Cliche' Thought On The March

The conclusion is now inescapable. Some foreigners in Japan feel that the American government is too powerful...and that America would be a better country if its government were made more powerful (!?), seizing control of private industry and increasing it's regulation of private lives (as is standard in the socialist model so favored by pampered and spoiled brats from well-to-do upbringings).

If only the Soviets had won the cold war; what a better world we'd live in.

...Yawn.

The Virtue of Being Offended

"Being a Muslim today means to be always aware that something, somewhere, is somehow offensive to Islam,...[does not include beheading, wife beating, stoning of rape victims, pedophilia, execution of gays, or flying airplanes into buildings...of course]"

More offense at The People's Cube."

Some Random Observations:

In Mohammad (a merchant), the left has finally found a businessman they can love.

Hypocrisies of radical relativism: "There are no 'good guys and bad guys,' …but, Bush and America are the bad guys."

Nine out of ten dictatorships (or aspiring dictatorships) hate the U.S. What should that tell ya...?

It's important to remember that "utopia" means "nowhere." In this regard, the left always has, and continues to go to utopia fast.

Calling Islam a "religion of peace" is like calling rugby a board game.

Another Wealthy Leftist Snob Calls the Kettle...Rich and Snobby

Where do these idiots come from – Really?

I'm sure many have already read of Heather Mills McCartney's whine regarding the horrors of wealth and her reluctant need to mingle with wealthy people for the sole purpose of "maximizing her power as an agent for change" (delusions of grandeur). Along with the class warfare chant went the obligatory reference to bringing about "the common good."

For this latest from the world of wealthy socialist nonsense, Heather Mills McCartney wins the Promethean Antagonist award to go live in the socialist gulag of her choice to eat grass – equally – with fellow followers of anti-freedom.

...The paranoia, the delusions, the bottled rage wrapped in contrived peace loving hypocrisy – time for name-calling; what a stupid fool.

...Speaking of the "greater good," The People's Cube (scroll down to "The Ant Bully: Introduction to Anthill Socialism") captures the absurdity of one of Hollywood's recent gulag for kids indoctrination anime's.

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Christmas in Japan

I've noted this before in past Christmas / "neutral-ambiguous holiday" times. Japan is a predominantly Buddhist and Shinto country. It's extremely ironic that here I can find the Christmas of my childhood; with decorations, Santas, Christmas Carols, and – the most horrid of Post-Modern blasphemies – signs that say, "Merry Christmas." Of course it's no secret that many places in America where the cultural left has imposed itself, hints that the "holiday season" may have roots in traditional celebration or (Gasp!) the dominant religion of America (Christianity) are to be frowned upon – or banished.

School boards, politicians, and other "spokespersons" with power, have done their best to neutralize any reference to the dreaded religious wing of "Western Imperialism." But....when it comes to Ramadan or other celebrations in the religion of misogyny and beheadings, well, cut 'em some slack. After all, Islam just wants what the lefts wants, the complete elimination of Western Civilization and its values.

One needn't be a Christian to simply appreciate a colorful time of festive goodwill and celebration. Since the French Revolution the Jacobin crowd has done it's best to eradicate hints, references, or homage to a religion they feel compelled to compete with (Leftist ideology IS a religion!).

So, Merry Christmas! If you have difficulty feeling the spirit of such times, come to Japan, eat some sushi, listen to Christmas carols, and escape the contrived edicts of leftland and its sterile authoritarian views of live and celebration.

Ask Yourself...

...What Would Muhammad Do?...

Judging an Ideology by its Friends

Before the advent of pop-Islamo-Jihad I knew I could always count on those I conversed with on the left to belittle and chastise conventional western religious practices. The Catholic church was their favorite. Often passionate references were made to the horrors of some witches being burned three or four hundred years ago. A close second object of the left's scorn was held for the ignorant clowns of tele-evangelism. People like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson (total idiots to be sure). I had often heard of the emerging fascist threat posed by some narrow-minded preachers. They didn't cut anybody's head off or fly planes into buildings, but the great danger was always there. They were the religious wing of those other great threats to the establishment of socialist paradise; people who wanted less taxes, a free economy, and adherence to constitutional self-government.

So, what's up with the "tolerance", and often outright sympathy, for the backward violent cult of rigid fundamentalist Islam? This isn't a groundless accusation, one can find such sympathies everywhere, everyday in media, "entertainment," and "education." Among most on the left, Islam is the most chic thing to ally oneself with since the advent of the Che Guevara t-shirt.

What could be more ironic in the left's history of bizarre hypocrisies than their recent sympathies for a religion based on the hallucinations of a 6th century sexist, warrior, businessman? (His relations with a nine year old girl don't count in the analysis because many leftists would consider that a "choice of lifestyle").

I might also add; Does any rational person really believe that the creator of the Universe would "tell" a guy how many wives he can have, what food to eat, and to spread these rules and others "by the sword," killing or torturing random innocents so some backward angry savages can gain and hold power?

Welcome to the Jacobin mind in all its splendor; a stance dedicated to "justice, equality, progress," and tolerance for the greatest threat to civilized open society since the advent of their own failed project -- Marxist-Leninism.

...total fools.

Fidel, Che, and the end of a Communist Police State in Cuba

As stated in prior posts, I'm no longer posting regularly here. Occasionally I'll put some brief comment up or put together an essay or two that I had been working on before I decided to direct my time to things other than computer chores.

...In the meantime, I'd like the first post seen on this site to at least be perpetually relevant and to sum up my world view to a degree. So it is that I repost my brief essay regarding that wretched authoritarian swine off the coast of Florida -- Fidel Castro.

With young people everywhere still wearing the pathetic image of Castro's head executioner ("Che"), and with a host of idiots ("useful" idiots is too kind a label) in Hollywood, journalism, and "education" still praising the Stalinist gulag imposed upon Cuba, I think it bears reminding that Fidel Castro IS A DICTATOR! (duh...).

This an odd time in our history. Pampered brats of media, journalism, and academia have followed their nonstop tirades against the general decency of free and open civilization with "submission" and often adoration for a violent authoritarian religious cult -- call it Islamofascism, Muslim fanaticism, or perhaps Comm-Fasci-Nazism + belief in a god who sanctions the violent imposition of authoritarian cruelty. The kind of thing that only a woman's studies professor could love. (Definitely weird when one considers how the left had typically critiqued Christianity and its history -- another "oppressor" along with "patriarchy," capitalism, America, and western civilization in general).

That all said, ...here's a reprinting of my old essay regarding the coming demise of the Left's favorite poster boy for totalitarian rule:

When Castro's Gone

The world is becoming dangerous for authoritarian philosophy and the “leaders” who enforce it (no thanks to the pampered elite in the intelligentsia, of course). Even natural causes can sometimes help to crack the ugly walls erected by tyrants

It doesn’t take great insight to suggest the possibility that Cuba’s one-man authority show will soon be over. The island nation’s dictator, Fidel Castro, has certainly reached an age where death will soon remove him from the power he has held for a good portion of his life. As one of the few remaining autocrats of Marxist –Leninist rule in the world, he’s become to many, an acceptable, if not admirable, figurehead of the Left’s hopes and dreams for a police state with equally distributed poverty and “free” health care.

The Cuban gulag under Castro’s Communism is a variation on a consistent theme of brutality, oppression, and distributed destitution. What can we expect when this icon of the Socialist vision is gone? First of all, I predict that his death will be looked upon with great sympathy and admiration by a score of world leaders as well as many of the world’s artists, intellectuals, and performers. Oliver Stone, in classic self-righteous self-promotion, will remind us that he had said good things about Cuba’s “leader” all along. The media will be peppered with some trite acknowledgment of some of the less than savory actions of the absolute dictator but, for the most part, we will be lead to believe that this guy was okay and maybe even saintly. A balance sheet will be perversely drawn up admitting “some mistakes” (the complete repression of human liberty) while lauding the “great things” he accomplished and “we fail to do.”

After subsidies from the former Soviet Union dissipated, Cuba could only do what all socialist enterprises do when there is no outside host to feed off of – suck its own blood dry. Socialism makes it a crime to produce new wealth (profit). It can only seize from one group, distribute some to another group, and squander the rest for heroic monuments and bloated payoffs to bureaucrats and toadies.

Cuba under Castro’s Marxist philosophy is a prime example of socialism’s failure yet, after Castro’s death, it will be pointed to as a model for continuing the horrible legacy of famine, torture, conformity, and despair -- all because some intellectuals and idealists don’t like wealth, success, and individuality (their ultimate enemy is human nature itself).

There will likely be a transition after Castro’s death, where some stale bureaucrat true believers will attempt to keep the poison flame burning. They’ll realize their treasury and industry are mere phantoms and the common citizens will realize that they “don’t have to live this way.”

Communism in Cuba will eventually fall, because its economy was a lie. The lie exposed will result in factory shut downs, unemployment, and degrees of chaos – which will all be blamed on the “horrors” of being set free (“Capitalism”). As an honest economy asserts itself and makes for the difficult adjustments to a the real world, the Left and their mouth pieces in the media, academia, and show business will contrast images of happy proletarian slaves vs. homeless beggars -- passing over the fact that it is Communism’s fraudulent nature that ultimately catches up with a society after its socialist stage set has fallen.

When Castro dies the puppet masters of authoritarian sympathy will prod us to morn -- and many will. But some of us will be cheering, as we do whenever there is one less dictator amongst humanity.

