Kent For Liberty Blog

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  • Kent McManigal

Falling short and missing the mark May 29, 2018

I fell short. In frustration I called a statist a parasite. Really, he is much much worse than a mere parasite. I was being gentle. But I still shouldn't have lost my composure with him. He was making the argument that a cop was right to ticket a man who didn't have a front "license plate", and that the guy deserved it because he broke the "law" and was being a jerk to the nice cop- who then lost his temper. I had nicely pointed out that such a "law" is counterfeit, and I asked where the cop got this supposed...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Statists’ greatest fear May 29, 2018

I can no more imagine being afraid of liberty than I can imagine a Canada goose being afraid of heights. But that's just me. I know many people are scared out of their minds at the thought of liberty. They fight against it every way they can think of, and work hard to try to make others as fearful as they are. They misrepresent liberty. They define it incorrectly. They dream up all sorts of "what if" scenarios to justify being afraid. They have a right to feel as they do, but... They are wrong. If they stopped at having feelings, no one would be hurt...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Yes, rights can be violated. So? May 28, 2018

In a recent podcast, Dilbert's Scott Adams claimed rights are not inalienable because "we can make a law against anything we want". Partly true, but mostly wrong. You can make a law against anything you want, but if that law violates natural human rights, that "law" is counterfeit. Rights can either be respected or violated. There is no third option. It is obvious he sees rights as something coming from government; as privileges. Subject to the whims of the majority, or of a minority with deadly power. Yes, rights can be violated, but that doesn't mean that violating them is a "collective right". If your desire is...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 4

Holy Pole Quilt or else! May 27, 2018

A guy who lives across the street from my parents assumed I would be on his side. A new convenience store/truck stop in the area apparently doesn't fly Holy Pole Quilt. This offends the man. He told me he's going to go in, fill up a basket with expensive items, and when he gets to the register, ask why they aren't flying "The Flag". Then when the cashier says they "aren't allowed to", he's going to leave the full basket and say he can't spend money with them if they can't fly the flag of the country he "fought for"....

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Karma? Nah (second attempt to post) May 26, 2018

I don't believe in karma nor anti-karma (what some express as "no good deed goes unpunished"). This frees me to do the right thing for the right reasons without the taint of selfishness or unnecessary fear. I'm not expecting reward or punishment for doing the right thing, and if I do the wrong thing any punishment is deserved. It's somewhat liberating. - Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com Follow me on Steemit and Medium

By Kent McManigal Vote0 1

Karma? Nah May 26, 2018

I don't believe in karma nor anti-karma (what some express as "no good deed goes unpunished"). This frees me to do the right thing for the right reasons without the taint of selfishness or unnecessary fear. I'm not expecting reward or punishment for doing the right thing, and if I do the wrong thing any punishment is deserved. It's somewhat liberating. - Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com Follow me on Steemit and Medium

By Kent McManigal Vote0 4

Wrongness is wrong because… May 25, 2018

Murder is wrong because it violates an individual's rights. Rape is wrong because it violates an individual's rights. "Gun control" is wrong because it violates an individual's rights. There is really no difference in the wrongness of those wrongs. These things aren't wrong because they are illegal and aren't right when they are "legal". They aren't wrong because people agree they are wrong. They don't stop being wrong if a majority stops believing they are wrong, because individuals are still being violated. If an act violates the rights of an individual, then you have no right to do it. If you do...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 7

I am not a sitting duck May 24, 2018

Does having a gun with you in the event of an attack guarantee survival? Of course not. Nothing can. But it doesn't matter. I'd rather have a fighting chance than be a sitting duck. Even if I don't survive. I'd rather go out fighting for my life than cowering in fear. At least do the decent thing and don't get in my way with "laws" and other nonsense. - Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com Follow me on Steemit and Medium

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Laws themselves a senseless crime May 23, 2018

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 23, 2018) Droughts are a serious problem. They cause wildfires, dirt storms, crop failure, and they deplete the aquifer. Droughts are harmful and dangerous. Someone should do something! Why aren't droughts illegal already? On the other hand, you don't want floods, either. Or property-damaging hail or tornadoes. Those should be criminalized as well...read the rest... - Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com Follow me on Steemit and Medium

By Kent McManigal Vote2 0

“Gun control” is collective punishment May 22, 2018

Collective punishment. I've said before how much I dislike it, and why- here, here, and here. Your fear, helplessness, or anger doesn't justify collective punishment. Nothing does; nothing can. Anti-gun "laws", anti-gun bigots dishonestly call them "gun control", are nothing but collective punishment. Punishing innocent people for something someone else did-- something they didn't do and wouldn't do-- just because it's too hard to do anything about what happened. And just because the solution isn't what they want to do. It's just another reason (in a large and growing stack of reasons) I despise anti-gun "laws". I recently saw a question asking whether gun owners...

