Goodbye Internet, and Thanks for All the Fish

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:27:18 GMT  <== Politics ==>   <== Webmaster stuff ==> 

[There's a plain-HTML version of this post at billstclair.com/goodbye.html]

I've been doing political blogging since 2000, and running billstclair.com since sometime shortly after that. The time has come to hang up that pair of spurs. I'm doing this mostly because the constant barrage of bad news has destroyed my mental and emotional equilibrium, and I need to back off on the pressure if I am to survive. But it's also time to switch back to a spiritual focus, something I've largely lost sight of in the past few years, as my anger morphed into hate. Time for a big dose of love. Maybe I'll be able to handle the ugliness of the wider world at a later date, but for now I'm reducing temptations to give myself space to heal.

My plans:

I plan to make archives of the site, so that you can download a copy, if you want to save it. I'll change this paragraph in the plain-HTML version to contain links, once I've done that.

"End the War on Freedom" (billstclair.com/blog) will go dark, though I think I'll keep the images around in case people are using them. Non-image pages will forward to the plain-text version of this page. I may bring back the blog at some point, with a new name, and containing only my own personal content, not news links. But not for a while, if ever.

The index of billstclair.com will continue to contain the "Mirrors", "Stories", "Computing" and "Pictures" sections, with "Mirrors" at the end. I'll remove most of the intial links, and the entire "Politics" and "Guns" sections. I'll probably leave the content, to avoid breaking other people's links. But I may remove it at any time, so grab an archive if you care.

I will shutter freedomoutlaws.com, lyricsalone.com, nomorecages.org, obamabodycount.org, and patrickhenryproject.org, and allow those domains to expire. I'll give some notice for obamabodycount.org, by changing the images people are embedding to a warning notice, and soliciting interest in taking it over. I'll also solicit interest in taking over freedomoutlaws.com, for a short while before shutting it down.

brighter-world.org, jsmaze.com, lisplog.com, & truledger.com will continue to work. I'll likely eventually resume development of jsmaze.com, which has been languishing of late, due to my lack of energy. And I'll continue slow development of truledger.com.

I'll cancel my membership in the political forums I belong to, hanging around at thementalmilitia.com until I find somebody to take over my administrative duties there.

No more Twitter. No more Google+. I'll keep a minimal presence at Facebook, but defriend everybody who I don't know personally, in meatspace.

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Comments (8):

Well, dang, Bill. First

Submitted by Latigo Morgan on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:58:53 GMT

Well, dang, Bill.

First the Saloon, and now this place going dark.

I guess folks do get tired of all the negative things in the world.

That's why I hop on the Harley and take off, every so often.

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The Saloon is suffering

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:02:32 GMT

The Saloon is suffering from an expired domain, due to unintentional human error. It will return. But I'll be staying away for the foreseeable future.

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Lisp & Liberty

Submitted by Slobodan Blazeski on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:59:42 GMT

Today I just found about your writings and you're retiring, weird twist of fate.
Somehow i feel strong connection between lisp and libertarians.

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I will continue to write

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:16:46 GMT

I will continue to write lisp. I just won't continue to involve myself in political discourse.

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Good grief

Submitted by MamaLiberty on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:23:50 GMT

Bill, I had no idea you were involved in so many different things! No wonder you're burned out. Get some rest and perspective. Hope you will return to TMM.

And here I thought I had too many irons in the fire!

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Dear Bill, I feel your

Submitted by feralfae on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:31:31 GMT

Dear Bill,
I feel your emotional upset. The entire world is upset, it seems, with cultures breaking along lines of contradictions and misunderstandings.

I, too, am making changes to get back on track with a more spiritual path, and will be scaling back, lowering my profile, and if I am writing, I will be focusing more on kinder, gentler, more loving writing when I go back to writing.

Life has become too precious to be involved in so much anger and contentious discourse. May we all find happier, more loving ways of living.

Peace, love, and continuing (taps),
iloilo

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thanks

Submitted by stoky on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:53:10 GMT

Thank you for your insights and contributions. It takes a terrible toll on the psyche. Hate is the tyrants most powerful and skillfully wielded weapon. Congratulations on your decision and godspeed.

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Best to you ...

Submitted by jed on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 03:17:09 GMT

Hey Bill.

I wasn't, and haven't been, nearly as active as you, and I certainly felt some burnout. I have always admired the people, such as yourself, who keep at it over the years, and I've always appreciated what you have to say here, and at TMM, though I haven't been around there for a while now (ought to fix that). The continued onslaught of the JBTs is hard to watch. It's even harder to watch how so many people think that this is a good thing.

I wish you a speedy recovery, and peace.

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