We often read that America’s free market “distributes” more money to business people than teachers (I’m a teacher and I think my pay is rather good). What we don’t hear is that, in a socialist economy like Cuba, cab drivers and prostitutes make more money than doctors (another benefit of “free” health care).

When Castro’s gone we won’t be teaching our kids about the horrors of collectivist political ideology or the oppression of one-party rule. We won’t be hearing “never again” or “how could it happen” or “how could we have stood by doing nothing.” No, we’ll hear the same that we hear now about the former Soviet Union and its Eastern European Empire, or about China under Mao, or everywhere else Communism has ruled. We’ll hear that they tried a noble experiment and failed, and if we try again, maybe we can create an egalitarian utopia, with “free” health care -- and prostitutes who are paid more than doctors.

Nobility, Peace, and Nonsense

Any sane person should be sick upon hearing this tidbit of information.

Media Objectivity, Perspective, and Allegiances in Iraq

"...American soldiers today killed...innocent..."

"...American marines today killed...innocent..."

"...An American military contractor today killed...innocent..."

**********

"A bomb randomly just kind of happened in association with a suicide in a market square today. The person committing suicide may have been a militant insurgent resister. The one hundred or so people killed by the random (sometimes these things just happen) bombing may have been innocent – but no need to really say that. The bomber apparently belonged to no particular organization, religion, or philosophy and seemed to harbor no ill will toward anyone. Ultimately it was a mere suicide coinciding with a random ambiguous bombing... Meanwhile...American soldiers today killed...innocent..."



note: This is still a relatively dormant blog but occasionally when I have the time I'll put up a brief post.

'Just Couldn't Resist

As stated in my last post, this blog is virtually dead for now. I've slowly got some of my computer nonsense to kind-of function properly but I must say; it's been bliss not spending hours a day typing, answering e-mails, or other non-human endevours. I miss it a bit but enjoy the extra time and more leisurely life pace. But...

I just couldn't resist saying something about Bin Laden's latest tirade. What an idiot! And,...big surprise; he's basically a garden variety socialist complete with hat tips to Noam Chomsky, the Kyoto treaty, and of course disdain for corporations, capitalism, and free society. The far left and even their allies in the wimp-left Democrat party have got to be squirming when they realize that a violent religious fanatic of pampered billionaire upbringing uses the exact same talking points as they do. As is so typical of all anti-individualist/anti-freedom psychotics, Bid Laden is under some bizarre impression that what he "offers" is a type of "freedom" -- a Muslim police state ruled by the dictates of fascist religious nuts and guided by the delusions of a war-mongering medieval pedophile (as described in "their book"). I know, "if you say our religion is violent and war-like we'll kill you and make war upon all who dare disobey us." Both Hitler and Mao would be proud.

So, another authoritarian mass-murder cultist is opposed to free enterprise, open pluralistic society and self-government -- big surprise.

As has been the case in the big debate for some time now; on one side we have John Locke, Edmund Burke, Winston Churchill, Eric Hoffer, and Ronald Reagan (to name a few), and on the other side; Rousseau, Robespierre, Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao, Noam Chomsky, the support base of America's Democrat party, and now Islamo-fascism and its grand figurehead, Osama Bin Laden.

Just wanted to clarify the obvious...

Some Of Us Just Ain't Cut Out For Computers

Before my computer began its decent into oblivion I had several brief essays that I had started on a variety of issues . I may one day actually post them here.

At this point I'm completely discouraged. The place I bought my computer from was more than helpful and put my computer back to factory condition, which was nice for awhile. Now, the usual; a printer that won't print, video feeds that are choppy and slow etc.

This time, I win. I'm not going to devote hours of time attempting to reconcile my incompetence to a concept that is beyond me.

While I love writing, I'm just not cut out for these things (computers) – 'never have been. I'm not going to vent my cyber-frustrations on Bill Gates or technological advancement in general like so many modern day Luddites would have it. No, I like the idea of computers and I marvel at what they can do in competent hands.

I remember actually working as a waiter for restaurants and writing a customer's order on a piece of paper (no, I'm not 90 years old). When restaurants began using computers my first encounter with my own frailties before technology began. Computers made my job considerably more difficult and frustrating. Again, the problem was me or, more specifically, my inability to interact with this still relatively new medium. Like every "spacey" guy with a vivid imagination, I can be occasionally creative, but keep me away from gadgets.

I may eventually get this pathetic piece of shit up and running reasonably enough to play with my photographs (thousands at this point), dabble with my astrology programs, download and play music, and even occasionally get a new post up here but, for now I'm afraid, this blog is as good as dead. Of course, I've said that before a few times in the last few years so, who knows.

In this period of my computer's illness I've not been scanning the news on web pages, I've not been posting to any of my blogs, and I've not been sending or receiving e-mails. I have to say, it's been bliss.
I can finally sit down and just read a book or casually perform mundane errands without having to race to simply arrive at work on time.

Do check back in several weeks as I will no doubt get this thing functional enough to at least post the scraps I had hoped to post before. As time permits, I'll eventually add to my list of "Big Rant" links (specific essays that I hope articulate a view of culture and political philosophy well).

I also hope to eventually add my – literally hundreds of – new observations to my Promethean Observer site.

As stated in the last post, please see my "Big Rant" links and links to other sites if you haven't already or if you are new to this site.

I may get stuff up here again on a regular basis at some time in the future, but don't count on it.

Surrendering to the reality of my own computer incompetence is a great feeling,

Now I'm going to relax and read a good book.

Have fun...and, laugh at the nonsense

Cliff

Temporary Hibernation and "Global [Summer]"

...'Got one of them malware critters in my machine. 'Will be away from blogland for a week or two [actually, let me update that to a few weeks. 'Turns out that I'll need to reinstall my entire operating system and begin the tedious chore of reloading a plethora of photos, documents, programs, and music (complete with "activation codes" and such)]. What a pain in the ass...oh well...

If you're new to this site please see my list of "Big Rants" or some of the links I have to other sites with similar appraisals of events current, recent, and long dead.

**************************

Now that it's really hot we refer to "global warming." We used to just call it summer. Do you really think that giving the government more money, authority, and control over the economy is going to give you a more comfortable August?

Also, have you notice that when the mainstream media refers to "record temperature" they won't note that the last "record temperature" was decades ago, or more -- or that temperature records only began being kept in that last hundred years or so. It may now be appropriate to remind some that under the melting ice of Greenland we are finding remnants of animal life, plantlife, and even farming villages.

Yeah, it's Summer and its really hot...but a bureaucrat isn't going to change that any more than they're going to "eliminate poverty in our lifetime."

Oh, ...sorry to disappoint but, like a lot of people who don't play along with this "man-made climate change" con, I receive no money from "big oil" or big anything for that matter.

Autumn is just around the corner. 'Always my favorite season as we succumb to extreme and excessive moderate temperatures.

Absurdities in Political Correctness

"Homophobia" means fear of homosexuals. I don't think there are many people who are actually "afraid" of homosexuals. There's certainly no cause to be, whether one is enthused about their lifestyle or opposed to it (for what it's worth, I'm neither).

"Islamophobia" means fear of Muslims. ...That's a whole other story now, isn't it...

Property Is “The Root Of All …”

…Actually, it’s not the root of anything. It just is. It’s as natural as a wolf pissing on the perimeter of its territory.

In certain circles of political delusion, property is “socially constructed” and is one part of an oppressive mechanism (“oppression” being the rule of law in a market society that outlaws theft).

There have been times that I’ve seen crows evenly spaced on a telephone wire and have noted the polite rearranging of their positions when one flies in to disrupt the property value of a perch. I wonder if the others are feeling “oppressed” by a newly arrived crow’s stake in a few cubic centimeters of crow real estate.

Property is natural. Things own other things. People own their own spirits, bodies, and values as well as more tangible "materialistic" things. That is, until the state or some other control clown or system seeks to seize them for “the good of” some collective abstraction like “the people,” “society,” or “the revolution.”

In Venezuela recently, Hugo Chavez, in characteristic Marxist fashion, has been pissing on large chunks of other people’s property and territory…for the “revolution.” This is just one example among many, though a textbook case of Marxist philosophy in action. The U.S. apparatus of state – the political class – has certainly seized its unfair “share” of other people’s stuff (property, body, and soul -- in the case of government schools).

Privately and individually owning stuff is natural. Its not a “root” of anything though it sometimes motivates the jealousy and avarice of some to steal what is not theirs. Trying to justify theft by saying that it’s for some imaginary collectivist cause or “redistribution” is no different than a mugging with a lighter blow to the head (actually, the “blow” has historically often been more lethal).

Property is the root of nothing…but clearly arrogance and hypocrisy are the root of all motivation and thought among some political ideologues.

Bond Is Cool…but Matt Damon (who is not really so cool) Begs to Differ

Apparently Matt Damon -- an idiot accurately depicted in the movie, “Team America” -- thinks James Bond is a "Misogynist" and "Imperialist." Wow, another Hollow-wood genius.

I figured this clown was a total idiot (at least a “useful idiot”) when I read that he and Ben Affleck were going to make a documentary on American history based on Howard Zinn’s scathing attack screed on the U.S. (a so-called, “People’s History of the United States”). Zinn is a full-blown Marxist – as in Gulag “utopia.” Damon is just another rich photogenic clown who doesn’t know how good he and his fellow citizens have it.

