#Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

[nerdylibertarian928]

Wow, you're stupid, i'm a libertarian, not libertine, there's a difference. Tell me you never went through my blog without telling me you never went through my blog.

1. Libertarians believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as long as long as innocents are hurt, and sex crimes hurt kids. How dare I be pro-life when I, a mentally disabled woman, have been used to justify abortion? Guess, what, abortion benefits men more than women because men are allowed to use women for sex without consequence and can just convince a woman to abort and leave her to deal with the fallout of it. Just look at Brittany Spears for example.

2. We wouldn't have shootings if bullied kids weren't punished for standing up for themselves while their tormentors never faced consequences. The fbi also likes to ignore when people try to warn them about a possible school shooter. Shooters like to attack where people aren't armed so they can't defend themselves. One of the popular ideas among conservatives/libertarians to stop shootings is to armed guards at schools. People are going to think twice about shooting up schools if they know they'll get shot if they try anything.

3. Israel is at full-blown war because on Oct. 7, 2023, they faced suffered the worst act of anti-semitism since the 1940's. Men killed, woman and children raped and turned into sex slaves, babies burned alive, and dogs killed too. Israel is the Jewish state, and its neighbors want them killed because just like you, they are antisemetic. Israel is by no means perfect, but religous minorities, women, and gays don't face persecutions there. For a group of people who want indigineous people to have their land back, y'all are pretty pissy when the Jews succeed at it. Israel tries to minimize civilian casualities, but terrorists like to use human shields to make idiots like you support their cause. Do not even say that propallies aren't antisemetic when y'all defaced Anne Frank's statue with graffiti twice.

like i know that legally they can't state a motive because they haven't gotten the guy but it's really funny to see news outlets say "the ceo of a health insurance company was shot with three bullets that say Fuck Health Insurance Companies. god only knows why."

[victusinveritas]

Late night political rant from a middle aged Leftist.

Look...

Harris...

Isn't great. Or good. And... she's going to murder people overseas (yep, them, also some other folks, also probably definitely (weirdly) Lichtenstein which is not really a genocide but she'll probably keep enabling one) and her declaration about a strong military is...not great. At best, and I say this with all the confidence of someone knowing it's more likely that all my student loans are forgiven and I end up with free dental because of my college degree, she might tug the leash on BB and friends and maybe suggest, slightly curtailing the genocide in Gaza and the bombing of Lebanon, once she's in power. Maybe. Do I think she's likely to do anything right away (in goddamn January)? No. She'll say "we're moving towards peace..." while arming a nuclear terrorist state with even less compunction about committing war crimes than the US or Canada (not recently, but Canada is like half of why the Geneva Convention exists because they... didn't like taking prisoners in WWI and II).

But what about X candidate that only exists in California or God the fuck knows where? No. No chance of them winning. To get a third party president elected we need to get a third party in House and the Senate. Once we turn them at least a bit Good Red (Socialist of some stripe) we can take a chance at someone outside the usual Dems or GOP.

But...Stein is a Trump/Putin stooge that pops up every four years and will probably continue to do so like the monster in Jeepers Creepers until she has body parts from staffers in every state to create a mega-Libertarian (Megazord but with a real firm knowledge of age of consent laws and a Randian sense of self importance)...

So...

The one thing I can say for Harris is that Tim Walz probably has a kinda wholesome fetish for women his own age or within an appropriate margin (milfs and up) who look like his wife and like to pop balloons. Anyway, whatever his take kink is, he will fight like a Midwesterner (with folksy homespun cussedness) to keep Pornhub and similar sites free to access for all people, because this is America, and we invented modern porn (Czechoslovakia and Hungary perfected it) and the internet, and by gum we're going to keep those things together because they're as American as what one or more consenting folks do in the privacy of anywhere not a school zone or very public park (bushes are fine, ditto riverbanks).

Project 2025 will take away all of that and more.

Vote Blue. And then drag Blue kicking and screaming towards accountability and the things America and the world are owed by the billionaires dodging their fair share of things. Vote in folks running on pro universal healthcare tickets and just generally not being douchebags.

(and no, I'm not going to debate folks on any of this except perhaps my theories on a US invasion of Liechtenstein, I have better things to do than yell at people on the internet and so do you. Go join a mutual aid group or three, play a hand or two of cards.)

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

ok i have an idea for something and i've started writing it but i want to hear from you guys before i really get sucked in

what if negan was the one that found omega and not aaron and eric? now this would be non-canon considering that impeachment has already been written

here's the masterlist for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness if you want to catch up, also asks are open for any blurbs or drabbles for this series!

