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Sure, Putin’s Regime is Evil, but so is Biden’s
In what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime.” [NEWSMAX 2/25/22]
These same U.S. officials have no problem with 2 am election night data dumps; stacking the Supreme Court; ending the filibuster; telling social media companies what they may or may not post; dismissing political dissenters from the military, turning the military “woke”; ordering citizens to participate in experimental vaccination projects for which the manufacturers attain huge profits without liability; demanding that taxpayers hand over their bank account passwords; flying illegal immigrants across the country (with taxpayer dollars) to settle them in various states for vote-getting purposes; and calling parents who dare to challenge the school boards of government-run schools for teaching racial supremacy and Marxism “domestic terrorists.”
Is the Putin regime brazenly evil? Of course! BUT SO IS OUR OWN REGIME IN AMERICA.
Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason
Watch “The Failure of Woke Policies (From ‘The Great Society’ to Present Day) | Thomas Sowell” on YouTube
Conservative writer lays bare ‘myth of Benevolent Authoritarianism’ and the ‘Great Reset’ in brilliant thread
Breitbart conservative writer and commentator John Hayward penned an epic thread on Twitter explaining the illusion of “Benevolent Authoritarianism” in connection to the spread of elitist dictatorial aspirations across the planet.
Last week, Hayward began delving into the politics of control, writing, “Authoritarianism is the hottest political product in the world right now. Western elites believe their governments must become more dictatorial in order to compete with technocratic despotisms like China. Public submission is the most desired commodity.”
He expanded on those musings in regards to “Benevolent Authoritarianism” and what that flawed philosophy actually entails in a thread on Twitter.
“The myth of Benevolent Authoritarianism is second only to the myth of Honest Big Government in terms of dangerous ideological delusions. Authoritarianism cannot be harnessed to ‘fortify’ democracy, any more than wolves can be taught to guard sheep,” he posited on Twitter.
supposed to make democracy stronger by making it smaller. High walls of authoritarian power will be constructed around the shrinking meadow of liberty. The walls will be policed by wise, compassionate autocrats and their business partners,” he noted alluding to founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab and his globalist cohorts.
“Sure, there is a growing list of things you Little People don’t get to vote on, but don’t worry – those are issues you’re not smart enough to understand. The notion of middle-class boobs or trailer-park rubes daring to defy the Consensus of Experts is absurd,” Hayward snarked.
supposed to make democracy stronger by making it smaller. High walls of authoritarian power will be constructed around the shrinking meadow of liberty. The walls will be policed by wise, compassionate autocrats and their business partners,” he noted alluding to founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab and his globalist cohorts.
“Sure, there is a growing list of things you Little People don’t get to vote on, but don’t worry – those are issues you’re not smart enough to understand. The notion of middle-class boobs or trailer-park rubes daring to defy the Consensus of Experts is absurd,” Hayward snarked.
“But you see, only by trusting a morally and intellectually superior elite to manage the population and most of our national wealth carefully can we achieve true, meaningful ‘freedom.’ You will be liberated from the burdens of need, consequence, and responsibility,” he wrote, nailing the intentions of globalist elitists.
“It will never become tyranny – don’t be silly! How could it be, when you Little People get to cast a few votes every couple of years? That’s the only check needed on power. You can just ‘throw the bums out.’ It can’t be a dictatorship if people get to vote against the dictator!” Hayward commented, tongue-in-cheek.
That’s a key element of the myth of Benevolent Authoritarianism – as long as people get to vote, the only real fail-safe needed against tyranny is in place. Ballots become the only accepted proxy for ‘the consent of the governed’ – which is utterly absurd,” he astutely pointed out.
“‘I won 48% of the vote so everyone must do as I command’ is NOT AT ALL the same thing as ‘just government deriving its powers from the consent of the governed,’ but too many of us have been tricked into accepting it. Nor would winning 90% of the vote be an acceptable substitute,” Hayward remarked.
