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Just as others have a right to judge us for giving offence.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EBut being offended is not an argument. Being offended, as Stephen Fry says, is nothing more than a whine.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESelf-esteem, sensitivity, respect for others’ beliefs, renunciation of prejudice are all good as far as they go [\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/whyevolutionistrue.com\/2021\/01\/25\/a-great-book-on-freedom-of-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Esays\u003C\/a\u003E the author of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Kindly-Inquisitors-Attacks-Thought-Expanded\/dp\/022614593X\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=\u0026amp;sr=\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003EThe Kindly Inquisitors\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Jonathan Rauch]. But as primary social goals they are incompatible with the peaceful and productive advancement of human knowledge. To advance knowledge, we must all sometimes suffer. Worse than that, we must inflict suffering on others.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003EBut the suffering is not literal. Sticks and stones can break your bones, but mere words cannot.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIf your opinion is honestly held, and reasonably delivered, then the best response to people who do accuse you\u0026nbsp;of giving offence is “Suck it up; you’ll live.”\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003ERobust argument is good. But simply stating \"I'm offended\" is not an argument. Fry and his friends Christoper Hitchens and Salman Rushdie delivered three well-known responses you should memorise for when you need them:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/7611744-if-someone-tells-me-that-i-ve-hurt-their-feelings-i\"\u003EHitchens\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“If someone tells me that I’ve hurt their feelings, I say, ‘I’m still waiting to hear what your point is.’\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; In this country, I’ve been told, ‘That’s offensive’ as if those two words constitute an argument or a comment. Not to me they don’t.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; And I’m not running for anything, so I don’t have to pretend to like people when I don’t.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/706825-it-s-now-very-common-to-hear-people-say-i-m-rather\"\u003EStephen Fry\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that.’ As if that gives them certain rights. It’s actually nothing more. . . than a whine. ‘I find that offensive.’ It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. ‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so fucking what.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003EAnd where would \u003Ci\u003EBlackadder\u003C\/i\u003E be without \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qnFeJzOfvxQ\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eoffence\u003C\/a\u003E?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/739464-nobody-has-the-right-to-not-be-offended-that-right#:~:text=Sign%20Up%20Now-,Nobody%20has%20the%20right%20to%20not%20be%20offended.,things%20offend%20lots%20of%20people.\"\u003ESalman Rushdie\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;If you are offended it is your problem, and frankly lots of things offend lots of people.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;I can walk into a bookshop and point out a number of books that I find very unattractive in what they say. But it doesn’t occur to me to burn the bookshop down. If you don’t like a book, read another book. If you start reading a book and you decide you don’t like it, nobody is telling you to finish it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;To read a 600-page novel and then say that it has deeply offended you: well, you have done a lot of work to be offended.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/whyevolutionistrue.com\/2021\/01\/25\/a-great-book-on-freedom-of-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJerry Coyne\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1939449955557824000\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/im-offended.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1939449955557824000"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1939449955557824000"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/im-offended.html","title":"\"I'm offended.\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1077492715647999467"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-27T09:20:00.007+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-27T09:20:03.290+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"\"Hate Speech\""},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Speech"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"The answer to hate speech is *more* speech\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-QuQlz1k6aTk\/YA3zucgzf7I\/AAAAAAAAnd4\/fQr1tdt2AXoa84H5xKNa3DDYGSwMTdW1QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s389\/9780190859121_custom-a7ca6ad56888eea07bfb2abd0b16b8e9e1e939ae-s300-c85.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"389\" data-original-width=\"257\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-QuQlz1k6aTk\/YA3zucgzf7I\/AAAAAAAAnd4\/fQr1tdt2AXoa84H5xKNa3DDYGSwMTdW1QCLcBGAsYHQ\/w421-h640\/9780190859121_custom-a7ca6ad56888eea07bfb2abd0b16b8e9e1e939ae-s300-c85.jpg\" width=\"421\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"T\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Ehe most effective way to counter the potential negative effects of hate speech — which conveys discriminatory or hateful views on the basis of race, religion, gender, and so forth — is not through censorship, but rather through more speech. And that censorship of hate speech, no matter how well-intended, has been shown around the world and throughout history to do more harm than good in actually promoting equality, dignity, inclusivity, diversity, and societal harmony.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Nadine Strossen, former head of the ACLU, from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/#\"\u003Ean interview at NPR\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.spiked-online.com\/2021\/01\/22\/the-answer-to-hate-speech-is-more-speech\/?fbclid=IwAR2VdAymAYMbRA6f4aSZ2B9OSn_emOD9EcwqqiIMhqSvIF26aJekJ2YX-hU\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAmy Peikoff\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELINK to book at \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/0190859121?tag=npr-online-20\u0026amp;linkCode=osi\u0026amp;th=1\u0026amp;psc=1\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAmazon\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bookdepository.com\/HATE-Nadine-Strossen\/9780190089009?ref=grid-view\u0026amp;qid=1611527190343\u0026amp;sr=1-2\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBook Depository\u003C\/a\u003E at \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.unitybooksonline.co.nz\/business-social-sciences-and-economics\/social-science\/hate-why-we-should-resist-it-with-free-speech-not-censorship\"\u003EUnity Books\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/#\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1077492715647999467\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/the-answer-to-hate-speech-is-more-speech.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1077492715647999467"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1077492715647999467"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/the-answer-to-hate-speech-is-more-speech.html","title":"\"The answer to hate speech is *more* speech\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-145244497414165150"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-26T10:46:00.003+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-26T10:46:28.151+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Social Justice"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stephen Hicks"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"2-minute advice for social-justice warriors"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhilosopher Stephen Hicks offers \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.stephenhicks.org\/2021\/01\/25\/two-minute-advice-to-social-justice-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E2 minutes of advice for social-justice warriors\u003C\/a\u003E ...\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"BLOG_video_class\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/L3PGM69dQM4\" width=\"625\" youtube-src-id=\"L3PGM69dQM4\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt's part of a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gL3860znZCY\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Elonger interview\u003C\/a\u003E with a Spanish libertarian site\u0026nbsp;\"on why communism is 'cool' but Nazism isn’t, 'externalities' of capitalism, whether postmodernism is dangerous, the rise of Jordan Peterson, the achievements of Western civilisation, what is the philosophy of capitalism, capitalism and the culture crisis, why philosophy matters, and some of [Hicks's] current projects.\"\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/145244497414165150\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/2-minute-advice-for-social-justice.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/145244497414165150"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/145244497414165150"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/2-minute-advice-for-social-justice.html","title":"2-minute advice for social-justice warriors"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/L3PGM69dQM4\/default.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-3646830177716759346"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-26T09:14:00.001+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-26T09:14:02.405+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Speech"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Property Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"With no reference to property rights there is no proper implementation of the right to free speech...\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-T4afMk4vUjU\/YA3yPffjdmI\/AAAAAAAAnds\/c3i6vhurTOEqPWsok-ea6RP5n110BLOpACLcBGAsYHQ\/s625\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B10.51.54%2BAM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"625\" data-original-width=\"486\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-T4afMk4vUjU\/YA3yPffjdmI\/AAAAAAAAnds\/c3i6vhurTOEqPWsok-ea6RP5n110BLOpACLcBGAsYHQ\/w498-h640\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B10.51.54%2BAM.png\" width=\"498\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-T4afMk4vUjU\/YA3yPffjdmI\/AAAAAAAAnds\/c3i6vhurTOEqPWsok-ea6RP5n110BLOpACLcBGAsYHQ\/s625\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B10.51.54%2BAM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"T\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Ehere is so much wrong going on with this perspective of freedom of speech, association, etc, as isolated rights detached from any real individual rights. This is causing much confusion ... a profound failure to properly delineate the issues due to the twisted libertarian view that speech is a fundamental right, anytime, anywhere. With no reference to property rights there is no proper implementation of the right to free speech...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"No matter how one may want to twist it or rationalize it, there is no absolute right to speech detached from your and the other's right to property. It is only against government that you have the right to oppose or speak against ...\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Louise Lamontagne, from her \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/JohnGaltLine\/permalink\/1887558274730412\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Epost\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3646830177716759346\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/with-no-reference-to-property-rights.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3646830177716759346"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3646830177716759346"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/with-no-reference-to-property-rights.html","title":"\"With no reference to property rights there is no proper implementation of the right to free speech...\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-6138837639280302955"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-25T09:30:00.005+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-25T10:04:37.960+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Speech"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tara Smith"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"No, they're not \"exceptions\" to free speech"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-WrMbx025OqU\/YA3YfqILAYI\/AAAAAAAAndc\/mFeJthoYGtYskJH0RY3RNQoXCsbfzA8igCLcBGAsYHQ\/s972\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B9.25.44%2BAM.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"724\" data-original-width=\"972\" height=\"297\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-WrMbx025OqU\/YA3YfqILAYI\/AAAAAAAAndc\/mFeJthoYGtYskJH0RY3RNQoXCsbfzA8igCLcBGAsYHQ\/w400-h297\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B9.25.44%2BAM.png\" width=\"400\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9qItQjl9qSc\/YA3Yf3miGgI\/AAAAAAAAndg\/gtjxFZC0HM0aObLM_Aug3RovsBdFwCoYgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1422\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B9.26.12%2BAM.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1422\" data-original-width=\"972\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9qItQjl9qSc\/YA3Yf3miGgI\/AAAAAAAAndg\/gtjxFZC0HM0aObLM_Aug3RovsBdFwCoYgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w406-h597\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-25%2Bat%2B9.26.12%2BAM.png\" width=\"406\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"W\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Ehat about the apparent exceptions to freedom of speech— restrictions on libel, fraud, incitement, and so on? Shouldn’t the legal system restrict a person engaged in those types of speech?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"Yes, it should. The reason is not that they constitute exceptions, however. Rather, it should do so as the proper, context-sensitive application of the absolute principle of free speech.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E~ philosopher Tara Smith, from her paper '\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3166234\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThe Free Speech Vernacular: Conceptual Confusions in the Way We Speak About Speech'\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6138837639280302955\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/no-theyre-not-exceptions-to-free-speech.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/6138837639280302955"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/6138837639280302955"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/no-theyre-not-exceptions-to-free-speech.html","title":"No, they're not \"exceptions\" to free speech"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-7631692609142933318"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-22T08:54:00.001+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-22T08:54:02.020+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Housing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"Tenants have always had rights\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003ELandlords and tenants alike have been gearing up to address the government's law changes affecting them both this year. As it happens, similar things have been happening in Texas, where the Texas Institute for Property Rights \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/texasipr.com\/2021\/01\/tenants-have-always-had-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Emakes the point\u003C\/a\u003E that while\u0026nbsp;housing advocates frequently call for laws to \"protect\" the rights of tenants, the fact is, tenants have always had rights -- just like landlords, they have rights by virtue of being human.