phoenixvoice
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53 percent of the elite 1 percent favor banning private air conditioning.
Let them “practice what they preach” and live in their fancy winter homes in the greater Phoenix metro area (and similar southern parts of the US) in JULY sans air conditioning!
@ tboc
As if “being nice” cannot coexist with sharp, cutting communication. Irony is a powerful tool, and wielding it while simultaneously “being nice” will reach audiences that otherwise might not listen.
Know your ((boss))
Interestingly, in current gamer lingo, the term “boss” is used to denote the most powerful foe that the player(s) may come across.
@ Michael R – certainly plausible.
A majority of the Israeli people, (I say this based on poll results, it is difficult to assess the proportion from across the globe,) appear to be completely subsumed by a mass formation that deludes them into belief that Palestinians are sub-human, or, at least, not due the same level of respect as the Jewish people. Oh, the irony: Europe is wrangled by farmers protesting strangulating government regulation; the US has states in revolt over federal mishandling of the border and a convoy of protesters en route; Israel has folks protesting to prevent food from entering beleaguered Gaza.
*sigh*. It reminds me that while university students across the US protested the Vietnam War, students at the Mormon-run Brigham Young University had a rally in support of the Vietnam War. (BYU was my alma mater. I have always been anti-war, so I found the tale unsettling.)
In light of Enlightenment ideals and Judeochristian values (and, likely the fundamentals of other value systems, but I’m not as familiar with those,) it is nonsensical to deprive a starving population of food. The only explanation is that a sizable portion of the Israeli population has gone mad, (as in crazy.). We treat people who are “not in their right mind” with great caution. It is unfortunate that Israel’s arsenal is in the hands of people who are not well in the mind.
I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression… Hit Iran hard, hit them now.” —South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
And…it is questionable who is responsible and where it occurred and he is calling for immediate reprisals? This is utter lunacy. Hitting someone who may not be responsible is a sure way to escalate conflict.Lawns
Yesterday, one of my sons reminisced about the small lawn we used to have under the two citrus trees. The kids loved playing on it when they were small…but it was under two citrus trees, did not get enough sun, and after about six or seven years was very sparse, so I put the hen yard under the citrus trees. Hens gleefully pecked out the remaining grass. It remains their space 10 years later, nothing green there grows, and the hens bask in the sun or shade and take dust baths.There are few lawns where I live — out of about 20 homes on the street only four or so have lawns out front. I welcome the lawns. See, we are at stage 1 drought, and every quarter the water bill contains a statement comparing my home’s water usage with neighboring homes. Mine is high — because my front yard contains an edible garden, and only a quarter of it is irrigated by water from the shower. I hope to bring all of the rainwater from my roof to the gardens as well, and my intention is for that to further reduce my dependence on city water for the garden…but in the meantime, the neighbors with lawns make me less of an outlier for the water that I use in my yard. I have a general concern that at some point there will be penalties for using more water than the neighborhood average….
@ Dr D
Painting.
Agreed. There is way too much focus on the girl’s crotch. I have NEVER seen a girl of any age sit that way with a skirt hiked up in that manner— not even a toddler — skirts do not fall that way naturally, the skirt was “artfully” placed that way.It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.
What does that phrase mean: “shut down the border?” It sounds like no one comes in or out, not just that immigration would be affected — like the small AZ border crossing that the feds suddenly closed with no warning, leaving the folks living and working in the local vicinity who regularly, (legally,) crossed the border, stuck. It sounds like collective punishment. “If I can’t get what I want, then nobody gets what they want!”Gee whiz…Trump claims that “the death penalty” for drug dealers will halt them from working. Well..he tends to talk in hyperbole and conflate things that ought not be conflated…he is, still, a much better president than Biden ever has been. And he is definitely more peaceful than Biden. I may vote for Trump in the fall…we shall see. But I suppose that I will always see it as a compromise out of necessity — the best option, given the circumstances. A palatable option, I agree with some of his policies. He doesn’t appear to be corrupt…I just tend to disagree with him on some major points and on many, many fine points.
