tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post3099621317470858816..comments2024-03-28T09:59:13.754-07:00Comments on bionic mosquito: Making America Irrelevant Againbionic mosquitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-66005396712452330402020-04-15T09:28:04.773-07:002020-04-15T09:28:04.773-07:00We don't know everything... So what I know mu...We don't know everything... So what I know must be right. Haha. Your logic is cute.Wil Batchelor VIIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827732741629186143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-62471596720108008392020-04-15T09:26:54.387-07:002020-04-15T09:26:54.387-07:00Well... Weren't you wrong about the midterms. ...Well... Weren't you wrong about the midterms. I suspect you are wrong about Trump's 'genius' but your assumption that wealth must indicate genuius is a necessarily American one. Your system doesn't stand criticism if the wealthy don't somehow 'deserve' to be where they are. <br />Although the irrelevance that America is preferring to activism will benefit my country more than yours, perhaps the post Covid-19 decentalization we are seeing in American states will do some good as the soft power is all but stripped from the preseidency and the limits to his hard power made clear. The president ought to be a servant of the nation, leading it and nurturing it not 'the boss' directing and controlling from a seriers of personal assumptions and I am fairly convinced that no one who studied business in the USA prior to 2000 would understand this.Wil Batchelor VIIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16827732741629186143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-38130171150635221512018-06-01T17:55:50.554-07:002018-06-01T17:55:50.554-07:00Bogart, I also am concerned about the direction ta...Bogart, I also am concerned about the direction taken in the new cabinet members. Yet, I notice one thing...unless I am missing something, Trump has yet to start any new wars of any substance. This is worth something, it seems to me.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-32697512644802801142018-05-31T07:24:12.252-07:002018-05-31T07:24:12.252-07:00This article points hints that a true strategy of ...This article points hints that a true strategy of "America First" (Much less a libertarian one) is completely impossible given the political climate in the USA and has been that way since WW2. And any attempt at an "America First" implementation will immediately run into the buzz saw of never ending investigations and well financed (Most with US Federal Government money) lobbies against such a policy.<br /><br />What bothers me is the newer members of Trump's Administration who are committed to an extremely aggressive policy of war all the time all over the world. If these clowns get their way then we will have more misery machines like Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-71433409368012267472018-05-29T17:53:43.728-07:002018-05-29T17:53:43.728-07:00@Carlos, I agree with your pig analogy, though I s...@Carlos, I agree with your pig analogy, though I sometimes wonder if he's not being handled in much the same way as Regan was handled. Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14010513213569295642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-81889470993819181332018-05-29T05:48:23.161-07:002018-05-29T05:48:23.161-07:00Jeff, "Do you think he would be happy if he r...Jeff, "Do you think he would be happy if he realized the extent his presidency has permanently harmed the cohesive nature of this country?"<br /><br />Do you think the dems and MSM are happy about the damage they do to the cohesiveness?<br /><br />When Obama was first elected I listened to a podcast of a right-winger. He told his public that "ok, I don't like that, but now that he is my president, I will support him. Because that is what we do as Americans, we unite behind our president"<br /><br />At the time I thought, wow, that is an example of how a democracy could actually work.<br /><br />When Trump was elected... welll... we all now how the left united behind Trump... so who is attacking the cohesiveness?Rienhttp://overbeterleven.nlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-80544073527370717872018-05-28T11:31:43.720-07:002018-05-28T11:31:43.720-07:00Thank you, Ike.Thank you, Ike.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-19582996723007216602018-05-28T10:01:28.828-07:002018-05-28T10:01:28.828-07:00I am glad to see this article, as it reflects my o...I am glad to see this article, as it reflects my own views quite well, and I was beginning to think I was crazy for thinking so. On foreign policy, my beef is that the allies of the US are still continuing to murder the same people they always have, seemingly without repercussions, although the extent to which US financing and/or intelligence or military support is involved varies widely and is difficult to pin down, as well as what the end game of such support is, and whether it's Trump or his Deep State opponents keeping the support going. All I do know is, I was dead wrong on the direction that the North Korean situation is heading, and I'm very glad for it. Maybe a good midterm election will give him some breathing room. Trump has had to outwit most of Congress and most of his own bureaucracy to get anything done.Ike Hallhttps://ikester.