Topic: 2014 Races...if anybody cares...

[Pandora]

You note I posted EIGHTEEN votes that you would have willing given to people who would vote against YOU 100% of the time.  I DO think we should primary them, I do think, especially in conservative states like South Carolina we should fight tooth and nail to replace a 51% Senator with a 100% Senator, who stands for truth, justice, and the American way. What I do NOT think is that it is BETTER to have Democrats rushing our country to destruction than someone who is not always wrong.

What you pointed out was that he won appointment by ONE VOTE, squishes notwithstanding.  And we are still stuck with a split USSC, with Kennedy as the swing vote and Roberts as who-knows-f**k-all.  'K?

Your 51% theory?  It depends on WHICH 51% of the vote they're for us; not doing us much good ::snort::   if they vote with us on the nominal stuff and stab us in the crotch on the vitals, which they are prone to do.

Debt ceiling much?

The Democrats cheat; the Republicans won't fight.  Neither cares about the country, they just care about their sinecures and next the election.

FAIL.

I'm not having it.

[ChrstnHsbndFthr]

The "we all die" plan sucks. I am sorry, but it just SUCKS. How about we look to a plan where we all live? Or if not all, at least most? You did not address what happened in the civil war. Would anyone really endure that again?  Look at percentages. How many would die today if the same percentages were killed? God forbid. And I suspect this will be far worse. Did we not do BETTER confirming Clarence Thomas than confirming Ruth Ginsberg? That should be obvious...she has NEVER voted with the American people. What about Justice Kennedy? I do not trust him, I do not like him, etc.....BUT, he voted with us on the Second Amendment, and various other things that support liberty. True, he has made bad votes. Name, if you can, a democrat appointed Justice who is considered to vote with us even HALF the time, not even MORE THAN HALF, as Justice Kennedy has done?

[Pandora]

The "we all die" plan sucks. I am sorry, but it just SUCKS. How about we look to a plan where we all live? Or if not all, at least most? You did not address what happened in the civil war. Would anyone really endure that again?  Look at percentages. How many would die today if the same percentages were killed? God forbid. And I suspect this will be far worse. Did we not do BETTER confirming Clarence Thomas than confirming Ruth Ginsberg? That should be obvious...she has NEVER voted with the American people. What about Justice Kennedy? I do not trust him, I do not like him, etc.....BUT, he voted with us on the Second Amendment, and various other things that support liberty. True, he has made bad votes. Name, if you can, a democrat appointed Justice who is considered to vote with us even HALF the time, not even MORE THAN HALF, as Justice Kennedy has done?

Die I write the "we all die" plan, hmm?  More emotion, Laddie (no)WillPower.  Neither will we not all live, no matter what happens; mortality is a built-in.  It's how we die that counts, and you know that.

Thomas squeaked by by one vote, AS YOU WROTE, and since then, the Republicans have regularly voted in the worst cabinet appointees and judges on the grounds that the president is entitled to his nominations.  Kennedy has voted against us more often than with us and the marriage issue will be coming up in short time.  What do you think we're gonna get with that, particularly after Roberts sold us out.  NSA much?

You want to keep insisting that the ballot box still has relevance and I disagree, as well as more than a few of us here.  Let's just say we are a little ahead of the wave.  More and more are coming to this opinion.  There's nothing more to say, really.

[ChrstnHsbndFthr]

There's nothing more to say, really.

Agreed, but sadly so.

[Pandora]

No moping.

[AmericanPatriot]

CHF, when those you mentioned vote "with us" it is of matters of small consequence.
They always vote against Liberty and for bigger government

[Libertas]

People are growing more and more fed up with the choice being one of a hard progressive agenda or a soft progressive agenda or nothing.  If anybody can argue that is a valid set of choices I'd love to hear it.  And this dynamic will not change one iota until a fourth way is found.  I'd love to see that fourth way be peaceful, I'd love to see a restoration of the Republic our Founders established...but please, show me a realistic path (that does not include in any way continued reliance upon the rotting carcass of the GOP) in a realistic time frame (one that can beat our inexorable economic ruin) and by God Alimighty I will jump in with both feet.  To date I have not seen this plan.  MacWell's effort, and others like it, are a step in the right direction.  Even though I fear the time factor may be too long for it to reach fruition, these efforts are important in highlighting our enormous differences with our anti-Republican anti-Founders Ruling Class enemies in BOTH major parties.  Our enemies must know we will not go down without a fight, that we will not go quiet and that we will always stand up for what we believe in and that we will not stop highlighting their treachery and wickedness!

