7/13/17–Post #5: The Communist States of America(?)

While I was working on my reflection on the Fourth of July, and as I was attempting to demonstrate the decline in American freedom for the last two centuries, I was struck by the thought that in many ways the United States is progressively heading towards a socialist or communist system of political economy. Certainly I am not original in this thought, many on the Right have made similar arguments over time; but I will be among the first to admit that some such arguments are poorly constructed and poorly delivered. But I do believe that the sense behind the arguments are nevertheless correct, we have been moving towards a more and more socialist country and very often people have argued that we should go even farther.

 

In terms of this post I want to look at the socialist program straight from the horse’s mouth and see where the United States today stacks up to that platform.

 

From the Man From Trier, Karl Marx and his book The Communist Manifesto, that font of insanity, here is the platform of the Communist Party:

 

“1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.*
8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production,”[1]

 

 

I wonder to what extent the United States has at this point in time adopted the platform of the Communist Party as put forward by Karl Marx.

 

1. Abolition of Property. Private Property still exists, one can of course buy land and homes and the like and have legally protected claims upon such property. However, throughout the United States Americans have to pay property taxes, the on average American households pay $2,149 every year to the government; this even applies to persons who rent apartments.[2] Of course if these taxes are not paid, the owners of such property will be seized by government force. The median household income in the United States is $55,775 as of 2015.[3] This means that on average Americans pay roughly 4% of their annual earnings in order to ask permission to live in their own homes. “If it please the Crown, may I keep living in the property that I have already purchased.” On top of this, the Federal Government of the United States “owns” roughly 640 million acres of land throughout the United States; this constitutes 28% of all land in the United States. This is egregious in the Western United States in particular with 46.4% of the land in 11 Western states being owned by the Federal Government, in Alaska 61.3% of land is owned by the Federal Government.[4]
2. Progressive Income Tax. As of 2013 the average Federal Income tax that people in the United States paid was 20%, the top 1% of income earners were taxed at 34%; ever since 1979 these rates have remained relatively the same.[5] The top 1% of income earners are forced to “contribute” 39.48% of the Federal Government’s operational budget every year; the top 5% “contribute” 20.49% of the government’s budget.[6] On average Americans pay $11,155 of their $55,775 in Federal Income Taxes. Of the fifty states, forty-three levy income taxes upon their citizens, seven do not (WYOMING!). These tax rates range from as low as 3.07% in Pennsylvania to as high as 13.3% in California, regardless of these varying rates, states on average receive 27% of their budgets from these income taxes.[7] These rates once more being added on to the 4% property tax and the 20% average Federal tax. (Our average of $55,775 is starting to feel a bit tight). Again, if these taxes are not paid, Americans can expect to hear a knock on their door from their local law enforcement.
3. Abolition of Inheritance. In the United States people are still able to leave money for their family members when they pass away…but only after the heirs pay somewhere between 18-40% of that gift from their loved one away to both Federal and state entities.[8] (If it please the Crown, may I leave some of my own property to my children after I die and rot in the ground?).
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. This is a part of the platform that I don’t believe has been implemented in the United States (good), in the context of Marx’s writings this essentially would have stripped property from people deemed to be “counter-revolutionaries” and anyone fleeing the Red Terror. Thankfully we have not seen much along these lines and if I wanted to include this as something the United States has engaged in I would have to do some stretching. For the sake of argument let us look at it anyhow. For instance, soon after the Revolutionary War concluded the property of people who supported the British was seized from them as they fled the newly formed country.[9] Similarly during the Civil War “The confiscation acts of the Union government providing for the judicial seizure of ‘rebel’ property in federal courts formed only an ineffective part of a larger policy of virtual confiscation which contemplated the employment of an elaborate machinery for appropriating the goods of the enemy.”[10] These two examples particularly involve the persecution of “counter-revolutionaries” to use the Marxist phrase, but it does not quite meet what Marx meant. Another example Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 sent 110,000 Japanese-American citizens to “relocation camps” while also seizing their assets and properties to sell to other private citizens.[11] An interesting abuse of power but not quite what Marx meant. For Americans that wish to renounce their U.S. citizenship and live elsewhere in the world, particularly for the wealthy, there is a hefty fee from the Federal Government in order to do so.[12] In pursuance of the War on Drugs the DEA has seized $4,000,000,000 in cash assets from persons being investigated for drug crimes since 2007 in what are called “Civil Asset Forfeiture.” 81% of that money was seized without formal criminal charges being levied against the persons in question. These statistics only include the actual currency seized from such persons and does not include the value of other assets seized like cars and other forms of property.[13] These are all interesting examples of power abuse by the Federal government, however, they do not quite meet what I can presume Karl Marx meant, i.e. the seizures being part of a wider Red Terror to assert the power of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat whilst they seize the Means of Production.
5. Centralization of Credit. There are certainly private banks that are allowed to operate in the United States and work for profit. Banks like Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, CitiGroup, Capital One Financial among many others. That being said, they are among the most heavily regulated industries in the United States.[14] Among the “watchdogs” in the Government that regulate the banking industry in the United States are: The SEC, the CFTC, the FDIC, FinCEN, FINRA, the OCC, the NCUA, the CFPB, the NAIC, The NFA, on top of that each state has its own banking authority.[15] Despite this fact the myth still exists and is propounded by many politicians and ideologues that “deregulation” of the banking industry lead to the Housing Crash in 2008.[16] Outside of straight forward regulations and regulatory agencies the United States itself has a Central Bank, the Federal Reserve. Founded on December 23, 1913 the Federal Reserve’s primary function, in their words, “to provide the nation a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system.”[17] Which is ironic since they oversaw 19 separate recessions over the last century[18] including the Great Depression and the Great Recession while also dropping the value of the dollar by 96%.[19] Much evidence has been presented that the Federal Reserve is largely responsible for not only starting the Great Depression but also for continuing it for 17 grinding years. This has been noted by both Milton Friedman but also by former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke among many other historians and economists.[20] Further there is much evidence from various economists that the Federal Reserve itself is responsible for the Great Recession as well.[21] The previous article largely works to identify immediate causes and consequences, but there has been widespread financial intervention into the economy from both the Federal Reserve and the Federal government for decades. For instance, since 1971 there have been at least six major financial interventions or “bailouts” to save particular sectors of the economy because they have been deemed to be “too big to fail,” essentially the government has been picking winners and losers in the economy for decades.[22] (Note: the previous article did not include the Bailouts under both Bush and Obama at the height of the Housing Bubble Crash). Not only does the Federal Reserve directly regulate banks in the United States, but it also has an exclusive monopoly on printing U.S. dollars as well as largely controls interest rates for lending and borrowing.[23] Essentially, it is a government created cabal with little to no oversight that controls the direction and growth of the national economy (bubbles galore!) whose director is appointed by the President of the United States and approved by the Senate. For more reasons why the Federal Reserve is terrible read the article cited here.[24]
6. Centralization of Communication/Transportation. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) was founded on New Year’s Eve 1899 and maintained a national monopoly until 1984 when it was broken up into eight separate companies following anti-trust litigation.[25] While certainly AT&T held a monopoly over national phone communications for decades, it was only possible through government favors in order to keep out competitors. We should remember what Ayn Rand wrote on the issue: “no coercive monopoly has ever been or ever can be established by means of free trade on a free market. Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy…”[26] Telecom companies throughout the nation face massive regulations from both Federal and State governments. The Federal Communications Commission heavily regulates all transmissions on radio and television and for a time enforced what was known as The Fairness Doctrine on political commentary.[27] Now progressives want the FCC to regulate the Wild West of the Internet.[28] For more on why the FCC is a problematic regulatory agency you can read this article here.[29] The United States Postal Service has a monopoly on the delivery of letters; current laws prevent competitors from delivering letters and in fact people have been prosecuted for attempting to compete with the USPS.[30] As nearly everyone who has driven a car in the United States the state governments throughout the country have dozens upon dozens of laws and regulations upon who can drive, how they drive, and what they drive. Further, with the railroads the initial spread of railroads, particularly the Northern Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads, were heavily funded by the United States Federal government. While trains today are generally used to transport freight rather than passengers, Amtrak has a monopoly on passenger transportation endorsed by the Federal Government; an organization that has been given $22.5 billion from 1971 to 1997.[31]
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. As I noted above I am not entirely sure what Marx meant by this part of his platform. It may be merely an extension of point 1, if so you may look back to the evidence I brought up in that section, particularly with the Federal ownership of vast swaths of land. But further in this point is the development of such land for centralized economic planning. If I read this point correctly then it seems as if the Federal government is doing the opposite of this point, i.e. seizing vast swaths of land and then doing nothing productive with such land. Particularly when agencies like the BLM actively block development of this land and continue to expand its holdings. This represents a very different but arguably just as concerning Left-Wing doctrine other than the point that Marx wished to impose upon society.
8. Establishment of industrial armies especially for agriculture. During the Great Depression there were two million young men in both the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration.[32] The Federal Government spent roughly $10 billion in funding these projects, which was seen by many as not actually helping the economy as a whole but merely to be a vote-buying project.[33] The program was “open to unemployed, unmarried U.S. male citizens between the ages of 18 and 26,” essentially it was open only to young men without families. Furthermore, rather than characterize joining the CCC as entering a contract it was referred to as “enlistment,” the minimum length of enlistment was 6 months.[34] Recruits were usually sent to Army Posts for physical examination, lived in Barracks, were required to wear old WW1 army uniforms, and were drilled with military discipline.[35] Professor of History John A. Garraty likened “the Civilian Conservation Corps to the Nazi youth camps, since both were designed to mobilize unemployed youth to keep them off the streets.”[36] We see here that the Federal Government actively organized young men in order to do fulfill make-work projects under military discipline all in pursuant of a government decreed economic goal.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. Attempting to prove this point as existing in the United States is an incredibly dubious notion. One could argue that the bussing of minority children to schools with a higher white population is part of this plank, but that would be dishonest since that is clearly not what Marx meant. One could argue that the rapid westward expansion and settlement would demonstrate this plank, but while there were government incentives to move west the migration was largely voluntary and not part of a particular economic plan, let alone towards a command-control economy.[37] Same can be said of the various other migrations in the past and future migrations, but nevertheless they are ultimately not part of an organized economic plan on the part of the government.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. This point is so obviously present in the United States that I won’t bother writing about it or utilize citations.

 

Now the purpose of this post is not to necessarily criticize every single law in the United States, this is not to say that for instance that we shouldn’t have schools or driver’s licenses.

 

Some of the things that I spoke about are supported by both Liberals and Conservatives, who in the United States would have the courage to suggest that we should not have public education and maintain their political career?

 

However, it should be instructive to note that while half of the platform is truly in force or had been in force in the United States, but also that arguments can easily be made that EVERY part of Marx’s platform is or has been instituted in the United States of America.

 

Certainly someone can say, “C.T. come on man, what are you complaining about. Certainly there are government regulations on many things but that doesn’t mean we’re a communist country. In fact, C.T., adding more laws and regulations will not plunge us into full Communism mode!”

 

That is true, and a fair statement. But my question and overall point is this: At what point would we be considered to be a socialist or communist nation? On a sliding scale, we aren’t at 100% communism/socialism. But where are we on that scale? And if each successive law and regulation move us along closer to that end of the scale, how many more laws do we need to pass? At what point will Conservatives say “enough is enough.” At what point will Liberals, since they claim not to be Communists, also say “stop!”

 

Every year we get closer, some times we take a step back away from that end destination, but nevertheless we are moving towards that ledge. At what point will we see we’re on that path, at what point will we turn back, and if we don’t turn back, at what point will we leap off?

 

Stay sane.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Allison, John A. “The Financial Crisis and the Bank Deregulation Myth.” Dec. 10, 2012. The Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/financial-crisis-bank-deregulation-myth

 

Amadeo, Kimberly. “How Does the Fed Raise or Lower Interest Rates?” June 14, 2017. The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/how-does-the-fed-raise-or-lower-interest-rates-3306127

 

Borowski, Julie. “Top 10 Reasons to End the Federal Reserve.” Feb. 1, 2012. Freedom Works. http://www.freedomworks.org/content/top-10-reasons-end-federal-reserve

 

Feulner, Edward. “US Postal Service: A Government Protected Monopoly.” Sept. 2003. Capitalism Magazine. http://capitalismmagazine.com/2003/09/us-postal-service-a-government-protected-monopoly/

 

Frankel, Matthew. “2016 Estate Tax Rates.” Dec. 18, 2015. The Motley Fool. https://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/12/18/2016-estate-tax-rates.aspx

 

“Historical Average Federal Tax Rates for All Households.” Feb. 13, 2017. Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households

 

“Histories.” Telecommunications History Group. http://www.telcomhistory.org/vm/histories.shtml

 

Kaeding, Nicole. “State Individual Income Tax and Brackets for 2016.” Feb. 8, 2016. Tax Foundation. https://taxfoundation.org/state-individual-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-2016/

 

Kiernan, John S. “2017’s Property Taxes by State.” Mar. 1, 2017. WalletHub. https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585/

 

Kupelian, David. “Bernanke: Federal Reserve Caused Great Depression.” March 19, 2008. World Net Daily. http://www.wnd.com/2008/03/59405/

 

Hansan, J. “Civilian Conservation Corps.” The Social Welfare History Project. 2013. http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps/

 

Heaton, Andrew & Sarah Rose Siskind. “Net Neutrality Nixed: Why John Oliver is Wrong.” May 19, 2017. Reason. http://reason.com/reasontv/2017/05/19/net-neutrality-nixed-why-john-oliver-is

 

Higgs, Robert. “The Welfare State and the Promise of Protection.” Aug. 24, 2009. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/welfare-state-and-promise-protection

 

Ingraham, Christopher. “Since 2007, the DEA has taken $3.2 Billion in Cash From People Not Charged With a Crime.” March 29, 2017. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/29/since-2007-the-dea-has-taken-3-2-billion-in-cash-from-people-not-charged-with-a-crime/?utm_term=.fb2034661978

 

“List of Financial Regulatory Authorities by Country.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_financial_regulatory_authorities_by_country#cite_note-3

 

“List of Recessions in the United States.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States

 

“Map: Median Household Income in the United States: 2015.” Sept. 15, 2016. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2016/comm/cb16-158_median_hh_income_map.html

 

Marx, Karl. ed. Frederic L. Bender. The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1988.

 

Matthews, Dylan. “Everything You Need To Know About the Fairness Doctrine in One Post.” Aug. 23, 2011. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fairness-doctrine-in-one-post/2011/08/23/gIQAN8CXZJ_blog.html?utm_term=.f86e8253a70a

 

McLaughlin, Patrick & Oliver Sherouse. “The McLaughlin-Sherouse List: The 10 Most-Regulated Industries of 2014.” Jan. 21, 2016. Mercatus Center. https://www.mercatus.org/publication/mclaughlin-sherouse-list-10-most-regulated-industries-2014

 

Moss, Ephraim. “Exposing the Hidden Tax Costs of Renouncing US Citizenship.” May 17, 2016. CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/17/exposing-the-hidden-tax-costs-of-renouncing-us-citizenship.html

 

Noah, Timothy. “The Bailout Record.” March 31, 2009. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/trump_s_deregulation_efforts_are_great_for_the_rich.html

 

O’Sullivan, Andrea. “Denmark Proves We Don’t Need the FCC.” April 4, 2017. Reason. http://reason.com/archives/2017/04/04/deregulate-the-fcc

 

Rand, Ayn. ed. Harry Binswanger. The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism From A To Z. New York: Meridian Books. 1988.

