By draping itself in the finery of political activism, the corporatist class consolidates political power, corrupts democracy and distracts from its real functions.
However, I did not mean to allude to any quote, but instead to the idea (attributed to Alexander Tytler, but I believe profound even if essentially anonymous/untraceable) that success breeds complacency especially in the always-evolving relationship between the individual and the State. This complacency, if not remedied, will inevitably lead to an over-bearing State that will enslave the complacent before they realize it, leading to the only way to regain the freedom/agency of the individual: bloody revolution.
Don't we WANT to avoid that? Don't we WANT the Federal leviathan to shrink before it is too late?
“Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.”
Mr. Greenwald, some corporations and even small businesses in parts of Canada are now forcing employees to download GPS software so the employer can track every movement of those employees. They are fired when they refuse to comply. One fired employee is going to court to fight it, but she is on her own. We are heading for a very scary time and as you note it is not merely in one country. They pretend to be woke, but it is mostly minorities who are at the receiving end of this.
I had not heard of this story. Do you mean tracking during work hours, or also non work hours? The former is happening in the US, especially with trucking and parcel delivery (Amazon, UPS, etc.). Just this week I saw a box truck with a sticker stating "speed monitored by GPS". Some of this type of monitoring is at least arguably legitimate.
I would hope only during work, and agree that could be legitimate. Although I did have to ponder what our local UPS guy told me about the app that I could use to also track him in real time when expecting a package: "What is to stop a terrorist from using that same app to detonate a package when he sees I am at a target? I drive his bomb into the Baltimore Tunnel and ..."
The whole speed tracking thing has always bugged me as well. I'm constantly awaiting the letter from the State Police issuing a ticket for speeding once they tracked my toll pass times. I'm honestly shocked it hasn't happened already considering my right foot is, shall we say, heavy, and I'm a fan of vehicles from the Autobahn building country.
Its ironic that those cheering loudest for corporations to assume state powers are also those who constantly decry everything they don't like as "fascism". An old quote comes to mind:
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." Benito Mussolini
The British spy agencies are so bad that they pushed through a law that gives total immunity to their agents to commit crimes - including murder, torture and sexual assaults!! At least the CIA has the humility to pretend they are subject to the law.
1. Businesses do this as a form of Woke Insurance. Companies publicly and financially support social liberal policy (racial justice, climate change, gay marriage) to buy allies against economic policies(healthcare, education, paid leave, unionization, etc.) which might make it harder for them to make money.
2. Further along the lines of 1: You can decry racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and Lord knows what else, and be greeted with hosannas by elites and gatekeepers.
You can query how many LGTBQXYZPDQ can dance on the head of a pin and get tenure, you can freely denounce an opponent as "literal Hitler" because s/he insists that there are only 24 genders, when everyone knows that there are 26 genders plus genders not yet discovered, and you will get gushing articles about you published in glossy magazines.
The elites will discuss all these things freely, with anyone who can be made to listen.
The elites will not discuss class, or anything else that questions how the pie gets sliced.
Yes! --> "The elites will not discuss class, or anything else that questions how the pie gets sliced." Including and especially government anti-poverty programs that only deliver good intentions, not good outcomes.
Keep in mind that most anti-poverty programs are really disguised jobs programs for the professional managerial class. In my feline experience, the same can be said for many other programs.
Therefore, when PMC types say "defund the police" - what they mean is "take money from the undeserving (blue collar, unionized and painfully unwoke cops) and give that money to the deserving (college educated, white collar social workers who can be sure to espouse correct attitudes)."
Also, a lot of Jabberwokey virtue signaling is really a form of class signaling.
"Keep in mind that most anti-poverty programs are really disguised jobs programs for the professional managerial class."
Agreed. I volunteered with a homelessness organization in Seattle about a decade ago. I noticed that despite having a very generous budget, there never seemed to be enough money "on the ground". The people making the real difference were the social workers who did the thankless task of helping a very low functioning, very damaged group of low recovery rate persons through day-to-day dramas and addictions. They were often attacked, heard the most heartbreaking stories, worked long hours, and often lost clients due to death or overdose. All for about $30K per year. Often they had to quit just to start a family or move into their own apartment and then left their clients, a group of people too used to abandonment, abandoned again, often to their great distress.
