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Better than this

If we weren't better than this, this wouldn't bother so many people.
— NeoWayland
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Two and only two alternatives

When someone starts offering two and only two alternatives, that's the cue to look for the fourth, fifth, and sixth choices.
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NeoNote — The urge to meddle

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

Outside, no. We should be an inspiration, not a hegemony.
— NeoWayland
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Political orientation

Political orientation isn't the problem. Politics is.
— NeoWayland
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Measure

Measure a man in the lives he touched.
— NeoWayland
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NeoNote — Not right or left

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?
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

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The question changes

If government is not a net benefit, then the question “What can government do?” changes to “How do we limit costs?”
— NeoWayland, liberty question
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Some works

Some works speak to the ages, and some whimper to the egos.
— NeoWayland
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Culture is syncretic

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

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Between you and tyranny

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
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Power to abuse

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
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Making your own choices

You're perfectly capable of making your own choices.

The real question is why politicos don't want you doing that.
— NeoWayland
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Problems

Let's fix problems caused by government with… more government!
— NeoWayland
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Allowed economic choices

The economic choices allowed by government to most American citizens are meant to control them, not to free them.
— NeoWayland
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NeoNote — Flow of value

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.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

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Break the myth

Let's break the myth that government is the first, best, and last solution.
— NeoWayland
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"Controlling" an economy

"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
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Corrosive government

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

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Mutual respect

Economics describes the flow of value.

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Definining libertarians

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

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Defining conservatives

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
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Defining modern liberals

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
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Do good

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
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Underdog

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
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History changes

History changes not because of Great People doing Great Things, but because of ordinary people choosing extraordinary things.
— NeoWayland
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Labeled

Public spectacle to bypass the law and suppress dissent.

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"People of color"

"People of color" don't need me to make them victims, they are too busy doing it themselves.
— NeoWayland
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One single person

If one single person means you can't honor your country, then you probably never honored it to begin with.
— NeoWayland
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Professional academics

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
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Power from victimhood

If you teach people to only take power from their victimhood, all you're really doing is teaching them to stay victims.
— NeoWayland
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Greet the sunrise

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
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If the American government were a car…

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.
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Never more government

Yahoo pulls the plug on fake profiles used by British police

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Break the myth

Let's break the myth that government is the first, best, and last solution.
— NeoWayland
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Allegations

The allegations against Trump described the Clintons' behavior.
— NeoWayland
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American medical costs

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
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Trump's one virtue

Trump's one virtue is that he's a disruptor.
— NeoWayland
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Mark of monotheism

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
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Blind spots and authority

I know that expertise does more to define blind spots than establish authority.
— NeoWayland
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We don't agree with each other

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
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Not part of the climate crisis crowd

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
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Government gets involved

When government gets involved, count on costs going up, quality going down, and availability diminishing.
— NeoWayland
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Outside the law

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
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Fear mongering

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.
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Here's what you haven't been told about ethanol

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.
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What would Walt think?

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
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Too much power

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
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NeoNote – “What I do is not up to you.”

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.

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Women's rights

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
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Racial justice

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

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Worker rights

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
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Language

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
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“Coolness was never conservative.”

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
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Works for religion

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.
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Say what you want about Republicans

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.
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One tenth the effort

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
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NeoNote — The grand distraction

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.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

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Islam

Islam is a faith. Criticism of Islam is not racism.
— NeoWayland
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NeoNote — Unjustified privilege

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.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

Comments

Personally I'd be willing to live and let live with Christians.

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
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Pet peeve

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
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NeoNote — This tragedy does not reflect on Heathens.

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.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

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NeoNote — Religion & morality

There is nothing that prevents people from following religious law. But there is nothing that demands others follow those same religious laws.
— NeoWayland
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Science is

Science is just what we know so far.
— NeoWayland
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NeoNote — Brand D

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.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

Comments

NeoNote — Naturally Good

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
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NeoNote — Wiretapping

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
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Maybe the fault isn't in the "Right" or "Left…"

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
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NeoNote — Politicos want problems they can stage-manage

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?
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Comments

Perfect solution

We don't have a perfect solution. But we don't need one. We just have to make today better than yesterday.
— NeoWayland
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Expertise and understanding

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
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Science doesn't work by consensus

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
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Dispute

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
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Not a defect

Consider this. Is it possible that the corruption and graft are a function of the system and not a defect?
— NeoWayland
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Education should not be pre-chewed

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.
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It's never enough

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.
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Not about who is better

It’s not about who is better, it’s about what we can do together.
— NeoWayland
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Utopian ideas

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
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Truth, liberty and the rule of law

I honor truth, liberty, and the rule of law in that order.
— NeoWayland
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You see, I've done this before.

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.
Comments

It's not love, it's passion

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
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Justification for control

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
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“Love is reciprocal.”

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

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Last resort

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
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❝All religions are not equal…❞

So does that mean that the Decalogue has no value?

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❝I can't be responsible for them…❞

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.
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Must not be questioned

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.
Comments

Some monotheists

Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.
 — NeoWayland
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If you can't trust your worst enemy…

I called the U.S. House election wrong.

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What people could put into their bodies

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
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Hexing justice

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
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Carbon neutrality

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
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Cloaks itself in science

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
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Geniune Tree Hugging Pagan

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
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Regulations

Regulations exist so politicos can evade responsibility for unpopular choices.
     — NeoWayland, technocrat
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When politics define your personhood

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
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Wannabe

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

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
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Because I can't be trusted

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
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And then 9-11 happened.

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?
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Objective

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

Frustrates the hell out of them too.
     — NeoWayland
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Making the personal political

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

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
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Define reality

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

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Republican racism

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
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Degradation

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
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Labels

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
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What's the point?

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
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Threatened

I've never gotten a straight answer.

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Politics of shame

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Demonic realms

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Great and destructive evil

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
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FamousFeminist

New publication makes it easier

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My theory

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
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Essence of libertarianism

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
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It's only shame if I accept the premise.

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?
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Run out of people

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
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Mutual consent

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
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Religion enshrined in law

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
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Wholly remarkable

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
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Right choice

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
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Law is not moral

The law is not moral.

That's up to us humans.

(Apologies if I offended any nascent AIs)
     — NeoWayland
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Deliberately forgetting

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
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However

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

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

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

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Asking to be abused

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

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I don't have an easy answer.

