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Nothing in common

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
— Alexis de Tocqueville

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Only reason

Capitalism is the only reason socialism has any money to redistribute.
tip of the hat to Brian Micklethwait

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Short Thursday roundup

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

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Thusday roundup

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

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“Stossel: Sweden is Not a Socialist Success”

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Monday extra-big roundup

Headlines that don't merit their own entry


Top 3% of U.S. Taxpayers Paid Majority of Income Taxes in 2016

How about that? They paid more than their fair share.

Gore: Jet Stream 'Getting Loopier and Wavier,' So 'We Have a Global Emergency'

Al Gore is capitalizing on the news and fear. The jet stream hasn't changed.

Trump snubs Feinstein, Harris to nominate conservative judges to liberal 9th Circuit



Mary Robinson on climate change: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’



Italian Interior Minister prepares legislature for self-defence: “No trial for those who defend their property”



‘Bitcoin and Guns, That’s the Only Way to Save This Country’

From the Ukraine

Libertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge

Golly gee whilikers, could Facebook have an agenda?

Facebook has lost 30% of its value since July



500,000 Afghan migrants are ready to enter Europe via unprotected Turkish-Greek border area

Technically, isn't that an invasion?

Bear spray, bloody brawls at Patriot Prayer 'law and order' march in Portland



Dozens of Witches Gather to Place Public Hex on Brett Kavanaugh

They have decided that he is guilty and they are going to be very public about it

Black Man Cuffed on His Own Property While Moving Into New Home



Venezuela Has Lost 13% of its Population in a Mass Exodus from Socialism



Fight Fizzles Before Police Arrive; Cops Start Tasing and Arresting People Anyway



Violence, Public Anger Erupts In China As Home Prices Slide



Lawsuit: KSP trooper attacks man after Facebook post

Strange doings in Kentucky



Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson in 'real legal jeopardy', GOP investigator says



Toronto's Sick Kids hospital preparing policy for euthanasia for youth over 18 that could one day apply to minors



Human 2.0 Is Almost Here: The Transhumanism Agenda Just Went Mainstream



The view from Saudi Arabia as world holds its breath

“With Saudi Arabia one of Britain's closest allies, diplomats are treating the alleged death of Jamal Khashoggi very carefully.”

Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages

This won't end well

How the Heir of the White Nationalist Movement Learned to Let Go of Hatred



Congress Can’t Create an Independent and Unaccountable New Branch of Government

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was designed to be unaccountable.

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NeoNote — Socialism, fairness & choice

There was a late night bull session I attended. One very drunk person announced, very authoritatively, "Socialism is jealousy."

Then she passed out.

She may have had a point.



I'll go you one farther. There are studies that show primates have a strong sense of fairness. Some other studies show the fairness idea is linked to play in wolves and coyotes. I've seen speculation but no mention of studies that the idea exists in elephants as well. Taken together, these may indicate that it is part of the biology, at least for social animals.



I'd say it relies on control and orientation in time. Given that it's extremely difficult to control other's behavior except through force, someone who is past-orientated will choose coercion and false signals. Especially if their behavior was controlled in the past.

Future orientation and risk taking are more likely to depend on cooperation. Especially if one doesn't have the resources to pull off the future alone.

Going forward, power with beats power over. But someone stuck in the past won't see that. As for the "leaders," they're gaming the system and don't practice what they preach. "But just do as I say, don't do as I do," as the old Genesis song says.



Everyone who lives in America is a socialist to some degree.

True. But did they choose, or was it chosen for them "for the greater good?" In many cases before they were born? Did they ever have an alternative choice? Were they even allowed to think about it?

That's how socialism works. It's always involuntary except for those calling the shots.

It’s just that the rank and file among us don’t have $12 billion to buy votes from farmers we’ve screwed over.

If he had bought votes, the farmers wouldn't be screwed, would they? You've moved beyond mixing metaphors here, you're mixing conspiracy theories.



Your premise about vote buying is wrong. There's plenty to criticize about Trump's tariff strategy (which I've done), but there was no vote buying. That's the problem with most of the accusations against Trump. The loudest people ignore what Trump has done and blame him for things he hasn't done. You can't buy votes after the fact. And you keep overlooking all the other people adversely affected by the tariffs.