I have an answer to
• The Death of Nationality (Paul Craig Roberts)
Vivek R. Is the embodiment of that answer. So is Tulsi G. Both are American through and through, saying things that resound with Americans because they are based upon the positive mythos of the US. And yet, neither derive fully from European stock. They have, in recent generations, progenitors from India. But…they talk like Americans, they grew up in the US, they embrace traditional American ideals. This country is accepting of non-white — even non-Christian — standard bearers, as long as they embody the American mythos. There are stories that can bind a nation together that can cross the ties of skin color or race or ethnicity or religion — but we do need a common language, to share these stories together.The greatest problem with the influx of immigrants over the past 3 years is primarily that it is so large that it breaches the capacity of the nation to integrate the newcomers. Language is a big part of that. (Let anyone speak as they will…but in order to integrate, newcomers need to learn — at least a little — the predominant language.). Then there is the possibility that a sizable portion of those who have entered may be coming deliberately as “sleeper cells.” As far as most of these immigrants being “young men of military age” — there is nothing new in that. Haven’t the bulk of all immigrants — and adventure seekers — in all human epochs been “young men of military age?”
I suspect that the “sleeper cell” idea is being spread primarily as a fear to galvanize support from the population and as a constitutional pretext for states to act. I am not aware of any evidence, thus far, that supports the idea that this is a widespread problem. (Also, for that matter, any “sleeper cell” folks would be trying to get in no matter the current border policy. It’s the same idea that if you take guns from law-abiding citizens then only the criminals have guns. Although…if someone did have the intent of getting sleeper cells into the US to create future mischief, this Biden Admin policy of open borders would be an ideal time to get one’s men in place.)
@ citizenx
Open season on all JEW scum everywhere anywhere.
I find your rhetoric disgusting. You sound like a Nazi under Hitler, like a member of the Hitler Youth. Substitute the word “JEW” with “Gazan” and you sound the exact same as the Israeli butchers. The sentiment is identical to Hillary Clinton decrying the “deplorables” or WEFfers against “useless eaters.”
I don’t know whether or not you are Christian and venerate the New Testament. I am not, but I was raised reading the Bible and I continue to respect what it contains.
Matthew 7:16-23
King James Version
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
I do my best to judge others based upon their actual words and actions, not based upon their family, religion, ethnicity, alma mater, skin color, nor nationality. Of course, like all humans, when I haven’t had the opportunity to get to know someone personally, I have a tendency to fall back on traits of group membership. However, while this method carries some plausible accuracy for group membership that an individual has actively sought as an adult, it is least accurate for group membership that is intrinsic to one’s birth — such as family, ethnicity, religion, and nationality.
We cannot effectively counter corruption and hatred with more blind hatred. There are those who are actively working to destroy humanity — they have no compassion for Gazans, Ukrainians, and want us all to “eat bugs not bacon.” These are our enemies. But Jews worldwide who happened to be born Jewish? That is ridiculous. Now, the 53% of Israelis who approve of the genocide in Gaza? They deserve our wrath. They have allowed themselves to become pawns. (But we knew that already…wasn’t it over 90% of the Israeli population that consented to the poison jabs?) Anger can give us the energy to fight our enemies. But blind, unfocused, overly general rage will cause us to sweep innocents up in the net of our retribution. This is how movements lose popular support, how they cease to make sense to others. So…keep your anger. I respect it…but, please, focus it on those who are actually responsible for evil deeds in the world, and not bystanders who share group status with evil-doers by happenstance of birth.
