Tag Archives: Voting

The Great Delusion, by The Zman

Posted on December 12, 2022 | Leave a comment

Voting is a participation trophy issued to all of us who have no actual say in how things are run. From The Zman at thezman.com:

Imagine you are the CEO of a large corporation and you have to make a big decision about a critical issue facing the company. Your team in the C-suites have been busy putting together all of the information they can about the issue. There have been meetings and presentations on all aspects of the issue. Experts have been brought in to explain various aspects of the issue. After having digested all of the information on the issue, it is now time to act. What do you do?

Obviously, the right answer, even without knowing any of the details about the issue in this hypothetical, is to put it up to a vote. First, you will have the various sides on the issue make their case to the employees. Maybe have a series of Zoom debates and let the parties put up posters around the offices. Perhaps the principles representing the various positions will have an all hands on deck meeting. At some point, you have the employees log in and cast their vote.

Of course, this is ridiculous. No company would ever do such an insane thing, at least not in this age. In the 19th century there were some efforts to create socialist companies, but they ended poorly. Usually, these democratic companies were part of a utopian society. In the modern age, no one thinks the principles of democracy have any place in something important like a corporation. The truth is the commies were right about American business. It runs on fascist principles.

It is not just major corporations that avoid democracy. There is no military in this world that embraces democracy. The nearest thing to democracy in warfare was the pirate ship, which often voted on where to plunder. Even on a pirate ship, there was a captain who made the big decisions. His men might “vote him off the ship” but they would quickly elect a new captain. Otherwise, every military on the planet has a vertical chain of command and no democratic principles.

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Voting Harder, by Eric Peters

Posted on November 28, 2022 | 1 comment

Why vote if your vote doesn’t count, or it counts less than somebody else’s? (Yes, it’s possible to program voting machines to give different weights to different votes.) From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:

Is there any point to voting when it’s unclear whether your vote actually counts?

And – more to the point – whether other “votes” are counted to counteract yours?

The Left assures us that the elections aren’t fixed – whenever a Leftist “wins, as in Arizona, for instance. The same Leftists, on the other hand, insist the election was fixed . . . whenever a Leftist doesn’t win – as in 2016, for instance.

The people of Georgia are about to vote again. How many of them will actually vote for Raphael Warnock, the activist-grifter who wears a collar – as opposed to his opponent, the former football player Herschel Walker?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we knew – or could find out?

On both sides. So that neither side could claim the election was fixed? That would actually serve to “protect our democracy,” which is probably why the Left greatly opposes it. And it is equally telling – in the opposite direction – that the non-Left has no problem with it. One side is not confident about its popularity – and will (and has) done everything shy of calling off elections entirely to make sure no one can question its putative popularity.

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As Predicted . . . by Eric Peters

Posted on November 16, 2022 | Leave a comment

Katie Hobbs, as secretary of state of Arizona, had control of the election machinery, and surprise, surprise, she won election as governor. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:

Katie Hobbs has been selected as the new governor of Arizona. As anyone not high on Hopium could have predicted before the selection was held.

There is a wonderful scene in the wonderful movie (wonderful, because it involves a thoughtful story and talented acting rather than a 60 minute sequence of CGI karate fights) Rob Roy, about a Scottish clan leader who has dealings with a disreputable Scottish lord played, interestingly enough, by John Hurt (who played Winston Smith in the movie adaptation of Orwell’s 1984). In this movie, Hurt – playing the Scottish lord – engages in a dialogue with his henchman Archie (played by Tim Roth) who thinks he is clever enough to fool the lord about his shady dealings.

“Something is here that I do not see,” the lord muses. “Killern (another flunkie) and you have a hand in some matters that is hid from sight…. you are in cash yet I know you are without means… ”

Roth’s character, the insolent villain Archie, responds oilily with “the cards favored.” Which prompts the lord, played brilliantly by Hurt, to explode, “Do you take me entirely for a whig, sir?”

Meaning, an imbecile.

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On Vooooooooting . . . by Eric Peters

Posted on November 14, 2022 | Leave a comment

There are a lot of people who are just going to say they’re done with voting, after this last fraud. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos:

One of the ways the sheep baaaaa! is via the ballot box – as the results of the latest balloting have established.

Or rather, re-confirmed.

 Voooooooooote if you want things to chaaaaaaaange – baaaaaaa’d the sheep. And the sheep (me among them) got just what they vooooooooted for. That being more of the same.

As of this morning, almost a week after the vooooooting – the results are cooooooooming in. In favor of the result many of us knew was coming but went ahead and voooooooooooted anyhow, holding onto the thought that – just maybe – this time it would  make a diiiiiiiiiiiference.

Of course, it did not.

In our faces – again.

