Look up before you breathe too deeply?

“Take a great big breath! It’s good for you.”

The powers that be – and academia in particular – aren’t happy about all of us folks who declined their vaccines and continue to live.

As opposition ramps up to the new World Health Organization (WHO) global pandemic treaty, pushed by the World Economic Forum, Regressives, and a whole host of other Statists and government worshippers, we must not forget that there are numerous ways in which the politicians and “health” tyrants are seeking to increase their control over you and us.

So Yale has a solution, as shared by a correspondent. It seems that the PTB have taken a page out of the history books: in particular aerial spraying of Agent Orange in ‘Nam. Let us force people to be vaccinated by spreading it by aerial spraying or even chemtrails out of aircraft.

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The decline and death of academia in the States

Let us continue to discuss education, then and now.

For decades, the decline in the quality of education at American universities has been obvious.

Why?

Perhaps C.S. Lewis has the right of it.

Education and schools officially, legally, and even morally exist for the good of the students: those being taught. Or at least they were established, created, for that purpose. Yet, the role of these institutions (both “public” [GRTF – government-run and taxpayer-funded] and “private”) in the massive attack on American liberty, culture, economy, and traditions is well-known. And as that role (of propagandist, influencer, changer of culture and society) has grown, its track record and ability to carry out that original primary mission has deteriorated.

Particularly for lovers of liberty, this is tragic and intolerable. It is not a case of schools only existing to teach people job and life skills. But even in those fields, the modern education establishment has failed.

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Colleges, universities, and the real world

Liberty unquestionably demands an educated people – because daily living requires some degree of understanding of how the world works. There are, of course, many questions. How much education? About what subjects? What balance between education and experience?

This old cartoon makes a pretty good point:

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The hits just keep on a-coming! Delusional?

One of us here at TPOL misheard reading of this Fox News headline: Gavin Newsom called ‘delusional’ after touting California as national model on fighting homelessness ‘He’s been in power for two decades and hasn’t solved a thing,’ one X user remarked.

How did we misread it? She thought it was “invites homelessness” instead of “fights homelessness.” It was an honest mistake: the People’s Republic of California and many of its jurisdictions (Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County, and good old San Francisco, to name three) seem very much to be promoting the so-called “crisis” of homelessness. Up six percent in the last year alone.

Promoting it by spending billions (going to the usual government contractors and employees, of course) to provide goods and services for the ever-growing homeless populations. Making life easier for them, perhaps, but encouraging continued camping out and dependence of government handouts. Why bother to work when the living can be free and easy? Especially since California is so greedy and stingy that Sacramento won’t raise the minimum wage to $30/hour?

It is worth noting several things:

Of course, California can be considered the Homeland of Delusion. Courtesy of Hollywood, and well ahead of contenders in NYC (Broadway and media) and Nashville. It is not surprising that Newsom would be infected by an endemic hazard of the State.

While California’s homeless rate is 75% higher than the next State (New York), they have already thrown an estimated $24 billion at the problem. That’s half of their State deficit for the last year: a staggering $49 billion. (Admittedly, pikers compared to DC, but still…)

And all that relatively untracked money is going into someone’s pockets: which is why many organizations and individuals continue to push more and more for incredibly foolish decisions to come out of Sacramento. Anything that generates a buck: no matter how heinous. Especially when they can spin it as “compassionate” and “for the children” and “against global warming.”

Delusion on the part of Newsom may be a feature, not a glitch in his future political plans. After all, he is still much less delusional than beloved leader of the Democrats, Uncle Joe. Though maybe a bit more so than Obummer. (But then, officially, Obummer is so, so last decade.) And when you look at the track record of the last five years’ Democratic leaders in the States, and Congress, delusion could be seen as an essential character trait and even job description. (Not that the GOP is any better, just not so flashy maybe.)

But the last thought is staggering. After all, California is seen as “model” for the other forty-nine States in many things. Environmental “protection.” The arts, especially the performing arts. Sadly, the ever-greater role of government in daily life. “Integration” as regards race and culture. Perhaps it is California’s failure to deal with homelessness and homeless people that is the model that Newsom and those like him want us to follow in the other forty-nine States. Maybe he and so many others are measuring success by an entirely different standard than we lovers of liberty are wont to do.

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California ups the ante on cars and trucks and their owners and operators

We know, it is a long headline. Hopefully it attracted your attention.

As mentioned several times recently, we seem to always be hammering on California and San Francisco (and other cities and regions in the People’s Democratic Republic).

So here is another one.

