A Big Got Damned Difference

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A reader – a Libertarian friend – chastises me for supporting Trump over Hillary; for supporting any candidate who isn’t a principled Libertarian. I thought some of you might be interested in a principled Libertarian’s thoughts on this business: 

Dear X –

Here’s a stark difference to consider: Hillary is a murderer. A mass murderer. By proxy, yes – but a murderer, nonetheless. Eager to have people killed. Arguably, more guilty of murder than Julius Streicher – who was hanged for merely inciting murderous hatred. Hillary has ordered people killed. Has literally reveled in the murder-by-sodomy of Quaddafi, which she helped to orchestrate. Hillary face

She is an obvious psychopath. Worse than The Chimp, even. And The Chimp was pretty got-damned awful.

Trump is arrogant, a blowhard. He may be a dick. But he hasn’t killed anyone that I am aware of, either himself or by proxy.

He doesn’t seem eager to get the US involved in more wars. Hillary does. In Syria. In Iran. Possibly, Russia.

If she is elected, more people will die – a certainty.

With Trump, they may not.

That’s a big got-damned difference, in my book.

Here’s another: If elected, Hillary will, for a certainty, pick at least two and probably three Supreme Court justices who share her Mao/Stalin/Hitler-esque views on the right of other-than-government-workers to possess firearms. You and I and other not-government-workers who currently possess firearms will almost certainly be declared criminals by judicial (or executive) fatwa if that woman is elected. She will do everything within her power – which will be effectively limitless – to disarm us and criminalize us if we object. Roll these names over in your head: Justice Feinstein… Justice Schumer… Justice Obama.Hillary Supreme

Trump seems disinclined to disarm us. He has consistently defended our right to possess firearms. It is probable he would select justices who share his views. He almost certainly would not appoint someone like Feinstein, Schumer or Obama to the Supreme Court.

That’s a big got-damned difference, in my book.

I do not think Trump would attempt to forcibly “diversify” every county, town and neighborhood in the country – by forcibly importing the Section 8 divisions of the Free Shit Army. Or by importing “refugees” into every nook and cranny of America. Trump appears to believe in free association. We know for a fact that Hillary does not believe in free association.

That, too, is a big got-damned difference in my book.

Which of the two do you suppose is more likely to defend and expand Obamacare? There is a decent chance that Trump would at least attempt to dismantle it. Do you think there is any chance Hillary will attempt to dismantle Obamacare? Keep in mind that Obamacare provides the necessary pretext for the government-insurance mafia combine to control and micromanage every aspect of our lives. It is the end of whatever privacy/autonomy as individuals we still retain. Some of you may recall that when Hillary was first lady and pushing the precursor to Obamacare, she proposed making it a criminal offense to seek (or provide) medical treatment outside the government “plan.”  Hillary obamacare

With Hillary, Obamacare is forever. And will become much worse.

With Trump, maybe not.

That is a big got-damned difference.

Yes, I understand that Trump is not a Libertarian; I agree that he has authoritarian tendencies of his own. But – for the first time in my lifetime – there appears to be a meaningful choice between these two candidates. It is not a question of slightly less or slightly more government – the usual “dime’s worth” of difference between a Republican and a Democrat candidate for the presidency. In which case it has always (my view) been the right thing to either opt out and give sanction to neither or (better) “throw away” one’s vote on a principled candidate such as Harry Browne or Ron Paul.

Because in those cases, it has not been a case of life or death.

Literally.

And, figuratively.

If Hillary is elected, it will mean the end of whatever remained of America as it was formerly constituted. Our vassalage will be complete. There will be nothing left to us except to do as we are told. Things even Obama hasn’t dared, Hillary will do – lustily. If you can’t see it in her eyes, then listen to her words.

Obama, somewhat to his credit, does not appear to be enthusiastic about killing people. Watch this video of Hillary:

Trump’s narcissism is a pop rock compared with the sing-song psychopathy revealed here.

It’s a huge got-damned difference.orwell

I understand wanting to support a principled Libertarian. Even better, not having to support anyone for Dear Leader as Libertarians aren’t interested in Dear Leaders of any species, whether “conservative” or “liberal.” But lives are literally at stake here. Possibly, millions of them. Not just the murdered in Hillary’s certain wars but our lives, too.  Disarmed, criminalized, controlled and micromanaged without limit.

That’s the choice bearing down on us.

I think Libertarians have an obligation to do whatever they can to avoid the fulfillment of everything Hillary stands for – even if it means holding our noses and voting for Trump.

Because if we don’t, Hillary will win. In which case we lose.

Perhaps, forever.

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196 COMMENTS

  1. Eric,

    “even if it means holding our noses and voting for Trump.”

    Noses were held. Your minions have complied.

    What say you now? Besides meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

    • It also seems there was a break in at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where Julian Assange has lived for the past 4 years. It took the police 2 hours to respond (though they have an office 2 minutes away).
      If it had been a US embassy anywhere, the police would have arrived to find Marines standing over the body.

  2. Still not saying that I support the Donald. But 50 burro-craps have signed a public letter stating why they do not think he is qualified to be POTUS.
    Among the names: Michael Chertoff, Michael Hayden, John Negroponte, Tom Ridge. Just a few of the better known ones.
    These are the type of folks who I wouldn’t believe if they said the sky was blue and the sun set in the west.
    Link here – https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/dont-change-empire/

  3. OK, ok, so anyway….Here’s a joke. It’s funny as shit.

    A raghead, a Polack and a Hebe walk into a bar.

    The bartender looks up and says, “Get the fuck outta here.”

  4. Found this very interesting.

    https://relampagofurioso.com/2016/02/13/how-a-german-historian-predicted-the-decline-of-western-civilization-100-years-ago/

    Over the coming decades Spengler expects:

    – The intellect of our civilization to fade, people to stop reading and thinking as the civilization as a whole loses interest in thought.
    – Art to further devolve into repetitions of past great works and “meaningless subjects of fashion.“
    – Government to become tyrannical.
    – Primitive forms of living to slowly return.

    Going to have to find myself a copy of ‘Oswald Spengler – The Decline of the West.’

    • PtB, I’m so jaded I considered from the start that neocon opposition to Trump might very well be smoke and mirrors. It’s as good a ploy to get your man into the WH as any pro-Trump support would be and probably better. Some good pollsters have all agreed almost everyone who claims to support one candidate over the other is doing so not because they want the candidate they support so much as they oppose the other candidates. What better way? Please, don’t throw me in that briar patch is what I’ve considered since day one.

        • I don’t know why, other than that his running mate,
          $0.02, is ‘one of them.’ And he not only endorsed Paul Ryan, he said (more than once) that he is ‘a nice guy.’ That’s certainly not how I would describe him. I can maybe understand the endorsement, thinking Ryan will probably win and remain as Speaker, and you don’t what the Speaker as an enemy. But you don’t need to call him a nice guy.
          Wait, what did Durocher say about them? Maybe that’s what he’s alluding to.

            • The Lamestream media must have missed it too, because you know they would have jumped all over it.
              He did say, just a couple days before he caved and endorsed, that ‘he just wasn’t there yet,’ mocking what Ryan had said about him just a few weeks earlier.
              Or does your friend think that Trump calling Ryan a ‘nice guy’ is dissing him?

              • The ferocity of MSM attacks on Trump is like nothing I have ever seen in my lifetime. Ditto the “good Republican” attacks. It makes me determined to support Trump however I can.

              • “Nice” actually means “simple” intellectually…

                Not many people understand, because we’re constantly told to “be nice” by well-meaning but stupid sociopaths (value outcome over the qualities of the interaction. Peace Uber Alles. Little Johnny is supposed to “be nice” and suck the pedophile’s … Hand. Instead of kick him in the… Shins.)

  5. Jct: Lots of reasons to vote for Donald Trump. “Audit the Federal Reserve!” Debug their software but an audit is a good start. “We were lied into the Iraq War!” Heard anyone else admit that, especially a Republican?” “Global Warming is a Hoax!” Sure is. “Multiple Vaccines are dangerous!” Sure are. “Legalize marijuana.” Darned right. “Talk to Russia and China!” And he hasn’t voted to kill anyone yet. Seems it’s easier once you’ve been blooded, and Hillary is the most blooded woman on Earth. No woman has caused the deaths of so many innocents in history, so far. And I have to defend Trump? But best of all, he’ll prosecute Hillary. Besides, all the warmongers are against him from both parties. I like the Tycoon Peacenik best. http://SmartestManOnEarth.Ca rates The Donald The Best Bet.
    https://www.facebook.com/Trump-Twits-1259433970765035 Trump Twits Page

  6. First, it is a mistake to imagine that a president is all powerful and can make a huge difference in the way a nation is run. The bureaucrats and the two wings of the Republicrat Party run the show and always will.

    By voting for any candidate, you agree to play the game, you give your consent to be governed, and you give legitimacy to a system that has had no legitimacy for many, many years. How much longer will you play this game?

    Don’t vote.

    • Tom, esp. since WWll the vermin in congress have been all too eager to go along to get along and let the prez have his way all too often. I won’t argue congress is mainly to blame for what we have today and neither party is more or less at fault. We didn’t get to the point with an all-powerful Republican or Democrat party. The Patriot Act was passed like grease through a goose. It’s been that way for much too long. Still, having someone who refuses to push that nuclear button is a breath of fresh air……if it’s true. And having someone the establishment of the party hates is a good thing. We haven’t had a revolt of the people since 1880 or so.

      Having said all that, I don’t think the US will ever be free again as long as the trees in DC aren’t full of swinging ropes and that will mean millions of we the people dead to get it done.

    • I basically agree with paragraphs 2 and 3. I really hate it because, as I have said many times “Don’t vote. It only encourages the ba….ds!” They get the idea they are loved by their constituents, and one is certain they love him the best.

      But only partially with the first. Not to reduce the danger of the bureaucracy and the staff-run-congress, but Presidential Executive Orders are extremely dangerous. The bureaucracy loves them because they generally extend their reach and power. The legislative branch members cave to them like snowmen in a heat wave. After all, they all aspire to the job, and hope they get to write a lot of Executive Orders themselves.

      I get e-mail all the time complaining about the number written by the present resident of that big white building (recently discovered to be built by slaves). Most are way out of line by declaring he has written the most. But “I saw it on The Internet, so it must be true”. He has not written the most, but he has written some of the most damaging. It’s not the count that matters as much as the content.

      My two favorite presidents of the 20th century, Taft and Coolidge, wrote considerably more. But they did less damage with them. The were primarily concerned with how the Executive Branch was run, their assigned province, not how the citizens were run.

      The darling of the left, FDR has the record for writing the most, and, likely, second in the most damaging overall. (Maybe third, depends on where you rank Obama and George, The Younger.)

      The Sainted Abraham wrote very few, but wins top honors for damage done. Most involved over 600,000 dead Americans. Which count is more important?

      • “The Sainted Abraham wrote very few, but wins top honors for damage done. Most involved over 600,000 dead Americans.”
        In my book Wilson wins the mass murderer of American young men award.
        He was elected by promising to keep america out of that european war, only to four months later had US in the Great War. Which then resulted/caused WW2 getting even more boy killed.
        Oh and just for kicks he had a large hand in creating the Federal Reserve.