 

Randall, James G. “Captured and Abandoned Property During the Civil War.” The American Historical Review. Vol. 19, No. 1. (Oct., 1913). pp. 65-79.

 

Rothbard, Murray N. “The Distinction Between Theory and History.” Jun. 23, 2010. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/distinction-between-theory-and-history

 

Salmond, John A. The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study. “A Day in the CCC.” Durham: Duke University Press. 1967. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/ccc/salmond/chap8.htm

 

Schweikart, Larry & Michael Allen. A Patriot’s History of the United States. New York: Sentinel Books. 2004.

 

Smith, Michael. “Dollar Devaluation since 1913.” Dec. 4, 2015. Compare Gold and Silver Prices. http://www.comparegoldandsilverprices.com/news/economics-101/dollar-devaluation-since-1913/

 

U.S. Census. “Mean Center of Population for the United States: 1790 to 2010.” 2010 Census Results. 2010. http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/cenpop2010/centerpop_mean2010.pdf

 

Vincent, Carol Hardy. et. al. “Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data.” March 3, 2017. Congressional Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf

 

Vranich, Joseph. “Replacing Amtrak.” Oct. 1, 1997. The Reason Foundation. http://reason.org/studies/show/replacing-amtrak

 

“What is the Purpose of the Federal Reserve System?” Nov. 3, 2016. The Federal Reserve. https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_12594.htm

 

“Who Pays Income Taxes.” National Taxpayers Union Foundation. http://www.ntu.org/foundation/page/who-pays-income-taxes

 

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. 2003.

*Note, I am not entirely sure by what is meant by this part of the platform. If any reader can let me know what it means it would be greatly appreciated.

[1] Marx, Karl. ed. Frederic L. Bender. The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1988. pp. 74-75.

[2] Kiernan, John S. “2017’s Property Taxes by State.” Mar. 1, 2017. WalletHub. https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585/

[3] “Map: Median Household Income in the United States: 2015.” Sept. 15, 2016. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2016/comm/cb16-158_median_hh_income_map.html

[4] Vincent, Carol Hardy. et. al. “Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data.” March 3, 2017. Congressional Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf pp. 1, 20, 21.

[5] “Historical Average Federal Tax Rates for All Households.” Feb. 13, 2017. Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households

[6] “Who Pays Income Taxes.” National Taxpayers Union Foundation. http://www.ntu.org/foundation/page/who-pays-income-taxes

[7] Kaeding, Nicole. “State Individual Income Tax and Brackets for 2016.” Feb. 8, 2016. Tax Foundation. https://taxfoundation.org/state-individual-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-2016/

[8] Frankel, Matthew. “2016 Estate Tax Rates.” Dec. 18, 2015. The Motley Fool. https://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/12/18/2016-estate-tax-rates.aspx

[9] Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. 2003. p. 84.

[10] Randall, James G. “Captured and Abandoned Property During the Civil War.” The American Historical Review. Vol. 19, No. 1. (Oct., 1913). p. 65.

[11] Schweikart, Larry & Michael Allen. A Patriot’s History of the United States. New York: Sentinel Books. 2004. pp. 608-609.

[12] Moss, Ephraim. “Exposing the Hidden Tax Costs of Renouncing US Citizenship.” May 17, 2016. CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/17/exposing-the-hidden-tax-costs-of-renouncing-us-citizenship.html

[13] Ingraham, Christopher. “Since 2007, the DEA has taken $3.2 Billion in Cash From People Not Charged With a Crime.” March 29, 2017. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/29/since-2007-the-dea-has-taken-3-2-billion-in-cash-from-people-not-charged-with-a-crime/?utm_term=.fb2034661978

[14] McLaughlin, Patrick & Oliver Sherouse. “The McLaughlin-Sherouse List: The 10 Most-Regulated Industries of 2014.” Jan. 21, 2016. Mercatus Center. https://www.mercatus.org/publication/mclaughlin-sherouse-list-10-most-regulated-industries-2014

[15] “List of Financial Regulatory Authorities by Country.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_financial_regulatory_authorities_by_country#cite_note-3

[16] Allison, John A. “The Financial Crisis and the Bank Deregulation Myth.” Dec. 10, 2012. The Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/financial-crisis-bank-deregulation-myth

[17] “What is the Purpose of the Federal Reserve System?” Nov. 3, 2016. The Federal Reserve. https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_12594.htm

[18] “List of Recessions in the United States.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States

[19] Smith, Michael. “Dollar Devaluation since 1913.” Dec. 4, 2015. Compare Gold and Silver Prices. http://www.comparegoldandsilverprices.com/news/economics-101/dollar-devaluation-since-1913/

[20] Kupelian, David. “Bernanke: Federal Reserve Caused Great Depression.” March 19, 2008. World Net Daily. http://www.wnd.com/2008/03/59405/

[21] Salsman, Richard M. “How Bernanke’s Fed Triggered the Great Recession.” July 17, 2011. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardsalsman/2011/07/17/how-bernankes-fed-triggered-the-great-recession/#522d1b7761d9

[22] Noah, Timothy. “The Bailout Record.” March 31, 2009. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/trump_s_deregulation_efforts_are_great_for_the_rich.html

[23] Amadeo, Kimberly. “How Does the Fed Raise or Lower Interest Rates?” June 14, 2017. The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/how-does-the-fed-raise-or-lower-interest-rates-3306127

[24] Borowski, Julie. “Top 10 Reasons to End the Federal Reserve.” Feb. 1, 2012. Freedom Works. http://www.freedomworks.org/content/top-10-reasons-end-federal-reserve

[25] “Histories.” Telecommunications History Group. http://www.telcomhistory.org/vm/histories.shtml

[26] Rand, Ayn. ed. Harry Binswanger. The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism From A To Z. New York: Meridian Books. 1988. p. 308.

[27] Matthews, Dylan. “Everything You Need To Know About the Fairness Doctrine in One Post.” Aug. 23, 2011. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fairness-doctrine-in-one-post/2011/08/23/gIQAN8CXZJ_blog.html?utm_term=.f86e8253a70a

[28] Heaton, Andrew & Sarah Rose Siskind. “Net Neutrality Nixed: Why John Oliver is Wrong.” May 19, 2017. Reason. http://reason.com/reasontv/2017/05/19/net-neutrality-nixed-why-john-oliver-is

[29] O’Sullivan, Andrea. “Denmark Proves We Don’t Need the FCC.” April 4, 2017. Reason. http://reason.com/archives/2017/04/04/deregulate-the-fcc

[30] Feulner, Edward. “US Postal Service: A Government Protected Monopoly.” Sept. 2003. Capitalism Magazine. http://capitalismmagazine.com/2003/09/us-postal-service-a-government-protected-monopoly/

[31] Vranich, Joseph. “Replacing Amtrak.” Oct. 1, 1997. The Reason Foundation. http://reason.org/studies/show/replacing-amtrak

[32] Schweikart. p. 564.

[33] Higgs, Robert. “The Welfare State and the Promise of Protection.” Aug. 24, 2009. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/welfare-state-and-promise-protection

[34] Hansan, J. “Civilian Conservation Corps.” The Social Welfare History Project. 2013. http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps/

[35] Salmond, John A. The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study. “A Day in the CCC.” Durham: Duke University Press. 1967. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/ccc/salmond/chap8.htm

[36] Rothbard, Murray N. “The Distinction Between Theory and History.” Jun. 23, 2010. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/distinction-between-theory-and-history

[37] U.S. Census. “Mean Center of Population for the United States: 1790 to 2010.” 2010 Census Results. 2010. http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/cenpop2010/centerpop_mean2010.pdf

7/11/17–Post #4: The Inheritors

 

“It is We who give life and death; it is We who inherit everything.”

            The Qur’an 15:23

 

On November 7, 2004 American and British forces surrounded the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The very next day they began Operation Phantom Fury and shelled the city. After the initial artillery bombardment, the Coalition forces entered the city and engaged in sweep and clear operations. The coalition forces were sent to secure the city from Iraqi insurgents and other Islamist forces that had controlled the city since April of that year. For the next month there was intense house-to-house fighting as the Coalition forces worked to secure the city. Roughly 100 Coalition soldiers were killed with 600 wounded, the Insurgents lost roughly 1,500 men and an estimated 800 civilians were killed.[1] It was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. Though it has been a decade since the battle ended, the people of Fallujah continue to suffer under the specter of war.

Dr. Christopher Busby in a July 2010 report claimed that there had been a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in Fallujah since the 2004 attack.[2] In August of 2002 there were 530 births in Fallujah, 6 died and only one baby was seriously deformed. This statistic is unfavorably compared with birth rates five years after Operation Phantom Fury. In September 2009, 170 children were born; 24% of these babies died within a week, 75% of them showed deformities, the most egregious of which was a child born with two heads.[3] Between May and August of 2010 there were 547 babies born in Fallujah. A study conducted by Dr. Samira Abdul Ghani with the Fallujah General Hospital found that 15% of these babies had serious birth defects. 11% of them were born premature with less than 30 weeks of gestation; at the same time 14% of fetuses spontaneously aborted.[4] Ever since the end of the siege there has been 15% drop in the birth of boys, off-setting the standard gender ratio previously observed in Fallujah.[5] Dr. Samira Alani of Fallujah General Hospital told Al-Jazeera that, “We have all kinds of birth defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine.”[6] Since 2009 Dr. Alani has personally logged over 699 cases of birth defects.[7] According to Dr. Alani, the birth defect rate of Fallujah is 7 times that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[8] These increases of birth defects and child cancer rates are not solely limited to Fallujah. In what some Iraqi doctors have called “The White Death,” there has been a massive increase in birth defects and cancers all over Iraq since the 2003 invasion.[9] Lawrence Smallman reported an “explosive increase in leukemia among all ages” in Baghdad.[10] These increases are both statistically significant and troubling; doctors from around the world are scrambling to find out what would cause such a spike in such a short amount of time. Environmental Toxicologist Mozhgan Savabieasfahani stated that, “we suspect that the population is chronically exposed to an environmental agent, we don’t know what that environmental factor is, but we are doing more tests to find out.”[11]

At this point in time there is no definite cause for these defects, however, activists and toxicologists strongly suspect that the use of certain weapons systems by the United States military may be the causal factor. In particular, both white phosphorous and Depleted Uranium were prevalently used in Fallujah.

Depleted Uranium (DU) is a bi-product of the uranium enrichment process wherein U is separated from U; largely comprising the latter, DU has many civilian and military uses.[12] In particular, DU has been used to enhance the armor piercing capabilities of various munitions. Described as “steel-penetrating arrows,” DU is 2.4 times denser than iron and proved to be more effective than other metals, like Tungsten, at piercing armor.[13] DU ordnance is generally chambered for 20, 25, and 30 mm cannons; typically for gunships, attack helicopters, fighter jets, and for machine guns equipped to armored ground vehicles like the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the M113 armored personnel carrier. These types of ground vehicles, equipped with DU ordnance, were used in close conjunction with ground troops in Fallujah for fire support.

Much of the scientific literature on DU does not consider soil, water, or dermatological exposure to DU to be of any particular danger, rather “inhalation of dust is considered the major pathway for DU exposure both in combat and non-combat situations.”[14] DU ordnance creates dust when the ammunition strikes hard targets, “the heavier the armor, the more aerosol will form as the DU penetrator expends its kinetic energy piercing the armor.”[15] The second major pathway for exposure is through wounds inflicted by DU ordnance. If a piece of DU is left embedded in a person it can cause perennial radioactive exposure, and because it is a slow solubizing metal it can mean that “several years after the war, blood and urine levels of uranium are elevated by up to two orders of magnitude.”[16] It is of particular interest to note that many American veterans of the First Gulf War were found to have elevated uranium levels in their urine several years after that war.[17] This has been key evidence by activists to support the existence of “Gulf War Syndrome” caused by DU.

DU ordnance was first used in combat during the First Gulf War, in the build up to that war an internal document of Britain’s Atomic Energy Authority was leaked. That document, in essence, stated that, “if the DU fired by US tanks during the 1991 war was inhaled, it could potentially cause 500,000 deaths. It added that it would be unwise for people to stay close to large quantities of DU.”[18] DU was further used in the NATO intervention in Kosovo in the late 1990s, and just as in Iraq there have been allegations of significant increases in cancer and birth defects in the Balkans.[19] The question of DU’s lethality and effects on civilian populations has not been fully investigated, however the increases of cancers and birth defects in both Iraq and Kosovo have raised significant concerns. Dr. Keith Baverstock, the World Health Organization’s chief expert on radiation and health, is one such scientist who ascribes lethal after effects to DU. In the late 1990s he alleged that his research on the subject was  “deliberately suppressed.”[20] In the years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq it is estimated that around 1,700 tons of Depleted Uranium has been used in Iraq since 2003.[21] While the use of DU tank shells has been shelved, the use of DU penetrators for large caliber cannons on medium and light vehicles have continued and was used to devastating effects in Fallujah. Ross Caputi, a former Marine who participated in Operation Phantom Fury, founded “The Justice for Fallujah Project” following the staggering statistics of birth defects in the city. Caputi alleges that American ground forces in Fallujah engaged the enemy with “indiscriminate weapons and indiscriminate tactics.”[22] He cited the use of White Phospherous as well as such tactics as “reconnaissance by fire.” Caputi explains this tactic thusly: “if you don’t know if there are fighters or anybody else in a house you fire into the house. Then if you hear, y’know, screaming…then you can be sure that there are people in there and we would probably assume they were combatants.”[23] Caputi alleges that this was standard operating procedure for the three weeks of the battle.

It is reasonable to speculate that such tactics over the course of three weeks of battle would produce massive amounts of DU dust as well as many wounds caused by DU tipped ammunition. Further, Caputi claims that “there were 50,000 civilians still in the city” at the time of the siege.[24] If this is true then that could mean that thousands of people had been directly exposed to dust created by DU ordnance. Only a few studies have been conducted upon the reproductive effects of DU, however a number of studies have been conducted on male uranium miners. It was found that there were fewer boys born to these miners than would have been predicted; likewise there have been “unexpected rates of chromosomal instabilities and alterations of hormone levels were also found in uranium miners.”[25] Other studies conducted on mice found that embryotoxic effects “would be attributable to a direct consequence of uranium-induced maternal toxicity.”[26] All of these causal links brought together it there is much evidence that the use of DU and other weapons in the course of Operation Phantom Fury has caused a society wide poisoning in Fallujah and other Iraqi cities. A poisoning of not only the current generation, but for generations yet unborn. If these allegations prove to be true, the fallout of these weapons would be one of the worst environmental injustices of our time.

