❝❝If we weren't better than this, this wouldn't bother so many people.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ better than this ∙ cross posted

❝❝When someone starts offering two and only two alternatives, that's the cue to look for the fourth, fifth, and sixth choices.❞❞

— NeoWayland NeoNote — Abortion is not about women's rights

Tags: maxims ∙ two and only two ∙ cross posted

““I have two guns in my household for self-defense, just so you know.””

— Alyssa Milano

Tags: Alyssa Milano ∙ guns ∙ self defense

““Americans are pretty easy-going. But push them too far, and they will remind their would-be “betters” that they are citizens, not subjects. That’s who “we” are.””

— Chuck de Caro, What Do You Mean, ‘We’?

Tags: Chuck de Caro ∙ Americans ∙ subjects ∙ citizens

❝❝Strictly speaking, what makes you think the apple was unintended in that myth?

---

Think about that very carefully for a moment.

Although never explicitly stated, the implication is that nothing could happen in that garden without the approval of it's Creator. That includes the existence of the tree, the existence of the fruit, the existence of the "serpent," and the curiosity of Eve.

So the "Creator" didn't know the possibilities and what would happen, wasn't the real "Creator" (as some Gnostics believed), or the garden was never supposed to be anything except a transitory state.

This last is the commonly accepted alternative. Eden is a metaphor for childhood, something that must be put aside if the person and the culture is to survive. It's not about the "Fall," it's about adaptation and outgrowing what was once enough.❞❞

Tags: myth ∙ Eden ∙ apple ∙ unintended consequences ∙ metaphor ∙ Christian ∙ Gnostic Christianity ∙ growth ∙ adaptation

❝❝Political orientation isn't the problem. Politics is.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ political orientation

❝❝Within our borders, absolutely we should have Truth, Justice, and the American way.

Outside, no. We should be an inspiration, not a hegemony.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ 9-11 ∙ inspire ∙ require ∙ meddle ∙ United Fruit Company ∙ Hawaii ∙ Iran ∙ military intervention ∙ taxpayer funds ∙ Muslim ∙ 20th Century ∙ America ∙ honor ∙ Character ∙ hegemony ∙ reputation ∙ Truth Justice American Way ∙ Barack Obama ∙ Donald Trump ∙ alphabet agencies ∙ conservatives ∙ goverment ∙ culture ∙ liberals ∙ Obamacare ∙ passion ∙ Isaac Asimov ∙ Roy Moore

❝❝Measure a man in the lives he touched.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ man ∙ lives they touch

❝❝Rather than citing examples of "rightness" being a mental illness, I think I will just cite the old idiom Moderation in all things.

I will say that from my perspective it's not "right" or "left" that is wrong per se, but the desire to control others while avoiding the consequences of your own actions. The reasons and the justifications change, not the actions.

---

Just where do you think the "left" learned the self-righteous, sanctimonious posturing?

Frankly, I don't care who did it first, second, or most recently. Or what the scoreboard says.

You're playing the game, perpetuating the problem. And I have absolutely no assurance that if "your guys" win, my life will be better. Just your promises, which are worth exactly nothing based on past experience.

After all, you've just admitted that you can't stand dissent and disagreement.

---

If I've no investment in the ideology and your side "breaks the rules" to suppress dissent, then there is no benefit for me to support "the system" no matter which side "wins."

I'd be better off bringing down the whole mess and helping people pick up the pieces afterwards.

That's the stakes you're playing for. Not if your side wins, but if there will be a game left to play, or even if there will be recognizable sides.

So thought experiments aside, are you willing to play with these stakes?

---

The rules of the game mean you can't win. Neither can they. Oh, each side trades advantage with the other, but the conflict goes on and feeds on itself.

That's not being heroic, that's being damn stupid. What good does it do to protect the widows and orphans when there is no safe place to go?

---

Of course there are rules of the game, number one being winner take all. Number two being that the "truth" of the argument is determined by the winner of the conflict. Number three is that winning the conflict grants the power to silence dissent. Number four is that the conflict is far too important to allow ordinary people to ask questions.

This isn't Darwin, this isn't the nature of man, this is an artificial construct.

Should I go on?

I never claimed that I didn't answer. I implied you were asking the wrong questions. When anyone reduces things to an either/or premise, that is usually the case.

---

There you go again, assuming the only response is either/or.

You think winning is the answer.

I want to remove the possibility of either side winning and starting the conflict all over again.

Because after you win, after you put down your sword and gun, after you take a deep breath on the field of battle, I and those like me will be there.

Pointing at you.

Laughing.

And you won't be able to touch us.

Sometimes you don't have to win. Sometimes it's enough to keep the other guys from crossing the finish line and claiming their bloodstained glory.

---

If you think the socialists winning means that the President, Congress, and the courts have unrestrained power, then you already lost.

And they have exactly as much power over you as you choose to give them.

---

Either/or is a self-imposed trap. It presupposes that there are two and only two alternatives.

The greatest single expansion of the Deep State was signed into law by a Republican.

---

Would it help you understand my point if I (truthfully) told you that since a month or two after the handoff, I've said that Hong Kong will be remembered in history as the City That Ate A Country?

---

It's not a matter of free market DNA. It's the fact that Hong Kong has the most capitalist and competitive society on the face of the planet.

I agree we're talking at cross purposes. You see it as all wrapped up and I see a Gordian knot. In the case of Hong Kong, a free Hong Kong has a greater value than the Chinese military.

But for now, let's agree that we do disagree and move on.

---

And that is when you change the game.

---

Did you accept the rule set before you started playing?

---

Well, that is a interesting philosophical premise.

I'd agree that for most purposes, there appears to be an objective reality. From my purely subjective perspective of course. But pursuing that goes way beyond our conversation here.

Are the units autonomous? Well, that's another philosophical bit. For example, is the planet aware? Restricting our conversation to humans, are humans autonomous? I'd have to say that most individuals are not. No matter what the politics.

Are humans and specifically "leftists" dangerous? They can be, and mostly want to be. Are they more dangerous than "rightists?"

No.

As I said political orientation isn't the problem. Politics is.

---

I prefer Nolan's chart to the right-left dichotomy.

Politics is controlling the other.

I've spent a lifetime dealing with those who want to control others. Some do in the name of environmentalism, some do in the name of Divine moral authority, some do it for the "greater good." The justification changes, but the methods don't.

---

One of my biggest frustrations in today's politics is that people overlook what "their" side does even as they denounce the "other" side for doing the exact same thing.

We've reached the point where what is done is not nearly as important as who did it.

Meanwhile liberty takes a hit.

---

*shrugs*

My problem here is once you've won, then what? Especially if in victory you claim power and authority that you never should have had.

Earlier you told me that if the socialists won in 2020, I'll personally lose. My response was to point out that if the EEEEEVVVIIILLLL forces of government already had power to screw me on some technocrat's or politico's whim, then there is no point in me supporting your side because freedom is already gone.

Sure, you promise to fix it, you promise to Do The Right Thing, and I should believe that why?

““The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.””

— H.L. Mencken

---

Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan between them escalated the "War On Drugs" and enabled the narco-state. Mandatory minimum sentences were made possible by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Wide scale civil forfeiture including sharing funds and proceeds with local police agencies was made legal by the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The 1208 program and the militarization of local police dates to 1990, although it was changed to the 1033 program and was expanded in 1996. The USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law by Bush League.

This is only a small portion of things that have happened on a Federal level.

I ask for nothing except the freedom to live my life as I choose while accepting responsibility for my choices.

Who is the "right" to deny me those things?

---

I'm going to point out again that you're willing to overlook the abuses of "your guys" while going after the "other guys."

I want less government than absolutely necessary. What I see is a long history of Republicans and conservatives who want to expand government, regulation, and spending. The Deep State owes just as much to Republicans than to Democrats.

I don't care who is "in charge." I don't care who is to blame.

I want less government than absolutely necessary.

---

I gave specific examples of Republicans abusing power in ways that rival anything that Democrats have done or will do.

You are stuck on the label when you should be looking at the institution.

---

“Nothing R's have done in your lifetime can compare to the damage of the D's.”

Watergate.

Ford's pardoning of Nixon.

Ford's "Hail Mary" pass to save the CIA and his nomination of George H.W. Bush to director. Since it was before my birth, we'll ignore the rumors about Bush's CIA related activities between 1959 and 1964. Also before my time but I'm doing extra credit, the question remains why Bush was pretty much the one American in his generation who could not "remember" where he was on November 22, 1963.

Iran-Contra.

Changing of banking laws and regulations during the early 1980s, leading to the savings and loan crisis, the eradication of regional banks, and the consolidation of American banks and investment firms into selected giants.

The USA PATRIOT Act, literally the climax of decades old Deep State wet dreams. Start with Inslaw and PROMIS, look at the Danny Casolaro murder, and then look at what has happened the last twenty years.

I could go on and on. I haven't even touched on what happened with the Contract With America, or how the leaders of both major parties colluded and conspired against the Tea Party.

The vice or virtue is not in the label. Democrats and the left are not especially evil. Republicans and conservatives don't get a free pass because they are doing the wrong thing for the "right" reasons.

I wanted to make this about government, the abuse of power and politics in general. You were the one making the case that Democrats and the left were irredeemably evil while Republicans and conservatives were mostly good.

---

First, stop blaming "leftists" for the evils of government.

Second, accept that the label Republican, conservative, or "rightist" doesn't make you saints or even the best qualified.

When you've done that, I'm ready to talk about the next bit.

---

I gave you examples, including Republicans who actively broke the law.

As for Republicans being the lesser evil, is there a one of them since Eisenhower who did anything other than go through the motions?

---

Start by admitting it is a government problem and not a Republican or Democrat situation.

Stop making excuses because some of your interests happen to line up at the time.

Until you do that, you're not ready to have this conversation.

---

You're treating a premise as an Article of Faith Not To Be Questioned.

As long as you hold onto that, you won't believe what I say or accept any solution that I propose. Because under that premise, it's absolute nonsense and can't possibly be anything else.

Or the premise is invalid.

---

That is not true.

There has to be a commonality to build on, especially for deeply held beliefs.

For example, I don't think humans need to be saved. So talking to me about a guy nailed to a cross isn't really going to resonate. Likewise, unless you accept anthropogenic climate change, the notion of a climate crisis won't make sense.

As for giving my views and the solutions, I have.

---

“There has to be rationality.”

Since when? Empires have risen and fallen without rationality. Trade agreements have been negotiated without rationality. Probably fewer than ten percent of Americans living right now are rational by any definition except they obey the rules they've been given.

Just to point it out again, I have stated the problem and the solution repeatedly. You reject the premise and therefore don't believe me. Government is the problem, even if it is a "friendly" government controlled by people you like. As long as you look to government for solutions, you make the problem worse.

Case in point, you've mentioned several times that we need to remove the left ideology from public schools and universities. Our public school system was created in part so that government could control what was taught. Did it never occur to you that as long as schools were publicly funded and government controlled, you can never remove the ideas that you don't like? Rather than taking control of schools and universities, maybe the answer is let the schools compete in a free market. The schools that can deliver value will thrive, the others won't. It's worked for everything from rye flour to smartphones, there is no reason to think it wouldn't work incredibly well for schools.

---

I haven't said anything about moral equivalence.

I just don't think that we should trust politicos to store and transport nuclear sludge in Hefty bags.

Don't tell me about the "virtues" of Republicans. Tell me why, despite their claimed support of smaller government, they haven't done anything substantial since JFK.

And he was a Democrat.

---

You've been telling me how virtuous the Republicans are. I'm telling you that based on their behavior, they aren't. There's less than a handful of effective Republican politicos on a national level who demonstrate honor and character. It's not because they are Republicans, it's because they have honor and character.

I gave you specific, catastrophic, and freedom destroying examples of highly placed Republicans turning government against the people. Some were felonies, and some weren't felonies only because no one had enacted laws against them yet.

I have offered solutions, you just don't like what I offered since it doesn't give conservatives legal and "moral" advantages that can be exploited against "leftists" because they are leftists.

“Just as we don't want other ideals imposed on us, we shouldn't impose our ideals on others. No matter how convinced we are that we are right.”

“The only thing they are really giving up is the power to compel behavior in others.”

You can't depend on government to do it for you.

---

Before Trump, who was doing it?

After Trump, who will continue doing it?

And that is assuming that Trump is a net benefit, something I do not believe.

All I've said is that Republicans aren't saints or "the better choice" because they are Republicans. The evidence supports my claims.

You've said that Democrats are more inherently more evil than Republicans. The evidence doesn't support your claims.

Show me people of honor and character and I will consider supporting them.

Show me Republicans and I will insist on honor and character. Show me Democrats and I will insist on honor and character. The label doesn't get a pass.

A man is measured in the lives he touched.

---

BTW, mandatory minimums, civil forfeiture of property without criminal convictions, and the militarization of police are hardly minor, superficial issues.

---

Your entire argument boils down to government is worse with Democrats in charge.

My argument is that government threatens liberty and rights no matter who is "calling the shots."

I gave you specific examples during Republican presidencies that have led to massive abuse of power.

I am not saying that Republicans are as bad as Democrats. I am saying that government is bad and it's time we reduced it's power and scope.

Otherwise we're fighting over who gets to be in charge with no evidence that Republicans are better or Democrats are better.

---

As long as we have government, let's make it too small to screw up our lives.

We have conditioned generations to believe that government is all wise and mostly benevolent. That government is the first, best, and last solution. That any problem can be fixed with more money and government expertise.

Provided no one asks inconvenient questions.

