Chopping grass silage takes some concentration as I try to keep the machine full to optimize efficiency. I can still listen to the radio and I’m seldom shocked anymore.

They were talking about the Supremes overturning the Texas abortion regs that made it “necessary” to travel over 100 miles to receive reproductive healthcare. No kidding. That’s what they said.

Tonight Dawn and I started a movie (The Good Lie) about Sudanese children walking hundreds of miles fleeing war, their parents murdered by heroes, as we call them nowadays. One kid died of thirst, another died of disease, another was conscripted, another was gunned down by the heroes. We got sleepy and that is where we left it ’till later. It all seemed just happenstance. Circumstance. Chance.

But in Texas these women were cheering like they won the lotto at the news of the court decision, I mean hysterically.

As part of the NPR story I heard this, “Death results 14 times more often from childbirth than from abortion.” Sudan is way more civilized than the studios of NPR.

The Texas law was obviously an attempt to circumvent Roe v Wade. It didn’t work. Since Brett mentioned Lincoln and Brexit (the other big news item of the day that never had a single thing describing why but just uncertainty. Bank stocks down 3% to 16% still doesn’t come close to justice considering years of inflationary government policies and fractional reserve banking), it got me thinking of Texit.

The reason for a union of independent states is to enable competition between the states which would provide freedom to find your niche and progress through growth in states that have constructive policies.

Would you like to live in a state that allows mothers to murder their children?

I have this friend who I’ve never met. We both like to write. We both want to make the world a better place. As a team we say the same thing in different ways. Maybe one will click better than the other. But here is what Brett Pharo had to say about Brexit. Prolly the best indicator that we’ve come a long way since that bastard, Lincoln, thought 600,000 people had to die so his precious union was preserved.

Really. What would it look like today if The South simply had become another country? To believe slavery would still be a part of their labor system is silly. Separate governments more accurately represent their constituents. Cultures don’t clash, they cooperate, yet still compete.  Workers perform better when they want to earn a living than when they are forced to perform. A short glance at union shops vs private businesses across the country will make that obvious.

Anyway, here is what Brett said in his Random Thoughts From the Corner Chair column:

“Luckily, I don’t think the European Union leaders will follow the example of the leaders of the union on this side of the pond in the 1860’s.  I don’t see them calling for an invasion of the UK to force them back into the union, as Lincoln did in America.”

Max Boot,  “American might to promote American ideals,” shows just how the neo-con mind works when he said, last week, “There is no reason why the American public should be able to purchase military style semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15.” The shooter in Orlando used a Sig Sauer MCX, not an AR-15. Max must have been influenced by his repetitive reading of Huffpo and other leftist sites that form his opinions for him.

Anyone with a brain can see how there is no difference between Killery and Max and all the other jerk-heads who think American citizens should be on the hook for world domination at any cost. So get over it, Republicans. Killing a million people in Iraq, plainly to line the pockets of defense (hahahaha) contractors was an evil thing to do. Wave your flags and crosses all you want. It won’t change things. Conservatives claiming to be pro life are as big a hypocrite as there is. Life outside the womb is also sacred. Terror can fall from the sky. Terrorists who perform their evil deeds from containers in Nevada, then go home to their unharmed wives and children are, many times over, bigger cowards than crazy Muslims who do their attacks face to face.

Killery, Max, Dick, GW and all the rest believe, like the liberals they denounce, that they are a special breed, more qualified than their lessors to make decisions that affect others. A common thread. Bring back the guillotine.

The mass shooting in Orlando is tragic in ways beyond the immediate loss of loved ones and the terror experienced in the event.

Well-intentioned advocates, pundits, and politicians jumped on the news as a way to further their own agendas. They all approached it from the aspect of top-down management of our world, as if they run a zoo.

