Tag: politicians

Daily Life, Government, Solving the wrong problem

Should I Care?

Last night Mrs Troutdog and I watched a two hour discussion with Vivek Ramaswamy on the Shawn Ryan show. I HIGHLY recommend watching it, regardless of your political beliefs. The dude is scary smart and has seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of everything. Even if you disagree with his political views, you have to admit – there is no other candidate would could conduct this type of long-form discussion with his level of candor. None. (maybe JFK Jr) Why aren’t we, as a population, demanding this level of candidate to represent us? Never mind, don’t answer that.

So we’re watching this interview and I’m getting myself spun up about politics and the state of the country, and Mrs Troutdog shared some insightful wisdom. She said, “I don’t care. All I care about is that the market stays healthy, our money stays secure, and we can enjoy retirement”.

She’s right.

In the big picture, none of the nonsense these meat puppets running for office are babbling about is really going to affect me. Of course there could always be some sort of cataclysmic change and civil war or zombies in the street. But in the next twenty years… probably not. Could we suddenly become Venezuela and need wheelbarrows of cash to pay for our mocha lattes at Starbucks? Sure, but not likely.

Things will get a bit more expensive. Random silly rules will get passed. I might not be able to replace my gas stove. There will be more cricket meal inserted in the food. But that’s about it. We’ll still be able to travel and see the countries largest ball of string and the museum of socket wrenches. I’ll still be able to buy and read books. Pretty sure there won’t be any restrictions on hiking, mountain biking, skiing, or riding the motorcycle. Fly fishing will always be an option.

So as usual, she’s right. There’s no point to getting my panties all in a bunch over the latest political outrage. I was equally outraged at the last four or five elections and somehow we survived. I’m pretty sure the next four will be about the same.

Don’t get me wrong, the country is heading in a bad direction. Fortunately for us, the car crash will happen long after we’re gone. Is that selfish? Yeah, a bit. But you know what? The younger generations have by and large voted for all this crap. So, you reap what you sow.

It makes me sad to see where we’re headed. Don’t worry, I’ll still be getting on my soapbox and ranting about whatever the latest outrage is like an old man shouting ‘get off my lawn’. But it’s all for show.

Behind the scenes, I love the beauty and adventure this country still offers and that’s where my head is at most of the time. You should do the same. Unless you’re young and just starting out. In that case… I’d be worried about what your future holds. You younger folks may want to really think about where we’re headed and decide if that’s really what you want.

But that’s not me. I’ll be sitting on the back porch, drinking a beer and looking out over the lake. Fondly remembering what used to be, and happy it’s not my war to fight.

Content, knowing that I’m well armed, and have plenty of food, water, and survival gear. I may be past the age of getting all worked up about politics…

But I’m not a complete idiot.

Government

The Madness Of Fences

It’s not a new concept. The idea of fences and walls has been around since the beginning of modern human history. They kept wild animals out, defined property, borders, and generally helped you defend what’s yours. As the poet Robert Frost wrote in 1914, “Good fences make good neighbors”. The sentiment of the time was expressed as, “…the need to have clear boundaries between properties, as well as the need for neighbours to respect these boundaries, if relations between neighbours are to remain amicable and ‘good’.”

Of course fences haven’t always led to harmony. For example, the invention of barbed wire led to the range/fence cutting wars of the 1880’s. Wealthy cattle barons would fence off public land to protect water and grazing acreage from other ranchers. Fences were cut and disputes often turned violent. Generally speaking If someone wants what you have, it’s much easier to take if there isn’t a fence.

Fences aren’t just for property owners. Currently 65 countries have, or are building, border fences/walls. Why would they do that? In some cases it’s for physical security. Take Israel for example. Without its security walls the country would cease to exist. They’d be instantly overrun by crazed jihadists, bent on driving them into the sea. The Great Wall of China was built to keep out the mongol horde of Genghis Khan.

More common today, fences are in place to restrict immigration. The world has a migrant problem. Millions upon millions of people are fleeing failed, third world countries and looking for anyplace they can make a better life for themselves. You can’t blame them. The problem is that sort of mass migration will destroy the host country if it’s not kept in check.

Millions of people flooding into Europe and the US who don’t speak the language, have limited education and job skills, quickly become a drain of public resources. Resources that many countries/cities don’t have. And further, when those new migrants don’t share the same culture and aren’t interested in assimilating… it creates resentment and destroys the fabric that holds a society together. Never, in all of human history, has a mass migration been a net positive for the host country.

Which brings us to our southern border. This may come as a shock to you, but it’s open. The current administration has decided not to enforce border security. We’re now averaging 200,000 border crossings per month. 2.4 million migrants to date for just this year. This does not include the “got aways” which the border patrol didn’t detect.

