Quote of the day—Kevin Baker

Progressive Leftism is a religion, with all the attendant characteristics: Dogma, the treatment of heathens, heretics, and apostates, indulgences, all of it. Government is God, legislators are the angels (remember, Satan and his demons were once angels), the “news” media are the clergy, and we proles are the laypeople, the heathens, the apostates and the heretics. And they will drag us, kicking and screaming if necessary, into their promised Utopia.

Or kill us, if they deem us too deplorable to save.

Kevin Baker
February 27, 2021
Immanentize the Eschaton!
[This is entirely consistent with the rise of other leftist states like the USSR, Cambodia, Venezuela, etc..

I hope we can take a less bloody path back to a government respecting the rights of the individual to worship, or not, whatever religion they so chose. But my assessment of the situation is rather grim.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Rob Natelson

Sen. Donovan’s effort to turn back the clock 327 years reminds us that so-called “progressives” are deeply regressive. Constitutional government that protects human freedom is a fairly modern phenomenon. The unlimited government most “progressives” seek is as old as the pharaohs. Scratch the typical “progressive” and you find a hidden totalitarian.

Rob Natelson
March 24, 2021
Leading Colorado Democrat Introduces Bill to Censor Internet Communication
[I don’t see that to do any scratching to discover that. They aren’t bothering to hide these days.—Joe]

Quote of the day—MTHead

The real problem I see is. Were in the middle of the, Might is Right phase. But our side hasn’t figured that out yet.

Law is a crap pile the communist rooster climbed upon to crow. Law is for civilization. And those that understand it’s purpose in upholding civilization.

And communist don’t get it. Their never going to understand it. It matters not why.
Talking law to a communist is like explaining quantum physics to a cerebral monster. We should stop, lest we prove own insanity.

Whatever happens is going to be lawful. Why? Because the WINNER is going to write the story. Period.

MTHead
March 11, 2021
Comment to Bypassing all Federal gun laws
[There is more than a little truth in this.

I’m reminded of:

  • The unification of the Hawaiian Islands where the aggressors of one island massacred the rulers and troops of the other island. Today, the natives celebrate the day of the massacre.
  • The U.S. Civil war where many of the people of the southern states thought of it, and many still think of it, as the war of northern aggression. The people of the northern states think of it as the preservation of the Union and the freeing of the slaves.
  • Today WWII in Europe is almost always described as the liberation of nations from German domination. At the time many of the German people thought of it as the unification of Europe to bring peace and, to a much lessor extent, “The Final Solution to the Jewish problem”.
  • The USSR promised a classless society and equality for all. For nearly 70 years they insisted that the utopia was only a few years away. The clearly desirable goal was to everyone according to their need and from everyone according to their ability. The west sees the USSR as dictatorship which murdered 10s of millions of their own citizens and oppressor of the neighboring nations.

A generation from now what will the narrative in the U.S. be? The nation was cleansed of the racist, sexist, gun worshiping, bigoted Republicans? Or, the U.S. Constitution, liberty, and the rule of law was restored?—Joe]

Good point

From a private post on Facebook:

Name ONE time in human history when the group fighting to ban books and censor speech were the good guys.

I’ll wait…

Update: I found the original post here.

Quote of the day—Chuck Schumer

Let me tell you, I think it’s good when somebody is trying to influence government for their purposes, directly with ads and everything else, it’s good to have a deterrent effect.

Chuck Schumer
US Senator
July 23, 2014
[See also:

Spoken like a true tyrant.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Petr Svab

Censorship in America is peculiar in its form as it’s largely not the doing of the government. It’s not even necessarily the result of government pressure, though that now seems to be underway as well. Rather, it’s based on actors both in and out of government across the American society aligning with an ideology that’s totalitarian at its root.

It’s unlikely that Americans can rely on somebody pushing against the ideology from the top. In fact, the ideology appears to now be endorsed by a majority of the government.

Yet it may be that government measures wouldn’t offer a solution as long as a significant share of the population still subscribes to the ideology or is willing to go along with it.

