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International Victims of Communism Day
May. 2nd, 2025 09:54 pmThe estimable Ilya Somin, a law professor and defender of liberty, continues his efforts to have May First declared International Victims of Communism Day, a proposal which I heartily endorse. We should remember the tens of millions who were killed in warfare, outright murdered by the security services of a number of Communist states, or who starved to death in man-made famines. We should also endeavor to make their memories an immunization against future attempts to establish Communism.
Courage and Solidarity
Apr. 26th, 2025 05:26 amA few days ago, I wrote about azaleas, and said that I would follow up with a grimmer post. There was a recent article in The Atlantic about the Trump administration’s efforts to make the country fascist. The author does not think that we are doomed, but does sound the alarm.
Slate magazine published a piece by Radley Balko about attempts to intimidate lawyers and others from giving advice to illegal aliens, or doing various other things which displease the MAGAts in power; lawyers are not the only ones being threatened. There is the temptation to lie low, and not stick your head out. You don’t want to be arrested, you don’t want to be bankrupted with cost of defending yourself against a bogus prosecution. You may have your own children to think about. You may not want to be fired from a civil service job, or from a position at some business or law firm that sees the need to stay in the jefe’s good graces. You don’t want to be clubbed by cops, and then sentenced to years in prison, or made to disappear into CECOT in El Salvador. Let someone else be a hero or martyr.
Not being naturally brave myself, I understand all of this. Nonetheless, if we are to have any hope of preserving constitutional government, we will have to summon up our courage, take risks, and act in solidarity. We will have to suffer various hardships — some of us, at least — to speak out, to dig into our pockets, to give up our ambitions of worldly success, if we are to have any hope of securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Do what you can, according to your skills and resources. If you have time but not money, attend a demonstration. If you are pressured at work to do something to advance the Fascist agenda, refuse, and prepare to look for new employment as a busboy. If you have money to spare, make donations to groups standing up for democracy, or contribute to the legal defense of people being unjustly sued or prosecuted. If you have a way with words, or with graphic design, speak up. Don’t be a scoundrel, and don’t be a bystander. Be as much of a hero as you can manage.
I remember the warnings of Holocaust survivors, from past Holocaust Remembrance Days. “Don’t be a bystander,” was the plea of one survivor. Another said that there are not enough truly evil people in the world to accomplish all the bad deeds that are done, and that the actual Nazis could not have managed without the assistance of the cowards and the conformists. Don’t enroll in either category. Support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Slate magazine published a piece by Radley Balko about attempts to intimidate lawyers and others from giving advice to illegal aliens, or doing various other things which displease the MAGAts in power; lawyers are not the only ones being threatened. There is the temptation to lie low, and not stick your head out. You don’t want to be arrested, you don’t want to be bankrupted with cost of defending yourself against a bogus prosecution. You may have your own children to think about. You may not want to be fired from a civil service job, or from a position at some business or law firm that sees the need to stay in the jefe’s good graces. You don’t want to be clubbed by cops, and then sentenced to years in prison, or made to disappear into CECOT in El Salvador. Let someone else be a hero or martyr.
Not being naturally brave myself, I understand all of this. Nonetheless, if we are to have any hope of preserving constitutional government, we will have to summon up our courage, take risks, and act in solidarity. We will have to suffer various hardships — some of us, at least — to speak out, to dig into our pockets, to give up our ambitions of worldly success, if we are to have any hope of securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Do what you can, according to your skills and resources. If you have time but not money, attend a demonstration. If you are pressured at work to do something to advance the Fascist agenda, refuse, and prepare to look for new employment as a busboy. If you have money to spare, make donations to groups standing up for democracy, or contribute to the legal defense of people being unjustly sued or prosecuted. If you have a way with words, or with graphic design, speak up. Don’t be a scoundrel, and don’t be a bystander. Be as much of a hero as you can manage.
