4/03/2016

Thoughts On A Sunday

Winter-like temperatures and winds have returned to New Hampshire, with the highs for today not reaching above freezing here at The Manse.

Call it Mother Nature reminding us who's in charge.

Not that any of this is unusual as I've seen more than a few Aprils where winter weather has returned, if but briefly.

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If anyone needs proof that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, all one needs to do is compare Venezuela today and Zimbabwe 15 years ago.

Visiting a supermarket in Venezuela is like entering Monty Python’s cheese-shop sketch. “Do you have any milk?” The shop assistant shakes her head. Sugar? No. Coffee? No. Soap? No. Cornflour? No. Cooking oil? No. Do you in fact have any of the products that the government deems so essential that it fixes their prices at less than what it costs to make them? No.

And they wonder why every day necessities aren't available. This is the legacy of socialism, from the time of the Pilgrims in Plymouth through the reign of terror that was the Soviet Union and up to today in Venezuela.

The thing is that the dyed-in-the-wool socialists never learn the lesson, particularly Bernie Sanders, who wants to make the same mistakes as his predecessors.

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As follow-up to the above, here it is, 2016, and we're still arguing whether Marxism works, despite almost a century of evidence that it doesn't, never has, and never will.

Marxism, like its similar sibling Socialism, is based upon false premises, the biggest being that human nature can be overcome and everyone can be made to be altruistic to a fault. The one thing the Marxists ignore is that the only group of people who were ever 'altruistic' 24/7 were slaves, and they had no choice in the matter.

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Yeah, this will work out well.

Fauxcahontas wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to “prohibit organizations from saying whatever they want about Washington policy debates.”

Which organizations? What businesses? While her actions are focused on a particular industry, it appears she'd be happy if every single business or organization of every kind were banned from speaking out on government policy changes that will affect them. Instead they'll be required to shut up and take whatever the government dishes out?

Yeah. Right.

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By their deeds ye shall know them.

That certainly applies to the Left as we've seen how they didn't let the truth get in the way of a good narrative. In this case it was a hate crime hoax they're blaming on Trump.

They should be careful because the old axion “What goes around, comes around,” still holds true.

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And the hits keep on coming. In this case, yet another one of Obama's favorite “green energy” firms is going under.

What's worse is that this one will be 5 times larger than Solyndra's failure and will likely leave the American taxpayer on the hook.

When will the people finally wake up to the fact that “green energy” will never be competitive, will never generate anywhere near it's 'official' capacity, will continue to suck up billions in taxpayer subsidies, and have, as part of its strategy, built in graft and corruption?

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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Self-victimization as a means of gaining political power?

Yup.

Skip covers it, showing how the special snowflakes and crybullies are playing the “victim” card in order to gain political power. Too bad that much of that power is based upon what is nothing more than mental illness brought about by poor education (more like indoctrination) and parental nonfeasance.

Until these 'victims' can show us medical records that show that they are sane, cognizant members of the human race, they should be ignored...and pitied. If that doesn't work, then perhaps step it up to ridicule.

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David Starr reminds us that, in the end, the upcoming elections are really about one main topic.

What is it?

It's the economy, stupid!

Looking at polls, and just talking around,  the economy and the chances of keeping your job, are the top concerns among US voters, going into this election. 

That hasn't really changed in decades.

If the economy is in trouble, none of the other social issues matter. A strong economy helps salve many of the social ills we still experience. Some are trying to tell us everything is just hunky dory with the economy. Others say the numbers are deceiving and the Powers-That-Be are ignoring or burying the actual economic indicators. Which one is right?

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I agree with this wholeheartedly.

The Won's Nobel Peace Prize is looking pretty tattered these days, particularly in light of his failure to address the genocide in Syria perpetrated by both the Assad regime and the ISIS butchers.

What's worse is that it was entirely preventable.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the temps have plummeted, the winds are howling, and where spring has fled for the time being.