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
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
“Love is reciprocal.”
??Love is reciprocal. Without true sharing, love is just an excuse and invitation for abuse.??— NeoWayland, comments from Column: Come Darkness, Come Light
Goldwater on religion and politics
““There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'””
“DRAG QUEEN KIDS: The New Normal?”
“Drag Queen Kid Desmond is Amazing recently danced at a gay bar & Lactatia the 8 year old drag queen has been praised by progressives. Drag Queens are increasingly being invited to speak at schools, so is drag the normal for children?”
Read More...“Stossel: Does Silicon Valley manipulate users?”
“The new film "The Creepy Line" argues that tech giants sometimes silence conservatives and try to steer America left.”
Read More...Cloned giants
“Conservationists plant a 'super grove' of redwood trees cloned from ancient stumps”
Read More...A Bush secret
“Journalism is…”
““Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.””— Lee Mcintyre, The Decline of Traditional Media
Wednesday roundup
NeoNote — Politicos without sin
As long as you buy into the idea that one side is marginally better, the circus continues and you are cut out of the decisions.
Read More...“Media Hype Questionable Gun Control Study”
“Dozens of news outlets reported that America has the most mass shooters in the world. Many say that shows America needs more gun control.”
Read More...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.??
NeoNote — Pagans and climate change
Those of us who follow Earth-centered paths want to believe that we are uniquely qualified to help.
Read More...?7 Things You Should Know About Free Speech in Schools: Free Speech Rules (Episode 1)?
“Watch the first episode of Free Speech Rules, a new video series on free speech and the law. The first episode looks at the seven things you should know about how the First Amendment is applied in schools, from black armbands to 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.'”
Read More...Practical politics
““The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.””
Australia screws your privacy
Australian government passes controversial world-first anti-encryption law amid broad criticism
Read More...Closing Monument Valley
NeoNote — There is no "Judeo-Christian faith."
Their arguments among each other lead to pluralism, the American religious virtue that no one wants to talk about.
Read More...“Stossel: Google and Facebook Cross "The Creepy Line"”
Choosing the most oppressed
??Progressive politics revolves around choosing the most oppressed so that everyone else can be shamed into granting extra privileges to the designated victims.??
NeoNote — George Soros and anti-Semitism
I still say that George Soros is just a secret lair away from super-villian territory.
Read More...from crux № 5 - making mistakes
“Proclamation of Thanksgiving”
“Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."
Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before Lincoln's.”
Read More...?All religions are not equal…?
??All religions are not equal, not because of their doctrine or sacred writings but because individuals chose to make it better. For example, for centuries the Bible was literally considered the how-to guide for making slavery practical. And not just among Christians.
The writings didn't change.
As a libertarian, I oppose government sponsored foreign aid. For what it's worth, I oppose government sponsored domestic aid for obvious reasons.??— NeoWayland, comments from The Left’s cruelty — an ideology without room for repentance
NeoNote — Someone made the choice for you
Someone else decided that obviously you couldn't be trusted to make the Proper Choice.
Read More...“Victoria's Secret: NO Trans Models!”
“The 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has been criticized by diversity advocates for not including any trans, plus-sized, or disabled models. Then, a transgender woman's cycling championship sparks the question of transgender athletes in sports competitions once again.”
Read More...NeoNote — Nature and the World are not cruel.
“Remy: The Legend of Stan Lee”
“Remy recalls a time when experts were claiming "Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic-book industry," and how Stan Lee took a stand.”
Read More...?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.??— NeoWayland, Redux: Christians & Pagan Tolerance
Anonymous 'Santa Claus'
Missing wallet
Shares the wealth
NeoNote — The Democrats aren't democratic
When they have eliminated superdelegates, they will have earned the designation.
Read More...Batkid in remission
Batkid saved San Francisco five years ago, and his cancer's been in remission ever since
Read More...Defining a libertarian
““The Merriam=Webster Online dictionary defines Libertarian as: “a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action.” I agree with that definition. The same dictionary defines liberty as:” the power to do as one pleases.” This definition I do not agree with because it is incomplete. It differs from the definition that was universally accepted by those who wrote and ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They believed that liberty is the freedom to do as you please, as long as you do not hurt others, or interfere with the rights of others. It is freedom with the responsibility to not hurt others or prevent them from exercising their rights.
A Libertarian believes that preventing individuals from harming others, or interfering with the rights of others, are the only legitimate functions of government. They believe that individuals should be free to live their lives as they choose, free from any government interference, as long as they treat others properly. They believe that government assistance, of any kind, is unacceptable, unneeded, and harmful.””— Jon Fournier, Why do Conservatives and Libertarians squabble so much?
Sewage into energy
Special Bacteria is Found to be a ‘Battery’ That Turns Sewage Waste into Clean Hydrogen Energy
Read More...Homegrown Philanthropy
Africa’s ‘Homegrown Philanthropy’ is Rising, Creating Self-Sufficiency for a New Generation
Read More...“It's Everybody's Business (1954)”
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.??— NeoWayland, comments from Bookworm Beat 11/12/18 — the post-election counting edition and open thread
Unconstitutional
Maryland files federal court challenge asking judge to block Whitaker, install Rosenstein
Read More...?Stossel: Why Some Capitalists Are the Worst Enemies of Capitalism?
Tuesday roundup
I miscalled it
? The Fallacy of Single-Payer Health Care ?
“Chris Pope joins John Stossel to talk about the debate over single-payer health care—a system in which the federal government would assume all health-care costs currently borne by private insurers, employers, and individuals.
Momentum for single-payer is growing among Democratic politicians. Senator Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare for All” proposal would impose $32 trillion in new costs over ten years and a likely annual tax increase of $26,000 per American household. It’s hard to imagine that Congress would adopt massive federal tax increases and rationing of health-care services, but incremental proposals, such as Medicaid buy-in and strict price controls, could be on the horizon if Democrats capture the White House in 2020 and do well in the congressional elections.
Advocates for single-payer health care point to European countries with generous social-welfare systems as evidence of its success. They don’t acknowledge the fact that Germany and France, like the United States, have private and employer-funded health insurance, in addition to government programs for the poor. In the meantime, U.S. lawmakers continue to ignore reforms—like eliminating barriers to hospital competition—that would probably be more effective in improving America’s health-care system.”