I actually heard Senator Joni Ernst say that if President Obama hadn’t pulled our troops out of Iraq we wouldn’t be experiencing so many terrorist attacks. No explanation came after that about how destroying and occupying a foreign land wins friends. She joined the chorus of voices calling for rebuilding a military that is twelve times larger than any other on earth, in response to one jihadist in a nightclub.

I don’t want to lessen the importance of Islamic jihadis. It is an important issue. But that issue has been so convoluted as to become the reason for expansion of government at any cost. The right’s obeisance to the military industrial complex has blinded them to being reasonable regarding the military’s mission to protect the United States.

For instance, an article in last Thursday’s Wall Street Journal titled “U.S. Struggles to Replace Afghan Aircraft,” it contained this quote: “One helicopter exploded in midair, victim of a suspected grenade accident on board. Another was destroyed when another helicopter accidentally opened fire on the tarmac.” Military leaders are upset at Obama’s sanctions that don’t allow us to replace these $19 million Russian helicopters. What does this have to do with protecting Americans? Wasn’t the Soviet Union going down the same path when it went belly-up?

Everything has a cost. The risk of dying in a mass shooting in the last year is 3.6 million to one, compared to the risk of being struck by lightning at one in 1.2 million. Even spending unlimited funds to make every single person in the U.S. a bubble boy, would still have unforeseen risks.

To lessen the risk of being struck by lightning, we can stop waving golf clubs at thunderstorms and go inside. To lessen the chance of being killed in a mass shooting, we can stay away from gun free zones. But in Florida that would mean never going to a place that serves alcohol. The State of Florida has eliminated private property rights by making it illegal to carry a firearm in such places. And in the process, issued a death sentence to a certain number of their innocent citizens.

In Florida, if the same percentage of people who hold concealed carry permits were allowed to do so at the Pulse nightclub there would have been twenty capable of limiting the carnage.

We already have laws to protect people from the aggression of other people. Advocates of pre-emptive action such as the war on terror or gun control are merely joining the other big government busybodies in making things worse. They don’t see that the funds used and freedom taken for their grand plans make us more reliant and less able to get along and survive in a dangerous world.

Those who say being in a government database or surrendering weapons to the state has no effect on them, might change their tune when living under the next regime or cowering under a table. Self-sufficient private individuals have always done more for our safety than government bureaucrats.

“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Ben Franklin, in 1755, had a warning still poignant to this day.

From the War Street Journal:

Vin Scully calling a game on May 12 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. PHOTO: ZUMA PRESS

June 20, 2016 7:26 p.m. ET

Sportscaster Vin Scully commenting on air Friday, with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Hernan Perez up at bat:

Perez, 25 years old, originally drafted by the Tigers. Lives in Venezuela. Boy, can you imagine, you’re a young kid playing in the United States, you’re from Venezuela, and every time you look at the news it’s a nightmare. A bunt attempt is missed—runners are holding, 0-and-2. Socialism failing to work, as it always does, this time in Venezuela. You talk about giving everybody something free and all of a sudden, there’s no food to eat. And who do you think is the richest person in Venezuela? The daughter of Hugo Chavez. Hello! Anyway, 0-and-2.

After a little thought I’m starting to formulate the next The Alternative. Oh man these days are long. Lots to do. I’m tired. But the blog must go on.

From the left we have calls for better gun laws to stifle gun violence. From the other left we have calls for more better security, restricting immigration, more foreign aid, profiling, and The Minority Report. From the middle we have… Tadah! Silence.

A caller to Rush Limbaugh today laid it out well. He said the State of Florida is responsible for the magnitude of the slaughter because it is illegal to carry a gun where alcohol is served in Florida. 10% of adults in Florida have some kind of permit to carry a gun. But in a bar there are none. There were 300 people in The Pulse that morning. If 10% were carrying a gun, the shooter would have had some resistance.

How many loved ones of these victims will, rightfully, blame the state? Prolly none because the state is now god. Heaven help us.