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003E \u0026nbsp; [A]ll individuals are endowed with certain rights, namely, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights apply to all individuals, including tenants and landlords. These rights pertain to freedom of action—the freedom to choose and pursue the values that will lead to a happy life...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; The advocates of 'tenants’ rights' imply that tenants have rights that are separate and distinct from landlords and other individuals. This means that tenants allegedly have the freedom to take actions that others may not take, such as staying in a property without paying rent. But if individuals have a right to a value, such as housing, then what of the rights of those who must provide that value? They are no longer free to pursue the values of their choosing.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThis is the important difference between a \u003Cu\u003Eright\u003C\/u\u003E and a \u003Cu\u003Eprivilege:\u003C\/u\u003E\u0026nbsp;A \u003Cu\u003Eright\u003C\/u\u003E demands nothing of anyone else other than that they leave you alone unless you invite them; this protects everybody's rights equally. Whereas a \u003Cu\u003Eprivilege\u003C\/u\u003E\u0026nbsp;demands that others provide you \u003Cu\u003Eby law\u003C\/u\u003E with some good or service -- thus violating \u003Cu\u003Etheir\u003C\/u\u003E rights.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIt's also important to stress that rights do not apply to groups:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003ERights only apply to individuals, and they apply to all individuals equally, tenants and landlords alike.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;If your home is burglarised, it is not an issue of 'home owners’ rights.' If you are defrauded by an unscrupulous financial adviser, it isn’t an issue of 'investors’ rights.' If a landlord violates the terms of his lease agreement with a tenant, it is not an issue of 'tenants’ rights.' In each of these instances, it is an issue of individual rights—an individual has been deprived of his property without his consent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;When 'rights' are applied to groups, the result is pressure group politics. Each group’s 'rights' can only be protected at the expense of individuals in other groups. The individual not in the currently popular group is caught in the crossfire. His freedom to act is secure only so long as his group is in favour.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Those who are truly interested in helping tenants should be advocates for individual rights. When the rights of all individuals are protected—as individuals—then all be free to pursue the values that they want and need. And that includes both landlords and tenants.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIt's just as true in Texas as it is here.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/7631692609142933318\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/tenants-have-always-had-rights.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/7631692609142933318"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/7631692609142933318"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/tenants-have-always-had-rights.html","title":"\"Tenants have always had rights\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1774430750413489232"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-21T14:08:00.002+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-21T14:08:39.911+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"\"Hate Speech\""},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"David Seymour"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Speech"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Politics-ACT"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Property Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A Confusing ACT"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003EGuest post by \u003Cb\u003ETerry Verhoeven\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELet’s start with two facts. First: Hate-speech laws are offensive and insulting to anyone whose political ‘religion’ is rights. Second: We rights-respecters are a minority group. From these two facts you can see the contradiction involved in criminalising free speech that is said to “offend or insult” a person or group – so-called “hate speech”. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year, I supported and voted for the ACT Party primarily because it was proving itself to be an eloquent opponent of Andrew Little’s proposed new “hate speech” laws. Right up until the 2020 election. ACT’s leader David Seymour was the only MP who seemed to get it, arguing cogently for the right to freedom of speech. He seemed to clearly understand both its importance, and the ideas that support it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ESo earlier this week, I had to rub my eyes when I received the following email communication from the ACT Party containing \"a column on a single topic\" headlined 'Free Speech is a Freedom, Not a Right.'\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWas this a joke? Not a bit: this is David Seymour demonstrating he does not understand that \u003Cu\u003Eindividual rights are precisely what sanctions an individual’s freedom in a social context.\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe implication is unpleasant. So, here, read the whole thing for yourself, starting with that headline (I’ve emboldened the most egregious parts) …\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-IAZUmdk036c\/YAjSJWTAaSI\/AAAAAAAAncs\/-IzaXAc1Sbs22qBPukbcAdVFXsedAsdOwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1406\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-21%2Bat%2B1.59.45%2BPM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1406\" data-original-width=\"1196\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-IAZUmdk036c\/YAjSJWTAaSI\/AAAAAAAAncs\/-IzaXAc1Sbs22qBPukbcAdVFXsedAsdOwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w339-h400\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-21%2Bat%2B1.59.45%2BPM.png\" width=\"339\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #2b00fe;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFree Speech is a Freedom, Not a Right \u003C\/b\u003E[from the Act Party newsletter]\u003Cbr \/\u003EFree Speech is as big as all the other problems combined, because it’s the key to solving them. We must protect it from so-called hate speech laws the Government is threatening this year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;To give them credit, the Government recognises a real problem. There are too many people saying too many nasty things, too often, to too many people. We should all work on, as the Queen says, “speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture.” But, empowering a Government department to go around punishing ‘hate-motivated’ speech is impractical and far too open to abuse.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The risk is we lose not only our freedom, but our problem-solving ability. In a healthy culture, you’re allowed to say unpopular things. Judging by her written speeches, Kate Sheppard may have been New Zealand’s best orator, but her views were radical for her time. One of our greatest achievements as a country occurred, and could only have occurred, in a culture of free speech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Of course, Free Speech is important every year. That's why the CCP never stops censoring the internet. Thing is, this year it’s our Government threatening to censor free speech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The Minister of Justice wrote a one-page letter to political party leaders in December. He says the Government will crack down on ‘hate-motivated speech.’ Basically, he wants tougher penalties for more kinds of speech than what’s currently in the Human Rights Act.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;If we’re going to fight this, we need to know what free speech is and isn’t. Some people think it’s the right to say whatever you want. Some people think it’s the right to have other people to give their time listening to you, or perhaps tweet on their platform.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;But who wants to listen to tedious people who claim the right to bore us witless? The problem with all rights is that they only work if someone else plays along. Making speech a right only works if you can make some poor sucker listen.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Free speech is not a right but a freedom.\u003C\/b\u003E \u003C\/i\u003E[!]\u003Ci\u003E Freedom is the ability to plan your future without others arbitrarily messing with you. When people are in conflict, the rules should be written down and clear so everyone knows what to expect. They should be able to know what the rules are, and the penalties for breaking them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;That’s the rule of law, and we get it from an early age. Try going to any Intermediate school at lunch time, change the rules half way through, and see what happens.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EWe already have some restrictions on freedom of speech\u003C\/b\u003E \u003C\/i\u003E[sic] \u003Ci\u003Ethat are compatible with the rule of law. You can’t incite people to commit crimes, you can’t threaten people with violence, you can’t be a nuisance (like shouting fire when there is none).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;If you do those things there’s a good chance you’ll be convicted and punished. The maximum punishments are written in the Crimes Act. On the other hand, you also have clear defences, such as ‘I did not make a threat.’ There are other advantages. When the rules are written down, they apply equally to everyone.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;That’s why hate speech laws are incompatible with freedom. There’s no way of consistently applying what’s offensive. Take the case of Sean Plunkett, who was fined $3,000 by the Broadcasting Standards Authority for ‘amplifying negative stereotypes about Māori.’ The finding was described as a “huge shock…” by the complainant!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The case shows the problem with hate speech laws. You don’t know if you’ve broken them until you are convicted. Whether other people think your views are offensive or might unreasonably influence others is so bland there's no real test.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;In these shadows operate political prejudice. If you’re in the majority of opinion you are probably safe from hate speech laws. Your views will be accepted. It is minorities who need the protection of free speech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Hate speech laws, on the other hand, are mob rule. They amount to the popular using the force of the state to silence the unpopular. They lead to conformity of opinion and blandness in life. They make us less human by suppressing our self-expression. They make our society poorer by suppressing the generation of new ideas and criticism of bad ones.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;For those reasons, freedom to speak our mind under the protection of the rule of law is the foundation of a free society and should be our main priority. If the Government passes laws that allow punishment on the basis of opinion, ACT will petition for a referendum to reverse those laws. We hope you’ll help.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E“Free speech is not a right??!” Unable to come to terms with the blasphemy, I drafted an email and sent it off to David Seymour at his parliamentary email address. Here is what I wrote:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EDear David, \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI refer to today's email I received from ACT, which shocks and dismays me. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Free speech is not a right\"?? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIs this now one of ACT's principles, or is it just a poorly thought-out press release? My understanding is that you last year called freedom of speech a \"sacred right\" (see \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/political\/408979\/act-leader-david-seymour-criticises-gun-laws-in-state-of-nation-address\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/political\/408979\/act-leader-david-seymour-criticises-gun-laws-in-state-of-nation-address\u003C\/a\u003E). Please clarify by reply email. \u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003EThe position taken by ACT in the email implies that if legislation is clear on and upfront about what is not permitted to be communicated to others, then lawmakers may censor and ban whatever they don't like. It implies that legislation and not rights should define and sanction whether a person has freedom to speak their mind or not. The implied 'principle' opens up a Pandora's Box: it gives the government a  green light to censor and ban whatever it doesn't like so long as it is clear and upfront about it. Is that really where you and\/or ACT want to go with this? If it is, or if ACT does not correct its error, my vote and support, including financial support, will be lost. This is just too important to get wrong. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf there is to be any hope for the future of this country, we need to urgently get back to basics on rights. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA right is a principle which defines and sanctions an individual's freedom of action in a social context. Being free to speak one's mind most certainly is a right - a crucial and sacred right, one that is limited only by the right of others to their life, liberty and property, which are more fundamental rights. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFree speech is a type of liberty or freedom, but exercising that liberty is a right. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(I now delve deeper into the subject of rights, if you would indulge me by reading on. If you prefer not to read any more, then skip to the last paragraph.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe right to freedom of speech is under assault today primarily because property rights are under assault. One cannot defend the former without upholding the latter. The quote famously misattributed to Voltaire would be much more effective if it read \"I disapprove of how you are choosing to exercise your property rights, but I will defend to the death your right to exercise them.\" The right to create, enjoy and dispose of one's justly acquired property is the right that implements all other legitimate rights (where property exists). The alternative to property rights drawing boundaries around other rights (where property exists) is to have a clashing chaos of claims to \"rights\", which are really privileges - a violation of rights. This is what we are seeing play out today. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe only problem with upholding the right to freedom of speech by recourse to property rights (where property exists) is that more and more people today are acquiring wealth unjustly through government privileges (subsidies, welfare, grants, bailouts, licenses, etc). This is going to lead to disaffection within the population against those who accumulate wealth, even if a person's accumulated wealth has been earned without any privilege, and empowers the privileged to speak out in favor of more privilege while quashing the rights of others to speak against that idea. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe right of free speech does not mean that one can communicate whatever one wants, where-ever one wants. It means that one can communicate whatever one wants so long as the act of communicating it does not violate anyone's right to life, liberty and property. The Founding Fathers of the U.S. understood this truth, and its importance, which is why they made the First Amendment the First Amendment. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is no such thing as the right not to be offended or insulted. There is only the right to demand that the offending or insulting person leave one's property, or for one to leave their property (as applicable), or to rebut or ignore their slight. These are legitimate rights, not least because they are compossible with all other rights. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf someone doesn't like the truth, then the truth will offend them. No one has the right to suppress the truth simply because it offends, just as no one has the right to spread falsehoods without suffering the consequences, which may include disapproval, insult, boycott, and where justified, legal action, not to mention conscience biting. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo paraphrase Rowan Atkinson's analogy, we all need to build a better free-speech immune system, and not put ourselves in a bubble when it comes to offensive and insulting speech. Whatever happened to the Sticks 'n Stones rhyme? Is it healthy to build a society that hides behind enfeebling laws which are themselves violating rights? We should not encourage or engage in offensive or insulting speech ourselves, and should call others out when lines get crossed, as that is part of being civilised. But to deny the right? That is a road fraught with danger and injustice. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf ACT truly is for freedom, then it must be for rights. To be for rights, it must understand what rights are, what they protect, who has them, why, and how. To that end, I refer you and others to the short online course found at \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/rights.nz\"\u003ERights.NZ\u003C\/a\u003E, or alternatively, to read the book I handed to you last year in Mt Eden when Don Brash was speaker. It is called \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/RIGHTS-Rediscovering-Our-Means-Liberty-ebook\/dp\/B083WC6V9H\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003ERights: Rediscovering Our Means to Liberty\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESincerely, \u003Cbr \/\u003ETerry Verhoeven \u003Cbr \/\u003E** The principled is the practical **\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-axnmSXfKu2I\/YAjQ2u1jpAI\/AAAAAAAAncg\/9ma38RyYhb0g_HNohh55JcJEW_Iyl4LYQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s345\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-21%2Bat%2B1.46.13%2BPM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"345\" data-original-width=\"229\" height=\"247\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-axnmSXfKu2I\/YAjQ2u1jpAI\/AAAAAAAAncg\/9ma38RyYhb0g_HNohh55JcJEW_Iyl4LYQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w164-h247\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-21%2Bat%2B1.46.13%2BPM.png\" width=\"164\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/i\u003EWithin approximately ninety seconds of sending that email, I received a reply, I presume from David, with this one-liner: “Please read, it says it is a freedom, which is better than a right because you don't need someone else to guarantee it.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe confusion here is total: saying that freedom “is better than a right” because you don’t need a guarantee is like saying wealth is better than production because you don’t need to work.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI replied to the reply with the following:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003EYou have it back-to-front.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Freedom necessitates rights being guaranteed, while rights, which are principles recognising the requirements of freedom, exist without needing agreement from others.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; History bears this out. Rights originate as a type of recognition, and then may or may not progress to an agreement which may or may not be enforceable, and are only perfected when they are institutionalised.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EAt the time of writing this, I have received no further reply. \u003Ci\u003E[This post will be updated if we do. – Ed.\u003C\/i\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMr Seymour is apparently unaware that one cannot achieve the end, which is freedom, without the means, which is rights.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy taking a stand against free speech being a right, New Zealand’s self-proclaimed party “for freedom” is sowing confusion and undercutting both freedom (which it says it supports) and rights (which it now says it doesn’t). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat made David Seymour change his tune from last year when he said free speech was a “sacred right” to this January when his very headline declares it not to be a right at all? Perhaps because he fails to fully understand the concept of rights, and so he and\/or his party has decided to abandon the concept to those who misunderstand it altogether – that is, to those who use the word “rights” (the moral concept that ratifies our freedom) to denote what are in fact privileges (claims to things that can only be supplied by others). If so, in failing to fully understand the concept, instead of defending it he appears ready to abandon it to those who would violate it, using the word \"freedom\" in its place to try maintain a vestige of the concept of rights proper. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstead of using their political platforms to teach others \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2005\/05\/cue-card-libertarianism-rights.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewhat rights mean\u003C\/a\u003E, ACT instead appears ready to toss them aside. This is a course that will spell disaster for the rights they reject -- and, therefore, for the freedom they claim to support.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf ACT says it no longer supports freedom to speak as a right, then we should believe them. This means they can no longer offer either a principled or practical voice for freedom. David Seymour can still get his act together: by once again arguing for a freedom based on rights.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E* * * *\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-FeDUYLjlsWg\/YAjThUqT4-I\/AAAAAAAAnc4\/IxPB1gjijxY1IikLk_yI2h97DtKA-0BMACLcBGAsYHQ\/s230\/713y5IzB8IL._US230_.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"230\" data-original-width=\"230\" height=\"87\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-FeDUYLjlsWg\/YAjThUqT4-I\/AAAAAAAAnc4\/IxPB1gjijxY1IikLk_yI2h97DtKA-0BMACLcBGAsYHQ\/w87-h87\/713y5IzB8IL._US230_.jpg\" width=\"87\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETerry Verhoeven is Principal of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/rightsinstitute.org\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ERights Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (an initiative) and author of the book \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/RIGHTS-Rediscovering-Our-Means-Liberty-ebook\/dp\/B083WC6V9H\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003ERights: Rediscovering Our Means to Liberty\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1774430750413489232\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-confusing-act.html#comment-form","title":"11 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1774430750413489232"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1774430750413489232"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-confusing-act.html","title":"A Confusing ACT"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"11"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-3945209091666248745"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-21T09:30:00.005+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-21T09:30:30.187+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"History"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Philosophy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thomas Jefferson"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"... and in 2016 they were shouting \"MAGA!\". And what they got was Trump."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-6NTXS5U4d9M\/YAiQQZXi3gI\/AAAAAAAAncU\/adKSGS6uWNI1LJnrKsvDttISrY3wUnWgACLcBGAsYHQ\/s526\/139655436_10159201032911738_7023649290755439669_n.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"526\" data-original-width=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-6NTXS5U4d9M\/YAiQQZXi3gI\/AAAAAAAAncU\/adKSGS6uWNI1LJnrKsvDttISrY3wUnWgACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/139655436_10159201032911738_7023649290755439669_n.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3945209091666248745\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/and-in-2016-they-were-shouting-maga-and.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3945209091666248745"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3945209091666248745"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/and-in-2016-they-were-shouting-maga-and.html","title":"... and in 2016 they were shouting \"MAGA!\". And what they got was Trump."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-6NTXS5U4d9M\/YAiQQZXi3gI\/AAAAAAAAncU\/adKSGS6uWNI1LJnrKsvDttISrY3wUnWgACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/139655436_10159201032911738_7023649290755439669_n.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-4052890133654652874"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-20T10:55:00.083+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-21T12:54:30.168+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Collectivism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Richard Ebeling"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Trump’s Fall and the Rise of the Tribal Collectivists"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERichard Ebeling\u003C\/b\u003E surveys the cultural and political wreckage in the aftermath of Trump. Friends of liberty must gird themselves, he says in this guest post, for an intellectual and ideological battle the likes of which very few of us have experienced outside of a totalitarian state and its campaign of mind-controlling propaganda. The rise (and plummet) of Trumpism has helped make it possible...\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jMKQmvdg0uw\/YAYSkIo-8eI\/AAAAAAAAnb4\/XitcXgvqxIwEvuL2YRFElAVmg3HudPZmQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s800\/greenrobots-800x508.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"508\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-jMKQmvdg0uw\/YAYSkIo-8eI\/AAAAAAAAnb4\/XitcXgvqxIwEvuL2YRFElAVmg3HudPZmQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h406\/greenrobots-800x508.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003ETrump’s Fall and the Rise of the Tribal Collectivists\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eby Richard Ebeling\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EI\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003Et has often been said that religious wars are the most unforgiving because one or both protagonists are absolutely, if not fanatically, certain that “the” truth is on their side. This is threatening to become the situation in America today with the ideological dogmatism seen in the mindset and extremism of the identity politics warriors and cancel culture crusaders, and their allies in the political party that has swept into controlling power in Washington, D.C. as a result of the recent presidential and congressional elections. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe see that not only to the victor goes the spoils, but a vengefulness of taking advantage of the victory to seemingly condemn and exorcise all and everything viewed as part of the defeated “deplorables.” Not that Donald Trump and many in the Republican Party had not brought this down on themselves. In his manner and message from the time he began running for the office of the presidency, Trump aroused anger, shock, and contempt in many who listened to his words and watched his deeds.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETrump’s Arrogance and Ego\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EHe told the media that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue in New York City and his supporters would still vote for him. At a campaign rally in 2016, he encouraged his followers to physically rough someone up in the crowd, and assured any who might act on his words that he’d cover their legal expenses. His arrogance had no bounds. When asked during the 2016 campaign why he seemed to have so few policy advisors around him, he replied that he did not need them since he was the smartest person he had ever met. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe man who ghost-wrote Trump’s book\u003Ci\u003E The Art of the Deal\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;said that in the 18 months during which he followed Trump around at his home or his places of business, one thing seemed to be always absent among the furnishings: books of any type. Why bother reading anything when you already know everything that is worth knowing? Even though he seemed to have put hardly any actual word on paper himself while \u003Ci\u003Ehis\u003C\/i\u003E book was being (co)written, “Trump appeared to have convinced himself that he had written the book,” said the ghostwriter, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2016\/07\/25\/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all\"\u003ETony Schwartz\u003C\/a\u003E. Reality was what Trump wanted it to be.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETrump the Carnival Hawker and Huckster\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIf I be accused of Monday morning quarterbacking now when Trump is down and out, and that it is easy to put his “imperfections” on display, I beg the readers’ indulgence and permit me to briefly quote what I wrote about him in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/donald-trump-carnival-hawker-leftist-enemies\/\"\u003Eearly 2017\u003C\/a\u003E, when his administration was just beginning:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E“He [Trump] reminds me of the carnival sideshow hawkers enticing us into their attractions by promising wonderous things through exaggeration, deception, distortion, and prurient promises, and for the admission price of only . . .\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Trump is sort of a P.T. Barnum brought back to life. Someone who knows how to play to people’s desires, fears, erotic fantasies, and greed for getting something that is outside of the normal range of everyday life, and only for a few pennies. Hurry in, the show is about to begin in the inside . . .\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; “Trump preys on his potential supporter-victims by drawing upon almost every economic fallacy in the book. You lost your job? It’s because some manipulative foreign supplier stole away your American employer’s customers through a selling swindle of offering his version of the product at a lower price. Don’t worry, Trump is now in charge and he will create jobs by keeping the foreign goods out and by talking to the bad American businessmen who want to produce something, somewhere else. And if they don’t respond favorably to Trump’s words, he has a big stick of special import taxes just for them if they try to import back into America what they have produced outside the country at a lower cost. . . The con man and the huckster are masters at fooling people into believing that they can have something for nothing, or if not for nothing, then at half the usual price.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe Anger and Outrage of Trump’s Opponents\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIf I be also accused of being blind to the conniving ambitions of the Democratic Party and the “progressive” movement, I also said:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“[Trump’s noisiest] opponents are primarily disgruntled Democrats, sore-loser lefties, and political trough-eaters who bet on the wrong political horse in the presidential race. It is especially hard on all of them, because they were all certain that Hillary Clinton was going to win and keep the horn-of-plenty of plunder coming their way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; “They want Trump gone because he offends the aesthetic niceties that form the veneer of altruistic kindness and concern for humanity beneath which they hide their plunder-lusting, while they pick taxpayers’ pockets and arrogantly tell those they have looted that it is all for their own good and the rest of mankind because they are too stupidly uninformed to know how to spend their own money or manage their own lives. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;“Their anger and fears do not come from a concern for the freedom and dignity of the individual person, or the sanctity of human relationships based on voluntary association and peaceful, market betterment. They do not come from a cherishing of the institutions and the heritage of a constitutional order based on the eternal concern for the threat of tyrants who would reduce mankind to slaves and serfs bound to the command of those possessing power.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;“No, theirs is a frustration and fury that the reins of coercive control have passed into the ‘wrong hands’ – hands different from theirs and used for government planning and plunder purposes different from the ones they want and desire. Theirs is an insistence on the illegitimacy of Trump’s presidency, because all are illegitimate who do not share the values and views of those soldiers for ‘political correctness’ fighting for a bright and better collectivist future of their own imaginings.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETrump’s Mixed Bag of Economic Policies\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThere are \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.masterresource.org\/libertarianism\/libertarian-case-trump\/\"\u003Efriends of freedom\u003C\/a\u003E who honestly and sincerely take umbrage at any such criticisms of Donald Trump. They point to the fact that he withdrew the United States from the Paris Accords concerning the environment; that he opened America to a fuller and more market-based energy policy that led to a boom of cleaner-air natural gas and which did not crucify fossil fuels on a cross of dangerous global warming central planning; he lowered corporate and individual taxes and introduced deregulation of many government restrictions on business activity. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso, by early 2020, before the coronavirus crisis and the government-imposed lockdowns and shutdowns of a good amount of the country’s economic activity, national unemployment had gone down to about 3.5 percent, with various minority groups and age groups reaching 50-year historic unemployment lows. The U.S. economy was operating at what most macroeconomists would normally have considered more or less “full employment.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the same time, however, he drew the United States into trade wars, making some goods more expensive and sometimes less available to both American consumers and producers importing the inputs with which they manufacture their own outputs. His policies led to retaliations like those from China against American agriculture that resulted in Trump spending tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to shore up part of the farming community that his own trade policies damaged. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETrump’s entire outlook on trade and competition was a populist neomercantilism in which the presumption was that if other countries prosper it must imply that some other country had lost. International trade was a zero-sum game. In his mind, the world was taking advantage of America; it was “them” versus “us” in which the “us” aggregated away all the particular microeconomic ways that trade barriers, restrictions, and manipulations resulted in harm to numerous economic “innocent bystanders” in the name of trying to target some chosen beneficiaries. (See my articles, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/zero-sum-world-donald-trump\/\"\u003E“The Zero Sum World of Donald Trump”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/trumps-economic-warfare-targets-innocent-bystanders\/\"\u003E“Trump’s Economic Warfare Targets Innocent Bystanders”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/americas-economic-commissar-of-trade\/\"\u003E“America’s Economic Commissar of Trade”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/how-much-damage-will-come-from-this-trade-war\/\"\u003E“How Much Damage Will Come from this Trade War?”\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe publicly bullied senior corporate executives when they relocated or downsized manufacturing facilities and reduced workforces in those areas that Trump thought should have special treatment; basically, because he considered those states critical for winning a second term in 2020. He presumed to know where factories should be located and what products were essential for “American greatness.” In other words, he was an economic social engineer and central planner on these matters. (See my articles, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/presidential-hubris-let-me-run-the-country\/\"\u003E“Presidential Hubris: ‘Let Me Run the Country’”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/the-u-s-revives-the-personal-state\/\"\u003E“U.S. Revives the Personal State”\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe was not willing to rein in federal domestic spending, and indeed did nothing even to try. American voters, he said, liked their Social Security and Medicare, so he would not challenge their wisdom by making the case for entitlement reform or repeal. When Trump took office in January 2017, the national debt was about $20 trillion. At the end of his administration, the national debt has increased to over $27.5 trillion; a nearly 39 percent increase in one presidential term. Even not counting the additions to the 2020 fiscal year deficit spending due to the government’s increased borrowing resulting from Trump and Congress’s response to the coronavirus, the national debt would still have increased by at least 25 percent by the end of Trump’s four years in the White House.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe Song Says, It Ain’t What You Do, But the Way That You Do It\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut, say some of the free market-oriented supporters of Trump, his personality and his bombastic, rude, crude, and offensive manner and mode of expressing himself should be irrelevant. Results and outcomes, not rhetoric and demeanor, should matter, at the end of the day. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe intellectual take on things is that ideas and their applied results should be judged on their own merits, separate from who or how someone may have articulated their implementation. In theory that is absolutely a reasonable insistence so debates and discourse do not degenerate into ad hominem attacks that never grapple with the ideas rather than simply assaults on their expositor. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut in the real world, certainly in the realm of democratic politics but also even in the rarified heights of academia and the intellect, who and how ideas and policies are presented taints how they are received and taken seriously or not. Every word out of Trump’s mouth, every insult and offending phrase, every declaration of contempt for anyone and anything that failed to hail him as the “great American” and questioned his decisions, colored people’s judgment of what policies he wanted or actions he undertook. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA lot of people have come to seriously dislike him. They would not want him as a next-door neighbour, and they certainly would not want him dating their daughter! That it was Trump that many people were voting against is seen in the fact that in spite of his negative standing with so many voters, Republicans gained seats in the House of Representatives, retained a numerical stalemate in the U.S. Senate (with the vice-president as the tie-breaking vote for the Democrats), and did not lose control of any state legislatures already in their hands. It’s you, Donald! It’s all you!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETrump’s Responsibility for the Events at the US Capitol\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe was his own worst enemy. This culminated in the events of January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Constitutional scholar \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/judiciary\/533469-swift-second-impeachment-would-damage-the-constitution\"\u003EAnthony Turley\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2021\/jan\/13\/did-trump-commit-a-crime-by-exhorting-the-crowds-o\/\"\u003EJudge Andrew Napolitano\u003C\/a\u003E have made reasonable arguments that Donald Trump’s words to his supporters before the violence at the Capitol Building were not incitements to violent action under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and therefore should be considered “protected speech.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, something may be legal, but unwise. It may not be subject to criminal prosecution, but it might be, nonetheless, an influencing factor on the conduct of others. Both before and after the presidential election on November 3, 2020, Trump insisted that if he did not win it only could be because of voter fraud and cheating. Then when the votes were counted and results were announced, the fact that he was declared the “loser” – one of Trump’s favourite terms to dismiss and demean his opponents – this, then, showed the outcome had been rigged. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven when his appeals to state-level electoral boards, to federal judges, and finally to the Supreme Court were all turned down due to lack of sufficient evidence and proof of voter tampering to challenge the result, this, too, was a demonstration of the conspiracy against him. When the three justices on the Supreme Court who he had nominated to that office rejected his appeal, in Trump’s mind this showed their lack of loyalty to the man who had put them there. How could they not overturn the election when they clearly “owed him?”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAngered, indignant, frustrated, and desperate to right the wrong that Trump repeated night and day that their man in the White House was being removed unjustly and therefore all that he promised to do for them and the country would be denied, some of those who drank Trump’s Kool-Aid decided to take things into their own hands. Yes, those who broke into, disrupted the Congress’s business, and vandalized the Capitol Building are the ones legally responsible for their own actions before the law. But even if Trump is not legally culpable, his was a voice whispering tales of treachery in their ears for a very long time. It was time to try to save the country, because their “saviour” said the country would be in danger without him remaining in the White House.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe Releasing of the Collectivist Demons\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd now the collectivist demons have been set loose. Democrats, “progressives,” “democratic” socialists, and the huge cadre of identity politics would-be totalitarians in the halls of higher education who see racism and sexism everywhere from the moment they wake up to the minute they fall asleep, see their chance. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELike “enemies of the people” being airbrushed out of photographs in Stalin’s Russia when they had fallen out of favour with the “best friend of every Soviet child,” those on the political “left” in America see their chance to erase from existence the last four years of U.S. history. Even before taking the presidential oath of office and delivering his inaugural address on January 20, 2021, Joe Biden outlined his agenda for nearly $2 trillion of additional federal spending. Tens of millions for the full centralization of federal control and distribution of the anti-Covid-19 vaccines. Hundreds of billions of more borrowed dollars for continued subsidization of many of the very millions of people the government lockdowns have thrown into unemployment, depleted savings, and ruined lives.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt a time when many businesses in, especially, the service sectors of the economy are hemorrhaging revenues due to state governments once again ordering their closing or reduced activities, Joe Biden promises to raise the national minimum wage to at least $15 per hour; pricing even more people out of existing or potential employment in the market shows just how much Joe “cares” and assures more dependent people on government largess, people who will owe their votes to the Democrat hands that feed them their handouts. (See my article, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/freedom-minimum-wage\/\"\u003E“Freedom and the Minimum Wage”\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat presidential executive orders and discretionary power have done can then be undone by the next occupant in the White House. For instance, Joe Biden intends to reverse Trump’s U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accords on climate change; and he will reintroduce increased regulations of businesses and government land use by appointing different heads to the federal departments, bureaus and agencies tasked with the duty of restoring the “taming” of private enterprise. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA push will be made for greater federal control and direction of health insurance and medical care. The new president and Democratic-controlled Congress will, no doubt, go for versions of the Green New Deal, which means government central planning of what and how private enterprises do their business in the name of “saving” the planet. “Corporate Social Responsibility” will become the watchword to rationalize and justify more government intrusion into how businesses manage and operate their enterprises for purposes of racial, gender, and income “equity.” (See my articles, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/the-green-new-dealers-and-the-new-socialism\/\"\u003E“The Green New Dealers and the New Socialism”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/the-nightmare-fairyland-of-the-green-new-dealers\/\"\u003E“The Nightmare Fairyland of the Green New Dealers”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/the-case-for-a-coercive-green-new-deal\/\"\u003E“The Case for a Coercive Green New Deal?”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/stakeholder-fascism-means-more-loss-of-liberty\/\"\u003E“Stakeholder Fascism Means More Loss of Liberty”\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETribal Collectivists on a Mission to Purge Racist and Sexist “Capitalism” \u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat is driving this is not simply the “usual” desires for political power and traditional presumptions behind dreams of social engineering. More deeply, by those at the more radical end of the Democratic Party and “progressive” movement, is a determination to destroy the philosophical, political, and economic premises and foundations upon which the United States was based. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the beginning of this article, I suggested that religious wars are the most unforgiving because one or both of the protagonists is certain that the “truth” is on their side. It is a battle between good and evil, salvation or damnation. For the identity politics warriors and the cancel culture crusaders, they are on a “mission” for an ideological cause: The delegitimizing and destruction of philosophical individualism, of political freedom, and of economic liberty. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn their secular holy roller hysteria, the entire history of “America” is tainted with slavery, racism, and oppression of women and “people of color” for the benefit of a male, white elite of capitalist exploiters. All the talk about personal freedom, civil liberties, and free market opportunities are the smokescreens of creating a “false consciousness” among all those harmed by “the system” to accept their unequal and abused statuses in society. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll of it, of course, is merely the new variation on the stale and old wine of Marxian class conflict analysis, but relabeled into a story of race and gender oppression and conflict. Social class, per se, does not determine your identity and place in capitalist society. No, it is your race and gender classification that mold who you are, how you think, and give you meaning and relationship to others. The individual disappears in the collectivist pigeonhole into which identity politics warriors have assigned him. Welcome to the new hybrid: Marxo-Nazism. See my articles, “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/tyrants-mind-new-collectivism\/\"\u003ETyrants of the Mind and the New Collectivism”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/an-identity-politics-victory-would-mean-the-end-of-liberty\/\"\u003E“An Identity Politics Victory Would Mean the End to Liberty”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/collectivisms-progress-marxism-race-gender-intersectionality\/\"\u003E“Collectivism’s Progress: From Marxism to Race and Gender Intersectionality”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fff.org\/explore-freedom\/article\/the-new-totalitarians\/\"\u003E“The New Totalitarians”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/systemic-racism-theory-is-the-new-tribalism\/\"\u003E“‘Systemic Racism’ Theory is the New Political Tribalism\u003C\/a\u003E” and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/save-america-from-cancel-culture\/\"\u003E“Save America from Cancel Culture”\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/self-censorship-and-despotism-over-the-mind\/\"\u003E“Self-Censorship and Despotism over the Mind”\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe Ideological Faith of the New Tribal Collectivists \u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor the “true believer,” reason and evidence have little or no place. He has been “born again” with the certainty that “real” understanding of the world has been given to him. He is called to deliver humanity from its “original sin” in white privilege and oppression. What rational discourse does one apply when a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/math-professor-claims-equation-2-2-4-reeks-of-white-supremacist-patriarchy\"\u003Eprofessor\u003C\/a\u003E in New York insists that 2+2=4 is a concept that “reeks with white supremacist patriarchy?” (See my article, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/tribal-watchwords-that-threaten-liberty\/\"\u003E“Watchwords that Threaten Liberty”\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETearing down statues, renaming buildings, silencing and slandering people, from a salesman to a scholar, for saying a word, using a phrase, repeating a witticism, or cracking a joke that the “woke” people consider an abomination against the “marginalized,” are all elements and aspects to erasing “America” from the knowledge and history of humankind. The entire experience of the United States is to be made into an Orwellian-like “non-person.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd Trump’s words and deeds that have offended, put off, and repulsed so many in the country has provided the “hook” for our Marxo-Nazi fanatics, in conjunction with their Democratic Party and “progressive” allies, to brand and tar anyone and anything with the racist and sexist label for expulsion from any hearing or respectable place in society. Since if you are not with them, then you are against them. And, therefore, you must be an explicit or implicit “Trumpist,” which has rapidly become as damaging to one’s character and future as being called a “Hitlerian.” That is, an enemy of decency and democracy. Would you want one of “them” sitting, working or living next to you? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFriends of liberty must gird themselves for an intellectual and ideological battle the likes of which very few of us have experienced outside of a totalitarian state and its campaign of mind-controlling propaganda. The rise (and plummet) of Trumpism has helped make it possible.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-V_Dw1GYGw9w\/YAYlgih4xFI\/AAAAAAAAncE\/bUryK4MbU54kCZnHnYdE16LQ7XmNQd-JQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s234\/Richard-M-Ebeling-wpv_254x234.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"234\" data-original-width=\"234\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-V_Dw1GYGw9w\/YAYlgih4xFI\/AAAAAAAAncE\/bUryK4MbU54kCZnHnYdE16LQ7XmNQd-JQCLcBGAsYHQ\/w114-h114\/Richard-M-Ebeling-wpv_254x234.jpg\" width=\"114\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ERichard M. Ebeling, an AIER Senior Fellow, is the BB\u0026amp;T Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Free Enterprise Leadership at The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis post first appeared at the American Institute for Economic Research \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/#\"\u003Eblog\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003EHis most recent book is \u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com.au\/kp\/embed?linkCode=kpe\u0026amp;ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_SS7AEbNRQJY6V\u0026amp;asin=B07WRG189V\u0026amp;tag=aier0b-20\u0026amp;amazonDeviceType=A2CLFWBIMVSE9N\u0026amp;from=Bookcard\u0026amp;preview=newtab\u0026amp;reshareId=175CHPWRSY756FA8Q9PG\u0026amp;reshareChannel=system\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003EFor A New Liberalism\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4052890133654652874\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/trumps-fall-and-rise-of-tribal.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4052890133654652874"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4052890133654652874"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/trumps-fall-and-rise-of-tribal.html","title":"Trump’s Fall and the Rise of the Tribal Collectivists"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-8920802568586378973"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-20T08:54:00.004+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-20T11:43:53.668+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Covid-19"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Health"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vaccines"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Even 'pretty inept' looks good compared to 'not at all' [updated]"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"https:\/\/3ijp5i2qkzo4hq4yrxfteqh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-17-at-1.10.37-PM-e1610907085249.png\" \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"I\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E wonder if even sensible regulation skeptics like Tyler Cowen realise just how bad things are. In \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2021\/01\/praise-the-british.html\"\u003Ea recent post\u003C\/a\u003E, he suggests we should praise the UK’s efforts in distribution the vaccine.  But the UK has done a horrendous job of distributing the vaccine; indeed Israel is doing the job 5 times faster.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"So why does Tyler praise the UK? Because almost every country in the world is screwing up even worse than the UK. Regulation has made things so bad that even 'pretty inept' starts to look good on a comparative scale.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Scott Sumner from his post '\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.econlib.org\/regulation-its-much-worse-than-you-think\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ERegulation: It's Worse Than You Think\u003C\/a\u003E'\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EUPDATE: As late as last November, Covid-Response Minister Chris Hipkins\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.tvnz.co.nz\/one-news\/new-zealand\/new-zealand-front-queue-chris-hipkins-says-nation-well-placed-covid-19-vaccine-roll\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E told TVNZ\u003C\/a\u003E that New Zealand was \"very well placed\" to get its hands on successful vaccines for the virus.\u0026nbsp;\"Without going into detail I think we're in a very good place to ensure that as vaccines start to come to market New Zealand will be at the front of the queue to be getting vaccines,\" he said.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EFront of the queue.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EYet now, \u0026nbsp;the New Zealand government officially only \u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/jan\/08\/why-the-delay-the-nations-waiting-to-see-how-covid-vaccinations-unfold\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eplans to \u003Ci\u003Ebegin\u003C\/i\u003E vaccination\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;here in \"the second quarter of 2021,\" beginning with border workers -- and then, all going well, vaccination of the general public is only planned to begin in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.health.govt.nz\/our-work\/diseases-and-conditions\/covid-19-novel-coronavirus\/covid-19-response-planning\/covid-19-vaccine-planning#rollout\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"the second half of the year\"\u003C\/a\u003E...\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/homepaddock.wordpress.com\/2021\/01\/20\/front-to-back\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EHomePaddock\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8920802568586378973\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/even-pretty-inept-looks-good-compared.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8920802568586378973"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8920802568586378973"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/even-pretty-inept-looks-good-compared.html","title":"Even 'pretty inept' looks good compared to 'not at all' [updated]"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-5386967492210620100"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-19T08:45:00.001+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-19T08:45:00.443+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Division of Labour"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Trade"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Poverty"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stimulus"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Africa's New Free-Trade Agreement Could Mark the Dawn of a New Era"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the ravages of COVID-19, government-imposed lockdowns, and a tariff-touting US president, many countries will be tempted to turn inward, to limit their interactions with neighbours and people – but nothing could be worse. As Chris Hattingh explains in this guest post, the birth of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which could become the world’s biggest fully-realised free-trade zone by area, offers potent inspiration and a reminder that for any noteworthy economic recovery (never mind meaningful growth) to occur, the world needs \u003Cu\u003Emore\u003C\/u\u003E trade, not less...\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-m_RRXmjXv-s\/YASyktroKVI\/AAAAAAAAnbA\/-rnlcn0ntes6bZYi6GZKOfpwQd-4BbKIgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s900\/africa-free-trade-agreement.jpg.webp\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"569\" data-original-width=\"900\" height=\"403\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-m_RRXmjXv-s\/YASyktroKVI\/AAAAAAAAnbA\/-rnlcn0ntes6bZYi6GZKOfpwQd-4BbKIgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h403\/africa-free-trade-agreement.jpg.webp\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #999999;\"\u003EPic: Pixabay\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAfrica's New Free-Trade Agreement Could Mark the Dawn of a New Era\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Ci\u003EGuest post by Chris Hattingh\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/au.int\/en\/cfta\"\u003EThe African Continental Free Trade Area\u003C\/a\u003E (AfCFTA) came into force on 1 January, 2021. Once it becomes fully implemented and operational by 2030, the AfCFTA could be the world’s biggest fully-realised free-trade zone by area. The bloc has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-12-15\/africa-trade-deal-could-tap-84-billion-in-export-opportunities#:~:text=Commerce%20under%20the%20African%20Continental,is%20fully%20operational%20by%202030.\"\u003Ea potential market\u003C\/a\u003E of 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion. This moment should be celebrated as the AfCFTA could portend a new era of African openness, co-operation, trade, progress and innovation. The momentum of this new trade area thereof should be used to push African governments even further in the direction of free trade.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhenever a nation restricts economic freedoms and civil liberties, humanity suffers. The ease with which people can trade with both their immediate neighbours, and people from all over the globe\u0026nbsp;(from the simplest good and service, to the most complicated), \u0026nbsp;is a good indicator of a given government’s view of economic freedom. When countries have more barriers to trade, including arbitrary regulations, widespread corruption, and myriad tariffs, we find a generally lower quality of life.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver time, the AfCFTA will aim to eliminate import tariffs on 97 percent of the goods traded on the continent itself, while also reducing non-tariff barriers. Tariffs serve to discourage not just the physical movement of goods across borders, but also act as a psychological barrier to the exchange of ideas. They also prevent the flow of crucial goods and services in the case of an emergency. In 2020 alone, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.freemarketfoundation.com\/article-view\/media-release-to-promote-access-to-covid-19-medicines-keep-trade-free-and-remove-tax-and-regulatory-obstacles-says-international-think-tank-coalition\"\u003Etariffs and other levies\u003C\/a\u003E made the movement of COVID-19-fighting equipment and medicines far slower and more expensive than it otherwise would have been. To grow, supply chains (of all types) require an environment of robust property rights, underpinned by the rule of law – the AfCFTA can encourage such an environment across the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to the African Export-Import Bank, the AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade to 22 percent of total trade, up from 14.5 percent in 2019. If African countries are to step up the maturing of their industries and wider economies, they need more goods to flow – and the added expertise and insights of various businesspeople and manufacturers will also increase once it is easier for them to move between different countries.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.pulse.ng\/bi\/strategy\/to-prosper-africans-must-be-free-to-innovate\/2l8q15f\"\u003EAccording to\u003C\/a\u003E Alexander C. R. Hammond, “when African states trade with one another, the goods traded are almost three times more likely to be higher-valued manufactured products, when compared to the goods that leave the continent.” At the time of writing, all but one of the 55 African Union nations have signed to join the area, and more than half have ratified the accord. Through implementing the AfCFTA swiftly and effectively, the continent could set itself apart as a prime destination for investment and innovation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt can also have the added benefit of dissuading all African governments from adopting yet more destructive, growth-inhibiting policies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uggm3Q7O4_s\/YASzpreL16I\/AAAAAAAAnbM\/Nsb4opuOx1YlFOME00T4l7FVJaAoWyT7QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s861\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-18%2Bat%2B11.00.53%2BAM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"861\" data-original-width=\"598\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uggm3Q7O4_s\/YASzpreL16I\/AAAAAAAAnbM\/Nsb4opuOx1YlFOME00T4l7FVJaAoWyT7QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s320\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-18%2Bat%2B11.00.53%2BAM.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EIn his book\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3outXIv\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003EOpen: The Story of Human Progress\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Johan Norberg writes,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMy argument is that under open institutions people will solve more problems than they create, no matter their personality traits, and it will increase the chance that the paths of people with different traits cross, and that their thoughts and work can cross-fertilise.