Here we are, less than 250 years after one of human history’s most glorious moments, the supposed beneficiaries of that glory, watching our country crumble. Economic ruin and stagnation. A police state obsessed with surveillance and control. Even formerly all-holy free speech under relentless attack from glassy-eyed apparatchiks.
And even the most unaware among We the Ordinary are beginning to wonder, “How did we get here?”
How J.R.R. Tolkein found Mordor on the Western Front. Simplistic. But with the 100th anniversary of the unthinkable Battle of the Somme, apropos. Bill and Loretta. Yeah, I suppose it’s possible that they really did talk about their families, as Lynch insists with a wink-wink, nod-nod. If so, the conversation probably went like this. The icky privacy news. And the somewhat better. (H/T jc2k in comments) What a cesspit and an illegal tavern tell us about American revolutionary history. Anybody here still living in California? Plan to continue there after this? And how on earth is that background-check-and-registration-for-ammo going to…
Two very different ones: J.K. Rowling tells of the founding of Ilvermorny, the North American wizarding school. There’s a video, too. The Age of Disintegration. There’s a bit to disagree with. The author doesn’t get the difference between real free markets and crony capitalism within a statist system. But it’s as good an analysis of the Middle East mess — and its western roots — as any.
How to kill an Islamonazi (H/T Y.B.) They can also be killed after the fact. But that’s just sad. How law and lawyers killed Europe’s Jews and have done plenty of other murder and tyranny. Which is merely the brilliant lead-in to a condemnation of the current “due process is an inconvenient luxury” anti-gun nonsense. The criminalization of speech. It starts young. Jeff Jacoby discovers the biggest armed mob in America. Good question, there toward the end. But we already know the answer. (H/T FH) It’s no longer some vague right-wing conspiracy that’s responsible for the nation’s distrust of Hillary.…
I meant to blog more this week, but I’ve been dealing with Robbie. After two years of thinking any day could be the day, we’re finally nearing the end.
Well, at least you might have some recourse if Microsoft sneak-upgrades your computer to its Windows 10 malware. This one’s for you who live within the New Madrid fault zone — or anybody who’s a follower of megaquakes and their lore. Britain is a part of Europe and will remain so, says Boris Johnson, former mayor of London, prominent figure of the “Leave” campaign, and possible successor to David Cameron. One of the few relatively dispassionate looks at key issues behind the Brexit. It wasn’t all just “hate!” and “racism!” on one side and “we know what’s good for you”…
I owe hat tips for several of these items, but I’ve fogotton to whomm I owe them all, so please accept much general hat tipping. Preferring to avoid negative campaigning is one thing. Libertarian candidates sucking up to Hillary on media demand is another. Don’t care about the Brexit that’s consuming the world’s media right now? Well, how ’bout a Texit — a Texas exit? (I’m amused at those “constitutional scholars” who say a U.S. state can’t secede from the union. The constitution neither said nor implied that; only overwhelming military force said that. Doesn’t take any scholar to see…
Given the state of U.S. poly-ticks, I urge you not to forget the one truly great candidate. You can get your Sweet Meteor O’ Death bumper stickers here and your SMOD yard signs here. NFI on my part. Carl-Bear made and is selling these. —– Nearer to my heart, but also NFI (except in the sense that it helps The Zelman Partisans grow), are these new binoculars in the TZP store. Compact, slick, and so very useful. Limited number available. Get ’em while you can. BTW, thanks to The Amazing Jo Ann, we’ve now made it easier for people who…
Thomas Paine wrote those words after the shooting had already begun at Lexington and Concord, after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a fact that always surprises me. We tend to think that by that time, the game was on, lines were irrevocably crossed, and everybody who was going to take a side and get involved was already committed. But not quite so.
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We of course haven’t even had our Lexington moment yet and frankly I pray we never do. Even in the best cases (and the American Revolution was certainly one of those), shooting wars ultimately play into the hands of the most wily statists. Who shoots first, shoots straightest, has the biggest weaponry, or has “God on their side” doesn’t always determine how free people are once the smoke has cleared.
“Why Linkedin will make you hate Microsoft.” Wait. What? You don’t already hate Microsoft? But seriously, if they really do what this NYT article says they’re planning, we’re talking whole new levels. Wow. Beer can, mama bear, and don’t-forget-the-dog save a woman during a long ordeal. But note what she really wishes she hadn’t left at home. Have you ever sensed that Snopes.com, the great All-Powerful Fact-Checker of the Intertubz, sometimes needs fact-checking itself — particularly on political issues? Turns our you’re quite right. Look who’s providing those political “facts”. Makes me sad. Snopes has been a valuable resource and…
