Courtesy of Conner Boyack:
Connor shared this a couple of months back, and one unthinking response had this: “Nobody wants a society like this, Connor, that’s why Libertarians don’t get votes.”
Connor had not attached this directly to libertarianism, or voting. But we here at TPOL will.
Continue readingCelebrating his (sometimes labeled dubious) victory over a Republican who seems chosen to fail miserably 15 years ago, Barack (Barry) Obama continued to preach his anti-liberty, anti-free-market gospel in Chicago a while back. He is obviously still very active politically. And it may be that more and more Democrats – fearful of Uncle Joe’s growing dysfunction conditions – are hoping for a miracle in the form of Michelle. And continued control (according to many) of the Executive Branch by Obummer and his minions.
But for now, consider his preaching.
“But just because an economic system generated wealth and innovation doesn’t mean it guarantees a good society,” Obama said. “Because from the outset, market-based systems have been compatible with slavery, caste systems, colonialization, war, exploration, corruption, fraud, autocracy, the poisoning of our natural environment.”
Gee, really?
Actually, we agree with the first sentence. (Shocker, right?) But…
Continue readingSupposedly we are spending billions and billions arming training and supplying the poor, desperate people of Ukraine to help their democracy. To preserve or restore their liberty as individuals and people. And their freedom as a nation. Protecting them from the evil neo-fascist, neo-communist Russia, Moscow, and Vlad Putin.
People of all political colors in the States are firmly convinced of that. Red, blue, even yellow. (Maybe even green.) For more than two years now, DC has been propping up “democracy” in Kiev (Kyiv, if you must) and is in bed with 90% of NATO in doing so. And apparently with significant support from Americans. (According to the polls, if you trust them.)
However, as DC (and Americans in general) have done so many times in the past, we are ignoring the reality. Especially (but not only) when it comes to Ukraine and its government. This is nothing new: consider the Shah of Iran. Sigman Rhee of Korea. Batista of Cuba. And dozens more just since 1945.
TPOL has stated numerous times and continues to, that Ukraine is a tyrannical state – not just because it is a mandatory human government but because it is a bogus, CIA-imposed “democracy” and far from a republic. Its leader? A dictator. Maybe elected, but a tyrant and a dictator. Supported like so many in recent history by DC.
So, why do we state that Zelenskyy is a dictator? Clearly like many of his predecessors (including V. Lenin, K. Marx, and even Stalin, his desire for maintaining a forced unity of Ukraine is based firmly on personal power. And the corruption grows: consider this little posting:
We at TPOL welcome your opinions on Zelenskyy and Ukraine, especially challenges to our belief that he is a dictator and that these actions are those of a dictator and not a defender of human liberty and national freedom.
As mentioned recently, we here at TPOL are bashing California a lot these days.
Here is another: a “parks and recreation” district in Southern California is apparently illegally issuing “tickets” for those idiots who do a “rolling stop” or “California stop,” according to Jalopnik. And collecting more than a million dollars a year – big bucks even in California (except for Holywood and Sacramento, of course).
California is the poster child for extreme government, it seems. Not content with the usual theft of money by State, county, and local governments, they create hordes of special “service” districts to provide all sorts of welfare benefits to the parasites.
No, not the poor under-the-poverty-level types or the homeless or the single-mother families. We are talking about the bureaucrats and the men and women out on the highways seemingly standing around much of the time looking at the traffic.
But generally, even those street and road workers do some work. But in the offices shuffling paper and collecting (and spending) your money?
You do wonder, don’t you? But in California, some of those seemingly lazy workers have their brains working overtime. How? Coming up with more ways to steal more out of your pocket – and everyone else’s.
And frankly, how to make life more miserable. As if wildfires and earthquakes and woke protestors and free-enterprise scam artists weren’t enough.
At this sort of work, the public serpents of California seem amazingly productive. One of their current schemes? Go after Diesel-electric train locomotives! The California Air Resources Board (CARB), the strong right arm of the environist movement in California and beyond) voted to adopt a new rule back in April. The rule will ban locomotive engines more than 23 years old by 2030 and increase the use of zero-emissions technology to transport freight from ports and throughout railyards. It would also ban locomotives in the state from idling longer than 30 minutes if they are equipped with an automatic shutoff.
Nevermind that there are a myriad of problems with this, including a lack of technology to replace Diesel-electric engines with pure electrically-powered locomotives. Never mind that eliminating a large percentage of the nation’s fleet will probably bankrupt even the largest railroads, and force short lines out of business completely. Never mind that will increase the various air contaminants that CARB wants to eliminate, since trucks are the only other option – and electric truck technology is far from mature enough to do that. You can’t just pop out the Diesel engine from the locomotive at the stateline from Arizona or Nevada and pop in a big battery pack. Or run overhead or third-rail electrical powerlines when you are doing fun things like hauling chemicals and fuels and big shipping containers.
But that doesn’t matter to the elite true believers in California. Or apparently, the people who theoretically vote in the politicians who appoint them. (The CARB, despite its power, is appointed and not elected.)
This is another example of the tail wagging the dog: If you can’t run your trains in California, you can’t use them in much of the rest of the nation. It is a matter of logistics and costs.
Again, it doesn’t matter to the powers-that-be in California.
No wonder that even with the border jumpers, California continues to drain population and business enterprises to other states.
A “good cop” in DC? Really? Or are we just being insanely optimistic?
I got a smile about the headline of one news story – “Biden… greasing its [Ukraine’s] path to NATO membership.” This was Uncle Joe touting his “security assistance pact” with Kiev. (Note the term “pact.” Not a treaty, which would require Senate approval. In other words, thumbing his nose at democracy.
