Filed under: Capitalism, Crime, Immigration, Politics, Progressives, Socialism, Statism, United Kingdom | Tags: Christopher Columbus, George Floyd, Riots, Statues, The Columbian Exchange
Exactly how George Floyd’s unfortunate death led to the excesses of Black Lives Matter riots and marches and looting, is not especially clear. How things multiplied from that to attacks on statues all around the country is even less clear. They started with the generals on the losing side of the Civil War, and then included generals on both sides and Spanish Friars, founding fathers and their horses too.. Perfect frenzy of attacking bronze statues that couldn’t possibly fight back, but perhaps that was the point. They could demonstrate their rage while in attacking inanimate objects they had no opposition, and no risk.
But one statue led to another, and when they couldn’t find enough Robert E. Lee statues, they turned to Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and, of course, Columbus. It is all simply theater. What was intended as a powerful political statement was thoroughly messed up by the historical ignorance of the perpetrators. There was some interest in destruction of the four presidents at Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, encouraged slyly by the New York Times, which brought out Sioux Chieftains to remind everyone that the Black Hills were once sacred grounds for Native Americans.
I think the statue thing is probably over, except for Columbus. There are so many things around the country named for Columbus that it remains a tempting victim — Columbus, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas, the Columbia River, Columbia University, and many ships and lots of wildlife and plants.
What is far more interesting is the “Columbian Exchange” — the plants and animals brought to the new world and from the new world to the old. Search for “The Columbian Exchange” and you will be astounded to find the list of species that were unknown prior to 1492, and how they changed lives. Diseases too. Horses and dogs and cats! Did residents of the new world have no pets until Columbus? And when did they decide that dogs were desirable pets?
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Coronavirus, Domestic Policy, Economy, Election 2020, History, Media Bias, News the Media Doesn't Want You to Hear, Politics, Progressives, Progressivism, Science/Technology, Statism, Technology, The United States | Tags: The Corona Virus Lockdown, The Press & Journalism, Trump Derangement Syndrome
I am so sick and tired of the press. President Trump announced a halt to immigration in order to protect the jobs of so many who have lost their jobs in the current Corona virus lockdown. Many small businesses have laid off workers in reaction to the sudden drop in business because people have been ordered to stay home. The businesses hurting the most have often been small restaurants or small shops that do not have the finances to keep running anyway nor to refocus to take out, or delivery. Not highly skilled jobs. And just the kind of jobs that many new immigrants would look for, and undercut the salaries that their predecessors were receiving. President Trump clearly cares about the American people.
For the press, it was clear that President Trump just doesn’t like immigrants and has an unreasoned prejudice against them. Look how he’s always talking about his wall. I believe that the benefits of citizenship should be bestowed on those who are citizens, and those who have applied legally to become citizens. There is a legal way to do this, and we welcome legal immigrants. Democrats want more immigrants, and try to get them to the states that will increase the Democrat numbers for the census, so they can control more seats in the House of Representatives. Any pretense that they care more about immigrants is just that, a pretense.
COVID-19 has done quite a job of exposing the governors and other office holders who are having to deal with a crisis, an ongoing crisis that is doing a job on killing people. We have body counts every day, and reports on how many people have been tested and how many have caught the virus, how many have died and how many have survived. It adds a special clarity to officials words and actions, in some cases not very favorably.
Grim new rules for New York City Paramedics — do not resuscitate cardiac arrests nor bring them to Emergency Rooms. Apparently an effort to keep from overcrowding hospitals. Same day, Gov Cuomo tells the President that they don’t need the USS Comfort (the Military Hospital Ship) any more, and he can have it back. They have filled up the Javits Center with hospital beds, which is apparently still empty. (I’m on the West Coast, so if I get this wrong, let me know) I only know what I read in the press. But in next-door New Jersey, the military is putting up field hospitals.