200,000 people a month who need food, shelter, medical care, schooling, etc… Month in and month out, year after year, all coming to a city near you. It defies description that anyone could defend this policy as beneficial to the United States. It’s criminal. And it’s not going to stop. For reasons that I cannot fathom, the deep state wants this invasion to continue. For example, just a few days ago the Fifth Circuit Court ruled that Texas must take down the floating border barrier it had installed.

It’s hard to imagine that this is what it’s come to. A state tries to protect its border from a literal invasion by another country, and the US department of justice immediately takes them to court to remove the barrier. Why? Can someone explain this to me?

Last month representative Marjorie Taylor Green forced a vote to impeach the DHS secretary for failing to control the border. Every single democrat and eight republicans voted against it, with a further eleven republicans abstaining. It’s clear that the establishment wants the border open. Why?

What are citizens to do when their government fails to do the most basic thing the government is empowered to do as defined by the constitution? This should make you angry. This should be your litmus test for elected officials. If they’re not going to uphold the oath they swore, they don’t deserve to be in office. I’d go so far as to suggest bringing back tar and feathers, but that practice seems to be frowned upon.

If nothing else, at the very minimum send them some mean tweets. Ask them to build a damn fence.

Article IV Relationships Between the States
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Government

They Deserve Your Scorn

Scorn noun “open dislike and disrespect or mockery often mixed with indignation”

It’s shocking to me that this even needs to be said. We’re a nation of mindless sheep, who somewhere along the way lost the narrative. We lost the point of this whole experiment. We’d be on a path of healing if you could just remember one thing:

“You do not owe any allegiance to a politician.”

In fact, it’s quite the opposite… they work for you. You elected them to represent you. They’re not better than you. They’re not more important than you. They shouldn’t be treated like celebrities or rock stars. They should be proving to you every day that they are worthy of keeping the job. And after a term or two, they should be exhausted and ready to return back to a regular job. Be suspicious of anyone who isn’t.

We forgot the basic litmus test for a politician:

  • Are my streets safe?
  • Have my taxes gone down?
  • Is the basic infrastructure in my city/state getting better?
  • Is my cost of living improving?
  • Am I more free today than I was yesterday?
  • Are we safer and stronger than our foreign adversaries?

  • And perhaps most importantly… is the size of the government shrinking?

Not much else really matters. Until the answer to all those questions is yes, whatever daily outrage you have on social media about trivial crap makes no difference. And if the answer to one of those questions is no, the proper question of your local/state/federal politician should be, “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?”

Not words. Not speeches on the floor that nobody will see. Not ads on TV. Not pithy statements on Twitter. Actions. What action Mr./Mrs. politician are you taking to solve the problem? Not “we’re introducing legislation next year”. Right now – what are you doing about it? And if you’re not happy with the actions, fire them. Get someone new in there who might do something. Rinse, repeat.

Politicians don’t think they work for you anymore. Whatever office they hold, it’s a steppingstone to the next higher office and more lobbyist money. Every single action they take is geared towards fundraising and staged optics to drive a narrative. All of them. Without exception. It’s a career. They’re carnival grifters looking to fleece as much money and power as possible. All of them. Period.

Oh sure, at the small-town local level there’s some folks who legitimately ran for office because they wanted a new crosswalk in front of the school or to stop a big corporation from polluting the local stream. But it doesn’t take long for power to corrupt. The pandemic quickly exposed how quickly little local bureaucrats became dictators and wielded their power with a heavy hand. How many politicians in your town were fighting for small businesses and questioning the idea of shutting down the economy or forcing vaccines to enter public spaces?

People forget that government, at all levels, is a semi-autonomous borg that mostly runs itself. Left to its own devices, it will continue to grow. People naturally want to protect and expand their jobs. Their departments will always need more money, more staff, and more power. It’s human nature. The private sector is no different. But the private sector is accountable to shareholders and payroll. Don’t meet expectations or can’t pay the rent and people eventually get fired, laid off, or the business goes under. The equation balances itself. The same is not true of government. There is no natural check on growth in the public sector.

We elect representatives to be that accountability monitor. They’re seizing our money (taxes) by force. Via printing and spending they control the value of our dollar. We have a right to expect them to be good stewards of that money and our economy. And if they’re not… we have a right, a duty, to be angry. And we’ve forgotten that. We’ve been taught a Pavlovian response – always blame the other party. It’s always the other guys fault. No! It’s your representatives fault. Hold them accountable. Stop the stupid party vs. party nonsense. That game is rigged to deflect blame and create more fundraising. If your elected official is failing the basic litmus test, then fire them.

I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on. Stop the stupid party allegiance. I don’t care what the pundit on whatever clickbait news channel you watch says. You have a responsibility to be extremely critical of all politicians. Don’t ignore the flaws of your politician simply because you hate the other guy more. Don’t settle.

It’s your money. It’s your freedom. You are giving someone the responsibility to represent your voice in this republic. Be angry, be demanding, and be critical. The status quo is not your friend. Like fish and guests who stay too long… ALL politicians quickly begin to stink. Throw ’em out before that happens.