Me, I think government is radioactive and corrosive. I think it is occasionally useful in extreme circumstances but only if it is behind thirteen layers of protection. I think the risks of invoking government outweigh the benefits by several orders of magnitude.

And I do not trust anyone to use it wisely.

As far as the criminal abuse of the alphabet agencies, why do you think it began with Obama against Trump?❞❞

Tags: maxims ∙ Republicans ∙ Democrats ∙ right ∙ Left ∙ game ∙ ideology ∙ break the rules ∙ Hong Kong ∙ City That Ate A Country ∙ objective ∙ subjective ∙ H.L. Mencken ∙ Richard Nixon ∙ Ronald Reagan ∙ War on Drugs ∙ narco-state ∙ mandatory minimum sentences ∙ Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 ∙ civil forfeiture ∙ Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 ∙ 1208 program ∙ militarize police ∙ 1033 program ∙ your guys ∙ other guy ∙ label ∙ institutions ∙ Gerald Ford ∙ CIA ∙ George H. W. Bush ∙ USAPATRIOT ∙ Iran-Contra ∙ Inslaw ∙ PROMIS ∙ Danny Casolaro ∙ vice ∙ virtue ∙ public schools ∙ universities ∙ politicos ∙ Donald Trump ∙ good ∙ evil

““I have no desire to make windows into men's souls.””

— Elizabeth I

Tags: Elizabeth I ∙ privacy ∙ souls

““Chairman Xi went a bridge too far in trying to seize control of Hong Kong. He is not dealing with barefoot villagers in the rice provinces. Hong Kong is a cleaner version of New York City. He is the emperor who controls everything except the city that keeps his empire afloat.””

— Don Surber, Xi blinks in Hong Kong

Tags: Don Surber ∙ Hong Kong ∙ China ∙ Chairman Xi ∙ New York

““A man’s rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, jury box and the cartridge box. Let no man be kept from the ballot box because of his color. Let no woman be kept from the ballot box because of her sex.””

— Frederick Douglass, speech on November 15, 1867

Tags: Frederick Douglass ∙ ballot box ∙ cartridge box ∙ jury box

❝❝If government is not a net benefit, then the question “What can government do?” changes to “How do we limit costs?”❞❞

— NeoWayland, liberty question

Tags: maxims ∙ economics ∙ government ∙ costs ∙ libertarian

““Organized Religion and Organized Crime are two sides to the same coin. They both want to control you and they do it through fear. Organized crime threatens you with death of yourself and your loved ones; organized religion threatens you with eternal damnation.””

— Kalinysta

Tags: cross posted ∙ Kalinysta ∙ Technopagan Yearnings ∙ organized religion ∙ organized crime ∙ fear

““There are four ways in which you can spend money.  You can spend your own money on yourself.  When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money.  Then you can spend your own money on somebody else.  For example, I buy a birthday present for someone.  Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost.  Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself.  And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch!  Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else.  And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get.  And that’s government.  And that’s close to 40% of our national income.””

— Milton Friedman

Tags: Milton Friedman ∙ money

❝❝Some works speak to the ages, and some whimper to the egos.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ works ∙ ages ∙ whimper ∙ egos

Why are taxpayer dollars collected by force being spent on a playground? Any playground?

Tags: maxims ∙ culture ∙ syncretic ∙ works

❝❝Once the law starts recognizing and enforcing differences, of course the rich and powerful will find ways to exploit and control the law. Of course politicos and technocrats will sell out and protect "their" companies from competition and "threats."

When the law complicates commerce, the law will be abused. This is not the fault of commerce or capitalism. This is the fault of influence peddling and politics. The only solutions are to have law control more and more, or to get law out of the way. The first way benefits established companies and government.

The second way is the only practical way to restore freedom and loosen cash flow.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from The 1619 Project: Scholarship Or Race Hustling?

Tags: commerce ∙ capitalism

The job of social media is to provide access while people make up their own minds.

Tags: Claire Quinn ∙ do no harm ∙ take no shit ∙ Golden Gloves

““The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.””

— Winston Churchill

Tags: Winston Churchill ∙ vice ∙ capitalism ∙ virtue ∙ socialism

❝❝Those using tragedy for political benefit or opportunity, especially murder or a violent crime.❞❞

— political ghouls from NeoWayland's lexicon

Tags: lexicon ∙ ghouls

❝❝Do you really want to live in a country where the only thing between you and tyranny is the whim of the chief executive?❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ tyranny ∙ chief executive

❝❝Again, the "problem" isn't who ever is occupying the office. The problem is that we give government power to abuse and then act surprised when the alphabet agencies take it "too far."❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ power ∙ alphabet agencies

❝❝You're perfectly capable of making your own choices.

The real question is why politicos don't want you doing that.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ choice ∙ politicos

““If I have learned one thing from life, it is that race is the engine that drives the political Left. When all else fails, that segment of America goes to the default position of using race to achieve its objectives. In the courtrooms, on college campuses, and, most especially, in our politics, race is a central theme. Where it does not naturally rise to the surface, there are those who will manufacture and amplify it.””

— Ward Connerly

Tags: Ward Connerly ∙ Left ∙ race ∙ default position

““Since the social victim has been oppressed by society, he comes to feel that his individual life will be improved more by changes in society than by his own initiative. Without realizing it, he makes society rather than himself the agent of change. The power he finds in his victimization may lead him to collective action against society, but it also encourages passivity within the sphere of his personal life.””

— Shelby Steele

Tags: Shelby Steele ∙ social victim ∙ oppressed ∙ changes in society ∙ initiative ∙ agent of change ∙ victimization ∙ passivity

““It’s often said that the Democrats fight 'for the little guy.' That’s true: liberals fight to make sure the little guy stays little! Think about it. What if all the little guys were to prosper and become big guys? Then what? Who would liberals pretend to fight for? If the bamboozlers fight for anything, it’s to ensure that the little guy stays angry at those nasty conservatives who are holding him down.””

— Angela McGlowan

Tags: Angela McGlowan

❝❝Let's fix problems caused by government with… more government!❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ problems

““Kids should be allowed to just be kids.””

— Lauren Chen

Tags: Lauren Chen ∙ kids

““Our enemies are never as evil as we think they are and maybe we are never quite as good.””

— Justice League Unlimited

Tags: evil ∙ good ∙ enemy

❝❝The economic choices allowed by government to most American citizens are meant to control them, not to free them.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ choice ∙ control

❝❝Let's break the myth that government is the first, best, and last solution.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ myth ∙ government ∙ first best last ∙ solution

❝❝"Controlling" an economy is like putting plumbing in a swamp. You have to take the existing water away before you can bring water back. The plumbing always leaks and bursts because there is nothing stable to work with.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ economics

It always bothers people when I answer the implied question and not what they actually said.

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ corruption

Economics describes the flow of value.

Tags: maxims ∙ respect ∙ individual ∙ label

““By the democratic principles we espouse, government cannot have a right that citizens do not grant it. There are certain things that a person has no right to do. A person has no right to murder or rape another. Therefore, people cannot grant government authority to murder and rape. Similarly, no person has the right to forcibly take the property of one person in order to give it to another. Therefore, people cannot grant government authority to do the same thing. If I forcibly took property from one person, for any reason, most people would condemn it as theft, an immoral act. Theft or any other immoral act does not become moral because it is done by government acting on behalf of a consensus or majority vote just as murder or rape does not become a moral act simply because of a consensus or majority vote.””

— Walter E. Williams

Tags: Walter E. Williams ∙ government ∙ authority ∙ citizens ∙ murder ∙ rape ∙ theft ∙ consensus

““Capitalism is relatively new in human history. Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering, and enslaving their fellow man. Capitalism made it possible to become wealthy by serving your fellow man.””

— Walter E. Williams

Tags: Walter E. Williams ∙ capitalism ∙ serving ∙ wealth ∙ looting ∙ plundering ∙ enslaving

““One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.””

— Golda Meir

Tags: Golda Meir ∙ past ∙ present ∙ cross posted

““You have “issues” with the Gadsden Flag? Go fuck yourself.

You have “issues” with the Betsy Ross flag? Go fuck yourself.

You have “issues” with my “Come and Take It” shirt? Go fuck yourself.

I could go on. But you get the idea.

Perhaps you consider this intemperate and confrontational. I agree! It is intemperate and confrontational by intent. Just like the Gadsden Flag.””

— Craig Pirrong, Have “Issues” With the Gadsden Flag?: GFY

Tags: Craig Pirrong ∙ Gadsden Flag ∙ Betsy Ross flag ∙ Come and Take It ∙ GFY

“"It's obvious you idiot" doesn't cut it.”

Tags: maxims ∙ libertarian ∙ American ∙ personal freedom ∙ economic freedom ∙ responsibility ∙ government ∙ individual

❝❝A conservative tends to value economic freedom over personal freedom. Usually this means removing government obstacles to business while advocating a common moral belief system to join people together, even if someone has to sacrifice in the name of that system. In it's more extreme forms, that can mean dictating the personal behavior (and occasionally beliefs) of individuals through government actions. The bottom line and results take precedence over feelings.❞❞

— NeoWayland, Pagan•Vigil FAQ

Tags: maxims ∙ conservative ∙ government ∙ economic freedom ∙ common good

❝❝A modern liberal can range from what used to be called a "progressive" to socialist. Roughly speaking, a modern liberal is all for personal freedom but feels that economic freedom and opportunity should be controlled by government action so that everyone "benefits equally" in the name of "social justice." In it's more extreme forms, it can mean that good intentions and lofty goals are judged over results.❞❞

— NeoWayland, Pagan•Vigil FAQ

Tags: maxims ∙ modern liberal ∙ progressive ∙ socialist ∙ personal freedom ∙ economic freedom ∙ government ∙ equality ∙ social justice

““Feminists never notice crimes like this, because “violence against women” doesn’t matter when it’s committed by Third World men.””

— Robert Stacy McCain, Death by Tourism

Tags: Robert Stacy McCain ∙ feminist ∙ crime ∙ violence ∙ women ∙ Third World ∙ men

Leia turned the whole damsel in distress thing on it's head.

Tags: Martin Luther King ∙ Character ∙ skin color

❝❝People don't do good because of the law. People do good because it's the right thing to do. People choose good because it makes the World a little better than it was. It's the choice and the action that makes a responsible adult.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ do good ∙ right thing ∙ choice ∙ action ∙ responsibility

❝❝Public pressure had nothing to do with it. Like most great moments in American history, ordinary people chose the right thing and to hell with what the elected officials thought or did. Americans have been doing that for almost 250 years. It's a part of our mythology. How many of our great stories and films are about the underdog taking a stand and winning?❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ American ∙ history ∙ ordinary people ∙ right thing ∙ elected officials ∙ mythology ∙ underdog ∙ taking a stand

❝❝History changes not because of Great People doing Great Things, but because of ordinary people choosing extraordinary things.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ history ∙ choice ∙ ordinary people

““It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.””

— Samuel Adams

Tags: Samuel Adams ∙ majority ∙ Irate ∙ tireless ∙ minority ∙ freedom

““Without freedom I am a slave in shackles on a ship lost at sea. With freedom I am a captain; I am a pirate; I am an admiral; I am a scout; I am the eagle souring overhead; I am the north star guiding a crew; I am the ship itself; I am whatever I choose to be.””

— Richelle E. Goodrich

Tags: Richelle E. Goodrich ∙ freedom ∙ slave ∙ shackles ∙ ship ∙ lost at sea

““Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.””

— Ronald Regan

Tags: Ronald Regan ∙ freedom ∙ generations ∙ fought ∙ protect ∙ handed on

““May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.””

— Peter Marshall

Tags: Peter Marshall ∙ freedom ∙ right

Your job is to provide access to all ideas so people can make their own choices.

Tags: Dwight D. Eisenhower ∙ history ∙ choice

““Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.””

— Rick Warren

Tags: Rick Warren ∙ culture ∙ lies ∙ lifestyle ∙ fear ∙ hate ∙ love ∙ agree ∙ nonsense ∙ compromise ∙ convictions ∙ compassionate

““The solution to this problem isn’t increasing the censorship powers of the already-bloated police state as carceral feminists are demanding; it’s fighting the idea that a woman’s body is something to be ashamed of.””

— Maggie McNeill

Tags: Maggie McNeill ∙ censorship ∙ police state ∙ carceral ∙ feminist ∙ woman ∙ body ∙ shame

““But it is objected that the people of America may, perhaps, choose representatives who have no religion at all, and that pagans and Mahometans may be admitted into offices. But how is it possible to exclude any set of men, without taking away that principle of religious freedom which we ourselves so warmly contend for? This is the foundation on which persecution has been raised in every part of the world. The people in power were always right, and every body else wrong. If you admit the least difference, the door to persecution is opened.””

— James Iredell

Tags: James Iredell ∙ freedom of religion ∙ America ∙ pagans ∙ Muslims

““We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.””

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tags: Martin Luther King ∙ experience ∙ voluntary ∙ oppresive

““Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting “Jesus Christ,” so that it would read “A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;” the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.””

— Thomas Jefferson

Tags: Thomas Jefferson ∙ Jesus ∙ Jew ∙ Gentile ∙ Christian ∙ Muslim ∙ Hindu ∙ infidel

““Modern feminism is largely about encouraging women to adopt the worst behaviours of men.””

— Tim Newman

Tags: Tim Newman ∙ feminism ∙ worst ∙ behavior ∙ men ∙ women

““It's interesting that the people who believe that throwing a milkshake in someone's face shouldn't be considered assault are often the same people who believe that 'saying things' should be.””

— Ricky Gervais, Tweeted at 5:04 AM - 30 Jun 2019

Tags: Ricky Gervais ∙ milkshake ∙ assault

Public spectacle to bypass the law and suppress dissent.

