Tag Archives: Socialism

Big Government Elitists Are On The Run

Posted on by Standard 1
us-government-we-need-a-tow

cartoon by Gary Varvel

Voters in Great Britain took a courageous stand against their heavy-handed, uber-liberal, politically correct, elitist big-government overlords at EU headquarters in Brussels yesterday.  They said NO to open borders.  NO to uncontrolled Muslim immigration.  NO to global-warming hoaxes.  NO to stupid monetary policy and negative interest rates.  NO to profligate gender-bending.  NO to anti-Christian aggression.  NO to over-regulation of businesses and micro-management of personal lives. NO to identity politics and fear of offending everybody. NO to corruption and croynyism.  NO to rampant welfare programs. NO to top-down decision making by unaccountable bureaucrats.

Other European nations will likely follow Great Britain’s lead and jump ship soon.  Enough is enough.

Could this be the start of a world-wide movement back to “normal” government?  Mainstream America has repudiated its permanent political class, and despite the best efforts of the DC insiders (both Democrats and Republicans) to barricade the Beltway, the ascendance of common-sense outsiders to national leadership looks more likely every day.  Don’t be fooled by the liberal-media polls who try their best to throw cold water on the “throw-the-bums-out” movement.  European pollsters predicted right up until election day that the Brits would stay in the EU – and were embarrassingly wrong.

Government is nothing more than dollars-in, dollars-out, just like any business.  And every competent business manager knows that the way to make good decisions is to push them down to the lowest possible level of the organization.  Family decisions should be made at the family level.  Cities, counties, and states can manage their own affairs. We shouldn’t expect or allow our federal government to handle much more than borders, national security, and foreign policy. When condescending, elitist government officials try to micromanage every aspect of human life, the result is Venezuela.

Socialism has never worked.  It never will.  America will be great again.  And those who jump off the socialist European Union ship first will be healthy and robust again too.  Those who don’t are in for some tough times.  Other confused nations (Canada?  Australia?) will see the stark contrast and will move back to sanity.

It’s been a long wait.  But something tells me we are in for something good.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

 

Something tells me,
I’m into something good!

Something Good – Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits)

 

Yep, Herman is still around!  He does a great weekly “British Invasion” radio show on Sirius/XM radio, full of salacious stories about his young teenage years which he spent bar-hopping with his older (and reportedly decadent) Beatles and Stones buddies.  Herman admits the stories may or may not all be factual, but they sure are entertaining.

 

Argentina Moves Right – Canada Moves Left – Now It’s Our Move

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DanceStepsI have often pointed to Argentina as an example of what could happen to the United States.   The two countries have similar early histories, emerging from colonial status to independence and becoming the economic engines of the western hemisphere.

At the height of the industrial revolution the economies of the USA and Argentina flourished.  Before World War II the two young nations competed for foreign investment, building strong infrastructures and well-educated middle classes.  Buenos Aires challenged New York City’s status as the gem of the West.

And then their destinies parted ways.

The United States maintained a firm grip on its constitution, perfecting its free-market, laissez-faire economic environment.  It established its bona fides as a leader in world affairs, defending democracy and human rights.  Argentina, meanwhile, set off on a series of socio-political experiments based on heavy-handed and, ultimately, fascist government rule.  Argentina’s people relinquished their rights to the government, resulting in economic devastation and the “disappearance” of thousands of political activists.

Last November Mauricio Macri replaced socialist Cristina Kirchner as president of Argentina, promising to return his homeland to the free-market western world.  He immediately renounced the nation’s alliances with failed dictatorships like Iran and Venezuela, embracing the United States and Europe.  He settled Argentina’s large outstanding debt to a group of US hedge-fund investors which had destroyed the country’s ability to attract outside investment.  He established working relationships with Argentina’s state governors and other federal officials, including his opponents.  He eliminated crony utility subsidies, cut export taxes, and dropped currency support, allowing the Argentine peso to float.

President Macri is a man on a mission, and in a hurry.  While he still enjoys public support, Argentines are in a hurry too, and are beginning to express impatience as they endure symptoms of the new austerity and economic adjustments.

In a strange twist, President Obama will meet Macri this week, following his friendly visit to communist Cuba.  Obama has shown an affection for the very despots that Macri, and Argentina, are rejecting.  “I’d vote for you, and you for me,” Obama beamed at Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez a few years ago.  The US president warmly hosted newly-elected Canadian president Justin Trudeau, a socialist who vows to take his country in the opposite direction chosen by Argentina.

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton promises to continue the leftward drift established by President Obama.  Her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, would make that a leftward lurch.  Our media and schools glorify socialism, demanding more central control and vilifying those who would preserve individual rights.

