GMcGath @gmcgath@liberdon.com

Another militarist president on the way. Biden claims the government's top obligation isn't to upholding its citizens' rights but to maintaining the welfare of its military. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1280651561518002177

Even in fantasy worlds, people need freedom. https://garymcgath.com/TMB

You can order The Magic Battery on Smashwords, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books. https://garymcgath.com/wp/more-ways-to-order-the-magic-battery/

Liberdon has become just a set of megaphones blaring into empty space. There was never a lot of conversation, but now there's none. I don't think I'll spend much more time here.

Good article. I came across it because Charles Stross was sputtering with rage at its suggestion he has any classical liberal tendencies.He declared Quillette "darkweb."

https://quillette.com/2020/06/12/the-libertarian-history-of-science-fiction/

Many ridiculous proposals can be attributed to stupidity, but this goes beyond the limit. Hardly anyone is dumb enough to believe a government can redistribute income without an enforcement arm. What the movement wants is to replace the existing police with its a new force that will serve its agenda. 4/4

The second absurdity is that abolishing the police would eliminate the means by which the government takes from some and gives to others. They seem to think that people will keep handing over tax money when there's no risk of being arrested or having their homes taken. 3/4

The first absurdity is the notion that handouts would abolish crime. The people behind the movement seem to think that rich people never steal and that people never commit crimes for reasons other than lack of money or social services. Logically, this has to include criminal cops. It means we hand them money instead of punishing their crimes. 2/4

The Defund/Abolish the Police movement is neither libertarian nor coherent. It isn't about replacing the police with private or community-based defense against crime. It's based on the notion that if the government takes enough money from people and gives it to poor people, no police will be necessary. 1/4

Martin Luther: Saint or Proto-Nazi? https://garymcgath.com/wp/magic-battery-martin-luther/

_The Magic Battery_, my historical fantasy novel, is now available on Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026409

If you're a writer, you can help to fight the outrages now being perpetrated on America. https://garymcgath.com/wp/what-writers-can-do/

I searched the Web for information on how black people are faring under the lockdowns and couldn't find any significant information. Yet I have a hard time believing that cops aren't harassing them a lot more than whites. So far, no cop has stopped and questioned me on why I was outside, even when I crossed a state line.

I'm about halfway through Cory Doctorow's _Little Brother_. It is _the_ novel for libertarian geeks. Published in 2008, but it hasn't lost its relevance.

The Floyd killing was the spark, but was the lockdown the powder keg? The lockdown must surely have resulted in police harassment of black people like never before. Their liberal "friends" were on the side of the cops. It may not have been the explicit motive, but it must have contributed to a mood that was ready for rioting.

I updated (definitely not "upgraded") my Mac to Catalina. It's a nightmare. Impossibly slow, with constantly repeated alerts that make no sense. Apple has followed Microsoft's practice of taking control away from the user.