Are you trying to make me irritated with you?

You keep going off on these anti-pagan rants.

Tags: YouTube ∙ PragerU ∙ guest content ∙ video ∙ freedom ∙ Facebook ∙ Twitter ∙ lawsuit ∙ Alphabet ∙ Google ∙ Eric George ∙ public forum ∙ publisher ∙ First Amendment ∙ social media

““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

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

— Harriet Tubman

Tags: Harriet Tubman ∙ slaves ∙ freedom

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

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

““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

What we do know is that there are loud politicos who want to take freedom, power, and money from people "for the greater good."

Tags: climate change ∙ climate models ∙ predictions ∙ climate alarmist ∙ politicos ∙ celebrity ∙ global cooling ∙ global warming ∙ climate science ∙ Intervene ∙ natural process ∙ freedom ∙ power ∙ money

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

Tags: Crux Files ∙ freedom ∙ mistake ∙ consequences ∙ government ∙ force ∙ prove himself ∙ choice & consequence ∙ excuse

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: video ∙ guest content ∙ 1954 ∙ Preligner Archives ∙ business ∙ entrepreneurs ∙ freedom

❝❝There was a late night bull session I attended. One very drunk person announced, very authoritatively, "Socialism is jealousy."

Then she passed out.

She may have had a point.

---

I'll go you one farther. There are studies that show primates have a strong sense of fairness. Some other studies show the fairness idea is linked to play in wolves and coyotes. I've seen speculation but no mention of studies that the idea exists in elephants as well. Taken together, these may indicate that it is part of the biology, at least for social animals.

---

I'd say it relies on control and orientation in time. Given that it's extremely difficult to control other's behavior except through force, someone who is past-orientated will choose coercion and false signals. Especially if their behavior was controlled in the past.

Future orientation and risk taking are more likely to depend on cooperation. Especially if one doesn't have the resources to pull off the future alone.

Going forward, power with beats power over. But someone stuck in the past won't see that. As for the "leaders," they're gaming the system and don't practice what they preach. "But just do as I say, don't do as I do," as the old Genesis song says.

---

❝Everyone who lives in America is a socialist to some degree.❞

True. But did they choose, or was it chosen for them "for the greater good?" In many cases before they were born? Did they ever have an alternative choice? Were they even allowed to think about it?

That's how socialism works. It's always involuntary except for those calling the shots.

❝It’s just that the rank and file among us don’t have $12 billion to buy votes from farmers we’ve screwed over.❞

If he had bought votes, the farmers wouldn't be screwed, would they? You've moved beyond mixing metaphors here, you're mixing conspiracy theories.

---

Your premise about vote buying is wrong. There's plenty to criticize about Trump's tariff strategy (which I've done), but there was no vote buying. That's the problem with most of the accusations against Trump. The loudest people ignore what Trump has done and blame him for things he hasn't done. You can't buy votes after the fact. And you keep overlooking all the other people adversely affected by the tariffs.

I used the word choosing because we are supposed to live in a representative government. Socialism removes choice. Socialism removes freedom. Socialism removes prosperity. The only reason why the United States works economically is because of the partial free market. The free market works. The free market works better than anything else in history. The only reason Americans can afford even partial socialism is because of the abundance produced by the free market.

So are Americans socialist? Yes, but not from choice. Someone had to do it to them. Someone had to lie to them about what they could get. Someone else had to pay the bills. Would Americans choose socialist programs? I don't think they would if they understood the costs.

I didn't claim you wrote anything about choice. I asked about choice. That's not words in your mouth, that's a question you don't want to answer.❞❞

Tags: sociaism ∙ choice ∙ primates ∙ fairness ∙ prosperity ∙ freedom ∙ wolves ∙ coyotes ∙ elephants ∙ biology ∙ control ∙ orientation in time ∙ coercion ∙ false signals ∙ future ∙ past ∙ power with vs power over ∙ involuntary ∙ bought votes

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1415225799/E20070210153538

A new category and a story about defying government authority with the internet

““Zhang's ban, which was reported by several Chinese newspapers, was regarded as extreme even by the censorship authorities in Beijing. But it was emblematic of the Communist Party's determination to retain control of what this country's 1.3 billion people see, hear and read despite the vast changes in other realms brought on by economic reform over the last two decades.