[ChrstnHsbndFthr]

If the civil war was fought today, and the percentages of the population dying remained the same, SEVEN MILLION AMERICANS DIE!!  Consider that the government weaponry is much better now than it was then. The disparity between federal weapons and civilian weapons is huge.  Sure, in that day the average citizen did not own a cannon or a mortar, but they could build them. Today, the weaponry at hand for the government will be tanks, machine guns, fighter helicopters, fighter planes, and even nuclear weaponry.    I think much more than 2.5% of the population will die in the next civil war, should there be one.  That is almost unthinkable.  Far better for us to fight in the polling booth, fight in the primaries, run for office ourselves if need be, but God forbid it comes to open warfare. It would be the end of freedom, not the beginning. Those who are willing to wage war on the people who elected them will kill any number necessary to maintain their power.  And they will win.  The only hope would be that some soldiers, and pilots, and generals, etc...might balk at killing their own people.  But, they will be lied to, deceived on the deepest levels, and probably fooled, at least those who do not join willingly in the slaughter.  And even those suspected of sympathizing with the American public will be killed quickly, culled before the serious war on us begins. 


God help us all if we cannot maintain our liberty at the ballot box.

[Libertas]

It will be no less than three times that amount CHF, let there be no illusions.

And we are today seeing state military power unleashed upon its own citizenry under the auspices of combatting terrorists, and if you have any doubts the terrorists are those people who desire to be independent and free...not too dissimilar to our yearnings here, eh?  And yes we are not Ukraine...yet.  The it-will-never-happen-here crowd better wake up and take note.  We have already documented numerous instances where government agencies and the military consider us potential "terrorists" and are conducting exercises along those lines.  The Fedcoats I am sure are using those millions of rounds of hollowpoints for peaceful training purposes.  The Prism spying, drones over our cities...being ordered to cower in your home and having all rights suspended and violated at state whim is all for our protection and the continuance of our constitutional republic...in name only.

Yes, God help us.  Our ballot box is corrupt and failing fast.  The time of the ammo box is ascending.

Win or lose, there is a right and wrong side.  I am perfectly willing to die fighting on the right side.

Liberty or Death!

Our Founders choice will become our decision...we either renew the pledge or live on our knees in servitude to the state.

Do what you will in the interim, but that choice is coming...there is no soul that can avoid it.

[Weisshaupt]

Those who are willing to wage war on the people who elected them will kill any number necessary to maintain their power.  And they will win.  The only hope would be that some soldiers, and pilots, and generals, etc...might balk at killing their own people.  But, they will be lied to, deceived on the deepest levels, and probably fooled, at least those who do not join willingly in the slaughter.  And even those suspected of sympathizing with the American public will be killed quickly, culled before the serious war on us begins.  .

Soon as the begin "culling" the fighting starts - they can't kill 100,000 people "quietly"
They have fighters, and tanks  and whatever. So what?  Are they going to launch rockets at suburban homes?  Did you see what is going on in the Ukrane?
We have Military Vets to train the civvys, and we are educated and can make bombs and other weapons as well.
A bunch of towel heads are still over there fighting our jets and tanks, and doing so effectively
The Machines need fuel, the troops need food,  and they will have saboteurs  everywhere  and a population of spoiled, unruly porch monkeys to control. Cut off the water, the fuel the sewers to the cities. They have bigger problems immediately. Yes - our fellow citizens suffer, but since 80% of the people in the cities are the enemy, the other 20% will just have to get out or weather the storm.

They will not "win" without using WMD  - if only 3% resist - that is 9 MILLION  people.  We have them outnumbered, and probably outgunned. As long as we don't concentrate in any one spot they have no targets to hit.  We just shoot anyone comes round in a uniform and run.   We don't even really have to co-ordinate with each other.  They will loose if 3 Million just wait for the SWAT team at their house.  As long as you take one with you, they run out of people long before we do. But yes I am expecting 200,000 dead.  But I would rather be DEAD than knuckle under. Liberty or Death, and Death isn't exactly plan A.