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
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KYFHO now & forever

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
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Republicans against Democrats

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
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Live free

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
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Discrimination

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
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Pretend selectively

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
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Honest dissent

Honest dissent doesn't need outside funding.
     — NeoWayland
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No one asked

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
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Process over goals

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
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Practical philosophy

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
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Mala prohibita

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
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Mala in se

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
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Fair game

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

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Kafkatrap

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
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Obliged

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
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Better 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
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Personal

Faith is a personal choice. It has to be, or it has no meaning.
     — NeoWayland
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The Great Secret

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

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
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Truthful answers

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
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I promise you this

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
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One weakness of identity politics

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
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Rape culture

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
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Getting better

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
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What the politicos and historians tell you

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 20th 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
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Government action displaces private action

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
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Government WILL abuse power

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

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

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
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Abortion & contraception

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
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Injustices

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
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Deserve rights

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
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Human rights

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
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Bigot

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
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Is it most men

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
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Some men

And if there can be some men who don't have that opinion, why can't there be others?
     — NeoWayland
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Look for the Divine

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

Human rights are the only rights worth fighting for.
     — NeoWayland
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People are amazing

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
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Open and free

An open and free internet is the last, best hope for humanity. That's why politicos want it regulated.
     — NeoWayland
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No, boys aren't broken

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”

Read More...
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“I can do better than that!”

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
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Training wheels

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
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Million different ways

Culture is the million different ways we touch one another. We're letting skin color and nationality get in the way.
     — NeoWayland
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16th Amendment

\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
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Pretty sure

“Oct. 23, 2013”

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Will we be allowed

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
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Keeping the public safe

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

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Moral absolute

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

…when politicos keep secrets, something is screwy.
     — from the private journal of NeoWayland, 19Jan2013
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The free market is more free

What does it say about Bill Maer? - updated

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My mother was amazing

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
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Syncretism happens even if it offends

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

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Concede the war

Works like a charm.

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Destroyed their own brand

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
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Celebrate

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”

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Authority banner

Authority progresses and freedom regresses
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Liberty demands

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

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What's with all the quotes?

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.
.
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Tolerance & control

It was never, ever about tolerance.

It was always, always about control.
     — NeoWayland
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Parity

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
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Common sense

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

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
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Taken stands

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
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Single issue

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

If I can be moral without your faith, why do you wish to bind me to your faith?
     — NeoWayland
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What 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
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Pay attention to laws

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

Beware anyone who offers an absolute.
     — NeoWayland
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Dogma

Resist dogma for growth.
     — NeoWayland
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Paradox

Seek paradox for truth.
     — NeoWayland
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Triviality

In the absence of understanding, triviality dominates.
     — NeoWayland
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Competition

Competition breeds progress and encourages honesty.
     — NeoWayland
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Passions

People cherish their passions.
     — NeoWayland
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Colony organism

Humanity is a colony organism.
     — NeoWayland
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Answers & questions

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

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

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
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Hate crime

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
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Questionable

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
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In terms of minorities

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
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Minority rights

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

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
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Nature of government

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

When government starts defining, it starts regulating.
     — NeoWayland
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Headstone

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
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Let people choose

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

A society is not Christian. An individual is.
     — NeoWayland
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Virtue or vice

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

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
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Path to freedom

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
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Find things we share

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
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Eliminating choice

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

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
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Right choice

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
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National motto

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
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Honoring your faith

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

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

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
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Forbid

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
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Surefire

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
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Live under their beliefs

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
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We can't agree

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
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Science doesn't work on consensus

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
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Religion is the excuse

Religion is the excuse not the reason.
     — NeoWayland
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Moral harm

Do you really want politicos deciding what is moral harm?
     — NeoWayland
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Politicos lie

Politicos lie. It's what they do. The mistake is believing that one “flavor” is somehow morally better.
     — NeoWayland
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We're allowing ourselves to be manipulated

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
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Speak for me

Please don't presume you can speak for me. You do it badly.
     — NeoWayland
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Please do not salt the Earth

Please do not salt the Earth.

Plant flowers and fruit trees in the rubble.
     — NeoWayland
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Distrust government

I distrust the very notion of government. Especially an ever expanding government with no apparent restraints where the only real concern is when “your guys” aren't in charge.
     — NeoWayland
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We let it happen

We let it happen.

We bought the lie that compassion triumphs practicality. We accepted that “blacks” deserved more privileges because of history. We let generations be victims when they deserved to be heroes.
     — NeoWayland
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Fighting and living

I could say that fighting and living serves better than dying. That, and making the place a little better before you leave.
     — NeoWayland
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Church Militant

A Church Militant with willing martyrs doesn't serve the glory of a god as much as the personal power of princes, potentates, and priests.
     — NeoWayland
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My faith

My faith and beliefs are at least as important to me as yours are to you.
     — NeoWayland
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Seeking power

History shows that politics corrupts faith. It's not the Divine who stirs up politics, it's the priests and priestesses seeking power.
     — NeoWayland
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Politics corrupts faith

We know politics corrupts faith and religion. We've ample evidence what happens when the People of the Book try it.
     — NeoWayland
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People who challenge my thinking

The only worthy faiths and beliefs are those freely chosen

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Denying global warming

I'm notorious in online pagan groups for denying global warming and saying that environmentalism is a failed cause that should be replaced with ecology.

I'm rather proud of that.
     — NeoWayland
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Good person

Sometimes I ask Christians if someone can be a good person without being Christian.
     — NeoWayland
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Mark 12:17

One of my professors pointed out that Mark 12:17 could be interpreted to keep politics out of religion and religion out of politics. It's probably not true, but I like the thought. Politics is about controlling others and we know it corrupts almost everything it touches.
     — NeoWayland
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Syncretism happens

I would like to point out that there were vital and influential cultures that existed before Christianity. Syncretism happens.
     — NeoWayland
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Human Choice

I'm certain that these people do not have demonic hordes from realms infernal on speed dial, nor are they in direct contact with your Prince of Lies.

I'm equally certain that there will not be a heavenly host to put right what once was wrong, and that you didn't get marching orders directly from on high.

The manifestation is human.

The problem came from human choice and the solution has to come through human choice.
     — NeoWayland
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Folly

You haven't lived until you have an evangelical Christian and a radical atheist both trying to save you from your “folly” at the same time. After a bit they forget about you and argue with each other.

