Wither Vermont? Origins: Geography is Everything

by | Nov 12, 2021 | History | 162 comments

This is a series of articles I’ve been meaning to write ever since the TOS Exodus. STEVE SMITH’s plea[1] for content a little while ago inspired me to get off my ass[2] and actually write something down.

I live in the State of Vermont and I like it. This may seem like a strange thing for a Glib but like most things The Narrative doesn’t tell the whole story. Part two of this series will explain Vermont’s social and political situation as I understand it. This part explains why the state exists at all.

Vermont is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec[3], on the south by the northern border of Massachusetts, on the east by the Connecticut River, and on the northwestern two-thirds by long skinny Lake Champlain[4]. Across the Connecticut River to the east is New Hampshire and across Lake Champlain to the west is New York. The state is bisected by the Green Mountain range running north-south creating distinct east and west sides.

Map courtesy of FreeWorldMaps.net:

https://www.freeworldmaps.net/united-states/vermont/map.html

The lake and river form natural barriers to east-west travel which is why the area was a bit of a no-man’s land[5] during the late Colonial Era.

I’ve always wanted to be able to write that “Vermont was created by the greed of two men.” but while Bennington Wentworth served as Colonial Governor of the British Province of New Hampshire during the land grant period of 1749 to 1764 the position of Colonial Governor of the British Province of New York changed hands eight times.

Governor Wentworth was the first to enrich himself by selling land grants to New Hampshire entrepreneurs. The various New York governors soon got into the act. Since both provinces claimed the entire area the governors tried to mark their territory. The initial New Hampshire grants were on the west side next to New York[6] and the New York grants were on the east side next to New Hampshire.

This made it easy for nearby provincial officials to harass both sets of settlers, pissing off all of them, giving them a reason to feel cohesive, and giving rise to Ethan Allen and his merry band of Green Mountain Boys who harassed the officials back. The provinces presented their cases to the government of King George III which ruled in favor of New York[7] but by then the Revolutionary War had shifted the provinces’ attentions away from the unruly area which emerged as the independent Republic of Vermont in 1777[8].

Vermont never wanted to be independent. The plan was always to become a state but the new State of New York blocked Vermont’s admission until a $30K “settlement” was paid. Vermont became the 14th state in 1791.

It didn’t have to happen. If the provincial governors’ land grants had started at their respective borders and moved inwards then New York and New Hampshire would now share a border at the natural barrier of the Green Mountain range.[9]

Footnotes:

[1] Actually a polite reminder that: No content means no web site. No web site means no forum for Cascadia Independence advocacy. No forum means one unhappy Cascadia Independence advocate. AND BY “UNHAPPY” MEAN…

[2] Lest STEVE SMITH find something other to do with my ass.

[3] It was supposed to be the 45 degree north latitude line and it is more or less. The border is actually a little above 45 degrees and zigs-zags in spots. Legend has it that a gang of drunken Scotsmen[10] was hired to survey it. As an amateur surveyor of the old school[11] I blame the surprising amount of iron in the border mountains which I can personally attest draws off compass needles.

[4] Proud home of SEA SMITH’s distant cousin Champ the Lake Monster.

[5] By British colonials that is. Indians and the French don’t count.

[6] Like the town of (Governor Wentworth) Bennington which is one town north of Vermont’s southwest corner town Pownal.

[7] Despite New York’s win in court most of Vermont’s towns are based on the New Hampshire grants which is why so many are six mile square quadrilaterals.

[8] At the Shrine of the Alamo in San Antonio there’s a sign saying that Texas is the only state to have been an independent republic before admission to the United States. This is clearly wrong because Vermont was an independent republic before Texas was even discovered.

[9] And Bernie Sanders wouldn’t be a senator.

[10] But I repeat myself.

[11] You kids and your modern GPS receivers.

About The Author

Richard

Richard

162 Comments

  1. PieInTheSky

    I live in the State of Vermont and I like it. – what is your position on hunting bears with hounds?