[Glock32]

What's the option then? We have to tolerate a pseudo-tyranny or else they'll take the gloves off and become a full tyranny? This is the problem with accepting things on the basis that they're marginally better -- it creates the very conditions in which that marginally better thing is now the default option.

While playing the "Republicans at least aren't as bad as the Democrats" game for all these decades, we have nevertheless had the entire culture pulled ever leftward. How do you stop that? Maybe if people had gotten serious about primarying statists in the GOP 30-40 years ago, but any effort to change the GOP from within is always met with leadership's long knives. It's more than just a political fight now, because the entire system has become institutionally Leftist. You're fighting not just to win votes in a rigged electoral process, but against the inertia of a system that has been engineered to always move Left.

[ChrstnHsbndFthr]

http://www.redstate.com/2014/02/19/why-this-fight/  I found the discussion interesting and thought others here would too. 

I cannot express the depth of my sadness at what has become of my country, but I really dread what may come of open warfare. Better to tone our political prowess, win the defense  of the true vote, convince others of the need to fight for liberty in the ballot box, and then WIN.  But, my position is still that the path to winning is 50% plus one. If we throw over board everyone who is imperfect we end up standing alone. We are all individuals and have slightly different views. In our current situation, building coalitions, not destroying them, is the route to victory. I can say clearly, that I think McConnell's time for replacement has come, but with Bevin, NOT with Grimes. Grimes will be 100% against us. McConnell has been less than perfect and flat wrong on some issues. But not even 50% of the time.  Let us win in the primary.  Let Bevin beat Grimes, but we must not stand idly by, and allow McConnell to win the primary and then vote for Grimes or fail to vote. And the same scenario plays out across the country.  The path to victory is not purity, but majority.  THEN we can get the majority in our own party. Then we can get wins for liberty. That strategy will win, and no one dies.

[AmericanPatriot]

http://www.redstate.com/2014/02/19/why-this-fight/  I found the discussion interesting and thought others here would too. 

I cannot express the depth of my sadness at what has become of my country, but I really dread what may come of open warfare. Better to tone our political prowess, win the defense  of the true vote, convince others of the need to fight for liberty in the ballot box, and then WIN.  But, my position is still that the path to winning is 50% plus one. If we throw over board everyone who is imperfect we end up standing alone. We are all individuals and have slightly different views. In our current situation, building coalitions, not destroying them, is the route to victory. I can say clearly, that I think McConnell's time for replacement has come, but with Bevin, NOT with Grimes. Grimes will be 100% against us. McConnell has been less than perfect and flat wrong on some issues. But not even 50% of the time.  Let us win in the primary.  Let Bevin beat Grimes, but we must not stand idly by, and allow McConnell to win the primary and then vote for Grimes or fail to vote. And the same scenario plays out across the country.  The path to victory is not purity, but majority.  THEN we can get the majority in our own party. Then we can get wins for liberty. That strategy will win, and no one dies.

I would also wish that it could be played out peaceably.
However, your scenario relies on time that I don't think we have.

You only turn over 1/3 of the Senate every 2 years.
Something like 90% of incumbents get elected so not even the house will change much.
2010, although not unique, was quite rare.

I did, today, read an email from the Sovereign Man that talked about some of these very things.

I quote it below:

It's pretty ironic that I have two visitors right now in my home-- one from Ukraine and the other from Thailand.

 Both of their countries are in the midst of chaotic turmoil right now, characterized by riots and violent clashes between protestors and police.

 It reminds me of the old quote from Louis XVI upon being informed in 1789 that the French people had stormed the Bastille. The King asked, "Is it a revolt?" 

 "No, sire," the duke replied, "It is a revolution."

 People in both of these countries have reached their breaking points. In Ukraine especially, economic conditions have deteriorated in almost spectacular form. 

 History is packed with examples of how people rise up in the streets whenever economic conditions deteriorate.

 The French Revolution in 1789 is one famous example; the French people finally reached their breaking points after nearly starving to death. 

 The 2011 Egyptian Revolution and entire Arab Spring movement is a similar example.

 In fact, a 2011 study from the New England Complex Systems Institute showed a clear statistical correlation between social unrest and (specifically) food prices. The higher food prices get, the greater the chances of riots and revolution.

