Government wants to keep you poor

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 3, 2025)

The quickest way to destroy innovation and cripple the economy is to "address" a new idea, or an old idea reborn, with government control.

Short-term rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, are in the crosshairs of local politicians, and this isn't a positive development. Letting strangers stay in your home for a few nights, for a fee, is an ancient use of personal property; the internet simply gave it a boost. There's no need for new ordinances, or the use of existing ordinances, to regulate it.

If a short-term rental next door creates a violation of your life, liberty, or property, there are already ethical ways to handle it without government getting preemptively involved. Zoning laws themselves are a violation of property rights.

Politicians have no right to decide which peaceful, voluntary businesses you're allowed to run. In a free country, this meddling wouldn't be tolerated. Such government overreach hurts us all in the long run.

Legitimacy doesn't come from official recognition. Government attention is poison to innovation. Look at Bitcoin: the moment government began paying attention, regulators attacked it with taxes, rules, and other interference. This destroyed much of the freedom and utility of cryptocurrency. Keep your filthy government off my life!

Government doesn't need a process to smother every human activity. Life doesn't need to be micromanaged by politicians. Liberty- freedom tempered with responsibility- is enough. The market regulates itself when freed from government meddling. Dishonest companies go broke without government protecting them from competition or from cheated customers. Anyone seeking government protection from competition or consequences is in the wrong. Monopolies can only persist with government help. Irresponsible individuals never learn to be better when protected from consequences, or from their victims, by government rules.

Those who believe "there oughta be a law" are the people who see any remaining liberty as a loophole that must be closed. Liberty's enemies are on both sides of the law- freelance crooks and suit-wearing officials- and it's your responsibility to defend it from them all.

A chilling realization is that government would rather keep you poor with arbitrary rules, and then toss you crumbs financed with money they stole from your neighbors, than to get out of your way and allow you to build your own future with your mind and muscles. A future of responsible self-sufficiency and abundance moves government from being a crutch to being recognized as the broken leg. This terrifies them.

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Game theory for winners

The smartest, most rational game theory strategy appears to be this:

• Start with cooperation.
• If cooperation is returned, keep cooperating.
• If betrayed, push back an equal amount immediately- once.
• If cooperation resets, return to cooperation without a grudge. If it doesn't, disengage (stop playing).

Isn't it interesting how thoroughly libertarian this is? 

It's how I've always tried to live, even before I ever heard it spelled out like this.

Of course, bad guys have set up "games" where they don't "allow" you to push back or walk away from their betrayal. That's when self-defense comes into play- it's up to you to decide when it's necessary, and I won't second-guess you.

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“Broccoli choking”

Using the propaganda phrase “gun violence” is exactly as dishonest (or ignorant) as singling out choking on broccoli and decrying “broccoli choking”. 

They ignore all the deaths and injuries caused by choking on other foods, not because they care about choking victims, but because they hate broccoli.

In the exact same way, the people who lecture about "gun violence" don't really care about violence (or archation); they just hate guns and don't want you to have them... unless you're a government thug who can use your guns to take the guns away from people who aren't in your gang.

If they weren't this despicable, they would care about the innocent people stabbed, stoned to death, beaten with clubs, strangled by hands, or intentionally killed in any other way, no matter what weapon was used. They would be happy when someone uses a gun to fend off an attack. They don't care, and they aren't happy, and that's how you know they are nothing but filthy anti-gun bigots. 

Keep this in mind every time you see or hear the propaganda phrase "gun violence" come from one of these nasty bigots.

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The long scam

Government is fraud. The very idea of governing others is fraudulent. It's the biggest, longest-running scam in history.

To pick out one aspect of it to get mad about is ridiculous. But that's what is happening.

I suppose it's still better than everyone being complacent about it.

But, it's only a good thing if enough people start doing something about the problem.

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Billion$ in fraud is discovered...

And then, like magic, suddenly everyone is mad about taxes.

Welcome to the party, Pal.

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That's CRIME culture, you badged bonehead!

The local-ish police chief blamed a dead 15-year-old, shot the other night by a 16-year-old while they were messing around with guns in a bedroom, on "gun culture". What a disgusting, lying jackboot!

It’s not "gun culture" that’s the problem. It’s crime "culture".

I’m part of gun culture. We don’t shoot people because they disrespected us. We don’t point guns at our friends because we “know” the guns aren’t loaded. We don't shoot at houses as we drive down the street. We don't mug people at gunpoint. Or with a knife held to their throat.

Those who do those things are not part of gun culture.