    • Fourscore

      Hunting bare? You do you but might be chilly

      • PieInTheSky

        wait did I mistype and some higher power edited my message or i don’t see the typo?

      • whiz

        Maybe it was a “reado” (misread) by 4×20 (?).

    • Swiss Servator

      Isn’t it easier to just buy them a drink and chat them up a bit?

      *pages jesse.in.mb*

    • PieInTheSky

      I m still plot committed to the gold shaw farm drama

  2. Swiss Servator

    So, you are claiming this “Vermont” exists, eh? I always thought it was a practical joke by Easterners…

    But, seriously, thanks for the history!

    • Sean

      *passes jug of Vermont maple syrup to Swiss*

    • DEG

      It’s North Dakota that doesn’t exist.

  3. Ozymandias

    Thanks! Interesting bit of Vermont history. As a bred, (but not born), and raised New Inglinduh, I never really knew much about Vermont. Even after spending 3 years at Maine’s law school with some Catamounts, I didn’t know much. Pretty country, though. I had an aunt in Burlington and I’ve traveled over there a few times.
    Funny about the land grants and the fact that “but-for” the above stupidity there would be no Vermont.

    • Ted S.

      Ah, yes, the Vermont Catamites. 😉

  4. trshmnstr the terrible

    We honeymooned in Southeastern VT. Lovely area! We didn’t particularly care for Burlington, but that may have been the areas of town we were in.

    Wife doesn’t want to live north of the Mason-Dixon, but she’d make an exception for some pretty little Vermont B&B.

      • rhywun

        It is criminal that Friends and Big Bang Theory air dozens of times a day and that show is nowhere to be found.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Used to watch that all the time, back in the day. “I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.”

      • rhywun

        I could watch Bob mumble and stutter all day. Though I never saw that 3rd show he did.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Man, I’d forgotten about that. I think I watched a couple of episodes, but it wasn’t very good.

      • Mojeaux

        Yeah, I never got the appeal.

  5. DEG

    At the Shrine of the Alamo in San Antonio there’s a sign saying that Texas is the only state to have been an independent republic before admission to the United States. This is clearly wrong because Vermont was an independent republic before Texas was even discovered.

    There is also the California Republic.

    • Rat on a train

      Was Vermont ever recognized as independent? Even if not, Texas, meet Hawaii.

      • DEG

        I think no one recognized Vermont as an independent republic. I think in part because of the competing land claims.

      • The Last American Hero

        Hawaii was a kingdom.

      • Rat on a train

        It was also, briefly, a republic.

  6. DEG

    And Bernie Sanders wouldn’t be a senator.

    He has a big following in the NH portion of the Connecticut River Valley.

  7. Timeloose

    I got a flash back to a late spring motorcycle ride. Couldn’t find a pass in the mountains and I was losing daylight and body heat.

    Found Lincoln gap and thought I found a lost city on top of a mountain.
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Gap_(Vermont)

  8. waffles

    Ethan Allen was a badass. My sister lives in vermont but works in new hampshire. She just got a new puppy. I should visit her.

    • Plinker762

      Of course being born in NH, I’ll put John Stark up as superior to Ethan Allen.

  9. robc

    Vermont is shaped like a V, New Hampshire is shaped like an N.

    And that is all I know about them.

    • Sean

      Vermont is permit-less carry (open or concealed.) This is for both resident and non-resident.

      They have red flag laws. 🙁

      15 round handgun mag limit. Prior to 2018 grandfathered in.

      Now you know more.

      • Not Adahn

        They also do that thing with putting automated speed cameras behind hills concurrent with a 20mph speed limit reduction. However, if you don’t have a front license plate, they’re nbd.

      • Sensei

        It’s almost like they are trying to raise revenue instead of deter speeding.

      • waffles

        God bless Pennsylvania. I hate front plates.

      • DEG

        Yes.