As reported in the GB News, California drivers will see amazing increases in taxes on gasoline and Diesel in the next two years: “The California Air Resources Board Low Carbon Fuel Standard 2023 amendments impact assessment suggested that drivers would feel the squeeze over the next two years.Prices are estimated to jump by 47 cents per gallon in 2025 and 52 cents in 2026 – excluding the existing gas tax in the state. On Monday, the average cost per gallon in California was $5.286, compared to a national average of $3.619.”

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Compassionate city providing special assistance for down-and-outers

Editor’s Note: We tend to rail on the City and County of San Francisco.

The NY Post reports that the City is spending millions of dollars to provide essential products to the homeless of the city. Given San Francisco’s climate and terrain, it would seem reasonable that the City is giving the indigent better shelter, warm clothing, perhaps even free bus and light-rail passes.

But no: the City and County of San Francisco is providing the vast numbers of jobless, often mentally-ill and drug-addicted, squatters on the streets something much more important. The city government has budgeted $5 million dollars to buy booze for their homeless population. Vodka and beer, specifically.

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As for me and my house…

The sign says it all:

Tyranny is built on lies and fabrications – including lies which are warping of truth. And as with freeways, where you would find such a sign, the wide gate and the broad way is the road to serfdom: you have to take the narrow slip road (exit ramp) if you want truth.

And indeed, “the truth shall make you free” as a very wise and important man once said. But only if you act on the truth. Only if you take the exit and leave the freeway – the broad way – that goes to serfdom: to tyranny and slavery.

The choice is yours. The choice is mine. And we can’t not make that decision, sooner or later.

If you want to learn more about liberty and living free, while resisting tyranny, look up:

F. A. Hayek The Road to Serfdom (Academia.edu – free registration needed) Free download

H. Browne How I found freedom in an unfree world (Summary by Nat Eliason: book online here)

For younger people: The Tuttle Twins series of books and stories

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What do you think? Are they all wrong? Hamas, Israel, Canaan, and genocide

We’ve been bombarded with images of protesters chanting “from the river to the sea” in support of Hamas and Palestinians against Israel. We also have seen a deluge of opposition claiming that this chant is literally a call for genocide of “Jews” (Israelis). The pro-Palestinians are quick to claim that the current war is nothing more than an Israelis genocide of Palestinians – now in Gaza and later in Samaria and Judea (the West Bank). Israel is condemned as “historically denying nationhood to Palestine and Palestinians.”

Who has the right of it?

Mottos like this are catchy memes to trigger people’s emotions. They are ubiquitous throughout history: “Remember the Alamo,” “Remember the Maine,” and “Remember Pearl Harbor” are all American examples.

The claimed denial of Palestinian statehood by Israel is a false one. For more than 70 years, the Israelis have been willing to accept a “two-state solution” but the Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank have rejected that. Rather, they demand publically that the only solution in their eyes is one-state. No Israel.

In the same way, in the last eight months, Israel has agreed to attempted ceasefires in their war with Hamas. But it has been Hamas that has rejected those attempts: in essence demanding that Israel in essence surrender to them: to Hamas.

The chant expresses this idea: the State of Israel has no right to exist. The Hebrews (Jews) have no right to live in the Levant. It may not go as far as Jews have no right to live, but some advocating this seem to push that far.

Does this amount to genocide? Very possibly.

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War on self-defense? Some updates.

Despite recent snows in the High County (the Rockies and Sierras and Black Hills, at least), the summer tourist season is nearly upon us. With that, people are traveling and warm days and cool nights (but not too cool) bring out the rats. The human kind as well as the kind with tails.

And courtesy of the current fad of “from the river to the sea” protests and occupations and “peaceful” vandalism and confrontations on and off campuses across the country? People are concerned about the safety of themselves and their families as they travel and as travelers come to their area.

The mainstream media loves to feed on and ramp up these fears. Europeans and even Brits and Australians continue to be sold the idea that the States are a lawless, gun-violence-filled land that resembles their imaginations of the Old, Old, Wild West – an image pushed by Hollywood for a century.

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Education – then and now

Let us return to a frequent theme of TPOL.

Modern American education is worse than a farce. It is perhaps the single greatest cause of the seeming collapse of American society, the economy, and the hope of many. A century and a quarter ago, when 8th grade was the most common expectation of Americans, what they learned in 8 years was actually far more than what the average American student has learned in the last quarter century in 13+ years of school. (Pre-school, Kindergarten, grades 1-12). And perhaps more than the majority of graduates in “liberal arts” of colleges and universities learn today.

Let us look back, not just 125 years, but 2000 years. Back to antiquity – education (in ancient Rome, during the Republic (SPQR)) and early in the Principate under Augustus and Tiberius.

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