Michigan Governor Whitmer has already had mass protests descending on the State Capitol, and Michigan residents are not happy. Going to be an interesting election this Fall.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Economy, Education, Election 2020, Environment, Free Markets, Free Speech, Freedom, Health Care, History, Immigration, Law, Politics, Progressives, Regulation, Socialism, Statism, Taxes, The Constitution, The United States, Unemployment | Tags: Equality and Liberty, Is Social Justice Just?, Socialism Does Not Work
One wonders at the rise of enthusiasm for Socialism. Where does this come from? Do people know nothing about the history of Socialism and how it works out? No understanding of the crisis of Venezuela? Or how the people there are literally starving in a country that was once the richest in South America?
Are they misled by talk of “social justice”? There is, by the way, no such thing. We humans are a quarrelsome lot, and you can’t overcome the difficulties of being a member of the human species easily. Democrats, with Bernie and Elizabeth Warren pushing socialism, seem to fail to recognize just where that path leads.
The human search for perfect social equality has gone on since the beginning of time. Do people actually rise in the morning hoping that might be the day when they are finally equal? Equal to what? Or Whom? I simply don’t buy it. Not everyone even wants to be rich. People want to care for their family, to have a good job that they like, at least part of the time. They want to have a nice home and be free of debt, and raise their children to be good citizens and succeed at whatever profession they choose. Some do want to be rich and some achieve it. But is it the overarching dream of many? I suspect not. People do want accomplishment, and success, and arriving at goals.
Democrats seem particularly driven by the idea of equality. They want to make everyone equal, and their policies move in that direction. They talk a lot about social justice, and more about the rich who do not deserve to be rich, and big corporations and their CEOs who do not deserve to be rich. I have wished for some things I do not have, that I cannot afford, as I’m sure you have as well. Did you get out of bed this morning yearning to be equal? Didn’t think so.
Even for those who do want to be rich, and are working to create a business that they hope will succeed and make them richer, I suspect it is the succeed part that drives them, not the riches. Building a successful business is a worthy endeavor, and building it is the scary and exciting part rather than the arrival at the finish.
So what is all this social justice? the social equality? Democrats’ push for equality sounds good in the abstract, but makes no sense whatsoever as a real goal. Think about that when those campaigning for an office ask for your vote. What they want is to be in charge, and have the opportunity to control your lives.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Education, Environment, Free Markets, Freedom, Health Care, Humor, Immigration, Liberalism, Media Bias, National Security, News the Media Doesn't Want You to Hear, Progressives, Progressivism, Statism, The United States | Tags: Changing Opinions, Changing Reality, Ideological Extremism
Fascinating article today at The Federalist: “25 Reasons Today’s Left Has Become A Bunch of Ideological Extremists” with the subhead “Anyone who denies the existence of an influential, mainstream, radical left in America today doesn’t have any idea what the word ‘radical’ means.”
They went from, “Ask not what your country can do for you” to demanding a universal basic income provided by your neighbor.
They went from, “I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it” to “speech is violence.”
They went from talking about a crisis at the border to saying anyone who believes there is a border crisis is a racist.
It’s 25 reasons, and interesting and unfortunately true. How about “They went from working to get drugs out of schools to working to get drag queens and Planned Parenthood into schools. Do read the whole thing. It’s an eye-opener to see how they are changing our understanding of the way things work. Nobody seems to really care about what is true any more. There is a radical left, and what they do in the guise of being ‘nice: and ‘kind and generous’ isn’t exactly what we had in mind.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Cool Site of the Day, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Free Speech, Freedom, Intelligence, Media Bias, Politics, Progressives, Statism, The United States | Tags: How To Massively Lose Customers, The Progressive Agenda
One of the most disturbing trends at present it the urge to be “woke”— currently defined as “alert to injustice in society, especially racism. “we need to stay angry, and stay woke”, or “I was sleeping, but now I’m woke.” from a dialect called AAVE. The Urban Dictionary defines it as “a person who pretends to be of greater intelligence than he or she in fact is.”
From the Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse: “How Woke Capitalism Corrupts Business”
One of the more disturbing trends to emerge throughout the business world is “woke capitalism.” Whether it is Nike recalling Betsy Ross flag-emblazoned shoes because it was counseled by activist advisors that the flag represents slavery, or almost 200 CEOs of major firms signing a full-page New York Times advertisement describing laws restricting abortion as “bad for business,” corporate America is rapidly aligning itself with progressive causes.
