A brief winter safety reminder

Posted on 2025-02-15 by TPOL Nathan

As we all long for more moisture, less bitter cold and wind, and signs of spring!

Several of the staff of TPOL made their annual pilgrimage to Utah – not to Salt Lake City or any sacred site or ground, but to the annual Damage Prevention Seminar helping engineers, contractors, and owner-operators of buried utilities to avoid destruction, injury, and death when digging up things. More about that later, but it brings to mind what is going on in DC right now.

Digging up things is important. People (individually and in criminal cabals (like government)) bury things that they don’t want to be seen. Things that they don’t want changed – and sometimes don’t want found. Governments are experts at this.

We were reminded of safety constantly as we made a four-day round trip of just under 1600 miles across the Northern Great Plains and the Central Rockies. Snow and ice plagued us going down to the Red Rock Country, and Wyoming’s almost constant winds were worse than usual as we returned. Safety – as most of us know – is no game.

Even in politics.

Continue reading →
Posted in Nathan's Rants, Short Takes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Public schools” again demonstrate their dangers

Posted on 2025-02-14 by TPOL Nathan

Several of us here at TPOL have been chided by family and friends because we “hate” public schools. Of course, it is difficult to briefly explain to someone the failings, risks, and consequences of public schools – or as we more accurately call them: government-run, tax-funded (GRTF) schools. (And when particularly irritated with them, “government-ruined, theft-funded” institutions. Especially when people assume that (a) being opposed to GRTF schools is hatred of them, the teachers, the parents that send their children to them… and sometimes the children themselves.

We here at TPOL do oppose GRTF schools – very much so. To some people, our opposition may seem to be so strong as to constitute hate. But one of the many reasons we opposed these institutions in out of love. Love for the children who are sent to them and endure them. Love for the parents of the children. Parents who often feel they have no alternative and who are fearful about both their acceptance in their community and the fate of their children. Teachers (and administrators and other staff) who are trapped in a vicious system. And of our communities and nations who are so damaged by the results of the current system.

So let us look a bit more at why we believe that the public education system – including the GRTF – are a real and present danger and to be avoided and the good Lord willing, abolished.

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Ideas for liberty, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

American colony gets some basic human rights back?

Posted on 2025-02-11 by TPOL Nathan

Yes, the FedGov has colonies – other than the Fifty States they try to make little more than colonies or administrative regions or districts (a la France). They are generally in three types:

a. De facto colonies where the FedGov calls the shots directly: through USAID, some military entity, or

b. indirectly through bribes, blackmail, or something similar done to the native rulers, or

c. a US territory or commonwealth situation in which there is a direct and official link between DC and whatever: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, etc. And the Virgin Islands.

U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. speaks harshly about the territory’s gun control policies . So he is calling for completely redoing its gun laws. In at least, a good way: to make it easier for all the good burghers of USVI to lawfully keep and bear arms. Never mind that it has long been established that the rights protected by the US Constitution (not established by it) are rightfully those even of the inhabitants of the territories, not just the States.  

Bryan was asked recently by a newspaper how the government can address illegal guns coming into the territory. His answer was pretty surprising for a Democratic politician. (He’s a local guy, and it is interesting that the USVI is not a Democratic stronghold. He defeated an incumbent Republican in a runoff election in 2018. (Remember that date.)) 

“The states with the toughest gun laws get the highest homicide rates. I think we should move to a place where we open gun ranges that are legal and we make it easier for people to license and carry firearms,” Governor Bryan stated. He argued that the percentage of Virgin Islanders who carry unregistered weapons for reasons of ill-intent is very small, while the majority of residents carry firearms because “they’re trying to protect themselves, or feel protected.” 

In other words, Islanders are much like honest and peaceful people in the States themselves: they see a need to protect themselves and others. And apparently are just naive enough to think that they have the same God-given rights as any other American. Amazing!