Great entertainment.
     — NeoWayland
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For Your Own Good

Right, because “For Your Own Good” was such a rousing success with Prohibition, explicit song lyrics, university speech codes, global warming, and Obamacare.
     — NeoWayland
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Tragedy of the “American Century”

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

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

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

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

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

Casting stones at another faith seems a little petty.
     — NeoWayland
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Diety

Let's just say that I choose to perceive and acknowledge Deity in a different form than you do and leave it at that.
     — NeoWayland
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The Bible, tain't mine

The Bible may be a very fine book, but “tain't mine.” I don't expect to follow it's rules any more than I would expect you to follow Sikhism.

It's also not the only source of wisdom, or even the “Golden Rule.”
     — NeoWayland
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Insulting

I'm just saying that if a Christian complains because Christianity is being mocked or attacked, insulting another faith is deluded at best. What's good for the goose should be good for the gander. Or if you prefer, the Golden Rule. Or that bit about casting stones…
     — NeoWayland
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Syncretism

Do you know how many cultures and nations Western Civilization borrowed from? Syncretism, it's not just for religion.

It's not necessary to claim WestCiv as “white.” Just say it's a collection of extraordinarily proven good ideas that have worked time and time again. Claim it as “white” and you're invoking tribalism and rousing people's natural defenses. Claim it as “white” and in a very patronizing way you grant permission to join.

Invite people to join because “they can make it better” works with more people. And it makes your life better too.
     — NeoWayland
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Truthful answers

Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers.

Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.
     — NeoWayland
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Behind the curtain

Invoke science as an unquestionable authority and someone will show the truth behind the curtain. That’s the nature of science.
     — NeoWayland
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Politics is not about reform

Politics is not about reform.

Politics is about control.

Politics is never about reform, even when the politicos say that it is.

By definition, reform can't come from within. It almost always splits off into a new thing.
     — NeoWayland
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Perspective

My perspective is just a tad different. Does that make me wrong? Well, that's an interesting question, isn't it?

I'll give you another. If I'm right, does that make you wrong?

Oh, and remember that I prefer not to use either/or situations.
     — NeoWayland
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Legislation and morality

Legislation is not morality, and morality certainly isn't legislation. The distinction must be made. Otherwise politicos wrap themselves in the flag AND hide behind the most convenient faith/moral code they can find. Arguing over morality keeps us honest. We're better when we verbally defend our ideas to people who don't necessarily share our beliefs.
     — NeoWayland
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Illegal

Passing a law saying that a behavior is illegal doesn't stop the behavior. Prohibition is the best known failure. Pick a vice law, any vice law for others.
     — NeoWayland
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Show virtue

An individual can show virtue. At best, a label must borrow virtue. Labels will hold most of the blame, though.
     — NeoWayland
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Label

It's not liberalism, it's the label. And it doesn't matter if the label is progressive, conservative, Christian, atheist, or United States Senator. The label has no virtue or vice, no morality, and no inherent worth. It's the individual that owns the outcome of their thoughts, words, and deeds. It's the individual and the individual alone who can take responsibility.
     — NeoWayland
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Can't give liberty

It's about the liberty, you see. You can't give that to anyone.
     — NeoWayland
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Institutional churches

I think it has a lot to do with how connected someone feels to their church/temple/circle/whatever. I think that big institutional churches appear more interested in putting butts in pews than any genuine mission. The church members just give a little time every week and put some cash in the offering. Easy peasy. I really don't understand how those “megachurches” work. To me, if a normally-sighted person can't see the pulpit clearly from the back row without a huge television screen, then it's not really a church. It's an entertainment palace.

What can I say? My own practice demands personal involvement. Even without that, I've got a bunch of preacher ancestors who would disapprove.
     — NeoWayland
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Collapse

At this point, I don't think anyone can stop the collapse. Nor do I think that's bad. There are how many laws on the books? How many regulations in the Federal Register? We've been conditioned to depend on government to help us. Cut spending, but not national defense. Cut spending, but not aid to Israel or Saudi Arabia. Cut spending, but not Social Security. And some banks and unions are Too Big To Fail.
     — NeoWayland
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Core of Christianity

Exclusivity is not the core of Christianity. How Christians live their life is. That shows in how they touch the lives of others.
     — NeoWayland
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Nicer

Christians are a lot nicer to be around when everyone else doesn't have to defer to them. “One path among many” means Christians usually pay attention to what others say. It means Christians have to defend what they say and do without hiding behind scripture.
     — NeoWayland
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Choice & consequences

Recognizing that the choice AND the consequences are mine and mine alone means I'm a rational adult.
     — NeoWayland
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Meetings and updates

Weekly meetings and daily updates on any major project. Show up unexpectedly to poke around, not once but several times. And as the deadlines get closer, meet more and inspect more. If it is important, you watch it carefully. This is business school 201, this is leadership 101.
     — NeoWayland
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Answers that work

Science isn't about presenting conclusions, it's about finding answers that work.
     — NeoWayland
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Science is a process

Science is an inquiry process. It's not a set of laws carved in stone forever and ever.

Everything you cited above (claims, explanations, proposals) come from people, not science.

Science just shows how well it works. Or if people need to look harder.
     — NeoWayland
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Govern

We've been taught that government is supposed to govern and control the other guy.

That's the guy who is the problem.

Not us. Never us. It's not our fault.
     — NeoWayland
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Reform

I'm obligated to point out that the quickest and easiest way to achieve those reforms is for the "ship of state" to sink.
     — NeoWayland
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Charity

If I choose to give, that is charity and can be celebrated. If I am manipulated or threatened into giving, that is extortion. I don't care how good the cause is, if I am required to give without my consent, that threatens my freedom. I shouldn't be tricked into it “for my own good” or “for the greater good.” I want to know WHY, and I want an honest answer. I demand the choice to walk away.
     — NeoWayland
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Generations

We let generations be victims when they deserved to be heroes.
     — NeoWayland
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Problem

The problem you see is not the problem they see.
     — NeoWayland
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Inspire me

Don't try to shame me with stories of victims, inspire me with the stories of the heroes.
     — NeoWayland
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Entitled because of your pain

You’re not entitled because of your pain. The world is full of pain. You can’t demand charity.

