Animated cartoon depicting the Statist mindset.
This image first appeared at Libertopia Cartoon
State Love
Is SNL Becoming The Monster’s Playground?
On the surface, SNL is just another comedy show. A standard feature of the show is the opening segment, which usually pokes fun at the current president. Every once in a while, that segment is pretty funny, and is viewed extensively on YouTube.
However, over the past several years, two things have happened to the show. First, its comedy has become increasingly captured by the left. The routines are oftentimes premised on a progressive worldview. Second, SNL has become less and less funny, and sometimes downright boring.
Coincidence?
Usually, an election year and a president’s first year is fodder for comedians. There’s so much good material created during the campaign, the biggest challenge is figuring out what to focus on.
However, during this election, it quickly became clear that SNL made a conscious decision to ridicule Trump and softly promote Hillary. Sure, the show poked fun at her from time to time, but its vitriol was directly squarely at The Donald through Alec Baldwin. Sometimes he was funny, but more times than not he played Trump in a manner so that SNL’s liberal audience could laugh at their representation of Trump, rather than what he actually did.
Then came the election, and the liberal pandemonium that followed. Continue reading “Is SNL Becoming The Monster’s Playground?”
Are Open Borders Really the Position of Libertarians?
By Kirk D.
Migration is a hot topic these days, especially since President Trump’s travel ban on nations of interest. Many Republicans tend to embrace strict limitations on immigration while Democrats seem to have no limitations; but what about Libertarians?
The official Libertarian Party’s platform on migration states that people should be able to “travel freely as long as they are peaceful.” They also claim that ‘most immigrants are peaceful and productive’ and that ‘undocumented immigrants shouldn’t be classified as criminals.’ The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) takes it a step further and claims that “there is only one Libertarian position on immigration” and that is “open borders.” There are a slew of other Libertarian websites (like this one) making similar claims, but do all Libertarians feel this way?
It’s hard to quantify considering most polls don’t include Libertarian based questions on topic issues. But if you take to the comment sections on many platforms and a vast array of websites and blogs, a lot of people calling themselves Libertarian don’t seem to share the institutional views that the Libertarian Party, the FFF and many other gatekeeper outlets espouse. Some more mainstream Libertarians like David Boaz and John Stossel believe that migration needs checks and balances. Some equate open borders as being a principle of communism. Ron Paul has advocated for creating better working visa programs while still enforcing migration laws but above all, ending the welfare state.
But the last point is key.
How can Libertarians be in favor of open borders while a welfare state is in place?
And there lies the conundrum. I think this article from LewRockwell.com is a must read for Libertarians who are confused on their position of open borders. Hans-Hermann Hoppe encourages real Libertarians to not be the useful idiots of cultural Marxism via the victimology that has permeated the main stream Libertarian institutions.
Other Nations Getting in on the Fake News Trend
By Kirk D.
Years ago journalists would carefully vet information and sources before publishing anything, but in 2017 the ‘journalistic’ standard is to simply publish anything that might increase readership, no matter who it may hurt or no matter how ridiculously inaccurate the information may be.
Buzzfeed recently published a so-called dossier on Donald Trump that was not only completely unsubstantiated, unprovable, and unvetted, but was likely generated by a 4Chan user as an intended and obvious prank.
However, despite the ludicrousness of this dossier the mainstream media is still claiming that it’s true. And now that Trump has implemented a temporary immigration halt, using a law Obama signed into law in 2015, other countries are getting in on the hysteria, wondering if they’ll be next. Continue reading “Other Nations Getting in on the Fake News Trend”
Exit Stage Right
“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree besides the river of truth, and tell the whole world – ‘No, you move.'”
— Captain America
I once voted for John McCain. I didn’t get it. I even thought he was the lesser of two evils. In 2008 you would have heard me say Ron Paul didn’t have a chance. I liked what the doctor had to say, but I fell for the trap. I was lied to. I’m glad I didn’t get it. My ignorance regarding politics would shield me while I was in college. Which turned out to be a huge blessing.
When the 2012 election rolled around, I realized how much I liked what Dr. Paul had to say. I especially liked that he was the outcast because I was the outcast. I even wore number 13 during my high school baseball years as a personal protest because I was the outsider on the team. I wore it as a badge of honor. During the debates Dr. Paul spoke a truth I had never heard, and it connected every dot along my path. I finally understood why I could not be nailed down on a political test, but I didn’t know how to call it by its rightful name. “Libertarian” at the time was not an option, nor was it spoken about during my college years. Neither was anarchist, unless used to incorrectly imply chaos. You could either be a republican, democrat, or moderate.
Bottom line you had to support some level of force by government.
This didn’t stomach well.
Insert Dr. Paul speaking about the non-aggression principle. It was perfect. It was an idea worth planting yourself down for, and telling the whole world to move. The only problem (not a real problem) is that once you accept the N.A.P then you’re on a path to anarchy, and there is no turn around. You can’t step back and decide that force against a non-aggressive person is suddenly justified. It’s truth is unwavering. Force, as anything other than an act of defense of an individual’s life, liberty, or property, is never justified. Removing government from the equation doesn’t change this principle. Mutually agreeing to have a government doesn’t change its truth. You either think it’s okay to use force against someone that isn’t aggressing upon you, or you don’t? Which is it?
Captain A
The Campus Leftists’ Continued Assault on Logic and Speech
By Mr. Fool
Why should colleges exist if its students lose the ability to think?
That is the only question I find myself asking after reviewing the waste land college campuses have become. This post highlights two examples of this toxic landscape.