        • Hi Sailor,

          Interesting thing about Wilson: He had what was probably a nervous breakdown shortly before “coming around” to War Fever – having been egged on by his second (new) wife and, of course, “Colonel” House… a name very few Americans have ever heard.

      • Hi Ary,

        Republicans lately focus on “progressives” like Wilson but – my opinion – ought to go much farther back in time, to Lincoln, and then back some more to the Whigs and Federalists from which he sprang. It was they who made Wilson possible by creating the “energetic” central government esteemed by Hamilton – who – my opinion – is the one person at whose feet everything evil that has transpired since 1787 can be laid.

        • good morn eric. An old college bud used to take me to task every time I mentioned Georgie boy. He was waiting his turn……long after BO had been doing his thing. In fact, several of them were miffed they never got a chance to give his proper Bjob and would attack me over what I pointed out he’d done.

          This one guy would always say “he’s gone, get over it, he’s not there any longer, doesn’t matter” as if there were a smidgen of truth in that. We all know what a president does can last for many decades of like Lincoln, over 150 years.

          Then he’d turn right around in the next e and tell what he and the Southern Confederate Volunteers were fighting every day because of the great liar. He’d praise Republicans and rake Democrats over the fire no matter what they’d done. He voted Libertarian last election but he still has that Republican thing going and constantly harps on what Democrats have done over the ages. Of course he’s a staunch Christian. Only people who have had some ingrained dogma of some sort can’t get past all their other biases. I see it daily in things some people write here…..and I still hear it from him…..but not so much others who aren’t dyed in the wool Christians. Once thoroughly propagandized, the mind is rarely receptive to real change on any other subject too.

        • Hi Eric-

          222 years ago yesterday, August 7, 1794, George Washington fashioned an executive order of his own, a declaration that he was calling up the militia to crush the Whiskey Rebellion.

          Take a wild fornicating guess who was the most vociferous advocate of violence in Washington’s cabinet?

          However, if you assembled all of the energetic government “greats”, Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln, TR, Wilson, FDR, et al, Dishonest Abe would be elected captain of the team.

    • Hi Tom,

      “First, it is a mistake to imagine that a president is all powerful and can make a huge difference in the way a nation is run.”

      Nonsense.

      Proof? FDR… Johnson. To cite merely two. Want a third? Wilson. A fourth? Lincoln. These presidents radically altered the course of America on their own steam. Without FDR, for example, America would be a very different country today. Without Lincoln, there might not be a United States (singular) today.

      You write:

      “By voting for any candidate, you agree to play the game, you give your consent to be governed, and you give legitimacy to a system that has had no legitimacy for many, many years. How much longer will you play this game?”

      Yes, this is the principled Libertarian position. The fact remains: If Hillary is elected, we will never be rid of Obamacare; not in our lifetimes. We will have a Dear Leader determined to rescind the Second Amendment; who has promised to take “executive action” to achieve her ends. We will have at least two and possibly three Supreme Court appointments of the Schumer/Feinstein/Obama sort.

      We will have an outright psychopath as head of state.

      Everything I wrote in the article.

      So, go ahead and be “principled.” I’d rather take a chance on Trump than shrug – and end up with the very principled Hillary.

      • “Without Lincoln, there might not be a United States (singular) today. ”

        Want a blank stare? Ask people how long it has been since they heard anyone say “The United States are…” Rather than “The United States is…..”.

        (From the comment count, it appears that I am not the only one whose “one last nerve” you struck.)

    • Not voting works – for Hitlery. Of course, if the presidential election in your state (of confusion) isn’t competitive, then whom you vote for, if at all, doesn’t matter due to the (plural) winner-take-all system, which has effectively gerrymandered America.

  7. Excellent article. By the way, I think that the Hillary crowd will push hard for a third-party candidate to steal votes from the Donald (the Libertarian party that is).

    Check that out.

    • So DO I< & they are MANIPULATING the POLLS, just as they have always Manipulated, Intimidated, Threatened, & BOUGHT & PAID For, or Hell, JUST IMPORTED Others & REDRAWN the MAPS!..TO NOT Vote, or to VOTE For a 3RD party, IS TO VOTE FOR..HITLERY, NOT HAPPENING in THIS HOUSEHOLD! WE WILL VOTE FOR Mr. Trump, Because HE CANNOT BE BOUGHT, HE DOES NOT DESIRE MORE MONEY, MORE POWER OR ANOTHER "TITLE", Nor does HE Love ANYTHING more than FAMILY & the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA..HITLERY & OBUMMER BOTH & ALL Who have been COMPLICIT OR COMPLACENT OR BOTH, Are JUST AS MUCH TRAITORS as those 2..PERIOD..so, to NOT VOTE or TO Vote for a 3RD Party Candidate, will ONLY HELP…HITLERY, & Yes, SHE IS A PSYCHOPATH..&..Anyone who could LAUGH At How ANY "BEING" Died like that? IS what I've always known MOST LIKE HER TO BE..HEART-LESS, SOUL-LESS, COMPASSION-LESS & WITHOUT ANY IOTA OF A CONSCIENCE!..SHE is Not even HUMAN, & Obummer? He's Always wanted from HIS VERY …BEGINNING..OUR COUNTRY, TO BE TAKEN…DOWN, & WE THE PEOPLE OF IT, WITH IT! This is why EVERYTHING HE HAS DONE, has been AGAINST US Not FOR US..Hitlery?? No Better, actually? Could be even Worse, & WILL BE When it comes to the Supreme Court "PICKS", along with the REST of what OBUMMER HAS NOT already..Completed!

    • the Clinton News Network(CNN) brings on Johnson/Weld, and Faux Network brings on Jill Stein (the Lt Commander of the Free Shit Army-Bernie was the Commander in Chief), both hoping to draw votes away from their opponents…while they are not busy giving Trump the Street level beatdown…all the time on most broadcast, and just most of the time on Faux…

  8. Worse even than being an unrepentent statist, Hillary is a pschopathic warmonger. She and her neocon suicide cult are hellbent on reigniting the cold war with a peaceful Russia by placing NATO first strike missiles along Russia’s borders. Instead of further enriching Wall Street and the military/industrial complex, such needless provocations could backfire horribly and trigger WW3 which can quickly escalate to mushroom clouds over American cities.

    It’s no exaggeration to argue that the survival of humanity is at stake with Hillary in the Oval Office, and Putin knows this. I am inclined to believe that the Russians had hacked Hillary’s unprotected servers and they will release emails proving that American guns for ISIS were run thru Clinton’s State Department in return for huge Saudi “donations” to the Clinton Foundation. Even Obama’s corrupt DoJ and Hillary’s MSM bootlickers will be unable to ignore this news. Julian Assange has announced that Wikileaks will shortly release information which will get Hillary indicted. He may time this release with ISIS’s next strike against European or American targets.

  9. “If she is elected, more people will die – a certainty.

    With Trump, they may not.”

    The second part is utter fantasy with any US President and Commander in Chief of a vast global empire. And with what Trump supports to “fight ISIS”, even more so.

  10. A couple thoughts on Trump based on his business background.

    First, if elected, he’ll have to take the Oath of Office. As such he will be swearing to uphold the Constitution. Trump has always used the law to his advantage, e.g. eminent domain. (yes, eminent domain is a travesty but, Trump didn’t write the law, he just used it) He knows how to deal and that means knowing the terms of the deal. If he’s going to swear to uphold this constitution thing, he just might take 15 minutes and actually READ the dang thing. In doing so he’d be more knowledgeable on Constitutional issues than perhaps 99% of those living and employed in the Imperial City. He just might say, “Hey, that ain’t in there” which leads me to my second point.

    As a business man he wants to see business succeed. As Prez he may feel some obligation to American business in general. He’s already decried NAFTA, CAFTA and other so-called Free Trade Agreements. He might just realize, if he already doesn’t, that the Executive Branch departments which he directly controls have actually done more harm to American business than the Chinese could dream of and put a stop to such things as CAFE fatwas, Safety diktats and other madness that has sucked much of the joy out of life in this country.

    He might also realize that Clint Eastwood is right and it’s time to end the societal manipulations that seem forever in the stranglehold of a bunch of bull dykes.

  11. Voting for Trump or letting Hillary rule is the only real “Voting” option as far as I can see. You can support the LP in a thousand different ways that mean more than how you cast your vote. In fact I’m not so sure a vote for these two furthers libertarian ideas at all. Not unless your ideas are a whole lot different than mine.

    As for the idea that “The powers that be have it all rigged”. That is actually playing right into the State’s hands. They would love nothing more than to convince all of us that nothing we can do will ever change the outcome. I’m not saying your vote will change anything or that you should vote. Just stop with the idea that these clowns are omnipotent. Far from being omnipotent they have already sewn the seeds of their own destruction.

    All throughout history there are unexpected events that shape life forever. Empires come and go and about the only thing consistent is that they all fail after a time. Who really thought the Soviet Union would fall? They had the system completely rigged and even had a worse police state than we do. Yet they were far from omnipotent weren’t they?

    Is it really impossible that the Great Orange One will save this country from the Hilldabeast? Not unless you believe the State really is omnipotent and I’m not buying that one ever. Vote or don’t vote, whatever, just don’t fall for this all knowing, all powerful crapolla.

    • The powers that be have created a system that is largely immune to the will of the people. The people can set the time table back occasionally but that’s about it.

      The powers that be have had attacks made on Trump to defeat him in the primaries. That did not work so they went to stage two which was to influence and absorb Trump. This is working to some degree. In the general election they fall back to attack at the same time. If Trump wins absorption will continue. If Trump doesn’t get absorbed or play ball the vice president will.

      The people’s vote will be rendered moot one way or another. But maybe, just maybe people might see the obvious this time.

      • Morning, Brent!

        My chief hope with regard to this election and with regard to Trump specifically is that he will expose the con. Not intentionally, but inevitably. This may fatally undermine the already tottering legitimacy of the system. The problem, of course, is that historically, when a decadent regime loses legitimacy, it is usually replaced by something much worse.

        The Russian Situation of 1917 comes to mind. Or the German Situation of 1933.

        We may be in for exactly such a ride.

        If I were a younger man, I’d split. I speak and understand enough German to get by in a place like Argentina (this would be my choice, because it is simpatico ethnically and “lay of the land” wise). But I’m too tied down here, too old to pick up sticks and just start over.

        Did you ever see Deep Impact? One of the characters knows what’s coming and decides to just stay and let what happens happen. I am inclined that way.

        • Trump has endorsed Lyin Ryan in his re-election bid for reprehensible from Wisconsin and therefore Speaker of the House. This will be Trump’s downfall. Not all the crap he spewed that sorta on a tangent made sense. Like limiting entry access to the united States by certain peoples or rightfully pointing out the conflict of interest a judge hearing a ongoing case has due to the judge’s affiliation with a Marxist / Mexican hate group. His downfall will be looking like he is becoming an establishment candidate. The people that have been supporting him so far will cease doing so for the betrayal factor. One thing the group that supported Trump is not going to stand for is being lied to. I see the Ryan endorsement as a YUGE betrayal of his supporters. Trump’s pick of Penis is in line with that same trend of becoming an establishment insider. I hear more and more people that was supporting and actually voted for Trump in the primaries starting to have doubts now that he has shown his true colors.