Read More...Creating protected classes
““…it represents yet another example of the government creating protected classes in order to advance political agendas, and gifting them special rights and privileges which result in ludicrous yet predictable outcomes bringing misery to ordinary people.””— Tim Newman, Playing with fire
“Platform Or Publisher?”
Platform Or Publisher? How Big Tech Can Be Brought To Its Knees
““Either way — platform or publisher — Big Tech loses, as long as the government forces it to one side or the other. If platform, then the FAAGs have to tolerate thought criminals using their services, just as if they were a common carrier, like a telephone utility. If publisher, then Big Tech can be sued to kingdom come and charged with innumerable violations of federal law.””
NeoNote — Making the free market work
A company has to compete for employees, just as employees have to compete for jobs.
Read More...NeoNote — Using the law to compel belief
Anytime you see "thou shalt not dissent," it should be a flashing red strobe and a triple siren.
Read More...Some monotheists
??Some monotheists think that their religion belongs on top and take offense when you disagree.??
Thusday roundup
If you can't trust your worst enemy…
The more control they have…
““For any serious student of history, one of the great realisations that occurs at some point is that governments are inherently controlling by nature. The more control they have, the more they desire and the more they pursue. After all, governments actually produce nothing. They exist solely upon what they can extract from the people they rule over. Therefore, their personal success is not measured by how well they serve their people, it’s measured by how much they can extract from the people.””— Jeff Thomas, It’s Not the End of the World
NeoNote — Campaign finance reform redux
If money was really speech, there would be no legal limit to campaign donations.
Read More...NeoNote - No news source is going to be unbiased
Everybody has a narrative they believe in and everybody is the hero of their own story.
Read More...Vitally important note to any and all politicians
Libertarians believe
“Illegal Immigration: It's About Power”
“Historically, Democrats supported strong borders because they knew American workers could never compete with illegal immigrants. Now, they regularly support “open borders.” So why the drastic change? Tucker Carlson, host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, explains.”
Read More...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
“Nobel Laureate in Physics; "Global Warming is Pseudoscience"”
“Professor Ivar Giaever, the 1973 Nobel Prizewinner for Physics trashes the global warming/climate change/extreme weather pseudoscientific clap-trap and tells Obama he is "Dead Wrong".
This was the 2012 meeting of Nobel Laureates.”
Read More...Who might be dangerous
““One of the Best Arguments Against Blocking Speech on Social Media....
...is so we become aware of who might be dangerous.””
— Robert Wenzel, One of the Best Arguments Against Blocking Speech on Social Media....
Approval voting
Fargo Considers Whether to Turn Local Elections into a Voting System of Likes (and Dislikes)
“Measure 1 would introduce "approval voting" to the city, meaning voters wouldn't have to abandon independent and third-party choices.”““It's called "approval voting," and residents of Fargo (population: 120,000) are being asked in a ballot initiative if they'd like to be the first municipality in the United States to try it.
Rather than simply voting for one candidate, voters in this system are asked to approve or oppose each person on the ballot. The votes are all tallied, and the candidate with the most approval votes is declared the winner. Much like Maine's ranked-choice instant runoff voting system, this approach doesn't lock voters into supporting a single candidate. It thus allows voters to support third-party and independent candidates if they like them, without having to "throw their vote away" or spoil the chances of a major-party candidate they also support.
Approval voting is a pet project of The Center for Election Science, and the group has been involved in the education campaign in Fargo running up to the election. Polls show that support for this change is high, twice that of those who oppose the change. But more than a third of those polled say that they are undecided, so the center has some work ahead.””
— Scott Shackford
“Blowback”
“This is "Blowback" off my LP "American Soul" which will be released on October 26, 2018 to all digital stores worldwide.”
Read More...Friday roundup
Can change the world
Tax complexity
““Tax complexity is a breeding ground for government corruption. It's much easier to add new corporate handouts to a tax code that's already overrun with favoritism, and it's simpler for politicians to justify adding narrowly targeted benefits when the practice is already common. Businesses, in turn, have an incentive to spend more time and resources lobbying the government than satisfying customers.””
— Veronique de Rugy, Extending the Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Undermines Tax Reform
Us versus them
““Anyway, my point was that seeing the world solely through an us vs them lens only increases the conflict and division in the world, and dehumanizes the people we think are Them. It's the root cause of why these Christian folks in the article think that the Druids are Satanists out to do terrible evil. Their specific religious justifications are only the surface level. At it's root it is the poison of dualistic thinking, the idea that the world and it's people can be divided into good and evil. And the poison of dualism can infect anyone, or any religion.””
— Shawn Herles, comments from Wayist Druid public Samhain ritual draws threats
“Google vs DuckDuckGo | Search engine manipulation, censorship and why you should switch”
“Ultimate comparison between DuckDuckGo and Google is here listing all the reasons why you should switch from Google Search to DuckDuckGo.”
Read More...Thursday roundup
NeoNote — My politics
I'm for individual freedom and personal responsibility. That's not "alt-right," it's not right wing, and it's certainly not left wing.
Read More...Wednesday roundup
“Stossel: Sweden is Not a Socialist Success”
“Many people think Sweden is socialist, but its success comes from free markets.”
Read More...Monday roundup
Stop discrimination
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
Accusers sometimes lie
““If the day comes you are accused of some crime or tort of which you are not guilty, and you find your peers automatically believing your accuser, I expect you find yourself a stronger proponent of due process protections than you are now, Accusers sometimes lie.””
— James Moore, Professor criticized for stating that ‘accusers sometimes lie’ in email
"People just can't know that." McCaskill Hides Agenda from Voters, "semi-automatic rifle ban"
“Project Veritas Action Fund has released a third undercover video from campaigns during this 2018 election season. This report exposes how incumbent Senator McCaskill and individuals working on her campaign conceal their liberal views on issues in order to court moderate voters.”
Read More...“Deep State Unmasked: Leaks at HHS; DOJ Official Resists "From Inside" and "Can't Get Fired"”
“Project Veritas has released the second installment in an undercover video series unmasking the deep state. This video features a Department of Justice paralegal Allison Hrabar reportedly using government owned software and computers to push a socialist agenda. Also featured is Jessica Schubel, the former Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the last Obama administration.”