By Kent McManigal Vote2 0

Statists are welcome to listen and learn, or not May 21, 2018

  I don't really expect statists to listen and learn from anything I write. Yes, it has occasionally happened, but it's not something I count on. They don't want to hear that "taxation" is theft, or that anti-gun "laws" are slavery, that nothing can give anyone the right to prohibit others from using drugs, or that if you punish someone for something that "might" happen, YOU are the attacker. They don't want to hear that no matter how many people agree, those people can't make a right out of thin air, and they can't transfer an imaginary right created in this way to...

By Kent McManigal Vote3 0

Skeptical kids May 20, 2018

There's a phenomenon I've noticed with kids. When I tell them something they didn't already know, they often respond with "No!" They don't even take time to consider what I've said; just reject it automatically. I suspect most adults respond the same way, but maybe not always vocally. I've seen it happen when I've told a kid that the Sun is a star, or that birds are dinosaurs, or anything else they either didn't know or had been taught incorrectly. One kid responded that way when I told her all cops are bad guys, even if she likes one. It might be a...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Don’t let loved-ones become cops May 19, 2018

If you love someone, don't EVER support their desire to become a cop. They may have been a good person before they became a cop, but they can't be good once they are a cop. A cop in the family is nothing to be proud of-- almost anything else (including a crackhead or a $5 hooker) is better. You might actually believe your son or your niece is too good a person to become a vile murderer just because they become a cop. Before they become a cop you're probably right. They probably have the best intentions. They may really want to...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Anti-gun bigotry will not prevent it May 18, 2018

Another post on Medium. If you go read it, please remember to "clap" so I can get paid. Thanks! .

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Government explained May 18, 2018

Picture from here (worth reading) Is it OK for me to go into your house and take your stuff? What if I first write on a piece of paper that it's OK for me to go into your house and take your stuff? Does that make it OK? What if I get a lot of people to agree with me that the permission slip I wrote for myself makes it OK? What if, instead of using the permission slip for myself, I hire someone (with the proceeds gained by taking stuff from houses) to go into your house and take your stuff? Surely it's OK now....

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Reason is the enemy of statism May 17, 2018

Most people are content to believe without reason. Instead of reasons, they have a stack of excuses; this is not as good. They'll simply assert "cops are good guys", but if pressed for reasons for this belief, they have feelings, fears, laziness, and cowardice-- which they imagine constitute reasons for their belief. But they'll provide no actual reasons based on reason. When I say there is no such thing as a "good cop", I can show the reasons and the reasoning behind that reality. Copsuckers probably won't like it, and will counter with their feelings and excuses, but the facts stand. It's the same on...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Don’t trust government to keep deals May 16, 2018

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for May 16, 2018) President Trump has decided to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the "Iran Nuclear Agreement", and his critics are enjoying their opportunity to show concern. You can debate whether the deal had any legitimacy, whether it was a good idea, and what breaking the deal means, but you'd be missing the point. Agreements are meaningless to governments...read the rest... - Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com Follow me on Steemit and Medium

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Gullible vs Stubborn May 15, 2018

There's a fine line between being gullible and being stubborn. You don't want to automatically embrace every new idea you are exposed to just because it sounds nice, but you also don't want to automatically reject every new idea just because it's different from what you currently believe or is uncomfortable. And that's a hard line to walk. When I hear a new idea, if I just turn around and repeat it because I like it, it's not my idea. I'm just parroting. I might be demonstrating gullibility because I haven't really thought it through enough to know whether it makes sense....

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

When you’re wrong May 14, 2018

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how wrong people can be, and how they can stay that way. Without being bothered by it. After all, I was once just as wrong, and I fought my way out of it. Now I can see how I was wrong, and why I was wrong. It seems obvious. Then I remember that back when I was wrong, there were others who knew I was wrong and could see it clearly when I couldn't see it at all. Now that's where I am when I see how others are wrong. But it's ongoing....

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

How the world should be May 13, 2018

It seems to me that people waste a lot of energy getting upset that the world isn't as they believe it should be. Especially when they are right. I fall into that trap, too. Violating private property and using violence against those who are neither using violence nor violating private property is wrong. It is something no one can have the right to do, no matter what they wish to believe. And most of the world spends time and effort looking for loopholes which can't exist so they can feel right about committing wrongs. This is just how the world is....

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

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