By Nathan Barton
We were reading news tonight (Thursday, 24th October) and ran across this article concerning flying flags at half-staff (half-mast if onboard ships and boats).
We had wondered last week why we saw so many (but not all) flags at half-staff as we drove across Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. It is an increasingly common sight to see federal, state, and local flags being flown at half-staff for days or even weeks.
Continue readingLet me start off by saying, lynching is NOT good. Or nice. Not in any way.
With that out of the way to start, let me add that I can see no way in which lynching can be considered “racist.” Nor can referring to someone being lynched be racist. Not unless you are saying that someone should be lynched because of their ethnic or cultural background (“race” if you will). Certainly you cannot be racist if you are speaking about yourself being lynched. Regardless of the background/race/etc. of those whom you say are trying to lynch you.
Not even if your name is Donald Trump.
Continue readingThe article just came across my newsfeed. The Free Beacon reports that a poll reports that a majority of Americans want to see the First Amendment to the United States Constitution rewritten. ” More than 60 percent of Americans agree on restricting speech in some way, while a slim majority, 51 percent, want to see the First Amendment rewritten to ‘reflect the cultural norms of today.’ “
Please use the barf bag and don’t throw up on the computer keyboard. Yeah, it makes me sick, too. The article gets worse, going on to talk about how the 1004 respondents to the poll (apparently a scientific one and not a voluntary internet one) want to do even more. Restrictions and jail time for hate speech and limits on the freedom of the press jumped out at me.
A majority of Americans want to modify – restrict and limit – a fundamental freedom that Americans have recognized for more than two and a quarter centuries. And enjoyed for far longer than that. And the younger generations are MORE opposed to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
Which is of course, very similar to the view of too many Americans regarding the Second and other Amendments and the liberties recognized there. Indeed, polls (scientific and not) show that a majority of Americans are against MOST of these freedoms to some degree.
That is, sadly, nothing new. And one more reason to fear a “democracy.” At virtually any point in time, you can create a majority or plurality of the voting population who each may have different reasons to jettison some fundamental right. Even though their reasons may be in total opposition to each other. Stupid? Absolutely. But a reality we have to deal with.
That, and misunderstanding. The survey was done by the organization CampaignForFreeSpeech.org. But at least one idiot in the media (WTAM talk show guy) is attacking the Campaign, claiming that THEY are the ones trying to rewrite the First Amendment.
I admit, 1004 people is a pretty small sample, no matter how scientifically you conduct the poll. But it is still a worry. Of course, other organizations have found different results. The Freedom Forum Institute, for instance, says that their 2019 survey shows on 29% think that the First Amendment “goes too far.”
It is important, however, to recognize that many – perhaps most – Americans are opposed to some liberties. Liberties for which men and women have died and killed to establish, restore, and protect. Liberties that government was supposed to protect and has failed to do so, more and more often.
Enough is enough. Democracy and liberty are natural enemies, and the human desire to control others is a major reason.
By Nathan Barton
Simon Black, the Sovereign Man, has been following the story of one of the latest bubbles to break, the WeWork company, which did fancy-dan, short-term rentals of business offices. In his article, he briefly addresses the various scams and ripoffs the company and its founder/owner/controller and chief-thief used to get billions of dollars out of gullible investors.
Simon blames it on “one moron” and describes exactly how the Tranzis will use this as an opportunity to promote more government regulations and controls to “protect” the investors (the public) and as an excuse to obtain more power over the economy and everyone in it.
Continue readingBy Nathan Barton
Look, I don’t LIKE Trump. He is a typical POTUS in his disregard of liberty, the Constitution, and mundane things like money and the day-to-day fedgov crimes. In addition, he is annoying, arrogant, boastful, immoral, and generally disgusting.
Which makes it more amazing. The never-Trumpers and especially the Democratic “leadership” and its gaggle of wannabe Massas (the 2020 candidates herd) make Trump look LESS intolerable, even reasonable and preferable. To any alternative that is even possible. Especially to their own bizarre version of the FedGov.
Continue readingBy Nathan Barton
The bizarre behavior of the regulatory state seems to ramp up daily. The actions get more twisted, their impacts more severe, and the fallout more frustrating.
Consider Ontario (still, after Monday’s election, firmly in the Tranzi camp of blackface Trudeau). According to Global News, a dental hygienist has had his license to practice taken away. For the awful crime of treating his own wife. It appears that the Province and its professional associations and regulatory boards have a “zero tolerance” for dental care providers “sexually abusing” a patient: that includes any intercourse or “other sexual relations” with or without consent. Even with your spouse.
Worse, the idiots who enforced this insane law are gutless, fearful that they will be sued or tried and convicted of breaking a stupid law. Their cowardice is exceeded only by the fear and stupidity of an electorate who continues to put idiots into office. Who pass laws and allow regulations like this, demonstrating not just the evil but the stupidity of government.
By Nathan Barton
I guess I just naturally seem to hang around with a bunch of malcontents. People who are fed up with things as they are, concerned about how things are developing in the Fifty States, their own state, and their own community, and frustrated by the continued deterioration of society. Maybe it has something to do with who I am, professionally and politically,
For the past six days, we’ve been on the road, mostly for work – traveling about 2,000 miles on road across four states, working at a half-dozen different locations, having to deal with some government agencies both in person and remotely, and staying with friends and working with clients (most of whom are also friends).
And mostly what we heard was complaints about what is going on.
By Nathan Barton
The entire Democratic and neverTrumper Republican effort on the 2020 election, together with dozens of news stories on a weekly basis reveals that the enemies of liberty are desperate and fearful. Even if their object of attack (Trump) is worthy of attack for the many faults and actions we must live with constantly.
At the same time, they present no real alternative to the current administration. There is no way that we could expect anything better from a Sanders or Biden or Warren or Romney or Pence administration. Different flavors: same poison.
It is time, I believe, for lovers of liberty and friends of freedom to go on the offensive – to literally offend against these people who are daily demonstrating their insanity.
What is the price of liberty?
To put it another way, what are we willing to pay for liberty?
Eternal vigilance, yes – especially once you have liberty. Once you have won that liberty, at whatever cost.
But what are YOU, what am I, willing to pay to get liberty in the first place?
The Price of Liberty 
Growing economy or rushing to disaster?
By Nathan Barton
According to Investing.com, the Standard and Poors (S&P) 500 is at all-time highs, reaching over 3,000 in the last few days. The NASDAQ is over 8,000, the Dow Jones Industrial over 27,000. (This is in general over a period of days or weeks: as I write this, the various “numbers” are actually slightly down for the day.)
So (according to Wall Street), the economy has never been better. We are growing steadily, with a few glitches along the way, but no serious problems. We are all getting richer, even if the really rich are getting even richer faster. Old and new companies are increasing in value, as business and consumers get more and more goods and services, and while there are (always) companies in trouble, going under, and just plain imploding, the average American and multinational (publicly-traded) corporation is strong and getting stronger.
It is a meme that the mainstream media has been promoting for decades, as everyone pays attention “to the numbers.” From Fox and CNN to NPR and even the Blaze, we hear and see how all the stock markets are doing. And how this reflects the state of our economy. And therefore our nations and the world.
But…
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