Read More...“Deep State Unmasked: U.S. GAO Auditor Admits “I Break Rules Every Day””
“Project Veritas has released the next in a series of undercover reports which unmask the Deep State. This report features a Government Accountability Office (GAO) employee and self-proclaimed Communist actively engaged in potentially illegal political activity. Natarajan Subramanian is a government auditor for the GAO and a member of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (Metro DC DSA).”
Read More...“Progressive Propaganda: BBC's Liberal Bias”
“The BBC's biased liberal reporting is on full display when it comes to Glamrou, gender, and diversity. Media bias examples abound, but the BBC's state-funding makes it especially deserving of scrutiny.”
Read More...“What's Wrong with Government-Run Healthcare?”
“If you get sick or suffer a serious injury, you not only want medical care, you want quality medical care. What’s the best way to get it? Through a government-run program like Medicare for All or through our current free market system? Stanford policy expert Lanhee Chen has the answer in this video from Prager University. Get informed. After all, this is your health we’re talking about.”
Read More...Monday extra-big roundup
Wind & Sun
The down side to wind power
““As the world begins its large-scale transition toward low-carbon energy sources, it is vital that the pros and cons of each type are well understood and the environmental impacts of renewable energy, small as they may be in comparison to coal and gas, are considered.
In two papers — published today in the journals Environmental Research Letters and Joule — Harvard University researchers find that the transition to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to 20 times more land than previously thought, and, if such large-scale wind farms were built, would warm average surface temperatures over the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius.””
— Leah Burrows
Remember, the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. This means that wind power and solar power are at best supplemental power sources. There has to be something else to provide baseline power.
Given that, we also need to acknowledge the costs of power sources.
Carbon neutrality
Cloaks itself in science
Geniune Tree Hugging Pagan
Regulations
??Regulations exist so politicos can evade responsibility for unpopular choices.??
— NeoWayland, technocrat
Posers, the lot of them
They don't want justice. The want attention. They don't know the least little thing about magick. But they know how to put on a show.
Read More...Friday roundup
When politics define your personhood
“Camille Paglia Explains Why Feminism Is The Collapse Of Western Civilization - MGTOW”
What 'Never Trump' means
““This is not what "Never Trump" means, at least to me. To me it means: rejecting the basis of how Trump governs, even when it accidentally produces outcomes I might otherwise like. That's like accepting an abusive partner or friend because they're nice every few weeks.””
— Tom Nichols, 8:09 PM - 9 Oct 2018
Socialist governments
NeoNote — Human rights
??For the record, there are no LGBTQ rights. There are no black rights. There are no women's rights. There are no Hispanic rights. There are no pagan rights. There are no Chinese rights. There are no Christian rights. There are no police rights.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
There are human rights. Period.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.
Too many times there are privileges passed off as rights. Privileges benefit a select few at the expense of everyone else. Too often, what should have been rights for everyone were enforced privileges for some. This is a big reason why rights and privileges are confused.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.
Which means they get a head thump when they demand I submit.??

NeoNote — global climate change
??Pardon, but global climate change is a scam designed to take political power and money away from people. The figures are not accurate, the goalposts keep getting moved, and the solutions always seem to boil down to "give us money and don't ask questions."??Read More...
— NeoWayland
Witch hunt
Trauma and Truth
““That idea—that the presumption of innocence, fundamental to common law, should be suspended for accusations of sexual assault—has been the cornerstone of the campus-rape bureaucracy; during the Kavanaugh hysteria, that conceit jumped out of the ivory tower into the world at large. It will be no easy task to put it back. In preparation for the next Salem witch trial-like ordeal, therefore, it is worth empirically rebutting the #BelieveSurvivors mandate, as well as its corollary: the claim that if most self-professed rape survivors in our patriarchal culture don’t report their assaults, that’s because the “social and emotional” costs are too high, as California congressman Ted Lieu explained on MSNBC last Sunday.””
— Heather Mac Donald
Monday roundup
Do what is right
Credit
Wannabe
??And there are those of us who ask why is it OK to bind Republicans but it wasn't OK to bind Democrats.??Read More...
— NeoWayland
?‘Rape Culture’ Is A MYTH | Change My Mind?
“Steven Crowder takes the streets once again to have real conversations with real people on hot button issues. In this edition, Steven dispels the myth of ‘Rape Culture’ #Change My Mind.”
Read More...Grassroots political activists aren’t really arguing about politics at all
““The more time I spend covering politics, the more I’m convinced that a significant chunk of grassroots political activists aren’t really arguing about politics at all. These folks are actually grappling with personal psychological issues and projecting it onto the world of politics.””
— Jim Geraghty, Another Day, Another Unidentified Source
Read More...
NeoNote — Allegation is not proof
People tend to repeat behavior that has been successful or will bring them an emotional high.
Read More...Monday roundup
Privacy and a new web?
Opportunity for Amerindians
Bet you didn't know what Facebook is doing
10 Red Flags
“Stossel: Leaving the Left”
NeoNote — Taxes, spying, deductions, and economies
Did I ever mention how the income tax isn't designed to produce revenue, but to spy as needed on American citizens?
Read More...“Brexit Morons”
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
But faith manages
Because I can't be trusted
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?
“This Border Patrol Agent Resigned After Changing His Mind About Immigration”
“They just want a better life. I think most people in their shoes would do the same. And I stopped being able to reconcile that.”
Read More...“What Is Net Neutrality?”
“For months, it seemed nearly every media figure was in hysterics over the impending repeal of net neutrality. Then, net neutrality was repealed… and nothing much changed. So what exactly is net neutrality, and why do so many people have such strong opinions about something they don’t understand? Jon Gabriel, editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com cuts through the hysteria to bring you the facts.”
Read More...“Left or Liberal?”
“Tell the average American you’re a liberal and they’ll assume you’re on the political left. Yet, leftists and liberals hold very different positions on key issues. In this video, Dennis Prager explains how the tenets of liberalism like a belief in capitalism and free speech have more in common with conservatism than with the identity politics and racial resentment preached by the left.”
Read More...The most important phrases in human history
““Let me help.””
— as explained in The City on the Edge of Forever, Star Trek The Original Series
““I can do better than that!””
— some anonymous hominid far back in time
Objective
NeoNote — "Race," IQ, and savagery
Those "heritable characteristics" vanish when you start adjusting for quality of education, early childhood environment, and family support.