His attack on an old movie personality is laughable. Is he suggesting that Bond lacks the charm and wit of a “womens’ studies” professor? …Or the dignity of a “fact-finding” Sean Penn in Iraq before the war?

Lets get to the point; does Matt Damon think he even comes close to 007 in style, substance, or honest to-the-point coolness.

I love the appraisal given in the above linked Libertas article;

“I happened to see Terminator 3 recently, and it occurs to me that our Governor showed more personality playing a robot than Damon does playing anything. In fact, if Damon played a robot I doubt anyone would notice.”

Well stated.

'Just saw this relevant tidbit to my last post.

Hating Hypocrisy

Who doesn't "hate" (passionately dislike) something, and often by default, someone -- often, some group? Those who so often decry "hate speech" can hardly be seen as immune from this common human emotion. If I hear of another example of some elitist entertainer or intellectual suggest that George Bush or Dick Chaney should be killed (possibly due to hatred of them?) I'm gonna laugh/cry.

Most societies have the common sense to justly punish those who use force or deception against another. The societies that punish thought and free expression (no matter how foolish or mean-spirited it may be) are called dictatorships.

No doubt, nicer people are less hateful and hate doesn't really help anyone but the concept of "hate speech" is a stupid concept that I personally...(gasp!) hate.

Fair Farming During the "[Man Made] Global Warming" Con

Farmland in Iowa is more climatically "fair" and "natural" than farmland in Greenland or Siberia. Cool is better than warm – everywhere. Warm is better than cool – everywhere. The Earth's temperature should always remain the same from now on (even though that has never been the case before). And, as usual, "ignorance is strength."

Buying Happiness -- with a government middle man

From City Journal.

..."Further, policies to redress economic inequality hardly affect true inequality at all. Policymakers and economists rarely denounce the scandal of inequality in work effort, creativity, talent, or enthusiasm. We almost never hear about the outrage that is America’s inequality in leisure time, love, faith, or fun—even though these are things that most of us value more than money. To believe that we can redress inequality in our society by moving cash around is to have a materialistic, mechanistic, and totally unrealistic understanding of the resources that we truly care about."...

The Post Modern Jacobin World View...and Continued Stupidity of the Socialist Mindset

The wealthy leaders of Corporate America, including its media outlets, supposedly act in accordance with their (economic) “interests” thus supporting the “capitalist party line” (or “superstructure” as Marxist would tell it).

This of course, appears to make sense “intuitively.” But, if it were indeed so then wouldn't the wealthy directors and actors of Hollywood also be notably right wing and pro-capitalist? Wouldn't the well paid and pampered gas-bags of academia be overwhelmingly conservative in their hopes of maintaining their status and affiliation with "privilege?"

Why does a multi-millionaire like Michael Moore devote his energy to pervasive and dishonest undermining and insult to his country and its people? Why does a billionaire like Ted Turner consider Fidel Castro a great man as well as a personal pal?

As it turns out, there are things that motivate as well as -- or more than -- money. To see one's self as revolutionary, cool, or superior intellectually and morally is a common motivation amongst the hypocrites and self-delusioned of leftland.

These arrogant fools will look you strait in the eye and tell you they “don't believe anything that corporate media tells them.” In virtually the same breath they'll quote CBS or the New York Times regarding the latest proof that George Bush is the Anti-Christ. Sometimes they will avoid the corporate media and find a higher truth in some kid's conclusions on a free blog site (I know, like this one...). During such epiphanies they discover that Muslim terrorists really didn't hit the World Trade Center but it was actually a conspiracy by George Bush -- or some mysterious higher forces that control him.

The contemporary collectivist ideologues of anti-freedom are idiots in a frenzy. While their books (i.e. Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn) are required reading in colleges and high schools across the country and while their “views” clog the movies, television, and news channels of the world, we are continually told that our knowledge of life and world events are really colored by the base interests of some scary rich businessmen or corporations.

While the nonsense continues we're supposed to believe that the Jacobin pseudo-rebel has got some kind of X-ray vision on the truth.

When your greatest sympathies go out to Muslim Fascists and totalitarian “experiments” that have slaughtered millions, your credibility is justifiably diminished.

So, supposedly corporate America and rich boogymen continue to promote their interests; and the left is promoting what exactly?

******************************

...Meanwhile the non - corporate media keeps doing what they do best. The BBC a case in point:


“...Try these tests next time you are watching your favorite BBC drama or Hollywood movie: If the characters happen to include - say - a white middle class guy and a non-white working class guy, who is going to turn out to have surprising hidden qualities and who is going to turn out to have a surprising hidden dark side? Or compare the proportion homosexual characters on your TV screen with that in your own real life. Try and find the drama where the ‘right wing' character turns out to be full of compassion and the ‘left wing' character full of bile or where the successful business executive turns out to be rather a nice chap...” 

For the Resentment – or Love – of Authority (Leftist Psychopathology 101)

I don't claim this to be a scientific appraisal but, have you ever noticed that those with the biggest gripes against authoritarian parents or bosses (or “corporations”) are the ones most sympathetic to authoritarian political ideologies and systems?

“...I hate my dad but, like...ah...Che was such a revolutionary!...” Or, “My boss is a bastard but, like...ah...Mao did a lot of good things for the people of China.” “Corporate America is fascist but [an over 40 year long dictatorship in] Cuba is a democratic egalitarian paradise.”

How or why does a hatred for parental authority figures or employers (and a generalized hatred of authority) translate into an adoration of political authority figures who's excess of authority and violence far surpasses that of one's mundane associations? More generally, how can one despise authority but at the same time defend, admire, and virtually worship the most horrid expressions of authoritarianism?

The far left had the nerve to initially coin the phrase “authoritarian personality” (a concoction of the Marxist psychologist Theodor Adorno) as something supposedly distinct to those they disagreed with (people who primarily favor low taxes and minimal government intrusion into individual's lives).

Among the left's grandest fairy tales of PR myth production has been the image of the cruel heartless and authoritarian conservative vs. the peaceful, passive, and all-loving leftist -- the control freak for our own good and the guardian of the great unwashed abstraction they've never actually met.

So, hate all the projections of oppression around you and sing praise to tyrants.

Hate your father and love Fidel Castro...but don't tell us one is a tyrant and another a docile leader of free people on a Caribbean island.

Marxists for Mohammad

(from Libertas)

"...They want us out of Iraq. They believe America is an immoral country with imperialist oil-driven goals. They believe our military tortures prisoners. They use car bombings to undermine our resolve. They dwell on, highlight, and proclaim bad news from Iraq and Afghanistan to further their agenda. They want the actions of a few idiots at Abu Ghraib thrown in our face at every opportunity. They want the atrocities committed by al Queda ignored. And they count on weak-willed politicians to achieve their goals. Question: Am I describing some (not all) ["]pro-freedom,["] ["]pro-American,["] ["pro-military["] "progressives," or the terrorists..."

My answer (as the Libertas site's author and the circumstance of reality suggest);

It makes no difference. The most strident (and phony) among the "anti-war" crowd are largely comprised of the usual clowns who bitterly oppose everything about the United States, from it's cultural pastimes to it's economic dynamism. Marxists, Trotskyites, garden variety socialists, and Muslim terrorists -- not a whole lot of difference, in sympathies or hopes for the future.

The left has always been about "planned" society. They have never been about "peace," "justice," or "progress" in spite of their PR soundbites to that effect. In the end they are only about power; the power of the state and ideology over the individual and private creativity. In this regard, they are the perfect compliment to the Islamo-fascists. Their identical sympathies should be a surprise to no one.

What About the Wolf's Feelings?

Garbage and Soot to Keep Al Gore Famous

Live Earth came and went and wealthy celebrities will continue to use more energy and produce more pollution then common folks could ever dream of.

'A key point in my extreme dislike for anything left -- IT'S THE HYPOCRICY STUPID!

...anyway, there was a great overview of the hypocrisy amongst many in the Live Earth elite crowd in this article from a couple of day ago in The Daily Mail. Some quotes and statistics from the article:

"...Matt Bellamy, front man of the rock band Muse, has dubbed it 'private jets for climate change'."

"A Daily Mail investigation has revealed that far from saving the planet, the extravaganza will generate a huge fuel bill, acres of garbage, thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, and a mileage total equal to the movement of an army."

"The most conservative assessment of the flights being taken by its superstars is that they are flying an extraordinary 222,623.63 miles between them to get to the various concerts - nearly nine times the circumference of the world. The true environmental cost, as they transport their technicians, dancers and support staff, is likely to be far higher."

"The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists' and spectators' travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specializes in such calculations."

"Throw in the television audience and it comes to a staggering 74,500 tonnes. In comparison, the average Briton produces ten tonnes in a year."

"The concert will also generate some 1,025 tonnes of waste at the concert stadiums - much of which will go directly into landfill sites."

"Moreover, the pop stars headlining the concerts are the absolute antithesis of the message they promote - with Madonna leading the pack of the worst individual rock star polluters in the world..."

"...Collins says: "It is patently absurd to claim that travel of this nature doesn't have an impact. Each person attending the event will have to make a return journey to the venue, be it by air, rail, bus or car. This burns fossil fuel - precisely what we are trying to reduce."

"There is also the environmental cost of these artists flying around the world - that is absolutely huge."

"Indeed, an audit of the lifestyles of the A-list performers appearing at Live Earth, reveals that they are among the worst individual polluters in the world, as their world tours and private jets billow thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. One hour in a Gulfstream jet burns as much fuel as driving a family car for a year."