The reasons for this are manifold. Those active in commerce or who teach in business schools inhabit the same sentimental humanitarian milieu as the rest of us. There’s no reason why they should be less susceptible to this culture than anyone else. No one should be surprised that many business leaders consequently believe that their companies should aggressively promote the progressive agenda, ranging from gender ideology to radical curtailments of religious freedom.
For others, it’s just easier to go along to get along. Why risk your Wall Street job by telling the human resources manager that the firm’s commitment to “diversity” doesn’t appear to include a pluralism of political views? In some instances, corporate wokeness is all about placating militant progressives. But if CEOs think that liberals can be appeased, then they don’t know much about the contemporary left.
There is evidence that some businesses are responding to some consumers’ desires that their purchasing choices align with their political stances, as well as to pressures from institutional investors who have embraced liberal causes. But as companies such as Gillette and Dicks Sporting Goods have discovered, that often produces financial losses as a consequence of backlashes from consumers who hold different view.
Well, of course politicizing everything is such a splendid idea. Or rephrased, Progressives understand that herding American entrepreneurs and businesses into the pursuit of liberal concerns is an excellent pursuit. Many business leaders consider it the way of the future. We must critique woke capitalism clearly and strongly, remembering that a business exists to realize the particular economic ends that constitute its common good. They are not there to teach us how to think. Wave your Betsy Ross flag, if you have one. They couldn’t even get that one right. Tell a business when they get out of line, and take your trade elsewhere. Do read the whole thing. This is a trend that must be stamped out!
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Free Speech, Freedom, History, Media Bias, Politics, Progressivism, Regulation, Statism, The Constitution | Tags: Federal Bureaucrats, Or Designers of Policy?, Public Servants?
It is becoming increasingly clear that the “Deep State” has some significant problems. Career Civil Servants seem to frequently forget the “servant” part. Kimberly Strassel of the Opinion Page in the Wall Street Journal takes it on:
The “deep state”—if we are to use the term—is better defined as consisting of career civil servants, who have growing power in the administrative state but work in the shadows. As government grows, so do the challenges of supervising a bureaucracy swelling in both size and power. Emboldened by employment rules that make it all but impossible to fire career employees, this internal civil “resistance” has proved willing to take ever more outrageous actions against the president and his policies, using the tools of both traditional and social media.
So are they a problem? Do they understand that they work for us, not for what they think would be good? Highly paid, a “swelling bureaucracy.” Interesting essay, do read the whole thing. Are they our public servants or do they have more elaborate self images?
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Free Speech, Freedom, History, News, Politics, Progressivism, Statism, Taxes, Unemployment | Tags: Hating the Rich, It's Up Tp Ypu, the Unemployment Rate
I continue to be convinced that Democrats are desperately trying to take control of the national dialogue, not just control of the government. They are sure that Republicans are bad people who favor the rich. The Rich are clearly bad people, because nobody should have more money. Money should be fair, and equally distributed to all. AOC recently remarked that no one should have a billion dollars. Where does that poisonous ignorance come from?
“All men are created equal” means that we are born as plain ordinary squalling babies, and there’s some luck of the draw involved. Some families are more prepared than others to set their babies on a path to greater success, but that is no guarantee of much of anything. Some are born into perfectly terrible circumstances and decide they are going to succeed — and step by step they do, while others ignore their opportunity and blame others for their lack of success, and hate anyone who has become rich because it’s not fair. Go figure.
We all can probably name several billionaires. The computer industry has made a lot of very rich people. Do you carry around their names, seething at the idea that they have so much money? Or is it the simple idea that hating the rich is supposed to rile up the voters and if you keep reminding Democrat voters that Republicans are once again giving tax cuts to the rich, they that will get their side to the polls?
I don’t get it. I have no special animus for Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg. It would perhaps be nice never to worry about bills, and perhaps nice if you could just satisfy any wish by writing a check, but that might get a little boring as well.