        Car registration is also much cheaper in PA than in NH.

        There was talk of dropping front plates in NH in the last legislative session. I think it was watered down to antique plates only, and I think that watered down version failed.

      • Nephilium

        As of July 1st 2020, Ohio has also made front plates optional.

      • Sensei

        OTH, annual safety inspections.

      • robc

        While it isn’t true anymore, in the late 80s, their drivers licenses were a piece of paper without a picture. I had a college friend from VT. When asked about, his response was (properly), “Its a drivers license, not an ID.”

      • Sensei

        NJ says, “Hi”. Hard to imagine, but it was the same there until the early 80s.

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        Had a friend whose mother was able to use her older sister’s ID for that reason. She used it to get into the parties at the Playboy mansion in Chicago.

      • rhywun

        Same in NY.

        It was a more innocent age.

      • DEG

        Vermont is permit-less carry (open or concealed.) This is for both resident and non-resident.

        NH too. Permits are still issued in NH. I think for reciprocity purposes.

        No red flag law. No magazine limits.

      • hayeksplosives

        Live free or die, bitches!!

  10. wdalasio

    My dad had some land in northern Vermont that he used to use for deer hunting. It was maybe 20 minutes away from Lake Memphremagog. Now, I’ll grant, that was maybe twenty-five, thirty years ago. From what I remember, there’s a distinct difference between northern and southern Vermont. Southern Vermont seemed to be mostly urban transplants and “hippies”. Northern Vermont seemed to have more no-nonsense types.

    • Grumbletarian

      NH is much the same, mostly due to northern migration of Massholes.

      • DEG

        Supposedly recent (i.e. during the lockdown insanity) voter registration data shows folks moving from MA are increasingly Republican.

        I haven’t seen the analysis to know if it is any good.

      • juris imprudent

        MA Republican – oh, like Romney and Weld.

      • DEG

        I’m trying to take some joy from the fact that, if the analysis is correct, we don’t have MA Progressives moving up.

      • juris imprudent

        Oh like Romney and Weld. [evil shit eating grin]

      • DEG

        Good point.

    • Not Adahn

      In Brattleborough, you can go here and watch generations of hippies pass down their culture to the next. Some of the food trucks are quite good.

      It was actually heartbreakingly nostalgic for me to watch the middleschool/highschool cohorts interact with each other.

  11. Grumbletarian

    Nice article. For awhile my paternal grandparents lived in Canaan, VT and one of my father’s brothers and his family lived in Stewartstown, NH. That is basically at the point where VT, NH and Canada meet. Love that part of the country.

  12. Not Adahn

    Vermont is a lovely place, and the people there are creepy. They move in a distinctive and disturbing way — weasel-like, darting movements of their face and hands as if they know they’re doing something wrong and are afraid of getting caught. I find it impossible to relax if one of them is within eyesight.

    And my all-time favorite bought cookies come from there these maple shortbreads.

  13. rhywun

    Looking forward to Pt. II. If Vermont is in fact glibworthy it might be worth adding to my list of potential get the hell out of NYC places.

    • Not Adahn

      If you like NYC… there’s nothing like that there. Then again, there’s nothing like NYC anywhere else. Maybe Montreal?

      • rhywun

        It doesn’t have to be “like NYC”. There are a lot of things I don’t like about NYC.

    • Fatty Bolger

      I heard they’ll pay you $10K if you move there and work remotely.

      • rhywun

        ?

    • slumbrew

      It’s a D+15 state. By comparison, Mass is D+14 and New York is D+10.

      One if their senators is an outright socialist.

      I suspect this will be covered in part II.

  14. JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

    So Bennington College was named after a greedy white man? I’m surprised that the name hasn’t been canceled yet.

    I also just realized that the name Vermont comes from the Green Mountains.

  15. kinnath

    Cool history on Vermont. Thanks for the article.

    Arriving late today. Anything in the 400+ comments on the morning links that I need to go check out?