"The Daily Mail has found that five of the top performing acts together have an annual output of almost 2,000 carbon tonnes. Madonna alone has an annual carbon footprint of 1,018 tonnes, according to John Buckley."

"Remember, the average Briton produces just ten tonnes."

"The veteran pop singer's Confessions tour last year produced 440 tonnes of carbon pollution in just four months, simply in flights between venues. This does not include the trucks required to transport equipment, the power needed to stage each show, or the transport for fans traveling to each concert."

"Rock group Genesis re-formed last year and are in the middle of their European tour. The three-man band will fit their Live Earth performance into a tour of at least 47 locations across the world. Their carbon footprint last year totaled 195 tonnes."

"James Blunt, another Wembley performer, completed his world tour of the U.S. last year, racking up a carbon footprint of 195 tonnes."

"American band Red Hot Chili Peppers have, like Madonna, flown in to Wembley from the U.S.. They have produced 220 tonnes of carbon dioxide with their private jet alone over the last six months... "

"...So just how does Gore claim that Live Earth will be carbon neutral? He does so by convenient use of 'carbon offsetting' - a trendy new method of absolving yourself of guilt."

"Carbon offsetting involves 'neutralizing' the emissions you are responsible for by buying 'credits'."

"A spokesperson for Live Earth says: "This might involve buying environmentally sound light bulbs for a Third World school, planting trees, or installing solar panels in a developing country."

"A huge industry has sprung up to provide corporations with carbon credits."

"However, critics say that the practice is simply a way for consumerist industries and nations to export their responsibility to developing countries. Others say it simply does not work."

"Carbon-offsetting is, it turns out, how celebrities square green issues with their extravagant lifestyles and use of private jets..."

"...The idea that you can offset the pollution you cause is just ridiculous. What these people at Live Earth have done is defined their boundaries to suit themselves, but there is no sense in which this concert is carbon neutral."

"Planting trees or investing in renewable energy does not reverse the damage of releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the environment."

"It is far better not to pollute in the first place. Carbon offsetting can be a removal of guilt, but it is not an effective one."

It's been said before; "Shut up and sing."

...Nothing changes.

A Special Religion with Special Needs

The Special Religion with Special Needs (and special assistance from pampered journalists).

(I've posted this before but it seems to always remain timely).

The Religion of Peace

"...may Allah pluck out your eye if you haven't yet seen that Jihad is an individual duty..." -- Al-Zawahi, Al-Qaida's second in command.

...don't forget, we're the bad guys....and, "Bush is Hitler."

Tunes to Save the World

Soon there will be millions (supposedly two billion) across the globe performing and listening to music...to “save the world” from Climate Change ® (previously know as “Global Warming").

I guess their hearts are in the right place. Who wouldn't want to “save the Earth” if they really thought it was on the brink of total doom, as depicted by Al Gore and company. Of course a lot of these people just want to listen to some good bands perform and then drive back home in their massive SUV's – I guess thats okay. Like I said, their hearts are in the right place. I'm not sure their brains are up to the task when it comes to practical judgment though.

All of this latest in celebrity sound-bite cacophony of course assumes that the world is in a state of impending doom, something many of us don't buy into (scientific facts being among our reasons). The “scientific consensus” so often quoted by mainstream media outlets is bogus of course to anyone who has kept relatively informed on the issue, and “consensus” has nothing to do with science anyway, if I may paraphrase Michael Creighton.

Do many people consider how utterly ridiculous it is when musicians chastise “society” for “depleting energy and resources?” Here we have some – in many cases wealthy – characters sucking up megawatts of electricity under colored lights with camera crews and chauffeurs, and making CD's and transporting them to a million stores (with CO2 producing trucks). Live Earth is a resource depleting extravaganza.

It's odd that a caste of entertainment nobles -- the elite, the wealthy, the famous -- demand that the guy who “needs to cutback” or “sacrifice” is Joe and Susan average on their average drive to work or vacation with their kids. “We” always consume too much but Di Caprio's and Al Gore's mansions utilize “carbon offsets” -- well, whopp-dee-doo!

Remember, there were great ice sheets that once covered large parts of the Earth and there is currently global warming on Mars. And you could have stopped it all if you just kissed the assess in the political classes.

I love music and what a great many of musicians produce when practicing their trade, but when musicians become preachers for the new church of global environmental fear, I want to laugh.

So, “save the world” by demanding more centralized and powerful forces of state to reign in us unbelievers. God knows, that's been tried before – with results any good history major can appreciate.

Practicing what they preach – not a big leftist standard but, hey, we can "save the cake [environment]" and eat it to. Just do what they say. Quiver in your boots at the thought of twenty extra feet of fairy tale water. Rattle your teeth at massive glaciers melting. Vote for Hillary or Hugo Chavez...

Then, pat yourself on the back for "saving the world," kick back, and listen to some music.

Jihad In the U.K. -- The "Poor and Oppressed" Strike Again...

...Doctors.

'Just don't call them "Muslim" doctors.

Remember, we're in a global war with an amorphous, unknown, and undescribable enemy waging some neutral concept called "Jihad" (but any connection to the religion of Islam is just coincidental).

Political Correctness used to just be stupid. Now it can get lots of people killed.

-- pathetic...

The Lunatics Who Never Stray From The Path

I had an encounter with another devout follower of the “9/11 cover-up” cult recently. The usual nonsense; 'a knowing gleam in the eye (a cross between a deer in the headlights and a serial killer about to pounce) and the big question I've grown sick of; “So do you think there was a cover up?” I initially answered this completely out of context question in the same manner of response I usually use when I see the rant coming. I acted naïve and confused, “cover up of what?...” A legitimate and convincing response to an absurd question regarding events of over five years ago that had nothing to do with the non-political mundane conversation we were having. Then he went off with the usual memorized lines of “statistics” regarding the velocity of a “pancaking” building in free-fall, how “steel doesn't melt,” and how, “no Arab names were on the flight manifests of the crashed aircraft.” Rather than just roll my eyes up, eventually I made the stupid decision to honestly answer his more stupid question; “I think a group of Al Queda terrorists did it, and jets flying into buildings might do enough damage to make them fall (considered a foolish response to the brilliant minds of the 9/11 paranoia wing of leftland). Then the usual secret insight, born-again rebel sound bites flew; “Operation Northwoods,” “Oil Corporations,” “Profit and greed”... Yawn, what an asshole (I realize that “name-calling” is bad form...but so is being and asshole).

Regarding “secret government plans” (i.e. "Operation Northwoods") from decades ago, regardless of the original circumstances, I don't think that anything circulating on the Internet to millions of people can be really called a “secret plan” now. It's an issue of time and semantics I suppose but, give me a break, a “secret plan” that everyone can read, millions do read, and millions believe? A secret plan that was declassified before supposedly being carried out, and then plastered all over the Internet? That's one shoddy “conspiracy” if you ask me. Doesn't “secret” mean....secret? If only the authoritarian freaks from leftland would be so kind in declassifying secret projects when their “system” is the one in power. I don't recall the former Soviet Union declassifying and making public much stuff (beyond spaceflights, a week after they occurred). Likewise for any contemporary society claiming the torch of “revolutionary socialism” -- not big on information variety or exposes'.

I'm not an engineer, and I've never encountered one of these 9/11 conspiracy connoisseurs who was either. In my latest conversation with previously mentioned clown-freak, all the memorized “facts” from innumerable conspiracy web sites bounced through the air as if he was an engineer (he wasn't) and I was supposedly stupid or “unaware” for not knowing or believing them -- “There's no use ever talking to you if you haven't read the stats regarding the little green men who live in your pillow” (yes, that's a caricature, but it captures the essence of these people's thinking process).

After all the cliché rambling, a final even more cliché classic from leftland; “I'm not taking a side.” Well, there ya have it! Guess what, we're “taking a side” every time we get up in the morning! A conservative has no difficulty saying that they take a side. Why are the left's constant statements of disdain toward free capitalist society and sympathy for its totalitarian enemies always made with the phony qualification that they are somehow, magically, “not taking a side?”

All over the world, people – often majorities – believe the 9/11 -- U.S. government conspiracy B.S. It's become the left's latest rallying cry (tied with “global warming”). The theory of a U.S. Government/"oligarchy" conspiracy now has the popularity of a Starbucks latte and yet these freaks still think they're some rare insiders privy to secret knowledge – back to leftland's default prime motive; “I'm better than you.”

One thing can be absolutely certain when confronting the lefts' conspiracy theory nut-parade; the one possibility we can definitively rule out (in their eyes) is that Muslim terrorists trained to hijack airplanes and later crashed them into buildings killing innocent people.

Apparently (and, this is the repeated line of thinking among the types I'm writing of), anyone who believes “the government's story” (e.g. Common sense based on facts and not paranoid speculation) also, doesn't' know that a Jewish neo-con conspiracy has allowed George Bush to seize power-- “under the Patriot Act” -- and establish a fascist police state.

You may not notice that America is a dictatorship now, where “voices and opinions are muzzled,” but that's just “because you can't see it.” You need leftland's X-ray vision. You need a mediocre life, and need to compensate for your insignificance with passionate delusion. Meanwhile, a real enemy of free civilization (Islamo-fascism) needn't be conspiratorial at all. Their chess moves are announced or displayed daily, and we're handing them the keys to the car while rambling incoherent nonsense about unclassified “secret” government plots, engineering physics we know nothing about, and the esoteric truth of urban legends concocted by middle class pampered brats with too much time on their hands and a serious deficit of common sense.

