to let them show me what they're talking about.

(Speaking of valuable criticism, I altered the picture at the beginning of this post [and the blog header] in response to some valid criticism. Can you spot the change?)

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