How Badly Does Modern Collectivism Hurt You?
Posted by CircuitGuy 11 years ago to Culture
How bad is collectivism today? Clearly the US is not Galt's Gulch or Stalin's USSR. We're somewhere in between.
I'm writing down some negative ways collectivism could affect individuals, from most innocuous to worst.
A) Collectivism is an annoyance at present. I usually find good ways to work around it.
B) If it weren't for poor gov't policies and collectivism, we might have fantastical things like a cure for cancer, affordable space travel, robots than can do most human tasks.
C) Collectivism keeps me from my dreams. (e.g. “A union or affirmative action is keeping me for being promoted out of turn, and there are no other options for me to do the work I love.” “A personal passion of mine is illegal.” “I can't get funding for my organization because of a sweetheart network around gov't, financial institutions, and my industry.”)
D) One or more Gail Wynands, Ellsworth Tooheys, or Wesley Mouchs are out to sabotage my life and are having some impact on me. We all agree these types exist. This item says your name personally is on their “list” of enemies or people to sabotage.
E) My business or career is failing because of collectivism and poor gov't policy (e.g. regulation, taxes, monetary policy).
F) We are on the cusp of totalitarianism and/or severe economic collapse similar to in Atlas Shrugged.
This is not an exclusive list, just the first six things that came to mind.
I'm curious which of these things are happening to Gulch members. Is it we're at A and B and just mindful of preventing the more severe items? Or we over halfway through a real-life Atlas Shrugged?
Note: I expect it varies depending on location, industry, interests, experiences, etc. Also, it could be a mix, say A and F but not B-E; they don't necessarily happen in order.
I'm writing down some negative ways collectivism could affect individuals, from most innocuous to worst.
A) Collectivism is an annoyance at present. I usually find good ways to work around it.
B) If it weren't for poor gov't policies and collectivism, we might have fantastical things like a cure for cancer, affordable space travel, robots than can do most human tasks.
C) Collectivism keeps me from my dreams. (e.g. “A union or affirmative action is keeping me for being promoted out of turn, and there are no other options for me to do the work I love.” “A personal passion of mine is illegal.” “I can't get funding for my organization because of a sweetheart network around gov't, financial institutions, and my industry.”)
D) One or more Gail Wynands, Ellsworth Tooheys, or Wesley Mouchs are out to sabotage my life and are having some impact on me. We all agree these types exist. This item says your name personally is on their “list” of enemies or people to sabotage.
E) My business or career is failing because of collectivism and poor gov't policy (e.g. regulation, taxes, monetary policy).
F) We are on the cusp of totalitarianism and/or severe economic collapse similar to in Atlas Shrugged.
This is not an exclusive list, just the first six things that came to mind.
I'm curious which of these things are happening to Gulch members. Is it we're at A and B and just mindful of preventing the more severe items? Or we over halfway through a real-life Atlas Shrugged?
Note: I expect it varies depending on location, industry, interests, experiences, etc. Also, it could be a mix, say A and F but not B-E; they don't necessarily happen in order.
"Raised legally" and "raised honestly" are two different things.
It's YOU who is claiming the law is bad for business. Explain how when all it does is hold those accountable for making dishonesty illegal. Are you suggesting that you want a dishonest environment because it's better for business?
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2...
(I know folks around here don't like Wikipedia and tend to dismiss information from there. If the information is incorrect refute it with a reference, don't just proclaim it.)
"As a result of SOX, top management must now individually certify the accuracy of financial information. In addition, penalties for fraudulent financial activity are much more severe. Also, SOX increased the independence of the outside auditors who review the accuracy of corporate financial statements, and increased the oversight role of boards of directors.[1]"
So, Kahalling, please explain to me how an honest accounting is an impediment to anything except stealing?
Rob
I'm interested in numbers on this. It's hard for me to tell b/c most of the high tech VC money goes to the West Coast. A little goes to the East Coast. The Midwest isn't on the VC radar. I have known a high-tech entrepreneur to move most of his company to the West Coast just for funding reasons. I haven not heard of the sudden dryup of funds, but it's hard to say b/c everyone looking for funding says it's hard. I'd be interested to hear the amounts of VC funding that dried up.
you are a technical entrepreneur- you should know this stuff!
http://www.moneynews.com/RobertWiedemer/...
did you get my husband's book on topic, cg? Consider it. Some things are now out of date, but many relevant arguments are laid out. He also discusses this extensively on his blog- www.hallingblog.com The link to his book is there.