Will the United States move to the left or the right?  Will we follow Canada, our recently-prosperous neighbor to the north, down the proven-to-fail socialist path?  Or will we take the hint from Argentina, our wised-up southern friend, and return to the tried-and-true free-market, small government model?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

You move it to the left, yeah
You go for yourself
You move it to the right
Yeah if it takes all night

The Harlem Shuffle – Rolling Stones

Here’s Mick, strutting his stuff.  I just finished reading the bio “Jagger” by Marc Spitz, and was surprised to learn that he was a prized pupil at the London School of Economics, having received a full-ride scholarship.  He quit to become a rebel blues singer, but was promised his scholarship would wait for him if his new career choice didn’t work out.  We are all glad it did!

 

Tough Political Decision? Let History Be Your Guide

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decisionsDecisions, decisions.  Man is a thinking animal, and every waking moment involves decisions.  Most are ordinary choices of personal comfort.  Some decisions are a matter of life or death, or even something so paramount that one will risk his own life to achieve the desired result.

Some of us are better at making decisions than others.  But one thing is clear – at the root of every decision is one primary element: self-interest.   And that’s a good thing.  The desire to improve our lives and the lives of the ones we love is universal, timeless and unbreakable.  God knew what he was doing when he designed the human soul.

God also put us all on the same planet, so we not only have to serve our own self-interests, we also must co-exist.  And that’s where it gets interesting.  We all want what is best for ourselves and our families, but we can’t agree on the best way to make that happen.  What might be best for you could be terrible for me, or vice-versa.

Those who see life from the “left” side believe individuals should sacrifice personal freedoms to gain physical and economic security as a group.  Socialism calls for more control by the state, assuming that most people are not so good at making decisions for themselves.  If decisions are made by fewer humans who are presumably smarter than the rest of us, there will be less likelihood of catastrophic failure.  Individuals will have their basic needs met, but will not have the chance to make decisions that might lead to far greater success and happiness for themselves and others.

Those on the “right” side holds the opposite as truth.  They would rather make their own decisions, because nobody is more interested in his own well-being than oneself.   One may totally fail, but he would rather have the opportunity to achieve a higher level of happiness and fulfillment than settle for bland shared security.

There is, of course, middle ground, and that’s where the war between left and right takes place. Fortunately, in this political battleground of decisions and the philosophical fog of war, there is a bright, neon sign showing the correct path.  It’s called history.

History proves that quality of life is always best where individuals have more freedom to make decisions in their own self-interest.  And hell on Earth is where all decisions are made by the state. If more state control is so great, how did that work out for the people of the Soviet Union? Or Cambodia? Or Nazi Germany?

Why does our entire educational system deny this historical fact?  How does a generation of our youth clamor to follow socialist demagogues who promise security but don’t explain the consequences of relinquishing individual rights and freedoms?  Could it be that the few who would be the designated decision-makers are acting in their own self-interest?

History also shows that there were, and still are, individuals who understand the value of individual freedom so well that they would make the ultimate decision to put their lives on the line to preserve it.

My message is this: when faced with a decision between group security and individual freedom, let history be your guide.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice

Free Will – Rush

 

Watch this fantastic Rush rocker featuring drummer Neal Peart and his HUGE set of DW drums.  Free Will!

 

Inequality – It’s What Made Us Great!

Posted on by Standard 1

Boys_playing_footballNovember, 1964 – another crisp, sunny afternoon in Great Falls, Montana.  We got out of McKinley Elementary at 3:15 and like most other days headed over to the Willetts’ house to see if the other neighborhood kids were up for some football.

The Willetts’ house was set back quite a ways off the street, and had a big front yard of thick, green grass littered with fat orange, yellow and red leaves from the huge maple trees that graced our older middle-class street.  It was irresistible to a bunch of grade school boys with lots of energy and no homework.

By 3:30 a dozen or so kids had arrived, and the captains picked their teams.  The team captains were the biggest, toughest, or oldest kids – the alpha males of the bunch.  You were proud if you were one of the first boys picked, and kind of embarrassed if you were the last.  But everybody got to play.

Seems like the captains always got to play quarterback, too.  Like it or not, they were the natural leaders.  There might be an occasional challenge – “Hey I want to be captain!”  – but usually it was pretty evident who was going to be in charge.  The captain had to be smart enough to call a play that actually might work.  He was usually the best athlete.  And he had to have the respect, or at least the obedience, of his teammates.

Bobby was fast as the wind, a natural running back.  Randy could catch anything.  He always got to be a receiver.