I had a conversation with my mom yesterday. Her new pulmonologist dropped her as a patient the other day (he is retiring in 6 months anyhow) because she did not follow his prescribed medicine regime fully (she took less than half prescribed) over the past several weeks. She had come to him for help with increasing asthma symptoms, on the recommendation of her GP. As a result, she decided to research the prescribed medicine more fully. She discovered that the medicine that the pulmonologist prescribed has a side effect of exacerbating osteoporosis. It looks like the pulmonologist didn’t bother correlating that she has osteoporosis and shouldn’t take something contraindicated for osteoporosis. This medicine can also worsen glaucoma…she also is in the beginning stages of glaucoma! (And takes a medicine for it.). She looked into the medicine that she has been prescribed by another doctor for osteoporosis, and found out that it is contraindicated for people with asthma because it can worsen asthma symptoms. She has stopped taking both medications.
“Mom,” I said, “you *know* that these pharmaceutical companies just want to turn a profit on maintenance medicines and that medical schools are funded by pharmaceutical companies and that doctors get continuing education credits from lavish presentations sponsored by these companies. You cannot trust doctors to check all of these things. Aren’t there exercises that you can do to help deal with osteoporosis? Maybe you can ask for a referral to physical therapy to learn what types of exercises to do for osteoporosis.”Our broken medical system….
No, it isn’t that Nikki Haley is funded “by Democrats” — that statement presumes a world where Democrats are “the bad guys” and Republicans are “the good guys” — which is inaccurate. Nikki Haley is funded by and serves the elites, just like Biden & Company and many RINOs. The political party designation is not what matters here….
Relying on “experts” to make decisions on one’s behalf is, essentially, the role of children, and not of adults.
“Doing your own research is a good way to end up being wrong,”
Interesting view…while that is sometimes the case, my life experience suggests that doing my own research has been a very effective tool for countering the lies of propaganda. Also, when I base my actions on my own research and later find that I was wrong I am less inclined to blame others for the outcome and more inclined to do further research to understand how I got it wrong, which has led me to better decisions in the future. Relying on “experts” rather than on my own research and intellect short-circuits this entire process.The southern plantations were not responsible for the origin of their work force
I can accept that argument*, however, those who owned and ran the southern plantations *are* responsible for how they treated the slaves that they inherited and thereafter acquired — they are responsible for the human-rights abuses that they perpetrated or for the way that they used their Christian religion to justify mistreating enslaved humans. Those in power in the US south during slavery also crafted laws making it very difficult for slave owners who were fond of their slaves and wanted to free them from granting the manumission of their slaves.* There is a parallel here for all of us using devices with lithium batteries containing cobalt — including me on this iPad — and the cobalt mines in Africa.
What is indisputable is that for more than a hundred years the tax rate on American citizens has been higher or equal to the tax rate on medieval serfs and 19th century plantation slaves
*sigh*
Actually, it is disputable, although I regret to inform….It is my understanding that the tax rates on serfs and slaves covered essentially *all* of their valuable productive capacity in the food they grew, animals they husbanded, and/or cotton grown. The income tax rates cited *never* covered the entirety of an individual’s income, since they apply gradually, for example, the 91% tax rate falling on income over a rather generous threshold, not on every penny made. Serfs and slaves paying 30% or 50% of all they produced were impoverished. In the US currently, truly impoverished people pay zero in income tax, and for those whom the upper portion of their earned income (through labor) is subject to the 39.7% rate, are earning above median income levels, and are typically living comfortable lives. This is the reason why there are no revolts like the serf revolts mentioned—the tax rate applied to the full income is less than the 30% threshold AND those subjected to it are not impoverished.
I state this because I detest it when people twist facts around to try to get others to act, causing deception. I agree with much stated by the author — I have looked into the issue of whether or not the US federal personal income tax is legal and, although I lack any formal legal training, it appears to my understanding that this view is technically correct. It is my view that the US populace would be well served by rescinding this tax, as the federal government has become a behemoth that threatens the liberty of the people. It needs to shrink back to a more manageable size. Many of the federal programs that are of good use to the people are already administered by the states, and should a state want to keep the program, then it should work out with the residents of the state how to fund it.
30 by 30
I have a better idea. Inspire (suggest) that people attempt to create “organic” gardens, with no commercial inputs. (Yeah, I know — if the mega corporations aren’t getting their share, it will never fly.). The skills that common folk would learn along the way while attempting to garden without commercial inputs would be transformational.