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-52515954247804524652018-05-27T17:43:48.716-07:002018-05-27T17:43:48.716-07:00"Do you think he would be happy if he realize..."Do you think he would be happy if he realized the extent his presidency has permanently harmed the cohesive nature of this country?"<br /><br />I don't care what he thinks and I don't care his intent. I care about the results.<br /><br />I am pleased someone has said what Trump has said and it increased his support; I am pleased that he is perfectly capable of not only riding the wave of decentralization, but giving it a good push.<br /><br />I accept the modifiers "more" and "less." I can accept that you do not.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-91535083504446001692018-05-27T13:10:15.814-07:002018-05-27T13:10:15.814-07:00BM, Ron Paul isn't my idea of a good president...BM, Ron Paul isn't my idea of a good president. No one is. <br /><br />My entire point here is that progress made by a tyrant doesn't make him any more libertarian than any other tyrant, nor does it make him an ally. Do you think he would be happy if he realized the extent his presidency has permanently harmed the cohesive nature of this country? <br /><br />I personally believe the decentralization you talk about is inevitable, and you once said you agreed with me. It doesn't require a crazed, lucky genius to make it happen. <br /><br />Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14010513213569295642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-90500734923226677362018-05-27T11:22:50.949-07:002018-05-27T11:22:50.949-07:00Jeff, which is more important to you: to live in a...Jeff, which is more important to you: to live in a more decentralized world, one where political power is more and more local, or to elect Ron Paul as president within the same political power structures that we currently live under?<br /><br />bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-2402481088409224652018-05-27T10:17:15.351-07:002018-05-27T10:17:15.351-07:00“Jeff, please take my words in context. Tell me: h...“Jeff, please take my words in context. Tell me: how high is the bar for one to suggest that Trump is the *most* libertarian president of my lifetime.”<br /><br />I’m saying there is absolutely nothing libertarian about Trump, nor is there about any president of your time. On a libertarian scale they all rank zero.<br /><br />Trump or someone like him being elected has been increasing in probability for at least several decades. I believe Rothbard expected it to happen in the 80’s and was quite disappointed when the establishment successfully rolled out Regan. Many popular libertarian writers believed Regan was moving the world toward liberty then as well. Many still do. <br /><br />“Anyway, like I have written a couple of times already: Trump is accelerating the decentralization of world government and also accelerating the split in the United states.”<br /><br />I agree with you, at least so far. A lot can happen in a very short time to change that, and Trump is extremely unpredictable.<br /><br />“Libertarianism in theory is decentralization in practice. You can't get much more libertarian than Trump...not in my lifetime.”<br /><br />Libertarianism in theory and in practice places the highest value on individual rights, property rights. Murder takes both of these away, so is about as un-libertarian as one can get. Trump is a murderer. Do you disagree? <br /><br />That he may be presiding over an unusually rapid move toward decentralization doesn’t make Trump a libertarian. And while he may be a central figure in that, much of what is happening has been coming for a long time. The establishment could not have prevented it for much longer with or without Trump. <br />Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14010513213569295642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-77073447667809811342018-05-27T09:43:00.357-07:002018-05-27T09:43:00.357-07:00Thank you, Carlos. I do find Trump a complicated ...Thank you, Carlos. I do find Trump a complicated character. He certainly is not what the mainstream presents him to be - I am confident of this merely because it is the mainstream presenting it.<br /><br />It is possible he is a little off his rocker, yet I know that people who have demonstrated success in complicated environments (as Trump has done by being in Manhattan real estate) think and act differently than we do.