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Category: Official thuggery, bad prosecutions, and bad law

A great big mea culpa to (almost) all conspiracy theorists everywhere

Older readers may remember the Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. First published in 1975, but clearly a product of the wild 1960s, it’s a mad, non-linear romp through political conspiracy theories, drugs, sex, and pretty much anything else you want to read into it. It begins with the assumption that every single conspiracy theory about the assassination of President Kennedy is absolutely true, then goes on to encompass the birth of the Illuminati in 1776, ancient Egyptians, John Dillinger, the American Medical Association, and the thoughts of a squirrel in New York City. Among other weirdness.…

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A ramble through the collapsing oligarchy

(H/T Brad; from the early days of the convoy, but forever heartening) The aristos are scared. Question is: Are they scared enough? That is, do they finally realize it’s time — and past time — to heed the pleas of the peasants? Answer (of course): No. Sure, some of the lower level, more directly accountable ones — provincial and state governors — are grudgingly getting the message. (Thank you, Canadian truckers.) At higher levels, they still seem to think, as aristos always think, that a vigorous ass-kicking or a handy war will put an end to the uppitiness and afterward…

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“If I can’t buy groceries, nobody’s gonna buy groceries”: A New Year’s think piece

Well, 2021 hadn’t even died its well-deserved death before the CDC basically created a whole new class of the unvaxxed insufficiently vaxxed. I wonder how many of the previously “fully vaxxed” will now be fed up enough to join the resistance? (I’m thinking of you, Neighbor J and Furrydoc.) In any case, totalitarianism marches on, this time on the excuse of a disease that’s generally been described as a bad cold. Does anybody doubt that 2022 — if it doesn’t bring more outright and serious rebellion from We the People — will bring us vaccine passports and harsher restrictions on…

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Violence, fantasy and reality:
Where does it go from here?
Part I

The other day I witnessed a conversation I could never have imagined. Picture two successful professionals, thoroughly decent people, respected (perhaps even revered) in their fields. Intelligent, moderate individuals, but outside what was once the political mainstream. They relax over glasses of wine, discussing a certain prominent “public health expert.” They discuss whether prison is too good for said expert, or whether dragging him behind a mule cart, drawing, castrating, quartering, and placing his head on a pike in a public square is more appropriate. And no, they hadn’t had that much wine. Both were embarrassed by their own words.…

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We are — suddenly — not alone

I’m pausing the “Our job” series to talk about what’s going on now, which is so bad it might become good. —– When you thought about your line in the sand I’ll bet you never thought about this. I bet you thought about gun confiscation or internment camps or invasion by blue-helmeted “peacekeepers.” Maybe you believed your line in the sand would be reached if your religion was outlawed or your son or daughter was drafted to fight in one of the empire’s future foreign wars. Your personal line in the sand could be any one, or two, or three…

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Our job, part II-b: Cracks and opportunities in the medical system

Note: I would be very glad to have experienced health-care workers jump into comments with any additions, corrections (however savage), reality checks, bright ideas, personal insights, or other forms of enlightenment. —– One thing about the hardest systems to route around: Being HARD, lacking flexibility, they develop a lot of cracks. Take a look at any heavily institutionalized or subsidized medical system. I’ll use the U.S. system because the U.S. is home-not-so-sweet-home. But despite the claims that various socialized systems (e.g. Canada’s and the UK’s) are inherently better, many of the same or equally awful drawbacks apply to them. We…

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Dealing with our new totalitarian reality, part I

There’s one thing you can say for totalitarianism: the coolest people will all be Outlaws. They’ll import and export goods without government controls. They’ll provide free-market services. They’ll operate free communication networks. They’ll make unregulated products and sell them in unregulated ways. They’ll barter, use cash, use gold or silver, develop and use new forms of cryptocurrencies. It’ll be just like Libertopia. Except, you know, with the ever-present threat of death or long, harsh imprisonment. But that’s what Outlaws are about. Since totalitarianism is the direction we’re going, hey we might as well enjoy a few silver linings. —– I…

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What to do when you’re screwed

If you’re going through hell, keep going. –Winston Churchill —– We hardly need Arnold Schwartzenegger to tell us our freedom is screwed. As determined as we freedomistas may be to uphold our mental and philosophical freedoms, our political freedoms and economic freedoms are gone-gone-gone. They’ve been going for decades of course. But we now live under a regime that in eight months has ruled via a combination of ever-shifting whim, diktat, incompetence, and a complete disregard for reason, principle, or constitutional law. When you’re ruled by capricious madmen, your external freedoms are moot. Here today, gone tomorrow, partially restored for…

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Who’s in denial? Part II

Who’s in denial about our current cultural and political state of collapse? Most everybody. Millions of ordinary people who think bad times are always temporary are in denial. Oligarchs and plutocrats who believe we ordinary people are eternally tractable and malleable are in denial. Intellectuals who believe increasing quantities of fashionable nonsense are in denial. Politicians and their handlers who believe they can rule by fiat without consequences are in denial. Fools who imagine “the science” is a religion and that dissent from any statement by a high priest government-approved scientist is heresy are in denial. I’ve been in denial…

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Who’s in denial? Part I

Over the years, when people have asked me, “Is it time yet, Claire?” my response has always been something like this: It may be moral to ‘shoot the bastards’ who kill freedom, but this isn’t the time. It doesn’t make tactical or strategic sense. Violence now will only make things much, much worse. That’s still my strong conviction. To any members of the Deep State trolling the ‘Net desperately searching for those elusive “domestic terrorists” they’re so determined to locate invent: I’m a useless target for you. I don’t advocate violence except in self-defense and I dread seeing anybody, especially…

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