tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13980741482632612442023-11-15T10:06:06.860-06:00The Homoplasmate EmpireRant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-17092054249585525902011-06-18T23:25:00.003-05:002011-06-18T23:30:08.684-05:00How I became a libertarianOfficially, I've been a card carrying, big L Libertarian since December 28, 2008. But as I suddenly look back, I'm wondering how deep my libertarian roots go.<br />
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Back when I was a grad assistant, I taught Philosophy and Public Affair 2005 and 2006, and very quickly I discovered one of my favorite questions to ask was, "What exactly makes X wrong?" Very often I would find that the answer was, nothing. I spent semesters making my students think about why these things were considered wrong, and trying to discover any truth in this wrongness, and often finding nothing inherently wrong in so many things people thought were inherently wrong. And in the process, I realized the same; it was a glorious experience.<br />
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It's so strange to compare myself to the person I was 10 years ago. I made a few really big mistakes, but all in all I was what most would consider a good kid. I lived my rules of behavior that most in the rather conservative (note little c) community and college considered proper and correct. Looking back now, I really do wish I hadn't. Like Huxley's John Savage, I wish I had claimed the pain and suffering that freedom can allow, instead of repressing it for safety's sake. It took a year of walking away from all of the assumptions I hadn't even known I had to discover who I was. The first set of revelations frightened me; now, I find I discovered things that I gratefully accept now as excellent parts of me. On a side note, yes, Rene Descartes is my favorite philosopher.<br />
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I've spent so long on a wonderful journey of discovery, and I think libertarianism is exactly where I belong. I think so many more people would discover the same, if they were to break the character foundation society, culture, and even upbringing created for them, and build their own foundation on what they then find.<br />
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(Originally posted on reddit.com/r/libertarian)Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-18984296358162721742011-06-17T23:14:00.000-05:002011-06-17T23:14:00.382-05:00A severely R-rated postGood evening, ladies and gentlemen. Let's play a game. It's a good game; it's called The Truth.<br />
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I want to tell you a story. The names -- including my own, of course -- have been removed to protect all involved. The story begins with Wife. I have one, and have for a decent amount of time. She is absolutely the love of my life; we piss each other off on a semi-regular basis, and are probably justified in that feeling in both directions, but even -- no, especially after a knock-down, drag-out, fire-breathing killer of a fight, we remember just how much we love each other and how there is absolutely no one else in this world we would rather spend the next 40, 50, even 60 years with. There is so much love there.<br />
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And there is Daughter, who is a beautiful young lady and will no doubt turn into a wonderful, intelligent, fascinating woman some day. We both love her dearly, and she is our greatest delight and joy. <br />
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And there is Complication. She is a close friend and coworker of mine. She has the name Complication because that is exactly what she is: the single greatest complication my life has ever faced.<br />
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There have been other complications, which Wife will hopefully never learn of. But none has ever been like this. And yet, in some ways, what I feel for Complication is anything but; it's very simple, in that it is lust and desire. I want her. I want her bad. She is sexy and wild and uninhibited, and I want to do things with and to her that quite simply cannot be recorded, and I'd prefer that the vast majority of people don't even know I'm excited by.<br />
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Among the many problems this situation brings to the surface is that Wife and I married rather young. This is not really an issue. This is: my beliefs and opinions have changed since we met and married. The development of these essential parts of what makes me Me was still greatly in progress when we met and married. Since then, I discovered my political beliefs trended toward the Libertarian, and slowly but surely, in turn my ethical beliefs also became quite libertarian. I have come to understand or believe that human beings are free to do as they wish, as long as no harm is done. What I wish, quite bluntly, is to have a very intimate, carnal association with this Complication I found.<br />
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This can, of course, do great harm. Wife is nowhere near as libertarian as I am. If Wife were to find out about this wish of mine, that may very well be that, even if I have not acted on it in any way, but especially if I have. Best case scenario, I would be forced to leave a job which affords me enjoyment and hellaciously wonderful health benefits. Far more likely would be that Wife and Daughter would be taken out of my life permanently, and this must not happen.<br />
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But there's the kicker, ain't it? This is only if Wife finds out. If I can manage to accomplish this wish discreetly... all is and shall remain well. I have successfully kept her in the dark when the more minor complications arose, though little to nothing happened in those cases. But if the chains were loosed on something, anything to happen with Complication, things WOULD happen without doubt or hesitation.<br />
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It is difficult to rein in my mind. To be explicit and oversharing: I love receiving blowjobs, and I love giving cunnilingus. Wife, God bless her, prefers as little foreplay as possible, wanting to get straight into the intercourse. The dream of most guys, yes. But the thought of eating out this Complication of mine, and/or watching her take my cock in her mouth, or even to spend a glorious chunk of time just touching and fondling and groping and enjoying each other... As I said, difficult not to think about such things, because of how terrific they would be. And I am confident that Complication would be willing.<br />
