Over the past 130 or so years, a LOT of American politicians, both Demo and GOP, have made a name for themselves in trustbusting and anti-monopoly stands and legislation.
Since the time of the semi-deified Teddy Roosevelt, virtually every president and Congress have supposedly sought to control the evil corporations which over the years have held monopolies on goods and services. Therefore robbing the American people of freedom of choice in what we buy and whom we buy it from.
The result has been less than spectacular. Even though government has constantly touted its successes. Steel, meatpacking, oil, railroads, telecommunications, weaponry, electronics, and many more have been broken up. Hundreds of mergers of companies have been prohibited. Billions of dollars have been spent and wasted complying with the various regulations and requirements, and the costs of actually breaking up these trusts, cartels, and monopolies.
Yet, today many observers note that monopolies and near-monopolies do not just continue to exist and be developed. They seem to be more powerful, more impactful on the economy and the American people.
Although that is not the primary subject of this commentary, it nevertheless touches on our topic for today: the incredible and truly profound and predominant monopoly in the American economy. And in American society.
Government.
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The Price of Liberty 
Nashville and Uvalde
As we discussed yesterday, there is a lot that we can (and MUST) learn from school murders. And based on initial reports, at least there was some learning on the part of the Nashville cops (the MNPD) and Covenant School, as regards trying to protect children.
Yet they failed, at least to some degree. Some, because there could have been many more dead children and school staff. Nashville’s “finest” did not repeat the serious, fatal errors of the idiots in Uvalde, or those a long time ago at Columbine, Colorado. They responded and ran to the sound of the guns. And they dealt with the mad… mad-it, in the most direct way: they killed it. But only after the monster had killed six people. They didn’t get there in time.
Photo and text from Oleg Volk
The staff and leadership of Covenant Presbyterian Church and their Academy also seems to have learned something, but not enough. Definitely not enough. Oh, they locked the doors. They apparently had some kind of a plan to respond. And they had courageous adults – staff – willing to act and give their lives for the children. We should and do honor them for what they did.
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