As Judge Learned Hand said in his 1944 speech “The Spirit of Liberty”:

“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.”

It appears Americans’ stand is now to rekindle that spark of liberty in the hearts of their peers.

Petr Svab
March 9, 2021
Communist Tactics to Force Self-Censorship Sweeping America
[I know it’s tough for a lot of people to do, but it’s important. Speak up for freedom of thought, religion, assemble, association, and speech. Let people know you are proud to keep and bear arms. Stand up for liberty.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Thomas Sowell

The fatal fallacy of gun control laws in general is the assumption that such laws actually control guns. Criminals who disobey other laws are not likely to be stopped by gun-control laws. What such laws actually do is increase the number of disarmed and defenseless victims.

Thomas Sowell
Senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
December 23, 2016
Sowell: Gun-control laws do not make us safer
[Via a Tweet by #2A Wisdom@2AWisdom.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Glenn Reynolds

Hypothesis: “Academic freedom” was constructed as a notion in order to protect communists and other leftists who worked in education from responses by non-leftists. Now that it’s no longer needed, because leftists are thoroughly in control of those institutions, it’s being discarded.

Glenn Reynolds
March 5, 2021
AND NOT BY ACCIDENT
[It certainly seems to fit the available evidence.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Max Morton

We are facing a new post-justice, post-truth society. We won’t be able to debate our way out of it, vote our way out of it, or tweet our way out of it. No one is coming to save us. If traditional America wants to be free, it will have to stop living in the past, get up off the couch, and take action.

Max Morton
February 23, 2021
The Last Stop Before Thermopylae
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—James Ketler

It may appear that the state holds power over the people, but in reality the converse is true; it is the people en bloc who—by choosing to obey or not obey—hold ultimate power over the state. The only way a state can enforce its laws at all is if the people overall acquiesce to it. If sufficiently widespread, political resistance would disrupt the status quo to such a degree as to render its function completely ineffectual. In the final analysis, it is the people who hold the power.

James Ketler
February 25, 2021
Why the Capitol Riot Terrified the Elite
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—James Rickards

Once the cattle (that’s us) have been herded into the digital slaughterhouse, we will be told to “use it or lose it” when it comes to our own money. In other words, either we spend the money, or the government will take it away.

Of course, the spending can be channeled into politically correct causes by excluding unpopular vendors such as gun dealers or conservative social media platforms from the payment system. This represents total domination of human behavior through world money + digital currencies + confiscation.

This is not speculation anymore; it’s happening in front of our eyes. The Great Reset is coming fast. The future is here.

The only solution is to use a non-digital, non-bank store of wealth that cannot be traced or manipulated. Given the planned dollar devaluation, it’s one more reason to own physical gold and silver.

Get it while you still can.

James Rickards
February 22, 2021
The Great Reset Is Here
[While I can see his claim is more than plausible, I’m not certain it’s as dire and certain as Rickards says it is. But, he’s far more qualified than I am to make that judgement.

I’m currently listening to his book The New Great Depression: Winners and Losers in a Post-Pandemic World which was published January 12th of this year. I suspect he will make his case for the QOTD conclusions in the latter portions of the book which I have not yet reached.—Joe]

Only the truth needs to be suppressed

I find this very telling about the character and intentions of “House Democrats”.

House Democrats’ Attempt to Pressure TV Carriers Could Trigger Lawsuit: Dershowitz

Reps. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) sent a dozen letters to 12 different carriers this week urging them to deplatform or otherwise take action against Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News for allegedly spreading misleading information about the Jan. 6 Capitol breach and the COVID-19 pandemic.

They pointedly asked the carriers if they were planning on carrying the networks “both now and beyond any contract renewal date.”

The open debate of ideas tends toward the truth.

Stated little more strongly, falsehoods fail on their own. Only the truth needs to be suppressed.

Quote of the day—Brandon Smith

If you are afraid to lose something, then that something can be used to control you. Carano was not afraid to lose and so she could not be controlled, and I commend her for that. The example she has set for others is far more valuable than any work that she might have done by submitting to the Hollywood Cheka. If only the majority of people would do the same, our civilization could change for the better overnight.
All tyranny is an illusion predicated on fear within the minds of the enslaved. So, do not fear.

