Oh, Trumpeteurs

My initial thought, during the RNC Cruz speech, was "is he really going to give a whole speech without saying "Trump? He is really going to do it, he is really going to do it."

My second thought was "Cruz is not saying not to vote for Trump, why are all these delegates making that assumption?"

And that is all. This post is self-centered, but then the blog is called My Side of Every Story.

Lions, gorillas and parents. Oh my.

Never mind the drone wars. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, and the general uncertainly "about who will die".To name but a few. This points only to American aggression, bear in mind that the aggressors currently at work on the world stage are numerous. Add them up.

Hint: you are looking for the term "civilian deaths".

But seriously man, how are the lions??

Update, H/T Ornella

Privilege

Libertarians at election time, 2016

Taiwan

I recently learned that the Vatican is one of the few countries in the world - indeed the only country in Europe - to maintain full diplomatic ties with Taiwan. So I begrudgingly admire the Vatican.

In the (bitter) words of Ocean:
"... Unlike certain other countries, that say they stand for democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.. So when they have to choose between a country that has all those and one that has none of those, they choose to recognize the one that has none of them. Not naming any names."

You know, read between the lines, so to speak.

Libertarian Forum, Part Deux

Another energizing performance. It warms my heart to know that there are people interesting in running for office AND in speaking to voters as if we were all adults. What?!

Sadly Petersen failed on this note. Compared to the main stream party candidates he probably would have sounded impressive: clearly well prepared and also well read. However next to two people who gave concrete answers, he sometimes fell short.

Example: gun control. We got an educational session on the fight against tyranny, but not a word on what would change, if anything, in access to guns. It's a big issue, highly contentious, you can't get away with a non-answer.

Johnson, again, has the most experience and of all three can probably have the broadest appeal. He is saying things that both Cruz supporters and Sanders supporters want to hear. I wasn't happy with his answer on the EPA (anecdotes do not policy make) and he was also too vague on guns, as if he was not finishing his thought.

McAfee stands out as both principled and intelligent. My view on him remains constant: I wouldn't so much want to see him as president as I would consigliere, so to speak, to the president.

Watch the whole debate below

On Discrimination

The free market gives people choices. There are lots of bakers, but just one government. That's why government must never discriminate, but if private businesses cannot, does "private" have real meaning? What about freedom of association?

How the Libertarian candidates disagree on private business service decisions.

"Should a Jewish baker be forced to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding?"

Trump Supporters - Talk to me

Candidates are - or should be - about policy. This is why there are politicians with whom I disagree but still understand why others vote for them. We just disagree on the policies. 

I confess, however, to not understanding the Trump phenomenon. So I ask those who have cast their vote in his favor: explain it to me. My question is one of policies: what are his? I have not actually heard him explain a single policy through. What is his tax plan? What is his plan for health insurance (yes - removing the lines around the state, but how when and with what tools)? What is his foreign policy? What is his immigration policy? What is his plan with US troops abroad? What are his trade policies?

Watching him in debates and interviews, I still do not know. I don't each of these things about each candidate, but I get pretty close with any candidate who has had as much air time as Trump. 

So I repeat my question: what are his actual policies on these issues and others, and why do they speak to you?

Executive Power is all well and good

as long as you agree with the decision being made.

Just saying.

Trump is a distraction

And while we are freaking out about this bigoted idiot, "our" government is doing this: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/syrian-civilians-killed-us-airstrike

Politcs of Crowds

Trump blames Mexican immigrants who can’t even vote. Sanders blames what he calls "the billionaire class," a class whose purported vast influence doesn’t seem to have done anything to prevent Sanders’ own formidable political rise. The pope blames the bankers, denouncing "usury" and what he called "oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence."

Read the rest here