Laxalt appears to have lost to Cortez, after new voooooooooooooooootes were counted, almost a week after the balloting ended. This tips the balance of the Senate, which is apt to be tilted further when the Right Reverend Raphael Warnock receives more voooooooootes than Herschel Walker. It is entirely possible the same will happen to Kari Lake, given who counts the ballots in Arizona.

So what is the point of all this voooooooting, if it isn’t baaaaaaaa’ing? 

By voooooooooting for what never wins are we not demonstrating that we are, in fact, sheep?

Perhaps the time has come to jump the fence and leave the pen. By no longer bothering with this embarrassing servility ritual called “voting.” For one of two things must be true. Either a voting majority of the country did, in fact, vote for creatures such as Fetterman in PA, Hochul in New York, Whitmer in Michigan – and so on – in which case, the majority of the voters in this country want creatures such as that to wield power – and not only over them but over you and I, as well. In which case, there is no longer any hope, electorally, for redress and we who did not for vote for these creatures must either accept it or be prepared to fight it (and not via the ballot box).

Or, the ballot box is so stuffed as to amount to the same thing.

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But Will Elections Change Anything? By Jeffrey A. Tucker

Posted on October 22, 2022 | 1 comment

We all know the answer, even those of us who aren’t full-time cynics. From Jeffrey A. Tucker at brownstone.org:

It’s coming up in a fortnight. For many people, all their hopes rest on the outcome. I get it because these seem like very dark times. We cannot live without hope. But we also need realism. The problems are deep, pervasive, scandalously entrenched.

Many people won financially and in terms of power from lockdowns and have no intention either to apologize or give up their gains. What’s more, for that to have happened to this great country – and many great counties – indicates something far more pernicious than a policy error or an ideological mistake.

The fix is going to require vast change. Tragically, the elected politicians may be the least likely to push for such a change. This is due to what we call the “Deep State” but there ought to be another name. It is rather obvious now that we are dealing with a beast that includes media, technology, nonprofits, and multinational and international government agencies and all the groups they represent.

That said, let’s deal here with the most obvious problem: the administrative state.

The plot of every episode of Yes, Minister – a British sitcom that aired in the early 1980s – is pretty much the same. The appointed Minister of the Department of Administrative Affairs waltzes in with a grand and idealistic statement left over from his political campaigns. The permanent secretary who serves him responds affirmatively and then cautions that there might be other considerations to take into account.

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What if they Threw an Election and Nobody Came? By Hardscrabble Farmer

Posted on September 20, 2022 | Leave a comment

On the futility of voting and the sad delusion of thinking it will make any difference. From Hardscrabble Farmer at theburningplatform.com:

I am as deeply indoctrinated as any American. I grew up at the very zenith of America’s influence, power and success. I served in America’s Guard of Honor (82nd Airborne) and have been everything from a precinct captain to a town councilman. I voted for Reagan in my first election in ’80 and never missed an opportunity to participate as a good citizen, but then reality poked its nose under the tent flap and forced me to see what a fool I had been. Last Tuesday was our state primary and every time I drove past the Town Hall I could feel something inside of me plead to pull in and cast a vote, but I resisted.

Participation in corruption at any level is still corruption. There are enough other things in life where you must compromise your values and your instincts in order to serve something more important than yourself, especially if you have family and friends, but at least with those there is a common bond, a mutual self interest and an understanding that simply does not exist in the sphere of politics.

I was buttonholed at the dump by my local state rep the other morning. He is a local businessman and he has a small farm so in many ways we have some common ground between us. He wanted my vote in the upcoming general election in November- I didn’t tell him I passed on the primary-I asked him the only pertinent question I could think of at the moment and that was what single issue is most important to you?

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I Don’t Much Like What Is Happening. I’m Tired Of Seeing The Coward Staring Back At Me In The Mirror. By Wes Rhinier

Posted on May 4, 2022 | 2 comments

Yes, if you want your life to be anything more than what the New World Order crowd has in store for you, you’re going to have to fight. From Wes Rhinier at ncrenegade.com:

I knew we were in trouble way back in my Tea Party days. Once I became comfortable there and had made many good friends, I began speaking more freely. It never failed, every time I said we couldn’t vote our way out of this mess and that a “Revolution” would be necessary to restore Liberty, I’d get those you’re insane looks or comments. So for over 10 years now I have been trying to open people’s eyes to the farce of voting to no avail.

It’s heartbreaking to read article’s such as this from WRSA yesterday. “Complacency, compliance, and cowardice together with bountiful heaps of apathy, indifference, and denial are pretty much all I see.” Oh, how many times I have written about that. Yet we continue to do nothing but hope for the best in voting. Early voting is taking place here locally already, and it seems that the enthusiasm is high. Politicians signs are everywhere. One of the early voting stations was packed this past Saturday. The cycle of hope on voting our way out continues it seems.