The world needs heroes more than it needs victims.
     — NeoWayland
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Empathy

You're not upset over my lack of empathy. It's that I don't show empathy in the approved fashion for the victim groups you designate.
     — NeoWayland
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Blood of the unbelievers

It's not the gods calling for the blood of the unbelievers. It's the priests. It's the generals. It's the emperors.
     — NeoWayland
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Science is the bastard child of magick

Science grew out of experimenting with things unseen and unknowable. Science is the bastard child of magick.
     — NeoWayland
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Fewer weapons

We could do with fewer weapons and soldiers if our politicos stopped the empire building.
     — NeoWayland
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Self-worth

If your moral self worth is defined by either your victimhood or your compassion, then those will be the things you defend. Even principles will take a back seat if “it's for the greater good.” Taking a stand is less important than reversing current oppression or preventing future oppression.
     — NeoWayland
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Tit for tat

Tit for tat. Long term rules means honor brings advantage. Short term rules mean that honor is a disadvantage.
     — NeoWayland
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Razzle dazzle

Everyone is amazed by the razzle dazzle moment. No one thinks about all the work, study, and experimenting beforehand that made it possible.
     — NeoWayland
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Experience

Experience trumps language every time.
     — NeoWayland
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Do more with less

Elegant simplicity adapts and does more with less. One sure sign of a master.
     — NeoWayland
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Ecology vs. environmentalism

Ecology studies how living systems interact and interconnect with each other. Environmentalism is about teaching and compelling behavior. These words are not synonyms. As both a pagan and a libertarian, I can not support environmentalism.
     — NeoWayland
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Proud

Be proud but don't invite trouble.
     — NeoWayland
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Aunts & grandmothers

“The men may sit in council but the aunts and the grandmothers shape lives.” Measure a culture by the attention it pays to those not a part of the official leadership structure.
     — NeoWayland
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Ask

Ask questions. Question the answers. Question your questions.
     — NeoWayland
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One side

We have one side of the story which isn't enough to judge.
     — NeoWayland
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Conservaties, progressives, & sex

When it comes to sex, conservatives want to deny choice and progressives want to deny responsibility. I want a world with both.
     — NeoWayland
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A person's worth

My grandfather's funeral taught me that a person's worth is found in the lives they touch.
     — NeoWayland
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A woman's sexual behavior

I'm not responsible for a woman's sexual behavior any more than I am responsible for the color of her shoes. It's her choice and her responsibility. It's not her neighbor's responsibility. It's not society's responsibility.
     — NeoWayland
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Responsible

Don’t hold someone responsible unless they were present, of age, and participating.
     — NeoWayland
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Signposts

Books aren't destinations, they're signposts. Like it or not, you still make the journey yourself. You can always go further than the book can carry you.
     — NeoWayland
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Words matter

Words matter. Actions matter more. Intentions don’t.
     — NeoWayland
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Honor expects

Honor expects three warnings before you act.
     — NeoWayland
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Test it thrice

Test it thrice.
     — NeoWayland
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Ease your pain

To ease your pain and shame, share it separately with three people you trust.
     — NeoWayland
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Truth

Let people discover truth before you speak. Make sure the truth is necessary before you speak. Judge if the listener is worthy of truth before you speak.
     — NeoWayland
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One thing

Say only one thing for every three things they say.
     — NeoWayland
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Listen

Start by listening. Before you say anything, listen again. Just to make sure you understand, listen again.
     — NeoWayland
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Everyone shares a right

It's one of the simplest human guidelines. Everyone shares a right. You don't have it unless the other does.

Privileges exclude people. Only some get privileges. Privileges are not rights, and rights are not privileges.

It's why there are human rights. Most muddy the waters and call privileges rights. Black rights? Christian rights? Police rights? These do not exist. These are privileges that rule out whole classes of people.
     — NeoWayland
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Fringe

I prefer operating from the fringe. No great recognition, but no glow-in-the-dark targets either.
     — NeoWayland
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Secret of life

What is the secret of life?

Leave the place a little better than how you found it.
     — NeoWayland
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Wrapped in the flag

When a politico wraps himself in the flag, double check your liberty and count on finding brown stains afterwards.
     — NeoWayland
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Pattern in the universe

The patterns we see in the universe may be nothing more than longing and human conceit. But if using those patterns give us a desired result, then the patterns are a useful fiction. The “ultimate reality” or even our belief doesn't necessarily matter, if we behave as if we believe and successfully reach our goals.
     — NeoWayland
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Meddle

People love to meddle. They want to control other people “for their own good.” Public education, foreign policy, sub-prime mortgages, all happened because someone thought they knew better and used force to inflict it on everyone else.
     — NeoWayland
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Heroes

The best heroes are the ones who don't know they are heroes before they are needed and still choose standing between harm and another.
     — NeoWayland
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Paradise

There are reasons why the World is not a paradise. One reason is because we silly humans can't agree on what a paradise should be
     — NeoWayland
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Choice of faith

Faith is nothing without choice.
     — NeoWayland
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Media

Media has every right to exist.

Media does not have the right to be trusted.
     — NeoWayland
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Last, best hope

The internet is the last, best hope for mankind.
     — NeoWayland
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A god of love

Personally I prefer Christians when they aren't spouting hellfire in the name of a god of love.
     — NeoWayland
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Faith & threats

If you had faith, you wouldn't need threats.
     — NeoWayland
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Pick and choose

You do realize that if “the Bible is all one piece,” you can't pick and choose bits and pieces to quote, don't you? If you eat all your veggies and are especially nice, I won't demand that you start following all those bits in Numbers and Leviticus. We won't talk about the deleted texts now.

How do you suppose those disciples did it? They had to work without a New Testament.
     — NeoWayland
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Enlightened

No matter what the belief system, the truly enlightened don't need to call themselves that.

Or justify it either.
     — NeoWayland
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Less government

Always, always, always less government than absolutely necessary.
     — NeoWayland
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Some people I trust

I don't think that a magic set of neurons turns on at age 16, 18, or 25. I've said before there are some people I trust at 14 to make a major decision, and some I don't trust to do the same at 40. That's not including sex.
     — NeoWayland
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Age of consent

Age of consent is tied to taking responsibility for your own actions. It's that simple. If you can't take responsibility, you shouldn't do it.
     — NeoWayland
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Without using the Bible

If you can defend your beliefs without using the Bible, that means that you've embraced those beliefs and thought long and hard about making them a part of your everyday life.
     — NeoWayland
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Keep people from dealing

Trigger warnings, safe spaces, echo chambers, all that does is keep people from dealing with the World as it is
     — NeoWayland
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Strong women

The really strong women don't depend on government to do it for them.

