Tomorrow begins the bizarre second impeachment of former president Donald Trump. The chief justice of the Supreme Court has declined to participate even though that is required by the Constitution. No witnesses. Is this just a political show trial? Also today: Tom Brady drives them crazy for not wearing a mask. So do celebrating Floridians. Iowa takes a step toward sanity.
Once government intervention into the lives of the citizens, it eventually turns into an addiction. In America, the addiction to government intervention began a century ago. Today, the government intervenes into just about every aspect of a citizen's life. The focus is always on the superficial and the immediate. Long-term consequences aren't even considered. Well, the long-term has arrived and the consequences are bad.
Top Biden Administration Covid advisor Tony Fauci is back to warn Americans that "now is not the time" to get together with friends to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday. He said the same about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. He warned of a "dark winter" if people didn't do as he told them. They did not, but meanwhile new Covid cases in the US continue to plummet. Also today: new CDC director says teachers do not need to be forced to take the vaccine for schools to open. Congress votes to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. And AOC feels the heat after questions arise about her dramatic "insurrection" story.
There are growing demands - especially among Democrats - to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress over reports that she believes or endorses "conspiracy theories" such as the "Q" conspiracy theory and others. Should Members who endorse conspiracy theories be kicked out? What is a conspiracy theory and how many Members have endorsed such theories in the past? How many times have conspiracy theories been used to drag the US into wars?
By Chris Rossini
The authoritarian sees the world (and especially the other people in it) as something that he has to order, organize and fix. The world is a big mechanical machine, and the people in it are just a bunch of parts that are not in their right places. The authoritarian sees himself as being outside of this machine that he has imagined. He's the engineer! While other people are misplaced parts, he's not a part at all. He's advanced, special, gifted, and even "chosen" to do the engineering job that he's assigned to himself. He shall place everyone and everything into the proper and correct place in order to realize "his vision" of how this world (and especially the humans in it) should be. Once the parts are all in their proper places, it will be as if time will stand still forever in a frozen state of perfection. There will be no fighting, no sadness, no poverty, no want, and no sickness. If the authoritarian actually thought things through (one thing that he never does) he'd quickly realize that in "his vision," there would be no humanity! At most, "his vision" can be acted out on a Hollywood movie screen. It can never be an actual reality. In reality, human beings are not homogenous mechanical robots. In reality, there are 7+ billion exquisitely unique individuals. There are no carbon copies. We are not interchangeable parts. We are not parts at all and there is no mechanical machine! Now let us consider the mentality of the libertarian. This is the person who realizes that there are 7+ billion individual engineers who build their own life experiences. The libertarian realizes that he's the engineer of his own life, and that is all! The libertarian realizes that the only person that he has the power to "fix," or "advance," or "improve," is himself. He has absolutely no power to "re-make" anyone else. The moment that he goes on an imperial mission to "re-make" others, he not only causes disaster for others, but also causes disaster for himself. The libertarian relies on others tremendously. He wouldn't live very long without them. But he deals with others peacefully and voluntarily. Unlike the authoritarian, has no dictates to impose on them. Relationships with others are consensual. This life of peace and voluntarism is unacceptable to the authoritarian. The authoritarian can't imagine letting other people be who they are. He will tell them who they are! The authoritarian wants to send out a one-size-fits-all order, and all the human parts obey and fall into place. When the order produces disaster (as it must) the authoritarian doubles-down and issues another order, this one even harsher. As the disasters multiply exponentially, the authoritarian begins to get violent. Just beat them harder! At that point the disasters pile up rapidly and in every direction. This continues until the abused people can take no more. The libertarian would never even think of trying to impose one-size-fits-all orders on others. Of course it produces disaster! This is a world of unique individuals. One size does not exist! Yes, if you have a mechanical factory filled with identical robots, you can order all the robots to do the exact same thing and it will work. But one-size-fits-all cannot work on humans. And so we have two fundamental ways of dealing with one another: the imperial "I'm going to re-make you" way, and the voluntary "Live and let live" way. But what about the fighting, the poverty, the want, the sadness? What about the "vision" of eradicating these and ushering in the frozen state of perfection? These are at least "noble" goals, aren't they? Well, all ends (or goals) can only be accomplished with the proper means. Authoritarian means have always escalated the suffering. They have never reduced them, and never will. On the flip-side, when people deal with one another voluntarily and peacefully, without imposing their will by force, the suffering lessens. When there is freedom, human life flourishes. When there is tyranny, human life shrivels. So the means chosen by authoritarians are always insufficient, and will never accomplish the stated goals. As far as eliminating fighting, poverty, and sickness completely? This is not in cards. For to be human is to continually solve problems: You have an itch? You scratch it. Thirsty? You get a drink. Hungry? You eat. Cold? Put on a jacket. Not enough money? Get a job. Want a lot of money? Satisfy an urgent demand of consumers. Human life is constant problem solving. Big problems and small problems...Expected problems and unexpected problems. All day...Every day of your life. So to imagine a state where there are no problems whatsoever is to imagine yourself not being a human being, and there not being a humanity at all. A frozen state of perfection for the human race (as envisioned by authoritarians) is a delusion. Authoritarians act out on these delusions and produce disaster. No exceptions. The best that can be done is to ease the suffering, to lessen the fighting, to decrease the poverty. And for this, there can only be one way: Individual Liberty.
