The Diapered Donkey Gets its Dole

255
6264

A reader takes issue with the publication on this site of details regarding the Corona Lucre – approximately $120,000, apparently – pocketed by a business I used to do business with  . . . until I was cast out last summer for not performing the bizarre and degrading rituals of the Sickness Cult, including most of all the not-wearing of a Face Diaper.

She writes:

I am sorry for any I am about to offend, but posting this information rubs me the wrong way. I believe every individual and business should have the right of privacy. Many of these businesses took these loans to survive. The government shut them down. They did not ask for this. I realize this is public record, but the amount of information that is uploaded here and from the US Treasury can be used by third parties for illegal purposes.

I am sure a few will point out that they didn’t have to apply for the loan and it is taxpayers money so we should be able to see who received it and how much. Then let’s be fair every individual and family that received a stimulus payment should also be posted since those will not be paid back either or how about every person who went on unemployment benefits.

This saddens me to see this. I have never been to Sweet Donkey and have no opinion of them one way or another, but right now I seriously sympathize with them that their business information is broadcasted on a public forum.

. . .

This business was the one I fiercely defended at the beginning of this manufactured rip-tide of mass hysteria. The one I went to every day during the weeks of “lockdown” and “nonessential” – just to show my support for them and my opposition to these tyrannical “executive orders” by such as Governor Coonman of my state, Virginia.

I was often the only person who was there – and I blatantly stayed there, for hours each day, defying the “lockdown” – drinking coffee and working on my laptop – as I had for years prior to this derangement and poltroonish submission to arbitrary, apparently-without-limit “executive orders.”

I knew the owner; considered her a friend or at least, a friendly acquaintance. She was happy to see me for those many weeks of no-business, or practically that.

Not that my business was keeping her afloat by any means. But she seemed to appreciate my support, including the articles I wrote (and almost daily videos I posted, which some will remember) in defense of her right to serve people and remain open.

She also did not wear a Diaper – nor fear my Undiapered face.

That changed – and so did she. And so also the people who worked there, all of whomhad gotten to know over the years. They became Diaper Freaks and I was cast out – excommunicated – for not bowing to the sick rituals of their Faith.

It is a Faith that has cost me and many millions of others dearly – and far more than mere money and the once-taken-for-granted simple human pleasures, such as being able to get a cup of coffee with being expected to perform a degrading Kabuki ritual. One that will – which has – led to expectations of much more than mere performance of a degrading ritual.

I have not seen my mother in exactly a year, her having been “locked down” by members of this same sick cult. I do not expect to ever see her again, even if the people who now own her – the wardens of the state prison for the elderly where she is incarcerated – allow me to enter the facility where she is kept. Because – just like Sweet Donkey – my entry will be conditional upon my showing submission to their Allah, by wearing their article of Faith – the Holy Facial Burqa.

Which I will never do. For the same reason I would not have worn an armband, 80-something years ago.

I will not be manipulated – and degraded – by these fanatic Freaks who seek to use my family as leverage; I would certainly not submit to their Faith for the sake of a cup of coffee and their New Abnormal.

Which these people are enabling by not opposing. By insisting on.

But it’s worse than that, actually.

As far as the Donkey.

The owner knew perfectly well I wasn’t any sort of danger to her or anyone else. Else why was she unfearful of my face – and showing hers – during the months of “lockdowns”? She changed her appearance – and insisted I change mine – when she sensed the political winds had shifted. A long-time, loyal customer and friendly acquaintance was suddenly very disposable.

It felt very much like a 1933 Germany probably felt, when it became inconvenient for Good Germans to serve non-Aryans.

Oh, but she was only doing what she had to survive! The Coonman had issued an “executive order”!

Well, the Coonman had also issued a prior “executive order,” decreeing that only “essential” people dare leave their homes – and this did not include me and the owner of SD knew that, perfectly well. She knew I was not on The List of “essential”people because she knew I am a writer. Yet she was happy to see – and serve – me. While it suited. So the argument that she was only doing what she had to with regard to the Diapering is risible.

She did what she wanted to.

Which of course she has every right to do. Just as I have the right to have contempt for what she did. Not just to me but to civility and normalcy in general.

And now it turns out she’s on the Dole.

Which is to say, one of the innumerable maggots feeding off the dwindling non-parasites left in this country.

She might have chosen to be brave and honorable and resist; to fight for her right to be in business; to keep the doors of her shop open to those who wished to enter and were not forced to enter.

I would have stood by her side, even at the risk of being jailed – or worse. I told her so.

Instead, she closed them to people who wished to enter – and participated in the demonization of people who refuse to pretend that wearing a Face Diaper “keeps them safe” from a virus they aren’t afraid of nor protects others from getting one they haven’t got.

She slammed the door in my face and the faces of any who dared to show theirs. And she partook in the opening of another kind of door that could lead to much worse.

Now she urgently sucks the teat of Uncle – who hands her our money with his strings attached. She will dance, accordingly. She will do business on his terms, the person who pays the piper always calling the tune. This probably means future vilenesses such as the mandatory presentation of evidence of vaccination as a condition of being served.

Which, again, would be fine were it just this one business exercising its owner’s preferences.

But in fact it is one of countless thousands of disgusting acts of submission to government – followed by getting into bed with government and becoming, thereby, the government’s rent boy.

Something worse, actually.

A business with the government as its silent partner is, de facto, the government. What happens when you cannot do business except at a business with the government as its silent partner?

But there are businesses who did not get into bed with Uncle; who didn’t treat their customers like scum – and didn’t use the government to finance their mercenary poltroonery. I know the owner of such a business. The Bent Mountain Bistro, in Floyd County, VA.

He welcomed customers, including the Undiapered – defying the Coonman’s “executive orders.”

He tried everything he could to keep his doors open and his business afloat. 

It was not enough, sadly. But he didn’t take any government money (for a look at those who did, see here) to save the business the government destroyed. And he told me why. He didn’t want the strings attached. He didn’t want to play the the tune called by the government. He wanted to be a free man, free to run his business as he wanted to run it.

Not as his new “partner” told him he’d better run it. 

This cost him his business, which is now closed. Ben – the owner – is operating a food truck rather than the sit-down restaurant that was once the best place to eat in my county.

But it didn’t cost him his integrity – or his soul.

Nor my respect.

Or any of our money.

. . . 

Got a question about cars, Libertarian politics – or anything else? Click on the “ask Eric” link and send ’em in!

If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos. 

We depend on you to keep the wheels turning! 

Our donate button is here.

 If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:

EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079

PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $20 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)

My eBook about car buying (new and used) is also available for your favorite price – free! Click here.  If that fails, email me at [email protected] and I will send you a copy directly!

255 COMMENTS

  1. Martin,

    You mention “ nasty attacks ” that I have made on RG.

    Can you quote me attacking RG in the post that lead her to saying “I’m out.”?

    Here is the post.

    >>“the amount of information that is uploaded here and from the US Treasury can be used by third parties for illegal purposes.”

    This person might just be on to something.

    We may have overlooked something very substantial due to our own confirmation biases.

    Any information uploaded here can be used by others for illegal purposes.

    Information uploaded from the US Treasury is particularly susceptible to being used by others for illegal purposes.

    Due to our misunderstanding of information in general we have the notion, the confirmation bias, that information is benign. It isn’t.

    Any information, no matter what form that information takes can be used by others for illegal as well as other nefarious purposes.

    The sound of a school bell could be used by the pedophile.

    The presence or absence of a light could be used by the rapist.

    Even the information gleaned from the sights of a firearm could be used by the murderer. In fact, that exact type of information was used to murder and injure a dozen Hoosiers at FedEx just the other day.

    If you’ve been taught that possession and distribution of information, in and of itself, is harmless and innocent, your own cognitive bias will necessarily lead you to process, interpret, and even recall information the way you have in the past.

    We must start to look at information as the danger that it is.

    We need a healthy respect for and even a fear of information. Information in the wrong minds or on the right website can have the most dire of consequences. We must acknowledge the dangerousness of information.

    Information should be tightly controlled, lest it be used by third parties for illegal purposes.

    Imagine if someone were to post a picture of the Donkey’s menu alongside a menu from a Dunkin’ Donuts.

    Think of the catastrophic horror that might ensue. The almost cataclysmic outrage that could explode. The devastation.

    Someone who looked at that 66.6% Triptych might actually learn something.

    But I guess it would only be a diptych.

    Never mind.<>Raider Girl
    April 18, 2021 at 12:18 am
    You win, T.

    I am out. This has become some type of head game that I have no desire to participate in.

    Eric, Jeremy, BaDnOn, BAC, Nasir, and others I thank you so much for the lively debates and sincerely wish everyone the best. <<

    Can you specifically point out where she was attacked?

    What exactly did I say that you find so objectionable Martin?

    I really do want to know.

  2. Hi all,

    “ people who are open to rational discussion”

    Apparently I missed it.

    But can anyone show me where RG has demonstrated that she is open to rational discussion?

    Not her assertions that she is open to rational discussion.

    I tend to question the veracity of statements like, “NO new taxes!”

    • Hi T,

      RG has been a regular here for some time and while she and I disagree about a number of things – such my opposition in principle to taxes as such vs. her opposition to some taxes – I have never found her to be irrational. She and I have had a number of lively debates and these I take as good debates – not because I “beat” her (or she me) but rather because the back-and-forth brings the respective points of view into view, for others to weigh and consider.

      This is what I’d like to see more of here and what I meant by both civility and rational discussion – as you and I are having right now.

      • Eric,

        If you maintain that taxes are evil, and someone else maintains that some evil can in fact be evil and good at the same time…

        How does that morph into civil discourse?

        How is it that pointing out that absurdity, that A cannot be A and non A at the same time, should be off the table?

        How can you possibly posit that claiming theft is a moral good is NOT irrational?

        That is your answer to my question, “But can anyone show me where RG has demonstrated that she is open to rational discussion?”?

        You really think that saying “her opposition to some taxes” demonstrates the workings of a rational mind?

        Your words Eric, “I have never found her to be irrational.

        I’m sure each and every serial killer could, and with complete veracity, claim that they are opposed to murdering some people.

        These AGWs that come up on your website from time to time. Can I make the claim that their actions demonstrate rational thinking?

        I’d maintain that most of the Chicago PD are opposed to some beat downs. When those same AGWs decide that you or I need a “tune up” is that resultant ass whipping the result of rational thinking put into action?

        Can you give me a better example of her rational thinking?

        Please Eric. And everyone else.

        This is a very sincere question.

        • Hey Tuanorea,

          RG is a conservative, which means a Statist with a particular set of cultural values. Conservatives seem to believe that government power, exercised to defend and preserve those values, is legitimate; while government power, exercised to undermine or replace those values, is not. They also tend to believe that this is a principled and coherent view of government that differs significantly from their leftist, Statist counterparts. It is not, both believe that government should be empowered to promote what they value, and prohibited from promoting that which they despise. The difference is a matter of preference, not principle.

          Still, I remember when I was a “minarchist” and believed that my preferences formed a principled justification for what I thought government could, and could not, legitimately do. It wasn’t until I discovered Auberon Herbert, and his simple query, “by what right does one man rule over another?”, that I was able to disentangle my preferences from principle, and realize that all government authority is inherently illegitimate, and that “limited government”, in the sense meant by some libertarians and most conservatives, is a monstrous absurdity.

          But, preferences still matter, those on the left who advocate what Thomas Sowell calls the “unconstrained vision” are likely unreachable; conservatives, while largely confused about what government is, mostly adhere to the “constrained vision” which, at the least, is amenable to reality and largely hostile to the totalitarian power necessary to pursue the “unconstrained” vision.

          Cheers,
          Jeremy

          • I think most of us have been there Jeremy. It’s a learning process. Heck, although I’ve been libertarian-oriented pretty much my entire life (at least since being old enough to think about such things) it’s only pretty recently I’ve come to realize the counter-revolutionary aspects of the Constitution in the U.S. and how it has enabled rather than restricted the growth of government power.

            RG may well come around when the basic concepts kick around in her head for a while and she realizes that our so-called “leaders” really are just pulling off a mafioso-style protection racket on a scale that mere private-sector criminals can scarcely dream of.

            • Jason,

              “ our so-called “leaders” really are just pulling off a mafioso-style protection racket on a scale that mere private-sector criminals can scarcely dream of.”

              That’s obviously true on its face (and on par with words with of the Prophet George Carlin). Somebody was listening. Nice job Jason.

              I would only add that many in the private-sector facilitate that scam.

              And, just off the top of my head if asked to provide an example, I might offer up those providing accounting services.

              Especially the well-intentioned zealots in that field of endeavor.

              Bernie didn’t get to where he is today without a good accountant.

          • Jeremy,

            Sort of off topic, LRC has an article by Higgs today. I wouldn’t have looked at it if you hadn’t brought him up recently. Thanks.

            But back to my question, can you give me an example of her rational thinking in any of her posts with regards to this article?

            I’ve asked her direct questions in the past and all I see in her responses to just about everyone of my questions is fallacy. I’d go further and make that every question she has been asked by all the others too

            What am I missing. And where am I attacking her?