Public “education” + media political PR – common sense = ”ignorance is strength.”

***************************************

A fascinating video (I think) that you may or may not wish to incorporate into the issues addressed above; a plane crashing into a solid concrete wall at very high speed. All sorts of arguments have been made regarding what happens, or “should” happen, when a high speed aircraft hits a solid object (like the wall of the Pentagon). Although an aircraft is heavy, and jammed full of equipment and “objects,” it is essentially a hollow tube of relatively light weight material (that's so it can fly – duh). Is it so hard to believe that it becomes unrecognizable after a high impact (don't forget to add igniting fuel into the equation).

A really big hat tip to Eject Eject Eject.

***********************************

...Oh yeah, this too is an excellent -- and comical -- accessory in the "debate."

Regarding the Most Recent Attempted Bombing in London...

'Time to get -- justifiably -- "Islamo-phobic."

As with Nazism, Fascism, and Communism; we're late, but perhaps not too late. More and more people are beginning to recognize the enemy -- and that's a good thing.

The Pesky Little Tax Issue

My taxes here in Japan just went up – about $80.00 a month.

Of course, the tax issue is a centerpiece of the conservative/libertarian position. I can't get too worked up about it though, not because I'd ultimately be up against some powerful politicians but because – as in any locale – I'm up against lots of stupid people who will continually vote for the clown who promises to take someone else's money to “do good things.”

Of course most people's response to taxes is that, “we gotta pay for the roads and police etc...” What a total crock! We could pave and patrol the entire solar system for what the worthless clowns of socialism inc. have fostered upon the public.

The only sure things are – supposedly -- “death and taxes.” Of course you can't say “no” to death, but taxes are another thing. Perhaps we should say, “death and public stupidity are the only sure things.”

In my little town, there will definitely be more than a few people with families and greater expenses than my own, who will now forfeit an extra evening out at a restaurant, pass on a movie, or perhaps they'll just stop buying that 400 yen latte or new pair of shoes.

A minor tax hike rarely bankrupts anyone (though I'm sure more than a few small businesses have had their “camel's back” broken by this pathetic “straw” of state coercion).

No doubt, next year the city elders will be whining about the local economy and reduced shopping in the downtown area. Leave it to politicians to be so f___ing stupid that they're unable to see a relationship between excess theft and a reduction of expenditure on the part of their constituents.

Consistently, a reduction in taxes results in increased business activity (for those who hate the “B word,” that simply means making, selling, and buying stuff) and ultimately an increase in tax revenue from a more dynamic economy. But the left likes, or is at least apologetic to, the concept of taxes. Left-of-center politicians forever chastize those "unwilling to pay their 'fair share'." Taxes “pay for government programs,” but they also do something far more important in the eyes of a statist. They punish success and achievement, they “redistribute” wealth – from “the rich” to the political class (politicians and bureaucrats). Socialism in all its guise is ultimately a punitive philosophy.

Here in Japan, people complain about taxes just the same as anywhere else but I'd dare say they're less likely to see the ultimate solution (not that Americans or anyone else, acts on the solution).

The solution is to support any politician who promises to reduce government spending and taxes, and to make any politicians who wants to seize more funds unemployed – throw the asshole out of office. But..., most people aren't going to do that. Japan is pretty weak on a libertarian mentality favoring – very limited – government and equally limited taxation.

People want their “free” stuff, and as long as there's a politician promising to materialize free stuff on a rich person's dime, they're all for it. “Give me more government grants to the cheese industry, more money to 'help the poor' (that's always a favorite), more government grants to investigate the effects of second-hand methane emissions.”

If a socialist says they're going to punish or extract wealth from “the rich,” you can be certain that, regardless of your income or living circumstance, you'll eventually be classified as “rich” (your taxes are going to go up).

“Death and Taxes.”...

...Death of taxes has such a nicer ring to it, but don't hold your breath waiting.

The Capitalist in All of Us

One need go no further than Shakespear or Freud to know that when a person continually notes “selfishness” and “greed” in others, you're probably dealing with a rather selfish and greedy person.

-– “know thyself;” then, leave others alone...

We Need a Conspiracy -- Anything to Make Us Feel Cool

If there weren't 9/11 conspiracies it would be necessary to invent them...
What else do these idiot paranoid losers have to live for?

Remember, we (dynamic open capitalist secular society) are the bad guys!

The Contrived Sentiments of the Self-described "Oppressed"

“We must reject the ways of the 'white man'...”

...and adopt the teachings of a dead white male German economics philosopher... [?]

Hating the Individual

I need to be brief but I've got to get something in. Amongst my collection of potential links to post is this quote from Neal Boortz's web site:

"'Fascist ethics begin ... with the acknowledgment that it is not the individual who confers a meaning upon society, but it is, instead, the existence of a human society which determines the human character of the individual. According to Fascism, a true, a great spiritual life cannot take place unless the State has risen to a position of pre-eminence in the world of man. The curtailment of liberty thus becomes justified at once, and this need of rising the State to its rightful position.'
[Mario Palmieri, "The Philosophy of Fascism" 1936]"

" 'We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.'
[Hillary Clinton, 1993]"

I dare say that, like Boortz conveys, the very essence of socialists and fascists beliefs are identical. "Good intentions" aside (I've never assumed their intentions were good), they despise the very concept of an individual -- excepting themselves, of course.

I've never met a socialist of any stripe who, in some way, did not adore, sympathize with, or give a free pass to the glories of an omnipotent state. Their motives may be different (i.e. hatred of free commerce, hatred of others' success, or just hatred for humanity as a whole) but a statist is a statist. Fascist, communists, socialist and all their spawn are mere control freaks angered that there is someone going around unwatched and undirected by a philosophy from above;...theirs.

Do you hate corporations?

Imagine a company that produced a product or service that was of a lower quality than previous alternatives, a product or service that you had to wait endlessly to receive and were literally forced to buy. Imagine the staff of said company to be often rude, unhelpful, and unmotivated to care at all about satisfying you questions or concerns. Take a step further and imagine that if you chose to buy another company's better product and faster service that you'd be fined or imprisoned (!). Now imagine that the “company” in question is the government and produces this nightmare with the convenience, skill, and charm of everything else they do.

Imagine Democrat imposed health care -- imagine socialized medicine. Imagine your life in the hands of people motivated, not by profit, but by ...nothing (but bogus statements of “compassion” from an elite, wealthy clique' of power brokers in Washington and their facillitators in New York and Hollywood).

Compulsory state-imposed “care.” What could be more stupid.

If someone hates corporations, why would they be so fervent to have corporate-syle authority focused and enhanced into the hands of completely unmotivated, mindless and inefficient drones working for the biggest and most coercive corporation there is?

...I have no idea.

Tiananmen Square vs. the Ruthless Cruel Oppressive Capitalist Imperialist American Dictatorship

...Okay, maybe not.

It's likely that some have read of the recent Tiananmen memorial "classified ad" that was published (accidentally) in a Chinese newspaper – something the Chinese communist dictatorship didn't look fondly upon.

The mainstream press didn't take much note of it, after all it only concerned the issue of press freedoms in a country ruled by the philosophy of egalitarian collectivist dictatorship (yes, I realize that they're allowed to sell stuff now and even have the state's permission to use cell phones).

The tragic irony to the guy fired for permitting the ad to pass censorship was that he was fairly young and, like most young people in China, never heard of the infamous event at Tiananmen Square where the glorious Maoist state killed, wounded, and imprisoned ("reeducated") at least hundreds of unarmed students who were seeking that dreaded thing the left always hates once they're in power – freedom of conscience, action, and interaction.

Like any good obedient clone of communist society would do, the naughty newspaper drone even called the person placing the ad for specifics and was told that the ad was to honor the mothers of those who died in a "mining accident." The citizen-stooge apparently believed the writer's stealth attempt at genuine freedom of expression, and why not, no one ever told him the truth regarding his own country's modern history.

Noting the states cruelty and corruption in a cruel and corrupt state is a serious faux pas to say the least. The person placing the ad honoring the mourning mothers of those who lost their lives on June 4th, 1989 is no doubt being hunted aggressively at this time, if not having the shit beat out of him in a laogai reeducation camp.

When I read of pathetic state worshiping nonsense like this I'm reminded of all those leftist clowns in the west who never tire of reminding us of how terrible and "oppressive" American society is. Communist authoritarian bureau scum can break as many eggs (heads) at will for the making of an imaginary utopian social "omelet," and Americans are viewed as oppressed when a few individuals refuse to buy a CD from some rich leftist entertainers ("No one can speak out!") – what utter nonsense.

While China's young are forbidden from even knowing of a deliberate slaughter on the part of their authoritarian overlords, America's youth are regularly fed media, entertainment, and "education" diets of anti- U.S. leftist rhetoric.

Find an American high school history book that doesn't highlight Kent State or the internment of Japanese citizens during WWII. Find a teacher that doesn't dwell for weeks on slavery or civil rights injustices, or find a spoiled wealthy Hollywood director who can only find evil in America's attempts to free people from the bondage of authoritarian schemes (like communism or Islamo fascism).

The truth is, as Occam's razor would view it, incredibly simple. The U.S. has wide access and excess to self-critical information and appraisals. The lefts' cherished egalitarian collectivist "experiments" regularly have people beaten, killed, or imprisoned. Even the mere noting of the the radical socialist state's coercive actions is seen to merit punishment by bureau-state decree.