          Hillary will win because of this and may the Creator have Mercy on our souls when that happens.

          • As a very early on Trump supporter I can only say, I believe he made a mistake in following the advice of Newt Gingrich, a faux conservative, and the person most responsible for enabling the Clinton’s to become the most powerful political force America has ever seen, as is now being proven once again.

            I will continue to support Trump because he is IMHO the only person in America who can defeat Hillary Clinton and the establishment of both party’s.

            The impact of Trump’s action will be known immediately by the size of the crowds at his rally’s and campaign speeches. Until then, we can only guess, was it the kiss of death, or the start of a Rick and Louie friendship.

        • Even escape is not as easy as all the “Love it or Leave it” folks think.

          I have been eying an escape to The Bahamas for about 20 years. We lived on boats for 8 years when I retired and had three trips of about three months each in The Bahamas. (An inexpensive way to live if you don’t frequent tourist spots and fancy restaurants.) People who have been to Nassau or Freeport haven’t been to The Bahamas!

          They are a friendly people who speak English, and you can’t fault the weather. But immigration is tough. I am impeded in marrying a Bahamian, the fast track, by a current wife, and probably by age and appearance. Their government is at least as corrupt as ours (as is Argentina’s). Now the Chinese are getting deeper into The Bahamas, and giving them toys, like grenades and machine guns as part of “foreign aid”. This, in a country where the average officer still wears a spotless white tunic and only some are “armed” with a wand. On the last trip over, after an absence of 17 years, we saw the new black uniforms with Velcro@ IDs on some security forces.

          Friends tell me Costa Rica is another great getaway. But “no standing army” is kind of a wink, wink, situation because local security is omnipresent, and heavy. I haven’t been there, so that is hearsay.

          Then there are the exit fees from the U.S. of A. on money you expatriate.

          Unfortunately, it seems most of us are destined to just sit this out and be prepared to do whatever we need to do, and hope we survive (or die quickly) in the inevitable collapse.

          • Went on a Caribbean cruise last year, we hit about 8 or 9 islands. Talked to the locals as much as I could, and was quite surprised to hear about the Chinese influence on all of the islands. They are paying for new baseball and soccer stadiums, shopping malls, power plants, you name it. A lot of these islands have apparently turned to the Chinese as their sugar daddy.

          • @Arylioa,

            I have visited the Bahamas three times. Twice to Nassau and once to Freeport. Of course, this was some years ago when I worked for a major airline. You know, fly no charge anywhere the airline goes… I have to agree with you, the Bahamas is a little piece of paradise in a corrupt world. I’d much rather have to choose between the VAT in the Bahamas, that I can mostly avoid, than to yield to the theft of earnings the uS imposes.

            • Likely in “The Good Old Days”. We were only in Nassau once, in 1996. We were warned not to do it, but walked the entire width of the city to visit a NAPA store to buy a generator belt for our boat. We felt completely comfortable since there were adults sitting on their porches, all said hello, and appeared friendly. A boy, about 14, in school uniform, told us we really shouldn’t be there and that we should take the next bus back to the waterfront. We thanked him but finished on foot. No problem. I would not do it today.

              Things have changed drastically since then. Nassau had 200 murders last year with a population of about 240,000. It makes Chicago and NOLA look like safe havens. Penalties for crimes against tourists used to be extreme. No longer. It is understandable because Nassau is not only the largest city, but is also the seat of government. Think D.C. in miniature. Think how, since the largest voting block is there, the politicians are willing to turn a blind eye to what is happening. I suspect they have those Chinese-supplied machine guns protecting them. And certainly they live in gated compounds.

              However, go to towns, or even whole islands, with populations of 25 to a few thousand and you will find some very sweet and friendly people. In about 12 months spread out over several trips, we never once saw a person who looked like he wanted us to go home “where we belonged”. We tied our dinghy to a tree or a town pier, left all our gear in it, and always found it there when we returned. We never encountered any hostility. Well, there was one restaurant owner, who spent most of his working career in Libya, who pretty much hated all Americans even though he lived darned well off us on an island with 46 people.

              The VAT, perhaps the worst tax ever, and invented, of course, by modern Europeans, is hard to avoid unless you are among the super-rich who have worked a sweet-heart arrangement with the government. They get waivers since they will provide construction and service jobs, all for the good of the working-class, of course…… Right.

              Most stores and restaurants have signs posted or notices on menus indicating that the VAT will be applied. They want the patrons to know it is not their fault the price just went up 7.5%. And one has to remember that the consumer only sees the final 7.5%. All the intermediate 7.5%s added along the production and distribution chain are already tucked into the basis for what he is buying. All expectations are that it will go to 15% shortly as originally proposed. The 7.5% was the “compromise” to get it enacted.

              Unless you are in that favored group the VAT is applied to housing, furnishings, food, clothing, etc. It is inescapable to the average Jane and Joe. Ours is already on the stove in D.C.

        • The problem is with a sudden breakdown it’s people like ourselves that will suffer. Those that run the present system will have all skipped out with their riches and the masses will go taking the wealth of anyone who has more than they do. They won’t care that our political disposition has actually been greater than their own. (after all, they at least got some kickbacks, we had to pay for them)

        • Despite revolutions of one sort or another usually bringing in even worse regimes, we do have the heartening recent example of the entire Soviet Empire peacefully imploding and disintegrating along with the brutal communist police state holding it all together. In addition to the lack of individual incentive to work and produce, the lack of profit and loss feedback along with the lack of freely fluctuating prices allocating scarce resources all make socialist central planning impossible and will eventually collapse any regime which foolishly tries this.

          The central planners literally don’t know what they are doing and are running in the dark! Every failure leads to a demand for more money and power which just accelerates the economic collapse. This is what’s now happening in Venezuela and will happen in America as the central planning and micromanagement of our lives at the hands of all knowing and caring leftists enters the self destruction stage.

          We have for many years already been seeing unintended outcomes in every level of government intervention in our lives. Government schools have produced widespread functional illiteracy. Minimum wage laws are causing massive unemployment among the poor and unskilled. Government regulated healthcare is hideously expensive, ineffective and even a leading cause of death. The government’s brutal war on drugs has led to violence, incarceration for victimless crimes and a police state assault on our liberties. Of course the genius planners will blame failure on everyone and everything but never their holy vision of central control for good intentions. In their minds there is no such thing as a failed government program, only an underfunded one!

        • eric, funny you should mention Deep Impact. I was looking through our library this week and came across DI. We watched it for the second time, not so hot a movie but I remembered certain characters who knew what was coming deciding to stand on the beach and enjoy one last view.

          OTOH, if it happened just like the show I could probably drive 100 miles or less or maybe 20 miles and scrounge up whatever was left when the water receded, maybe take some rods and reels and a boat and do some fishing. Either way, I wouldn’t be making any long term plans.

    • You are unaware of a most obvious fact, that, you are a near perfect example of ” a state owned human being,” A person incapable of meaningful resistance or rebellion and can only rationalize their submission to the state by falsely believing they know best and are doing the hard work of freedom loving patriots, by doing nothing at all and quoting tidbits of history. There is merit in believing , History repeats it self. But it is far more accurate in knowing, History never repeats itself “exactly,” but only in part. And one can never be sure , which part will be repeated.

      • True! “THEY” want you to just be Complacent, Complicit & therefore, Just GIVE UP SHUT UP & Stay Silent..that’s never been WE in THIS Household Either! Not going to start now..to do NOTHING, Say Nothing, & Sit around waiting for the END of Our Country as we’ve known it all along, but have STEADILY Seen the INTENTIONAL DECLINE, & MANIPULATION, &..YES..TRANSFORMATIONS? NO WAY, Not going DOWN Without a fight, Hoping there are more who FEEL the same way, to be DIVIDED is to be CONQUERED, & Lord knows, there HAS BEEN A LOT OF DIVIDING! Wish We were Young again, But NOT DEAD YET!..guess, we haven’t been too close to the CLINTONISTAS..

  12. Since we have “Voting by Faith” electronic machines all over the country, It only matters who controls to code. Since HRC is deep in the system and Turnip is outside, I see no way in hell the HRC does not win, not that she will get the most votes, just the count will be with her. While my state still uses the ONLY verifiable system, paper ballot, we’re too small to matter. I’ll probably just help my wife can, time better spent.

    • Friday NPR was doing a story on hacking and the election. They made a passing reference to electronic voting being vulnerable. I just started screaming, THAT’S WHAT I WAS SAYING 20 FLIPPIN’ YEARS AGO!!! when they brought those machines into our county. When I pointed out they could be hacked and manipulated I was told in a very condescending way that I was wrong, at which point the person who, in their mind, was far superior to me held up a floppy disc and said, “it’s all backed up here”.

      Arrogance and Stupidity: A Winning Combination.

      • There’s was a Reporter, with a certain County, after the 1st RUSE of an ELECTION, back around 2008, that proved since they TOOK random “MACHINES” they let a tech do HIS THING, to HACK & Cause the “NUMBERS” to do THEIR THING, & There it was!! Did NOT Count CERTAIN VOTES, & INSTEAD gave the NUMBERS to the OTHER..CANDIDATE/CHOICE..Everyone was shocked, I Bet this is ONE MORE VIDEO You’d NEVER FIND On the WEB now..there have been MANY thankfully I got to see BEFORE They were TAKEN DOWN, or you know, EDITED. Bet they WISH that Plane in the BACKGROUND in IRAN was EDITED..1ST!..Believe me, I’ve seen as I’m Sure others have, MANY VIDEO’S that were TRUE, Not Edited, or Photo Shopped, or FALSE in ANY Way, they were Crude with either a cell phone video, like the one that showed the “PEOPLE coming in to a rural small airport, Off loaded from CARGO planes, that had Carried PEOPLE, they were then LOADED onto HOMELAND SECURITY BUSES, The VIDEO CLEARLY showed how off guard this guy was caught, & his voice was BELIEVABLE as was His Cell Phone Video, much later it DID come out, because he even had video of him FOLLOWING & Filming the LINE of H/Sec BUSES, all flanked with unmarked dark vehicles, but he was able to get to the side to show the CLEAR Markings even though it was again, UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS! AS “USUAL” & you could clearly see a LINE of at least 20+, he said 30/ doesn’t matter, knowing & seeing how large these Buses were, & How many there were, You could reasonably count how many “PEOPLE” were FLOWN IN..I saw this video as it was being taken down chucks at a time, then POOF..Gone..It did receive Thankfully enough People to MAKE NEWS, & they DID have to ADMIT IT, But Big deal, anything done about it? Of Course NOT! I Did Confirm, HE has been DOING this for the entire 7+++ years!..No WHO DO YOU THINK these PEOPLE were?? HUM< let's think, since it also after this came OUT, was admitted that THEY WERE BEING GIVEN SO Much Cash, Transportation, Card for FOOD, HOUSING, & ON & ON, even were going to be GIVEN, CLASSES, so they COULD "FIT IN & LEARN..ENGLISH"..those Millions of Illegals, Yous saw on Trains & ALL?? As bad as this was, THAT WAS A DIVERSION for more NEFARIOUS Crap they've been doing! SO think about that! Under Christian Org's, Charitable Org's & ON & ON< COMMUNITY ORG's, these "TOTALLY UNVETTED REFUGEES & IMMIGRANTS" have been Brought IN, Strategically Placed through out OUR Country, & THEY are being PAID..As Are Those WHO HELPED GET THEM HERE..Wake UP..Some People can actually remember everything, instead of having their minds so easily Manipulated & their Thoughts so easily DIVERTED to …NEXT!..With all of this, You'd Better Believe this IS the MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR LIFETIMES!! Vote For Mr. Trump, or kiss the US OF A..GOODBYE. Most has already been..Transformed, Infiltrated, & Invaded, & from the Inside & from the OUTSIDE..IN!