As a TPOL staff member pointed out, maybe Uncle Joe (if he were a cop) is a “good cop” or an “honest cop” by that famous Boston definition. “An honest cop is one that stays bought.” As everyone seems to admit today (even more and more democrats), Uncle Joe (as Obummer’s bag man) and his reprobate son took the Ukranian ruble years ago. And no doubt other coins (some gold?) from other nations.
I suppose it is only karma: for years Ukraine (and others) seem to have been greasing the palms of The Big Guy’s family members (in turn ensuring The Big Guy is kept in the green). (At least cash-wise.) So now he is greasing the way for Ukraine to enjoy the gravy train that many of the other nations of Europe have enjoyed at the expense of American taxpayers (past, present, and future).
(Mmmm. Perhaps Hunter might be angling for a dacha on the Black Sea? Assuming Ukraine will have any Black Sea coastline soon?)
Continue readingThe Blaze reports on the SCOTUS 6-3 decision to overturn the Trump-Biden regulatory interpretation for the BATFE to classify bump-stocks as a method of turning semi-automatic weapons into “machine guns.” The Blaze (and many others) labels this as overturning a “bump-stock ban” that The Donald put into place after the Las Vegas massacre a few years ago.
One could call this a victory for common sense. But think about it.
Continue readingPolitics today involves every aspect, perhaps every moment of life. Generally for the negative. This is particularly true of the lovers and advocates of democracy: the “one-person, one-vote” and “majority rules” crowd. Or as some put it, “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” Sacrilegious as that may seem, it is very common even among religious people.
It extends to the non-human universe: consider animals and a recent and growing movement in the State of Colorado. There are a growing number of people – including a significant faction in the Colorado General Assembly (both houses) that want to ban the hunting of wildcats: specifically including mountain lions (also called cougars), bobcats, and lynxes.
A recent article by Paradigm writer James Altucher suggested that the US Presidency is a useless job and asks, then urges these States to abolish the position.
It is an interesting question. And James makes some excellent points.
This is not the first time we here at TPOL have pondered this question, and perhaps you have also, over the years. Right now, especially reading Jim’s recent posting?
Our considered opinion? We really do not need a president; certainly not one with powers and a full-time job.
Not just because we do not need the mandatory human government that State and Federal Constitutions have saddled us with – especially given how those founding documents have been warped and perverted.
And not just because it is an expensive conceit. And unlike the British royal family, does not currently pay for itself. (That of course ignores just how the British royals acquired that incredible wealth in the first place. It wasn’t just Christmas and Birthday gifts.
The traditional and modern American presidency has given us many of the problems that have developed into the painful circumstances we endure in 2024. We could do without those.
But we do have a question, dear readers, to ask: if we got rid of the presidency as we know it today, how quickly would someone come up with something as bad? Or worse?
That was the problem is 1787, after all. Too many people were too comfortable with having a king. They just didn’t like how that monarch was chosen. And some of the flipperies associated with him. But the Constitution gave unwise power to the man elected to that office. And didn’t even fence him in, as they tried to do (and failed) with Congress. (The judiciary is a totally different but equally disgusting situation.) Starting with the Whiskey Rebellion (if not before), even the sainted Washington succumbed to the temptations of exercising power. Power he knew to be dangerous. Even Tommy Jefferson was not entirely successful in resisting temptation.
It’s mostly been all downhill since then.
And we suffer as a result. And our suffering grows with each one elected and serving.
Worse, we know it, but we still tolerate it – and indeed, welcome it. The next one will be better. That is what we Americans tell ourselves. We should barf at the mere thought of that nonsense.
Alternatives for the Constitution-style Chief Executive require more commentary. But think about it, and suggest some possibilities? And the ups and downs of that, versus what we have now.
At this point, perhaps anything would be better. Perhaps even a truly figurehead hereditary monarchy with nothing but power of persuasion.
Let us know.
The Four Corners of the American Southwest is one of the driest places in the States, and its climate is highly variable.
This has been the situation for millennia. There is significant evidence of periods of high precipitation, but most notably, periods of great drought. The abandonment of what we call cliff dwellings and the large cities and towns in Colorado and New Mexico in the 1200s is often attributed to a century-long super drought.
Today, for close to thirty years, the doomsayers have claimed that the region is again entering into a massive drought. These pronouncements of disaster took on new life in the past few weeks. Local radio stations reported that the immediate Four Corners area (Montezuma CO, San Juan UT, Apache AZ, and San Juan NM) in May 2024 received just 0.025 inches of precipitation: 2 percent of normal.
Thus this Cowpokes cartoon by Ace Reid comes home hard:
Tyranny in the world today
C.S. Lewis said it well:
We here at TPOL would disagree with the esteemed Mr. Lewis about the likelihood of these nanny-tyrants going to Heaven. There are too many scriptures that condemn both their actions and their attitudes. Although many modern “christian” religious groups seem to fit into either this category of enforcing morality by implied or mental force – or actual force. Or simply have abandoned any idea of morality save for situational ethics.
But he points out one of the most common kinds of tyranny found both in these States and the world today.
It is often counterintuitive to view that those who love us and believe that they are doing their best to help us are worse tyrants than the brutal and demanding authoritarians who are in it for power and wealth. Ignoring those who lie to us about their motives, believing that we can be forced to do things for our own good.
Honest and true lovers of liberty and lovers of God do not force people to take care of themselves, to do good, or even to not do bad things to others – except in defending themselves and others against those trying to do bad things. But in today’s world, even many who claim to be christians and who claim to be lovers of liberty all too often accept force or even promote it.
We must recognize and plan to deal with such tyranny.