Note for the paid subscribers who already got a copy of this in their inbox: I accidentally made this post “paid only” last night in my publishing settings and I needed to repost it in order to send it out to my free subscribers! Sorry for the repeat!

Happy Tuesday! I literally stayed in bed all day Saturday and Sunday. Not for fun, unfortunately I was sick and slept for most of it. I’m catching up now, but here’s my amplifications for the week, and I think I’ve got a good essay in the works for Thursday. How’d you feel about recipes? I have actual food recipes I could share. Probably not this week, but feel free to let me know in the comments how you feel about more recipes. Or more drug talk.

Last week’s Thursday essay on Lemon Tekking was one of my favorites - because of the response. The shares, replies, personal thank yous, reports of trying it, and better yet more people subscribing to this blog in response really thrilled me. Thank you. Missed that essay? Find it here.

Yes, my oddly specific advice of the title of this entry relates to my first link.

Politics Is A Joke: But What If The Libertarian Party Were In On It?

Okay, so this is self-amplification, but a year ago I wrote an essay about the Libertarian Party and our opportunity to nominate someone who could make a statement as our Presidential candidate. I reread it yesterday and I feel like sharing it again. It really is where I stand on how important it is we recognize that winning liberty is not just about winning elections. We must win the hearts and minds of people, through inspiration and powerful reflections of principle.

Vermin Supreme Nomination Speech

Okay, so in theme with the first - at the Libertarian Party’s online National Convention last year, I gave the first nominating speech for Vermin Supreme. I’m proud of mine, and of each of the other contributions. Getting to know Spike especially this past year has been wonderful, and I look forward to our work together to further liberty. In the meantime, I wanted to share my speech, which was broadcast on the LP’s official channel, and Vermin’s team took the time to post the clip on his YouTube. I know it’s a year old, but I meant every word and I still do.

California Bill to Legalize Possession of Psychedelics Heads to Senate Floor After Committee Action

It’s probably silly to be hopeful that this could pass but OMG FRIENDS LISTEN UP if enacted into law, this bill would remove criminal penalties for possessing or sharing numerous psychedelics - including psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, ibogaine, LSD and MDMA - for adults 21 and older.

For psilocybin specifically, the legislation would repeal provisions in California statute that prohibit the cultivation or transportation of “any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material” that contain the psychoactive ingredient.

THIS IS EXCITING NEWS IF IT HAPPENS.

If it fails legislatively, there’s an effort to put an initiative to legalize the use and retail sale of psilocybin on the state’s 2022 ballot. ALSO GOOD NEWS. I’m working with DecrimUSA.org to help the effort in any way I can.

Here’s a quote by Nathan Goodman from 2014 that I dug up and wanted to share:

"Greed is not the problem. The problem is the institutional filters and incentives that shape the actions of greedy people. With the right institutions, self-interest produces mutually beneficial exchange and vibrant social cooperation. With the wrong institutions, it produces predation, plunder, violence, exploitation, and suffering." -Nathan Goodman

His Facebook is unfortunately heavily friends-only, but if you want to read his work, he’s on SSRN and Google Scholar, linked from his website.

I’m Glad For Other People’s Guns

Hugo Schwyzer wrote a piece about guns. It includes a personal story of a lover who protected herself with a gun - something that strikes home for me because my mother protected herself from a sexual assault by shooting a man who followed her home and tried to break into her apartment back in the 1960s when she was in college. I can’t help but appreciate stories of women defending themselves against much bigger and stronger men with guns - the great equalizer. I also appreciate that Hugo recognizes that for a myriad of personal reasons, a gun is not a safe thing for him. I respect him for recognizing that what is good for others is not necessarily good for him, and vice versa.

Freedom Fest 2021!

I’m confirmed as a speaker at Freedom Fest 2021! I’ve been attending Freedom Fest since 2012 (it’s actually where I first met Judd in person - he was speaking and I was an attendee). It’s usually in Las Vegas, but this year they moved it to Mount Rushmore, South Dakota (not my ideal situation but I’m open to new experiences). I’m speaking, taking photos, am on a few panels AND I’m hosting Friday night karaoke. We’ve got a great Feminists for Liberty panel as well! It’s all happening on July 21-24th in Rapid City. Tickets are available here and for $50 off, use the code Avens50. :)

In Case You Missed It

Each week I get a handful of new signups for this newsletter, and I’m tremendously grateful for them (you!). I often do not know if they went through the archives to check out my previous essays, and I’d rather not bother them (and some of you since the beginning might miss an essay here or there!), so this subsection each week will be at the end of my non-Thursday post, so you can skip it if you’ve already seen it or read them all, but will present the long-form essays with a single sentence description in case you missed something and wanted to check it out.

Lead With Gratitude- I explain the game plan with this blog, and thank you for your support.

Choose The Better Story - My life philosophy about building your personal story and making choices.

Judge & Prepare To Be Judged - How “Judgement” does not equal condemnation, and being a discerning person isn’t actually a bad thing, but you should also know who you’re judging for.

Look Beyond Representation - Talking about “representation” as a woman - how its purpose is to eventually render itself irrelevant - let there be so much representation that nobody represents us, because we’re individuals.

Count It All Joy - Remembering a long lost friend, and how she taught me to love by letting go.

Appreciate the Mothers In Your Life - A collection of stories of my own mother.

Ask Yourself What You’d Kill For - Expanding on two concepts that explain my perspective on government & politics.

Lemon Tek Your Mushrooms - An essay about mushroom trips, and how to make them the very best.

In other news, I had a highly productive day today to make up for my bedridden weekend, and I have a LOT to do over the next week, so wish me luck. I’m listening to the greatest hits of The Weeknd, and eating this amazing Vegan Shepherd’s Pie I made. Casual recipe can be found here, but lemme know if you want an essay about it, because it’s worth an essay.

Here’s a funny photo of me from last week’s LP Cali Convention, it’s not a GOOD photo, it’s just funny because my goodness I talk with my hands. I’d be using both, but my left arm is holding my camera. Thanks Joe Dehn. My album of photos from the event should be out by Monday.

Okay, that’s my update for Tuesday. Have a good day, laugh at yourself, and remember to make good choices!

Be Willing To Laugh At Yourself

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