❝❝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

❝❝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

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

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ political orientation

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

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

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ problems

❝❝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

❝❝Remember when I said that economics was about the flow of value? It's like piping water in a swamp. Yes, you can clean it up the water and direct it where you want, but there is still a lot of water flowing around. The more water, the more it seeps and looks for lower ground. You can only" fix" that by draining all the water and taking away what used to be widely available.

Now let's change that phrasing that a bit.

Yes, you can clean it up the value and direct it where you want, but there is still a lot of value flowing around. The more value, the more it seeps and looks for lower ground. You can only" fix" that by draining all the value and taking away what used to be widely available.

That's a whole new different perspective. Economic activity and free markets create more value. The flow of value and value in the wrong hands threatens the central systems and the elites. As the elites see it, their best interests are served by controlling value and directing it where they see problems. They want their choice to supersede the choices of others, particularly the unwashed masses who don't know when something is being done for the Greater Good.❞❞

Tags: economics ∙ value ∙ maxims ∙ choice ∙ greater good

❝❝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

“"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

❝❝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

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

❝❝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

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

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

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Donald Trump ∙ virtue ∙ disrupt

❝❝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

❝❝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

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

— NeoWayland

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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

Not what they wear, not who they live with, not what they eat, not what happens in the bedroom, not what they read, not how they do it, and not who they do it with.

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

❝❝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

❝❝Just to point out the obvious, previously language changed without being mandated or legally sanctioned or morally correct. It worked because people used it and decided that it worked.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ language ∙ mandated ∙ legally ∙ sanctioned ∙ correct ∙ worked ∙ pronouns ∙ transgender

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝To me, the interesting thing is that most of the mainstream media is willing to ignore things like this so long as it's a Democrat doing it to a Republican.❞❞

— NeoWayland

Tags: Obama Administration ∙ Trump Tower ∙ wiretap ∙ Barack Obama ∙ incompetent ∙ liar ∙ Donald Trump ∙ mainstream media ∙ ignore ∙ rule of law ∙ abuse of power ∙ Republicans ∙ Democrats ∙ good ∙ evil ∙ greater harm ∙ maxims

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

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

— NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ truth ∙ rule of law ∙ honor

❝❝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

❝❝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

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

❝❝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 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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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'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

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

Tags: maxims ∙ lawyers ∙ legislators ∙ reality

❝❝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

Tags: maxims ∙ shame ∙ silence ∙ uncomfortable ∙ questions

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

❝❝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

New publication makes it easier

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

❝❝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

❝❝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

❝❝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

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

❝❝You are perfectly capable of making your own decisions. That is your right, that is what makes you human, and fuck all to anyone who tells you different.

KYFHO now and forever. The only protection you should get is the certainty that NO ONE ELSE can use government to control you.

But, if you expect that right for yourself, you’d better damn well defend if for others. Even if you don’t like them. Even if you don’t trust them. Especially if you don’t trust them. Otherwise you will lose your choice.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ KYFHO ∙ human ∙ right ∙ choice & consequence ∙ goverment ∙ other guy

❝❝Pitting Republicans against Democrats or the "right" against the "left" is the distraction. It gives people someone to blame without solving the problem. And it certainly doesn't help that it's selectively reported, depending on which party holds the Presidency.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Republicans ∙ Democrats ∙ right ∙ left ∙ blame ∙ distraction ∙ Presidency ∙ problems ∙ reported

❝❝It’s simple. If you want to live free, you can’t meddle in other’s lives.

The second you start meddling is the second you sacrifice your own rights.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ free ∙ meddle ∙ sacrifice ∙ rights

❝❝I am not saying that discrimination because of gender, skin color, creed, or sexuality is right. I AM saying that government seeking to control discrimination is more wrong than the discrimination itself.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ discrimination

❝❝I've been telling politicos for years that they've been stupid about immigration. The Democrats want to pretend that the law doesn't exist and the Republicans want to use it selectively.