The facts are a little simpler. When you let taxpayers keep a little more of their own money, you give them the freedom to hire someone, create a new business, expand their business, or even if they just spend it, it goes into the economy creating more prosperity.
President Trump’s tax cuts have meant that the September unemployment rate has fallen to 3.5%. as payrolls have risen by 136,000. The jobless rate has dropped 0.2 percentage points to 3.5% – a 50-year low. Let me repeat that. The unemployment rate has fallen to a 50 year low — since 1969.
Do people sit around seething over the idea that someone has way more money that they do? I think people feel good about working to earn a living and care for their families. I think most workers want to do a good job, and want to take pride in the work they do. I believe that the Left thinks that fostering hate of the rich will serve their aims. Don’t allow that poisonous campaign.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment, Free Markets, Free Speech, Freedom, Global Warming, Junk Science, Media Bias, News, Progressivism, Regulation, Socialism, Statism, Taxes, The Constitution, The United States, Unemployment | Tags: Ridiculousness Defined, The Search for Truth, What is Really Going On?
Clearly it is time to explain what is really going on. One gains enormous wisdom by staring at the blank walls of a very fine hospital. So somewhere between a second civil war and an impeached president, or the election (this time) of good old Hillary, there must be, somewhere, some clarity. Elections are always contentious, but this is ridiculous.
We are in a battle over defining reality. To quote Daniel J. Boorstin, the late Librarian of Congress and notable historian at the University of Chicago, in The Americans: the Colonial Experience:
We have too long been told that a “unified” scheme of knowledge is required to give meaning and unity to society; that men have a greater sense of sharing values and of working to a common end if they are united by a grand overarching system of thought; that somehow an articulate and systematic philosophy is likely to provide such a system of shared meaning. The stock example is, of course, the Middle Ages when such theologians as Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus constructed monuments of speculative philosophy. that has become an unexamined commonplace that a more unified philosophy will produce a more unified society, that ours would be a better and more meaningful world if we in America possessed such systematic and “unifying” thought.
But is this really true? It may have seemed so in earlier societies where the frame of meaning was supposed to be accessible only to a priestly or ruling class. Could it remain so in a modern literate society where most people would be expected to understand the purposes of the community? One cannot unify such a society by mere concepts, however refined and subtle, however vivid to a few philosophers or theologians. “The attempt to bridge the chasm between multiplicity and unity is the oldest problem of philosophy, religion, and science.”
You may have noticed that “the ruling class” is not in particularly good grace at present, a problem rather than a solution. They are unaware of their predicament, are unwilling to give up the slightest bit of their cherished power.
Those who supposedly report on the society and the people and the ruling class assume that, instead of accuracy, their task is to get attention by featuring what celebrities or politicians may have to say, not because it might be of interest, but because the celebrity or politician might have a bit of click bait interest to promote the career of the reporter. Their interest is not in attempting to describe reality, but what, instead, might be sensationalized. They’re not on our side either. Which President Trump grumbles about as “fake news”. Which in turn infuriates the press, because they differently define their assigned task.
It’s only human nature to wish to advance one’s self, to look for what is readily available rather than work hard, but there you are. The current debates and argument is over the nature of reality, which is up in the air, struggling to be properly defined.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Energy, Environment, Free Markets, Freedom, National Security, Politics, Socialism, Statism, The United States | Tags: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Saikat Chakrabarti
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) annoying freshman congressperson, who has become click bait for the American media because she spouts such inane ideas that Democrats are a little embarrassed, and Republicans are fascinated with the level of ignorance. Unfortunately, everyone pays a little attention. She is the supposed author of the infamous “Green New Deal” to which most of the Democrat candidates have actually pledged support.
Today, AOC’s Chief of Staff, one Saikat Chakrabarti, in a conversation with Sam Ricketts, climate director for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) extra long shot presidential candidate admitted that the Green New Deal “wasn’t originally a climate thing at all — It’s a ‘change-the-entire-economy thing.”