            And being “amenable to reality” doesn’t necessarily make one an ally. Besides an ally turns into a foe more often than not in my experience.

            I don’t like statists. I don’t like the adherents to statism. I just want to be left the fuck alone.

            When did it become a requirement to be nice, and to be civil, to ideas, ideas espoused by statists? On a libertarian website for fucks sake!

            Why the call for self censorship?

            Humans use words to communicate. Seems to me that the censor is the ultimate racist. He is against the entire human race.

            • Tuanorea,

              I don’t think you were attacking her, nor do I think that she responded to you in a significantly different manner than you responded to her (as far as “civility” goes). And, I certainly do not want anyone here to self censor, except in the sense of striving to use the best words to communicate. Your words could have provoked RG to more critically examine her Statist assumptions, alas they did not. Obviously, you are not responsible for that.

              I also don’t like Statists, but recognize that I was once one myself. I find libertarian and conservative Statists especially vexing as most believe that they oppose Statism, while advocating its’ core premises.

              Cheers,
              Jeremy

              • Jeremy,

                Discounting what Peter Schwartz claimed about libertarianism, I know why you have been vexed.

                “ And, I certainly do not want anyone here to self censor, except in the sense of striving to use the best words to communicate.”

                By what right does one get to decide which words be da bestest words?

                And who should be the decider, the writer or the reader?

                • Tuanorea,

                  The writer decides what “be da bestest words”. That is why I used striving rather than choosing.

                  Cheers,
                  Jeremy

                  • Jeremy,

                    Eric would get my vote for using the bestest words.

                    My vocabulary has been expanded by reading his works for at least a couple decades.

                    Hence my dilemma.

                • Hi T,

                  Bestest, to me, means that which best conveys the meaning intended. Words are wonderful that way, the nuance and emphasis available. I can read a dictionary all day long!

                  • Eric,

                    “I can read a dictionary all day long!”

                    I use to collect them in the beforetimes, when words still had meaning.

                    When someone would ask why so many dictionaries, I’d say I was an amateur etymologist.

                    The ones who said they never knew I studied bugs were given a cheap one from my collection.

                    Your days writing for the Detroit papers spawned my collection.

                    I’d often say this guy is just pulling words out of his ass, especially after looking them up in the smaller paperbacks and not finding them. But low and behold, the thicker the dictionary the more I would stand corrected.

                    The following information may give you a woody so try not to drool.

                    My prized is a 12 volume, leather trimmed, with real gold embossed lettering.

                    Published in 1897 – The American Encyclopaedic Dictionary.

                    “A thoroughly accurate, practical and exhaustive work of reference to the English language, defining over 250,000 words, with a full account of their origin, pronunciation and use. Comprising also A comprehensive Encyclopaedia of the Arts and Sciences, with Encyclopaedic definitions of 55,000 important words and topics, embracing subjects not found in the ordinary Encyclopaedias.”

                    It claims to have “Over one hundred maps and diagrams and nearly four thousand illustrations”.

                    One of the “special contributors” is “PROF. HUXLEY, Physiology”.

                    Automobile does NOT appear. But automobile-carriage says “The same as Motor-cycle”.

                    No airplane either. But it does have a cool entry for flying machine in volume 11. The artwork is simply amazing.

                    The influence of ol’ honest Abe is really shown by the map of Illinois. His tenure as lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad allowed him to perfect his looting skills before his presidency.

                    I’ve shown that map to over 100 people and they all think it is a highway map until I ask them who was making the cars in 1897.

                    Illinois, more than any other state I’ve traveled, has their US highways within walking distance of the train tracks. And many of the Interstates are a short distance away from the roads with the white shields.

                    What dictionary in your collection is your favorite Eric?

                    I’m guessing you have a real paper OED taking up some shelf space. I’ve had to make a few trips to the library to locate those words you pull out of your ass.

                    • Hey Eric and Tuanorea,

                      Have either of you read the “Professor and the Madman” by Simon Winchester? It’s a fascinating story.

                      There was a time that I could read my compact edition of the OED without the supplied magnifying glass.

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

                    • Jeremy,

                      “Professor and the Madman”

                      Thanks. Supposed to be based on a true story.

                      The movie even sounds good. Have you watched it?

                      My dilemma is always which one first. Most of the time if I read the book first then the movie sucks.

                      But with guys like King, Cussler, and Clancy it doesn’t matter. Movie will be good but the book will just be better.

                      What say thee oh great suburbanite?

                      You probably should burn that OED. It contains copious amounts of information that could be used for illegal purposes.

                      Speaking of burning books, I went to school with his nephew so I read 451 before VHS was a thing.

                      I thought both movie versions sucked diapered donkey balls compared to the book.

                      Ray and his nephew were both pretty cool. He would come to our school from time to time. Even gave a talk once and handed out copies of his books. A very optimistic duo.

                      I remember being at the tavern just off campus, drinking real Old Style and eating real Tombstone pizza (Medford, WI not that Kraft crap).

                      I was bitching about Apollo being shut down and how none of us cadets would ever get to walk on the moon. I wasn’t even 16 yet.

                      Mr Bradbury interjected that we still had our entire lives to live.

                      I replied something along the lines of, “According to you we’ll be burning books or nuking the entire planet.” An Old Style inspired tirade.

                      He said to us kids that he was a fiction writer. The reality was that by the time we were 40 we would all be able to visit, and even live and work on the moon.

                      On my 40th birthday I cried.

                    • Tuanorea,

                      The movie is pretty good, worth a watch. The book is excellent. Cool story about Bradbury. I remember taking perverse delight at the ending of the Veldt when I was quite young. Usher 2 similarly delights.

                      Did you listen to the Robbie Fulks song I posted, “White Man’s Bourbon”? It is gloriously politically incorrect, I’m amazed You Tube hasn’t banned it.

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

                    • Jeremy,

                      “ Did you listen to the Robbie Fulks song I posted, “White Man’s Bourbon”? It is gloriously politically incorrect, I’m amazed You Tube hasn’t banned it.”

                      A couple of times. Loved it!

                      Thanks

                    • Tuanorea,

                      “So if you’re ever hunting game down Namibia way, out on the African Veldt,

                      And find a pretty Negress in a kikimoki dress, and you really want to make her melt

                      Well, don’t stand there strutting like a dumb giraffe, don’t pull out your cock unless you want her to laugh

                      Don’t say a word, just hand her a carafe of the sweet corn liquor on your belt

                      Yes, it’s the White Man’s Bourbon, the White Man’s Bourbon

                      Oh, from Dakar to Durban it’s the White Man’s Bourbon, make a black girl holler for more”.

                      Ha, ha!

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

  3. “the amount of information that is uploaded here and from the US Treasury can be used by third parties for illegal purposes.”

    This person might just be on to something.

    We may have overlooked something very substantial due to our own confirmation biases.

    Any information uploaded here can be used by others for illegal purposes.

    Information uploaded from the US Treasury is particularly susceptible to being used by others for illegal purposes.

    Due to our misunderstanding of information in general we have the notion, the confirmation bias, that information is benign. It isn’t.

    Any information, no matter what form that information takes can be used by others for illegal as well as other nefarious purposes.

    The sound of a school bell could be used by the pedophile.

    The presence or absence of a light could be used by the rapist.

    Even the information gleaned from the sights of a firearm could be used by the murderer. In fact, that exact type of information was used to murder and injure a dozen Hoosiers at FedEx just the other day.

    If you’ve been taught that possession and distribution of information, in and of itself, is harmless and innocent, your own cognitive bias will necessarily lead you to process, interpret, and even recall information the way you have in the past.

    We must start to look at information as the danger that it is.

    We need a healthy respect for and even a fear of information. Information in the wrong minds or on the right website can have the most dire of consequences. We must acknowledge the dangerousness of information.

    Information should be tightly controlled, lest it be used by third parties for illegal purposes.

    Imagine if someone were to post a picture of the Donkey’s menu alongside a menu from a Dunkin’ Donuts.

    Think of the catastrophic horror that might ensue. The almost cataclysmic outrage that could explode. The devastation.

    Someone who looked at that 66.6% Triptych might actually learn something.

    But I guess it would only be a diptych.

    Never mind.

    • You win, T.

      I am out. This has become some type of head game that I have no desire to participate in.

      Eric, Jeremy, BaDnOn, BAC, Nasir, and others I thank you so much for the lively debates and sincerely wish everyone the best.

      • Hey RG,

        Please don’t leave us, I value your input, and hope to convert you to a (philosophical) anarchist someday.

        Kind Regards,
        Jeremy

        • Hi Jeremy,

          I’m not sure if this is the best approach to take to convincing RG to stay. I suspect that she may not be too interested in being converted to a philosophical anarchist. And I say this as someone who is himself a philosophical anarchist!

          Martin

      • DING 🛎 DING 🛎 DING!

        Congratulations RG yours is the 200th post!!!!

        You win your choice of a new car or a Participation Trophy engraved with your name

        The car is an brand NEW 1974 AMC Hornet converted to the NEW electrical propulsion by the Electric Fuel Propulsion Company (EFP) of Ferndale, Michigan.

        Included with your NEW electric Hornet is 6 free nights stay at the exquisite Holiday Inns along Interstate 94 between the big D and the home of the Cubs.

        Each night of your journey you will be able to charge your NEW Hornet at a 50kw charging station inside the grounds of the Holiday Inns along I-94. That’s FIFTY THOUSAND WATTS OF POWER RG! Just like WLS! You can charge your NEW 144 volt car in just several hours.

        Visit beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan. (She really is a whore you know). Witness the orange construction barrels as they line your entire journey!

        Try the wine tasting in fabulous Paw Paw, Michigan! Just a few days and recharges away.

        Don’t forget to grab a burger at Redamak’s and bite into a legend in New Buffalo, Michigan. Then stroll the sands along the greatest of the Great Lakes – Lake Michigan!

        Try your luck at the craps table as you WANDER the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Indiana!

        But before you arrive at Wrigley Field, home of the once in many, many lifetimes World Series Winning Chicago Cubs, don’t forget to stop a Michael’s.

        Yes RG, after many hours of charging, you’ll be able to drive your NEW electric Hornet to 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana! Stop and smell the sulfur as you gaze at the base of the monument that once was.

        So what will it be RG?!?

        The Participation Trophy or the new car?

        THE CHOICE IS YOUR!!!!

      • I find this distressing. I thought you, RG, bring perspective and intelligent contributions to Eric’s Junto. Which should be both celebrated and encouraged. Tragic that childish and petty insults, designed not to further conversations but to provoke, have taken route in some of these forums. I hope you would reconsider, and simply ignore the pathetic infantile taunts. You are still among friends and ideological siblings – those who wish to contribute to the betterment of our situation.

          • Please do bring her back EP, I know she doesn’t owe anyone but the family ain’t complete without her. We don’t want her to go. It’s easy enough to skim through and filter out tacky posts

            • Moose,

              “Please do bring her back EP, I know she doesn’t owe anyone but the family ain’t complete without her. We don’t want her to go. It’s easy enough to skim through and filter out tacky posts”

              Are you and Rocky feeling lonely Bullwinkle?

              Not enough people around to assist you with filling out your penance forms? Perhaps a little confusion about the amount of your tithe to Lord Govco?

              How much do you owe? Are you paying your fair share?

              I can understand these are important questions that a good compliant citizen would want the answer to.

              Perhaps you just need someone to justify your fear of information.

              Try this https://youtu.be/hAHLmCcJ3ug

              It’s only $29,95,99.95

              Or am I being tacky again?

              Believe it or not Moose, I miss her too.

              Especially her steadfast rational arguments.

              Much in the way I miss Bernie Madoff.

              But I guess I’ll just have to man up and accept her choice.

            • Hi Moose,

              I’m hoping she will decide to return. I do not want this to become an echo chamber; I do no expect everyone to agree with me nor I with everyone else. So long as people who post are able to make their point and respond to the points made by others then we have a conversation worth having. I don’t like to see anyone who is capable of that driven away.

              • Oh there’s definitely an echo in here lol just not one of the harmonious variety.

                More like an aggressive mycotoxin attack during which your beloved roommate is understandably compelled to jump ship in the interest of not becoming debilitated by the mold exposure, even before you’ve gotten a chance to assess the extent of damage and contemplate remediations.

                • Moose,

                  “Oh there’s definitely an echo in here lol just not one of the harmonious variety.”

                  While you wait for the harmonica virgins, ponder this question.

                  Will RG become as famous as Amelia Earhart?

                  Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart…

                  I’d recommend some Magic Dick and legendary blowin” to get you half way to the convergence.

                  https://youtu.be/2s7VICj7D8c

        • BAC,

          I already miss her clairvoyance and her limitless reasons why one should avail oneself to the multitude of government services offered at gun point.

          • Hi T,

            None of us are possessed of perfect wisdom or knowledge; many of us (me, specifically) were at one time not fully-fledge libertarians but some intermediate species of “conservative,” as RG is. But so long as a person is open to discussion – and to reason – there is a good chance for a meeting of minds. We ought, I think, to be gentler toward those who are more likely to fall on our side of the aisle, given time. Just my 50.