A nation should protect it's borders. No one has a "right" to immigrate. That being said, the whole idea of so many allowed from this country and none allowed from that country is idiotic.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ immigration ∙ Democrats ∙ Republican ∙ pretend ∙ selectively ∙ borders

❝❝Honest dissent doesn't need outside funding.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ dissent ∙ funding

❝❝There were so many patting themselves on the back and proud that a black man had been elected President that no one bothered to ask if a good man had been elected President.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Barack Obama ∙ President ∙ election

❝❝I think that is the problem behind Washington's "politics as usual" and what passes as "globalism." It's process over goals. Spending money and gathering attention is more important than measurable results.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ globalism ∙ politics as usual ∙ money ∙ attention ∙ results

❝❝You know, in this day and age the term philosopher is disparaged. There are a bunch of academics debating the works of people long dead, trying to stretch writings and sayings to fit their own worldview. They argue over punctuation and the implication of what was not said in which edition. Most of the people called philosophers today are little better than research librarians. They don't think about the practical application, you see.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ cross posted ∙ philosophy ∙ research librarians ∙ philosopher

❝❝Bad because it is prohibited. Something is mala prohibita if and only if the state has forbidden it. I would add regulation as well. Driving without a license or insurance, unusual sex, public nudity, profanity, recreational drug use, opening a small business without the "proper" permit, all these are included. The key concept here is "forbidden." Mala prohibita means that the government will impose morality and ethics by force.

It's no secret that I believe most of the problems in American society are because of too much government and mala prohibita laws.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, mala prohibita

Tags: maxims ∙ lexicon ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝Bad in and of itself. Something is mala in se if and only if it threatens or results in measurable damage to life, liberty, and property. Murder, violent attacks, rape, kidnapping, and theft are included. The key concept here is "measurable damage."❞❞
     — NeoWayland, mala in se

Tags: maxims ∙ lexicon ∙ mala in se

As for secession, no, it's not treason.

Tags: maxims ∙ fair game ∙ commenting

❝❝Kafkatraps are THE keystone of victimhood politics and most identity politics. Without someone recognizing or assuming blame, kafkatraps cease to work.

Kafkatrapping centers on guilt. Don't accept it. Don't reject it. Act as if the accusation is so silly and undeserved it's not even worth discussing. They will repeat, and you still shouldn't pay any attention to the claims. Go on as if the accuser had said nothing of importance. Indeed, go on as if you are trying to keep them from embarrassing themselves further. You're doing them a favor if only they were rational/sober enough to know it.

Kafkatrapping came by way of certain Christian denominations and mala prohibita laws. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."❞❞
     — NeoWayland, kafkatrap

Tags: maxims ∙ lexicon ∙ kafkatrap ∙ victimhood ∙ blame ∙ guilt ∙ accusation ∙ silly ∙ undeserved ∙ accuser ∙ important ∙ embarrassing ∙ Christian ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝So if elected officials no longer honor the Constitution and rig the game so it isn't possible to elect anyone not approved by national party leadership, what obligations do citizens have to honor and respect the government?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ elected office ∙ honor ∙ Constitution ∙ national party leadership ∙ obligations ∙ respect ∙ government

❝❝We've not had a "better" government in decades. Good government is not measured by how much government controls, but by how much it doesn't. It's no accident that America's greatest advances come from places that government doesn't regulate.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ better ∙ government ∙ controls ∙ advances ∙ regulate

❝❝Faith is a personal choice. It has to be, or it has no meaning.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: faith ∙ maxims ∙ cross posted

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

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom

❝❝Personally I don't think anyone should be displayed in state in the Capital unless 1) They were the President, and 2) They died in office. ANYTHING else is political opportunism.

But that's just me.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Billy Graham ∙ Captial Building ∙ lying in state ∙ President ∙ died in office ∙ political opportunism

❝❝What I do know is that sometimes I wander in where I am not wanted and give truthful answers. I'm the pagan that tells Christian conservatives that they don't get to dictate what others worship or how others worship. I'm a male who tells feminists that not all men are guilty. And I'm the libertarian who tells the climate crisis crowd that the climate models don't work.

