Just a reminder…

Posted on 2026-07-28 by TPOL Nathan

A correspondent shared this political cartoon with us at TPOL recently:

Other correspondents and friends of The Price of Liberty also share reports from various places. Reports that point out the accuracy of both of the above labels.

Of course, political Libertarians are quick to point out that American voters (at least in most States) do have a third choice. Maybe even several: we think you can still cast a vote for the Prohibition Party in Colorado. And Natural Law and actual “we-still-call-ourselves” Communist Party in several States.

But we understand: the chances of a Libertarian (much less a true lover of liberty) getting elected to Congress (or even to a State legislature) are slightly less than the chances of you successfully catching a meteor falling from the sky in your bare hands (without injury)!

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Arrogance and condescension: how liberty’s enemies view the world

Posted on 2026-07-27 by TPOL Nathan

… And certainly how they see many of the American people.

These people (regressives who call themselves “progressives,” Tranzis (transnational socialists or progressives), socialists (democratic or not), Marxists, communists, social justice warriors, etc.) are a pestilence upon the land. (Which land? EVERY land, frankly, not just the States.) In their incredible lack of ability to reason and understand, they believe that everyone else is more stupid than they are. Even while they daily exhibit their stupidity!

In their constant fear and struggle against “Fascism” they embrace fascism: witness the action of Antifa in fighting “conservatives” opposed to government mask and vaccine mandates. While they tout their demand for “No Kings” they demonstrate their eagerness to assume the power of ancient (and modern) absolute monarchs. They demand free speech and freedom of assembly while working hard to deny those same rights to their political opponents. And they even turn on each other if one of their number dares to not follow the party line.

While condemning government (which uses more and more power to reward and push the agenda of the elites), they embrace socialism and communism – systems which give government MORE power. Why? Because more and more often, they are the leaders of these elites: in society, business, industry, academia, and media.

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What is liberty?

Posted on 2026-07-26 by TPOL Nathan

Thomas Jefferson wrote this in a letter to Isaac H. Tiffany on April 4, 1819, explicitly noting that he did not add “within the limits of the law” because “law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.” It is an important distinction.

There in lies the difference between a truly libertarian mindset and a libertine attitude and life.

Today, that has been recognized (as probably Jefferson and others of the Founding Fathers (and certainly, Mothers!) understood) as a form of restating of Jesus’ Golden Rule. “Do unto others as thou would have them do unto you.” And distilled into the Non-Aggression or Zero Aggression Principle.

Of course, Jefferson et al. understood that the People themselves (en masse or a majority) could be “the tyrant” and so chose a republic rather than a democracy. A choice proven wise just a few years later in the bloody chaos and tyranny of the French Revolution and decades of horror.

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Fool me once…

Posted on 2026-07-25 by TPOL Nathan

Most folks know the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.”

Of course, today, the frequency of being fooled by certain people is a whole lot more than just a time or two. Every sweep of the minute hand (the long one on analog clocks, remember those?) is another incident of Americans being fooled. Or at least, likely being fooled.

But Mark Twain makes a very important point:

It was true 150+ years ago when he wrote it, and it is true today.

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Pioneer Day

Posted on 2026-07-24 by TPOL Nathan

Today, Friday 24 July, is Pioneer Day. What is that? A Utah state holiday celebrated every year to commemorate the arrival of Brigham Young and the first group of LDS (Mormon) pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. This year, many Utahns get a three-day weekend for parades, fireworks, rodeos, picnics and potlucks, and community events. (Yes, even “Gentiles” (non-LDS) in Utah can and do celebrate this 179th anniversary of Young and his followers looking down into the Great Salt Lake and stating “This is the place.”

Actually, due to the severe and widespread wildfires in the Beehive State, many places may not have public or private fireworks this year. But to many in Utah, Pioneer Day is as important – perhaps even more so – as Independence Day, and fireworks are important. This is shown in part because Governor Cox issued a statewide fireworks ban for Independence Day but revoked it for Pioneer Day. Some cities still ban them: often for purely political reasons. “Progressive” communities like Moab and Blanding still prohibit them, while more conservative, even libertarian places like Monticello and Price do not.

Still, many Utahns consider the State to be burning.

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Are we eating GRAS?

Posted on 2026-07-23 by TPOL Nathan

As we walk down the aisles of a supermarket, even a so-called “natural foods” one, we see an ever increasing number of products. Hundreds of different soft drinks. Dozens of different vegetables, flavors, styles, and claims. More “dairy” products than you can possibly imagine. A seemingly never-ending array of breakfast foods, specialty breads, and more.

All these things have at least one thing in common. They are “GRAS” – “generally recognized as safe.” Safe to sell, and theoretically, safe to eat. On every package, unless you are a rare member of a specialized profession, you see a very long list of ingredients that appear to be baffling and just plain confusing – even scary. And perhaps a few warnings about peanuts, dairy, etc. And you see all of the “plant-based” products: fake milk, fake meat, and more, as these are listed more and more. Supposedly introduced into the food stream due to popular demand.