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWith its immense human potential, no longer should Africa be held back by unnecessary, antiquated barriers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the ravages of COVID-19 and government-imposed lockdowns (the number of people unemployed in South Africa, for example, is now more than 11 million), many countries will be tempted to turn inward, to limit their interactions with neighbours and people – but nothing could be worse. For any noteworthy economic recovery (never mind meaningful growth) to occur, the world needs more trade, not less.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe damage caused by the most recent curtailment of economic freedom – the COVID-19 government lockdowns – cannot be underestimated. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/topic\/poverty\/overview#:~:text=The%20global%20extreme%20poverty%20rate,%245.50%20a%20day%20in%202017.\"\u003EWorld Bank projected\u003C\/a\u003E that the number of people in extreme poverty would increase by up to 115 million, which would mean a total between 703 and 729 million.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENo amount of state stimulus will generate the kind of economic growth needed to lift people out of poverty. Indeed, you cannot stimulate an economy that is not allowed to operate in the first place. Only more economic freedom, through avenues such as trade, can actualize people’s economic potential.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfrica’s history is one marked by exploitation; exploitation by European powers, and exploitation by politicians and bureaucrats who, since independence, have implemented policies of ever-increasing government control. Misguided—indeed, immoral—economic policies that undermine freedom have real, negative consequences, especially for middle- and lower-income people. As mentioned above, the combined GDP of Africa is estimated at $2.5 trillion, barely higher than\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/insights\/worlds-top-economies\/\"\u003E Italy’s\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat one European country with a vastly smaller population (and not even Europe's most productive) can have almost the same level of economic evaluation as nearly an entire continent, serves to indicate just how much Africa’s economic potential has been suppressed.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe symbolism of the AfCFTA itself indicates a new era for Africa, and the potential thereof cannot be underestimated.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E* * * *\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9MkRS0zGgzU\/YAS18pR0JsI\/AAAAAAAAnbY\/gdkfVRkcboYZTLqaxQsnTZv7fTbz1_HDQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s100\/chris.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"100\" data-original-width=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9MkRS0zGgzU\/YAS18pR0JsI\/AAAAAAAAnbY\/gdkfVRkcboYZTLqaxQsnTZv7fTbz1_HDQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s0\/chris.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003EChris Hattingh is Project Manager at the Free Market Foundation. He has an MPhil in Business Ethics from Stellenbosch University. He is the author of published articles on consumer rights, economic freedom, inequality and individual freedom.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThis article first appeared at the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/africa-s-new-free-trade-agreement-could-mark-the-dawn-of-a-new-era\/?utm_source=feedburner\u0026amp;utm_medium=feed\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FEE-Freeman+%28Foundation+for+Economic+Education+-+Latest+Articles%29\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFoundation for Economic Education\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(FEE). It has been corrected and lightly edited.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5386967492210620100\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/africas-new-free-trade-agreement-could.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/5386967492210620100"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/5386967492210620100"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/africas-new-free-trade-agreement-could.html","title":"Africa's New Free-Trade Agreement Could Mark the Dawn of a New Era"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uggm3Q7O4_s\/YASzpreL16I\/AAAAAAAAnbM\/Nsb4opuOx1YlFOME00T4l7FVJaAoWyT7QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-01-18%2Bat%2B11.00.53%2BAM.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1247419341671912691"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-18T10:18:00.002+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-18T10:18:16.925+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Atlas Shrugged"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Machine of the Day"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":" \"Why had she always felt that joyous sense of confidence when looking at machines?\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-sLEYzzgni1o\/YASo-CeR3lI\/AAAAAAAAna0\/VUhFitw03jEoXkZyB4s-Udljcox5S_i-gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s805\/139487836_2817318218507062_2943566027846325353_n.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"681\" data-original-width=\"805\" height=\"542\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-sLEYzzgni1o\/YASo-CeR3lI\/AAAAAAAAna0\/VUhFitw03jEoXkZyB4s-Udljcox5S_i-gCLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h542\/139487836_2817318218507062_2943566027846325353_n.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"[D\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Eagny] felt the sweep of an emotion which she could not contain, as of something bursting upward. She turned to the door of the [diesel combustion engine], she threw it open to a screaming jet of sound and escaped into the pounding of the [locomotive]’s heart. . . .\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"Why had she always felt that joyous sense of confidence when looking at machines?—she thought. In these giant shapes, two aspects pertaining to the inhuman were radiantly absent: the causeless and the purposeless. Every part of the motors was an embodied answer to ‘Why?’ and ‘What for?’—like the steps of a life-course chosen by the sort of mind she worshipped. The motors were a moral code cast in steel.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They are alive, she thought, but their soul operates them by remote control. Their soul is in every man who has the capacity to equal this achievement.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Ayn Rand, from her novel \u003Ci\u003EAtlas Shrugged\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stephen.boydstun.1\/posts\/2817319688506915?__cft__[0]=AZXPsw7sRCSIIsHYHILlcDn0wyTp_NJ-0-BoVFxjt5DUzn0cMAW9xJCLSXx4J97Mr3kDwzsc5nzB1f1oKuJqJpUn2BHUdVVuC3K4qo2xA37qfLz6RoBadE0URjrUdBOSYLTKTbQUgigHS5_BY9H8dWIKVdqRhElPvCldwAV3ZiFDew\u0026amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EStephen Boydstun\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #f3f3f3;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1247419341671912691\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/why-had-she-always-felt-that-joyous.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1247419341671912691"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1247419341671912691"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/why-had-she-always-felt-that-joyous.html","title":" \"Why had she always felt that joyous sense of confidence when looking at machines?\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-459259291868054630"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-15T12:13:00.003+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-15T12:13:22.817+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cultural Change"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stefan Zweig"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"No witness to significant change can recognise them at their beginnings ...\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“I\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Et remains an irrefragable law of history that contemporaries are denied a recognition of the early beginnings of the great movements which determine their times.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Stefan Zweig, from his \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/World-Yesterday-Stefan-Zweig-ebook\/dp\/B005LY3T4E\/ref=pd_sbs_351_3\/141-6242411-5126750?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;pd_rd_i=B005LY3T4E\u0026amp;pd_rd_r=32de5928-3464-49f1-bec0-b469314c27a0\u0026amp;pd_rd_w=gEx0Q\u0026amp;pd_rd_wg=x2UCv\u0026amp;pf_rd_p=de2765fe-65e5-4a88-aaad-a915dea49c67\u0026amp;pf_rd_r=0YX1RAH3BDSK3K7XWT5Z\u0026amp;psc=1\u0026amp;refRID=0YX1RAH3BDSK3K7XWT5Z\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Egreat, great memoir of the Europe swept away by war\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/459259291868054630\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/no-witness-to-significant-change-can.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/459259291868054630"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/459259291868054630"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/no-witness-to-significant-change-can.html","title":"\"No witness to significant change can recognise them at their beginnings ...\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-2205544194671689002"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-13T10:35:00.004+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-13T10:51:39.632+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Trump"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Are you bored with all the winning yet, Trumpeters?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-2rNzijH7JVI\/X_4NSswO9jI\/AAAAAAAAnac\/zGgWKgzqjvIwcA8EeUYfLFg9XTmjvtNEACLcBGAsYHQ\/s892\/2021-01-07T001049Z_1988699511_RC2M2L9E1RR3_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-TRUMP.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"501\" data-original-width=\"892\" height=\"359\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-2rNzijH7JVI\/X_4NSswO9jI\/AAAAAAAAnac\/zGgWKgzqjvIwcA8EeUYfLFg9XTmjvtNEACLcBGAsYHQ\/w640-h359\/2021-01-07T001049Z_1988699511_RC2M2L9E1RR3_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-TRUMP.JPG\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EPic from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/usa\/us-politics\/world-leaders-condemn-pro-trump-riot-us-capitol\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EVoA\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EDuring his election campaign, Candidate Trump promised his hyperventilating supporters that his ascension \"would usher in an era of nonstop winning.\" 'We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with the winning,' he told the poor deluded fools.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“We’re going to win so much,” he [once] declared ... “We’re going to win at trade, we’re going to win at the border. We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning. . . . And I’m going to say ‘I’m sorry, but we’re going to keep winning, winning, winning.’”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWriting now in the ashes of the dumpster fire of his supporters' attempted Capitol Putsch, conservative\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2021\/01\/10\/opinion\/so-much-losing\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EJeff Jacoby reviews the record\u003C\/a\u003E after the four-year shit-show and concludes that, as President, the former reality-TV star has instead delivered more losing than any four-year term could normally contain.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003ETurns out instead that far from winning he's a lifetime loser. True, he had some wins:\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;\"tax reform, judicial confirmations, the crippling of ISIS, significant deregulation, and Middle East peace accords.\" \u003C\/i\u003EBut those few temporary victories are overshadowed by the avalanche of longer-term losses.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003ELet's look at the Loser's List:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; To begin with, there were the \u003Cb\u003Eelectoral losses\u003C\/b\u003E. When Trump took office, his party controlled both houses of Congress. But in the 2018 midterms Republicans lost 41 House seats, along with their majority, as dozens of Trump-endorsed candidates went down to defeat. In 2020, the “winning, winning, winning” president lost his bid for reelection by solid majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. For two months following the election, Trump’s lawyers filed a torrent of lawsuits challenging the outcome; they lost every one. Last week the two candidates he supported in the Georgia Senate runoffs were also defeated. When Trump leaves office, the White House and both houses of Congress will be in Democratic hands.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo much winning there that serious folk are even semi-seriously wondering if he were a Democratic Party plant!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThen there were the \u003Cb\u003Epolicy losses\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETrump campaigned as an \u003Cb\u003Eimmigration\u003C\/b\u003E hardliner who would build “a great, great wall on our southern border” that Mexico would pay for. But only a sliver of Trump’s proposed 1,000-mile wall was ever built — just 15 miles of barrier where none existed before. Most of the costs were borne by the Defense Department; none were paid by Mexico.\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Trump lost on \u003Cb\u003EObamacare\u003C\/b\u003E, too. Scores of times he vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The penalty on individuals who don’t buy health insurance was scrapped, but otherwise Obamacare remains in force to this day.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Nor was there a victory in Trump’s \u003Cb\u003Etrade\u003C\/b\u003E wars, which he had boasted would prove “easy to win.” The tariffs he imposed on foreign goods saddled American households with higher prices and ended up reducing US exports. Trump swore he would slash America’s trade deficit; instead, it grew bigger than ever.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo on each of his alleged priorities he scores a big round zero. Mind you, the first and last were at least good policy losses to lose.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Trump’s years in power have been replete with \u003Cb\u003Eideological losses\u003C\/b\u003E as well.\u003Cbr \/\u003EMany presidents successfully use the “bully pulpit” to build support for their values and priorities. But Trump has managed to turn Americans against pretty much every position he promotes. \u003Cb\u003E“On nearly every major policy issue,”\u003C\/b\u003E as Catherine Rampell observed in The Washington Post, \u003Cb\u003E“he has pushed the country . . . in the opposite direction of whatever his own stance is.”\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; The more Trump fulminated against immigrants, for example, the more pro-immigration the public has become: According to Gallup, 77 percent of Americans now say immigration is good for the country, the highest level in decades. Though Trump has sharply curtailed the number of refugees admitted into the United States, the share of Americans who consider refugee admissions a priority has leapt from 62 percent in 2016 to 73 percent today.