In the meantime, for every social worker there seemed to be about five administrators, whose function was often nebulous. They came from ivy league schools and made six figure salaries, a few seven figure salaries, and spent a lot of time talking to the media and writing books with self aggrandizing titles like "How I Persevered For The Downtrodden". Often as if THEY were the victims and NOT the sexually abused teenage runaway living under a bridge selling her body for heroin. If anyone rightly questioned this arrangement they reached out to their social media fan base and tarred the person, whomever they were, as some "conservative" (i.e. evil) who "wanted poor people to die in the streets" and lamented how this person was harassing them. The whistleblower was subsequently attacked and bullied by the useful idiots.
After awhile I quit volunteering. I couldn't stay quiet and I knew what would happen to me if I made noise. I have noticed that the homelessness problem in Seattle seems to grow the more money they spend on it. There was talk of an audit a year or so ago but then the Sawat got voted back in and that was quashed. Phew. Close one.
(As an aside I have noticed that when conservatives get hyperbolic it tends to be along the "this thing will tear the fabric of good/decent/traditional society apart!" and when liberals get hyperbolic it tends to be along the lines of "this thing wants poor/black/oppressed people to die in the streets!" Now that I've pointed it out I dare you not to see it. )
Intent only matters when praising failed do-gooderism. According to none other than the august-exhaust from the NYT, intent no longer matters for anything else, including criminal motive, but most importantly, not in the case of egregious violation of woke feelings.
Actually, they use real money to buy political allies against economic policies. It's amazing how little it takes to get a congressperson in your pocket. As Glenn said, the woke crap is window dressing.
Yes, we need to find a way to make crony-Capitalism more expensive, so that by the well-known free market mechanism of supply and demand, we will have LESS of it.
When the Washington Post went from calling for John Brennan's prosecution to hailing him as a hero, something fundamental changed. Clearly the Left has realized its only path to maintaining power is the Woke corporate media/entertainment complex. Logic and reason are no longer welcome, as those two concepts carry no emotional weight.
But then again the only "left" policy the Biden regime is implementing is seen to benefit or increase their voter base. They are not the least bit interested in M4A, stopping the war machine, or upholding the constitution for that matter. It's a power grab, plain and simple.
It cracks me up that the Woke crowd think they're somehow bending Big Business to their knee: Wall Street is catering to the Woke for the same reason Wall Street aims its advertising dollars at the "all important" 18-34 demographic: Not because they have more disposable income (they don't), but because they're susceptible to advertising.
Wall Street now is bleating out "woke" tweets and p.r. pieces and issuing communiques and such because the Woke crowd actually believes that nonsense - as Glenn points out.
It's a lot easier to be online and be against something in a negative way, then to be for something in a positive way. I believe that there is a lot of common ground between different factions on the left and the right, and am very hopeful about a left/right populist alliance.
I think one thing that we can all really strongly come together on, is seeing the worst sh*t-libs on the internet cry, dunking on them, and reveling in their humiliation. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
It's not that I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer, its that I want to turn my enemies into friends so we can all be stronger together.
I am more “current” right leaning on guns, free speech, anti-crt/identity politics, anti war. I care about other policies but those 4 are ones I simply cannot accept any compromise on.
I have views on other topics like minimum wage, health care, welfare, environment, abortion etc but those are topics which I don’t even mind losing on if it means for me to work with the honest classical liberals. Right now saving fundamental freedoms and liberty is more important than some stupid tax or other issue. Let’s unite.
The biggest change I made last year was I completely reversed my positions on gun control
I am an absolutist about the 2nd amendment. I strongly oppose gun control legislation, and believe guns are some peoples favorite toys (I personally dont like guns and dont like being around then) and I think hunting is a fine passtime if its your thing. Its not mine but I dont judge.
The founding fathers were very wise. They included the 2nd amendment for a reason they explain in the federalist papers.
Funny thing is that I am Canadian and don’t even own guns but am very pro 2A. I do plan on moving in future to US. But I do love guns and think that once you go to a gun range with friends a few times, you might start liking them.
I am a 2A and free speech absolutist. I would gladly support protecting someone’s speech even if they call me racist words for my skin color or appearance. The only way to prevent authoritarianism is by being a free speech absolutist imo.
