Guard Dog
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Everything posted by Guard Dog
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I believe the biggest impact of the 2016 election is really at the state level. I know it has gotten some press coverage but not much. Right now you can drive from Pocatillo Idaho to Key West Florida and not pass through a single state where the Democrats control a single legislative body or governorship. In 8 of the 9 southern states the Democrats are in such a minority they are practically extinct. That is nothing short of amazing that they have fallen so low. It's not a good thing. It's no secret I despise the Democrats because they are the anti-liberty party. But we need them too. Unchecked Republican governance in not a good thing either. The government at any level works best when the competing philosophies act as a check on the excesses of the others. But for three election cycles the Democrats are falling farther behind. No granted, this can turn around really, really, quick. But for that to happen they need to understand why they have been reduced to a powerless minority in all but the West Coast, Northeast and Great Lakes. The democrats have turned their backs on the thing that gave them the most appeal and made them who they were when they were the party of Jefferson, Jackson, Truman, Jack & Bobby Kennedy. They have turned their backs on Jacksonian Democracy. Starting with McGovern and ending with Obama (with a brief respite during 6 of Clinton's 8 years) they have become the party of identity politics, social justice warriors, campus communists, and political causes. I would not even call them the party of Civil Rights because they don't find every civil right worth of defense. Quite the opposite actually. Their way forward is actually in their past. But so far that appears to be a lesson they are stubbornly refusing to learn.
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I agree with you on this. I know Gromnir does not go along with me on this one but I think Thomas is a model jurist at least as far as his philosophy is concerned. There is an argument to be made on his effectiveness and how persuasive he may be. But he has been the biggest 10th Amendment champion that I can recall. And I think that is very important.
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Thank you Gents. Today is day 5 so I'm almost out of it. I met with a State Rep today who just happens to be my State Rep. Nice fellow I guess. He was looking for information on levee reinforcements. My conversation with him today only reinforced my closely held belief that the government that holds the most power over the people should be the one closest to the people.
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Don't blame me. I voted for Johnson.
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OK, one more:
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Rather than using a lot of words to drive home the points Ganich & I are tying to make, in true internet fashion here is a meme:
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No. The government should protect the people by securing the border, enforcing the laws and regulating and administrating in such a way that allows for a fair opportunity for economic success. It is incumbent on the people to take care of themselves.
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Check this out. They are baaaack: http://www.modernwhig.org/
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You know I really don't know what her angle is. Having the Democrats in disarray only helps the Green Party. If Trump is a disaster and the Democrats can't get out of their own way or fail to learn any lessons from this elections there is an unprecedented opportunity for the Greens to pick up support. Besides raising a little money and getting her name in the media (which may indeed be the whole point) I don't see an upside for her. If she genuinely wanted Hillary Clinton to win the election she could have helped by dropping out and endorsing Clinton. The US Communist Party did (indirectly) the US Socialist Workers Party did, as did the American Independent Party. As far as I know Stein is committed to the Green Party. And she is certainly not stupid enough to be manipulated. She has to know they will get better traction running against a Republican in 2018 & 2020 so seeing the election overturned (unlikely as that is) would not be to their benefit. So I'm guessing this is an opportunity to raise money and street cred with disaffected Democrats.
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If they have something really juicy they are three weeks too late to do anything with it. And as Shady said, anything other than flagrant illegality would not have changed anything. Well, when I say juicy, I mean juicy. Career ending, jail time. Stuff that would make his own kids disavow him. Like I said the time to play that card was a few days before the election. That is when that would have done the most good. Doing it now would be like kicking the ball into the goal after everyone has left the stadium. They could save it for 2020 but unless it's REALLY good ot will just be old news. And if he's doing really well or really poorly as President it would not matter anyway.
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Please find me a single government that hasn't engaged in blatant Human Rights violations, especially one in a position as precarious as Cuba's. I'd love to see you, or anyone else, remain a saint while keeping the worlds strongest superpower at bay as it attempts to depose or outright kill you in every way imaginable for decades. As for poverty, Cuba is poor for a reason. That reason has little to do with Castro and more to do with the fact that the island has little in the way of valuable resources and less ways to utilize what it has since the US tried to keep it in an economic stranglehold for years. Politics is the art of the possible, not living a fantasy. With what little Cuba has, it has done rather well in some respects. Why would I bother? I said in the post you quoted that politicians have no problem with causing death and destruction. That's why I'm a small government guy. Because big authoritarian governments can cause more harm to its people and to other countries more easily. Either way, all the sins of other governments of the world and history don't make many of those committed by Castro morally acceptable. You are giving the "but they did it too" argument that doesn't work with children and shouldn't extend to government. On poverty, that's fair, but his decisions led them there. You can't overrun a nation and expect it's neighbors to just play nice with you afterwards. Especially if you are friends with their enemies. Well put
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Especially since there are literally millions of them and the great majority had family members who were killed, imprisoned, or fled one step ahead of either. Castro is a historical figure in the same league as (although not as bad as) Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and on the level of Pinochet, etc. He is wholly undeserving of the praise he has received these last few days from world leaders and the otherwise intelligent people here on this very forum. I do not understand it but there does seem to be a twisted admiration for dictators and mass murderers from some folks who favor a left leaning political ideology. I'm reminded of Obama's effusive praise of Castro and Chavez a few years back and the way certain Democrat Senators fawned over Soviet leaders in the 80's as examples.
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If they have something really juicy they are three weeks too late to do anything with it. And as Shady said, anything other than flagrant illegality would not have changed anything.
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Still sick as a dog but starting to feel a little better. The Grizzlies are playing the Heat in a little but plus watching Florida vs Florida State in NCAA football. I'd say my night is packed.
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Yeah, well. You might have a different view of what independence is worth if your country had just wrested it from a colonial power when the next one starts trying to annex you. I've spoken to a lot of Cuban expats and while their conditions were bad enough to force them to leave, none of them regarded annexation by the US as desirable. something something propaganda something something brainwashing Except US annexation was not going to happen. Ever. Look up the Teller Amendment. The US guaranteed Cuban independence. The only concession they took was the land the naval base at Guantanamo Bay now sits on.
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http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/26/americas/fidel-castro-obit/index.html Good riddance.
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the one and only time you will ever see Gromnir quote frasier. Daphne: I don't see what's so hard about telling Roz you were wrong. Frasier: You don't understand. It's not the same as Dad being wrong, or your being wrong. I have a degree from Harvard. Whenever I'm wrong, the world makes a little less sense. HA! Good Fun! C'mon you gotta love Frasier. Cheers was the greatest sit-com ever.
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Well you can hope he's just trying to be funny. I'm quite sure he was. And it was funny
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We saw a lot of funny t-shirts during this election but I think we missed the funniest of them all:
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I was going to go the the VFW but I've got a light case of the flu. The only thing that sounds good to me today is watching football on the couch. I have a surprise for Tommy & Sunny though. I'm chopping up scrambled eggs & grilled chicken chunks in their breakfast in a bit.
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I forget who said this but it seems pretty true. "The media takes Donald Trump literally but not seriously. His supporters take him seriously but not literally"
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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US. Happy Thursday to the rest of you fine folks.
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No kidding. Let's be done with this BS and hope for a little less demagoguery and a little more liberty in 2020.
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Grom I have noticed moderate amounts of high quality bourbon have a nice anesthetic effect on aches and pains from minor accidents. Glad you weren't badly injured.