<br /><br />He may be a mix of a 4-D chess genius and Inspector Clouseau buffoon. In my mind this will be significantly revealed by the mid-term election. If he is playing 4-D chess, the democrats will not do nearly as well as they hoped.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-80029839549933203702018-05-27T05:25:49.196-07:002018-05-27T05:25:49.196-07:00Jeff, you and I see Trump in the same light, i.e.,...Jeff, you and I see Trump in the same light, i.e., as an evil, clueless fool. Bionic gave a pretty good analogy for Trump's maladroitness in comparing him to Inspector Clouseau.<br /><br />Perhaps a better comparison would be to invoke the old aphorism that "even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while."<br /><br />With apologies to the pig.Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03504618827662424451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-22275547927557380962018-05-27T05:01:50.112-07:002018-05-27T05:01:50.112-07:00Sorry, bionic--perhaps my comments would have been...Sorry, bionic--perhaps my comments would have been better placed beneath "Anonymous" below whose closing comment ("Thank you for praising him as the true libertarian I strongly believe he is!") you clearly refuted.<br /><br />Instead, I chose to respond to Victor 's praise of Trump's "adroit" strategic ploy. Your rejoinder comparing Trump to Inspector Clouseau is the perfect analogy.<br /><br />And no, I in no way meant to imply that you are a "Trump supporter." I know better. That comment ["It amazes me how some Trump supporters can twist themselves (and the facts) into the most distorted pretzels imaginable] was also directed to Victor and to his (IMHO) mistaken assessment of Our Stable Genius-in-Chief's strategic planning abilities. Your Inspector Clouseau analogy would seem to indicate your concurrence.<br /><br />Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03504618827662424451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-72534169610358564232018-05-26T21:56:26.690-07:002018-05-26T21:56:26.690-07:00Jeff, please take my words in context. Tell me: h...Jeff, please take my words in context. Tell me: how high is the bar for one to suggest that Trump is the *most* libertarian president of my lifetime.<br /><br />Like...compared to who? Did Ron Paul win once and I just slept through it?<br /><br />Anyway, like I have written a couple of times already: Trump is accelerating the decentralization of world government and also accelerating the split in the United states.<br /><br />Libertarianism in theory is decentralization in practice. You can't get much more libertarian than Trump...not in my lifetime.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-24484161924497524332018-05-26T21:48:16.826-07:002018-05-26T21:48:16.826-07:00Thank you for your kind words about my longevity.
...Thank you for your kind words about my longevity.<br /><br />I will only clarify to your last statement: "Thank you for praising him as the true libertarian I strongly believe he is!"<br /><br />That I say he is the most libertarian president of my lifetime does not imply that I believe him to be libertarian. I judge him partially by his statements, more by the results.<br /><br />As I mentioned in another comment, I could make a more convincing argument by comparing Trump to Inspector Clouseau - doing everything wrong yet solving the case.<br /><br />Trump will accelerate the decentralization of world government; for this reason, I describe him as the most libertarian president of my lifetime. Whether this is by design or not is almost irrelevant to me.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-41747696538829299822018-05-26T21:48:00.472-07:002018-05-26T21:48:00.472-07:00Trump has and continues to support the Saudi destr...Trump has and continues to support the Saudi destruction of Yemen. There are other examples, but this one alone makes Trump evil in my mind. I don't care anything about his good intentions, how well he plays chess, or how lucky he is. There are no libertarian murders, and ordering such people by their libertarian-ness if a fools game. Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14010513213569295642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-45525120817608976152018-05-26T21:37:36.905-07:002018-05-26T21:37:36.905-07:00Carlos, I didn't say he was a libertarian, jus...Carlos, I didn't say he was a libertarian, just that he was the most libertarian president of my lifetime. The bar is low - also low for you, as I expect you to read my words and understand them.<br /><br />"It amazes me how some Trump supporters..."<br /><br />Please provide evidence that I am a Trump supporter. I will save you time: besides preferring Trump to Hillary in the last election - for reasons I have written extensively about - you will find none.<br /><br />Does this make me a supporter? I guess, under some definition of the term.<br /><br />BTW, to your conclusion: I would say that the odds are in your favor. But, are you familiar with Inspector Clouseau? He did everything wrong, yet always solved the case.