If the allegations are true and this is an injustice, there is a problem of actually acknowledging it as an injustice. Unfortunately some of the more prominent conceptions of justice (i.e. Mill’s Utilitarianism and Rawls’s Distributive Justice) are not well equipped to address questions of justice in the international arena, let alone in times of war. Iris Marion Young in her seminal work, Responsibility for Justice observed this problem acutely:

[the] scope of obligations of justice is defined by membership in a common political community. On this account, people have obligations of justice only to other people with whom they live together under a common constitution, or whom they recognize as belonging to the same nation as themselves.[27]

 

This is a severe limitation upon what can be analyzed and considered within a framework of justice. It seems that if we are to have a consistent conception of justice it ought to be capable of handling even the most perverse of situations, it ought to include acts that occur across borders and acts within the context of war. It is folly to contain our analysis of justice to just within the borders of liberal democratic societies. As Young observes aptly, “Nation-state membership is somewhat arbitrary from a moral point of view; political communities have evolved in contingent ways that derive more from power struggle than from moral right.”[28]

Young wrote extensively about what she terms Structural Injustice, i.e. the injustices that arise out of the various interactions of many people acting towards their own self-interest. These individuals operate within the bounds of the law and often within the bounds of traditional morality, and yet these interactions often allow for injustices to take place. While no one person is to blame for these injustices, nevertheless all those who operate within the system that causes such injustice are responsible for said injustice. As Young writes, “those agents who contribute to the structural processes that produce injustice share responsibility for remedying that injustice.”[29] This is not constrained to one’s own community, or town, or country. Rather these interactions branch out wherever there is social interaction. She writes, “An agent’s responsibility for justice is not restricted to those close by or to those in the same nation-state as oneself, if one participates in social structural processes that connect one to others far away and outside those jurisdictions.”[30]

It is paramount, if we are to use Young’s framework, to demonstrate in what way the birth defects in Fallujah can be linked to a structural cause. DU ordnance has been in use since the late 1980s, it is the ammunition of choice for NATO and the United States. These weapon systems are produced by a handful of well-connected private corporations. Corporations like Honeywell, General Dynamics, and Alliant Tech Systems are among the largest producers of arms in the world. Another corporation, ATK is “the largest provider of ammunition to the U.S. military and its allies” and is able to produce up to 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition every year.[31] These companies are offered contracts by the United States valued at hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and among the weapons systems they produce are DU ordnance and the weapons to fire them. The people who work at these corporations profit greatly from the production of weapons systems; they receive money from congressmen that we have elected and keep in office, further the money that is granted to these corporations comes directly from the taxpayers themselves. Furthermore, the people who work at these arms manufacturing companies likewise live and operate within a wider civil society, they buy groceries, go to movies, got to dinner, they have their buildings air conditioned, they have access to internet and phone services, they utilize health and child-care. They utilize all of these institutions and more within the civil society, all the while coming into contact with many other people who help support their ways of life.

They operate within the bounds of the legal system, they do not do so with any underlying malice, rather they think of themselves as helping defend the country they love; they themselves did not intend for their weapons to adversely affect civilians nor did they themselves deploy these weapons. And yet, through their actions, and consequently the actions of others in society, the evidence seems clear that they have massively contributed to an environmental and health crisis in Fallujah and other cities in Iraq. While we all share some form of responsibility for this, it seems that these weapons manufacturers hold the lion’s share of the responsibility. As Young writes, “An agent’s position…carries with it a specific degree of potential or actual power or influence over processes that produce the outcomes…Their being privileged usually means, moreover, that they are able to change their habits or make extra efforts without suffering serious deprivation.”[32] The executives of these companies have the option to fund further testing of the embryotoxicological effects of DU, and yet they do not. They have the option to use other heavy metals that are less effective but are not linked to such dangerous effects on entire populations and yet they do not. Similarly, we as a society continue to vote for representatives who fund these corporations and do not ask for more comprehensive studies about the effects of these weapons systems. We do not petition for these corporations to conduct said studies, and we continue to operate in a civil society with the members of these corporations.

In a similar vein, the victims themselves have a responsibility for their victimization. Young writes, “victims of injustice should take some responsibility for challenging the structures that produce it. It is they who know the most of the harms they suffer, and thus it is up to them, though not them alone, to broadcast their situation and call it injustice.”[33] Unfortunately, due to socio-political factors, the people of Iraq who have suffered these defects have not done much to broadcast their grievances. Often it is only a minority of educated Iraqis or Western activists who make these issues known. Of course this is to be expected due to the poverty of Iraqi society and the ongoing civil war, however, according to Young, if these defects are truly an injustice then it is their responsibility to do more to raise awareness. Even if that is all they are able to do that is their responsibility. Just as it is my responsibility to write this paper.

However, scientists or activists have still not settled one key question. There is no definitive proof that Depleted Uranium is the source of these troubling increases in birth defects and childhood cancers. If anything, almost all of the scientific literature agrees that Depleted Uranium has very limited pathways into the human body. Most of the literature agrees that, “inhalation of dust is considered the major pathway for DU exposure both in combat and non-combat situations.”[34] Because of this, DU has relatively little radiological effects in ground soil, water, or food exposure. Whatever radiological exposure occurred in Fallujah, it would have had to occur in the midst of combat, the DU rounds creating dust as they struck hard targets (i.e. armor, concrete). In a similar vein, there have been few studies conducted upon the effects DU has upon reproduction and fetuses. What studies have been conducted are not conclusive. Because of these factors, no one can say for certain that DU is the direct cause of these birth defects. As Dr. Savabieasfahani said, “we don’t know what that environmental factor is, but we are doing more tests to find out.”[35]

While this is a severe limitation in calculating if this case is unjust, one could utilize the precautionary principle to find if the use of DU is unjust. The Precautionary Principle as expounded in the 1992 Rio Declaration holds that: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”[36] The fact that DU ordnance has been in use for over two decades, in several conflicts, without any reasonable study into the potential birth defects and other profound health affects shows incredible irresponsibility on the part of decision makers and weapons manufacturers. Before DU can justifiably be used in combat operations these studies must be conducted, it must be proved that these weapons do not cause the harms that are alleged. Further, it is neither upon the public nor the affected parties to prove whether or not these weapons have these effects. According to the 1998 Wingspread Declaration, “the proponent of [such] an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof.” [37] It is paramount for the safety of civilian populations, particularly the safety of unborn children, that these weapons be fully studied before they are used in future combat operations.

“We who share responsibility ought to take action,” writes Young, we should not be blamed or found at fault for the injustice we contribute to, and we should not be blamed or found at fault for what we do to try to rectify injustice, even if we do not succeed…We also have a right and an obligation to criticize the others with whom we share responsibility.”[38] The damage has been done in Fallujah, it would be nearly impossible to rectify the birth defects and the cancers, similarly it would be impossible to repair whatever genetic damage has been done to prevent future birth defects. However, Young’s conception of justice is to be forward looking, it is to be about finding a resolution and not a restitution. One thing that can be done, utilizing both Young’s framework and the precautionary principle, is to demand that further studies be conducted upon the effects of DU on reproductive health. To demand that these weapons never be used until it is proved beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not these birth defects are caused by DU dust. This is the most that we can do, to work so that DU is not used in future combat operations, to work so that generations yet unborn will not be genetically compromised. The very least that we can do is to raise awareness for the plight of the babies of Fallujah.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done to restore the genetic integrity of the people of Fallujah. At this moment in time DU cannot be proven to be the direct cause of these birth defects; regardless these birth defects have occurred and there is an apparent environmental factor. Even if DU is not the culprit of these birth defects, these weapons were still used to destroy key infrastructure within the country and to destabilize the country as a whole. The children of Fallujah have inherited a bleak future. They have inherited a genetic pool that has been deeply compromised; they have inherited a poisoned society.    

Works Cited

 

 

Bleise, A. et. al. “Properties, Use and Health Effects of Depleted Uranium (DU): A General Overview.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. (2003); 64.

 

Chulov, Martin. “Research Links Rise in Falluja Birth Defects and Cancers to US Assault.” The Guardian. (Dec. 30, 2010). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/30/faulluja-birth-defects-iraq?guni=Article:in%20body%20link Accessed March 7, 2014.

 

“Depleted Uranium in Kosovo: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment.” UNEP Scientific Mission to Kosovo. International Atomic Energy Agency. (Nov. 5-19, 2000). http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/features/du/finalreport.pdf Accessed May 1, 2014.

 

Di Salvo, C.J. Pereira and Leigh Raymond. “Defining the Precautionary Principle: An Empirical Analysis of Elite Discourse.” Environmental Politics. 19.1 (Feb. 2010).

 

Domingo, Jose L. “Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity of Natural and Depleted Uranium: A Review.” Reproductive Toxicology. (2001); 15.

 

Gordon, J.D. “Al-Qaeda Retakes Fallujah.” The Washington Times. (Jan. 6, 2014). http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/6/gordon-from-guantanamo-to-the-battlefield/?page=all Accessed Apr. 5, 2014.

 

Al-Hadithi, Tariq et al. “Birth Defects in Iraq and the Plausibility of Environmental Exposure: A Review.” Conflict and Health. (2012) 6:3.

 

Ismael, Shereen T. “The Cost of War: The Children of Iraq.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies. (Spring 2007) 38:2.

 

Jamall, Dahr. “Fallujah Babies: Under A New Kind of Siege.” Al-Jazeera. (Jan. 6, 2012). http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/01/2012126394859797.html Accessed March 6, 2014.

 

Karon, Tony. “The Grim Calculations of Retaking Fallujah.” Time. (Nov. 8, 2004). http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,768590,00.html Accessed March 7, 2014.

 

Katsuma, Yagasaki. “Depleted Uranium Shells, The Radioactive Weapons: Perpetuation of War Damage by Radiation.” World Uranium Weapons Conference, University of The Ryukyus. (August 2003). http://www.ratical.org/radiation/DU/KYagasakiOnDU.pdf

 

Lee, Eloise and Robert Johnson. “The 25 Biggest Defense Companies in America.”  Business Insider. (Mar. 13, 2012). http://www.businessinsider.com/top-25-us-defense-companies-2012-2?op=1 Accessed April 16, 2014.

 

Molyneux, Stefan. “The Truth About How the US Will Save Syria.” (Sept. 6, 2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NIOthWsjk Accessed May 2, 2014.

 

The Qur’an. M.A.S. Abdel Haleem trans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010.

 

“Ten Years Later: Feeling the Effects.” Huff Post Live. (April 18, 2013). http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/toxic-fallout-in-fallujah/516ee568fe344406360002ac Accessed March 6, 2014.

 

Young, Iris Marion. Responsibility for Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2011.

 

 

[1] Karon, Tony. “The Grim Calculations of Retaking Fallujah.” Time. (Nov. 8, 2004). http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,768590,00.html Accessed March 7, 2014.

[2] Jamall, Dahr. “Fallujah Babies: Under A New Kind of Siege.” Al-Jazeera. (Jan. 6, 2012). http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/01/2012126394859797.html Accessed March 6, 2014.

[3] Al-Hadithi, Tariq et al. “Birth Defects in Iraq and the Plausibility of Environmental Exposure: A Review.” Conflict and Health. (2012) 6:3. p. 5.

[4] Chulov, Martin. “Research Links Rise in Falluja Birth Defects and Cancers to US Assault.” The Guardian. (Dec. 30, 2010). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/30/faulluja-birth-defects-iraq?guni=Article:in%20body%20link Accessed March 7, 2014.

[5] Chulov. “Research Links Rise in Falluja Birth Defects and Cancers to US Assault.”

[6] Jamall. “Fallujah Babies: Under A New Kind of Siege.”

[7] Jamall. “Fallujah Babies: Under A New Kind of Siege.”

[8] Jamall. “Fallujah Babies: Under A New Kind of Siege.”

[9] Molyneux, Stefan. “The Truth About How the US Will Save Syria.” (Sept. 6, 2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NIOthWsjk Accessed May 2, 2014.

[10] Ismael, Shereen T. “The Cost of War: The Children of Iraq.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies. (Spring 2007) 38:2. p. 340.

[11] Chulov. “Research Links Rise in Falluja Birth Defects and Cancers to US Assault.”

[12] Bleise, A. et. al. “Properties, Use and Health Effects of Depleted Uranium (DU): A General Overview.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. (2003); 64. p. 94.

[13] Katsuma, Yagasaki. “Depleted Uranium Shells, The Radioactive Weapons: Perpetuation of War Damage by Radiation.” World Uranium Weapons Conference, University of The Ryukyus. (August 2003). http://www.ratical.org/radiation/DU/KYagasakiOnDU.pdf p. 2.

[14] Bleise. p. 101.

[15] Bleise. p. 101.

[16] Bleise. p. 102.

[17] Domingo, Jose L. “Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity of Natural and Depleted Uranium: A Review.” Reproductive Toxicology. (2001); 15. p. 604.

[18] Ismael. p. 340.

[19] “Depleted Uranium in Kosovo: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment.” UNEP Scientific Mission to Kosovo. International Atomic Energy Agency. (Nov. 5-19, 2000). http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/features/du/finalreport.pdf Accessed May 1, 2014.

[20] Ismael. p. 343.

[21] Ismael. p. 341.

[22] “Ten Years Later: Feeling the Effects.” Huff Post Live. (April 18, 2013). http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/toxic-fallout-in-fallujah/516ee568fe344406360002ac Accessed March 6, 2014.

[23] “Ten Years Later: Feeling the Effects.”

[24] “Ten Years Later: Feeling the Effects.”

[25] Domingo. p. 606.

[26] Domingo. p. 606.

[27] Young, Iris Marion. Responsibility for Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2011. p. 133.

[28] Young. p. 136.

[29] Young. p. 140.

[30] Young. p. 141.

[31] Lee, Eloise and Robert Johnson. “The 25 Biggest Defense Companies in America.”  Business Insider. (Mar. 13, 2012). http://www.businessinsider.com/top-25-us-defense-companies-2012-2?op=1 Accessed April 16, 2014.

[32] Young. p. 142-143.

[33] Young. p. 143.

[34] Bleise, A. et. al. “Properties, Use and Health Effects of Depleted Uranium (DU): A General Overview.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. (2003); 64.  p. 101.

[35] Chulov. “Research Links Rise in Falluja Birth Defects and Cancers to US Assault.”

[36] Di Salvo, C.J. Pereira and Leigh Raymond. “Defining the Precautionary Principle: An Empirical Analysis of Elite Discourse.” Environmental Politics. 19.1 (Feb. 2010). p. 88.

[37] Di Salvo. p. 88.

[38] Young. p. 141.

7/10/17–Post #3: A Reflection upon the Fourth of July (And I promise it won’t be as long-winded as the Trump post).

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: ‘tis dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”[1]

-Thomas Paine, “The Crisis Number 1,” 1776.

 

On July 3^rd my wife and I went and saw the fireworks hosted by my home town, due to the way that calendars work (a science that still mystifies me even though I have a history degree) Independence Day was on a Tuesday this year and as such the authorities of our town sanctioned that the fireworks will commence the night before the actual day. Thankfully we live less than a mile away from the event which meant that we did not have to deal with the nightmare of traffic and dealing with parking (how dare other people join us in the celebration of the United States’ independence). Due to this we were able to directly benefit two families from our church and managed to find spots to watch the show within 40 feet or so of where they deployed the fireworks.

 

As we watched the rockets shoot into the sky to explode into brilliant colors of green, white, blue, red, and yellow; as the smells of sulfur and potassium nitrate drifted in the wind with the smoke; as we listened to the booming explosions (intentionally meant to simulate the sounds of war); I felt very somber.

 

Independence Day for years has filled me with mixed emotions.

 

Pride and sadness.

 

Hope and despair.

 

I have felt this way for many years and each year July 4^th and the days around that date are a time for reflection for myself, as well as a time for reflection for all Americans and liberty loving people everywhere. Perhaps I am not alone in this but part of my reflection and meditation is watching videos and documentaries not only about the time period involved but also the larger ideas involved in the holiday. Some of the videos that I believe to be required viewing for many Americans can be found in this citation.[2]

 

But in particular I tend to watch and re-watch this video produced by all groups a video game developer:

 

Perhaps the video itself is not the most intellectual of videos regarding the American Revolution, perhaps it can be seen as a fluff piece solely for the purpose of marketing a video game. That is all true. But at the same time it does bring a tear to my eye, thinking about the risks that were involved in the fight for American independence.

