I was planning/outlining a little essay in late November titled “Does the election portend the End of the Republic?” Sure, it’s a bit of hyperbole (but not THE Hyperbole), but I thought it was a valid question, in fact one that (End of the Republic part anyway) I’ve been thinking about for several years.
So it’s not specifically because Trump lost and Biden won, but rather perhaps a late empire question, brought into stark relief by the election. Even if Trump had actually won – which he may have in fact, if not practice – he would have won by a relatively small margin. So either way we are confronted with the fact that we live in a society with a fundamental split about the nature of the relation between the state and the individual and the nature or even the existence of individual sovereignty. So in reality, modulo trust in institutions, who actually won is in some ways irrelevant.
Can we “agree to disagree” and have a “civil discussion” when the other side’s entire point is that they have the right to lock me in my house, make me wear a mask, not be allowed to make a living, not be permitted to express certain points of view, and adding insult to injury, take my guns away?
After our “civil discussion,” I go back to my whiskey, read a book, or build a spice rack. My counterpart across the table goes to lobby others to pass laws and pull guns out to make me conform to their vision of the relation twixt state and individual. How do we maintain a civil, stable society in the face of that?
My, perhaps naive or uniformed, idea is that, until recently, there was a fundamental agreement in the population in the value of individual liberty, free speech, free markets; obviously some disagreement on the edges about implementation, but not in the basic premises of the enlightenment. So I figured I’d try to explore those ideas, including questioning the premise itself – does someone actively opting to support the left/Democrats in this day and age in the US really imply a abandonment of the enlightenment ideas regarding the individual – i.e. it’s clearly not obvious that a vote Trump is a vote for individual liberty and contra, though there’s probably a weak correlation there?
A month or two later, seems a bit anti-climactic; the behavior of the left (and a significant portion of the population and ‘elites’) makes me more interested in the immediate question of what can be done in our current situation? How do we react and what’s our strategy?
I think responses can fall into 3 categories:
- Keep your head down, hope it goes away/we struggle through.
- Some active peaceful approach.
- Number 2) minus one word.
I’ll leave 3) alone.
Option 1 consists of basically continuing your life as it is. Perhaps being a bit more quiet about politics and philosophy, certainly in the work place, keep your online presence to funny cat and family pictures. In the past, e.g. in the Obama administration, I didn’t really feel the urge to keep quiet or duck. Today, if pursuing this option, that might not be the best approach.
One question arises – does this approach work? Do things get better? It’s a mixed bag historically. In our country (and the west in general), yes it does seem to. FDR died and we didn’t fully abandon the concept of a free society. Jimmy Carter went away and went on to do better things out of office than in. Bill Clinton tacked to the center. Obama continued the status quo – to a degree, but we seemed to accelerate the shift in the culture away from individual sovereignty.
Perhaps the root was in Bush II, or likely earlier. But it seems that with every enroachment, every assault on the enlightenment, liberal ideals, the standard shifts a bit more to the collective side of things. So it’s not clear that it will continue to work forever.
In longer term history, there are plenty of cases where it did not work. To belabor the obvious, keeping your head down or going with the flow didn’t work out well for the Jews in Europe in the middle of the 20th century. It did not work for Russians, Ukrainians, etc. leading up to the October revolution and beyond – “At what exact point, then, should one resist?” – Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago. But it’s always hard – impossible? – to figure out in advance at what point it will no longer work and it’s probably too late once you figure it out.
Do we believe Pol Pot in Paris and act accordingly, or assume that will not happen, things will get better? “It” can happen here, the SS and Gestapo were human beings; the Gulag guards and NKVD were human beings; the Khmer Rouge were human beings. The Maoists who conducted the struggle sessions were human beings. We too are human beings and are capable of the same atrocities. We’ve been protected by our institutions and a polity steeped in the enlightenment, once that no longer exists or is corrupted beyond recognition, option 1 may carry more danger than option 3.
For my part, I’m an asshole, so I’m looking at 2) for the most part, with a bit of 1) admixture.
Here, there are many options about what “some active peaceful approach” means. I’ve put aside the idea of seeking political office. In the first place, I can’t think of many things I’d like less than participating in politics, and second, I don’t think there can be much impact; the cultural stage is set much earlier.
Which leads a second option, education. One might be able to teach “the youth” and try to inject some sanity, not necessarily by proselytizing, but by example and providing a counter to the narrative. I know there’s a common thread in some of these discussions that the issues go back to the “Long March Through the Institutions”; so maybe the only way out is to have a “counter march”.
I think there’s some logic to that, even though it would be a long term solution. So I’ve started looking at retiring a bit early and going into teaching. I have a background in physics and math, so it might be a possibility. One barrier is of course the teachers’ unions (ain’t joining a union) and credentialism, specifically requirements involving certification via the education establishment. Ain’t interested in that at all. So my options are private schools (in some states – some require state certification in private schools as well) or tutoring in an informal home school sort of organization. That’s something I’m researching.
A third tact in option 2 that I’ve fully adopted is – I’m not backing down (i.e. complete opposite of Option 1). When someone, work colleague or otherwise, brings up conventional Covid “wisdom”, whether masks, asymptomatic spread, lockdown, etc. I won’t stay silent and I’ll work hard to have the facts to back it up and even broach the issue of whether the subjugation of individual liberty to the collective “good” is warranted even if the narrative is accurate (it’s not!).
If conversation shifts to ‘systemic racism’ or ‘white privilege’ or ‘the patriarchy’, I will not stay silent but will challenge the assumptions and stake out a position based in individual rights. I think, especially in my field, this carries some risk of ‘cancelling’ – but the risk of staying silent to my psychic health must also be weighed.
Of course option 1 and 2 (with the exception of speaking up!) are not exclusive. I’m also in Option 1 whereby I’m searching for land in more remote areas of South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming so I can get somewhat isolated from the coming (possible) shitstorm. That ‘keep your head down’ approach would include seeking new work poisoning the minds of the youth that might help the situation in the long run.
And of course I’m investing heavily in boat futures.
What are you approaches?
In the spirit of music links: Most libertarian song ever? Probably not, but it’s good!
but not THE Hyperbole
He’s just a pedantic a-hole.
Sounds about right. Teds’ the pedant, I’m the contrarian.No you’re not.
I would love to Go Galt, but I don’t have the stones.
I don’t have the money
That too
It doesn’t take a lot of money, it takes a flexible approach to what is a comfortable lifestyle. As well as a DGAF attitude when it is not comfortable.
+ 660 square foot mobile home
A pliable attitude towards events that might lead to ones own death also helps.
I have performed all my life duties, Im quite pliable nowadays, death means nothing,
I’m not done yet.
But I like that turn of phrase.
I’m curious what life duties you still have left?
I have procreated. /And I’m spent!
And I raised them until 18.
Is there more I should be doing?
OK the last one has a few months to go until 18, but…
I want to teach my grandchildren to fish and wrench on cars.
Sadly, none of mine care for those activities.
Maybe I can do better with grandchildren.
I’m curious what life duties you still have left?
Brewing.
After those chores are done it’s time to go fishing, until you can’t.
I like my creature comforts.
Parking lot. Just sayin.
That and the small problem of where exactly.
Anonymousville, just getting your internet disconnected should pass for that nowadays.
just getting your internet disconnected
Your ISP will someday disconnect you for you.
I’m not crazy enough to not use an encrypted no log VPN but I suppose they could just blanket disallow those too.
Manistee Mi?
There are a bazillion small islands out there surrounded by water so odds are one has liberty minded people living there. Shirly it is there.
liberty minded people
There’s an excellent description of this here bubble. Now just realize that what makes sense here, doesn’t make sense everywhere.
You could Go Garuto. Now that China wants to fuck the US more than it does Japan, we’ve become flyover country.
So where would Glib’s Gulch be?
Can we “agree to disagree” and have a “civil discussion” when the other side’s entire point is that they have the right to lock me in my house, make me wear a mask, not be allowed to make a living, not be permitted to express certain points of view, and adding insult to injury, take my guns away?
No.
I think responses can fall into 3 categories
I intend to practice civil disobedience.
And of course I’m investing heavily in boat futures.
Be sure to stock up on fishing rods. I suggest the Angler Royale model 15.
Wit cheese?
Im keeping my head down and my powder dry, I cant do much else here other than a safe haven,
Nice write up!
A third tact in option 2 that I’ve fully adopted is – I’m not backing down (i.e. complete opposite of Option 1). When someone, work colleague or otherwise, brings up conventional Covid “wisdom”, whether masks, asymptomatic spread, lockdown, etc. I won’t stay silent and I’ll work hard to have the facts to back it up and even broach the issue of whether the subjugation of individual liberty to the collective “good” is warranted even if the narrative is accurate (it’s not!).
I am going huge number 2 of that tact. Most if not all of my coworkers are of same mind, but there are some in the organization who need some push back because they are the ones making policy and from where I sit this has all been proven a scam.
We dont like the mask policy, but we work with food anyway, so I wear one, dont contaminate the Shrooms dude!
Guess what. If you are not sick you are not going too!
WS, in the last thread you were talking (along with Trashy and some others) about the lockdowns and how they were used politically here but weren’t sure how they applied internationally? Well, I have a theory about that.
It isn’t (wasn’t) about Trump in the rest of the world, it was about populism. That is the common factor in all of this, the idea that the experts don’t have a clue and are no better than some shmoe of the street. And you see this around the world; French Yellow Vests, Trump, Brexit, Bolsonara, that dude in Hungary, and so on. What we are seeing is the massive “expert” pushback against populism, a show adopted worldwide to tell everyone who their betters are. And that is why it all seems to be so similar to what we saw in the run-up to the election, but as Trump wasn’t running around the world why it seemed so odd.
At least that is my theory, and I am sticking to it!
Aaaaah, you might be on to something there. The top men can’t be out topped.
I think you’re right
Agreed.
And now we’re getting the pushback. Which will probably be even worse in other parts of the world.
Good writing, PM.
I’m a little more optimistic, If some things get worse, and if we don’t turn around soon things will get worse. We’re seeing right now the desperation in Central America and many other places around the world. People are revolting (according to some old comic strips) and demanding the government to loosen the chains. They want more responsibility for themselves, realizing that what Fauci et al have produced is not working.
Hungry people are desperate people. At this point many still believe that the government can produce, by magic, and they don’t want the responsibility of self government. The change will only come by force, government does not respond to being asked. There will be a revolution of sorts. The guy in Stossel’s clip that was selling (not many, I’m sure) hamburgers for 30K bolivars is indicative of our future.
I’m slowly removing myself from the grid as much as possible…Shadow Hippie.
I just got a 2 year contract with Spectrum, pray for me….
My condolences.
I’m now living somewhere for cash without a lease, utilities, not under my name, working for cash, bought have a decent old car that still technically belongs to a trusted friend, I just have to insure it, pay cash for as much as possible…still need to get rid of Gmail. This place is my only social media/comment forum.
I’m serious. I’m cashing out. I never really fit into what is considered society in the best of times and I certainly have no interest in joining now during whatever the fuck this is supposed to be.
Update- https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/spotsylvania-restaurants-license-suspended-for-pandemic-violations/article_b1ad5787-9f75-5f95-9107-39478d8f2d4d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
My boy’s hanging in there.
Good for him.
Yeah, his only fulltime bartender right now is his mother-in-law ;p. I’ve chatted with her quite a bit. She’s fully on support of his decisions too.
That’s a perfect link for this thread. Good on him.
Thanks for the thought-provocation, PM!
Good night!
I like this article.
I’m on option 2. You folks have seen my write-ups on Reopen NH-related activities.
When it comes to ‘speaking out’ my immediate family is more or less on board with the idea of Liberty — that is they think of it as a Good in and of itself, though they don’t exactly follow through on everything.
I work on them in the area of “those Cops enforcing the mask mandate will be the same ones who come to take your guns” and I’ll make progress on that front right up until the next time a lefty mob goes and peacefully burns down a city block.
As far as speaking out at work, with my immediate team at work I can for the most part get away with it as they are generally pretty skeptical. At one point half our team were people who escaped commie workers paradises so they don’t exactly look longingly at purges and reeducation camps.
Go beyond the team, well the company I work for is somewhat into wokism.
I suspect that disagreement with wokism would likely lead to a pink slip.
If I can get a decent side gig going then it becomes an easy choice. Don’t be silent. Until then the cost of speaking out is high, and doing so won’t actually pay any dividends.
“I suspect that disagreement with wokism would likely lead to a pink slip.”
That’s one of those situations where you out woke them and make them wonder if you’re being sarcastic or not. Since there is no way to call someone out for being “too woke”, you’ll have a lot of fun.
By and large I never actually have to talk to people who aren’t on my team, so it kind of makes it easy to not have to worry about it.
I was actually off work the day they taught our ‘white employees are racist but they unconsciously don’t know it’ so I didn’t have to test my ability to hold my tongue
Where is the line? Everybody should have that decided before they do anything in this world. You aren’t gonna drill the lady in the face who cut in front of you in line at the store. You will use violence to protect your kid. It’s up to you where you set the line between those two extremes. Mixing clearly racist policies with the power of the state certainly should be considered one of those lines by anyone who witnessed the 20th century.
I keep my mouth shut. Nobody asks me what I think about politics, wokism, etc. I think they understand not to pull the pin on that grenade.
Ass Wednesday be flossin’.
https://archive.li/lOGbl
Face diapers. Blech.
Well… at least #1 isn’t wearing a face diaper. She has a nice look about her.
“At what exact point, then, should one resist?” – Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago.
As Solzhenitsyn points out, it’s not that the three options are mutually exclusive. They’re stages of escalation.
I’m firmly in stage 1. Keep my head down, shut the hell up, hope that I can get my family into a stable enough situation by the time that the other shoe drops on a lot of this shit.
Stage 2 will either be when we don’t have as much to lose by being vocal or when things degrade to the point that it becomes impossible to live with ourselves if we stay quiet.
Stage 3… Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
I think you’re a bit more optimistic than I am on the history of the American experiment. In my view, the split between liberty lovers and liberty loathers really entrenched itself during the progressive era. Roughly 120 years ago. The ensuing century has been a slow march toward fascism, and ultimately a fasco-socialist hybrid where the “important” aspects of life are directly controlled by the state and the “unimportant” aspects of life are indirectly controlled by the state through puppet corporations. The cultural and economic freight train kept on chugging for quite a while, but eventually the brakes were applied hard enough that the train came to a screeching halt.
It seems that the march toward fasco-socialism has quickened quite a bit since the start of Obama’s second term. I’m not being all that hyperbolic when I say that I don’t recognize this country anymore. Shit that would’ve gotten people laughed out of polite company 25 years ago is now the Only Acceptable Truth. Personal responsibility has gone from the standard to a luxury to a secret code word for racism.
How did any liberty grabs done by the people against the entrenched rulers ever come about? They need to be scared shitless or you have to go with number 3.
#metoo
I’m a mush-mouth IRL except with close friends. I don’t have a lot of practice explaining reality to strangers, coworkers, etc. so I don’t.
“I’m not being all that hyperbolic when I say that I don’t recognize this country anymore.”
Which is exactly why we’re looking at Plan B – hasta la vista.
Number #2 is necessary for #3. Although I hope #3 doesn’t become necessary. The key to #2 is decentralization. Years ago, I said that Trump might lose because of the social media crackdown. Which is rapidly accelerating. I started writing an article about the problems with Big Tech back in December. Things have been happening so fast, as I keep updating the article, it’s going to be a book by the time I finish. Anyway, whereas I still believe the laws should be changed simply because they are wrong. I also realize that isn’t pragmatic. So while advocating for better government is good. An “agorist” approach to financial and communication technology is simultaneously necessary, since relying the established, legal, means of mass communication is becoming increasingly insufficient to engage in such advocacy.
This is your enemy. Pretty sure you guys could win if you wanted to.
https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1357024036270694401
He is right about one thing: He is, in fact, indoctrinated.
That guy isn’t our enemy. Dipshits like him are insignificant. At best, minimally useful idiots. It’s the elites with wealth and power who are the enemy.
He’s a tool but he still one of the enemies.
I want to break his fingers just for the over use of air quotes.
Is that Kamala’s stepdaughter?
So I’m definitely looking in to VPN services. Fuck everyone else. I want my footprint minimized as much as is feasible. Fuck the spies and bots.
So I’ve started looking. One problem seems to exist with most, which is that you tend to take massive speed hits when using the VPN v not using it.
Do you guys VPN everything? Like, is your AppleTV or your Amazon FireTV going through the VPN while you’re surfing YT or Netflix? Or are you guys using it only with phones, computers, and tablets?
I decided to go with the Visionary Package from Proton. Gives you 10 VPN connections and 5 users with 50 email addresses. That’ll cover VPN for all of our computers, phones, and the modem if I ever get around to setting that up. I use PIA now and have never had a speed issue.
I purchased a new domain for emails that will run through Proton. I own the emails and pay Proton to provide service. If I leave Proton in the future, I can take our email addresses with me.
Visionary is overkill for just the wife and me, but it priced out cheaper than buy multiples of the lower packages. Plus I was able to offer my Dad a VPN and email user slot.
“you tend to take massive speed hits ”
My internet is faster than I need, and could buy even faster. Also, my VPN doesn’t reduce my speed that much. So I don’t notice a difference.
Also, some VPN protocols are faster than others. Wireguard is the fastest I’ve tried.
A lot of streaming media doesn’t work through VPN so if you do want/need streaming the ideal thing to do is set up two home networks.
One network, all devices are protected by VPN for browsing, email, etc
The other is not protected and is for streaming media devices only, maybe gaming, and nothing else.
I have PIA and its slower than my home connection. I don’t run everything through it though.
I use nord VPN with the discount code from adv China. Lately though I’ve had to temp disable it for a lot of log-on issues – even for Amazon prime on my laptop – when I’m using a us server?!? Never gotten the benefits of alt-region for Netflix, etc but I don’t really care. I also use it on my phone (same license).
Not that alternate region is a must, but having a foreign wife, it would be nice.
I have Proton on my desktop/laptop/phone/tablet that I toggle on & off as needed but I also set it up on the wireless router so I _could_ just VPN everything, but as others have pointed out, some things just won’t work correctly via a VPN.
the picture looks . . . . familiar
Coruscant: Emperor Palpatine has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in uniting the galaxy against the scourge of freedom and Jedi Supremacy.
“This is a new day for truth, reconciliation and healing in the galaxy.” said the emperor from behind a wall of Red Guard troops. “There were those that questioned my ability to win power in a hostile takeover – um – I mean election. Those voices have been wrong about a great many things. Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design.” He then turned to Admiral Piett, who anxiously saluted. “Execute order 88.”
The Admiral nodded and left to persue his orders. When questioned on the details of the order the emperor responded “C’mon man, let the hate flow through you. Have I mentioned that we have the first female secretary of the galactic treasury? We can circle back around to that other stuff.”
He then eyed a bag of Wherther’s hard candy on his side table. “I could wipe them out. All of them,” he stated.
Thanks PM! This is thought provoking.
Good stuff, but am I wrong for thinking this is a just way to “get us on the record”?
Like you haven’t been on that record for two decades at least.
Everything you say can and will be used against you. Ain’t social media great?
“So where do you see yourself five years from now?”
Dead or incarcerated, or maybe on the run? How bad is it going to get?
“Oh. I just meant in terms of your career progression. I’ll just put down ‘open to new possibilities’.”
Incarcerated, eh?
What an asshoe!
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jcoloproctology1967/44/2/44_2_248/_article/-char/en
learn to code . . . .
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/lark-and-owl-restaurant-iowa-city-for-sale-1-dollar-20210203
When Yi Zhang opened restaurant and karaoke room Lark and Owl in August 2019, he wanted to bring authentic Chinese breakfast food and a fun late-night experience to Iowa City. Now, Zhang is selling the business for $1.
. . . .
Zhang spent $95,000 acquiring and remodeling the space.
Zhang said profits relied heavily on the karaoke room and, with sales declining 60 percent to 70 percent from the opening, food deliveries and pickup haven’t been able to bridge the gap.
He hasn’t felt comfortable opening up dining in the small restaurant.
With $5,000 monthly rent, payroll, other expenses and an empty karaoke room, Yi said the restaurant hasn’t made a profit since the pandemic began.
“What we’re trying to do is give the place for free to just make sure we are not bleeding money,” Yi said.
Great article.
1. Keep your head down, hope it goes away/we struggle through.
Is there an option 1.5? Keep your head down, prepare for the storm, and don’t be taken by surprise.
I have a family to support and have no intention of making waves unless I’m backed into a corner. The lesson from Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn is not lost on me either. So we prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. How do we prepare:
-Not all places in the US are remotely equal in liberty. We aim to live to where harassments will be kept to a minimum and others are like us in not being sympathetic towards Marxists.
-Homeschool to combat the indoctrination of our children
-Stockpiled food, medicine, and household goods
-Armed and armored. Hell even our dogs have armor.
-There’s a lot more. I’m looking forward to some the prepping articles some Glibs are preparing.
I am not prepping. I am moving towards a green and sustainable lifestyle . . .
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
This seems like a really good way to articulate it.
I would love to see specific information about how achieve this sustainable life-style, and what kind of locations would be good for this.
My mother has a ranch out in the high desert of Arizona, and it seems like a great place for it to me. What other options would you consider?
^^ this. Quietly prepare for what is coming. Make decisions with the likely future in mind. Don’t attract unwanted attention.
I am accelerating my retirement plans, expanding my garden, increasing the amount of dry goods I keep on hand and so on.
Am I the only one who sees it as exceptionally sad that preparing = making we sure armed? I mean ARMED. Not regular old armed with a .38 in the back of the nightstand or your compact 9mm tucked in your pants to stop a burglar, but armed such that confronting a horde at my doorstep is feasible.
This is definitely not the America I was raised in.
I think you’ll enjoy the article I just finished up and submitted on prepping.
Can’t wait!
For over 40 years I have been meeting with a group of friends on Thursday nights to drink, smoke, and “play poker”. For most of that time we’ve had lively discussions and friendly social arguments.
All of that changed in early November of 2016.
At least four of my friends were stricken with intense TDS. One guy, the Thursday after the election, was almost foaming at the mouth. For the past four years I’ve put up with hyperbolic rants and screeds about OMB. My formerly-friendly gatherings had become so politically charged that I have increasingly been coming up with excuses to not attend anymore.
There is no discussion. I have maintained a politically-neutral stance (“I voted for Johnson”) but it is getting harder and harder to keep my mouth shut. If I mention anything contrary to the stance of CNN or MSNBC, such as questioning the COVID panicdemic or remarking on the irregularities of the election, then they turn on me like a pack of rabid dogs.
1) is becoming increasingly harder and harder to maintain. I doubt that my relationship with these, my “friends”, will last the year. I’m not sure how I will break it off but it seems to be inevitable. The only friends that I have left are a former coworker and the anonymous people on this blog. It has been difficult to meet with the former because all of the bars are closed in the state. I’ve met with a few of you folks, and would like to meet more of you, but travel restrictions make it difficult.
I’m not sure how to implement 2) and I’m not looking forward to 3).
Attend some meetings of the local conservative or libertarian groups. Look past the poseurs and knuckleheads and you’ll probably find some real people whose ideas fit well with yours.
A couple of years ago I met a group of local conservatives/libertarians at a luncheon but they haven’t bothered to repeat it (I did, however, change my eye doctor to a lady that I met there.) As you know, libertarians tend to be non-social creatures.
I’m just going to continue to keep my head down and make plans to evacuate this increasingly deep-blue state.
I received an unexpected raise at the end of last year which gives me pause about moving out of state, but I was definitely considering it. Still am, really. The acquiescence around here is insufferable.
Income isn’t as important as what’s left after you’ve paid your expenses.
You can live better on $50k in a place like TN than you can on $100k in NY.
I once had a friend entertain the idea of moving from an expensive to where I’m at. But he balked because of the fact that he’d be making about $15k less here.
But his property taxes alone would be roughly $5k more in the city, and his house there is less house for more money.
Ultimately he would have made out better here, but he couldn’t get over the salary thing.
Fuck ’em. I’d rather be cancelled on feet than live in fear of it anyway. I work around mostly normal people, I.E. blue collar, so even when their lefties, they allow me to not be. I have a decent life, but it wont be if I have to bite my tongue all day. I’m a little outspoken IRL anyway. I’ll never make it through any real scrutiny. Might as well stick to my guns from the start.
We’ll make our own poker night Thursdays, with blackjack and hookers.
I’ll be there, but they better be high quality hookers.
Call girl, you puke!
With chicks and guns and fire trucks and hookers and drugs and booze
I as unfriended by a long time friend from the army, during the Obama regime. Called me racist, which I thought was strange, under the circumstances. Then at the beginning of the Trump era I had to unfriend a long time army friend, he just wouldn’t let up on Trump, even as he knew I was a lib. I really haven’t missed either.
The covid fiasco has a lot of friends staying away, I may be a little outspoken about my beliefs. Mostly more like “we don’t wear masks and are not getting the vaccine”
We’ll have our annual Sep meeting and all are invited.
“We’ll have our annual Sep meeting and all are invited.”
I’ll be there, maybe with sourdough bread (to go with the smoked salmon) this year.
Mmm, smoked salmon. Yep, definitely going this year.
It’s on my list.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE bring some more of that mead.
Yes. That was fucking awesome.
Have mead, will travel.
We’ll have our annual Sep meeting and all are invited.
Good! I want to make it this year.
I’ll be there.
1) is becoming increasingly harder and harder to maintain. I doubt that my relationship with these, my “friends”, will last the year. I’m not sure how I will break it off but it seems to be inevitable.
Wife and I had a similar conversation. When talking to her mom or to new friends since moving back to TX, she feels a need to lie (or at least not be transparent) about what she does, for fear of being either lectured to or rejected as a pariah for daring to live life during the COVID tyranny. There’s an inevitable conflict brewing with her mom, and there are more than a few burgeoning friendships that are probably not gonna survive because of Covid and/or politics in general.
A societal can of worms has been opened, and I doubt it is going to be re-closed easily or painlessly. We find ourselves desperately looking to small town America, trying to grasp for some semblance of like mindedness and community. The suburbs, even here in Dallas, are filled with what results from 50 years of progressive hegemony, whether or not each individual votes Blue.
I’m fucking pissed.
Early in the week, in response to Long Beach (CA)’s law requiring supermarkets to pay an additional 4 bucks an hour, Ralph’s and some other big box store announced they are closing all the stores in that city.
Two days later, Los Angeles starts drafting a law requiring supermarkets to pay an additional 5 bucks an hour! It’s pretty dumb, right? It gets worse.
My union, under the threat of 26 furlough days per year for all of us, negotiated a scheme where we forgo the raises (which they just negotiated late last year) for a year and a half. This is going to cost people who make what I do about 2600.00 or so.
So, the city is telling the supermarkets to pay their employees 200 bucks a week extra, while refusing to even pay their own employees what they are bound to by contract.
The piece of shit union, of course, had a vote. Everyone I talked to was a solid no, but the union negotiated the deal and they also conducted the election. Of course, the deal was approved. I make decent money and have great bennies, but it’s the principle. And don’t bitch at me about being in a union. It was required to get this job. I really needed to get it, too.
What did the union “get in return” for giving up the previously-agreed-to raise?
Forestalled the furlough days for a year and a half. The furloughs would have been less expensive because we’d have gotten out raises. Bonus, wed have not had to work those days. It’s a shitty deal, only made worse by the “insult-to-injury” of them forcing a pay raise on the supermarkets. Doubly when one considers that they same people are the entire cause of this whole problem. It was their bad decisions that caused all of the hardship.
You dun got got.
Don’t sell yourself short, blackjack, it sounds like you have skills. Skills are transferrable.
I forgot to mention, we get 40 hours of VC with the deal. Not that it matters. Point is the city is, literally taking 2600.00 buck from each of us to cover declining tax revenue from the choice they made, while forcing raises on the supermarkets.
These people are behaving as if their policies don’t have consequences, that there’s a federal bailout around the corner, and I don’t think they’re wrong.
Sweet sweet dues.
Good essay. I guess it depends on what you’ve got to lose and what you value in life. America’s illness, if you will, stems from the believe that unless one’s life is to be dedicated to the wishes and demands of others then you are not a nice person. In America, this is usually occurs through religious teachings. One is made to feel guilty if one’s altruistic impulses are weak. If the society gets relatively wealthy enough, then many who believe this are not above arming agents of the government to go out there and punish the un-nice person by taking away their goods and liberty to act. You eventually get, as Ayn Rand put it, the “sanction of the victim.” As KK put it above, it is very difficult to “Go Galt.” But we have to do what we can, when we can.
No. People started turning pussy around the early nineties. All of these morons trace back to the grunge movement. In the eighties, it was: ” All I wanted was a Pepsi” which is a respectable sentiment of a song. In the nineties it was : ” Wait, I’m adopted? Do I deserve to be alive? Daddy didn’t love me. I guess I’ll attack my school.” Big fucking difference.
It must go back farther than that, as Rand noticed the symptoms back in the 1940s. And Carrie Nation and the Prohibitionists got started before 1900.
Oh, it’s always been simmering. It wasn’t a huge worry because so many valued freedom. Pop culture either reflects or drives general public sentiment, or maybe both. When then trend is towards whiny neediness in Rock and Roll, that’s when it’s lost.
Yep, in The Culture of Narcissism some stuff is traced back to mid-19th century, lots more from the original Progressive era. This was the beef I had with Gramsci and Bezmenov – Dewey was fucking things up in this country before either of you assholes stopped sucking tit. So don’t act like it was all your shit that fucked us up – we were more than capable of doing that on our own.
Look, assholes can try and bring about revolution all they fucking want. As long as most people want to be free and don’t trust the powers that be, it’ll never happen. When you can turn an entire generation into whimpering simps, sniveling about transgression from a couple of hundred years ago, now, you can flip the nation. There was next to chance of this happening in the 19th century, or even the twentieth, although that got closer a few times. It’s happening now because of the cultural shift the last two generations have gone through. Evidenced by the fucking whininess. They demand justice for whatever it is they have been whining about.
It’s happening now because of the cultural shift the last two generations have gone through.
A cultural shift bought and paid for by the 3 prior generations of progressives. There was no modern catalyst, only the steady erosion of the ideals and culture of liberty by a cancerous movement that hates people and hates being anything short of all powerful.
Who the hell watches that Samantha Bee show? She was insufferable when Trump was causing the end of civilization, and she’s even more insufferable now that Biden won and all is right with the world. Also Kamala Harris is so dreamy!
Just being rhetorical, I know exactly who watches it.
Who the hell watches that Samantha Bee show?
Leftist, wine-o Karens?
Yes.and my lefty friends in New Jersey.
For some reason I haven’t seen a commercial of hers since the election.
Praise Jesus.
I’m reasonably certain that nobody watches most of those shows. I would speculate that they just run the shows at a loss, but then again, they’re not very expensive to make. I know lots of smug progressives. Tons. Not a single one has ever watched Trevor Noah.
I know people that watch Trevor Noah and Samantha Bee. They exist.
Gross.
You need better people in your social circles.
The problem with #1 is that it allows the other side to operate in a bubble and believe that there is no reasonable objection to their opinion. It’s best to push back in a calm, factual manner of possible.
My wife is pretty Liberal, and it took a lot of talking to convince her that I had opinions just as strongly held as hers, namely freedom of speech, and I was going to vote accordingly. We have a sort of political detent going now, which is just as hard for me to follow as her.
I’m in a similar situation.
It got _really_ frosty around here when I mentioned I would be voting against a public accommodation law that was on the ballot a couple years ago.
Her friends also got in on the argument – I got a lot of “does not compute” reactions around my argument of “yes, it’s wrong to discriminate against people, but a business owner has the right to do so . Also, it’s wrong to make people ‘be nice’ at gunpoint. You could just not give that business your money if you disapprove.”
My wife sorta understands that I’m going to have “odd”, principled objections to laws. I fear she still doesn’t understand the principles.
Yeah, some hills are very hard to climb. And it is very hard for someone to reason out of a position that isn’t very strongly held but is tangential to some other position.
Is that hot girl checking me out?
The answer is always yes! Whether she is or not. Now go make a move.
Oops. Guess I left my fly open.
Well, the reddit horde is still fucking with silver. So I ordered some more ammo today. Another 400 rds of 308 Win.
I’ve seen American Eagles locally on craigslist for $38. I bought most of mine at $20. Tempted to sell. But I’ll probably HLOD.
$38 for how many/
I just paid a buck a piece.
Per. Each. Coin.
/not ammo
$1/ .308* = mind blown
*.308 is the best caliber of all
Oops.
Been a long day.
I love me some 308. I haven’t shot any in a while because I don’t much like the sucking sound my wallet makes when I shoot it.
It’s not the /r/wallstreetbets retards buying silver, for the record. The general sentiment that is a hedge-fund driven distraction campaign (guess who holds lots of silver?)
Ain’t no retail army gonna squeeze silver.
It has been a long time rule of thumb for old circulating US silver coins is ~11X face value. (A dime is about $1.10 in silver etc.) Today I saw the silver cost is 21-22X face value. Now is not the time to buy silver.
Zombie Hunt Bros?
I’ve considered letting some cases of Tula* go, but I still haven’t posted any WTS ads.
I’m going to need to keep my apocalypse army knee deep in ammo.
*Not .308
I don’t think that’s Reddit. I didn’t see anything on Reddit about that other than when they said “DON’T BUY SILVER!” when this started. I think the “silver squeeze” is ginned up by Corporate Media to help out their hedge fund brethren.
So, supposedly, this shit is happening.
I’m soooooo glad I’m retired, but I’ll still probably have to sit thru some shit chain-teaching classes because I still work for Uncle.
How did disbanding Saddam’s army turn out?
Wow.
Every so often I toy with the idea of completing out my time and retiring. And then there’s something this. Not that they’d want me anyways.
What could go wrong?
Are military personnel going to be required to give an oath of allegiance to Joe Biden?
AS I remember it , it was to the Constitution.
I’m sure that’ll work out just great.
“Sir, the results are in.”
By the definitions put forth by the committee that constitute “white nationalist”, almost every white guy in the military is a white supremacist.
In fact, everyone who voted for Trump, and boy are there a lot of them, is a white supremacist. Even the guys who aren’t white.”
Just realized the benefits of cream colored jeans.
blacklight tells no lies, straffin.
During my brother’s bachelor party, one of his wife’s friends went with us to a club. There were black lights. The semen stains on his jeans showed up like white dots.
Ewe
Should we just start calling you Mr Cream Jeans?
Have any of these scenarios happened with a heavily armed populace?
“Split” kind of implies roughly 50/50. It’s way worse than that, and has been for a long time. I’d estimate that at least 90% of the people out there believe that the role of the government is to do/subsidize/encourage “good stuff” and ban/penalize/discourage “bad stuff”, and most mainstream political debates for as long as I can remember are just arguing over what’s “good” and “bad”.
This!!!
Off.The.Grid.
If whichever one of you degenerates opens Glib’s Gulch and find you need an airplane mechanic, let me know.
Can you work on gunships? We already have a pilot for them.
Can’t be that hard to build one. Pretty sure I saw the A-team do it in a single montage. We’ll just need some jet-A, a forklift, and some used pinball machine parts.
A rack a day keeps the doctor away.
https://archive.li/MsmJI/4b04c1b9204018e4daac819a8691341089de54e3.jpg
NSFW.
GlibFit.
https://archive.li/QoJkA/fac344e26e3f8ea1389b672036b79405a564476a.jpg
NSFW.
Noice.
Things were going great until I noticed the tattoo. *sad trombone*
The “tribal” armband certainly dates the pic. The subject of the photo is probably a grandmother at this point.
*even sadder trombone*
Sad thrombosis.
Yes sir!
I apologize for being absent; didn’t realize this was coming up. Unfortunately, I’m in the middle of a fairly long work obligation – by the time I get around to reading everything, this thread will be long dead! But I appreciate the feedback and thoughts, so I’ll be sure to read through everything when I get the chance. After all, I need to read carefully to make sure all the dossiers are in order. Especially Mr. Staffinruns.
happened to me recently
Thank you!
For the record, whatever is written on parchment and however the state interprets it is what I firmly believe in.
I’m wondering whether the title was intended to be “whither” or “wither”. Or thinking whether whither my future, or whether my concern is withering. Guess I’ll go read Wuthering Heights.
my people still pronounce wh; does anyone else?
Anarchists are really libertarians, that have time to burn shit.
#ChangeMyMind
Minarchists are libertarians that will grab the last ember of their rights from the bonfire and wonder why they got burned.
I’d argue that anarchists are willfully ignoring humankind’s inherent need for structure and order…Much like communists ignore humankind’s need for individualism and self expression outside of a collective. Both pretend the other side isn’t needed in a group setting.
+1 Joker, sup homie?
Most libertarin song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AnElQD124s
They take away our freedom
In the name of liberty
Why can’t they all just fuck off?
Why can’t they let us be?
They make us feel indebted
For saving us from Hell
And then they put us through it
It’s time the bastards fell
#HelloPreet
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QtTj4cramPM
?
https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2021/02/more-than-400000-disinfectant-sprayers-recalled-because-they-may-explode-catch-fire.html
Oops.
What was I thinking when I scheduled my annual check-up for 7 am???
I can’t even have my coffee yet because I don’t drink it black. : (
Luckily, the office is right around the corner.
“Get it out of the say early and get on with the day”?
Yup. In & out. Won’t even have to use any sick leave time.
What passes for “news” these days.
Cosa Nostra.
But, but, everyone looks so happy.
Where’s Gehrig at? Because that looks like quite the Murderer’s Row… 😉
“it’s a bit of hyperbole (but not THE Hyperbole)”
Brilliant. Well played. A perfect example why I love Glibs.