But we do wish to know why Bryan has suddenly changed his mind and made this call – even though it is weak-kneed and far from giving Islanders (and visitors) all of the rights we are supposedly guaranteed by the US Constitution. That’s 87,000 residents (US citizens) and hundreds of thousands of US visitors to this tourist paradise. He was elected when The Donald was still in office, but has served most of his terms under the oh-so-benevolent hand of Uncle Joe (well, whoever was pulling Uncle’s puppet strings). So why now? Is he fearful of The Donald? Did the crime get to be too bad? Did people just plain get fed up? We’ll probably never know.

It isn’t just American colonies that may get back a little more freedom. In Illinois, a state judge has decided that it is unconstitutional for the State to require a “Firearm Owners Identification Card to allow you to have a rifle in your home. Presumably for self- and family defense. Shocking, huh? No matter how many people get blown away in Chicago every weekend.

It is disgusting: the woman involved in this case has been fighting for her liberty for eight years: siince 2017. And including not one but two trips to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Again, it is a win for liberty – if not yet the full liberty that she – and everyone in Illinois – are supposed to have. Keeping a rifle in your home (castle) is one thing, but the key phrase is “keep and bear.” And it doesn’t apply just to rifles: it applies to pistols and switchblades and swords and … yeah, even cannon and missiles and lasers.

In related news: Florida Gov announces a “Second Amendment” summer tax holiday idea.

What a ridiculous idea – being able to buy a weapon with which you defend yourself, your rights, your family, and your community without having a government tax (theft) on it. TPOL has always believed and frequently stated that taxation is not just theft but taxation of weapons (and the ammo those weapons use) is indeed an infringement on the right to keep and bear arms. Even if you buy the gun and give it to someone else.

Still, a summer without a sales and use tax on guns is better than none. Can we hope that other States might follow suit?

We can also rejoice that the US Fifth Circuit court has said that 18-20 year olds are full citizens who are able to keep and bear arms. And that federal (and State law) that prohibits them from buying and owning and carrying firearms are unconstitutional.

The ruling stated, “In sum…[statues which ‘prohibit Federal Firearms Licensees]…from selling or delivering handguns to adults under the age of twenty-one. and their attendant regulations are unconstitutional in light of our Nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation.”

Posted in Commentary on the News, Ideas for liberty, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A conservative’s realization: being had by government

Posted on 2025-02-10 by TPOL Nathan

The following commentary by Rob Morse, a conservative advocate of the 2nd Amendment and armed citizens, is telling.

He points out clearly that government – American government at all levels – has failed. Particularlyin the field of education. That the American people (and the world) have been had. But we fear he still may not realize that it is not enough to reform government. We must do more.

See some comments on Rob’s comments at the end.

They Had One Job to do, and the Government Failed at it

We try to keep government out of our lives.

We neither want the government in our bedroom nor do we want them telling us what to think. We wanted them to do a few simple jobs that most of us needed.
We wanted our children to learn to read, to write, and to know our history. We wanted the government to provide for common defense. We asked the government to mediate conflicts and stop criminals. We also asked for some infrastructure to promote travel and commerce.

Given our recent history, it looks like that was too much to ask. It is important to learn why those things failed.

We pushed the government into the education business for a couple of reasons. Parents with children wanted teachers they could trust. We thought that a public education would give us smarter voters who would make better decisions at the ballot box. We also thought that children of poor parents should have access to a basic education.
That didn’t turn out the way we planned. We’ve seen local, state, and federal agencies taken over by the teacher’s union. They not only ran the schools, but their political contributions ran the government for the benefit of the teachers rather than for the citizens. It became more important to promote special interests in school than to provide a basic education. We have whole school districts where students can’t read at grade level in school after school. Public education has declined for decades even though it consumes more and more money. Government schools were unable to give us what we wanted.

We asked politicians to give us reliable courts and first responders. We wanted a safe environment and safe food. That failed because of politics. It was more important to promote special interests than to lock up criminals and to keep our streets safe. It was more important to promote special interests than to have an effective military and safe food and drugs. It was more important to provide political kickbacks than to keep water reservoirs filled during peak fire season. It was more important to have DEI hires than to fight fires.