[evilhorse]

The Constitution upholds everyone’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

(Captain America #237)

[wongataa]

@forknightshonor

The entire US legal system is predicated on innocent until proven guilty. Which means by extension if my behavior isn't harming anyone then I am free to do it. All drugs should be legal. Our Constitution expressly allows for life, liberty, and PURSUIT of happiness. People are free to pursue their happiness in whatever manner they choose so long as it does not directly impact another person's rights. Last I checked, about 60% of our prison population is there for non-violent drug offenses (possession/distribution). Given the fact that the US has had the highest prison population (both per capita, and raw numbers) of any country in the world, there's a serious problem there. I want my prison full of murderers, rapists, and thieves. Not some assholes that don't want to deal with a shitty reality and thus are constantly trying to escape it.

[env0writes]

A Gust of Wind Vol.3, 8.27.23 “So Few Good Capitalized -Ism's"

Common sense is out of vogue Pilfered by the corporate rogue Mums the word, yet we’ve none to name Pulled and peeled like candied fame Unchanging world, digital currency Not one cent to share, let alone two to see Rub a penny for luck, well found, now rare All hail Emperor Caveat, buyer beware Towers keep on rising, black booked Logged and flogged, suit and tie crook’d Need some sort of sensibility Not a crown and acsceptered nobility Breadwinner at the end of the line Broken tooth and nail, neck held by twine Popular thought and science and music Find me a muse and again I’ll be love sick No new frequencies on the radio wave to frequent Same old highs and lows sequent Repent, oh, winner, warlord, wearied watcher of the world Tides will pitch and retch, not a fiefdom to be Earl’d Steal a glance, a chance, a moment unlabored Watch the sun rise and set, kingdoms too, be neighbored Resistance is the only stance Worth giving a chance to advance Better than tuppence is two cents But who’s counting if that's a sixth sense

@env0writes C.Buck Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artist! Photo by @mynamemeanscloud

[youllnevershutdowntherealnapster]

That’s gonna be a no from me, dawg.

[ivygorgon]

I updated the confederate flag with their current/past agenda.

[flowersandspacestuff]

My dad makes his living picking seasonal berries and mushrooms. He travels around and knows what time of year and which areas to find specific sought after berries like huckleberries, where and when to find mushrooms that are considered delicacies like morels, chanterelles, and others. He lives in one area for some of the time, but travels across the whole northwest.

My dad has never really fit with society, partly due to his connection with nature, and partly due to mental illness and trauma. But this is something he can do, and something he loves, and humans will always want wild berries and mushrooms, and need food. So many people today do not know how to find these things, though they used to provide for our whole way of life.

A lot of people feel trapped in the framework our species and cultures have built, and see that the way the job market works is to suck the life out of you, but to keep you working while it does. Yeah you'll always have to work for your living, that's just how life is. You gotta put something in to get anything out. But, we have to consider, what do we want to get out of it? My country has written in it's constitution that people have a right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This is a little bit vague, so vague, that we haven't recognized this right being slowly eroded away. Now we find ourselves pushed to the edge, we're told how lucky we are, while we scramble to find something, something we can do that our society deems worthwhile, and worth money, just so we can live to work the next week, month, year, and afford to pay for our media subscriptions, car, mortgage, rent, gas, food. We'll always have to work for our food, our home, our family, and our health. That's not the problem. The problem is, we aren't working for this. Because most of us, can put as much energy and work as we can into doing something we're not completely suited for, just to live, but still have trouble achieving the basics for life, let alone liberty and happiness. The work that so many are doing, doesn't return to them. We aren't working for our life, liberty, and happiness. Sure, it's why we're working, but the work we are doing doesn't fulfill that pursuit. We should expect that if we do good work, we will see the returns. If you farm your land, and care for the plants and the soil and the animals, you will see the return in abundance. If you build for your communities, your communities will flourish, and you will too. Some of us have found ways to work within this parasitic market system that allow us to still do this, but the power of monopolistic global industry is still felt, and this power strangles the life and liberty of the people, to squeeze out a hoarded profit. People are not machines though, we feel the pain. Our world feels the pain. The ecosystems that have provided all of our bounty, and sustained life on this planet, are suffering from neglect and abuse, just as people suffer from indenture and alienation.

