Monthly Archives: October 2016

Smoke Them Out, Socio-Political Warfare (fair and otherwise)

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

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A cursory look around the news tonight followed by a little story with big potential:

BREXIT came too late. The Brits have cracked. Men in London are now paying a £1,000 a year for virtual nagging, saying “it makes things feel normal.” Sad. A once great people.

In America the corruption continues unabated. The same Department of Justice [SIC] that refuses to prosecute Cabinet level corruption and politically connected arms dealers also refuses to enforce certain federal laws, like those concerning immigration. But the same government will prosecute a sheriff who does enforce the law. Justice? Just Us.

The Good News

Comes from the Philippines.

President Duterte is a loose cannon, funny until today. He now moves to impose one of the strictest smoking bans in the world on his people. One can only assume this includes cigar lovers. And, this may portend a complete ban on the leaf in the future.

That’s bad for them but, maybe, good for us. The Philippines gets a smaller allotment of Cubans but they do get them. Real cigars, not the Caribbean American tourist garbage and so many fakes. We should do all we can to prompt Crazy Man into a full ban. That will open up a Cuban market source for us once President Giant Meteor does away with the stupid embargo a little later next year.

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Why exclusive to the Frogs!? Maybe, just maybe, here soon. The Cigar Inspector.

Hope and Change? No. Hope and Smokes.

PS: I’m in the heart of The Nine Laws by Ivan Throne right now. It is an excellent work and I may have to do a review of two. I definitely recommend it.

The Brief Case Of the Briefcase

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

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I once read somewhere, maybe in The Art of the Deal, that Trump never carries a briefcase. Fine and well for him but I sometimes do. I have to have a convenient place for cigars, a laptop, brass knuckles and pens I appropriate from hotels.

Over the years I have been through a number of models. I had this terrible habit of using them as file cabinets, stuffing them with papers I would never read and tossing them around until they were destroyed. I try to be a little more careful these days and I try to avoid paper.

Anyway, until last week I ran with an old (16 years) Dell laptop case. It was worn, tattered and the zipper was coming apart. Still it worked for me. That is, until the handle fell off. Many defects may be tolerated. A broken carry handle is not among them. Thus began my search for a replacement.

Earlier this year I lamented my inability to find a decent man’s suitcase. I still haven’t found one and I ponder if they even exist at this point. At least three end of the year travels await and I’m still using the old, frayed Land’s End bag. And you thought the election was problematic.

I worried that perhaps the briefcase market would be equally bleak.

One warm morning I ventured to one of the big box office retailers. Midway through the store I stumbled upon a collection of modern satchels, attaches and book bags. All of them seemed designed for women, children, metros, weaklings, and colorblind rave-goers.

They were, all of them, huge. I need to carry a small computer, not hike the AT, end to end. They had a variety of wheels and straps. I’m not moving furniture. They were in colors and patterns better suited for signaling other intelligent life in the galaxy. I just need to tote a Chromebook to the cigar bar. One even expanded vertically into a standing desk. It had a desk lamp and a washing machine built in. Another featured Barbie riding a pony while waving a BLM banner at a pride parade scene.

My growing snarls, tremors, and the crushing of a steel shelf support brought the attention of a clerk. He nervously pointed out that they had a men’s selection.

And, there, far in the back of the store, back by the storage room door, away from the lights, and out of hearing of the Muzak, I found this:

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No wheels. No straps. No colors or themes. Simple, classy, utilitarian. Something your grandfather might have sported. And cheaper than its flashy cousins.

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And there you have it. Justice, economy and common sense in the modern world.

Case closed.

The Union And The Constitution Forever?

10 Monday Oct 2016

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I watched the second, low-rent, Jerry Springer Show-style presidential “debate” last night. My excuses are: academic interest and comedic value. These are only excuses.

One might have noticed the emblem hanging over the backdrop of the event – the eagle on the American flag surfboard, “The Union and the Constitution Forever”:

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Daily Mail, UK.

Look at it and then imagine that bird ripping the big one. Makes more sense than the candidates. The motto derives from a mid-19th Century speech by a Massachusetts minister.

