Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The Daniel Penny trial had me worried. I don’t trust juries to do the right thing anymore; too often they simply rubber-stamp whatever the state -- meaning any political government -- wants. Most jurors seem to believe, “If the defendant isn’t guilty, why is he on trial?” The state is usually on the wrong side, especially when self-defense is the issue. Penny stepped up to protect his fellow subway passengers in New York City from a mentally ill person who was making threats...
President Biden was right to pardon his son, Hunter, after his conviction on gun and drug charges. Where President Biden went wrong was when he then failed to pardon everyone else who has been convicted on similar charges. People are sitting in prison today for the same acts. All such charges are bogus, regardless of who is facing them. Everyone entangled in the justice system because of similar charges is a political prisoner. America is apparently trying to beat the old...
Once again, I’ve been told, by someone who is very serious, that every human interaction is inherently political. Few approaches to life are more tragic than this one. If you believe every interaction between people involves a political element, you’re doing it wrong. Politics is cheating. It’s what you resort to when you can’t persuade others to cooperate. It’s the method of the mugger, not the person offering products or services. It’s the use of force, coercion, a...
Should you try to make the world better or give up because it’s hard? Judging by how those trying to make things better are treated, most people want you to give up. When I say “better,” I mean safer for life, liberty, and property. Those who are too weak or confused to live in the real world, or who benefit from ruling you, would have a different definition. Most of them believe keeping you like a zoo animal is better for them, and they’ll work to make you imagine it’s be...
After the election results were in, did you start crying, shaking, and screaming? Did you start threatening those who didn’t support your preferred candidate? Did you announce to the world that you are leaving America to escape? Perhaps posting videos of your emotional crisis, whichever form it took, on TikTok? If you’re reading this, probably not. If you did, though, it’s a sign you take politics too seriously and may be allowing a handful of biased national media corpo...
Recently, online society was outraged over the unnecessary death of a pet squirrel and raccoon. Intelligent people were angry over the absurdity of “saving” animals by killing them. Others said the uproar showed how far society had fallen -- why would anyone care about a squirrel? USA Today reported: The New York Department of Environmental Conservation confiscated Peanut the squirrel from his home in Pine City, N.Y., on Oct. 30 due to “multiple reports from the public about...
Strange things are going on. I see smart people -- who seem truthful -- saying the presidential candidate they prefer has this election in the bag. They give evidence to back their observations. While I have no way to be sure, their evidence looks credible. Yet, they don’t agree with each other but are taking opposite positions. It’s obvious that both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will win in a landslide. Since there’s no possibility my preferred election outcome will prevail...
Election season scary time of year We’re entering the magical time of year. For the next few months, living in a fantasy is socially acceptable. The strangest season is when monsters lurk in every shadow, free handouts are available for the asking, and everyone gets to pretend to be something they’re not. Yes, it’s election season. It would be nice if people got only the politicians they voted for. Those who refrain from the ritual wouldn’t get saddled with a politician at all...
I don't support Israel. I don't support Palestine. I don't support Ukraine, Russia, or any other state. I support individuals who live in places claimed by those states, as long as they aren't violating the life, liberty, or property of others. States -- political governments -- are a threat to every life on the planet. If life on Earth is wiped out, and it isn’t due to an asteroid or a gamma-ray burst, it will be because of states doing what states do. It is preventable. F...
The situation with Hurricane Helene was terrible, but thanks to government — specifically FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration — it ended up being much worse than anyone could have expected. As I write this, Hurricane Milton, which looks potentially even more dangerous, has set its sights on central Florida. Will FEMA bungle or sabotage the response to this one, too? I accept it as a given that government doesn’t help, but at a minimum, it shouldn’t get in...
My sympathy goes out to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath. It’s easy for those of us who live far from the ocean, or any water whatsoever, to feel smug for living where hurricanes don’t reach. If this is how you feel, remember it’s a false sense of security. Every area has its own problems and potential disasters. Tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, riots, or earthquakes ... and sometimes a smorgasbord of all the above. Figure out your region’s most likely...
Government has become too important in our daily lives. Not because it’s actually important to our existence, but because it interferes with everything we do, and then threatens to hurt us if we resist its meddling. A leaky roof or a crumbling foundation is important for the same reason. I’ve had intoxicated acquaintances get in my face and hang all over me. I hated to be around them or to run into them. They were not a benefit to my life, but they made themselves imp...