Some of us have been led to believe that there is no way out. This is a lie. Some of us have been led to believe our connection to nature is severed. This is a lie. Some of us have been led to believe that we cannot continue forward and advance humanity while keeping our ties to nature. This is a lie.

What is truth then?

We live, and have always lived, through nature. Earth is a part of us, as we are a part of Earth, and we thrive and fall in the same measure. There is still time for us. Everything will change, as everything always changes. We will change too. We can change, it is how we have come to be here, and how we will continue on. Harmony with Earth is not only possible, but is also the requisite for humanity's own flourishing, and the source of our natural way of being.

But what does this mean for us now? What does this mean for me, who knows how to do only the things society has taught are important? What do I do, who know how to obey, to follow direction, to communicate and to sell things, to write and to read and to drive, but know not how to create tools, to cultivate food, to search for and identify the bounties of nature, to live from what the Earth gives us, and to do so in a way that gives back to that source? Wbat do we do? We learn!

The sources of our life, our liberty, and our happiness are not as far from us as we would be made to think. It may seem overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. You can start with one thing. Learn about a native edible plant or berry or mushroom near you, learn its season and what habitat it grows in, and learn where you might find it. It is August. In the Northwestern United States there are many berries in season right now. In the coastal areas are blackberries and huckleberries and salal, inland there are huckleberries, grapes in some places, and elderberries, (which must be cooked to be edible but are high in vitamins A and C, and are used for a cold remedy as syrup). You can pick what you need for yourself and freeze it for winter, saving you money on frozen fruit in the dark months, and you can also pick more than you need and give some to friends or family, or sell it for a little supplemental income if you pick enough. Remember though to do your harvesting with respect for the environment, for this is the environment that is sustaining you. Protect it, give back to it, pick up your trash, and learn to be firesafe.

There are other options too, if you have the access, you can create a garden to support your food access. The recent pandemic has reminded many of us that we can't always rely on grocery stores and changing prices and the changing value of our money to get what we need, but there are other ways, and these other methods of sustaining ourselves can free us. Learn how to preserve fresh food when it is affordable and save it for when it is scarce. Tomatoes and zucchini may be overabundant in the summer, but they are scarcer in the winter. You can freeze tomatoes whole, and you can shred zucchini and freeze it for winter use in pasta, breads, and stir fries. There also inedible but very useful plants and sources within the forest, which you can use to make things you need or that are useful. Baskets can be so expensive, but weaving only requires a few supplies, an understanding, and your own work. This is just the beginning.

While we ask what we can do to live better on what nature gives us, we also ask what we can do to give back to nature, to keep nature thriving so that we may thank it for its sustenance and also partake in its abundance. Some plants are invasive and harm native plants, and can be removed to make way for plants more in harmony with the ecosystem. When many people travel a natural area, erosion can begin to threaten hillsides and habitats. This can be mitigated by creating better paths and reinforcing eroded areas near them with nature's materials, like fallen logs, branches, and plants like moss, grasses and shrubs which will make the way for trees to take root and further secure the hillside. Sometimes we don't know where our help would be most useful, or how to help, but there are good organizations that dedicate themselves to doing exactly these kinds of things. Mossy Earth is one that provides lovely videos and updates and abundant information on their efforts at habitat restoration and species reintroduction efforts. They're on youtube, and watching their videos is so hope renewing. They also have a subscription service that people may support them through.

You don't have to give up your apartment and live in a tent to renew your connection with nature. You don't have to do all of these things for it to be worthwhile. And you aren't alone in the big projects that seem a little daunting. We're in this together, and there are plenty of little ways we can start to work on our connection with nature, and work on our connection with ourselves, that will immediately benefit our health and happiness, and will further the happiness of our families and communities and home. Because Earth is home. We have to work for home, but if we do good work, we will have everything we need, and be happy with our efforts and their results.

So go pick some berries! Freeze them, eat them, share them! And at the end of it, you will have spent that time in nature, using your body for what it has developed for, and building your strength and your understanding for the future.

[calicojack1718]

Using Our Shared Beliefs About Democracy to Defend It From the Tremendous Damage of Trump's Big Lie

Reading time: 6 minutes Trump lies A LOT. Why is he considered an acceptable and viable candidate when his lies are so damaging to the shared beliefs about democracy that hold us together? How can we counter his lies?