Brandon Smith
February 24, 2021
How Societies Are Imprisoned: The Whole World Will One Day Be Like Hollywood?
[See also this example.—Joe]

Quote of the day—J.D. Tuccille

Anybody who wants to participate in a protest unmonitored, engage in clandestine meetings, or travel untracked has to, at a minimum, leave behind all cell phones and other modern electronic devices connected to their names and identities. A burner phone purchased with cash and free of social media accounts is probably fine, but that’s as far as it goes. The conveniences of the connected modern world come with a steep price: our anonymity.

J.D. Tuccille
February 26, 2021
So Long as You Carry a Cellphone, the Government Can Track You
[No! It is not fine!

In addition that phone or other networked device should never be turned on near your home or any other place you don’t want snoopy people to find out about. Just having your “burner phone” associated with the location of your place of work and your child’s school is going to make the Venn Diagram dramatically smaller.

And don’t forget there are a ton of license plate scanners out there. All the traffic cameras and many police cars automatically scan the license plates and put the data in a database that is kept for long, long time.

Of course, you could also deliberately create deceptive data on the phone if you were extremely careful. As in have a friend turn it on in another state while you were known to be at meeting at work. Of course your friend needs to keep his license plate from being scanned while in the vicinity of where the phone drops its breadcrumbs. Bicycles may be useful.

My first order advice is that the less information you provide the better. The burner phone only gets turned on if you really need it while at the event. Then as soon as the event is over you destroy and dispose of it.

Think of it this way… How much would you pay to get out of bad legal situation? It’s more than the cost of a burner phone, right? So pay that price up front to the phone retailers rather than on the back end to the lawyers.

Also you should leave your normal phone turned on at home or another place far away from the protest you are attending.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Rick Moran

Small-minded, even ignorant people see salvation in controlling the minds and lives of others. Is it a mass delusion that they believe they are actually “fighting racism,” that they’re doing this for white people’s own good? Or are these the same efforts at control that have been around since humans created civilizations?

Rick Moran
February 20, 2021
‘Critical Race Theory’ Costs a Brave Smith College Whistleblower Her Job
[There are alphas in most social animals so I expect the answer is that control of others has extremely deep genetic roots which go well beyond the first human civilizations.

And of course “racism” is just the current tool of choice in our country. In other times and places the tool was chosen to match a vulnerable target. Classic example from early in the 20th Century are Hitler with the Jewish (and other) people while Stalin had Trotsky, counter revolutionaries, capitalists, etc.

In the U.S., in addition to “racism”, some of the tools of control are “climate change”, “equality”, “social justice”, etc. And those tools are used against the political right. Don’t believe for a second it is actual racism they believe they are fighting. If that were the case you wouldn’t have people talking about multiracial Whiteness. Or claiming that asking students to show their work in class is “white supremacy”. These two examples are just the beginning of what is to come.

History is full of examples to provide hints as to how this may turn out. If the people who would be masters get their way, as they did in the USSR, the bar to pass the purity tests will continually raise. Even now things like the “master” branch in software version control, and “whitelists” and “blacklists” have come under attack. And non-trivial amounts of resources are being expended to satisfy the ever increasing demands of the power hungry.

Each victory for these people increases their thirst for more. They get a thrill from it. Even a “high”. They absolutely love it and in more candid moments admit this. Such people need to be stood up to because the end game is far worse then standing up to them now.

Here is one brave woman standing up:

If she can do it so can you.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Western States Sheriffs’ Association

  • The 2nd amendment to our nation’s constitution guarantees the individual right to keep and bear arms.
  • WSSA members have taken a firm stance on protecting this right and ensuring that no person, legally entitled to possess a firearm, realizes any pressure from laws inconsistent with the Constitution.
  • We continue to monitor this issue, both regionally and nationally and join to defeat any legislation that seeks to impair our 2nd amendment right including Amicus Briefs in support of second amendment rights in lawsuits in California, Maryland, and Colorado.