Tags: maxims ∙ labels

❝❝"People of color" don't need me to make them victims, they are too busy doing it themselves.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ people of color ∙ victims

““I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.””

— Robert A. Heinlein

Tags: Robert A. Heinlein ∙ free ∙ individual ∙ responsibility

❝❝If one single person means you can't honor your country, then you probably never honored it to begin with.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ patriot ∙ country

❝❝In my experience, professional academics are appallingly ignorant outside their fields, and often ignorant of their field outside their specific school of thought. Especially in the humanities or the soft sciences.

Outside of the real world, success is measured by publication and complication, not the practical application. Shakespeare is not just a dead white guy's words on a page, it's about understanding character and narrative and the blossoming of human nature. It's about passing on stories and showing the future what worked for us and those who went before.

There's a reason why the "dead white males" stuff stuck around, it's because it worked. That doesn't mean it excludes all other possibilities, it means we start with what we know worked so we can learn to see what else could happen.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ academics ∙ publication ∙ complication ∙ practical ∙ Shakespeare ∙ dead white male

❝❝If you teach people to only take power from their victimhood, all you're really doing is teaching them to stay victims.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ power ∙ victimhood ∙ victims

❝❝I also greet the sunrise every day that I can. That's something I learned from my Baptist deacon grandfather. Granted, I do it with a bit more ceremony than he ever did. He was content to do it from the front porch with a cup of coffee.

Oh, and I've been known to dance naked in the light of a full Moon.

You can't embarrass me for following rites and rituals, anymore than you can embarrass a Christian for taking communion or an orthodox Jew for keeping kosher. My faith isn't my politics, and it doesn't matter to me what others think about it. It's between me and the Divine.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: cross posted ∙ maxims ∙ sunrise ∙ grandfather ∙ Baptist ∙ ceremonial ∙ dance naked ∙ full Moon ∙ rites and rituals ∙ Christian ∙ communion ∙ Jew ∙ kosher ∙ faith ∙ Divine

❝❝If the American government were a car, you would have patched three tires, overhauled the transmission, replaced the electrical system, and washed the windows. Meanwhile it still leaks oil and has a disturbing habit of catching fire every once in a while.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments on Progressives collude to prevent investigation of attempted coup

Tags: maxims ∙ car

““None of these companies has a problem operating in European countries with much more restrictive abortion laws than those in the US, nor Arab nations which ban it outright. Disney has a resort in China, not a country known for its liberal approach to human rights. But apparently Georgia is now beyond the pale.””

— Tim Newman, Personae non gratae

Tags: Tim Newman ∙ Georgia ∙ Europe ∙ Arab ∙ China ∙ Disney ∙ abortion ∙ human rights

Tags: memes ∙ picture ∙ anonymous

““Marx is a dead white male!””

— anonymous

Tags: anonymous ∙ Karl Marx ∙ dead white male

Yahoo pulls the plug on fake profiles used by British police

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment

❝❝Let's break the myth that government is the first, best, and last solution.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ first ∙ best ∙ and last solution

❝❝The allegations against Trump described the Clintons' behavior.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ allegations ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Hillary Clinton ∙ behavior

❝❝American medical costs started outpacing inflation right after Medicare and Medicaid become law. If that doesn’t convince you, remember those costs rose drastically every time the Federal government tried to “fix” the problem.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Medicaid ∙ Medicare ∙ medical costs ∙ Federal government ∙ fix

““Everywhere she goes, evil men die, and we cheer her for it. And she grows more sure that she is good and right. She believes that her destiny is to build a better world for everyone. If you believed it; if you truly believed it, would you not kill anyone who came between you and paradise?””

— Game of Thrones

Tags: Game of Thrones ∙ good ∙ right ∙ evil ∙ cheer ∙ destiny ∙ better world ∙ kill ∙ paradise

❝❝Trump's one virtue is that he's a disruptor.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Donald Trump ∙ virtue ∙ disrupt

““In the event of a flat tire feminism will be suspended until a man has changed the tire.””

— Kirby McCain

Tags: Kirby McCain ∙ flat tire ∙ feminism

““We are conditioned from a variety of sources to automatically expect agreement to follow from understanding.””

— Franklin Evans

Tags: Franklin Evans ∙ conditioned ∙ agrement ∙ understanding

❝❝Christians over the years have killed a lot more people in the name of their God or for the Greater Good than anyone else. It seems to be a mark of monotheism, and something the rest of us wish the monotheists would grow out of of.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Christians ∙ monotheism ∙ name of God ∙ greater good

❝❝If you are going to claim enlightenment in the name of your faith, you'd better damn accept the sins too.❞❞

— NeoWayland

❝❝I know that expertise does more to define blind spots than establish authority.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ expert ∙ blind spots ∙ authority

❝❝We don't agree with each other, not entirely. Just because someone is religious doesn't automatically mean that they are defective. If nothing else, that faith gives them a different perspective. It doesn't mean it's right or wrong, more or less, just different. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. It depends on the individual and circumstances.

Religion is bad is just as big a trap as science is good. There was an author named Isaac Bonewits who wrote on the limitations of dualism. Either/or thinking can trap you. One example is that if something is ACCEPTABLE than everything else is NOT ACCEPTABLE. It becomes easier to define what doesn't work for you as not fitting your worldview instead on it's own characteristics. If all you are looking for is WHITE, than anything else including fuzzy pink becomes NOT WHITE. I'm sure you'll agree that while black and fuzzy pink are NOT WHITE, neither are they the same thing. And we still haven't touched on semi-sweet.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ religious ∙ defect ∙ faith ∙ perspective ∙ right ∙ wrong ∙ religion ∙ science ∙ Isaac Bonewits ∙ dualism

❝❝I'm a pagan who is not part of the climate crisis crowd. Two of the biggest reasons are the climate changes on Mars during roughly the same period and the fact that the models haven't been accurate yet (and had an 18 year gap). Long story short, we don't know enough about the climate to even say what the baseline is, much less fiddling with the thermostat.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ pagan ∙ Mars ∙ climate change crowd ∙ climate crisis ∙ model

““I prefer a dangerous liberty to peaceful slavery.””

““Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.””

- usually attributed to Count Palatine of Posen, cited by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract and later by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to James Madison.

Tags: dangerous ∙ liberty ∙ peaceful ∙ slavery ∙ Count Palatine of Posen ∙ Jean-Jacques Rousseau ∙ Thomas Jefferson

❝❝When government gets involved, count on costs going up, quality going down, and availability diminishing.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ costs ∙ quality deteriotes ∙ availability

““Be so good they can't ignore you.””

— Steve Martin

Tags: Steve Martin ∙ good ∙ ignore ∙ cross posted

❝❝I don't think government is the first, best, and last solution.

I don't think the emergencies are really emergencies. As long as there is a mechanism for government to act outside the law, government will act outside the law.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ first, best, and last solution ∙ emergencies

““The first law is that the desire of authorities in charge of security for information will continue in a straight line with no limits in time and space short of the heat death of the universe. The second law is that the willingness of their authorities to supply them with the budget they need to do that has very definite limits, both in time and space. Hence the third law, which is the one we are now operating under. The information assembled by security authorities invariably overwhelms their ability to analyze the information. They are, in effect, suffocated by their own insecurity.””

— David Weber, Cauldron of Ghosts

Tags: David Weber ∙ authority ∙ security ∙ information ∙ budget ∙ overwhelm ∙ analyze

❝❝Democrats have been fear mongering too. Especially since Trump announced.

I'm not going to say who is right or wrong, but I am going to point out that both major parties have done fear mongering over decades. If that is one behavior you're questioning, you should ask why is it bad when "They" do it and good when "We" do it?

I too get tired of the dualism. But I don't see it limited to one party.

My blocked follower on this site would tell you that I am oversimplifying. I don't think I am. Both parties do it. Both parties are contributing to the problem. Both have media allies who sing their praises.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Pagan Community Notes: Religious harassment at Florida Gathering, Calif. school removes Bible verse, and more!

Tags: maxims ∙ fear ∙ Democrats ∙ Republicans ∙ Donald Trump ∙ right ∙ wrong ∙ They ∙ We ∙ dualism ∙ media allies

❝❝Since ethanol is heavily subsidized in the United States, the price at the pump does not reflect the actual cost to produce. Extra costs are buried in taxes and the Federal general fund. These costs include collecting the tax, administering the tax, administrating the production and distribution of ethanol, and actual subsidies. It's nearly impossible to accurately calculate these costs, much less contain them.

Even with substantial subsidies, the technology doesn't exist to make ethanol economically from anything except food crops. Theoretically, almost any plant material can be used. Practically we haven't reached that point yet.

Government mandates and artificial demands for ethanol raise global food costs. The more crops required for ethanol, the bigger demand on food crops. The more ethanol that is required by law, the less food the poor can afford.

Mixing ethanol with gasoline makes fuel with less energy. More fuel must be used to move the same distance. There is ever growing political pressure to increase the ethanol and decrease the gasoline in the mix, which means even more fuel is needed.

Ethanol does not burn "cleaner" than gasoline. Ethanol does produce fewer greenhouse gases, but science hasn't yet found significant evidence that human-caused greenhouse gases significantly change the climate.

Ethanol is much more chemically reactive. Special (expensive) measures must be taken to transport and store ethanol. It doesn't "keep" as well as gasoline.

Farming crops to produce a gallon of ethanol takes more than a gallon of gasoline, especially considering the soil additives needed.❞❞

 ethanol 

Tags: maxims ∙ ethanol ∙ United States ∙ price ∙ costs ∙ tax ∙ subsidies ∙ mandates ∙ food crops ∙ cleaner ∙ greenhouse gases ∙ climate ∙ chemically reactive ∙ gasoline

““Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?””

— Joseph Stalin

Tags: Joseph Stalin

““Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.””

— Alexis de Tocqueville

Tags: Alexis de Tocqueville ∙ democracy ∙ sociaism ∙ equality ∙ restraint ∙ servitude

❝❝There's a part of me that can't help but wonder what ol' Walt would have thought about a bunch of stormtroopers marching around the Disney parks. Even if it is May the Fourth.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Walt Disney ∙ May the Fouth ∙ stormtroopers

““Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.””

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tags: Ralph Waldo Emerson ∙ persecuted ∙ contradicted

❝❝I'm going to say this again. If the Democrats are afraid of what Republicans do with government power…

…if Republicans are are afraid of what Democrats do with government power…

…if independents don't trust either the Democrats or the Republicans with government power…

…and if libertarians don't trust government power…

…maybe, just maybe, the government has too much power.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Leaks and Barr

Tags: maxims ∙ government power ∙ Democrats ∙ Republicans ∙ independents ∙ libertarians

““We are trying to save the people of the planet from the people ‘saving the planet.'””

— Caleb Rossiter, Skeptical scientist hijacks AOC Congressional climate hearing

Tags: Caleb Rossiter ∙ people ∙ of the planet ∙ saving the planet

““Sex. In America an obsession. In other parts of the world a fact.””

— Marlene Dietrich

Tags: Marlene Dietrich ∙ America ∙ cross posted ∙ sex ∙ obession ∙ fact

““I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed more if only they knew they were slaves.””

— Harriet Tubman

Tags: Harriet Tubman ∙ slaves ∙ freedom

A Modest Proposal For US Slavery Reparations

““Since most of the Democratic Presidential aspirants have come out in favor of at least studying reparations for slavery, I wanted to offer a common sense proposal. I propose that slavery reparation be paid for by the single organization that had the most to do with the existence and protection of slavery in this country: the Democratic Party.””
     — Warren Meyer

Tags: clipping ∙ guest content ∙ Warren Meyer ∙ reparations ∙ Democrat party ∙ slavery ∙ common sense

““My father may have been the originator of the concept of employing the IRS as a weapon of political retribution.””

— Elliott Roosevelt

Tags: Elliott Roosevelt ∙ FDR ∙ IRS ∙ weapon ∙ retribution

““Capitalism works better than it sounds. Socialism sounds better than it works.””

— Creative Deduction

Tags: Creative Deduction ∙ capitalism ∙ socialism ∙ Brian Micklethwait

““Capitalism is the only reason socialism has any money to redistribute.””

— Aprille Park

Tags: Aprille Park ∙ capitalism ∙ sociaism ∙ Brian Micklethwait

❝❝The first and most important "women's right" is the right to vote. Then comes the right to earn, to keep what is earned, and to hold property. Free speech and the rest listed in the Bill of Rights come next. Reproductive "rights" don't even make the top ten. Especially since the last time I checked, sex is supposed to be a consensual activity.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from The “no news is good news” open thread

Tags: maxims ∙ women's rights ∙ right to vote ∙ property rights ∙ Bill of Rights ∙ reproductive rights ∙ sex ∙ consensual activity

Basically they didn't want another church telling their church what to do.

Tags: maxims ∙ mutt ∙ Louisiana ∙ Tennessee ∙ racial justice ∙ freedom ∙ privilege

❝❝If you don't have the right to walk away from any organization, it is not freedom. Meanwhile, there's always the option of finding another job. If there are no other jobs, then chances are that's a government sanctioned monopoly. There are plenty of other ways to protect worker rights, many which work better than unions. ESOPs are one example.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from The “no news is good news” open thread

Tags: maxims ∙ unions ∙ monopoly ∙ worker rights ∙ ESOP

❝❝Coolness was never conservative.