As a correspondent recently shared, “Most Americans hear those words and assume the FDA has independently reviewed the ingredient, declared it safe, and given it the government’s blessing. That is not what GRAS necessarily means. In fact, the phrase itself deserves much closer scrutiny. Most of us might imagine panels of “independent” government scientists reviewing years of evidence before deciding that a new ingredient belongs in the food supply. That is not how the modern system works. For one thing, who pays all these “independent” analysts? The FedGov (Congress) or some State legislature. We know how well that works, don’t we?

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The data center controversy

Posted on 2026-07-22 by TPOL Nathan

In the past few months, the internet, local media, and many jurisdictions have been swamped with articles, opinion pieces, alarmist postings, and multiple claims about how “data centers” are being built all over the place, and bring incredible problems (and evils!) with them.

It joins the constant refrain in social media, the mainsteam media, and all the little activists that are bored with Black Lives Matter, LandBack, and whatever The Donald said that they don’t like so immediately claim to be a lie. And they get all the do-gooders out to tramp along the streets and the sidewalks, put out more false information, and declare that the world is coming to an end.

News

For example, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, last week: (Courtesy Cowboy State Daily), Wyoming Residents Join National Day Of Protest Against Data Centers A few dozen Wyoming residents gathered at the State Capitol on Saturday as part of a national day of protest against data centers. Organizer Taylor Haynes called data centers “digital prisons” and said the need for artificial intelligence has taken away Americans’ freedom.

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Our right to defend ourselves – anywhere and against anything

Posted on 2026-07-20 by TPOL Nathan

Thanks to Bob Malone (among others) for sharing this video and his thoughts.

The video below is disturbing –

https://www.malone.news/p/sunday-strip-great-balls-of-fire#media-5c9bcab7-1c71-4f36-ad26-1f5ef2a6e203 (Yes, that is a bison bull tossing the man into the air, after chasing him for most of a minute around a clump of trees. The man and his grandson did nothing to create ire in the bull, except be 50-60 feet away (at first, before the bull assaulted them).

Bob wrote: “The man was the unfortunate object onto which an already highly aroused rutting bull directed its aggression. Had another person, cyclist, vehicle, or even another bison occupied that same place at that moment, they might well have become the target instead.

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Why China is failing and the States may, too

Posted on 2026-07-19 by TPOL Nathan

Dear readers: this is a followup to the last commentary, as new information and discussion takes place.

This story reports an example of why even a (possibly fatally) flawed, corrupted free enterprise system is superior to the CCP/Red China system which is still centrally-controlled and just as corrupt (if not more so) than DC and Sacramento, etc.

https://www.newstarget.com/2026-07-16-wind-solar-power-goes-to-waste-in-china.html

“China’s renewable energy expansion is not the clean energy revolution it appears to be. Behind the headlines of record-breaking solar panel installations and towering wind turbines lies a troubling reality: The country is wasting vast amounts of wind and solar power because its coal-dominated grid cannot flexibly integrate them. A neglected study from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), summarized by the South China Morning Post and brought to light by analyst Ethan Tan, reveals that China’s renewable capacity is largely a mirage. The installed hardware exists, but the electricity it could produce is squandered due to inflexible grid management, medium-term coal contracts, and transmission bottlenecks. For Western nations racing to adopt wind and solar, China’s failure offers a stark warning: capacity without integration is not just waste, it is a costly deception.”

Although the power produced may be “clean energy” (something many engineers and scientists will argue against), if it is not able to be transported and used in an efficient manner, what is accomplished?

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Is China really so much more advanced than the States?

Posted on 2026-07-18 by TPOL Nathan

A correspondent shared a glowing article about the massive 1,000 MW hybrid solar powerplant recently turned on in the Gobi Desert by the People’s Republic of (Red) China:

One commenter wrote: Many still look at China as a somewhat backward nation, and with respect to culture and treatment of the individual, it is. But they are increasingly announcing scientific and knowledge developments that seem to be ahead of ours, unless we are suppressing information of our own developments as well. Instead of fighting endless wars with ghost enemies, would we not be way ahead if we focused on doing something good instead?

The article does indeed seem to indicate that China is “ahead of” the States. And no doubt, various groups and power-brokers are suppressing information. But the article starts out with the lies from the git-go: Molten salt does not “generate” a single watt of electrical power: it functions as a giagantic (and freaky, even dangerous) battery for electrical power. Solar electrical power, which as always, is only produced when the sun is up at the location, and in places like the Gobi and similar American and European locations, there are no clouds (such as dust clouds generated by the wind) and conditions are just right.

But are we Yankees really so backward compared to the estimable technocrats and brave, bold, and wise vanguard of the proletariat ruling wisely from Bejing?

Americans built something like this near Ivanpah, California. It was smaller, 392 MW versus this claimed 1,000 MW: so only about 40%, but was supposed to be expanded. It wasn’t. The California plant was approved in 2009 and constructed between 2010 and 2013 and began operating on a limited basis then, and fully connected to the grid in 2014.

We understand it has been pretty much a total disaster, costing much more than it was supposed to and with operating costs between 5-8 times what they were supposed to be (according to various sources). It was supposed to have an indefinite lifetime but its owner/operators (who have a huge number of creditors, including the FedGov) have never achieved any of the production, it has a very low capacity factor, and its environmental impact is far, far worse than initially reported. Starting in 2025, the owners/operators tried to shut it down (and among other things, stop hemorraging money). But the State of California has forced it to remain open, despite all of the problems and costs.

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