    • Where are you? Small can’t mean RI, can it? Nobody up there cans.

      We use a combo here in “primitive” Alabama. We mark on paper which is fed into machines. I’m a retired computer weenie (well, once a …..) so I know how easy to cheat in the electronics. But at least in a recount we can do it, and we don’t even have to deal with “hanging chad”. I wonder how easy it is to count fingerprints on a touch pad. Only the NSA knows……..

      • We’re in Maine, plenty of folks off grid and canning. IIRC more folks in Baltimore to Annapolis MD area then the state of Maine.
        The only thing I don’t love is having to travel through Mass,CT,NY,NJ,DE,norther VA when heading south.

        I was a code monkey back when I lived in Maryland when they first got the Faith based voting machines. I worked my way up to the supervisor of elections pointing out the inability to verify any votes. I was blown off as a tin foil hat guy. Sure my TS clearance and 20years coding didn’t give me a clue. Haven’t worried about voting since.

        • Know what you mean. If I visit my sister in The Soviet State of New Jersey I am like a cat on a hot tin roof, even though I thoroughly clear my car, clothing, and bags of any 20-year-to-life-objects like a single .22 cartridge.

          I breathe easier when crossing the M-D line headed south, get more comfortable in Tennessee, or the Carolinas, but don’t really feel safe until back home in Alabama.

          Obviously, you also know Clinton was playing word games when she said none of the documents were marked “Classified”. Cagey folks, the Clintons. Real linguists.

        • @Tom,

          I’ve been doing IT work since 1975. Hell, that was even before they called it IT! LOL! However, I use to write programs in assembler. Yes, yes, I know….but I digress. I pointed out the fallacies of using computers to tally returns when the very first units were put into place. I, like you, got dismissed for probably the same reason! NO One and I mean NO One in the election commission is corruptible…. Yeah, right! If a sane individual believes that I have swamp land in New Mexico I need to show them…

  13. Hi Eric,

    “I think Libertarians have an obligation to do whatever they can to avoid the fulfillment of everything Hillary stands for – even if it means holding our noses and voting for Trump.”

    As you know, I advocate not voting but I don’t agree with the “voting is immoral” argument made by some libertarians. However, a suggestion that we have an obligation to vote, coming from a principled libertarian, is troubling, to say the least.

    First, while Hillary will certainly be awful, her election does not herald the “end” as you have argued many times. She will be a little worse than Obama, who was a little worse than Bush, who was a little worse than Clinton, etc… Robert Higgs quipped: “each president builds the ceiling that becomes the next president’s floor.” Whoever is elected, Tromp or Killary, will be a little more awful than Obama. This is the nature of political growth.

    You are invoking the “this is the most important election in our lifetimes” crap that is always used by statists to maintain support for the system. Your vote has only symbolic meaning, it will not alter anything. Because you know this, you are advocating that many others vote in the hopes that the She-Devil is defeated. I am sympathetic as I suspect that Hillary will be quite a bit worse than Trump. But, I don’t know. Nor do I know that Hillary being worse may not yield something positive. Maybe, she pushes the escalation so far and so fast so that people finally respond. Maybe she’ll push hard for reinstating the draft, making rich white folks care about war. Certainly, the only time the republicans ever do anything to slow the growth of government is when they have a Dem in the White House.

    Ultimately, our hope lies in convincing people to turn away from politics and embrace voluntary cooperation. Voting, and encouraging others to do so, merely legitimizes the destructive notion that government is vital.

    Jeremy

    • Beg to differ Jeremy. The economy is not going to just get a little bit worse for starters. And the one trait Obozo had that spared us from much of his mayhem was that he is lazy. Killary would be more active in consolidating the police state.

      “Ultimately, our hope lies in convincing people to turn away from politics and embrace voluntary cooperation.”

      You can forget about anything “voluntary”if Killary is elected.

      • Hi Tone,

        Both democrats and republicans have been consistently awful on economic policy, civil liberties and foreign policy for all of my adult life. Also, republicans are worse on spending when a republican is in the white house than when a democrat is in the white house. Just like the dems, they have no principles. If the wicked witch is elected, it is more likely that team R will try to obstruct her disastrous economic plans than those of Trump, if he is elected. Not because they believe in liberty or free markets, but because they can score political support by obstructing Killary. No such incentive will exist under Trump.

        Unfortunately, they probably will not try to obstruct her disastrous foreign policy plans. Bush the lesser destroyed whatever remained of anti-Wilsonianism within the GOP. Still, maybe joyous memories of Clinton bashing will be stirred among the GOP, causing them to pretend to have problems with nation building again.

        Anyway, every election we are told the same things: gotta vote for X mainstream candidate over Y mainstream candidate, don’t waste your vote, not voting is a vote for the “bad guy”, etc.., blah, blah. The people listen and obey, which guarantees perpetuation of the wretched scam. But maybe, if they hadn’t done so for the last 50 years, we wouldn’t face the absurdity of choosing between a reflexively authoritarian megalomaniac and corporate welfare parasite or an irredeemably corrupt, ruthless war monger and corporate shill.

        Still depressed,
        Jeremy

        • Hi Jeremy,

          The entire point here is that Trump is not “mainstream”! The outright hatred of the GOP establishment for him is, for me, a strong incentive to support him – and I have consistently agreed with you about elections in every other case.

          Hillary is not merely another Boilerplate Democrat – and Trump is not a Boilerplate Republican. I understand Trump is not a principled Libertarian or principled about anything, perhaps.

          But Hillary is.

          And that ought to scare the shit out of you.

          • Hi Eric,

            I understand why you’re supporting Trump and, as I said earlier, I am sympathetic. I also understand that you do not support the system. What depresses me is that you have adopted the style and rhetoric of those who do. Every election these tactics have proven very effective at keeping people invested in supporting the system, which guarantees the perpetuation of the status quo, including the gradual escalation of both Federal and Executive power. To me, this is a known evil.

            Of course, Hillary scares the shit out of me. But, she is so dangerous precisely because the public has gradually accepted the idea that there should be no hard limits on government power, especially that of the executive. The “presidency” scares the shit out of me. Anyone occupying it will likely succumb to the temptation to wield the “ring”. Again, when does this end? Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, etc… years from now, we will face the same dilemma.

            As for Hillary, she is a boilerplate Democrat. She is motivated solely by power and wealth. On gun control, welfare, government intervention in the economy, etc… she is saying the same things that party leaders have been saying for decades. However, history has shown that team R only objects to these things when a Dem is in the white house.

            As for Trump, I’m baffled that many libertarians latch onto the few good things he has said and ignore or minimize the vast majority, which is truly awful. Trump appears to be un-PC but he embodies their defining trait and employs their most successful tactic, namely a contempt for the free speech of others, and the willingness to use force to punish “wrong” speech. Consider this quote about the press:

            “With me, they’re not protected, because I’m not like other people…We’re gonna…have people sue you like you never get sued before.”

            Trump is perfectly PC in that he believes that he should be able to criticize others, but that others should not criticize him.

            He is also an authoritarian cop-sucker extraordinaire. You meticulously document the increasing militarization, violence and immunity of law enforcement. This is one of the greatest dangers us “mundanes” face. Trump promises to make this worse.

            On foreign policy and military force he has said a few good things. But, he has said many more awful things. He openly admires the ability of dictators to dispense with such niceties as trials or evidence, and just kill the bastards. He supports torture, the killing of civilians if he states that they are somehow connected to suspected terrorists, and clearly believes that soldiers will, and have the duty to, follow his orders whether “legal” or not. All of this is established US policy, boilerplate if you will. He is not unique in this regard. The only difference is that US pundits act as if his stated beliefs are somehow out of touch with actual policy. Finally, as Brent and David Ward have pointed out, he has already begun his inevitable move toward the mainstream. He has never been an outsider, the casting of himself as such is just a pose. Per “Horton’s Law”, once in office he will assiduously attempt to implement all of his worst campaign promises while backing down on his few good ones.

            The entire debacle, Trump included, scares the shit out of me.

            Kind Regards,
            Jeremy

            • I very much agree with all of your points Jeremy. I oftentimes wonder what the masses will do once they learn that the oligarchy has been prepared to block potential tax slave populous uprising for decades. Will the masses convert to anarchism, lose their lives by violently rioting and attacking the wrong people, or give up and submit to the oligarchy as if no lines were crossed. Sadly; I suspect that the first option I mentioned is the least likely to happen.

            • Hi Jeremy,

              Again:

              The fact remains: If Hillary is elected, we will never be rid of Obamacare; not in our lifetimes. We will have a Dear Leader determined to rescind the Second Amendment; who has promised to take “executive action” to achieve her ends. We will have at least two and possibly three Supreme Court appointments of the Schumer/Feinstein/Obama sort. There will be more “diversity” at gunpoint.

              We will have an outright psychopath as head of state.

              Everything I wrote in the article.

              So, go ahead and be “principled.” I’d rather take a chance on Trump than shrug – and end up with the very principled Hillary.

              • Obamacare is designed to go away. It’s designed to first allow huge profits for the medical cartel and then break the insurance companies. Once the system has imploded from its own crony-capitalist greed the federal government will take over the sector. That’s how the game works.

                Each reform in medical care meddling has been to preserve and increase high prices by finding more wealth to tap and such into the system. This will eventually fail resulting in government take over of the sector.

                Once the government takes over the sector medical care will be rationed based on how the government views your economic value to state. Does the dairy farmer spend good money to save an old cow that isn’t producing much milk? No. The federal government will view us the same way.

                We are livestock to people like HRC and Trump is too much of an ignoramus to understand the system, he just has his own opinions made under the same framework we are conditioned to use. Thus he won’t be fixing anything. His meddling might screw up the time line either accelerating or pushing back the federal take over, but he won’t be stopping it.

                • Hi Brent,

                  If electing Trump slows it down some, I’m all for it. I realize that’s a pretty low bar. But I’m too told to flee but young enough that I’d like to get some enjoyment out of the remainder of my life.

                    • Hi Jean,

                      Thanks for this. Spot on.

                      I wish Jeremy and others – well meaning – could grok this.