It grew out of the jazz age and into the Las Vegas and West Coast aesthetic personified by Hefner, Sinatra, and Bruce. It was always about pushing the envelope with just a touch of rebellion. It was always about the show over substance and the deeds better left unmentioned.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ cool ∙ conservative ∙ Jazz Age ∙ Las Vegas ∙ West Coast aesthetic ∙ deeds better left unmentioned ∙ pushing the envelope ∙ touch of rebellion ∙ show over substance

““The childlike moral binary: only people who hold the all correct positions merit empathy or respect.””

— Dorian Lynskey, 2:50 AM - 2 Apr 2019

Tags: Dorian Lynskey ∙ moral binary ∙ merit ∙ empathy ∙ respect

““Taxation is the fuel of war.””

— L. Neil Smith

Tags: L. Neil Smith ∙ taxation ∙ fuel ∙ war

❝❝People are looking for something, and some of them are not finding it in churches. Some are, but there never was a one-size-fits-all solution. Competition keeps us honest. It works for peanut butter, smart phones, and politics.

And it most certainly works for religion.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Pagan Community News: Twin Cities man charged with child exploitation, SCOTUS decision, and more!

Tags: maxims ∙ religion ∙ competition ∙ honest

““Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.””

— George Santayana

Tags: George Santayana ∙ remember ∙ past ∙ condemn ∙ repeat

““Democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty one percent can vote away the rights of the other forty nine.””

— Thomas Jefferson

Tags: Thomas Jefferson ∙ democracy ∙ mob rule

The internet is the last, best hope for freedom. And the European Union can't stand that idea.

Tags: Benjamin Franklin ∙ democracy ∙ vote ∙ wolves ∙ lamb ∙ dinner

❝❝The perception and focus of the Democrat party is that there are groups who have been disenfranchised by society at large and that it is time to "get theirs." It's not about rights, it's about the politics of victimhood. Interests aren't addressed, certainly not in a larger context of all rights for all people. It's about slights and injustices, even if those have to be manufactured.

Say what you want about Republicans (and I often say a lot), at least they don't define rights in terms of politically approved sub-groups to exploit victimhood and the divisions between people.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from That time when Democrats were responsible for low Black unemployment

Tags: maxims ∙ Democrats ∙ Republicans ∙ disenfranchising ∙ rights ∙ victimhood ∙ injustice

❝❝If the mainstream media spent one tenth the effort looking at Democrat misconduct that it does looking for Republican misconduct, the nation would be far better off.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ tweeted ∙ mainstream media ∙ effort ∙ Democrat ∙ misconduct ∙ Republican ∙ nation

““When disaster strikes, the national media focus on the despair and helplessness of those affected; the local media emphasize the strength and determination.””

— Christopher Harper, Flyover Country: The Real News About Floods

Tags: Christopher Harper ∙ national media ∙ local media ∙ despair ∙ helplessness ∙ strength ∙ determination ∙ flyover country

““It's not necessary—and certainly not helpful to public discourse—to take a gratuitous swipe at the other side almost every time you share your political perspective. Maybe your view isn't that great if it can't stand on its own.””

— Justin Amash (@justinamash), March 25, 2019

Tags: Justin Amash ∙ public discourse

““I have certain rules I live by. My first rule: I don’t believe anything the government tells me. Nothing. Zero.””

— George Carlin

Tags: George Carlin ∙ rules ∙ believe ∙ government

❝❝I'm not going to talk about Trump and his failings or if he is substantially worse than the other presidents.

What I am going to talk about (again) is that all these efforts to nail Trump show that the Federal government has too much power and that rogue elements and actors are not held accountable.

Yes, Trump's office was bugged. But that is just part of a surveillance state that has been in turbo boost since 9-11. And 9-11 isn't a good excuse, it just codified and focused secret plans that had been drifting around since the 1970s.

The issue is not Trump. The issue is not the Republicans. The issue is not the Democrats. These ongoing struggles over which party is on the side of the angels and public perception over crimes and misdeeds, that's just the distraction. While we're arguing over who did what, there are unelected and unaccountable elements in government and high finance who are taking power and freedom away from you.

No, you didn't win. The game hasn't stopped. We are still being screwed. And the next bit will make this look like robbing a kid's lemonade stand.❞❞

Tags: maxims ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Federal government ∙ Republicans ∙ Democrats ∙ distraction ∙ tweeted

““It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.””

— Ron Paul, End the Fed

Tags: Ron Paul ∙ central banking ∙ total war

❝❝Islam is a faith. Criticism of Islam is not racism.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ islam ∙ faith ∙ criticism ∙ racism ∙ tweeted

❝❝You're making unjustified assumptions.

Is the climate crisis a thing? To some (like most pagans), yes. To others like (not conservative) me, no. It's an article of faith, not far removed from monotheism or forgiveness of sin. The issue is that because of the alarmism, those who believe in the climate crisis don't tolerate dissent because of the "urgency" of the problem.

At their best, American Christian conservatives are extremely community minded. A child lost in the woods? They are there looking. Death in the family? Somebody is bringing meals by. The problem is who they identify as being part of the community. Something that is not helped by some like pagans setting themselves outside the acknowledged community.

Most claims of conservative racism are because the conservatives involved didn't see any reason to grant special privilege when people already had rights recognized by law. It doesn't help when conservatives are routinely accused of white supremacy simply for being the wrong skin color regardless of their words and actions. There is a vast difference between not supporting the claims of groups like BLM and being racist. Because conservatives (and libertarians too) see rights as individual and not collective, the idea of identity politics is repugnant. You have rights because you are human, not because you are Hispanic, female, wore a pink hat in a march, or consider yourself non-binary.

What's more, the idea that only "whites" can be racist because of something that was done in their great-great-great grandparents time just doesn't fly. Racism comes in all colors. I've seen casual racism my entire life. I've also seen most people reach out for no other reason than someone else needed help.

Finally, judging people by label is a mistake. The label has no inherent vice or virtue. It's the individual who makes the label mean something through their words and actions, not the other way around. Power from victimhood depends on the pity of others and will make you less than you are.

---

Here are some of the demands for privilege I've seen during my life.

The idea that one skin color and one skin color alone can decide what is and is not racism. I still know people who try to convince me that a "black" minister saying "Hymietown" is not racist.

The idea that inner-city poverty is a more important than reservation poverty.

The idea that a person whose family came from Nigeria two generations ago has a claim on the success of a person whose family came from China five generations ago.

The idea that skin color should trump evidence in a crime.

And as long as we keep qualifying the legal definition of who is and is not allowed to marry, that problem will not go away. Previously I've pointed out in discussions on this site that somehow in the call for marriage equality poly marriage wasn't even a consideration. That selectivity is a consequence of defining rights by group instead of individual.

---

Pardon, but the bit about how some threw poly people under the bus should be stressed. Because the "struggle" wasn't about marriage in whatever form it could take between consenting adults, it was about "gay marriage."

It wasn't about rights. It was about privilege for some taken at the expense of others.

No, there wasn't a "polyamorous community" fighting to be recognized. I had some LGBT activists tell me emphatically that poly people didn't deserve marriage because they hadn't fought for it.

That is where my issue is. I'm perfectly willing to fight for equal rights. But I hear demands for "black" rights, Hispanic rights, women's rights, gay rights, and for all I know rights for people with ingrown toenails. Not to mention Christian rights, pagan rights, Muslim rights, atheist rights, and pastafarian rights. That doesn't even count the constant efforts of government to define government powers as rights (police rights, Congress has the right…). It seems that everyone wants to carve out their own piece but no one is willing to help carve out a piece for any group but theirs. Especially if they don't agree with other groups.

It's not about rights. It's about privilege for some taken at the expense of others.

Oh, and by the way, "white" cis males are guilty for all the troubles in the world. Especially when they don't abase themselves to the demands of self-identified victims-of-the-week. No matter what they personally have done or said, "white" cis males are undeniably and collectively guilty. Or so I am told. Again and again and again.

How that is not racist is beyond me.

Meanwhile "people of color" tell me that they are fighting for the rights of the victimized. And they are. But not if those victims live almost invisibly and don't advance certain causes. And definitely not if those victims have different politics. If there is an oil pipeline that gets TV coverage, the "champions" are all over it. But every day poverty on Amerindian reservations, well, that just isn't important enough.

So tell me, when is it reasonable when some victims are deliberately overlooked? Maybe it's not about rights. Maybe it's about privilege.

Human rights are the only ones worth fighting for. Maybe we should worry about the rights we share instead of a place in the pecking order. It's not a right unless the other has it too.

---

“I still wouldn't characterize them as privileges.”

I know. That's what's so frustrating. Human rights get moved to the back seat, then to the bicycle with a flat tire thirteen rows back.❞❞

Tags: maxims ∙ unjustified ∙ assumption ∙ climate crisis ∙ article of faith ∙ American ∙ Amerindians ∙ reservation ∙ Christian ∙ conservatives ∙ community ∙ racism ∙ privilege ∙ rights ∙ label ∙ marriage ∙ gay marriage ∙ polyamory ∙ people of color ∙ victims ∙ overlook ∙ human rights

❝❝Personally I'd be willing to live and let live with Christians. But that works two ways. If my beliefs don't control the actions and beliefs of monotheists, then theirs don't control mine. That means that the law must treat every faith (and even no faith) equally. Neither help nor hinder. No special consideration or privilege. But at the same time, some Christians act as if their religion must be raised above all others, even by those who do not practice it. Freedom of religion does not mean putting Christianity first. It means choice, even if that choice is one you do not agree with.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Christians ∙ monotheism ∙ uniform rule of law ∙ neither help nor hinder ∙ freedom of religion ∙ live & let live ∙ cross posted

❝❝Government, government agencies, and agents acting on behalf of governments do not have rights. Governments have powers. Just governments have powers to protect and defend individual rights. Unjust governments have powers to protect and defend privileges.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ rights ∙ powers ∙ privilege ∙ just ∙ unjust ∙ tweeted

❝❝Kudos for not mentioning the shooter's name.

The shooter had absolutely nothing to do with Heathenry or pagan beliefs. I don't understand why any group should change their language, practices, customs or actions when the shooter was not part of the group or the community.

Guns are not the problem. There are many more responsible gun owners than crazy people. The people who pay attention to gun laws are not the ones you should worry about. I say this as a reluctant gun advocate. I hate guns and I would ban them if I could eliminate every gun.

This tragedy does not reflect on Heathens. I understand that you have issues with how some Heathens speak and act. I respect that and I expect that you should speak your conscience. This terrible event should not justify wholesale changes in Heathenry just to satisfy your political desires.❞❞

— comments from Column: After Christchurch, Declarations or Deeds?

Tags: maxims ∙ cross posted ∙ damnatio memoriae ∙ Heathenry ∙ pagan ∙ language ∙ practices ∙ customs ∙ actions ∙ shooter ∙ community ∙ guns ∙ reluctant advocate ∙ conscience ∙ Christchurch ∙ New Zealand

❝❝There is nothing that prevents people from following religious law. But there is nothing that demands others follow those same religious laws.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ religion ∙ cross posted ∙ Jews ∙ Christianity ∙ Buddhist ∙ faith ∙ Divine ∙ pagan garb ∙ Decalogue ∙ imposed ∙ Ethic of Reciprocity ∙ Story ∙ Journey ∙ pagan ∙ neopagans ∙ vodun ∙ blood sacrific ∙ sexual ∙ consent

❝❝Science is just what we know so far.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ science

❝❝Are you going to insist that Democrats are Democratic again?

---

Actually given the actions of the Democrat party leadership over the last century or so, Democratic is the last thing they should be called. It's always been about establishing an elite outside of the laws and rules that apply to everyone else. Often with veto power over the words and actions of others.

One recent example are the superdelegates. That is about as anti-democratic as you can get.

Just Newspeak in action. Again.

---

And you clearly didn't get my reference to Newspeak.

It's a brand name. It's no more democratic than Acme Company is "the best there is." Progressives and Democrats have a long undeniable history of coopting words into something that means the exact opposite. "Liberal" used to mean what we Americans call "libertarian" today.

---

And there we go. That's Democrat Tactic #45, Alinsky #13, and PeePeeTape #4.

Shift the focus away from the argument and towards the person who made the argument.

---

As I said, "with veto power over the words and actions of others."

Tell you what. I'll call them Brand D. That way you can ever so conveniently ignore the attempts to usurp language without being too obvious about it.

---

Do you really think you have the power to dictate my actions or words?

Do you really think that there is one person reading this site that will have any doubt whatsoever just which group I mean?

Brand D it is then.❞❞

Tags: Democrats ∙ democratic ∙ maxims ∙ elite ∙ laws and rules ∙ veto power ∙ words ∙ actions ∙ anti-democratic ∙ Newspeak ∙ brand name ∙ Brand D

❝❝As far as I am concerned, you have no business going after Republicans until you at least acknowledge that Democrats aren't perfect and are just as good at messing things up.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: Democrats ∙ Republicans ∙ Barack Obama ∙ White House ∙ Trump Tower ∙ mainstream media ∙ trust ∙ overlook ∙ maxims

““The whole climate crisis is not only fake news, it’s fake science. There is no climate crisis, there’s weather and climate all around the world, and in fact carbon dioxide is the main building block of all life.””

— Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace. Yes, he really was a co-founder of Greenpeace

Tags: Patrick Moore ∙ Greenpeace ∙ climate crisis ∙ fake news ∙ fake science ∙ weather ∙ climate ∙ carbon dioxide

““I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.””

— The American's Creed as quoted in Embracing the American's Creed

❝❝Regarding the creed.

No.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments on Is #AOC-ward (aka Ocasio-Cortez) a mere puppet for sinister people?

So here is this marvelous piece of 1917 poetry, and I said no. Why?