That chief cop parroted a Leftist propaganda phrase because he’s an evil loser, too, just like the rest of them.

He’s trying to avoid blaming crime culture by blaming gun culture. Like protects like. He should be sued for defamation. What a nasty anti-gun bigot!

(I'm also writing my newspaper column for next week about this.)

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The real purpose of the Supreme Court

Statists believe the Supreme Court is there to discern whether or not legislation (or a government policy) is constitutional.

I know the Supreme Court exists to find excuses that allow unconstitutional legislation and policies to stand.

We are not the same.

And, no. One team isn't better on this than the other. Both are disgusting in their desire to violate the liberty they don't like.

(Grok wouldn't follow my directions to accurately portray actual current Supreme Courtjesters. In fact, it tried to give me only white men in the image. I prefer to ridicule the actual bufoons as they are. Oh well.)

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Happy 2026!

Sometimes I'm amazed I'm still alive in the year 2026.

Assuming, I am...

Thanksgiving opportunity to help someone

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 26, 2025)

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have many reasons to celebrate Gratitude Day 2025.

Not every Thanksgiving Day has been good for me. Yet, even then, something always made me thankful- at least later.

Ten years ago, just days before Thanksgiving, my older daughter was killed in a wreck. As devastating as this was, the outpouring of love I received was stunning. It took a while to register- it's hard to notice while you're numb- but I still associate kindness with the memory of that dark time. I can't think of Thanksgiving without feeling a deep sense of loss, but I also remember those who lifted me up during those painful days, and I will forever be grateful.

Some years earlier I was alone and feeling abandoned as Thanksgiving approached. I could see myself sinking into self-pity unless I did something different. So I invited a couple of acquaintances, who were unable to spend the holiday with their own families, to eat spaghetti with me. What could have been a day spent feeling depressed and miserable turned into an enjoyable celebration- one I will always remember with fondness. The memory still makes me smile.

A couple of years after this I was in a similar, but worse, situation, and had allowed myself to fall into despair. It was awful. I was struggling to keep going through the motions. I hadn't told anyone about my circumstances, but on Thanksgiving Day there was a knock on my door and I found a plate heaped with a Thanksgiving meal. I never found out who brought it. Someone must have known, or guessed, what I was going through. I can't put into words what this act of thoughtfulness meant to me that day. I was so overwhelmed I cried. Even now my eyes get a little misty whenever I remember.

Some of you are grieving a death or another loss of some kind. Some are facing hard financial times. Other circumstances may be rough. If so, I hope someone knows what you're going through and does something to make your Thanksgiving Day a little brighter.

I hope you are doing great, though. If you know of someone who needs an invitation or a plate of food, step up. Don't wait for someone else to do the right thing. It's your responsibility, even if no one has pointed this out to you. You'll be grateful you did.

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Stop assisting Evil

If you're helping government in any way, you're probably not helping the people.
If you're helping government spy on any of us or control us, you're the enemy of the people of America.
You're the enemy of America and everything America was meant to be.

It doesn't matter what letters come with your bureau or agency; you're a domestic enemy. Just like the US federal government is an enemy of America- although I consider the US government more of a foreign occupation force.

It doesn't matter what else your businesses do; you're an enemy of liberty.

Maybe you even do some good. Great! Now stop doing evil. Stop helping government commit its evil acts.

Helping government- especially helping it spy on or control the individuals- is unhelpful in the extreme.

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Fraud, corruption, or "normal government"?

When people complain about corruption in government, I often point out that it's not corruption; it's government working exactly as it's designed to work.

Here's a sampling of what Dictionary.com says of "Corruption":

The act of corrupting or state of being corrupt. Antonyms: purity, honesty...
Moral perversion; depravity. Synonyms: immorality, dissolution.
Perversion of integrity.
Corrupt or dishonest proceedings.
Bribery putrefactive decay; rottenness. Synonyms: contamination, pollution, foulness, putrescence, putrefaction, rot...
Any corrupting influence or agency.

This is a perfect description of how political government is designed to work. Government as normal. You can't distinguish between government and "corruption" except in your fantasies.

Part of that design is to employ fraud. So, the fraud isn't evidence of corruption, just of government being what government is. The fraud is still fraud.

How does Dictionary.com describe "Fraud"?:

Deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
A particular instance of such deceit or trickery.
Any deception, trickery, or humbug.
Guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; Lacking integrity

This is what government does. How it functions. This is on top of the supposed "corruption" that is what government is.

However, if you want to claim "It's not fraud; it's how government operates", I'm not going to argue with you. Either way, society would be better off if we stopped tolerating it.