They don't need to.
     — NeoWayland
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Rights do not emanate

Rights do not emanate from a state, nor do they require state sanction or approval.
     — NeoWayland
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Message & passion

Matching the message to the passion, that's the trick.
     — NeoWayland
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Angry guys

Where would we be if those angry guys hadn't been writing letters to each other for years by 1773?
     — NeoWayland
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American secret

Here is the American secret. You can occasionally be governed, but you can't be ruled.

That means you can't rule others, no matter how much you disagree with them.
     — NeoWayland
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Free market

I believe that the free market is the most potent force for organizing and creating yet discovered by humans. It cannot be managed, predicted, directed, or controlled.

It rests on choice without coercion. And to keep customers happy, you have to at least do as well as your competition, better if you want to expand.
     — NeoWayland
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The goal is freedom

The goal is not the institution of the Federal government.

The goal is freedom.
     — NeoWayland
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Moral people

Oddly enough, the most moral people I know don't have to brag about it.
     — NeoWayland
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Definition of liberty

That's today's quick definition of liberty, folks. It's not a right unless the other guy has it too.
     — NeoWayland
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Just in case

Just in case you misunderstand, I don't answer to you. I am who I am, and you don't need my name to understand what I say.
     — NeoWayland
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Make the rules

Why in the World do you think you get to make the rules?
     — NeoWayland
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I recognize Masculine & Feminine in Divinity.

I recognize Masculine & Feminine in Divinity. I seek the Divine in every woman I meet.
     — NeoWayland
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Influences

Children need strong male and female influences in their life.
     — NeoWayland
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Who I am

I am who I am, not who you wish I was.
     — NeoWayland
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Ideology

The problem isn't ideology, it's the urge to meddle backed by the use of force.
     — NeoWayland
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What frustrates you

Perhaps what frustrates you most is that you can't denounce my faith without undermining your own. At the end of the day, we don't have anything but our faith. Mine is just as valid as yours by every “objective” measure you trot out.
     — NeoWayland
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Christian message

I don't think the Christian message was ever intended to be confined to dusty writings.
     — NeoWayland
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Free to choose

It's no secret that I believe that free market ideas apply to any human exchange.

Free to choose. It's not just for economics anymore.
     — NeoWayland
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Progress

Progress never comes from satisfaction.
     — NeoWayland
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Move beyond

Usually what you get out of something is what you bring in to something. Most people do not have the means to move beyond their own shadows.
     — NeoWayland
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Dark forces

You're so determined to struggle nobly against dark forces that you can't see what is casting the shadow.
     — NeoWayland
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Faith cannot be given

Faith cannot be given. Faith cannot be taken. To mean anything at all, faith must be chosen freely.
     — NeoWayland
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Bonfire

I have this mythical construct in my head of a bonfire with people I would like to hang out with, and maybe discuss matters large and small.
     — NeoWayland
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History

I make it a practice to never call it history until a year and a day after the event.
     — NeoWayland
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Laugh at ourselves

We have to laugh at ourselves. No one else would take us seriously enough.
     — NeoWayland
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Bilagáana

I’m one of the few bilagáana born on the Res, it’s shaped my outlook. I’m what happens when Louisiana farming stock takes root in the Four Corners region. The desert and the the sky here call to me. I’m a child of sand and wind.
     — NeoWayland
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Better human

Go tell three really dirty jokes. Share a piece of fruit with someone you can't stand. Cuddle with someone you care deeply about. Leave the place a little nicer than when you found it. And greet the sun when it wakes up.

No, that isn't all that there is to be a pagan, it's just a taste of how to be a better human.
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Change the universe?

Do I think I can change the universe? I already have. Can I make it better? Maybe.
     — NeoWayland
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Free to choose

I am free to choose and free to take responsibility for myself. I am not a child to be threatened into submission. I will not blindly accept your mandates when the Divine and the World beckon.
     — NeoWayland
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White knight

I can't be the white knight. I can only be a friend. I can't be a savior, but I can lend a shoulder and an ear. I can't shield anyone from the cold darkness, but I can share a little body heat under the blanket. I can't bring joy, but I can give a smile.
     — NeoWayland
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On some issues

On some issues I run deeper than granite and more certain than dawn.
     — NeoWayland
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Control how we touch other people

We can't let our faiths and our creeds control how we touch other people. Faith is between you and the Divine. But we're measured by how we touch the lives of other humans.
     — NeoWayland
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Dreams seem small

If our dreams seem small, it's up to us to make them greater. We need to make our own, not reach for the dreams of another. We can make it our Journey, or we can live the Story of another. A simple choice but the price is high. Just your faith and trust.
     — NeoWayland
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Morality is based on selfish interest

I can make a case that our morality is based on selfish interest. It's the Ethic of Reciprocity. You don't do bad things to others because you don't want them to do bad things to you. You do good things to others because you want them to do good things to you. If they cross the line, you're not bound to tolerance and courtesy.
     — NeoWayland
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Governments make lousy banks

Governments make lousy banks. Politicos want re-election and technocrats are unaccountable. Both measure their success by spending taxpayer's money. There's no incentive to contain costs or make a profit.
     — NeoWayland
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They should be heard

I am certainly against Nazism, supremacist groups, and misogyny. I just think they SHOULD be heard, if for no other reason than they can be laughed off the stage.

As loudly and as enthusiastically as we can.
     — NeoWayland
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Beware

You should beware the politician who wraps himself in faith and the minister who wraps himself with the flag.
     — NeoWayland, personal journal
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The message was clear

The message was clear. There are problems but your Government Is Taking Care Of It. You don't have to worry. It's Somebody Else's Problem. You don't have to be responsible. Just put the right people in charge. Give more money. Give more authority. Sacrifice more rights. Repeat until we get it right. And don't ask too many questions.
     — NeoWayland
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One thing I wish I could literally pound into Christian heads

If there is one thing I wish I could literally pound into Christian heads, it's this: Christianity is not the source of all that is good and righteous in our society. Other cultures and other faiths have contributed heavily. It's amazing that I even have to mention this where one house of the national legislature is called the Senate and the other has a ceremonial fasces. Even The Magnificent Seven was a remake.
     — NeoWayland
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Changing

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Read More...
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Reaction

Government is reactive. What individuals choose is much more important than the credit that politicos claim. Lasting change only happens when enough people got angry enough to demand change.
     — NeoWayland
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When politics are at stake

Truth is subjective when politics are at stake.
     — NeoWayland
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Morality & character

Our problem is that we excuse people from the consequences.

