Kent For Liberty Blog

A lot of people will never care about liberty. At all. They'll never value it. Forget them. They are like rocks and trees on the landscape. They are scenery. Learn to navigate around them. Don't go out of your way to kick them. That will only end up hurting you. And some people once cared, but lost their way. I know people who used to consider me (and those like me) to be fellow travelers on the path toward Rightful Liberty, but no longer do. I have some in mind, but I won't embarrass them by naming names. It's not because my position changed in any...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

Fred asks a couple of questions about cops and violence, saying they won't be answered by folks of my sort, because they'll trigger cognitive dissonance. Well, let's see... The Police: A cop sees a man strike a woman in the head with a piece of pipe and grab her purse. He tries to arrest the perp, who resists. The criminal is 19, muscular, and weighs 220. What should the cop do? Answer: He should do the same thing anyone else should do. He should defend the victim and himself. If necessary, he should fatally shoot the aggressor. "Arrest" (under the statist misunderstanding of...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

How many times have you been minding your own business, just talking to other liberty lovers, when some statist troll pops up and says: "Show me how your imaginary anarchist society will work!" or some other version of "It can't work!" It happens to me all the time. But, when I direct them to this blog, to my books, to my Dispatches from Libertopia blog, and to my website, they whine that they don't want to read all that stuff. They won't even bother to watch simple videos! It's "too much" or not what they wanted to hear. They don't want links that would require them to...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Let's pretend that the problem with cops really is "just a few bad apples" like cop supporters continually insist. What does an apple seller do with any bad apples he discovers in a barrel of apples? Does the apple salesman make excuses for the bad apple and leave it in the barrel? Does he remove it for a couple of weeks, then sneak it back in when no one is looking? If he does toss it out, do other apple sellers enthusiastically come get it and put it in their barrel? Do the other apples crowd around to protect the bad apple...

By Kent McManigal Vote2 0

http://blog.kentforliberty.com/2017/08/new-videos.html

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Fred, Fred, Fred... you ought to know better. About electric cars, he says: Liberals love them because they will prevent pollution, end global warming, and maybe stop hair loss. Libertarians hate them because they associate them with clean air, federal subsidies, and Al Gore. He might say it isn't possible, me being a libertarian and all, but my first car was an electric car. I love them. And I know their limitations. (Yes, that's actually me and my electric car in the picture above, in the spring of 1980.) I like clean air, I dislike government subsidies, and Al Gore is a...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

"Terrorism" has no grip on me. I'm not brave, though. My biggest fear has already become reality: the loss of one of my kids. I won't say I exactly survived, because not all of me did. I'm somewhat changed. Maybe those around me see it; maybe it's all tucked inside and they don't. Either way, I'm still here. And especially now, to me, "terrorism" is nothing but loserism. It can't scare me. It really never has. Whether it comes from ISIS, ICEis, Washington DC, North Korea, or the local cops. They are all just gangs of bullies looking for people to intimidate. If...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

(This is a guest post, written by someone who prefers to stay anonymous. I don't usually do this, but I made an exception in his case. All opinions expressed in the main body of the post are his.) It is with much sadness, sorrow, and regrets that I realize that our great experiment has failed; Our fleeting Liberty has been forever lost. It lasted a total of 6 Years, 6 Months, 16 Days. Here are the facts that few Americans even know. (Quoted text from various American History websites which I won’t name. The interested reader will look them up for...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

The idea behind the "good cop" delusion seems to run along these lines: If you are robbed by a gentlemanly robber, you weren't really robbed. And yes, most cops have behaved nicely toward me, even while they robbed me. (Although they have all acted scared while committing their act of enforcement.) Does this excuse the theft? No. That's ridiculous. A polite archator is still an archator, and is not a "good" person. Ever. Not even if you approve of what they do. - Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com (Steemit link)

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

I need more patience with people who have just run across unfamiliar ideas relating to liberty. Yes, I may have been explaining it for a decade. Others may have been explaining it for millennia. I may not feel like explaining it again, in detail, for the hundredth time. But the new guy doesn't know this. It's brand new to him. He hasn't been along for the ride, but just now noticed the saddled horse waiting for him to hop on. And he's suspicious. It's something hard to keep in mind, especially when the new guy comes at me with a hostile self-righteous...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 9, 2017) When an innocent person falls victim to a tragic accident, I hurt along with everyone else. Yet I part ways with most others when they start calling for the blood of the person who caused the accident. Or the modern version of calling for blood-- punishment imposed by the government's laws and justice system. This isn't justice...read the rest... - (Yes, I've said the same before, but that time it didn't get published in the paper.) - Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