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A (Barra Schofield) BB gun for Christmas

One of the gifts I got for Christmas was a Barra Air Gun. The Schofield model. It's been a few years since I got a BB gun for Christmas.

I'm excited about this because it means I can shoot inside the house. It's hard to find a nearby place to shoot firearms, so this will help a little.

I've always wanted a Schofield, but they are pricey. This is a good substitute, and it is a lot of fun to shoot. Yes, I've been shooting it already.

I have a very old Daisy SAA-type BB gun. It's extremely weak, and the BBs come out sort of randomly (when they come out at all). You can suggest a general direction by aiming, but it will still decide whether or not to take your suggestion. This Barra is more accurate and quite a bit more powerful. It's higher quality all-around and feels solid in my hand.

I also love the system they use, where you put a BB into the tip of a fake cartridge, then load that into the gun. It gives you more of a feeling of shooting for real. I'm going to get more of the cartridges for faster reloads. I suppose I'll need to get more CO2 cartridges, too.

I am using a cardboard box full of sheets of cardboard as my backstop. It's about 6.5" thick, and the BBs make it about 4" through the layers. The shots don't even disturb the cats. I don't shoot if cats are in the room with me, though.

If you want a quality airgun, made of metal, for some shooting fun, I can recommend the Barra Schofield. 

And, no, they aren't paying me for saying this (or even aware of me at all). It's just my opinion, presented to you as something you might like.

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Just live your life

What a nice Christmas. 

No one said anything political/stupid in my presence. One person tried to show me his "personal text" from Trump, and I said, "That's nice", and moved on to other matters.

Other than the screaming children, it was peaceful. Screaming children are more bearable than political talk from statists, after all.

Someone asked me about Bitcoin, and I told them what I know. Someone else asked me about silver, and one person asked me about (their own) gun. Again, I answered questions, but nothing got political. It was just fun conversation.

Political criminals really don't have much sway over our day-to-day lives. At least, not nearly as much as they'd like us to think they do. They want us to think about them and worry about what they might do next. They want us to wonder whether we have their permission to do this or that. 

But, for the most part, you can just live your life.

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Merry Christmas!

Have the best day imaginable.
Wherever you may be, or whatever situation you find yourself in.

Penny symbolic of useless government

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for November 19, 2025)

Where do you stand on the penny issue? Are you pro-penny, anti-penny, or do you not care one way or the other? Did you even know there was a "penny issue"?

On November 12, 2025, the US Mint stopped issuing pennies; it minted its final one-cent coin. Maybe.

Some people are upset by this development; others think it's long past due.

The problem with pennies is two-fold: due to the devaluation of the dollar ("inflation"), each penny costs over three cents to make and distribute. In addition, the rampant creation of inflated US dollars by the Federal Reserve- which I consider the largest counterfeiting operation in world history- has made them useless. Other than psychologically, I suppose.

The monetary loss with nickels is even worse, costing nearly eleven cents for each five-cent piece, so they may be next on the chopping block. Public reaction to the end of pennies could determine the fate of nickels.

There might be a catch, though. The penny's cancellation was by executive order, and it could take an act of Congress to make it stick. A later president could decide to start issuing pennies again. Perhaps they could make them out of plastic next time, if that turns out to be cheap enough. It would fit right in with the devaluation of the rest of the money through reckless printing, stimulus checks, and tariff bribes.

Pennies have been fake since 1982 anyway. That's the year they stopped making them out of copper and switched to cheap zinc plated with a thin copper glaze so the fraud wouldn't be obvious. It didn't keep the cost down enough. If you've ever found one of these zinc pennies in the dirt, you may have noticed how easily they corrode away into nothing. This is symbolic of what always happens when governments control money.

How will you survive without being able to pay to the exact cent? Businesses may have to round prices to the nearest nickel. It would be easy if not for sales tax meddling with the math. As if we need another good argument for eliminating sales tax, as a step toward getting rid of all taxes. If this could be the result, I would be in favor of eliminating the one-cent coin. Even better, if there were a way to separate money and state, smaller denominations of money, like the penny, might become relevant again. It's worth a shot.

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Building the Empire

Trump wants to empower the Empire, but he's only authorizing more surface vessels. For all I know (and I don't care enough to research it), he may be authorizing a few new atmospheric craft, as well, but BORING...

If he's not building TIE fighters, Star Destroyers, and a Death Star, is he really accomplishing anything for the Empire?

He might as well be issuing "new and improved" atlatls.