I actually swore a sacred oath to God that I would never hold any weapon. I am extreme pacifist, but dont try to push my pacifism on others. Its a personal choice I made. The last time I went to a shooting range was also the last. It was fun! But that was also when I was a little kid.
I can't tell you, M. Jorah, just how many fellow gun owners have expresses to me the view that we welcome pacifists, like yourself, and consider you fellow classical liberal countrymen. We believe in freedom of choice in this matter, just as you show with your support of the 2nd Amendment.
Oh, I have egg all over my face: I hearted M. Basenji7's call to fascism, before reading and being slapped down by M. Phisto Sobanii's "the king has no clothes!"!
You are right, I am very weak. You are much stronger and wiser than me. You are like fire and I am like a shadow. When the light shines on me I run away just like a passing shadow. Whereas you have made yourself a target because you are so strong and have armed yourself; I am not a target, because I am very weak. There is no reason for anyone to come after me, I am no one, I have nothing, I am nothing. Since I am not a threat to anyone, I have no need to defend myself.
The greatest danger you face is not knowing your enemy, and not knowing yourself. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. My methods of fighting are based on attacking my enemies strategy. I have a very high point of view.
I apologize, I don't think my point was clear enough. We are in agreement - especially in regards to pacifism and gun ownership (or lack thereof).
However, I will throw one brick: I was never comfortable with pacifism when it simply meant I was harmless. That said, ideas are way more dangerous than guns.
I disregard danger - simply because with ideas, I am the danger.
Coca-Cola required ID in 2020 shareholder meeting, but slams Georgia for voter ID law. Republican should launch a large scale campaign boycotting all those hypocrite big corporations. Republican should learn from CCP (sad they have to learn from CCP), using their economic force to make sure those hypocritic big corporations stop talking nonsense anymore.
I agree, but sadly I also must assume that, like most large corporations, Coca Cola is savvy enough to quietly funnel political contributions to as many Republicans as needed to leverage against any threat of being publicly shamed or boycotted.
All we need is the documentation, the whistleblower, the journalist, the attention, the change. Rinse and repeat, as they say in some wise, free communities.
Glenn has provided some compelling evidence that "woke" culture is so easily manipulated - since it only looks at form, rather than substance - the Oligarchy has figured out that all it needs to do is "wave the rainbow flag" (or mouth the proper platitudes) and they will be forgiven literally every meaningful moral or legal transgression. If I were them, I'd do it too! Such a bargain. It is the ultimate triumph of form over substance.
If the CIA had only known this back in the 70s, they could have avoided all that fuss with the Church Commission.
Ridicule is our best possible defense against this sort of absurdity. Thanks, Glenn. Its why I'm here.
On a whiny note...I’m so sick of getting emails from companies proclaiming their woke ‘cause of the moment’. I can barely keep up with my work and personal emails and they use my private information to declare their wokeness? I consider it a breach of privacy to use my email for these woke stands. I have deleted apps and stopped subscriptions over it. All I can do is vote with my wallet and take my eyeballs away from them. Not much of a stand but I’m busy trying to make a living!
Yes! It evokes the same nausea I experience when Facebook would remind you on the platform and in full page advertisements in newspapers of their concern for your privacy. I have since removed it from my phone and don't miss it one bit.
I share your aggravation, Elsa. When I'm feeling particularly annoyed with invasive ads online, I start clicking on them so at least they'll have to pay for the clicks.
As a conservative, Glenn helped me discover some of my blind spots, which I had to honestly acknowledge. I do hope that he is similarly getting through to Liberals who have unknowingly crossed the road into supporting this brutal corporate and big tech Leftism.
If you surrender everything to the government and give it total power to plan the whole economy, this will not guarantee your economic security, but it will guarantee the descent of the entire nation to a level of miserable poverty--as the practical results of every totalitarian economy, communist or fascist, have demonstrated.
Thank you, M. Julie De Luca. This Objectivist (not of the AR Cult variety) is very much enjoying your a propos Ayn Rand quotes. I happen to have in my library all of her non-fiction writing which I enjoyed decades ago. If possible, would you be able to cite which publication each quote you offer was found in?
Thank you for the response, and I agree with your assessment.
I recommend "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," a compendium of articles she wrote (I believe both before and after the publication of "Atlas Shrugged.") I prefer her non-fiction over her more famous, but imo silly-in-today's-world, fiction. The then-current events she referrences, of course, are of limited interest today. But her beautiful philosophy of Capitalism, Objectivism, always shines through.