            • Hey Eric,

              “ We ought, I think, to be gentler toward those who are more likely to fall on our side of the aisle, given time. ”

              You may want to check that premise.

              How much time are we talking about before the fall to our side of the aisle occurs?

              Do you think that time and patience will overcome generations of indoctrination in the local, friendly, government youth propaganda camps? Add a little “higher education“ to the mix as well?

              I was handing out the World’s Smallest Political Quiz forty years ago.

              Th only way that came to fruition is because my ridiculous ideas were demonstrated to be laughable.

              I was forced to think.

        • OK Tuanorea is clearly trying to provoke. Only the severely biased would claim RG did not attempt similar, though I am not sure it had the understanding or capacity for intent.

          But the way that several seem to give a pass to (or back) the often stupid, sanctimonious, shameless and hypocritical crap that RG regularly spewed is disheartening.

          Nothing new. It is how we got to a protected snowflake society. People will go out of their way to protect the dim but unctuous, while savaging the brutal truth teller for being mean.

          If RG did nothing else, it was make me reassess my thought some some of you. It wants to be a victim. It regularly portrays itself as being a unduly attacked victim. Several of you play along.

          IMO anyway.

          • Anon,

            “OK Tuanorea is clearly trying to provoke.”

            The only thing I’m trying to provoke is rational thinking.

            They locked up Lenny Bruce and the Prophet George Carlin for the same reason.

            I’m in pretty good company.

          • Anonymous,

            “Nothing new. It is how we got to a protected snowflake society. People will go out of their way to protect the dim but unctuous, while savaging the brutal truth teller for being mean.”

            It saddens me to a point that I’m unable to articulate.

            That Eric, et al (the regulars here), in full knowledge of the fact that we have transitioned from those 7 unspeakable words the Prophet George Carlin heroically spoke to the 700, 7000, or maybe 7,000,000 unspeakable words today, would urge something other than a big FUCK YOU to those who enable our enslavement.

            I hope the executioner gives you all a nice clean cut.

            And I honestly hope your chains rest lightly upon you as you await your execution. I sincerely hope the guards let you order some salve from Amazon if those chains become uncomfortable.

            • Hi T,

              No one here – not me, certainly – is counseling a mealy-mouthed accommodation of statism. I am counseling civil discussion with people who are open to rational discussion, nothing more. As Martin said above. So long as anyone who posts here is not a disruptive troll, they should be free to state their views, defend them – and those who disagree and wish to debate them should do so.

              I want people who aren’t fully fledged libertarians, like RG, to post here so that we can perhaps persuade them to be more libertarian. This is not a defense of “safe spaces.”

              It is a request for civility.

              • Eric,

                Greetings, salutations, and libations.

                “ It is a request for civility.”

                I think if you were to draw a diptych of ad hominem on your website you might be surprised at the results.

                How did it become uncivil to attack an idea?

                How did the 7 words spoken by the Prophet Carlin propagate to become a 7” thick dictionary?

                Many moons ago someone asked me how I could hold opposing views.

                How could I be an advocate of free speech AND, at the same time, keep a license from the FCC in my wallet?

                I had to laugh. At myself.

                Vincit Veritas.

                But if is considered proper to put on a face mask to make others feel safe, I can put on a muzzle here.

                I’ll try to do better and self censor on your website.

                • T, I read most of the posts here. As do all the regulars. I don’t spout off a lot. Like some. But, it makes things a lot easier to follow if you make your point and STFU.

                  The repetition gets old so make your point then shut the fuck up. If you disagree with someone leave it at that.

                  • Ugg,

                    I prefer to beat a dead donkey.

                    You can always avert your eyes if repetition offends you. The choice is yours.

                    But feel free to use reason and logic to refute what I repeat. I’d welcome that.

                    If you are having difficulty following, I would suggest you avail yourself to some remedial education.

                    There exists a virtual cornucopia of information on the internet. Self education was once a thing. It still can be.

                    But please be careful. The information you discover could be used for illegal purposes.

                    While I appreciate your repetitive demands to do as you say, I’ll respectfully decline to obey your diktats.

                    Have a great day and, thanks for you input and opprobrium.

                    I really do appreciate the effort put forth by censors.

      • Hi RG,

        I second the thoughts of other here who have enjoyed reading your posts, even if we may not have agreed about everything. Despite whatever disagreements we may have among our fellow posters, I think it’s a really good idea to be courteous and respectful. The exception being for trolls or clovers who are obviously just here to be disruptive. And Eric generally makes an effort to be respectful even to clovers, at least at first, until it becomes obvious that any attempt an honest communication is futile.

        I hope you’ll reconsider your decision to stop posting here.

        • Martin,

          “ I think it’s a really good idea to be courteous and respectful.”

          Perhaps I’ve been misinformed.

          I thought (at least historically) that the only time it was necessary, or as you put it, “a really good idea to be courteous and respectful” was related to the executioner.

          I guess an aim to living unencumbered by others is out of the question these days.

          • Tuanorea,

            I very clearly expressed the view that we should be courteous and respectful to other posters on this site, provided that they are not here to be disruptive trolls. I never extended this view to apply to the entire world, including politicians, bureaucrats, corrupt cops, and other assorted sociopathic power-mad creeps.

            If you think you’re helping yourself or others to live an unencumbered life by launching nasty attacks against a fellow poster with largely libertarian views who may not be a “perfect” libertarian, have at it.

            • Martin,

              “ nasty attacks against a fellow poster”

              By pointing out fallacious, or is it fellatious reasoning?

              Have you read what she has written here?

              This entire thread is about her insistence that public information should not be public.

              That information garnered here could be used for illegal purposes.

              There is a difference Martin, between attacking the idea and attacking the man.

  4. They say don’t bite the hand that feeds you. But when the hand interjects itself into a situation, to offer help for problems it created, you need to bite it.

  5. Eric,

    How different is all of this from what those of us who DON’T work for ourselves experienced? Which is to say, our employers mandated us to be diapered when we were at work? Employment is contractual, and my employer can tell me to wear a mask or a pink dress at work, if I want my paycheck, and if I decide it’s worth it, I may do so, which I did (the mask, not the dress; also I recommend the “Fake Mask”). And I had a choice to quit, which I did not. That would’ve been stupid, and fucked me properly, setting me back, possibly years, from finally making my own business.

    So, mea culpa?

    Possibly the difference is, my employer paid ME to take some Kabuki flak, but at this coffee house, you’re paying THEM (twice in this case) to make YOU take that flak.

    In defense of my employer, once the city’s “mandate” was made null and void, masking became voluntary at work, and it never went back on for 95+% of workers, including me. Not so many employers did that, mind you, so I consider myself lucky to have such a job with such an enterprise!

    If I would’ve quit, I might be working for some other goons right now, likely who WOULD force me to diaper for a pay check, still, and be making less money.

    I think it’s important how and when we take a stand. Now the Sweet Donkey doesn’t appear to have done so, whatsoever. But those of us who DO wish to resist, well… As my dad used to say, you can’t just go through life waving your middle finger at everyone. If you don’t choose your battles wisely, you will lose them and everything else.

  6. As Clinton said – To conquer America, you have to make em stupid and make em poor.
    Stupid/poor people are easily bribed into submission. Just create money out of thin air and hand it to them for free and they will do anything you want. The mass inflation that follows will be blamed on white businessmen. The white male is the new Nazi Jew in Amerika.

    Simple as that, really.

    You think you can defeat this? You can’t. You have to convince a nation of poor retards to stop using the terrorist’s counterfeit money. That won’t happen. Ever. See Venezuela. Bitcoin/gold/silver/barter users will be kidnapped at gunpoint and locked in a government cage.

    Two rules for living under socialist terrorism:
    1. Move someplace warm where you can fish.
    2. Take every from the political terrorists and give them nothing in return.

    • “Just create money out of thin air and hand it to them for free and they will do anything you want.”

      This is why the dildos, many of whom previously questioned ANY of the government’s actions, are now putty in their masters’ hands. Throw in some “smart” gadgets and the ability to do EVERYTHING at home, and there you go!

  7. Do you want civilization of do you want to give women the vote? Choose only one.

    America is now a gynocentric shithole. The men have become more feebleminded than the wymin.

    • A true “civilization” would be one that exists without a state which just functions as a way to legally loot your neighbors and control their lives…especially today.

      That said, it is kinda funny how within 20-30 years after granting voting to everyone, each nation winds up with a welfare state 🙂

      I like what Heinlein said about democracy, as if adding together a bunch of zeros you could produce a sum.

      • Yes. There is no civilization without Anarchy. There has never been civilization on Earth. America got close. Democracy creates a nation of infantile parasites all voting to live at the expense of everyone else. It is a truly awful system and all those people who embrace it are largely criminal-minded parasites. Human trash.

        • Hi BHS,

          Anarchy has a bad reputation because the meaning has been garbled, as you well know (as has happened to the meaning of the word “liberal,” which no functionally means its opposite). Rules agreed to are the cornerstone of civilization; government is the end of it.

            • Hi T,

              Rules are cool; because they don’t require force. I have rules at my house – for example, I have one against smoking inside my house. But no one is forced to be inside my house. Such rules are agreeable, civilized.

                  • RG,

                    I trust you do the pat down before you break out the spray.

                    Do you have family in Montauk?

                    I was on the way to the Hamptons with a girlfriend when we were invited to a poker game in Montauk.

                    There was a sign in the alcove that said Please Check Your Gun At The Door. So I took mine out, unloaded it, and handed it to the hostess.

                    Those people at the poker game wished they were wearing Depends.

  8. If you give a gang of terrorist psychopaths a legal mafia they call “government” and allow them a counterfeit money racket they call “Central Bank”, they will ALWAYS end up owning everything and everyone…Something the psychopaths refer to as “Communism” which is just a slave plantation. All governments eventually become Communistic because most people on earth are low-life parasite monkeys…Not fully human. The goal of Socialism/Fascism is always Communism.

    The terrorists in DC are just getting started with their Total Ownership Program. Resistance is futile.

    • Hi IT,

      I agree with all you’ve written – except that resistance is futile. While we can act, it isn’t. This is not to say we will prevail. It is to assert that we have not lost, yet. Let’s not give up before we do!

      • They have perfect surveillance and near perfect surgical strike capabilities. They will just turn off your bank account and phone at any time and for any reason whilst sitting in their comfy chair with a keyboard at some government palace. This is the Stalin wetdream come true.

        • Hi IT,

          This is true; but not all of us are completely vulnerable to it – and some of us will fight, if it comes down to it. Those of us who own land/homes capable of providing the necessities of life are in a much better position than someone who lives in an apartment or heavily mortgaged suburban tract house. I would probably be happy if they turned off my phone!

    • ITSpec…
      So resistance is futile? Even the Borg were defeated my friend…Humon(Ferengie term) history moves in cycles. As if the Babylonians, Persians or Romans still control us….They faded from history in the same way we will pass through our current social/political/economic environment. I don’ t know shit about physics, but I do know that resistance is necessary in creation. Ever heard of Yin and Yang?

    • “Resistance is futile.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume the conveyer of this statement was a Communist agent himself. That statement is the mantra of the defeated fatalist. Resistance is absolutely essential to survival in any situation. And even if ours is a losing battle, by resisting the demons who are trying to destroy us we can at least gain the satisfaction of robbing them of the joy of their victory by being a pebble in their shoes.

      • Hi Jim,

        Exactly. And we can be more than just a pebble in their shoes, should it get to that. We can do to them as they intend to do – have done – to us. Make it hurt. Make it cost.

  9. I haven’t posted here for awhile. I can understand where EP is coming from and I can understand where RG is coming from.

    The discussion appears to focus on whether the public should know who is receiving money for what many Americans apparently accept as compensation for the tyranny government unleashed on us. Treating us like branded cattle.

    Does it really matter? What really happened.

    Liberty,,, Freedom,,, Individual Self Reliance,,, Rule of Law,,, Fairness,,, Privacy,,, Our Constitution,,, the very things that made Americans unique in the world, that made America great, sold for a few shekels.

    What is happening.

    Right now, the leader of our government is nullifying the last surviving portion of our constitution still intact using Executive Orders as though it is lawful and proper,,, as though he is king. This is definitely an impeachable offense,,, It’s high treason attempting to usurp the supreme law of the land!

    But few seem concerned. In fact many in the media and public are praising him for this treason saying the constitution and the freedoms and the protections it provides are outdated, racist, unnecessary and possibly dangerous.

    The trillions of dollars printed up (and still being printed) to purchase our natural pride has inflated the money supply reducing the purchasing power,,, destroying the money,,, yet again,,, crickets from Americans who will eventually suffer.

    So,,, does it really matter who knows who got what when the whole shebang is coming apart?
    Maybe we need to readjust our priorities? You know,,, Are we a free people or not?

    What made America great wasn’t money,,, wasn’t power,,, but was an attitude knowing we were free, we were independent, we were self sufficient individuals equal under the law. Nowhere else did anything like it exist.

    So People of America,,, which is it going to be? Do we control government or do we allow government to control us? Because it is our choice…

    regards

    • Amen, Ken…

      And that is why I wrote the article. Not so much to point out the Donk’s being on the Dole but rather what that has cost them. And us. Everyone.