BTW, my background has nothing to do with asking a common sense question about the validity of a law that's supposed to curb cheating being blamed as a hostile business environment.
Can you please address the issue of how decreasing cheating is responsible for a diminished business environment?
Rob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEIJ3YqPb...
I prefer this threat (threat begins at 1:36, for the impatient)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mURWOwkF...
Or this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaSmassvv...
I asked you to define "cheating". "Cheating" has NOTHING TO DO WITH LAW. Honesty and cheating are moral concepts, not legal ones.
Sorry, khalling, gotta reprise the tobacco aisle sign again:
"Selling tobacco products to minors isn't just wrong, it's ILLEGAL".
And you think that keeping cheating legal makes it easier to raise money for business?
In fact I'm sure he means the opposite of your question, that it is not morally right to cheat regardless of law.
YOU are claiming that SOX makes it harder to raise venture funding.
SOX is an effort to make those responsible for cheating, now things that are illegal, personally responsible.
How do laws against cheating others hinder fundraising.
I can only conclude that you and your ilk feel it's OK to be dishonest in business and you don't want to comply with the rules set up to keep people from being cheated.
You have not defined "cheating", nor have you defined "honestly raised".
Until you do so, you're arguments have no basis.
Laws and rules have *nothing* to do with honesty. See the tobacco sign quote above. The sign pretends that legality is more significant than morality.
You're the one arguing that the law induces responsibility, and reduces cheating.
It is disheartening to see well intentioned, intelligent people so ignorant of that which they refuse to defend and even offer to give up willingly. “If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.” -- Samuel Adams
“The right to freedom being the gift of Almighty God, it is not in the power of man to alienate“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” -- Samuel Adams
“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” -- Thomas Paine.
http://rossabh.wordpress.com/
”A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.” -- Marcus Tullius Cicero
Welcome to the Gulch, rossabh.
Carpe diem,
O.A.
I was introduced to his orations against Cataline via the book, "Prince of Sparta", which led me to research him further, and at some point I had the revelation that Julius Caesar was executed, not assassinated.
"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced. If the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt, people must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC Quotation #23141 from Rand Lindsly's Quotations
Your post reminds me of the time former Senator McGovern of North Dakota after he retired and opened up a small Inn much like Bob Newhart's on TV. "I wish I had known more firsthand about the concerns and problems of American businesspeople while I was a U.S. senator and later a presidential nominee. That knowledge would have made me a better legislator and a more worthy aspirant to the White House." It should be required to be memorized by all elected officials.
I would also remind you that despite the moochers who make life difficult for us, never blame others, look inward and figure out how to solve the problem.
Fred Speckmann
Fred
I agree that we look inward to figure out solutions...however, I'm a big fan of pointing a finger at evil and calling it what it is loud and clear too. Shining a bright light on moochers and looters and calling them out is highly underrated at this point. I want to change that. They're getting away with murder...literally.
I'm afraid you have already discovered the truth, we are indeed at least halfway through the real life Atlas Shrugged. I read the book originally 40 years ago and saw the similarities between my country of birth, East Germany and the book. Then during the clinton years it became obvious as to where the path was leading us. Now, anyone that has ever traveled in the former Soviet satellite countries can see, we are almost at the point of no return. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is when an aircraft no longer has enough fuel to turn around and must continue forward. we are at the point that if we don't turn around now, we are indeed doomed to socialism and will be destroyed as a nation that is the light of the world.
As to your personal situation in your work, remember that even if the looters are in charge, you can always take the leap into the world of self employment. At least then your life is in your own control and I guarantee, life is better under that condition. Mind you, life will be harder, but it will be better.
Fred Speckmann
I can only remind us that everything Ayn Rand wrote about in Atlas Shrugged is happening right in front of us day after day.
Fred
http://www.igopogo.com/we_have_met.htm
Fred
What sensible candidates? Lesser of evil type candidates might be a better term. And yes. I have voted for such. Though I am loath to use the term "for" here, as it really is more of an "against" the even worse candidates action. Would be nice to see a "none of the above" option on a ballot!!