 

The dangers that so many risked to their reputations, their economic standings, their homes, and their very lives. As Benjamin Franklin put in his wry fashion, “We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”[4] We tend to focus upon the people who were in leadership positions in telling the stories of the past, this applies to the American Revolution as well as every other historical narrative. We tend to focus upon the personalities of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. We tend to focus upon the Founding Fathers as we have now taken to calling them in American culture. The personalities and the actions of these men are certainly important and I will certainly reference them and quote them as this blog post goes on, but what I appreciate so much about that video; a commercial for a not very good Ubisoft video game; is that it briefly puts the conflict as a whole into perspective. For a very similar reason I do enjoy the film The Patriot, despite its historical inaccuracy; the final battle scene is particularly powerful.[5]

 

It was not just the Founding Fathers as we call them that fought and bled and died between 1775-1783. 80,000 Americans joined the Continental Army and the various state militias during the war, of that 25,000 of them died during the war; 8,000 of which died from wounds that they suffered during battle; 25,000 more were wounded during the war itself.[6] It seems easy to just say the word “wounded” and leave it at that; words like that tend to mask what is actually meant. Musket balls to the gut, to the arms and legs. Being stabbed with a bayonet. Having arms and legs sawed off with unclean, possibly rusted, bone saws with only a swig of whiskey as anesthetic. And if you are very, very lucky perhaps you will not get an infection from your most recent “medical procedure.” If you do get an infection all that you have are your prayers and the grace of the Good Lord to prevent you from succumbing.

 

Roughly 20,000 Americans were captured as Prisoners of War during the Revolutionary war.[7] Because the question of prisoners was a difficult issue for both sides to solve, the British held many American prisoners on various Prison Ships. On the HMS Jersey in particular roughly 1,000 men were kept on board in the ship’s hold. There they faced not only torture and abuse but also diseases like Small Pox, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and dysentery as well as continued starvation. Roughly a dozen men died every night on this one ship. Overall, some 11,000 prisoners died on these kinds of ships over the course of the war.[8]

 

Americans from all walks of life faced daily dangers in not only serving in the Continental Army but also in supporting the American Independence Movement.

 

And what did they fight and die and suffer for?

 

That is an aspect that many Americans do not consider to this day. For many Americans the Fourth of July is nothing more than an excuse for a 3-Day Weekend and a barbecue. Historical ignorance is a problem for most of the world, but the historical ignorance about the American Revolution on the part of LIVING BREATHING AMERICANS is particularly disturbing.[9]

 

We all know the slogans (or at least I hope that we all know, the previous citation puts that very much in doubt) around the Revolution. “No taxation without representation,” “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” But very rarely, especially outside of a classroom, do we delve into what those ideas meant. It is truly a shame; Holidays, after all, are not merely meant for times of celebration, but also for reflection.

 

Ultimately if you boil down all of the rhetoric and actions during the American Revolution you will find a number of fundamental principles that made the American Revolution so categorically different from all others and that made the United States, for a time, the freest country on the face of the earth.

 

These are: 1. The rights and dignity of individual human beings is tantamount. 2. Governments are inherently dangerous and if we are to have them at all they must be strictly limited. And 3. Institutions of power are dangerous for any individual to hold yet alone utilize.

 

These are the three ideas that are at the heart of the American experiment, both in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution itself.

 

To be fair the American Revolutionaries did not invent these ideas out of whole cloth. Historians time and time again have correctly noted the influence of philosophers like John Locke and Montesquieu upon American colonies; they had such an influence over the Founding Fathers that one historian asserted that “Jefferson copied Locke.”[10] Perhaps the most famous and justified instance of plagiarism ever. Over a century before the American Revolution for instance John Winthrop addressed the Massachusetts General Court thusly:

 

“I entreat you to consider, that when you choose magistrates, you take them from among yourselves, men subject to like passions as you are. Therefore when you see infirmities in us, you should reflect upon your own….”[11]

 

142 years later his great-great-great-grandson James Winthrop had very similar things to say on the subject of government authority and the dangers therein. Under the pen name “Agrippa” he wrote:

 

“no extensive empire can be governed upon republican principles, and that such a government will degenerate to a despotism, unless it be made up of a confederacy of smaller states, each having the full powers of internal regulation. This is precisely the principle which has hitherto preserved our freedom….The experience of all mankind has proved the prevalence of a disposition to use power wantonly. It is therefore as necessary to defend an individual against the majority in a republic as against the king in a monarchy.”[12] (emphasis added).

 

This trend of not trusting government, particularly a large government, was present in the American colonies for over a century before the Revolution, was present during the Revolution, and very much after the Revolution. What is of interest to note that the Founding Fathers were all very much in favor of a republic as the ideal form of government. Both Federalists and Anti-Federalists took time to criticize not only the dangers of monarchism but as well as the dangers of democracy.

 

James Madison in Federalist Number 48:

 

“In a government where numerous and extensive prerogatives are placed in the hands of an hereditary monarch, the executive department is very justly regarded as the source of danger, and watched with all the jealousy which a zeal of liberty ought to inspire. In a democracy, where a multitude of people exercise in person the legislative functions and are continually exposed, by their incapacity for regular deliberation and concerted measures, to the ambitious intrigues of their executive magistrates, tyranny may well be apprehended, on some favorable emergency, to start up in the same quarter.”[13] (emphasis added).

 

During the Constitutional Conventions on June 18 the Anti-Federalists noted: “Give all power to the many, they will oppress the few. Both therefore ought to have power, that each may defend itself against the other.”[14] In the Fifth Cato Letter published on November 27, 1787 the author argues against the ratification of the new Constitution by comparing the office of the presidency to that of a monarchy: “if you adopt this government, you will incline to an arbitrary and odious aristocracy or monarchy—that the president possessed of the power, given him by this frame of government differs but very immaterially from the establishment of monarchy in Great Britain…”[15]

 

The Founding Fathers were deeply, deeply concerned with the powers of governments of any kind; in particular they were concerned with the abuse of such power. As Thomas Jefferson said in 1807, “History, in general, only informs us what bad government is.”[16] John Adams held similar sentiments: “The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.”[17] It is of interest to note that though Jefferson and Adams would become bitter political rivals and actively slander each other on nearly a daily basis, they nevertheless agreed upon the issue of government power and its abuse.

 

The United States was founded upon the ideals of small government and individual liberty. As Russian author and immigrant to the United States Ayn Rand wrote:

 

“America’s founding ideal was the principle of individual rights. Nothing more—and nothing less. The rest—everything that America achieved, everything she became, everything ‘noble and just,’ and heroic, and great, and unprecedented inhuman history—was the logical consequence of fidelity to that one principle. The first consequence was the principle of political freedom, i.e., an individual’s freedom from physical compulsion, coercion or interference by the government. The next was the economic implementation of political freedom: the system of capitalism.”[18]

 

These are the things that fill me with pride and hope. These are the reasons why watching the fireworks and hearing the “Star Spangled Banner” and watching The Patriot and a “silly” advertisement for a sub par AAA video game brings a tear to my eye every year. When I reflect upon the men and women who fought and bled and suffered, the thousands who wasted away on the prison ships. When I think of the 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”[19] When I think of all of those who defied the largest empire in the world with the largest and most well trained military, supplemented by highly trained mercenaries; when I think of the untrained colonial farmers fighting against the world, outmanned and outgunned and without hope. They fought and died with little to no chance for survival let alone victory….and won. As the villain in the historically inaccurate film The Patriot put it, “Quite impressive for a farmer with a pitchfork, wouldn’t you say?”[20]

 

When I think of all of these factors, and the nation and the ideals that our forefathers bequeathed unto us it fills me with immense pride.

 

But at the same time that my mind turns over the amazing story of the American Revolution, the radical ideas that they presented, and the seemingly providential nature of it all; my mind invariably turns to sadness and despair. Both emotions seem to revolve around the question: “Would they be proud of us today?”

 

I believe whole-heartedly that the answer would be “No.”

 

It seems that every step that the succeeding generations have taken after the American Revolution have been an ever-progressing frog march into the morass of tyranny. A tyranny that we have brought upon ourselves in the country that we inherited; and worse, a tyranny that we have proclaimed to be a liberation while bastardizing the legacies of the men who fought so hard 241 years ago.

 

To fully document every step of this march to the cliff’s edge would require a book length examination, but I have committed to limiting myself as much as I can and I will do my best to maintain that commitment.

 

Very early on in the nation’s history the ideas that motivated the Revolution itself began to be violated. The Anti-Federalists, for instance, argued very strongly against the ratification of the Constitution on the grounds that it would constitute a betrayal of the government sought in the Revolution. George Washington himself lead an army to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion after many farmers in Pennsylvania refused to pay taxes in the new currency. The passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 under John Adams made “it a crime to say or write anything ‘false, scandalous and malicious’ against the government, Congress, or the President, with intent to defame them, bring them into disrepute, or excite popular hatreds against them.”[21] It is of interest to note, as Zinn does not, that the Act only applied to the President and Congress and did not mention the Vice-President, meaning that anyone could write what they wanted about the Vice-President. At the time the Vice President was the runner up in the presidential election and was Thomas Jefferson who opposed John Adams’ policies.

 

This is not to excuse Thomas Jefferson’s presidency whatsoever, the Third President conducted the largest land transaction in American history, The Louisiana Purchase, without Congressional Approval.

 

You have Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, conducing a war without Congressional approval, suspending the right of Habeas Corpus, and jailing the editors of newspapers that criticized his policies. But perhaps that is a topic deserving of more detail in a different post.

 

Theodore Roosevelt’s attitudes towards the role of the presidency and of war in making the character of a nation as well as his strong man vision of leadership.[22] Teddy Roosevelt is probably the closest thing to a father of what has been called the “Imperial Presidency,” but that is a topic that deserves more attention at another time.

 

Woodrow Wilson authorizing the Federal Reserve, instituting the Selective Service Act, and arguably most egregiously signing the Espionage Act in June of 1917 which held that “Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the U.S….” An act that sent thousands of people who were against U.S. involvement in World War One to prison, including presidential candidate Eugene Debbs.[23] Along with that, Wilson’s creation of a command economy under the War Industries Board, a series of policy that Jonah Goldberg in his book Liberal Fascists characterized as “War Socialism.”

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is arguably the closest thing that the United States has had to a dictator, taking the legacies of his uncle and Wilson several steps further. He represented a radical shift in the relationship between the powers of the federal government and the freedoms of individual citizens, particularly in the realm of economic freedom. He did so regularly utilizing the logic of a war-time state in the midst of peace time, for instance on his first day of office he declared a banking holiday invoking the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, “Roosevelt declared that “all banking transactions shall be suspended.” Banks were permitted to reopen only after case-by-case inspection and approval by the government, a procedure that dragged on for months. This action heightened the public’s sense of crisis and allowed him to ignore traditional restraints on the power of the central government.”[24] FDR effectively cartelized vast swaths of industries under the National Recovery Administration, establishing strict price controls on nearly everything from the price of shirts to the wages that people were allowed to bring home. The NRA approved and administered 557 basic and 189 supplementary regulatory codes that covered 95% of all industrial employees.[25] Because of these price controls businesses oftentimes offered to cover their employee’s health insurance in lieu of a pay raises, effectively giving us our modern day health care system.[26] FDR effectively nationalized or cartelized certain segments of the economy under the Blue Eagle of the NRA, while also establishing the Civillian Conservation Corps an organization of government structured laborers who were all dressed in old military uniforms and took instructions from former military officers. With Executive Order 6102 in April of 1933 FDR made it illegal for the average American citizen to own gold bullion stating, “I, Franklin D. Roosevelt…do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and…do hereby prohibit the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States by individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations…”[27] If a citizen did not hand over their gold to federal authorities as they swept the country, that citizen could face up to ten years in federal prison as well as a fine worth twice the amount that they did not turn over.[28] This is only skimming the surface of all that FDR did during his presidency, but when the Supreme Court consistently struck down the laws and regulations that Roosevelt wanted to pursue, he invariably strong armed them into compliance; by threatening to water down the role of the Supreme Court by doubling the number of justices on the bench, he essentially turned the Supreme Court into a rubber stamp the same way that Congress acquiesced to everything that Roosevelt wanted to do.[29] All of this was done and more while at the same time FDR broke the century old tradition of only serving two terms, being elected 5 times in a row.

 

These are relatively old examples of the encroachment of government power upon the lives of every day Americans. I will not at this time go into detail on the continuing encroachments through World War II, the Cold War, the Clinton Era, the Bush Era, or the Obama Era (these are subjects that all deserve individual blog posts).

Without going into too much specific detail let us look at the state of freedom in the United States in the modern day.

 

According to the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom Hong Kong was the Freest country in the World. The United States, the land of the free, the shining city on the hill was…17^th.[30]

 

17^th….

There are so many federal laws on the books that on average every American citizen commits three felonies every single day, largely without knowing they are doing so.[1] The Federal Register is published every year and contains every Federal Law that is currently in effect. In 1936 the Federal Register was 2,620 pages long, in 2012 the Federal Register was 78,961 pages long.[2] To put this in perspective one of the longest novels ever written is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, that book is 1,168 pages long. Atlas Shrugged fits into the Federal Register 67.6 times. Atlas Shrugged is roughly 50 hours long in audio format, so if you wanted to sit down and read the Federal Register for the year of 2012 it would take you 3,380 hours to complete. 140 days if you read continuously every hour of every day. And that is for the year of 2012, every year there are more and more laws added to the Federal Register, and that is not including all of the laws that each individual state has on its own books.

 

Government spending has ballooned out of control ever since the New Deal. As of July 6, 2017 at 9:06 AM MST the national debt is $19, 964, 142, 485, 028 and ever rising every second of every day.[3] About 6 years ago they calculated that the Federal government spends $6,850,000 every single minute of every single hour of every single day.[4] That was when the federal budget was $3,600,000,000,000 with a deficit of $1,300,000,000,000.[5] The budget for 2016 was $3,900,000,000,000 with a deficit of $600,000,000,000.[6] That is what the budget worked out to be last year, but President Obama originally proposed $4,150,000,000,000.[7] It is fascinating as well to observe that this ever ratcheting spending is essentially bi-partisan in nature. Whichever party is in power the opposition always brings up the debt as an issue while their supporters downplay it. For instance, PBS launched a documentary on the national debt in early 2009 highlighting especially the spending of George W. Bush.[8] They did not do a follow up documentary when Obama doubled the debt by the end of his term. At the same time, Republicans nary said a word about Bush’s spending, yet lambasted Obama and his spending spree. This trend can also be seen in terms of what is termed “infrastructure spending” or “bailouts.” Republicans howled when Obama went through with his “bailouts” and “infrastructure spending,” yet are oddly silent when Donald Trump proposed a $1,000,000,000,000 program to repair highways and interstates.[9] Vice-versa for the Democrats. Each party only cares about government spending as an issue when they can leverage it for political gain, yet every year the spending goes up and up and up.

 

Yet the cancerous growth of government cannot solely be blamed upon the men and women inside the government itself; so many are merely doing their jobs. Further, we cannot lay blame solely upon the people who make the “big decisions,” the President, the Congress, the Courts. While we are not a democracy (thank God), our officials are still nevertheless beholden to the people who elected them, and as it turns out the people that we see subverting the American Revolution in the halls of power have been given that opportunity by us the voters and the wider culture generally.

 

Consistently we can observe throughout popular culture a trend towards authoritarianism. Always a desire for bigger and larger government to “provide” for us. A strong father, a caring mother all in the form of an over-bearing and over-weaning welfare-warfare state. But we very rarely see the ideas of conservatism, libertarianism, or small government represented positively. I like to believe that the wider culture does not have an influence upon my thought process but that would be an arrogant mistake; culture affects everyone, perhaps not equally.