                      Whatever Trump’s flaws – and there are many – he is not a PC Pusher nor is he an enabler of the Free Shit Army nor a Diversity Monger. The differences here are stark.

                      People forget how bad The Chimp was. Hillary will be worse.

                      Yet another “Good Republican” has disavowed Trump. Makes me support him even more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/08/politics/susan-collins-donald-trump-republican-party-oped/index.html

                    • Good morning Eric,

                      It’s all good. I greatly appreciate that you provide this forum for all of us to vent.

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

                    • Likewise, Jeremy!

                      I may be wrong about Trump – but I am certain about Hillary. And that makes me willing to tout Trump – notwithstanding that, like you, I am not interested in supporting the system. I see this as cauterizing a cancer that will kill us – by taking a chance on a dangerous and untried remedy.

                    • jean, from that article “If Trump wins, I’m confident that we will be able to exercise our free speech without unfair persecution and not be wrongly tried in courts for masculine behaviors.”

                      I guess he missed it when one of the first things Trump did was to attack the 1st amendment. It’s a fast trip to the bottom from there. Trump may only want to avoid criticism but no attack against the 1st will stop with simple “perceived slights” or other perceived libelous or slanderous speech. That’s akin to only being a little pregnant.

                • I disagree. The entire reason for Obamacare was to increase insurance company profits and that it did immediately.
                  A friend said he’d complained to his agent who said their hands were tied and they didn’t make any more money than they had before. I knew that was a lie and told him so. My wife used to work for an insurance agency and you can bet every dollar they collect for a company they get a portion of.

                  The insurance scam was thought up by bankers to extend their reach and that’s exactly what’s been done ever since insurance companies were formed.

                  Mandated insurance always means more money for everyone involved.

                  My wife was working at an agency when Texas passed mandatory car insurance. I had dealt with many unscrupulous agents before and knew their tricks to rip off their customers. When she told me rates wouldn’t go up I laughed and she assured me she was right, our rates would stay the same. Tell it to the people you sell to and don’t blow smoke up my ass I told her. 6 months later she’s saying we’re going to have to sell some vehicles or do something, drop full coverage. Why? I ask. Look what our insurance costs are. Yep, just as I told you and she didn’t have a comeback. So we dropped the coverage on farm trucks to liability so we could keep the others covered. We had 3 vehicles we couldn’t afford to drop full coverage so 3 farm trucks I had kept looking nice even though they’d been hail beaten and such were now just relegated to having the glass knocked out and the body’s beaten up or destroyed and we’d take the hit. I had enough barn space for 3 of them and the rest were in the weather. I ended up selling a couple that I didn’t want to sell along with my hotrod.

                  Insurance was originally dreamed up for shipping but it insinuated its way into every facet of our lives. It’s the very reason funerals often cost five figures. By law, you can’t not be cleaned and reamed and stuck in the ground for some exorbitant fee. It’s the reason cremation has taken such a hold and continues to be more expensive since it’s the only alternative. Technically in Tx. at one time you could be buried in the basic box without embalming if it could be done within 24 hours of your death. Nobody even tries to go that route since everybody blocks it in various ways.

                  There’s a movie(Bernie) about a guy who was an assistant undertaker in Tx. who killed a woman. In the movie he’s selling funeral arrangements to people and makes the cheaper alternatives sound bad. He tells one couple that the cheaper coffins are short and the husband probably won’t fit without some adjustment. This horrifies his wife but the old codger he’s speaking of just says “You can roll me off into the pasture as far as I’m concerned”, the exact same thing I’d said before. Well, you can’t be rolled off into the pasture and somebody has to dig a hole 6 feet deep if you’re not cremated. That hole has to be filled with a “certified” casket with an embalmed body in it as if that makes a shit. If I am forewarned I intend for no body to be found. Just fuck the state and the bureaucrats and insurance companies therein. They can kiss my rusty red ass if they can find it.

                  • It is for increasing profits. For the insurance companies that’s only short term. For the rest of the medical industry medium term. That term is coming to a quick end for insurance companies. Insurance companies are dropping out and failing already.

                    When government mandates the product you know it’s going to bankrupt the sector. Why? Because it will next mandate price. Once it mandates price and product well….

                    Transit and passenger rail became government owned because the deals for the right away allowed price and service to be mandated politically. The result of course was running at a loss. When this bankrupted the companies the government took over.

                    The same model is play.

                    Also keep in mind that insurance companies for the employed are merely administrators generally speaking. The insurance company just handles all the paperwork and ideally gets better rates. The employer pays out of pocket. Another reason why prices skyrocket, the employers aren’t going through things with a fine toothed comb and knowledge of what things cost and then complaining.

                • Hi Brent and Eight,

                  The so-called “public option” was disingenuously floated by Obama to bring the insurance companies to the table. Anyone with a brain could see that the “public option”, if implemented, would quickly succumb to political pressure and be subsidized so as to price private insurers out of the market. In exchange for abandoning this option, insurers were offered mandated customers and increased profits. Still, I agree with Brent that the ultimate goal is failure and the “necessary” take-over by Govco of the health care system. I think the medical insurance industry recognizes this and have decided to “milk the cow” as long as it lasts.

                  Kind Regards,
                  Jeremy

                  • Jeremy, you aren’t addressing how insurance lobbyists can influence the continuation of a good thing for them and increasing influence of govt. too.

                    I like to think I’ve been around long enough to have learned something but I realize I’m only fooling myself. I’ve been around long enough to be more jaded than younger people possibly. That is a good thing but like any other view, it can distort my perception of reality(if there is such a thing).

                    I was on board for Trump, extremely reluctantly, up till he uttered two words, Paul Ryan. I knew enough about the current legislation he’s pushing to know his values are as close to Hil’s as anyone and if Trump views him as a good VP pick, I’ve been had once again.

                    It seems every time Trump has said anything in the last 3 weeks or so, he pushes me further away. I don’t really believe the prez has the ability to start a nuclear war but I do believe the military can influence a prez enough to do so. I hope the upper echelons of the military are smarter than politicians though.

                    The more Trump says the closer I come to staying home. Hil might be the camel who broke the straws back so to speak, alienating not only the common man but the opposition party also.

                    The good part of HIllary(the old silver lining thing)getting the nod might be 4 years of infighting between parties. I can only hope that will happen should she become prez. Trump with Ryan could be just as bad for every amendment we hold dear including the 2nd.

                    The closer we get, the less I feel like making the trip to the polls. Let’s hope Trump says something good although I can’t imagine what it would be……..NOW!

                    Yes, I’m straddling the fence. Politicians don’t have a lock on that.

                    • Hi Eight,

                      Yep, while failure may be the goal, the capacity for lobbyists to keep the gravy train going is seemingly infinite. The incentive for every politician is to favor short term goals (re-election, campaign cash, etc..) over anything else.

                      As for Hil v Trump, bitter partisanship may keep Hil constrained.

                      Kind Regards,
                      Jeremy

              • Good morning Eric,

                The fact remains that what you are advocating is largely responsible for the 2 party stranglehold on power. While I wish for a”no party” system, I recognize that is probably a long way off. Until then, some viable competition from alternate parties could serve as a check on the utter lawlessness and unaccountability of the two parties that rule today. My entire adult life I have witnessed the pervasive browbeating by the political and media elite of anyone who intends to cast an “improper” vote, or none at all. This strategy has been very effective in convincing enough people that there is no alternative, which is the desired result of the strategy. It is designed to keep the system as is, in perpetuity. Of course, restrictive ballot access and the debate lockout scam contribute as well, but those are made easier to implement and maintain because a critical amount of people have been conditioned by the first strategy. So, when does it end?

                Every president in my lifetime either was already a sociopath (with the possible exception of Carter), or became one while in office. Sociopaths are characterized by a complete lack of empathy for others. The job, as it currently exists, requires such an attitude. Without it, every president would likely go insane.

                But, ultimately, I just disagree with you about Trump. I believe that, once in office, his narcissism, petty vindictiveness and reflexive authoritarianism will dominate his decision making. He will not try to repeal Obamacare and the republicans will not support him, even if he tried. Republicans always grumble about the newest grand social schemes, and then do nothing to dismantle them. It is true that Hillary will appoint awful left leaning authoritarians to the court. Trump will appoint awful right leaning authoritarians to the court. As for civilian disarmament, given his extreme cop-suckery and undeniable authoritarian impulses, Trump seems just as likely to pursue this as Hillary. However, I think it unlikely that either would succeed.

                Bottom line, I just disagree with you about the likely outcomes of a Trump vs. Hillary presidency. The insane foreign policy, the war on drugs, the increased militarization of police and the escalation of government intrusion into our lives will likely continue, no matter who is elected.

                Given that, my advocacy of the “principled” position you seem to deride, is easy.

                Kind Regards,
                Jeremy

                • Hi Jeremy,

                  You may be right about Trump. Heck, you probably are. But with Hillary, everything we’ve been talking about is certain.

                  Also – and this no small thing – the neocons despise Trump. As do the Diversity Mongers and politically correct hordes.

                  Which is why I will be holding my nose and voting against Hillary (and the neocons and the PC hordes) by voting for Trump.

                  What you advocate – not voting – is going to be responsible for a Hillary Presidency and all that flows from that. And I can’t advocate that.

                  • Hi Eric,

                    I understand and sympathize. However, as certain as I am that Hillary will be awful, I am equally certain that the continuation of the “lesser evil”, “gotta vote”, “don’t waste your vote”, “a vote for X is actually a vote for Z” mantra, is guaranteed to perpetuate the awful system. The slight, in my mind, chance that Trump will alter anything for the good, is not enough for me.

                    Kind Regards,
                    Jeremy

                  • Hi Eric,

                    “What you advocate – not voting – is going to be responsible for a Hillary Presidency and all that flows from that. And I can’t advocate that.”

                    While I certainly don’t advocate voting, I don’t insist that it is the only principled stance (see, I can be flexible). Imagine if, years ago, enough people had rejected the “instructions” to ignore their conscience and be practical. Maybe, viable alternate choices would exist today. Of course, at the start, no alternative candidate would win. But, over a few election cycles, the mantra that they can’t win may have become less persuasive, encouraging others to “buck the system”. While certainly not ideal, from a libertarian perspective, additional, viable choices would make it harder for the duopoly to wreak so much havoc.

                    What you advocate – hold your nose and vote for the “better” of the only two candidates – is going to be responsible for the indefinite continuation of the status quo, and all that flows from that. And I can’t advocate that.

                    Still love you though,
                    Jeremy

                    • Hi Eric,

                      Is it possible to edit? Anyway, the above should read: “I don’t insist that not voting is the only principled stance.”

                      Jeremy

                    • Hi Jeremy,

                      It should be, if you’re a registered user (and been upgraded to “contributor” status)… I’ll check and see…

                    • Hi Eric,

                      Thanks! I’m pretty sure you upgraded me to contributor status awhile ago, which I appreciate very much.

                      Cheers,
                      Jeremy

                    • Exactly. The two teams want to remain the two teams. If this means not being as awful they will be. The only way to make them be less awful is to take away what they need, consent. If people consistently voted 3rd party even to a losing end eventually one of the two teams would become less awful to get those votes.

                    • Hi Brent,

                      Typical partisan voter to candidate: “I’ll vote for you no matter what, but please try to be less awful.” Candidates private thought: “Thanks, sucker!”

                      Jeremy

                      P.S. to Eric, I know you are not a typical partisan voter.

      • Hi Tone,

        “Killary would be more active in consolidating the police state.”

        Of course Killary will be awful here but why do you think Trump will be better? Consider these statements:

        “One of the first things I’d do in terms of executive order, if I win, will be to sign a strong, strong statement that would go out to the country, out to the world, anybody killing a police man, a police woman, a police officer, anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty is going to happen.”

        “I want to let you know, the police and law enforcement in this country, I will never ever let them down,”

        “He was a bad guy, really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights – they didn’t talk, they were a terrorist, it was over.”

        Trump is an openly authoritarian, thin-skinned bully. Precisely the traits that make cops so dangerous in a burgeoning police state. Those in law enforcement, from prosecutors to cops, already face almost no accountability for their criminal actions (except those who act to expose those actions). Trump would almost certainly seek to expand “hate crime statutes” by designating cops as a “protected class”.

        Would Killary be better? Of course not. They’re both awful.

        Jeremy

        • Hi Jeremy,

          Yes, they’re both awful. Agreed.

          But I think Trump is considerably less so. Not a little less so. Considerably less so. I tried to explain why in the article. On three issues alone – foreign wars, Obamacare and firearms – he is much to be preferred. This is not a Romney vs. Obama contest, in which there isn’t a “dime’s worth” of difference.

          There is a big difference,

          If Hillary is elected, the private possession of firearms is likely to be severely restricted if not criminalized. She will do her damndest. She has promised to do so. Obamacare will be cemented forever. It is probable the government will attack Syria and Iran.

          Her picks for the Supreme Court will be much much worse for liberty than Trump’s would be.

          Trump has shown no inclination to rescind or even restrict the Second Amendment. He seems to be at least open to the idea of repealing Obamacare.

          He does not seem interested in the neo-con wars.

          I think it’s pretty much inconceivable that he would appoint Obama or Feinstein or Schumer – or anyone like them – to the Supreme Court. Hillary would certainly appoint someone like those people – if not exactly those people.

          That is enough for me.

          I think it should be enough for anyone given the stakes.

          The world is not perfect and never will be. Our choice is her… or him. There is no third choice.

          And if she wins, it’s over. This is not partisan hyperbole. You and others here hopefully know me better than that. Know I am not a Republican stooge. I say it based on her record and statements and psychology. That woman is an American Causcescuea – capable of anything.

          We know it.

          Trump, on the other hand, may not be. He’s most definitely not her.

          So, yes, I will support a man who – as far as we know – is not a murderer over a known murderer. Who seems to be much more interested in business than global war. Who might dismantle Obamacare – vs. a person whom we know sought to make it a criminal offense to seek medical care on a fee for service basis. Who is determined to severely restrict if not outright rescind the Second Amendment. Who wants very much to import more “refugees” and spread the Free Shit Army (through HUD and Section 8) to every neighborhood in the country, in order to make us more “diverse.”

          It’s a a huge got-damned difference.

      • Hi Blank,

        Thanks!

        Eric,

        I’ve given more thought to the comment of yours that I posted above. Let’s, as you say, parse it. You are saying that libertarians have a positive obligation to support Trump, even if that means supporting the State by voting, contributing to his campaign, arguing that others get involved (maybe just this once), etc… Do you not see how problematic this is? When does it end? Every election one thing is certain: someone will claim that it is the “most important of our lives” and that casting a protest vote or not voting is not an option right now. Just wait, and the time for principle will come. Problem is, it never comes. While I don’t think you’ve come right out and said that not voting is a vote for Hillary, you have implied as much. Voting is a curious thing. To Noam Chomsky, not voting is a vote for Trump. To many Trump supporters, not voting is a vote for Hillary. So, apparently, not voting is one thing and its’ opposite all at the same time. Even stranger, a vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Trump, and a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Hillary.

        Every election cycle we are inundated with hysterical pleas from the pundits and politicians that we must vote, but definitely not for one of those “loser” candidates who can’t possibly win. In fact, any deviation from casting a vote for the establishment candidate that one finds marginally more aligned with ones’ views, or at least less loathsome than the alternative (even not voting), is “really” a vote for the candidate least aligned with ones’ views. Voting must be magic!

        Insisting that one must vote for “X” candidate because the election of “Y” candidate heralds the end of everything strikes me as boilerplate Statist propaganda. Of course, I know that is not your intention, but the effect is the same. It is the tool by which the Statist elites guarantee that enough people, bamboozled by false hope and fear, remain supportive of the system.

        Depressed,
        Jeremy

        • When I went to the start page of unemployment this image of Hitlery popped up there, damn near scared me outta the chair. It stopped short of saying Hitlery for prez but it was close. I’d guess that would be a leg up on the competition.

        • The number of people voting is declining. The system is desperate to maintain the illusion of consent. That’s why they need us to vote.

        • Hi Jeremy,

          I am not “supporting the system.” I am arguing that the only tool we’ve got to prevent a catastrophe of perhaps unimaginable proportions is to hold our nose and support a guy who at the very least is not an avowed enemy of mutually agreeable, voluntary transactions between free people – as Hillary is known to be. A man who is known to oppose political correctness and speech codes; who supports the right of other-than-government workers to possess firearms – vs. a woman whom we know is as politically correct as they come (short of Mao) and who believes that other-than-government workers should not be “allowed” to possess firearms. Trump is a man who opposed the Iraq war and similar wars, generally – vs. a woman who practically gargles human blood. Not an exaggeration. She is a psychopath.

          I’ll take the narcissist.

          • Good morning eric. I had every intention of doing the same thing I did the last national election, trucking on into the night, literally. But I feel with Hitlery looming larger than life over the fate of us all, I have to vote. Even in the ’04 election I stayed home knowing it would be a 48 mile trip for nothing since I wouldn’t have supported him on pain of death.

            Death is ever nearer this year though not just because I’m 12 years older. When the old war party begins their dirty tricks well before they did with Ron, it gives me cause for alarm. Alarm at home as well as globally and even for clover whether she realizes it or not.

            I know the old saw about whatever election is nigh is the most important one of your life, fairly much a bad joke in the past. This time, our collective backs are against the wall. I will vote if I’m alive and I will vote for the same reason almost everyone in this country will vote, to keep the person they dislike the most out of office. I feel those who will vote for Hitlery are extremely out of touch and can’t imagine who she really is and what she stands for. I don’t think the people who intend to vote for Trump are nearly as deluded. I liken it to having enough warning to steer the ship around the iceberg that will kill us all. If there is a god or a plethora of entities who have control over man, then I invoke their compassion to have mercy on the people of the world and keep that CRAZY FUCKING BITCH from getting the presidency.

            • Morning, Eight –

              That’s it. Exactly.

              Your iceberg/sinking ship analogy is dead on.

              I see refusing to vote for Trump because he’s not the Ideal Libertarian (or even a semi-Libertarian) or because he hasn’t got “principles” as similar to refusing to do what can be done to keep a ship from going down on account of you’re pissed that the navigator didn’t turn the wheel in time to miss the iceberg.

              Anything to stop Hillary is worth trying.

              She has given us all fair warning.

              If Libertarians and others on our general side of the aisle are too got-damned stupid to see that – and try to stop that – they will come to regret it, I think.

              Remember: She is a psychopath. A damaged/vengeful/dangerous creature.

              This is serious business.

              Trump is probably something of a dickhead. But I will take a dickhead over a psychopath any day.

              • eric, here is an excellent article by Gary North and he pulls no punches. http://www.garynorth.com/public/15512.cfm

                What he says here is the very thing an old friend who was once part of the CIA told me in different words back when Bush 1 and Clinton were running. I asked him what he thought each of them would do. He took his cigarette out of his mouth, turned his head sideways and looked straight at me and said “The same thing”. Sure enough, he was correct and it changed my perception of voting. Voting in this country is like working cattle. You ran to turn a cow and stepped in shit with one foot one time, with the other foot the next time and at some point you’ll slip and get it higher up or maybe fall on your ass in it. Before it’s over some old cow will have the runs that fly 20 feet and you’ll get that either looking at it or from behind. You’ll probably get a foot stomped, a finger mashed, cut from a knife, poked from a needle and burned by a branding iron. Either way, you still end up with shit from head to toe, bloody, gouged and sore in several places. If a politician shows up he’ll tell you it’s shinola and you’ve done almighty work as he admires himself in the toes of his shiny new boots.

  14. Unlike the conclusion reached at the end of the classic 80’s film “War Games”, not-playing isn’t really an option.

    So, the least-worst of two choices is the best choice? I disagree. That’s pretty narrow thinking, along the lines of “You’re either with us or against us” (Bush in 2001)

    Even if the LP doesn’t win this election, they will have expanded the choices available to people and they’ll be a stronger contender next election. The Federalist Party didn’t go away overnight – it took until the 1820’s for it to fade. The Republicans will take longer, but nominating Trump is a serious blow to party unity – there’s serious rebellion going on under the hood.

    • “Even if the LP doesn’t win this election, they will have expanded the choices available”
      I dunno. Gary J isn’t much of a choice. The LP has had good candidates in the past, say back in 88. But recently, not so much.

    • Hi Chip,

      Well, among other problems, the LP ticket is hardly Libertarian. Weld is atrocious and Johnson’s big issue seems to be decriminalizing pot. No, the stakes are too high to vote for those losers.

      If Hillary wins, there may not be another election.

      Game over.

    • That quote was much more offensive. “You are either with us or you’re with the terrorists”. It might have been the moment of the maddest I have ever been.

      But Obamacare is not only about control, it’s about disarmament. My good friend from childhood, my inseparable friend’s wife was diagnosed with cancer a couple weeks back. Not only is she sick, it’s Stage 4 and he’s very ill himself. They virtually have no chance of saving her life without going the govt. route. They’re right there where millions of legal gun owners have been……give up your guns or fend for yourself. This is how disarmament is being done via backdoor Obamacare. Enough more laws, such as the one proposed by Ryan and there’ll be enough to disarm almost everyone by hook and crook.

      If the people want to survive with any freedom left, they’d better decide soon cause it will be gone so fast with Hitlery even clover will be stunned.

  15. I have a prediction… that there will be an “event” that eliminates Trump as a viable candidate close to election time. Hillary has been chosen. She will be president and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it. Everything is going according to plan.

    • Hi Brian,

      I feel that also… and dread it.

      I may just cut bait and leave. Argentina looks nice (parts of it could pass for Bavaria) and that appeals…

      • Would a Hitlary “victory” that was so obviously contrived serve as the spark to ignite the “FUCK-THIS-SHIT-I’M-MAD-AS-HELL-AND-NOT-GOING-TO-TAKE-IT-ANYMORE!” powderkeg that leads to a revolt by the masses, or are the sheeple already beyond hope, being too dumbed down and pacified to rise up?

        • Rise up? I believe that’s what they want… eventually. But there must be disarmament first, hence Hillary. They have a plan, rest assured, and Trumpet has not been placed there to dislodge that plan, he has been placed there to further that plan. No one who attains a position so high in the system is there by accident. They know what’s coming, and this is their “continuity of government” plan in action. You will not unravel their plans by voting.

      • Eric, I recommend looking into Uruguay also. It has a lot going for it, including: very small armed forces; one of the few countries in the world at peace; stable government; excellent infrastructure; reasonably liberal gun laws; self sufficiency in food production; moderate climate (average high is 80 in summer and 60 in winter, while average low is 60 in summer and 40 in winter); out of the line of fire of any major conflicts among the big powers; world class beaches; ease of obtaining permanent residency; a language that (unlike Asian countries, for example) is fairly easy to learn. And it’s an easy boat ride from Montevideo to Buenos Aires if you want to visit Argentina.

        If I hadn’t met my wife a few years ago, I would be there now. That was the plan, but plans tend to wither up and blow away when a great woman comes along. She’s on board with the concept, and we are keeping open the option of moving there, but won’t be ready to do it until our circumstances, mostly relating to family, develop a bit more.

          • Thanks for mentioning that, Escher. I’d forgotten about it. Although the government there is nominally socialist, it’s a lot less so in practice than the USSA.

            I should also mention that Uruguay doesn’t tax income from outside the country. Thus, a US person on a pension and/or SS doesn’t have to bother with taxes there. Of course, the USSA will continue to tax you no matter where you are or where your income comes from.

          • Still trying to figure out what’s been legalized. It’s going to be virtually impossible to find a country without socialism, hence govt. But it should be easy to find one without the militarized authoritarianism we live with/under/through. Just speaking of this country makes me want to fucking cuss.

              • Well hell, I think I remember that although seems like it was one of those “you can possess x amount” which really isn’t legalizing. Planting as much as you want and doing what you want with it is “legalizing”. Up to that point you’re just playing a numbers game so don’t get caught with that guy who might have larger than x amount and was about to sell “legal” x amount to you. When I can get out there with my okra seed plate in the planter and put down a few thousand acres of sub-irrigated pot and give it away, sell it, burn it, plow it under, make alcohol, send it to a big brewery and make beer then it’s legal if I don’t need a license to brew and sell beer. Up to that point, it’s still some arbitrary thing you have to stoop and bow to some politicians goons with guns.

                • I hadn’t read much beyond the headlines touting “legalization”, so your comment led me to look a bit more closely. Not surprisingly, you’re right. There are all sorts of restrictions and requirements. More like loosening up on prohibition than outright legalizing.

                  • As long as there is govt. nothing is yours and nothing is free except air and that’s really not free since everyone is being taxed in some way for that air to be “cleaner”. Here’s a bit of info probably everyone would like to see. You can find how much average taxes are in your state, even in your county. Of course you can also find out here appr. one third of all you make goes for taxes and that varies to a great degree.

                    There’s even a place here to find what money is worth comparatively state to state.

                    http://taxfoundation.org/

    • Most likely, with Pence in the ring…?
      Flip the script come September/October, help Trump win “legitimately,” have a Hitlery fan assassinate Trump, Clinton takes the fall and is finished, Pence steps in in the nation’s “moment of need.”
      All neat and “conspiracy theoried” and we get THE screw job of the new century.
      Pence does exactly what we think Clinton will, from the Rep’s banners, and the country firmly falls to the Commies come the next selection, when the Libs get into unified power…

  16. Trump is surrounding himself with war hawks. He’s got a guy he calls ‘his general’. This retired General, Flynn I think is his name, kind of reminds me of Curtis Lemay or maybe General Ripper. In general he is surrounding himself with more and more people who are making him more and more acceptable to the powers that be. However he still randomly defies them.

    Trump is a central planner. Every bit as much of one as Hillary. The difference his central plan is different. Sort of. in degree. Maybe. For now.

    For anything to survive one must count on either the opposition to HRC to make her ineffective or Trump ignoring the people he surrounds himself with and his random spasms not coming up snake eyes.

    Either way we burn. So for now, I am backing Giant Meteor. Just end it already.

    • Hi Brent,

      I’ll take Giant Meteor, too… except it’s not among the options. Much as it sucks, it’s him or it’s her.

      I’ll take him.

      • eric, Brent, it seems things have gone from bleak to hopeless. Trump even giving Ryan the time of day is more than disheartening. Plus he surrounds himself with the most powerful military hawks makes him seem like the male version of Hitlery.

        There’s one thing that gives me hope and that would be for all the disenfranchised(almost everyone)voters in this country to somehow band together.

        There’s a turtle that digs a large tunnel often 50′ long and a couple feet down before a hurricane strike. The amazing part though is that the tunnel fills with all sorts of animals, mortal enemies face to face, butt to butt and they remain that way without attacking each other until the danger passes.

        I have to believe humans once had this ability and hope it will return to them looking into the maw of extinction via govt.

        Back in the 70’s a lot of truckers heard to the great money to be made hauling pipe to the Alaskan pipeline. Those who could afford the specially built truck that served as an emergency shelter when blizzards might catch them would run that “road” risking life and limb. I met one such guy and he’d photographed much of what he went through. He was caught on an icy road leading to a huge pass in the mountain when his rig lost traction. He had pics of it where the tractor had various springs smashed down after he’d jack-knifed the trailer up the slope while sliding backwards. It was the only way to stop and he luckily did and stayed there for 4 days while the blizzard raged. He had pictures of that mountain pass and it was jammed with all types of animals that normally would have fought or fled from each other. Huge bears, mountain lions, all sorts of animals such as moose, reindeer, various types of deer and an assortment of animals ranging the gamut from varmint to wolf were huddled together in that pass. I wouldn’t have believed it if he’d just told it to me. Maybe the people of this country will someday have the sense to realize they may be enemies of philosophy but realize they have even more dangerous enemies that are dangerous to them all. This is how I see politicians and the military. If we only all had the sense to go to ground. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

    • It’s a reference to … him. The creature that occupied the White House from 2000 to 2008. Who made Obama inevitable. And Clinton likely.

      • “The creature that occupied the White House from 2000 to 2008” – who allowed Cheney to run the show, as long as he got to pay Saddam back for dishonoring his father.

  17. If Trump let Melania film him taking a shit. (from the waist up, wouldn’t need to be graphic.)

    If he showed up on camera right out of bed with his hair all messed up. Wearing wrinkly clothes. Stubble on his unshaven face. Bad breath, no brushing of his teeth.

    If he released some footage where he had some food on his face while he was eating.

    If he took a day without makeup and stylists and just went about acting his age, and his own ability. Spent a whole day on camera among regular people with out his handlers and spin team.

    Left in the comments from others about him stinking because he hadn’t taken a shower for the day.

    If there was one moment of authenticity even. I might join you in your esteem for Trump.

    But this will never happen. No one is allowed to go outdoors without performing all the cuck rituals. Even a billionaire is still a slave to this cuckery.

    Being a male coiffed like a female, is the standard here in the US. Perfumed and costumed and humble and quiet and well groomed, this is mandatory.

    This is just one minor aspect in the vast cuck conspiracy that we all struggle to keep alive. We’re not like those dirty muslims and africans. We not only create technology, we surrender our manhood and make it mandatory for us to use it.

    Women have invented nearly nothing. The maintain nothing crucial. Yet we all pretend like they’re our equals and there’s nothing cuckish about this at all.

    It’s ludicrous, the pathetic grovelings you all pretend our being civil and having manners. If they were merely good things, they’d be optional. But clearly they’re not. They’re part of our servitude.

    • Hi Tor,

      You should get a load of me! I’m sitting here unshaven, in cut-off shorts and a T shirt dripping with sweat. Dealing with fleas; too tired to deal with me.

      Now you know why I am not a famous TV commentator!

        • Couldn’t be any worse than that closeup of the Wicked Witch of the West at the beginning of Eric’s article (shudder).

      • That’s a common description of me except I wear boots. After I had been going out with a girlfriend in college for awhile we were at my parent’s home one week-end. Early morning and she’d just exited the house, looking like a model in a fashion mag, saw me mowing the lawn and laughed out loud. “now I’ve seen it all” she said. I was surprised she hadn’t seen it before, me in typical me-wear, cut-off jeans, a cowboy hat and boots. The only difference in my old age is a robe in cold weather although once we moved from town in the early 70’s warm weather often finds me outside with nothing but sandals or boots, a hat and sunglasses. My deceased FIL used to sit on the porch with a thin robe and a cup off coffee and shoot deer. Texas is casual country.

  18. The incessant intimidation and denigration of Russia must stop before we pass the point of no return. Putin has been issuing warnings with increasing frequency. It seems likely that the current deranged policy/strategy will only intensify if Trump loses. Mankind has nothing to gain and a lot to lose if events quickly spin out of control.

    • Well-said, Marc – I could not agree more.

      Hillary poking Putin with a stick is not a good idea. Trump is, I think, smart enough to know better. I attribute this – in part – to his not needing to prove he is “manly.”

      As Hillary appears to be obsessed with proving.

      Also, I don’t think he’s psychotic. As she manifestly is.

      • Slight change of topic, but I heard Sean Hannity on radio for a short while the other day. Not deliberately, but he’s on the station with the best traffic reports.
        How did he ever get to be a ‘radio star’? Even if I agreed w/what he was saying, I would prefer not to hear him say it, Gnomesayin?

        • Hi Phillip,

          I dunno… it beats me, too. I knew some of these guys, years ago, when I was young and worked in DC. I think the reason for Hannity’s success is he’s a Himbo. The male equivalent of the Fox News bimbos. And it’s not that’s he’s vacuous. He is actually pretty smart. He knows what to say – and not to say. This has made him wealthy.

          I am not smart enough to know what not to say. And I don’t cut my hair the right way, either… 🙂

  19. Eric, I agree with you.

    But I’m pessimistic.

    The evil forces aligned behind H are monumental, including all the whore MSM, and especially the rigged voting machines.

    But there is “something” going on. Segments of the evil empire seem to be crumbling. We may have unrecognized allies behind the scenes. We know we can’t believe the media’s claims that H has suddenly gained 15 points in all the pols: the exact opposite is probably closer to the truth.

    I think America has about a one in seven chance to defeat H.

    It’s kind of a long shot. But probably the best shot we’ll ever again get.

    So we have to cast off our previously justified, political apathy….and Go For It!

    • “Segments of the evil empire seem to be crumbling. We may have unrecognized allies behind the scenes.” I’ve seen suggestions that someone at the NSA is responsible for the leaked DNC emaiis, because they are not convinced that Hill will not endanger ‘state security.’

  20. Eric, you have me ‘Almost Persuaded’. Almost persuaded not to write in Ron Paul on the Republican slot.

    Of course, not voting Libertarian is easy this year as the party did not nominate a libertarian!

    I may just wear a clothespin on my nose and make my mark for Trump. But there are still about 98 days for him to implode or be exploded by the party regulars.

    Don’t know where you were, or if you were, in 1964, but I see a Goldwater/Miller treachery by the party regulars, willing to endure Hillary rather than worry about what Trump may to do their special interest connections. And nothing gains you seats in congress better than having a really rotten president from the other party. The good ol’ boys see some glory days for at least 4 years if Hillary is there. And wonderful fund-raising opportunities. Little do they realize they may not survive them…..literally.

    • “a Goldwater/Miller treachery by the party regulars” – don’t know if that will happen, but we’ve already seen a ‘Reagan/Bush’ treachery. And John Hinckley has been released from St. Elizabeth’s.

      • I am not sure you got the point of the comment. Were you around for the ’64 campaign?

        The Rockefeller wing of the Republican party betrayed Goldwater and Miller and they took a real licking. Exactly the screen play for this year. But it all worked out for the party. In 1968 everyone was so sick of Johnson that they installed Nixon. And the “moderates” in the party were back in control. In 2020 we might get Ryan, or even Jeb if this all plays out without a hitch.

        And headlines today are playing into that, challenging Trump’s stability. Just in case you are not familiar with the ’64 election, check out

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbIfVEboAzg

        Listen carefully and you will hear the man himself foster loving our fellow man and peace for all God’s Children. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was passed only one month earlier, based on what we now know were outright lies by the Johnson administration. Apparently 1,500,000 (lowest estimates) of “God’s Children with yellow skin” did not count. Nor did the 47,000 Americans that died killing them. Hillary may even make the film in color for the younger generation which doesn’t understand, let alone can they spell, film noir.

        We’re back where Eric is on this. (Damn!) Trump “may” be unstable enough to launch. But anyone paying attention can be pretty sure Clinton is not only unstable enough, but is eager to push the button with no qualms at all. Otherwise, how will we know how tough she is….. at least for about 34 minutes?

        • Yeah, I was only in 9th grade, but drank a fair amount of AuH2O.
          I am familiar w/the scenario, and also that Reagan was threatened with something similar unless he chose a running mate acceptable to them. That’s how we ended up with W’s daddy, HW. And longtime Bush family friend Hinckley taking a shot at Ronny

          • Ah, I was the one who missed the point! Unfortunately, Reagan was my shining star from the time he made The Speech for Goldwater. I drove the press car for the Secret Service motorcade when he came to Huntsville in the 1976 campaign. (Eric would love doing that!) But I would frequently say very harsh words to the TV during his tenure, too. He was not willing to surrender popularity for policy. I have since quit hollering at the TV because I refuse to watch it.

            Fortunately, a “kid”, 15 years my junior, loaned me a copy of The Law during the Reagan years. The scales fell away.

            Yes, Bush, The Elder, and Bush, The Younger, were just those “moderates” we needed to polish off the rest of the Taft/Coolidge “extremist” school in the party. The types who didn’t need to carry around a copy of The Constitution, because they actually practiced it every day. And Bush, The Third, is salivating in the wings.

    • @Arylioa,

      You do know that write in votes for pre(SICK) dent are not counted in any way, shape, form or fashion, right? When a person votes in a pre(SICK)dential erection they cast a vote for an elector not the actual person on the ballot. So if you vote for Trump and you are in district eight of your state then that vote actually goes to Trump’s elector for district eight. Since there is no elector for a write in candidate, that portion of the ballot is ignored, plain and simple. Now let me stress one thing, write in votes for other offices in elections are counted because those are direct votes for the candidate whomever they may be. But for pre(SICK)dent you vote for someone that will attend the electoral college to pick the weiner.

      • Understood. But they are reported in the tallies in our newspapers. That’s the best I can do in place of a “None of the Above”. And I feel better for having done it. Kind of like a Rottweiler relieving himself on the ballot.

        I have not voted for any candidate since I did the “lesser of two evils” thing for Bush, The Younger, in 2000. I had sat out the elections of ’92 and ’96 having made the same disastrous mistake in ’88 for Bush, The Elder.

        Sixteen years of additional experience makes me really hate to do that again. But I may, since the scale of evils is so far out of balance this time.

  21. Can’t wait for the debates. DNC/media collusion, Bengazi, SoS private server, Clinton Foundation, 30,000 deleted emails, FBI files, Rose Law Firm . . .

    • Me too!

      Trump isn’t a wonk, but he is a master at taking apart an opponent. Hillary would cream someone like Jeb! (a fellow wonk) but she will be destroyed by Trump. He will do to her what the Iron Sheik said he’d do to that jabroni Hulk Hogan… I can’t wait!

      • Eric, imagine the possibilities of a Trump vs. Hillary debate. Will Trump get her so flustered that she chokes on her tongue, triggering another coughing fit that will play so well later on YouTube? Will she lose that legendary temper that we have heard so much about in front of millions of Americans? Or will her head explode on live TV? I expect the coughing jag, but would love to see the cranial explosion.

  22. “Obama, somewhat to his credit, does not appear to be enthusiastic about killing people”

    He has “joked” about being really good at killing people. He has a secret drone kill list that he uses to be the judge, jury, and executioner of people without any due process.

    • True – but he did not send troops to “fight for freedom” in Syria.

      Do you doubt even for a moment that Hillary would hesitate?

      And – she has made it clear she’s ready to “fight for freedom” in Iran… and very possibly ignite WW III.

      And, again: Trump probably wouldn’t.

      It’s not that I like Trump, got-damn it!

      It’s that I am terrified of Hillary.

  23. “Trump appears to believe in free association.”

    Building a wall to keep people on one side from freely associating with people on the other is the obvious counterexample.

    Telling people who are Muslim that they have to leave the country … not that either.

    • Hi Jim,

      In re the wall: His objection isn’t to the people/free association. It’s to the flooding of the country with “migrants” who are here because of EBT and Free Shit. Open borders and the welfare state is a recipe for national suicide.

      And – again – is the alternative better? Hillary and her ilk will use the “refugees” and “undocumented migrants” to enhance their political power at our expense. A certainty.

      It’s easy to find flaws with Trump. I won’t argue that. But consider what we know about Hillary…

    • The people on the other side of that wall arent part of this country and have legal avenues if they want to do so…..like my mom did.

      As far as the muslim issue goes….europe seems to be enjoying the fruits of free and unfettered association. Should we kick them all out? No.

      Should we let everyone in? No. For most of our history we didn’t.

    • On the Muslim Thing:

      This is a hard one for me. I am creeped out by any fervent religious belief – but most especially those doctrines that specifically, in their holy books, define “unbelievers” as people deserving of punishment (death) for their lack of “faith” or their failure to “respect” the religion’s tenets.

      Islam is a problem because it does exactly that – and also because a large number of its adherents take it literally. It is a faith that’s at the same stage that Christianity was circa the 14th or 15th century. Today, most Christians do not take the crazy shit in the old (and new) testament literally. Unfortunately, millions of Muslims do take the crazy shit in the Koran literally.

      I wish everyone could just chill out – and be cool with believing whatever seems right to them about spiritual questions – and being cool with leaving everyone else free to do likewise.

      • I’m there with ya Eric….though I might be a little more hot headed and hardline on the issue as I have been over there and seen first hand what they do to themselves (you don’t believe hard enough so die!) and have taken the stance that real islam as it is practiced in the home lands is not compatible with modern western society….just as medieval Christianity isn’t compatible with modern Christianity. For whatever reason much of islam doesnt seem to be able shake its violent roots. For the record all the moderate Muslims the left likes to talk about are considered apostates by the muslims in the home lands…..tje muslim version of the cafeteria catholic.

    • I think Trump might be framing it wrong (from a political standpoint) by targeting Mexicans and Muslims, but I don’t care what the color or religion, we don’t need more people in this country. There are already too many poor and under/unemployed. Our infrastructure (roads, bridges, water systems, electric grids, etc) can barely handle the current population. Unless someone brings very specific and needed skills, I’m ok with closing the doors – for everyone. Unless and until everyone already here has the ability to earn a living and take care of themselves, we don’t need more. It’s no different than the welfare slobs who can’t take care of their kids as it is, but decide to get pregnant and have more. Stupid and irresponsible. Trump is an asshat and there’s no need to go after specific groups, but if the end result is an end to immigration, it’s all good.

  24. I couldn’t agree more…though Trump seems to be doing his best to not win. As dirty as Hillary is this should be an open and shut election but he doesn’t seem to be pressing on any of her crimes against humanity.

    • Hi Shemp,

      It seems – almost overnight – that a concerted media attack on the guy has been under way. This, too, tells us that it is important to vote for Trump!

      • Also note Pence is pulling away…. Moving back to the “mainstream” Rethuglicunts.

        I’m concerned Trump is so arrogant he is unaware TPTB will execute him – and get a compliant VP-cum-P at the same time…
        Or will Trump suddenly “Become ill”?
        Or be otherwise unable to execute, even if he wins?

        (And latest info suggests that the voting machines are now fixed in the software, so the illusion of choice will be preserved permanently. Vote for “the winner” will be counted as “X1.78” or such, but vote for someone else, and it’ll be “X0.78” or less…. And being software, there’s no count generated in the database, so no evidence unless you review the code, carefully.)

        Our fellow “cuntrymen” (spelling intentional) don’t care. They want their “Bread and circuses.” And they’re getting it. The rest of us are just along for the ride…

        • Yes, Pence has endorsed Paul Ryan (aka ‘Wrong Paul’) while Trump says he is just not there yet, but repeats that Ryan ‘is a good guy.’

      • A concerted media attack on Trump is a sign of how desperate the Hitlaryite MSM is. They know that she has almost no popular support.

        What has me puzzled, though, is that given that the entire Establishment is in Hitlary’s pocket (or rather, she is in theirs) and given that said Establishment firmly controls the machinery of “[s]elections,” why the hell are they worried, and why the propaganda campaign that NOBODY is going to swallow? Shouldn’t they already have this whole thing sewn up for Hitlary without having to pretend to be affecte by what the hoi polloi think or do?

        • “The show must go on.”
          Because there’s money to be made, and because it makes the “results” more believable.

          I firmly believe if someone showed up to one of the Lib rallies with a machine gun and two tubs of ammo, they’d return home with 1.5 tubs of ammo…
          Just not enough targets, even at full auto.

          but the News Shills photograph it so you see hundreds of people at the rally… Even though only 50 attended.
          (There’ve been a lot of these events documented in this election cycle. Even the Libs are calling bullshit.)

        • Hi liberranter,
          I think the reason for the establishments worry about the Trump vs their pet Killery stems from their available options. If the people indicate that they will vote 52% Trump and 48% Killery; then the establishment can easily change the actual electronic ballot results to make Killery the winner. The public might be suspicious about the count, but it will not be obvious that they were short-changed. OTOH; if the masses vote 70 or 80% for Trump, then manipulating the electronic vote tally would become obvious enough that a riot might occur. How would the masses know? They would go by the amount of pro-Trump signs they saw in their local community. If they saw 7 or 8 Trump signs per 2-3 Killery signs; they will refuse to drink the media Koolaide! If roughly half are for each candidate; then they won’t be certain.

          • Hi Brian,

            Yes. Also – like JFK – Trump is not predictable and not entirely under their control. This really worries them.

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