No, I have not voted for the lying politicians that we now have in office from the President to the lowest of the low serving in the Senate and House of Representatives.
I am in agreement with you that the choice is often down to voting for the lesser of the evils. A good reason for the electorate to pay more attention to the primary elections.
Fred
As opposed to corporate care administered through corporations...
Quite frankly after watching Kodak deny their retired folks health care I don't trust corporations anymore.
Just what is a specific impediment? Please give us a concrete example.
Just watched another complain that he "lost" freedom because range prices went up. Of course a "conservative" business man is going to blame a price increase on that there darn gumment. He doesn't want his customers thinking he's gouging them. ROFL And some folks fall for it.
bobo do you work for the government? are you here to help us? lol
Personal attacks don't make your point. It simply shows how thin your arguments are when confronted with something besides jingoistic sloganeering.
Their governments don't pay for it; their governments take the money from the citizenry to pay for it.
And the quality of their medical care is lower, the freedom to decide on their medical treatment is lower (and in the case of China, even their family choices are restricted).
Of course overall costs of medical care are lower than here. Here is where medicine is pioneered, particularly pharmaceuticals. Of course, there's profit-motive... here.
And all of them think their socialized medicine sucks. Especially the ones dying in the hallways of their hospitals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdARfegZD...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1y...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRPhltjPS...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=octFZaD_E...
Really? Why do most of the rank better than we do by any measure?
You didn't watch the videos, did you?
"local taxes on business (which often happen overnight and cannot be budgeted for)"
Really???? Can you give us one example?
Many municipalities retroactively tax. There. law passed-goes back in time. deal with it.
here is a personal example. my city decided to pass a tax on downtown businesses to ensure beautification. btw it looks the same. anyway, I had a duplex in a residential neighborhood in the same zip. the zip covered a wider area than "downtown" 2.1% on "sales" well, wasn't everyone surprised when the city came back and included rentals as sales. not only the tax but had to pay an accountant to fill out the form on my return.
I can picture Dagny asking James, "...you KNEW about this?"
having liability for others' actions is a socialist anti-free will concept. This is all covered in the book...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of...
Regarding "socialism", socialists critics are the worst. People frequently say I'm for "socialism". If I didn't think the word meant "public ownership of the means of production" I might answer "yes", having been told that so many times. To me the word is like "terrorism". Those words are becoming general epithets for something bad.
Clue: Abstinence doesn't work.
Clue: The world is more than 6,000 years old.
Clue: Bashing different minorities isn't the melting pot that made America strong.
Clue: Abstinence works everywhere it's tried.
Clue: So you say.
Clue: the ultimate minority is the individual. Forcing the diverse individuals who came to the U.S. to accept its anglo-saxon value system (in particular those aspects of an objectivist nature) did make the nation strong.
My current thought on schools is there's no panacea, no substitute for the parents staying on top of it.
Unless the folks from Vermont aren't Americans.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/
Rob
From Part 3, Chapter 3 of 1984
‘The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?’-- George Orwell
One propaganda strategy used very much by the Left is to set the people up with just enough truth so that they lie to themselves. Michael Moore showing Bush in the Florida classroom on 9-11 was an example of that. The American Puppet Class shown Obama doing that after Iran nuked Israel would lie to themselves about the genius strategic planning by Carter 7.9 going on inside of the head who created the coming world "Man Caused Disaster" Years of indoctrination have created a very serious threat to individual sovereignty and liberty.
My engineering management class showed that clip. The professor believed that President Bush's delayed reaction is a normal human response to a situation you have not prepared for. If someone had told President Bush a _missile_ had hit buildings, he may have jumped up b/c that would have been easier to associate with something he had already thought about. My professor said this is a human trait, not peculiar to President Bush. The class had been discussing engineering decisions regarding bridges the fail and the infamous Ford Pinto case.
Moore was extremely unfair to President Bush. Moore is another example of the left/right shouting match that I reject.
What can't you do this week you weren't able to do last week? The week before? A year ago? Ten years ago?
Spend a couple of hours at the range for a reasonable amount of money.
Buy health insurance with benefits and deductibles of my choosing.
Fly without being treated like a terrorist.
Make a phone call or send a text message with expectations of privacy.
Buy an AR15 with a 30 round magazine.