The adoration of Communism and Socialism in the name of freedom throughout popular culture, the best example of which that I own being a novel by Jack London: “The cry of this army is: ‘No quarter! We want all that you possess. We will be content with nothing less than all that you possess. We want in our hands the reins of power and the destiny of mankind. Here are our hands. They are strong hands. We are going to take your government, your palaces, and all your purpled ease away from you, and in that day you shall work for your bread even as the peasant in the field or the starved and runty clerk in your metropolises.”[10] You see similar adoration in films like Elysium. While it might seem that there is a disconnect between culture and politics, as the late great Andrew Breitbart put it: “Politics is downstream from culture.”[11]

 

Look at the Occupy Wall Street “movement” 6 years ago, there is a wealth of video evidence from the OWS protesters that they very clearly have Statist desires and goals. What Jean-Francois Revel characterized as “The Totalitarian Temptation.”[12] They claim to fight for freedom but in reality wish to smash what currently exists in order to seize power for themselves. You can look to Adam Kokesh’s interactions with OWS,[13] or to Peter Schiff’s wonderful interactions with the protesters.[14] Or when former Soviet Citizen Vladimir Jaffe went and talked to those protesters, among some of the people he spoke to some persons who supported North Korea and attempted to explain away the starvation in that country by blaming “western imperialism.”[15]

 

Many are so very eager to abandon the individual freedom that the American Revolution fought for. Merely read Chapter 23 “The Coming Revolt of the Guards” in Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.[16] Zinn, among many thinkers and average people in the United States today, fall into the trap of utopianism all totalitarian movements have sprung from. The paradise that he describes in this chapter would shackle people to each other, it would sap individuals of any and all will to succeed, why should they after all if their extra labor gets them no reward? It will enslave people, regardless of whether or not they wanted it, to the State. It will steal the wealth of individuals at the point of a gun for the good of a supposed majority. Demagogues use utopian ideals to assert their own power. Zinn’s “Utopia” would sever all lines of communication and plunge us into a new dark age with little to no innovation; fundamentally betraying the ideals that the American Revolutionaries fought for.

 

Overall 67% of Americans in the United States do not believe the government should prohibit speech considered to be offensive. 70% of Gen Xers, 71% of Baby Boomers, and 80% of the Silent Generation support the freedom of speech in the United States. However, 40% of Millennials believe that the government should be able to prevent people from saying things considered to be offensive.[17] While 40% is a minority, it is certainly a significant minority, The Far Left is also a significant minority; a very vocal and ultimately influential minority. We can only hope that the adage is true that people become more conservative as they grow older (at the very least that applies to my grandparents). We must hope this is true since Republicans were 17 percentage points more likely to support free speech than their Democrat counterparts.

 

The counter-argument for what I just wrote has popped up from time to time on my radar and essentially it boils down to the idea that “hate speech” cannot be considered to be “free speech.” These liberals claim that they do favor free speech but only insofar as it does not allow for “hate speech.”

 

As Roanna Carleton-Taylor puts it in her blogpost on the Huffington Post: “Both myself and Resisting Hate strongly believe that hate speech is not free speech. Free speech is not the holy grail of civil liberty. No human being exists in a vacumn [sic] where they can speak as they please with no regard for the consequences of what they are saying. Too often we hear of the right to freedom of speech with rarely a mention of the responsibilities. Yet we do have a responsibility in our speech. We have a responsibility not to harm others, incite hate against them or to create a society of prejudice and intolerance.”[18]

 

Perhaps it is a tenable argument, but what I have noticed is that the liberals who put forward such an argument do not answer one essential question: “Who gets to decide what is and what is not hate speech?” Did Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama engage in “hate speech” when they endorsed the traditional view of marriage in 2008? Does the government itself get to decide what is hate speech?

 

Related to the previous question liberals do not answer the question: “who should be given the authority to make that decision and the ability to use force to impose that standard on the public as a whole?”

 

But from Roanna’s blog I want to pull out one particular quote that is incredibly disturbing: “Free speech is not the holy grail of civil liberty.” That comment in particular, endorsed by The Huffington Post, brings to mind the work of F.A. Hayek:

 

“What are the fixed poles now which are regarded as sacrosanct, which no reformer dare touch, since they are treated as the immutable boundaries which must be respected in any plan for the future? They are no longer the liberty of the individual, his freedom of movement, and scarcely that of speech. They are protected standards of this or that group…injustices inflicted on individuals by government action in the interest of a group are disregarded with an indifference hardly distinguishable from callousness; and the grossest violations of the most elementary rights of the individual…”[19]

 

The modern day Liberal, in fact the modern American, is more and more willing to violate the rights of others in the name of “protecting” particular groups of people; for the liberal democrat this conviction ultimately is solely for the purposes of political and electoral gain.

 

This is more evidence of an ongoing cultural shift, a trend that fundamentally redefines concepts and ideas over and over again to the point that they no longer mean what they originally meant. They reach the opposite of their definition. Truly New Speak is Double Plus Good.

 

For instance, a Harvard University survey polled adults aged 18-29 and found that 51% of those that responded did not support Capitalism. Of those that responded 33% supported Socialism.[20] One of the pollsters involved in the study noted how the results of the survey connote a change in perception for the upcoming generation, Zach Lustbader noted that “The word ‘capitalism’ doesn’t mean what it used to.”[21] Again, we see that what is considered to be “freedom” in the zeitgeist of the country has shifted dramatically.

 

 

These are the reasons that the Fourth of July fill me with such mixed emotions; I feel proud of what happened in the past, and I fear about the state of our country; our morals, our freedoms; in the future. Studying history one tends to see patterns and trends, almost everything seems cyclical. As Stefan Molyneux once said, “History is the same story but with different costumes.”[22] How can one possibly hope to stand like King Lear screaming against the storm that does not care for his protests. Perhaps there is nothing to do to prevent the demise of American freedom.

 

John Adams once wrote:

 

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”[23]

 

At the same time that I feel this pessimism, I also feel some hope, particularly when I had the opportunity to remind myself of what the Revolutionaries went through to achieve independence. When I reread the words of the Founding Fathers. There is a possibility that we can continue into the future and regain at least some of the freedoms we have lost through the erosion of time and culture.

 

The key to the future is remembering the past.

 

 

As we close this reflection I leave you with an excerpt perhaps the greatest and most succinct piece of Libertarian philosophy ever put to paper, a document that forever changed the history of the world, a key part of our past, and, perhaps, a beacon of hope for the future of freedom. The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1776.

 

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”[24]

 

 

Stay Sane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

“2017 Index of Economic Freedom.” The Heritage Foundation. 2017. http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

 

Allen, John Lawrence. “ We Pledge Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor.” July 4, 2014. The Blaze. http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/we-pledge-our-lives-our-fortunes-and-our-sacred-honor/

 

“The American Form of Government.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogzExP3qhI&t=1s

 

“Assassin’s Creed 3—Rise Trailer [UK].” July 4, 2012. Assassin’s Creed UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boy11rMf50Q

 

“Benjamin Franklin.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4822-we-must-all-hang-together-or-assuredly-we-shall-all

 

Carleton-Taylor, Roanna. “Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech.” March 23, 2017. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/roanna-carletontaylor/hate-speech-is-not-free-s_b_15561576.html

 

Crews, Wayne & Ryan Young. “The Towering Federal Register.” May 21, 2013. The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/21/the-towering-federal-register/

 

Crovitz, Gordon. “You Commit Three Felonies A Day.” Sept. 27, 2009. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574438900830760842

 

Delisle, Elizabeth Cove et. al. “The Federal Budget Deficit for 2010.” Oct. 7, 2010. Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/25107

 

Dice, Mark. “Americans Don’t Know WHY We Celebrate the 4^th of July or WHAT COUNTRY We Declared Independence From!” July 1, 2013. Mark Dice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkFDcX_72c

 

Ehrenfreund, Max. “A Majority of Millenials Now Reject Capitalism, Poll Shows.” April 26, 2016. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/26/a-majority-of-millennials-now-reject-capitalism-poll-shows/?utm_term=.8d87b8172120

 

“The Federal Budget in 2016: An Infographic.” Feb. 8, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52408

 

Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom. 3^rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2011.

 

Hayek, F.A. ed. Bruce Caldwell. The Road to Serfdom. London: University of Chicago Press. 2007.

 

Higgs, Robert. “How FDR Made the Depression Worse.” Feb. 1, 1995. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/how-fdr-made-depression-worse

 

“Historical Average Federal Tax Rates for All Households.” Feb. 13, 2017. Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households

 

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Holtz-Eakin, Doug. “Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Plan—Jobs Boost or Giveaway?” June 13, 2017. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/13/opinions/trump-infrastructure-economy-opinion-holtz-eakin/index.html

 

Jaffe, Vladimir. “Former Soviet Citizen Confronts Socialists at Occupy Wall Street (Part 1, full version).” Oct. 28, 2011. Vladimir Jaffe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD5luu_UTzc

 

Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” Harvard Classics. vol. 43 “American Historical Documents.” New York: P. F. Collier & Son. 1910.

 

Kehr, Webster. “Quotes: Founding Fathers and Presidents.” March 26, 2017. The Cancer Tutor. https://www.cancertutor.com/quotes_presidents/

 

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Kokesh, Adam. “Popular Adam Kokesh & Occupy Wall Street Videos.” https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL70QcmI47m5RK2dZMt9Zx5EUAtPsdXiTY

 

Lindquist, Rick. “History of U.S. Employer-Provided Health Insurance—post World War II. June 5, 2014. Zane Benefits. https://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/part-1-the-history-of-u.s.-employer-provided-health-insurance-post-world-war-ii

 

London, Jack. The Iron Heel. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. 1907.

 

Lynd, Staughton. Intellectual Origins of American Radicalism. New York: Vintage Books. 1968.

 

Mariotti, Steve. “When Owning Gold Was Illegal in America: And Why It Could Be Again.” June 27, 2016. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mariotti/when-owning-gold-was-ille_b_10708196.html

 

Marsh, Alan. “POWs in American History: A Synopsis.” National Parks Service. 1998. https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/historyculture/pow_synopsis.htm

 

Meyers, Lawrence. “Politics Really Is Downstream From Culture.” Aug. 2, 2011. Breitbart. http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2011/08/22/politics-really-is-downstream-from-culture/

 

Molyneux, Stefan. “Stefan Molyneux Quotes.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1295690-history-is-the-same-story-with-different-costumes

 

Montopoli, Brian. “Government Spending Per Minute: $6.85 Million.” Jan. 7, 2011. CBSNews. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-spending-per-minute-685-million/

 

Mufson, Steven. “Obama’s Final Budget Proposal Calls for $4.15 Trillion in Spending.” Feb. 9, 2016. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obamas-final-budget-proposal-calls-for-an-almost-5-percent-spending-boost/2016/02/09/0286da7e-cf3a-11e5-b2bc-988409ee911b_story.html?utm_term=.5b89db5990dc

 

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Poushter, Jacob. “Millennials OK with Limiting Speech Offensive to Minorities.” Nov. 20, 2015. Pew Research. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/20/40-of-millennials-ok-with-limiting-speech-offensive-to-minorities/

 

Rand, Ayn. ed. Harry Binswanger. The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism From A to Z. New York: Meridian Books. 1988.

 

Reel, A. Frank. “When a Switch in Time Saved Nine.” Nov. 10, 1985. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/10/opinion/l-when-a-switch-in-time-saved-nine-143165.html

 

Revel, Jean-Francois. trans. David Hapgood. “The Totalitarian Temptation.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245408.The_Totalitarian_Temptation

 

Rogoway, Tyler. “The Revolutionary War: By the Numbers.” July 4, 2014. Foxtrot Alpha. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-revolutionary-war-by-the-numbers-1600199390

 

Rossiter, Clinton ed. The Federalist papers. New York: Penguin Group. 2003.

 

Schiff, Peter. “Peter Schiff at Occupy Wall Street: Full Version, Almost 2 Hours Long!” Nov. 30, 2011. Reason TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMGoB01qiA

 

“Ten Trillion and Counting.” March 24, 2009. PBS: Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/tentrillion/

 

Traynor, Ben. “Roosevelt’s Gold Confiscation: Could it Happen Again?” April 3, 2013. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/9968494/Roosevelts-gold-confiscation-could-it-happen-again.html

 

“US Debt Clock.” http://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

Woods, Thomas E. Jr. “Teddy Roosevelt and the Origins of the Modern Welfare-Warfare State.” March 1, 2004. Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/teddy-roosevelt-and-origins-modern-welfare-warfare-state

 

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. 2003.

[1] Crovitz, Gordon. “You Commit Three Felonies A Day.” Sept. 27, 2009. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574438900830760842

[2] Crews, Wayne & Ryan Young. “The Towering Federal Register.” May 21, 2013. The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/21/the-towering-federal-register/

[3] “US Debt Clock.” http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[4] Montopoli, Brian. “Government Spending Per Minute: $6.85 Million.” Jan. 7, 2011. CBSNews. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-spending-per-minute-685-million/

[5] Delisle, Elizabeth Cove et. al. “The Federal Budget Deficit for 2010.” Oct. 7, 2010. Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/25107

[6] “The Federal Budget in 2016: An Infographic.” Feb. 8, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52408

[7] Mufson, Steven. “Obama’s Final Budget Proposal Calls for $4.15 Trillion in Spending.” Feb. 9, 2016. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obamas-final-budget-proposal-calls-for-an-almost-5-percent-spending-boost/2016/02/09/0286da7e-cf3a-11e5-b2bc-988409ee911b_story.html?utm_term=.5b89db5990dc

[8] “Ten Trillion and Counting.” March 24, 2009. PBS: Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/tentrillion/

[9] Holtz-Eakin, Doug. “Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Plan—Jobs Boost or Giveaway?” June 13, 2017. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/13/opinions/trump-infrastructure-economy-opinion-holtz-eakin/index.html

[10] London, Jack. The Iron Heel. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. 1907. p. 55.

[11] Meyers, Lawrence. “Politics Really Is Downstream From Culture.” Aug. 2, 2011. Breitbart. http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2011/08/22/politics-really-is-downstream-from-culture/

[12] Revel, Jean-Francois. trans. David Hapgood. “The Totalitarian Temptation.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245408.The_Totalitarian_Temptation

[13] Kokesh, Adam. “Popular Adam Kokesh & Occupy Wall Street Videos.” https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL70QcmI47m5RK2dZMt9Zx5EUAtPsdXiTY

[14] Schiff, Peter. “Peter Schiff at Occupy Wall Street: Full Version, Almost 2 Hours Long!” Nov. 30, 2011. Reason TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMGoB01qiA

[15] Jaffe, Vladimir. “Former Soviet Citizen Confronts Socialists at Occupy Wall Street (Part 1, full version).” Oct. 28, 2011. Vladimir Jaffe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD5luu_UTzc

[16] Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. 2003. pp. 631-641.

[17] Poushter, Jacob. “Millennials OK with Limiting Speech Offensive to Minorities.” Nov. 20, 2015. Pew Research. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/20/40-of-millennials-ok-with-limiting-speech-offensive-to-minorities/

[18] Carleton-Taylor, Roanna. “Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech.” March 23, 2017. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/roanna-carletontaylor/hate-speech-is-not-free-s_b_15561576.html

[19] Hayek, F.A. ed. Bruce Caldwell. The Road to Serfdom. London: University of Chicago Press. 2007. p. 218.