It's the difference between the Dream and the actuality.

One topic I've been debating recently is the emergency powers of the President. If you accept that the President has the power to declare emergencies, it's not exactly “of the people, by the people, for the people.” It's literally what one man said, not subject to debate or dissent. Theoretically it can be revised by Congress, but in practice it never is.

It doesn't stop there. Some agencies have power to regulate the people and the states. While sometimes these powers are subject to Congressional review, usually these regulations have the power of law without actually being law. What's worse is that the agencies often have administrative courts with different requirements. It's outside the normal court system and not subject to the rules of law. These regulations do not come from the "consent of the governed."

America has not been “a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States” since at least the Civil War. Everything from education to Prohibition to the EPA has been forced on the states, often in direct violation of the wishes of the citizens of the states. There's very little way to opt out.

America was never meant to be a “a perfect Union, one and inseparable;”. The phrase comes from the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, but somehow the creed left out one word that changes the meaning. We're not meant to have a perfect union, we're supposed to have a more perfect union. As in we haven't done it yet, it's a work in progress. We're still arguing over what that means and how we can do it.

And yes, that means that if people don't like it, they can leave it. Even whole states.

Those ideals of “freedom, equality, justice, and humanity” are mutually incompatible. Specifically, freedom and justice aren't about equality or humanity. For most of the 20th Century, the idea of equality was used to rein in exceptional and unusual people. They couldn't be allowed to challenge the status quo. I don't know what the ideals of humanity are, but I am pretty sure we don't agree.

Speaking of justice, there are unjust American laws. Mandatory minimum sentencing, civil forfeiture, eminent domain, vice laws, laws and regulations preventing the use of precious metals as legal tender, mandatory union dues, "free speech" zones, zoning laws, the list goes on and on.

Nobody, no person, no institution, and certainly no nation deserves love without reservation. If you do not question what your nation does, you have failed as a citizen. The Constitution is not perfect and certainly the law is not perfect. And lest we forget, this nation was founded on the biggest and most polite "screw you" in human history. You can't choose liberty unless you embrace the right to walk away.

That's it. That's why my response is a simple word.

No.

Tags: American's Creed ∙ United States ∙ of the people ∙ by the people ∙ for the people ∙ just powers ∙ consent of the governed ∙ freedom ∙ equality ∙ justice ∙ humanity ∙ Constitution ∙ Dream ∙ emergencies ∙ President ∙ Congress ∙ regulation ∙ more perfect union ∙ unjust

❝❝Maybe the fault isn't in the "Right" or "Left," but in the idea that other people's behavior must be controlled For Their Own Good and For the Good of Society. Rather than teaching people that freedom comes with responsibility, we condition people to obey the duly delegated Proper Authority for the sake of perpetuating the institution.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Right ∙ Left ∙ behavior ∙ controlled ∙ For Their Own Good ∙ For the Good of Society ∙ freedom ∙ responsibility ∙ conditioned ∙ obey ∙ Proper Authority ∙ institutions

❝❝I know people don't want to hear this, but I am posting it anyway.

Maybe the fault isn't in the "Right" or "Left," but in the idea that other people's behavior must be controlled For Their Own Good and For the Good of Society. Rather than teaching people that freedom comes with responsibility, we condition people to obey the duly delegated Proper Authority for the sake of perpetuating the institution.

Politicos want problems they can stage-manage.

Personally I find progressives more intolerant than conservatives. Conservatives, once they accept the idea, are willing to live and let live even if they don't approve.

It's not conservatives telling me I can't watch a pretty girl. It's not conservatives telling me that I have to get permission before I can touch another. It's not conservatives who tell me my every personal interaction is subject to approval, ex post facto if political advantage can be had.

I know you personally don't think politics should be separated from faith, but when do I get to practice my faith without being subject to politics? Do I really need to consider the intersectional implications when I greet the dawn? When I see people whimpering in their safe spaces, why can't I tell them about the strong ones who gained power overcoming adversity? Do we really have to examine the psycho-sexual implications of a cup and dagger before using it?

---

I probably wasn't clear. When I was speaking of 'live and let live," I did not include the "leadership." I was talking about the people on the street. That's not to say that I don't encounter plenty of Christian conservatives who are determined to control everyone else because "God told them so." It's just that these days, there are more progressives convinced that they know what is best.

It's one reason why I annoy conservatives and progressives both. I don't accept that either has the Wisdom of the Ages and I don't think people should be controlled For Their Own Good.

On this site I tend to be more critical of liberal ideas because that's mostly who is here. I could point out that Wilson was responsible for the drug wars, that Obama took the surveillance state far beyond what his predecessor did, and that certain high profile politicos and celebrities (most of them Democrat) took sexual advantage while claiming to be feminist allies.

Or I could just point out that power corrupts, just as freedom without responsibility does, and that it's in our best interest to make sure that government and the self-appointed elites have as little power over us as possible. No matter how much we agree with the politico of the day, government power will be used against us.

If you can't trust your worst enemy with government power, why in the name of all the gods do you think you can trust your best friend?❞❞

Tags: maxims ∙ for your own good ∙ intersectional ∙ psycho-sexual ∙ for the greater good ∙ intolerance ∙ progressives ∙ conservatives ∙ cross posted ∙ live & let live ∙ safe spaces ∙ tweeted

““I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power not longer susceptible of any definition.””

— Thomas Jefferson

Tags: Thomas Jefferson ∙ states rights ∙ Constitution ∙ United States ∙ powers ∙ Congress

““Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.””

— Abraham Lincoln

Tags: Abraham Lincoln ∙ goverment ∙ people

““… I believe that the maintenance of the rights and authority reserved to the states and to the people … are the safeguard to the continuance of a free government … whereas the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it.””

— Robert E. Lee

Tags: Robert E. Lee ∙ states rights ∙ safeguard ∙ Republic

““Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.””

— Barry Goldwater

Tags: Barry Goldwater ∙ states rights ∙ Tenth Amendment

““The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation.””

— Alexander Hamilton

Tags: Alexander Hamilton ∙ states rights ∙ state government ∙ National governent ∙ encroachments

““The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.””

— James Madison

Tags: James Madison ∙ states rights ∙ Constitution ∙ Federal government ∙ state government

““The very same people who say that government has no right to interfere with sexual activity between consenting adults believe that the government has every right to interfere with economic activity between consenting adults.””

— Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ government ∙ power ∙ Interfere ∙ consenting adults ∙ sexual activity ∙ economic activity

““Perfect is the enemy of good.””

— attributed to Voltaire

Tags: Voltaire ∙ good ∙ perfection ∙ enemy ∙ cross posted ∙ attributed

““Give them the third best to go on with; the second best comes too late, the best never comes.””

— Robert Watson-Watt

Tags: Robert Watson-Watt ∙ best ∙ second best ∙ third best ∙ cross posted

❝❝We don't have a perfect solution. But we don't need one. We just have to make today better than yesterday.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ perfection ∙ solution ∙ today ∙ yesterday ∙ cross posted

❝❝Language is defined by usage, not expert decision and proclamation. It's why there are new words like smartphone and LOL. It's why there are obscure words like gelogenic and aretaics that most people don't know.

Now, do I know science? Yep, I know the scientific method. I know that science works by explaining past phenomena and accurately predicting future change. I know that there is a difference between physics and chemistry, although hardcore physicists will insist that every thing in chemistry is only a subsection of physics. I know that expertise does more to define blind spots than establish authority.

And I know that insight and understanding is not defined by degrees and publication, but by who can explain and predict. I also know that disparaging the source without considering the argument moves from scholarship to dogma. I know that the institution doesn't have value except in that it can produce results.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ language ∙ usage ∙ expert ∙ gelogenic ∙ aretaics ∙ scientific method ∙ science ∙ phenomena ∙ predictions ∙ physics ∙ chemistry ∙ authority ∙ insight ∙ understanding ∙ scholarship ∙ dogma ∙ institutions

❝❝Science doesn't work by consensus. Science works by explaining existing phenomena AND accurately predicting what happens next. Scientists are people too and they can see where the money and power are coming from. Very few want to speak against that. Sometimes the ones who have disputed the consensus have been attacked and discredited without the argument ever being addressed.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ science ∙ consensus ∙ explaining ∙ phenomena ∙ predictions ∙ money ∙ power ∙ discredited ∙ argument

❝❝For the Official Record, I didn't dispute that climate change is occurring. I disputed the measured changes were significant, if they were unusual, and if they were human caused. There's also the questions if the changes are bad, if humans can stop or reverse it, and if we should mess with a climate system that we have yet to understand.

For these reasons I dispute the climate change crisis.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ climate change ∙ significant ∙ unusual ∙ human caused ∙ climate change crisis

““My theory is it’s possible to become very successful in a given field by applying the prevailing orthodoxy and doing exactly as everyone expects without the slightest deviation. Like this, you can become very competent in your chosen subject – until someone chucks a curveball at you and it becomes clear you’ve had no practice in dealing with dissenting opinions.””

— Tim Newman, Into-the-box thinking

Tags: Tim Newman ∙ cross posted ∙ sucessful ∙ orthodoxy ∙ everyone expects ∙ deviation ∙ competent ∙ curveball ∙ dissent

What is going to hit next is The Compromise®.

Tags: Elizabeth Warren ∙ Donald Trump ∙ tweets

❝❝Consider this. Is it possible that the corruption and graft are a function of the system and not a defect?❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ system ∙ corruption ∙ graft ∙ function ∙ defect

❝❝The classes teaching socialist and Marxist ideology aren't labeled as such. They are in fact part of the general education requirement. That wouldn't be so bad, except those classes are the only ones allowed. No one is allowed to dissent from the orthodoxy.

Once upon a time, university meant debating things that you disagreed with or that made you uncomfortable. You learned to think and defend your reasoning even if the words and thoughts you faced offended you.

Now, we have safe spaces to protect overgrown children from triggering because they shouldn't have to face something that actually makes them think and grow.

Education should not be pre-chewed. Education should be hard. Education should challenge you to be something more than you are right now. Education should be about understanding what you oppose. Education should be about finding what works.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from De-toxify America by pulling federal funds out of higher education

Tags: maxims ∙ education ∙ universities ∙ general education requirement ∙ Marxists ∙ socialist ∙ ideology ∙ dissent ∙ defend ∙ reasoning ∙ safe spaces ∙ triggering ∙ children ∙ challenge ∙ finding what works

❝❝Bottom line: the politics of victimhood always depend on the guilt of others AND avoiding personal responsibility. And no matter what the "guilty" might "sacrifice," it's never enough. Equal rights and equal opportunity is one thing, special privilege because of "past wrongs" is just asking for trouble.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from The Assault Smirk and Scary Leftist illustrated edition

Tags: maxims ∙ victimhood ∙ personal responsiblity ∙ equal rights ∙ equal opportunity ∙ guilt ∙ sacrifice

❝❝It’s not about who is better, it’s about what we can do together.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ better ∙ together

❝❝Many utopian ideas aren't based in reality and require unwilling sacrifice (otherwise called theft). The utopian definition of injustice is always how society is just evil, without considering that society mostly works. So rather than correcting the injustice, society must be corrected.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Utopia ∙ injustice ∙ society ∙ evil

Tags: guest content ∙ Clay Routledge ∙ woke ∙ capitalism ∙ companies ∙ social justice ∙ virtue signaling

““Doubts raced through my mind as I considered the feasibility of enforcing a law which the majority of honest citizens didn't seem to want.””

— Eliot Ness

Tags: Eliot Ness ∙ doubt ∙ enforce ∙ honest citizens

❝❝I honor truth, liberty, and the rule of law in that order.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ truth ∙ rule of law ∙ honor

““Stop insulting Americans just because they vote for someone you don’t like.””

— Dan Crenshaw

Tags: Dan Crenshaw ∙ Americans ∙ insult ∙ vote

❝❝You see, I've done this before. When True Believer Christians told me I was damned and a mortal threat to their children. When conservatives told me that only one way could save the country and anything else threatened their children. When progressives told me that capitalism and individualism were dead and should stay that way for the sake of the children. When well-fed third wave feminists in designer clothes told me about how they were oppressed by the patriarchy and wouldn't have children. When pagans lectured me on the evils of monotheism and how love would save the world. Always, always, ALWAYS the pattern is exactly the same. In the absence of understanding, triviality dominates. The enlightened demand sacrifice from everyone else. "For the children" is for those living and in charge. Anyone who offers an absolute won't brook dissent. Experts are uniquely qualified to fuck the situation up beyond any hope of repair. Government is not your friend.

So you have a chance here to change your behavior, change your pattern and accept responsibility. Your choice.❞❞

— NeoWayland, from the comments of The Climate Change Watermelon Juggernaut & The Prescience Of Michael Crichton

Tags: maxims ∙ true believers ∙ Christians ∙ mortal threat ∙ children ∙ conservatives ∙ one way ∙ progressives ∙ capitalism ∙ individualism ∙ third wave feminism ∙ well-fed ∙ designer clothes ∙ evil ∙ patriarchy ∙ monotheism ∙ pagan ∙ love ∙ save the world ∙ understanding ∙ triviality ∙ enlightenment ∙ sacrifice ∙ for the children ∙ absolute ∙ dissent ∙ experts

❝❝Most importantly, it's not love. It's passion. We're not "wired" to seek out positive emotions over negative emotions. What our bodies want is the intensity, the peak, not the direction. What we choose to do with that passion, that's up to us. We can create or we can destroy. We can use it to rise above our fellow humans, we can use it as a means to cut ourselves off, or we can use it to give a hand up. Sometimes, each choice is necessary. There's no one answer that will serve in every situation or for every person. We have to trust that they will make a good choice.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Column: Come Darkness, Come Light

Tags: maxims ∙ love ∙ passion ∙ intensity ∙ peak ∙ create ∙ destroy ∙ rise above ∙ cut ourselves off ∙ gIve a hand up ∙ good choice

❝❝Despite their poetry, many monotheists expect others to sublimate their faith to the monotheism. They aren't interested in what we share except as a justification for control.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Column: Come Darkness, Come Light

Tags: maxims ∙ monotheism ∙ faith ∙ share ∙ justification ∙ control

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: maxims ∙ love ∙ reciprocal ∙ sharing

““There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'””

— Barry Goldwater, September 16, 1981

Tags: Barry Goldwater ∙ 1981 ∙ religion ∙ religious factions

““Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.””