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Posted in Civil Liberties, Collapse, Crime, Cronyism, Government, Insurrection, Military, Politics, Propaganda, Tyranny

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Once Upon a Presidency, by Joshua Hochschild

Posted on February 21, 2021 | Leave a comment

If you once thought that things might change in the Corruptocracy, you’ve been thoroughly disabused of that notion, and now you may be looking for more radical solutions than mere voting. From Joshua Hochschild at americanmind.org:

From populist to dissident

Let’s say you’ve long been disaffected with political parties. You don’t trust them. You care about politics, but you don’t see much promise in the standard candidates.

Let’s even say you have suspicions the two parties are more interested in their own power than in helping the country.

Occasionally you see promising people come forward, challenging the conventions. Maybe your interest is piqued by an Andrew Yang or Tulsi Gabbard, a Marianne Robinson or Bernie Sanders. Or perhaps by a Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Ron Paul, or Herman Cain.

Whoever they are, interesting people with interesting ideas show up, and somehow they speak to you. They seem to share some of your interests. But they never get a foothold in the game of national politics.

Maybe you don’t understand politics, and these candidates always lose fairly on the merits. But you suspect the deck is stacked against them. They criticize Wall Street, the military-industrial complex, corruption in politics. You’ve heard them called “populists,” but they always end up getting labeled something like “fascist” or “socialist,” and cast aside.

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Electoral Politics Use The Same Containment Strategies As Alzheimer’s Facilities, Caitlin Johnson

Posted on February 7, 2021 | Leave a comment

This article is built around a clever analogy. From Caitlin Johnstone at caitlinjohnstone.com:

In a high-quality dementia care facility, confused residents who are at risk of unsafe wandering are skillfully redirected away from exit doors by staff members who are trained to provide them with the illusion of freedom while still keeping them in the safety of the care home. A propaganda-addled populace wandering around trying to find an escape from its oppressors is redirected in very much the same way.

If you’ve ever visited a loved one in a locked dementia care facility, especially near sunset, you know how agitated the people who live there can become. The impulse to wander and pace is very common, and depending on where they’re at cognitively they’ll often demand to leave the facility at once so they can go “home”.

When this happens, unskillful staff members will take an openly authoritarian position and tell the resident that they cannot leave and that the facility is their home now. This confrontational approach invariably leads to agitation on the part of the confused resident, because in their mind they really do live somewhere else and are being told they need to remain locked in a strange place that they have no memory of. This can quickly lead to a catastrophic response that is unpleasant for everyone, especially the resident in question.

A more skillful staff member will employ a very different strategy. Rather than engaging in futile attempts to persuade someone with severe dementia that they must stay and that their perception of reality is wrong, they will simply say “Ah yes, right away Mister Smith! Let’s go get you ready to leave.” They’ll take him by the hand, ask him if he wants dinner before he leaves, get him talking about his time in the army, distracting him from the thought of leaving and letting the memory loss do the work for them. In a few minutes Mister Smith is happily chowing down on mechanical soft meat and potatoes without a care in the world.

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Election 2020: Choking On The Political Red And Blue Pills, by Wendy McElroy

Posted on November 11, 2020 | Leave a comment

Participating in American politics is like diving into a cesspool. From Wendy McElroy at mises.org:

Presidential election 2020 is the same as every other, except in the ways it isn’t. Allow me to expand on this.

What is the same? The purpose of all elections is to allow a band of people called the state to legitimize their claim of control over everyone and everything within a given jurisdiction. In his book The Rise and Fall of Society, the Old Right libertarian Frank Chodorov defines the state as “a number of people who, having somehow got hold of it,” use “the machinery of coercion to the end that they might pursue their version of happiness without respect to the discipline of the market place” (italics added).

The two somehows of getting and holding political power are to use institutionalized violence or to convince people to respect state authority. Statists usually pursue some combination of both. Violence is rarely preferred, however, because it can backlash into a resistance that threatens state power. It is far better for the state if people oppress themselves through willing obedience. It is even better if they express enthusiasm for their own oppression. Thus politicians and the media applaud the rah-rah attitude of cheering crowds who characterize elections. Thus voting is deified as the voice of “the people,” a fundamental right, and the best way to change society.

The situation is the opposite of what the state claims. The anarchist author Albert Jay Nock divided power into two categories: social and state. Social power is the freedom individuals exercise over their lives; when people gather for mutual benefit and when a society forms, this is also social power. State power is the control government exercises over individuals and society; it preys upon them—through taxation, for example—to enrich itself. An inverse and antagonistic relationship exists between the two types of power, with the state expanding only at the expense of society and vice versa. Freedom does not and cannot come from elections that strengthen the state’s perceived legitimacy; freedom depends on weakening this authority, preferably down to zero.

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Posted in Capitalism, Civil Liberties, Collapse, Crime, Government, Law, Philosophy, Propaganda

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