Our greetings for a happy Thanksgiving, despite government and all the rest. Rejoice in the liberty we have, and work to restore what we have lost. Debby, Gareth and Andrea, Matthias and Kaylynn and I are all praying for you and your family and business, and working and praying for more liberty.
We are doing well, and thankful to the Lord for so much, especially in this continuing time of trouble and so much fear and loss of liberty. Remember we have much to be thankful for, no matter what happens in Pierre or Denver or DC.
As lovers and advocates of liberty, we have the liberty to celebrate the manmade, American holiday of Thanksgiving. We know that the intent has always been to thank God, not just people, but at the same time, we know that our unbelieving friends and comrades in the cause of liberty also enjoy this holiday and thanking other people. As believers and followers of Christ, we here at The Price of Liberty still thank God for the help, encouragement, and support of those who believe differently from us.
So here are thirteen things to be thankful for in 2022:
1. Relative peace at home in the Fifty States and the European Union and British Commonwealth and much of the free world, and not having to endure a real insurrection or attempt to violently destroy our system (yet).
2. Our remaining liberties and freedoms, still greater than those enjoyed by most of the 8 billion people on this planet. Among those being the opportunity to worship (or not worship) as we see fit, to be able to read and study what we want, and to therefore take advantage of the billions of hours of study and discussion and discovery done by others around the world and for all of world history.
3. Our blessing of material wealth (especially but not just in the Fifty States), relative to every past generation, and again far more than that enjoyed by most of the 8 billion people of the world. Lovers of liberty here in the States, in Europe, in the Commonwealth, and in many other places are incredibly wealthy by the standards of the past.
4. The efforts and sacrifices of previous generations who have preserved and tried to pass on individual liberty to their descendants and us, no matter how short of the mark they (and we) were.
5. The geopolitical advantages we enjoy in the Fifty States and North America, and the seas and skies around us: geography, resources, climate, and so much more.
6. The opportunities we have to daily work in a voluntary way with countless other people to our mutual benefit, however much government seeks to deny us that essential liberty – one of free association.
7. The blessing of having family and friends around us and with us, and in close communication that was impossible until less than half-a-century ago.
8. The ability we have to see through the irrational claims of those who are enemies of liberty – no matter what label they wear: Republican or Democrat, Green or racist, woke or conservative, liberal or progressive. And fellow lovers of liberty – the alternative media and others – willing to help us see this.
9. More opportunities than ever to live free in an unfree world thanks to technology, the mutual, voluntary efforts of us all to share freedom, around the globe.
10. Recent events, which have again given us the potential for gridlock in DC to delay or even prevent the attempt to further steal away our material wealth, our future prosperity, and our liberty.
11. The opportunities we have been given in the past year to prepare for increased efforts by all sorts of people and their groups to steal those things from us, and increase our subjection to parasites and the powers-that-be.
12. The further technological and organizational inventions that have made us closer to launching ourselves from this planet of our birth into the freedom and wealth of the Solar System and more of the universe, providing us the useable power we need, and better utilization of the resources we have.
13. The opportunity to take advantage of all these things and continue to work for liberty – for our own and that of others – in a new year ahead.
This Thanksgiving and beyond, into the holiday season, join us to remember and give thanks for the liberty we DO have, and the failure of so many attempts to steal that away. And to remember that there is hope for peace, prosperity, and more in the future because of what we have now.
The Price of Liberty 
Is election reform possible?
There have been more and more claims, particularly over the last election cycles (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and now 2022), of massive fraud and corruption.
Both old parties claimed that happened several times before 2016, but that year it really took off. The claims exploded even more in 2020, and have ramped up still stronger after the somewhat surprising results of last month.
The methods of fraud claimed seem tied very much to the political opinion and position of the person or group making the claims. For example, Democrats seem to scream most loudly about attempts to suppress voters by denying ballot access, requiring voter ID, purging voter rolls, reducing polling places, prohibiting vote collection by third parties, reducing opportunities for registration, and other tactics which they attribute to the GOP, especially the Trumpistas.
The GOP types point to various forms of cheating, such as tainted ballots, counterfeit votes, counting delays and other games, and allowing the dead and border jumpers to vote, as well as fraudulent registration. Indeed, many of the proposals made by GOP and conservative political activists are the very actions that Democrat and “woke” regressive activists claim are part of the fraud.
And of course, the Democrat operatives call for reforms that just increase the potential and opportunity for what the GOP decries.
Given that deep divide, it is very hard to believe that compromise and any kind of consensus is possible. Indeed, the two old parties, many other political parties, and political activists of all stripes seem to be unable to share any semblance of a worldview. So nothing really gets done and the dialogue gets more and more vicious. Indeed, so nasty that it seems a miracle that there has not been any significant violence in voting and counting venues.
Yet, they still try, both in the lobbies and the floors of the State legislatures and Congress, and in the courts at all levels, and in the media. Screams of outrage, proposals for greater or lesser new laws to clean up elections, and more.
Some proposals go back a century or more, immediately following up on the “reforms” embedded in the Constitution through amendments: the direct election of Senators and the national Suffrage amendment. Note that both of these had the effect of taking aware the powers of the various States. State legislatures could have provided for direct election (and some did). States could have allowed women to vote and many did, from the time they were admitted to the Union or before. But political propaganda and demagogues swayed the electorate and the legislatures to steal away power from the States and concentrate more in federal hands.
The same thing is being attempted today, by both Uncle Joe’s regime and various factions in Congress and the legislatures. But not all attempts to “reform” are using that tried and true approach (which frankly, proven to damage liberty then and now). Some are seeking reforms State by State.
We here at The Price of Liberty have been informed about just such an effort. It is being pushed by people who are predominantly Republican and conservative in orientation. (Though their definition of “conservative” may be a bit fuzzy.) But with at least some backing and input and support from lovers of liberty. (And decided opposition by many others.)
Model legislation is being shared with the Fifty States – even those dominated by Democrats – in the hopes of creating both interest in the various legislatures and among the public – the electorate and the street mob. It comes across as more of a “restoration” of what had once been done than a “reform.” Which can be a good thing. It seemingly seeks to take action to satisfy both of the old parties. (Though we here at TPOL fear that is an impossible dream.)
What may be expected is that Red States may glom onto it and pass it – while Blue States will reject it outright, and Purple States will find yet another way to muddle their situation. But perhaps we are wrong?
We’ll right about this more later, but for now, dear readers, what do YOU believe would restore (or even) reform a voting system – on a state-by-state basis, that is hated and condemned by virtually all sides. At least for public consumption?
Let us know!