Nearly every extraordinary criminal, like a mass-murdering child rapist, is still better than any government. And better than most government employees.
If you side with government against other criminals you're not helping. You're not on the right side. At best, you are choosing one monster over another monster.
If you don't pay attention to it you'll be uninformed, but if you do pay attention to it you'll be misinformed. And miserable. It's quite the conundrum.
You need to remember that "the news", when the topic is anything political, is fake. It's all lies.
One way to deal with this is to not listen to anything going on outside your personal sphere. You'll run the risk of being blindsided by something horrible you didn't see coming because you weren't paying attention, but you'll avoid the constant bad feeling of knowing what's happening in other places-- things you can do nothing about.
Which is worse? Which will have more of an impact on your quality of life? It may depend on who you are.
People who use politics against others are just the worst. It's dangerous to not watch them and see what they are doing, but it is going to ruin your life if you spend much time seeing the evil they are perpetuating on everyone around them.
It doesn't seem like it much of the time.
Government employees can murder you-- and may be as likely to do so as freelance thugs. If not yet, then soon.
Just as the amount of property stolen by government now exceeds the amount stolen by freelance thieves (and has for several years- and this doesn't even count taxes!), the number of people murdered by government may soon surpass the number killed by freelance murderers. It wouldn't surprise me even a little.
Still, if you don't let freelance thieves and murderers control how you live your life now, why let government?
You don't owe them your compliance and obedience. You don't owe them respect. If you owe them anything, it is only what they have earned: contempt.
If you go out of your way to express this contempt, you are still letting them control you. I have known people who couldn't pass a cop without flipping them the digitus impudicus. Me? It's not worth my time and effort. I neither go out of my way to avoid cops, nor do I seek them out. They are irrelevant to my life, just like a noxious weed or diseased vermin (until someone has shoved them down my pants). Other coercive government employees are the same.
I refuse to give them the power to control what I do, beyond what I have to do in the instantaneous present to keep them from murdering me. And even that is probably too much.
What are your thoughts on this?
This is the week I warned you about.
I am trying to make sure I have things written to post, but I can't guarantee it. I may not respond to comments or emails in a timely fashion. If I do things right, you won't even notice if you forget about this note. And that's my intention; to make you forget I even mentioned it by keeping things going without a hitch.
Keep me in your thoughts.
To me, it is clear Kamala Harris is worse in every way than Donald Trump. She echoes all his bad traits and adds some creative evil of her own. (I realize I may be attributing to candidates what those pulling the strings are doing. Just go with it.)
I'm also aware this makes Trump the more dangerous of the two in some ways.
If you're trapped somewhere inside the box, you probably balk at some part of this claim.
You may have a little extra emotion involved, making you hate one or the other beyond what reason would indicate. It's even possible this is why I see Harris as worse than Trump- I may be suffering from HDS rather than TDS. I don't think so, but who would? We all think we see the situation clearly, even if we are in a box we can't see.
Being outside the box (or some particular box) I understand it doesn't matter as much as those inside the box believe it does. I don't need (or want) to be governed by anyone. I don't require a president; I won't bow to one. I can govern myself just fine-- as can you. Politicians are parasites. Government and liberty are mutually exclusive, and I value liberty. Anyone trying to govern me is the enemy.
Presidents are an unnecessary evil. They aren't part of the solution until or unless you find one willing and able to dismantle the entire structure that gives them and their opponents their power. Don't hold your breath, since the Deep State will never allow anyone like this to get close to being on the ballot, much less to be elected.
The best power you have right now is in your refusal to comply and your willingness to accept the consequences of noncompliance if there's no way to avoid them. Do not be assimilated. Resist. This is what those outside the box understand. It isn't pretty, but it's true.
The tighter they grip, the more who will slip between their bloody fingers.
It's a big box. There's lots of room inside.
There are partitions inside the box, keeping matter and antimatter apart so the box can survive. Or, rather, keeping those trapped in the box from communicating with those inside the other chambers and discovering their common condition. If they were really allowed to get to know each other and to communicate, the box wouldn't survive.