 This is not a condition exclusive to the developing world; it is a fundamental human trait to provide for one's family. 

 And while human beings will take a lot of crap from their governments-- stupid regulations, higher taxes, erosion of freedom, and even inflation-- the moment that a man is no longer able to put food on the table for his family, revolution foments.

 Europe and the US are not immune to this. And with deteriorating wealth gaps, 50%+ youth unemployment, unchecked government power, and a system that disproportionately favors the elite, the conditions are ripe.

 The main difference is that Westerners have been brainwashed into believing that the civilized people voice their grievances in a voting booth rather than doing battle in the streets.

 It's a false premise. Unfortunately, so is violent revolution.

 As my dictionary so perfectly defines, "revolution" has two meanings.

 First, it can denote an overthrow of a sitting government, whether violent or 'bloodless'.

 But in celestial terms, 'revolution' denotes a complete orbit around a fixed axis. In other words, after one revolution, you end up right back where you started. 

 So whether violent or non-violent, or whether in a voting booth or on the streets, revolutions put a country right back where it started.

 In the French revolution, people traded an absolute monarch in Louis the XVI for a genocidal dictator in Robespierre for a military dictator in Napoleon.

 In 1917, the Russians traded Tsarist autocracy for Communist autocracy.

 In 2011, Egyptians traded Hosni Mubarak for Mohamad Hussein Tantawi (who subsequently suspended the Constitution), for Mohamed Morsi (who as President awarded himself unlimited powers), for yet another coup d'etat.

 All of this is because of a knee-jerk reaction-- 'if our country is having major problems, we should throw the bums out and let the man on the white horse take over.'

 This creates a never-ending cycle in which the fundamental problems perpetuate.

 It's not about any single person or group of people. It is the system itself that needs changing. 

 In our system we award a tiny elite with the power to kill, steal, wage war, educate our children, and conjure unlimited quantities of paper money out of thin air. 

 This is just plain silly. And antiquated. We're not living in the Middle Ages anymore where we need kings to tell us what to do, knights to keep the peace, and serfs to do all the work (and enrich the nobles).

 Yet this is not too far from the system we have today.

 The real answer is within ourselves. As Ron Paul told our audience in Santiago last year, become less dependent on the government and more self-reliant. 

 This idea is beginning to resonate with more and more people who are increasingly disgusted with the system... and all parties.

 With our modern technology, transportation, and access to information, we have all the tools available to do this.

 

[Weisshaupt]

I would also wish that it could be played out peaceably.
However, your scenario relies on time that I don't think we have.

Agreed. The dollar will be done and there will be no food on the table within the next ten years.
Again I challenge anyone to tell me how they could fix it even if I made them king with absolute (but not magical)  powers  today.
The point of no return is passed.  Starvation and violent conflict in some form are assured and the ball is in our government's court.

Thay may either attempt a full police state before the dollar goes, or they can just abdicate power along with the dollar as it collapses. 
If they can't pay anyone, they can't enforce anything.  If they can't engender the required fear to keep the citizens in line, as the Soviets did and other despotic dictators do,  then they will be ignored.  And we are still armed, and angry. I am not fearful. I am content to die fighting for my liberty. The  Second Amendment is our ace in the hole, as it was intended to be.

Attempting to disarm us starts a war.  Attempting to force a police state upon us starts a war - and they are both wars fought on the home turf of people in their homes - by people willing to die.  What are the people on the side of the govt fighting for? More citizen snacks? The right to enslave their fellow man and live off their produce as some sort of house slave?  How inspiring.  I am sure they will find lots of folks willing to risk dying to kill the very people they need for that to happen.

 Or the politicians simply watch the whole thing disintegrate as people refuse to pay taxes, and the feral pack of  of non-contributing dogs  they bought and paid for with citizen snacks  turns on them, riots and turns the cities into flaming cesspools of crime.

NOTHING CAN STOP THIS.  It will be one or the other form of Chaos. 

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

Like our forefathers, we will have to put our faith and trust in God, that he will not let Freedom perish from the earth, and fight for what we know is right, by all means available to whatever end that leads us.( and that includes political, perhaps a different group could change the degree of the disaster even if it cannot be avoided, my doubts aside. )   We know it is coming, so we do what we can to prepare. Become as self-sufficient as you can. Get ready to resist and fight - mentally and physically- for a peaceful  solution is impossible. 

Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!

Famous Speeches: Aragorn at the Black Gate

Revolutions often do not turn out well, but we are unique in that we have the tradition spawned by the first revolution in history to not go tyrannical. The first in which the man in power - George Washington,  Voluntarily stepped down and threw the ring of fire into the fires of Mount Doom.   That set a precedent with those fighting for freedom, and any man who leads this fight and wins and who  doesn't follow in Washington's lead will probably be turned on by his own men and quickly.

Fixed the youtube url. - P.

[Pandora]

The Rise of the Praetorian Class

By Pete Kofod

Much attention has been paid to the “disappearing middle class” and the “vanishing American Dream.” While the observations are largely accurate, they are also misleading. The traditional three-tier model of the upper, middle and lower class broadly categorizes people according to income and net worth. One significant problem with this model is that membership in any particular class is very much in the eye of the beholder. One man’s “scraping by” is another man’s “opulent living.” This subjective and arbitrary grouping and boundary assessment inevitably gives rise to the simmering class warfare that is starting to rear its ugly head in many Western countries. Such categorization is therefore meaningless at best, if not outright deceptive as it conflates a variety of economic actors.

The chief fallacy of this model rests in the fact that it focuses on how much those actors are compensated, as opposed to how and why they are compensated. A far better perspective is perhaps gained using two classes, the Political Class and the Economic Class, with a third class emerging.

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker – The Economic Class

The Economic Class, at least in the United States, has historically been the numerically dominant group, although in recent decades its dominance has noticeably waned. The economic class would traditionally be called the Private Sector, but even that term has become misleading for reasons we will delve into later in this article.

Members of the Economic Class provide goods and services that are voluntarily sought by consumers and paid at rates that the market will bear. In an unfettered environment, the economic class would count farmers, engineers, coal miners, artists, physicians, janitorial staff, security guards, merchants and company executives among its membership. They participate freely and competitively in the market place, using the economic principles of Division of Labor and the Law of Comparative Advantage to increase the wealth of society as well as improve their personal position. Capital, entrepreneurial and human resources are brought together collaboratively to meet the needs of the market place. This is standard Economics 101 fare and hopefully generates little controversy among the readership. The important factor defining Economic Class membership is not the amount of money a person earns but rather their participation in the free and open market.

The Lazy Highwaymen – The Political Class

Like the Economic Class, members of the Political Class are not properly defined by their wealth but rather by how they exert influence in the market place. Whereas members of the Economic Class engage the market openly and voluntarily, members of the Political Class employ coercion and deceit to achieve their economic objectives. The coercion and deceit may either be exerted directly or, as is increasingly observed, through a variety of proxy agents. The most obvious members of the Political Class are, unsurprisingly, politicians. This group includes elected individuals at every level of government as well as various appointed officials.

In addition to this primary membership category, a second distinct group exists within the Political Class. It consists of various advocates including lobbyists, influence peddlers and miscellaneous other supplicants of government cheese. These creatures exist to serve as envoys for the third distinct group, which is made up of a patchwork of commercial entities that have learned that employing a politically well-connected pitch man replaces the need for an effective sales and marketing organization and in some cases even the requirement to have a desirable product.

Furthermore, it is commonly observed that members of the Political Class routinely migrate between the three aforementioned groups. An unfortunate consequence of allowing these economic actors to “cut in line” is that the rewarded event becomes the prevailing trend. Because of that, there is virtually no industry that has opted out of the rent-seeking game. From the military-industrial complex to agricultural subsidies, to the utterly corrupt banking system, the Political Class is inexorably claiming an increasing share of the world’s economic activity, a highly disturbing trend indeed.

Subsidized inefficiency, intentional destruction of productive assets and confiscation of property are but some of the effects that are observed when the Political Class employs force to serve those that are “more equal than others.” The arrangement can be summed up by saying that economic activity within the Economic Class places the bargaining power in the hands of the buyer whereas the economic activity within the Political Class places the bargaining power in the hand of the seller. This gives rise to dislocations in the free exchange of goods and services as well as widespread misallocations of capital as businesses adjust their practices based not on the normal mechanics of supply and demand but rather based on the dictates of the Political Class. Over the years, the scale of the intrusions of the Political Class into economies around the world, and very definitely here in the United States, has grown to the point where truly free markets are now the exception and not the norm.

Because the Economic Class operates in the realm of voluntary exchange whereas the Political Class employs force to achieve its objectives, many of which are anathema to the Economic Class, it follows that a significant amount of resources must be dedicated by the Political Class to the enforcement of their objectives. This role has traditionally fallen on the wide array of military and law enforcement organizations as well as numerous regulatory agencies and departments.

From the US military’s role in protecting the Political Class’s global interests and the IRS keeping the Treasury full, to the FDA serving “Big Pharma” and various law enforcement agencies maintaining a low-level chronic fear in the populace, the level of physical control that the Political Class needs to extend over productive resources is staggering. And in lockstep with the virtually unchecked growth in the Political Class, so has grown the size and scope of the enforcement branch deployed to protect its interests.

Paradoxically, for reasons I’ll touch on momentarily, the allegiance of this enforcement branch belongs to neither the Political Class whom they serve nor the Economic Class whom they “service.” In time, their level of influence grows to the point in which they become a class of their own. They are the Praetorian Class.

Legions and Lictors – the Praetorian Class

The Praetorian Class includes members of the Armed Services, federal, state and local law enforcement personnel as well as numerous militarized officials including agents from the DEA, Immigrations, Customs Enforcement, Air Marshalls, US Marshalls, and more. It also includes, although to a lesser extent, various stage actors in the expanding security theater such as TSA personnel. The main mission of the Praetorian Class is to keep the order of the day. This requires displaying an intimidating presence in their interactions with the Economic Class.

As the Praetorian Class ascends, the clear, albeit unstated, message that emerges is that actions and events in the Economic Class only occur with its tacit consent. Whether driving on roads, traveling in the air, visiting public land, walking down the street or even living in your own home, every action you take is predicated on its permission. By preconditioning the populace to enforcement of its edicts, most of which are completely arbitrary, the Praetorian Class sets itself up for a high degree of autonomy in its actions. This is confirmed by the fact that consequences for malfeasance within the Praetorian Class are almost never observed, and when it happens, it typically becomes a grotesque spectacle in which one of their own is sacrificed as an example, so as to keep appearances of effective internal controls.

Members of the Praetorian Class are typically recruited from the Economic Class and usually from the lower socio-economic spectrum, which offers them an opportunity for personal and professional gain that otherwise might be out of their reach. Early on in the training and indoctrination process, a strong emphasis is placed on teamwork and advancing the welfare of the team above the individual. While independent thought is never overtly discouraged, the fact is that questioning authority and failing to display complete loyalty to the team results in censure, shunning and even expulsion. Naturally, the recruit learns in short order which behavior is rewarded and responds accordingly. This forges a lifelong, unbreakable bond between the brothers-in-arms. This bond can be observed when people proudly display unit insignia and decorations decades after their departure from service.

As they serve in their martial role, members of the Praetorian Class learn to despise members of the Political Class and to view the plight of the Economic Class with detachment or even contempt. Law enforcement and military personnel will converse behind closed doors about the most horrific injustices and brutalities with cavalier amusement. While perhaps natural, their training for violence and teamwork is a fundamental cause for why members of the Praetorian Class abandon their roots and in time come to view their peers “back on the farm” with contempt. Likewise, the steady displays of the craven and treacherous character of the Political Class causes the Praetorian Class to privately disavow emotional allegiance to their masters, usually early in their service.

Naturally, as the members of the Praetorian Class socially distance themselves from both their origins and their masters, even though they are paid to do their bidding, a new group identity among them emerges. Adoption of this group identity, forged by the training, indoctrination and work, defines membership in the Praetorian Class. Some of the characteristics of this identity include:

    Viewing everything and everyone according to a perceived threat posture. The members’ thought processes, beliefs and actions center on viewing the world through a paradigm of a graduated conflict spectrum and how to posture themselves accordingly. Even in the most mundane settings, their conversations tend to be awkward if not centered on their martial duties.

    Tight internal socialization. Because they view life through a martial paradigm, members tend to socialize almost exclusively amongst themselves. Immediate family members are expected to do the same, which naturally occurs anyway as they can share experiences that external relationships simply are unable to address.

    Loyalty is the highest honor. Whether referred to as the blue wall of silence or the brotherhood in arms, even the most egregious transgressions are buried. If the misdeeds are internal, meaning member versus member, the justice is handled internally. On the other hand, external missteps are typically swept under the rug and significant chicane is experienced by outsiders who seek to learn the truth.

In a relatively free and peaceful society, members of the communities that form the Praetorian Class lead a discrete existence. Members of the military commute to and from their place of work and are largely invisible to both the Political and Economic Class, certainly in communities that are not “Praetorian” communities. Attendance at cultural events in uniform is frowned upon, if not explicitly forbidden. During these times, members of the military and law enforcement are expected to live and operate outside the perception of other members of society, their purpose and function regarded with a sense of detachment and perhaps even subtle curiosity.

As the Political Class increasingly calls upon the Praetorian Class to ensure their order, however, their martial nature becomes more visible in the fabric of day-to-day life. This serves several purposes. For one, it allows the Political Class to demonstrate its willingness to use unlimited force to achieve its objectives, something that was always the case but is now made publicly visible. Rationalizing the increased public profile, a stream of honorifics is bestowed upon the Praetorian Class so that they may be presented as defenders of the Economic Class. This is accomplished through the time-tested use of pageantry, pomp and circumstance.

Over time, additional perquisites are bestowed upon the Praetorian Class including preferential treatment in both private and public facilities. Preferred air travel accommodations for uniformed personnel, including dedicated lines at TSA checkpoints and preferential boarding, have recently emerged as cultural standards that further distance the Praetorian Class from the masses.

Another clear change is the physical appearance of members of the Praetorian Class. The uniforms transition from relatively inconspicuous attire to “battle uniforms” such are those now standard issue to both the military and law enforcement personnel. These optics reinforce the position of the Praetorian Class as maintainers of public order, convey a message of physical dominance and establish chronic low-level fear among the masses. Sometimes referred to as the militarization of the police force, this characterization traditionally refers to the increasing firepower in even municipal police departments. Frequently lost in this observation, however, is the psychological impact that such a heavily armed police presence has on the “civilian” population – specifically that it further separates the Praetorian Class from the Economic Class.

As the influence of the Praetorian Class grows, so do the resources it consumes. This is manifested in the form of continuous “equipment” upgrades, training budgets and costly “interagency collaboration” in addition to the usual staff augmentation. This, of course, has the ancillary benefit of directing resources to equipment and service providers that are favored by the Political Class and in some cases may in fact be the primary purpose.

Perhaps less obvious is the need to constantly keep the Praetorian Class on the march. A bored Praetorian is a dangerous creature that will start looking for things to do. In order to keep the Praetorian Class engaged, they must be fed a continuous source of adversaries that they in turn actively engage. In “peace time,” actual engagement is replaced by training and rehearsing the defeat of the adversaries.

While the Praetorian Class emerges as its own entity, with allegiance only to the members' peers, the most senior of the Praetorians are eventually invited to join the Political Class. Prior to that occurring, they are vetted for suitability, after which they become “made men.” Consider the long list of senior military officers and police chiefs that joined the ranks of the political elite. It is a sight to behold, their new-found support of the Political Class, a class they had silently held in contempt until their recent assumption. Metropolitan police chiefs, district attorneys and joint chiefs of staff are selected for political compatibility, not conviction of character.

How Does It Play Out?

History does not keep a flattering record of societies that allowed the Praetorian Class to rise. The Roman Empire’s decline from splendor to squalor extended for two centuries whereas the Nazi Third Reich collapsed in less than two decades. The continuous drain on productive resources, continuous warfare against new foes, abrogation of human rights and liberties and a pervasive culture of fear inevitably send the society into a tail spin. Some societies are able to observe the retreat of the Praetorian Class, but it is usually a function of economic necessity and often after a great price has been paid by the general population.

Unfortunately, as the tragedy unfolds, the Economic Class often tries to ride out the calamity. This is understandable, since people have a limited capacity to internalize long-term trends. In fact, because people adjust to new circumstances relatively quickly, it is almost impossible for them to compare the condition of life in the present versus the past. The common vernacular for this concept is “the new normal”, which upon the slightest reflection represents an obvious paradox, since the word normal implies a historically stable trend.