    • Hi Ken,

      Your point is well taken and thought out and I would like to expand upon it, if I could.

      There is another alternative. Why can’t those against the system be willing to conquer the system? It is very easy for persons to play keyboard warrior, we all do it. It is another thing to be able to research and analyze and be part of the system. General Washington had spies during the Revolutionary War. People who were able to access the system and change it from within. Many people have taken this out of the equation. They believe all of government is bad, all government contractors are bad, all people that use the system is bad. Maybe they are not. Maybe their Washington’s spies.

      Several on this site look as Edward Snowden as a hero for discussing what government was doing and bringing it to the American citizens attention. I, myself, appreciate what Snowden has done and the risk he was willing to take. At the same time he could not have educated the public without being part of the system.

      We have a handful of people on this forum who post regularly who are changing the system – they are part of their town council, town majors, government contractors and suppliers, government employees and military. Their are also many in the background who say nothing, but believe American can be saved. They are a part of this and are able to collect data and understand the structure. We need those people on our side. They are valuable and are a key ingredient with making changes to the very complex that many of us abhor.

      Although, I can understand those that do not want to be a part of it and choose to live life out of the public eye and in seclusion that changes nothing.

      The fighters are those that are in the system. Are there many? That is doubtful, but they are out there and we need their assistance and cooperation if we wish to restyle or return to the country that the Constitution was built upon.

      Just my $.02.

      Have a great weekend.

      • Hi RG,

        I agree with what you’ve written; with the qualifier that one has an obligation to not impose/further tyranny on anyone. Principles matter because without them, you have a weak argument. For example, if one opposes theft, period – one is in a very strong position – logically, morally – to defend any type of theft. But if one countenances any theft, then one is in a very precarious position – logically, morally – as far as objecting to any other type of theft.

        • So what Snowden did is horrible? It was theft of information, was it not? Is it theft if the information is about you?

          • Hi RG,

            I don’t know this for certain, but I suspect Snowden “woke up” while he was in the employ of Uncle. I am always happy when people turn the corner – and when they do, I do not fault them for the errors of their prior ways.

            Also: A thief has no rightful claim to the thing stolen. For the thief to cry, thievery! is laughable.

            • We don’t know if Snowden has always been awake or not. It is hypo ethical and really cannot be answered by anyone other than the individual.

              If the taxpayer funds were used to overthrow the same government that stole them it is not thievery, correct? Basically, isn’t it just taking back what was once yours?
              Would it too simplistic to add up what one had paid in total taxes and as long as they do not exceed that threshold we can consider it a return of principal?

                • Oh, read it again. I see what you thought you were saying.

                  That would be hypothetical.

                  I think I understand where the problem with our (and others) exchanges in the past lies.

              • I believe that view actually is too simplistic.

                In the case of an ordinary private-sector thief it may be possible to recover your actual stolen goods. In the case of government thieves you are taking someone else’s stolen goods.

                Social Security, for example, is essentially a Ponzi scheme. The money you “contribute” (sic) has been long since spent when you go to collect. (The system was designed that way. There has never been any meaningful fund, it’s always been a pay-as-you-go setup.) Social Security “benefits” are funds stolen from the next guy, in essense making you an accessory after the fact.

                Ditto for Medicare. The premiums paid probably don’t even cover the administrative costs of the system. The bulk of the money needed to keep it going is stolen at gunpoint from your neighbors. When you participate in Medicare you are an accessory to armed robbery.

                I don’t participate in either illicit scheme. If I wanted to mug people in the street for the contents of their wallets I’d at least do it myself rather than by proxy.

  10. What we are witnessing is a socialist/fascist/communist/technocratic/feudalist (they are all the same) takeover of the world. This has been 30 years in the making. Think North Korea with a higher living standard as the future for the world. I feel sorry for the 20 year olds. They are going to live to hate us…If they are even allowed to live.

    • Hi Sam,

      Indeed. But there is still time – and opportunity – to thwart this. But it requires calling them out; no pussyfooting gentilities. They are a mortal danger and must be regarded and treated as such. This includes above all the purveyors and enablers of Sickness Psychosis.

      • I, for one, am grateful for the challenge. If anything, this past year has refined and clarified for me my own beliefs and principles.

        Anything worth having, especially one’s own personal liberty, is worth fighting (and suffering) for.

    • Think Singapore.

      Perfect for the ‘perfected drone’.

      The model that will probably be implemented everywhere.

      Clean, safe, and soulless. A prettier 1984.

  11. The political terrorists own you. You will submit, or die.
    Most mentally ill retards (The publik skewled/TV-watching MAJORITY) don’t have the ability to figure this out: The political terrorists want us dead…but they will settle for our submission.

  12. If my company shut down it would have been an intractable problem for the big company. It would have destroyed their supply chain with 1200 people laid off in one division alone. They could not have operated without us.
    I told the goomint to go pound sand and got some nice begging letters from our customer to leave us alone as they had no other source.A few of our people wore masks as that was SOP to protect against particulates from grinding.
    I suppose that the framed letters from the customer at the doorway where any goomint martinet was shown the. No problems as the drones didn’t seem to want to go up against our customer.

  13. I looked up some of the employers in my area. Many large and seemingly powerful regional companies got the loans. Some that I don’t think even stopped working, except maybe a little bit in April. Seems like money on the table to them, might as well apply and get it. I tried to find a correlation between diaper enforcement and taking the PPP for places I used to frequent. My quick case study involved three 2nd amendment type stores. The one closest to me was a diaper enforcer and took PPP. The other, my new place, does not even make their employees wear the diaper, and they also took PPP. But the third (which doesn’t have a range, but does have ammo and related products) also is a diaper-free safe haven and they did not take the PPP. I was hoping to be able to reverse-engineer this list to see who I should be doing business with, for stuff like dentistry, but it seems to be only a partially accurate indicator. I guess it’s like this, not all that took the PPP are diaper enforcers, but all diaper enforcers took the PPP.

    • Definition of integrity
      1: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY

      “Seems like money on the table to them, might as well apply and get it.”

  14. If you own a business with employees and elect not to take a PPP loan youre nuts. The loan is forgivable all you have to do is prove you spent it on rents and employees you chose not to lay off or fire because of the contrived disaster.

    News flash: society is going to hell anyway with the communists permanently in power and our ignorant dumb downed netflix generation. Aint none of us going to stop it. Can you pop off a few coppers who knock down your door. Sure. And welcome to the electric chair. Aint going to happen. If Im offered free money from our corrupt bankrupt goverment which is a smidgen what Ive paid in – I’m taking it. Tesla certainly has no problem with it.

    Eric youre just wrong on this one. The coffee shop’s customers are the ones who would have told the government on her and gotten her shut down. Plus we cant expect women to lead the fight if men wont do it. And she should take the PPP grant loan whatever. Its not tied to mask wearing its tied to keeping folks working.

    Theres no honor in throwing yourself on a sword if you can live to fight another day. Also the weirdo wanting RG’s IP address? Go pick on a man jackass

    • There’s also no honor in being a whore, ‘cept you seem ok being one, or advocating others to be one, or so it seems.

      From here, by your outlook and reckoning, Mark3, it’s better to roll over and go belly up, than have an ounce of integrity?

      My, what a fine slave you’d be.
      “Its not tied to mask wearing its tied to keeping folks working.” Nope, it’s tied to trying to enslave humanity via incrementalism.
      Extremely Crucial: Dr. Naomi Wolf Discusses “Why Vaccine Passports Equal Slavery Forever
      ”https://youtu.be/pWoDbGNt4wg

      Also, News flash: society isn’t going to hell, everywhere. We’re called, The Remnant a.k.a. fly-over-country. Consider joining us.

      • A whore has to give up something for that money. I didnt give up anything besides take a small part back that never should have been taken from me in the first place. I suppose you wont cash your social security checks or let medicare pay your medical bills. Or cash any stmulus chrecks. Because after all, youre not a whore.

        After Biden and Harris are done with this sorry joke of a nation and we have 50 million new democratic voters tell me where to run to join you guys.

        • Hi Mark,

          You make a sound point in re not agreeing to give something up in return for the money Uncle dispensed. Unlike SD, which gave up its right to be in business by submitting to “lockdowns” and Kabuki as the condition of being allowed to resume it.

          That said, I’m going to say something I understand will not be popular with some, but if I’m in error as regards the facts, please correct me. Here goes:

          If I am robbed, does that give me the right to rob someone else?

          Social Security is essentially based on this premise; that I am entitled to rob others because others have robbed me. To make up for having been robbed. I don’t deny the wrong committed against all of us who’ve been forced to “contribute” to SS; that is to say, who’ve had our money stolen to finance the benefits others claim to be entitled to, having been robbed of their money in their turn.

          It suck hugely that all of us have been robbed of vast sums of money over our working lives; it sucks that because of that, we will have less money to live on when we are no longer working. But – as a moral matter – does the harm done us entitle us to continue the harm, by imposing it on others, to make up for the harms done to us?

          I don’t see how it does. And more to the point, I do not see how we ever end entitlements until people refuse them.

        • Actually, I’m beginning to think the sane solution might be for Americans to live “South of The Border”, since so many of “Those” folks will be here and not there …

        • Mark3 are you so sure of yourself and your accounting when you take benefits from gangsters that you will not be on the hook for anything? there is absolutely no free lunch. Even the most generous creator God expects His beneficiaries to give back and it is very much more the case when you take benefits from powers less full of grace.

          I wouldn’t trust your accounting that you haven’t given something up, not after you unqualifiedly call ppp refusers “nuts”. this BS is a prime example of the debtor being slave to the lender. you are actively doing work for gangster interests.

          • Hi OH,

            My fifty on the situation – not just the ‘Rona “relief” but generally – is that until a critical mass of the population refuses to accept, much less demand any stolen government money – irrespective of what has been stolen from them – the problems we discuss here will be ongoing. It all comes down to the old saying about how it’s impossible to cheat an honest man.

            When theft – however marketed – becomes a loathsome thing once more, there will be less theft.

            • good way to put it and thanks for your disdain for and opposition to the world’s latest fad. boy has this BS really got people by the ear.

    • Hi Mark,

      Thanks for your feedback. I think you and I are are probably the oddballs out on this forum at least when it comes to this subject. I have said my piece on the subject, but I appreciate reading your input.

      Have a great weekend. 😊

    • Hi Mark,

      My issue with the Donk is the same I have with any who enable tyranny. I’d close this site before I would publish Diapering injunctions, for instance. Or require evidence of “vaccination.” I don’t seek government (that is, other people’s) money, either – nor would I use it to propagate tyranny. The owner of SD is guilty of complicity, no different than a shop in 1933 Germany that put a “Jews Unwelcome” sign on its door, to avoid being shut down by the SA or to please the goose-stepping mob.

      • well what happens if the donk takes your ‘advice’. the owner is still responsible for the lease and the loans. so bankruptcy. How is she supposed to feed herself and her family? pay her rent – her car loan – etc. well food stamps and housing assistance I guess. So permanent government dependence. forever. for taking a “stand” on masks. losing everything she has poured her heart and soul into. sounds lovely. but hey helot at least shes not a whore!

        • Hi Mark,

          The point you’re missing is that we all have a moral obligation to not be complicit with the abuse of our fellow man. Your argument: “well what happens if the donk takes your ‘advice’. the owner is still responsible for the lease and the loans. so bankruptcy. How is she supposed to feed herself and her family? pay her rent – her car loan – etc. well food stamps and housing assistance I guess” could have been used – was used – by Good Germans “doing what they had to do” by going along with the “mandates” and “guidelines” of Der Fuhrer.

          On the other hand, she – and other businesses – could take a stand, god-damn it. Behave like men rather than Babbitts.

        • Based on the screenshots, the Sweet Donkey is an S-corporation, which is a pass-through entity. The shareholders in an S-corporation have limited liability. Therefore, if the corporation becomes insolvent, creditors would not be able to take the owner’s personal assets. She would need to find a new source of income, of course.

          • Obviously youre not a creditor. When did it become acepptable to screw over anyone? Im still trying to figure out who this woman is screwing over by taking PPP. It seems like this entire discussion is being driven by non-business owners and some type of holier than thou libertarian lunacy.

            • Hi Mark,

              The issue as regards the Donk is the disgusting complicity. Any business that rabidly enforced Diapering is fundamentally the same – morally – as those businesses in 1930s Germany that put up signs to the effect that Jews are Unwelcome Here. This is not about a private businesses’ right to establish morally neutral terms and conditions of service, like the wearing of a shirt and shoes. This is about participating in mass hysteria and the outcasting of a created pariah class and as such, is evil. Whether the people participating are consciously complicit or not is ultimately beside the point. How would you regard an fervent Nazi who genuinely believed he was doing the right thing?

              In the case of the Donk, it is worse than that, though. The owner was very happy to flout the “mandates” and so on when it suited; was happy to see me – and my face – during the weeks of “lockdowns” and “non-essentials,” which included her business. But then she decided it would benefit her to “practice” Kabuki – and began to do so, rabidly. She turned on me like a cur dog. And not just me. What she did, she did to all of us – to everyone in this country who remains or tries to be a rational, decent person. She and those like her are the seig-heiling fanatics of our time and I pray she and those like her one day face their own Nuremburg.