Violence as self-defense
To begin, there is the case of some … curious op-ed articles written in the Daily California, UC Berkeley’s student newspaper, in response to the cancellation of Milo Yiannopolis’s appearance on that campus. (h/t Rod Dreher)
The following pieces were published under the heading, Violence as Self-Defense:
- Check your privilege when speaking of protests
- Violence helped ensure safety of students
- Black bloc did what campus should have
- Condemning protestors same as condoning hate speech
- Plurality of tactics contributed to cancellation of Milo Yiannopoulos event
I would like to highlight one article to reflect the American Maoism permeating current leftist thought.
In “Violence helped ensure safety of students”, Juan Prieto, a UC Berkeley student who is also an illegal alien, writes:
I’m here to thank the radical measures the AntiFas took to ensure my safety. It has been reported by numerous sources that Breitbart’s mascot planned on launching a campaign against undocumented students and sanctuary campuses. More disturbing was the possibility of him outing and targeting specific undocumented students on campus, much like he did to a trans student at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
As repellant as it is to thank AntiFas for the rioting, on the surface one can see where he is coming from. After all, while speaking at UC Milwaukee, Milo did out a transsexual student. Continue reading “The Campus Leftists’ Continued Assault on Logic and Speech”
CEO Pay vs. Celebrity Pay: The Irony of Demonization
By Steven Clyde
Not many days go by without each of us hearing about how much CEO’s bring home per each year, of course implying that 1.) They don’t deserve this seemingly “excessive” amount of compensation and have acquired it off the backs of those they exploit 2.) There is something in particular about being a CEO that’s much less noble to that of someone like say, Oprah, who is worth billions.
Walter Williams, the brilliant economist we all know and love, shaped my view on this in a way I probably never could’ve conceived prior. He pointed out that when you take the top ten CEO’s average annual salaries and compared them to the top ten celebrity’s average annual salaries, it paints an ironic picture for your opponents. Could it really be true that celebrities averaged (at the time) $100 million a year, while CEO’s averages $43 million.[1] It only serves Williams legacy justice to update this information and continue this debate with our friends on the left. Continue reading “CEO Pay vs. Celebrity Pay: The Irony of Demonization”
Where’s a Socialist Snow Plow When You Need One?
By ANonyMom
We recently got over 3 feet of snow. We live in the foothills but this was unexpected. The DOT or whoever the fuck plows the goddamned roads came out the first day it was snowing and plowed twice. We haven’t seen them since.
What the actual fuck?!
Not only has it snowed more since they came out here, but the snow they pushed off the roads is piled so high that we now can’t get mail. We also can’t drive on our shitty half plowed road now. The snow is compacted and is now slick, so slick it’s dangerous to walk around outside. So thanks Government for fucking up everything and trapping us in our house. At least we have power back on…
There are some hillbilly type folks out here driving their personal tractors to clear friends’ driveways. One such person kindly plowed the main road through our neighborhood. Still not drivable but good on him for showing us that in the absence of government, someone will step up and do the fucking job.
Who will plow the roads?!
That guy.
That guy will fucking do it.
Thank you useless fucking government for making me hate snow and proving that you suck.
Efficient Gun Control Comes from Markets, not Government
With the push for political correctness and central planning growing larger, the argument for less government involvement in firearm regulation comes off as somewhat irrational to most people. Which is understandable given the diminutive attention this side of the argument is provided. But let’s get something straight: the government’s answers to gun violence have not worked. And, why should they? The government has no incentive to come up with new solutions. Even with gun free zones, magazine limitations, and “assault” weapon bans, we still see major crimes resulting from guns winding up in the wrong hands. The answer then could lie in examining private alternatives to solving our nations gun violence.
We always hear this question asked: to what degree should the government intervene in its handling of gun crime? But we never ask whether the encroachment is necessary in the first place.
Plenty of private markets have answered the public’s call for safety with replacements to government intrusion. For example, automotive companies are always trying to gain customers by innovating new ways to lower accident mortality rates. Even betting on their reliability through competitive warranties. Food companies compete for healthy alternatives to processed foods, allowing themselves to be inspected and graded on their ingredient quality to gain consumers.
The takeaway here is that companies don’t do this because they think it’s what the consumer needs, instead they attempt to predict what the consumer wants. Permitting the market to experiment with consumer wants allows for a multitude of solutions to be tried at once, with the most favored being the one that stands out against its competition. It’s how cars came around to include seatbelts, which grew to airbags, and today that has flourished into dozens of standard safety features. The biggest innovator of consumer wants has always been producers chasing profits. Continue reading “Efficient Gun Control Comes from Markets, not Government”
Avoiding the Abject Misery of Internet Political Dialogue
By Phil Brown
The use of the internet by more and more people to participate in the political culture of this country and worldwide has made more extreme and radicalized nearly everyone who engages in it. People with whom you’d seldom have an interaction with in your every day, walking around life are suddenly in your social media stream, which is, for better or worse, the new physical “body”. Reactions to invasion of social media space with unwanted political dialogue provoke the same kinds of reactions as a physical assault in people, complete with physical reactions on the part of both participants. Evidence of this is everywhere, perhaps even in your own interactions, where suddenly a high school friend from long ago is an Enemy of the Republic, or a racist, or whatever other slurs are thrown about with casual regularity.
These types of extreme interactions serve the interests of the state and its control, although it may appear at first that this is merely a pushback against traditional strangleholds over media or thought. It is true that now many outlets on news and opinion can flourish on the internet, but there are negative aspects to consider also. This is not an attack on the current ease with which information can spread, but an examination of the degrading of political dialogue. Continue reading “Avoiding the Abject Misery of Internet Political Dialogue”