Read More...Suppressed
““See, here's the thing - if you're on national media screaming about how you're being suppressed, you not only are not being suppressed, but are a freakin' idiot.””
— Steve Skubinna, from the comments on Trump Derangement Syndrome
Politicizing funerals
“Now We Know: ‘The Resistance’ Is The Establishment”
“Political Corpses as Propaganda Props”
Read More...Community
NeoNote — The Label™
I really don't understand the need to proclaim yourself The Label™ as publicly as you can. I suppose it falls under "making the personal political."
Read More...Nine percent
Years ago I came up with a crazy tax scheme that was so nutty it might work. Here's the revised version.
Read More...“Yep, a Trump Pet.”
There are valid criticisms against Trump. But he's made his career on bad press.
Read More...NeoNote — The nature of politcs
Ever notice when someone picks a scapegoat, it's because they think the scapegoat can't fight back?
Read More...John McCain passes
As an Arizona resident who worked against his re-election the last four times, I wish he had retired years ago.
Read More...NeoNote — No sane reason
People can do most things on their own without government help, direction, or control.
Read More...You are free
“Should We Ban Plastic Straws?”
“Will Witt went to Santa Barbara to ask people what they thought of the new law banning plastic straws. Check it out!”
Read More...“Free-Market Social Security”
“Today is the 83rd anniversary of Social Security, and this year it went into the red. In the long run, it has a $32 trillion-dollar shortfall.”
Read More...Fight back
“Man attempts to kidnap 11-year-old girl, friends throw hot coffee on him and escape, Michigan police say”
Read More...NeoNote — Absolutism
The problem with making the personal political is that you drag everyone around you into politics, whether they want to be or not.
Read More...NeoNote - Responding to another Bookworm rant
For something with no moral relativism, there's an awful lot or relative morality going on.
Read More...Making the personal political
Vote for the label
“Vermont Democrats made history Tuesday by nominating Christine Hallquist as the first transgender individual to be a major party candidate for governor.”
Read More...Taking on terrorists
““There are two basic kinds of terrorists. The amateurs will be deterred or detected by even basic security measures. The professionals will figure out how to evade even the most stringent measures. I've repeatedly said that the two things that have made flying safer since 9/11 are reinforcing the cockpit doors and persuading passengers that they need to fight back. Everything beyond that isn't worth it.””
— Bruce Schneier, Don't Fear the TSA Cutting Airport Security. Be Glad That They're Talking about It.
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
“How This Town Got Rid of Crime”
“This Mexican town kicked out the government and returned to its indigenous roots. Now they're practically crime-free – and determined to keep it that way by banning all political parties and elections.”
Read More...Divide & Conquer
““What this illustrates is that racism in this country is dying, but the media appears to be fervently attempting to keep it alive.””
— Matt Agorist, Divide & Conquer on Full Display as Media Devotes Days of Attention to 20 White Nationalists in DC
“Make Men Masculine Again”
“Rape, murder, war – all have one thing in common: Men. The solution seems simple: make men less toxic – make men less masculine. In this video, Allie Stuckey, Host of "Allie" on CRTV & "Relatable" podcast, explains why demonizing masculinity is not the solution, but the problem.”
Read More...Define reality
“Rowan Atkinson on Freedom of Speech”
“The TRUTH Why Modern Music Is Awful”
Censorship & corporate virtue signalling
But they are hypocrites when they declare that they support free speech while applying selective censorship.
Read More...Insult
Republican racism
Degradation
NeoNote — Online monopolies
Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, all got big by offering something the competition did not have. No one was forced.
Read More...“Damnatio Memoriae, or How to Erase Someone from History”
“How do you remove the memory of a particularly bad emperor from the history books? Or what if your brother is just so annoying that you can't stand the sight of him anymore, and don't want to share power? You perform a damnatio memoriae, erase all inscriptions, destroy all public images, and pretend as if he never existed.”
Read More...Labels
NeoNote — Socialism, fairness & choice
There was a late night bull session I attended. One very drunk person announced, very authoritatively, "Socialism is jealousy."
Read More...“RIP in Peace, Net Neutrality”
“Net Neutrality allows enormous centralized servies to arise on the internet that can shunt their costs onto other internet users and further control the particulars of speech on the internet. The demise of NN would be a good thing for internet organization.”
Read More...What's the point?
“The Strange Death of Comedy”
“Tell a joke now and who knows who you might offend? Identity politics is taking the fun out of just about everything. This is – no fooling – a very serious problem. Actor/Comedian Owen Benjamin explains why and what needs to be done about it”
Read More...Threatened
NeoNote — Pandering
As for "pandering" to homosexuals, well, we also "pander" to Jews, women, Rotarians, Red Sox fans, and classic car owners. Not to mention people with piercings, people with tattoos, people with nine toes, and almost anyone else you can name.
Read More...“Jinx the Anarchist Sex Worker Goes to Washington”
“Representatives of the oldest profession were on Capitol Hill fighting FOSTA and SESTA, with our online freedoms hanging in the balance.”
Read More...NeoNote — What makes a hate crime worse?
Greed
Fair share
Sounded good
Equality
Entitlements
Women last
““Like all “intersectional” facets of the left, feminism is about the propagation of leftism first and women last.””
What they want
Doers and do-nots
NeoNote — The farce continues
??I don't like and don't trust 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.
I just wanted to establish that the problems of an overreaching government and abandoning the rule of law are not just a Republican issue. For all the talk about the fundamentalists and the religious right, progressives let their own foxes into the henhouse. Those problems were just as big a threat.
The incredibly silly part is that the solution from both major parties is increasing the size, power, and scope of government only with their guys calling the shots. There are those here who call that a false equivalence because Their Cause Is Just. But when the end result expands government power, increases taxes, increases spending, adds more law and regulation, well, there's no effective difference. You're sacrificing your freedom at someone else's altar for promises that will be broken.
Politicos benefit from unsolved problems. Politicos want problems they can stage manage. Actual solutions mean politicos can't milk the misery.
As long as we expect government to rescue us, the farce continues.??