Ever since Mao Zedong brought the party to power in 1949, information, art and entertainment have been regarded here as government property, distributed to the public -- or not -- according to what party officials think best. But in recent years, as the number of online Chinese climbed to 137 million by the end of 2006, the Internet has challenged this power in many ways. Zhang's experience in Gedong dramatized how robust the challenge has become.

Eager to speed modernization, China's leaders have professed a desire to see people use the Web widely to seek knowledge and economic advantage. But they also have expressed determination to keep it under party control. The goal, they have said, is to keep Chinese away from sites deemed unfit because of pornographic or politically sensitive content -- or, in the case of Fangshan County, because they waste teenagers' time with frivolous games.

"Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information and the stability of the state," President Hu Jintao said at a Politburo study session last month, according to the state-controlled press. Hu, who also heads the party, said the solution is not to deter development of the Web but to "nurture a healthy online culture."

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media watchdog group, said Hu's government has deployed "armies of informants and cyber-police" and sophisticated computer programs to prevent Chinese Internet users from connecting with sites the party disapproves of or reading postings that stray from political orthodoxy. Sifting the acceptable from the unacceptable costs China "an enormous amount," the group said, without providing a specific number.””

The kids are finding a way. It's games today, but tomorrow it will be political.

And if the kids are finding a way and there are enough of them to get attention, there are plenty of adults who you haven't heard about who are networking and doing their best to undermine all the restrictions.

Let freedom ring.

Posted: Sat - February 10, 2007 at 03:35 PM

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ goverment ∙ authority ∙ internet ∙ freedom ∙ Firefly ∙ Babylon 5 ∙ China ∙ Gedong ∙ Zhang ∙ Reporters Without Borders ∙ clipping

This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C49491493/E20070715134558

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

I had some friends over on Friday and dug out my DVD of Sergeant York for a movie and ice cream. Great film, some very nuanced performances there. Hardly anyone believes me when I tell them that Margaret Wycherly who plays Mother York was a classically trained stage actress.

Anyway, the film sparked a discussion on gun control. I dragged out standard libertarian argument 3B. "The people who pay attention to gun laws are not the ones you should be worried about."

Later battling insomnia sipping hot grapefruit juice (don't knock it till you have tried it), it occurred to me that was probably THE standard libertarian argument, not just against gun control but against almost every bad law.

Illegal drugs? "The people who pay attention to drug laws are not the ones you should be worried about."

Prostitution? Same thing.

Global warming?

Freedom of speech?

Unusual sexual practices?

Minority religions?

It applies to every single one.

For most people, making something illegal won't change their morality. It might prevent someone from abusing a freedom, but more likely it will just restrict the freedom of those who have already proved that they are responsible adults.

So at that point, don't these laws simply impose immoral and irresponsible conditions in the name of freedom?

The people who will obey the law will obey. And those taking advantage will simply break the law with no real consequences. The only things that increase are taxes and government power.

Who really benefits by making someone sign for cough medicine?

Posted: Sun - July 15, 2007 at 01:45 PM

Tags: standard libertarian argument ∙ illegal drugs ∙ prostitution ∙ global warming ∙ sex ∙ religion ∙ abuse ∙ freedom ∙ responsibility ∙ consequences ∙ cough medicine

““Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.””
     — Milton Friedman

Tags: Milton Friedman ∙ goverment ∙ military ∙ contract law ∙ mala in se ∙ good intentions ∙ morality ∙ special interests ∙ inefficiency ∙ motivation ∙ freedom ∙ referee

““There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.””
     — James Madison

Tags: James Madison ∙ freedom ∙ abridgment ∙ encroachments ∙ usurpations

Under what circumstances does the state or the people have the moral authority to compel someone to act against their beliefs?

Tags: kosher ∙ pork ∙ BBQ ∙ equality ∙ past wrongs ∙ equal rights ∙ granting privilege ∙ denying rights ∙ moral authority ∙ freedom ∙ Eric July ∙ discriminate ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ goverment

Tags: Jordan Peterson ∙ inequality ∙ compassion ∙ sharing ∙ freedom ∙ responsibility ∙ memes

❝❝You can’t hoard freedom. It’s not really liberty unless you share it.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, Lady Liberty

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom

““Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It's not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights -- the "right" to education, the "right" to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery -- hay and a barn for human cattle. There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.””