I appreciate the warning, but I've been troublemaking for a long time. It's one of Coyote's gifts and I'm honor bound not to squander it.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ truth ∙ answers ∙ pagan ∙ Christian ∙ conservatives ∙ worship ∙ male ∙ feminist ∙ libertarian ∙ climate change ∙ climate models ∙ troublemaking ∙ Coyote

❝❝I promise you this, the second after America starts exiling, imprisoning, or permanently disenfranchising people for political opinions, conservatives will be kicked out the same as progressives. That "solution" depends on who controls the politics. What makes you think it will be people you trust who trust you?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ conservatives ∙ progressives ∙ exiling ∙ imprisoning ∙ disenfranchising ∙ political opinions ∙ trust

❝❝This does point out one weakness of identity politics. The label trumps things like ability, character, and fashion sense. It's always going to be about who is first in the victim hierarchy this week. No members of unapproved victim groups need apply.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ victim hierarchy ∙ victim group ∙ identity politics ∙ labels

❝❝Madam, you don't know what rape culture is!

What's more, you demean the experiences of women and children who do suffer living under rape cultures by comparing yourself and your experiences to them.

You're not helping them, all you are doing is guilting people into giving more privilege.

Please, if you do nothing else, stop exploiting their experiences for your agenda.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ rape culture ∙ women ∙ children ∙ privilege ∙ exploit ∙ agenda

❝❝The thing is, we're getting better. Americans especially. We're practically hardwired to help. Show us something that we can do something about and we will do it. Not because we're obligated to, not because of some government edict, but because we genuinely want to. Child fallen in a well? We're there, not only with (mostly unofficial) rescuers but with people feeding the family and the rescuers. New Orleans flooded? We're there with fan boats carrying supplies and the most efficient trucking network on the planet bringing in more. Notably the fan boats got turned away because they weren't "official." You should watch for that, it's a repeating pattern.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ hardwired to help ∙ rescue ∙ New Orleans ∙ fan boats

❝❝You can't trust what the politicos and historians tell you. They each have their separate agendas. They need you to believe the Great Man on a White Horse myth. If ever there was a time when the ordinary person made a profound, undeniable, and fundamental change in society, it was in the 20^th Century civil rights movement. It didn't happen in the Capital building. It happened when a woman refused to give up her seat on a bus. It happened when a group of well dressed and well disciplined men faced down a mob and armed police officers. It took place at the Lincoln Memorial in front of a huge crowd. It happened when one man stood in front of a police squad and said "No." Congress and the Federal government had nothing to do with these acts. These actions and thousands more along with the faith of all those people, that's what changed the world.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ civil rights ∙ Great Man on a White Horse myth ∙ ordinary people ∙ change ∙ society ∙ Capital building ∙ Lincoln Memorial ∙ man ∙ woman ∙ Congress ∙ Federal government

❝❝Government action displaces private action. If government does something, it's not because they do it more efficiently or more humanely or whatever the justification is. It's because government uses the law and the implied use of force to keep anyone else from doing it.

We know that choice and the free market work because even a partial free market over time delivers things faster, cheaper, and with a wider distribution. The same can't be said for government❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government action ∙ private action ∙ force of law ∙ choice ∙ faster ∙ cheaper

❝❝Government WILL abuse power. The only long term answer is reducing the power that government has.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ power ∙ abuse ∙ reduce

❝❝Never trust an institution because it's an institution, always look at what it has done recently.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ institutions ∙ done recently

❝❝I'm really not trying to be difficult here. But I have a hard time seeing how contraception for consensual sex should be on the public dime. How can that be a right when not everyone benefits and taxes are collected by force to pay for it?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ contraception ∙ sex ∙ right ∙ benefits ∙ taxes ∙ force ∙ public dime

❝❝I have mixed feelings on abortion. The one thing I am sure about is that it should not be paid for by government. There are many reasons, but the main one is that it's always easier to spend someone else's money.

Contraception is less complicated. Sex is (or should be) a voluntary act. You choose to have sex. Your neighbors should no more pay for your contraception than they should pay for your designer shoes. This is an example of what I was talking about. If government gives you benefits at the expense of others, it's privilege.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ abortion ∙ contraception ∙ sex ∙ government ∙ someone else's money ∙ neighbors ∙ benefits ∙ privilege

❝❝If you want to tell me about specific injustices done to individuals, that's one thing.