What's more, the social security SHE received was actually HER money, forcibly "saved" by Uncle Sam. The social security you get is nothing but welfare.
You miss the forest for the trees.
You are ignorant of metaphor and satire. Better stick to your comic books and super-hero movies. I am sure you ken them.
Freedom of speech means freedom from interference, suppression or punitive action by the government—and nothing else. It does not mean the right to demand the financial support or the material means to express your views at the expense of other men who may not wish to support you. Freedom of speech includes the freedom not to agree, not to listen and not to support one’s own antagonists. A “right” does not include the material implementation of that right by other men; it includes only the freedom to earn that implementation by one’s own effort. Private citizens cannot use physical force or coercion; they cannot censor or suppress anyone’s views or publications. Only the government can do so. And censorship is a concept that pertains only to governmental action.
What if the corporations are acting in concert with, under the direction of and as surrogates for the government when they crush free speech and punish political opposition?
To the extent that they do so, they essentially become part of the public sector, not the free, and non-subsidized, private sector. there are thousands of corporations, and 1 (one) State. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Not all corporations (ALL private at birth) are equal.
Having worked in Silicon Valley, the root of this is "Employee Resource Groups". I think they were intended to be "clubs" for networking and commiserating, but have turned into a different beast. There are people that I am pretty sure do more work for their resource group than their actual job. It seems like a vehicle to try to pacify the woke within companies, but not sure it's working. It turns company meetings into virtual signaling events.
The strange part is that these groups seem most hell bent on having some sort of visual representation at the exec level. At the same time they don't pay any attention to the lower class workers within the company, usually contractors.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next economic downturn. Usually there is less room for non-productive work, and focus is on cost...which sends jobs to less diverse areas in Asia and Eastern Europe
I think it is more the natural evolution of Authoritarian Socialism. The misbehaving CEOs and boardrooms are in it for survival, not just to participate.
This is spot-on, I'm encountering the exact same thing as a big pharma cog. Valid complaints about poor work-life balance and a hostile work environment are being co-opted and watered-down by increasingly-popular diversity officers/teams. They've taken control of the narrative, so we're left with a company-sponsored float at pride and insistence that they'll up the quota of executives of different colors, leaving the problems plaguing the majority of the workforce unsolved (which is, of course, the point).
As an addendum. I think a lot of valid complaints / initiatives are lost in all the noise. For example, it seems like African-americans just want more guidance and paths to promotion in our company. However, that gets washed out by woke white people asking "why don't we have more black people in our office" when it's not clear if black people even want to live near that office.
The difference between a welfare state and a totalitarian state is a matter of time.
-Ayn Rand
The difference between a corporate welfare state and a totalitarian state is a matter of semantics.
At least the totalitarian State is honest, in a twisted way.
“Miss Rand now tells us that what we have thought was right is really wrong. The lesson should have read: One for one and none for all.”
― Gore Vidal
She is right. But we CAN intervene in this natural progression. We need to find an exit from the Alexander Tytler cycle.
The quote you allude to is not Tytler's but often is credited to him. https://www.lorencollins.net/tytler.html
Thank you for that and I am still digesting it.
However, I did not mean to allude to any quote, but instead to the idea (attributed to Alexander Tytler, but I believe profound even if essentially anonymous/untraceable) that success breeds complacency especially in the always-evolving relationship between the individual and the State. This complacency, if not remedied, will inevitably lead to an over-bearing State that will enslave the complacent before they realize it, leading to the only way to regain the freedom/agency of the individual: bloody revolution.
Don't we WANT to avoid that? Don't we WANT the Federal leviathan to shrink before it is too late?
“Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.”
― Gore Vidal
As well as a matter of perception.
Like a frog in warming water.
Mr. Greenwald, some corporations and even small businesses in parts of Canada are now forcing employees to download GPS software so the employer can track every movement of those employees. They are fired when they refuse to comply. One fired employee is going to court to fight it, but she is on her own. We are heading for a very scary time and as you note it is not merely in one country. They pretend to be woke, but it is mostly minorities who are at the receiving end of this.