Read More...
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Promise

“…against the law…”

Read More...
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Exits

Remember where the exits are. Be willing to walk away.
     — NeoWayland

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“Who said I don't believe in gods?”

Who said I don't believe in gods?

If anything, I don't believe in your beliefs. But that's okay, you don't believe in mine either. I could qualify it and say more specifically I don't believe in your understanding of your beliefs (and I'm pretty sure you don't either), but that is complicating things far beyond what is needed for the conversation here. Not to mention being incredibly self-referential.
     — NeoWayland

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Association

People look for better value if it's their own money at stake.

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Supervillian territory

George Soros wants to disrupt society so government steps in and he can profit. The man is a secret lair away from supervillian territory.
     — NeoWayland

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Won't knife you in the back

In my experience, conservatives won't knife you in the back. They'll scream in your face, they'll tell you that you're wrong, but they're usually facing you.

Certain progressives will trot you out for the dog-&-pony show, drape an arm over your shoulder, smile for the cameras, and then slide the knife in so smoothly you never feel it until after you start bleeding and they've moved away.
     — NeoWayland
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Thou shalt not dissent

One rule of thumb is that all things being equal (which they usually aren't), the side working to control who gets to speak is the one you should worry about.

"Thou shalt not dissent" should a be red flag with a siren.
     — NeoWayland

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Before I've eaten breakfast

I've read enough of your stuff to understand why you misuse Science as a Higher Authority, One That Must Not Be Questioned. I can advocate science without being "scientific." I don't need test tubes, a microscope, or a Geiger counter to lend credibility.

I can defend human rights without being gay, a woman, Navajo, disabled, or a money-grubbing politico.

I can promote religious freedom without being Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Buddhist, or atheist.

I can even type a few replies before I've eaten breakfast. Not before my tea though, I'm good but not that good.
     — NeoWayland

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The label tells me almost nothing

I've met bad Pagans and good Christians, rotten agnostics and good atheists, decent Satanists and iffy heathens. The label tells me almost nothing, but the individual behavior tells me almost everything.
     — NeoWayland

There's no virtue or vice in the label. It's our words and deeds that define us.
     — NeoWayland
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Olympic committee

The Olympic Games lose money for the host city. I think the International Olympics Committee may have started the stadium scam, where the local government is on the hook for the bills and the sports team gets most of the revenue with no risk.
     — NeoWayland

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Know

Know yourself. Know what you can do. Know what you're willing to do. Know the price you're willing to pay.
     — NeoWayland

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Make it better

Make it better today. Keep polishing.
     — NeoWayland
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Moral responsibility

The simple answer is that moral responsibility is always a personal choice. You can't compel virtue or it ceases to be virtue.
     — NeoWayland

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Itemized deductions

Itemized deductions are extortion. Government takes your money. You beg for it back. Government might give it to you.

If you are especially nice and if you do as you are told.
     — NeoWayland

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Standard deduction

If there is a “standard deduction,” then by definition taxes are too high.
     — NeoWayland

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Free to be bigots

Individuals are free to be bigots. Just as they are free to be heroes.
     — NeoWayland
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Threat

A choice made under the threat of force is no choice.
     — NeoWayland
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Biggest and hardest lesson

The biggest and hardest lesson that I've had to learn is that no one group has THE answer, and no group that says it has THE answer can be fully trusted.
     — NeoWayland
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That's the excuse, not the reason

Here's the dirty little secret that you're avoiding. The evil is not in a belief system. That's the excuse, not the reason. No book has ever committed genocide. No song has ever burned someone alive. No long lost chant has ever raped.

It's people who speak and people who act. It's people who do good, and people who do evil.
     — NeoWayland
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I can't stress this enough

I can't stress this enough.

The state is not a moral entity. Government is not your friend, at best it is a bad servant.

Religion can not be allowed the coercive power of the state and the state can not be allowed the moral justification of faith.

You can't trust law to do the right thing. You have to watch it. You have to argue with it. And sometimes you have to fight it.
     — NeoWayland

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from crux № 11 — Ultimate truth

I've seen the arguments in enough other contexts to distrust anyone who claims rationality prevents any opposing view. Even more so when they dismiss any other possibility unheard because they have the Ultimate Truth That Must Not Be Questioned.
     — NeoWayland
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Histories

As a certified armchair historian, I can tell you there are three types of history. There's the Official History™, there's the stories that people tell, and there's what really happened. These types don't usually agree.
     — NeoWayland
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NeoNotes — government requires

There's a very real question why there should be any government grants, but I will leave that for another time.

Assume for a moment that you ran a bookstore. Should you be required by law to carry the Bible even though you were not Christian and did not believe Christianity was a valid faith? What if someone complained because you didn't have it?

Should a vegan restaurant be required to sell pulled pork BBQ?

Should a health food store be required to sell pipe tobacco?



Except we know that government does mandate that some products and services be sold or provided.

Let's take another example or two, shall we?

Imagine you are a lawyer or accountant. You know a specific businessman is crooked and can't be trusted. Should you be required to provided services?

Imagine you are an employer. Should you be required to verify the immigration status of each of your employees?

Most importantly, why should prior marginalization get a higher priority when it comes to the rule of law? Doesn't that lead to abuse of it's own when the formerly victimized class games the system?



Ah, so you are going to stick to "class of people." That's the problem. People aren't their labels. Or at least they shouldn't be.

Someone doesn't have higher moral authority because their group has been marginalized in the past.

And just in case you hadn't noticed, "American identity politics" is all about oppressing everyone else. All of which is predicated on the guilt of the former oppressor.



Black Lives Matter. All too ready to go after "white" cops, but doesn't want to address the problem of "black on black" crime. Nor does it want to address the major underlying problem, single parent families. Something that was encouraged by government, effectively relegating inner city families to poverty. Nor do they accept any criticism of their movement.

Much of third and fourth wave feminism. Apparently feminism is no longer about equality, it's about forcing men to sit down and shut up. And if a man complains, he's accused of rape.

The recent kerfuffle over the "redesigned" rainbow flag that put black and brown stripes at the top so that "people of color" had "representation." Literally "my victimhood is more important than your victimhood."

Identity politics is built on a carefully maintained hierarchy of victimhood. You're not allowed to speak unless you rank high enough with your victimhood or have demonstrated sufficient "compassion," usually by drawing attention to the "problem." But never actually solving anything.

And you are not allowed to question the victimhood.



Stop.

Step back. You are excusing their behavior.

Look at what has been done, not at the justifications.