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Trump has likewise driven up support for Obamacare. In 2016, a plurality of Americans disapproved of the law; today a majority of the public regard it favorably. The same is true on trade. After four years of Trumpian trade wars, American support for free trade is higher than it has been in decades. And while Trump spent much of 2020 railing against voting by mail, three-quarters of the public came around to supporting it. Conversely, the more Trump has expressed support for the Confederate flag and monuments to the Confederacy, the more Americans have said they should be removed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Trump’s presidency has been marked by an unparalleled variety of losing. He purported to be a \u003Cb\u003Elaw-and-order \u003C\/b\u003Epresident but had no idea how to react to the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the wave of looting and riots, or the sharp spike in homicides nationwide. He offered himself as a gifted \u003Cb\u003Emanager\u003C\/b\u003E but proved to be the opposite, with his appointees quitting or being fired with astonishing frequency. More than 360,000 American lives have been lost to the coronavirus \u003Cb\u003Epandemic\u003C\/b\u003E he handled so ineptly — and he himself ended up in the hospital. And while the popularity of every president goes up and down, a majority of Americans have never approved of how Trump handled the job of president.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat's a whole lot of losing. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESaddest of all, perhaps, is that someone whose slogan was “\u003Cb\u003EMake America Great Again\u003C\/b\u003E” presided over a historic loss of respect for America around the world. In numerous countries, reported the Pew Center late last year, the percentage of people with a favourable view of the United States had fallen to an all-time low. If anything, America’s image has sunk even lower since Wednesday, when a Trump-incited mob stormed the Capitol in a violent attempt to override the results of the 2020 election.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd in that heartbeat, he went from being simply Toddler-in-Chief to a person who looked almost capable of inspiring his own Reichstag fire. History probably won't record him as the \u003Ci\u003Eworst\u003C\/i\u003E American president -- that would either be\u003Ca href=\"That's a whole lot of losing. \" target=\"_blank\"\u003E one of the disgusting pro-slavers\u003C\/a\u003E who ushered in their Civil War over the issue -- or one of the twenty- and twenty-first century's many growers of big-government -- but in defiling everything he claimed to defend, and in creating zombies out of many once-intelligent pro-capitalists (several of whom were once my friends), he has changed the political landscape all around the world for the worse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; One way or another, Trump will soon be gone. But the losses inflicted by the 45th president will not heal as quickly. Americans have traditionally been obsessed with winning, but maybe we have finally learned that decency matters more.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnd who ever thought you'd hear an American say that!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.thought\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Emphasis added.]\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2205544194671689002\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/are-you-bored-with-all-winning-yet.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/2205544194671689002"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/2205544194671689002"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/are-you-bored-with-all-winning-yet.html","title":"Are you bored with all the winning yet, Trumpeters?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-6548056015770360815"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-13T09:07:00.006+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-13T09:07:01.470+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mark Twain"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Religion"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Politics + religion = ?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8Vs5zJjUxCk\/X_zpD5Uq4PI\/AAAAAAAAnaQ\/qSSzbNMCXdskm4zPon5bC6eH3M9faUFWQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/135066955_3845211415509824_596922788498070305_o.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"514\" data-original-width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8Vs5zJjUxCk\/X_zpD5Uq4PI\/AAAAAAAAnaQ\/qSSzbNMCXdskm4zPon5bC6eH3M9faUFWQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/135066955_3845211415509824_596922788498070305_o.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"I \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Eam quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Mark Twain, Autobiographical dictation, 12 September 1907\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Image: The Mark Twain House \u0026amp; Museum, hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarkTwainAuthor\/posts\/3845212325509733\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMark Twain\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6548056015770360815\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/politics-religion.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/6548056015770360815"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/6548056015770360815"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/politics-religion.html","title":"Politics + religion = ?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8Vs5zJjUxCk\/X_zpD5Uq4PI\/AAAAAAAAnaQ\/qSSzbNMCXdskm4zPon5bC6eH3M9faUFWQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/135066955_3845211415509824_596922788498070305_o.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-4472600547844027783"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-12T13:07:00.000+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-12T13:07:30.108+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Free Speech"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A reminder about free speech ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003EA reminder...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JN3GDgy6Z4w\/X_zla7OxjjI\/AAAAAAAAnaE\/E5kyf0XDTCwzXgXoVcH0PcLx_EQgHHmQACLcBGAsYHQ\/s587\/137284948_3722718637750627_1999311335747307649_n.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"587\" data-original-width=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JN3GDgy6Z4w\/X_zla7OxjjI\/AAAAAAAAnaE\/E5kyf0XDTCwzXgXoVcH0PcLx_EQgHHmQACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/137284948_3722718637750627_1999311335747307649_n.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EFor example...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"You don’t have a right to a Twitter account. Nobody does. It’s private property. To say you have a right to a Twitter account is like saying you have a right to go into your neighbour’s house \u0026amp; write on the living room walls.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E ~ Tim Sandefur\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd ...\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql\" style=\"margin: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"auto\"\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\"1. Someone refuses to publish your words.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;2. The government makes it illegal for you to speak.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese are not the same thing. They should never be described by the same words such as 'thought suppression'.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E ~ \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/andrew.bernstein.94\/posts\/10164766913260346?comment_id=10164767408470346\u0026amp;__cft__[0]=AZXtI3mClbRgZHENuWXZp2Z-WD4AIltOvOqClx6m7AKZM1T044om2a34jpYJhBD9EL1ROYm0OEWdHibaXlW0nGooAHdw_W5_XI3U818zTgz-CFSINlNwB4oxlNcArd77NBE\u0026amp;__tn__=R]-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EKeith Weiner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #e4e6eb; font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 15px;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Col style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003E\"The right to speech is based on the right to property. No one has a right to another's property. Private property is not government.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E ~ \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/JohnGaltLine\/permalink\/1877203042432602\/?comment_id=1877219242430982\u0026amp;reply_comment_id=1877228489096724\u0026amp;__cft__[0]=AZW3Hx_s7oQujZ_c7vEhkL5MiXIGa-es_eh7UHhHWMIOtCROxbls-iY-GCSrgCuUWc8NPb8P6Y2yL4mmNM_OjbY6aiWnaI-kEnz871dHlGCx9o32WXMRL8beuqGC6gEaiKubcDjY6aCquDaZAZUIWDuNe3iR2fSnV0j3TcB7dEL1RA\u0026amp;__tn__=R]-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELouise LaMontagne\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/aynrandcentre\/posts\/3722718767750614?__cft__[0]=AZW3Hx_s7oQujZ_c7vEhkL5MiXIGa-es_eh7UHhHWMIOtCROxbls-iY-GCSrgCuUWc8NPb8P6Y2yL4mmNM_OjbY6aiWnaI-kEnz871dHlGCx9o32WXMRL8beuqGC6gEaiKubcDjY6aCquDaZAZUIWDuNe3iR2fSnV0j3TcB7dEL1RA\u0026amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-y-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAyn Rand Centre UK\u003C\/a\u003E]\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4472600547844027783\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-reminder-about-free-speech.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4472600547844027783"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4472600547844027783"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-reminder-about-free-speech.html","title":"A reminder about free speech ..."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JN3GDgy6Z4w\/X_zla7OxjjI\/AAAAAAAAnaE\/E5kyf0XDTCwzXgXoVcH0PcLx_EQgHHmQACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/137284948_3722718637750627_1999311335747307649_n.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-2812522465326371327"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-09T15:42:00.003+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-09T15:42:48.152+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A real wrecking ball ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"I\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003En nominating Trump in 2016, many of his supporters said they wanted someone who would take a wrecking ball to the system. They got their wish. He and his stormtroopers have left behind an agenda in tatters, a Republican Party in ruins, and a Democratic Party in power. Future historians will conclude that, contrary to their current beliefs, Donald Trump was the greatest gift that the Democratic socialists could have wished for...\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Robert Bidinotto, on \"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bidinotto\/posts\/10219628532128487\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThe shocking, disgraceful assault on the US Capitol ... \u003C\/a\u003E\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2812522465326371327\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-real-wrecking-ball.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/2812522465326371327"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/2812522465326371327"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/a-real-wrecking-ball.html","title":"A real wrecking ball ..."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-4195863462280362334"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-08T09:12:00.000+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-18T12:07:07.283+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Covid-19"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Health"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Politics-UK"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vaccines"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"'Lockdown sceptics should support this lockdown'"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\"[Britain's] Lockdown Three, I’m sorry to say (and I can hear the howls from sceptics as I write this), is justifiable, practically and ethically. Given the rollout of the vaccine, the emergence of the new variant and the plausible risk of the [UK's] healthcare system falling over, there is probably now no realistic alternative. Whatever one’s objections to the first two lockdowns, on both cost-benefit and libertarian grounds, it is at least a defensible position to acknowledge the merit of a brief lockdown during a maximum-speed vaccination campaign to minimise morbidity and mortality along the way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"The calculation is entirely different now from that of the previous two lockdowns. Given the vaccine, the variant and the healthcare situation, the current restriction can be supported (regretfully) without cognitive dissonance by those who opposed the previous lockdowns vehemently and vocally. It is either bad logic, bad faith or fundamentalism to argue otherwise.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Alastair Hames, from his op-ed '\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.co.uk\/article\/lockdown-sceptics-should-support-this-lockdown\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELockdown sceptics should support this lockdown\u003C\/a\u003E'\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4195863462280362334\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/lockdown-sceptics-should-support-this.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4195863462280362334"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/4195863462280362334"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/lockdown-sceptics-should-support-this.html","title":"'Lockdown sceptics should support this lockdown'"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-5455673899352183900"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-07T13:08:00.002+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-07T13:08:19.345+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Democracy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"Until a few months ago, American elections were the model for the world...\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\"Until a few months ago, American elections were the model for the world: fair, transparent and the results implemented. That reputation was undermined tonight, when armed protestors targeted elected representatives and tried to stop the ‘sacred ritual’, as it was described by President-elect Joe Biden, of confirming the election result.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"That we are witnessing such scenes speaks to the extent that President Trump has degraded his office – and our politics. And I write this as a lifelong Republican...\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Kate Andrews, from '\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.co.uk\/article\/violent-mob-storms-the-us-capitol\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAn attack on the principles that define[d] America\u003C\/a\u003E'\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5455673899352183900\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/until-few-months-ago-american-elections.html#comment-form","title":"4 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/5455673899352183900"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/5455673899352183900"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/until-few-months-ago-american-elections.html","title":"\"Until a few months ago, American elections were the model for the world...\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"4"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-869203070988358594"},"published":{"$t":"2021-01-06T12:02:00.003+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-01-06T12:02:31.616+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Books"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ethics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Poetry"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"'Television,' by Roald Dahl"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESage advice here for families, in Roald Dahl's famous poem ...\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe most important thing we've learned,\u003Cbr \/\u003E So far as children are concerned,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Is never, NEVER, NEVER let\u003Cbr \/\u003E Them near your television set --\u003Cbr \/\u003E Or better still, just don't install\u003Cbr \/\u003E The idiotic thing at all.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E In almost every house we've been,\u003Cbr \/\u003E We've watched them gaping at the screen.