America is one of the most prosperous, dynamic, and successful institutions to have graced the pages of history. It's also – by no coincidence – one of the least "oppressive."

China, like most imposed schemes of collectivist leveling and state planning is…A DICTATORSHIP, neon and "emerging middle class" aside.

The left needs to take their relativist rose (red) colored glasses off and get a clue, or at least reduce their passion for misperception and hyperbole.

Calling the Kettle [an “Imperialist”]

The “leader” of a country that took direct control over Eastern Europe, enslaved its people, and raped its economy, resources, and soul now complains of “U.S. Imperialism” -- What a laugh! Vladimir – chip on the shoulder – Putin has lately been turning up the cold war rhetoric, particularly over the U.S. wanting to develop a missile shield to keep an adversary from annihilating one of its cities -- “imperialism.” I guess that installing a security system or a German Shepherd in your home could be considered an aggressive act as well.

I love Bill Whittle's response to the stale U.S. as “Imperialist” rant, so much so that I need to quote all of it below:

“...End U.S. Imperialism Now!

Can I just take another quick second of your precious time to put this one to bed once and for all?
It is a staple of the left to accuse the US of “Imperialism.” That so many people can level such a charge with a straight face is a testament to the efficacy of forty years of standards-free education reform here and around the world.
An “Empire” is defined as a nation state that has political control over other nation states, and uses that political control to extract the wealth and resources from the subjugated country.
The United States of America does not have any political control over any other sovereign nation on the face of the Earth. We have influence, but influence is to control as a rich uncle is to a prison warden. That’s all you need to know. The entire idea of American Empire and U.S. Imperialism is dead on its face after that. No control means no empire. Period.
But we do have a large footprint in the rest of the world, and have military bases all across the globe. Is that a form of empire?
Look, the whole point of having an empire is to take the wealth out of the colonies and return them to enrich the home country. The US not only does not pull in the resources of other nations…it does exactly the reverse. We pump billions and billions of dollars annually into those nations that host our facilities, and the minute any one of those nations decides we are no longer welcome, we pack our bags, leave and turn those billion-dollar institutions over to the host country. (Look up Subic Bay and Clark Air Base in the Philippines for some recent examples)
This is not “imperial behavior.” It is, in fact, the precise opposite of imperial behavior. I guess somehow STOP U.S. ANTI-IMPERIALISM just doesn’t have the same snap somehow for the North Korean-backed International A.N.S.W.E.R. crowd. Color me shocked.
There are millions of people – actually, probably billions now – who genuinely believe that the wealth of the US was stolen from third world countries. This is one of the great perks of living a life free of the ability to think critically and do a little research. I have heard this slander repeated so many times I decided to look into some actual numbers to see if there is anything to this charge. This is a perfect example of how critical thinking allows you to see the unseen. That attitude, Google and ten minutes is all you need to shoot lies like this down in flames.
Okay. The US Per capita income is $41,300. That of a poor, third world country –Djibouti, say -- is $2,070.
Now it gets interesting. The US gross domestic product – the value of everything we produce in a year -- was last measured as $12 trillion, 277 billion dollars (hundreds of millions of dollars being too insignificant to count in this economy).
The GDP of Djibouti is 1 billion, 641 million US dollars.
A little basic arithmetic shows me that the US has a GDP 7,481 times greater than Djibouti. A 365 day year, composed of 24 hours in a day, yields 8,760 hours per year. Hang on to that for a sec.
Now, let’s suppose the U.S. went into Djibouti with the Marines, and stole every single thing that’s produced there in a year…just grant the premise and say we stole every goddam thing they make. If we hauled away all of Djibouti’s annual wealth, how long would it run the U.S. Economy, which is 7,481 times greater?
Well, 8,760 hours divided by 7,481 gives you an answer of 1.17 hours. In other words, it takes the U.S. 1.17 hours to produce what Djibouti produces in a year.
If the US really did go in and steal everything that the bottom thirty countries in the world produce, it might power the US economy for two or three days.
Conversely, the billions and billions of dollars the US spends annually in aid, rent, etc. – plus uncounted billions more from private American charities – would supply the entire GDP of Djibouti for hundreds of years.
Where’s your Imperialism argument now?...”

No doubt it's those pesky Starbucks franchises that arouses the left's imperialism mantra.
As for Russia. 'Never been a free, open, or successful society...never will be. Russia and communism were made for each other. They clearly haven't changed all that much from the days of Stalin (a high percentage of Russia's citizens actually see him in a favorable light). Like China, a recent surge in wealth has spawned a cocky arrogance. They want their empire back and they want it now! -- tantrums for the glorious state.

Pathetic...

“Rhymes with Witch”...

I realize that people's political views are quite diverse but I must admit to finding two general categories among those who hold fervent leftist beliefs. One is rather docile and genuinely believes in trying to do good things. I'd of course consider them rather naïve in their appraisal of dictatorships and enemies who can never be reconciled with. But, “their heart is in the right place.” No matter how absurd or ultimately destructive their views of political life, they probably mean well and would “like to make a better world.”

The other character from leftland that pops up occasionally in my field of vision is the same in their general philosophy – assign a bigger apparatus of state to direct and, if necessary, coerce a centrally planned program of social existence. But this other character is not naïve, or even sincere in their hopes of “making a better world.”

Hillary Clinton definitely fits into this latter category. She's one mean bitch and even a firm supporter of her brand of socialist politics would have difficulty not noticing the stern, rugged, and power-hungry character that shows so clearly on that concentration camp guard face of hers.

Like anyone with even mildly libertarian or traditional conservative views (ala' Edmund Burke), I hate the bitch and I hope the hell she doesn't get anywhere near the already over bloated apparatus of state.

In between Rodham's occasional attempts to appear moderate she slips in references to the philosophy that ultimately guides her – that always has guided her. Hillary wants power, not to “make a better world” but to control more people and, if she can, punish those who have thrived in our free system.

It's been said that the difference between a socialist and a communist is that a communist is in a hurry to do the same thing. By those definitions, Hillary is a plain old communist, ever eager to implement her own version of a five year plan to reign in those individuals out there who aren't cooperating with her template for how America and the world should be “organized.”

Of course, few communists or socialist begin their mission with a stated goal of erecting coercive structures to whittle society down to bare subsistence living, but in the end what can one really expect of anyone who seeks to give government maximum authority over people's lives and “reeducate” those who refuse to go along with “the plan?” I'll refer to Hillary as a socialist for now but lets face it, her goals are little different than those of the standing committee of the Communist Party of China – she's a neo-Comm.

If you like this evil wench you'll love some of her quotes in a recent speech. If you despise her as I do, you'll see plenty of the usual class-envy pandering that makes all socialist control freaks on the brink of power very dangerous people.

“We Are All in it Together...” -- great...

If You Shun Sex and Kill Innocent People You'll Become a "Martyr" and Be Awarded with Lots of Sex?

Too busy for in-depth analysis or complaining but I think this little tid-bit from webland is worth reading.

"The religion of Peace" appears to be a flaming sword of Freudian angst. While it brings the opposite of peace anywhere it exists it's all to apparent the males that dominate it ultimately just want a "piece" (crude but accurate appraisal?).

"... Enormous effort goes into veiling women, dressing women modestly, silencing women, covering women's bodies, punishing women, controlling women, reviling women, humiliating women, beating women, subjugating women, avoiding the dishonor of women, keeping women uneducated, policing women, infantilizing women--in short, dehumanizing women in every way possible -- all under the guise of "protecting" and "honoring" them as they relegate them to animal-like status.

The women in this misogynistic Islam are brainwashed from birth into thinking that this cultural preoccupation somehow is necessary and that it "liberates" them in some bizarre manner.

Amazingly, this medieval culture has grasped the fundamentals of both Orwellian and postmodern rhetorical rationalizations, that are so prominent in certain intellectual quarters within our own culture! I have heard the canned rationalizations coming from their lips of Muslim women myself; and they all claim that it frees them from having to be "sexual objects."

On the contrary, in Islamic society that is apparently the only role open to women. That, and breeders for the jihad..."

"...Without the subjugated woman, the entire house of cards of Islam and Arab culture will come tumbling down. And with at least 50% of their population de-humanized, is it at all surprising that Islamic culture wherever it has taken root inevitably evolves into backward, primitive, violent, and non-productive societies?..."

A hat tip to, Dissecting Leftism which is always good and informative.

The [People Who Think They Are] Gods Must Be Crazy

Like Jonah Goldberg in a recent column, I'm sick of the popular delusions among some utter fools out there who believe that “moron / evil genius” George Bush was “in on” the events of 9/11. Of course, there are plenty of conspiracy web sites, films, and popular political gossip clowns to feed such concocted intrigue. Such folks usually imagine themselves to be part of some brilliant crowd with superior insight and “independent” thought (they wouldn't know independent thought it if it smacked them on the side of the head).

We must remember that these are the same people who actually believe that free capitalist society is the genuine evil of the world and that it must be replaced with varying degrees of socialism; the creed that brought us inefficiency, bureau annoyance, stifled spirits, and decay of creative progress (in its milder forms) and oppression and deaths numbering in the millions in its more fervent incarnations.

“Bush was behind 9/11” ...and the tooth fairy will supply “free health care.”

...The con continues.

(more observations regarding this conspiracy nonsense in a recent post)

What the Left -- Still -- Doesn't Get...