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If I were unmarried, then oh yes. If Wife were a bit more libertarian, and knew from our years of marriage that I will forever and always for the rest of my life come home to her and her alone, then oh yes. But neither applies. Therefore, if Complication and I were to go along with what I feel and wish, and Wife were to find out, it would cause terrible harm to me, to Wife, and most likely to Daughter as well.<br />
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I would have no qualms engaging in anything and everything with Complication. I would hate to hurt Wife. My ideal situation, and I don't care if I'm going straight to Hell for this, is that I could guarantee that Wife would never find out, and engage in goddamn EVERYTHING with my dear, sweet, wild Complication.<br />
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As it is, I live in turmoil, and I wish something would break. I just don't know what would break, and what the damage would be.<br />
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Aagh.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-45608310067483174872011-03-30T00:11:00.000-05:002011-03-30T00:11:04.389-05:00How to be a Libertarian and a ChristianBrowsing the Internet a few days ago, I found a blog called LibertarianChristians.com. I found that odd for a brief amount of time. I had always thought that there was at least some tension between the two things: after all, God set down very strict rules of behavior, while Libertarians tend to think as long as no one is harmed, all is fair. The prevailing opinions within the Church are that abortion and homosexuality are wrong; Libertarians disagree.<br />
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But then, a strange thought came to me. Prayer seems a beautifully non-interventionist way to strive for results. Who is truly harmed by a prayer that the rebels will succeed in Libya, or that the money an underprivileged family needs to buy food comes their way? No one. This is not any human government deciding it knows better than its citizens what they need and what must be done on their behalf. This is a petition to the One who truly does know better.<br />
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What, then, of the rules set down? Well, those who include the New Testament believe that large portions of that Mosaic law have since been rescinded, replaced by commandments to love your God and your neighbor, sentiments that do seem to jibe well with the belief that anything goes as long as picked pockets and broken legs do not result. In fact, one of my concerns with Libertarians -- the right to be selfish -- is assuaged by folding in those two commandments. As for abortion, that is more at the philosophical level: a question of the rights a fetus has. Those who say a fetus is a human being easily condemn abortion under the commandment saying thou shalt not kill. If a fetus has no such rights and is not a human being, then the commandment does not apply. Plenty of Libertarians are anti-abortion, because they fall on the former side, not the latter. And as for homosexuality, it may be as simple as God loves all, no matter. Maybe it's something like being an alcoholic or having a roving eye, just something to be controlled. Or maybe, it's a portion of the Law that was rolled back as well, and all the condemnations you find in the Word are cultural, not universal.<br />
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Just my thoughts. Whether they have merit, I leave to you.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-67630300767110806792011-03-26T01:07:00.000-05:002011-03-26T01:07:20.226-05:00LibyaLet's start with a burning question: what in the hell are we doing in Libya?<br />
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Let's answer that. We are getting involved, which is what America does, for some reason I can't put my finger on. We are bombing a country which we have not declared war upon -- although AP News did make mention of the Libya war in a story today. We are stretching our forces to the breaking point, when they are already engaged in one official war and one that's allegedly over, despite all indications. We are trying to be the police of the world, trying to make the world one big happy democratic family.<br />
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I am so very tired of this.<br />
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Can we not just offer moral support and some decent weapons to the rebels? Do we really need to create a no-fly zone and bomb aircraft that are on the ground and thus, technically, not flying and thus not in violation of this arbitrary no-fly zone?<br />
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And while we're at it, can we also just get out of Iraq and Afghanistan? Please?Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-54582597230278105532011-03-26T00:55:00.000-05:002011-03-26T00:55:22.643-05:00Return of the RantWell, I started this so I could rant for a while. Then I calmed down again.<br />
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Now I'm pissed again, so I'm back.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-46393203089744350202010-12-14T20:02:00.001-06:002010-12-14T20:02:55.144-06:00Twelve Days of ChristmasI just received an email from my church office, letting me know a fascinating fact: that the classic Christmas song "Twelve Days of Christmas" actually encoded some of the basics of the Christian faith.<br />
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My BS meter immediately started ticking.<br />
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So I went to that bastion of truth and otherwise, Snopes.com. Thirty seconds of research -- more accurately, typing into a search bar and pressing send -- proved my meter was well-calibrated.<br />
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This shows either that we Christians blindly accept anything that comes our way without analysis, or we knowingly sacrifice truth for the sake of a good and uplifting story. Either is utterly unacceptable.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-21421671768411861372010-12-14T00:31:00.000-06:002010-12-14T00:31:15.071-06:00Four thirty-fiveAbout a year ago, I discovered a site called thirty-thousand.org. It was basically a site focusing on how those who considered and wrote the Constitution of the United States intended there to be a Representative for every thirty thousand citizens. One does wonder if they ever pictured the United States having three hundred million citizens, thus requiring ten thousand members in the House. But even that aside, it also pointed out the gross discrepancies between House districts, where some actually have twice the residents of others.<br />