And last night Hillary and Donald proved that motto a falsehood. Nothing in the Constitution says the Union is forever, Imperial Abe’s War notwithstanding. The ratifying States by and large reserved the right to exit when appropriate, some explicitly so.

Not that it matters. The Union is dead. The idea of 50 independent, sovereign states is a thing on the past, even to those states. Today they are merely regional sub-jurisdictions of the Empire. The Empire created by the Constitution, which is also dead.

Said Constitution received only the barest mention last night. It has joined the Magna Carta and Plato’s Republic on the shelf of quaint historical curiosities.

Most of the “debate” revolved around each of the two clowns telling us how horrible the other is. I, for one, believe them. Here and there a little policy leaked into the discussion. In those instances, there was consensus – big government will solve the problems created by big government. Style only separated the answers and suggestions.

Trump, for all his zingers, missed a golden opportunity to land one for freedom. He and Hillary were asked by a panelist what part of the tax code they would repeal to keep things “fair”. (And where did they get that cast of cartoon character audience panelists from?) Neither candidate answered. They used the chance to take further shots at each other. A real and better answer would have been: “The Sixteenth Amendment. The rich and the poor should pay both the same percentage and the same amount in taxes: zero.”

And, so it went last night. It was entertaining, if uninformative. Trump complimented Clinton for being a resilient fighter. The same could be said for him. Never before have we been offered two such pitiful choices. However, both are tough, almost bullet-proof – like blocks of steel. And that’s how I imagine each would govern: like a block of steel: heavy, immovable, bland, and unthinking.

You’d be just as well off voting for the Surfin Bird.

World Economics, Worlds Apart and Clashing

09 Sunday Oct 2016

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This is a continuation and update of today’s earlier column, Economics , Common and Otherwise.

America came in at Number 11 in this year’s Economic Freedom Index by the Heritage Foundation. That’s in the “mostly free” category. The land of the (mostly) free…

I said that the rankings always jump out at me. And this year both the top set and the bottom set caught my eye, for opposite sides of the same reason.

Look at the “free” economies:

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Heritage.

The all have a few things in common if you think about it. They are all relatively small (by population) places and by and large they leave people alone. The Swiss are the most famous for it, but all of these countries generally do not meddle (beyond free trade) in the affairs of other nations. When was the last time Switzerland invaded somebody?

Now another look at those countries at the bottom, generally not even worth considering:

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Heritage.

With the exception of two of those “lowest” countries, the rest all have something in common. Did you guess what it is? Liechtenstein is a tiny nation populated almost exclusively by the wealthy. It might as well be placed alongside the top five – if the considerations were pure prosperity. It really is a class unto itself.

Sudan almost falls in with the rest of the international cellar-dwellers. It is a bloody mess though the problems are generally caused by islamists and cultural backward tendencies. Several powers, the U.S. included, have looked hard at Sudan as a meddling target but most have decided the situation lacks sufficient profit motives. There is hope for Sudan if its people are willing to attend to it. The situation is sad, but they did escape the fates of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

All of those countries, over the past generation, have been in part or wholly destroyed by the U.S. Empire. Not one of them ever posed any credible threat to America. And our government’s actions against them benefited none outside of the major banks, the arms dealers, and the power-lusting political class.

Syria is still a work in progress. The Empire finds its plans disturbed by a man in Moscow.

As I said this morning, these things are all interconnected and relate to issues far beyond mere money. Before American intervention the hapless bottom countries had no way to project any type of force against the West. Now they do.

First, there is the real specter of war with Russia. The fools in and around D.C. and New York seem to be enjoying this game of nuclear chicken. Moscow has told Washington to cool it. The civil defense authorities in Russia have advised their people to prepare for war. the American sheep watch television, play pretend democracy, and whine about how water happens near the ocean.

There’s also abundant terrorism. There wasn’t before. There is now. And much of it (maybe not quite all) stems from these stupid little wars in places we don’t belong. America and Europe are hit again and again and again by ISIS. People almost regard it as the new normal.

Omar Mateen said his rampage in Orlando was the result of U.S. bombings in Iraq. French authorities have concluded the majority (7/9ths) of the Parisian terrorists (at least for November, 2015) were “refugees” from Syria. Gee, who would have thought it?