Buy a hundred watt incandescent light bulb.
Buy a new car without the government mandated tracking module.
Buy a 30-ounce big gulp in NYC.
Have my conversations between me and my doctor be between me and my doctor.
Have the IRS not pick on me for my political beliefs.
Anyone else in the Gulch care to join in with freedoms lost?
"Buy a toilet with a tank capacity of my choice"
What difference how much it takes to flush. The job gets done. Ohhhhhh, I get it you wanna complain about the paperwork on that too?
"Spend a couple of hours at the range for a reasonable amount of money."
Take that up with the capitalist who owns it. If you are willing to pay what he wants why should he lower his price?
"Buy health insurance with benefits and deductibles of my choosing."
When the Obamacare gets up and running it will be far better. You will still buy your insurance from a private company but it won't be junk. It's rolling out just fine in California. MA, thanks to Romney, has something very similar for years now.
"Fly without being treated like a terrorist."
TSA came in under Bush. Doesn't matter where the idea came from, Bush and Chaney set things up for the abuses. Yes, Obama is continuing it and because of a recent incident they will probably get guns. Sad, very sad but I've never been able to carry a loaded gun on an American flight.
"Make a phone call or send a text message with expectations of privacy."
Darn, when I had a hard drive crash a couple of weeks ago they wouldn't give me my data as a back-up. BTW, privacy is a myth. Most folks through most history lived in small villages or neighborhoods where everyone knew everything.
"Buy an AR15 with a 30 round magazine."
If you can't hit a target with the first 29 rounds what makes you think the 30th is going to be magical? Actually so far those regulations are LOCAL and hopefully they will be defeated when folks realize that mass shootings are a health problem and see that folks can get treatment.
"Buy a hundred watt incandescent light bulb."
You can still do that. BTW I've already replaced most of the lights (CFL) in my home with LEDs. I'm also using LEDs in television studios because they don't change over their very long life, they don't emit much heat, and if I want to change the brightness I can do so without changing the color. Far better than the old way. Come on lad, join the 21st century instead of griping about old technology.
"Buy a new car without the government mandated tracking module."
Gotta show me the law on that one. Ain't no such thing I'm aware of unless someone has put one on your car. Yes, manufacturers are collecting data on g-forces, speeds, etc. but that's not available for use in anything except the manufacturer's or insurance crash data.
"Buy a 30-ounce big gulp in NYC. "
There you got me. Bloomberg and his nut cases were pretty bone headed about that one. I understand there is a new guy in town and things will change if they haven't already.
"Have my conversations between me and my doctor be between me and my doctor"
Every time you bought insurance. they were looking over your doctor's shoulder. If your choice of doctor happened to be out of plan you had to pay way more. If a script was expensive you had a bigger copay. Until I got government help my insurance was insisting I have a co-pay of over $1,000 for Welcol.
"Have the IRS not pick on me for my political beliefs."
Yes, liberal organizations were targeted too. But, when organizations are talking about overthrow of the government don't you think they should be investigated? When churches are making political recommendations...
"Anyone else in the Gulch care to join in with freedoms lost?"
They ain't "freedoms." Nobody has guaranteed you any particular type of light bulb or toilet will be available. Show it to me in the Constitution that anyone can have the crapper they want.
"Buy a toilet with a tank capacity of my choice"
What difference how much it takes to flush. The job gets done. Ohhhhhh, I get it you wanna complain about the paperwork on that too? "
It doesn't matter. *I* get to choose. Not the government.
""Spend a couple of hours at the range for a reasonable amount of money."
Take that up with the capitalist who owns it. If you are willing to pay what he wants why should he lower his price? "
He could lower his prices if it weren't for taxes and regulation.
""Buy health insurance with benefits and deductibles of my choosing."
When the Obamacare gets up and running it will be far better. You will still buy your insurance from a private company but it won't be junk. It's rolling out just fine in California. MA, thanks to Romney, has something very similar for years now. "
My choice for health insurance is "none". Where in the exchange do I get to buy that?
""Fly without being treated like a terrorist."