I remember the warnings of Holocaust survivors, from past Holocaust Remembrance Days. “Don’t be a bystander,” was the plea of one survivor. Another said that there are not enough truly evil people in the world to accomplish all the bad deeds that are done, and that the actual Nazis could not have managed without the assistance of the cowards and the conformists. Don’t enroll in either category. Support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Are Trump’s Tariffs Really Shambolic?
Apr. 19th, 2025 02:16 pmI thought that Trump’s rollout of higher tariffs, and then more or less cancellation when the stock market fell, was just a matter of his general incompetence and failure to understand economics. In general, it may be that we should not attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, but at least sometimes, there is an evil scheme behind what appears to be mere bungling.
The other day, I received an email from Senator Chris Murphy, with a column he had co-authored in the Financial Times, making the case that unpredictably changing tariffs actually serve the current Administration’s purposes. Tim Cook made a million dollar donation to Trump’s inaugural committee, and Apple has stayed in the Trump Administration’s good graces. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (my great-great-grandboss) announced that Apple would be exempt from “reciprocal” tariffs on smartphones, servers, memory chips, and some other products from China.
Trump may be smart enough to understand the art of the extortion, and surely some of his myrmidons are. If the president can impose tariffs (which he does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to do), and then fiddle with them at will, adjusting rates and granting or canceling exemptions, then American businesses can be compelled to truckle to him, paying bakhsheesh, not aiding the opposition or hiring people whom the Mango Mussolini has blacklisted, and so forth. That, to paraphrase, is Senator Murphy’s view, and it makes sense.
This is reason why no president can be trusted with too much power, and in particular, why the current gang of scoundrels must not be allowed to exceed its legal authority.
The other day, I received an email from Senator Chris Murphy, with a column he had co-authored in the Financial Times, making the case that unpredictably changing tariffs actually serve the current Administration’s purposes. Tim Cook made a million dollar donation to Trump’s inaugural committee, and Apple has stayed in the Trump Administration’s good graces. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (my great-great-grandboss) announced that Apple would be exempt from “reciprocal” tariffs on smartphones, servers, memory chips, and some other products from China.
Trump may be smart enough to understand the art of the extortion, and surely some of his myrmidons are. If the president can impose tariffs (which he does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to do), and then fiddle with them at will, adjusting rates and granting or canceling exemptions, then American businesses can be compelled to truckle to him, paying bakhsheesh, not aiding the opposition or hiring people whom the Mango Mussolini has blacklisted, and so forth. That, to paraphrase, is Senator Murphy’s view, and it makes sense.
This is reason why no president can be trusted with too much power, and in particular, why the current gang of scoundrels must not be allowed to exceed its legal authority.
Birth Certificate Memo
Apr. 4th, 2025 10:28 pmI should really order a copy of my birth certificate. It may be necessary to have such proof of citizenship in order to vote, and it may be necessary to have it in order to avoid being deported. If things get really bad, though, even having a birth certificate may not protect natural born citizens from being hustled onto an airplane to El Salvador.
Trump’s Tariffs
Mar. 6th, 2025 02:31 am“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises” — United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8
Given that Congress, not the President, has the power to lay taxes and set rates, an ingenuous reader might ask how Trump was able to proclaim higher tariffs on several countries without stirring outrage at this usurpation, and very possibly being impeached. Apparently, there is an act giving the President the power to alter tariffs in response to an emergency, the existence of which is a matter to be judged by the President. One might at least expect Congress to seek to repeal this act, given the breadth of Donald Trump’s view of what constitutes an emergency, but with current political alignment, that is unlikely to be achieved. Trump, who is not educated enough to realize that he is following in the footsteps of King Charles the First, is not in immediate danger of being beheaded, but one may hope that the situation will change.
Trump’s tariffs may do some good, for a specialized sense of the word “good.” Voters who do not care about abstractions like constitutional government, or about events thousands of miles away in Ukraine, may grow disenchanted with the would-be caudillo when the prices of Mexican fruits and vegetables, Canadian lumber, and other products rise, and when Americans are thrown out of work by economic disruption. It is in some sense troubling to wish for public suffering, in the hope that it will discredit an appalling Administration, but that’s what things have come to.