Several takeaways here:

  • We cannot defeat Russia in an all-out war;
  • We probably can’t beat them regionally in Syria;
  • The fools in D.C. are willing to kill huge masses of your sons trying to disprove the later and all of us to disprove the former;
  • Many of you will vote for these fools next month;
  • Radical islamists are savage and utterly incompatible with modern, Western civilization;
  • On their own the jihadis simply could not ever hurt us or even reach us;
  • Really, left to themselves, they would have little incentive to attack;
  • Our idiotic wars for profit and power give them the incentive;
  • Our brain-dead immigration policies allow them the invasion and revenge they could otherwise never even attempt;
  • You pay for all of this insanity;
  • Nothing is likely to change (except by gradually getting worse) for the foreseeable future;
  • The politicians hate you more than the jihadis; and
  • That television is to your brain what cheap beer and cheeseburgers are to your belly.

Earlier I pondered if many of your would contemplate these issues. It’s a Sunday and traffic is usually low this day but, judging by the paltry click rate on the previous article, the majority of you couldn’t be bothered.

I ventured out today and found not a few of you engrossed in the magic of the National Felons League. I’m not calling anyone out but I saw you. Willing participants in the live-enactment of Plato’s Cave. Staring at over-paid, overweight, mentally retarded, Anti-American, pink-clad felons of questionable sexuality and social worth playing with a ball. College and professional games today.

In between the flags, reviews, and agonizingly slow plays you were bombarded by the lowest and crudest forms of social propaganda. But, hey, it’s all fun, right? Or is it?

Next year Heritage will report roughly the exact same global conditions, we’ll have the same wars and idiot “leaders” and that same, stupid sh!t will be on the TeeVee.

sheep_tv

Google.

Please wake up, leave the cave, and smell the darkening air.

Economics , Common and Otherwise

09 Sunday Oct 2016

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Another survey showed that Americans, by and large, have no money. 70% have virtually no savings and 34% have $0 held back. It is, after all, hard to save what doesn’t exist.

Still, overall (and it’s a stretch), America ranks about where it has economically for the past ten years or so. The nation came in at Number 11 in this year’s Economic Freedom Index by the Heritage Foundation.

The rankings always jump out at me. This year both the top set and the bottom caught my eye.

Look at the “free” economies:

nimbus-image-1476028100397

Heritage.

The all have a few things in common if you think about it. So do those countries at the bottom, generally not even worth considering:

nimbus-image-1476028137624

Heritage.

With the exception of two of those “lowest” countries, the rest all have something in common. You can probably guess what it is. Sudan almost falls in with the majority; Liechtenstein is in a class all its own.

I may be back with more on this later. Think about it for now. These things are all interconnected and relate to issues far beyond mere money.

Now, if you don’t feel like thinking at all: I understand that multiple sets of overweight, low-IQ, pink-clad felons will be kneeling, fisting, and grabbing each other today on the TeeVee. Some call it entertainment.

Political Nasties

08 Saturday Oct 2016

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Donald Trump said made some lewd comments about women in 2005. Or, was it comments about lewd women? He did preface, qualify, if you will, what he said with “if you’re a star, they let you get away with it.” He’s a star and they, the women, do let him and other stars get away with it. Certain women live to hang around celebrities and mine for easy gold. Certain men willingly facilitate.

Trump has lived like this for most of (maybe all of) his adult life. He’s rich, popular, an alpha male’s alpha male, and a playboy. He does it because he can.

Regardless, many are not happy. Some, even within the GOP, have called on Trump to drop out of the race, even at such a late hour. Others run the risk of looking a lot like hypocrites for defending Trump’s declarations (locker-room banter, chaps, nothing more) while previously condemning the same activity when committed by people named Wiener or Clinton.

Speaking of the Clintons, news came the same day that Hillary has made some disturbing comments of her own. Particularly, we have transcripts, once secret, from some of her (expensive) talks with Goldman Sachs executives. Her statements, then, were somewhat qualified as well.

She was Secretary of State from 2009 until 2013. In 2o11, the U.S., the U.K. and a few other countries plotted to get rid of Libya’s Gaddafi. The reasons were two-fold. First, the U.S. needed to arm its creations, ISIS and al-CIA-da, and it needed to do so covertly. Second, Gaddafi had approximately $200 Billion just sitting around; someone needed to grab it.