If you want to tell me about generalized injustices against a given class of vaguely defined people, that's something completely different. Especially when that group routinely excludes many people and constantly redefines who is a REAL member.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ injustice ∙ individual ∙ generalized ∙ class ∙ vaguely defined

❝❝Yes, some humans systematically are denied human rights.

Most of them are not American.

The most successful rights movements in history have not divided people into victims groups. They've said that people deserve rights because they are human.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ rights ∙ American ∙ victim group

❝❝Depends on what you are calling a right.

Personally I think there are no women's rights, no pagan rights, no Hispanic rights, no men's rights, no black rights, no gay rights.

There are human rights. Human rights are shared by everyone. Anything else is a privilege, taken at the expense of others by force.

I will fight for and support human rights.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ right ∙ women's rights ∙ pagan rights ∙ Hispanic rights ∙ men's rights ∙ black rights ∙ gay rights ∙ privilege ∙ force

❝❝Because I assume that people are amazing unless they prove otherwise.

Because I prefer asking questions to arguing.

Because I'm not defined by my gender.

And because not everyone is a bigot.

As I said, I look for the Divine in every woman I meet. Can you think of a better way to find people who are honorable, passionate and reasoning at the same time?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ people ∙ questions ∙ gender ∙ bigotry ∙ honorable ∙ passionate ∙ reasoning

❝❝Pardon, but that gets back to the first question I asked. Is it all men that do these terrible things?

I'll ask another, because it should be asked.

Is it most men that do these terrible things?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ men ∙ terrible things

❝❝And if there can be some men who don't have that opinion, why can't there be others?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ men ∙ opinion

❝❝I look for the Divine in every woman I meet. I don't always find it. Sometimes that's my fault, sometimes not.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Divine ∙ woman ∙ fault

❝❝Human rights are the only rights worth fighting for.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ rights ∙ human

❝❝I prefer to assume that people are amazing unless they prove otherwise. Individuals may be awesome or terrible, but men as a group aren't guilty because of the behavior of some.

Treating all men as if they are guilty will not only cost you allies, it means that some good men will stop listening just because being called perpetually guilty is tiresome.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ men ∙ people ∙ individual ∙ group ∙ guilt

❝❝An open and free internet is the last, best hope for humanity. That's why politicos want it regulated.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ internet ∙ regulation ∙ open and free ∙ humanity ∙

❝❝Me, I think men protect their own, and stand between innocents and danger. I'm sure there are hundreds of other ways. I just don't buy that manhood is validated by the gender of the people you might sleep with.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

“Peter Wang died a 'hero' in Florida shooting, wearing his ROTC uniform. Petition seeks a full honors military funeral”

“JROTC students use Kevlar pads to shield classmates from Florida shooter”

“Hero boy shot five times shielding classmates from Florida school gunman”

“Florida school shooting: Football coach shot, killed while protecting students hailed as hero”

“A heroic geography teacher died protecting his students from the Florida high school shooter”

Tags: heroes ∙ toxic masculinity ∙ Peter Wang ∙ Scott Beigel ∙ Anthony Borges ∙ Aaron Feis ∙ Zackary Walls ∙ Colton Haab ∙ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School ∙ Parkland ∙ Florida ∙ maxims ∙ JROTC

❝❝The free market is built on two very simple principles. The first is the voluntary exchange of goods and services between consenting adults. The second is hardly ever acknowledged but just as important. Someone will see something and think "I can do better than that!" Most will fail, some spectacularly. But the ones who succeed change everything. There's no way to tell who will succeed in the free market now or in the next decade. It can't be controlled or predicted. Nor should it be.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ voluntary exchange ∙ consenting adults ∙ I can do better than that ∙ controlled ∙ predicted

❝❝I don't believe in enabling power through victimhood. I know that can seem cruel, but it's not. After a time, the training wheels get in the way.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ victimhood ∙ cruel ∙ training wheels

❝❝Culture is the million different ways we touch one another. We're letting skin color and nationality get in the way.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ skin color ∙ nationality ∙ touch

❝❝\s\ In a TOTALLY unrelated fact that has nothing to do with government abuse of power, including weakening 4th & 5th Amendment protections to the point of uselessness, today is the anniversary of the 16th Amendment and the modern American income tax.