— Lee Mcintyre, The Decline of Traditional Media

Tags: Lee Mcintyre ∙ journalism ∙ printing ∙ public relations

❝❝I'm telling you to stop expecting the law to save you. And I'm telling you that law should be a last resort.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ save you ∙ last resort

Australian government passes controversial world-first anti-encryption law amid broad criticism

Tags: H.L. Mencken ∙ populace ∙ alarm ∙ safety ∙ hobgoblins ∙ Imaginary

So does that mean that the Decalogue has no value?

Tags: maxims ∙ religion ∙ doctrine ∙ individual ∙ Bible ∙ Christians ∙ slavery ∙ libertarian ∙ government ∙ sponsored ∙ foreign aid ∙ domestic aid

Someone else decided that obviously you couldn't be trusted to make the Proper Choice.

Tags: Max Dashu ∙ ideas ∙ dangerous ∙ associates ∙ for your own good ∙ choice ∙ proper choice ∙ neo-Puritanism,

❝❝Christianity, the Nation of Islam, atheism, Paganism, these are labels. Now people may use those labels as justifications for their actions, but it is not the label that is responsible. As a Pagan I'm not responsible for the actions of every Pagan out there. I'm responsible for my actions. Since I believe strongly that the measure of a man is in the lives he touches, I'll even accept some of the responsibility for the actions of the people I know and love. But someone I've never met? I can't be responsible for them, no matter what the label they choose. The label isn't responsible, the individuals are.❞❞

— NeoWayland, Redux: Christians & Pagan Tolerance

Tags: maxims ∙ Christianity ∙ Nation of Islam ∙ atheism ∙ paganism ∙ labels ∙ justification ∙ responsibility ∙ measure a man ∙ lives they touch ∙ know and love ∙ individual

““The Merriam=Webster Online dictionary defines Libertarian as: “a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action.”  I agree with that definition.  The same dictionary defines liberty as:” the power to do as one pleases.”  This definition I do not agree with because it is incomplete.  It differs from the definition that was universally accepted by those who wrote and ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  They believed that liberty is the freedom to do as you please, as long as you do not hurt others, or interfere with the rights of others.  It is freedom with the responsibility to not hurt others or prevent them from exercising their rights.

A Libertarian believes that preventing individuals from harming others, or interfering with the rights of others, are the only legitimate functions of government.  They believe that individuals should be free to live their lives as they choose, free from any government interference, as long as they treat others properly.  They believe that government assistance, of any kind, is unacceptable, unneeded, and harmful.””

— Jon Fournier, Why do Conservatives and Libertarians squabble so much?

Tags: Jon Fournier ∙ libertarian ∙ individual ∙ liberty ∙ thought ∙ action ∙ hurt ∙ rights ∙ goverment

LGBT Splinter Group From Migrant Caravan Is The 1st To Arrive In Tijuana

Tags: George Orwell ∙ caravan ∙ LGBT ∙ splinter group ∙ Tijuana ∙ victimhood ∙ victim hierarchy ∙ benefits ∙ special consideration ∙ privilege ∙ inevitable progression

❝❝The problem isn't the opinion or the what the SPLC says.

It's when what the SPLC says must not be questioned.

There are many people in the country I disagree with. It's when they think I am not allowed to argue that it infringes on my rights.❞❞

— NeoWayland, comments from Bookworm Beat 11/12/18 — the post-election counting edition and open thread

Tags: maxims ∙ Southern Poverty Law Center ∙ disagree ∙ argue ∙ rights ∙ tweeted

““…it represents yet another example of the government creating protected classes in order to advance political agendas, and gifting them special rights and privileges which result in ludicrous yet predictable outcomes bringing misery to ordinary people.””

— Tim Newman, Playing with fire

Tags: Tim Newman ∙ government ∙ protected groups ∙ political agenda ∙ special rights ∙ privilege ∙ ordinary people

❝❝Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.❞❞

 — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ monotheism ∙ religion ∙ disagree ∙ cross posted

I called the U.S. House election wrong.

Tags: maxims ∙ trust ∙ enemy ∙ goverment ∙ power ∙ friend

But none of that is a reason to impeach him.

Tags: Jeff Thomas ∙ government ∙ control ∙ desire ∙ pursue ∙ extract ∙ history

If you can't be bothered to have an actual person call me, I can't be bothered to take your call.

And I won't think fondly of you when I am in the voting booth.

Tags: election ∙ cold calling

The FedGovs.

Tags: Larry Sharpe ∙ libertarian ∙ conservative ∙ liberal ∙ force on others ∙ 2018 ∙ governor ∙ New York

❝❝While Leary definitely complicated things, let's not forget that it was the Federal government who seized the power to decide what people could put into their bodies and under what circumstances.

Of course that never would have withstood a constitutional challenge. So initially it wasn't about outlawing, it was about taxing. And then about crossing state lines so it fell under "interstate commerce."

This reminds me of the fuss over the Native American Church and peyote use. Yes, some use it as an excuse to get high. But more use it as part of a spiritual path. Government should not have the power to control either.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, comments from New books explore entheogens

Tags: maxims ∙ Timothy Leary ∙ Federal government ∙ Constitutional ∙ outlawing ∙ taxing ∙ interstate commerce ∙ Native American Church ∙ peyote ∙ government control

““One of the Best Arguments Against Blocking Speech on Social Media....

...is so we become aware of who might be dangerous.””
     — Robert Wenzel, One of the Best Arguments Against Blocking Speech on Social Media....

Tags: Robert Wenzel ∙ social media ∙ blocking speech ∙ dangerous

““Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.””
     — Margaret Mead

Tags: Margaret Mead ∙ doubt ∙ group ∙ thoughtful ∙ committed ∙ citizens ∙ change ∙ World

““Tax complexity is a breeding ground for government corruption. It's much easier to add new corporate handouts to a tax code that's already overrun with favoritism, and it's simpler for politicians to justify adding narrowly targeted benefits when the practice is already common. Businesses, in turn, have an incentive to spend more time and resources lobbying the government than satisfying customers.””
     — Veronique de Rugy, Extending the Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Undermines Tax Reform

Tags: Veronique de Rugy ∙ taxes ∙ government ∙ corruption ∙ handouts ∙ tax code ∙ politicos

This is the problem.

Tags: Shawn Herles ∙ World ∙ us vs them ∙ division ∙ dehumanizes ∙ Christian ∙ Druids ∙ Satanists ∙ religious justifications ∙ dualistic ∙ good ∙ evil ∙ religion ∙ cross posted

““The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.””
     — Chief Justice John Roberts

Tags: John Roberts ∙ discrimination ∙ race

❝❝As I said before, apparently the motivation for hexing Kavanaugh has moved from justice to attack.

This will have consequences, regardless of who did what where and when.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, NeoNote — Political hexing

Tags: maxims ∙ justice ∙ attacks ∙ consequences ∙ hexes

““If the day comes you are accused of some crime or tort of which you are not guilty, and you find your peers automatically believing your accuser, I expect you find yourself a stronger proponent of due process protections than you are now, Accusers sometimes lie.””
     — James Moore, Professor criticized for stating that ‘accusers sometimes lie’ in email

Tags: James Moore ∙ accusers sometimes lie ∙ due process ∙ accuser

❝❝Carbon neutrality is a fallacy cooked up so that developing nations would not have to face the same "standards" as industrialized nations and to create a parasite market based on a fictional commodity.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ carbon neutrality ∙ developing nations ∙ ndustrialized nations ∙ parasite market ∙ ictional commodity

❝❝Just because it cloaks itself in science doesn't make it science. There is very little that is provable or scientific about human caused climate change.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ science ∙ anthropogenic climate change

❝❝I'm telling you as a Genuine Tree Hugging Pagan that anthropogenic climate change is a scam designed to seize money and political power.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ anthropogenic climate change ∙ pagan ∙ scam ∙ money ∙ power

❝❝Regulations exist so politicos can evade responsibility for unpopular choices.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, technocrat

Tags: maxims ∙ regulations ∙ responsibility ∙ choice

❝❝When you let your politics define your personhood, there's not much room left for your personhood outside of your politics. Without your personhood, you can lose empathy and humanity.❞❞
     — NeoWayland label

Tags: maxims ∙ personhood ∙ empathy ∙ humanity

““This is not what "Never Trump" means, at least to me. To me it means: rejecting the basis of how Trump governs, even when it accidentally produces outcomes I might otherwise like. That's like accepting an abusive partner or friend because they're nice every few weeks.””
     — Tom Nichols, 8:09 PM - 9 Oct 2018

Tags: Tom Nichols ∙ Never Trump ∙ governs ∙ abusive ∙ partner ∙ friend ∙ nice

““Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money.””
     — Margaret Thatcher

Tags: Margaret Thatcher ∙ socialist ∙ goverment ∙ financial mess ∙ other people's money

❝❝For the record, there are no LGBTQ rights. There are no black rights. There are no women's rights. There are no Hispanic rights. There are no pagan rights. There are no Chinese rights. There are no Christian rights. There are no police rights.

There are human rights. Period.

It's not a right unless the other has it too.

Too many times there are privileges passed off as rights. Privileges benefit a select few at the expense of everyone else. Too often, what should have been rights for everyone were enforced privileges for some. This is a big reason why rights and privileges are confused.

It's not a right unless the other has it too.

---

Which means they get a head thump when they demand I submit.❞❞

Tags: rights ∙ LGBTQ ∙ black ∙ women ∙ Hispanic ∙ pagan ∙ Chinese ∙ Christian ∙ police ∙ human rights ∙ Other ∙ head thump

❝❝*sigh*

Pardon, but global climate change is a scam designed to take political power and money away from people. The figures are not accurate, the goalposts keep getting moved, and the solutions always seem to boil down to "give us money and don't ask questions."

I've done the research. Short of reducing the number of people or removing access to energy, there is not a lot that can be done. At present, there are exactly two off-the-shelf technologies that can meet power needs without adding to the "carbon footprint." Those are hydroelectric and nuclear plants. There are a limited number of rivers that can be dammed up to produce power. There are very few alternatives to high-pressure fission plants. Nobody wants either close to their homes.

Despite what you've been told, most "green" technologies are anything but. Ethanol can't be produced economically without subsidies. It's much more chemically unstable, making it harder to store, transport, and use in engines. Electric cars don't mass as much, making them more dangerous in an accident. Manufacturing and maintaining electric car batteries has a bigger impact on the environment. Solar and wind require parallel systems to meet peak demand. The cost of solar is prohibitive. Wind power attracts and kills birds. It may also contribute to local warming.

This is a big mess, and it's not going to be fixed by a top down legal solution.

Given the games that have been played over the years, we don't know what contributes to global climate change. We don't even know if there is human caused climate change. Climate changes, it happened before humans were here, and it will continue long after our descendant's descendants have turned to dust.

Meanwhile, we're still pumping water into swimming pools and golf courses. We still have waste plastics and trash piling up. We're destroying the rainforests and wiping out species.

But that doesn't matter because we're going to fix global warming. Eventually.

---

Pardon, but I didn't say that nuclear or dams are an acceptable solution. I said that they were the only existing off-the-shelf solutions that could meet demand and not add to the "carbon footprint."

As far as the predictions being short of reality, well, no. Back in the 1970s, the fear was about global cooling. In 1990, the IPCC predicted that temperatures would rise by 1ºC by 2025. As of the end of 2017, the actual change has been between .3ºC and .5ºC, depending on which database you use. Wildfires were supposed to increase, they declined. Snow was supposed to become a rare event, it stayed about the same. The Arctic Ocean was supposed to become ice free, but there's been no measurable decline. The sea level was supposed to rise four feet by now, it's been three or four inches. In 2005, there were supposed to be 50 million "climate refugees" by 2015.

This is the problem. Someone will proclaim disaster, but they are never held accountable for previous predictions. The goalposts keep moving.

---

What I'd like to see is the ecological issues separated from the climate change claims. There is a tremendous amount of power and money at stake without any accountability.

That is what I meant by a scam. People want to help. Pagans and Earth-centered faiths especially want to help the planet. Somebody is profiting without actually "saving the planet." If it were anything else, we'd call them out. But because it's climate change, we accept the outrageousness.

---

I agree with you about the dams. They aren't a good solution. They are one of the very few proven technologies that can deliver the energy.

Pardon, I wasn't clear. Electric vehicles devote most of their mass to batteries. There have been some impact studies that do not show electrics in a good light.

I don't advocate reducing the population. But it is one of the solutions that is "on the table." Oddly enough, it's focused mainly on highly industrialized nations.

---

Pardon, but it is not about "deepening our understanding."

Somebody predicted something, it did not happen, and rather than owning their mistake, they predict more disaster just around the corner.

We don't know what makes climate work. I wouldn't trust anyone who claims to know what the temperature "should be."

I do know that we don't have big enough baselines. They talk about "the worst weather in a century." But the planet is more than four and a half billion years old. That's about .0000022% more or less.

