The response to the Trump victory is déjà vu all over again.
In an interview with Ann Coulter, Peter Mansbridge, the chief correspondent for CBC news asked the question that is the source of never ending puzzlement for the left and the main stream media: How did we get it so wrong? How did we miss it?
The third presidential debate was depressing. The whole election season is.
Not the candidates, not the mud slinging, not the lack of real options, not the lack of sensible policies, not the woefully bad ideas from both sides, but how the whole mess is handled by the media, the political class and the public at large.
How the real questions and concerns did not even make it into the debates, let alone being discussed in any reasonable way. How hopelessly partisan everyone involved became. How even ‘facts’ became partisan. Continue reading →
Here are some items from the news last week:
They all represent some sort of challenge to the EU, its powers and the way it operates. Continue reading →
A friend reminded me of a joke, a communist era classic. The conversation then evolved into trying to guess how many of the people who did not grow up under communism would be able to get it. Whether you can or can’t, here we go; I will explain later: Continue reading →
The following is an open letter to a truly respected friend:
My dear friend,
Let me start by formally congratulating you on your recent induction into the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. I’m sure it was well deserved.
Having that said, I must admit that I found our recent meeting rather disappointing. I would not necessarily share my disappointment with the world if it was not so very typical of conversations that I, and people like me, DO NOT have with you, and people like you. My problem is not the condescending arrogance of your attitude, so very typical of left-liberals, but how that prevents intelligent and decent discussions of any subject.
“I smell a race war brewing”
This was a comment to a Black Pigeon Speaks video commenting on the Dallas events.
I do not want to get into the details of the numbers on black vs white crime and victimization or police brutality, as numbers on those subjects are widely available. Paul Joseph Watson made this video as a commentary on Black Lives Matter just hours before the shooting in Dallas and Stefan Molyneux had his comments with impeccable sourcing of statistics just after.
Ben Shapiro made a short presentation on the subject last fall and made the same points in a debate around the same time. Continue reading →
The whole world (well, OK, North America) is talking about bathroom choice. It is the issue of the day. Nothing surprising in that. It is polarizing and very intense. It is a distraction. Again, nothing new.
What will it take to get it through the thick skulls of libertarians that taxation is NOT theft? Continue reading →
My previous post on the subject was extolling the virtues of the theory and the book explaining it; in this one I will talk about the gaps in it. While the value of the theory and the reliability of the evidence supporting it is beyond doubt, there are many questions in need of further answers and explanations. It is a new theory, especially as applied to political ideologies and attitudes. The ‘gaps’ in it are just unanswered or not fully explored questions.
A book review
I bought this book based on the rave review of Bill Whittle and the exhaustive presentations of Stefan Molyneux. Having listened to four hours of talk about it, by the time I received the book I had a pretty solid understanding of the idea, the theory and the scientific evidence behind it. Continue reading →
Lately, I only listen to radio when I am driving alone. A short drive yesterday (January 29th 2016) gave me two news items: Continue reading →
As I was gearing up to comment on a libertarian debate about the police, I realized that the post that started it is a perfect example of what we could call a “Hypothetical Debate Syndrome” a particularly vicious libertarian affliction.
At the last Libertarian Party convention, we were approached by a few guys making a documentary about fringe parties. They want to find out what motivates people to fight for apparently hopeless causes. They interviewed a few of us during the convention and revisited some of us before, and after the federal election with some questions.
During the last follow-up sometimes in late November they did a ‘rapid fire questions’ session with me where I was supposed to complete sentences such as “I am a libertarian because…..”; “I love politics because……” Continue reading →
Just a day after I posted my thoughts on the failure of politics, I came across a most perfect illustration of the point I was trying to make in it.
I suffered through the full two hours and forty-three minutes of a US Senate hearing on climate science chaired by Senator Ted Cruz.
1520s, “science of government,” from politic (adj.), modeled on Aristotle’s ta politika “affairs of state,” the name of his book on governing and governments […] Politics is the science of good sense, applied to public affairs [….] Politicks is not a science so properly as a business. [Fisher Ames (1758-1808)]
Even before I started writing it, I changed the title of this post several times. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and talk about, I just had a problem putting a label on it. What are we failing at? Courage? Cultural confidence? Determination? Communication? Honesty? Understanding?
I couldn’t think of the word politics because I was looking for a positive word, and politics is not one of them, but then I realized that I should let go of my own prejudices. Politics means the management of our shared affairs. It means making decisions about our shared affairs and as an extension, having honest discussions about them. Politics should not be the dirty word it is today.