Given that Congress, not the President, has the power to lay taxes and set rates, an ingenuous reader might ask how Trump was able to proclaim higher tariffs on several countries without stirring outrage at this usurpation, and very possibly being impeached. Apparently, there is an act giving the President the power to alter tariffs in response to an emergency, the existence of which is a matter to be judged by the President. One might at least expect Congress to seek to repeal this act, given the breadth of Donald Trump’s view of what constitutes an emergency, but with current political alignment, that is unlikely to be achieved. Trump, who is not educated enough to realize that he is following in the footsteps of King Charles the First, is not in immediate danger of being beheaded, but one may hope that the situation will change.
Trump’s tariffs may do some good, for a specialized sense of the word “good.” Voters who do not care about abstractions like constitutional government, or about events thousands of miles away in Ukraine, may grow disenchanted with the would-be caudillo when the prices of Mexican fruits and vegetables, Canadian lumber, and other products rise, and when Americans are thrown out of work by economic disruption. It is in some sense troubling to wish for public suffering, in the hope that it will discredit an appalling Administration, but that’s what things have come to.
Vivek the Pest
Feb. 26th, 2025 10:36 pmI keep getting emails from Vivek Ramaswamy, who is now running for Governor of Ohio. I can’t say that I think very highly of his fitness for public office, even as Trumpublicans go, and just in case there were much chance of my forgetting, he keeps reminding me that he supports Trump 100%. I should remember to look up who is running for governor on the Democratic ticket, or maybe as the Libertarian candidate, and make a contribution.
I am loyal to my country, but at this point I am also bitterly embarrassed by it. Donald Trump’s antics are appalling, and in particular, his attempt to demand that Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy sign over hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mineral concessions; this sounds like something that an old fashioned European imperial power would have done on a bad day. I know that the United States does not have an unblemished record in its intercourse with other societies, as an American Indian or a Filipino might testify, but since 1940 or so, despite some ugly actions, we have generally been a force for good, and in particular, for upholding a liberal international order. Trump seems to want to junk all that, and have our Republic act as a predatory empire abroad, while imposing something like Victor Orban’s soft authoritarianism (illiberal democracy) at home, if not a worse regime.
Through the wonders of the Internet, I have read what various Europeans have to say about this, and they do not think well of us, nor should they. Furthermore, Donald Trump, unlike an Athenian archon basileos, did not achieve his position by being drawn by lot. He was elected by tens of millions of Americans who knew or should have known what manner of man he is, who did not regard his attempted putsch in 2021 as a disqualification to ever again hold any position of honor, trust, or profit, and who lacked the wisdom or the sense of responsibility and civic duty to see through his demagoguery. This is a national disgrace.
I hope that better times shall someday come, and I respect those fellow citizens who act as befits patriots and decent human beings. Time will tell whether they are actors in a triumph or a tragedy.
Through the wonders of the Internet, I have read what various Europeans have to say about this, and they do not think well of us, nor should they. Furthermore, Donald Trump, unlike an Athenian archon basileos, did not achieve his position by being drawn by lot. He was elected by tens of millions of Americans who knew or should have known what manner of man he is, who did not regard his attempted putsch in 2021 as a disqualification to ever again hold any position of honor, trust, or profit, and who lacked the wisdom or the sense of responsibility and civic duty to see through his demagoguery. This is a national disgrace.
I hope that better times shall someday come, and I respect those fellow citizens who act as befits patriots and decent human beings. Time will tell whether they are actors in a triumph or a tragedy.
Starting a Girlcott
Feb. 3rd, 2025 01:22 amDecades ago, there was a squabble between the United States and New Zealand over the Kiwis not wanting American nuclear submarines to visit their ports. Some anti-nuclear feminists announced a “girlcott”, meaning that they would make a point of buying New Zealand products (I think the American government had sanctioned them to some degree) to show their support for New Zealand’s position.