“Using votes as a proxy for the consent of the governed to justify Benevolent Authoritarianism is like the villain in ‘No Country for Old Men’ telling his victims they authorized their own executions by participating in his coin toss,” he continued.
“Whatever happened to the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ the rights of the minority, and keeping politics out of private life? You don’t hear much about any of that stuff anymore, because the Ruling Class is lusting hard after its post-pandemic vision of Benevolent Authoritarianism,” Hayward contended.
Authoritarianism is like the villain in ‘No Country for Old Men’ telling his victims they authorized their own executions by participating in his coin toss,” he continued.
“Whatever happened to the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ the rights of the minority, and keeping politics out of private life? You don’t hear much about any of that stuff anymore, because the Ruling Class is lusting hard after its post-pandemic vision of Benevolent Authoritarianism,” Hayward contended.
“One reason Benevolent Authoritarianism is a myth is the other, even more pernicious political fantasy: Honest Big Government. We’re supposed to forget about the corruption of power and place total faith in the autocrats who will build the fences around Safe, Small Democracy,” the conservative said, slamming those who push massive big government as the solution to all our ills.
“And power is not only corrupt, but ravenous. Power requires obedience for fuel, and like any other resource, obedience begins to offer diminishing returns. The populace must be squeezed ever tighter to make the next drops of obedience ooze out,” he warned.
“Dissent is antithetical to obedience, so it cannot be tolerated. Aspiring benevolent dictators always promise they’ll have full respect for dissenting views, but it never lasts, because they have to keep squeezing those precious drops of obedience out of the public,” Hayward asserted, referencing the power-hungry demand by dictators for submission from the masses.
“That safe little Great Reset meadow of democracy is going to keep shrinking, because the damn sheep will keep trying to climb over the walls. They must be taught not to question their betters or disobey their commands. It’s absolutely inevitable. Rulers require subjects,” he added.
“Beware the myth of Benevolent Authoritarianism, because it’s never benevolent at all, not even at the outset. Those managing the system simply cannot respect their subjects as equals, even if they claim to love them and want the best for them. Liberty dies, absent respect. /end,” Hayward concluded, issuing a grim warning of what those such as Schwab and adherents of the “Great Reset” are planning for all of us.
The 70s are back…only Worse
Inflation, loss of confidence, stagflation, the misery index, “malaise” … the 1970s are back. Only this time, with nobody like Ronald Reagan to rescue us.
Many of us would not even permit a rescue today.
The following is by Stephen Barnard, via Robert Arlett :
I am reminded of the period from 1976-1982 when inflation was going from 6% to 14%. My homebuilding business failed, I was unemployed for almost a year, I lost my home, and had to change careers. Interest rates went to 18%, unemployment to almost 11% and, to quote the President at that time, we were in a national ”malaise”. It is hard not to see the parallels today with consumer confidence at its lowest level since 2009, interest rates headed higher, real wages (after inflation) going down, and prices going up, some substantially including cars, houses, rents, travel, etc.
History tells us that weakness invites agression. We saw it in the period preceding WWII where Hitler would create a pretext and take over adjoining countries including Austria, parts of Czechslovakia, and ultimately Poland. The invasion of Poland triggered the start of WWII, with the USA entering that conflict two years later.The fractu red and weak responses by an isolationist USA and a Europe weakened by the Depression of the 1930s allowed Hitler’s expansionist dream to become a reality. Again, eerie parallels to Putin’s megalomaniacal dreams of a new “Russian Empire” and the West’s tepid responses.
Leadership matters, and acquiescence to lawlessness as seen in the crime statistics and illegal border crossings have created a sense that our problems are becoming intractable.
In the 1980s the solutions to these problems were not easy. Interest rates were raised, economic activity depressed, military spending was increased, but most importantly strong leadership stood up to the USSR, ultimately ending in the fall of the “evil empire” followed by a period of unprecedented prosperity. It is hard to imagine such a thing happening today.