TSA came in under Bush. Doesn't matter where the idea came from, Bush and Chaney set things up for the abuses. Yes, Obama is continuing it and because of a recent incident they will probably get guns. Sad, very sad but I've never been able to carry a loaded gun on an American flight. "
Yes, Bush is also a progressive. Too many of us "get" that now. And not being allowed to carry a loaded gun on an American flight is a 2nd Amendment violation.
""Buy a new car without the government mandated tracking module."
Gotta show me the law on that one. Ain't no such thing I'm aware of unless someone has put one on your car. Yes, manufacturers are collecting data on g-forces, speeds, etc. but that's not available for use in anything except the manufacturer's or insurance crash data."
Just like my health data isn't available to anyone from the Obamacare website. Just like my cell phone logs aren't available to anyone via AT&T.
""Have my conversations between me and my doctor be between me and my doctor"
Every time you bought insurance. they were looking over your doctor's shoulder. "
Til now, I never bought insurance.
""Have the IRS not pick on me for my political beliefs."
Yes, liberal organizations were targeted too. But, when organizations are talking about overthrow of the government don't you think they should be investigated? When churches are making political recommendations... "
By the FBI, not the IRS.
"They ain't "freedoms." Nobody has guaranteed you any particular type of light bulb or toilet will be available. Show it to me in the Constitution that anyone can have the crapper they want. "
You completely misunderstand the Constitution. The Constitution does not grant rights; it protects them. The Constitution delegates limited and enumerated powers to the government. Powers, not rights. If it's not delegated, the gov't has no say in it.
See the 9th Amendment.
Isn't this a really bad sign? A third of the country thinks Obama is the devil and a third thinks Bush was. But they solidly agree on things we consider "abuses". That means if your problem is with one party, you can fix it by choosing the other. It means complaining about President Obama is nearly pointless. That's depressing. I hope the time is ripe for either new ideas or a new party.
Wow. Reading that again amazingly made me remember reading it over twenty years ago when I was 16 year old. It was a long forgotten memory.
Anyway, what does Orwell mean when he says "power". Power to do what? I understand he's saying it's for some utopian goal, but is it power get get products and services they want, power to get sex, power to get people acting like their friends, or a perverse thrill of being the gatekeeper controlling whether another human being gets what he wants?
We haven't had a President outside the progressive power structure since Reagan.
Before him, you have to go back to Calvin Coolidge.
said that the head of the project was surprised at how fast their program had worked !!!! 1985 interview !!!!! and they credited the surprise to the American educational system. The public education management and the Progressive war against the Founder's protections has created the American Puppet Class..
Getting something for nothing is extremely attractive and tempting to most.
Why are we different? Because we think.
They ate of the fruit the tree of the knowledge of good and evil... that means that, prior to eating of the fruit, they were as innocent as all other animals, who do what they are compelled to do to survive. But, once Man learned right from wrong, he became responsible for his actions. It was time to leave the nest.
I am. I agree with Hiraghm's interpretation of the story.
The danger is that their are a lot of fools who support having Superman run their lives and that can splash over onto the rest of US.
The Superman Idea
The claims of these organizers of humanity raise another question which I have often asked them and which, so far as I know, they have never answered: If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind? The organizers maintain that society, when left undirected, rushes headlong to its inevitable destruction because the instincts of the people are so perverse. The legislators claim to stop this suicidal course and to give it a saner direction. Apparently, then, the legislators and the organizers have received from Heaven an intelligence and virtue that place them beyond and above mankind; if so, let them show their titles to this superiority.
They would be the shepherds over us, their sheep. Certainly such an arrangement presupposes that they are naturally superior to the rest of us. And certainly we are fully justified in demanding from the legislators and organizers proof of this natural superiority.
The Socialists Reject Free Choice
Please understand that I do not dispute their right to invent social combinations, to advertise them, to advocate them, and to try them upon themselves, at their own expense and risk. But I do dispute their right to impose these plans upon us by law—by force—and to compel us to pay for them with our taxes.
I do not insist that the supporters of these various social schools of thought—the Proudhonists, the Cabetists, the Fourierists, the Universitarists, and the Protectionists—renounce their various ideas. I insist only that they renounce this one idea that they have in common: They need only to give up the idea of forcing us to acquiesce to their groups and series, their socialized projects, their free- credit banks, their Graeco-Roman concept of morality, and their commercial regulations. I ask only that we be permitted to decide upon these plans for ourselves; that we not be forced to accept them, directly or indirectly, if we find them to be contrary to our best interests or repugnant to our consciences.
