Thoughts Aloud

Archive for the ‘Debate’ Category

So, some nut case in Las Vegas collects an arsenal in his hotel room then uses said arsenal to kill and wound hundreds of people.

And, we-the-sheeple demand to know why.

Well, there are the usual suspects… the NRA, the 2nd Amendment, the GOP, Donald Trump, etc.

I beg to offer another very different point of view.

For years, the progressive movement in the USA has repeated the mantra that nobody is personally responsible for the outcome of their life. It is all the fault of THEM.

From all accounts, the Las Vegas nut was distraught over his massive gambling losses. (Can one assume that the NRA, the 2nd Amendment, etc. forced this nut to gamble and lose a fortune? Of course not.) But, according to the progressive mantra, the gambler himself could not have been responsible. Nope, it was all due to THEM.

So, our nut case does the only logical thing… he kills and wounds as many of THEM as he possibly can.

In a sick way, doesn’t this actually make some sense? THEY cause these awful things to happen to you so you strike back against THEM as best you know how.

That should teach THEM!

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

I recently mentioned that I rarely even turn on my TV anymore. That is primarily because, as a political news junkie, that is all I have ever watched for the past 40 years or so. It hasn’t always been that way. As a young man, I was hooked on football. It began long before TIVO, when I couldn’t miss a pro game on Sundays. When it advanced to the point of not wanting to miss a college game on Saturdays, it finally occurred to me that I was wasting my weekends, watching other people have fun. I went cold turkey in the mid ‘70s. Now, I only ever watch the Super Bowl, and half the time I DVR that.

Now that I am effectively boycotting cable news, for loss of interest in partisan politics, and am probably getting too old to enjoy much exercise, I just might become a football fan again. My prime motive would be to support the NFL, in the face of the state’s call for sheeple to boycott their games. Whatever one might think of their personal motives for doing so, the players’ open defiance of nationalistic rituals, needs to be encouraged by right-thinking Liberty-loving individuals.

The notion that those dissatisfied with the state, can just stop waving its flag or standing at attention for its anthem, is certainly to be encouraged. It wouldn’t do if the NFL had to knuckle under to the state’s economic pressure, so the least I can do is help keep their ratings up. I think I’ll set my DVR up to record all NFL games, even if I don’t bother to watch them.  😉 ◄Dave►

Profound: “My education was not free – I paid for it with my mind!” -Candace Owens

Start here:

…to watch the last 15 minutes of this remarkable interview. If you find her as inspirational as I do, then when you have the time you’ll want to go back and watch the whole hour from the beginning.

BTW: Here is her hot YouTube channel.  Her clips are all short and powerful. Enjoy… â—„Daveâ–º

Furthering my jihad against all forms of collectivism, including careless use of collective pronouns, a TED talk offers some profound food for thought regarding origin myths and tribal narratives:

We all have origin stories and identity myths, our tribal narratives that give us a sense of security and belonging. But sometimes our small-group identities can keep us from connecting with humanity as a whole — and even keep us from seeing others as human. In a powerful talk about how we understand who we are, Chetan Bhatt challenges us to think creatively about each other and our future. As he puts it: it’s time to change the question from “Where are you from?” to “Where are you going?”

Be yourself. I am. All that is necessary is to stop caring a whit what other people might think of the authentic you. 😉  ◄Daveâ–º

How long has the war between western culture and Islam been going on? In round numbers, 1,000 years. Our own modern, active participation has been going on for over 20 years.

Are we winning?

The answer is a simple NO.

Why aren’t we winning?

Could it be that we either don’t know or refuse to admit who/what we are fighting?

I think so. If this is true, or even somewhat true, would this not be a good time to refocus and try one or more new approaches? If so, what keeps us from doing so?

First is a mistaken understanding of our own Constitution. Said Constitution does state that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion”. However, it does not say “Congress shall make no law protecting said Constitution (and the Republic it established) from destruction by group or system of thought that clearly states its intention to do just that”. Such a Constitutional clause/statement would be paramount to insanity. Yet, there are those among us who try to pretend that it says just that – and, to convince the rest of us, particularly those among us whose brains are still in the plastic state. So, are we insane? To a frightening degree, yes.

Second is a “hate America and everything it once stood for” group, embedded among us, that will support any cause, no matter how insane, so long as it promises to damage or destroy western culture. To this end, we now have a near majority of citizens who think that somehow the statue of a Civil War leader or Founding Father is a symbol of white supremacy or neo-Nazism. Can anyone truly believe that the pen that wrote “all men are created equal” really belonged to a man who did not think that Negros were human? Even though he lived much of his life with one of them playing the role of spouse? Yes, Jefferson owned slaves. Yes, he knew it was wrong. He understood it to be one of those wrongs that have no really good way to make right (“But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.”) Can anyone truly believe that George Washington was an early Nazi? Such is absurd. Yet, there are serious discussions about tearing down the Washington DC and Mount Rushmore monuments to these two people (among others).