<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-51714532067778965652018-05-26T21:32:49.420-07:002018-05-26T21:32:49.420-07:00"Feminism has an open avowed goal of a societ..."Feminism has an open avowed goal of a society of 85% women, 15% men..."<br /><br />You will understand if I zeroed in on this specific point out of your entire comment.<br /><br />Why oh why could I not have been a freshman in a coed college dorm at the time of this ratio. I never have any luck.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-78016580356698986132018-05-26T21:29:07.053-07:002018-05-26T21:29:07.053-07:00Yes. I could also write a post labeling him the m...Yes. I could also write a post labeling him the most entertaining president of my lifetime.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-39636743433346991062018-05-26T21:28:20.202-07:002018-05-26T21:28:20.202-07:00You and I violently agree on all points.You and I violently agree on all points.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-60653404987025614842018-05-26T21:27:23.286-07:002018-05-26T21:27:23.286-07:00" r/K political evolutionary psychology"..." r/K political evolutionary psychology"<br /><br />somewhat...just looked it up.<br /><br />"What is known about politics is maybe 1% of what is going on."<br /><br />Agree. That's why it is safe for me to write posts such as this: the only people who can prove me wrong are not allowed to write about what they know!<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />As to your other comments, yes this is also my view.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-44946683366698308422018-05-26T21:06:37.464-07:002018-05-26T21:06:37.464-07:00Carlos I would draw your attention to what JUST oc...Carlos I would draw your attention to what JUST occurred at SPIEF 2018. The Russians and Europeans are in the opening gambit up a titanic geopolitical upheaval. The Russians are selling the Europeans on the idea of withdrawing wholesale from the NATO treaty and entering into a brand new treaty where Russia now plays the role of Europe's defender - <br /> AND from the all too real threat posed by the US (as opposed to the imaginary threat posed by Russia). Get it now ? Trump, by pretending to go full on neocon - and for instance demanding the Europeans pony up big bucks for NATO - has convinced the Europeans they are way better off with Russia defending them from the belligerent US neocons than vice versa. Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12985538497409080098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-9494325732591003992018-05-26T16:45:18.986-07:002018-05-26T16:45:18.986-07:00Mosquito, I've followed you ever since the Dai...Mosquito, I've followed you ever since the Daily Bell days...through the Ron Paul excitement, and throughout the dissolution (my words) of the libertarian movement.Your writing has been a great lodestar for me, and no one has made the case clearer for me that 'culture and values' are of ultimate importance.<br />Seems rather basic, after all.<br />That said, my chest swelled with pride when you declared Trump the "most libertarian President of my lifetime" because I look to you as a "careful thinker", and I know my life has been longer than yours!<br />Here's the deal, as I see it: Trump has, for nearly half his life, been saying and promoting policies that he said and promoted on the campaign trail. He is still saying, and promoting, the exact same policies now. He is ferociously 'America First' in trade deals and is molding circumstances to make the USA a literal "fair trade" nation. Not a Superior one. 'Empire' is over.<br />He has seen for years that the USA is the cash cow for what we call our "allies", and telling them the Gravy Train has reached the end of the line is worrisome to them.<br />We will create new alliances, based on more honorable standards, and further literal Free Trade globally under Trump. Isn't that a basic premise of libertarian thinking?<br />As for world Peace...There actually are some Bad Actors out there, and the USA is militarily very strong. If we have to destroy a weapons cache in Syria, at no loss of human life,in order to set limits and make a Statement, let's do it.<br />Trump's intentions seem to get misunderstood at all levels by strict 'libertarians' who are taking him too literally. War! war! War! No....hie entire goal is Peace. And worldwide prosperity.<br />And, to address your own concern about him 'devising a strategy' to combat The Swamp, I would liken what he is doing to playing a game...of chess. He may not have known the enemy's moves ahead of time, but he knows his intended result, and he'll stay vigilant through the required moves, wherever logic takes him.<br />He hasn't wavered from his campaign promises one Iota.<br />Thank you for praising him as the true libertarian I strongly believe he is! <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com