Kinda of angsty tonight, dear reader.  I mean, more than usual.  Unsure of cause.  Maybe lack of sleep…a deprivation which I will attempt to rectify now.
Stay well, dear reader.

N.P.: “Amputieren” – Wulfband

What a fine day today was, dear reader…for a Thursday?  Yeah…a fine day.
I’ve gotten some mail asking about libertarianism in these trying times, and there are some clearly some misconceptions about libertarianism.  First, it is significantly different from anarchism.  Anarchism seeks to abolish all government and social structure.  It doesn’t work.  It lasts about 17 minutes, and quickly dissolves into Might Makes Right.  Libertarians recognize the essential need for government.  We just think they should play a far more limited role in people’s lives.  The government exists to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves, and to protect the country from invasion.  But outside of those very limited functions, as a person who can take care of himself, I really don’t want to hear from government at all.  And I don’t need to talk about the president, whomever he or she is, ever.  Which has made living in a society where most of The Herd seem inexplicably obsessed with presidential politics unbelievably tedious.  But seriously, it’s just not that interesting.
Anyway, I fully support the measures each level of our government has taken in dealing with The Virus.  Collective threat calls for collective action.  Any libertarian would agree with that statement.
Some other questions I’ve gotten lately have concerned the extent of the federal, state, and local governments’ powers (i.e., “Can they do that?” [re: ordering businesses closed, ordering people to shelter at home, to not gather, et cetera]).  Can’t help but notice the people asking these questions have generally been on the anti-gun side of things.  So it has been my pleasure to tell them that yes, in fact any and all of those levels of governance can declare and enforce quarantines, business closures, and curfews.  State of Emergency, yo.  The federal and state governments (i.e., the President and the respective governors) can declare martial law in their jurisdictions (national for the President, statewide for the governors).  And THAT, I enjoy telling those miserable hippies, is why you really need to STFU about repealing the 2nd Amendment, gun control, and all the rest of it…this is why you need the 2nd Amendment…this is why you should be grateful for your neighbors and friends who have armed themselves.  Because it isn’t happening now, but this is exactly how it happens: there is a perceived national threat, the government freezes movement and suspends all public gatherings, when people start raising voices of concern about sudden government overreach, the government sends in the military and seizes control of the media.  And in other countries where there is no right to keep and bear, the public has already been disarmed, so that’s the end of it: the government and military now have total control over their society.  This Is Exactly Why The 2nd Amendment Exists.  Again, the situation I just described is not what is happening now.  But I hope the present situation shows you just how fast things can completely change.  And it is that speed that necessitates that the public already be armed.  Because by the time the hippies start scratching their heads and asking, “Can the government actually do this?”, it’s far too late.

 

N.P.: “He Is” – Ghost

“Gentlemen, I just wanted to reassure you that we are not only going to get through this, but we are going to get through this with style.  Our hair will make us look like we’re a goddamn Bon Jovi tribute band, and our girlfriends will all probably be pregnant.  But by God we are going to get through this just fine.”

In other news, even though I’m not really working on the books right now, I did some writing on the “serious” one.  So typical.  As soon as I decide I’m not actually going to write this book is when I’ll finish it.

How are you holding up?  I must say, I am just loving the outside world these days.  Enjoying the hell out of it.  It’s finally socially acceptable to be antisocial.  Isn’t it weird how much of the economy relied on extroverts.  I really hope things don’t go back to the way they were.  At least, not all the way.

N.P.: “Deus In Absentia” – Ghost

Spent the day retooling the Writer’s Room for a project I’ll be working on for our corporate overlords.  It should keep us afloat nicely for the duration of the sheltering in place that’s going on, however long that may last.
I hope you are continuing to thrive, dear reader.  Stay home, avoid humans, and write a book.  Or read one…that’s fine too.  Aight den….

N.P.: “Bible” – Ghost

I got a decent amount done today, dear reader.  It wasn’t bad at all.  All of a sudden I’m getting a ton of mail, both E- and snail-.  Is that happening to you?  Kinda weird.  I’ll deal with it tomorrow.
Avoid people, stay home, and be extra nice to any first responders you may happen to come in contact with.  [Editor’s note: this advice holds true and applies to any given moment, not just during the plague.]

N.P.: “The Serpents of Eden” – Dawn of Ashes

What’s up, partially quarantined yet still suave reader?  Things remain entirely pleasant here.  Nobody coming to the door looking for money or peddling Jesus.  No noisy traffic on the streets outside twice a day.  Also worth noting: a precipitous drop in suicide bombings around the globe.  With public gatherings prohibited, suicide bombers are just regular old suicides.  No mass shootings either.  Several years ago (it was just after the Vegas thing on Halloween) I said in all seriousness that the way to effectively eliminate terrorism (foreign and domestic) immediately would be to eliminate public gatherings of any significant size, and to greatly reduce both the number of flights as well as the number of passengers on those flights.  People laughed and scoffed…like openly, as if I’d suggested the magical unicorns would save us from terrorists.  Well, a couple years later, and here we are.  Not to say I told you so, but no gun control laws did this.  The Second Amendment is perfectly in tact and just as in force as it ever was.  The moral of this motherfucker is (and you can quote me on this): “As a society, we have zero control or ability to predict the behavior of individuals.  But we can easily control giving terrorists and mass shooters ludicrously easy targets.
Okay, most resilient reader…I’m going try to get some words in on a couple other projects.  Stay well, avoid The Herd, and take no shit.

N.P,: “On Fire” – Moann Exis

Another splendid day of The Herd cowering confusedly in their suburban hovels and staying the hell out of my way.  No traffic anywhere, ample parking everywhere.  And with all the climate whiners not driving from place to place looking for other climate whiners to have protests with, things are nice and quiet, and the air quality is noticeably better.
I don’t know, dear reader, but I’m hoping this plague serves as the great Reset that our stupid society has needed.  We’re not there yet, but give it a couple more weeks, and some of the recent changes will likely become permanent.  What a wonderful world that will be.
Stay safe, dear reader.  Avoid The Herd…you’ll be fine.

N.P.: “Dopamine” – Tides From Nebula

I’ve gotta say, dear reader, that walking the pre-dawn streets of downtown Anhedonia was amazing today.  There was no traffic, which is typically a problem.  There was ample parking, which never happens down there.  There were astonishingly few other pedestrians around, and they stayed well away from me.  It was like a dream.  A wonderful, quiet, completely unannoying dream.  If only it had been raining.
It’s amusing to see commercials on TV enticing people to come to expensive restaurants, casinos, cruises, and travel destinations that are not open.  And I am hopeful that members of The Herd are starting to see celebrities for the irrelevances that they are.
Life is fine here at Hotel California, and I hope all is well with you, robust and hale reader.

N.P.: “I Idolize You” – Massive Ego

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, it’s the first day of spring.
Fuck.

N.P.: “I’m Afraid of Americans (V1 Edit) – David Bowie

I know things are bad, resilient reader, but if you didn’t spend at least part of today chuckling to yourself about the hell you raised last night then it’s your own damn fault.  Really, you should have celebrated with me…because everything is still shitty and stressful, but St. Patrick’s Day 2020 is over.  Gone forever.
Tomorrow’s gonna suck.  And Friday is going to be even worse.  And fuck knows where the bottom is right now.  But know this: not only will we get through this, but we’ll get through it in style.  Things will get worse before they get better.  But they will get better.

N.P.: “Back in Black” – AC/DC