Roger, the fat kid, always had to play center or guard.  I mean let’s face it, he just couldn’t run fast enough to catch a pass or defend one.  Plus he had no idea how to call plays.  But Roger didn’t mind, he knew his place.  And heck, he could block two or three of us at a time.

Our neighborhood was very mixed, from one end of the socioeconomic scale to the other.  Some of us were scruffy kids from poor families.  We were the ones with no dads at home.  The middle-class boys had real families and belonged to the cub scouts.  They had to be home at 6:00 for supper.  Some of the gang were actually upper-crust; in fact, Mr. Willetts ran for mayor.

But on a blue-sky late autumn afternoon in the sixties it didn’t matter what your dad did for a living, or if you had one.  It was all about run, throw, catch, score, and WIN.  Nobody cared what you looked like or how worn-out your shoes were.  You succeeded or failed on your own, and you weren’t going to get any respect for free.

We learned about leadership.  About the joy of competition.  About how to fit in and contribute to a team effort, and to share in the rewards.  About getting knocked on your butt, and getting back up.  Some kids learned that they just weren’t cut out for football.  They found something else they could do well.  Or not.

And all of this happened without worried parents hovering over us, coaches having tantrums, or lawyers and TV news crews waiting for somebody to get hurt.  No rules committees, safety equipment, or umpires.  No government programs to shelter us and tell us what to do.

There was never any mention of “inequality”.  Everybody got to play, and the boys who had the most skill, experience or drive had the most success, and the most fun.  But we all wanted to compete, and to win.

That bunch of boys became men, and our generation did pretty well with what we learned on our own in those front yards and vacant lots.  Now, sadly, the notion of kids being able to – and allowed to – organize their own rough-and-tumble football games is unthinkable.  That level of freedom and opportunity for kids is long gone.

In today’s “fairer” progressive social structure, everybody will get to play quarterback.  We will all have new shoes, but they will be low-quality, made in China.  We won’t pick teams or keep score because that is just too damaging to self-esteem.  There will be no losers, and no winners – just shared mediocrity.

I don’t know about you, but if Roger is going to be the quarterback, I don’t even want to play.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side
Ooh, it takes every kind of people
To make what life’s about, yeah
Every kind of people
To make the world go ’round

Every Kind of People – Robert Palmer

 

 

 

Pickles

EPA Puts Bicyclists On Endangered Species List

Posted on by Standard 5

I pulled out of the Costco parking lot in Helena and stopped at the stoplight.

“Geez,” I exclaimed to my wife.  “Look at all the painted lines through this intersection.”  Cars whizzed by left and right as we waited out the light, blinking and screeching and zooming through at the last second, or even a little late.   It was barely-organized chaos.  I looked to my left, and there was a narrow lane with a bicycle icon – RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF A SIX-BY-SIX LANE BUSY INTERSECTION.

I was startled.  I tried to picture riding a bike through that mess.  Heck, driving a car through there is practically suicidal.  What kind of moron would take that chance on a bike?  For that matter, what kind of moron designed the bike lane?  And how many days of the year can you ride a bike in Helena, anyway?

Welcome to the crazy world of AGENDA 21, under the innocuous title “Complete Streets”.  It has taken root in most cities in Montana and across the country.

While you were asleep, or watching football, or shopping, your city leaders were feverishly studying the Agenda 21 and ICLEI guidelines set out by the United Nations and a worldwide network of socialists.   They don’t really know why they are doing this, but they have to keep the promises they made in exchange for a couple thousand bucks from George Soros.

Agenda 21 is a very ambitious and complicated plan.  Think “We Can Change the World”.  The main goal is “social justice”, where rich nations give their money to poor nations:

All states and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world. – (Agenda 21 – Principle 5)

In order to make more of our wealth available to transfer to the poor nations, we rich nations need to cut back on extravagances, like driving around in cars. That’s where “Complete Streets” comes in. If we ride bikes instead of driving cars, then we will have left-over money to send to the Congo so they can drive cars. Plus, we will create less pollution, so that all the new cars in China won’t need expensive smog controls.

As a Montanan, it’s hard for me to understand the merits of these crazy bike lanes.  So I put on my Socialist Cap and tried thinking “globally.”

I considered that if more bike riders are killed, it reduces the pressure humans are putting on Mother Earth.  Yeah, that’s it!  That’s why we need bike lanes!

But wait, that would reduce the number of Democrat voters.  Hmmm.

I’ll have to think about this some more.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

There’s too many ahead of me
They’re all tryin’ to get in front of me
I thought I could find a clear road ahead
But I found stoplights instead

Expressway To Your Heart – the Soul Survivors