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Flash forward to 2010. The Supreme Court just denied an appeal aiming to double or even quadruple the number of Representatives. One of the stated reasons for this original appeal was to more fairly divide the existing districts.<br />
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Unfortunately, everywhere I look I find only the same three or four brief paragraphs on this. It seems to be treated as a non-issue, when I personally feel it's anything but. The choice to have 435 Representatives -- no more, no less -- seems nothing but arbitrary to me, and though I don't deem 10,000 Representatives necessary, an expansion to make the picture of the American people the House is supposed to be less grainy seems anything but a bad idea to me. Maybe I'm missing something. I hope it's not just a dedication to a needless status quo that caused the Court to deny it.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-1923093858762790502010-12-05T00:33:00.000-06:002010-12-05T00:33:22.582-06:00ConsequencesTruth be told, I absolutely believe in an individual's God-given right to be stupid. Do whatever you like; as long as it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, I'm okay with it.<br />
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But in that statement comes the flip-side: you are not entitled to my help to get you out of the trouble your poor choices cause. You can ask; I just might say yes. But my time and money used to fix your self-caused problems is not your right. What is mine is yours only if freely offered. If it is not freely offered, you're on your own.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-20463865642756922442010-12-03T13:22:00.000-06:002010-12-03T13:22:02.436-06:00Life and ChoiceOn the one side, you have those who call themselves pro-life. On the other, pro-choice. And to hear these two camps talk, you'd think "life" and "choice" are antonyms. But that's a bit like responding to someone who says "I like football" by saying "I like basketball"... and then, of course, burning down the football stadium.<br />
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Is there room to be both? Certainly. You can be strongly pro-life, saying that to destroy that little life growing inside a woman's womb would be a terrible mistake, one with the potential to haunt her for a very long time... but still defend her right to an abortion. It gets down to the status and rights -- if any -- that the fetus/baby has, and that can tend to be an extremely sticky question.<br />
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Incidentally, the concept of being anti-life and anti-choice tickles at my mind. I wonder how that would work.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-72163481784390499932010-11-29T23:58:00.000-06:002010-11-29T23:58:53.125-06:00Happy HolidaysSome people are infuriated by the phrase, "Happy Holidays". As you may have guessed, I am not one of them.<br />
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People have actually stopped doing business with a company simply because the use the more generic well-wishing, instead of specifying a certain holiday -- yes, usually Christmas. (For that matter, heaven forbid you should use the abbreviation "Xmas". No; we must keep Christ in Christmas!) Seriously, though. Why in the world would you stop associating with a business because they choose to acknowledge that Christmas isn't the only holiday in December? I can think of three right of the top of my head! Do we stop doing business with a Canadian company because they dare celebrate the birth of their country three days too early?<br />
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So, though I will be celebrating Christmas, though I have celebrated Christmas and no other holiday my entire life, and barring some really surprising development in my future, will celebrate Christmas only for the remainder of my life... Happy Holidays! Or if you prefer, Happy Holiday of Choice.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-1710001197792763982010-11-25T00:16:00.000-06:002010-11-25T00:16:45.564-06:00A Not-So-Personal AppealWikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is asking me (yes, me) for money. Why I've been singled out for this honor eludes me.<br />
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Apparently my good and personal friend Jimmy feels that it would in some way taint his vision for his website to include ads, so naturally he puts a "personal appeal" up on his site. I admire him for having a vision and wanting to stick to it, but honestly, it wouldn't bother me if the website did have ads, as long as the content remains the same.<br />
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Similarly, I could have ads on this blog to make a little something off it. I'm considering it, but given that I've had maybe three dozen hits so far, I just don't see much point in it.<br />
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So, enh. If Wikipedia had a banner saying please donate to keep this site ad-free, I probably wouldn't donate anyway, but that's mostly because I'm poor and only give to those causes I'm extremely passionate about. But for Jimmy Wales to frame his asking for money as a message just for me makes me even less enthused, and makes my opinion of him drop. Given I had no idea who Jimmy Wales was before he started asking for my personal money, that's rather sad.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-17521317361719692272010-11-24T11:49:00.000-06:002010-11-24T18:50:42.405-06:00Who Cares?Yesterday, it made the AP Political News wire that President Obama bought some pastry at a bakery. I'm sorry to say, I don't care.<br />
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I don't care if the president buys pastry, or drinks Bud Light, or smokes. I don't care if his wife thinks children should eat more greens and exercise more. I don't care where his kids go to school.<br />
