KyleJohnston.net

Quote: We Have Created a Larger Power Differential.

Kyle Johnston — Fri, 23 May 2014 05:43:09 +0000

If someone points out that great inequity of wealth creates a power relationship that is morally problematic, then what do we create when we create a mechanism that can fix this inequity? Right. We have created a larger power differential. Granted the problem is a big hole, why are we digging it deeper?
[…]
And the regular fat cats got that way by selling me goods and services that I really wanted, and which I can use to make my labor more productive. The coercive fat cats, the government, which by this point in a post like this should be spelled gummint, has created a power differential between themselves and me which is far greater, by orders of magnitude, than the power differential between Bill Gates and me. And on top of that, their track record concerning their actual uses of their power is demonstrably demented.

Video: Edward Snowden Appears at TED 2014

Kyle Johnston — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 04:25:23 +0000

Quote: This is Tyranny

Kyle Johnston — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 04:02:42 +0000

Yes, of course a business owner should have the right to refuse service to gay people:

I can’t force a private citizen to involve himself in a thing which he finds abhorrent, objectionable, or sinful.

And you know what? I would never try.

Maybe that’s what separates liberty lovers from liberals. For all their talk about “minding your business” and “this doesn’t concern you” and “live and let live,” theirs is truly an ideology of compulsion. The free speech and expression of other citizens must be tamed by the whip of their lobbying, legislating, and litigating.

It is, of course, ridiculous to insist that any man or woman has a “right” to have a cake baked or t-shirt printed. It’s equally ridiculous to put the desire and convenience of the would-be cake consumer and t-shirt wearer above the First Amendment rights of the cake maker and t-shirt printer.

But this is tyranny. It doesn’t have to make sense.

Make no mistake: this is tyranny. Tyranny is not injured emotions, hurt feelings, and minor inconveniences. Tyranny is the government compelling a man or woman to conform to a dogma or bow to an idol. Tyranny is when you are forced to abandon your beliefs and fall in line.

And tyranny is still tyranny, even when it comes wrapped in tolerance and “human rights.”

Quote: Each group hears not the best, but the worst, that the other groups can say.

Kyle Johnston — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 02:16:35 +0000

C.S. Lewis, in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics:

There is always the danger that those who think alike should gravitate together into ‘coteries’ where they will henceforth encounter opposition only in the emasculated form of rumor that the outsiders say thus and thus. The absent are easily refuted, complacent dogmatism thrives, and differences of opinion are embittered by group hostility. Each group hears not the best, but the worst, that the other groups can say.

Photo: Every Day Carry

Kyle Johnston — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:20:53 +0000

Pockets:

From left to right:

Samsung HM1700 Bluetooth Headset (Amazon)
Home and Mailbox Keys
Victorinox Swiss Army Super Tinker (Amazon)
Wallet with Monetary and Identification Paraphernalia, plus Band Aids
Foursevens QT2L-X with Pro Tailcap (360 Lumens) (Amazon)
Samsung Galaxy S II (SGH-T989) with invisibleSHEILD screen protector (Amazon)
Pilot G2 0.38mm Black by the Dozen (Amazon)
Field Notes, Graph (Amazon)

Backpack:

From left to right, top to bottom:

Wenger Backpack (★★★★★) (Amazon)
Top-Secret Slip of Paper
Spare CR123A 3V Lithium Batteries
Random Rubber Band
1/8″ to 1/4″ Phone Plug Adapter for Headphones (Screw On)
ID Badge Pendant
Backup to the Backup Pen
Backup Pen (G2 0.38)
Random 0.7mm Pen
No-Brand Multi Tool
Business Cards from Hoban Press
San Jac Printing Card with $8+ on it (If you attend SJC, it’s yours for the asking.)
AmazonBasics Stylus (Amazon
Emergency Cash and Paper Clip
Backup Field Notes, Graph
Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter
Apple Power Adapter Plug Thingy
16Gb PNY Flash Drive
Backup Flashlight
Orange Folder Full of DFF Papers (Under)
Emergent Task Planner Pad (Amazon)
Prescription Glasses
Sunglasses
Camera Cable
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro (★★★★★) (Amazon)
Camelback Water Bottle (★★★★★) (Amazon)
Eddie Bauer Ultra-Pod
Kensington K64670US Laptop Lock (Amazon)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 8.1Mp (★★★★☆) in Case, with pin of the Slovakian Coat of Arms
Pack of Kleenex
Gerber Freeman Fixed Blade (Fine Edge, Drop Point, Nylon Sheath) (Amazon)
Bandaids
Triangular Bandage
Mylar Thermal Blankets (Amazon)
iPad 4th Gen in Targus Smart Case

July 4th, 2013

Kyle Johnston — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 17:02:47 +0000

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed[.]

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of [Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Video: The Whole Picture, what Piers Morgan is Ignoring

Kyle Johnston — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:25:07 +0000

FOX19.com-Cincinnati News, Weather

Quote: Common Sense Tells Us

Kyle Johnston — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:28:08 +0000

From The Tragedy of Gun Free Zones by Dr. Michael S. Brown:

How many of us, no matter how much we hate guns, would be willing to put a sign stating, “We have no guns here”, on our home? Common sense tells us that this is an invitation to criminals. This same simple concept applies to schools and other public places.

Link: A Population that Loses its Self-Reliance

Kyle Johnston — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:36:04 +0000

The Case for More Guns (And Gun Control) by By Jeffery Goldberg:

“It’s more than that, [t]elling the population that they are incapable of owning a tool that can be dangerous means you are creating a population that loses its self-reliance and increasingly sees itself as wards of the state.”

A great read, cutting past most of the polarized, gun-control verses gun-rights debate; examining the issue thoughtfully and pragmatically.

Quote: To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.

Kyle Johnston — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:17:24 +0000

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper 8:

This picture is not too highly wrought; though, I confess, it would not long remain a just one. Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.

And later:

It is of the nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority.

Again, The Federalist Papers are fascinating. Not an easy read, but worth while. The Kindle edition is free on Amazon. (Affiliate Link.)