But these organizers desire access to the tax funds and to the power of the law in order to carry out their plans. In addition to being oppressive and unjust, this desire also implies the fatal supposition that the organizer is infallible and mankind is incompetent. But, again, if persons are incompetent to judge for themselves, then why all this talk about universal suffrage? -- Frederick Bastiat 1801 - 1850
“Despotic government has fear as its principle; and not many laws are needed for timid, ignorant, beaten-down people…
After all we have just said, it seams that human nature would rise up incessantly against despotic government. But, despite men’s love of liberty, despite their hatred of violence, most peoples are subjected to this type of government. This is easy to understand. In order to form a moderate government, one must combine powers, regulate them, temper them, make them act; one must give one power a ballast, so to speak, to put it in a position to resist another; this is a masterpiece of legislation that chance rarely produces and prudence is rarely allowed to produce. By contrast, a despotic government leaps to view, so to speak; it is uniform throughout; as only passions are needed to establish it, everyone is good enough for that.” -- Charles-Louis Montesquieu and Social Anthropology #9
Regards,
O.A.
"I was more than anything a radical. I was more sympathetic to Malcolm X than Martin Luther King because Malcolm X was more of a radical who was willing to confront discrimination in ways that I thought it should be confronted, including perhaps the use of violence. But I really just wanted to be left alone. I thought some laws, like minimum-wage laws, helped poor people and poor black people and protected workers from exploitation. I thought they were a good thing until I was pressed by professors to look at the evidence." -- Walter E. Williams
“Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. Capitalism made it possible to become wealthy by serving your fellow man.” -- Walter E. Williams
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong” Dr. Thomas Sowell
“Slavery has existed all over the planet for thousands of years with black, white, yellow and other races being both slaves and enslavers. Does that mean that everybody ought to apologize to everybody else for what their ancestors did? Or are the only people who are supposed to feel guilty the ones who have money that others want to talk them out of?”… THOMAS SOWELL
"Imagine a political system so radical as to promise to move more of the poorest 20% of the population into the richest 20% than remain in the poorest bracket...You don't need to imagine it. It's called the United States of America." - Thomas Sowell
“Despotic government has fear as its principle; and not many laws are needed for timid, ignorant, beaten-down people…
After all we have just said, it seams that human nature would rise up incessantly against despotic government. But, despite men’s love of liberty, despite their hatred of violence, most peoples are subjected to this type of government. This is easy to understand. In order to form a moderate government, one must combine powers, regulate them, temper them, make them act; one must give one power a ballast, so to speak, to put it in a position to resist another; this is a masterpiece of legislation that chance rarely produces and prudence is rarely allowed to produce. By contrast, a despotic government leaps to view, so to speak; it is uniform throughout; as only passions are needed to establish it, everyone is good enough for that.” -- Charles-Louis Montesquieu and Social Anthropology #9
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.” -- Samuel Adams
As I said elsewhere, my father always said that you can't make a man eat a can of peas all at once, but you can make him eat a whole can of peas... one pea at a time. That's how it's been done.
If we'd have hanged Elvis, we might not have rap today. had LL Cool Beans or whatever started spewing the vile "lyrics" typical of rap back then instead of Elvis swiveling his hips, he *would* have been hanged.
Instead, we had Elvis... then the water was turned up a bit with the Beatles... then a bit more with the "hard" rock bands... pretty soon it came to a boil, but we were too used to the temperature to do anything about it.
Back in the 60s and 70s, the pop culture (aka media aka Hollyweird) began promoting the questioning of everything; but not merely questioning it. "Questioning" became synonymous with "criticizing". If one simply asks, "Why do we do things this way?", the question can be answered. But, if one simple belittles and makes fun of long held traditions, for which the conscious reason might be long forgotten, then one is more tolerated when one embraces mores in conflict with the abiding culture.
I remember driving my father nuts asking the "why" of masonry practices. He'd never been taught the "why", he was just taught to do. I had to learn the "why" on my own.
But, included in the new messages of Hollyweird, along with the belittlement of traditional culture, was the insinuation that, because the elders couldn't explain the countless "whys", they were stupid, slow, backwards. To be cool, one had to reject traditional culture. And you know, among young people, almost nothing is more important than being cool.