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I don't care if the president is black, or brown or red or yellow or green. I don't care if he's a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, an atheist, or paints himself blue and bays at the moon. I don't care if he's older than God or barely legal. I don't even care if the president is female, homosexual, or even both.<br />
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Can the president govern? Will the president show wisdom, an even temper, a faithfulness to the Constitution? That's all I care about.<br />
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So can we please shut up about the president's pastry choices?Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-18155423553602372142010-11-23T11:59:00.000-06:002010-11-23T11:59:40.400-06:00Evidence of GodThe question is often raised: if there is a God, one who created the universe and set all things into motion, and who occasionally intervenes in the affairs of mere mortals, why is there no evidence? Sure, the existence of the universe is cited as evidence, but then you have people like Edward Tryon saying the universe may simply be one of those things which happens from time to time. There are those pesky miracles, but they can be explained away. Whence God, then?<br />
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Consider this, however. Philosophy demands the universe have no boundaries -- after all, boundary implies inside and outside, and whatever term you use to encompass everything, there is no outside. Science demands the universe be finite, due to the darkness of the night sky and such. Observation of the highest technological form has implied the universe to be Euclidean, topologically flat, uncurved. Any two of these conditions are easy to fulfill. All three together...<br />
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But there is a way.<br />
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Take a piece of paper. Draw a triangle on it. Roll it into a tube, so that opposite sides meet. Behold: a cylinder with a triangle on it, a triangle with angles still totaling 180 degrees.<br />
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Picture a video game: a side scroller where if you fly off in any of the four cardinal directions, you appear in the opposite direction. This is in the four-dimensional shape called a duocylinder.<br />
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The universe is a tricylinder. It is flat, finite, but with no boundaries: fly far enough in a direction and rather than hitting an edge, you just keep going.<br />
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Also, this seems to indicate there is a creator. A tricylinder seems quite unlikely and artificial. Thus, someone seems to have made it.<br />
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This aforementioned creator also seems to have a wicked sense of humor, to leave intelligent beings no evidence of his existence except the massive glaring neon sign that is the universe itself.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-51589603370061994122010-11-23T11:19:00.000-06:002010-11-23T11:19:00.256-06:00LoveI felt something last night I haven't felt for a while: a sharp pain directly below my heart at the realization that I wasn't going to see a certain someone that night. This made worse by the fact that our time of separation had only been ten or so hours at that time, and we would most likely be together again within another nine (actually, it ended up being only eight).<br />
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Had I missed it? Yes and no. Yes, it was thrilling. No, the pain was not welcome. Being in love is wonderful and exciting. Once the initial thrill wears off, though, and you find yourself simply loving, it is no longer exciting, but all the more wonderful.<br />
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But the one I speak of is a new experience, by definition unlike anything before. I am eager to see how this develops.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-61195889478426885402010-11-22T12:00:00.000-06:002010-11-22T12:00:12.396-06:00Revoking the Right to LifeI really do believe that if I run over a person crossing the street fifteen feet away from the crosswalk, there should be no punishment. After all, a person not taking the extra ten steps to cross at the designated spot is either too stupid or too self-important to live, so why not save Darwinian forces the trouble?<br />
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But then, I also believe that the solution to the issue of the death penalty is to revoke the right to life of anyone who takes the life of another. Government does nothing to end this person's life, but neither does it prevent another person from taking it. I also think the same argument can be expanded: violate the rights of another, have the same right denied of yourself.<br />
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But that's just me.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-64037739090683944862010-11-22T00:06:00.000-06:002010-11-22T00:06:30.782-06:00TruthI mentioned previously that I could not guarantee this blog would be truthful. There are two main reasons for this. <br />
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One, truth is not that interesting. I already know a great deal about my life, and unless you're a part of it, very little of it is your business. For that matter, I spend far too much time in my own life, and I find an active fantasy life helps me get away from it. Truth is dull; fiction is compelling.<br />
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In addition, truth is overrated. If I perceive the world, or choose to perceive the world in a certain way, what business does truth have coming to screw that up? Enough of truth! I get truth enough in this pesky real world I seem to live in. If I lie, if the world lies to me, if there are hidden things... I'm kind of okay with that.<br />
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Let there be lies and fiction. Let them be expected. Perhaps someday I shall tell the truth, but almost certainly not.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398074148263261244.post-86829577550889882812010-11-21T23:47:00.000-06:002010-11-21T23:47:44.527-06:00The Empire BeginsHello, and welcome to the Homoplasmate Empire. I cannot promise it will be interesting, truthful, or frequently updated. Just remember, the Empire never ends.Rant (the Defender)http://www.blogger.com/profile/08346325450510633747noreply@blogger.com0