  15. Hey Raider Girl,

    “If SD treats their customers shoddy they will eventually go out of business.”

    Hang on a second here.

    The reason people get in bed with govco is to stay in business.

    Historically that has been people just like you who are granted some kind of license or (corporate) shield from competition.

    This is the exact reason customers receive shoddy service.

    I think the feds still have a program for accountants to snitch out their customers. Those participating in the program aren’t loosing customers. Sans the ones in prison.

    Other guilds treat their customers the same way. Medical professionals have you show up for your scheduled appointment at say 9am and call you in for the 4 minute interaction with the doctor sometime after lunch.

    While you and many, many others may wish there was a thing called customer service, the reality is customer tolerance.

    And businesses are becoming less tolerant of customers with each passing day.

    • Tuanorea,

      I do have to admit reading your post made me chuckle. I actually even read it out loud to hubby it was so entertaining.

      In the many years I have been doing this I have never once been accused of being a rat. I also hold proudly to the fact that none of my clients have ever been to prison, at least on behalf of myself or their taxes. If a customer comes to me with an issue that would not fly because it is questionable, shady, or downright illegal I don’t need to notify the feds. I tell the customer it won’t fly and we move on. Did it occur to you that maybe I became an accountant, because I hate taxes and I actually like providing people advice on how to save on them?

      On the other note, I don’t consider someone who protects their assets either by setting up a business or a trust as receiving some kind of special “shield” from competition. It is smart. Why wouldn’t everyone want to protect what they have worked hard to create? It is not only open to the affluent, but to everyone. Seriously, it costs anywhere from $50-$300 for a do it yourselfer to open up a corporation or LLC in pretty much any state. Trusts are a bit different and more expensive because there is a bit more to them and the leg work involved, but well worth it if the estate has considerable assets.

      I will stand by my earlier statement that a business who treats their customers shoddy will not remain a business for long. If a business cannot perform the simple task of providing the product or service that the customer needs the customer will go elsewhere. We have seen businesses fail and succeed throughout our history. GE, Sears, and IBM were once big names and today, are mere shadows of themselves. The same thing will happen to Microsoft and Amazon. Nothing or no one stays on top forever. All things grow, peak, and then die. That is the cycle of life, including business.

      Best wishes.

      • RG,

        “I do have to admit reading your post made me chuckle. I actually even read it out loud to hubby it was so entertaining.”

        I’ll take that as a compliment. I trust the hubby was entertained as well.

        Laughter is the best medicine according to the Reader’s Digest. In 2021 gallows humor seems appropriate (at least to me).

        “I don’t consider someone who protects their assets either by setting up a business or a trust as receiving some kind of special “shield” from competition.”

        Why not? That’s EXACTLY what it is.

        “Seriously, it costs anywhere from $50-$300 for a do it yourselfer to open up a corporation or LLC in pretty much any state.”

        And what do you consider those corporations or LLCs to be?

        Do you also support qualified immunity for AWGs?

        If not, why not? It’s the same concept.

        “Did it occur to you that maybe I became an accountant, because I hate taxes and I actually like providing people advice on how to save on them?”

        Actually I fantasize that you’re the Y chromosome deficient version of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in The Accountant.

        But in reality, you’re as bad as the lawyer who left his client crying on the courthouse steps. When asked, “Did your attorney give you some bad advice?”, he replied, “No he sold it to me”.

        What you do is assist people in snitching on themselves?

        Not that long ago, people in this country had to work and earn in order to survive.

        If you were honest about wanting to help people save on taxes, you wouldn’t have a set of allocution forms handy allowing them to snitch.

        You’d simply tell them to stop paying.

        And by the way, I never accused you of being a rat. Guilty conscience?😳

        It just so happens that you are the priestess who takes the confessions and forwards them on. Thus allowing the penitent to explain why the sentence should be lenient and why the punishment should be mitigated.

        For the crime of living?

    • Ive always been treated well by doctors – who nonetheless I try to avoid due to their deep corporate medical indoctrination. But sometimes you CAN’T and you find the best you can get. You need to find a better one. If RG is doing her job the government gets less money not more. Sounds ethical to me. If youre against licensing and I certainly think its excessive well I’m sure you can find a mexican dentist practicing out of their family’s basement and get a good deal. Somehow I think you wont though. Too busy hurling out insults and poorly thought out nonsensical arguments over the internet.

      • Hi Mark, et al –

        I regard accountants as I do lawyers; neither is an inherently dishonorable critter – and that’s not going nearly far enough. Certainly, we’d need the services of both less were it not for government. But in that respect, they are also just as arguably allies who defend us against government. Some will say: But that is precisely the point! Were it not for government, we’d not be obliged to pay lawyers and accountants for such things as legal defense and tax help, etc.

        Again, certainly. But are we obliged? Are we forced to hire a lawyer or an accountant?

        And did the lawyer/accountant create the predicate – the tax laws, for instance?

        Some will say: Well, they are at least profiting from them and so are complicit. Again, I don’t see that it follows. Is the manufacturer of firearms morally complicit because he earns money selling me a gun to defend myself against criminals? The criminals existence isn’t due to the firearms manufacturer. The firearms manufacturer offers a product of value in dealing with criminals. So also accountants and lawyers, as regards providing their services in self defense against another species of criminal.

        More fundamentally, lawyering and accounting would exist – would be of value – in a society without any of the government impositions most of us here decry. Because there would be contracts and a need to balance accounts.

        Lawyers and accountants differ in this respect from any species of government “worker” – whose services people are forced to pay for and which would be of no value (as established by the fact that people would not freely pay for them) absent the force of government.

        • The voluntary trade of money for services is one aspect to consider but the gov’t system has rules and incentives for its sherpas that serve to select against diminution of gov’t power. For instance, lawyers are technically “officers of the court.” Some states specifically proscribe lawyers, via a condition on the license to practice, from promoting “rebellious” ideas (esp. in the South dating from War Betwen State). Regarding, accountants, they were actually paid bounties by the gov’t to sign up folks for Olosercare. At the low end, their primary role is facilitating welfare via refundable tax credits. I could go on, but by and large the people who are employed in these professions serve and promote gov’t because it is in their pecuniary interest to do so.

          • “It is difficult to get a man to understand (oppose) something, when his salary depends on his not understanding (opposing) it.”

            Apologies to Sinclair

      • Hello Mark3,

        “If RG is doing her job the government gets less money not more. Sounds ethical to me.”

        I’ve been holding off on responding to this. But here goes.

        You seem to accept the premise that other people are untitled to your money.

        As Jeremy has pointed out, “By what right?”

        Can you answer that simple three word question? Or is that a personal attack by me on you?

        I still maintain, “It just so happens that you [the accountant] are the priestess who takes the confessions and forwards them on. Thus allowing the penitent [taxpayer] to explain why the sentence should be lenient and why the punishment should be mitigated.”

        Look up the word allocution.

        Once you accept the premise that others are in some way entitled to what is yours, then what is yours has become theirs.

        It’s their money. Their car. Their house. Their body. You’ve given up any claims.

        They will decide, with the assistance of the accountant, how much you will be allowed to use.

        They will decide what you will or will not wear. They will decide what you do or don’t inject into “their” body.

        They will decide what type of dog you can have living in the house they have approved you to live in.

        They will decide what documents you will use to prove that they have allowed you to travel or obtain the the things that they have allowed.

        They will decide what amount of water is in the toilet. They will decide where that water goes after you flush. They will decide where to dump the raw sewage after they decide whether or not to treat the effluent coming out of their house.

        They will decide when it is safe for you to visit their beach. They will decide when you can swim in their waters. They will decide what percentage of E. Coli you can swim in.

        And they will decide the amount of rodent hair, fecal matter, and insect parts are in the food they have declared to be “Pure” and so graciously allow you to consume.

  16. I was perusing my DVD collection today, and came across one of “Queen Live at Wimbledon”. No, I’m not too old to rock and roll, though my hearing loss, in part because of it, hinders my ability to appreciate it. I put it on, and played some of my favorites. The last cut is “We Are the Champions”. I was inspired. It subdued a great deal of the hopelessness I’ve been feeling for a few months. After all, “We are the champions, my friends, and we’ll keep on fighting to the the end”. If that end is an exchange of medium to high velocity alternative precious metals at my door, then so be it. I’m still a champion, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They can take my life, but they cannot take my soul. I was going to lose my life anyway.

  17. Today is a good day to keep my head low under the line of fire in the comment section(heh heh)….God Bless America!

  18. The owner should heed these words.

    “You will float upon a wave of prosperity, and in this prosperity all your family will share…All this, of course, provided that you stand in with the powers that be, and play the game according to their rules. If by any chance you interfere with them, if you break the rules, then instantly in a thousand forms you feel the pressure of their displeasure.“ Upton Sinclair

    • One must be careful about quoting Upton Sinclair (I’m guilty of it myself in a post below), He was an avowed socialist. I suspect he would fit right in with the modern left. That’s not to say he didn’t have some excellent insights though, like the one you quote, which describes the biased reporting of the elite media of his day.

  19. Quite an epic discussion you have going here Eric and all…I too find it difficult to form a view on this. On one end – I do see the argument that this is basically recovering some of the loot stolen by the government. But I do see the longer term issue here – which is that stuff like this is what keeps the population soo under control. Everyone seems to know on the back of their mind that they will get some sort of payout from this – so they call play along. Whether its the worker who can sit at home and get paid for watching netflix, or the big corporates who get billions in bailouts. And this is the sort of thing that makes it no longer worth it to make sensible decisions at any level – leading to the eventual decline of everything in the west.

    And I do see your point Eric about how businesses shift their loyalty from a customer to the government for a couple quid – and are proper dicks about it too… I too try to support local businesses when I can – but when they be sanctimonious assholes…. I cant stand that….

    • ‘I too try to support local businesses when I can’ — Nasir

      That could be difficult for those who patronise pub gardens. From Monday they will be required to present a QR code generated by NHS’s Test and Trace app, or else fill out a paper form. Arguably this is worse than masks, as it destroys anonymity.

      There’s a reason that many great visionary dystopians such as Orwell and Huxley hailed from the UK. Apparently ‘English liberty’ — a phrase popular during the American revolution in the 1770s — already was in eclipse in its birthplace a century ago.

      Indeed Lewis Carroll, writing in 1865, in Chapter XII of Alice in Wonderland set out a near-verbatim transcript [‘Sentence first–verdict afterwards!’] of Julian Assange’s kafkaesque appearance before the sinister judge Vanessa Baraitser, who remanded Assange for torture in Belmarsh Prison to spare him being tortured in ADX Florence in the US.

      • Jim, Are you from the UK?

        I just hope enough people stand up to it and say no to this new nonsense…. so far ive NOT downloaded or signed up for this tracing app on my phone – If they require me to leave details give obviously wrong details (have signed in places as donald trump and boris johnson and fake numbers. Technically they cant ask for ID, and most people at the door couldn’t care too much as long as the box is ticked – and wave me past). But apparently the rules are more strict this time.. Im certainly not having an NHS app on my phone. If it comes to it ill walk around with an old Nokia phone if I have to, lets see what they can do.

        The UK is an interesting place. I think many saw where it was going after the first world war where they basically made a ministry for everything, including the now worshipped NHS, the BBC, etc…. infact – Orwell used to work at the BBC – I can certainly see how he got the idea of the ministry of truth. Everything was centrally planned at that time it seems. It was also interesting because at that time there were a lot of socialist / communist influences in the UK at at all levels of society. Infact they say support for commies in the UK was so strong at that point that when Nicholas II (the last Tzar) was about to get his head cut off in Russia – the UK government refused asylum, this despite him being the first cousin of George V (the king at the time) and Godfather of Edward VIII, the future king…

        • No, but I visited a few times, including once in the 1980s when pubs still were prohibited from opening before 5 pm.

          At 4:59 pm, filled glasses were lined up on the bar as a throng three rows deep gazed at the clock waiting for the arbitrary hour — an absurd scene, to be sure, now replaced by the equally absurd scene of gaining endorsement from an NHS app to knock back an ale.

          With Northern Ireland back in flames, the UK seems to be regressing rapidly, perhaps toward breakup. Surely Irish Joe Biden can butt in and help somehow! 🙂

          • haha – yeh the restrictions on things are crazy here. What shocked me when I first moved here in 05 was how quick stuff closed ! Everything closed at 6!! 4 on a Sunday !! Only Thursday used to be late open. As I used to wake up after 4 on Sunday in my mid 20s and was quite busy with work during the week – I wouldn’t have grocery at home for months at a time….

            This NHS app – I mean the brits can so easily be conned into something. Decades they were against an ID card. Infact they didnt even have photos on driving licenses till around 2000. Now they release what is essentially an ID card – but under the name of the sacred NHS – and they all happily accept it!!

            Yeh the Irish – Now they now how to have a good riot…. wish the English would learn a bit and stand up for the so called “freedoms” that actually did make this country the pretty cool place it is….