We’ve seen our legal system used to viciously harass political opponents. At the same time, the government can’t bring itself to jail repeat criminal offenders if they are illegal immigrants. We saw government strictly prosecute people who defended themselves while at the same time it returned violent-mentally-ill-addicts back onto the street to reoffend.

We’ve seen bizarre environmental regulations drive costs through the roof. At the same time, these regulations caused our forests to burn out of control. Politicians served their vocal supporters while they ignored the common good.We asked government to help provide safe transportation. It turns out that the kickbacks from public contracts were more important than the quality of the concrete and steel. It was more important to make DEI hires than to operate a safe and effective air traffic control system.

We asked government to give us something it is simply unable to provide. In our legislative system, concentrating benefits and diffusing costs is the formula for winning benefits for your cause, whether it be an ideological victory, economic gain for your industry, or just plain old-fashioned political graft. Politicians make amazing promises, but these incentives are always operating. We can limit this process of corruption, but only up to a point and only for a while. The members of the general public people who are harmed by incompetence are spread out and disorganized. As a result, the self-interest of government officials outweighs the demand for competence.

Legislators and bureaucrats spend other people’s money and advance their own interests. Overall, this system does not reward dedication and competence. In practical terms, we’ve seen more and more of us take our children out of public schools. We run our own businesses and moved those businesses to friendly states. For those who remained behind, we learned that our neighbors know more about us than government bureaucrats who are a thousand miles away. At best, we want to provide local control of common problems. That won’t stop it, but local control limits the scope of graft and corruption that can enter the public bureaucracy. We are asking politicians and bureaucrats to do too much and we are paying a horrible price.

It is time to make do with less government and more inconvenient freedom.

I gave you 800 words and my best ideas. Please let me know what you think, and share those thoughts with a friend. RM

We at TPOL respect and admire Rob, but we must point out that all of these issues, all of these problems and failures, are nothing more than features of these systems. The people cannot expect competence from any part of government – or really, anyone in government.

The solution is not reform. It is not even restoration of the original 1787 form of government: it is abolition. Pure and simple. Not just less government and more freedom, but NO human mandatory government and full freedom. Nothing less will work.

Posted in Commentary on the News, Friends of Liberty, Guest commentary, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

UK rejects monarchy, nobility – oh, and “democracy” to boot

Posted on 2025-02-08 by TPOL Nathan

My oh my! The establishment media bemoans the fact that just seven months into the new Labour government in Whitehall, Nigel Farage’s “right-wing” Reform UK party overtook Labour to become the country’s most popular political party. According to a new poll, this horrible event is reflecting public discontent in Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the “left-wing” Labour government.

The poll, conducted by YouGov for the London Times, was published on Monday. It showed that if a general election were held “tomorrow” 25% of British voters would choose Reform, 24% would pick Labour, and 21% would vote for the Conservatives. The old Social Democrats/Liberals and the various nationalist parties would get to dice up the remaining 30% – or Brit voters are unsure of what to vote for.

Reform’s narrow lead in the poll – which surveyed 2,465 people over Feb. 2-3 – is within the margin of error. Scant consolation for either the Tories or Labour. So what is the Labour Party to do?

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bad news for old parties – good news for liberty?

Posted on 2025-02-07 by TPOL Nathan

At least in Colorado, we have this news:

Knewz.com reports that recent polls have revealed that Colorado voters hold negative views of both major political parties. Republicans are increasingly seen as champions of the working class, but 56% of those surveyed disapproved of Republicans. Fifty-one percent disapproved of Democrats, but unaffiliated voters leaned slightly more favorably toward Democrats.

Colorado is not alone. In many States, more and more people are fed up with both the old parties – and with government. Not just business as usual, but the entire system.

Oh, dear, oh, dear!

And every scandal, every discovery of waste and corruption by DOGE, every unhinged attack and crying fit by Woke supporters of Democrats? Every perceived infringement of God-given liberty by right- or left-wing politicians and conspirators? Every revelation of how government officials lied and plotted to deny science and common sense, to promote radical schemes and twist facts?

