Nathan is traveling again, and very busy, so there may not be any new commentary until next week. I’m trying to come up with something myself… but I’ve said it all so often I can’t seem to make it sound like anything but regurgitation…
So, if that’s the best I can come up with, I’ll probably re-post some things I’ve written in the past. Maybe you missed one of them. 🙂
MamaLiberty
By Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D.
Upwards of ninety percent of the American electorate finds Secretary Hillary Clinton untrustworthy and what she said at a recent roundtable on equal pay in New York — in advance of the Democratic primary in New York on April 19, 2016 — shows exactly why. She has been widely reported as saying: “Some say there isn’t a gender pay gap.” … “That is just wrong. The typical woman working full time in 2014 was paid 79 percent of what men were paid.”
By contrast, an extensive economic and social science research literature shows unequivocally that Secretary Clinton’s Big Lie — that women are paid only 79 cents on the dollar for purportedly equal work — is fraudulent. A course in elementary statistical analysis would instruct that covarying the really important pay determinants — such as the number of hours worked, education, job hazard risk, job travel requirements, college major choice and occupational choice — would cause the purported gender pay gap to vanish or virtually vanish — Secretary Clinton’s “experience” notwithstanding.
For decades, Secretary Clinton and her fellow establishment Democrats successfully have pandered this Big Lie to entice women to vote for them. What appears to be different in 2016, however, is that a more enlightened and better informed electorate is beginning to look behind the curtain.
Younger voters, men, and most especially straight white men simply are not buying what Secretary Clinton is selling.
The Big Lie Technique worked well for Der Fuhrer Adolph Hitler in the 1940’s when the populace had limited access to the truth. However, in 2016 with all the internet access to honest and accurate data that the electorate has available to them, Big Lies hopefully are on their way out.
Honesty and credibility hopefully are on their way in.
Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Florida International University in Miami.
Mama’s Note: Honesty and credibility will prevail only with people who are not convinced that they can successfully live at someone else’s expense while controlling the thoughts, choices and actions of everyone around them. I suspect we have a way to go before we reach that point.
But it would seem that many of the otherwise criminally deluded are starting to realize how incredibly destructive and evil Hillary is. And that’s progress, no matter what else is going on.
My “vote” this year:Â None of the above.
(Libertarian Commentary #16-15B, by Nathan Barton
Never?
A young man in Texas has written an article in the Huffington Post, entitled “Five reasons why Muslims should never have to apologize for terrorism,” which has generated a lot of discussion and response. In this article, he makes five points, including a challenge:
1. It is ridiculous, since “my religion teaches peace.”
2. Muslims condemn terrorism and always have.
3. Muslims are at the very forefront of combating terrorism.
4. Muslims are the largest victims of terrorism. (I think he means “the most numerous.”)
5. If Muslims have to apologize for terrorism, then so should everyone else have to apologize for various things that members of their various groups do?
His challenge (tied to his first point) is that he will pay $10,000 for every verse in the Koran that “says it’s okay to kill innocent people or to commit acts of terror.” Continue reading
Libertarian Commentary #16-15A, by Nathan Barton
I am working on various projects in “Indian Country” – that is the official FedGov term for the AmerInd reservations and “trust lands” which are found across the nation in virtually every state, if not everyone (yes, even Deleware and New Jersey have these places. A correspondent from the Rosebud (Margaret) shared some stories and made comments about the decline in society and morality, and what we expect of people (norms).
This is one of the stories, from Alaska: where first-grader girls have been accused of a plot to poison a classmate. KTLA and CNN reported that three first-graders in Alaska’s largest city plotted to kill a fellow student with silica gel packets that the girls believed was poison. The three have been suspended but not charged with any crime. (For crying out loud, even though they are only six or seven, little boys who try to kiss little girls are charged with sex crimes for doing it – conspiracy to murder is EXEMPT?) Parents of the 32 first-graders attending Winterberry Charter School in Anchorage got word of the plot in a March 22 email from the principal. The three female students acknowledged that they planned to poison a female classmate, school district officials said.” [Steve Trinward’s comment on the story is telling: “Okay … WTF? First-graders? Armageddon surely approacheth”] The problem is part the parents, but a charter school is STILL a government-run/tax-funded school. And I bet the parents let these girls watch network and cable television; even the Disney Channel and The Cartoon Network are filled with trash. Continue reading
Libertarian Commentary #16-14D, by Nathan Barton
With the “victory over religious dogma” and “homophobia” and “hatred” in the Supreme Court, those few months ago, in which laws in most states, and many centuries of common law, as well as definitions found in dictionaries for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, were overturned, the massive, global “cultural war” entered a new phase. The Nazgul declared that not just a man and a woman, but two men, or two women, may be “married” to each other, and it was proclaimed by many a great victory for “liberty” and freedom.