    • ” Everyone seems to know on the back of their mind that they will get some sort of payout from this”. Except they don’t know, and I think more are becoming aware that they may get caught holding the bag, in which case they prefer to dip into it before its gone. And gone it will be, given the trajectory of the US Dollar, and sooner rather than later.

      • i dont know man – think the people who are aware of this are the people who would never take advantage of it anyways……

  20. She writes:

    “Then let’s be fair every individual and family that received a stimulus payment should also be posted since those will not be paid back either or how about every person who went on unemployment benefits.”

    So Eric,

    Please be fair and publish her name, email and Internet Protocol address.

    We would like to have an intelligent conversation with this person.

    • Hi Westva!

      RG is a regular here and we agree on many things; we just happen to disagree on this thing. I hope I can persuade her to see the evil of complicity – and then wanting to be compensated for it.

      • You want my information, WV mom. Eric has it. Feel free to give me a call. Apparently, I am to be shamed for defending PPP takers. Fine so be it. You obviously have not read most of my posts, but you are the first to call for my head.

        Congratulations we have reached Facebook status. 🙁

          • Hi Eric,

            I am taking a break. I need to calm down. I also have a pile of work sitting on my desk. Thanks for the debate. 🙂

            Best wishes.

          • Can I? RG has been foolish enough to toss out enough information to know.

            We are not talking about privileged information, just what it has provided here by it.

        • Correction, YOU have reached Facebook status.

          Damn, you are just a looking for a pity party aren’t you.

          Long ago I suggested, if you say nothing, it is unlikely that anyone will respond. Probably a good idea for someone as ego fragile as you appear.

          I’ll add, if they respond, whining about the response just makes you look petulant.

          That high opinion you have of yourself? I don’t think it is widely held by others here.

  21. A corollary to this is private colleges. My kids went to two different private colleges, one accepts Federal funds, and the other does not. The one that does (both of these are staunchly Catholic colleges) has to spend considerable time and effort keeping abreast of the latest regulations, lobbying their case (i.e. to keep their freedom) and such. The other doesn’t have to do any of that, and basically says GFY to the Feds. In fact, the president of the college, at every commencement, remarks that this is “the Nth commencement of the college without taking a single dime of Federal money!” Hence, I will contribute to their endowment after all my kids have graduated

  22. Just saw a story about Russia/Ukraine conflict. According to the photos in the story – now, apparently, even war requires face muzzles! Yeah – we threaten to kill you – but we will not be a “spreader”. ?????!!!!!

  23. Solzhenitsyn wrote in the Gulag Archipelago about how when the Kulaks were imprisoned and taken to remote places to die, some of them escaped. They escaped with their clothes and perhaps an axe and went deep into the forests. The cut and forged a community out of nothing but their bare hands and determination to survive. They lived better than their counterparts under communism. Solzhenitsyn commented what a great nation Russia could have been if these people were left free and not exiled.

    Ben is one of the last few Americans with that spirit, in what has become and weak and emasculated America.

    • “They escaped with their clothes and perhaps an axe…”

      I did not know that, Thanks. It’s now one of those unforgettable things.

      That’s much better than the old American who told me he’d willingly get on “the trains” a.k.a. get, ‘the shot’… and then look for a way off if it seemed the destination wasn’t sure.

  24. The flip side of the gubmint being able to call the piper’s tune, is that it severely erodes the relationship between the seller and buyer. Under non-bailout circumstances, the buyer has an enormous amount of influence on the seller’s performance. With some flexibility, the buyer insists on goods and/or services of a certain kind or in a certain way. The seller tends to do everything possible to satisfy that buyer in order to “survive” [to use RG’s term] and profit as a seller (remember the old adage that the customer’s always right?). If the seller can’t or won’t accommodate buyers’ requirements, the seller has no business “surviving.”

    In the case of the Donkey, it received an incredible $120,000 windfall (my guess is that far exceeds a typical annual profit for an independent coffee shop). Thus, at the expense of everybody that owns federal reserve notes, the Donkey can now afford to “survive” without having to actually accommodate its customers. Indeed, it was given carte blanche to excommunicate a long-time, loyal customer. This is truly despicable and perverts the notion of actually engaging in business.

    Has anybody else noticed the absolute shitty customer service they’ve received over the past year? Turns out there’s a reason for that.

    • Mister Liberty, with all due respect, SD will not survive without happy clients, no business will. The PPP loans were to keep more employees off of unemployment. Forty million Americans were out of work by last June, through no fault of their own. Their employers had nothing to pay them with since they had no revenue coming in. These 40 million Americans over imbibed state unemployment systems that were not ready for them. Many of these state unemployment systems have not been updated for over 35 years and their systems crashed with the amount of Americans seeking benefits. The state systems still have not gotten through the list of the unemployed. I have been trying to reach Virginia’s VEC now for over ten months to handle a situation for a client and cannot get one person to contact me. The answering machine is full and the our government has shut their doors so you cannot reach a live person any which way.

      Also, the PPP loans may be non taxable to the federal government, but many states are still taxing them. It also does not mean it is 100% forgivable. Most employees refuse to come back to work because they are happily collecting unemployment (being funded by taxpayers). The PPP numbers are based on 2019 payroll and the amount of employees that they had at that time. If the business cannot hire the same number of employees and generate the same amount of payroll they have to pay a portion of the loan back. I noticed on the government websites there was no acknowledgement of whether a loan had been forgiven or not or if it was converted to an EIDL loan with a 3% interest rate.

      I think it is important to have all facts at hand before we start burning the witches.

      • You justify government bailouts because of other government failures. All of it undercuts freedom and free market forces. Also, I’m not sure I understand your metaphor about burning witches for a post asserting that bailouts insulate businesses from market forces.

        You sometimes have good posts at this site, but I’m not sure if you truly understand freedom and liberty.

        • I don’t pretend to be a libertarian, Mister Liberty, only a conservative with some libertarian leanings.

          My metaphor on the witches was basically we need to have all of the facts before we accuse people. We don’t know if SD will end up paying this money back or if it has been forgiven. The government website does not state that. Would it better if it were a loan to be repaid at 3% interest? Some of them are.

          • ” I’m not sure if you truly understand freedom and liberty.”

            “I don’t pretend to be a libertarian”

            Some insight into the limits of RG comprehension.

            • Hi Mister,

              I have debates, often, with “conservatives” who don’t appreciate that they start from a premise that accepts the basic principles of the Left they claim to oppose. For example, they’ll rail about “high taxes” and “big government” but criticize government schools or the military and they’ll howl with indignation, like any Leftist.

              • I frequently observe the same cognitive dissonance. I attribute this to the public schools’ very successful campaign to destroy critical-thinking skills. This is perpetuated after graduation by constant media propaganda. It’s very frustrating.

                • Fine observation, Mister Liberty!

                  Let me second that, It IS very frustrating. No doubt.

                  And, this:
                  ” I’m not sure if you truly understand freedom and liberty.”

                  “I don’t pretend to be a libertarian”

                  I had a guy run away from me, fingers in his ears, chanting “yadayada I can’t hear you!” for dang near the same exchange. I do hope she keeps on trying to break on thru to the other side.

          • You’ll never convince libertarians that free markets, no government, free association, non aggression, non intervention, no police, etc., etc., is not an actual political philosophy, but in reality the absence of one. Human nature abhors a vacuum, which is what libertarians offer politically.

            Show me a man who isn’t a libertarian at 25 and I’ll show you a man who has no brain, show me a man who isn’t a conservative at 35 and I’ll show you a man who hasn’t been paying attention.

            • Quite the contrary, at 67 I’m more dedicated to the NAP than I ever was. You are most likely correct that we will never live under such a sane system. The sanest and brightest among us are rife with mistakes in our lives. Mistaking a need for some sort of organization as a need for government is one of them, and perhaps the most common. Cut it any way you like, a gang of professional criminals assuming the authority to kill you if you don’t go along with their crimes is not a sane and just system. Perhaps it is required in political units the size of the US, EU, China, Russia, etc. Which only argues for smaller units. Which could get trampled by the larger insane ones. Does not make it right. The end of the path we are on is the end of life on the planet. A thing the US Psychopaths In Charge are rushing towards.

            • Libertarians are righteous and principaled. History (and current events) prove that human beings are tribal and irrational. Wishing something does not make it so.

              • “History (and current events) prove that human beings are tribal and irrational.”

                That’s your opinion. Not fact. Christian Western civilization shows otherwise. That’s a fact. Look it up.
                Bionic Mosquito is a good starting point.

                • Western civilization was a period of global dominance of the by western European tribes. Christianity and Western civilization are being dismantled by secular communists, atheists, and non European tribal groups. Multiculturalism works great for having large numbers of good restaurants to chose from, but not so much for having a stable, cohesive country.

      • RG – do you not worry that this whole thing, all thee subsidies will just lead to a new industry of those milking them? And you can see this everywhere – today there was an article on zero hedge about how there are no job hunters anywhere – because too many are way too happy sitting on the dole !! On the business side – many will simply set up businesses to just take advantage of loans! I see it a lot in the UK where so many restaurants have changed their signs over the past year ! The reason is they take the loan, spend the money on something (real estate, holiday, nice new car) and then declare bankruptcy, and come back and purchase the assets under another name and run the business !!! And its become so rampant and widespread nobody even bothered to look into it (and its really not even in anyones interest but the few who sit there doing an honest days work and get fleeced for taxes!)

      • RG,

        “I think it is important to have all facts at hand before we start burning the witches.”

        Ok I’ll buy that.

        How about firing up the old Webber for the folks who keep alive the evil premise that it is the government’s business to know what a person’s income or payroll is?

        And just in case you need a new Libman to fly around on, the Arcola Broomcorn Festival is coming up Sept. 10, 11 & 12, 2021. Be there or be square as the saying goes.

        Stop by and look at the factory as well. I sold the panels and did the shop drawings for the north addition.
        I’m proud of my work and have something real and tangible to show for it.

        It’s a real factory that turns out a real product. Inside you’ll find real (as opposed to fictional) people.

        Those blue panels on the outside could have been gold plated if the accountants, lawyers and all those others licensed to loot didn’t have their filthy hands involved.

        Since it’s 2021 you might be able to find a smart broom that tracks air miles.

        While I don’t know the deduction per mile for the various modes of transport in the air. You’d know the exact number for sure.

        And we wouldn’t want you to miss out on an opportunity to save on taxes. Would “we?”

        • Your disdain for me is pretty absolute and steadfast, isn’t it?

          I am not quite sure how we got off on the wrong foot, but I am sorry we did.

          I have riled a good many people over the last few days and I just need to step back and shut my mouth for awhile.

          I wish you the best.

          Peace.

          • Hi RG,

            I don’t regard Diapering as merely a matter of personal choice. It is certainly a choice. But it is more than that. It is the outward symbol of something pathological, even evil. Whether the wearer realizes this is immaterial. Many Germans didn’t realize the evil of the armband, either. Many thought it was a symbol of good – just as the Diapered regard their Diapers.

            Both represent existential threats – and no accommodation should be given to either. The sight of a Diaper wearer is the same in my sight as the sight of someone walking around with an armband.

          • RG,

            “Your disdain for me is pretty absolute and steadfast, isn’t it?

            Not at all.

            Just the evil you espouse.

            Honestly, I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t know and you don’t know that you don’t know.

            When you say things like, “Forty million Americans were out of work by last June, through no fault of their own.” I can see you’re completely out of touch with reality.

            If I told you that I’m not a product of the decisions I’ve made though out my lifetime, would you agree?

            The women I’ve slept with, the food that I’ve eaten, the place that I live in, the hobbies I have and the clothes that I wear, these were NOT because of decisions I’ve made. These things all occur through circumstances beyond my control?

            What about the job I have? Is it NOT my fault?

            It’s not my fault because someone else dragged me out of bed, sat me on the toilet, wiped my ass, threw me in the shower, dressed me, shoved some green eggs and ham down my gullet, walked me to the car and forced me at gun point to drive to work.

            That same someone else obviously doesn’t have an understanding of dental hygiene because that person didn’t brush my teeth.

            Good thing someone else put a mask on me and everyone else in the workplace. Because my breath really stinks.

            But it’s not my fault I didn’t brush.

            You’re right RG, I’m not a product of my decisions I’m a product of circumstance. Through no fault of my own.

            And corporations are real individuals with all the rights bestowed by the 14th amendment.

            • “Honestly, I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t know and you don’t know that you don’t know.”

              RG appears to be the type that is usually the smartest in the room. Leads to arrogance and assumptions of superiority in all situations. It never dawns on this type that ~90iq in a room full of ~75s means you are still pretty dumb, even if smarter than everyone you know.

              It will never know. It lacks the capacity. Met several before this one.

              We refer to them as ‘gifted idiots’.

      • RG & Eric,

        “ SD will not survive without happy clients, no business will.”

        How many customers of that lovable talking gecko do you think are happy?

        The squawking duck, Snoopy and friends, the talking gecko, the General, and the people with the good hands are just providing good customer service when they open up an office in the same strip mall as the License Plate Store. Right?