[20] Ehrenfreund, Max. “A Majority of Millenials Now Reject Capitalism, Poll Shows.” April 26, 2016. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/26/a-majority-of-millennials-now-reject-capitalism-poll-shows/?utm_term=.8d87b8172120

[21] Ehrenfreund, Max. “A Majority of Millenials Now Reject Capitalism, Poll Shows.”

[22] Molyneux, Stefan. “Stefan Molyneux Quotes.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1295690-history-is-the-same-story-with-different-costumes

[23] Kehr, Webster. “Quotes: Founding Fathers and Presidents.” March 26, 2017. The Cancer Tutor. https://www.cancertutor.com/quotes_presidents/

[24] Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” Harvard Classics. vol. 43 “American Historical Documents.” New York: P. F. Collier & Son. 1910. pp. 160-61.

[1] Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis. New York: Barnes & Noble. 2010. p. 1.

[2] “The American Form of Government.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogzExP3qhI&t=1s

“The Philosophy of Freedom.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtBBFBYFNqs

[3] “Assassin’s Creed 3—Rise Trailer [UK].” July 4, 2012. Assassin’s Creed UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boy11rMf50Q

[4] “Benjamin Franklin.” Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4822-we-must-all-hang-together-or-assuredly-we-shall-all

[5] “The Patriot—The Final Charge.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vWK2yf9Y0

[6] Rogoway, Tyler. “The Revolutionary War: By the Numbers.” July 4, 2014. Foxtrot Alpha. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-revolutionary-war-by-the-numbers-1600199390

[7] Marsh, Alan. “POWs in American History: A Synopsis.” National Parks Service. 1998. https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/historyculture/pow_synopsis.htm

[8] “The HMS Jersey.” The History Channel. http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/the-hms-jersey

[9] Dice, Mark. “Americans Don’t Know WHY We Celebrate the 4^th of July or WHAT COUNTRY We Declared Independence From!” July 1, 2013. Mark Dice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkFDcX_72c

[10] Lynd, Staughton. Intellectual Origins of American Radicalism. New York: Vintage Books. 1968. p. 18.

[11] Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom. 3^rd ed. John Winthrop. “Speech to the Massachusetts General Court (1645).” New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2011. p. 29.

[12] Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom. 3^rd ed. James Winthrop. “On the Anti-Federalist Argument (1787).” New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2011. pp. 120 & 123.

[13] Rossiter, Clinton ed. The Federalist papers. New York: Penguin Group. 2003. p. 306.

[14] Ketcham, Ralph ed. The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates. New York: Penguin Books. 2003. p. 75.

[15] Ketcham, Ralph ed. The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates. New York: Penguin Books. 2003. p. 316.

[16] Kehr, Webster. “Quotes: Founding Fathers and Presidents.” March 26, 2017. The Cancer Tutor. https://www.cancertutor.com/quotes_presidents/

[17] Kehr, Webster. “Quotes: Founding Fathers and Presidents.” March 26, 2017. The Cancer Tutor. https://www.cancertutor.com/quotes_presidents/

[18] Rand, Ayn. ed. Harry Binswanger. The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism From A to Z. New York: Meridian Books. 1988. p. 13.

[19] Allen, John Lawrence. “ We Pledge Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor.” July 4, 2014. The Blaze. http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/we-pledge-our-lives-our-fortunes-and-our-sacred-honor/

[20] “The Patriot. Quotes.” IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187393/quotes

[21] Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. 2003. p. 100.

[22] Woods, Thomas E. Jr. “Teddy Roosevelt and the Origins of the Modern Welfare-Warfare State.” March 1, 2004. Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/teddy-roosevelt-and-origins-modern-welfare-warfare-state

[23] Zinn. p. 165.

[24] Higgs, Robert. “How FDR Made the Depression Worse.” Feb. 1, 1995. The Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/how-fdr-made-depression-worse

[25] Higgs.

[26] Lindquist, Rick. “History of U.S. Employer-Provided Health Insurance—post World War II. June 5, 2014. Zane Benefits. https://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/part-1-the-history-of-u.s.-employer-provided-health-insurance-post-world-war-ii

[27] Traynor, Ben. “Roosevelt’s Gold Confiscation: Could it Happen Again?” April 3, 2013. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/9968494/Roosevelts-gold-confiscation-could-it-happen-again.html

[28] Mariotti, Steve. “When Owning Gold Was Illegal in America: And Why It Could Be Again.” June 27, 2016. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mariotti/when-owning-gold-was-ille_b_10708196.html

[29] Reel, A. Frank. “When a Switch in Time Saved Nine.” Nov. 10, 1985. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/10/opinion/l-when-a-switch-in-time-saved-nine-143165.html

[30] “2017 Index of Economic Freedom.” The Heritage Foundation. 2017. http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

7/3/17: Post#2–Trump and the People Who Hate Him

A while back my wife and I were over at a friend’s house for dinner and drinks. After dinner the primary entertainment for the night was playing the game “Cards Against Humanity.” Personally I love the game and it is nice that there is a game that rewards the kind of dark humor that I am fond of.

While we were playing there was a moment that I thought was incredibly interesting and profoundly significant in terms of the political discourse in the United States; how it changes and how it shockingly remains the same.

It was my friend’s turn to judge and the prompt was a card that read somewhere along the lines of “I dream to forget…”

We all put down our options (I can’t remember what I played) and my wife played “The Legacy of George W. Bush.”

My friend and I are nearly polar opposites in terms of politics; in High School we would argue about various political issues like ObamaCare, the Bailouts, the Iraq War, Immigration policy. He and his family are very liberal. While we disagree on nearly everything he is my best friend and I love him like a family member and he feels the same way (in fact he was my Best Man at my wedding).

I waited with baited breath to see his reaction to the card combination (a combination which I find funny by the way). After reading it aloud he then said, “God I miss Bush compared to what we have now.” (Note, this is a paraphrase, not verbatim).

It was that sentiment that I immediately found astounding and it prompted me to think about the subject for weeks and weeks and frankly it helped to inspire this entire blog project this summer, so that I at the very least have a place to vent.

“God I miss Bush compared to what we have now.”

Again, I love my best friend and what I am about to say does not necessarily apply to him nor his family. The people who hate Donald Trump are hysterical malcontents with no long term memory shrieking at windmills and believing they are accomplishing something.

The reason that this shocked me so very much is that I am old enough to remember quite clearly how George W. Bush was treated in the media and by the rhetoric of liberals throughout his eight years in office. To put it diplomatically he was not treated well.

To put it realistically, Bush was savaged verbally nearly every single day in his term.

“God I miss Bush compared to what we have now.”

Not only did that phrase spur memories of how George W. Bush was treated when he was office but it jogged my memory towards how other presidents were treated while in Office.

Certainly Obama had many unkind things said about him (just Google “Obama is Hitler”) and people who have opposed him have done reprehensible things, Kimberly Mehlman-Orozoco rightly notes that there were protests against Obama, but gives no statistics and merely relies upon individual anecdotes.[1] Despite these attacks upon Obama, his character, and his supporters, at the very least he had consistently positive support from the media and the glitterati of Hollywood. I hope that we all remember Chris Matthews’ rather interesting way of stating his support for Obama.[2] But even outside of individual incidents of unbounded praise for Obama that came from media personalities, many of which can be found here.[3] Even without those individual examples there most definitely was a wider trend of media support for the former president. According to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism:

 

When a broader universe of media—one that includes 49 outlets and reflects the more modern media culture of 2009, is examined, the numbers for Obama’s coverage are similar, though somewhat less positive and somewhat more negative. In this expanded universe of media—which includes news websites, additional regional and local newspapers, plus cable news, network morning news, and National Public Radio, 37% of Obama’s coverage has been positive, 40% neutral and 23% negative.”[4]

 

Overall Obama benefited from nearly 4 out of 10 stories about him being positive whereas Bill Clinton had 27% of stories being positive while Bush only had 22% of stories being positive. [5] All of these numbers were compiled during the first two months of each president’s terms. A separate study found that in the first 100 days of Trump’s administration only 11% of news coverage was positive towards him.[6] According to Thomas E. Patterson the author of a media study from Harvard Kennedy School: “In no week did the coverage drop below 70 percent negative and it reached 90 percent negative at its peak.”[7]

 

This media coverage of Obama as opposed to the coverage of Bush (a sordid history that will be covered later on in this post) was called out relatively early into his presidency yet was continually ignored by the media as a whole, setting a tone for apologism on the part of the first black president. This became more and more apparent as his presidency went on, particularly as he began to act as his predecessors in violation of his campaign promises (but that subject deserves a blog post all of its own). As Daniel K. Glover noted:

 

“[T]o pick up any of these magazines and newspapers now is to see tortured apologies to explain why a flip-flopping Obama is playing “long-term” or “not going to get suckered by his base” or “first has to clean up the Bush mess” instead of disinterested commentary about: (a) the disconnect between what Obama now does and what he once said; (b) the staggering amount of debt added, and how to pay the sums off.”[8]

 

Obama maintained this positivity from the media throughout his presidency. He of course was treated quite nicely on the “hard-hitting” and “speaking truth to power” program 60 Minutes.[9] Likewise, other “muck-rakers” asked him many many hard questions. Like this.[10] Let’s not also forget Harry Smith holding Obama’s feet to the fire.[11] In Obama’s run-off with Mitt Romney in 2012 Obama had twice as much positive press coverage than Romney and half as much negative press coverage. While this coverage went up and down throughout the race, “Overall from August 27 through October 21, 19% of stories about Obama studied in a cross section of mainstream media were clearly favorable in tone while 30% were unfavorable and 51% mixed. This is a differential of 11 percentage points between unfavorable and favorable stories. For Romney, 15% of the stories studied were favorable, 38% were unfavorable and 47% were mixed-a differential toward negative stories of 23 points.”[12]

In retrospect this warmth towards Obama from the media still puzzles me, especially when Obama had the Justice Department seize the phone records of the Associated Press in arguably one of the largest overreaches in Presidential authority and intrusion into the freedom of the press.[13] Let alone when he verbally attacked a news media outlet long before Trump came to the political scene.[14] But that’s a topic for another time.

Yet, Obama did not only have support from the media but consistently received support from the glitterati of Hollywood. While some of these examples will be explicated later on in this post, but at this time the most memorable and blatant examples of this trend would be when Chris Rock said at a press conference: “I am just here to support the President of the United States. The President of the United States is, you know, our boss. But also, you know, the president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country. And when your dad says something, you listen. [And] when you don’t, it usually bites you in the [expletive] later on. So I’m here to support the president.”[15]

 

I wonder if Rock still agrees with this sentiment.

 

Certainly Bill Clinton also received unkind words, particularly due to scandals of his own making. From the very beginning he had media support, one editorial wrote clearly that they believed the American people “have chosen new leadership. They have replaced a tired and uninspiring president with a young chief executive who has shown himself to have almost unlimited energy resiliency, resourcefulness and optimism.”[16] He was impeached by Congress after 14 hours of debate in December of 1998 for lying under oath in testimony to congress, while he was impeached he was not removed from office.[17] The media as a whole closed ranks and defended the president, if not openly and verbally then tacitly with their silence. For instance, Sean Hannity last year conducted an interview with several of Bill Clinton’s accusers who claim that the former President sexually assaulted them well before the Monica Lewinsky scandal. When asked, “has the mainstream media been receptive to asking you three about your stories?” Juanita Broderick, Paula Jones, and Kathleen Willey all gave a resounding “No” as their answer.[18] New York Times columnist and feminist writer Maureen Dowd recalled that time period and said in an interview with Katie Couric, “Feminism sort of died in that period, because the feminists had to come along with Bill Clinton’s retrogressive behavior with women in order to protect the progressive policies for women that Bill Clinton had as president.”[19] Yet, despite his indiscretions, Bill Clinton is still seen as an elder statesmen by both the mainstream and the far left; a respectable man who should still be listened to on matters of policy. “What an incredible human being Bill Clinton is. Cool, intelligent, probing,” wrote Jim Luce a decade after Clinton’s impeachment.[20] An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll in 2014 found that 56% of the American public had a positive view of Bill Clinton.[21] I wonder to what extent a decade of media bias in both the coverage of Bill Clinton as well as his successors had a factor in that poll.

 

My friend’s phrase jogged my memory of both the Bush and the Obama eras, the presidential eras wherein I formed my political identity. But being a student of history, it also jogged my memory of the treatment of previous Presidents, specifically republican presidents for the last 30 years. We briefly examined the treatment of the last two Democrat Presidents (a subject that admittedly deserves more attention than what I have presented), let us now look at the treatment of the three Republican presidents. (On a side note, I will only tangentially touch upon the treatment of George H. W. Bush; rather I will put most of my focus upon Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump).

 

I present to you a brief history of contempt.

 

Ronald Reagan was elected to the office of the President in 1980 and by nearly all accounts (both left and right) he was “one of the most improbable figures ever to assume the Presidency – a one-time baseball announcer, B-movie actor and television pitchman who has had to force the Establishment to take him seriously.”[22] Now this blog post is not to assess the legacy of any of the presidents mentioned and whether or not they actually were good presidents (every president is deeply flawed) but rather to assess how they were treated by both the media and the general public.

 

While Reagan was incredibly popular with the American people, winning landslides with both the 1980 election[23] and 1984 election.[24] Nevertheless Reagan was miserably treated by his democratic opposition, Hollywood, and the news media (but alas I repeat myself).

 

Reagan entered office with immediate protest, one can see such protests from this slide show from MSN.[25] This slide show will be cited again when we get to George W. Bush, but it is of interest to note that the slideshow itself does not include protests against Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton.

 

These protests continued throughout Reagan’s presidency. Replete with signs that said things like “Reagan have you no Shame?” “You can’t hug your child with Nuclear Arms.” “Mommies against Reagan,” among many others. In 1982 thousands took to the street with these kinds of signs:

 

“The protest was part of the ‘Days of Resistance to Roll Back Reaganism,’ as the All People’s Congress, which sponsored the action, has designated the week of April 24 through May 2. Buoyed by the success of last year’s march to the Pentagon, the organization held a conference in Detroit last October…to announce a series of protest activities against the Administration. Conference participants voted to stage a ‘Winter Offensive,’ consisting of dozens of protests in 100 cities.”[26]

 

One would probably note the rhetoric utilized by these protesters. Not only the rhetoric of warfare but also the rhetoric of being a “resistance,” bringing to mind imagery of fascist occupation. At the same time, this word “resistance” seems strikingly familiar 30 years later from people like George Takei, Meryl Streep among many other celebrities and modern day liberal protesters. They probably think that they are original in their phraseology.

 

Reagan also received incredibly negative coverage by the media, as ABC White House reporter Sam Donaldson said in March of 1987, “I think [Ronald Reagan] is going to have to pass two or three tests. The first is, will he get there, stand in front of the podium, and not drool?”[27]

 

This kind of attack was mirrored by Washington Post reporter David Broder in May of 1989, “They [Reagan and Thatcher] quickly formed a bond that overcame their differences of age, gender and — many whisper — IQ scores.”[28] (It is of interest to note that this attacking of the intelligence of republican presidents is an on-going tradition that liberals probably believe is incredibly original. We will see more examples of this trend throughout this blog and very likely moving into the future).

