- “Ayn Rand Made Me a Communist.” Um … you’d probably have to be a regular New Republic reader and already know how Jacob Bacharach is one; he doesn’t actually explain, except in a vague-ish indirect way. It’s still an interesting essay, though.
- Question not asked: If this homeless guy can do all this, then why is he homeless?
- Not a bad analysis of how the R-Party is coming apart at the seams. Leaves out factors you and I know well, but seems right in its basics.
- Georgia state representative commits civil disobedience to get medical marijuana to sick kids.
- Yeah, it’s a Communist hellhole. So we’ll open and close today’s news with Commies. But Cuba is beautiful, as these aerial photos show. And ohhhh, those empty white-sand beaches! This link was sent to me by a Panamanian taxista who helped make my couple of days in Panama City six years ago a pleasure. I’m pretty sure he’s been to Cuba.
And a bonus: Canada for President, courtesy of MJR, who knows a thing or two about all that. NB: Brief NSFW language.
Some people are homeless because they want to be. Can’t say I understand that sentiment, but there is much human behavior I find bizarre.
“Donald Trump is what comes after the GOP’s claim to the mantles of national defense, free markets and traditional values are demonstrated to be frauds and failures.”
This much is true.
But the real reason the R-Party is coming apart is that it doesn’t know what it stands for. It’a too stuffy and self-important to look inward, and trying too hard to be popular without a clue how to achieve it. In that regard, it’s splitting itself six (actually 12?) ways from Sunday. None of the candidates know what the country wants or needs, nor do they really care. They’ve played the political game so long they can’t distinguish The Game from reality.
I “vote” Canada for President – it can’t do any worse, and at least it has its feet on the ground most of the time.
Another good article on why the GOP is falling apart – http://reason.com/blog/2016/01/28/donald-trump-is-the-harbinger-of-the-rep
Some folks are homeless by choice. Just think of it, less overhead, more freedom, no pesky mortgage or taxes. Until the IRS gets wind of his bank account that is…
Good link, LibertyNews.
More on the recent crackup. IMHO, the D-party is probably in worse shape than the R-party; it’s just that their gangrenous wound is still covered by the establishment bandage of Hillary.
This may be the first time I’ve ever agreed with Eugene Robinson on anything
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/01/29/the_rising_pull_of_the_change_candidates_129478.html
And certainly the first time Robinson and Tucker Carlson have agreed with each other
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-is-shocking-vulgar-and-right-213572
On Trump, I’m coming to believe the National Review has it exactly right. If, as some of us suspect, there isn’t any real difference between the “establishment” figures of the Republican and Democratic parties, then the rise of anti-establishment candidates in both parties makes sense, given the discontent (may I use a word that mild?) of the public.
While I agree with a lot of what Trump now – as opposed to in the past – says, I have to wonder if he isn’t exaggerating his outgoing personality to get the media to focus on it instead of the massive inconsistencies of his statements over the years.
I confess I don’t watch the debates, so I really don’t know what happens in them. My general impression is that Cruz is the only real conservative of the bunch and that he is intensely hated by the both establishments. If there are any significant ideological problems with him, I’m sure someone will point them out here.
Hey, I learned a new word! Weltanschauung – I don’t know how to pronounce it, or how I’d ever in life use it in a sentence, but I think I’ve got one of those laying around here somewhere…
LOL at the Canada for President
I have always thought of Canada as a refuge for ideas that (for whatever reason) just don’t work in the US. i.e. $2 coins, the metric system, socialized medicine, Tim Horton’s…
Dear Republican Party, look behind you. See, nobody is there. If nobody is behind you, then you are not leading. There is nothing that is not regulated, outlawed or taxed, nothing. Top down, authoritarian, command and control, over every tiny little aspect of our lives is not leadership, it is evil.
His analysis of the stool itself may be largely correct. BUT. The lack of men who can lead in America is stunning. Our .gov is wholly bought. The writer of the Biz Insider piece doesn’t even realize the problem and neither does the person he is quoting. Nobody even knows what leadership is anymore. Following someone is now a trend to be discarded when following someone else FEELS good. That Trump fills the void is not surprising. Why would somebody follow a man into battle? Now, that’s a wobbly stool. It has nothing to do with anything, but leadership.
Canadians do the best videos. 🙂
All I can say about the Republican debacle is:
RAND PAUL, please. He is (and Fiorina) the only real fiscal conservative. He isn’t beating the war drum. And he wants us (you and me) to be left alone. What more could you ask for?
My question about the homeless guy is, where does he receive the cell phone bills?
Yarow’s Business Insider article seems pretty accurate to me. Trump seems to meet none of the requirements of Reagan’s “three-legged stool”.
In 2008 (and 2012), none of the Democratic electorate seemed to care that Obama was clearly under the sway of communist ideology and wanted to “fundamentally transform America” (his words). He was the quintessential “red diaper baby”: raised by avowed communists, immersed in their philosophy, an acolyte of Saul Alinsky. It was all there to see, and no one cared.
Trump is the mirror image. He’s the consummate crony capitalist, eager to take whatever he can get from government and happy to use its power (via eminent domain) to advance his personal financial interests. He is no “conservative” by any rational definition of the term; the best that can be said is that he is a populist, which means he has no core animating principles. And, once again, no one cares. Trump is the right’s answer to Obama’s “hope and change”: vacuous words into which you can read anything you want.
We live in interesting times.
Assuming this is a conversation about what the country needs rather than which of these jokers is best – I am convinced that this country is toast. The only chance it has is divine intervention – a miracle, if you will. To hope that this candidate or that one will be the savior of the country is a vain hope.
Of course, the intervention needed may be in the form of which candidate gets elected, but I have no way of knowing.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.