I have a similar reaction to President Drumpf imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while only 10% on China, in alleged response to the existence of fentanyl smuggling, although really, he’s always been a tariff man (his describing himself as such is one rare case of his telling the truth). At the supermarket on Sunday, I bought some Mexican tomatoes, although I would have bought those anyway, and I made a point of buying a bottle of Canadian maple syrup. On my way out, I stopped at the service center, and tried to tell the two women working there about what I was doing.
Neither of them had heard of Trump’s tariffs (illustrating the aphorism, misascribed to Churchill, that the best argument against democracy is five minutes of conversation with the average voter). I told them what Trump had done, and assured them that I would continue buying Mexican and Canadian products, even if I had to pay more due to the tariff. They accepted this politely, but maybe I should find a way to write to the CEO of Giant Foods.
I have a similar reaction to President Drumpf imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while only 10% on China, in alleged response to the existence of fentanyl smuggling, although really, he’s always been a tariff man (his describing himself as such is one rare case of his telling the truth). At the supermarket on Sunday, I bought some Mexican tomatoes, although I would have bought those anyway, and I made a point of buying a bottle of Canadian maple syrup. On my way out, I stopped at the service center, and tried to tell the two women working there about what I was doing.
Neither of them had heard of Trump’s tariffs (illustrating the aphorism, misascribed to Churchill, that the best argument against democracy is five minutes of conversation with the average voter). I told them what Trump had done, and assured them that I would continue buying Mexican and Canadian products, even if I had to pay more due to the tariff. They accepted this politely, but maybe I should find a way to write to the CEO of Giant Foods.
Trump’s Pardon of the January 6 Rioters
Jan. 23rd, 2025 12:54 amIt seems that the Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed Trump in the past three presidential elections, is dismayed by his pardon of the Trumpist rioters who assaulted Capitol police officers on January 6, 2020.
In the words of that famous meme: “I never expected that leopards would eat my face,” says woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.
Jacob Sullum’s article seems to assume that Leonard Peltier, whom Biden recently pardoned (also to the dismay of the Fraternal Order of Police), was in fact guilty of murdering two FBI agents. I don’t know the truth of the matter, but some people have maintained his innocence. I remember Jack Anderson columns from nearly fifty years ago, alleging official misconduct in the Peltier case; it seems that whether he was involved in the killings or not, some people had it in for him because he was a radical opposing his tribe’s government, and with two FBI agents killed, law enforcement may not have been excessively scrupulous about making sure that they were catching and convicting a murderer, and not just an opponent.
In the words of that famous meme: “I never expected that leopards would eat my face,” says woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.
Jacob Sullum’s article seems to assume that Leonard Peltier, whom Biden recently pardoned (also to the dismay of the Fraternal Order of Police), was in fact guilty of murdering two FBI agents. I don’t know the truth of the matter, but some people have maintained his innocence. I remember Jack Anderson columns from nearly fifty years ago, alleging official misconduct in the Peltier case; it seems that whether he was involved in the killings or not, some people had it in for him because he was a radical opposing his tribe’s government, and with two FBI agents killed, law enforcement may not have been excessively scrupulous about making sure that they were catching and convicting a murderer, and not just an opponent.
Our Long National Nightmare Continues
Nov. 10th, 2024 10:16 pmI remember, back in 2016, when I learned that Trump had won the election, I posted some comments on my blog (LiveJournal back then), including “To emend Gerald Ford, our long national nightmare is just beginning.” I was right, but I did not foresee that after losing the 2020 presidential election, attempting to conduct an autogolpe, and departing from the White House in disgrace, Donald Trump would be re-elected in 2024.
I have been thinking about a story, “Sam Hall,” written by the great Poul Anderson during the 1950s. After being defeated in war by the Soviet Union, and clawing its way back to strength and then to world domination, the United States is an authoritarian, essentially dictatorial country. One character, an officer in Security, says “The people demanded it at the time.” Another, hearing him, reflects (I’m quoting from memory), “The people never appreciated their birthright until they had lost it. Or is it that, not being trained in thinking, they were unable to visualize the consequences of what they demanded?”