Are Democrat Kicking Away Their Future ?
Not so long ago, Democrats seemed the party of the future.
“Inevitable!” predicted some pundits, for demography is destiny.
Moreover, in 2020, Democrats, who had won the popular vote six times in seven presidential elections, swept the popular vote again, by 6 million ballots. And they captured both houses of Congress.
The future did seem to be theirs.
Progressives dominated the major culture-forming institutions of society — academia, the media, Hollywood — not to mention the vast bureaucracy of America’s national administrative state.
Their core constituencies — women, the young, Blacks, Hispanics — were growing as a share of the electorate, while the core Republican constituencies — white males, seniors — were shrinking.
One sensed a confidence among Democrats that one or two more elections and the nation, like the California of Ronald Reagan, would turn irretrievably blue.
What happened to the dream?
First, President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, after 20 years of war, had about it the aspect of Saigon ’75.
The rout of our Afghan allies and humiliation of our departure delivered an irretrievable blow to Biden’s reputation for competence.
There followed the visible failure of the administration to defend and secure America’s southern border as 2 million migrants from all over the world poured across in Biden’s first year.
Then came a surge in crimes of violence, shootings and murders in major cities. And people recalled that our media and political elites who had cheered on the Black Lives Matter protests and excused the riots after George Floyd’s death had echoed the BLM-antifa calls to “defund the police!”
Also, suddenly, an inflation rate not seen in 40 years was back, driving up the price of gasoline and groceries and everything else at a rate of 7.5%.
Then came news that the U.S. trade deficit, which helped to propel former President Donald Trump into the White House, was at an all-time record of over $1 trillion, and the national debt had crossed the $30 trillion mark, exceeding the entire U.S. GDP.
Late in Biden’s first year, COVID-19 reached its omicron stage with infections, hospitalizations and deaths suddenly exploding again to record numbers in a pandemic deep into its second year.
Then, there were the manifestations of cognitive decline in the president, seemingly with each new televised appearance.
Unable to defend America’s borders, control the surge in violent crime or cope with an inflation unseen in 40 years, Biden began a steady slide in the polls to where, currently, all have him underwater and some put his approval below 40%.
That a crisis for the party may be in the cards for this fall has not been lost on Democratic leaders. Fully 30 members of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s majority in the House have announced that they will be retiring and will not run again in 2022.
The latest bad news came out of the Golden State, where three progressives on San Francisco’s school board were recalled in an election where more than 7 in 10 voters cast ballots to be rid of them.
The problem for Democrats is that the issues for which the three were recalled are the issues dividing communities all across America:
Are America’s elite schools whose student bodies are chosen by academic performance and test scores consistent with the progressives’ concept of racial equity? Or should student bodies of those elite schools be mandated to mirror the ethnic and racial composition of the communities they serve?
How are issues of race, morality, sexuality and history to be taught in the public schools? Who decides what is to be taught?
The issue was elevated in Virginia last fall when former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a favorite for reelection, blurted out during a debate with Republican Glenn Youngkin, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Virginia’s parents buried McAuliffe’s hopes.
The San Francisco school board also plunged into the culture wars by attempting to re-name 44 high schools, while purging the names of all four presidents on Mount Rushmore — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt — as well as Paul Revere and Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
San Francisco’s Lowell High School is one of the elite high schools that selects its student body on academic performance and test scores. And that student body has been heavily Asian American, who make up a far higher share of the student population than of the city itself.
This issue of Asians being overrepresented in elite high schools is replicated at Northern Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson High, and in New York City at Stuyvesant and the Bronx School of Science.
Who gets into these schools and who does not and who decides pits the leaders of Black communities against those of Asian American communities and divides the Democratic Party on the lines of ethnicity and race.
Among other issues that have gone national are critical race theory, which teaches that, due to the systemic racism in American society, all whites are born oppressors, while Black Americans are from birth among the oppressed.
