Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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People see me say I don’t want government doing something and often jump to the conclusion I don’t want that thing done at all. Sometimes they are right, as in the case of legislation enforcement. More often they are wrong, as in the case of environmental protection, security, or justice. Government is more likely to make a mess of it. I love the natural environment, which is why I oppose letting government control it or set rules concerning it. I’ve seen what happens when government is put in charge of protecting the environment. So have...
It feels like the future is being pulled in two directions at once. Things are getting better, while things also feel like they are getting worse. Both are probably true. I’m not so naive as to believe this is something new. Looking back at history I see how every era of the past had opposing forces pulling in different directions, fighting to shape the future. Two steps forward and one step back, as one or the other got the upper hand for a time. I do believe the long-term trend -- with notable exceptions -- has been toward a better future. A...
No one really understands anyone else, so it’s no surprise that non-libertarians don’t understand libertarians. When I first started writing on the topic of libertarianism, I ran across a blog post written by a self-proclaimed “progressive” who explained why all libertarians were racists and should be hated and mocked. I commented, pointing out a host of reasons this wasn’t true. He seemed to imagine everyone he didn’t like could be clumped under the term “libertarian.” Most of the beliefs he attributed to libertarians were not libertarian beli...
Everyone has blind spots. Especially when it comes to politics. In fact, I’d say politics is made up of blind spots knitted together with wishful thinking, expressed through legislation designed to violate people you don’t like. Conservatives generally love the Constitution. They have a blind spot when it comes to unconstitutionally controlling people’s movement. They obsess over “immigration” and are willing to toss the Constitution aside for this issue. It’s almost a universal conservative trait, now, but this wasn’t always the case. Liberal...
If you are worried about the next few years, I can relate. Supply chain problems, inflation, the ongoing drought, and the possibility of political violence seem like they are closing in on us. An effective way to defeat the worry is to take charge of your life. Be responsible for your own well-being. Don’t wait to be rescued. You’ll always feel worse about things you think you can’t control. So, take control and do what you can, and you’ll put your energy to better use than you would by worrying. Stock up on things you’ll need later, now, befo...
To those of you who are mad at the Supreme Court over two of its most recent rulings, let me agree with you. To a point. I also agree -- to a point -- with those who celebrate those rulings. I don’t consider the Supreme Court to be credible, and haven’t for years. Not since I recovered from the brainwashing I endured as an inmate in “public” schools. The Supreme Court stole for themselves the power to be the final say on what the Constitution means back in 1803 -- this power wasn’t theirs to exercise, but belonged to the people. They didn’t li...
Do you ever get to the point where you feel like sitting back and watching the show while people suffer the consequences of their bad choices? I do, and I remember the biblical story about Jonah having the same impulse. It’s human nature. There’s one show I won’t be watching, though. I can’t think of a worse waste of time than watching the Jan. 6th Congressional clown show. Congresscritters are wallowing in their self-importance while the disasters they’ve unleashed on us are making it hard to afford to fuel our cars; making it harder fo...
Everyone has their own unique personal preferences. This is probably a good thing since it makes life interesting and keeps us from all fighting over the exact same stuff. Think how boring it would be if everyone preferred identical things. Variety is the spice of life. As long as everyone remembers their preferences are only preferences, not a matter of one being right and the other being wrong, there’s no problem. It’s only when people try to impose their preferences on everyone that it becomes an issue. It’s the difference between prefe...
Politicians speak most passionately about things they understand the least, like guns. This is especially dangerous when they talk about what they believe your rights are. President Biden has recently shown he doesn’t understand rights-- he confuses them with privileges and he’s plotting to violate our rights because he doesn’t like them. This is criminal behavior from him and should be treated as such. Recent events caused emotions to run high, which leads to foolish threats from authoritarian politicians. It doesn’t change what our rights...
Senseless aggression toward innocent victims enrages me. No matter who is harmed or who commits the act. But to intentionally target children? Rage doesn’t begin to describe what I feel. Are you ready for some hard truth? Some of you are; those who aren’t should probably read the comics instead. You’ll never stop crime with new legislation and harsher enforcement. You’ll never even reduce crime that way. In fact, even if you imagine this tactic would prevent some crimes, you’ll have to ignore all the crimes it unintentionally causes. Directly....
People like the murderer in the Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store will always find justification to be evil losers. He would have found some excuse even if no one had ever suspected that government is trying, for political purposes, to dilute the culture with those who don’t share it. The way to fight such ideas is to openly discuss them, not censorship. If you choose to censor ideas, I’ll think you have no argument against them. They will also always find something to use as a weapon, even if the anti-gun bigots ever manage to ban the type of wea...
The federal government’s hastily thrown together Disinformation Governance Board was a predictable reaction to the “threat” this government sees in freer speech on social media. Of course, free speech is not a threat to anyone who doesn’t depend on censorship and lies, without opposition, to fool the public. Widespread ridicule for the idea was immediate, with many people labeling this new bureaucracy Biden’s Ministry of Truth, after the ironically named propaganda agency from George Orwell’s book “1984.” The Disinformation Governance Board is,...
