Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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My sympathy goes out to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath. It’s easy for those of us who live far from the ocean, or any water whatsoever, to feel smug for living where hurricanes don’t reach. If this is how you feel, remember it’s a false sense of security. Every area has its own problems and potential disasters. Tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, riots, or earthquakes ... and sometimes a smorgasbord of all the above. Figure out your region’s most likely...
Government has become too important in our daily lives. Not because it’s actually important to our existence, but because it interferes with everything we do, and then threatens to hurt us if we resist its meddling. A leaky roof or a crumbling foundation is important for the same reason. I’ve had intoxicated acquaintances get in my face and hang all over me. I hated to be around them or to run into them. They were not a benefit to my life, but they made themselves imp...
How can you expect people, especially those who believe in politics, to agree on anything when they can’t even agree on the reality of what is happening right in front of them? Add in the opposing way events are framed, depending on the bias of the information source, and I don’t think it’s possible. I saw neighboring yards in town; one had a Trump yard sign and the other had a Harris sign. I’d bet both think they are the reasonable one and their neighbor is nuts. Or maybe t...
Imagine if your neighbors stuck signs in their yards telling everyone about the conditions they suffer from. “We’re proud of our itchy armpit fungus!” Would you be convinced to get infected, too? I’m already seeing political yard signs. If people advertise their support for a political candidate, could they be convinced to put signs in their yards proclaiming their diseases and mental problems? Scratch the part about mental problems; political signs already announce those t...
Anyone who is on the side of censorship and punishing people for their speech is not on the right side. It doesn’t matter if they are a government, a corporation, or an individual. It doesn’t matter if they are a crooked Brazilian judge, a U.S. presidential candidate, or a probable android running a “book” of faces. Banning speech, especially for political reasons, is inexcusable. Freedom of speech is non-negotiable, but this matters less when it’s speech you like hearing a...
Government efficiency may sound like a worthy goal. To me, it sounds like the worst threat imaginable. Historically, Germany’s National Socialist government was efficient, as was Mussolini’s fascist Italian government. Today, the Chinese communist government seems to be dangerously efficient. The U.S. federal government, famous for its inefficiency, is still too efficient for comfort. Efficient government inevitably becomes too much government. People who push for gov...
Is Kamala Harris a communist? That would depend on what “communist” means. Defenders of communism get very slippery when you try to pin them down on the definition. Their usual tactic is to demand to know how you define communism rather than to define it themselves -- probably because they can’t define it without looking like monsters for defending it. Whatever you say in response, they’ll claim it isn’t “real communism” like they are advocating. The dictionary says communism...
Too much government is a problem. I’m not talking about too many governments, but too much. Global government -- one government -- is the worst possible scenario. The fewer governments, the worse the problem generally becomes. Political power -- the power to govern, murder, steal, imprison, and enslave -- gets more dangerous the more concentrated and centralized it is. The best number of governments is exactly the same as the number of people alive. Neither more nor fewer. E...
No matter which politician attains the office of president after the upcoming election, you’ll probably be fine. I know it’s more popular to say we are all doomed unless a certain politician wins. The truth is, no president has had much effect on my life, regardless of whether I liked or despised him. Or, potentially, her. If they imposed unconstitutional legislation I didn’t like, I probably ignored it or found a workaround. We all commit an average of three felonies per d...
Politics divides. That’s the nature of the thing; what it’s designed to do. Worse, politics often culminates in elections. Every election feels like the majority coming together to give a mass murderer the keys to my house and holding me at gunpoint to make sure I won’t do anything about it. This is an outcome I can’t consent to. But in the name of democracy -- even if it was once a republic -- it’s the outcome that is guaranteed every time. Other political systems are not b...
Is Joe Biden still the U.S. president? Will he soon be forced out, by using the 25th Amendment, due to his cognitive decline? Is he physically healthy enough to continue in the position or to survive his term? Will Kamala Harris be any better? Interesting times. What you may not realize is how little it matters. U.S. presidents have always been figureheads; this has become more obvious over the years. Presidents hold little power; most of it is exercised by unelected bureaucra...
Once again, some evil loser killed a person, but not the specific one he wished to kill. Donald Trump, his presumed primary target, survived with a minor injury. I am no fan of politicians or their institutions, but this isn’t the way to change things for the better. Not even close! If you dislike a politician, vote against him, or better yet, do something productive: Build a life for yourself that doesn’t hinge on politics or depend on government doing things your way. Be...
