By Matthew Hayward Every day my inbox is flooded with emails about businesses forced to close and the "lockdowns in general." Individuals, families, and small business owners are suffering.   They are rightly angry and don't want to take it anymore. You are not alone. While not everyone expresses their frustration with the ongoing COVID lockdown at the top of their lungs, they are all around us. There is a lot of power in isolating people and making them feel alone. But you are not alone, and when you see or learn about a business standing against the tide , show your support and let them know that they are not alone. Take the time to send them an email, give them your business, or consider acting in solidarity. Here is one of many emails I regularly receive: "My name is XXXXXXXXX; I am a stay-at-home mother of two young children, and we currently live in what feels like the extreme liberal progressive microclimate known as XXXXXXXXX (we moved here in X...

I'm so excited that we're finally going to have a bipartisan president that doesn't care about Party politics. I've been waiting my whole life to have a president that wasn't a partisan hack. I thought we finally had it when Trump was elected without support from the establishment of the party he was running for. I thought we finally had it when Trump spoke to and represented the general working population despite the corporate establishment of both major political parties. I didn't really like Trump, and I didn't vote for him in 2016, but I was excited that we finally had a president that wasn't a career politician and that was not part of the globalist establishment and the fake two-party system. I was happy to have someone who believed in America first and didn't answer to or work for the corporate oligarchies, big Pharma, and the banking institutions. Did I mention I did not like Trump as a man, nor did I vote for him? But now, we are f...

How do we solve, fill in the blank _____________. Easy, stop using the force of government to ruin people's lives. Let people be free. That is what this election is very clearly about. Those who believe in freedom and personal responsibility and those who believe in a paternal government. Those who support a paternal government accept the unintended consequences and suffering caused by the hand of government as it attempts to solve society's problems. Those who believe in freedom and liberty accept the consequences and suffering associated with being free and believe freedom is the solution to society's problems.

By Matthew Hayward I don't write off conspiracy theories ; I am quite open to them. As Aristotle wrote, "It is the mark of an educated person to search for the same kind of clarity in each topic to the extent that the nature of the matter accepts it." There are massive, grandiose theories  and more localized conspiracies. I would like to focus on smaller, more localized conspiracies first. Those who believe in large conspiracies will certainly wish to include these under the umbrella of whatever rabbit hole they subscribe to. One common thread that exists with conspiracy theorists is hopelessness and or faith in God as the only salvation.  Conspiracies are used as an excuse for inaction or sheltering and preparing for the end. Possibly the most dangerous belief is that everything is a waste of time until we are able to address _______, fill in the blank. Of course, there are those who believe they are going to expose the conspiracy and fight the corruption of govern...

Aside from the lack of scientific research regarding COVID-19 and especially the use of random face coverings, the bigger question is not if it will save lives or not, the question is if the action is justifiable. The debate over life and liberty is a valid debate that we, as a society, have been struggling with for hundreds of years. The answer is not clear and using emotional appeals and fallacies of logic does not help the discussion all. First, it was "global warming deniers" then "climate change deniers," now simply "science deniers?" People use these terms, loaded terms, in order to promote political ideologies and agendas associated with the terms.  Everyone knows the climate changes; everyone accepts "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment." Tossing the word "science" around is not a substitute f...

On February 29, 2020, COVID-19  Proclamation 20-05  was signed by Governor Jay Inslee, declaring a state of  emer gency.     Nearly every reasonable person understood the concern over an unknown virus. Few people took any issue with the governor's emergency declaration or even some of the more extreme measures to follow.     When  the  shelter - in - place  order  was first  issued ,  it wasn’t enforced   but  was  merely  a suggestion, and few people took exception. I thought it was an overreaction but was willing to comply.     Little did we know at the time  that  this proclamation was the beginning of a long train of abuse s  that would lead to hundreds of unchecked ,  unilateral decisions by the governor.     Since Governor Inslee took office in 2013, he has averaged eleven proclamations per year,  totaling  77  prior  to 2020. Most of the...