The recent Supreme Court leak is all over the media. People on both sides feel compelled to speak out loudly and passionately for whichever side they support. There is no debate; just a fight. For days it was as though hyperbole had become America’s official language. I even allowed myself to be drawn in. Getting involved didn’t improve my life in any way. Engaging with this subject makes me miserable, like sticking a nine-volt battery to my tongue (please don’t do that!). This is the one topic, which everyone is talking about, where I don’t...
My Twitter account was shut down during the dark days of censorship, but I made a new account a month or so ago. Just in time to see all the fun and drama over Elon Musk’s buyout of the platform. The celebrations on multiple sides, and the meltdowns on one side, were entertaining. The melodramatic handwringing -- over fears of Musk doing to “their side” what they’ve supported doing to everyone else for years -- was great comedy. Elon Musk became their new Donald Trump. Modern so-called liberals have turned on one of their own because he stil...
Joe Biden has done us a favor. One he didn’t intend to do and one his supporters probably haven’t noticed and wouldn’t like if they did. If America can survive Biden, in his mentally degraded condition, then it’s clear the office of president is unnecessary to the well-being of Americans. I would say it is obvious this truth can be extended to the rest of government as well, from every branch of the feral federal government down to city councils. Things that are necessary and good can be done without government, and the things “only governmen...
Tolerance has a proper time and place, but this time and place isn’t all the time nor is it everywhere. Nor does everything have to be tolerated. Even the most tolerant person won’t tolerate everything. I was always a fairly tolerant person. I was never too interested in making someone conform to what I thought they “should” do. As long as they didn’t try to force their ways on me or on my friends, I didn’t try to stop them from doing whatever they were doing even if I thought it was “icky.” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown even more tolerant....
Liberty, as a principle, will always prove true. Respecting liberty always works, violating it always hurts. The truth doesn’t care whether you like this or not. Government’s very existence violates liberty by interfering in your natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Some people claim government protects your liberty or “gives you freedom,” but this is as nonsensical as claiming arsonists are protecting your property by burning down your house. Anyone who limits your individual liberty, using any excuse, is your enemy. It works the sam...
An excellent measure of whether a “law” is good or bad is to see if it prohibits something that isn’t prohibited elsewhere -- especially, right next door. If something is clearly bad enough for there to be unanimous agreement it should be prohibited, I might give the argument in favor of prohibition some thought. Otherwise, the law is trash, unworthy of a moment’s consideration or my support. By this measure, Texas’ marijuana laws fail. Hard. The Eastern New Mexico News reported last week that Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Johnny Bures...
Life is too short to waste it trying to govern other people. If you’re honest you’ll admit you have enough to keep you busy just controlling – governing -- yourself. Even if you have it all worked out and you are perfect, your perfection collapses the moment you try to govern someone besides yourself. It’s your responsibility to govern yourself. It’s not your responsibility to govern anyone else. In fact, governing others is something no one has the right to do. Nor can you delegate to someone else a right you don’t have. Being in the majorit...
It’s aggravating that New Mexico’s Supreme Court decided the petitions aimed at possibly holding the New Mexico governor accountable for her COVID overreach were “legally invalid.” Aggravating, but not surprising. Somehow the “law” always benefits the elite political class and their schemes at the expense of the rest of us and our liberty. Whenever mere people try to hold government accountable and make it stay within its clear boundaries, the state finds a way to brush their concerns aside. It finds those boundaries to be the ridiculous compla...
The U.S. government is probably relieved it can now blame the results of some of its past crimes and bungling -- such as inflation and other economic disasters -- on the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and most people will believe it. In fact, the same is likely true of every government in the world. The fact is, this train pulled out of the station years before the Ukrainian invasion was considered. The inflation was caused by the Federal Reserve’s destruction of the dollar followed by a century of governmental meddling in the economy. T...
It’s crazy how many people still imagine political government is credible or legitimate. How many take it at its word, even while watching events around the world today. Even the national media corporations who report on political news often simply parrot government’s story instead of doing their job by questioning everything it says -- except when they have a vendetta against a specific politician or party. Social media and the entertainment industry may even be worse. The last nail in the coffin of government legitimacy happened for me alm...
Whenever a government wants to go to war, you can be sure it is lying -- to its population and to anyone who listens to its justifications. If anyone supports a war, they have been hoodwinked by the lies. Without lies, no ethical person would ever support war. The aggressor has to lie and present itself as the victim. Otherwise, its cannon fodder would be less enthusiastic to die for the government’s agenda. Unfortunately, the victim populations’ government will lie, too. It’s just what governments do. The exact nature of the lies will vary...
Throughout history the older generation has thought the younger generations are weak, frivolous, and self-centered. Just as that older generation’s elders thought the same of it, and so on to the beginnings of our species. It’s time to break the cycle with some reality. Young people are not much different from generation to generation. You and I were just as foolish when we were young, as were our grandparents. Only the details of our foolishness differed. We grew up and found ways to be foolish mature people. The problem isn’t with the young...
Legislation, which many people incorrectly call “law,” doesn’t reduce crime. It can’t. In fact, each new bit of legislation creates at least one more crime -- often several more -- and many more criminals as a result. People who weren’t criminals before are now, for doing things that weren’t crimes yesterday, but which are now arbitrarily declared to be. Every time anything is criminalized it creates new criminals. That’s really the only thing it does. Anyone who doesn’t understand this correlation shouldn’t be in a position of power over the...