Part of what inured me was that my father was a contrarian on principle. I believe it was his philosophy that the nose of authority should be tweaked just because it was the nose of authority.
The rest is owed to Heinlein, Asimov, and Pournelle. And I suppose John W. Cambell.
I had a good teacher in 2nd grade who ruined me by teaching me to think for myself, not to accept what authority says. That's how I have the brass to sit here and argue with accomplished people with degrees and high-paying jobs. I used to say that I'm never wrong, because once someone proves me wrong, I change my mind.
I imagine I'm not unique in my stiff-necked-ness. But, most people don't grow up with these disadvantages.
Think about the control sought by the Progressives and the Collective structure with over 20 "green energy" government backed companies with scandals including many bankruptcies. There is a reason that the protections of the republic our Founding Fathers structured have been eroded.
“It is obvious what the fraudulent issue of fascism versus communism accomplishes: it sets up, as opposites, two variants of the same political system; it eliminates the possibility of considering capitalism; it switches the choice of ‘Freedom or dictatorship?’ into ‘Which kind of dictatorship?’—thus establishing dictatorship as an inevitable fact and offering only a choice of rulers. The choice—according to the proponents of that fraud—is: a dictatorship of the rich (fascism) or a dictatorship of the poor (communism). That fraud collapsed in the 1940’s, in the aftermath of World War II. It is too obvious, too easily demonstrable that fascism and communism are not two opposites, but two rival gangs fighting over the same territory—that both are variants of statism, based on the collectivist principle that man is the rightless slave of the state—that both are socialistic, in theory, in practice, and in the explicit statements of their leaders—that under both systems, the poor are enslaved and the rich are expropriated in favor of a ruling clique—that fascism is not the product of the political ‘right,’ but of the ‘left’—that the basic issue is not ‘rich versus poor,’ but man versus the state, or: individual rights versus totalitarian government—which means: capitalism versus socialism.” -- Ayn Rand - philosopher and novelist (1905-1982)
I lightly define "individual liberty" as being "freedom with responsibility".
“ It is easy to destroy a country’s currency. It is very difficult to detroy their sovereignty.” -- George Soros
“Destroying America will be the culmination of my life’s work.” -- George Soros
It's like George Washington never threw a buck across the Potomac.
Why does the right wing lie so much?
Hussein fired on our warplanes flying the no-fly zone to keep him from using WMDs against his own people... AGAIN.
That's an act of war that nullified the armistice. It was an act of war that merited conquest of Iraq, all... by... itself.
But, the left never cared about that, because their general attitude was always "F* the U.S."
Bush didn't lie; if he did, every intelligence agency in the world did.
Hussein had WMDs, because he'd USED WMDs. Aerial and orbital photography showed, while we dithered about invading, trucks of WMD equipment headed for Syria , *which used WMDs just a little while ago, of the same type used by Hussein*.
Hmmmm, you never heard of the Downing Street memo? Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Str...
Leaking the CIA agent's name got people killed. And Bush let Scooter off the hook.
Not uncommon from the right.
and before the supposed "outing" she was in a photo spread for a DC magazine-
Not uncommon from the left.
Everything Mimi just said is true, and documented.
No, it didn't.
BTW, once an apolitical article I wrote got picked up by a mainstread outlet and accounted for a third of a website's traffic. They said, "Give us more of that! Give us more stories with 25,000 readers!" If writing about left/right stuff got me 25,000 readers and I could do it without compromising the truth, I'd probably do it.
I think in general you believe in some liberty, but not all and not for everyone.
There are even books written about it: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Lies-Right-Win...
Hussein *used* WMDs. Hence the no-fly zone as part of the armistice he violated. The WMDs used against the people in Syria most probably originated in Iraq, as we saw truckloads of such materials heading to Syria as we stalled our invasion.
Death panels... a real concern. There's already talk of rationing healthcare under Obama. Healthcare rationing will require some bureaucracy for determining whether a person's life is worth saving.
There may not be a serious problem with "voter cheating", but "voter fraud" is a serious problem, whether it's one vote or a million votes; and there has been examples and evidence throughout the history of the nation, mostly on the local level for local elections, of voter fraud; from ballot boxes being moved before voting closes in a district, to dead Chicagoans voting repeatedly, to military ballots being held up or discounted.