Politics of shame
Demonic realms
Do something
““Those who cry out that the government should 'do something' never even ask for data on what has actually happened when the government did something, compared to what actually happened when the government did nothing.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
Bright ideas
““It would be hard to think of a more ridiculous way to make decisions than to transfer those decisions to third parties who pay no price for being wrong. Yet that is what at least half of the bright ideas of the political left amount to.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
Invasion
““Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
People with high IQs
““There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high IQs.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
Snitch culture
““Social justice is a surveillance culture, a snitch culture. The constant vigilance on the part of my colleagues and friends did me in. That’s why I’m delivering sushi and pizza. Not that I’m complaining. It’s honest work, and it’s led me to rediscover how to interact with people in the real world. I am a kinder and more respectful person now that I’m not regularly on social media attacking people for not being “kind” and “respectful.”””
— Barrett Wilson, I Was the Mob Until the Mob Came for Me
American citizenship
Class labels
““What sense would it make to classify a man as handicapped because he is in a wheelchair today, if he is expected to be walking again in a month and competing in track meets before the year is out? Yet Americans are given ‘class’ labels on the basis of their transient location in the income stream. If most Americans do not stay in the same broad income bracket for even a decade, their repeatedly changing ‘class’ makes class itself a nebulous concept.””
— Thomas Sowell
“An individual has an idea”
Dead hand of the past
Experience trumps brilliance.
“The TRUTH About Abortion & Sex”
“Whether it's Roe vs. Wade, Tomi Lahren, or Michelle Wolf, abortion is in the news, and it seems like both sides of the pro-life and pro-choice debate need to keep a few things in mind...”
Read More...Stupidity or dishonesty
Weighing benefits against costs
Great and destructive evil
“Stossel: Plastic Straw Myths”
“The claim that Americans use 500 million plastic straws daily is based on a nine-year-old's school project.”
Read More...Price controls
““Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a free market: (1) increased use of the product or service whose price is controlled, (2) Reduced supply of the same product or service, (3) quality deterioration, (4) black markets.””
— Thomas Sowell
What they want
Government is a non-producer
““Government is a non-producer; like any parasite it is wholly dependent on its host for sustenance. And so the only way it can accomplish anything is to force others to do it by the threat of violence. ””
— Maggie McNeill, cá độ bóng đá qua mạng hop phapThe Gun in the Room
Too ridiculous
Modest talents so richly rewarded
FamousFeminist
??Between the second and third wave of the feminist movement, changes took place. FamousFeminists exploit the "perpetual" victimhood of women to enhance their own fame, book sales, and political power. For them, it's not about empowering women. It's about cashing in.??
— NeoWayland FamousFeminist
Revived 15Jul2018
These older blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
Read More...Women & children
Killing the goose
Racism
Confuses it with feeling
Bad motives
Personal responsibility
Lack common sense
““The charge is often made against the intelligentsia and other members of the anointed that their theories and the policies based on them lack common sense. But the very commonness of common sense makes it unlikely to have any appeal to the anointed. How can they be wiser and nobler than everyone else while agreeing with everyone else?””
— Thomas Sowell
Understand politics
No solutions
Second wave feminism
??I suspect that many other problems that second and third wave feminists faced happened because certain men took advantage. These (sleaze ball) men said the appropriate things, acted properly in public, and attended the right meetings. But it was all a show, manipulating the second wavers into sex and other things. Then these certain (scumbag) men went on to their next conquests all while convincing everyone else that they supported women and feminism. The third wave misandry that followed was a natural reaction.??
— NeoWayland, feminism (second wave)
My theory
NeoNote — Abortion
We've regressed
??Given how some absolutely insist that any accusations of sexual impropriety must be treated as unquestioned truth, I'd argue that we've regressed.
Sometimes people lie. I don't think that is very hard to understand. We shouldn't base justice on lies. That's not hard to understand either.??
— NeoWayland
Essence of libertarianism
NeoNote — Shame
Now, let's look at what I actually did.
I said people had tried to shame and shun me because of my sexuality, faith, and politics.
You know, like you tried to do.
I didn't proclaim my victimhood gave me the power to command others.
You know, like you tried to do.
It's only shame if I accept the premise.
Read More...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?
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
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
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
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
Right choice
Law is not moral
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
However
“What I think right”
““Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.””
— Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
Rabble rousing
NeoNote — Rights, privileges, and powers
??The difference between rights and privileges. It's not a right unless the other has it too. Otherwise it's a privilege, usually taken at someone else's expense.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Thanks. That's one I like to pass along. Too much confusion.
It doesn't help when the Official Authorities™ start invoking things like "police rights" and "government has the right to do this." They're talking about powers, which supposedly only exist to protect rights.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.??

“American Independence”
Samuel Adams delivered this speech from the steps of the State House in Philadelphia on August 1, 1776. This was the day before the famous parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Read More...Definition of insanity
NeoNote — Demonizing the press
When the press shows that it can't be trusted with even some truths, why should the press be trusted?
Read More...“#WalkAway Campaign- WHY I LEFT LIBERALISM & THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY”
“The Democratic Party has taken for granted that it owns racial, sexual, and religious minorities in America. It has encouraged groupthink, hypocrisy, division, stereotyping, resentment, and the acceptance of victimhood mentality. And all the while, they have discouraged minorities from having independent thought, open dialogue, measured and informed opinion, and a motivation to succeed.”
Read More...NeoNote — Religion & government
It may be a religion, but if it relies on force, any and all opposition is justified.
Read More...Crazy tax scheme
??I do have a crazy scheme for taxes. Give the Federal government a national sales tax but keep the total of any taxes to no more than ten percent. Give states ten percent of ALL Federal taxes collected within the states and the Federal government ten percent of ALL OTHER taxes collected. That makes them both mutually dependent and eager to audit the other guy's books. And it keeps the individualtaxpayercitizen out of the mess.??
— NeoWayland
Asking to be abused
Headline of the year
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
Society & government
““Society is produced by our wants and, government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices.””
— Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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
Government should be a referee
““Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.””
— Milton Friedman
Gradual
Discriminate
The Right to Discriminate
““The left has created a macabre myth that runs counter to the whole experience of mankind. The left has persuaded the gullible masses of America, including, sadly, most conservatives, that "discrimination" by individuals and businesses is wrong and that it violates the Constitution.
Precisely the opposite is true. All serious cognition and all honest moral judgments involve discrimination. When individuals and businesses are not free to discriminate, then the power to determine what is true and false and good and bad becomes the sole property of the state – or that even more odious creature, that lobotomized Frankenstein monster, "society."