Let us hope that this does not come true in the real world, for Anderson’s grandchildren and the rest of us.
I have been thinking about a story, “Sam Hall,” written by the great Poul Anderson during the 1950s. After being defeated in war by the Soviet Union, and clawing its way back to strength and then to world domination, the United States is an authoritarian, essentially dictatorial country. One character, an officer in Security, says “The people demanded it at the time.” Another, hearing him, reflects (I’m quoting from memory), “The people never appreciated their birthright until they had lost it. Or is it that, not being trained in thinking, they were unable to visualize the consequences of what they demanded?”
Let us hope that this does not come true in the real world, for Anderson’s grandchildren and the rest of us.
Courage and Hope
Nov. 9th, 2024 04:25 am“Courage is fear faced with resolution.” It is time for all decent Americans, including natural wusses like me, to face the situation with courage, and to do what we can to prevent the Trumpublicans from ending our country’s experiment in constitutional government. Two and a half century old words about “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” written by men who were making themselves very much eligible for hanging, and many of whom did greatly suffer for their commitment, come to mind. I do not expect Trump’s opponents to be hanged, or to be imprisoned in prison hulks where starving inmates marinate in sewage, not at first, but Trump has promised retribution against his enemies, and for once I believe him. The Department of Justice and other agencies can be used to wage lawfare against Trump’s real or perceived enemies, and if a fascist administration is able to fully entrench itself, things may become worse.
Americans who wish to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity had better be prepared to exercise courage. I do not mean to be melodramatic, and the worse may not come to the worst, but there has certainly been tyranny and injustice in America — for example, in the Jim Crow South, or during Woodrow Wilson’s administration — and we had best be clear-eyed about the possibilities. As Edmund Burke said, there is no safety for good men, but in believing all possible evil of bad men.
I do see some grounds for hope, both in our better traditions, in our federalist system, which poses obstacles to a bad president consolidating power, and also in the problems which the new administration will face. I have not adapted Lenin’s ethos, that the worse things get, the better, but I do point out that various prospective calamities may at least have the benefit of discrediting Trump and his faction. We are likely headed for another Great Recession, as the eighteen year real estate cycle reaches the bust phase in about 2026. Then, there are the government’s huge deficits and growing national debt. If Trump succeeds in imposing huge tariffs, the ignoramuses who think he’s fighting for them may discover that “tariff” is not the most beautiful word in the dictionary. If Russia overruns Ukraine, or if China defeats the United States in a war in the Western Pacific, there may be a reaction against the fools and admirers of foreign tyrants responsible for our national shame and the severe erosion of our international standing.
I do not expect recovery to be easy, if it be even possible, but with Trump or Vance as President, a Republican majority in the Senate, and perhaps a Republican majority in the House as well, the GOP fully owns whatever may go wrong. That will not produce an ideal situation — I have plenty of disagreements with the Democrats as well — but defeat is a stern teacher, and we may hope to see some scoundrels driven from power and some bad ideas discredited.
Courage and hope, my countrymen.
Americans who wish to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity had better be prepared to exercise courage. I do not mean to be melodramatic, and the worse may not come to the worst, but there has certainly been tyranny and injustice in America — for example, in the Jim Crow South, or during Woodrow Wilson’s administration — and we had best be clear-eyed about the possibilities. As Edmund Burke said, there is no safety for good men, but in believing all possible evil of bad men.
I do see some grounds for hope, both in our better traditions, in our federalist system, which poses obstacles to a bad president consolidating power, and also in the problems which the new administration will face. I have not adapted Lenin’s ethos, that the worse things get, the better, but I do point out that various prospective calamities may at least have the benefit of discrediting Trump and his faction. We are likely headed for another Great Recession, as the eighteen year real estate cycle reaches the bust phase in about 2026. Then, there are the government’s huge deficits and growing national debt. If Trump succeeds in imposing huge tariffs, the ignoramuses who think he’s fighting for them may discover that “tariff” is not the most beautiful word in the dictionary. If Russia overruns Ukraine, or if China defeats the United States in a war in the Western Pacific, there may be a reaction against the fools and admirers of foreign tyrants responsible for our national shame and the severe erosion of our international standing.