 

Even when Reagan was out of office the attacks upon his character and legacy remained unabated. As Bryant Gumbel said in April of 1994: “Let’s not debate his presidency, but his passing. As opposed to a man like Reagan, Nixon is, was highly regarded as a genuine statesman with a first-class mind.”[29] This kind of attack was continued even a full decade after he was out of the presidency. As Katie Couric opened The Today Show in September 1999: “Good morning. The Gipper was an airhead! That’s one of the conclusions of a new biography of Ronald Reagan that’s drawing a tremendous amount of interest and fire today, Monday, September the 27th, 1999.”[30] Couric of course misrepresented the views of the man she interviewed on that day, clearly projecting her own opinions upon the biographers opinion. Even after his death Reagan’s character was attacked by the media, as CBS’s Morley Safer said, “No, I don’t think history particularly will be kind….I don’t think history has any reason to be kind to him.”[31] Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s Countdown said in April of 2009, “Reagan’s dead, and he was a lousy President.”[32] Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas said on June 9, 2007, “He definitely had an agenda, and was a social Darwinist.”[33] Former Newsweek reporter Timothy Noah attempted to psychoanalyze the deceased president and connect an apparent perversion with Reagan’s economic policies, “Reagan, like just about every other actor who ever passed through Hollywood, had a very hard time viewing sex as something to repress.”[34]

 

It is interesting to note that this particular attitude (and apparent disrespect for the dead) is not solely an American phenomenon. Many probably remember the disrespect shown to Margaret Thatcher upon her death.[35]

 

Outside of the media Reagan was attacked by academia and the intellectual community, by Noam Chomsky in particular (to be fair Chomsky has a reputation of hating everything). For instance, Chomsky accused Reagan’s foreign policy of being near genocidal (his words): “Under Reagan, support for the near-genocide in Guatemala became positively ecstatic. The most extreme of the Guatemalan Hitlers we’ve backed there, Rios Montt, was lauded by Reagan as a man totally dedicated to democracy.”[36] In a separate interview Chomsky attacked Reagan for the very same kind of rhetoric he himself used while at the same time disregarding the oppression of groups in Nicaragua being persecuted by the Communist government there:

 

“Interviewer: ‘President Reagan, in his inimitable, understated style, said it was a ‘campaign of virtual genocide.’

Chomsky: Reagan and Kirkpatrick were talking about an incident in which, according to Americas Watch, several dozen Miskitos were killed and a lot of people were forcefully moved in a rather ugly way in the course of the contra war. The US terrorist forces were moving into the area and this was the Sandinista’s reaction.”[37]

 

Maintaining this kind of rhetoric Noam Chomsky attacked the characters of both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush as being near neo-Nazis and fascistic personalities:

 

“If the United States was conquered by the Russians, Ronald Reagan, George [H.W.] Bush, Elliott Abrams and the rest of them would probably be working for the invaders, sending people off to concentration camps. They’re the right personality types.” (words bolded for emphasis).[38]

 

Noam Chomsky among other academics and intellectuals attacked Reagan with this kind of rhetoric. But, to be perfectly fair, Chomsky also criticized Obama rather severely.[39]

 

(On a side note, for the purposes of this post I reread segments of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. As one can imagine I do not agree with Zinn on nearly anything and my copy of his book is riddled with angry annotations. While I find him to be economically illiterate and politically dangerous I will say that I was interested to find that he was rather respectful of Bush and Reagan in his coverage of their terms, regardless of how much he disagreed with them).

 

Even in the pop culture sphere (perhaps especially) Reagan was consistently attacked by his opponents, Eddie Murphy in his 1983 comedy special Delirious took time out of his set to bash Ronald Reagan and his policies. “Reaganomics sucks? Well tell us something we don’t know motherfucker!”[40]

The punk rock band The Violent Femmes (A band that I love) released in 1986 a song entitled “Old Mother Reagan” from their album The Blind Leading the Naked sang:

“Old Mother Reagan/And her crew/Took away/From me and you/I hope she goes far away/Y’know it ain’t right/When it’s all wrong/This is the Old Mother Reagan/Protest song/Old Mother Reagan/She’s so dumb/She’s so dangerous/How come/Old Mother Reagan went to heaven/But at the pearly gates/She was stopped!”[41]

But not just The Violent Femmes wrote songs against Ronald Reagan. You have The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Dead Kennedys, Genesis, Public Enemy, Billy Joel among many others all wrote and performed songs as a form of protest against Ronald Reagan.[42]

We can see through these many examples that I have presented that Reagan was rhetorically and personally mistreated throughout his presidency, with people questioning his intelligence, his character, as well as his personal motivations. There are very likely many, many more examples beyond the ones that I have presented and I encourage you, the reader, to go out and find them.

George H. W. Bush was elected President in 1988 following the 8 years of Ronald Reagan. We briefly touched upon how intellectuals treated him and Ronald Reagan, yet unfortunately for the sake of this blog post we will not delve too deeply into his presidency.

However, his son, George W. Bush elected in 2000 is arguably the most poorly treated President in modern history (Donald Trump being a close runner-up; only because it is only the 6^th month of his presidency).

Attacks on George W. Bush were much like the attacks upon Ronald Reagan; focusing upon his intelligence and personal character coming from the media, the glitterati of Hollywood, and the rank and file Left.

The attacks upon George W. Bush’s intelligence are a relatively easy yet un-nuanced line of criticism. Partly this is because George W. Bush, to put it charitably, is not the best public speaker. “Rarely the question is asked: Is our children learning,” is a hilarious quote from the former President.[43] Presidential slips are always good fodder for humor, in the same way that if one were to observe yourself nearly 24 hours a day and closely pay attention to everything you say and do there certainly would be ample samples of comedy. Every President has embarrassing moments and statements and they should certainly be pointed out and chuckled about solely because they are funny.

However, the biggest problem with these attacks (particularly as they applied to George W. Bush) is when such gaffs are elevated to be political arguments. For instance, in the run up to the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, the author of the previously cited article wrote an entire article just listing embarrassing Bush quotes.[44] Listing them under the tag “Special Report: The U.S. Elections.” As if the mere listing of embarrassing quotes constitutes an argument.

 

These attacks upon Bush’s intelligence continued throughout his presidency, for instance during the 2004 Presidential Election:

 

“Kerry’s [grades] were widely assumed to be much higher, a notion his campaign did little to quell and much to promote…Nonetheless, Gore backers kept up the “dumb Bush” mantra. Gore himself tried to lend the impression during his first debate with Bush that he was the smart one, often sighing and shaking his head in disdain when Bush answered questions.”[45]

 

Russell Brand took this line of “argument” and presented it at the MTV Awards 2008: “But I know America to be a forward-thinking country because otherwise why would you have let that retard and cowboy fella be President for eight years? ‘We were very impressed. We thought it was nice of you to let him have a go because, in England, he wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors.”[46] The article goes on to say “Sadly for Brand, most of the crowd seemed unsure how to react to his remarks, which led to a bitter backlash on internet chat sites.” I remember when this happened and I remembered that the audience laughed and applauded, however, I cannot find actual video of the event so I could be misremembering. (If anyone out there can find it and correct me I would love to be corrected).

 

Bush and his entire administration was attacked relentlessly for their policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Michael Moore, for instance, took time away from winning an Oscar to attack Bush directly on live television:

“I’ve invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us, and we would like to…they are here in solidarity with me because we like non-fiction. We like non-fiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious President. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.”[47]

 

I would say that this set a trend for similar actions and virtue signaling speeches in the future,[48] but considering how much the glitterati loves to aggrandize themselves for the world to see I would very likely be wrong (its almost as if you put your value in being praised by the public at large one would make the utmost effort in demonstrating that you are trendy and “woke”).

 

The Iraq War in particular was relatively unpopular among many, many Americans; which of course lead to accusations of Bush and his entourage being war criminals.[49] This line of argument going so far as to allow a Presidential front-runner to state: “[The decision to invade Iraq] may have been the worst decision…They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none. And they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass destruction.”[50] Would it surprise many that the person who made these statements is the current President of the United States?

 

This anger towards foreign policy spilled over into protests against the administration, particularly at the “Counter-Inaugural Protests” in 2004: “The second inaugural drew an estimated 25,000 protestors to a wide variety of marches, rallies, die-ins, concerts and other events all over the capitol the week of January 20. Like the first inaugural, the protests were largely peaceful, resulting in only 14 arrests.”[51] To be fair, there have been protests at the inaugurations of both Democrats and Republicans. For instance, ven at Obama’s Inauguration there were protests…against Bush and not Obama.[52]

 

Democrats certainly exploited the relative unpopularity of the Iraq War for their own electoral benefit, it is understandable; but some democrats went farther, actively calling for violence. A Fundraising Ad for the St. Petersberg Democratic Club read:

 

“…and then there’s Rumsfeld who said of Iraq ‘We have our good days and our bad days.’ We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say ‘This is one of our bad days’ and pull the trigger. Do you want to salvage our country? Be a savior of our country? Then vote for John Kerry and get rid of the whole Bush Bunch.” (emphasis added)[53]

 

U.S. foreign policy is certainly something that should be debated and argued about and understandably makes people angry. But is it not going too far to call the President a war criminal because you disagree with him? Certainly very few of the people who called Bush a war criminal called Obama a war criminal.

 

(On a side note, it may read that I am only citing people or bashing people that I directly disagree with, but I will say that many commentators and thinkers I agree with, Stefan Molyneux and Tom Woods for instance, said that Bush was a war criminal. The difference though between the people I criticize and these two in particular is that they called Obama a war criminal as well. I may disagree with their assessment but at the very least they were consistent. All I ask for is consistency).

 

While one can certainly argue about the legitimacy or the necessity of the war in Iraq, these vehement attacks upon Bush (calling him a Nazi, a war criminal and attacking his intelligence) lead to a general disrespect towards him as a person. For instance Jeffery Shapiro noted in 2008, “Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush.”[54] This general disrespect easily translated to (or was inspired by) elements in the popular culture.

 

The Bush era, much like the Reagan era, saw its fair share of protest pop culture, particularly when it came to music. Rise Against, Green Day, The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Pearl Jam, Eminem, James McMurtry, Bright Eyes, Neil Young among many others wrote songs against the president.[55] Among the most extreme examples of this music trend included the 2005 song “Bin Laden” by Immortal Technique featuring Eminem that directly accused Bush of being responsible for the 9/11 attacks but also featured Eminem rapping: “I don’t rap for dead presidents, I’d rather see the president dead, it’s never been said but I set precedents” (emphasis added).[56]

 

This anti-Bush sentiment was not just confined to music but was also represented in film.[57] Films like Syriana, Children of Men, V for Vendetta, Gasland, Farenheit 9/11, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Lions for Lambs, Recount, Team America: World Police, W., Death of a President, Transformers, Redacted, Good Night and Good Luck, Capitalism: A Love Story, Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, Inside Job, Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale, among many, many others. [58] But not just in film, but also in television; who else remembers the short-lived and unfunny show on Comedy Central, “Lil’ Bush?”[59] Or the running critique of the Bush administration in “Arrested Development?” Or the occasional jabs at the President in “Futurama.” Or the skit after skit after skit on “Family Guy” or the entirety of “American Dad!”

 

(On a side note, many of the movies/shows/music I have listed here are forms of media that I myself enjoy but I am intellectually honest enough to point out the bias in things I enjoy).

Perhaps to some extent the media distrusted and maligned George W. Bush because the administration from the top down “reject[ed] an assumption embraced by most reporters: that [reporters] are neutral and represent the public interest. Rather, [the administration] see[s] the press as just another special interest.”[60] Perhaps puncturing the press’s self-perceived neutrality prompted the assault upon his character. In a similar way that Donald Trump has attacked the media and the media malign Trump.

Just like with Ronald Reagan, throughout Bush’s eight years in office he was treated with general disrespect for himself as a person as well as the office as a whole. Hysterical people calling him Hitler, a Nazi, a Fascist, a Warmonger, a liar and a stupid evil man. And yet, now the focus has shift since he is no longer President.[61] Afterall, there’s a new President with an “R” next to his name, as such there is a new target for vitriol and outrage.

A couple weeks after my friend said the sentence that basically inspired this entire blog project I got into a prolonged conversation on the phone with his brother. We bantered back and forth and eventually came into discussing politics (the issues we discussed will likely be topics for future posts), after an hour or so of conversation I made him a long-term bet. “I bet you that in 26-30 years;” I said to him, “Trump won’t be president anymore, there will be a democrat president and then a republican president and so on and so forth, the presidency will swap hands a few times; and in about 26 years there will be another Republican president. I’ll bet you $5 that you will say to me that ‘I would prefer Donald Trump.’” He took that bet. So around 2040 or 2044 I’m due for five extra dollars in my bank account. (On a side note, with inflation, $5 will be worth about half its value by 2040 so even if I lose that bet it will cost me nearly nothing).[62]

Ultimately, considering how Presidents have been treated for the last 30 years; the apologism and forgiveness for Democrats and the vicious assault upon the character and intelligences of Republicans; we should not be surprised about how Donald Trump is being treated and portrayed in our society. Donald Trump is acting like any President has acted in the last 50 years (besides his rhetoric) both in terms of foreign and domestic policy (in which ways he is perfectly average is perhaps a subject for another blog post). He is acting the way many other Presidents have behaved and the Left is treating him the same exact way the Left has treated every single Republican President since 1980.

Perhaps the best way that can sum up how they are behaving comes from the geniuses Matt Stone and Trey Parker: children who know not what they say.

Stay sane out there.

 

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Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan: How the Media Worked to Distort, Dismantle and Destroy His Legacy.” The Media Research Center. 2011. http://www.mrc.org/sites/default/files/documents/Reagan2011.pdf

 

Barabak, Mark Z. “How Bill Clinton, improbably, Became America’s Favorite Politician.” Sep. 10, 2014. The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-bill-clinton-americas-favorite-politician-20140910-story.html

 

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Chomsky, Noam. Secrets, Lies and Democracy. Tuscon: Odonian Press. 1994.

 

Chomsky, Noam. What Uncle Sam Really Wants. Tucson: Odonian Press. 1995.