JB-hb
Why the hell SHOULDN’T we be making the less efficient durable thing that lasts for decades?
The funny thing about that is that it does happen sometimes, despite the best efforts of the mega corporations to promote planned obsolescence. I’ve been involved in supporting PCs for about 20 years. Computers and laptops destined for general computing: internet access, email, word processing, playing music and movies, viewing photos, minor databases, etc. — the “latest and greatest” hardware improvements are simply no longer necessary for these tasks. Period. Additionally, Windows is more fault tolerant than it used to be (fewer BSODs,) and even where there is a BSOD, often the automated recovery can get a novice user back into a functional system without outside intervention. Computers are also lasting longer, generally. I recently replaced a 10 year old laptop — that still worked rather well. I finally decided to replace it because it was starting to have a minor hardware failures and I didn’t want to deal with the stress of having this happen in a moment when I really needed it functioning for my business. I use a six year old Android phone as an alarm clock, all radios disabled. I have found myself moving away from supporting technology hardware and towards educating people about how to use their technology. Computing technology seems to have matured to a point where we know what is required for basic functions ands we can easily manufacture it, and when manufactured well it can last a decade. Now, we need software that isn’t changing every five minutes, hardware that isn’t constantly becoming obsolete, so that we can focus on how to make these items more durable, reparable, and upgradable. The public would likely embrace these changes…I suspect that it is the corporate boardrooms that would be horrified by these sorts of developments!
Vivek on stage with Trump, polished, his white, bright teeth — he reminds me of Sesame Street’s Guy Smiley.
said to be twenty times deadlier than Covid-19
Hmmph. Good thing Covid wasn’t all that deadly. 20 times a very small number, nearly zero, is still a small number, close to zero.A cousin, with kids ranging in age from 20 down to 7 was diagnosed recently with multiple blood clots. One difference from a couple of years ago: the doctors are openly acknowledging that these clots are a direct result of her Covid vaccination. (I don’t know how many she received.)
Oroboros
I have also seen billboards in AZ, some in English, some in Spanish, that promote healthy fatherhood, sponsored by a government entity. (I don’t recall which government entity. I think it belonged to the AZ state.)
Stop having kids.org is (no doubt,) an elitest funded nonprofit.
I cannot read Hungarian, so I cannot determine who sponsored that billboard.My family has not contributed to the US trend of voluntary population reduction. My parents had 4 children, and collectively my sibs and I have contributed 18 grandchildren. At least half of the grandkids never received the deceptive Covid inoculation, and of those, 6 have never had any vaccine of any sort. I have 3 kids, which provides population replacement for myself and my ex, and we can say that the third is a bonus and makes up for my childless current spouse.
Of my siblings, the sister with the strongest marriage has the most kids. I, with the worst marriage (it ended,) have the fewest kids. In a world where birth control is easy to obtain, there is a certain logic to this outcome. (Obviously, this is anecdotal.)
Dali – Living Still Life
Hey, wait a minute, that looks like a head of Romanesque broccoli!
I never noticed that before.Dictator for life
I’ve never heard Trump say anything like that. Maybe it is projection?Regardless, “dictator for life” is very different when the supposed dictator is 70+ vs. decades younger.
Micro plastics are unlikely to be harmful to consumers.
Ah. Just like Covid vaccines were touted by government authorities to be “safe and effective.”I could always taste that there was something funky with water bottled in plastic. Couldn’t everyone else?