I do not expect recovery to be easy, if it be even possible, but with Trump or Vance as President, a Republican majority in the Senate, and perhaps a Republican majority in the House as well, the GOP fully owns whatever may go wrong. That will not produce an ideal situation — I have plenty of disagreements with the Democrats as well — but defeat is a stern teacher, and we may hope to see some scoundrels driven from power and some bad ideas discredited.
Courage and hope, my countrymen.
More from the Grifter
Nov. 5th, 2024 09:19 pmI just received an email appeal from the Trump campaign, mistakenly addressing me as “Friend,” and then saying, “President [sic] Trump is TIED in every Swing State … and we’re PANICKING because Kamala Harris’s turnout machine is MUCH stronger than we anticipated.”
One can hope. But the further point is they were seeking at least a thousand “patriots” to donate $25 or more. I have to wonder what either campaign could do with $25,000 at this point that could possibly change the outcome, whatever it may turn out to be. This looks like Trump grifting again.
One can hope. But the further point is they were seeking at least a thousand “patriots” to donate $25 or more. I have to wonder what either campaign could do with $25,000 at this point that could possibly change the outcome, whatever it may turn out to be. This looks like Trump grifting again.
A Threat to Public Health
Nov. 5th, 2024 07:40 amI will go to the polling place after breakfast. Meanwhile, just in case you don’t have enough reasons to vote against Dishonest Donald, the rotten orange has said of the anti-vaxxer crackpot Robert Kennedy, Junior, that if elected, “I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines.”
Trump Is So a Fascist
Nov. 3rd, 2024 06:29 pmJacob Sullum, whom I respect highly for his clear thinking and analysis, as well as for his pro-liberty outlook, wrote a column for Reason magazine taking the position that Trump is not thoughtful enough to be a fascist. Mr. Sullum does not praise Donald Trump, nor deny his authoritarian impulses, and does regard the Narcissistic Personality Disorder poster boy as a public menace, but he maintains that pronouncements that arise merely from Trump’s ego and gut feelings of the moment do not make him an actual fascist.
I disagree. There have been fascist intellectuals, but it is not necessary to be an intellectual, or even to be capable of reading and understanding the writings of a fascist intellectual, in order to be a fascist. A thick-witted, uneducated lout can manage it, if he has a particular set of prejudices and loyalties. Such a lout is typically loyal to his country, and may be loudly religious, although this does not keep from taking a dim view of clergy who hold the wrong political views, or who remind the laity that people of all factions are sinners. The lout favors being tough on crime, except crimes committed by himself and his fellow brownshirts or Ku Kluxers, and is contemptuous of concern for due process of law, and letting those accused of real crimes or of political dissent receive fair trials.
The lout’s proclaimed patriotism and love of his fellow citizens does not extend to those compatriots who are of the wrong ethnicity, or who, while loving their country, are not fans of the Glorious Leader, or who practice the wrong religion. The lout is contemptuous of pointy-headed intellectuals, who lack manliness and point out inconvenient truths that challenge his view of the world. The lout is anti-Communist (someone with similar faults can be a Communist, but then his political classification is other than fascist), but is not in favor of free enterprise, which often lets the wrong people become rich and influential. Instead, he wants the government to direct industry to serve the country, and to serve the right kind of people; he may hope to given a business seized from a Jew, or want the government to bankrupt billionaires who support the opposition.
Someone does not need an IQ above 85 to be a fascist foot soldier of this kind, or even to be the leader of a fascist movement, as Donald Trump is.