How can you expect people, especially those who believe in politics, to agree on anything when they can’t even agree on the reality of what is happening right in front of them? Add in the opposing way events are framed, depending on the bias of the information source, and I don’t think it’s possible. I saw neighboring yards in town; one had a Trump yard sign and the other had a Harris sign. I’d bet both think they are the reasonable one and their neighbor is nuts. Or maybe t...
Imagine if your neighbors stuck signs in their yards telling everyone about the conditions they suffer from. “We’re proud of our itchy armpit fungus!” Would you be convinced to get infected, too? I’m already seeing political yard signs. If people advertise their support for a political candidate, could they be convinced to put signs in their yards proclaiming their diseases and mental problems? Scratch the part about mental problems; political signs already announce those t...
Anyone who is on the side of censorship and punishing people for their speech is not on the right side. It doesn’t matter if they are a government, a corporation, or an individual. It doesn’t matter if they are a crooked Brazilian judge, a U.S. presidential candidate, or a probable android running a “book” of faces. Banning speech, especially for political reasons, is inexcusable. Freedom of speech is non-negotiable, but this matters less when it’s speech you like hearing a...
Government efficiency may sound like a worthy goal. To me, it sounds like the worst threat imaginable. Historically, Germany’s National Socialist government was efficient, as was Mussolini’s fascist Italian government. Today, the Chinese communist government seems to be dangerously efficient. The U.S. federal government, famous for its inefficiency, is still too efficient for comfort. Efficient government inevitably becomes too much government. People who push for gov...
Is Kamala Harris a communist? That would depend on what “communist” means. Defenders of communism get very slippery when you try to pin them down on the definition. Their usual tactic is to demand to know how you define communism rather than to define it themselves -- probably because they can’t define it without looking like monsters for defending it. Whatever you say in response, they’ll claim it isn’t “real communism” like they are advocating. The dictionary says communism...
Too much government is a problem. I’m not talking about too many governments, but too much. Global government -- one government -- is the worst possible scenario. The fewer governments, the worse the problem generally becomes. Political power -- the power to govern, murder, steal, imprison, and enslave -- gets more dangerous the more concentrated and centralized it is. The best number of governments is exactly the same as the number of people alive. Neither more nor fewer. E...
No matter which politician attains the office of president after the upcoming election, you’ll probably be fine. I know it’s more popular to say we are all doomed unless a certain politician wins. The truth is, no president has had much effect on my life, regardless of whether I liked or despised him. Or, potentially, her. If they imposed unconstitutional legislation I didn’t like, I probably ignored it or found a workaround. We all commit an average of three felonies per d...
Politics divides. That’s the nature of the thing; what it’s designed to do. Worse, politics often culminates in elections. Every election feels like the majority coming together to give a mass murderer the keys to my house and holding me at gunpoint to make sure I won’t do anything about it. This is an outcome I can’t consent to. But in the name of democracy -- even if it was once a republic -- it’s the outcome that is guaranteed every time. Other political systems are not b...
Is Joe Biden still the U.S. president? Will he soon be forced out, by using the 25th Amendment, due to his cognitive decline? Is he physically healthy enough to continue in the position or to survive his term? Will Kamala Harris be any better? Interesting times. What you may not realize is how little it matters. U.S. presidents have always been figureheads; this has become more obvious over the years. Presidents hold little power; most of it is exercised by unelected bureaucra...
Once again, some evil loser killed a person, but not the specific one he wished to kill. Donald Trump, his presumed primary target, survived with a minor injury. I am no fan of politicians or their institutions, but this isn’t the way to change things for the better. Not even close! If you dislike a politician, vote against him, or better yet, do something productive: Build a life for yourself that doesn’t hinge on politics or depend on government doing things your way. Be...
Roosevelt County has stepped into a trap. Convening a U.S. Amendments Convention would be a mistake. The Bill of Rights already contains the most important Constitutional amendments and the federal government usually disobeys it. The feds interpret those amendments into nothingness any time one would stand in the way of government doing something it wants to do. The fundamental human right to own and carry weapons? Government illegally decides what kind of weapons it will allo...
You are probably familiar with the poem, “First They Came,” by Martin Niemöller. It 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 charg...
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 t...