Critical race theory, too, divides the Democrats.
Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of “Nixon’s White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever.”
Your Life Belongs to You
I received an interesting email from a Delaware Coast Press reader who asks, “I’m not sure I can give proper advice to my brother. He’s gay and really loves our parents, who are slightly religious but don’t practice. They’ve made anti-gay remarks in the past, and he’s afraid they won’t approve of his sexuality. He’s 18 years old and a freshman in college. I’m really at a loss for what to say.”
Dear Reader, when your parents make anti-gay remarks, they’re not talking specifically about your brother. They’re talking about the “floating abstraction” of homosexuality. For your parents, there’s a disconnect between “the gays” whom they dislike in the abstract, and your brother, whom they presumably love. When they learn of his sexuality, they will have to abandon one or the other of these contradictory assumptions: Either, “Our son, whom we love, is a good person who happens to be gay,” or “Being gay is bad and wrong and our son is evil.” One of these things has to be false. In other words, they’re either going to stop disliking gay people or stop loving your brother. But not both.
In my experience talking to families over the years, they’ll most likely keep loving your brother. This is because they are, as you say, only slightly religious and don’t practice with excess fervor. In this (relatively) enlightened time, many – but not all – religious people are rather liberal on the subject of same-sex relationships. There are numerous exceptions. For example, a male couple I knew adopted three young children back in the late ‘80s – very early, culturally speaking, for that kind of thing. The mother of one of the partners was an unyielding fundamentalist Baptist who, upon learning of her son’s homosexuality a few years earlier, had cut him off. But once the grandchildren were on the scene, she began to show up at the household, offering to babysit, giving advice and the like. It went as well as it possibly could.
One of the reasons homosexuality is such a hot-button issue is that it forces people to confront their contradictions. In particular, the contradictions surrounding “selfishness” and self-interest. Religious or not, we’re all taught that selfishness and self-interest are bad. Then, in contradiction, we’re taught that we must go out into the world, pursue our dreams, and act with self-preservation. The vast majority of people are exposed to this inconsistency. No wonder there are so many emotional problems and disorders.
This dichotomy takes a special form in the case of romance and marriage. Many religious conservatives teach their children that marriage is selfless, its sole purpose is to create a family and that personal happiness has nothing to do with it. Homosexuality challenges that assumption. If one accepts his or her sexual proclivities, then, by definition, he or she has elevated personal fulfillment above the supposed “virtue” of self-sacrifice. This stirs up a lot of uncomfortable feelings – feelings that go beyond the boundaries of sexual orientation.
You said your brother doesn’t want to disappoint your parents. I would tell him, “So what? Disappointment is based on a standard. If the standard is reasonable, then you’ve disappointed yourself as well. If that standard is based on something unreasonable that doesn’t apply to you, then accept the fact that you’re an adult and get on with your life.” I would go so far as to say that disappointing your parents, or anybody, is all part of growing up. If one doesn’t know how to handle that, then he or she is not yet their own man or woman. That – not any particular sexual orientation – is your brother’s primary issue.
We don’t need approval from anyone in order to survive and flourish. Once we liberate ourselves from the myth of perpetual self-sacrifice, the emotional reward of freedom and self-esteem is ours to enjoy. Tell your brother that it’s his life to live, and not anybody else’s. In order to be a happy and well-adjusted adult, he must stop apologizing for being who he is.
Michael J. Hurd
Watch “Victor Davis Hanson: Biden is the most dangerously radical President in US history” on YouTube
Biden Thinks he’s FDR; the People Think he’s a Failure
When historians gathered at the White House shortly after President Biden’s inauguration, they discussed what makes a presidency consequential. Biden reportedly told one historian in attendance, “I’m no FDR, but…”
On this, Biden is right: He is no Franklin Delano Roosevelt, nor is he any of the other presidents to whom he has delusional hopes of being compared to, such as Lyndon Johnson or Abraham Lincoln. After just one year of complete Democrat rule, there is no denying that the average American is far worse off under the Biden administration.