I had not heard of this story. Do you mean tracking during work hours, or also non work hours? The former is happening in the US, especially with trucking and parcel delivery (Amazon, UPS, etc.). Just this week I saw a box truck with a sticker stating "speed monitored by GPS". Some of this type of monitoring is at least arguably legitimate.
I would hope only during work, and agree that could be legitimate. Although I did have to ponder what our local UPS guy told me about the app that I could use to also track him in real time when expecting a package: "What is to stop a terrorist from using that same app to detonate a package when he sees I am at a target? I drive his bomb into the Baltimore Tunnel and ..."
The whole speed tracking thing has always bugged me as well. I'm constantly awaiting the letter from the State Police issuing a ticket for speeding once they tracked my toll pass times. I'm honestly shocked it hasn't happened already considering my right foot is, shall we say, heavy, and I'm a fan of vehicles from the Autobahn building country.
Its ironic that those cheering loudest for corporations to assume state powers are also those who constantly decry everything they don't like as "fascism". An old quote comes to mind:
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." Benito Mussolini
The British spy agencies are so bad that they pushed through a law that gives total immunity to their agents to commit crimes - including murder, torture and sexual assaults!! At least the CIA has the humility to pretend they are subject to the law.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/04/mi5-sought-immunity-for-agents-criminal-acts-tribunal-told
This quote is actually from Giovanni Gentile, fascist philosopher and politician under Mussolini.
America paid a heckova price in blood and treasure trying to stop that form of socialism.
Judging by the way the epithet is bandied about today, it pops up like weeds!
??
That just means British spy agencies are more honest
You're not wrong. Spy is spy.
Less spy-ish?
007
It's doublethink, not irony.
Some thoughts:
1. Businesses do this as a form of Woke Insurance. Companies publicly and financially support social liberal policy (racial justice, climate change, gay marriage) to buy allies against economic policies(healthcare, education, paid leave, unionization, etc.) which might make it harder for them to make money.
2. Further along the lines of 1: You can decry racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and Lord knows what else, and be greeted with hosannas by elites and gatekeepers.
You can query how many LGTBQXYZPDQ can dance on the head of a pin and get tenure, you can freely denounce an opponent as "literal Hitler" because s/he insists that there are only 24 genders, when everyone knows that there are 26 genders plus genders not yet discovered, and you will get gushing articles about you published in glossy magazines.
The elites will discuss all these things freely, with anyone who can be made to listen.
The elites will not discuss class, or anything else that questions how the pie gets sliced.
Yes! --> "The elites will not discuss class, or anything else that questions how the pie gets sliced." Including and especially government anti-poverty programs that only deliver good intentions, not good outcomes.
Keep in mind that most anti-poverty programs are really disguised jobs programs for the professional managerial class. In my feline experience, the same can be said for many other programs.
Therefore, when PMC types say "defund the police" - what they mean is "take money from the undeserving (blue collar, unionized and painfully unwoke cops) and give that money to the deserving (college educated, white collar social workers who can be sure to espouse correct attitudes)."
Also, a lot of Jabberwokey virtue signaling is really a form of class signaling.
"Keep in mind that most anti-poverty programs are really disguised jobs programs for the professional managerial class."
Agreed. I volunteered with a homelessness organization in Seattle about a decade ago. I noticed that despite having a very generous budget, there never seemed to be enough money "on the ground". The people making the real difference were the social workers who did the thankless task of helping a very low functioning, very damaged group of low recovery rate persons through day-to-day dramas and addictions. They were often attacked, heard the most heartbreaking stories, worked long hours, and often lost clients due to death or overdose. All for about $30K per year. Often they had to quit just to start a family or move into their own apartment and then left their clients, a group of people too used to abandonment, abandoned again, often to their great distress.
In the meantime, for every social worker there seemed to be about five administrators, whose function was often nebulous. They came from ivy league schools and made six figure salaries, a few seven figure salaries, and spent a lot of time talking to the media and writing books with self aggrandizing titles like "How I Persevered For The Downtrodden". Often as if THEY were the victims and NOT the sexually abused teenage runaway living under a bridge selling her body for heroin. If anyone rightly questioned this arrangement they reached out to their social media fan base and tarred the person, whomever they were, as some "conservative" (i.e. evil) who "wanted poor people to die in the streets" and lamented how this person was harassing them. The whistleblower was subsequently attacked and bullied by the useful idiots.