\u003Cbr \/\u003E They loll and slop and lounge about,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And stare until their eyes pop out.\u003Cbr \/\u003E (Last week in someone's place we saw\u003Cbr \/\u003E A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E They sit and stare and stare and sit\u003Cbr \/\u003E Until they're hypnotised by it,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Until they're absolutely drunk\u003Cbr \/\u003E With all that shocking ghastly junk.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,\u003Cbr \/\u003E They don't climb out the window sill,\u003Cbr \/\u003E They never fight or kick or punch,\u003Cbr \/\u003E They leave you free to cook the lunch\u003Cbr \/\u003E And wash the dishes in the sink --\u003Cbr \/\u003E But did you ever stop to think,\u003Cbr \/\u003E To wonder just exactly what\u003Cbr \/\u003E This does to your beloved tot?\u003Cbr \/\u003E IT ROTS THE SENSE INSIDE THE HEAD!\u003Cbr \/\u003E IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!\u003Cbr \/\u003E IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!\u003Cbr \/\u003E IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND\u003Cbr \/\u003E HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND\u003Cbr \/\u003E A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!\u003Cbr \/\u003E HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!\u003Cbr \/\u003E HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!\u003Cbr \/\u003E HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E 'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,\u003Cbr \/\u003E 'But if we take the set away,\u003Cbr \/\u003E What shall we do to entertain\u003Cbr \/\u003E Our darling children? Please explain!'\u003Cbr \/\u003E We'll answer this by asking you,\u003Cbr \/\u003E 'What used the darling ones to do?\u003Cbr \/\u003E 'How used they keep themselves contented\u003Cbr \/\u003E Before this monster was invented?'\u003Cbr \/\u003E Have you forgotten? Don't you know?\u003Cbr \/\u003E We'll say it very loud and slow:\u003Cbr \/\u003E THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,\u003Cbr \/\u003E AND READ and READ, and then proceed\u003Cbr \/\u003E To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!\u003Cbr \/\u003E One half their lives was reading books!\u003Cbr \/\u003E The nursery shelves held books galore!\u003Cbr \/\u003E Books cluttered up the nursery floor!\u003Cbr \/\u003E And in the bedroom, by the bed,\u003Cbr \/\u003E More books were waiting to be read!\u003Cbr \/\u003E Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales\u003Cbr \/\u003E Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales\u003Cbr \/\u003E And treasure isles, and distant shores\u003Cbr \/\u003E Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And pirates wearing purple pants,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And sailing ships and elephants,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Stirring away at something hot.\u003Cbr \/\u003E (It smells so good, what can it be?\u003Cbr \/\u003E Good gracious, it's Penelope.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E The younger ones had Beatrix Potter\u003Cbr \/\u003E With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-\u003Cbr \/\u003E Just How The Camel Got His Hump,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,\u003Cbr \/\u003E There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E Oh, books, what books they used to know,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Those children living long ago!\u003Cbr \/\u003E So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Go throw your TV set away,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And in its place you can install\u003Cbr \/\u003E A lovely bookshelf on the wall.\u003Cbr \/\u003E Then fill the shelves with lots of books,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Ignoring all the dirty looks,\u003Cbr \/\u003E The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,\u003Cbr \/\u003E And children hitting you with sticks-\u003Cbr \/\u003E Fear not, because we promise you\u003Cbr \/\u003E That, in about a week or two\u003Cbr \/\u003E Of having nothing else to do,\u003Cbr \/\u003E They'll now begin to feel the need\u003Cbr \/\u003E Of having something to read.\u003Cbr \/\u003E And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!\u003Cbr \/\u003E You watch the slowly growing joy\u003Cbr \/\u003E That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen\u003Cbr \/\u003E They'll wonder what they'd ever seen\u003Cbr \/\u003E In that ridiculous machine,\u003Cbr \/\u003E That nauseating, foul, unclean,\u003Cbr \/\u003E Repulsive television screen!\u003Cbr \/\u003E And later, each and every kid\u003Cbr \/\u003E Will love you more for what you did.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;\"\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;\"\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E~ Roald Dahl\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/869203070988358594\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/television-by-roald-dahl.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/869203070988358594"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/869203070988358594"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/television-by-roald-dahl.html","title":"'Television,' by Roald Dahl"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-8787349443117702993"},"published":{"$t":"2020-12-16T14:09:00.000+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-12-16T14:09:38.945+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Conservatism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Radicals\/Conservatives"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003E\"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ Mark Twain, 'Notebooks and Journals', 1898\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MarkTwainAuthor\/posts\/3797204293643870\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMark Twain\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8787349443117702993\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/radicalsconservatives.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8787349443117702993"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8787349443117702993"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/radicalsconservatives.html","title":"Radicals\/Conservatives"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-789272308977880082"},"published":{"$t":"2020-12-15T09:18:00.005+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-12-15T09:18:54.544+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Privacy"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"True"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Yd8qtms3XYs\/X9fIUjiGlII\/AAAAAAAAnYA\/nCTbrtWgqOwm7PUlIwHa7BOLrhgGo6f9QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/131633458_3056764867756273_2873597421235246694_n.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"480\" data-original-width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Yd8qtms3XYs\/X9fIUjiGlII\/AAAAAAAAnYA\/nCTbrtWgqOwm7PUlIwHa7BOLrhgGo6f9QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/131633458_3056764867756273_2873597421235246694_n.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhilosophyMttrs\/photos\/a.305663529533101\/3056764861089607\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPhilosophy Matters\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/789272308977880082\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/true.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/789272308977880082"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/789272308977880082"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/true.html","title":"True"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Yd8qtms3XYs\/X9fIUjiGlII\/AAAAAAAAnYA\/nCTbrtWgqOwm7PUlIwHa7BOLrhgGo6f9QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/131633458_3056764867756273_2873597421235246694_n.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-8584104945383206668"},"published":{"$t":"2020-12-14T10:49:00.002+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-12-14T10:49:29.611+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Property Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Quotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Right..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KfWysza51A0\/X9aIC8sds8I\/AAAAAAAAnXw\/DyDBSBY7UIAf2tI8gKDJCbo9zxBhC8J5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s526\/130584422_10219488373623055_3381845489927215832_n.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"515\" data-original-width=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KfWysza51A0\/X9aIC8sds8I\/AAAAAAAAnXw\/DyDBSBY7UIAf2tI8gKDJCbo9zxBhC8J5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s320\/130584422_10219488373623055_3381845489927215832_n.jpg\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003ERead more here on \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/rightsinstitute.org\/courses\/know-your-rights\/?tab=tab-curriculum\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Erights versus privileges\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003EAnd on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/search?q=rights+goods\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Egetting property rights right\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003EHere's a handy \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2005\/05\/cue-card-libertarianism-rights.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ECue Card on Rights\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003EAnd something very timely ...\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: white;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: white;\"\u003EWe hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people were confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.freeradical.co.nz\/content\/29\/29napper.php\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBill of No Rights\u003C\/a\u003E.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/charlotte.cushman\/posts\/10219488375263096\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ECharlotte Cushman\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/8584104945383206668\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/right.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8584104945383206668"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/8584104945383206668"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/right.html","title":"Right..."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-KfWysza51A0\/X9aIC8sds8I\/AAAAAAAAnXw\/DyDBSBY7UIAf2tI8gKDJCbo9zxBhC8J5gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/130584422_10219488373623055_3381845489927215832_n.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-3860744721084539413"},"published":{"$t":"2020-12-11T11:42:00.001+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-12-11T11:42:06.782+13:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Reminder"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_49PMy2REX0\/X9KkKA-tS4I\/AAAAAAAAnXQ\/7GwnnVzJXyoCgK-sgY4XV8kSfJjbwp0JQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s617\/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-11%2Bat%2B11.40.01%2BAM.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"614\" data-original-width=\"617\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_49PMy2REX0\/X9KkKA-tS4I\/AAAAAAAAnXQ\/7GwnnVzJXyoCgK-sgY4XV8kSfJjbwp0JQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-11%2Bat%2B11.40.01%2BAM.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Hat tip \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/aynrandorg\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eaynrandorg\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3860744721084539413\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/reminder.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3860744721084539413"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/3860744721084539413"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/12\/reminder.html","title":"Reminder"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_49PMy2REX0\/X9KkKA-tS4I\/AAAAAAAAnXQ\/7GwnnVzJXyoCgK-sgY4XV8kSfJjbwp0JQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-11%2Bat%2B11.40.01%2BAM.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1191860052950561284"},"published":{"$t":"2020-11-30T10:16:00.002+13:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-11-30T10:16:08.456+13:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Anarchy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Conservatism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Epistemology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ethics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fascism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Identity Politics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Individualism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Socialism"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"I am a rational animal.\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-hABplITBl0E\/X8QPeTorDJI\/AAAAAAAAnWQ\/w1LEb-yKQAYiCNuah6qWJ32NzY22z99RwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s501\/15267510_10153975333291472_4873076159655347542_n.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"352\" data-original-width=\"501\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-hABplITBl0E\/X8QPeTorDJI\/AAAAAAAAnWQ\/w1LEb-yKQAYiCNuah6qWJ32NzY22z99RwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w400-h281\/15267510_10153975333291472_4873076159655347542_n.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\"T\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003Ehey offer me their truth vs my truth; instead I choose objective truth. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer me their whim vs my whim; instead I choose reason. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer me black vs white, male vs female, young vs old, straight vs gay, instead I choose individualism.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer a sacrifice of myself to others vs a sacrifice of others to myself; instead I choose non-sacrificial trade. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer me anarchy vs totalitarianism; instead I choose freedom. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer me socialism vs fascism, instead I choose free-market capitalism. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer me conservative vs liberal; instead I choose individual rights with government limited to protecting them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"They offer false alternative after false alternative; but I think in objectively defined fundamental principles. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \"I am a rational animal.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; ~ \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/JohnGaltLine\/permalink\/1842673789218861\/?__cft__[0]=AZWDH3YgZMvdvPJLRi6rapD7GyeoWTbbDQO6-luGzz_lg8HKcTZMCdBAHND_NUpqResL-Row-Kw--zjFQTJN5OQZdcHz8KCsIQF7KHyM8qCYfv_P__P_Iq3Ng8ho2pJ_Hysr3H1Tlod1XC9uPMi1zR2174hDcXrAmzbAMVhQn3M0sw\u0026amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMark Conway Munro\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/JohnGaltLine\/permalink\/1842673789218861\/?__cft__[0]=AZWDH3YgZMvdvPJLRi6rapD7GyeoWTbbDQO6-luGzz_lg8HKcTZMCdBAHND_NUpqResL-Row-Kw--zjFQTJN5OQZdcHz8KCsIQF7KHyM8qCYfv_P__P_Iq3Ng8ho2pJ_Hysr3H1Tlod1XC9uPMi1zR2174hDcXrAmzbAMVhQn3M0sw\u0026amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EContent is copyright \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\"\u003EPC.BlogSpot.Com\u003C\/a\u003E ©  \nPermission to republish is granted, with link and attribution.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1191860052950561284\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/11\/i-am-rational-animal.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1191860052950561284"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/11906042\/posts\/default\/1191860052950561284"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/pc.blogspot.com\/2020\/11\/i-am-rational-animal.html","title":"\"I am a rational animal.\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Peter Cresswell"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/10699845031503699181"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}}]}});