Moving beyond misconceptions Comment threads on part I and part II were full of interesting insights. Well, comments around here nearly always are. But these were interesting for the mix of wisdom and folly they contained — both held with equal passion. When I challenged people (sarcastically, I admit) to point me toward a single local government that consistently and reliably obeyed the law, respected individuals, and kept within its bounds, people responded with exactly the sort of examples that proved my point. Yes, you can demonstrate that when local governments become sufficiently corrupt and abusive, angry voters will rise…
Category: Mind and Spirit
Spirituality, moods, feelings, and thinking free to live free.
Well, maybe it’s actually the one-and-only Girls-Only Peep Shoot and Melon Exploding Expo. It was kind of an impromptu thing. Yesterday, my friends Gerri and Lorri (not their real names) and I braved rain and ankle-deep mud to spend a couple hours at a local quarry blowing away paper targets, those obnoxious little Easter Peeps, and (finally) rotten cantaloupes. The main purpose of the excursion was to get Lorri shooting again. Between the ages of five and 13 she was quite the marksgirl, taught by a loving father who liked to take her hunting. Then her dad dropped dead. She…
This wasn’t actually intended as part of the “Responsibilities” series. But it’s related and I had to get it off my chest. So consider it a mini rant within the larger rant, an interlude, or whatever you like. —– I have a question for the folks who are always saying we can end tyranny (or corruption or government overspending) by a) keeping an eagle eye on “our” politicians and b) voting the rascals out of office. Ready for the question, you advocates of politician-watching? Here goes: The governments of your city and your county are as uncorrupt and responsible as…
First they came for the … One of the hardest things about living in a police state is watching other people be crushed by state power and feeling unable to do a thing about it. We read Pastor Neimoeller’s famous lines as a warning to ourselves. But really, there’s not much chance of heeding the warning in a way that changes anything — except perhaps for the worse. If the police state is as ruthless (and as popular among the citizens) as Hitler’s, speaking out is only likely to get the speaker rounded up along with all the other “enemies…
Ephraim McLean Brank. From Wikipedia (and from a dismayed Brit): We marched in solid column in a direct line, upon the American defenses. …[W]hat attracted our attention most was the figure of a tall man standing on the breastworks dressed in linsey-woolsey, with buckskin leggins and a broad-brimmed hat that fell around his face almost concealing his features. He was standing in one of those picturesque graceful attitudes peculiar to those natural men dwelling in forests. The body rested on the left leg and swayed with a curved line upward. The right arm was extended, the hand grasping the rifle…
Yeah. what he said. —– ADDED: And what he said, too. (Tip o’ hat to LD.) Except that it is of course about the Declaration of Independence. And there are many ways to declare it. I have trouble with holidays. Nearly all of them. Because the “official” line, whatever it may be depending on the day, always removes the meat and substitutes pabulum. And the missing-the-pointness of Independence Day is one of the saddest things. These guys, Kevin and the Arctic Patriot, say what I, in sorrow, can’t say on the day.
That was the greeting on an email that popped into my mailbox bright and early July 1. Surprised the heck out of me, of course. A friendly stranger had promised himself last December to give me a “Christmas in July” smile (and that you did, B). So Merry Christmas to you, too. And why not? It’s Independence Day. But it’s hard to celebrate the birth of freedom while enduring freedom’s death agonies. Somehow this weekend’s three-day pops, sizzles, and crackles of fireworks sound hollow (wonder how long it’ll be before SWAT teams mow children down in their living rooms for…
This wonderful story found by Jim B. must be rescued from the comment section. Oh, don’t you wish this woman could be your doctor!
L (who might possibly be on some mind-altering substance) writes: For some time I have been frustrated with web-based pontificators with memberships/advertisers touting “the end is near.” I have no objections to the notion that we are headed for calamity, and in fact think we are. BUT My frustration(s): 1) Would someone toss me a freaking bone and tell me WHEN … I keep hearing “any day now” and have for the past 12 years … I am getting “survival fatigue.” (NOTE from Claire. Only 12 years, L? Why, you’re just a babe in the woods. “Any day now” has…
Proof that humans are born with respect for private property (well, sort of proof). The first comment is proof that some people are born or bred tyrants. “The Freedom of Simplicity. Yeah. Making life transitions more meaningful (and less hellaciously expensive). When the catalysts commence to catalyzing. The article’s not bad, but I was most taken with the comment by Scott. Suicide. And 13 other ways to deal with failure. I just discovered that Paladin has a very good combo deal on The Freedom Outlaws Handbook and I Am Not a Number!. In case you want to know. Otherwise just…