The ID thing is a way for the right to discourage segments they believe to be opposed to them from voting. Sadly that too is simple to see.
No, the ID thing is a way to keep dead people and people not eligible to vote from voting.
Identity theft is rampant (guess what segment of the population benefits most from it...) and you don't want to do a thing to prevent legitimate voters votes being stolen or nullified.
No go back to the Koch brothers, left, right, left...
Make up your mind; either there is no voter fraud, or "so many people" are committing voter fraud. You can't have it both ways.
With a voter ID... NOBODY who is *eligible* to vote is disenfranchised. Only those not eligible.
See? I can throw out out-of-context meaningless words, too.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32cxf_...
He describes The American Puppet Class (1985 interview) that I hear now. "You will be able to show them that black is black and white is white and they will not believe you." Are you mixing or drinking the Kool Aide?
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams
“Be not intimidated... nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.” - John Adams
"There Are Two Ways To Enslave A Country…. One Is By The Sword. The Other Is By Debt." — John Adams
That is why the Left is the danger, not just Obama as an observant foreigner wrote,
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president."
"The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.
The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.
It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”
Tell the "big lie" often enough and folks will buy into it if they agree with it.
“ It is easy to destroy a country’s currency. It is very difficult to detroy their sovereignty.” -- George Soros
“Destroying America will be the culmination of my life’s work.” -- George Soros
Koch Brothers want less government interfering with Americans and the Anti - Americans (those who would subvert the structure preserving the individual citizen's right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" want a master or to be a part of the Collective which they envision running the New Plantation.
If you are not here mixing the Kool Aide, I challenge you to the test for which one of us is an IDIOT = In Denial Intensely Obscuring TRUTH from oneself. I don't dance at the end of the Puppet String Media's strings - Entiende JouroList for starters?
BTW, the George Soros quote turns out to be bogus.
The Progressives with whom the CPUSA has proudly allied itself from the very early 1900s have an agenda described in Atlas Shrugged. It does not require a double digit IQ and that indicates that you are mixing rather than drinking.
Nice try, but communism was never, ever related to any nation. I warned when the Soviet Onion fell that the communists would simply find another sanctuary. It turns out that sanctuary was already prepared for them... in Washington DC.
Hiraghm nailed it. Communism is not Russian -it is a world movement - check CPUSA which proudly proclaims in its website that it is proud of its support and affiliation with the Progressive Party. If you believe that the Founders properly protected US from losing our unalienable rights, you recognize that we are being attacked by a political insurgency whose agenda is the destruction of the America that the Founding Fathers created.
“ It is easy to destroy a country’s currency. It is very difficult to detroy their sovereignty.” -- George Soros
“Destroying America will be the culmination of my life’s work.” -- George Soros
Reagan created some big time challenges for them as the American Loser Brigade screamed in fear that he was going to start a nuclear war by not being Carter-Obama like. The Collective could not compete trying to maintain equality with Americas power.
The American Loser Brigade also ridiculed him for "Star Wars" which saved Israel from what the Chamberlain - Daladier fools had created.
As Hitler admitted: "The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had then marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even a moderate resistance."
Sorry to quibble, but I cringed yesterday when some talking head on tv said that wind power was renewable energy, and renewable energy is preferred.
Wind power, in point of fact, is one of the few non-renewable energy sources. Once the Earth winds down or the sun blows up, wind power go bye-bye.
On the other hand, coal and natural gas *are* renewable; oil may be renewable. Sure, they can't be renewed in a convenient time period, but they *are* renewable.
http://baexpats.org/topic/27975-the-best...
here's ONE case
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio...
Now, just ignore him!
Now you will be saying that once they are 'shipped' South of the Border, they would never see American daylight....
The correct answer is, 'of course they will'...or they would serve no purpose whatsoever.
Can I interest you in a Mexican driver's license? Cheap?
From the article cited, not a threat to our voting process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXx1S6O-T...
http://www.truethevote.org/news/how-wide...
Again, voter fraud is an extremely small problem and all the excitement is from the extreme right who wants to limit those who they believe won't vote for them. It is selfish and unAmerican.
huh.
---
capitalized : a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions
2
: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3
: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect