I have for some time now been cynical about the prospects of voting our way out of this mess. I am now past the point of mere cynicism about the corrupt, rigged nature of the process. At this point it almost seems that continuing to participate in the process gives it a legitimacy it does not deserve. The tyranny is going to continue unfolding all around us regardless of which party is in power. Might as well deny it the phony legitimacy that it gain from a rigged electoral system.
Since the GOP can not sue on the grounds of election fraud why can't the people? Isn't it obvious that when 124% of registered voters in a given precinct vote for oblowme, doesn't that prove fraud?
Oh, and FWIW - this massive boat anchor must be hung around every progressive's neck! Even those in the GOP!
The productive populace is abandoning many cities and some states, leaving behind reservations of net consumers skilled in grievance politics and efficiently sopping up unearned benefits. Growth in these places is reckoned in numbers of the demanding and civic-minded, meaning they're professional voters rounded up and trotted to the polls, the trip-lever that releases goodies into the trough with promise of more to come. There's a reason it works like this.
No longer allowed to make natural adjustments, even on common ground, the cities and states have self-segregated, partitioning themselves into fiefdoms whose first duty is to menace and loot the others. DC actually prefers to have spoon-fed inmates stumbling around in a fogbound maze, wasting their lives fighting each other. DC simply won't allow the rest of us to make real changes in their cities and states. No, they're not our cities and states. Ask 'em. They'll show you cities and states and courts are their wholly owned subsidiaries art-link-symbol-tiny-grey-arrow-only-rev01.gif. They tip their hand every time some Mother Jones-appointed federal judge nullifies a state referendum or DC withholds funds to kill a constitutional state law.
It doesn't actually matter to a holding company which of their franchises a customer chooses. It only matters that it be important to us. Every few years well-rehearsed dimwits parachute in from the Emerald City and put on their Punch and Judy show, cheering and scolding and imploring us to elect this or that wizard and subwizard. They do this as if their seating arrangement should matter to us, which is all that's being decided. Voting itself changes nothing because elections change nothing, just as a crew change doesn't mean the train's going somewhere the tracks don't go. What really matters is the turnout. It matters to DC, not to the voters, it's their sole remaining claim to legitimacy.
True legitimacy comes only from the consent of the governed. Bait and switch is not consent. Gerrymandering and vote-rigging is not consent. Imported electorates are not consent. But voluntary turnout at the polls is consent. We've seen this before. In the Soviet Union, where ordinary conversation was also a prosecutable offense—they invented political correctness—turnout was 99%. Simulated democracy was the first step in Marx's communism. Contrary to Cold War propaganda there was some turnover in the Politburo, more turnover than in the US Congress it's claimed, but the direction was just as pre-decided and nonnegotiable. High turnout was taken as consent, and consent legitimized their license as owner-operator.
Voters aren't innocents, they know they're co-conspirators in a criminal enterprise. There is but one legal strategy remaining to honest Americans. Withhold your vote. Withhold your vote and you withhold consent. Withhold your consent and you withhold legitimacy. The surest route to change is empty voting booths. Stay home on election day. Not only is it your civic duty, you aren't really missing anything. Your vote counts for nothing and it changes nothing. If it did it would be illegal. How has voting worked for you so far? Abandoning their dog'n pony show is what really scares 'em, they don't know what you're up to. Noncompliance worries DC. You may be using your time to prepare for the coming Troubles.
w22r
The only interesting thing of this coming election is "how badly are Republicans going to do".
The only interesting thing of this coming election is "how badly are Republicans going to do".
This should be a huge year for the Republican party. The ruling party is mired in several major and minor scandals, is very unpopular, and the economy is still in the toilet. They should win big by default............. It could be like Reagan's election if they wanted and worked for it, when even blue states vote Republican.
But yet, nothing will really change. Yeah, they will probably still pick up a few seats here and there in the House and maybe even take a small majority in the Senate. However they have shot themselves in the foot, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and for what?
Because party leaders don't like the tea party for some stupid reason. They have rejected the first truly grassroots citizens movement in decades. These are people that don't even litter because they don't want to cost taxpayers. And for a sizable majority that would likely last decades, all they ask, is to stop spending taxpayers money like a drunken sailor (apologies to drunk sailors). All they have to do is ditch a few RINO's and you get the House, Senate and White House.
Conservatives are the majority in this country. I know looking at elections and media that doesn't seem so but it is. We do need to take control and clean up this mess, but have no one to vote for.
The only interesting thing of this coming election is "how badly are Republicans going to do".
I predict that this will be recorded as the year that the GOP was no longer a force in American politics. They can go the way of the Whigs before them.
Let. It. Burn.
Gerrymandering, party kingmakers capable of dictating who will be allowed to contest for a seat, subtle measures of sub rosa dissuasion, and open vote fraud and voter intimidation have created a state of affairs in which a sitting legislator who stands for re-election has a 95% chance of returning to his seat. The remaining 5%, however animated, can do little against that mass of veterans, sealed into power by seniority rules and a well-cultivated ability to garner special-interest support through judiciously awarded privileges, subsidies, and subventions. More, in the preservation of their status and perquisites, the veterans enjoy cross-aisle support.
We no longer have a "two-party system." We're down to one party:
The Incumbent Party
Whose side is it on? Why, its own, of course -- and it will brook no opposition to its agenda.
Go ahead and vote, if it makes you feel better. It won't have any other effect.
I have a dilemma that I'm considering.
I received a postcard inviting me to a petition signing breakfast on Saturday.
It's by Republicans and for Cong. Mike Kelly, my local Rino and my State Rep and the State Rep from the next district.
Kelly has done nothing to stop government incursions on liberty, stop Ocare, reduce government spending and almost always votes Boehner.
About the only time I saw him was in the last debt limit vote.
He voted No.
Probably because he wasn't needed and was allowed to so he could say he voted against it.
I'm tempted to go and ask him why I'm better off with him than if we had elected the Dem he defeated; Dahlkemper.
And ask him how he has stood up for smaller government.
He has never come out against amnesty
I'll probably get thrown out but I've been thrown out of better joints than that
I stand on the logic....not the emotion. Millions, if not tens of millions, will DIE if we come to open civil war. ... I do not wish to condemn my sons to death. I wish to stand for their liberty, true, but I do not wish to needlessly condemn ANYONE to death. That is a judgment we cannot draw back from.
It is indisputable that Clarence Thomas has been a GREAT supreme court Justice in the cause of liberty. Look how many squishy GOP Senators voted for him. Men like, McCain, Roth, Mack, Lugar, (okay not a man, but) Kassenbaum, McConnell, Cohen, Danforth, Rudman, D'Amato, Packwood, Hatfield, Specter, Chafee, Hatch, Jeffords, Kasten and Simpson!!
And he won really by one vote. in a 52 48 confirmation, he would have lost if two votes had gone differently.
And I can name issues that I disagree on all of those named Senators on. But, if only two of them were not there, we would be in far worse shape now. The second amendment would be gone, among other things. And MILLIONS of guns have been purchased since he was confirmed. Do not surrender, do not give up, but for God's sake do not commit suicide.
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.
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?
There's nothing more to say, really.
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. .
http://www.redstate.com/2014/02/19/why-this-fight/ (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.
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.
I would also wish that it could be played out peaceably.
However, your scenario relies on time that I don't think we have.
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.
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!
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.
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?
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! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTqXEQ2l-Y)
People making a big deal about this...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140312/DACFR78G0.html (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?
People making a big deal about this...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140312/DACFR78G0.html (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?
The "Libertarian".
ONE more vote in the Senate, from ANY Republican, since ALL of them voted against it, would have stopped Obamacare for example.
I acknowledge the point about the 51% having to be the right votes, not just numerically. But Obamacare is a perfect example. The whole spectrum of Republicans voted against it. Any one of those who were sacrificed at the altar of the false god, because he or she was not with us 100% of the time might have stopped this fiasco and saved billions of dollars and an unknown number of lives. We must not sacrifice the ability to improve because we cannot attain perfection. We will never find perfection in a politician and therefore we will never improve if we run that course.
I think maybe the Ruling Class punks like McConnell and their chief strategists like The Butthead have to remind those damned principled conservatives, Tea Party types and sundy Libertarians to STFD STFU and accept second-tier status and play ball or else it will be their damned fault that nobody but Democrats will rule everyone!
People making a big deal about this...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140312/DACFR78G0.html (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?
The "Libertarian".
Throw the 4.8% he got into the margin and we have 7%...still, not exactly a resounding victory is it?
I bet the Ruling Class masters in the GOP see this as a great portent of a ginormous GOP sweep this fall...with no help of Tea Party types and pesky principled conservatives required...more of the "what are they gonna do, vote for the democrat" thinking to be cemented into their demented heads...
I guess I really don't care what they think or do anymore. Take us for granted again, see what kind of tsunami hits you this fall...
ONE more vote in the Senate, from ANY Republican, since ALL of them voted against it, would have stopped Obamacare for example.
I acknowledge the point about the 51% having to be the right votes, not just numerically. But Obamacare is a perfect example. The whole spectrum of Republicans voted against it. Any one of those who were sacrificed at the altar of the false god, because he or she was not with us 100% of the time might have stopped this fiasco and saved billions of dollars and an unknown number of lives. We must not sacrifice the ability to improve because we cannot attain perfection. We will never find perfection in a politician and therefore we will never improve if we run that course.
I think maybe the Ruling Class punks like McConnell and their chief strategists like The Butthead have to remind those damned principled conservatives, Tea Party types and sundy Libertarians to STFD STFU and accept second-tier status and play ball or else it will be their damned fault that nobody but Democrats will rule everyone!
Every single damn time it looked like we may have a victory in the offing, one of them, most often McCain, steps in with his Gang of Whateverthehell number -- "bipartisan" reaching across the aisle -- and derails whatever goal looked within reach. The eGOP actually -- hear me now -- partners with the opposition to thwart any progress WE might have made through the work of the conservatives in Congress.
<
Hold it!
The next man makes a move, the nigger gets it!
Hold it, men. He's not bluffing.
Listen to him, men. He's just crazy enough to do it.
Drop it! Or I swear I'll blow this nigger's head all over this town!
Oh, Lordy, Lord, he's desperate! Do what he say! Do what he say!
Isn't anybody going to help that poor man?
Hush, Harriet. That's a sure way to get him killed.
Help me, help me...
...somebody help me!
Shut up!
Oh, baby, you are so talented.
And they are so dumb!>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPBp6DOwgU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPBp6DOwgU)
OUR enemies will merely shoot us or watch us shoot ourselves, again. This strategy will not work for the good in a real life situation, no matter how many times someone says it will.
There are CERTAINLY people who have run under the GOP flag who have done that. The past governor of Florida comes to mind. He really was a dem, though slightly better than the dem who preceded him. But, there are others who are not. I think we need to be active, win primaries, and take back our party. But destroying the last defense is dangerous.
You all know my belief that millions will die if we let them have complete control. Stalin did it. Mao did it. Hitler did it. And more through history. And most of those societies never recovered. They never became a free country again.
My fear is that we will not either. Once these people have unchallenged power they will kill and destroy to maintain it. And they will win. Our best and bravest will die quickly, like the Polish Calvary did when facing German tanks. And we will have a hide or die strategy. Freedom will become a whispered word, meaningless to most survivors.
We need a different path. This one leads to destruction.
The problem is no longer them, we know they are assholes who will never change, the problem in recent years is US! And by the millions we are starting to walk away from them. Let them threaten an empty room! Let them bully the moon and badger the sun for existing! See if I give a flying f**k!
The GOP does NOTHING but threaten, bully and badger Conservatives, the Tea Party and like-minded Libertarians. They treat US like Dem's and treat the Dem's how we should be treated! They are totally assf**kingbackards POS's and it is beyond insane to reward this dysfunction any longer!
Under fire on amnesty from calm but insistent questioning from Ingraham, Ellmers called her host “small minded,” “ignorant,” and claimed to be the author of a ubiquitous immigration talking point, adopting the third person to say “Renee Ellmers thinks for herself.”
The Jihadists die in MASSIVE numbers. Our soldiers have relatively few casualties by comparison.
And were I King, I would announce a new constitution, restoring the old one, as it was years ago. I would maintain SOME of the amendments, but not the 16th through the 21st. I would also delete amendment 23, and I would add an amendment prohibiting serving more than two terms to each federal office, and prohibit serving in more than two federal offices, add an amendment prohibiting spending beyond what had been received in taxes the previous year, . I would have to appoint nine new supreme court justices, no more than three of which would be serving on the current court, but likely less than that dismantle public education, add an amendment that if one makes money from government, they lose their personal vote, restore our borders, remove the power to borrow from the federal government, restore the gold standard, and probably a few other things like those before I oversee an election in which all offices were newly elected after which I would abruptly resign and hope and pray we could go another 200 years before having to reset everything.
Let me know when you want me to start.
CHF for pres!
I think, weisshaupt, that most of those things you fear ae all but inevitable at this point anyway. Heck, we have a several threads and a couple topics that discuss just that.
Case in point: TEA Party "win"; corrupted or co-opted, makes no difference.
Ellmers interview with radio host Laura Ingraham is one of the least effective pro-amnesty performances from a Republican this Congress since the debate took off following the 2012 elections. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/13/Ellmers-Calls-In-Pro-Amnesty-Group-To-Help-After-On-Air-Meltdown)QuoteUnder fire on amnesty from calm but insistent questioning from Ingraham, Ellmers called her host “small minded,” “ignorant,” and claimed to be the author of a ubiquitous immigration talking point, adopting the third person to say “Renee Ellmers thinks for herself.”
In Her Own Words:
"I do not plan on making this my lifelong career. I want to come, be effective, help get things stable and then pass the job to someone else." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/renee-ellmers-r-nc/gIQAATqZKP_topic.html)
Yes, thank you for helping us get rid of Bob Etheridge, but we don't want things stable, i.e. the status quo, so you can look forward to passing the job onto someone else, Miss Amnesty.
BTW, did she run on being pro-amnesty?
She says she's all for repealing Obongocare, but she's taking her taxpayer-supplied subsidy allocated for Congressional medical plans.
Also, I do completely get where you are coming from CHF. I know we have a moral imperative to exhaust all peaceful options, otherwise the righteousness of future "extracurricular" action might be questionable. You rightly want to avoid what is necessarily going to be terrible when and if it comes to pass. It has been said that the first casualty of war is innocence, and I appreciate your cautionary stance even if I believe it has, unfortunately, become futile.
Where I think a lot of us differ with you on this subject is in the assessment of those remaining peaceful options. A lot of us believe that those terrible circumstances you warn against are coming regardless. Either they are successful in completing their fundamental transformation, which will usher in a period of Red Terror, or the existing order will finally collapse -- but before their transformation is complete -- and we end up with something akin to the immediate post-Roman times when assorted barbarians asserted themselves in that vacuum.
We are approaching one of those times that will define the boundary between two distinct epochs. Plan and prepare accordingly.
I appreciate the understanding, and I do respect the majority view here. I admit, that I have some hope still in avoiding this, and I pray for that outcome.
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.
Case in point: TEA Party "win"; corrupted or co-opted, makes no difference.
Ellmers interview with radio host Laura Ingraham is one of the least effective pro-amnesty performances from a Republican this Congress since the debate took off following the 2012 elections. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/13/Ellmers-Calls-In-Pro-Amnesty-Group-To-Help-After-On-Air-Meltdown)QuoteUnder fire on amnesty from calm but insistent questioning from Ingraham, Ellmers called her host “small minded,” “ignorant,” and claimed to be the author of a ubiquitous immigration talking point, adopting the third person to say “Renee Ellmers thinks for herself.”
In Her Own Words:
"I do not plan on making this my lifelong career. I want to come, be effective, help get things stable and then pass the job to someone else." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/renee-ellmers-r-nc/gIQAATqZKP_topic.html)
Yes, thank you for helping us get rid of Bob Etheridge, but we don't want things stable, i.e. the status quo, so you can look forward to passing the job onto someone else, Miss Amnesty.
BTW, did she run on being pro-amnesty?
She says she's all for repealing Obongocare, but she's taking her taxpayer-supplied subsidy allocated for Congressional medical plans.
Yep. I actually donated to her campaign. I donated to a lot of campaigns during the 2010 season, when there was that groundswell of Tea Party revolt. I guess I stupidly believed the GOP would be on Cloud Nine to have inherited a genuine grassroots phenomenon. Instead they immediately set about destroying it (after using it to elect their cronies, of course).
She was one of the first to be co-opted. I am not even sure co-opt is the word for it, because she seemed pretty damned eager to ingratiate herself with the E-GOP. And no, she didn't run on any of that crap. How would it be worse to have Etheridge's gin-soaked ass still there?
I'm done with them. Done like dinner y'all. I don't even want to hear that my strident attitude will be responsible for empowering Democrats. No. I like so many others made a good faith effort to work within the framework of this party for my entire adult life. The only ones responsible for empowering Democrats will be the GOP for declaring open and total war against its own base. The only thing I want to hear from GOP pols is the snapping of their necks when the ropes go taut. How's that for "tone"?
Voting for someone who helps slow the move or stop the move, toward totalitarian government, while preparing all other options, is the best of my bad choices.
There is only one way to defeat the Left...it requires purging your own ranks of the decaying filth within first, then putting up candidates against the Dem's that actually a) have principles, b) fight for those principles with actions, not just words, and c) take the fight to the Dem's instead playing rope-a-dope and forgetting about the rope!
York is a modest little city in Southern Pennsylvania not too far from Baltimore and right in the heart of Dutch country. It’s not the sort of place where political revolutions are found.
But Republican state Senate nominee Ron Miller may think differently this morning because he just lost a special election to a write-in Tea Party candidate, Scott Wagner.
“With 100 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, write-in votes totaled 10,595, or 47.7 percent, to Miller’s 5,920, or 26.6 percent. Democrat Linda Small of New Freedom nearly edged out Miller with 5,704 votes, for 25.7 percent,” according to the York Dispatch.
Pennsylvania is a place where it can sometimes be difficult to tell the Democrats from the Republicans, at least at the state level.
Wagner, who owns a trash compactor business, ran on a typical Tea Party small-government/fiscal conservativism ticket.
He attributed his win in great part to the relentlessly negative attacks on him by the local and state GOP party establishments.
There is only one way to defeat the Left...it requires purging your own ranks of the decaying filth within first, then putting up candidates against the Dem's that actually a) have principles, b) fight for those principles with actions, not just words, and c) take the fight to the Dem's instead playing rope-a-dope and forgetting about the rope!
And if you don't. Well, then WRITE IN CANDIDATES WILL START WINNING ELECTIONS. (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/03/tea-party-candidate-wins-write-in-race-for-pa-senate-seat/)QuoteYork is a modest little city in Southern Pennsylvania not too far from Baltimore and right in the heart of Dutch country. It’s not the sort of place where political revolutions are found.
But Republican state Senate nominee Ron Miller may think differently this morning because he just lost a special election to a write-in Tea Party candidate, Scott Wagner.
“With 100 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, write-in votes totaled 10,595, or 47.7 percent, to Miller’s 5,920, or 26.6 percent. Democrat Linda Small of New Freedom nearly edged out Miller with 5,704 votes, for 25.7 percent,” according to the York Dispatch.
Pennsylvania is a place where it can sometimes be difficult to tell the Democrats from the Republicans, at least at the state level.
Wagner, who owns a trash compactor business, ran on a typical Tea Party small-government/fiscal conservativism ticket.
He attributed his win in great part to the relentlessly negative attacks on him by the local and state GOP party establishments.
Case in point: TEA Party "win"; corrupted or co-opted, makes no difference.
Ellmers interview with radio host Laura Ingraham is one of the least effective pro-amnesty performances from a Republican this Congress since the debate took off following the 2012 elections. (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/13/Ellmers-Calls-In-Pro-Amnesty-Group-To-Help-After-On-Air-Meltdown)QuoteUnder fire on amnesty from calm but insistent questioning from Ingraham, Ellmers called her host “small minded,” “ignorant,” and claimed to be the author of a ubiquitous immigration talking point, adopting the third person to say “Renee Ellmers thinks for herself.”
In Her Own Words:
"I do not plan on making this my lifelong career. I want to come, be effective, help get things stable and then pass the job to someone else." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/renee-ellmers-r-nc/gIQAATqZKP_topic.html)
Yes, thank you for helping us get rid of Bob Etheridge, but we don't want things stable, i.e. the status quo, so you can look forward to passing the job onto someone else, Miss Amnesty.
BTW, did she run on being pro-amnesty?
She says she's all for repealing Obongocare, but she's taking her taxpayer-supplied subsidy allocated for Congressional medical plans.
Government medicine is the anchor point for the whole constellation of left wing statism. They are willing to pay any political price to plant that seed and protect it just long enough for it to germinate.
Government medicine is the anchor point for the whole constellation of left wing statism. They are willing to pay any political price to plant that seed and protect it just long enough for it to germinate.
No F'ing way that will happen. They are outta money and they are soon going to be outta time. They can't pay for single payer, and as in Europe, the whole thing is going to implode on itself. The left wing media here has precious little to say on Europse these days, haven't you noticed? They are 2-4 years aheads of us and are also now directly tied to the dollar via dollar swaps. Russia and China are salivating.. they know there is nothing to be done to save the United States Federal Government.
If they had a another 10-20 years, maybe.. but the finances are already bad.. doing single payer, if they get the chance before collapse, will simply increase govt spending to the point where the dollar has to be dropped.
Landrieu and all these Dem's should be bounced out on their asses...
Should...
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/08/washington-post-fact-checker-nails-dem-pacs-dreadful-track-record-for-false-ads/ (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/08/washington-post-fact-checker-nails-dem-pacs-dreadful-track-record-for-false-ads/)
The Post also pointed to the irony of the Senate Majority PAC, which it said was heavily financed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would complain about organizations being bankrolled by billionaires.
And hey, what's with Ann? Abandoning the Ruling Class? Sneaky way of worming her way into the bosom of the Tea Party? ::whatgives::
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/04/ann-coulter-endorses-pro-amnesty-eric-cantors-primary-challenger/ (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/04/ann-coulter-endorses-pro-amnesty-eric-cantors-primary-challenger/)
Heard somebody talking yesterday.
May have been the guy filling in for Rush.
In Kentucky, many real conservatives will vote for McConnell because they're afraid Bevin won't beat the Dem
And Mitch isn't that bad
And Mitch isn't that bad
To clarify, this isn't my position.QuoteAnd Mitch isn't that bad
I think Mitch needs to go back in the swamps with the rest of the turtles
And my clarification would be that Mitch was largely a reliable foot-soldier but betrayed us as a leader. (A leader he isn't!)
Grimm, 44, “deliberately lied to every taxing authority to evade taxes and keep more moneyfor himselffrom the lying, cheating bastards in Albany and D.C.,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said today.
If the eGOP wins the Senate, they'll take it as an endorsement (by Conservatives) of their bullspit. If they lose, they'll blame the Conservatives. It's a lose-lose.
My main problem with the current state of electoral politics is that this "lesser of two evils" racket is like some perverse form of calculus, where the limit of the function is a near indiscernible parity between the two parties, each of them calling themselves the lesser of two evils.
Without a way to punish the GOP for consistently failing to represent us, I don't see what is to be gained by continued participation. The very reason they fail to represent us is because they have (so far correctly) calculated that we will always hold our noses and vote for them.
Unfortunately, abstaining from the process won't change anything.Quote
Abstaining will change how much aggravation I feel while having ZERO effect on the final outcome.
It will also ensure that the GOP gets less money to work with and that Demcrats stay in charge so they collapse it faster.
At this point giving them MORE time is a bad idea.
Let it Burn
Yeah, looks like a straight-shooter, I've been getting e-mails from a lot of former Military folk and others running for office, this chap stands out. Reminds me, I gotta pull together my list and see who gets a piece of my October contributions. Thanks for the reminder Warp!My pleasure Libertas. I donated as I too thought he was a straight shooter. Love to find a long distance shooter and donate to him as well.
::thumbsup::
Yeah, looks like a straight-shooter, I've been getting e-mails from a lot of former Military folk and others running for office, this chap stands out. Reminds me, I gotta pull together my list and see who gets a piece of my October contributions. Thanks for the reminder Warp!My pleasure Libertas. I donated as I too thought he was a straight shooter. Love to find a long distance shooter and donate to him as well.
::thumbsup::
The only apology I'm inclined to accept is a constitutional trial for treason and a subsequent firing squad.
Take a number, so do I ;DThe only apology I'm inclined to accept is a constitutional trial for treason and a subsequent firing squad.
I sooooo want that honor! ::whoohoo::
Take a number, so do I ;DThe only apology I'm inclined to accept is a constitutional trial for treason and a subsequent firing squad.
I sooooo want that honor! ::whoohoo::
RYAN ZINKE: THE GREATER EVIL
By Chuck Baldwin
October 9, 2014
NewsWithViews.com
Republican hacks are famous for promoting the “lesser of two evils” mantra. The idea goes something like this, “No matter how bad or evil a Republican candidate might be, the Democrat candidate is always worse, therefore, in order to keep the worse candidate out of office, meaning the Democrat, one must vote for the “lesser of two evils,” meaning the Republican candidate. Obviously, the only way one can buy that philosophy is he or she must accept the premise that the Democrat candidate is ALWAYS worse than the Republican candidate; however, this premise only makes sense in the smoke-filled back rooms of Republican Machiavellians such as Karl Rove and John Boehner--and in the closed and shackled minds of their slavish GOP robots.
The idea that the Republican Party is a “good” party and the Democrat Party is a “bad” party is just so much horse manure. The fact is that BOTH major parties in Washington, D.C., have routinely turned their backs on the American people, the Bill of Rights, individual liberties, State sovereignty, and constitutional governance for most of the last half-century. And when it comes to building a universal Warfare State abroad and a ubiquitous Police State at home, the Republican Party in Washington, D.C., is far, far worse.
For example, the American people lost far more liberties under President G.W. Bush (a Republican) than we have under President Barack Obama (a Democrat). Bush gave us the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the indefinite detention provision of the NDAA, and the Department of Homeland Security, and the preemptive war doctrine, just to name a few. Yes, these egregiously tyrannical acts continue under Obama, but he is simply perpetuating what Bush began. Obama may be driving the tank now, but Bush designed it, built it, and test-drove it.
Furthermore, big-government Republicans are the ones who have mostly created this phony, albeit expensive, “war on drugs.” Between the Democrats’ “war on poverty” and the Republicans’ “war on drugs” and “war on terrorism,” our country is financially--not to mention morally--bankrupt. And don’t think for a second that Nancy Pelosi or Obama want to give amnesty to illegal aliens any more than John McCain, Lindsey Graham, or John Boehner do, because they don’t. The only ones inside the Beltway who oppose amnesty for illegals are the Tea Party Republicans.
Come on, folks, think! If electing Republicans was all that was necessary to keep out the bad guys, why does Karl Rove and John Boehner, et al. spend millions of dollars trying to DEFEAT INCUMBENT Republicans such as Congressman Justin Amash in GOP primary elections?
Here are proven vote-getters, proven winners, sitting congressmen, incumbent Republicans, and the GOP leadership in Washington, D.C., spends millions of dollars trying to defeat them. The Republican leadership spends millions of dollars trying to defeat REPUBLICANS!
See one story: Rebel Leader Justin Amash Wins Big In Michigan
This proves that the GOP leadership in Washington, D.C., has much more in common with Democrats than it does with constitutionalist members of its own party. It also shows that the GOP establishment is much more concerned about maintaining the big-government status quo of Washington, D.C., than in defending the Constitution or in representing its own stated platform.
In truth, the GOP platform means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to the GOP leadership. It is just liturgy to deceive rank and file Republicans into believing that their national party truly represents them. It doesn’t. It represents the same Big Government, Big Business, globalist elite that the Democrat Party represents.
In fact, if you want to have some fun with your spare time, just spend a couple of hours researching just how many former congressmen and senators from both major parties went on to become lobbyists for FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS after leaving Congress.
In reality, both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., have been fighting a “war on liberty” for decades.
To say that Republican candidates are automatically and always “less evil” than Democrats is a joke. Yes, the Democrats seem obsessed with redefining marriage; saving spotted owls, wolves, and swampland; giving out Welfare checks and food stamps; and implementing nationalized health care. But, when it comes to building a Warfare State and Police State, Neocon Republicans are FAR WORSE than Democrats. Far worse!
If voting for “the lesser of two evils” is your thing, and you must choose between a Democrat and a Neocon Republican, the Democrat (not the Republican) is usually “the lesser of two evils.” And, sadly, that is exactly the choice that the people of the State of Montana have to make in their lone U.S. House seat next month.
The Democrat candidate is John Lewis. Lewis is, well, a Democrat. The Republican candidate is Ryan Zinke. Zinke is a big-government, pro-war, pro-Police State Neocon. Not only is Zinke not a conservative, he isn’t even much of a Republican.
While a State Senator in 2009, Zinke had a score of 65% from NARAL, one of the country’s most outspoken pro-abortion organizations, meaning he voted WITH pro-abortionists far more than he voted against them. He voted against the interests of the Montana Family Foundation in 1 out of every 3 votes. He voted against educational choice and voted with the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers 73% of the time. Zinke is so weak on the Second Amendment that the NRA Political Fund graded him with a C in 2008. He is on record as saying “civilians” should not be allowed to possess .50 caliber rifles. Of course, now that he is a candidate for the U.S. Congress, and given that Montana is one of the most pro-gun states in the country, Zinke has recanted his no .50 caliber rifle position and touts himself as being solidly “pro-gun.”
One of Zinke’s former colleagues in the Montana legislature, Ken Miller, said, “Senator Zinke claims to be for job creation and natural resource development in Montana but has an established history of supporting radical far left groups that fight hard to keep good paying jobs out of Montana.”
In fact, Zinke has changed so many of his positions during this campaign that Ken Miller said Zinke has “asserted himself as a John Kerry protégé flip-flop-flip-flop-flip-flopper.”
But it is Zinke’s ethics that has raised the most questions about his fitness to be elected to Congress. Miller notes: “Senator Zinke was a founder and chairman of SOFA, a ‘Super PAC,’ gathering large out of state, special interest money. He was a major leader and fundraiser for SOFA up to his candidacy. Now SOFA is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting his candidacy.”
Miller goes on to say that Zinke’s congressional campaign “has raised more than 80% of its funds from outside of Montana, with much of it coming from Wall Street fat cats and DC insiders.”
And let’s not forget that Zinke is a co-owner of a drone manufacturing company. But we can expect him to vote pro-liberty in the war against the proliferation of the government usage of drones to spy on American citizens, can’t we? Yeah, right!
Here is the Vote Smart tab sheet on Ryan Zinke: Ryan K. Zinke’s Ratings And Endorsements
Furthermore, according to Navy SEAL commander, Larry Bailey, Ryan Zinke “tries to rewrite his personal history in order to achieve political office.” In other words, Zinke is lying about his military record. Captain Bailey went on to say this about Zinke, “Ryan’s ambitions will not stop here. He has shown by his dissimulation of facts regarding his career that he is willing to do whatever it takes to reach the next level.”
See the report: Controversy About Ryan Zinke, Montana Candidate For Congress
Zinke is trying to obfuscate his dismal voting record in the Montana Senate by constantly touting an exaggerated military record as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Every commercial, advertisement, and periodical produced by his campaign brags and brags on him being a SEAL.
Ladies and gentlemen, military service, by itself, neither enhances nor diminishes a candidate’s fitness for high public office. If service in the U.S. military was strategically important to elected public office, why hasn’t it been made a requirement for elected public office? Many of America’s most notable political figures had ZERO military service. I’m talking about men such as John Adams, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, etc. Are we to think that men such as these were less than qualified for political office because they did NOT participate in military service? Absurd thought!
A local online Republican hack likes to tout Zinke’s military record while noting his Democrat opponent has no military record--jumping to the sophomoric conclusion that the Republican Zinke is better qualified (and more patriotic) than his Democrat opponent due to this one fact. That is so stupid!
There are military veterans serving on both sides of the political aisle on Capitol Hill. According to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs website, there are 20 Democrats and 69 Republicans serving in the 113th Congress who are military veterans. And according to NationalDefensePac.org, in the 111th Congress (the latest report I found), of the number of military veterans who were serving in the U.S. Senate, 15 were Democrats (including the late Senator Ted Kennedy), and 12 were Republicans.
To say that we should vote for Ryan Zinke simply because he is a military veteran is ludicrous. If that’s the case, the next time there is a political race in which the Democrat candidate is a veteran and the Republican candidate is not, we should automatically vote for the Democrat, based solely on that fact, right? You’ll never hear one of these Republican hacks draw that conclusion. No. They only want it one way. And the reason we only hear Zinke bragging (and exaggerating) about his military record in his campaign commercials is because he doesn’t want the voters of Montana to become aware of his voting record.
Again, if you want to use the hackneyed cliché that we must vote for “the lesser of two evils,” then the Democrat John Lewis is your man, because Ryan Zinke--like the rest of these big-government, pro-war, pro-Police State Neocon Republicans--is definitely the GREATER EVIL.
As for me, I don’t vote for “the lesser of two evils.” But, I can tell you this: the Republican Ryan Zinke scares me a whole lot more than the Democrat John Lewis. And that’s a fact.
if I can trust a Pastor...I mean Jesse & Al call themselves Reverend's
If somebody tells me Joni Ernst is a big goobermint clone I'm gonna fricken flip out!!!
Quoteif I can trust a Pastor...I mean Jesse & Al call themselves Reverend's
I like Chuck Baldwin's bona fides.
I believe he has been in a real church
QuoteIf somebody tells me Joni Ernst is a big goobermint clone I'm gonna fricken flip out!!!
And that'd be a new thing .... how? ::evilbat::
Thinking the E-GOP will ever get a clue as to why they keep getting their asses handed to them and rediscover limited government and principles on the Founders model is like expecting an ugly old donkey to materialize into a beautiful young Unicorn...(or AP getting to hook up with Jennifer Lawrence!).
Maness is a retired Air Force Colonel. Doesn't have much creditials, but so far seems to be the real deal.
For what it's worth.
QuoteThinking the E-GOP will ever get a clue as to why they keep getting their asses handed to them and rediscover limited government and principles on the Founders model is like expecting an ugly old donkey to materialize into a beautiful young Unicorn...(or AP getting to hook up with Jennifer Lawrence!).
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Who knows?
She might really be into ugly old fat men.
And Pubs just might figure it out
Maness is a retired Air Force Colonel. Doesn't have much creditials, but so far seems to be the real deal.
For what it's worth.
Thought I heard Mark Levin endorse him tonight.
Maness is a retired Air Force Colonel. Doesn't have much creditials, but so far seems to be the real deal.
For what it's worth.
Thought I heard Mark Levin endorse him tonight.
Lemme guess...
The E-GOP stooge has already pre-blamed Maness for getting Mad Mary re-elected, right? It is entirely impossible that the E-GOP stooge is the one polluting the electorate, right?
So sick of this BS!
As LA is just a southern version of Minnestupid, I know there are plenty of idiots willing to buy both E-GOP slop as easily as Prog excrement...so, I'd pull the lever for Maness and let the chips fall where they may.
"...rub the Democrats face in their real history"
Yeah, Amen. But from the GOP?
"...rub the Democrats face in their real history"
Yeah, Amen. But from the GOP?
A sternly worded letter.
“I’m so proud of our country,” Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) said as he introduced First Lady Michelle Obama at a campaign event on Thursday. “We showed that Dr. Martin Luther King [Jr.] had it right. Which is that in America, at our best, we judge people by the content of their color.”
Udall quickly corrected himself.
“The content of their character, not the character of their skin,” he said.
“I got it right. I got it both ways!”
“We judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
I am not sure a "holding action" is prudent at the moment.
It simply holds off the inevitable and allows the enemy to retrench out of the spotlight, while encouraging the executive to go full despot. - Of course if his results in any sort of collective sigh and people spending money again it will probably trigger massive inflation as the money velocity picks up...
We all know that they won't attempt a Obamacare repeal, and that a GOP controlled congress won't even take a stand against Obama's illegal executive amnesty. No, they can't win, so why force Obama to veto stuff? ( Because it forces him to be on record vetoing stuff. you Democrat Lite go along to get along Status Quo maintaining useless Liberal lite sociopaths..)
We did the deed last Weds. Now I just pace.
Looks like Kay Hagan is going to keep her Senate seat in NC
When the new Senate session begins, I want to hear "Elections have consequences."
PS - How did that bucket of swill Landrieu win again?
"Hey MNHawk, what happened to Mills? Was all that crap about leading the polls, just that, crap?"
KSTP missed that one by 10 points. I guess the same Minnesota people who sent back an Islamist with 71% of the vote were also moved by the dumbest campaign commercials in history.
On a brighter note, barely, Minnesota's experiment with Full Retard state government came to an end with a Republican House.
That being said, I feel nothing, this morning. At most, the all out assault on our constitution will be delayed a couple of years. My plans to bug out are still proceeding.
PS - How did that bucket of swill Landrieu win again?
Doesn't Louisiana go to a runoff?
ETA: Yup. (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/04/democrat-landrieu-headed-to-runoff-in-louisiana)
The Slut loses bid for California state senate (http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/sandra-fluke-champion-for-free-birth-control-also-lost-on-tuesday/)
PS - How did that bucket of swill Landrieu win again?
Doesn't Louisiana go to a runoff?
ETA: Yup. (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/04/democrat-landrieu-headed-to-runoff-in-louisiana)
Oh good, don't screw up a second chance! (I wish we had those in Minnie!) Dayton! Franken! My God these people are devoid of sense!!! ::unknowncomic::
The Louisiana race should be in the bag. There will be a lower Dem turnout and doing the math on the two R challengers from last night...she needs to be thinking about putting that DC house on the market pretty soon.
The Daily Caller compiles fairly good number (http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/the-16-most-epic-democratic-underground-meltdowns-over-the-2014-republican-rout/) of distressed comments from the DU.
My biggest disappointment from last night: Hickenlooper is still the CO governor.
I honestly am terrified that we’re living in the decline of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Reich.”
DebJ: “Tonight doesn’t make me wish I had quit smoking. An early death would be merciful compared to a long slow one with insufficient nutrition and no health care, which is what is coming up. I’m torn, can’t decide in which order to cry and vomit and get sick.”
If you’ve been to Asia and witnessed the slums and factory farms filled with impoverished workers, the US has just taken another step in that direction tonight.
This election shows that a great many people in this country … are actually either morons, or they are evil.”
The only sad part is that think that its conservative, freedom based polices that lead to these results - and not the Big Govt/Big Business Fascist partnership that both parties stand for.. and that they actually support.
The Daily Caller compiles fairly good number (http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/05/the-16-most-epic-democratic-underground-meltdowns-over-the-2014-republican-rout/) of distressed comments from the DU.
My biggest disappointment from last night: Hickenlooper is still the CO governor.
The Louisiana race should be in the bag. There will be a lower Dem turnout and doing the math on the two R challengers from last night...she needs to be thinking about putting that DC house on the market pretty soon.
Not that it matters. The only true conservative of the bunch (Maness) got 14%. Senator Sister Mary Landrieau and Bill Cassidy (RINO) pretty much split the rest (43% to 41%).
If you add the disgruntled (Maness) to the RINO's votes, it should go as planned. But I (among many others) are sick and tired of voting for the lesser of 2 evils. I will vote, but I also suspect more than a few will just sit this one out.
According to NCN News, (AM radio station), Republicans "seized" control of Congress last night.
Seized.
No a-hole, they were given control.
I'm having a day so ...... I give the hell up.
And Yes, tomorrow I will link over to the Ann Barnhardt rant that is sure to be posted along those lines, because she is going to say it way better than I can.
You can tell me about how there is hope for America when there are dead bodies of these oligarchs hanging from the lampposts after their trials and executions for crimes against humanity with full due process in accord with the Rule of Law.
You want to know what the first glimmer of hope will look like? Something like this:
(http://www.barnhardt.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Mussolini_e_Petacci_a_Piazzale_Loreto_1945-300x213.jpg)
“Harry Reid has lost his job! It’s because he is an evil slob. Harry Reid has lost his job. He’s the world’s most evil slob!”
ED DRISCOLL: The Rise Of The John Birch Left. (http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2014/11/06/the-rise-of-the-john-birch-left/)
The modern left is built around a trio of laudable principles: protecting the environment is good, racism is bad, and so is demonizing a person over his or her sexual preferences. (In the chapter of his book Intellectuals titled “The Flight from Reason,” Paul Johnson wrote that “At the end of the Second World War, there was a significant change in the predominant aim of secular intellectuals, a shift of emphasis from utopianism to hedonism.” ) But just as the Bircher right began to see communists everywhere, the new Bircher left sees racism, sexism, homophobia, and Koch Brothers everywhere.
They’re lurking around more corners than Gen. Ripper imagined there were commies lurking inside Burpelson Air Force Base. They’re inside your video games! They own NFL teams! They’ll steal your condoms! Disagree with President Obama? Racist! (That goes for you too, Bill, Hillary, and your Democratic supporters.) Not onboard for gender-neutral bathrooms? Not too thrilled with abortion-obsessed candidates like Wendy Davis and “Mark Uterus”? Sexist! Disagree with using global warming as a cudgel to usher in the brave new world of bankrupt coal companies and $10 a gallon gasoline? Climate denier!
And as with the original Birchers, don’t get ‘em started on fluoride.
The original Birchers weren’t bad people, but their Cold War paranoia got the better of them. Similarly, as Charles Krauthammer famously said, “To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil,” which illustrates how a John Birch-style worldview can cause the modern leftists to take an equally cracked view of his fellow countrymen, to the point of writing off entire states and genders.
Yes. Krauthammer's observation may have been true in the world of conventional American politics, but we're in the new phase now. The liberals have let their mask slip enough times, especially over the past 10 years, that I've seen enough of their ambitions to realize they're from the same mold as the Bolsheviks in 1917 Russia, the Che Guevara execution squads of late 1950s Cuba, and the Khmer Rouge of 1970s Cambodia. The feeling of "they're evil" is mutual.
And of all this talk about the John Birch Society and Sen. McCarthy, well, how wrong were they really? It seems to me that McCarthy was actually pretty on the money with his assessment of Cultural Marxism and its preponderance in media, academia, and bureaucracy.
Yes. Krauthammer's observation may have been true in the world of conventional American politics, but we're in the new phase now. The liberals have let their mask slip enough times, especially over the past 10 years, that I've seen enough of their ambitions to realize they're from the same mold as the Bolsheviks in 1917 Russia, the Che Guevara execution squads of late 1950s Cuba, and the Khmer Rouge of 1970s Cambodia. The feeling of "they're evil" is mutual.
And of all this talk about the John Birch Society and Sen. McCarthy, well, how wrong were they really? It seems to me that McCarthy was actually pretty on the money with his assessment of Cultural Marxism and its preponderance in media, academia, and bureaucracy.
When the soviet Union fell and their archives were opened to us, it proved McCarthy was right and that most of the people he named were in fact on the Soviet Payroll. Not that facts matter or anything.