Millions dead for one bad idea. (Hat tip to Bureaucrash)

Islam is the Religion of...?

Look at a map, scour a variety of news sources, consult a history book.

Wherever and whenever Islam is spreading (or trying to spread), note the dominant circumstance.

Hint; Islam is not a "religion of peace" -- 'never was, and becomes less so daily.

Like so many over-the-top authoritarian ideologies "with a mission," Islam feeds off the sense of weakness it sees in it's adversaries. Fifty years ago, a "bold move" by the middle eastern warrior cult would have been crushed in days, but that was before Jimmy Carter and other Western fools who have, in essence, told Islam, "your time has come. With a little effort and the loss of some 'martyrs' the world can be yours."

Islam is not a religion of peace, it's a political/religious ideology of oppression, cruelty, and violence -- it always has been. The fact that many of its followers are relatively benign does not diminish its danger.

The Jimmy Carter, Democrat, Euro-spineless approach to Jihad is the second greatest danger in the world today. The first is Islam itself.

(Take note the next time you hear of a Muslim proclaiming Islam to be a religion of peace and, in the same breath, stating their plan to kill anyone who sees it as otherwise)

The Semi-pseudo Not Quite a Super Power That May Never Be a Super Power

Like many, I just assume that "the 21st century will belong to China" -- that America's brief time as "top dog" will be overridden by the usual forces of history that compel change. Maybe I'm wrong...

City Journal recently posted an excellent article that affords some rare insight into the reality of China as a looming super power.

Some excerpts:

"...But China’s success is, at least in part, a mirage. True, 200 million of her subjects, fortunate to be working for an expanding global market, increasingly enjoy a middle-class standard of living. The remaining 1 billion, however, remain among the poorest and most exploited people in the world, lacking even minimal rights and public services. Popular discontent simmers, especially in the countryside, where it often flares into violent confrontation with Communist Party authorities. China’s economic “miracle” is rotting from within..."

"...Before the totalitarian reign of Mao Zedong and his immediate successors, never in human history had an entire nation been under such intense surveillance. The Chinese not only had to speak alike; they had to think alike. The Communist Party regulated every aspect of private life. In the sixties, it even sought to anesthetize all feeling, commanding hundreds of millions of Chinese to repeat mindlessly the slogan of the day; one of Mao’s sayings would have to preface any “personal conversation.” A few second-rate books were the only permissible reading material, and eight revolutionary operas provided the sole entertainment. Placed everywhere—city squares, railway stations, factories, and offices—Party loudspeakers blared martial music from dawn to dusk, making it physically impossible for people to speak or think. The state imprisoned and killed untold numbers of its subjects..."

"...Many goods that China produces are worthless, Mao Yushi reminds me—especially those made by public companies. About 100,000 such Chinese enterprises continue to run in the old Maoist style, churning out substandard products because they’ve got to hit the targets that the Party sets and provide employment to those the Party cannot dismiss, not because they’re responding to any market demand. Most public-sector firms don’t even have real accounting procedures, so there’s no way of ascertaining profitability. “China is not a market economy,” Mao [Yushi] says bluntly.

The Party gives the banks lists of people to whom loans should go, and the rationale is frequently political or personal, not economic. Indeed, in many cases, banks are not to ask for repayment. That investment decisions obey political considerations and not the law of the market is the Chinese economy’s central flaw, responsible at least in part, Mao Yushi believes, for the large number of empty office buildings and infrequently used new airports and an unemployment rate likely closer to 20 percent than to the officially acknowledged 3.5 percent..."

"...Still, hasn’t growth created an independent middle class that will push for, and eventually obtain, greater political freedom? Many in the West think so, looking to the South Korean example, but Mao Yushi isn’t convinced. What exists in China, he argues, is a class of “parvenus,” newcomers whose purchasing power depends on their proximity to the Party rather than their education or entrepreneurial achievements. Except for a handful of genuine businessmen, the parvenus work in the military, public administration, or state enterprises, or for firms ostensibly private but, in fact, owned by the Party. The Party picks up the tab for almost all their imported luxury cars, two-thirds of their mobile phones, and three-quarters of their restaurant bills, as well as their call girls, their “study” trips abroad, and their lavish spending at Las Vegas casinos. And it can withdraw these advantages at any time..."

Of course, the author may be wrong. China may still not surprise us all and become the 21st century's economic and cultural giant. That would of course make a lot of people happy. After all, look at all the horrible things America has done (in the hyperbolic minds of partisans). And China's "revolution" only killed somewhere around 60 million people -- cut 'em some slack.

It would be nice if the citizens of China toppled their antiquated authoritarian state. If they became the new century's guardian of individual freedom and a new catalyst to the pursuit of happiness I couldn't care less if they became the world's leading power. Unfortunately, for now at least, they're still just another communist gulag in spite of the neon and international fast food chains.

Real capitalism and real self-government is still more closely approximated by the much maligned U.S.A. So, like it or not, that may be where the big power continues to lie for some time.

Many intellectuals and academics will surely be disappointed.

So Much for the Left's Prize Showpiece of Bureau-socialism

This is a couple of weeks old but, if you hadn't come across it in your web journeys, it's quite interesting and revealing. The mainstream media doesn't usually let us in on the trials and tribulations of their favorite "workers paradise" -- the socialism-lite showpiece, Sweden.

Of course common sense could have told us that a society that puts the state in charge of virtually all human activity and cowers in the pathetic weak-willed labyrinths of "multiculturalism" would one day pay a price for it's stupidity.

Sweden, as socialist bureau state, has never managed to fully "evolve" into the typical totalitarian dystopia that is the usual path of state worship but its hardly been a fully free and open society where one can utilize their gifts and pursue dreams unhindered by bureau-decrees. So it is that the left in general -- particularly academia -- have chosen it as a model of what can be done to create the perfect planned society (after all, Soviet Russia and Red China turned out to be a bit of an embarrassment with all those corpses piled up in the last century).

As it now turns out, the model bureau state isn't doing so well either and while they haven't made it to the jolly goal of "full communism" that so many may have hoped for, they are well on the road to joining the 21st century caliphate -- now that's "democracy!"

It must be propaganda from the "Islamophobes" (like myself) but it appears that some riots took place recently in Sweden and the culprits were the usual "youths" that Mark Steyn jokes of (mimicking the mainstream media's moniker) when noting those young people with Molotov cocktails screaming "Ala Akbar" (Jihadist Muslims perhaps?).

The great rallying cry of anti-civilization has now reached the pristine nirvana of leftland's star theme park.

Some great quotes from an informative essay:

..."Native Swedes have thus been reduced to just another ethnic group in Sweden, with no more claim to the country than the Kurds or the Somalis who arrived there last Thursday. The political authorities of the country have erased their own people's history and culture.

Jens Orback, Minister for Democracy, Metropolitan Affairs, Integration and Gender Equality from the Social Democratic Party said during a debate in Swedish radio in 2004 that 'We must be open and tolerant towards Islam and Muslims because when we become a minority, they will be so towards us.' [now, there's a laugh!]..."


"...A Swedish man was nearly killed for the crime of wearing clothes with his own national flag while Sweden was participating in the 2006 football World Cup. Some "Multicultural youths" found this to be an intolerable provocation, and the 24-year-old man was run down by a car in Malmö, where Muhammad is becoming the most common name for newborn boys..."

"...The wave of robberies the city of Malmö has witnessed is part of a "war against the Swedes." This is the explanation given by young robbers from immigrant background in interviews with Petra Åkesson. "When we are in the city and robbing we are waging a war, waging a war against the Swedes." This argument was repeated several times. "Power for me means that the Swedes shall look at me, lie down on the ground and kiss my feet." The boys explain, laughingly, that "there is a thrilling sensation in your body when you're robbing, you feel satisfied and happy, it feels as if you've succeeded, it simply feels good." "We rob every single day, as often as we want to, whenever we want to. The Swedes don't do anything, they just give us the stuff. They're so wimpy...."

"...Why does the government dispense with the social contract and attack its own people like this? Well, for starters, because it can. Sweden is currently arguably the most politically repressive and totalitarian country in the Western world. It also has the highest tax rates. That could be a a coincidence, but I'm not sure that it is. The state has become so large and powerful that is has become an autonomous organism with a will of its own. The people are there to serve the state, not vice versa. And because state power penetrates every single corner of society, including the media, there are no places left to mount a defense if the state decides to attack you."

It has been said jokingly that while other countries are states with armies, Pakistan is an army with a state. Likewise, it could be argued that Sweden started out being a nation with a bureaucracy and ended up being a bureaucracy with a nation. In fact, the bureaucracy formally abolished the very nation it was supposed to serve. Its representatives are no longer leaders of a people, but caretakers preoccupied only with advancing their own careers through oiling and upholding, if possible expanding, the bureaucratic machinery..."

"...The then Minister of Education, Mr. Ingvar Carlsson, defined the purpose of schooling: "It is to produce a well adjusted, good member of society. It teaches people to respect the consensus, and not to sabotage it." He also on one occasion said that "School is the spearhead of Socialism." Mr. Carlsson was Swedish Prime Minister as late as 1996..."

"...This is how Mrs Maj Bossom-Nordboe, then departmental chief of at the Directorate of Schools, expressed it: "It's useless to build up individuality, because unless people learned to adapt themselves to society, they would be unhappy. Liberty is not emphasized. Instead, we talk about the freedom to give up freedom. The accent is on the social function of children, and I will not deny that we emphasize the collective..."