Biden’s desire for a consequential presidency has meant disastrous consequences for American families. The economic harm from his policies has been particularly devastating. For too many American families, rising costs for gas and groceries have shrunk household budgets. Consumer prices reached a 40-year high in January, while workers’ wages failed to keep up. A University of Pennsylvania Wharton School analysis found Americans paid $3,500 more in 2021 as a result of runaway inflation, and currently, Americans are shelling out an estimated additional $276 per month for basic goods and services. Skyrocketing inflation hurts the middle and working classes the most, as they are least able to withstand rising prices.
Consequently, Biden’s economic ratings are now worse than President Jimmy Carter‘s. How’s that for a historical comparison?
While Biden’s destructive policies drive inflation and higher prices, his corrosive political agenda is costing many Americans their jobs. The Democrats‘ vaccine mandates have forced small businesses to fire employees while making many first responders and frontline workers choose between their medical freedom and providing for their families. Biden’s attempted federal vaccine mandate put nearly 45 million jobs at risk and many small businesses in a position of losing employees at a time when so many are struggling to find workers.
Monica Crowley
Cotton Gin, Slavery, and America’s Corporatists
In 1776, America’s Founding Fathers signed a world-changing document recognizing that all men are created equal. Yet, millions of Black Americans were not afforded freedom.
Despite passionate opposition against slavery and the gradual outlawing of this evil, the Deep South’s world-supplying cotton industry and Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin ushered a systematic dependency on slave labor.
The extreme wealth derived from this one sector of the American economy justified personal greed over humanity and the intrinsic dignity of every individual. It was this course that decoupled our nation from its Constitutional mooring. Returning to our mission statement would take a painful correction at the expense of over 600,000 American lives and the destruction of the southern economy that would take generations to rebuild.
Our nation is yet again seeing the consequences of unfettered greed through American corporations aligning themselves with Communist China. They jockey for access, calculate stock values, and place personal wealth and power over our country’s core foundation of freedom and equality. The 1800 empathy-free plantation owners have been replaced by 2022 woke corporatists who collaborate behind closed boardroom doors in the name of profit.
The 1794 Cotton Gin is our generation’s Communist China, and today’s corporations represent American Greed 101. The disconnect between these corporatists and our American values is on full display in their sprint to sponsor the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in Beijing, China.
The presence of inhumanity in China is undeniable. Uyghur, Christians, and other minority groups are punished and tortured for worshiping their faith. Millions are placed in slave labor concentration camps as child labor, organ harvesting, rape, forced abortion, and sterilization of women proceed unabated.
Yet, Atlanta-based social justice warrior CoCa-Cola opted to pay China to advertise their products and run their Olympics advertisements exclusively to a Chinese audience and exclusively in the Chinese language. Where was Coca-Cola’s duty when faced with the reality of slavery, rape, torture, and death of minorities at the hands of Communist China? It appears that when granted the option of wealth, modern-day slavery is not a red line.
In 2020, several American companies pressured Congress to water down The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, bipartisan legislation banning products manufactured through forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region from being imported to the U.S.
The true heart of the American Corporatist can also be seen in the words of Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors. He expressed what he called “a very hard, ugly truth” about China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority-Muslim population in the Xinjiang autonomous region. “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs,” he said.
As we emerge and recalculate after two years of retrospect, we have an opportunity to evaluate institutions once trusted, revered, and respected. Should that trust continue? The enticement of Communist China has proven too powerful for America’s corporate class.
As they use their CCP Olympic sponsor platform to promote their products, they promote divisiveness in their own country, cover for the human rights abuses of millions, and give legitimacy to the CCP.
In the United States of America, we stand for freedom. Our domestic companies should too, or we should not stand with them.
Burgess Owens
THE ARTFUL DILETTANTE 