The Tranzi and homosexual activists who enjoyed and celebrated that victory have swiftly moved to secure that victory and expand on it. The conservatives and those few lovers of liberty who could see clearly have worked desperately to (if not overturn the victory) at least limit its impact on society, culture, and basic human freedoms. But looking at the news this week, this next phase is already a defeat for those conservatives. But also a defeat for cultural and social preservation. And a defeat for human liberty. Continue reading
By Nathan Barton
The following quote came from one of my daily quote subscriptions, and is worth sharing with readers. Notice this was written in the 19th Century, but is just as true today. It was written about France, but is just as true about ALL of Europe and the Fifty States (yes, every one of them). Yet, sadly, most people consider “Governed” to be a GOOD thing.
SELF-government IS a good thing – each of us responsible for our own actions and their consequences. To be governed by someone else indicates either we are an immature child (as in governed by parents) OR we are incompetent and willing to (or forced to) abide by someone else’s demands, desires, controls, opinions, and morality. The difference between being involuntarily governed and slavery is only in degree and not really in kind.
Proudhon’s words may seem harsh, but they are true. Read and ponder them.
“To be GOVERNED is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. . . To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, Â outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”
— Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) French mutualist political philosopher
Libertarian Commentary #16-14C, by Nathan Barton
We see it all the time. To one group of people (and pundits), Joe the politician is a scoundrel, fool, and crooked as a dog’s hind leg. To another group and pundits, he is the reincarnation of Flash Gordon, Savior of the Universe. It is more than just politics; also in law, economics, and advertising. Here are some examples from this week’s news.
Whom do we believe? It seems that the Fed thugs (FBI et al) have dropped the fight with Apple in the San Bernardino terror probe According to the San Jose Mercury News, “The U.S. Justice Department has dropped its legal fight with Apple over demands to unlock an iPhone in the San Bernardino terror probe, for now defusing a high-profile showdown pitting national security needs against worries about consumer privacy. In court papers filedMonday, federal prosecutors disclosed they’ve managed to unlock the iPhone 5C of Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the attackers in the San Bernardino terror shootings in December that left 14 people dead. As a result, the FBI no longer needs Apple’s help in the investigation.” How convenient! So the issue will NOT be decided, not that we really should expect the Nazgul to do the right thing and stand up for liberty. Continue reading
Libertarian Commentary #16-13B, by Nathan Barton
Despite our most fervent wishes, neither the GOP nor the Democratic Party are collapsing yet. With “just” seven months left in the race for choosing the new Massa, prospects for change in the Fifty States are nil. No matter how much screaming there is from the fanatics on both of the old parties.
Has the Sanders campaign been revived? Â According to ABC News, victories in Washington (a big Tranzi state), Alaska and Hawai’i, signify that Miz Hillary may be in more trouble than most analysts have thought. Â It makes the Democratic Party seem a lot more like the GOP, which is seemingly ripping itself apart, not just with the squabble between Cruz and Trump (as reported by World Net Daily) in all its fuss and feathers, but the GOP establishment fearful of both of the front-leaders. Â Honestly, could it happen to a better bunch of people? Continue reading
Libertarian Commentary #16-13A, by Nathan Barton
The Uber-nanny state of 2016
Libertarian Commentary #16-15C By Nathan Barton
In Mississippi, Governor Bryant signed a controversial “religious freedom” bill. As reported by the BBC News, “The governor of Mississippi has signed a controversial bill that allows businesses to refuse service to gay couples based on religious beliefs. Governor Phil Bryant signed HB1523 into law on Tuesday amid opposition from equal rights groups and businesses. He said the bill ‘protects sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions.’ Protesters say the bill would allow for lawful discrimination of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The bill comes at a time when numerous US states are passing or considering similar laws.” People are screaming, but not everyone. Steve Trinward noted: In reality, under “freedom of association” constraints, the government has no justification for denying this; [but] affirming it with legislation? That might be an overstep. I agree, but understand the reasoning. Continue reading →