Your government needs to know what you are doing so it can protect you. No need to worry, Citizen, government knows what is best for you at all times. \s\❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ sarcasm ∙ Fourth Amendment ∙ Fifth Amendment ∙ Sixteenth Amendment ∙ income tax ∙ government ∙ protect

“Oct. 23, 2013”

Tags: maxims ∙ politcal correctness ∙ dissent ∙ shut up

❝❝If we can't question the science, then will we be allowed to question the new regulations, taxes, and fees?❞❞
     — NeoWayland, from crux № 12 — climate change

Tags: maxims ∙ climate change ∙ science ∙ regulations ∙ taxes ∙ fees ∙ question ∙ allowed

“Why legal guns can’t be banned from (Delaware) state parks”

Tags: Craig Anderson ∙ Delaware ∙ guns ∙ state parks ∙ clipping ∙ maxims

❝❝Every moral absolute I’ve ever encountered depends on cultural or religious assumptions that probably aren’t shared by all people present.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ absolute

❝❝…when politicos keep secrets, something is screwy.❞❞
     — from the private journal of NeoWayland, 19Jan2013

Tags: maxims ∙ politicos ∙ secrets ∙ 2013

What does it say about Bill Maer? - updated

Tags: maxims ∙ mutual ∙ voluntary ∙ exchange ∙ consenting activities ∙ consenting adults ∙ regulation ∙ license ∙ legislature ∙ economic disparity ∙ KYFHO

❝❝I'm not allowed to share her story while she still lives, but my mother was amazing. While other women were complaining and expecting someone to save them from Terrible Injustice, Mom faced down the obstacles and changed things. Not by protesting, but by quietly demanding the same respect she gave. I learned the aunts and grandmothers theory of history by watching her. She's retired now (for the fifth time) and I am now her caregiver. I'm still terribly proud of her.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Mom ∙ respect ∙ aunts & grandmothers

❝❝Faith and religion don't stay in the nice neat boxes and cabinets we make for them. Syncretism happens, even if it offends the True Believer™.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faith ∙ religion ∙ syncretism

Works like a charm.

Tags: maxims ∙ religion ∙ mainstream ∙ authentic ∙ legitimate ∙ faith ∙ concede

❝❝When the NFL players are on the field, that's not their time. They're being paid millions to play and put on a good show. That's millions by the fans in the stands and the viewers on TV. The NFL is selling a product, it's not something holy. If the fans and viewers don't like what they see, they will take their money elsewhere. And then where will the players be? Off the field on their own time, who cares what the players think? That's their time. Off the field, they have to prove their ideas just like anyone else. But when the players made their paid time political time, they destroyed their own brand.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ NFL ∙ paid ∙ time ∙ fans ∙ viewers

❝❝Celebrate your beliefs and cherish your faith. All I ask is the same. Just don't demand that my beliefs and actions are bound by yours. Live and let live.

What you believe isn't important to me. Your freedom to choose what to believe, that is vital. That is what I will defend.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, A Pagan looks at “Christian America”

Tags: maxims ∙ beliefs ∙ faith ∙ live & let live ∙ freedom of choice ∙ Christian

Tags: maxims ∙ picture ∙ authority ∙ freedom

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

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ black & white ∙ banner

Some of you may have noticed that I tried combining all my self-quotes on one page. It didn't work all that well. I already had a tag called maxims that I was using for the new self-quotes, so I just transferred all the ones from the page to the blog.

One. At. A. Time.

The good news is that it's done and the new quote templates work fine. You can't see it unless I use it, but the quote templates already have A HREF already there so I can attribute the quote.

Anyway, just like Technopagan Yearnings, I'm updating the code. I'm using classes with my copy-paste templates instead of individual copy-paste templates. That's so I can change the class definition in one spot and it will change every use site wide. I won't have to change the individual blog entries. Or the individual elements in the sidebar. Or any of the special pages.