        The customers who give money to the “good neighbor” are more than happy to do so. Right?

        It has nothing whatsoever to do with the use of armed canvassers driving around with license plate readers.

        How does Snoopy keep his clients happy?

        Simply by not going potty on the carpet? Or does he roll over and go fetch too?

        • I think we can now add insurance agents to the industries that you dislike. What is your feelings on grocery stores? Acceptable or not? Restaurants? The airline industry?

          Also to note, that quote is mine. I don’t want Eric to be accused of something he did not say.

          • RG,

            Your arguments are so persuasive that I’ve called my senator and demanded he introduce a bill to outlaw TurboTax and mandate the use of accountants for all tax purposes.

            I haven’t quite figured out how to incorporate armed canvassers to provide you with happy customers.

            Maybe a happy client barcode on the forehead. That would be easy to scan before each taxable transaction an individual would be allowed to make.

            With advances in technology, the license plate readers could scan our foreheads as well.

            What do you think RG?

            • I have nothing against TurboTax or TaxCut. I believe there is a market for it. I see no reason to outlaw it. I also believe such chains such as HR Block, Jackson Hewitt, and others are beneficial to the system as well.

              The TurboTax taxpayer is not my client. I deal with persons who have difficult returns – businesses, rental properties, foreign income, etc. Things that HR doesn’t want to handle.

              I have nothing against competition, it keeps one on their toes. If my clients aren’t happy they will go someplace else. If they are they will stay.

              • RG,

                “I also believe such chains such as HR Block, Jackson Hewitt, and others are beneficial to the system as well.“

                I would agree wholeheartedly.

                In fact your entire profession benefits the system.

                Even though you’re an exceptional spokesman for your profession, it’s the system I have a problem with.

                I don’t really care about the retards doing the work.

          • Eric,

            “ What I despise is being forced ”

            You want to be able to make that decision for yourself?!?

            WTF?

            “We” have given you a bunch of cartoon characters to choose from. Isn’t that enough?

            What the heck gives you idea that you can make the right decision?

            There are just so many things to be afraid of Eric. That’s why…

            We’ve taken care of everything
            The words you read
            The songs you sing
            The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
            It’s one for all and all for one
            We work together, common sons
            Never need to wonder how or why

            • Hi T,

              Yup; the other aspect of this that’s tragic is that – were it not for it being mandatory – things like car and health insurance would cost much less than they do. Being able to say no to anything tends to apply pressure on exorbitant pricing.

              • Eric,

                “Being able to say no to anything tends to apply pressure on exorbitant pricing.”

                Yes it does.

                That’s just another reason 100% vaccination is so important. After one gets the “message” they won’t notice such facts.

    • Mister Liberty,

      You axed, “Has anybody else noticed the absolute shitty customer service they’ve received over the past year?”

      I have.

      I don’t even call it customer service, rather customer tolerance.

      Too bad my weather app doesn’t provide information on customer tolerance the way it does for air quality and UV.

      If today’s weather said that tolerance for customers was high, I might just venture to the store.

      “Turns out there’s a reason for that.”

      Please expound on that reason.

  25. ‘The Coonman had issued an “executive order”!’ — EP

    In a larger sense, the pandemic opened the gate on an Age of Executive Orders — everything from pandemic lockdowns, to Newsom’s future ban on IC vehicle sales, to Biden’s new executive gun control measures yesterday.

    They don’t even bother with hollow parliamentary formalities any more. L’état, c’est moi, as Louis Quatorze is said to have declared. It’s good to be king.

    Of course, this works in two directions. Gov Abbott of Texas just requested a Second Amendment sanctuary bill from the Texas legislature, authorizing the state to nullify Biden’s gun grab, just as two-thirds of states (though not Texas) do in permitting medical and recreational cannabis sales contrary to fedgov ‘law.’

    A vast, reckless dilation of the currency by skinny-shouldered bureaucrat John Law Powell, with no one’s permission, is wreaking havoc on the economy as prices pop and shortages fester.

    Dueling sovereignties, incompatible cultures — we’ve seen this movie before. Maybe that’s why tyrants like the Coonman are scrambling as fast as they can to erase and vilify Virginia’s history, lest it inspire others to tell the weaponized nanny state to piss off for good.

    Noncompliance, comrades: it ain’t a capital offense yet.

    • This whole Executive Order thing has really got me confused. Having worked with Federal attorneys for several years, I always understood that EOs only apply to those agencies and employees of agencies that are under the control of the issuer. So, Presidential EOs only legally determine the actions of Fedgov and its employees, not private parties. And Governor’s EOs, only State agencies and employees, etc.

      We the people need to nullify these EOs by noncompliance. For those who don’t want to feel like they are breaking the law, there is simply no legal (nor moral) basis to comply.

    • ‘Kevin Seefried, who was photographed carrying a Confederate flag in the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots in Washington, has been indicted by a grand jury on five counts related to obstruction, entering restricted property and disorderly conduct.’ — CNBC

      https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/man-who-carried-confederate-flag-to-capitol-during-riot-indicted-.html

      If elected president, I will pardon Seefried and his son, declare Jan 6th a national holiday, and encourage an annual re-enactment of the Stop the Steal rally.

      With a blond wig, a codpiece and some pillows stuffed under my shirt, I’ll be a huuuuuuuge success in the role of Orange Man Bad.

  26. They performed an immoral act for money. If it were regarding sex, there is a name for that. Equally applicable in this case in my occasionally errant opinion.

  27. The story of Ben at the end is inspiring and encouraging. Every time I begin to have doubt my ability to hold on, I am treated to the simple acts of human courage and dignity embodied in men like Ben. Yes, his business has changed, but as you point out, he is still in possession of his God-given dignity and humanity. He has not sold his soul to the devil for a few coins.

  28. Tell me Eric what bearing do my words have on this article? You quoted them above so I can assume that they must tie in somehow. Is it okay to post every person who filed for unemployment benefits to be made public? How about each person that received a stimulus check and didn’t return it? Or maybe every person that doesn’t pay back their student loans?

    • With all due respect, I believe the answer to your last 2 questions is “Yes.” These are clear examples of fraud, directly affecting the public and should be available for scrutiny.

      Not sure how unemployment works, but I thought it was a form of insurance where the employee and employer pay into a fund…perhaps this should be treated differently.

      • Just an edit here – I misread your post. Thought you meant not returning something that one wasn’t entitled to receive.

        Not returning a stimulus check that one didn’t ask for is still in my mind different from affirmatively and actively pursuing a “loan” that will not likely have to ever be paid back. And of course, the cost of that “loan” is one’s own dignity and humanity.

        • Okay, then what are your thoughts regarding those who have exceeded their Medicare and Social Security entitlements?

          How about state run rehab centers, nursing homes, and other medical facilities where the family can not afford to care for the relative? Is this fraud?

          Let’s be honest we have all taken from the tit of Big Brother. None of us have paid in more than what we have used. Not if we received a public education, drove down a paved road, or or have outlived our Medicare payments.

          We all our hypocrites.

          • Maybe the government doesn’t need to set these things up in the first place. Private charities and one’s own family or church handled many “public” matters for generations. Perhaps we should return to those days.

            • Amen, Anon –

              As a case in point – which I’ve written about before, at length – most people who’ve worked since their late teens/20s and who were responsible with their money could probably have retired – in terms of having to work – by the time they reached their mid-40s. Were it not for the taxes they were forced to pay along the way, which extracted from them probably at least a fourth of what they earned, plus cost them what that money might have earned them, had they been able to save/invest it themselves.

              Instead, almost all of us have to work until we are too old to work.

              Which arrangement is the preferable one?

              • Indeed, roughly half of our pay is confiscated by the state, if all taxes of every kind are included. Which is what forced a lot of mothers out of their Holy calling of raising children. Social security mails you a statement showing how much you paid them, and how much your employer couldn’t pay you, because they had to pay SS too. I added them up when in my late forties. If I had been allowed to keep that pay, I could have retired right then. Of course for much of my working life there was a reasonable return on a simple savings account. In fact, the state set a limit on how much a bank could pay, and practically all of them pegged that limit.

              • Not to mention the stealth tax of inflation. The dollar has lost around 95% of it’s purchasing power since the Federal Reserve Act. Now cars cost more than what houses used to cost.

          • Hi RG,

            No one is entitled – morally – to a cent of anyone else’s money, much less entitled to seize it from them, for their benefit. What you’ve written is what every socialist argues. Need entitles people to other people’s money – and thus, their freedom. This is why Republicans and “conservatives” lose to Leftists every time. It is because they have ceded every principle to Leftists, already.

            I need shoulder surgery. Does that mean I am entitled to force you to “help” finance the operation?

            In re government schools: One cannot assign blame to minor children who had no choice but to attend the schools their parents sent them to.

            In re roads: We freely – important point – pay as we go, via motor fuels taxes, which aren’t really (meaningfully) taxes as they are not mandatory. If you don’t use the roads or buy goods transported on them, you don’t pay the tax.

            I don’t want ‘nuthin from no one, if I can’t get it on my own (and by mutually agreeable/free consent of the parties involved). I’d rather (and have) endured the chronic pain of my damaged shoulder than demean myself by using the force of the government to steal on my behalf.

            It is a shame more Americans do not share the sentiment.

            And you know what? If they did share it, I’d have had plenty of money to pay for my own surgery. The government of my county has stolen in excess of $30,000 from me over the past 17 years. If I had my money, I’d be able to pay for my needs.

            And so would most other people, too.

            • Then I don’t see how this is not considered a refund back to the very businesses that paid in taxes over the many years they were in business. SD paid in employer taxes, they paid personal property taxes that they own, they paid RE taxes on their store front, and they paid taxes on the profit they generate annually to which they don’t receive.

              Why is it ok for you to accept your stimulus and pay it toward your RE taxes, but not them doing the same?

              • Hi RG,

                There are several differences. The first is I didn’t ask for any government (taxpayer) money. In other words, I did not seek to filch the pockets of others. I pay my own way.

                The second difference is I simply returned the stolen money to the thieves who stole it. I did not enrich myself at the expense of someone else.

                Thirdly, I did not participate in the creating of a psychotic “new normal” – and then use money stolen from others to reward myself for doing so.

                • So you do not believe government should provide restitution for denying people their livelihoods and millions of people their jobs?

                  They should suck it up, huh?

                • The PPP loans are not equitable to mask wearing or following government protocols. I have reviewed many a PPP loan this year and the stipulations are that 60% must be accounted toward payroll costs with the remaining 40% can be counted toward rent and utilities. The 2nd round of PPP stipulates that a business must show a loss of 25% in a quarter in 2020 compared to that same quarter in 2019.

                  I don’t see how it is fraud if the receiver is using real numbers.

                  • Hi RG,

                    I think – with respect, no intention to be insulting – that you are being naive if you believe that a business that accepts government loans is not beholden to government. And even if not, government is become the benefactor of such businesses – and that is a big problem, if you believe in freedom.

                    • I think you are being naïve, Eric, if you believe government does anything without the backing of large businesses and their lobbyists.

                      Who was able to stay open during this lockdown? Large business. Where is your anger? Toward the small ma and pas just trying to pay their rent without a damn dollar coming in.

                      This is absurd. Look at us. This is the biggest psych op that government has ever employed.

                      We are torching the 4.6 million businesses that went for these loans, but say nothing about the large businesses that did not suffer and made hand over fist, because we had no where to go to.

                      Why isn’t that the story, Eric?

                      Instead of the small businesses are evil are trying to make it? If everyone of those 4.6 million businesses are run out of business tomorrow, where does that leave us? The big businesses, no doubt.

                      I get that you don’t like SD and I agree that SD treated you shabbily, but I don’t understand how all businesses taking the PPP loans are somehow thieves. Take a look at the names on the list of everyone’s neighborhood. These are small delis, gas stations, retail stores on Main Street, non chain restaurants. Why can they not seek restitution?

                    • Hi RG,

                      I am angry – very – at the corporations who milked this mass hysteria. But I am appalled by small businesses like SD that not only participated in their (and other small businesses) destruction but also the destruction of normalcy in this country. And now want to be rewarded for it.

                      You write fairly often about admiring men (and women) with balls. SD has none. They dropped to their knees – and want us to suck it, too.

                    • Tell me, Eric, would your opinion of SD have changed if they took the money, but did not enforce the diapering mandate?

                    • Hi RG,

                      If they had defied all of it, I’d have done everything in my power to help them. As I am doing with regard to the Bent Mountain Bistro, by the way. While almost everyone did drop to their knees – not everyone did.

                      Not Ben – not me.

                    • Eric,

                      I don’t see how the government shutting a business down and then insinuating those that took loans (because we don’t know if they are forgivable yet) are now being rewarded for it. These loans were not for the growth of business, it was not to purchase new equipment, new vehicles, or expand their operations, it was to keep people on payroll so they did not flood the unemployment systems.

                  • Not accusing PPP recipients of fraud here, just making the point that their bennies should be available for public scrutiny, just like any other.

                    I thought your original argument was that SD shouldn’t have to make known its bennies, not whether or not it is a fraudulent use of gov’t. funds.

