Monthly Archives: April 2021

Life Taxes

Requiring voter ID is supposedly evil because it’s the same as a poll tax which is evil because it’s what we used to do to all poor people including white crackers.  Wait till they find out that children can’t vote.  Hey if I’m a descendent of a cracker, do I still have to pay reparations?  I’m not at all convinced that poll taxes are bad and would have no problems standing before God and saying so.  There are some more fundamental things than voting, like , I don’t know life.  You know part of that “life liberty and the pursuit of cancelling everyone you don’t like”?  No, that can’t be right.  If restricting access to voting is evil how about restricting access to life? 

poll-taxI was struck by this reality as I was listening to a hollywood actress with no clothes figuratively and literally drone on about the virtues of making movies when no one else can work.  I heard the clip from a third party because like everyone else I have better things to do than watch godless people give each other awards.  These people can work because they are tested repeatedly and quarantined and besides they are hollywood elites so they can call up their mayor/governor and get whatever they want.  But the average business man can’t afford all this extra cost.  Maybe he could if he were not already jumping through hundreds of hoops from the tax code to the OSHA, EPA, and a dozens other do-nothing State and Federal agencies.  These are all restrictions on the most basic function of moral productive life, working.  Like that guy in the Princess Bride says “they aren’t sucking poll taxes, they are sucking life.” Or something like that.  And that is actually the point, laws are just about restricting access and securing special privileges.  We just have a more fancy way of doing it today.  Rich people can afford lawyers and lower class slaves to comply with all of these pointless rules, the COVID rules are just the latest layer.  But the rest of us must expel our life, if we even have the option of complying.

I was thinking of another comparison.  While you are taking off your clothes, and being swabbed and harassed and scanned and stripped by incompetent airport security, ( I’m sorry is is rude to call a group of people who fail more often than COVID, incompetent?) they are hopping on their private jets, with no security checks.  Private flight is fine if you can afford it, but they have to preach to us the whole time about destroying the planet.  I just looked up some basic numbers, it costs $75,000-$125,000 to charter a private plane from LA to DC.  Which Nancy Pelosi does regularly, either paid for by us or some donor scam.  The average commercial flight is probably $300.  Those numbers represent the materials and personnel needed to make your flight happen.  Minerals need to be mined and refined and be organized into a plane.  People need to be organized to fly and service the plane.  Oil must be refined.  These numbers are really just units of energy.  The private flight person has consumed 100,000 units worth of resources for their trip, the average joe has consumed 300 units.   Now for people who own their own plane, it’s even worse.  They pay for the convenience of always having it at their disposal.  You are consuming hanger space, and unused plane potential, even when not flying.  The pilate ratio is the same as the private charter, but you might pay his whole salary to have him available at all times.  I would have a moral problem consuming so much for myself regardless of the environment.  But these people are pure hypocrites.  And why do we put up with al this?  Why do we honor, and respect and exalt such horrible people?  Where is the responsibility of those with a lot, or in leadership to set a good example for others?  And it’s not enough that they have all this, the encourage rioting mobs to come and burn down our COVID closed businesses.  And we dare to protest actual suppression of votes, and they hunt us down and put is in jail for nothing, and put us on the no-fly list.  So we don’t even have the option of being publicly sexually molested by the TSA.  It’s not about sticking it to the rich, it’s about leaving us the hell alone so we can work and travel freely.

U.S. v. Confederate Constitutions

I have never met anyone who has actually read the Confederate Constitution.  Just do what you are told, put on a mask, Abraham Lincoln was a god.  Just the mention of it probably makes you mad, but that’s not really a thinking position.  The one provision in here you wouldn’t like says that existing slaves remain slaves.  The slave trade is forbidden.  The alternative, which we chose and glorify, killed almost a million souls, this seems worse to me.  Massive problems result down to this day, the Civil War didn’t solve anything.  And it made many things worse.  The South was more moral than the North.  While the South was trying to make the Constitution better the North was attacking the Constitution, and they have been doing so every day since. This was the last advance in law as far as I am concerned.