After awhile I quit volunteering. I couldn't stay quiet and I knew what would happen to me if I made noise. I have noticed that the homelessness problem in Seattle seems to grow the more money they spend on it. There was talk of an audit a year or so ago but then the Sawat got voted back in and that was quashed. Phew. Close one.
(As an aside I have noticed that when conservatives get hyperbolic it tends to be along the "this thing will tear the fabric of good/decent/traditional society apart!" and when liberals get hyperbolic it tends to be along the lines of "this thing wants poor/black/oppressed people to die in the streets!" Now that I've pointed it out I dare you not to see it. )
"In my feline experience..."
You sure are a well spoken cat, and +1 for changing jabberwocky to jabberwoky. I think Lewis Carroll would have approved!
Humbly requesting permission to borrow "Jabberwokey".
Go buck wild.
Intent only matters when praising failed do-gooderism. According to none other than the august-exhaust from the NYT, intent no longer matters for anything else, including criminal motive, but most importantly, not in the case of egregious violation of woke feelings.
Actually, they use real money to buy political allies against economic policies. It's amazing how little it takes to get a congressperson in your pocket. As Glenn said, the woke crap is window dressing.
Yes, we need to find a way to make crony-Capitalism more expensive, so that by the well-known free market mechanism of supply and demand, we will have LESS of it.
When the Washington Post went from calling for John Brennan's prosecution to hailing him as a hero, something fundamental changed. Clearly the Left has realized its only path to maintaining power is the Woke corporate media/entertainment complex. Logic and reason are no longer welcome, as those two concepts carry no emotional weight.
But then again the only "left" policy the Biden regime is implementing is seen to benefit or increase their voter base. They are not the least bit interested in M4A, stopping the war machine, or upholding the constitution for that matter. It's a power grab, plain and simple.
Unless the big corps pay a price for their leftward lean, it will continue.
It cracks me up that the Woke crowd think they're somehow bending Big Business to their knee: Wall Street is catering to the Woke for the same reason Wall Street aims its advertising dollars at the "all important" 18-34 demographic: Not because they have more disposable income (they don't), but because they're susceptible to advertising.
Wall Street now is bleating out "woke" tweets and p.r. pieces and issuing communiques and such because the Woke crowd actually believes that nonsense - as Glenn points out.
It's a lot easier to be online and be against something in a negative way, then to be for something in a positive way. I believe that there is a lot of common ground between different factions on the left and the right, and am very hopeful about a left/right populist alliance.
I think one thing that we can all really strongly come together on, is seeing the worst sh*t-libs on the internet cry, dunking on them, and reveling in their humiliation. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
It's not that I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer, its that I want to turn my enemies into friends so we can all be stronger together.
I am more “current” right leaning on guns, free speech, anti-crt/identity politics, anti war. I care about other policies but those 4 are ones I simply cannot accept any compromise on.
I have views on other topics like minimum wage, health care, welfare, environment, abortion etc but those are topics which I don’t even mind losing on if it means for me to work with the honest classical liberals. Right now saving fundamental freedoms and liberty is more important than some stupid tax or other issue. Let’s unite.
The biggest change I made last year was I completely reversed my positions on gun control
I am an absolutist about the 2nd amendment. I strongly oppose gun control legislation, and believe guns are some peoples favorite toys (I personally dont like guns and dont like being around then) and I think hunting is a fine passtime if its your thing. Its not mine but I dont judge.
The founding fathers were very wise. They included the 2nd amendment for a reason they explain in the federalist papers.
THE WORKERS MUST NEVER BE DISARMED !!!
Funny thing is that I am Canadian and don’t even own guns but am very pro 2A. I do plan on moving in future to US. But I do love guns and think that once you go to a gun range with friends a few times, you might start liking them.
I am a 2A and free speech absolutist. I would gladly support protecting someone’s speech even if they call me racist words for my skin color or appearance. The only way to prevent authoritarianism is by being a free speech absolutist imo.
I actually swore a sacred oath to God that I would never hold any weapon. I am extreme pacifist, but dont try to push my pacifism on others. Its a personal choice I made. The last time I went to a shooting range was also the last. It was fun! But that was also when I was a little kid.