Look at what is allowed within the groups.

Your enabling is just one example of what has locked people into their victimhood.



What you've given is excuses why people can't be held accountable.

Black Lives Matter is pushing a narrative that all police interactions with minorities but especially with "blacks" are racist. That's not true. And as I said, they overlook "black" on "black" crime that does not fit with the narrative.

It's victimhood I don't like, especially when perpetuated by bad government policy and "community outreach" that exploits the victims by keeping them victims.



And the courts were wrong.

Not because interracial marriages were wrong (they aren't). But because government can't be trusted to make individual moral decisions for you.

If you didn't choose your morality and if you do not commit to your morality, is it really yours?

Or did it just get sacrificed for the greater good?



Remember, most of the complaints against the current President are because he is doing the wrong moral things. Or at least, according to some people. Such as pulling out of the Paris accord.

Frankly there are people I want to discriminate against. There are evangelical Christians I want nothing to do with. There are radical feminists that I also don't want anything to do with. My list also includes some of the climate alarmists, the man-boy love crowd, anyone associated with a child beauty pageant, the extra-devout followers of Silver Ravenwolf, pretty much any organized political party, and a few dozen others.

Should government protect those people from my discrimination?



Actually we don't know that pulling out of the Paris accord is dangerous for the planet.

Here's what we do know. The "debate" about climate change has been heavily weighed on one side. A recent study has some of the most prominent climate alarmists admitting that the predictions didn't match the reality. President Obama committed the US, but the G20 and Obama didn't call it a treaty so it wouldn't have to go to the US Senate for approval. These aren't exactly moral actions.

Commerce is based on voluntary economic transactions between consenting adults. There's no “public service” about it. A company improves it's product or service (and lowers the price) because it wants to keep business from the competition. The "moral good" is based on pure greed. Nothing government demands from a business won't impose greater costs on the customer. Government relies on force. When government acts against people, it distorts the economy and morality.

It's not about public service, and commerce shouldn't answer to corrupt politicos.



The data was fudged. The people who fudged it knew it. The people who sought to make it a political issue beyond the control of any single government knew it.

If it's not about "saving the planet," then you have to ask what it is about. Especially when there is an everchanging deadline and No One Is Allowed To Question the failed predictions.

The entire movement is built on computer models, not science. I can't emphasize that enough. Models, not science. If the models have bad assumptions and/or if the data has been changed, the models aren't accurate.

But, "the science is settled." So you aren't allowed to dissent. You wouldn't accept that from a Creationist, why accept it from people who benefit financially and politically from forcing their agenda?



That wasn't what I said.

The models haven't been accurate in more than a dozen years. Even before that, the models had to be "goosed" to show a link between the past and the present.

I've said before that I can create a spreadsheet that makes me a millionaire in a week. That doesn't mean that the spreadsheet is accurate. And it sure doesn't mean I should wave cash around.

If the model isn't accurate, if we know it's not accurate, and if the people pushing the model hardest know that it's not accurate, don't you think it's time to ask why we should use the model?



No, that is what you have been told that the model is.

I strongly urge you to take a closer look. And I would remind you that there is no science in history that has ever been considered holy writ and beyond criticism.

For example, if I wanted to know the average global temperature right now this very minute, I'd have to accept that most land based measuring stations are in developed areas, many in highly urban areas that influence the readings. Satillite measurements are better, but don't go back further than about sixty years. And most of the ocean is a mystery below a mile deep.

So what exactly is the global average temperature?



I'm not shy about it. I don't approve of their life choices. I especially don't approve when *insert group name here* demands that it is not enough for to acknowledge their words and actions, it must be celebrated as the only accepted truth.

I don't want them on the ballot. I don't want to do business with them. I don't want them in my town.

And I think they are corrupting society.

Again, should government protect them from my discrimination?



I may not be a pure libertarian when it comes to the Zero Aggression Principle, but I don't usually initiate force. It's sloppy and takes too much energy.

“How many NAMBLA neighbors do you have, anyway?”

One.

Once.



I've been a corporate VP and I've run my own business.

Can you point to the spot in the Constitution where it defines the powers of the Federal government to control who I can and can't do business with? How about the spot where it defines that I must do business with everyone who wants to do business with me? Because under the Tenth Amendment, there isn't one.

If government isn't defending my ability to choose as long as I accept the consequences, then government has failed.

Even if my neighbors don't approve of my choice.

Especially if my neighbors don't approve of my choice.

If I am not free to discriminate as I choose, then government is discriminating against me. And that is what we see now. Some choices are more equal than others.



Not really.

That clause is the most abused in the Constitution, largely because it does not place significant restrictions on the Federal government. By some interpretations, the government can do what it wants when it wants and despite what people want. When you consider that everything from FDA approval to requiring transgender bathrooms is shoved through that loophole, it's a wonder that there is anything left of the rest of the Constitution.

Even in your flawed interpretation, public accommodation only applies in certain cases. Some are more victimized than others, remember?



Volumes have also been written against it. For generations in fact, right back to to the Anti-Federalist Papers

And then there is always the practical common sense approach. Here's the clause straight from Article 1 Section 8.

“To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;”

I can tell you know many Diné, Hopi, Havasupai, and White Mountain Apache who think that "Great White Father speaks with forked tongue." Just look at what the Interior Department did when it came to mineral rights.

You've tried to tell me what the consensus says, but you haven't disputed my conclusions. The commerce clause has been used to expand Federal power far beyond the scope of the rest of the Constitution. The only other comparable Federal power grab in American history has been the USA PATRIOT Act and the open-ended declaration of hostilities that happened after 9-11.



Or we could just stop handing out government grants and do something radically different like lower taxes, reduce government spending, and let people decide what to do with their own money.



Church playgrounds aren't national religious issues unless government is funding them.

The First Amendment is very clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

Neither help nor hinder. It's the only way to win this particular battle. Otherwise you have things like a Faith Based Initiative (for certain faiths approved by law) and school prayer.



I think we do. And it's right there in the First Amendment.

Don't.

If there is one thing worse than a politico wrapping themselves in the flag, it's a politico standing on religion wrapping themselves in a flag.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
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Faith & religion

I believe that faith and religion can be a tremendous source of individual morality and a dangerous tyranny in society.
     — NeoWayland

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Always right

I don't think I'm always right, I just don't think anyone is absolutely right. And that is why there is more to life than black and white.
     — NeoWayland

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Difference

What is the difference between pickpocketing and taxes?