Backed by the CIA, the U.K. and France escalated the small Libyan civil war, which resulted in Gaddafi’s ouster and murder. Under cover, and approved by the Secretary, arms sales commenced region-wide. They continue now.

Hillary spoke to Goldman in 2013 as part of her part in the 2011 arrangement to round up the $200 Billion – the talks were for a portion of her compensation. There was an illicit transnational agreement to “share” the money. But! Treason! Those greedy Brits swooped in and stole all of it. It went into a “trust fund” – as in, you will never see this money again, TRUST us – in the name of the Libyan people. The Bank of England holds the cash in London and likely will forever.

Goldman was supposed to, allegedly, get some percentage of the money. They didn’t and they sued for recovery in England (where the money is). They will likely receive a $1 – 2 Billion settlement soon. The Brits will keep the lion’s share. Gaddafi is dead. The people of Libya are broke, leaderless, and besieged by terrorists. Turmoil reigns across the Middle East. Hillary is the Democratic nominee for President.

Some, even within the DNC, have called for her to step down, even at this late hour. Others risk looking a lot like hypocrites for defending Clinton (smart woman gettin’ paid!) while previously condemning similar actions committed by people named Bush or Hitler.

My point here is that none of this seems very presidential. I agree with those who say the candidates should step aside. In fact, let’s see if we can run for four years without an Executive. Heck, if that works, we can try scrapping the whole government. Spain is experimenting with this concept right now with encouraging results.

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Otherwise, your choices are: filth and near certain, potential corruption or filth and proven, systemic corruption. Good luck with that.

 

In Every Thing Gives Thanks

08 Saturday Oct 2016

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So admonished Paul in 1 Thes. 5:18. This isn’t always easy to do and many people forget it or don’t understand. People constantly sing the praises when something benefits them or theirs. Yet it’s hard to comprehend that from the worst of circumstances good can also emerge. Or, even harder to imagine, that we should be grateful just for something “bad”.

A recent example: two recent hurricanes this season in the Southeast, one happening right now. Hurricanes, while mere natural phenomena, are viewed as “bad”. Wind and water may be damaging although they are hardly unpredictable. Still, they also bring benefits.

Without these storms, this year many parts of the area would have 8-10 inch rainfall deficits, drought conditions.

So, thank you, hurricanes.

Also, as confirmed by a random Facebook “quiz”, I’m Batman.

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Mary Jane’s Athenian Pot Party

07 Friday Oct 2016

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As sad as it seems I graduated from college nearly 20 years ago. A little education and a lot of experiences. This story involves one of the latter. It is such ancient history that any parts I have forgotten will be creatively embellished for a seamless narrative.

We’ll say it was 1994. Back then I was a right-leaning “conservative”, one of millions about to be suckered in by the Contract ON America. (Remember that?) I still listened to Rush Limbaugh who, at the time, was still entertaining. Per my stance against joining I had never affiliated with any political party.

The previous year I attended one debate between the campus Republicans and Democrats. I should say “debate” because it wasn’t. All I saw were two sides of the same coin arguing over which one was uglier. I being new, they asked me for my opinion once the show was over and I told them something similar to the previous sentence and left. I never went back.

That next year I found myself still interested in political comradery. A decent, seemingly informed classmate told me about the UGA Libertarians and implied I should visit a meeting. I knew my views were much more inclined to those of the LP than the GOP but I saw the former as too weak to make a difference. They still have the same problem. But, then, I decided to plunge in and take a look.

I don’t even remember what season or quarter it was but it seems like the event was held in the evening. (Maybe it was 4:20…) Intrepidly I ventured to the Tate Student Center, home of the pool tables and the corn-dog. I reported, as instructed, to room 107.

There I waited patiently as the room filled up. It filled with women. I was the only man present. Oddly, I didn’t feel all that lucky. These women were pleasant enough. There was a semi-wide variety. Some were overtly attractive. Most wore black and all of them exuded a strangeness that, at the time, I couldn’t comprehend.