I asked a childhood friend about conditions in Venezuela. She is a doctor. Her is her reply (remember, socialism can’t be voluntary):

“LIFE IN VENEZUELA HAS BECOME TERRIBLE.  WE ARE EVERYDAY
> WITH ONE OF THE HIGHEST COUNTRIES OF HIGH CRIME.  THERE IS
> NO FOOD AT ALL.  THE HIGHEST INFLATION IN THE WORLD.
> PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD THINK WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY BUT IT
> IS NOT TRUE.  THERE IS NO
>  MEANS OF OBJECTIVE NEWS.  THE GOV.  OWNS ALMOST ALL THE
> MEDIA.  SEVEN MILLION OF US VOTED AGAINST THE PRESIDENT AND
> WE WHANT TO IMPEACH HIM BUT IT HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT.
> THIS 20 TIL THE 24TH SOME OF US HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO GO AND
> VERIFY OUR SIGNITURE AND
>  FINGER PRINTS.  NONE OF MY FAMILY WERE SELECTED BUT I AM
> THE ONLY ONE TO GO.  THERE IS NO WATER.  NO ELECTRICITY.
> ONLY THEY PUT ELECTRICITY FOR A FEW HOURS DURING THE DAY.
> THERE IS NO SOAP, CHAMPU, HIGINE TOWELS, ETC… I JUST GOT
> BACK FROM BOSTON WERE MY
>  GRAND-CHILDREN LIVE AND BROUGHT IN MY TWO BAGS, FOOD, RICE,
> ETC… FOR THE FAMILY.  MANY PEOPLE ARE IN PRISON JUST
> BECAUSE THEY SAY NO TO THIS SYSTEM.  AFTER FOUR OR FIVE PM.
> IT IS DANGEROUS TO GO OUT.  MY CAR WAS STOLEN.  THERE IS
> PROHIBITION TO BUY DOLLARS.
>  SO THERE ARE TWO SYSTEMS.  EATHER YOU ASK THE GOV. FOR A
> VERY LIMITED AMOUNT.  FOUR HUNDRED A YEAR WHICH YOU NEVER
> GET .  OR YOU BUY IT IN THE BLACK MARKET AT AN OUTRAGES
> PRICE.  ONE DOLLAR CAN BE ONE THOUSAND BOLIVARES OR MAYBE
> MORE.  THE GOV .  SAYS THAT
>  ONE DOLLAR IS 12 BOLIVARES.  GAS IS THE ONLY THING SHIP.
> BUT NOT FOR US BECAUSE THE SALARY IS VERY VERY LOW.  IN A
> FAMILY OF FOUR EVERYONE HAS TO WORK.  IF THERE ARE KIDS
> THEY EAT ONLY ONE MEAL A DAY.  AND IS NOT A BALANCE MEAL AT
> ALL.
>
>
>
> EVERYTHING THAT IS PUBLISHED INTERNATIONALLY IS ALL A LIE
> BECAUSE IS ONLY WHAT THE GOV. WANTS THE WORLD TO HEAR.  IN
> MY FAMILY WE ALL HAD TO TAKE OUR CHILDREN OUT.  THERE IS NO
> SECURITY AT ALL.  THE PROPERTY THE GOV. CAN TAKE IT IF THEY
> WANT IT.  THEY HAVE
>  TAKEN ALL THE MAIN INDUSTRIES AND BROKE THEM.  WHEN THE
> PETROLEUM WAS HIGH EVERYONE ATE. NOW THE PETROLEUM IS LOW SO
> THERE IS NO FOOD.  WE HAVE TO IMPORT EVERYTHING AND THERE
> IS NO MONEY.”

I got into the tractor to cultivate corn yesterday and it was all about a Fox News special report!!!

The biggest mass shooting in U.S. history. Time for more government. I’m sure conservatives and liberals would join hands in this. More cops, more gun control, more focus on groups being more important than individuals. Dodging raindrops and behind in my work, I’ll refer you to this article: https://fee.org/articles/another-shooting-tragedy-in-a-gun-free-zone/?utm_source=ribbon .