Roosevelt County has stepped into a trap. Convening a U.S. Amendments Convention would be a mistake. The Bill of Rights already contains the most important Constitutional amendments and the federal government usually disobeys it. The feds interpret those amendments into nothingness any time one would stand in the way of government doing something it wants to do. The fundamental human right to own and carry weapons? Government illegally decides what kind of weapons it will allo...
You are probably familiar with the poem, “First They Came,” by Martin Niemöller. It begins, “First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist.” It goes on to list more groups “they” came for. We are living in such a time again. People in power are coming for those they don’t like: often the ones who speak out against the evil being committed by political criminals in positions of power. They are coming with lawfare, inflated charg...
Do you celebrate Independence Day, or do you celebrate the Fourth of July instead? It’s the difference between celebrating insurrection, secession, and the violent overthrow of a tyrannical government in the cause of independence, or demonstrating your loyalty to an even more tyrannical government and its military. I know which one most people celebrate. Most holidays get corrupted and co-opted over time. Complaints about the commercialization of Christmas are as t...
I often say politics makes people stupid. I’ve tried to think of a nicer way to say this, but there isn’t one. I don’t tie this to any specific political party, but observe it applies to all of them, through the effect they have on everyone who identifies with them. I’m embarrassed for people who pretend Joe Biden is mentally or physically capable and for those who imagine Donald Trump is a friend to gun owners. No one has a right to govern another person. There’s no way to...
Last column, I pointed out the injustice of Donald Trump’s conviction for violating nonsensical, arbitrary legislation. If such legislation even exists. Last week, it happened to someone else. Once again someone prominent has been convicted of a victimless “crime” while those in Congress and other government positions continue to victimize Americans with their felonious regime. Hunter Biden, the president’s son, has been convicted of breaking a federal gun rule -- they wi...
The precedent is set. As of May 30, every presidential administration can expect to be convicted of felonies by the next administration from the other party. Congressional members of the opposition party could be convicted, as well. They all commit felonies, most far more real and serious than those for which Donald Trump was convicted. Democratic former presidents and members of Congress should be convicted of felonies as soon as there’s a Republican administration. Nor shoul...
If you are a good person who votes for Democratic or Republican candidates because you feel you must, even if you don’t agree with the crazy positions the national party holds, I won’t hold the party’s flaws against you. I also hope you don’t confuse the Libertarian Party for libertarian people. They aren’t the same thing at all. Politics ruins everything it touches. The problem with political Libertarianism is that libertarianism and politics aren’t compatible. Politics is...
If a police officer has the right to do something – anything -- so do you. If you don’t have the right to do it, then no one does. Not police officers, CIA agents, bureaucrats, or presidents. A job or a position can’t create extra rights; there’s no such thing as an extra right. This is hard for many people to accept because those who benefit from the fantasy of extra rights work hard to brainwash the public into believing it. The only reason those jobs exist is to hire so...
The problem of the railroad crossing between Texico and Farwell has a logical solution. The various plans floated by state transportation officials aren’t it. The logical solution is for the railroad to be raised over the highway. I understand why the railroad doesn’t want to do this. It would be a huge engineering project and a serious inconvenience for them. It would be expensive and it’s easier to let the state soak the tax victims for the cost. They could claim they were...
Why do I keep returning to the natural right of each and every human being to own and to carry guns? Because when it comes to liberty, unless you get that right, you’ll get everything wrong. This right is non-negotiable, along with the right to free speech, freedom of association, and the right to own and use property. Anyone on the other side, or trying to keep a toe on the other side, is a danger to you. Governments and their politicians want exceptions. There aren’t any...
Everyone has weaknesses and faults. This includes you and me. We need to acknowledge our weaknesses and work on doing better. Your life will also be easier and you’ll be a better person if you’re tolerant of the weaknesses and faults of others. Up to a point. This doesn’t mean you have to sit quietly while someone’s faults are damaging your life. Communicate the problem and, when it needs to be said, tell them clearly where your line in the sand is. Be polite when possible. Yo...
The enemies of America just scored another major victory against us. Did you notice? The reauthorization and expansion of the deceptively named “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” (FISA) is an anti-American act. Both Democrat and Republican politicians were in on this crime. Any government that gives itself permission to spy on you is not on your side. Whether it’s China’s government, the government of Iran, or the U.S. federal government, it’s your enemy and is telling y...
To say I’m skeptical of the institution of government is an understatement. If individuals make bad choices, a collective of people with an incentive to do bad things and very little chance of being held accountable -- unless they anger some opposing faction within this institution -- won’t do any better. Quite the opposite. Organized evil is worse in every way than disorganized incompetence. It doesn’t matter if this institution has been around “forever.” The same excuse wa...