I disagree. There have been fascist intellectuals, but it is not necessary to be an intellectual, or even to be capable of reading and understanding the writings of a fascist intellectual, in order to be a fascist. A thick-witted, uneducated lout can manage it, if he has a particular set of prejudices and loyalties. Such a lout is typically loyal to his country, and may be loudly religious, although this does not keep from taking a dim view of clergy who hold the wrong political views, or who remind the laity that people of all factions are sinners. The lout favors being tough on crime, except crimes committed by himself and his fellow brownshirts or Ku Kluxers, and is contemptuous of concern for due process of law, and letting those accused of real crimes or of political dissent receive fair trials.
The lout’s proclaimed patriotism and love of his fellow citizens does not extend to those compatriots who are of the wrong ethnicity, or who, while loving their country, are not fans of the Glorious Leader, or who practice the wrong religion. The lout is contemptuous of pointy-headed intellectuals, who lack manliness and point out inconvenient truths that challenge his view of the world. The lout is anti-Communist (someone with similar faults can be a Communist, but then his political classification is other than fascist), but is not in favor of free enterprise, which often lets the wrong people become rich and influential. Instead, he wants the government to direct industry to serve the country, and to serve the right kind of people; he may hope to given a business seized from a Jew, or want the government to bankrupt billionaires who support the opposition.
Someone does not need an IQ above 85 to be a fascist foot soldier of this kind, or even to be the leader of a fascist movement, as Donald Trump is.
An Announcement and Endorsement
Oct. 27th, 2024 01:52 amIn the first federal election in which I was old enough to vote, I helped re-elect Ronald Reagan. In subsequent presidential elections, I have voted for Republicans and for Libertarians (I voted Libertarian in 1992, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020), but never for a Democrat.
I have made a campaign donation to help elect Kamala Harris, and fully intend to vote for her on November 5. I do not agree with many of her policy proposals, and do not think that she is notably wise or ethical, but she is not a Russian asset, does not proclaim her intention to be a dictator on day one, has not announced that if she is elected, her supporters will never have to vote again, does not promise retribution against her opponents, does not have a record of massive corruption, is not a moron, and does not give evidence of having sunk into dementia from Alzheimer’s disease and/or tertiary syphilis. These are things which cannot be said for Donald Trump.
In the past two elections, where Dishonest Donald was a candidate, it did not seem that Virginia could plausibly go either way, so I could vote Libertarian without much danger of throwing the election from a poor candidate to a horrible candidate. This year, I have decided to do my bit to help Ms Harris win Virginia’s electoral votes, and also get a majority of the popular vote nationwide. I did, as I have mentioned in an earlier post, make a campaign contribution to support Chase Oliver, and I do not regret it. I hope that he gets some votes, and helps remind the public and the politicians that libertarian-inclined voters exist, and cannot be safely ignored.
But I say to my fellow citizens: if you live in a state like Wyoming or Massachusetts, which is not remotely in play, then you can vote for a third party candidate according to your conscience. If, however, you do not, then I respectfully call on you to help preserve constitutional government and keep America from becoming a Russian puppet by voting for Harris.
I have made a campaign donation to help elect Kamala Harris, and fully intend to vote for her on November 5. I do not agree with many of her policy proposals, and do not think that she is notably wise or ethical, but she is not a Russian asset, does not proclaim her intention to be a dictator on day one, has not announced that if she is elected, her supporters will never have to vote again, does not promise retribution against her opponents, does not have a record of massive corruption, is not a moron, and does not give evidence of having sunk into dementia from Alzheimer’s disease and/or tertiary syphilis. These are things which cannot be said for Donald Trump.
In the past two elections, where Dishonest Donald was a candidate, it did not seem that Virginia could plausibly go either way, so I could vote Libertarian without much danger of throwing the election from a poor candidate to a horrible candidate. This year, I have decided to do my bit to help Ms Harris win Virginia’s electoral votes, and also get a majority of the popular vote nationwide. I did, as I have mentioned in an earlier post, make a campaign contribution to support Chase Oliver, and I do not regret it. I hope that he gets some votes, and helps remind the public and the politicians that libertarian-inclined voters exist, and cannot be safely ignored.
