Political divisions in the USA now appear to have taken an unusually rigid form. There are two large blocs, the pro-Trumpers and the anti-Trumpers, who share little except each one’s hatred of the other. Trump’s policies, whatever they have been or failed to be, have relatively little to do with these divisions, which spring from a deeper source in the culture wars.
Tag: protest
Anarchist Praxis, Genocide, “Assist Police”, FBI Worried, & Freedom vs. Wealth (38m) – Episode 373
Episode 373 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following entries to r/shitstatistssay: NecrosavroGutsfucker writes, “I think that if you for example havent not even once smashed the face of a racist , or afraid to join at least once a year an insurectionary event with anarchists or alone , you must not consider yourself an anarcho.”; Hollie Nyseth Brehm says, “People who commit genocide are not evil.”; @perri_goldstein writes (reddit), “Bringing a gun to a protest and saying you’re there to ‘assist police’ is like if I brought a scalpel to a hospital and said I’m there to ‘assist doctors.'”; BBC writes, “FBI worried that Ring doorbells are spying on police”; and s1monsys writes, “what if we dont realize it because we live relativity wealthy lives but if you look at where most of the money is held, its still a small group of extremely wealth people. We still have kings who send Fodder off to die. Nothings really changed we just are slightly more advanced.”
Cop Power Remains Untouchable
For months now, people across the USA have been demonstrating and protesting police brutality. In some cities, such as Portland, Oregon, these protests/riots have gone on virtually nonstop. Protesters have demanded that city governments “defund” the police.
Teachers Unions Are More Powerful Than You Realize—But That May Be Changing
The pandemic is set to weaken the long-held grip of teachers unions on US education and social policy, and strengthen educational diversity and choice for more families. It may also prompt a closer look at the outsized influence of public sector unions more generally. Taxpayers should know what they are paying for.
Ian M. Returns, Minneapolis Experience, & Voluntaryist Silver Linings (55m) – Episode 368
Episode 368 welcomes back Ian Mayes to have a chat with Skyler on the following topics: working in the neighborhood where George Floyd was killed; his experience with the Minneapolis protests and riots; Kyle Rittenhouse; lockdown created tinderbox across the country and world; Minneapolis “defund the police” campaign; lack of real anti-authoritarian sentiment; political coalition building and guilt by association; civil wars and anarchists; Portland neighborhood “wake up” protests (Reason interview); voluntaryist welfare actions, ie. silver linings; restorative justice systems (Kibbe interview); and more.
Nick Sandmann: GOP’s Poster Child for Fake Victimhood
Grievance-based politics is nothing new, nor does America’s political “left” enjoy a monopoly on it. For proof of that latter claim, one need look no further than the case of Nick Sandmann.
Jack C. Returns, NZ Lockdowns, & Be Your Own Authority (1h8m) – Episode 357
Episode 357 welcomes back Jack Carney to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the COVID-19 lockdown experience in Auckland, New Zealand; lockdown protests stateside, their response, and then the George Floyd protests and their opposite response; government coordination on lockdown policies and website resource design; the Milgram experiment and what it says about today’s political climate; the Plandemic documentaries; the medical mafia; the changing usefulness of the Karen meme; why there are so few libertarian types in the world; government as God; the formerly rebellious nature of Mormons; why everyone must be their own authority, their own god; the non-aggression principle and self-defense; Free Friends, voluntary community building; his draft dodging of the Vietnam War in 1967; the Academy of Ideas YouTube channel; and more.
Krugman and Growth Agnosticism
Krugman‘s apparent embrace of this growth agnosticism is doubly puzzling. After a lifetime of study, a brilliant Nobel laureate still lacks anything useful to say about fostering growth? How is that even possible?
MOVE Bombing: The Story of How Philadelphia Became “The City That Bombed Itself”
The case of MOVE is an unusual one, because they cannot simply be shoe-horned into the usual “they were just minding their own business and then the cops came in with overwhelming force” narrative that more or less applies at Ruby Ridge or at Waco. This is not to imply that the actions taken by the Philadelphia Police Department were appropriate – there were children inside the MOVE townhouse. However, it is important to note that MOVE had a history of violence.
Give Thanks to Fossil Fuels
Was the power on in your house this morning? If so, thank fossil fuels!