Instead of diverse opinions and actions freely manifest, which are what happens when the state and society are denied the power to force a certain viewpoint down the throats of private citizens and enterprises, what happens is that all debate, all differences, and all individuality are crushed based upon what those who run the state or manipulate society deem sacrosanct.””
— Bruce Walker
“Stossel: Jordan Peterson vs. “Social Justice Warriors””
“Many leftists hate Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto.”
Read More...Republicans against Democrats
Live free
NeoNote — The process or the Republic?
I'm so very tired of progressive "elites" and reporters focusing on the "dirty tricks" of Republicans all while excusing the excesses of their own side.
Read More...Discrimination
NeoNote — Compulsion by law
Under what circumstances does the state or the people have the moral authority to compel someone to act against their beliefs?
Read More...NeoNote — Legacy of privilege
At the same time, the privilege of being a protected class is regularly exploited to excuse behavior and escape responsibility.
Read More...NeoNote — “Not all …”
Right to refuse
“You have the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. To suggest otherwise is an advocation of slavery.”
Read More...NeoNote — Tit for tat
The only reason to follow the rules is if the other does too. If they don't follow the rules, you aren't bound to the rules.
Read More...Catallaxy
““Recent centuries have given us a new paradigm of how cooperation creates civilization-a paradigm other than control from on high. Civilization rises from the grassroots. It arises through the uncoordinated and voluntary association of individuals and groups. It comes from catallaxy, which is sometimes called “catallactics.” The concept was a long-sought-after intellectual breakthrough that allowed free-market advocates to explain the evolution of society without a central authority.””
— Wendy McElroy, Crypto and the Impossibility of Knowledge in Planning
Exposing a crime
“When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are ruled by criminals.”
Read More...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
NeoNote — Control
So some religions should get protection and others should not? Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that if we start making those distinctions we've just sacrificed religious freedom.
Read More...“Logan’s General Order No. 11”
“The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land.”
Read More...Honest dissent
If passion rules you
NeoNote — effectiveness of public schools
We're so conditioned to accept public schools as a Good Thing™ that we resist looking at options.
Read More...“Protect the institutions'”
““More DOJ norms being eroded. Trump-a SUBJECT of the investigation-wants access to material related to the inquiry. His Congressional supporters want evidence connected to an ongoing investigation. Time for DOJ/FBI to simply say no-protect the institutions and time tested norms."””
— Eric Holder tweet reported at Holder urges DOJ/FBI to unconstitutionally defy President: 'Protect the institutions'

NeoNote — Manifest your faith
It's not enough that I be a good person, I must supplicate myself before the altar of your dogma and beg forgiveness.
Read More...NeoNote — Religion in public schools
Mandatory school attendance is backed by the force of law. Much of it has degenerated into who gets to control the conditioning.
Read More...NeoNote — More on Jordan Peterson
Honestly there are many libertarians and a fair number of conservatives who just don't get why Jordan Peterson is such a big deal. It's like "yeah, we knew that, it's obvious."
Read More...Banal
““For the most part, Peterson’s advice is banal. Not wrong, necessarily, but banal. And as a result, he’s gained a significant and loyal following. On the one hand, it’s good that someone is telling young men to grow up, put away their childish toys and do big boy things like make their bed. I have no particularly issue with Jordan Peterson’s advice here. And as the insipid will respond if you question anything about Peterson’s fans, why undermine someone giving young men positive advice?””
— Scott Greenfield, Where Did All The Dads Go?
No one asked
NeoNote — reserve currency
When people are told that they will be taken care of because it is their right, they stop paying attention to the numbers
Read More...Multiculturalism
Make a business
““There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.””
— Booker T. Washington
Certain class
““I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.””
— Booker T. Washington
Process over goals
Neurotic world-view
““Second-wave feminism went off the track when it started to demonize men and blame them for all the evils in human history. It’s a neurotic world-view that was formulated in too many cases by women (including Gloria Steinem and Kate Millett) with troubled childhoods in unstable homes. First-wave feminism, in contrast, focused on systemic social problems that kept women in secondary or dependent status.””
— Camille Paglia, Prominent Democratic Feminist Camille Paglia Says Hillary Clinton ‘Exploits Feminism’
NeoNote — Women's studies
You have to look outside your preconceptions and expectations for the things you can't explain.
Read More...NeoNote — What has Trump done that is so bad?
We've reached the point where we're told that Trump is E-V-I-L, but they can't say why. And meanwhile with overwhelming bad news coverage, he still has an approval rating of more than 50%.
Read More...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
Your life
NeoNote — Trump & North Korea
This isn't business as usual. It never is with Trump. The old diplomatic games won't work. He doesn't care about the shape of the table. Trump cares about getting things done.
Read More...“This is conscious authoritarianism…”
““Therein lies danger. Peterson may articulate an end goal of balance, but at the moment he's offering order against chaos, yang against yin. The effort is, by definition, reactionary, counter-revolutionary. But once you place yourself squarely on one side of the pendulum, you'll inevitably exaggerate the collective demerits of the other while indulging in-group excesses. Dogma throughout history has had its freedom-killing flaws, he readily admits, but, well, sometimes people just need to be told what to do. This is conscious authoritarianism, and Peterson is volunteering for the job.
Power corrupts, and relationships alter behavior. "This risk of being changed is one of the most frightening prospects most of us can face," Peterson writes at one point. In setting himself up as rule-maker to an adoring flock and flirting openly with the idea that he is being visited with capital-r Revelation, the professor threatens to become unmoored from the winning pragmatism of his clinical practice. Stepping into an exalted role as avenging angel against a feminine chaos can descend quickly into self-parody.””
— Matt Welch, Jordan Peterson Is Not the Second Coming
NeoNote — Not a Trump supporter
I'm telling you this on the remote chance you'll pay attention. I think Trump does need criticism. But all this "Trump is a buffoon" junk just waters down legitimate concerns. The more you do it, the stronger he'll be.
Read More...NeoNote — John McCain
John McCain is a dishonorable scumbag who is in it only for political advantage. He's cashed in on that POW experience so many times that it ought to have disintegrated by now.
