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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This and that – commenting on commentaries

Posted on 2026-07-17 by TPOL Nathan

This week, several items posted on Freedom Net Daily were of particular interest to us here at TPOL. First, DEI (or DIE or DEI(A)) at California colleges, then looking at the “rising” Democratic Socialists (Communists) in the States.

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Sound money?

Posted on 2026-07-16 by TPOL Nathan

The history of money is largely tied to the history of human government. Therefore, it is not a good history. And although there are many lessons to be learned from history, few people actually do. And for most people, it is hard to recognize that government is not necessary for the concept of “money” to exist in a society, or even between societies.

Prior to the invention and widespread use of printing, money was always in the form of some kind of metal. Gold and silver, in particular. However, copper and its alloys (bronze and brass), platinum, (and at one time aluminum) were also money. Government did not create the concept of metals as money, they simply recognized it and co-opted it. Then perverted it in many ways.

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Limited government: myth or future fact?

Posted on 2026-07-15 by TPOL Nathan

As anarchists, we here at The Price of Liberty are opposed to any and all mandatory human government. From a “one-world” or transnational state and government to a local “homeowners’ association” or special services district. (Yes, most homeowners’ associations are de facto governments.) The key, to us, is “mandatory” – a government of any type which has power over you (and us) based on where we were born or where we live (or work).

But even so, we understand that limited mandatory human government is far more preferable, far better, than what most of us (and most of mankind) have endured and endure today. It is a sad fact that such is necessary at all.

There were multiple times in history when men have attempted to create and sustain limited government. We submit that this is little more than tolerating something that is inherently intolerable. Many ways have been sought and tried to limit the power of government, to prevent the rise of the all-powerful state. However, humans are perversely ingenious and are inventive when it comes to enslaving their fellows. And usually in convincing the slaves that they are still free.

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Wrong and right: the two great “revolutions” of the 1700s

Posted on 2026-07-14 by TPOL Nathan

Today, 14th of July, is of course Bastille Day. Over the years, TPOL has commented on it as much as any other significant event.

The French Revolution of 1789-1799 actually began on 22 February 1787, just a few months before the Philadelphia Convention signed and published the US Constitution on 17 September 1787, and not long after the American War of Independence was won (the surrender of British troops at Yorktown in October, 1781). The so-called American Revolutionary War lasted 8-1/2 years, from 19 April 1775 to 3 September 1783 when the peace treaty was signed.

The French Revolution actually began with the “Assembly of Notables,” a kind of Congress, refused to obey the King and dissolved itself on 25 May 1787. However, it is usually dated as starting on 14 July 1789 with the storming of the Bastille, a prison in Paris. And its official end on the 9th of November in 1799 (by Napoleon Bonaparte’s successful coup over the Directorate) was just a pause in a mess that did not really end until 1815. Whether we count this as 28 years or just 10, it was a terrible time and resulted in almost no change: they started with a king and tyranny, and after the reigns of terror, rule by an emperor, and millions and millions dead, ended up with the emperor replaced by another king and continued tyranny.

In other words, the French people (and government) are today celebrating a single event in a failed “revolution.” (Of course, we at TPOL argue that the call the 1775-1783 conflict the “American Revolutionary War is just as bad: a war of secession, a War of Independence? Yes.

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“Get out. Now!”

Posted on 2026-07-10 by TPOL Nathan

With the breakdown of negotiations and the loss of patience and control, as we see combat resume in South Asia and the Middle East, does it hurt to talk about the objectives of Muslims? Especially of those we label as “Islamists” today?

One correspondent suggested that we again (as so often we do) look to Europe to see what we can learn.

Let us start with recent events. Just a few days back, a Muslim politician publically proclaimed: “Belgians must leave Belgium.” Saliha Rais said: “If people don’t like seeing hijab and niqabs.. if you don’t want to see us any longer, go elsewhere, get out.”

(In response, Elon Musk says: “If tolerance means the end of our civilization, then we can’t be tolerant. When Europe will regret having bartered its own principles and values for cheap labor, it will be too late.”

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Propaganda is almost impossible to dodge today

Posted on 2026-07-09 by TPOL Nathan

It is not just government agencies and officials, or even “failed” politicians (in other words, those not in office or who are not really in control: the puppets and ne’er-do-wells) who spout the biased, usually twisted and filled with lies, tales that seek to push this or that political or government idea.

Nor is it big (or small) business trying to cozen you into buying X or not buying Y. And trying to convince you of their honesty, their compassion, and their generosity. And it isn’t even your child or grandchild channeling Calvin!

The “academic community” may be the greatest purveyor of propaganda today. And we can show evidence that status may go back centuries. They are (regardless of “public” or “private” status) the natural allies of the powers-that-be: the rulers and would-be rulers in government.