— P.J. O'Rourke

Tags: P. J. O’Rourke ∙ memes ∙ empowerment ∙ gun ∙ duty ∙ consequences ∙ rights ∙ education ∙ healthcare ∙ food ∙ housing ∙ freedom ∙ dependency ∙ rations ∙ slavery ∙ human cattle

““First, there is nothing either intrinsically right or intrinsically wrong about liberty or slavery, democracy or autocracy, freedom of action or complete regimentation. It seems to us, however, that the greatest measure of happiness and of well-being for the greatest number of entities, and therefore the optimum advancement toward whatever sublime Goal it is toward which this cycle of existence is trending in the vast and unknowable Scheme of Things, is to be obtained by securing for each and every individual the greatest amount of mental and physical freedom compatible with the public welfare.””
     — E. E. Smith, First Lensman

Tags: E. E. Smith ∙ Lensman ∙ right ∙ wrong ∙ slavery ∙ democracy ∙ autocracy ∙ freedom of action ∙ complete regimentation ∙ happiness ∙ wellfare-being ∙ freedom ∙ public welfare

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: state ∙ individual ∙ product ∙ service ∙ compulsory ∙ consequences ∙ legal framework ∙ religion ∙ civil rights ∙ cosmetic surgery ∙ gender reassignment ∙ service ∙ abortion ∙ minority ∙ religious right ∙ freedom ∙ choice ∙ the public good

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: Donald Trump ∙ Iran ∙ corporatist ∙ milirarist ∙ coup ∙ global warming ∙ police misconduct ∙ freedom ∙ Washington D.C. ∙ establishment ∙ voters

Tags: Al Gore ∙ election ∙ Arizona ∙ climate change ∙ artic blast ∙ United Airlines ∙ UK ∙ Roy Moore ∙ gun law ∙ Ron Wyden ∙ #MeToo ∙ marijuana ∙ alcohol ∙ radical feminists ∙ occupational licensing ∙ victimhood ∙ freedom ∙ self destructive ∙ intel community ∙ Don Boudreaux ∙ Claire Wolfe ∙ Homeland Security ∙ no-go zones ∙ radical Islam ∙ Sheila Jackson Lee ∙ fake news

A few thoughts on the big summer films and declining box office revenues

Tags: Sigmund Freud ∙ freedom ∙ responsibility

❝❝There are two assumptions implicit in public accommodation laws. First is that there is a class of people who no matter what can never ever do things on their own. Second is that most people no matter what can never ever be trusted to do the right thing.

I think both assumptions are wrong.

---

Good law has been used for bad purposes since someone bothered to write down the law. The question you should ask is which is more important, freedom or misuse of the law?

It's my old friend, the parity test. If Christians can be barred from living their faith, what's to stop pagans from being barred from living theirs? Or atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, or any of a thousand others?

Just because someone does something you don't like doesn't mean that it should be illegal and that someone should be punished for it. I'd say that the guideline should be measurable harm to someone's person, liberty, and property. Hurting your feelings shouldn't qualify. I deal with the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita laws at my politics blog at www DOT paganvigil DOT com SLASH files SLASH RootsGovPower061204 DOT html.

Incidentally, the right of free association was one of the "understood" rights covered by the Tenth Amendment. After all, the U.S. had just fought a war over it.

---

Up until that time, it was one of the biggest wars about non-association ever fought.

Freedoms seldom clash with each other. Someone wanting to control others through religion isn't freedom, it's politics. Knowing the difference can be helpful.

I'm not responsible for how someone feels, especially since both the feelings and the standards used to justify those feelings change often. Measurable harm to someone's person, property, and liberty is one of the few objective standards we can agree on. A microaggression is what the victim says it is, and some things become microaggressions that weren't last week. It's privilege. I don't have time or energy to indulge it anymore.❞❞

Tags: freedom ∙ misuse of law ∙ parity test ∙ measurable harm ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ Tenth Amendment ∙ microaggression ∙ victim ∙ privilege

Tags: maxims ∙ picture ∙ authority ∙ freedom

These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories.