Taxes are legal.
     — NeoWayland
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Complain

If you choose to be a sheep, then don't complain about the shepherd.
     — NeoWayland
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Talking about the common good

Sierra Club: The Big Problem With Environmentalism Is ‘Unsustainable Whiteness’

Claims that environmentalism is racist and needs to embrace social justice by appointing “people of color” as leaders have become increasingly common in the modern green movement.

“Simply put, NGOs [non-government organization] and foundations in the green space are still overwhelmingly white at all levels, especially top leadership — and that’s limiting their effectiveness, especially in addressing issues that affect frontline communities,” Swaminathan wrote. “Still, nearly three-quarters of staffers are white. And the numbers indicate less inclusiveness as you move to higher rungs in those outfits: Only 15 percent of the leaders are people of color.”

“White privilege and racism within the broader environmental movement is existent and pervasive,” Aaron Mair, the Sierra Club’s first black president, told Grist. “The current is not maintainable — we’re becoming a brown nation. It’s not about a one-off. It’s about sustainability.”

“That’s where the internalized racism and oppression is, and if I can help shift that Mount Everest and change its direction,” Mair said. “It becomes harder for other environmental organizations to maintain their way.”
     — Andrew Follet

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Worthy

The worthy choices are never the easy ones.
     — NeoWayland
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Our best

It's only when we're challenged that we show our best.

Or worst.
     — NeoWayland
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Hits the fan

When the stuff hits the fan (and it will), do the least damage possible to get out.
     — NeoWayland

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Inspire not require

It's better to inspire rather than require.
     — NeoWayland
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Allies not servants

I want allies not servants.
     — NeoWayland
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Age of Wonders

Today is the Age of Wonders, the most amazing time in human history, with marvels and miracles far beyond any other time.
     — NeoWayland

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Worthy of freedom

The only faiths worthy of freedom are those freely chosen.
     — NeoWayland
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Wisdom of government

I do not trust in the wisdom of government.
     — NeoWayland
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Trust you

If government doesn’t trust you, why should you trust government?
     — NeoWayland
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Shame game

I won't play your shame game. I won't abase myself before your demands. I didn't do anything wrong. Maybe I offended you, but I didn't harm you.
     — NeoWayland
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Fight for equality

You want equality, I'll fight with you.

You want privilege, I'll fight against you.
     — NeoWayland
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Problem

It's not me you have a problem with, it's dissent.
     — NeoWayland
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Gilt

They think that gilt on the facade will solve the dry rot and termite damage.
     — NeoWayland
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Politicos want problems

Politicos want problems they can stage manage.
     — NeoWayland
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All it will cost

“For you own good,” and all it will cost is your liberty.
     — NeoWayland
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Return the favor

I’m willing to live and let live. Why won’t they return the favor?
     — NeoWayland
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Defend the inoffensive

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


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Authority

Government authority tends to be used against those least likely to resist.
     — NeoWayland

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Fool

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Read More...
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Freedom demands

Because freedom demands more than just black and white.
     — NeoWayland
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Victim hierarchy

Behold the victim hierarchy, “my victimhood is more important than yours.”
     — NeoWayland
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KYFHO

Keep your freakin' hands off!
     — NeoWayland, FAQ - KYFHO: Keep Your Freakin' Hands OFF!
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Progresses

Authority progresses and freedom regresses
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Question

If you don't question what a book or Authority Figure™ tells you, you aren't doing your part.
     — NeoWayland
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Absolutely

As a rule, absolutes don't.
     — NeoWayland
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Acknowledge

Acknowledge but do not celebrate.
     — NeoWayland

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Right choices

I want to talk about the curious restrictions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

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Enlightenment

Why does your enlightenment demand that I sacrifice?
     — NeoWayland, Why does your enlightenment demand that I sacrifice?
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Bilingual futility

I can tell you the second I realized the utter futility of mandated bilingual communication. I was at an ATM in San Francisco and the only two language choices were English and Spanish.

In Chinatown.
     — NeoWayland
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None of my business

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

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Demand

You demand bondage, I choose liberty.
     — NeoWayland
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Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion does not mean deferring to Christianity.
     — NeoWayland
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Absolute morality

Absolute morality serves those in power and those in fear.
     — NeoWayland
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Not your friend

Government is not your friend. Even when the "right" people are in charge.
     — NeoWayland
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Sympathy

Sympathy is not part of my nature. Fellow-feeling is a gift that I have to work at, so I do. I consider it as restitution for the person I once was.
     — NeoWayland
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from crux № 9 — Testing ideas

“People of Color: You Are Not Oppressed”

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Official Solution®

The problem is that the best intentions can lead to the worst results.

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“Because FREEDOM demands more than just black or white”

Because FREEDOM demands more than just black or white

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Government & religion

Religion cannot be allowed the coercive power of government. Government cannot be allowed the moral justification of religion.
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand

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Wrong

This is why the Republic dies

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Religion becoming the law of the land

Politics is about control

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NeoNotes — Divine intervention

Your issue with me isn't about what I say. It's that I don't recognize Christianity as the "obviously superior" choice. It's that I won't give Christianity the hand up you think it deserves. It's that I don't think Christianity is the "universal" choice.

Am I attacking you? No. Am I attacking Christianity? No. Am I suppressing Christianity? No.

If Christianity is what you believe, then it should be able to hold it's own AND MORE against any other set of ideas with no special advantage.

Which means there’s no need to explain human behavior because of Divine intervention or devilish activity.

It’s choice.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Comments

Women in combat

Speaking only for myself, I want the U.S. armed forces to be the toughest, most capable sons of a gun on the face of the planet. Especially the elite units. I want them to make other national leaders nervous, even if they are half way across the globe. I want whispers in the darkest shadows of just what happens when someone dares threaten freedom if an American serviceman can do something about it.

Any female who can fill the physical and mental requirements without any allowances for their sex has my respect. All the more so if they show the warrior virtues. But by all the warrior gods they'd better damn well hold their own and more.
     — NeoWayland
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Disarming

Does that person threaten you or yours?

Does that person take or damage your property?

Then why are you trying to control them?
     — NeoWayland
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NeoNotes — I wish more people were.

I'm for live and let live.

I wish more people were.

You should live your life as you choose. Just don't expect me to celebrate it because it is your life after all. And don't go after your neighbor because of the lawn he planted or the socks he wears or where he spends his Tuesday nights.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
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