Consider the Smithsonian Institution, and its centuries-long partnership with government. Not just the National Park Service (as you might expect), or the various historical elements of many other agencies. The Smithsonian, like NPS, USFS, BLM, USACE, and many other agencies, is an enormous generator of twisted lies and interpretations. And the source of most is not their political masters in Congress or down at the other end of the Mall in the White House. No, it is academia.

We easily see this in the National Museum of American History (NMAH), perhaps the best known of the Smithsonian’s outlets, with all the historical objects, many of the historical documents, and all in all, a vast treasure store.

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Are we really ‘welded at the hip’ as some claim?

Posted on 2026-07-08 by TPOL Nathan

As we look past 250 years, we wonder. Information like this from last month has caused many people to question what is going on.

Many characterize this as a de facto merger of the FedGov’s and Jerusalem’s military forces. Perhaps this thought is driven by the “success” of the joint US-Israel war on Iran.

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Local governments, even in Wyoming, are evil

Posted on 2026-07-07 by TPOL Nathan

This article is from Cowboy State Daily:

Crook County is a small, ranching, timber, mining, and tourist county in Wyoming’s Black Hills. It is home to one of five Amish communities in the State of Wyoming. They are good neighbors, good people, and of great value to the community (not that the last is a requirement for the first two). It only has about 8,000 residents living in more than 2800 square miles. It is a lovely place, filled with a lot of good people, businesses, and opportunity. The Amish fit in well with the frontier and surprisingly libertarian attitude of most people. Indeed, the community of Hulett, in addition to having Amish, Devil’s Tower, a huge sawmill, and great hunting and fishing, is where Boston T. Party and others established the Wyoming Free State project decades ago.

We at TPOL know and work with some of the officials in Crook County. And we know that sometimes the officials (elected and appointed) demonstrate disturbing signs of stupidity and evil. And we know that their governmental system is corrupt and evil, just as every county in every American State is. Why? Because all too often they fail to praise and honor those who do good and fail to punish those who do evil. Why? All too often, as in this case, the failures come from what the State government (read, Legislature, Judicial Branch, and the Executive Branch) forces the county to do. And of course, much of what the State government does is demanded, dictated by the FedGov, DC (with threat of force if not obeyed).

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6 July 2026, the 251st anniversary of…

Posted on 2026-07-06 by TPOL Nathan

… the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms, enacted by the 2nd Continental Congress on 6 July 1775.

This five-page declaration explained why the Colonies believed armed resistance against the Crown (Great Britain) had become necessary. Although the delegates still expressed hope for peace, they made it clear they were prepared to defend their liberties by force—setting the stage for the Declaration of Independence one year later.

Part of that process we discussed earlier this month, it is worth studying by lovers of liberty.

You can find it here.

It’s ending words are striking:

Lest this  declaration  should  disquiet  the  minds  of  our  friends  and  fellow-­‐subjects   in  any  part  of  the  empire,  we  assure  them  that  we  mean  not  to  dissolve  that  union   which  has  so  long  and  so  happily  subsisted  between  us,  and  which  we  sincerely  wish  to   see  restored. Necessity  has  not  yet  driven  us  into  that  desperate  measure,  or  induced   us  to  excite  any  other  nation  to  war  against  them.  We  have  not  raised  armies  with   ambitious  designs  of  separating  from  Great-Britain,  and  establishing  independent  states.   We  fight  not  for  glory  or  for  conquest.  We  exhibit  to  mankind  the  remarkable  spectacle   of  a  people  attacked  by  unprovoked  enemies,  without  any  imputation  or  even  suspicion   of  offence.  They  boast  of  their  privileges  and  civilization,  and  yet  proffer  no  milder   conditions  than  servitude  or  death.    

In  our  own  native  land,  in  defence  of  the  freedom  that  is  our  birthright,  and   which  we  ever  enjoyed  till  the  late  violation  of  it for  the  protection  of  our  property,   acquired  solely  by  the  honest  industry  of  our  fore-­‐fathers  and  ourselves,  against   violence  actually  offered,  we  have  taken  up  arms.  We  shall  lay  them  down  when   hostilities  shall  cease  on  the  part  of  the  aggressors,  and  all  danger  of  their  being   renewed  shall  be  removed,  and  not  before.     

With  an  humble  confidence  in  the  mercies  of  the  supreme  and  impartial  Judge   and  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  we  most  devoutly  implore  his  divine  goodness  to  protect  us   happily through  this  great  conflict,  to  dispose  our  adversaries  to  reconciliation  on   reasonable  terms,  and  thereby  to  relieve  the  empire  from  the  calamities  of  civil  war.

Can we have the same attitude those men and women had 251 years ago today?

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