When I get it done, which is going to take a while. The new stuff will have the cleaner code, the stuff that catches my attention and the oldest entries will get the code as I plod through it.
.

Tags: code ∙ maxims

❝❝It was never, ever about tolerance.

It was always, always about control.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ tolerance ∙ control

❝❝If you won't honor someone's religious choice, why should they honor yours?

If you are not willing to live with those of other faiths, why should they give way and not you?

Parity. The Golden Rule. It's in your own teachings if you look hard enough.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ parity test ∙ Golden Rule ∙ religion ∙ faiths

❝❝Common sense means ideas that work on their own without constant fiddling and tweaking.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ ideas ∙ common sense ∙ fiddling ∙ tweaking

❝❝Do you really want pagans and heathens begging government for table scraps that they might give us? If we're really REALLY good and cute enough?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: pagan ∙ heathen ∙ goverment ∙ good ∙ cute ∙ maxims

❝❝I've taken stands for gun rights, alternative sexual practices, the value of the family with men and women role models, religious choice, the free market, and good movies.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ gun rights ∙ sex ∙ family ∙ men ∙ women ∙ religious choice ∙ good movies

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

Tags: maxims ∙ freedom ∙ goverment

❝❝If I can be moral without your faith, why do you wish to bind me to your faith?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faith

❝❝I could care less what faith my neighbor is, but I do care if she lets her dog do it's thing on my lawn.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faith ∙ neighbors ∙ dogs ∙ lawn

❝❝The people who pay attention to laws are not the ones you have to worry about.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ pay attention ∙ people

❝❝Beware anyone who offers an absolute.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ humantics ∙ absolute

❝❝Resist dogma for growth.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ humantics ∙ dogma ∙ growth

❝❝Seek paradox for truth.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ humantics ∙ paradox ∙ truth

❝❝In the absence of understanding, triviality dominates.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ humantics ∙ understanding ∙ triviality

❝❝Competition breeds progress and encourages honesty.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ competition ∙ progress ∙ honest

❝❝People cherish their passions.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ humantics ∙ people ∙ passion

❝❝Humanity is a colony organism.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ colony ∙ humanity ∙ organisim ∙ humantics

❝❝I’ve long since concluded that no one has all the answers or even most of the questions.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ questions ∙ answers

❝❝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

❝❝Not all monotheisms are alike. Just as one example, I'd rather deal with people trying to deny my rights instead of fanatics trying to kill me and mine.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: monotheism ∙ maxims

❝❝I'm still waiting for you to make the case how a hate crime is worse than a non-hate crime for the same “transgression.”❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: hate crime ∙ maxims

❝❝Messing with kids, that's perverted.

Demanding that others acknowledge AND celebrate your sexuality, that's questionable.

Actually being lesbian, gay, transgender, or whatever else isn't.

Mixing your sexuality with politics is a pretty good sign that you're corrupt though.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ kids ∙ sex ∙ sexuality ∙ corruption

❝❝As long as rights are defined in terms of minorities, one person's gain will always be perceived as another's loss. As long as some get exempted from responsibility because they are minorities, they will claim victimhood.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: minority rights ∙ maxims ∙ victimhood

❝❝Many of those making the most noise about minority rights are deliberately perpetuating the situation.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: minority rights ∙ maxims

❝❝I learned a long time ago that it's worth the trouble to make sure she's got at least two climaxes for every one of mine.

Keeps her smiling too.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ sex ∙ climax

❝❝Government gets bigger and more oppressive, that is the nature of government.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ government ∙ oppression

❝❝When government starts defining, it starts regulating.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ goverment ∙ regulation ∙ define

❝❝If someone has served honorably, then they should have whatever they want on their headstone up to and including Mickey Mouse. Government issue or not, it's not about what is “approved.” It's about honoring someone who chose to serve and fulfilled that duty.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ honor ∙ headstone ∙ Mickey Mouse ∙ goverment ∙ duty

❝❝Let people choose and accept responsibility for those choices. It won't be perfect, but it will shed less blood.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ choose ∙ responsibility

❝❝A society is not Christian. An individual is.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ Christian ∙ individual ∙ society