The Third Reich as a Textbook Example

History books are filled with examples of societies that have seen the rise of the Praetorian Class, followed by their own subsequent collapse, ranging from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union. Of all the examples, however, none seems more instructive than the rise and fall of the Nazi Third Reich in Germany.

Over a period of two decades, starting with the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the end of World War II, Germany saw the rise of a charismatic demagogue, the rise of police and paramilitary forces, the development of a military-industrial complex, the assumption of industry by the State, the demonization and persecution of scapegoats finally resulting in widespread warfare and societal ruin. Because the timeline is relatively compressed compared to other historical examples, spanning a single generation, the Third Reich serves as an excellent example of the broader consequences a society experiences when we observe the rise of the Praetorian Class. Furthermore, by virtue of its recent occurrence, many cultural and technological parallels serve as clear milestones.

Call to Action for the Economic Class

In order to evade the inexorable path to ruin, two critical actions must be taken. First, it is imperative to understand historically how events play out, identifying key milestones along the process. Some milestones may include the level of military spending, such as the $700 billion that the United States spends annually on defense. Consider the escalating threat propaganda. Leading up to the war with Iraq in 2003, a common justification heard was “We gotta fight them there, so we don’t have to fight them here.” Apparently that strategy didn’t work, since the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act declared the United States part of the global battlefield. Is it the increasing monitoring and control exerted over the media, including the subpoena and detention of free-speech activists? Or perhaps it is the tortuous argument that the private minting of silver coins bearing no resemblance to US legal tender currency represents domestic terrorism. 

As the saying goes, “History does not repeat, but it does rhyme”, which is to say there are events that have played out universally in the past and are likely to do so again. An implied task that emerges is the need to be an avid student of history. Usurpations of power observed today have historical precedents in some form or another and therefore serve in some instances as predictable milestones.

Second, identify the milestone that defines the “point of no return,” at which point taking no action is likely to have very adverse consequences. This is a very difficult task emotionally as it usually requires taking drastic action before circumstances clearly warrant it. It may involve winding down business and social commitments while conditions on the surface still seem fine. This, of course, represents a personal balancing act. While there is merit in the saying that it is better to be a month early than a minute late, there is a practical limit to the value of that axiom. Predicting a financial collapse twenty years early, and making adjustments accordingly, results in significant opportunities lost, both personally and professionally.

In Summary

The emergence and rise of the Praetorian Class is a common observation in societies that have transitioned from market-based meritocracies to societies governed by coercive syndicates formed by the Political Class. The Praetorian Class is formed and grown to defend the Political Class and in time becomes the dragon that rules its master. It represents a highly disturbing trend because it foretells the decline, not the advance, of a society. In some instances, the decline is peaceful, clearing the path for an improved future. Unfortunately, in many instances that is not the case. The Political Class leverages the full force of the Praetorian Class representing significant loss in wealth, personal freedom and, in many cases, human life. For this reason, it is critical that productive members of society take steps to protect themselves.

[Libertas]

People need to start thinking about the unthinkable more, the warnings to prepare mind body and soul and provision accordingly is not ridiculous, but it will be tragic for those caught in that minute after, now won't it?

[Weisshaupt]

People need to start thinking about the unthinkable more, the warnings to prepare mind body and soul and provision accordingly is not ridiculous, but it will be tragic for those caught in that minute after, now won't it?

Shut up. Everything is Awesome!

[Libertas]

People need to start thinking about the unthinkable more, the warnings to prepare mind body and soul and provision accordingly is not ridiculous, but it will be tragic for those caught in that minute after, now won't it?

Shut up. Everything is Awesome!

Why yes, yes it is!   

[Libertas]

Speaking of awesome...

/

Great Weeping Carrot - Headed for easy reelection, top priority is amnesty, not repealing Obamacare.

http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=227602

People of Ohio's 8th Congressional District sure are some seriously stupid fothermuckers!

[Libertas]

People making a big deal about this...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140312/DACFR78G0.html

... the Anti-ObamaCare candidate won, huzzah!

Yeah, well...that's all well and good, maybe enough of them get together they can toss the Great Weeping Carrot aside and defund that crap!

But what else we know about this guy?  A Repub District and you only finish 2.2% ahead of the DemonRat?  What am I missing here?