I am a libertarian because I believe in maximizing liberty and minimizing aggression. I recognize the maximum amount of liberty requires there be no one who can violate liberty free of rightful consequences. The minimum amount of aggression is zero. Government is founded on aggression, violations of liberty, and theft. Therefore I am opposed to any and all externally imposed government, which means I am an anarchist. All externally imposed governments enslave. Slavery is something else I am vehemently against. This means I am an abolitionist. Slavery is not voluntary. I believe every human interaction should be voluntary, and that when someone tries to force themselves on you, you have a fundamental...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

It's interesting, and not in a good way, how easy it seems for some people to veer Left or Right. Perhaps even for mostpeople. Some people who I used to believe had their heads on straight, got bogged down in the Social Justice Wanker agenda. So much for them. Others went off on the alt-right crazy train with the election of Trump. Oops. Have fun with that. Some have cobbled together some freakish Frankensteinian monster combining the worst of both! Yes, it's as scary as it sounds! To resist going off-track must be harder than I thought. That makes me sad. -...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

It is said that if you are libertarian, and being consistent, those on the Right will call you a "Leftist" and those on the Left will claim you're part of the "Right". It seems to me, in some cases at least, I must be doing things right. On Facebook a while back I wrote "Neither Right nor Left, but the opposite of both those extremely wrong positions." A guy who is infamous on Facebook for calling libertarians (or anyone who isn't his brand of alt-right) rude names commented "So... far left". I replied with a link to a page with tips for...

By Kent McManigal Vote2 0

Worth it, but not free Have you ever seen the silly meme saying something like: "If we all gardened and traded our surplus with each other, we could eat for free!"? When I see that I wonder what the person's definition of "free" is. I think of "free" as meaning "without cost"; something for nothing. Even when I pick Rocket Mustard, purslane, or prickly pear out of the yard to eat, there is a cost. It takes labor. Both for harvesting and for preparing. If I were to garden, the cost would be even greater. There's labor, supplies, and (around...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

A while back, someone got upset because I called cops "filthy parasites" and said I was just "name calling". Well, let's see... Parasite par·a·siteˈperəˌsīt/ noun an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. (derogatory) a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return. Let's look at this one part at a time. Cops are organisms. I don't believe anyone disputes that fact. Cops live on other organisms, perhaps not physically but certainly at their expense. Cops benefit by deriving nutrients at the host's...

By Kent McManigal Vote1 0

But, if they all looked like Liv... The zombies, that is. America is a Zombocracy- a region ruled by zombies. These mindless brain-eaters are also known as government employees. Cops, politicians, bureau-craps, and all the rest. I said they are mindless, but that's not quite true. They share a hive mind driven by the instinct to devour anyone who isn't one of their own. And their disease seems contagious. - Thank you for helping support KentforLiberty.com (Steemit link)

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Someone I care about is facing a sentencing on September 8, to plea bargain in an attempt to avoid a cage. I don't know if she did what she is charged with doing. It seems completely out of character, based on what I know of her due to a friendship that has lasted 17+ years so far. And, it is completely irrelevant to my current objections, anyway. If she did what they claim, she owes someone restitution, and that "someone" isn't the State. The State's injustice system doesn't even have justice on the radar, but seeks only to punish. So,...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 4

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 2, 2017) The world has plenty of problems and something needs to change. Just about everyone agrees on this point, even if the details they'd like to change differ. Everyone probably believes they have some of the solutions, too. Assuming the change you want is actually good, and your solution would work, how do you put it in motion? How do you make sure you don't make things worse if the change you want, or your path to get there, turns out to be disastrous?...read the rest... - Thank you for helping...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

The fastest way for me to become disappointed in someone I care about is for them to take a government "job". That'll do it every time. It doesn't matter how "respectable" others believe that "job" is. It doesn't matter if the "job" is believed to be "necessary" or "helpful". It doesn't matter how badly you need the "job". It doesn't matter if it's a "job" also filled in the voluntary sector. It doesn't matter if I still like you and think you are basically a "good" person. It doesn't matter how much (stolen) money it pays. If you side with government to get...

By Kent McManigal Vote0 0

Fellow travelers taking detours Aug 18, 2017

OK. I’ll bite Aug 18, 2017

Statists are crybabies Aug 17, 2017

About those “bad apples” Aug 15, 2017

New videos Aug 14, 2017

Nuclear solar electric cars! Aug 14, 2017

Fearing “terrorism” Aug 13, 2017

Liberty experiment failed Aug 12, 2017

Do “nice guys” rob people politely? Aug 11, 2017

Spoon-feeding statists Aug 10, 2017

Accidents don’t deserve punishment Aug 9, 2017

I am… Aug 8, 2017

Derailed! Aug 7, 2017

Known by those who consider you the enemy Aug 6, 2017

Food costs Aug 5, 2017

“Filthy parasites” Aug 4, 2017

They’re here… Aug 3, 2017

Does that seem right to you? Aug 2, 2017

Change happens one person at a time Aug 2, 2017

How to disappoint me Aug 1, 2017