SUMMARY: This post explores how Trump’s incessant lying and election denialism undermine democracy by manipulating shared beliefs. It highlights the insidious nature of Republican laws that suppress votes in Democratic-leaning areas while creating a facade of legitimacy. By invoking core democratic principles—such as the pursuit of a more perfect union and the belief that all people are created…

[meandmybigmouth]

Supreme Court rejects appeal from parents who lost custody of trans teen

Supreme Court rejects appeal from parents who lost custody of trans teen (msn.com)

Mary and Jeremy Cox, self-described devout Christians, lost custody of their trans teen

The case began in 2021 after the Indiana Department of Child Services received two reports of abuse or neglect, both related to teen’s transgender identity. One alleged that the parents were verbally and emotionally abusing their child because they did not accept that the teen was transgender, according to court records.

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

Mama’s in a walking dead mood my lovelies and guess what she’s working on

I’ll give you a hint-

“She gasped involuntarily and the omega’s yellow eyes snapped to Carol and a growl echoed through her chest. It was so deep and so unnatural that it legitimately frightened the unshakeable woman. A warning. ‘Stay away, I will kill you to protect my pup’.”

So get ready my loves, she’s coming soon

[nanni-shall-be-restored-in-full]

Everything is licensed. You own nothing.

[ehj3]

BAD RATTITUDE

“So in every individual the two trends, one towards personal happiness and the other unity with the rest of humanity, must contend with each other.” —Sigmund Freud This drawing is based on one I made decades ago. I called that one “Rat With a Bad Attitude.” It was an ink-on-paper sketch of a rat with half a box, only three sides, strapped to its rear end. A corner, you could say, so the drawing…

[nccpulse]

Blood Sweat And tears!

I stumbled onto an unanticipated source of inspiration within the National Cadet Corps' orderly ranks that really spoke to me. Exhaustion was setting in during a demanding training camp, and the obstacles looked insurmountable. It was at that time that I came into contact with Cadet Sharma, a shining example of unyielding resolve. The trip of Cadet Sharma wasn't without difficulties; a leg injury had pushed her to the edge. Her spirit, meanwhile, remained indomitable. She put on her uniform and smiled resolutely one cloudy morning as the sun was barely visible. It seemed as though she was setting the pace for the rest of us with each stride she made thanks to her tenacity. During the camp’s toughest obstacle course, I watched Cadet Sharma persevere, each obstacle she conquered reverberating like the beat of a drum. Her determination became contagious, and fellow cadets rallied around her. The applause that followed her successful completion of the course echoed like a victory anthem, a testament to her indomitable spirit. Cadet Sharma’s story is a reminder that within the cadence of NCC’s challenges and triumphs, lies the heart of resilience. Her journey symbolizes the essence of NCC Pulse – an embodiment of determination, camaraderie, and the unyielding rhythm that shapes our paths toward excellence.

[kcdub15]

When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, our big field trip was to travel 40 miles down the Delaware to visit the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’ House, and Independence Hall.

As I stood in that rather small assembly room, all I could think about was how bad those guys must’ve smelled, in their wigs and tights, on a hot July afternoon in 1776.

I must have been very concerned about revolutionary hygiene because every Christmas, when we’d go just three miles down the Delaware to watch the reenactment of Battle of Trenton, I would wonder how bad they smelled with the addition of gangrene and were they as cold in December 1776 as I was on the same day 200+ years later.

This morning, however, my thoughts have not been on the effectiveness of 18th century deodorant or on frozen, rotting human body tissue. Instead, I’ve been thinking about how we’re just three years away from our semiquincentennial and the remarkable words of the Committee of Five still hold up.

Don’t get me wrong, are they definitely missed a whole bunch. A few examples of which are:

-Even though the first draft of the Declaration included a condemnation of slavery, that part was removed by the Congress in order to not ruffle the feathers of Georgia and South Carolina. It just took 87 (‘four score and seven’) more years and another war for slaves to be proclaimed free.

-It was a mere 125 years before women could vote.

-Only 239 years until people could marry who they loved regardless of their gender assignment.

-I won’t even begin to address the atrocities committed against the citizens of this land who were here first. *Yes, during our entire 247 year existence, we have been a nation of immigrants. Why change it now?

Back to today…

Today I give the 56 smelly white guys a pass on what they omitted. Because, I will always be in awe of their single concept and purpose. A notion that several of us need to be reminded of, take to heart, and honor as our own. For if we don’t, then the work of those 56 guys and the thousands of lives sacrificed for this single concept cause will all have been for nought. The idea is quite simple and disguised with complicated revolutionary run-on sentences. It states:

“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.”