    • PieInTheSky

      as always my comments are the best and worth reading

  16. Rebel Scum

    *chuckles*

    CNN’s Don Lemon: The right is trying to say people have a right to defend ‘your town,’ ‘your street,’ and ‘your country.’ Imagine if every single person in America did that

    Indeed. Imagine that. It sounds like America.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Well when you don’t believe in ownership or community, that is a foreign concept. Now report to your nearest jailor and confess your sins.

    • ignoreLander

      The right is trying to say people have a right to defend ‘your town,’ ‘your street,’ and ‘your country.’

      Wait a second Don, your witch Queen Clinton told me “it takes a village”. Don, I thought you said “we’re all in this together”, Don. Don, isn’t your take that we’re a “society” and therefore we all simultaneously own everything in the country Don? Don, are you saying now that people are now individuals and should stay out of other people’s business? Don? Don, are you there?

      • rhywun

        Oh noes ?

      • ignoreLander

        I’m not sure Don’s gonna be employed soon.

        No, he’s safe, that headline specifically states they are firing “talent”.

      • EvilSheldon

        Ouch.

        *sends Don Lemon some ointment*

    • Ed Wuncler

      It’s call taking ownership. Having a citizenry that takes ownership and help each other out (voluntarily) instead of waiting on the government to bail them out doesn’t help the statists expand their power.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Careful, next thing you know, you’ll be spouting naughty words like “personal responsibility”

      • Ed Wuncler

        Personal responsibility is white supremacy.

      • R C Dean

        Or even *whispers* “militia”.

      • juris imprudent

        But Ed, government is just what we all do together!

  17. PieInTheSky

    Vermont is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec – I hope you did not pick up weird habits like maple syrup and hockey

    • Not Adahn

      Les mont verts, ce sont la.

    • The coolest vaccine-free BEAM in the world™

      That entire area of the States isn’t referred to by its residents as “Occupied Canada” for nothing, Pie.

    • The Other Kevin

      * lights Tundra signal *
      * drops gloves *

      • Tundra

        Euros.

        *rolls eyes and drops gloves*

  18. limey

    The Bee has been particularly unyielding in its content relating to unfolding events of the last couple of days.

    • The Other Kevin

      They’re getting a lot of good stuff from the Muppets thing.

  19. limey

    I like the sound of Vermont as a geographical location really quite a lot.

  20. Tundra

    Well now. I’ve never been to Vermont, but now I’m gonna visit.

    You guys should secede.

    • juris imprudent

      We went “leaf-peeping” last fall in VT, NH and ME – it was wonderful. Caught the last couple of weeks of campgrounds being open (early Oct). For dog lovers, St. Johnsbury VT and Dog Mountain are a must.

      • Ghostpatzer

        Nothing quite like fall in New England. Spent a couple of days in North Conway NH on our way back from Acadia many years ago. Too early for foliage, but we were there for this:

      • Fatty Bolger

        “leaf peeping”? Is that the same as what they call “dogging” in the UK?

      • juris imprudent

        We were told that is what we were, and honestly, we weren’t quite sure if we had been insulted.

    • DEG

      The NH secession bill is still alive.

  21. Ghostpatzer

    Nice, I knew Vermont was #14, but not how and why. Turns out 18th century TOP MEN were just as loopy as our current group.

    • juris imprudent

      Oh they were far worse than our current batch – had all manner of strange ideas about liberty and what kind of society you get with that.

      • Ghostpatzer

        Kulaks and wreckers, before those words existed. Visionaries!

  22. slumbrew

    My wife & I were just in Morristown / Glover / Barton a few weeks back – beautiful area.

    Don’t think I could deal with the politics – even further to the left of where I am now.

  23. Festus

    OT – Just learned from my underling that the big site is going 24/7 next week. Ya wanna know who is the Head Custodian? He’s the one with the dirty knees… I’m in and out of the house today working on things that should have been squared away weeks ago so don’t expect any witty ripostes.

    • Ghostpatzer

      Rug burns? Why don’t you get a small pillow to kneel on?

      • Festus

        That was the joke.

      • Festus

        That was sort of cruel. Go fuck yourself, Swissy.

  24. DEG

    OT: Funspot founder dies

    Bob Lawton, the founder of the popular Funspot arcade, has died.

    The company announced Thursday night on social media that Lawton died peacefully with his family by his side.

    “Funspot will continue to offer family fun and will now be looked after by the next generation of Lawtons,” the company wrote on its Facebook page.

    Funspot has been a fixture in Laconia for years since it opened in 1952. It was dubbed the largest arcade in the world by Guinness World Records in 2008.

    He is a former state legislator that was responsible for “Live Free or Die” being on NH license plates.

    Funspot never enforced or cared about the governor’s mask order during the masking insanity. I went up there during the masking insanity without a mask. No one cared. Many other customers weren’t wearing masks. Some staff weren’t wearing masks.

    • R.J.

      Sorry to hear it. That is a great loss. I’d say support them by playing a ton of games in the arcade this weekend, but I imagine that is already in your plans.

      • DEG

        They are about an hour and a half drive from me.

        I was thinking that if the weather is nice and I get done enough stuff on Saturday, of heading to Sunday River Brewing in Maine on Sunday. Sunday River Brewing, under its previous ownership, opened up in defiance of the Maine governor’s orders. The place is under new ownership, though it seems to me that the old owner might be involved in the shadows.

        Anyways, FunSpot is not far from the way I’d go to Sunday River Brewing. Stopping there is a possibility.

        It is a great place. I stopped in during the mask insanity. On the one trip I wore my “LEGALIZE FREEDOM” shirt and did not wear a mask. A FunSpot employee that wasn’t wearing a mask complimented my shirt. I’d say about half the customers that day weren’t wearing masks.

  25. Tundra

    Malice is torturing lefties.

    As usual. There might be someone better at trolling them, but I’m not sure who.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I didn’t know he subscribed to the Objectivist view on Kant. Interesting.

    • Sensei

      For all the back and forth SK really does seem to emulate the Japanese auto industry.

      Toyota Century

    • Fatty Bolger

      I guess. Most of those 80’s sedans were junk.

    • Sean

      Pimp.

    • EvilSheldon

      Life is imitating Ghost in the Shell?

      Eh. I’ll take whatever cyberpunk dystopia I can get.

  26. Sean
    • Tundra

      Short that stock.

      • The Other Kevin

        So at the very least, they’re pushing policies that have a major impact on everyone, without the evidence to back up their effectiveness. At least this time they have it in writing.

      • Nephilium

        Silly The Other Kevin. Reality and writing aren’t the TRUTH. The TRUTH is malleable, able to be changed to our whims. You don’t doubt the word of the TRUTH, do you?

      • Ozymandias

        That’s not quite what’s going on. They’ve been making affirmative claims about “the unvaccinated” and denied natural immunity’s existence. That isn’t simply “we’re not tracking it.” That’s lying and then when you get caught in the lie, pleading that you don’t even know.

      • The Other Kevin

        I see that now. So it’s, “the unvaccinated are spreading it and the vaccinated are not”, based on no evidence at all. That sounds like lying.

      • juris imprudent

        Well first, lying for a noble cause is permissible and second, is it really lying when we didn’t know it was a lie even though we should have?

  27. Rebel Scum

    The fix is in.

    Judge Schroeder is allowing the provocation jury instruction

    The prosecution’s entire narrative on Monday at closing will follow the media narrative:

    He provoked them, he crossed state lines, he brought an AR-15, etc etc

    • The Other Kevin

      Nice. He provoked a guy who was just minding his own business, peacefully pushing a flaming dumpster into a police car.

    • EvilSheldon

      I keep saying it, but no one seems to believe it.

      You shoot someone in self-defense, there’s always the chance that it ends with you in jail, no matter what justification you can offer, no matter how evil the attackers were, no matter how expensive your lawyers.

      Before you pull the gun out, you’d better be goddamned sure that it’s worth it.

      • Ed Wuncler

        +1

      • Tundra

        My most recent carry instructor was adamant about this. He spent quite a lot of time on escaping/barricading/avoiding.

      • EvilSheldon

        Sounds like he knows his stuff.

        You win every fight that you avoid.

      • Tundra

        Former Marine and contractor. He had some choice words for normies who think they have the skills to clear a house. “You will go to jail and you will lose in court.”

        He used real world examples throughout the class and we were to guess whether the dude went to jail. It was eye opening how often we were wrong.

    • Ed Wuncler

      It’s nuts how the three guys are slowly being turned into saints despite being terrible men in their personal lives and being in Kenosha to purely cause havoc and chaos. What world are we living in today?

      • Sean

        The bizarro world.

    • Rebel Scum

      I did hear the judge talk about alternate charges and how only one charge could be applied to count of killing/assault. This seems like it should not be a thing but I’d be open to hearing from anyone with legal expertise on the matter. My current opinion is that the state should choose what to charge you with and attempt to prove it in court with no alternate charges for consideration. I didn’t hear path which KR chose (only the levied charges or allow consideration of alternate charges.).

      Still it is better than allowing conviction of three separate sets of circumstances of one person inducing death on another person when there was only one count of allegedly doing so…

    • DEG

      The defense has been doing a shitty job.

      I also don’t know if there is time between now and the closing arguments for motions. I still am not sure the judge has ruled on the mistrial with prejudice motion.

      • R C Dean

        I don’t think he has.

        With any luck, that idiot Binger will say something about Rittenhouse staying silent until he heard the other witnesses, and pretty much force a dismissal with prejudice.

      • juris imprudent

        Aren’t we passed closing arguments – or was the debate on jury instructions all to set that stage?

      • DEG

        Today was debate over jury instructions.

      • cyto

        I don’t know that they have even filed actual motions.

        They should have filed motions to dismiss on statutory grounds for the gun charge (void for vagueness). The judge argued that this statute is unenforceable during instructions, but then started talking about which instructions he would issue. Defense never moved to drop the charge though.

        They should have filed for summary judgement on all the charges, having no legal possibility of finding that he did not act in self defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

        There are probably a bunch of other related motions as well… And then there is the 5th amendment violation that the judge already opined was intentional and not in good faith. How you skip out on making that motion is beyond me.

      • DEG

        I thought they did two days ago and the judge took it under advisement?

      • robc

        They did, at least that is my understanding.

    • R C Dean

      Well, that sucks.

      I don’t recall any evidence being introduced at trial that would support any narrative that Rittenhouse provoked any of the attacks on him.

      I suspect a hung jury may be the best we can hope for on the major counts.

      My instructors have also been very clear that, if you pull your weapon, you will pay, regardless.

      No defendant wins a criminal trial, even if they are acquitted. And lets not forget the civil trial, either.

    • cyto

      I popped in to Nick Rikeita’s stream a few minutes ago. He had 9 lawyers on, including 2 criminal defense attorneys from Tennessee, Nate the Lawyer and Uncivil Law.

      The consensus was that the defense completely dropped the ball 9 ways from Sunday. A couple of them opined that ineffective assistance from counsel, although hard to get, is now on the table.

      They said the judge kept walking up to the line of tossing things and the defense just sat on their hands while the prosecutor talked him into things that should not be there… Chief among these being the provocation thing.

      Apparently this is what the “pinch to zoom” and enhancement stuff was all about. The prosecution is going to claim that an enhanced and zoomed video shows KR raising his rifle in one frame, therefore provoking the attack and forfeiting his right to self defense.

      The defense briefly argued that this is an artifact of a car mirror and the strap from the gun squished together, and it would require him to magically be wearing and holding the gun left handed in that moment (but never before or after and never having switched the strap).

      But they punted and apparently some rather consuming instructions about what constitutes a provocation is going in.

      This opens the door for the “he never should have been there” crowd to completely ignore the evidence of what actually happened and convict on all counts based on “he never should have been there”.

      Nick’s panel was pretty unanimous that the defense has been an unmitigated disaster and they are dropping balls left and right.

      One guy said it was like they ran up and down the field with ease, but when they got on the goal line they suddenly started playing terrible and turned it over.

      Sever pondered the notion that they are trying to throw the trial.

      • DEG

        A lawyer named Barnes has shown up on his panel. This guy has claimed he was involved early on in Rittenhouse’s defense. I don’t know why he’s not involved if he was involved.

        Barnes has a very low opinion of Rittenhouse’s defense team.

      • cyto

        Robert Barnes is a big shot civil rights attorney from the conservative side. He represented Wesley Snipes and Alex Jones, among others.

        He got involved with Rittenhouse because he had previous dealings with some of the people who were fundraising, including during the Trump election contest. He was very vocal about having them find new people and getting the funds out of their hands and into accounts managed by the mother.

        He put together a high powered team of self defense expert lawyers, jury selection experts, etc. And offered to help in any way they wanted. Many offered pro bono assistance. Barnes represented the team as being a dream team, and said they could have any help they wanted from one or all, together or separate.

        He claims the family has a “security guy” who began controlling who could see the family and who recommended these attorneys. Barnes implies that he is shady and has taken control of the money, much of which Barnes helped raise by promising that Rittenhouse’s mom would be the only one in control of the funds. Barnes claims that the day they were supposed to deliver financial reports to him, they suddenly shifted course, security guy said he was no longer welcome, they would not be sharing financial statements and the lawyers would not speak with any of them or accept any help, free or otherwise.

        Barnes team had extensive research on the jury pool and would have recommended a battle for change of venue, among other things.

        That said, Barnes is also given to some conspiratorial thinking. Sometimes maybe right
        … He was calling shenanigans on the 2020 elections weeks before election day and he immediately said Sydney Powell and crew had bought a psyops red herring designed to deflect any real scrutiny of the election until it was too late. He seems to have been vindicated on that stuff.

        But he also thinks OJ was innocent and has a bunch of other nutty ideas.

        I have little doubt that he would have been better at opening and closing statements. He is very good at telling a story.

        And there is no chance that his team would have been so sanguine with their objections and “vigorous defense”.

      • cyto

        He does a regular podcast at Viva Frei on Sundays.

        https://youtu.be/rE8iX5eKXgA

        He is quite entertaining, as he is knowledgeable and a good storyteller.

        They are also on Locals and Rumble because of the Google threat.

      • DEG

        Right, this jogged my memory.

        I saw Barnes and Viva Frei doing a video on Rittenhouse’s defense team.

        I am worried Barnes is right, and Rittenhouse will get convicted.

        Full disclosure: I was an early donor to Rittenhouse’s defense, back when Lin Wood was his lawyer.

      • R C Dean

        What a disaster.

      • juris imprudent

        That’s the contest isn’t it – which legal team is the worst?

      • R C Dean

        The prosecution is going to claim that an enhanced and zoomed video shows KR raising his rifle in one frame, therefore provoking the attack and forfeiting his right to self defense.

        If they’re talking about Grosskreutz, you don’t need some grainy blown-up (and perhaps altered) video. There’s very clear video showing that didn’t happen.

      • DEG

        No they’re not.

        The prosecution is relying on a blown up picture from before Rittenhouse shoots Rosenbaum to claim that Rittenhouse pointed his rifle at some individuals (Rosenbaum I think? I can’t remember) and therefore Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum’s and the rest’s attack on Rittenhouse. Therefore he has no self-defense claim.

      • Rebel Scum

        therefore Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum’s and the rest’s attack on Rittenhouse.

        Which sounds like bullshit even if KR did point his gun at Rittenhouse. Who the fuck runs towards someone pointing a gun at them when there is zero chance of getting to the person and disarm him before he pulls the trigger? And then continues the pursuit when the person retreats?

        The whole argument is bullshit and this trial is fubar.

      • EvilSheldon

        “Who the fuck runs towards someone pointing a gun at them…”

        Someone who thinks the guy with the gun is a pussy who’ll freeze up instead of shooting.

        Or someone who’s drunk or doped up or massively adrenalized.

        Or someone who’s convinced that he’s about to be murdered and has nothing left to lose.

        There are lots of possibilities.

        I will say, I’ve had some success in Sims training, in just walking up to a dude holding a gun on me and either taking the gun away, or just gang-tackling and pummeling him. It can work.

      • EvilSheldon

        If that’s the case, and if the jury believes it, then they’ll convict on Rosenbaum. And if the defense didn’t capably argue that the second and third shootings were a distinct event, then Rittenhouse will go down on all three.

        As they say in the trades, “Bummer.”

      • Rebel Scum

        convict on all counts based on “he never should have been there”

        That is the most irrelevant horseshit perspective for anyone to have.

        Sever pondered the notion that they are trying to throw the trial.

        Interesting. For awhile I thought the prosecution was trying to throw the trial.

      • cyto

        These guys are somewhere between half joking and completely convinced that both teams are trying to throw the case.

        Barnes has questioned whether the security guy with KR’s family is actually an operative trying to submarine the case, since he claims he is the one who found these lawyers.

        And everyone thinks the prosecutor did a much better job of presenting a case for the defense than the defense did.

    • Ed Wuncler

      If Rittenhouse gets convicted it’ll be a clear sign to the Left that they can loot and destroy neighborhoods with impunity and also that they can assault anyone because the defender will be thrown in jail for having the gall to defend themselves.

      When I used to hear people say that the Left and the institutions they represent are trying to destroy this country, I thought it was just a bunch of hyperbolic bull. But now, I’m not so sure if I believe that anymore. The easiest way to demoralize but also anger a person is trying to take away their ability to defend themselves and their shit. Once you do that, you leave them with the options of complying and praying that the boot won’t crush their neck too much or say fuck it, I’m gonna fight back.

      • R C Dean

        When I used to hear people say that the Left and the institutions they represent are trying to destroy this country, I thought it was just a bunch of hyperbolic bull.

        Why? They’ve been pretty open that’s their goal. The only question was whether they had the means to achieve it.

        It turns out that evil fuck Soros had a stroke of genius when he funded the leftist takeover of Secretaries of State (which run elections) and prosecutors.

      • Ed Wuncler

        Being naïve and believing that people would never stoop so low.

  28. juris imprudent

    Very good article, and one I’ve been thinking along the lines of. That this goes back to Plato serves my point that flinging around the word commie to describe the enemies of liberty is missing the point. The WEF are capitalist to the core, but they are also a caste that considers themselves beyond accountability to anyone but themselves. Also ties in with Lasch’s stuff about the therapeutic state.

    There is a common playbook for technocratic control of recalcitrant populations. The Biden administration employs the same siege tactics of declared exigency, deception, division, and intimidation that corporatist progressives used to destroy my former university — Tulsa — two years ago.

  29. l0b0t

    OT question for Playa. Swiss, or anyone who remembers from the Zoomie, What was the proper amount of gelatin, beef, and egg?

    • R C Dean

      Gotta be the euphemism of the week.

    • The coolest vaccine-free BEAM in the world™

      I wasn’t on the Zoom, but this sounds suspiciously like a recipe for meatloaf.

      Is it a recipe for meatloaf?

  30. Richard

    Sorry for the lack of response. I didn’t think this would be posted so soon. I’ll endeavor to get part two out sooner rather than later.