          • Your statement: “Okay, then what are your thoughts regarding those who have exceeded their Medicare and Social Security entitlements?”
            …deserves an honest answer. Medicare and social security “contributions” were taken from us by force. Our employers also “contributed” a like amount to the “social security” system.
            If we were allowed to “contribute” to our own retirement fund, we would be far ahead due to the compounding of interest, which is normally a part of any private retirement fund. Your statement: “Exceeded their Medicare and social security entitlements” is dishonest as it fails to state that it is OUR MONEY that was taken from us and our employers for forty years or so and should have been accruing interest. Stating that we should only receive the amount that we (and our employers) “contributed” does not wash.

            • True that – and the funds themselves have been ransacked to extinction. “We” no longer have any of “our” money available to us.

            • anarchyst,

              Do you believe that people (and their employers) actually pay in more than enough to afford what they get back? Even with a fair amount of interest growth an 80 year old will walk away with more than $236K than what they and their employer paid in at a standard 4% growth rate.

              The reason that SS and Medicare don’t work (and I am against both programs, BTW) is because the system pays out more than it takes in.

              The amount of money that is taken by government (which is theft) is an entirely different discussion. Even if those monies were still there the system would be bankrupt.

              • Hi RG,

                How much SS pays out is neither here nor there, as regards morality. What is relevant is what it steals. I want nothing to do with SS – yet I am forced to hand over 15 percent of every dollar I earn to “help” finance the retirement benefits of people I have never met and to whom I owe no obligation beyond respect for their equal right to that which is theirs. Which is no part of what is mine.

                Well, was.

                Even now, I’d agree (happily) to forfeit any future SS “benefits” in return for no longer being forced to pay for them, going forward.

                • What it does payout should be the subject of morality. How can it not be? I think you and I both can agree that SS and MC are wrong and should be stopped. I, for one, would happily also forfeit both entitlement plans if I could have every dollar on here on out.

                  • Amen, RG!

                    In re: “I, for one, would happily also forfeit both entitlement plans if I could have every dollar on here on out.” That is principled stand. It is the only way to defend liberty.

                • This. I once tried to justify the theft (so as not to feel so bad about being stolen from), by rationalizing that I was in fact helping to support the generations that helped to provide me the life I now live. I have never expected to withdraw any of my “contributions” to SS or Medicare as I don’t expect them to be available.

                  And while I still tend to feel an obligation to the older generation, I would prefer to meet it by performing my sacred duty to care for my own loved ones who have become in need of it, and not allowing it to be stolen under what amounts to false pretenses, when the “fund” is now empty bc it was “borrowed” to pay for other non-related budget items.

                  • See below, There is no separate fund all a Ponzi scheme

                    “Furthermore, payments made by employer for each of their employees are NOT matching to be credited to the account of the employee, but constitute an EXCISE tax on the employers rights to do business. Consequently his so-called “Contributions” go directly into the general fund of the treasury and “are not earmarked in any way.” Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619, 635 (1937)

              • Compounding of interest is what makes it possible to receive large payouts after letting your money “sit” and accrue interest after 40 or 50 years of “contributions”.
                Social security’s problem is that people who have not contributed much get a larger “payout” than those who have contributed the maximum.
                I too would have chosen to handle my own retirement arrangement, but was forced into the social security system. It is not unethical to want back what you paid in with interest compounded over 40 or 50 years…

          • Which is a supposition assuming private business’ could not supply these very things at lower cost and higher quality, and without holding a gun to your head forcing you to pay for those you don’t want. The reason we all suck the tit is because we have had our own resources which could have allowed us not to, taken from us at gunpoint. They break your leg, and then expect gratitude for offering crutches. Inferior crutches at that.

          • RG, I had no control over being sent to the government screwls for a public education. As far as paved roads I pay for those every time I buy gasoline or go through a toll booth. (The funding of roads also is not under my control.)

            What IS under my control is I have not applied for Medicare or Social Security “benefits”, have not received any “stimulus” checks, and have never received unemployment checks or government loans.

      • Excellent, then we agree A. People who received any monies from any government institution should have it known. The majority of unemployment benefits taking place are not coming from the state sponsored fund, but are being supplemented by tge US government, hence, taxpayers.

        Personally, I can easily view the PPP loans as businesses just getting back some of the money they paid in over the years.

        Or did Sweet Donkey not pay taxes?

        • If a business is actually transacting a simple, no-string-attached loan with a bank, representing their unencumbered receipt of funds that will be paid back at reasonable interest over time, then I would agree with your point about keeping this private – as I have no need to know how much money a business borrows to keep going.

          However, this loan is likely not really a loan – and most people realize that. It is also being derived not from a private banking institution, but from we the people. We should know how “our” money is being spent. It is only a problem for Sweet Donkey if they are taking part in fraud.

          I have no problem with other government-sponsored benefits being made public. Again, it is “our” money and we should know how/where it is being spent. Perhaps the fact that so many times these transactions are kept “private” has led us to where we are today.

          An EBT card looks like a credit card, yet I have been in line behind EBTers who are buying lobster, steak, snacks, and other “luxury” goods with my money. I try to make a point to say “you’re welcome.”

        • Hi RG,

          I have no problem with anyone who received money taken from others having it known to the victims. They victims of this theft have every right to know it.

          Also, I’m curious: Would you also have defended a business “just trying to survive” that posted a sign by the door saying No Jews (or blacks) allowed? And then filched your pockets to support that?

          • A free society is a free society, Eric. I believe people should be able to choose who they wish or don’t wish to do business with. Would I understand someone who wanted to cast out someone because of their skin color or religion? Absolutely not. To me each person should be judged on his or her merits, but if someone else is foolish enough to do so we should respect their right as individuals.

            You haven’t addressed how my post is relevant to your tirade above.

              • Cmon, Eric. Aren’t you being a bit melodramatic? Collusion with government, how? The government shut them down. They are paying restitution, which most would have no problem accepting under ordinary circumstances.

                • Hi RG,

                  Melodramatic? About what has happened to normalcy in this country? Courtesy of willing enablers like SD? I’m truly surprised you’re defending anyone who actively supports what has happened to this country. I take this business extremely seriously – because it is extremely dangerous.

                  I have no compassion for people who took a shit on my freedom – and yours.

                  • Stick to the points at hand, Eric.

                    Why is it ok for you to accept your stimulus payment, but not businesses that were told to shutdown?

                    Based on your posts it seems that businesses should not recover any losses if government dictates a lockdown. These same businesses pay taxes, too.

                    I wish you would use that brilliant head of yours to go after the large companies that have lobbied Congress and received bailout after bailout on an annual basis from taxpayers than picking on a small business that is trying to make ends meet.

                    • I did stick to them – answered them.

                      I didn’t demand any money from anyone. And the money sent me was sent back to the same government that stole it. I did not use it to benefit myself nor was I rewarded for being not merely obedient but a participant in the weaponization of hypochondria and the erection of a psychotic “new normal.”

                      SD did – and is complicit for that reason.

                      And, cowardly – for not having asserted its right to be in business and instead, dropping to its knees to fellate its new benefactor (and our tormentor)

                    • Do you know this RG personally Eric? Your politeness and continued consideration for this sanctimonious, effete and rude fool is odd.

                    • Hi Anon,

                      RG’s been a regular poster here for some time and I have no issue with disagreement. Nor do I claim to be right about everything (god help me!) I enjoy the discussion – which is how we come to understand the principles at stake.

                    • If it makes you happy.

                      Your courtesy and politeness towards it seems misplaced and undeserved though.

                    • Hi Anon,

                      Politeness is part of it; the other part is not being afraid to entertain a discussion – even if heated. So long as coherent. I viscerally dislike the way so many publications suppress views they don’t share. I won’t do that here. But I will challenge them!

                    • “I viscerally dislike the way so many publications suppress views they don’t share.”

                      Not suggesting censoring. Just surprised at your willingness to suffer an obvious fool. It seems pointless when it obviously (from the responses) does not comprehend most of the argument and just strawmans or simply evades or ignores its highpidity.

                      But hey, some people collect string and enjoy it. Enjoy.

                • Libertarians often say if it’s wrong for individuals to do it, it’s wrong for gov’t to do it, i.e. theft. Analogously, when a gov’t is proven or admits to engaging in tortious interference against a business, a business may be found to be due damages, often treble (3x) damages just as if a private individual had done the same to it.

                  As a separate matter, one could find fault with SD for continuing to operate in an ongoing fashion while enforcing gov’t diaper and distancing mandates, which could legitimately be seen as a kind of collusion or quid pro quo for a “forgivable” loan.

                  Most people outside this board probably wouldn’t or couldn’t grok the second point.

                  • Hat,

                    The PPP loan does not dictate mask wearing, that is SD implementing it, but I have a huge problem taking a shit on 4.6 million businesses that took loans to survive. Not all 4.6 million businesses follow the mandate protocols. How many of the businesses in FL or TX or MS took out loans and don’t adhere to the forced diaperization?

                    We are arguing two very different points – the following of the mandates and government loans. One does not coincide with the other.

                    • I wasn’t arguing with you. You basically restated my two points. Best case is take the damages offered and cease operations so as not to collude or promote the scamdemic. Move on to something that does not compromise principles. If a business continues to operate while complying with mandates subsequent to receiving damages that may subject a business owner to all the above insinuations about motive.

          • I think the insult comes from SD’s refusal to treat all customers, esp. those like Eric who have been outspoken supporters up until the mask showdown, with dignity. After all, they are using “our” money for the PPP – I am not contesting whether it is justified or fair to use the PPP. But it is highly obnoxious to then turn around and slam the door in the face of those who would come to buy goods and services – SD’s purported reason for needing the PPP provided with “our” money, in the first place.

    • RG, I get where you’re coming from, I think EP means to point out the hypocricy when you willfully and stubbornly go along with your own destruction and are also assholes about it and psychotically demand that others do same, and then also collect handouts. They were kind of dicks about it

      • Exactly, Moose –

        They did nothing to preserve their right to be in business and then kissed the ring of their destroyer, while kicking loyal supporters in the balls.

      • Moose,

        As you and I are woefully aware there are many dicks in the world, but if we are purveyors of liberty then we also argue for the assholes to be assholes. If SD treats their customers shoddy they will eventually go out of business.

        • Ehh but there’s an active situation here, it’s not the time to be an asshole. Their version of being an asshole isn’t so much about their individual personalities and liberties, so much as it is about coercion and fear-mongering and envoking State force on others who are just trying to do business like normal human beings.

          The cult really is evil, it’s hard to give its willing participants any pass.

          The boo over here also makes a good point though, about our govt’s money basically just being numbers on a screen anymore, doesn’t necessarily come from taxpayer pockets when they’re bailing themselves out and just creating it seemingly outta thin air.. so if you look at it that way..it would be kinda hard to blame anyone for taking any govt handout.

          • Hey, everybody’s doin’ it and it’s not real money anyway. That’s BS!

            This bailout inflates the supply of federal reserve notes (whether they be digital or paper). That lowers the value of federal reserved notes both saved and to be earned.

            Have you seen the prices of things lately? That means those dollars that you have buy less than what they used to (i.e. they’ve lost value).

        • “If SD treats their customers shoddy they will eventually go out of business.”
          Well there you go “purveyors of liberty.” It all makes sense. Don’t criticize SD for exercising its “liberty” of taking a bailout at all of our expense.

          The bailout ENABLED its assholery. Getting a $120,000 windfall insulated it from the market force that requires customer satisfaction.

          I assume your hand was in the PPP cookie jar. Or perhaps you at least generated income by providing financial documentation or advice to those who got PPP money.

          “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair

          • I am an accountant so yes, I got to deal with this from all sides. I would happily not done it. It took valuable time away from completing people’s tax returns, which was already a mess since the government couldn’t get their act together. It wasn’t a walk in the park and the money I made on it was minimal if I charged at all. Most of it I did pro bono since most people were already grasping at straws.

            If their business did not succeed (which I wanted it to you for purely selfish reasons) than I could count my business being sayonara as well. I guess that makes me an asshole. So be it.

            • Interesting of your use of the word “asshole.” This is used to make it appear that you’re the victim of an ad hominem attack, when in fact you are not.

              The lady doth protest too much, methinks. You’re admittedly self-interested in these government handouts. Which is why you defend them.

              • “This is used to make it appear that you’re the victim of an ad hominem attack, when in fact you are not.”

                You are not the only one to notice this tactic by RG.

          • “Getting a $120,000 windfall insulated it from the market force that requires customer satisfaction.”

            But there is no market force.. There’s just government allowing places to stay open or not and some random masked customers spending the extra zeroes that suddenly appeared on their debit cards.

            • Unfortunately, that’s where all of this lack of freedom and liberty has led. Nonetheless, one cannot justify additional theft and tyranny because of prior theft and tyranny.

              People need to develop a backbone and say NO to all of this shit, including handouts. We all get what we put up with. If you put up with bullying, you’re going to continue to get bullied.

              • “If you put up with bullying, you’re going to continue to get bullied.”

                And, That, is exactly It!

                On top of that, a bully who pays many of its victims to let it be so.

                Simple shit everyone should be able to understand.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here