---

If I told you that your favorite relative was coming in a red car, wouldn't you notice more red cars?

If the news was telling you that there were more storms, wouldn't you notice more storms?

You should ask IF there are actually more natural disasters or if someone wants more viewers/readers.

I'm not disputing that there are ecological problems. In my first post on this thread I mentioned water and waste disposal. What I am disputing is if global climate change is human caused or even a problem.

Electric cars have always had the battery problem. Add to that generating the electricity in the first place. Both have a huge environmental and economic impact.

Solar and wind are cheap, but converting them into something we can use is not. I live in Arizona, one of the sun shiniest states in the union. But that won't produce electricity at night or during a storm. The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow.

Don't underestimate the power of profit and the free market. It's why we have things like grocery stores and comfortable shoes. Not to mention dirt cheap ballpoint pins, cheap computers, clean water, and affordable eyeglasses. See, the thing about the free market is that you have to offer as good as your competition or you lose business. If the competition makes it better or cheaper, you have to match them just to stay afloat.

And that brings us back to solar. In a world where practically anything can be sold at a profit at WalMart, don't you think that if cheap, durable, efficient solar cells could be made they would be?

I'm not asking for predictions to be one hundred percent accurate. But I do think the accuracy should be better than chance. Especially if the people doing the predictions want scads of money and tremendous political power to fix the "problem."

---

You're using solar supplementally. That's good.

Let me make it clear that I do not oppose solar. I just do not think it's practical or affordable as a primary source on a mass scale as it has been sold. I'm a big fan of decentralization. I also think that much of our architecture doesn't support the wise use of energy.

I'm not sure that solar is practical as a primary electrical supply, even on a small scale. Aside from AC, there are things like freezers, refrigerators, hot water heaters, washers, and dryers. These appliances are designed for a constant flow of power.

Ideally I think there should be earth houses or something along the lines of the works of the late Malcolm Wells.

---

The weather isn't the same every year. My high desert is having a very dry year on top of several others. Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at very low although not record low levels. It's enough to trigger the restrictions on the water treaties though, which means that Arizona and Nevada won't be getting their full allotment from the Colorado.

There was one year when I was a kid that there was snow every two or three days. Not a lot of snow, but very unusual for a desert and unheard of.

Even a human lifetime is not enough to establish a baseline. What is weather in a century when the planet is billions of years old? The planet has had several ice ages, which means there were warm periods too.

I want to stress that I am not dismissing environmental issues like clean water. When I first saw the PBS series based on Cadillac Desert I was horrified. That made me take a hard look at what was happening with water in the Southwest.

No, my issue is with anthropogenic climate change. From what I can tell, there are alarmists but no evidence. And a lot of failed predictions.❞❞

Tags: climate change ∙ scam ∙ money ∙ hydroelectric ∙ nuclear power ∙ green energy ∙ anthropogenic climate change ∙ water ∙ swimming pools ∙ golf courses ∙ plastic ∙ rainforests ∙ species ∙ global warming

““The time is always right to do what is right.””
     — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tags: Martin Luther King ∙ right

Big brother doesn't trust you.

Tags: M. Stanton Evans ∙ credit ∙ accomplish

❝❝And there are those of us who ask why is it OK to bind Republicans but it wasn't OK to bind Democrats.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ cross posted ∙ online ritual ∙ binding spell ∙ Brett Kavanaugh ∙ tarot

““The more time I spend covering politics, the more I’m convinced that a significant chunk of grassroots political activists aren’t really arguing about politics at all. These folks are actually grappling with personal psychological issues and projecting it onto the world of politics.””
     — Jim Geraghty, Another Day, Another Unidentified Source

Tags: Jim Geraghty ∙ grassroots ∙ activists ∙ psychological issues ∙ personal is political

Religions are created by people claiming to speak for the Divine.

Tags: religion ∙ Divine ∙ universal rules ∙ Ethic of Reciprocity ∙ E. E. Smith ∙ freely chosen ∙ invisible overlord ∙ responsibility ∙ secret of life

❝❝ahem

Government Is Not Your Friend.

When government acts, there will always Always ALWAYS be less liberty afterwards.

Do we really want politicos and technocrats deciding what is and is not available based on a morality that was defined between the two AM sex party and the prayer breakfast?

==>Obligatory libertarian rant over. We now return you to your regularly scheduled comments.<==❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government is not your friend ∙ politicos ∙ technocrats ∙ 2 AM sex party ∙ prayer breakfast

““The pragmatic survive, and the determined thrive, but faith manages.””
     — Babylon 5

Tags: Babylon 5 ∙ faith manages ∙ pragmatic ∙ determined

❝❝Under your arguments, it's a choice between benevolent authority and slavery. For My Own Good, of course, because I can't be trusted to decide what is best for me.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ choice ∙ benevolent authority ∙ slavery ∙ for your own good ∙ best for me

❝❝And then 9-11 happened. That would have destroyed most other nations. It just pissed us off. By October 1st, 2001, Americans were ready to take the world apart and put it back together in our own image. And we almost set out to do exactly that and be damned with the consequences.

But no, we had to be multi-lateral and multi-national and multi-phasic and multi-tasking and multi-cultural and multi-apologetic.

Freedom and liberty have always been our beacons. That's when Americans are at our best. That's when we change the world for the better.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, Why does your enlightenment demand that I sacrifice?

Tags: maxims ∙ 9-11 ∙ Americans ∙ take the world apart ∙ multi-lateral ∙ multi-national ∙ multi-phasic ∙ multi-tasking ∙ multi-cultural ∙ multi-apologetic

““Let me help.””
     — as explained in The City on the Edge of Forever, Star Trek The Original Series

““I can do better than that!””
     — some anonymous hominid far back in time

Tags: Star Trek ∙ I can do better than that ∙ let me help ∙ human ∙ history

❝❝Sometimes the objective is just keeping the other guy from crossing the finish line.

Frustrates the hell out of them too.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ objective ∙ finish line ∙ other guy

““See, here's the thing - if you're on national media screaming about how you're being suppressed, you not only are not being suppressed, but are a freakin' idiot.””
     — Steve Skubinna, from the comments on Trump Derangement Syndrome

Tags: Steve Skubinna ∙ media ∙ suppressed ∙ freakin' idiot

Years ago I came up with a crazy tax scheme that was so nutty it might work. Here's the revised version.

Tags: community ∙ commonality ∙ adaptation

❝❝Ever notice when someone picks a scapegoat, it's because they think the scapegoat can't fight back?

---

I agree with you that politics is a source of great evil in the World.

I disagree that the Trump and the Republicans are the cause. Or even most of the cause.

One annoying thing about politics is that people are willing to overlook the misconduct of "their" side even while slinging wild accusations against the Enemy. The accusations may or may not be accurate. But you can count on the Enemy not being quite the Ultimate Horror Unleashed on Mankind. And you can count that your side is not quite the paragon of virtue and self-sacrifice that they claim.

Politics is about controlling the other. Never you, always the other. When government is involved politics is about control backed by force.

Politicians are never on your side. Even as they stand wrapped in the flag clutching holy writ promising that they will be your bestest friend ever no matter what.

---

I'm sorry, but I can't agree. Obama used the IRS and Justice Department against his enemies, among other things. And the Democrats looked the other way.

Rather than get into a long and pointless discussion of who did what worse, I want to point out something that most people overlook.

The politicos NEED you to blame the other party and never question the wisdom of your party's decisions. It's always the other party that is doing things Too Terrible and always your own party that promises to Save The Day. When you buy into that, you perpetuate the system. You're always going to be victimized and you're never ever going to be saved. If you were saved, you'd have no reason to vote the party line.

---

I know I have my political critics on this site, but believe me when I tell you that there are conservatives who are just as threatened by the Democrat leadership as you are by Trump.

Too often today, people make excuses for what their side does by trotting out the disasters from the other side.

I want less government. I think government is a terrible danger to liberty. I think politicos and technocrats complicate things because they don't want you asking questions and they don't want you changing the status quo. They don't want you understanding what they do.

So when I see someone insisting that this flavor of politico is slightly less objectionable, I tell them they are wrong.

---

Accurate, as far as it goes.

*sighs* Look, I know that other pagans think I am simplistic and partisan when it comes to politics. And believe me, I realize how ironic it is for me to denounce mixing paganism with politics while having a political blog called Pagan Vigil.

Politics is one of my darker passions. I'm better at it than any amateur has any right to be. I understand the temptations and lusts because those are my temptations, my lusts, but for a bit of discipline and some promises I made. There's a line from Doctor Who, “Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.” These days I try to use my abilities and urges in a good cause. Mostly I succeed.

I've said that politics is about controlling the other. It's literally "power over." All the processes, all the carefully defined rules to protect democracy, all the blame exists SOLEY to keep people from looking too carefully at "the sausage being made." To keep people from asking how much freedom they are "supposed" to sacrifice for "the Greater Good." To keep them from asking themselves why expecting the other guy to sacrifice and compromise is GOOD but they themselves aren't supposed to sacrifice and compromise. To keep them from accepting that POWER OVER for their principles just might not be as as effective as power with based on things we all share.

Smashing the opposition just makes more pieces that can regrow.❞❞

Tags: scapegoating ∙ World ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Republicans ∙ control ∙ politicos ∙ Barack Obama ∙ IRS ∙ Justice Department ∙ party politics ∙ Democrats ∙ government ∙ technocrats ∙ political flavor ∙ pagans ∙ simplistic ∙ partisan ∙ blog ∙ darker passions ∙ temptation ∙ lust ∙ amateur ∙ discipline ∙ promises ∙ Doctor Who ∙ power with vs power over

❝❝The Constitution and the Bill of Rights limit government, not people.

The way I see it, you are free to say and do as you want SO LONG AS you accept responsibility and the consequences. Anyone who promises you freedom from that is lying.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: Constitution ∙ Bill of Rights ∙ people ∙ responsibility ∙ consequences ∙ lying

I'm not something less, I'm something else.

Tags: monotheism ∙ dualistic ∙ IS ∙ IS NOT ∙ GOOD ∙ NOT GOOD ∙ works ∙ rule ∙ different ∙ something less ∙ something else ∙ Christianity ∙ Christians ∙ Judeo-Christian ∙ traditional values

❝❝The problem with making the personal political is that you drag everyone around you into politics, whether they want to be or not.

The environment is a hugely complex topic. Where do we start? Water rights? Ethanol eradication? GMO seeds? Climate change? I'm willing to bet that no one here is going to agree on all of those.

Likewise the "religious right." Obviously we need to take a stand against people like Roy Moore. It took me twenty-plus years to get on speaking terms some of my relatives younger than me, I'd rather not throw that away. Not all of the religious right is a monolithic block, any more than all pagans. Individual relationships work better than shunning everyone with the wrong label.

---

Pardon, but I've found environmental issues particularly troubling, to the point where I'd rather discuss ecology rather than environmentalism. There are some in the climate change crowd who are just as absolutist as any hard core evangelical Christian. As another example, when I call for the eradication of ethanol because it is subsidized, requires food crops, consumes more than a gallon of gas to produce one gallon of ethanol, and is harder to store and transport than gasoline, I'm attacked because I am "in the pocket of big oil."

Perhaps it's that absolutist quality that is the real problem. There's more than one answer and one answer doesn't fit all. I'd say there is more than one problem too, but most don't want to deal with that.❞❞

Tags: environment ∙ personal ∙ water rights ∙ ethanol ∙ GMOs ∙ climate alarmist ∙ religious right ∙ Christian ∙ Roy Moore ∙ pagans ∙ absolutist ∙ answer

❝❝The problem with making the personal political is that you drag everyone around you into politics, whether they want to be or not.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ personal ∙ choice

““There are two basic kinds of terrorists. The amateurs will be deterred or detected by even basic security measures. The professionals will figure out how to evade even the most stringent measures. I've repeatedly said that the two things that have made flying safer since 9/11 are reinforcing the cockpit doors and persuading passengers that they need to fight back. Everything beyond that isn't worth it.””
     — Bruce Schneier, Don't Fear the TSA Cutting Airport Security. Be Glad That They're Talking about It.

Tags: Bruce Schneier ∙ terrorists ∙ amateurs ∙ security ∙ professionals ∙ cockpit doors ∙ passengers ∙ fight back

❝❝There's a vast difference between a character who happens to be X and a X character.

The emphasis should be on character, not the label. Character is about the human condition, the label is about the labeled condition.

Next, it's acting. Fictional. If the actor is good enough, they can play the heavy and the hero. They can play the pauper and the prince. And they can play whatever sexual orientation is necessary.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ character ∙ label ∙ human ∙ condition ∙ fiction ∙ sexual orientation

““What this illustrates is that racism in this country is dying, but the media appears to be fervently attempting to keep it alive.””
     — Matt Agorist, Divide & Conquer on Full Display as Media Devotes Days of Attention to 20 White Nationalists in DC

Tags: Matt Agorist ∙ racism ∙ media

But they are hypocrites when they declare that they support free speech while applying selective censorship.

Tags: maxims ∙ lawyers ∙ legislators ∙ reality

““A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.””
     — Frederick Douglass

Tags: Frederick Douglass ∙ insult ∙ gentleman ∙ man

❝❝Most of the claims of Republican racism are because the Republicans involved didn't see any reason to grant special privilege when people already had rights recognized by law.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Republican ∙ Republicans ∙ racism ∙ privilege ∙ rights

❝❝If you wonder where radfems got the idea that they are living in an unforgiving patriarchy, a rape society, a "man's world" that degrades women, it's because that's the way their "allies" have treated them.