This is a mostly complete comparison, I skipped a few things that didn’t seem all that important. This is all the extra language added by the confederates. They don’t seem to have taken out much. And what they put in plays out a lot better in the long run, I believe.

Give it a read and be surprised:

God is made more clear:
“Invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God”=

No first generation voting:
“no person of foreign birth, not a citizen of the Confederate States , shall be allowed to vote for any officer, civil or poiltical, State or Federal.”

Judges could be removed:
“except that any judicial or other federal officer resident and acting solely within the limits of any State, may be impeached by a vote of two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature thereof.”

Line item veto, no thousand page bills:
“The President may approve any appropriation and disapprove, any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case he shall, in signing the bill, designate the ap propriations disapproved; and shall return a copy of such appropriations, with his objections, to the House in which the bill shall have originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had as in case of other bills disapproved by the President.”

No crony capitalism:
“but no bounties shall be granted from the treasury; nor shall  any duties or taxes on importations from foreign nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry ; and all duties, imposts and exeises shall be uniform throughout the Confederate States:”

No federal works programs, limits the often abused ‘interstate commerce clause’:
“but neither this, nor any other clause contained in the Constitution, shall ever be construed to delegate the power to Congress to appropriate money for any internal improvement intended to facilitate commeree ; except for the purpose of furnishing lights, beacons, and buoys, and other aids to navigation upon the coasts, and the. improvement of harbors and the removing of obstructions in river navigation, in all which cases, such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby, as may be neccssaiy to pay the costs and expenses thereof:”

Slave Trade is banned:
“The, importation of negroes of the African race, from any foreigncountry, other than the, slave holding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbid-thousden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same.”

“Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or Territory not belonging to, this Confederacy.”

Existing slaves remain slaves:
“No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves, shall be passed.”

Interstate duties could be imposed:
“No tax or duty shall be, laid on articles exported from any State, except by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses.”

No favoring one state:
“No preference shall be, given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one, State over those of another.”

Clarifying spending:
“Congress shall appropriate, no money from the treasury except by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, taken by yeas and nays, unless it be asked and estimated for by some one of the, heads of department, and submitted to Congress by the President;or for the purpose, of paying its own expenses and contingencies; or for the, payment of claims against the Confederate States, the justice of which shall have been judicially declared by a tribunal for the investigation of claims against the Government, which it is hereby made theduty of Congress to establish.”

Refine spending:
“All bills appropriating money shall specify, in Federal currency, the exact amount of each appropriation, and the purposes for which it is made; and Congress shall grant no extra compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent, or servant, after such contract shall have been made, or such service rendered.”

No lying bill titles, no omnibus bills:
“Every law or resolution having the force of law, shall relate to but one subject, and that shall be expressed In the title.”

Clarifying presidential power:
“The principal officer in each of’ the Executive Departments, and all persons connected with the diplomatic service, may be removed from  office at the pleasure of the President. All other civil officers of the Executive Department may be removed at any time by the President, or other appointing power, when their services are unnecessary, or for dishonesty, incapacity, inefficiency, misconduct, or neglect of duty; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to the Senate, together with the reasons therefor.”

Clarifying impeachment:
“but no person rejected by the Senate shall be re-appointed to the same office during their ensuing recess.”

“The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the. Confederate States, lying with out the limits of the several States ; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admit ted into the Confederacy. In all such territory, the institution of negro slavery as it now exists in the Con federate States, shall be recognized and protected by Congress, and by the territorial government; and t inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories, shall have the right to take to such terri tory any slaves, lawfully held by them in any of the States or territories of the Confederate States.”

 

Click for full original document comparison.

Click for full original document comparison.