Arizona ballot law
I had read that before. As far as I know, the law has been written that way for a long time. It isn’t written that way because AZ is trying to accommodate illegal immigrants. It is written that way because Az put requirements into place for voter registration that required proof of US citizenship to vote, the law was challenged in the courts, and the US Supreme Court said that AZ had to accommodate people who “attested” that they were US citizens but showed no documentation. So, AZ passed a law about 10 years ago that anyone who merely attested their citizenship with a signature would be permitted only to vote in federal elections.
https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/governor-signs-bill-putting-further-restrictions-on-federal-only-votersAZ was trying to prevent “federal only” voters from voting for president, based on the fact that they are voting for AZ state electors, but recently a federal judge halted this: https://tucson.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/arizona-presidential-election-2024-2020-citizenship-proof-court-ruling/article_88b82350-534e-11ee-b710-d7c5a62895a8.html
Over all, this is interesting considering that the narrative has been that it is cities and states allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, and that this practice would lead to those who are not citizens voting in federal elections, while reality in AZ is quite different. I can see this from two angles. On the one hand, historically, it was not customary for people to carry around documents proving who they were. Prior to 1900, the only document that most people had that could even do this would be a birth certificate or document granted with naturalization. Passports were not common prior to 1900. It was normal to simply “attest” something with an oath or signature, knowing that there was a penalty for lying. It is a change to require that a voter show documents proving identity. On the other hand, with the advent of cars and drivers licenses and Social Security came new identity documents, and by 2000 it was customary to show documentation for many transactions. So, why not require this for voting as well? This line of thought makes sense in the world of today, however, in a world where identity is ever identified, we lose the meaning of honesty, integrity, and oaths. There is a trade off.
I think that a lot of the mental shenanigans that are occurring on the left are because a lot of these people have spent their lives perfecting the process of researching things that “authorities” state in one field or another, and then creating arguments based on authoritative material. In the process, they have become so adept at doing this that they have come to completely discount their own gut instincts, generative thought, and creative processes as well as the instincts of others. (This phenomenon is not something that only happens to “liberal types” — all humans are susceptible to this.). I noticed this during Covid, summer of 2021 when I shared my concerns about the vaccine with a couple of retired friends, and the spouse of one — a college professor — attempted to blow my concerns out of the water with platitudes derived from official sources. In his view, his sources — because they were “official” — negated my concerns because my concerns were not derived from authoritative sources, but rather from my own logic and observations and research into others’ logic and experience.
Bird box studio Perspectives
…and that is why when someone cannot see that it is a dangerous crocodile, and not a log, (or a poison injection, rather than a “stay well shot,”) the wise response is to shrug one’s shoulders and walk away. I tried to show what I could see to another.
Seeing is believing…but, sometimes, we cannot see until we believe.Don’t buy stuff…
Doesn’t always mean don’t get things that you want…sometimes it is just a matter of finding someone giving away for free something that you want. 😉There is a little drama playing itself out in the Phoenix metro area…several years back, under Gov. Jan Brewer, on-the-ground fireworks were legalized over the Christmas and New Year holiday season. Now, the area sounds like a war zone for a few hours on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, with many people setting off illegal in-the-sky fireworks. I am curious how this will unfold as the years go by.
John Tyler was 63 when his son Lyon Tyler was born. Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. was 75 when his still-living son Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born in 1928. Lyon’s first wife had died in 1921 (when he was 68) and he remarried to a woman who was 33 at the time. Harrison Ruffin Tyler is also a descendent of Pocahontas.
I hear you Oxy…
Environmentalism plus my own interest in frugality and doing things myself plus economic hardship has shown me that by working with biology and natural systems much can be accomplished and a good life can be had with fewer resource inputs than are typically used. It took over 15 years to figure it out, but the past few years have seen my front yard garden in Phoenix become more than I believed that it could be. Last year, I had broccoli for family meals once and twice a week for months. (Fortunately, most of the household likes broccoli; green beans not so much.) The keys have been gravity fed irrigation from an indoor shower and using dirt from my hen yard as fertilizer. (Who said that old hens past their laying don’t serve a useful purpose…?) Current projects include gutters and rain barrels, with the goal being to reduce my dependence on city water for gardening.