Western States Sheriffs’ Association
2018
Western States Sheriffs’ Association web site page About
[I’ve heard details via private channels which are even more reassuring.—Joe]

Quote of the day—An0maly @LegendaryEnergy

Fake beef. Fake crowd noises at sports games. Fake fans. Fake news. Fake health orders that make real human interaction illegal.

At what point do people realize this is every Sci-Fi nightmare movie ever?

An0maly @LegendaryEnergy
Tweeted on February 18, 2021
[Good question.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Philip Giraldi

Many schools in the United States have ceased issuing grades that have any meaning, or they have dropped grading altogether, which means there is no way to judge progress or achievement. National test scores for evaluating possible college entry are on the way out almost everywhere as they are increasingly being condemned as “racist” in terms of how they assess learning based solely on the fact that blacks do less well on them than Asians and whites. This has all been part of an agenda that is being pushed that will search for and eliminate any taint of racism in the public space. It has also meant the destruction or removal of numerous historic monuments and an avoidance of any honest discussion of American history. San Francisco schools are, for example, notoriously spending more than $1 million to change the names of 44 schools that honor individuals who have been examined under the “racism and oppression” microscope and found wanting. They include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Paul Revere.

Philip Giraldi
February 18, 2021
The Decline of the West: American Education Surrenders to ‘Equity’
[It is easy to conclude our technological progress is being impeded by these people. There might even be sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis we are about to enter, or at least are at risk of entering, a new dark age. This could even be an existential threat to technological human society.

One of the ways I see this problem is that some people, perhaps with malice aforethought, confuse and/or conflate equality of outcome with equality of opportunity. And furthermore the “equality of opportunity” is, again perhaps with malice aforethought, confused and/or conflated with “equality under the law”.

I think at least part of the solution to this problem is to push back HARD when someone plays this confusion/conflation con game.

Just because there exists a difference in earnings and/or life expectance, and/or criminal convictions, and/or representation in some professions, etc. does not necessarily mean there was discrimination and/or racism. People of Asian decent account for only 5.9% of the U.S. population. While Black or African American people account for 13.4% of the U.S. population. Yet as of 2019 in the U.S.:

  • All households combined had a median income of $65,712/year.
  • Asians had a median income of $93,759/year.
  • Blacks had a median income of $43,862/year.
  • Whites had a median income of $69,823/year.

So, if someone claims racism against minorities is to blame for income inequality demand they explain how Asians, with less than half the representation in the U.S population of blacks have over twice the household income.

Furthermore demand they explain, if they claim the differences in outcomes are racist, why the differences begin to show up at the start of school rather than in graduation rates, college admittance, or starting wages.

The next point which I think needs addressing is that the whole concept of “inequality is bad” must be struck down. I’ve adequately addressed that issue before.

Put as succinctly as I know how, we must celebrate success and extraordinary achievement instead of rewarding victimhood.

One last thing. I do not claim to know the reason why people with different skin colors have different success rates in our society. I only know that it is extremely unlikely it is because of white supremacy and or racism.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Bill Blair

What we’ve done in the legislation is really create the set of circumstances and conditions that will facilitate the buy-back.

We are eliminating all legal use of these prohibited firearms. They can’t be legally discharged. You can’t fire them. You can’t take them hunting or to a range. They can’t sell them or transport them. They can’t bequeath them or trade them in any way. They will be required to store them in a very secure safe or vault.

I think the vast majority of people who bought these guns to use as firearms, now that there is no legal way to do that, they’ll be highly incentivized to surrender them for destruction, and then we’ll have a fair compensation program available to them.

Bill Blair
Canada Public Safety Minister
February 16, 2021
Bill Blair says new gun bill will help keep handguns off the streets without a federal ban
[It would seem to me that some incentives, and a fair compensation program, need to be given to Blair and company to respect the rights of the people.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Thomas Jefferson

God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.

If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. … What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?

Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Thomas Jefferson
November 13, 1787
Letter to William Stephens Smith
[This provides more context to the one I usually see.—Joe]