speaking truth to power

Reading the news, there's so much glee out there at the outrageous behavior of everyone.

 One side is freaking out that Mississippi and North Carolina want people to use the shitter based on their biological sex rather than their notional one. Bruce Springsteen is no longer going there, as is Paypal, and a slew of other companies, who, based on their business practices, don't seem to have the same beef with making money in places like Saudi Arabia, where the folks whose bathroom privileges are at issue would simply be thrown off a building or have their throats cut simply for existing.

 Ah, virtue signaling.

 On the other side, we've got folks who blindly endorse the status quo, where those in power aggregate power (and money), and those who are not, well, tough titty. "Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them," says the bible, and so obviously it's above our pay grade to worry about such things.

 From the way things sound, we're supposed to choose either Karl Marx or Ayn Rand, and woe to those who fail to give the loyalty oath. 


 I've never been shy about noting that I'm a conservative and usually vote Republican. Usually. Watching the Donald Trump show this season has been interesting. I'm uncomfortable and fascinated by the guy, but I'm so very disappointed by the actions of the Party of Stupid, my fellow Republicans, who are reenacting the Vichy French in every single way. It's obvious that no one among the Democrats represents my interests, and I can't find anyone among the Republicans who does so, too, at least not since the days of Reagan, a fire-breathing classic conservative  who didn't have his party's hand elbow deep up his ass running the show.

 I see a one-party state, where only the power brokers win- I don't think it's about money- that comes later, after the power, after all, if it wasn't there in the beginning. 

    Well, whatever. I don't love Trump, but if the Republican vox populi wants him, the Republican party better deliver what the people want, good and hard. I foresee the Republican power brokers preferring to lose the election in order to keep their jobs. There's no certainty that the Vichy Republicans would survive a Trump presidency, and, frankly, I'd rather they didn't. I'd rather see them cast out into the wilderness for their sin.

    Some snarky assbags have suggested I move to a libertarian paradise like Somalia, which is missing the point. I'm not a real libertarian, either, because I haven't lost hope in our ability to work for the good of all without erasing individual liberty. 

      Black Lives Matter is fertilizing the ground for a counter racial-identitarian environment. THAT's going to be a disaster. So far, only Bill Clinton has had the balls to stand up to that hate group, and he's being roasted for it as I write. 
       I've got a big mouth, but no soapbox, which is probably a blessing. 


John C. Wright, one of my favorite sci-fi writers, noted recently about the Cowboy Code.

Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code from 1939:

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

   I love this moral code. 

 Had I a larger platform, one mainstream political party would be crybullying the hell out of me for this awful list. The following words would be used repeatedly for my crimes. Privilege, Patriarchy, White, Colonialism, Male Cisgender, Neo-, Power, Literally, Afraid, LGBTBBQ-EIEIO... well, you get the idea.

 The other political party would shout "Us too! We love these things, too! Vote for us!" while voting in opposition to all these things in order to secure support for those who already have power and money to accrue more of each.

 Ultimately, as someone who tries to be a patriot, and thinks that the US Constitution is among the greatest achievements of humanity, I shake my head and light my little candles in the darkness.

 ...and quietly buy more ammunition. I don't trust any of these fuckers.