Just makes a few more people realize that the old parties are hopeless – more than worthless. They see that the GOP and Dems are little more than bringers of tyranny, poverty, chaos, and illness. More and more ordinary people see their political leaders as men and women who want to destroy American society, deny peace and prosperity, and promote irrational and frankly insane actions that are destructive to human life.

Good.

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Ideas for liberty, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Guest commentary: USAID

Posted on 2025-02-06 by TPOL Nathan

For thousands of years, human governments have been corrupt. Whatever their claimed form of government. (Or even if the organizations had a system which they actually followed.) From absolute monarchies of all flavors to so-called democracies and all kinds of republics. In add the possible forms of corruption the human mind can conceive of. (Indeed, many types of corrupt behavior originated with governments.) Nepotism, bribery, kickbacks, blackmail, even forms of prostitution and organized murder. To say nothing of torture, kidnapping, and slavery. Governments do them all. Or rather, the people who lead and work in government do them.

Including governments right here in the States.

Rob Morse again presents an excellent short summary of the cesspool (if that is even an accurately-nasty word to use) called the US Agency for International Development: USAID. A cesspool revealed in the past two weeks. And we suspect, one whose depths of depravity have not yet been determined, much less plumbed.

You Were Right, and They Were Lying to You

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Guest commentary, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The threat of China – real or a boogey man?

Posted on 2025-02-05 by TPOL Nathan

China has been an enemy of the FedGov – and actually, almost all Americans – for a long time. For a while, the States were lumped together with Britain and the nasty nature of the Opium Wars and the UK’s imperial ambitions in China and of course, Southeast Asia. But the real kicker was FDR’s support of the ROC in both the Great Asian War against Japan and then Truman’s support of the ROC against Mao and the Communists.

Today, the Military-Industrial Complex touts China as THE enemy – the one that requires us to spend more and more billions, maintain and establish more and more alliances, and take more and more actions both at home and internationally. We are surprised that few people in politics at home have not complained that The Donald has only initiated a 10% tariff on enemy China, unlike the 25% on allies Mexico and Canada.

The entire Panamanian adventure is based on Chinese influence and investment in Panama (and many other Latin American countries): high fees and other issues are just peripheral.

China today is both The Red Menace and The Yellow Menace. But is it really a menace?

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gaza Territory? Really?

Posted on 2025-02-04 by TPOL Nathan

This just out – at 1800 hours Mountain Time. The Donald has proposed making the Gaza Strip an American Territory. And then attracting private investment to make Gaza into a modern Mediterranean resort complex – like the Spanish or French Rivera but better. Or the kind of place we find in Dubai or other Persian Gulf tourist havens. Or perhaps Singapore or what Hong Kong used to be.

He is even considering using US military forces (presumably we Army Engineers and Navy Seabees) to rebuild Gaza. And it seems that the Israelis are at least considering it – or at least Bibi is.

Call it “control-alt-delete” – find a temporary abode for the remaining occupants of the Gaza Strip. Then do a version of what the various Persian Gulf sheikdoms took 75 years to do. But without the sheiks and the baggage. Nation-building? Or State building. Would Gaza be a territory like Dakota Territory or Arizona Territory for a few decades and then apply to be admitted to the Union?

Listening to the press conference – it appears that this proposal is shocking, evil, insane, imperialist, fascist, and every other political and socialist slander that the establishment press and Regressives can and do use. The screams will no doubt crescendo to an ear-splitting level within hours.

(Hence this special edition of TPOL.)

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is The Donald moving too fast?

Posted on 2025-02-04 by TPOL Nathan

A correspondent expressed this concern on Monday – someone who has strongly supported The Donald even while recognizing that the man is not particularly likeable or very moral. She is concerned that Trump is both doing too many things and moving too fast.

Of course, Monday was also the day that seemingly Panama, Mexico, and Canada seemed to start caving in to Trump’s “evil” demands. After screaming about how bad the demands were, and getting much of the world to back them: they seem to be backing down.

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary on the News, Nathan's Rants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment