The Constitution is dead. It is the God that failed.
What made American Constitutional government unique was that it turned the idea of ruler and ruled on its head. Sure, the English had their traditional rights that Parliament and the King had to tread lightly around, but America said, in effect, that there were no rulers, only public servants whose remit was limited and who were answerable, all of them, to the public. Crucially, the primary government wasn’t the national government, it was the state governments, which retained most of the governing authority under the Constitution. Naturally, this is grossly oversimplified, as I have a whole paragraph to set the premise here, so quibble away.
This all depended on a social consensus (at least among those who mattered) that people should be able to run their own lives as they saw fit, and enjoy or suffer the consequences, within very broad boundaries which could be set by the national government, and narrower boundaries that could be set by the state governments. There was little, or at least insufficient, support for a government with plenary authority at any level, much less at the national level.
One odd consequence of this limited government, which was founded on a deep suspicion of government, is that Americans have granted a reflexive legitimacy to their government and its founding charter, the Constitution. This has since evolved into a brainless demand for “democracy”, as if democracy alone can grant legitimacy to a government. Formerly, legitimacy flowed from adherence to the Constitution. Now, it flows from a perceived or asserted popular mood. But the skepticism toward government engrained in many other countries is far less present in America.
The Constitution is no longer really a source of legitimacy for the government, and so it should be no surprise that it is mostly, if not entirely, decorative these days. It is alternately ignored and re-written sub rosa. And whatever legitimacy that its husk still provides for our national government makes it a false idol.
Don’t be fooled by the current support for a couple of the enumerated rights in the Bill of Rights. Aside from freedom of expression and the right to keep and bear arms, it is difficult to locate even a single enumerated right that the government respects based on its founding charter. What support remains for enumerated Constitutional rights is little different, really, than the English adherence to traditional rights via an “unwritten” constitution. The recent gun control decision in Bruen explicitly uses the traditional view of Americans’ right to be armed as the new standard for evaluating gun control laws. Even the abortion decision in Dobbs relies not only on the text of the Constitution, but on the traditional regulation of abortion to conclude there is no free-standing right to an abortion. Defense of Constitutional rights is reverting to something very similar to the English model, which should give anyone who values rights pause.
But the failure of the Constitution runs much deeper than that. The Commerce Clause is now a grant of nearly plenary authority to the federal government, thanks to Wickard. If anything that affects, directly or indirectly, interstate commerce is the remit of the national government, then damn near everything is subject to control by the national government. Virtually the entire bloated administrative state hangs off the Commerce Clause. Limited enumerated powers are resting comfortably in the dustbin of history.
Thanks to the Supremacy Clause, states have been barred from attempting to legislate on anything that the federal government has asserted control over, as evidenced by recent state-level attempts to enforce some kind of control over immigration. The vast amounts of funding that states receive from the national government assures that they will do its bidding, even if a nominal restriction on national government authority makes it inconvenient for the national government to act directly. The state governments as the de facto primary governments are a relic of the past.
The division of government power into three distinct branches is also collapsing. The administrative state combines the executive power to administer laws, the legislative power to write laws, and the judicial power to resolve legal disputes, all under one roof. While it is true that the Court recently trimmed back that judicial power, a little, I think this can safely be regarded, along with their attempts to restrict Commerce Clause power at the margins, as being of little consequence. The consolidation of power into the executive branch, answerable (if at all) only to the President is well advanced.
Taken as a whole, nearly the entire national government cannot be reconciled with the Constitution, whether you take an originalist or a textualist approach. A “living” Constitution approach is an admission that the Constitution imposes no limits on the government. The Constitution has been tortured (and you can only torture the living) into telling us what we want to hear – that the “general welfare” clause authorizes wealth transfers, that the Commerce Clause authorizes national control of the economy, etc. At the very best, the Court has awoken to this far too late, and as a consequence can do far too little. The Court, acting alone, cannot return us to Constitutional government. Nor do I think, at this point, would it be a good idea for it to seriously try.
The defenestration of the Constitutional scheme of limited, divided government is not solely the result of misc. Beltway cabals doing what any organization does – attempt to expand its size and power. It has been a generations-long process, repeatedly demanded or ratified by the American public. Officials devoted to a plenary national government have been elected, re-elected, appointed, and given free reign. People who believed that the national government should not guarantee incomes, should not micro-manage our lives, should not attempt to police and control foreign nations, have been non-starters in elections (and, as a consequence, appointments) for decades. This doesn’t happen unless this is what the American public wants, and has wanted for a long time. Opportunities to slow or reverse these trends arrive every few years, and have been disregarded over and over again. Any restraint on the inherent bureaucratic drive to expand has been cast aside at the societal level, and only then, as a result, at the government and legal level.
Its not that the “long march through the institutions” has created an illusion that the public generally wants the all-powerful national government that our soi-disant elites want. This process began long before the long march. The long march has been more about bending the national government to a particular set of policies, not creating an all-powerful national government by administrative agency (although it certainly has supported the centralization and expansion of state power). Its no illusion that the public wants an all-powerful national government. Any political disputes now are solely about what that government will do.
There is simply no appetite at any level for returning to a limited, divided government. Whatever social and cultural roots America had that made it exceptional, a place where people were free to pursue their lives subject to only the most limited interference by the national government, have withered. Incremental reform, driven by electoral politics, is simply not possible. Even if some major progress toward a return to a Constitutional national government could be made, we would simply be returning to a status quo from which the current all-powerful national government arose, and there is no reason to believe it would not arise again. The Constitution has failed of its stated purpose, and will again. The expenditure of energy on such a project is wasteful and counterproductive.
The way forward, to a revived American experiment, starts at the bottom – the creation of a new social/cultural resistance to an overweening national government. This, in turn, requires the creation of a persuasive new political ideology (not libertarianism, which has, like the Constitution, failed). For that, you will need to wait for the next verbose installment.
Alas RC. I find it hard to argue with your hypothesis. Since I was born (and several generations before) every generation of American has been less free. Most people don’t miss that freedom because freedom is scary, and you may fail and have to take accountability for that failure.
Still I believe in what the Founding Fathers attempted and try to hold up my small corner of that dream.
Most people don’t miss that freedom because freedom is scary, and you may fail and have to take accountability for that failure.
It also means other people may do things you don’t like.
If my kids tried to raise their children with the freedoms that I enjoyed then in most parts of the country my grandchildren would be quickly stripped from their parents.
The mass, and ongoing, psychosis over “da VID” further illustrates that all too many Americans will happily strip away your rights because of their fears. Recently I joked about the people who continue to wear masks while driving alone in a car and was told by a 40 something those people should be admired rather than mocked or pitied because “they cared” while I was selfish to be concerned about only “my so-called rights.”
I’m not trying to hurt any feelings with a simplistic explanation, but it’s naive women’s thinking to prefer bureaucratic pipe dreams over stand on your own two feet freedom. That base is basically half the population; the women who don’t feel that way are made up for the flaky men who do.
doG help me I sound like fucking FoxNews, but America literally doesn’t have the balls for freedom any more.
All of us raised in the ’60s and ’70s understand that every one of our parents would be visited by CPS.
My white pill is the parents in my neighborhood. Lots of youngsters running amok – playing in the creek, staging battles with airsoft guns and setting up stands selling all kinds of stuff. A couple little dudes were selling golf balls next to the course. They also had a can for the Golden Retriever rescue down the road.
Not giving up yet.
Still pockets left on the East Slope anyway. Kids still ride bikes all over my little town and helmets are rare.
Free range children are a threat to Democracy.
Yeah. the other day I saw a little girl (6 maybe) riding he pink bike with the white wicker basket and white handlebar streamers to the park. Her cute dinosaur helmet was hanging from the handlebars and she was – alone. And. Nothing else happened.
Meanwhile, the cops slow rolled past my 5 year old on her bike this morning, clearly concerned because she didn’t have parents hovering around her. Of course, we were maybe 50 yards behind her on the road.
It’s Oregon, so I think kids half to wear helmets, but I see kids riding bikes, scooters, heading down to the “river”, I have been hearing fireworks for the last couple days now, more than a few times I have seen those ridiculous electric scooters that the city provided being ridden by the helmetless. And so on. If you leave kid to their own devices, they will go and do stupid shit. And I think the hold my sons generation* parents is getting a bit less tight.
*My son was born when I was 24, and I quickly found myself to be, on average, 10 years younger that his friends parents.
I remember when the youth helmet law was passed. Wasn’t that long ago. And surprise, kids wore them before that.
The mass, and ongoing, psychosis over “da VID” further illustrates that all too many Americans will happily strip away your rights because of their fears
Welcome to American history, take a number.
If the Commerce Clause is the end all be all, there is nothing that the FedGov can’t require, prohibit, or manage. That can’t be right.
Same with the 10A: it can’t mean that the states can do whatever they want so long as a majority sign off on it and no enumerated right is violated.
I’m a 9A guy. I want the US to be wheels off mind your own business cowboy up free for all; but I’m not going to get that. Okay, I’m wrong according to everyone, but the cost is 50 shades of authoritarianism, which I will not live long enough to see otherwise.
Freedom is ugly and expensive and distasteful: almost no Americans are up to it.
Its not that the “long march through the institutions” has created an illusion that the public generally wants the all-powerful national government that our soi-disant elites want. This process began long before the long march.
Yes.
The way forward, to a revived American experiment, starts at the bottom – the creation of a new social/cultural resistance to an overweening national government.
I think it’s coming fast. Grievance mongers and grifters will see hellfire rained upon them about 20 minutes after the government confiscates investments and calories become scarce.
Thanks, RC. Great post!
And once again, RCD and JI seem to be sharing a mind, as tomorrow there will be a deconstruction of the long march.
Looking forward to it. Despite how fucking depressing it is!
I was almost going to announce Black Pill Week…but I wasn’t sure about the end of the week scheduling.
Glib Fit?
Grievance mongers and grifters
$0.02; They’re not about freedom, though: it’s 80% identity politics and petty prohibitions out there. And they don’t agree unless they project and misunderstand each other…..like the Tea Party or Trumpists, a caldron of crazies more than an aligned thinktank. If anything productive comes up it, it will be more Reign of Terror than refreshed republic.
I’m related to all these flyover working class folks. They only believe in freedom as long as you are following their social norms. Minding their own business in not their plan.
….it’s 80% identity politics and petty prohibitions out there.
Sure, but 5% of that remaining 20 can definitely shift things.
Miss 3 meals and everyone is a revolutionary.
They don’t need to confiscate the investments, just inflate the paper (more)
You’re right. It amounts to the same.
Things good in the North Woods?
Now, it flows from a perceived or asserted popular mood.
Which is a lie. That is a bullying tactic pushed by those who can’t persuade but want their way anyway.
The Constitution was always just ink on paper. It only ever functioned because people took it seriously, and since we aren’t a serious people anymore it doesn’t. It also functioned, when it did, because it stuck to the things that only govt can do, as opposed to doing loads of things it can’t (or at the very least does exceptionally poorly).
I think this is why I don’t like the idea of it as a god that failed – it sets the premise at the impossible. If anything, that is precisely the problem progressives have with govt displacing every other institution in their lives.
I figured RC was gonna give us a Hoppean critique.
The Constitution was always just ink on paper. It only ever functioned because people took it seriously, and since we aren’t a serious people anymore it doesn’t
The squirrels are intent on me not responding to this, so I’ll keep it brief. Absolutely agreed, and it’s a testament to the ideals of the Constitution that it took a century from when Woodrow Wilson ushered in the post-constitutional era for the seams to pop on our society.
Earlier today there was a discussion on why not to serve. A former Chemical Corps officer lays it out on why recruiting sucks.
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/07/04/the-establishment-is-running-out-of-cannon-fodder-for-its-woke-military-n2609664
Not discussed are all the people retiring right on 20 years and not even considering staying in. High quality people are bailing and most of the remainders will be of minimal use.
I think the student loan issue is huge, bigger than the rest. I’m glad he brought it up.
The firebugs across the street have their dog on a leash watching on. The poor thing is squealing in terror.
Yay, hours more of this.
Nice job Mr Dean. Well written and on point – but depressing. I’ve been ruminating on this all day. Our little town had a fun little Fourth parade, but the usual warm feelings I get about my country just weren’t.there. For my little corner of it, yeah, for the whole thing, not so much.
Did you drive Black Beauty?
Tomorrow. Finally finished playing Goldilocks with the front wheel bearing shims – this one’s too thick, this one’s too thin.
Excellent. There was a car cruise in Golden on Saturday. Saw a pretty blue one go by. Seriously one of the best Brit car designs ever.
Very pretty, under the lovely skin, though, it’s still the 1930’s
Yes. And thank you for preserving important history. You should have seen the little kids going crazy over the cars going by.
The problem is we don’t the many nice little corners, and we are inundated via the media with the crap. It definitely creates a rear guard mentality – but that may be just as phony as the BS artists we call the elite.
Ditto. It just isn’t the same. It’s not any one thing. It’s not the economics or the current admin or the lingering aftertaste of the medical tyrants. It’s all of the above and more. Every good and sane person I talk to looks around suspiciously and speaks in hushed tones, even when saying perfectly legitimate and uncontroversial things. Maybe I could’ve more directly sought out the pomp and circumstance, but I haven’t seen much of it this weekend. A few flags, a few fireworks shows. Besides that, the mood seems dour. People have more serious things on their minds.
*remembers to schedule nose swab for tomorrow so my badge is enabled to get into the office*
Lovely… the nose swab now costs money but I haven’t received any updated instructions from my company. I guess I’ll be asking forgiveness on Wednesday if they deactivate my badge.
They dropped the test mandate from my work. No big announcement, just a quiet email sayin as of June 7 you no longer have to do it.
So glad I don’t have to deal with that crap.
No word from my company on “return to the office” in months. I think they have more-or-less given up and decided not to rock the boat. 🤞🏻
“So glad I don’t have to deal with that crap.”
This is why it’s good to be in charge.
We’ve never had any mandates.
‘Naturally, this is grossly oversimplified, as I have a whole paragraph to set the premise here, so quibble away.’
Akshully, the articles of confederation were better.
Funny, but the Founders found them deficient. I guess their lived experience doesn’t count.
Or their desire for more power.
Easy to imagine the counter-history, where the Articles stand and the States fall to foreign powers, one after another. It’s a minor miracle we won the Revolution, mostly in spite of the failures of the then-central govt.
We had the articles for a number of years. Weird that no one started shit then… How long did it take us to get into the quasi war after the constitution? And an uprising right after as well?
There is always some justification for more centralized power. I don’t buy it.
Also z that in itself is a false dichotomy. We didn’t have to give all the powers the feds ended up with to have a government which could fund and defend itself.
The Constitution has failed of its stated purpose, and will again
Might sound odd coming from me, but I don’t find this to be a compelling reason. Every man made system fails given enough time. That’s life and yet we battle on because there is no other choice.
Seconded.
Edward Ruffin took a shotgun to his head when he saw his beloved culture destroyed. Perhaps those feeling that way in the future will take the shotgun to someone else’s head first?
The Supreme Court exists in the mind of every adult. Just a question of where you draw the line. Some will say they’ll defend the system out of loyalty or a pledge. That’s foolishness to me.
R C. I fear you are right.
Why are we in this cauldron and why is the water getting warmer?
Best I can tell at least six of my neighbors are ignoring the no fireworks rule, the one I can see best is pretty impressive for an amateur. The only thing I see missing form the big boy shows is three stage explosions and the curly-q high pitched whistle-y things.
In times like these, I gain some comfort from the words of Silent Cal:
“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.”
It is a sobering thought that we will never have another president with this clarity of vision and this ability to articulate it. So… let’s drink. And grill. And watch the bang-bangs.
To get a little of the old feeling back.
Listen to what should be our national anthem.
https://youtu.be/xjd5BRwUdlk
That was good, In all the glory of the 1970’s I present another contender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTSLRbm8L9E
Both my kid’s spouses became US citizens and I have had the honor of giving the oath of citizenship to multiple Soldiers. As shit as we are as a country, we are still a hold a well deserved beacon of hope across the world.
There is no love of the USA as a new citizen, and no loathing as profound as a displayed by a progressive- old or young.
Thanks, mikey. Love that.
Workin’ on it. With a little less enthusiasm than if it wasn’t a school night.
As ultraviolet as this state is we have enough people that say “Fuck Yeah ‘Murica!” and we have plenty of fireworks all over and they started this morning. That is a small point, but a positive one.
Yeah, our neighborhood was full of flags and there was a parade. Kids decorated their bikes, the FD brought a truck for show n tell, and some cool youngster came by with an old school minibike all decked out.
No helmet.
I’ve been out of the army for 46 years now. I was glad to leave and I’m assuming it was a mutual feeling with those others that knew me. I’m still in contact with several friends, all from my first tour in VN.
I usually post this and haven’t seen it yet today, so here you4th of July go:
Always a treat.
I’m not all that jingoistic but here’s a song that mentions the fourth of July.
I was just about to post a video with the guy who wrote this great song. We have some impeccable taste in music! Some top notch backing musicians in this video. I didn’t even have to go looking for the video because I already had it open in another window.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54zxtGQP-eY
Scooter Jennings for being young on the 4th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIHe7LNVtzY
The original video has been memoried holed, but if you can find it you may enjoy it. It was filmed at Slab City.
I like Shooter. He’s got some real good stuff.
Damn. Thanks, Pud.
You always come through. I hope all is well in your world.
Thanks man. I enjoyed the version you posted.
Life is good, but I’m WAY behind schedule with work due to the stupid shitty weather this spring. If it’s not raining during the day, it’s either windy or really hot, making it very tough to keep my chemical warfare schedule on track. But I bitch about the weather like a farmer every year, so same old same old.
I sounds like you are really enjoying Colorado, which is great. We got some awesome hiking trails around me, but your area blows it away. Glad to hear you are taking advantage of it and making it part of your routine. Next up: ice climbing.
on the stairs, I smoke a cigarette alone;
Mexican kids are shooting fireworks below;
And, hey baby, it’s the forth of July!
That’s what I was expecting.
Drunk, muggled, full of tacos. Spud, Whahappen and his lovely wife and daughter are here. Joined by some of WebDom’s other employees, we are having a lovely Independence Day. Alfred, NY is the tits. This article is depressing in its truthyness. I love you all and hope you are having a great evening full of pyrotechnic delights.
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Glad to hear you made it safe.
This should make for some good stories.
Have a wonderful night l0b0t!
So looking forward to meeting all of you! 🙂
The Deadly Bees > The Swarm
One almost uniquely American thing is the road trip. I’ve driven long distances in Europe but it is different. In the US (less my current home) you can drive for days and just the country in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRzu1FFLUTI
Just watching this makes me want to take a road trip. That is why whenever I get back to the mainland I make sure to travel somewhere.
Back in 1991 some German friends visited us in Arizona. We took them for a short trip from Tucson to the US/Mex border on the south side of the Huachuca Mtns. They were amazed by the open space and empty dirt roads. I pulled off at one spot and announced that this our site for the night since there was a backstop to shoot into and a trailhead for a walk in the morning. They were flat out shocked that we could do that. I explained that we were on public land and that this was part of our heritage.
At night is was clear and dark with coyotes howling and various night noises. In the morning they confessed to not sleeping well because they felt so in the wilderness. I laughed, gave them some cowboy coffee and explained that we had real wilderness, and this wasn’t it. They were sufficiently impressed by a rattlesnake we saw while we were hiking, but under impressed by the javelina. When we saw the Gila Monster they noped right out of continuing to hike. They did like Bisbee when we went there after breaking down camp.
the summer after I went to Scotland for a year abroad, a friend I’d made there came out for a Girls Car trip through the southwest. And when she got over how big everything was, we realized that part of the reason she had no understanding of how big the US is, is because of maps. (this was, of course, in the days people still used maps and atlases) All the maps of the UK stretch across the exact same two pages as the two pages they give to the US. So even though she *knew* the US was bigger (I mean, they have globes), it never really sunk in because nearly everything they see is sized to make the US the same as the UK. I’m sure Germany/Europe was the same back then. So they have the instinct that San Fran to New York is like, idk, Paris to Berlin. Which is why none of them comprehend why we don’t have more trains. it’s similar I guess to how Americans visualize Greenland the size of South America
Heh, I knew someone who suggested similar. “I would love to meet you in New Orleans, sugar, but it’s not that simple.”
It took me 4 days to drive from Los Angeles CA to Washington DC. Tell any confused Europeans Los Angeles to New York is about the same road distance as Lisbon to Moscow. Europeans also boast about being polyglots. It is more important to be when you can’t go more than a few hours without entering an area that uses a different language.
Shit, people around here don’t seem to speak english, so maybe I need to learn
anothera language.Wait, Four days? Did you even sleep?
For Suthern, have a great year muchacho.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuapCENFM2U&list=RDGMEMYQNnkCeucvXPZmorerFbHg&index=3
Damn! I didn’t even think about linking to an anvil shoot (which is just as amazingly fun and rednecky as it sounds) until now.
I’ll have to do so again
tomorrow morningwhen I’m sober enough to toddle out of bed.That saddens me because I still don’t have my anvil.
Soon you’ll have your chunk of I beam
I suppose september is soon.
That reminds me, I need to start reserving hotel rooms.
Have a happy 4th, everyone! This place is wonderful, I am thankful that I made the crossing, both from TOS and the place I used to write for.
This and Halloween seem to be the only holidays I can stand anymore, and I’m getting sick of Halloween.
My family still does many of the holidays. It helps that I don’t have family that view holidays as opportunities for struggle sessions.
(uhhh… the other other place?)
I knew a girl who was almost a lady
She had a way with all the men in her life
Every inch of her blossomed in beauty
She was born on the fourth of July
Today the unthinkable happened…I lasted on a thread. My Firsting sense is completely off. I fear I have become not as fit and complacent. This is inexcusable. I know that so much more is expected of me.
Dammit, I have a shit-ton to say about this but am now too tired and tipsy to do so.
Maybe I should write a companion/rebuttal article rather than just comment…
The more articles the merrier.
Oui.
Thanks for the article. A good read, and I look forward to the next one.
The clamoring of the people to be led, and of the would be authorities to lead, is an age old problem. Coupled with the fact that while most people would like to be free themselves they also want to tell others what to do makes any liberty minded ethic difficult to preserve. But every now and then the failures that result from indulging these impulses leads people to reevaluate and course correct, so I think there’s always reason to hope and keep working for something better.
Morning, Glibs.
The details are gone now, but my alarm went off during a dream where there was a referendum on toilets, so I was trying to find the flush handle on my nightstand.
I didn’t find one.
I did eventually wake up enough to realize what was going on and shut off the alarm.
I hope this isn’t an omen for the rest of the day.
Sounds crappy.
Mornin.
🎶 Somebody spoke, and I went into a dream…
Nightmares suck.
Not even a nightmare: a pole fell onto cement at 4 a.m. the other morning. The resultant car alarm was how I knew it wasn’t Exploding Head Syndrome (sic).
What is ‘Exploding Head Syndrome’?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zt_UMKJ5oY4
Auditory hallucinations upon falling asleep or during sleep. I didn’t invent the phenomenon or the terminology!
Thank you. I’d never heard of it before.
Not to be confused with
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ9xNBOjbsE
Ms. TO’G! THERE you are! I’ve been trying to track you down to learn of your “trifling recommendations” from yesterday. (I was offline much of the rest of the day.)
Wet the bed?
😛
No.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/philadelphia-july-4th-shooting-videos-go-viral-america-is-a-horror-movie/ar-AAZbY3z
I’m gonna need you people to provide alibis.
Is it America is a horror movie or Philly is a shithole? A few incidents across thousands of events in a nation of over three hundred million does not a horror movie make.
A few incidents across thousands of events in a nation of over three hundred million does not a horror movie make.
In the hands of the right director you get a blockbuster. And look who is directing.
https://ktla.com/news/what-we-know-about-the-highland-park-parade-suspect/
Oh, he’s gonna be popular in prison.
https://fox40.com/news/there-are-no-affordable-and-desirable-counties-left-in-california-study-finds-these-places-come-closest/
PA made the #2 spot. Just sayin.
There are no desirable counties in california. It is California.
I used to work in Stockton. My dad grew up there, my wife lived there for a while.
That is a tough town.
Chris Isaak is from there.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/marple-newtown-fourth-of-july-parade-deeply-rooted-in-tradition-for-many-families/ar-AAZc4MQ
They had the Oscar Mayer weinermobile!
Morning Glibs.
Why am I not waking up?
Because I’m drinking the non-caffinated evening beverage.
Well, crap.
Mornin, Ralphs.
Daily Quordle 162
6️⃣4️⃣
7️⃣5️⃣
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Daily Quordle 162
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⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Daily Quordle 162
5️⃣4️⃣
2️⃣6️⃣
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⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟨🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
The Confederate Constitution was in nearly all ways identical to the US constitution. Might be some information and ideas to draw out from that fact.
Mises radio, on YouTube, has a series called “Liberty versus Power”, in which the first years of the US republic are discussed—up to the end of the Jacksonian era. The Jacksonians were the first group to really bind back the growing power of the FedGov, according to the podcast.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLALopHfWkFlFWHjOG6slaerXTQ-Z-ga1R
For example, one can get an idea how the Constitution holds up as a wartime government for a nation under sustained and unrelenting attack.
How does it handle military matters? How does it handle civil liberties in wartime?
Obviously, there’s more to the situation than the form of central government the nation has.
I have an idea that it was the closing of the Frontier that allowed the subsequent dramatic growth in FedGov power.
At the very least, it severely curtailed the ability for people to effectively vote with their feet.
Good morning, cav973, Teh Hype, Tulip, TO’G, U, Sean, zwak, and Stinky!
I’m a bit trepidatious about my work day today – Boss will be back from his day off Friday and no doubt clamoring for the month-end reports (one of which has to be teased out from the hot mess posted for that account in the general ledger) AND I have to submit payroll pronto after the holiday – when there’s a good chance some supervisors will be out on vacation and will NOT have made arrangements for someone else to approve their subordinates’ timesheets. And as soon as this week’s payroll is done, I need to plug in a bunch of special midyear pay increases for the NEXT biweekly…due to the rapid rate of inflation.
If January is my Hell Month, July may well be Hell Month Lite.
Wait, your people get cost of living adjustments?
I don’t believe you.
I don’t recall that we’ve ever done this midyear before. As it was described to me, it’s more of an “advance” on your usual year-end pay increase – the percentage increase you get this month will be subtracted from the percentage increase you earn, based on your annual evaluation, at the end of the year. Of course, I have to go through the same process twice – entering two small pay increases instead of one larger one. 😕
Morning, Missus.
Before I fall back asleep, my unsolicited advice:
Justin’s PB cups are far superior to whatever the new Reese’s things.
Have you ever tried Take 5 bars? a little bit of everything. PB, nuts, pretzels…
milk
If there’s a Big Lots near you, they have Thin Mint imposters for a buck, or at least my local does.
The first two Ramona books are rather dated. I like the ’70s ones better (layoffs and recession: how apt).
dunno how milk got in there, but anyway: stet? Grrr, was just thinking how phone and tablet require different skills than Control-Z. Les doigts legères.
I just figured it was an ingredient in a Take 5.
probably…
“Milk, flour, eggs… That’s nutrition!
“🎶 Dad is great / He gives us chocolate cake”
And Trader Joe’s PB cups! I think they have both milk and dark. Nom!
I was supposed to be on a diet. Oh well.
Take 5 sounds like a boy band.
I know, but they’re awesome. Sorry, am probably giving you all cavities.
Dave Brubeck is a boy band?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ryA6eHZNnXY
::researches Justin’s, sees DARK chocolate PB cups, squees, gleefully notes they’re allegedly carried at BOTH nearby grocery chains::
The pretzels in the Take 5 don’t really add to the appeal for me (nor do the potato chip bits in one or the other of the “novelty” Reese’s.) I think I prefer my sweet separate from my salty – and don’t really have much of a “salty” tooth.
There is indeed a Big Lots very near me, so I’ll have to snoop around there for the pseudo-Thin Mints. Thanks!
Duly noted re: Ramona.
Mornin’, GT. July would be worse than January, no? Putting together reports is a challenge when the content providers are vacationing or otherwise distracted by summertime blues.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YXcYZsqkZ-g
🤘🏼🤘🏼🎸
Mornin’, reprobates.
Always good to read a depressing post to start the week off. Actually very good, but the truth hurts.
There is also the element of popular culture shaping opinions and pushing ideas. When someone doesn’t have a strong grounding in the ideals of limited government and expanded individual liberty, one can be indoctrinated into the idea that the government is supposed to take care of everyone and make everyone “equal”.
And the internet has dialed every disagreeable trend up to 11. It used to be, you can ignore crackpots and their shitty ideas. Now they get magnified and eventually take over.
Morning all,
The 4th came and went like so many before. We check the bees on the 2nd, got a little honey but things are looking good. My partner kicked my butt as usual but we’re full partners so his input will be shared. I spent July 3 and 4 sitting in a recliner with blankets pulled over me, sleeping most of the time. Much better today, damned summer cold. Had one about the same time last year, too.
First time in 3 days that I’m enjoying the java fix early in the morning.
Summer colds suck, glad you’re feeling better. Nothing like a fine cup of coffee in the morning.
INSURRECTION!!!
https://babylonbee.com/news/british-parliament-forms-july-4-commission-to-investigate-colonial-insurrection
Somebody scheduled a meeting at 8am. WTF
“We need a status update to the items discussed friday evening.”
Evil.