 

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Freeman, Jo. “The 2005 Counter-Inaugural Protests.”   http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/jan20.html

 

Friedersdorf, Conor. “Steve Kroft’s Softball Obama Interviews Diminish ’60 Minutes.’” Jan. 29, 2013. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/steve-krofts-softball-obama-interviews-diminish-60-minutes/272611/

 

Glover, K. Daniel. “Media Coverage: Obama vs. Bush.” May 20, 2009. Accuracy in Media. http://www.aim.org/on-target-blog/media-coverage-obama-vs-bush/

 

Glover, Stephen. “This bilious hatred and lack of respect for the dead is a disturbing new low in British life.” April 11, 2013. The Dailymail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307104/Margaret-Thatcher-death-party-This-lack-respect-dead-disturbing-new-low.html

 

Goldmacher, Shane. “Donald Trump Calls Iraq ‘Worst Decision’ But Won’t Repeat That Bush ‘Lied.’” Feb. 19, 2016. Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/south-carolina-primary-2016-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/2016-south-carolina-trump-george-w-bushs-iraq-219475

 

Gordon, Rebecca. “They should all be tried: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and America’s overlooked warcrimes.” April 30, 2016. Salon. http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/they_deserved_to_be_tried_george_w_bush_dick_cheney_and_americas_overlooked_war_crime_partner/

 

Hanna, Jason. “When People Protest the President.” Nov. 10, 2016. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/politics/president-protests-history/index.html

 

Hannity, Sean. “Bill Clinton’s accusers: We’re ignored by mainstream media.” Oct. 13, 2016. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2016/10/13/bill-clinton-accusers-were-ignored-by-mainstream-media.html

 

Harper, Jennifer. “As First 100 days in office approaches, media coverage of Trump is 89% negative: Study.” April 19, 2017. The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-media-coverage-is-89-percent-negative/

 

Hawkins, John. “20 Liberal Calls for Violence Against Conservatives in Quotes.” June 14, 2017. Townhall. https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/06/15/20-liberal-calls-for-violence-against-conservatives-in-quotes-n2341401

 

Holloway, Kali. “21 Best ‘80s Songs Railing Against the Horrible Reagan Era.” Nov. 29, 2014. Alternet. http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/21-best-80s-songs-railing-against-horrible-reagan-era

 

Immortal Technique. “Bin Laden.” Babygrande Records. 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE5Ufx5GSAg

 

“Inauguration through history.” Jan. 16, 2017. MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/photos/inauguration-day-protests-through-history/ss-AAlUkpP#image=1

 

“Inflation Prediction Calculator.” http://www.in2013dollars.com/2017-dollars-in-2040?amount=5&future_pct=0.03

 

Kaufman, Anthony. “The Anti-Bush Movie Wave.” May 16, 2004. IndieWire. http://www.indiewire.com/2004/05/the-anti-bush-movie-wave-135193/

 

“Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States.” IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913742/

 

Luce, Jim. “Bill Clinton: Elder Statesman to the World.” Sep. 24, 2009. The Daily Kos. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/24/785901/-

 

“Media ‘Grills’ Obama.” Feb. 13, 2017. Washington Free Beacon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR4zG1daS1E&t=1s

 

Mehlman-Orozoco, Kimberly. “Conservatives forget history in discrediting Trump protesters.” Nov. 12, 2016. The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/305749-republicans-employ-double-standard-to-discredit

 

Moby & The Void Pacific Choir. Vid. Steve Cutts. “In This Cold Place.” More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse. Jun 19, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmi-MtP969M

 

Moore, Michael. “2003 Oscar Acceptance Address for Best Documentary Film.” American Rhetoric. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/michaelmooreoscaracceptance.htm

 

Murphy, Eddie. Delerious. 1983. Quotes from IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085474/quotes

 

Noyles, Rich. “Farewell to a Decade of Media Drooling Over Barak Obama.” Jan. 9, 2017. Newsbusters. http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/01/09/farewell-decade-media-drooling-over-barack-obama

 

Parke, Caleb. “Did Mainstream Media Forget How Obama Treated Fox News?” Jan. 12, 2017. Townhall. https://townhall.com/columnists/calebparke/2017/01/12/did-mainstream-media-forget-how-obama-treated-fox-news-n2270406

 

Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff. “Obama’s First 100 Days.” April 28, 2009. The Pew Research Center. http://www.journalism.org/2009/04/28/obamas-first-100-days/

 

Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff. “Winning the Media Campaign 2012.” Nov. 2, 2012. The Pew Research Center. http://www.journalism.org/2012/11/02/winning-media-campaign-2012/

 

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Sanchez, Raff. “US Justice Department secretly seizes Associated Press phone records.” May 13, 2013. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/10055318/US-Justice-Department-secretly-seizes-Associated-Press-phone-records.html

 

Shapiro, Jeffery Scott. “The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace.” Nov. 5, 2008. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122584386627599251

 

Sheppard, Nathaniel Jr. “Protesters Against Reagan Policy March to Capitol.” May 2, 1982. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/02/us/protesters-against-reagan-policy-march-to-capitol.html

 

Sherfinski, David. “Chriss Rock: President Obama ‘our boss,’ ‘dad of the country.’” Feb. 6, 2013. The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/feb/6/chris-rock-president-obama-our-boss-dad-country/

 

Tait, Amelia. “How George W. Bush went from ‘war criminal’ to the Internet’s Favourite Grandpa.” March 13, 2017. NewStatesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2017/03/how-george-w-bush-went-war-criminal-internet-s-favourite-grandpa

 

Victor, Daniel & Giovanni Russonello. “Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes Speech.” Jan. 8, 2017. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/arts/television/meryl-streep-golden-globes-speech.html

 

Violent Femmes. “Old Mother Reagan.” Blind Leading the Naked. 1986. Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Pd7J6XBPY

 

Weisberg, Jacob. “Bush, in his own words.” Nov. 3, 2000. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/04/uselections2000.usa5

 

Weisberg, Jacob. “W.’s Greatest Hits.” Jan. 12, 2009. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/bushisms/2009/01/ws_greatest_hits.html

 

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Yack, Austin. “Report: Eighty percent of Media Coverage on Trump is negative.” May 22, 2017. National Review. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/447856/donald-trump-media-coverage-80-percent-negative-harvard-study-finds

[1] Mehlman-Orozoco, Kimberly. “Conservatives forget history in discrediting Trump protesters.” Nov. 12, 2016. The Hill. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/305749-republicans-employ-double-standard-to-discredit

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no9fpKVXxCc

[3] Noyles, Rich. “Farewell to a Decade of Media Drooling Over Barak Obama.” Jan. 9, 2017. Newsbusters. http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/01/09/farewell-decade-media-drooling-over-barack-obama

[4] Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff. “Obama’s First 100 Days.” April 28, 2009. The Pew Research Center. http://www.journalism.org/2009/04/28/obamas-first-100-days/

[5] Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff. “Obama’s First 100 Days.”

[6] Harper, Jennifer. “As First 100 days in office approaches, media coverage of Trump is 89% negative: Study.” April 19, 2017. The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/19/donald-trump-media-coverage-is-89-percent-negative/

[7] Yack, Austin. “Report: Eighty percent of Media Coverage on Trump is negative.” May 22, 2017. National Review. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/447856/donald-trump-media-coverage-80-percent-negative-harvard-study-finds

[8] Glover, K. Daniel. “Media Coverage: Obama vs. Bush.” May 20, 2009. Accuracy in Media. http://www.aim.org/on-target-blog/media-coverage-obama-vs-bush/

[9] Friedersdorf, Conor. “Steve Kroft’s Softball Obama Interviews Diminish ’60 Minutes.’” Jan. 29, 2013. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/steve-krofts-softball-obama-interviews-diminish-60-minutes/272611/

[10] “Media ‘Grills’ Obama.” Feb. 13, 2017. Washington Free Beacon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR4zG1daS1E&t=1s

[11] “Harry Smith Can’t Resist Asking Barak Obama Softball Questions About His Dog Bo & Golfing.” Jun. 23, 2009. Timeless Freedom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EFJqBTqXOo&t=1s

[12] Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff. “Winning the Media Campaign 2012.” Nov. 2, 2012. The Pew Research Center. http://www.journalism.org/2012/11/02/winning-media-campaign-2012/

[13] Sanchez, Raff. “US Justice Department secretly seizes Associated Press phone records.” May 13, 2013. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/10055318/US-Justice-Department-secretly-seizes-Associated-Press-phone-records.html

[14] Parke, Caleb. “Did Mainstream Media Forget How Obama Treated Fox News?” Jan. 12, 2017. Townhall. https://townhall.com/columnists/calebparke/2017/01/12/did-mainstream-media-forget-how-obama-treated-fox-news-n2270406

[15] Sherfinski, David. “Chriss Rock: President Obama ‘our boss,’ ‘dad of the country.’” Feb. 6, 2013. The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/feb/6/chris-rock-president-obama-our-boss-dad-country/

[16] Bilotti, Richard. “A New Beginning.” The Trenton Evening Times. (Nov. 5, 1992). p. 16A.

[17] “President Clinton Impeached.” The History Channel. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-impeached

[18] Hannity, Sean. “Bill Clinton’s accusers: We’re ignored by mainstream media.” Oct. 13, 2016. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2016/10/13/bill-clinton-accusers-were-ignored-by-mainstream-media.html

[19] Adams, Becket. “NYT columnist: Femnism died a little under Bill Clinton.” Oct. 3, 2016. The Washington Examiner. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nyt-columnist-feminism-died-a-little-under-bill-clinton/article/2603514

[20] Luce, Jim. “Bill Clinton: Elder Statesman to the World.” Sep. 24, 2009. The Daily Kos. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/24/785901/-

[21] Barabak, Mark Z. “How Bill Clinton, improbably, Became America’s Favorite Politician.” Sep. 10, 2014. The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-bill-clinton-americas-favorite-politician-20140910-story.html

[22] Weisman, Steven R. “Reagan’s First 100 Days.” April 26, 1981. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/26/magazine/reagan-s-first-100-days.html?pagewanted=all

[23] “1980 Election.” 270 to Win. http://www.270towin.com/1980_Election/

[24] “1984 Election.” 270 to Win. http://www.270towin.com/1984_Election/index.html

[25] “Inauguration through history.” Jan. 16, 2017. MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/photos/inauguration-day-protests-through-history/ss-AAlUkpP#image=1

[26] Sheppard, Nathaniel Jr. “Protesters Against Reagan Policy March to Capitol.” May 2, 1982. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/02/us/protesters-against-reagan-policy-march-to-capitol.html

[27] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan: How the Media Worked to Distort, Dismantle and Destroy His Legacy.” The Media Research Center. 2011. p. 3. http://www.mrc.org/sites/default/files/documents/Reagan2011.pdf

[28] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 3.

[29] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 4.

[30] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 5.

[31] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 19.

[32] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 20.

[33] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 20.

[34] Baker, Brent, Tim Graham, & Rich Noyes. “Rewriting Ronald Reagan.” p. 5.

[35] Glover, Stephen. “This bilious hatred and lack of respect for the dead is a disturbing new low in British life.” April 11, 2013. The Dailymail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307104/Margaret-Thatcher-death-party-This-lack-respect-dead-disturbing-new-low.html

[36] Chomsky, Noam. What Uncle Sam Really Wants. Tucson: Odonian Press. 1995. p. 49.

[37] Chomsky, Noam. Secrets, Lies and Democracy. Tuscon: Odonian Press. 1994. p. 82.

[38] Chomsky, Noam. The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many. Berkley: Odonian Press. 1996. p. 58.

[39] Falcone, Dan & Saul Isaacson. “Noam Chomsky: Obama’s Drone Wars Are the Worst Terror Campaigns on the Planet.” June 4, 2016. Counterpunch. http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37250-noam-chomsky-obamas-drone-wars-are-the-worst-terror-campaigns-on-the-planet

[40] Murphy, Eddie. Delerious. 1983. Quotes from IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085474/quotes

[41] Violent Femmes. “Old Mother Reagan.” Blind Leading the Naked. 1986. Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Pd7J6XBPY

[42] Holloway, Kali. “21 Best ‘80s Songs Railing Against the Horrible Reagan Era.” Nov. 29, 2014. Alternet. http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/21-best-80s-songs-railing-against-horrible-reagan-era

[43] Weisberg, Jacob. “W.’s Greatest Hits.” Jan. 12, 2009. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/bushisms/2009/01/ws_greatest_hits.html

[44] Weisberg, Jacob. “Bush, in his own words.” Nov. 3, 2000. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/04/uselections2000.usa5

[45] Benedetto, Richard. “Who is Smarter, Kerry or Bush?” Jun. 10, 2005. USA Today. https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/benedetto/2005-06-10-benedetto_x.htm

[46] Boucher, Phil. “Russel Brand’s ‘retarded cowboy’ jibe at George Bush shocks MTV audience.” Sept. 9, 2008. The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1053407/Russell-Brands-retarded-cowboy-jibe-George-Bush-shocks-MTV-audience.html

[47] Moore, Michael. “2003 Oscar Acceptance Address for Best Documentary Film.” American Rhetoric. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/michaelmooreoscaracceptance.htm

[48] Victor, Daniel & Giovanni Russonello. “Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes Speech.” Jan. 8, 2017. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/arts/television/meryl-streep-golden-globes-speech.html

[49] Gordon, Rebecca. “They should all be tried: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and America’s overlooked warcrimes.” April 30, 2016. Salon. http://www.salon.com/2016/04/30/they_deserved_to_be_tried_george_w_bush_dick_cheney_and_americas_overlooked_war_crime_partner/

[50] Goldmacher, Shane. “Donald Trump Calls Iraq ‘Worst Decision’ But Won’t Repeat That Bush ‘Lied.’” Feb. 19, 2016. Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/south-carolina-primary-2016-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/2016-south-carolina-trump-george-w-bushs-iraq-219475

[51] Freeman, Jo. “The 2005 Counter-Inaugural Protests.” http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/jan20.html

[52] Broder, John M. “Few Protesters at Inauguration.” Jan. 20, 2009. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21web-protests.html

[53] Hawkins, John. “20 Liberal Calls for Violence Against Conservatives in Quotes.” June 14, 2017. Townhall. https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/06/15/20-liberal-calls-for-violence-against-conservatives-in-quotes-n2341401

[54] Shapiro, Jeffery Scott. “The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace.” Nov. 5, 2008. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122584386627599251

[55] DeLine, Chris. “Election week special: 10 Biggest anti-Bush Songs.” Nov. 3, 2008. Prefix. http://www.prefixmag.com/features/10-anti-bush-songs-election-week/22728/

[56] Immortal Technique. “Bin Laden.” Babygrande Records. 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE5Ufx5GSAg

[57] Kaufman, Anthony. “The Anti-Bush Movie Wave.” May 16, 2004. IndieWire. http://www.indiewire.com/2004/05/the-anti-bush-movie-wave-135193/

[58] “Worst Liberal Movies” Conservapedia. http://www.conservapedia.com/Essay:Worst_Liberal_Movies

[59] “Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States.” IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913742/

[60] Cappello, Daniel. “Bush’s Press Problem.” Jan. 19, 2004. The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/01/19/bushs-press-problem

[61] Tait, Amelia. “How George W. Bush went from ‘war criminal’ to the Internet’s Favourite Grandpa.” March 13, 2017. NewStatesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2017/03/how-george-w-bush-went-war-criminal-internet-s-favourite-grandpa

[62] “Inflation Prediction Calculator.” http://www.in2013dollars.com/2017-dollars-in-2040?amount=5&future_pct=0.03

[63] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEvf58FcSjQ

6/7/17–Post #1: A “clever” title relating to the start of a new blog project

Throughout the last semester people around me; friends, family, colleagues; kept on asking me what I was planning on doing during the summer. The first summer after my first year of teaching High School. As a result I must have said the phrase “sit around for about a week doing nothing” twenty times or so.

 

It wasn’t until I went for a hike with my wife a few weeks ago that I realized that I would want to write a blog. I’ve thought about doing a blog every now and then and even dabbled in video blogging a few years ago but it never quite stuck.

But then the thought of crushing boredom that would inevitably come from the summer break and not having to deal with hormonal psychopaths everyday (Side note: I do truly enjoy my students…most of them…a few of them). Knowing myself, if I don’t give myself a project to work on or if I lack any kind of structure, I will fall into a mind-numbing routine of just playing video games and watching YouTube videos which the higher functions of my brain would loathe, yet the lower functions would drag me into.

So here we are.

The end of the week will mark when I’m officially done with my duties at the school until August, and after that I need to keep myself busy lest I lapse into numbing boredom.

The Hope is that this blog will give me structure and mental exercise during the morass of June and July. And hopefully as I keep myself sane others may find what I write interesting or useful or at the very least approach discussions in ways that people haven’t considered before.

I hope to write everyday about certain topics; I personally am interested in politics, movies, shows, video games, history, economics, and philosophy. Certainly with that kind of wide net our cup runneth over with all sorts of topics of discussion for the next two months at the very least (and the cup runneth over with mixed metaphors as well).

At any rate, this is C.T. Scott, and let’s stay sane together.

Only 65 more days until school starts again.

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.”

-Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965.