But I say to my fellow citizens: if you live in a state like Wyoming or Massachusetts, which is not remotely in play, then you can vote for a third party candidate according to your conscience. If, however, you do not, then I respectfully call on you to help preserve constitutional government and keep America from becoming a Russian puppet by voting for Harris.
There was an article in Slate a few days ago, about how incarcerated people view the presidential race, and Trump’s felony conviction in particular. It is a serious article, which reports that many convicts, especially white convicts, are pro-Trump, but it reminds me of a hilarious column from eight years ago.
That column was based on a controversy about voting (I think that, in a particular state, ex-cons who had served their sentences were allowed to vote, which the Republicans objected to). Perhaps a Democratic politician had said that Republicans were free to appeal to the ex-con vote. The columnist was a real wit, writing a Republican appeal to criminals serving their time, using slang, and informing the intended audience that Hillary Clinton had denounced crime, and done things like working with Mexico to crack down on drug cartels. “Do you want someone like that in the White House?” Trump, by contrast, had a record of criminal associations and sleazy dealing, like the time he tried to use eminent domain to grab a widow’s home as part of a parking lot for his casino. The column admitted that “some wack judge” had prevented seizure of the widow’s home from going through, but still.
There is a Nancy button saying, “I know that life imitates art, but must it imitate satire?” In this case, it does.
That column was based on a controversy about voting (I think that, in a particular state, ex-cons who had served their sentences were allowed to vote, which the Republicans objected to). Perhaps a Democratic politician had said that Republicans were free to appeal to the ex-con vote. The columnist was a real wit, writing a Republican appeal to criminals serving their time, using slang, and informing the intended audience that Hillary Clinton had denounced crime, and done things like working with Mexico to crack down on drug cartels. “Do you want someone like that in the White House?” Trump, by contrast, had a record of criminal associations and sleazy dealing, like the time he tried to use eminent domain to grab a widow’s home as part of a parking lot for his casino. The column admitted that “some wack judge” had prevented seizure of the widow’s home from going through, but still.
There is a Nancy button saying, “I know that life imitates art, but must it imitate satire?” In this case, it does.
On the Edge of the Democratic Party
Oct. 12th, 2024 09:10 pmDavid Brooks, a non-MAGA conservative has an interesting piece at The Atlantic about how he has moved to the fringes of the Democratic Party, as a consequence of the trumpification of the former Party of Lincoln. Although I do not agree with his own every word, he appears both sincere and thoughtful, and his political journey is not enormously different from my own, although not the same. As a classical liberal who cast his first presidential vote to re-elect Ronald Reagan, I have voted for Libertarians in some elections, and for Republicans in others; recently, I have voted for Democrats.
I have made a campaign construction to help get more votes for Chase Oliver, the Libertarian presidential candidate. I am not sure whether I should vote for him, or for Kamala Harris. I am also not sure whether I should make a campaign contribution to help Harris get more votes in purple states. I am also not sure whether Virginia will be close enough that I should hold my nose and vote for Harris, or vote for Oliver.
I have made a campaign construction to help get more votes for Chase Oliver, the Libertarian presidential candidate. I am not sure whether I should vote for him, or for Kamala Harris. I am also not sure whether I should make a campaign contribution to help Harris get more votes in purple states. I am also not sure whether Virginia will be close enough that I should hold my nose and vote for Harris, or vote for Oliver.
Arlington and NIMBYism
Oct. 2nd, 2024 03:14 amArlington, Virginia, where I have lived for close to half my life, is in the news over housing issues. The County Board enacted a rather modest measure to permit the construction of multi-family housing in certain neighborhoods, the local Nimbies sued, and a judge recently ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. I don’t much like the result, although I express no opinion on the legal merits of the case. I voted for pro-Expanded Housing Options candidates, and did not respond to appeals to contribute to financing the lawsuit.