Climate Depot noted: “This is another in a long line of admissions about the real motives behind climate “solutions”. Climate change is merely the latest env. scare being used to seek the same “solutions” of more central planning. Christiana Figueres, the secretary of the UN’s IPPC, admitted to reporters that Climate Change was their best opportunity to get rid of Capitalism.
Flashback: UN IPCC official Edenohofer admits UN seeks to ‘redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy’– ‘This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore.’ – Flashback Nov. 2010: Watch Now: Climate Depot’s Morano on Fox News to discuss Edenhofer’s UN’s goal of ‘redistributing world’s wealth by climate policy
Rajendra Pachauri, former head of the UN IPCC panel also admitted that the purpose of the UN IPCC climate reports was to make the case so “that action is needed on climate change.” And he conceded in 2013 that the UN climate reports “do what the governments of the world want us to do. If the governments decide we should do things differently and come up with a vastly different set of products we would be at their beck and call.
Al Gore: U.S, Climate Bill will help bring about Global Governance
EU Commissioner: Global Warming Policy Is Right Even If Science Is Wrong – ‘Regardless of whether or not scientists are wrong on global warming, the European Union is pursuing the correct energy policies even if they lead to higher prices, Europe’s climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard’s has said.’ EU’s Hedegaard in 2013: ‘Let’s say that science, some decades from now, said ‘we were wrong, it was not about climate’, would it not in any case have been good to do many of things you have to do in order to combat climate change?.’
There’s more at Climate Depot. The evidence shows that there is an enormous amount of fraudulent effort behind the push for a panic about the climate. Why do people believe so strongly that climate change is a problem, and not just what has been going on for millions of years — a climate that has been warming and cooling in long cycles of warm periods and ice ages. Warming produced the Renaissance and a great flowering of growth and change and knowledge. Ice ages are something different, and not nice at all. Currently it is a little warm, and the CO2 in the atmosphere is greening the planet. CO2 is fertilizer for plants (you learned that in Biology class). What that means is that more of the planet’s hungry people are getting enough food. You can see the greening from space, I am told.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Junk Science, News of the Weird, Politics, Regulation, Statism, The United States | Tags: Certified Organic, Genetically Modified Organisms, One of my Pet Peeves
A government shutdown not only allows the rest of us a chance to think about the usefulness of government and all that it does, but quite a few people have been talking about the unnecessary size of government, the things the government does that they don’t really need to be doing, and there was an article in the Wall Street Journal today titled “This May be the Worst Regulation Ever” with an even more interesting subhead: “A USDA rule about labels on ‘bioengineered’ food cost hundreds of millions and has no benefits.
Well, Frabjous Day, Henry I. Miller has hit on one of my pet peeves. He is talking specifically about the “Non GMO” required label, but the “Certified Organic” is almost as bad. I blame it all on suburban housewives, who are supposed to be “highly educated”, but in my experience are highly susceptible to phony claims.
The “Organic” movement started because they got it in their heads that their food was being fertilized by the petroleum industry. Well, yes, petroleum products are rich in nitrogen which is a fertilizer for plants, and oil companies made fertilizers. Panic time! Poisoning children. The Organic movement wanted “natural” fertilizer, not fossil fuels. “Natural fertilizer” comes from cow poop and chicken poop. Food grown without a lot of noxious chemicals in a “natural way” grew, and the Dept. of Agriculture agreed to certify foods produced by organic farmers as “Organic” so folks could be sure to reach for the right can. Unfortunately cow poop and chicken poop have a risk of e-coli, which is poisonous, And when you get to advertisements on the radio for “Organic Cotton sheets for your bed” it gets remarkably silly. If the cotton fields from which the cotton was picked were fertilized with manure, what earthly difference does that make to the fabric eventually woven for your bed?
The GMO scare was similar. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. They tweaked the genes of the plants that grew what eventually became food to add a more desirable element. In some cases it helps to resist a virus, or resist a certain kind of bug, or need less water or fertilizer when growing. The statute acknowledged that bioengineered food is neither more nor less safe than other food, but the new rule — the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) will not help consumers to understand that. So you have labels on most of the canned food on your supermarket’s shelves that identify Organic foods and Non GMO foods, that give you useless information and cost you a whole bunch. Organic food costs about 30% more than its non-organic counterpart, and is a complete waste of money.