Read More...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
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
“Why The Left HATES Jordan Peterson”
“Jordan Peterson has received a LOT of criticism, most of it from people who don't seem to understand his work, only that he's attacking their viewpoints. The visceral reaction he's elicited makes sense if you understand the neo-marxist, post-modernist viewpoint, so here's 6 reasons why the left hates Jordan Peterson. ”
Read More...Fair game
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
“Control the Words, Control the Culture”
“The culture war is first and foremost a war of words – and the left is winning. The consequences can be seen everywhere: in politics, in education, in media. In this video, Michael Knowles, host of the Michael Knowles Show, explains why we should not cede another syllable.”
Read More...Obliged
NeoNote — Government should not be trusted
When government is "responsible" for something, regular people stop paying attention.
Read More...Left wing anti-Semitism
“MN Blows Billions!”
“Minnesota is blowing billions on wind power—not to mention billions more from taxpayers across the country. The state began erecting wind turbines to lower electric bills and CO2 emissions. But the result is HIGHER electricity rates and dubious CO2 reductions. When it comes to energy, Minnesota is blowing it!”
Read More...NeoNote — Not defense
I just want to point out that American "defense" policy involves military action against nations when Congress hasn't declared war.
Read More...Clinton lied
“The Militarization of Police: When Tyranny Comes Home”
“Since the end of the Cold War, SWAT teams have proliferated across the United States and the number of no-knock raids on private citizens has risen dramatically. Abby Hall and Chris Coyne explain that this is the result of the boomerang effect– the process by which, in the absence of strong formal constraints, tactics used in foreign interventions abroad are later used to limit the liberties of people back home.”
Read More...Better government
NeoNote — Economics and Trump
It's not about how much money government has, it's about how much money government takes from people.
Read More...Income taxes
““Income taxes are the fine one pays for the crime of being useful and productive.””Read More...
Never forgive
Being libertarian
“Let's talk about gun control”
““Let's talk about gun control. Banning or restricting firearms is the most white privileged idea ever. Rich liberals scoffing at the notion that a person might need to defend their own life is a tower so ivory you can't look at it in direct sunlight. It's the personal safety equivalent of saying ‘just have the maid do it.’””Read More...
— Caleb Howe
Platinum Rule
“The Left's War on Science”
“City Journal contributing editor John Tierney joins John Stossel to talk about the politicization of science and how the dominance of left-wing thinkers in academia and the scientific community impedes progress.”
Read More...Personal
This just in
““The same government that has repeatedly violated privacy laws and illegally collects data from all it's citizens, is lecturing the CEO of a company about violating privacy laws and collecting data from all their users.””Read More...
“Stossel: The Great American Tax Ripoff”
“Tax Day gets a lot of attention, but John Stossel says that attention is misleading, because the April 17th deadline is only for income tax. That's just a fraction of the taxes Americans pay.”
Read More...Sum up
“Mueller Investigating Trump Over $150K Donation From Ukrainian Who Gave Clintons $13 Million”
Read More...“Why Isn't There a Palestinian State?”
“Why don't the Palestinians have their own country? Is it the fault of Israel? Of the Palestinians? Of both parties? David Brog, Executive Director of the Maccabee Task Force, shares the surprising answers.”
Read More...Thursday roundup
Privileges above its principles
NeoNote — Government is not your friend
Pardon, but you're making the same mistake they did. You think that if the right person was in charge, everything would be okay.
Read More...The Great Secret
??You can’t hoard freedom. It’s not really liberty unless you share it.??
— NeoWayland, Lady Liberty
Let's solve the problem with…More Government!
““The cowards of Broward failed. The FBI failed. Sheriff Scott Israel failed. So many multilayered levels failed in Parkland…I find it ironic that after all this and we've seen so many government failures, we want to trust the government even more.””Read More...
— Kyle Kashuv
Any unarmed people
““Any unarmed people are slaves or subject to slavery at any given moment.””Read More...
— Huey P. Newton
Political Opportunism
Gun confiscation
““If law enforcement is too afraid to confront a teenager with an AR-15, I don't think that gun confiscation thing is going to go very well for them.””Read More...
— anonoymous
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
Friday roundup
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is considered one of the all time great speeches in English. Given just days before his assassination, it caps an amazing life during a historical turning point.
Read More...Look for the Divine
Government WILL abuse power
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
“Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina Talks Big Data at the Milken Institute's 2013 Global Conference”
“In this series of clips from our discussion about Big Data at the 2013 Global Conference, Jim Messina discusses how the Obama campaign effectively used large volumes of data to identify voters. This ultimately lead to a more effective deployment of resources. The discussion provides fascinating insights into the way large data sets can be accumulated and used to change the outcome of an election.”
Read More...One weakness of identity politics
Some men
“Welcome To Progressive Utopia”
“A society afraid of free speech is afraid of itself.
Anyone who needs a safe space from other people’s opinions should be in therapy”
Read More...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
“Let Kids Be Kids”
“Lenore Skenazy, President of Let Grow, encourages parents to do what parents have always done: follow basic safety rules, and then let their kids be kids.”
Read More...Tuesday roundup
“The “Overheated” Costs of Climate Change”
“Oren Cass joins John Stossel to discuss the Paris Climate Agreement and how climate “catastrophists” are harming the debate over ways to adapt to changing global climate. The epithet “climate denier” has been used for years by activists to tastelessly smear critics of the Left’s preferred environmental policies. Cass argues that climate activists have drawn drastic policy implications unwarranted by current climate science.”
Read More...from crux № 14 — honor
That's dependency
““Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It's not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights -- the "right" to education, the "right" to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery -- hay and a barn for human cattle. There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.””Read More...
When you go down that road
““What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long.””Read More...
“The Destructive Male”
This 1868 classic helped lay the groundwork for the 19th Amendment securing women's right to vote
Read More...Fighting for
Sacrificed
““Men have sacrificed and crippled themselves physically and emotionally to feed, house, and protect women and children. None of their pain or achievement is registered in feminist rhetoric, which portrays men as oppressive and callous exploiters.””Read More...
— Camille Paglia
Is it most men
“Stossel: The Philly Soda Tax Scam”
“John Stossel fights with a Philadelphia City Councilman about the city's new soda tax.”
Read More...Contraception
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
Destroy masculinity
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
Accidentally
“Daughter's Single Tweet Accidentally Launches A Business For Her Struggling Dad”
Read More...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
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
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
“Every High School Principal Should Say This”
“If every high school principal said this, it would change students' lives and would change America. So what exactly should every high school principal say? Dennis Prager explains.”