I can't tell you, M. Jorah, just how many fellow gun owners have expresses to me the view that we welcome pacifists, like yourself, and consider you fellow classical liberal countrymen. We believe in freedom of choice in this matter, just as you show with your support of the 2nd Amendment.
Thank you.
Yesssss. It should be mandatory to all to know the Constitution and the Federalist papers
Mandatory?
First off, that seems against the egalitarian spirit of the document.
Besides, what right do you have to educate someone against their will?
I have to agree with you “mandatory” is not the right word. It should be “encouraged” to learn about it and live within the patriotic spirit of it.
Oh, I have egg all over my face: I hearted M. Basenji7's call to fascism, before reading and being slapped down by M. Phisto Sobanii's "the king has no clothes!"!
If you can't defend yourself and depend on the state, what does that make you?
Hint: it's not flattering.
You are right, I am very weak. You are much stronger and wiser than me. You are like fire and I am like a shadow. When the light shines on me I run away just like a passing shadow. Whereas you have made yourself a target because you are so strong and have armed yourself; I am not a target, because I am very weak. There is no reason for anyone to come after me, I am no one, I have nothing, I am nothing. Since I am not a threat to anyone, I have no need to defend myself.
The greatest danger you face is not knowing your enemy, and not knowing yourself. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. My methods of fighting are based on attacking my enemies strategy. I have a very high point of view.
You should think about this.
I apologize, I don't think my point was clear enough. We are in agreement - especially in regards to pacifism and gun ownership (or lack thereof).
However, I will throw one brick: I was never comfortable with pacifism when it simply meant I was harmless. That said, ideas are way more dangerous than guns.
I disregard danger - simply because with ideas, I am the danger.
Woke imperialism, intersectional surveillance state, diverse oligarchy, inclusive corporatism...
What is an oxymoron? (Doublespeak for 500, Alex.)
Coca-Cola required ID in 2020 shareholder meeting, but slams Georgia for voter ID law. Republican should launch a large scale campaign boycotting all those hypocrite big corporations. Republican should learn from CCP (sad they have to learn from CCP), using their economic force to make sure those hypocritic big corporations stop talking nonsense anymore.
I agree, but sadly I also must assume that, like most large corporations, Coca Cola is savvy enough to quietly funnel political contributions to as many Republicans as needed to leverage against any threat of being publicly shamed or boycotted.
All we need is the documentation, the whistleblower, the journalist, the attention, the change. Rinse and repeat, as they say in some wise, free communities.
Glenn has provided some compelling evidence that "woke" culture is so easily manipulated - since it only looks at form, rather than substance - the Oligarchy has figured out that all it needs to do is "wave the rainbow flag" (or mouth the proper platitudes) and they will be forgiven literally every meaningful moral or legal transgression. If I were them, I'd do it too! Such a bargain. It is the ultimate triumph of form over substance.
If the CIA had only known this back in the 70s, they could have avoided all that fuss with the Church Commission.
Ridicule is our best possible defense against this sort of absurdity. Thanks, Glenn. Its why I'm here.
"the costumes of social justice" is a most apt expression.
Too funny!:
"If the CIA had only known this back in the 70s, they could have avoided all that fuss with the Church Commission."
i wonder where we would be now?
Woke-washing
Virtue-signaling window dressing.
Laundering public personas.
Woke Supremacy
I never liked corporations even when I was a Bush guy. Now, it's kind of fun looking for alternatives. Coke is out of my life. My teeth are grateful.
On a whiny note...I’m so sick of getting emails from companies proclaiming their woke ‘cause of the moment’. I can barely keep up with my work and personal emails and they use my private information to declare their wokeness? I consider it a breach of privacy to use my email for these woke stands. I have deleted apps and stopped subscriptions over it. All I can do is vote with my wallet and take my eyeballs away from them. Not much of a stand but I’m busy trying to make a living!
Yes! It evokes the same nausea I experience when Facebook would remind you on the platform and in full page advertisements in newspapers of their concern for your privacy. I have since removed it from my phone and don't miss it one bit.
I share your aggravation, Elsa. When I'm feeling particularly annoyed with invasive ads online, I start clicking on them so at least they'll have to pay for the clicks.
Keep speaking truth to power Glenn! Thank you for your work!
As a conservative, Glenn helped me discover some of my blind spots, which I had to honestly acknowledge. I do hope that he is similarly getting through to Liberals who have unknowingly crossed the road into supporting this brutal corporate and big tech Leftism.