I refuse to buy anything with an “Organic” label, but stores now have a large organic fruit and vegetable section. I blame it, as I said on suburban women, and on Gwyneth Paltrow, who has always been very big on food scares.
The original article is here, but may be behind a subscription barrier. Henry I. Miller is a great debunker of things that need debunking. Watch for him.
Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Free Speech, Freedom, Intelligence, Law, Media Bias, News, Politics, Socialism, Statism, Technology | Tags: Impossible to Control, Social Media, Uncontrolled Words
The watchmen at the big social media websites are busily trying to police the flow of conversation that they initiated with their ideas about how to become rich and powerful. They thought people would like to share their thoughts, news, ideas, recipes and pictures with their friends. They have indeed become rich and powerful, but they forgot everything they learned in grade school and junior high, or perhaps did not learn about human nature.
The perpetrators of the constant hum of the online conversation we call “social media” blame any problems on “hate speech”, a poorly defined selection of words that someone, somewhere, objects to. All too often, it is simply the opinion of someone in the opposing political party.
One can say whatever one chooses if they agree with what you say, but your words must pass tests of race, ethnic origin, sex, sexual preference, age, political affiliation, part of the country you come from, and a few dozen other qualifying questions. Vulgarity is fine, and broadly circulated, as is any amount of coarseness, crassness, crudity, grossness, indelicacy, rawness, rudeness and tastelessness or don’t you read the comments on popular websites? Here is one definition I found:
Primarily internet or cellular phone based applications and tools to share information among people. Social media includes popular networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter; as well as bookmarking sites like Reddit. It involves blogging and forums and any aspect of an interactive presence which allows individuals the ability to engage in conversations with one another, often as a discussion over a particular blog post, news article, or event.
Having created this mess and trying desperately to find a way to manage the flow of conversation or discussion before the government steps in to slap them down, as Europe is already beginning to do, they are attempting to pacify by creating “independent” judges to parse your speech for anything that might get them in trouble. The fact that they are simultaneously parsing your speech to sell to advertisers is a separate problem.
Human nature. We are a quarrelsome lot. We have a hard time getting along with our immediate family, let alone a bunch of complete strangers. People do not speak well, and write even less well. We have a hard time saying what we mean, and it is usually poorly thought out. We have never really thought clearly about the big questions, let alone the little ones. That’s why Jordan Peterson has made such an impact. He tries to clarify what we are thinking and saying and point out where we have gone astray.
Oddly, with the enormous increase in people using social media, psychologists tell us that loneliness is an increasing problem. I think in the effort to connect people, we have created far greater problems that are just beginning to emerge. I suspect we may have been better off when you had to pick up the phone and dial your friend’s house, and didn’t stay on the line too long because it would cost too much.
I think this phenomenon has had some very unfortunate effects on our society that we do not yet understand. If you have any answers let me know.
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Free Speech, Freedom, Politics, Socialism, Statism, The Constitution, The United States | Tags: Being in Control, Dr. Thomas Sowell, Leftist Ideology
Economist Mark J. Perry featured a quote from Thomas Sowell’s 2012 column “Socialist or Fascist?” in his Carpe Diem column at AEI.
“What socialism, fascism and other ideologies of the left have in common is an assumption that some very wise people – like themselves – need to take decisions out of the hands of lesser people, like the rest of us, and impose those decisions by government fiat.”
And here’s another:
“The left’s vision is not only a vision of the world, but also a vision of themselves, as superior beings pursuing superior ends. The self-flattery of the vision of the left also gives its true believers a huge ego stake in that vision which means that mere facts are unlikely to make them reconsider, regardless of what evidence piles up against the vision of the left, and regardless of its disastrous consequences.
Only our own awareness of the huge stakes involved can save us from the rampaging presumptions of our betters, whether they are called socialists or fascists. So long as we buy their heady rhetoric, we are selling our birthright of freedom.”
American Elephants 