Listening

I am so fortunate.  I was recently listening to James Jordan while I work for profit, he was discussing the fact that the Bible was written to be heard and not read.  This based on the simple fact that literacy and mass publishing were not a thing until Gutenberg invented his press and even at that it took a wile to catch on.  He pointed out that reading is an event that is more inherently individualistic and private, where as listening requires a speaker and is communal even if only a tête-à-tête.  Listening requires surrender, and participation with someone else.  We can’t close our ears as we close our eyes, we must leave the area, or turn up our ear buds.  We get the idea of the contentions wife from Proverbs.  Her husband is happier on the roof, than in the house with her.  She is contending but she isn’t arm wrestling her husband, or challenging him to a game of chess, she is talking.  Her words, her speech are contending.  I was not able to find any verses about men being contentious in this way, because men generally fight with fists.  Interesting that male fighting, i.e. physical violence is all but anathema as a solution for anything in our world, yet female violence as speech is pretty standard, a right even.  But his point is that speech enters in, it affects us and we have less power than we think to resist.  I think of a study a friend of mine was doing.  He found that texting is actually less distracting to drivers than talking/listening on the phone.  While texting, reading/writing, you are participating, on your terms, when you have a free second between red lights.  But when you are talking on the phone, you must surrender to the other person, they talk on their terms which is less predictable, or controllable by you. They grab your attention when you need it most.

Of course not every woman is a shrew and no one ever thought that, despite what your women’s studies class taught you.  But some are.  And today more than ever.  I think it’s fair to say that feminism is little more than codified shrewism.  We no longer guard against it, so we have a lot more, plus some actively adocating for the shrew cause.  Click the picure for some intersting history, keeping that in mind.

Of course not every woman is a shrew and no one ever thought that, despite what your women’s studies class taught you. But some are. And today more than ever. I think it’s fair to say that feminism is little more than codified shrewism. We no longer guard against it, so we have a lot more, plus some actively advocating for the shrew cause. Click the picture for some interesting history, keeping that in mind.

I am fortunate, because I don’t have a contentious wife, a boss, a supervisor, or anyone else really, in my ear ever.  But I do listen.  I listen to the greatest writers, historians and thinkers who ever were and currently are.  Here are some resources for when you have some fortunate moments too.  And don’t be afraid to create a life which makes more time for better listening.

  • Librivox: Contains all the classics and some not so classic works, which are out of copyright, read by volunteers, for free.  It’s open source audio books.  https://librivox.org

Starter Politics:

https://librivox.org/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france-by-edmund-burke/

https://librivox.org/bradfords-history-of-the-plymouth-settlement-by-william-bradford/

https://librivox.org/up-from-slavery-by-booker-t-washington/

Fun:

https://librivox.org/right-ho-jeeves-by-p-g-wodehouse/

https://librivox.org/roughing-it/

Everything:

https://librivox.org/orthodoxy-by-g-k-chesterton/

https://librivox.org/the-everlasting-man-by-g-k-chesterton/

Novels:

https://librivox.org/the-brothers-karamazov-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/

https://librivox.org/the-count-of-monte-cristo-version-3-by-alexandre-dumas/

https://librivox.org/tale-of-two-cities-by-charles-dickens-3/

History:

https://librivox.org/eusebius-history-of-the-christian-church-tr-by-mcgiffert/

Economics:

https://librivox.org/essays-on-political-economy-by-frederic-bastiat/

 

  • Rush Limbaugh:  The great man passed away recently, but his wisdom is still being dispensed on radios every day.  Available streaming for free on iHeart Radio.  Besides evil men are booring and they just keep repeating the same lies, so reruns of Rush aren’t all that out of date.  https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-rush-limbaugh-show-57927691/
  • Mark Steyn is always doing Western Civilization instead of just commenting on it.  He has regular variety shows for free. https://www.steynonline.com
  • Eric Metaxas:  Very funny and intelligent, interviews with some great Christian personalities, and thinkers from today.  https://metaxastalk.com  He also had an event based organization called Socrates in the City, also excellent. https://socratesinthecity.com
  • The Theology Pugcast:  Some wise Christian philosophy, history and theology professors discussing random topics.  Orthodox and politcally incorrect. https://thetheologypugcast.com
  • Cross Politic:  Younger Reformed Christians discussing the topics of the day.  Filtering the news through youthful sanity, is refreshing.   https://crosspolitic.com