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ black & white ∙ banner

❝❝If I have a single issue, it's less government and more freedom.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ goverment

❝❝If you choose to do something, that's freedom. If you're compelled to do something, that's coercion.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: compel ∙ choose ∙ coercion ∙ freedom ∙ maxims

❝❝Politics is about power over people. Once you understand that government is not your friend and the politico only wants to get re-elected, you’re on the path to freedom.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ power ∙ politicos ∙ re-election ∙ freedom

❝❝Free choice. Choose your beliefs, just don't choose mine. And I will do the same. Faith imposed is no faith at all. The only faiths and beliefs worthy of freedom are those freely chosen.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ free choice ∙ choose ∙ faith ∙ freedom

❝❝That is the tragedy of the “American Century.” We forgot that liberty can't be imposed by the top down, it has to be seized from the bottom up.

As long as our government plays the games of international brinkmanship and global politics, we lose.

We're best when we protect our own freedom and inspire others though our example. People in other nations have to crave freedom and demand their own rights. It's the only way it will take root.

As a nation, we can't take out another government except by invading. Historically, that has not worked out well for America. It certainly destroyed our prestige.

But building trade, private investment in local economies, that delivered wonders.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ American Century ∙ tragedy ∙ freedom ∙ inspire ∙ government ∙ trade ∙ private enterprise

❝❝The goal is not the institution of the Federal government.

The goal is freedom.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: Federal government ∙ freedom ∙ maxims

““The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.””
     — H. L. Mencken

Tags: H.L. Mencken ∙ freedom ∙ scoundrels ∙ oppress

The internet is the last, best hope for freedom.

Tags: speech wars ∙ American freedom ∙ internet ∙ freedom ∙ competition ∙ thou shalt not dissent ∙ conservative ∙ libertarian ∙ Donald Trump ∙ politicos ∙ election

Our problem is that we excuse people from the consequences.

Tags: choice & consequence ∙ freedom ∙ responsibility ∙ third wave feminism ∙ RSM ∙ conservative ∙ israel ∙ culture ∙ moral code ∙ Golden Rule ∙ Silver Rule ∙ Iron Rule ∙ Crux Files

Tags: ideas ∙ freedom ∙ memes ∙ picture ∙ guest content

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: marriage ∙ Christians ∙ legal ∙ state ∙ church ∙ registered ∙ license ∙ religion ∙ mixed race ∙ mixed faith ∙ freedom ∙ fundamentalist

“The End of Cash; The End of Freedom”

Tags: clipping ∙ Ian Welsh ∙ government ∙ taxes ∙ cash ∙ freedom ∙ India ∙ cash business ∙ France ∙ terrorism ∙ electronic payments ∙ track ∙ control ∙ surveillance ∙ electronically ∙ PayPal ∙ Visa ∙ Mastercard ∙ Wikileaks ∙ Left

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: clipping ∙ John W. Whitehead ∙ government ∙ language of force ∙ freedom ∙ law and order

Tags: Burning Man ∙ police state ∙ drug tests ∙ mass spying ∙ Maine ∙ crimminalize ∙ female genital mutilation ∙ religious leaders ∙ magic mushrooms ∙ science ∙ junk science ∙ people over process ∙ demoracy ∙ freedom ∙ Donald Trump

❝❝The only faiths worthy of freedom are those freely chosen.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faiths ∙ worthy ∙ freedom ∙ choice ∙ banner

“How The EU’s Data Grab Could Affect You”

Tags: sex ∙ shame ∙ consenting adults ∙ cheating ∙ theft ∙ fraud ∙ prostitution ∙ single teachers ∙ dinner date ∙ couples ∙ SeekingArrangement.com ∙ "virtuous and moral" ∙ "public indoctrination system" ∙ freedom ∙ sin ∙ lesbian ∙ Crux Files

Tags: freedom ∙ press ∙ politicos ∙ protect citizens ∙ marriage ∙ approval ∙ medicine ∙ medical devices ∙ government power ∙ Congress ∙ Public Laws ∙ 2016 ∙ Barack Obama ∙ regulations ∙ Federal Register ∙ More Government ∙ personal responsibility? ∙ ☆

❝❝It’s not freedom if you only defend the inoffensive.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ defend ∙ inoffensive ∙ banner

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: maxims ∙ fool ∙ freedom ∙ banner

❝❝Because freedom demands more than just black and white.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ black & white

Tags: maxims ∙ authority ∙ freedom

““America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.””
     — Abraham Lincoln