The current “climate change warriors” seem only interested in talking points handed to them. The wealthy ones compare notes about their Teslas and the poorer ones grovel to maintain their local “Master Gardener” status. (I looked into the program. It emphasizes desert-only plants, and requires many hours of volunteer labor to maintain. It seems like a “gold star” to bestow on those who are willing to fritter away their time on other people’s garden projects for external praise. I would rather eat from my front yard.)
Lions…
One of the things that I notice is how the lions’ behavior is, essentially, identical to the behavior of my house cats — especially the one that looks like it has either Siberian or Maine Coon ancestry. The vocalizations are a bit different — no doubt from the size difference — but the behavior is identical. It is uncanny.The term “capitalism” is also very muddy.
Does it refer to the “really existing” economy as it is now? Or, perhaps, it better describes the really existing economy in the US in the 1950s? 1920s? 1890s? 1830s? 1790s? England’s economy in 1700?
Is capitalism only an economy that well-fits Adam Smith’s writings? Or a figment of the imagination of a self-avowed libertarian? Is it what Milei is aiming for?
Is the US economy currently accurately described as “capitalism?”
What *is* this thing we call capitalism?
Is it “free markets?”
Is it lack of any governmental regulation?
Caveat emptor?
Is it the ability to use money (capital) to generate more money?
Is it defined by the relationship between the employer and the employee? Or by who “owns the means of production?” (Is this analysis relevant in a world where most back-breaking labor is performed by machines powered by fossil fuels?)
Can capitalism exist outside of the economy of a town or small city? Or does it metastasize into something that is “not capitalism” when humans attempt to scale it up?
Is it still “capitalism” when we declare capitalism to be the “only” viable economic system, and then announce that whatever the US economy (substitute the name of any other nation that refers to its economy in this way) looks like, that the economy is, by circular definition, “capitalist?”Words have meanings independently of themselves. Words can free us and words can bind us. Words and their definitions and usage mold our thoughts, and our thoughts are the impetus for our actions. Actions of individuals aggregate and become our cultures and societies.
The threats against the Colorado Supreme Court justices could very easily be “mini false flags” — instigated by the FBI to discredit those who follow Trump.
Infinite chocolate bar trick explained: https://youtu.be/NmEkL0yHQaI?si=ajURFtVl834LgFoH
Not quite the same as the posted video, but the principles are similar.I hope that the specifics of Milei’s “prescription” are good for Argentina. However, when he talks about government control being at the root of Argentina’s problems, “collectivism” being at the root — I believe that the man is lost inside his own belief system and hasn’t enough perspective of the world to know of what he speaks. Argentina had in the ‘90’s a fraction of the various government controls in place in the US in the ‘90’s. I was there 16 months, walking the streets, speaking with people, entering their homes and listening. There was no belief among the people that collectivism was the answer, and the government didn’t propagandize about collectivism either. The people at the time were excited because their new president was different — he had been Muslim, converted to Catholicism as the president had to be Catholic, and after he was elected he changed that law. There have been many Argentinian leaders who were sure that they had “the answer” to Argentina’s woes.
I have never researched the specifics of Argentina’s history, politics, nor economics. But Milei’s version does not comport with what I observed. Every society has forces that promote individuality and forces that promote the well-being of the group. Healthy societies find equilibrium between the two forces. Outright rejection of either individualism or the group’s well-being will fray apart the fabric of the community. Often, powerful players in human societies will use rhetoric and deception to get members of societies to play a game of “let’s have you and him fight.” The fight is a bait-and-switch to get the masses to not realize that the powerful player is in the meantime consolidating and gathering power. And, just as often, people with medium power — like Milei — get very caught up in the fight, championing one cause with fire and verve. The battle between individualism and group well-being is a sham. Yes, every society needs to find an acceptable equilibrium between the two, but it isn’t an epic battle. The “epic battle” is between good and evil, between truth and lie, between tyranny and freedom, between life and death. Evil people seek to deceive; righteous people seek truth, even when what they find may not be what they were expecting. Most people are somewhere in the middle, and that is okay — life is messy and humans are imperfect. However, “by their fruits ye shall know them,” — some people hanker after lies, deception, destruction, pain and death. Milei — I don’t know which type he is. If he is a decent leader, with compassion for the people of Argentina, then he will seek policies that promote both individual and national well-being and when specific policies fail he will replace them with different ones that address the problems. That is all that can be asked. If Milei instead is so consumed by his beliefs that he cannot make course corrections when policies based on his beliefs fail, then he may be too consumed by self-deception to help the people of Argentina. We shall see.