...Tragic, but more living proof that those on the left are utter fools.

Viva La Sanity!

Apparently an increasing number of citizens in France are starting to "smell the [Arabian] coffee" and have chosen a new president with a reasonable view of current events and possible methods of successfully dealing with them.

May France succeed in turning its stagnant socialist marsh (well on the path to Caliphate status) into the vibrant and dynamic creative force it had been in former eras.

Also, may it's population see the well founded logic of it's new leader in being a friend to the super power across the sea -- rather than a snobbish stumbling block to the advances of freedom and prosperity.

Mark Steyn has some interesting observations in this regard;

"...Not all French youth is so self-deluded. I notice, for example, every time I'm across the pond in my corner of South Kensington that one hears more and more French spoken on the street. There are somewhere between 400 and 500,000 French citizens living in Britain's capital. London is now the seventh biggest French-speaking city in the world. These are young talented dynamic people who like the same things about France the British and American tourists do — the vin, the cuisine, the couture, the Provencal farmhouses and the Cote d'Azur's topless beaches — but have concluded that it is no longer a society in which you can fulfill your economic potential. They would presumably be Sarkozy supporters, but, like many who feel the odds are stacked against them, they chose in the end to bail out.

As for those who remain, they're sick of crime and unemployment and on the whole could do with rather fewer Muslims on the streets, but they're not yet willing to give up on the economic protectionism and lavish social programs that lead, inexorably, to the crime and unemployment and a general economic and demographic decline leaving the nation dependent on mass immigration and accelerating Islamization..."

The Imaginary “Lotto of Life” and the Thing Gap

I've known more than a few “left-leaning” people who buy lottery tickets. I've never quite understood why, to them, its okay for someone to fork over a few dollars and, figuratively, roll a dice and become rich through no effort, thought, or sweat, yet its perceived as bad for someone to work long hours, shoulder responsibility and stress, take risks, and become rich. I believe such people's rationale for their skewed appraisal of wealth acquisition stems from a belief in the fable that common capitalist wealth could only be attained from life's “roll of a dice” -- success as mere “lucky” chance. Then, there's the other popular assumption that wealth is merely "distributed" and thus somehow taken by some to enrich others. If that were the case it would mean that poor countries once had multi-trillion dollar economies and every time a rich person gets rich, I and everyone else gets poorer (the old axiom that isn't even vaguely true).

Of course, in the real would, incompetent or lazy rich people loose fortunes and smart or practical poor people become wealthy all the time. “The poor” sounds like some static group, forever bound to their chain of “lottery” losses. In fact both poor and rich (and all in between) are individuals most of which can and do rise and fall in status largely based on personal choices and decisions. Don't finish school and have a baby at age 16 -- buy the loosing ticket. Think smart, get an education (or at least the piece of paper that says you have one), bide your time in the less than perfect job...climb the ladder -- win “life's lotto.” Many people can and do, over time, rise above adversity while others can take a stroke of good fortune and loose it all in in remarkably short time. There are some good and bad dice rolls for all of us but neither are the standard of our existence and certainly don't operate independently from our own choices.

Climbing a ladder, attaining a higher income, or becoming rich means you can purchase a higher standard of living. Now you've got the latest plasma screen T.V. while lazy Bob is channel surfing on his aunt's old “regular” T.V.; Oh, the injustice! -- a thing gap!

There's is no doubt that a thing gap as well as a “wealth gap” exists in free societies (and the real world in general) – so!

In a market economy “the rich” (higher income people) are always the first to buy new and better products and services (i.e. Cars, T.V.'s, computers – maybe even open-heart surgery). The fact that evil Mr. rich dude buys a new experiment in capitalist marketing means a company can make enough money to cover the product's development and move forward to make more cheaper models, which is why very expensive computers are now affordable computers to the masses. There's still a thing gap of course. The rich guy's got more RAM and a wider screen, but the toiling unwashed aren't exactly destitute (most aren't even toiling or unwashed) while surfing the web on a computer dinosaur purchased six year ago. We're continually told by the socialist PR apparatus (media, entertainment, and "education") that things are "getting worse" yet I don't remember the average home of my youth with a computer or cars with guidance systems. The poor of America who supposedly "go to bed hungry" are among the fattest people on the planet ("insensitivity" intended).

Marx played the stock market (as his contemporary spawn like Noam Chomsky and Micheal Moore do today). Most left-wing people I know buy lottery tickets. I never hear of their disdain for film directors, sports personalties, or lotto winners who are “rich,” yet businessmen, capitalism, and the wealth generated by innovation, and higher standards of living and leisure all continue to be seen as evil by the socialists among us – an “evil” seen as magically bestowed by mere luck. But, for all their hatred of “materialism” and wealth, the critics of advancing capitalist society still like their toys...and still hope they'll win the lottery (the real one that you buy at a government stand).

Do such posing hypocrites really think they're fooling anyone?

Bogus "Revolutions"

Simply put; if a group seizes equal or greater power over a population than a preceding authority, it's NOT a “revolution.” In addition, if private property is seized by the state it can hardly be called a “revolutionary” act.

Neither theft or power grabs are “revolutionary.”

*************************

Power grabs are sometimes made through mere stealth...and, so it is today with the great global warming PR campaign.

It's likely that many have already seen this convenient truth -- a response to the global warming hysteria industry. I would encourage people to view the entire documentary (which is over an hour long) as it touches on all the points made and fabricated by the alarmists of the left's latest and most effective con-job to compel obedience to their stale collectivist dystopia.

By all means consult the rebuttals to this rebuttal as well. If you believe everything teachers, magazines, newspapers, television news, and documentaries have told you, you're probably quite certain that we are on the brink of doom because we have not restrained ourselves enough from modern living. If you still believe the hype and see this documentary, you'll at least be afforded some healthy skepticism to what you've been fed by the domineering clowns of leftland.

Why We Are What We Are...

Andrew Klavan, in a recent post (The Big White Lie) at City Journal (hat tip to Libertas), points out something I've often noticed in my own attempts to pin down why I hate leftism -- it's the phony contrived and dishonest "manners" in their scheme. I still remember cringing in disgust when a snooty little nascent intellectual at grade school would proclaim, "I don't hate anybody" knowing she was one of the most bitter and hate-filled people in the class -- it's always about how much better they are than you or I. That's why they figure they should be the ones with the big bucks and ultimate power instead of those crude, unsophisticated, and "mean-spirited" movers of commerce that have created the modern world. The "good people" want power and they want it now! (Temper-tantrum included free of charge).

Someone recently sent me a video link by a "liberal" (leftist) who explains why they're "a liberal" (better than other people). Note there are plenty of straw-man slights of hand in this amature propaganda piece. Clowns like these really just want to come out and say, "I'm a liberal because I'm noble, peaceful, kind, loving, wise, and good...and you're not."

Klavan's City Journal article offers a splendid response and sums up well some of my own reasons for being a conservative / libertarian:

"The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine. I don’t have to say that everyone’s special or that the rich cause poverty or that all religions are a path to God. I don’t have to claim that a bad writer like Alice Walker is a good one or that a good writer like Toni Morrison is a great one. I don’t have to pretend that Islam means peace."

Someone Who's For Us

A rare sober voice from a former member of America's party of bizarre betrayal.

You'll remember that in the recent mid-term elections, the Democrat party did all they could to defeat one of their own. In spite of their efforts, Joseph Lieberman ran as an independent -- and won. Also, in spite of the Democrats' belief that most of America's voters share their views on Iraq, Lieberman was elected against the Democrats hand-picked "anti-war" candidate.

Under normal (pre-9/11) circumstances and before the Jihad of fascist Muslims became so bold, it would be rare to find myself agreeing with a big-government "liberal" on an issue. Lieberman himself would hardly be supportive of the current president if things were as they were in the old paradigm.

As it turns out, liberal Senator Lieberman (like a few Democrats in his former party) is a staunch supporter of the president's actions, post-9/11. He recognizes -- with sound and practical analysis -- who the enemies are and what must be done to effectively defeat them. In this regard he is a rare individual, having been a member of a party that has become "progressively" (no pun intended) weak-willed, defeatist, and incompetent (and, in some cases, virtually treasonous).

There are plenty of sober voices among citizens and representatives in America and the rest of the world. We can only hope their resolve prevails at a time when our second greatest enemy is the stance that supports and encourage our first greatest enemy. To say that one is "either with us or with the terrorists" (as President Bush has done) is not "narrow-minded," "simplistic," or “arrogant,” as some have said. It's an honest appraisal of the facts as they now stand.

It would be nice if fewer of our "own voices" were with the terrorists in spirit, if not actual intent.

Groveling at the Feet of the Guy Who Wants to Kill You

Hitler told the world what he hoped to someday do. All communist “movements,” their leaders, and followers had and have outlined their “plans” for the rest of us. The current head of Iran and the dictator of North Korea have clearly stated their open aims, dreams, and nightmares for others.

Under the consistent and blatantly obvious reality of historical circumstance, a great deal of blame for the death and destruction brought to the world by authoritarian leaders and states can be placed upon the stupid fools who continue to placate, appease, and grovel at the feet of totalitarian ideals. Even more pathetic is the fact that they prostrate themsleves before such ideals because their greater suspicions and chastisements are directed at free and open societies (usually due to a bizarre disdain for open commerce and opposing thought).

Sometimes a position is mistaken or naïve – sometimes it's just stupid.