Inside the box are things like both defending and defunding the police, borderism and importing migrants, taxation and how to spend it, support for presidential candidates, Constitutionalism, citizenship, woodchippers and other death penalties, the myth of the rule of law and the superstitious belief in political authority. It's where people debate what kind of government to impose on themselves and others.
Outside the box is where you can see beyond the greasy cardboard walls.
There you can see that borderism and importing migrants look opposed, but are both flavors of statism. Both lead to the same tragic end: government supremacy.
It's where you can see that copsuckers and most of the "defund the police" people have more in common with each other than with those who understand that cops are the standing army the founders of America warned about. They each think cops are the key-- either to "law and order" or to ending racist policing. Either path, separated from the human right to defend yourself and others from ALL attacks, leads to a police state.
Outside the box is where you can see that taxation is theft, extortion, and slavery, and arguing over how to spend the stolen loot is evil. The outside-the-box discussion is how to stop the taxers from taxing.
Outside the box is where you can see the futility of arguing which politician should be running your life rather than demanding they back off.
Inside the box are all those who aren't aware that everyone has the right and responsibility to govern himself, and no one else.
Is there a way to get through to those trapped inside the box? Yes. It's rare but it happens. Is it more useful to notice that even outside the box is a larger box encompassing those who think they've escaped?
That would have been in the mid-90s.
Back then no one was afraid the name Monkey Pox would offend anyone, so no attempt was made to change the name to "M Pox".
I guess now Chicken Pox and Rat Bite Fever need to be dishonestly renamed in case anyone feels they are being equated with chickens or rats, or are being accused of having sex with chickens or rats, if they catch those diseases.
It's just so stupid.
Each twin has his own supporters and haters. Egging him on to hurt the other again. Their behavior threatens everyone in the whole world.
I have zero sympathy for either twin.
This, to me, is the story of the Middle East.
Expect trouble during and after the s/election. If it doesn't happen, at least you were ready in case it did. The natural world can always throw a disaster your way, too. As can general human incompetence. Be ready- stay ready. It will never hurt to be more ready than is necessary.
If anyone makes fun of you for being ready for something that didn't happen, just know that smart people will never do that.
Lately, my prepping has come to a grinding halt, due to various circumstances. But there's nearly always something that can be done. This is a reminder to myself to find something and do it.
If you don't have money to stock up on things, practice your skills (they'll always matter more than the things anyway).
If you can't practice for some reason, read books or articles, or watch videos on prepping. Get ideas.
Make lists. What you have (check expiration dates), what you need, what you've realized you don't need, what might need to be replaced... whatever lends itself to a list. See what you might be missing that you didn't notice until you had things written out.
Sort through your preps and make sure everything is in order. If nothing else, this will help keep you in the prepping state of mind, which is always useful.
Be ready out there.
Perhaps.
I know people whose sense of humor is limited to enjoying seeing people get hurt. Jokes or humor which would require thought to find funny don't register as funny to them. That kind of stuff is more likely to anger them.
Evil people feel JOY when they violate others.
I'm seeing pretty well... out of the left eye. The shortcomings of the formerly "good" eye are more obvious now. Having a good lens shows me how bad my vision has been- shockingly bad. I have apparently been seeing everything in a muted sepia-tone. And clouded and smeared. An unexpected benefit: the new lens is making the world bright and colorful. I didn't know what I was missing.
I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to using the eye I haven't been able to see out of since the end of October. But now it's the good eye, so I have to consciously switch to it sometimes.
I'm anxious to get the right eye done. Even knowing what it entails.
The laser procedure was kind of horrific. The lens replacement actually was, too. I think I would prefer to be unconscious for both, but I guess they don't do that. At least it was fast.
As soon as I left the surgical center, my vision in the eye was perfect. Soon the post-op swelling and grittiness set in and the vision got blurry. The next morning, my vision was still bad, but it cleared up within just a few hours. It still has a ways to go, but the surgeon said it will continue to improve over the next couple of weeks.
It's not quite a bionic eye, but it almost feels that much superior to what I have been living with.
I'm already really impressed.
I highly recommend having it done if you need it.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