The Senate trial of former president Donald Trump is a farce, dead on arrival, and a mockery of justice. The votes for conviction are not there, as we learned from last week's procedural vote on constitutionality. The idea of removing someone from office who is not in office makes no sense. The sole goal is to prevent Trump from running for office again. What if Trump and Trump's team just didn't show up for this show trial?
By Ron Paul
The Department of Homeland Security issued on Wednesday a nationwide terror alert lasting until April 30. The alert warns of potential terrorist attacks from Americans who are “ideologically motivated” and have “objections to the exercise of government authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives.” The language used in this alert suggests that millions of Americans are potential terrorists. Second Amendment supporting, antiwar, anti-tax, anti-politics, anti-militarization, pro-life, and anti-Federal Reserve activists certainly have “objections to the exercise of government authority.” They are certainly viewed by the political class and its handmaidens in big tech and the mainstream media as ideological extremists. Anyone who gets his news from sources other than mainstream media or big tech, or who uses certain “unapproved” social media platforms, is considered to have had his grievances “fueled by false narratives.” For something to be considered a false narrative, it need only contradict the “official” narrative. The "domestic terrorist” alert is the latest sign that activities on January 6 on Capitol Hill, like the attacks of September 11, 2001, are being used to advance a long-standing anti-liberty agenda. Legislation expanding the federal government’s authority to use its surveillance and other unconstitutional powers against “domestic terrorists” is likely to soon be considered by Congress. Just as the PATRIOT Act was written years before 2001, this legislation was written long before January 6. The bill’s proponents are simply taking advantage of the hysteria following the so-called insurrection to push the bill onto the congressional agenda. Former CIA Director John Brennan recently singled out libertarians as among the people the government should go after. This is not the first time libertarians have been smeared. In 2009, a federally-funded fusion center identified people who supported my presidential campaign, my Campaign for Liberty, or certain Libertarian and Constitution parties candidates as potentially violent extremists. The idea that libertarianism creates terrorists is absurd. Libertarians support the non-aggression principle, so they reject using force to advance their political goals. They rely instead on peaceful persuasion. Libertarianism is being attacked because it does not support just reforming a few government policies. Instead, it presents a formidable intellectual challenge to the entire welfare-warfare state. The ultimate goal of those pushing for a crackdown on “domestic terrorism” is to make people unwilling to even consider “radical” ideas — to make people so afraid of certain ideas that they refuse to even give those ideas a fair hearing. Progressives who are tempted to support what is being promoted as a crackdown on right-wing violence should consider the history of government harassment of progressive movements and leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. What do they think a future right-wing authoritarian would do if given power to go after “ideological extremists”? All Americans who cherish the Bill of Rights should come together to stop this latest crackdown on liberty. My Campaign for Liberty will be mobilizing Americans to stop passage of any domestic terrorism legislation, while my Institute for Peace and Prosperity and my Liberty Report will provide Americas with the most up-to-date information about the continuing attempts to smear those who speak the truth about government lies. (You can watch the Ron Paul Liberty Report live on YouTube Monday-Friday at noon, eastern time.)
According to CNN, the CDC is demanding that people wear two masks when on public transport. Failure to comply could result in prosecution according to the news report. Is there any science behind it? Dr. Fauci surprisingly provides the answer. Also today: lockdown protests grow in Europe, lockdowns and cancer treatment, and Governor DeSantis shows how it's done.
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