Their leader arrived and commenced some sort of weird, hypnotic, arms-waving chant. The group responded in like fashion. I grew slightly nervous. I asked the black-clad, chanting young lady beside me if this was the UGA LP. She said, “No, sweetie. We’re the UGA Witches. This is room 107. You want 207.” Not wanting to be turned into a frog or something, I excused myself politely.

On my way up the stairs something told me to abandon the night. Somewhere in Athens a beer was waiting for me. I shook it off. I was no quitter. Liberty needed me. Uggghhh…

In room 207 I found a gathering crowd of pleasant, normal-looking, seemingly okay people. No chanting. No black. I confirmed with the first man I saw that this was in fact the campus chapter of the LP. I took a seat near the middle of one side of the large table which occupied the room’s center.

Very soon thereafter a large group was present. I still detected no unusual activity and I began to relax. That beer could wait.

The president or chairman or whatever took his place at the head of the table. He called the meeting to order, made some perfunctory remarks, and welcomed any newbies. Very orderly, efficient and polite. I felt genuinely welcome.

He then said the best way to kick off the affair was to have everyone state the main issue which attracted them to the LP. He started; his issue was the legalization of marijuana. The comments moved clockwise, to his left and towards me. By coincidence the next person’s main issue was marijuana. As was the next’s. And the next’s. Pot, pot, pot, pot, green, and weed.

The process came to me and I, looking around thoughtfully, said that I thought Americans paid too much in taxes. Taxes, I said, should be cut – dramatically. These remarks caused a stir in the room with many heads nodding affirmatively. In fact, the dude to my left, next in the rotation, acknowledged my sentiments. He said that if taxes were cut, then we would all have more money to buy pot. Pot was his central issue. The discussion rounded the table.

Pot, pot, reefer, green, pot, weed, pot, pot, MJ, pot, whacky-tobacky, pot… At last the floor again belonged to the leader. He seemed pleased with the direction of the discussion and avowed to keep it going. We should all, he said, explain our second issue of attraction. His was still marijuana. Pot, pot, pot, pot, pot and back to me.

Now, somewhat flustered, I thought hard. At the time I really didn’t care one way or the other about pot. I still don’t. Yes, I agree it should be legal. I had no problem with the opinions of my fellows, only with their redundancy. I thought for a second and said, “I like guns.”

More murmuring and many a nodding head. The man next to me became animated with delight. He declared that they had long needed “this guy”, meaning me. He said we would definitely need guns in order to protect our … pot…

Pot, pot, pot, pot, pot, pot …

I then knew this was an exercise in the futile. I asked the animated character to my left where the restroom was. He got even more excited. Leaning in, with a half-crazed look in his glazed eyes, he asked, “You going to smoke a joint?”

No I said. Gotta…number two. Big. One… I … I have to run. And I did.

I left and headed downtown. I did use the restroom – at a bar, though mainly to ask the mirror what the hell I had just been through. The beer and I finally connected. It turned out to be a good night.

And that was my defining experience with the LP. And with the witches of America.

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I still like and admire the Libertarians. Thereafter I went on to (lazily) support Harry Browne’s 2000 presidential campaign. He, you might recall, did not make it. I also paid for a dinner for a Georgia LP congressional candidate and his senior staff. He also failed to win office.

I no longer associate with politicians (or witches) – at least not in the formal, supportive sense. As I noted yesterday, the Pot Party is still the party of pot. Whatever else they may be, they are consistent on that issue.

They still want to toke and I still like guns. There is a constant in the universe.

Happy Friday, all.

The Nine Laws: Not A Book Review, Not Yet

06 Thursday Oct 2016

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I’ve made it up to chapter four, where I believe the substance of the book begins. Again this is The Nine Laws by Ivan Throne.

51rdnrxumzl

Throne / Castalia House.

So far I can say it certainly is interesting. I’m not ready for a full review, obviously, but I can say that I recommend it, at least for investigation purposes. It purports to be a textbook of sorts, a teaching of self-improvement, and I think it is ramping up to that. At any rate, it does cause thought which is a hallmark of any good book, technically useful or not.