But I diverge. My topic is about another approach to our war with “radical Islam”. Here I offer a suggestion that, IMHO, would alter the existing “war” instantly and in our favor… Our government (the President) should simply (and publicly) announce that, lacking any REAL evidence that there is a form of Islam that does not support (at least with its silence) the actions of the supposedly “radical” form, we (the USA) will consider ourselves to be at war with Islam and will act accordingly until such time that evidence of meaningful disapproval of the acts of the “radicals” by this supposedly “other” branch of Islam.

That is to say, we will outlaw the practice of Islam within our own borders and will cease to give aid, comfort and weapons to any nation/state that supports Islam. Further, we will respond with every weapon at our disposal to every nation/state that harbors and/or supports terrorism in any form or fashion.

Our next move should be to discover why so many American Jews seem to support a movement (Islam) that is vowed to destroy all Jews. Something about this simply has never smelled right to me.

Would the “left” have a cow over such a declaration? Of course. But, they are already trying to destroy the Republic as we know it so who really cares how many cows they have.

Am I a bigot? No, I think I am simply realistic.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

What would happen if all the useful idiot SJW sheeple, rioting across America under the banner of “Antifa,” watched this while actually sober?

These college indoctrinated fools couldn’t have read Jonah Goldberg’s ten-year-old book “Liberal Fascism,” which explained this subject well. Better yet was John Taylor Gatto’s earlier book “The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling,” which not only covered extensively the subject of the collectivist nature of fascism; but explained how we have all been deliberately dumbed down by the Progressives (link points to free PDF of this remarkable tome – probably the most important book I have ever read!).

Alas, red pills are generally unappetizing for anyone under 30 or even 40, so they are unlikely to read  Dinesh D’Souza’s “The Big Lie” either. I suppose I should; but I already know the subject all too well, and am of the ineluctable opinion that it is far too late to do anything about it. â—„Daveâ–º

Why is it so quiet here? It can’t be because there is nothing going on. After all, there is a Russian hacker under every bed (You do have one, don’t you? I’m sure I have several but they are so quiet I don’t notice them.)

Meanwhile, the establishment refuses to give up a single iota of its power (and they say there is no bipartisanship in Washington!)

I sense there are more people than ever ready and willing to fight back but we somehow lack organization. Trump has turned out better than I dared imagine but he is NOT a leader. Despite his often ill-advised “tweets” on whatever riles him at the moment, he does not try to engage the people in any form of resistance. For sure, he tweets about the evil media and the like but always from a personal point of view rather than their obvious determination to harm the nation and its principles – Trump simply being an easy target for the larger objective.

Are there no potential leaders out there in the wings? Please don’t suggest Ivanka and Chelsea or I will surely find a way to digitally vomit on you.

Better yet, where is Dave? (Hello Dave – are you there? I’m sorry I criticized your stance on anarchism. Please come back.)

Please, somebody say something sane. I feel like I am in solitary confinement. Plus, misogynist or not, I miss Bill O’Reilly on Fox. Tucker Carlson just argues for the sake of arguing with little logic to back up whatever he is trying to say (usually, it is not clear to me and I am not sure it is clear to him either). On a recent episode, he seemed to be arguing with a fellow who was trying to agree with him.

Have we all simply given up?

Don’t even think it.

Troy L Robinson

Readers of this blog will know that I have long thought universal suffrage to be a recipe for national ruin. For a change, time and history seem to be proving my point. It turns out that such an idea (restricting the franchise) had occurred to a real thinker years ago – in 1850 to be precise.

I had read Frederic Bastiat’s masterwork, The Law some years ago but some of the finer points did not stick effectively in my mind. Yesterday, on the long drive home from The People’s Republic of Austin (TX), we listened to a reading of The Law on CD. This time said finer points hit me square in the brain. I had previously suggested some ratio of taxes paid versus government benefits received as a yardstick to determine eligibility for the voting franchise. None of my suggested schemes seemed viable (because they were not). Then, listening to Bastiat’s words again, I realized the obvious.

This Republic has never practiced universal suffrage. Originally, the franchise was restricted to “freeholders” (property owners). Later, after some initial enlightenment had broadened access to the franchise, women and children were still denied the vote. Why, one might wonder? Was the Republic anti-woman until the 1920’s and anti-child to this day? Not at all. The objection to these, and other groups, was the general lack of sufficient formal education to make an informed choice in the voting place. For sure, a few American women were well educated before the 1920’s (and, no doubt told their husbands how to vote) but it was not until women were universally given the same primary education as men that they were (finally) extended the franchise.

This actually makes sense. We don’t really want our elections to be a random game of chance do we? So, why not continue that notion today? That is, extend the “privilege” (it is not a “right”) of the franchise only to those with sufficient education (no matter whether formal or self taught) to make an informed choice? Yes, I realize that the literacy tests once used in parts of the South were declared unconstitutional but that was pandering nonsense. Our original Federal Constitution did not speak to voter qualification because, among several other good reasons, our Federal Constitution did not empower the Federal Government to conduct elections. This power, rightly, remained with the several States (as it actually still does to this day although one would hardly know it what with the constant interference with the Federal Government when the States try to take actions to curb voter fraud).

So, I hereby propose the re-institution of some manner of test to establish that each proposed voter understands the English language and has sufficient literacy and information to understand the issues and/or candidates subject to the upcoming vote. Details to be worked out by smarter people than me – and the federal courts told strictly to piss off as this is not within their jurisdiction! (The English language part of this proposal should be enacted as part of a law establishing English as the one and only official language of the United States of America.

What to do about those supposedly educated snowflakes being produced by our secondary indoctrination system I leave for others to ponder. I seriously doubt that my solution (shooting them and their professors) would be widely accepted.

On another topic, Bastiat opined that the United States of America (in 1850) was a nearly perfect Republic, stained only by slavery and tariffs, either of which might eventually destroy us. IMHO, slavery actually did. Aside from the obvious death and destruction of the Civil War, national guilt over slavery and the subsequent institutionalized bigotry (for instance, the so-called “Jim Crow” laws) opened American hearts to the notion of relaxed standards and welfare payments to Black citizens – soon expanded to any “affected” group (read – any group with enough numbers to invite political pandering). This has ultimately led (again IMHO) to a nation of “victims” and “cry babies” who are generally neither self sufficient nor dependable (or actually educated for that matter). I see no good path back to where our Republic was in its glory days.

Bastiat also opined that socialism, which The Law was written to defeat in his native France, depended on a foundation of legalized and institutionalized plunder such that the law became destructive of its own original purpose (to protect life, liberty and property). I especially admired one idea from the book – “if you want people to respect the law, then make the law respectable”. I continue to be amazed how many thinkers (such as Jefferson, Franklin, de Tocqueville, and Bastiat), way back then, could clearly see and understand the causes of our eventual demise.

Think about it.

Troy L Robinson

I totally agreed with this outspoken and principled lady:

I have always been somewhat impressed with her, and having the courage to face Tucker just took it up a notch. Then, Tucker gets an attaboy for not even trying to flay her.

All of the Republican Trump sycophants praising his attack need to wake up, and Read the rest of this entry »

Isn’t it only a matter of time before this mindless cultural suicide begins in America? Read the rest of this entry »

My frustrated comment to the previous post by Troy, caused him to reply with a thoughtful comment, regarding my increasingly serious flirtations with anarchy. My efforts to compose an equally thoughtful rejoinder, outgrew that somewhat off-topic comment section, so here it is as a new post specifically addressing my perspective on the subject of anarchy.

One of us is surely mistaken.

Perhaps we both are at this juncture, Troy, and now just living with very different illusory movies running in our heads, which we mistake for reality. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

some government is needed

As you well know, I spent the first 70 years of my life convinced of exactly that; but that in no way obligates me to be submissive to any so-called authority, or support the tyranny into which the Federal government has devolved. Madison particularly despised the concept of democracy. How then, did we end up with mob rule? Why is it so readily accepted by the sheeple?

Can we agree that mankind deserves at least the level of individual Liberty he and his contemporaries enjoyed? Would you not also agree that the odds now of retrieving that worthy goal, through any nonviolent political process, are essentially nil? Must we abandon it entirely then, perhaps out of some errant sense of patriotism, or is another violent revolution inevitable?

At a quick glance, anarchy may seem to have a lot to recommend it. But, upon deeper reflection, it soon becomes apparent (to most of us) that anarchy provides a sure and consistent path to some manner of “strong man rule”.

Troy, you have had a front row seat to my slow, cautious, careful, and deliberate investigations into the philosophical underpinnings of anarchical thought. This was in no way a causal “quick glance,” and I can assure you that after reading several books, numerous scholarly essays, and countless articles on the subject, I have given it considerable ‘deep reflection.’ Interestingly, the notion that it would inevitably result in “strong man rule,” is still not at all apparent to me. With all due respect, from my perspective, reaching such a conclusion appears to be the result of distinctly shallower thought than I have invested in the subject.

As for strong man rulers, try to convince me that the average citizen Read the rest of this entry »

Just a few months ago, it seem certain the GOP was headed for certain destruction. Now it is the Dems that are hanging by thread (a thread they seem determined to break).

Even though I thought I was paying attention, I am still not sure what happened (although I am pretty sure the Russians did NOT do it).

Can it really be that a majority of Americans are simply tired of being lied to and treated like incompetent children? One can only hope.

As all of our readers know, I did not support Mr. Trump and I am still wary of him today – although I will credit him with at least trying to do exactly what he promised during the campaign.

As I predicted, sadly with some accuracy, a large portion of our citizens simply will not accept the outcome of the election and seem determined to cripple the elected government in any and all ways possible. The evidence following the 2 Obama elections suggest the same would NOT be true had the election gone the other way. For sure the losers grumbled after Obama’s wins but they did get out of the way and let him govern – however badly he did so.

If we are to continue to function as a free Republic, it is past time that the progressives do the same. If office-holding progressives cannot or will not accept the outcome of a free election, then they are in violation of the oaths they took upon accepting their offices and should be held accountable accordingly. Indeed, at what point does this behavior rise to the level of treason? Read the rest of this entry »

Profound:

So am I, Stef… so are we. Let the Marxist fools on the Left have their goddamned hate-filled cities. DC is 2.4K miles from here. So is El Salvador. Read the rest of this entry »

James O’Keefe has done it again:

I have absolutely nothing in common with these foul characters, and refuse to consider them as my countrymen. Obviously, they would have similar disregard for anyone who thinks like me. Read the rest of this entry »

It is hard to believe that it has been 13 years since Laura Ingrahamm penned her best seller, “Shut Up & Sing” after the Dixie Chick flap. That was what came immediately to mind when the following “Letter to Hollywood” popped into my inbox this morning:

Dear Hollywood,

It’s time to wake up now. Get this! The only reason you exist is for my entertainment.

Some of you are beautiful. Some of you can deliver a line with such conviction that you bring tears to my eyes. Some of you are so convincing that you scare the crap out of me. And others are so funny you can make me laugh uncontrollably.

But you all have one thing in common. You only exist and have a place in my world to entertain me. That’s it. Nothing else!

You make your living pretending to be someone else. You play dress-up like a 5-year-old. Your world is a make believe world. It is not real. It doesn’t exist. You live for the camera while the rest of us live in the real world. Your entire existence depends on my patronage. I crank the organ and you dance. Therefore, I don’t care where you stand on issues.

The organ grinder metaphor was priceless! 😉 Read the rest of this entry »

Here we go again. After watching the Electric Universe clip in my last post, try this one:

Do you think there might be a correlation between them? Think about the various electromagnetic fields involved in deflecting cosmic rays. Read the rest of this entry »

A decade ago, in my About page, I made the following statement:

I have spent sixty years trying to respect the wisdom of my elders, and now that I find it increasingly difficult to find one, I reckon it is my turn to pass along to posterity whatever wisdom I have garnered. Youngsters always think they already know it all; I did too at their age. The older I get however, the more I realize how little I actually know, how many earlier beliefs turned out false, and how few people can tell the difference.

Now in my 70s, I am still having my mind blown by how wrong my science teachers often were. If the incongruities of cosmology and physics have ever puzzled you the way they have me, you might find the following lecture rather fascinating:

Since electricity and electromagnetism has been a central theme in much of my life, I find this profound and at least as plausible as other theories. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a good compilation, worth pondering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuwRE6yM_Wg

Harris is brilliant; but so was Hitchens, and I always appreciated his attitude. 😀 â—„Daveâ–º

This is very well done:

What would happen if everyone understood this? What would you do if you came to believe you didn’t need and/or want rulers controlling your life anymore? Read the rest of this entry »

I am loving the rare brave journalists, who are speaking up to call out their profession. This one even made Drudge. Kyle Smith is brutal in the New York Post: “Keep crying wolf about Trump, and no one will listen when there’s a real crisis.”

It’s contrary to the laws of nature for a tabloid writer to tell the gentry media not to go berserk. It’s like a cat telling his owner to stop coughing up hairballs or Iron Man asking Captain America to be less arrogant. Here at The Post, our mission statement does not include understatement. We provide journalistic Red Bull, not Sominex.

Nevertheless, a word of neighborly advice to our more genteel media friends, the ones who sit at the high table in their pristine white dinner jackets and ball gowns. You’ve been barfing all over yourselves for a week and a half, and it’s revolting to watch.

For your own sake, and that of the republic for which you allegedly work, wipe off your chins and regain your composure. I didn’t vote for him either, but Trump won. Pull yourselves together and deal with it, if you ever want to be taken seriously again.

What kind of president will Trump be? It’s a tad too early to say, isn’t it? The media are supposed to tell us what happened, not speculate on the future. But its incessant scaremongering, the utter lack of proportionality and the shameless use of double standards are an embarrassment, one that is demeaning the value of the institution. The press’ frantic need to keep the outrage meter dialed up to 11 at all times creates the risk that a desensitized populace will simply shrug off any genuine White House scandals that may lie in the future (or may not).  [Emphasis mine]

…and he is just getting wound up. 😀 Read the rest of this entry »