I used the word choosing because we are supposed to live in a representative government. Socialism removes choice. Socialism removes freedom. Socialism removes prosperity. The only reason why the United States works economically is because of the partial free market. The free market works. The free market works better than anything else in history. The only reason Americans can afford even partial socialism is because of the abundance produced by the free market.

So are Americans socialist? Yes, but not from choice. Someone had to do it to them. Someone had to lie to them about what they could get. Someone else had to pay the bills. Would Americans choose socialist programs? I don't think they would if they understood the costs.

I didn't claim you wrote anything about choice. I asked about choice. That's not words in your mouth, that's a question you don't want to answer.
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

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“Socialism — Capitalism — Traditionalism”

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Wednesday roundup

Israeli officials meet Qatari, Saudi and UAE counterparts at White House

With any other president, this would be front page news. North Korea, the Middle East, Russia. So what exactly did Obama do for his Nobel Peace Prize?

Girl Scouts Write Anti-Smoking Legislation in Colorado

“A government for the children, of the children, by the children.”

FBI Insiders Blow Whistle on Massive Las Vegas Cover Up; Agents Told Not to Investigate Key Evidence Including ISIS Terror Link

Not sure this is true, but we still don't know what happened. Somebody is covering stuff up

Hungary “Ready to Fight” United Nations Plan to Facilitate Global Mass Migration

Refugee migration was a total disaster for the EU, even if the elites don't want to admit it

The Federal Government's TIGER Program Splurges on Sidewalks in Rural Florida and Recreational Boat Ramps in Iowa

“It was supposed to be a temporary stimulus program. Instead it's an engine for pork.”

Drunk History: When the Government Banned Female Bartenders

When government meddles, it costs freedom

The World Is Better Than Ever. Why Are We Miserable?

Something to think about

Stores use secret shopper score to track and decline returns

The article tries to sell this a Really Bad Thing, but really it's just the companies acting in self-defense.

REVEALED: Obama Campaign Hired Fusion GPS To Investigate Romney

The same company that the Clinton campaign hired to for the Russia dossier,

Last photographs of Stephen Hawking emerge showing him enjoying a night out in Mayfair as his children pay tribute to the professor's 'brilliance and humour' after he dies peacefully aged 76

What a brilliant man and a remarkable life

3 Questions Congress Should Answer Before Bailing Out Obamacare

I don't think it should be bailed out. The free market would lower costs dramatically

The Meaning of Freedom

“I learned that to be strong wasn’t good enough; you had to use your strength to help those who were unable to help themselves. I learned that it is better to build than to destroy, and violence, even amongst warriors, is always a last resort.”

Socialism Is Not Now, Nor Has It Ever Been, A Friend To Women

Freedom rests in choice and the free market

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Wednesday roundup

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

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More from the stack

New Segregation Signs Pop Up in Leftist Establishments

Perpetuating racism in the name of freedom

Border Agents Seized American Citizen's Truck, Never Charged Him With A Crime

"You have no rights here"

The Senate Is Close To Undermining The Internet By Pretending To 'Protect' The Children

Justifying tyranny

We Didn't Normalize Trump. We Normalized the Left's Violence.

All other things being equal, the side that can't stand dissent is wrong.

Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman

So why isn't Obama called to account for this?

I moved from a blue state to a red state and it changed my life

"As I got to know my new Midwest home, I realize how living in a bubble and subscribing to the Middle America stereotypes is truly damaging to this country."

To Combat "Hate," Make Government Weaker

Worth thinking about

James Comey Tried to Discredit Trump’s Wiretapping Assertions That Proved True

Why isn't this man in jail?

Entire Volume of CIA Files On Lee Harvey Oswald, Set to Be Released in October, Has “Gone Missing”

Somebody is still hiding truth.

The Silencing of Dissent

A paranoid take that may be true

Trump: “Venezuela Has FAITHFULLY Implemented Socialism…” The UN Goes SILENT!

Trump is right on this

Hours After Hurricane Irma, Miami-Dade County Tickets Residents for Code Violations

You'd think there would be other priorities. You'd be wrong.

File a FOIA, Get Sued

Why do you want to know, Citizen?

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Don't be a sucker

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