They just think it's everyone.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ RadFem ∙ patriarchy ∙ rape culture ∙ man's world ∙ degrades women

❝❝The problem with attacking the label is that there are always remarkable individuals far beyond the box you try to cram them into. Nor are they the exception to the rule.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ label ∙ individual ∙ exceptions

❝❝Liberty demands more than just deciding who is "in charge." If government means electing people who are kinda-sorta on your side on alternate Thursdays when there's no rain, what's the point?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ election ∙ kinda-sorta ∙ alternate Thursdays ∙ no rain ∙ goverment ∙ tweeted

I've never gotten a straight answer.

Tags: maxims ∙ live & let live

““It is amazing how many of the intelligentsia call it 'greed' to want to keep what you have earned, but not greed to want to take away what somebody else has earned, and let politicians use it to buy votes.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ intelligentsia ∙ greed ∙ earned ∙ take away ∙ buy votes ∙ politicos

““Since this is an era when many people are concerned about 'fairness' and 'social justice,' what is your 'fair share' of what someone else has worked for?””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ fair share ∙ fairness ∙ social justice

““Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ social history ∙ worked ∙ sounded good

““If you cannot achieve equality of performance among people born to the same parents and raised under the same roof, how realistic is it to expect to achieve it across broader and deeper social divisions?””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ equality ∙ performance ∙ social divisions

““One of the consequences of such notions as ‘entitlements’ is that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society owes them something, apparently just for being nice enough to grace us with their presence.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ entitlements ∙ contributed ∙ society ∙ owes ∙ nice enough

““Like all “intersectional” facets of the left, feminism is about the propagation of leftism first and women last.””

— Mike LaChance, Handmaid’s Tale Themed Protests of Pence are Not Only Stupid but Dishonest

Tags: Mike LaChance ∙ intersectional ∙ feminism ∙ leftism ∙ women

““When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. People with careers as ethnic leaders usually tell their followers what they want to hear.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ help ∙ people ∙ yourself ∙ what they want

““There is much discussion of the haves and the have-nots, but very little discussion of the doers and the do-nots, those who contribute and those who merely take.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell

Tags: maxims ∙ shame ∙ silence ∙ uncomfortable ∙ questions

Tags: maxims ∙ religion ∙ children ∙ demonic realms ∙ faith

““Those who cry out that the government should 'do something' never even ask for data on what has actually happened when the government did something, compared to what actually happened when the government did nothing.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ do something ∙ did nothing ∙ goverment

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ ridiculous ∙ decisions ∙ third parties ∙ wrong ∙ bright ideas ∙ Left

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ new generation ∙ invasion ∙ barbarians ∙ civilized

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ damage ∙ stupid ∙ disaster ∙ high IQ

““Social justice is a surveillance culture, a snitch culture. The constant vigilance on the part of my colleagues and friends did me in. That’s why I’m delivering sushi and pizza. Not that I’m complaining. It’s honest work, and it’s led me to rediscover how to interact with people in the real world. I am a kinder and more respectful person now that I’m not regularly on social media attacking people for not being “kind” and “respectful.”””
     — Barrett Wilson, I Was the Mob Until the Mob Came for Me

Tags: Barrett Wilson ∙ social justice ∙ snitch culture ∙ surveillance culture ∙ vigilance ∙ honest work ∙ kind ∙ respectful

capitalism vs. corporatism

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ nation of immigrants ∙ American citizenship

““What sense would it make to classify a man as handicapped because he is in a wheelchair today, if he is expected to be walking again in a month and competing in track meets before the year is out? Yet Americans are given ‘class’ labels on the basis of their transient location in the income stream. If most Americans do not stay in the same broad income bracket for even a decade, their repeatedly changing ‘class’ makes class itself a nebulous concept.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ handicapped ∙ wheelchair ∙ track meets ∙ walking ∙ class labels ∙ income bracket

““For the anointed, traditions are likely to be seen as the dead hand of the past, relics of a less enlightened age, and not as the distilled experience of millions who faced similar human vicissitudes before.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ anointed ∙ traditions ∙ dead hand of the past ∙ relics ∙ less enlightened age ∙ distilled experience

““Experience trumps brilliance.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ experience ∙ brilliance

““Considering how often throughout history even intelligent people have been proved to be wrong, it is amazing that there are still people who are convinced that the only reason anyone could possibly say something different from what they believe is stupidity or dishonesty.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ intelligent ∙ history ∙ wrong ∙ different perspective ∙ stupidity ∙ dishonesty

““Weighing benefits against costs is the way most people make decisions – and the way most businesses make decisions, if they want to stay in business. Only in government is any benefit, however small, considered to be worth any cost, however large.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ benefits ∙ costs ∙ decisions ∙ business ∙ government

❝❝More and more I'm convinced that one of the greatest and most destructive evils humanity has produced is Meddling For Your Own Good.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, Discussion on morality, sex, nudity, and pagan festivals

Tags: maxims ∙ destructive ∙ evil ∙ meddle ∙ for your own good

““Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a free market: (1) increased use of the product or service whose price is controlled, (2) Reduced supply of the same product or service, (3) quality deterioration, (4) black markets.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ price controls ∙ demand ∙ supply ∙ quality deteriotes ∙ black market

““It is amazing how many people think that the government's role is to give them what they want by overriding what other people want.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ government ∙ what they want

““Government is a non-producer; like any parasite it is wholly dependent on its host for sustenance. And so the only way it can accomplish anything is to force others to do it by the threat of violence.””
     — Maggie McNeill, The Gun in the Room

Tags: Maggie McNeill ∙ parasite ∙ force ∙ goverment ∙ gun ∙ violence ∙ parasite

““Virtually no idea is too ridiculous to be accepted, even by very intelligent and highly educated people, if it provides a way for them to feel special and important. Some confuse that feeling with idealism.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ ridiculous ∙ intelligent ∙ highly educated ∙ special ∙ important ∙ idealism

““There are few modest talents so richly rewarded — especially in politics and the media — as the ability to portray parasites as victims, and portray demands for preferential treatment as struggles for equal rights.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ modest talents ∙ richly rewarded ∙ media ∙ parasites ∙ victims ∙ preferential treatment ∙ equal rights

New publication makes it easier

Tags: maxims ∙ FamousFeminists ∙ second wave feminism ∙ third wave feminism ∙ feminism ∙ perpetual victim ∙ fame ∙ book sales ∙ political power

It makes you wonder what all those repressive nations are really afraid of, doesn't it?

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ radical feminists ∙ men ∙ women and children first ∙ emergency aid

““In short, killing the goose that lays the golden egg is a viable political strategy, so long as the goose does not die before the next election and no one traces the politicians’ fingerprints on the murder weapon.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ goose ∙ golden egg ∙ strategy ∙ election ∙ politicos ∙ fingerprint ∙ murder weapon

““The word ‘racism’ is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything — and demanding evidence makes you a ‘racist.’””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ racism ∙ racist

““The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ read ∙ think ∙ feeling

““It is amazing how many people think that they can answer an argument by attributing bad motives to those who disagree with them. Using this kind of reasoning, you can believe or not believe anything about anything, without having to bother to deal with facts or logic.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ argument ∙ bad motives ∙ reasoning ∙ facts ∙ logic

““To believe in personal responsibility would be to destroy the whole special role of the anointed, whose vision casts them in the role of rescuers of people treated unfairly by ‘society.’””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ responsibility ∙ anointed ∙ vision ∙ rescuers

““The charge is often made against the intelligentsia and other members of the anointed that their theories and the policies based on them lack common sense. But the very commonness of common sense makes it unlikely to have any appeal to the anointed. How can they be wiser and nobler than everyone else while agreeing with everyone else?””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ intelligentsia ∙ anointed ∙ wiser ∙ nobler

““No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.””
     — Thomas Sowell

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ politicos ∙ problems ∙ elected ∙ re-election

Abortion is one of those things I have mixed feelings on.

Tags: Thomas Sowell ∙ solutions ∙ trade-offs

❝❝I suspect that many other problems that second and third wave feminists faced happened because certain men took advantage. These (sleaze ball) men said the appropriate things, acted properly in public, and attended the right meetings. But it was all a show, manipulating the second wavers into sex and other things. Then these certain (scumbag) men went on to their next conquests all while convincing everyone else that they supported women and feminism. The third wave misandry that followed was a natural reaction.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, feminism (second wave)

Tags: sex ∙ second wave feminism ∙ third wave feminism ∙ male feminists ∙ feminism

❝❝Unfortunately I keep finding more and more proof for my theory. Practically the only reason "male feminists" exist is so they can take advantage of feminists. Exceptions are so very hard to find.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: feminism ∙ male feminists ∙ maxims

❝❝Given how some absolutely insist that any accusations of sexual impropriety must be treated as unquestioned truth, I'd argue that we've regressed.

Sometimes people lie. I don't think that is very hard to understand. We shouldn't base justice on lies. That's not hard to understand either.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: sexual impropriety ∙ truth ∙ lie ∙ justice

❝❝That's the essence of libertarianism you see. It's not that we don't care, we just don't see government as an effective way to deliver what needs to be done.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ libertarianism ∙ effective ∙ tweeted

❝❝It's only shame if I accept the premise.

As I see it, the vice or virtue isn't in the label. It's in how you touch the lives of others. The honor is in giving truth when needed, helping when you can, and leaving the World a little better than how you found it.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, comments from Column: What of the Christians?

Tags: morality ∙ shame ∙ vice ∙ virtue ∙ label ∙ touch ∙ honor ∙ truth ∙ better ∙ cross posted ∙ maxims ∙ Christians

❝❝What I'd like to point out is that if you keep throwing people you don't agree with into the "Them" pile, you're going to run out of people in the "Us" pile.

And no, I don't include myself in your "Us" pile.

Disagreements happen. People should decide if they want a Grand Crusade where every one agrees (or is afraid to disagree) and nothing gets done. Or maybe where you go for the smaller battles that you can win with allies, instead of waiting for perfection.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ us vs them ∙ people ∙ disagreements ∙ Grand Crusade ∙ perfection

❝❝Mutual consent is the only factor I've found that makes any sense.

I would no more try to control someone's sexual activities than I would try to control their diet or clothing. And for pretty much the same reason. Now I personally may not prefer sheep's brains or orange polka dots on purple plaid, but that gives me no reason to stop the other guy.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ sex ∙ consenting adults ∙ diet ∙ clothing

❝❝I'm not demanding that you give up your faith.

I'm asking why religion should be enshrined in law.

Faith is between you and the Divine, no other person can change that. It's up to you and your choices.

I'm asking for no sacrifice unless you believe that your religion should govern the faith and religion of others.

And if that's the case, I'm asking why.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faith ∙ religion ∙ enshrined ∙ choice ∙ sacrifice ∙ govern

❝❝The U.S. Constitution doesn't mention the Christian God except in the date.

It's wholly remarkable in that it may well be the first document in history that didn't claim government power derived from the Divine.

Men of faith and men of reason deliberately chose not to make a public declaration of religion even as they acknowledged it's role in individual action.

They knew that faith must be chosen, not compelled.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Constitution ∙ government power ∙ Divine ∙ declaration of religion ∙ individual action ∙ choice ∙ compelled

❝❝I think the mark of an adult is the ability to make the right choice without the threat of punishment. Or perhaps despite it.

We know that's possible. Under the right circumstances, we even revere the people who did that as saints and heroes.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: adult ∙ right choice ∙ punishment ∙ saints ∙ heroes ∙ maxims

❝❝The law is not moral.

That's up to us humans.

(Apologies if I offended any nascent AIs)❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ human ∙ AI

❝❝Pardon, the shooter took advantage of circumstance. It doesn't take much to look around and see where you might kill the most.

I still think we'd be better off if as a society we deliberately didn't publicize the names of these shooters. The notoriety is part of what drives them.

Imagine listing all their victim's names and deliberately forgetting the twisted scum who did it. He sacrificed his humanity to be famous, let him be forgotten.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ shooting ∙ publicity

❝❝You did know that "However" is not only lawyer-speak but a Major Weasel Word, didn't you?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ however ∙ lawyer-speak ∙ Major Weasel Word

““Good men must not obey the laws too well.””
     — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tags: Ralph Waldo Emerson ∙ law and order

““Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.””
     — Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

Tags: Henry David Thoreau ∙ citizen ∙ conscience ∙ legislator ∙ respect for law ∙ obligations

❝❝The secret to rabble rousing is not chewing the scenery, it's getting the crowd to chew the scenery.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ rabble rousing ∙ chew the scenery ∙ crowd

It may be a religion, but if it relies on force, any and all opposition is justified.

Tags: insanity ∙ anonymous ∙ misattributed ∙ Albert Einstein ∙ Rita Mae Brown ∙ Max Nordau ∙ George Bernard Shaw ∙ George A. Kelly ∙ Werner Erhard ∙ Jessie Potter

An argument against gun control has much wider application than I realized

Tags: maxims ∙ tax reform ∙ taxes ∙ national sales tax ∙ ten percent ∙ state and local taxes ∙ Federal government

Democrats are remarkable at ignoring bad law if a Democrat is President.

Tags: maxims ∙ bad choices ∙ Democrats

❝❝I don't have an easy answer. I do think a nation is obligated to protect it's borders and I do think it should be able to expel immigrants or visitors who break the law. I do think that part of the problem are government benefits, I think that anyone who comes here should be able to pay their own way. Beyond that… *shrugs*❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ immigration ∙ borders ∙ break the law ∙ government benefits ∙ pay your own way

““Society is produced by our wants and, government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices.””
     — Thomas Paine, Common Sense