If you're going to build the Empire, then go all in and build the Empire. The Mandalorians and other rebels are waiting.

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Stay (at least) skeptical of Rulers

You are right to be skeptical of anything government (or associated institutions) tells you. 

This doesn't mean you'll always be right, but it means you'll be less likely to fall for harmful propaganda.

Anything which is (or is made) political is probably wrong. If you mix politics with anything, you destroy everything but the politics. You are left with politics and nothing else. There may be a kernel of truth in there somewhere, but you need to find it before you act. Especially if doing what you're told gives government more power in some way- you won't get it back.

I know there are those who value acting now over analyzing the situation. They are free to do what they think is best.

I know, too, there are times you have to jump if someone yells "Tiger!" 

Those times are less common than the fearmongers would have you believe. I have rarely regretted hesitating before doing what government (or "they") demanded I do immediately. At the moment, I can't think of even one time I regretted it. Often, I ended up not doing it at all, much to my future peace of mind. Unlike what the cartoon above claims, it often takes much longer than 6 months, but I can be patient.

As has been said, today's conspiracy theories often become tomorrow's "Well, yeah, that was true, but..." Then it's "history" instead of a conspiracy theory.

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Do I accept "The Data"?

I make fun of government supremacists for demanding data they have no intention of believing, but what about me? Am I going to be convinced by data from the anti-liberty side?

No.

I already know this, so I don't ask for data. If it is offered, I'm probably not going to pay attention to it or change my mind because of it.

The problem is that I don't believe data when it is mixed with politics. Two reasons. Remember, Politics makes people stupid, AND politics destroys anything it gets mixed with. Data is not immune.

Even if authoritarianism "works", it is unethical. So that's a hard "no" for me. Data that justifies slavery is meaningless to me.

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Governments have no right to keep or bear arms

No government should be allowed to possess any weapons it prohibits the people from possessing.

No, that doesn't mean you and I should own nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. It means governments shouldn't be allowed to have them. 

They've demonstrated quite clearly that they can't be trusted with them.

Governments have no rights, because rights are individual and governments are collectives. This means governments can't have the right to keep and bear arms. Nor to decide what arms others own and carry.

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"That data doesn't count because it doesn't agree with me!"

Browsing through the jungle of Leftist X posts, I realize there are a lot of very vocal people who really, really hate guns and anyone who owns them (maybe with the bizarre exception of government thugs, who they seem to trust completely on this one issue).

In fact, since X screwed up their setting where "For you" is the default instead of "Following", it's the only thing I see until I switch back to "Following".

Admittedly, that may be a function of the Al Gore Rhythm feeding me things that will get me to engage, rather than a true reflection of percentages. But I know it makes me feel like "They" ARE coming to take my guns. Or, "they" are encouraging armed government goons and other political criminals to take my guns, since few have the guts to do so in person. This radicalizes me a bit.

Of course, a lot of the most vocal anti-gun bigots are in other countries. Others are professional activists against your liberty, no matter the specific topic. So, zero credibility, but loads of very loud opinion.

These nasties frequently demand data to show that they are wrong, but they pre-reject any data they are presented with. It never changes.

In fact, I had been in a discussion with one for a couple of days, and she kept demanding I show her the data that would prove she was wrong, and trying to taunt me with made-up quotes of me expressing my inability to do so. 

I finally posted this outside that conversation, as a setup:

If someone won't show you the data you demand, it's not because it doesn't exist, it's because no one is going to do your work for you only to have you say, "That doesn't count". Anti-gun bigots- I'm looking at YOU. And you *know* that's what you do every time.

Then, I gave her a link to an X account (associated with John R. Lott, Jr.) that does nothing but present exactly the kind of data she'd been demanding all along. And I waited.

Guess what her reaction was. 

If you were to guess she made up a quote to express what she hallucinated I was thinking, pretended I had been desperately looking for anything to support my point, and then said the source was unreliable, you'd be right. 

I replied by sharing the post I'd made predicting her reaction and said I'd nailed it.

Then I walked away. I wasted more time on her than I should have, but I knew how it was going to go long before she did it- the first time she demanded data. This ain't my first rodeo.

I hope this is a vocal ignorant, unethical minority, and not a general attitude. 

I do see people in other countries posting: "Americans- NEVER give up your guns because you don't want to be in our position", so I know those bigots don't speak for everyone. But there are too many of them. And they are loud and bold and filled with hate.

These people can scream “It’s the guns!” all day long. That doesn’t change reality and make it true. It just makes them stubborn and obnoxious.

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