The book offers a bleak but honest look at the world and our lives within. I find it most refreshing that the author doesn’t tip-toe around with foolishness and idle politically-correctness. If it is a self-help book, then it is only for those who embrace reality. And, of those, only the ones willing to do something about their status and places. It is not for the weak. Thus, I hate to say, it is not for most people. Readers, here, I presume will benefit or at least will not be harmed.

Very good, so far. I may have a full report when I am finished.

Even The Pursuit Of Power Corrupts

06 Thursday Oct 2016

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Given Lord Acton’s observations I long thought that should the Libertarians officially come to power they would become willing participants in the system: corrupted and the very thing they were elected to combat. Now, it seems, their ascendancy isn’t even a requirement. John Bock wrote an intriguing piece suggesting the corruption has already happened. Or, at least, it has begun.

Today’s Libertarian Party is not the same party your father knew. The party known for promoting civil liberties, minimal government regulation (including ending drug laws), free market capitalism and the end of welfare seems to have wavered in its original mission. This election cycle, the Libertarians have enjoyed extra support with all of the early “Never Trump” talk. More people have looked into the Libertarians, but not everyone – especially gun owners – likes what they’ve found.

The article is gun-centered but so is freedom. There appears to be a lot to worry about.

I like the LP, theoretically, as an alternative to the current uni-party BS system. Many of my friends are Libertarians, many more libertarian with the capitalization. I never entertained joining the LP. I’ve never joined any party. Not a party person, so to speak.

Three problems have always specifically stood in between the LP and myself. First, there’s the aforementioned potential for decline. Second, the applications I have seen have a requirement that members declare they will not try to overthrow the government. I see no need for direct action as state’s usually do a marvelous job of committing suicide, unassisted; however, the option is nice to have in needed (see 1776, etc.). Third, I have found the LP, first and foremost, to be the party of pot.

I don’t use marijuana nor do I mind if you do. I think all drugs should be legal though I might never use them. But, it’s not my only issue. Mary Jane’s Stoned Green Grass Pot Party is not for me. I have a very funny story about my experience with the ravishing reefer enthusiasts but it can wait just a while.

Guns are another of my many issues so let’s return to Bock’s article.

Gary Johnson picked as his running mate a liberal Massachusetts gun-grabber. This makes the ticket no worse than the gun controllers offered up by the DNC and the GOP but it is no different. If there’s not a difference, what’s the point?

Johnson’s campaign in Delaware is chaired by Melissa Joan Hart, another celebrity telling you how to vote. She’s also a spokeswoman for Mom’s Demand Action (against you and your guns). She’s also easy on the eyes so I might let that one go, if it stood alone as an anomaly. It doesn’t.

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Hmmmm…

It seems even the venerable Cato Institute, bastion of libertarian thought in D.C., is at least willing to compromise on gun control. It’s not that bad, but it is a compromise and one that makes no sense.

By Robert A. Levy

…1. Assault rifles.

…That said, some weapons can be banned. For example, automatic weapons have, for all practical purposes, been banned since 1934. But banning popular semi-automatic rifles, merely because they have a military-type attachment that doesn’t affect their lethality, makes no sense. The task, therefore, is to identify semi-automatic weapons that are not commonly used and not needed for lawful purposes. The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban went too far, but a more limited version might be viable.

2. High-capacity magazines.

…To my knowledge, no actual or potential (civilian) victim has fired dozens of rounds in self-defense. Perhaps that suggests a ban on magazines with more than, say, 20 rounds.

3. Universal background checks.

…It may be time to revisit and, if necessary, fine-tune Manchin-Toomey.

Robert Levy is chairman of the Cato Institute.

Boch immediately follows with a story of a citizen who used a scary assault rifle and one or more high capacity magazines to fight off armed thugs, none of whom I am sure, cared the least about background checks.

And Levy and company miss the point entirely. If the government has powerful weapons, it follows the people should have them also – just in case. It has nothing to do with shooting deer or fighting criminals in theory. (Although in practice the weapons do a great job with both of those issues).

Maybe this is in keeping with the LP pledge to tolerate any government. Maybe it’s a cave-in in an attempt to garner the mad mom vote. Either way, it isn’t libertarian, American, nor wise.

Just to show no hard feelings towards Libertarians – Legalize the Weed!