He is repairing the 200 year old schism in classical liberalism (anti-Statism).
If you surrender everything to the government and give it total power to plan the whole economy, this will not guarantee your economic security, but it will guarantee the descent of the entire nation to a level of miserable poverty--as the practical results of every totalitarian economy, communist or fascist, have demonstrated.
-Ayn Rand
Thank you, M. Julie De Luca. This Objectivist (not of the AR Cult variety) is very much enjoying your a propos Ayn Rand quotes. I happen to have in my library all of her non-fiction writing which I enjoyed decades ago. If possible, would you be able to cite which publication each quote you offer was found in?
I just found them online under Ayn Rand quotes. I’m afraid that she was absolutely correct. We are now living in a world that she warned us about.
Thank you for the response, and I agree with your assessment.
I recommend "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," a compendium of articles she wrote (I believe both before and after the publication of "Atlas Shrugged.") I prefer her non-fiction over her more famous, but imo silly-in-today's-world, fiction. The then-current events she referrences, of course, are of limited interest today. But her beautiful philosophy of Capitalism, Objectivism, always shines through.
"...big bag government..."
You just can't make this typo up!!
"This from a woman who collected social security until she died lol."
Yeah, all THOSE people.
What's more, the social security SHE received was actually HER money, forcibly "saved" by Uncle Sam. The social security you get is nothing but welfare.
You miss the forest for the trees.
You are ignorant of metaphor and satire. Better stick to your comic books and super-hero movies. I am sure you ken them.
Freedom of speech means freedom from interference, suppression or punitive action by the government—and nothing else. It does not mean the right to demand the financial support or the material means to express your views at the expense of other men who may not wish to support you. Freedom of speech includes the freedom not to agree, not to listen and not to support one’s own antagonists. A “right” does not include the material implementation of that right by other men; it includes only the freedom to earn that implementation by one’s own effort. Private citizens cannot use physical force or coercion; they cannot censor or suppress anyone’s views or publications. Only the government can do so. And censorship is a concept that pertains only to governmental action.
The Ayn Rand Column “The Fascist New Frontier,”
What if the corporations are acting in concert with, under the direction of and as surrogates for the government when they crush free speech and punish political opposition?
To the extent that they do so, they essentially become part of the public sector, not the free, and non-subsidized, private sector. there are thousands of corporations, and 1 (one) State. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Not all corporations (ALL private at birth) are equal.
"There is not much difference between a corrupt capitalist and a corrupt communist, they get along very well. They are about corruption not ideology."
I totally agree with this (and the two statements about "Monopoly capitalism," which I call crony-Capitalism.)
Are there no "timeless" concepts for you?
Having worked in Silicon Valley, the root of this is "Employee Resource Groups". I think they were intended to be "clubs" for networking and commiserating, but have turned into a different beast. There are people that I am pretty sure do more work for their resource group than their actual job. It seems like a vehicle to try to pacify the woke within companies, but not sure it's working. It turns company meetings into virtual signaling events.
The strange part is that these groups seem most hell bent on having some sort of visual representation at the exec level. At the same time they don't pay any attention to the lower class workers within the company, usually contractors.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next economic downturn. Usually there is less room for non-productive work, and focus is on cost...which sends jobs to less diverse areas in Asia and Eastern Europe
The root of this is a generation of children who received participation trophies growing up.
I think it is more the natural evolution of Authoritarian Socialism. The misbehaving CEOs and boardrooms are in it for survival, not just to participate.
This is spot-on, I'm encountering the exact same thing as a big pharma cog. Valid complaints about poor work-life balance and a hostile work environment are being co-opted and watered-down by increasingly-popular diversity officers/teams. They've taken control of the narrative, so we're left with a company-sponsored float at pride and insistence that they'll up the quota of executives of different colors, leaving the problems plaguing the majority of the workforce unsolved (which is, of course, the point).
As an addendum. I think a lot of valid complaints / initiatives are lost in all the noise. For example, it seems like African-americans just want more guidance and paths to promotion in our company. However, that gets washed out by woke white people asking "why don't we have more black people in our office" when it's not clear if black people even want to live near that office.
And some firms have begun to eliminate technical terms such as "master-slave" relationships and "black box testing"...