@ Dr D…
Yesterday wasn’t a defense of Marxism…
My argument is with the way that you characterize a group of people as “Marxist” and then summarily dismiss their perspective. You create a “straw man” and then execute it — and by so doing miss all of the nuance and end up ignoring root problems.The US public school system barely addresses Marxism and Socialism, and when it does address them, it generally excoriates both. You suggested that the US public school system is the reason why those educated therein distrust corporations, and I pointed out that, on the contrary, my distrust of corporations stemmed from the corporations’ own advertising, and not from formal schooling. What I *have* observed in the local public school system over the past 15 years as my children have passed through it, is that the students are conditioned to accept authoritarian rule, and a general lack of encouragement for original thinking and critical analysis. These teachings are simply not socialist/Marxist — rather, they are authoritarian and anti-democratic. (Yes, of course these types of teachings were also present in Nazi Germany and the USSR — *not* because of “socialism” — which has so many definitions and permutations that the word meaning is almost indiscernible and I find myself avoiding the term because I do not know how the listener will perceive it — but because these teachings promote the authoritarianism that is inherent to totalitarian systems.)
It’s as if you have a mental bag labeled “Marxism/Socialism” and throw everything into it that you dislike. The problem with this method — and with straw-man arguments generally — is that is masks the real issues at play. The people who are trying to remake the world as they see fit — the WEFfers, etc. — are not following some “socialist” or “Marxist” playbook. What is going on is much simpler than all of that — a cabal have inordinate power in the current system, that power is slipping away from them, and they are doing whatever they can concoct to attempt to keep and consolidate their grasp of power. Historically, the terms “Marxist,” “socialist,” and “communist,” have been used by the elites — especially after WWII — in order to denigrate individuals who stood up against the elites and the power structures of the elites. (Of course, at the dawn of the USSR many elites of the day supported the Bolshevik Revolution, likely because they wanted to weaken Russia and believed that in the aftermath of the revolution that they would be able to exploit Russia’s natural resources. Stalin didn’t let that happen, so, naturally, the elites ended up opposed to the threat to their world dominance that the USSR posed, and in order to get the populations of the collective West on their side, started things like McCarthyism in the US. Stalin was a ruthless leader, just as totalitarian as Hitler, but since he didn’t attempt world military conquest like Hitler, and due to the fear of nuclear annihilation, the Western populations couldn’t be convinced to have a hot war with the USSR.)
Like many here at TAE, I enjoy your rants. However, sometimes they set off alarm bells in my mind where I think, no, that simply does not comport with reality as I have come to know it. The Marxism/socialism thing is probably generational — you likely were inculcated at a young age by the elites’ propaganda of the day to see Marxism/socialism as the bogeyman, while I didn’t start really looking at the world outside of my own home until the ‘80’s — by that point, Stalin was long gone, McCarthyism was over, and the elites had just suffered a setback in their plans in the 1970s when a lot of the CIA and FBI’s pernicious stuff (MKULTRA, strong suspicion of involvement in the JFK assassination, files kept by J. Edgar Hoover in order to keep prominent figures in line, etc.,) had been uncovered. I encourage you, when you rant, to look a little deeper — yes, what you complain of is unlikeable, but is it Marxist? Is it socialist? By which definition? My father would likely agree with your terms 100% — but do you want to use generational terms? There may be terms that are more precisely defined, and that will make your rants more biting, more concise, and more widely comprehended.
(And, quite frankly, I comment because it is enjoyable to do so. Also, I respect your intellect and wouldn’t bother criticizing if that weren’t the case.)