Read More...NeoNote — non-citizens voting
Deserve rights
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
Recently
“Remy: I Like it, I Love it”
“After years of complaining about Washington's fiscal irresponsibility, Remy is finally in office and ready to make a change.”
Read More...Heard of brave knights
““Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.””Read More...
— C.S. Lewis
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
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
“On the Death of John Brown”
PragerU and the Alt-Right
“What is the alt-right? What is its worldview? How big is it? Michael Knowles, bestselling author and host of The Michael Knowles Show, took a deep dive into alt-right culture. Here's what he learned.”
Also, response links to this video.
Read More...NeoNote — SPLC
No one person and no one group has all the answers. No one group should be vested with THE moral authority to decide who is and is not a hate group.
The SPLC needs competition.
Read More...Parents surprise students
“Parents Surprise Students By Painting The School's Bathrooms With Positive Messages”
Read More...NeoNote — Post WWII
The American extended childhood is a post WWII phenomena. That's also what gave us the Baby Boomers, the less said about the better.
Read More...Dolly Parton is a class act
““I’m not addressing that. I do not get into that. Of course I have my opinion about everybody and everything. But I learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business. I’m not in politics. I am an entertainer.””Read More...
— Dolly Parton
Open and free
Making more women equal
““The 2nd Amendment - Making more women equal than the entire feminist movement””Read More...
Raise your children
NeoNotes — gun tragedy
I think it's despicable and dishonorable to capitalize on tragedy hours after a mass shooting, but hey, what do I know?
Read More...The Wall Speech
This 1987 speech changed the world and the wall came tumbling down.
Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II conspired to bring down the Soviet Union. This speech was just one part of that.
Read More...Measure of happiness and well-being
““First, there is nothing either intrinsically right or intrinsically wrong about liberty or slavery, democracy or autocracy, freedom of action or complete regimentation. It seems to us, however, that the greatest measure of happiness and of well-being for the greatest number of entities, and therefore the optimum advancement toward whatever sublime Goal it is toward which this cycle of existence is trending in the vast and unknowable Scheme of Things, is to be obtained by securing for each and every individual the greatest amount of mental and physical freedom compatible with the public welfare.””
— E. E. Smith, First Lensman
Escaped
“Former Slave Escaped To US, Competed In The Olympics Twice, Joins Air Force To Give Back”
Read More...Legal and orderly
““In approaching immigration reform, I believe we must enact tough, practical reforms that ensure and promote the legal and orderly entry of immigrants into our country.””
— Senator Barack Obama, Senate floor, 2007
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Better secure
““We all agree on the need to better secure the border, and to punish employers who choose to hire illegal immigrants.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Success
“Mom Turns $700 into a $65 Million Company After Manufacturer Calls Her ‘a Stupid Woman’”
Read More...Supersized Monday roundup
Rightly disturbed
““All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public services they use impose burdens on our taxpayers.””
— President Bill Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Rebuke
NeoNotes — the best tyranny
Once you start using force and the rule of law to go after your "enemies," what's to stop you from going after us next?
Read More...Deportation
““We will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace””
— President Bill Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
The Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island
Chief meaning of freedom
““I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.””Read More...
— Calvin Coolidge
Employers must use
““I continue to believe that we need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace. And that means a workable mandatory system that employers must use to verify the legality of their workers.””
— Senator Barack Obama, Senate floor, 2007
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Second Amendment
““The Second Amendment is about a single mom living in a tough neighborhood with a crack house down the street being able to defend herself and defend her kids.””
— Ted Cruz, Hypocrite Celebs Want Gun Control For Everyone, But Their Bodyguards
Moral authority
““Showing resilience and resolve in the face of horrific adversity deserves the highest praise and attention. Juvenile victim status, however, does not warrant absolute moral authority or the unfettered powers in the political arena that ideologically stunted law professors are so eager to bestow upon them.””
— Michelle Malkin, Do not let the children lead
Break our laws
““If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with U.S. citizenship and guarantee full access to all public and social services this society provides — and that's a lot of services. Is it any wonder that two-thirds of babies born at taxpayer expense (in) county-run hospitals in Los Angeles are born to illegal alien mothers?””
— Senator Harry Reid, Senate floor, 1993
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Ownership
““Admit it, what is worrying you is right and justice; what is worrying you is ownership – not yours, of course, but that of others. You find it difficult to accept that others are free to dispose of their property (the only way to be an owner); you want to dispose of your property . . . and theirs.””
— Frederic Bastiat, “Plunder and the Law”
Young heroes
“West Point posthumously admits shooting victim Peter Wang to Class of 2025”
“U.S. Army Awards Medal of Heroism to Three Junior ROTC Cadets Killed in Parkland Shooting”
Read More...No, boys aren't broken
“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...SJW Inclusivity
Power concedes nothing
““Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.””Read More...
— Frederick Douglass
Need to start
““We need to start by giving agencies charged with border security new technology, new facilities and more people to stop, process and deport illegal immigrants.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Increasingly suspect
““The idea of individual merit — as opposed to various forms of unearned “privilege” — is increasingly suspect. The Enlightenment principles that formed the bedrock of the American experiment — untrammeled free speech, due process, individual (rather than group) rights — are now routinely understood as mere masks for “white male” power, code words for the oppression of women and nonwhites. Any differences in outcome for various groups must always be a function of “hate,” rather than a function of nature or choice or freedom or individual agency. And anyone who questions these assertions is obviously a white supremacist himself.””
— Andrew Sullivan, We All Live on Campus Now
Mass school shootings
Millions of illegal immigrants
““Right now we've got millions of illegal immigrants who live and work here without knowing their identity or background.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
What we need
NeoNotes — Let people make their own choices
Just pointing out again that if you don't like government power, maybe the real answer is taking the power away from government.
Read More...Bonus Sunday roundup
Point a gun
““Hello, everyone. Guess who. Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax.””
— The Doctor, A Good Man Goes to War
“Can Climate Models Predict Climate Change?”
“Predicting climate temperatures isn't science – it's science fiction. Emeritus Professor of Physics at Princeton University Will Happer explains.”
Read More...“Penn & Teller on Gun Control”
“Penn and teller explain the 2nd amendment in very simple, easy to understand terms. Just the way it was written.”
Read More...“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