❝❝The virtue or vice is not in the title. It's in the individual.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ vice ∙ virtue ∙ title ∙ individual ∙ labels

❝❝As long as there is a rule of law that doesn't raise one faith above all others, we can deal with the mess. That's one reason I'm grateful for sectarianism. When they argue among themselves over truth, they don't have time to take on the rest. American pluralism grew out of the English Civil War and the American colonists trying to practice their faith as they saw fit and not as dictated by another sect or church.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ faith ∙ sectarianism ∙ pluralism ∙ English Civil War ∙ American colonists ∙ sect ∙ church

❝❝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

❝❝We need to find things we share rather than using faith to define the morality of our society. We can agree to outlaw theft and vandalism, we can't agree on marriage. We can agree that people shouldn't drive under the influence, we can't agree to ban all intoxicants. We can agree that people should be free to make their own choices, we can't agree which choices should be eliminated.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ choice ∙ sharing ∙ theft ∙ vandalism ∙ marriage ∙ under the influence ∙ intoxicants ∙ choice

❝❝Rather than eliminating choice, we should make sure that the consequences are clear.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ choice ∙ consequences

❝❝Mala in se means "bad in and of itself." Something is mala in se if and only if it threatens or results in measurable damage to life, liberty, and property. Mala prohibita means "bad because it is prohibited." Something is mala prohibita if and only if the state has forbidden it. I would add regulation as well.

To prove mala in se, you have to show measurable damage. Mala prohibita means that the government will impose morality and ethics by force.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: damage ∙ forbidden ∙ maxims ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝If you have to make the "right choice" for someone, you're taking away their freedom. You're taking away their right to be wrong. You're taking away their opportunity to learn from their mistakes. You're taking away their judgement. You're saying they aren't fully human. You're saying that they can't be trusted.

And you're saying that your beliefs can't compete.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ choice ∙ for your own good

❝❝We should go back to the original national motto. "In God We Trust" is so divisive, and it takes the responsibility away from the individual citizen and puts it in the hands of an unseen overlord. That is a big part of what led to this nonsense. I always preferred the original National Motto. E Pluribus Unum is Latin for "one from many parts" but I prefer another translation.

“United we stand.”❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ national motto ∙ In God We Trust ∙ E pluribus unum ∙ united we stand

❝❝Honoring your faith is admirable. Demanding that I honor your faith is despicable.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: honor ∙ faith ∙ demand ∙ despicable ∙ maxims

❝❝If ethics have to be forced, that's pretty immoral right there.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ ethics ∙ force ∙ immoral

❝❝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

❝❝If someone wants to forbid gay marriage, what would they do if the law only allowed gay marriage? If someone wanted Bible study in schools, what would they do if the law only allowed the Koran in schools? If someone wanted a Christian president, what would they do if the law prohibited a Christian president?❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ forbidden ∙ gay marriage ∙ Bible ∙ Koran ∙ Christian

❝❝It's the old parity test again. And it is the surefire method to tell if a law is mala in se or mala prohibita. ❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ parity test ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝Why should I be expected to live under their beliefs if they aren't willing to live under mine?❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ beliefs

❝❝We can agree on the mala in se but we can't agree on the mala prohibita.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ agree ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝Science doesn't work on consensus. The law of gravity didn't require a majority vote of the High Council of Scientists before working. It described a behavior which could be replicated and measured.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ science ∙ consensus ∙ majority ∙ working ∙ behavior ∙ replicated ∙ measured

❝❝Religion is the excuse not the reason.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: religion ∙ excuse ∙ reason ∙ maxims

❝❝Do you really want politicos deciding what is moral harm?❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: politicos ∙ moral authority ∙ harm ∙ maxims

❝❝Politicos lie. It's what they do. The mistake is believing that one “flavor” is somehow morally better.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ politicos ∙ lies

❝❝The question isn't which politico is better. The question is why we're allowing ourselves to be manipulated into believing that government and Our Elected Officials™ know what's best and will serve us.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ politicos ∙ goverment ∙ know best ∙ will serve us

❝❝Please don't presume you can speak for me. You do it badly.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ speak for me