Once again, gun free zones are an invitation to murder.

Imagine a child… flailing about in a tantrum on the floor. He knows not why he is so angry. He has a warm and dry place to dwell. Food to eat, rarely canned peas. A mother (fathers being close to obsolete these days). But the anger must be assuaged. Bernie and Trump are ready for mindless expressions of macho appetite. But Bernie actually admits his love of the all for one and one for allism that caused many times more deaths of innocents than Hitler’s Nazis. Trump is just wacky and can be excused (hopefully never to return). On second thought, bring us Trump. With enemies like his, he’s gotta be good.

I’ll never forget when our oldest son came home from college and declared the welfare state to be legitimate because “we” voted for it. I can’t think of a better illustration of “democratic socialism.”

No founding father ever had a good thing to say about democracy. They intended to design a republic, not a democracy.

The candidacy of Bernie Sanders presents an opportunity to examine democratic socialism. It is extremely important because vast quantities of millennials (not all of them) are belching forth from schools with the same ideas that Hans formed while at UNI. They flock to Bernie events like Beatles concerts. When you get old, time goes faster. It allows you to see trends more clearly. The trend is toward the worship of government as the provider of all things and away from self-sufficiency.

I was listening to a conservative talk show the other day and this person was so befuddled that Bernie (Sanders) called himself a democratic socialist. He believed democracy is the opposite of socialism. This is the kind of numbskullery that enables people like Bernie to garner such a fervent following. People, like this talk show host, don’t recognize that nation building, space exploration, or medical research are every bit as socialistic as an unwed mother on welfare. But if this radio celebrity had denounced democracy as the fuel that drove socialism, he would also have to denounce his own preferred transfers of wealth by saying, “We voted for it.”

Venezuela voted for it, and it is incredibly timely that Bernie is pushing for the same system here. The fact overlooked most often by promoters of socialism is that, while youthful idealism might inspire us to work to promote the common good for a while, the need for food and shelter enter the picture soon and cause a change of heart. All this free stuff has to come from somewhere.

Hugo Chavez, after being democratically elected in Venezuela, expropriated 1,200 farms and companies in an effort to fund his benevolent programs, even giving away houses. If you wanted to start or expand a business, with the ever-present threat that the government could seize it for the common good, would you?

On an interview show on public radio (Fresh Air with Terry Gross) the subject of the Venezuelan catastrophe was repeatedly referred to as being caused by falling oil prices. The New York Times reporter interviewed, who lives in Caracas, glossed over the fact that the entrepreneurial climate in Venezuela had been destroyed by socialism. It was interesting to hear a resident of Caracas give first- hand accounts of the long lines, empty shelves, and hunger, but never relate it to Venezuela’s “business friendliness” ranking by the World Bank as 186^th out of 189. Apparently his paycheck from New York City sets him apart from the victims of socialism in Caracas.

I implore any millennials who might read this to consider the consequences of a democratic socialist system. Also, conservatives should consider the benefits of privately run and funded businesses they have traditionally accepted as things that needed to be done by government; such as the nation building, space exploration, and medical research mentioned above.

Thomas Jefferson said government will inevitably grow. I now see that the federalist idea is what was intended as a way to impede socialism. But starting with Lincoln’s war, then Johnson’s Great Society and Civil Rights Act, our property is no longer ours to use as we see fit. States as well, have no ability to compete, or should I say they only compete through subsidies and tax breaks (plainly more socialism).

So the democracy we now suffer under is still offered as a solution to the problems created by democracy. The vote, as a means to circumvent limited government, worked in Venezuela and it will work here if we let it. Venezuela has the highest murder rate in the world.

I wish these millennial democratic socialists could have their own state where productive people like Hans (who soon saw the light) could move elsewhere. The socialists could remain and put up a billboard saying, “Welcome to the Distopian Utopia.”