QOTD: The World is Just a Trailer Park

While debating Canada taking over the NATO command of Libyan actions, and adding in the irony that the Canadian government just took a vote of no confidence in the PM (which passed), AK Fan and I lamented for the days of the cold war.  Simply because during that era, at least we knew who the players were.  From AK Fan:

The world truly is a fucking mess.  Like we've joked about before, you ALMOST have to miss the cold war.  Sure we were always on the edge of destruction, but you have the US/NATO and you have the USSRF.  Everyone else stayed the fuck out of their way.

Pure and simple, the two major players kept each other in check.  Yes, there were proxy wars and actions on the periphery, but for the most part, the world was a fairly stable place.  The US also did not need to have this policy of freedom export upon the level that we do today, knowing full well that we might find ourselves up against Ivan himself if we over stepped our bounds and threatened his interests.  The cold war kind acted as it's own mediator in a civilized suburban neighborhood.  There were rules of detente along with weapons inspectors (the good old Reagan doctrine of "Trust but Verify").  Of course, the clandestine game was probably at its best during that era which gave us some of the best books and movies of all time.  

Unfortunately, as I analogized, the world has degraded into that of a proverbial trailer park.

 The world is really a big cluster fuck; since the fall of the wall, it has turned into one big trailer park.  Unfortunately, I think that a trailer park could manage the world better than the numb-skulls running it.  On the economy they'd just say "Fuck you, you didn't pay your loan, so we put your pick-em-up-truck on the record and toed yous ass down to the junk yards, now leamme alone so I can drink ma beer."

Never one to be outdone, AK Fan makes the analogy even simpler:

See, right now the world is a trailer park.  The problem is the US is the cop who tries to keep order but, while he's there to enforce the law, he's also fucking half the wives in the park.  Further, he's helping them pay their rent with $20's he prints up on his HP copier.  At some point, it just can't continue. 

Folks, this is the world in which we live...Welcome to the Trailerhood! 

Stark Reminder of USA Gun Rights

Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws are something that most of us here in the USA take for granted.  We are very fortunate to have not only the law on our side, but also legal precedent to enforce and codify the civil right enumerated in both our Constitution and our history.  

Unfortunately for our northern neighbors, the Canucks aren't as lucky.  As can be read about here, the legal precedent and enumerated protections are both not part of the Canadian legal system.  Further, and what is worse, even though historical right to self defense exists for the citizens of Canada, the doctrine isn't necessarily recognized or held with such convictions for their government overlords.  These believes are evidenced by the over zealous, anti-gun, anti-freedom prosecutors to our North who arrange deals with criminals by trading reduced sentences for testimony against gun owners who use arms in self defense.

I would not only call this a failure of justice, but more appropriately the persecution of the lawful.  (After all, no criminal would ever have reason to lie to avoid more jail time when sanctioned by a prosecutor, right)? 

Take note of two things from this article: 1) That a citizenry that doesn't exercise or stand up for their rights looses them on a prima facia scale, and 2) For as much fighting against our enemies and infighting that our various supporters and groups have, we are still have the best laws and the best lobbying, education, legal, and training groups in the world (save for maybe Switzerland or Israel).  The point being, that as Canada lurches more left on the individual freedom afford by arms and the defense they provide, We The People, continue to move forward.  Let this remind us (along with the events of the last several weeks) that progress is not a constant.  Nor is progress easy, but as long as you aren't moving severely backwards, the end goal of advancing freedom can remain in our sights.  (Gun pun intended). 

The Crazy Cunucks are Ahead of US?

Well, when it comes to the free market, yes, those crazy northern neighbors that say "Eh?" are ahead of the United States.  Seems that our free market economy is now the 9th most free in the world. 

Ninth?  The worlds biggest economy is not the most free?  According the Heritage Foundation's Index on Economic Freedom, we are behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, and Denmark.  DENMARK?  CANADA?!?  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! 

These nations all outscored the U.S. across ten categories, including taxes, free trade, regulation, monetary policy, and corruption.

As the article continues, it seems that the top ten ranking is only by the skin of our teeth.  We beat out No. 10 Bahrain by one tenth of a point and No. 11 Chile by four tenths of a point.  (Yeesh, what a rough crowd to be thrown in with.)  Breaking down the results in further detail, the study shows that the world's poorest nation, Rwanda, is advancing by jumping to the No. 75th rank from 93 in the year prior.  A backwards, poor nation is better able to advance it's personal freedom, opportunity and hope for it's citizens in one year while we continue a slide?  Just how far has the US slid into the doldrums of ineptitude? 

Facts remain, that until we can become more like (shudders) Rwanda and move away from big government and big regulation, big bureaucracy, our economy will not right itself.  There is hope, yes that's true, but we have to fix the mess in Washington first, before we can actually start to solve our own house. 

"Our Southern View, Ain't So Good"

The Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson seems to think that the view to his south, ain't so good any more. Of course, if I were a misguided Canuck, I'd probably have a similar view inside the same context of the Canadian world.

From his article over the weekend:
It is disturbing these days for the country’s friends to watch the Great Republic’s politics, to wonder about its economy, to tremble at its deficits, and to shake their heads at its Supreme Court that has struck down corporate contribution limits in politics and reaffirmed the right to bear arms, to the intense joy of the gun lobby.

The United States gave itself the most gifted President in several generations, handed his party a majority in both houses of Congress, only to watch his presidency be swamped by the doleful legacy of the Bush years, a worldwide recession and its parlous aftermath, and a ferocious Republican opposition bent on a search-and-destroy mission of his presidency.

Our politics do completely suck, I'll give him that, however, doesn't Ottawa perpetually have Quebec as the thorn in it's side? Perhaps we can just annex Washington to Mr. Simpson and let him have all the stuff he loves, like limits on speech, gun registration / confiscation, and the biggest boob since Jimmy Carter, errr what he refers to as the "most gifted President in several generations." Perhaps he can take Helicopter Ben while we're at it and give us the Canadian Central Bank's board back in exchange.

If you want to bitch about our debt problems, while you praise the largest spendthrift in the history of our country, isn't that a bit hypocritical? I understand Simpson's grievances that as the USA goes, the majority of Canada goes, but, come on, Canada is really just America's largest national park. Perhaps we should make it's 12 Providences part of Barack's 57 states. (Of course, that would make it 62, and the Pres would have to count higher than his misguided brain can handle).

Last I checked, the great state of Canada has horrible state run health care that is on the brink of it's own insolvency, cold weather (unless it's skiing you're after), a gun registry (that is trying to be gotten ride of) and is one of the biggest producers of potash, coal, and oil in the world. So, if you don't want people to travel or do business with your country Mr. Simpson, I suppose the best thing for the USA is to regulate green house gas emissions and continue to ban guns?

People won't be able to travel to Canada to ski, fish, and hunt as airline fees will sky rocket. No one in the USA will be buying your oil because it's carbon tax is far to complex and expensive. Food prices will continue to sky rocket because the production of potash which is a major component of fertilizer will become hard to obtain, and electricity prices will sky rocket once the ban of coal from Canada is complete. Though the convenience of your economy will still go strong as far away China will continue to emit "global warming pollutants" in amounts far greater than your southern neighbor. Simply brilliant!

We are loosing the war in Ashcanistan, but no one is telling the Canadian PM to leave Canadian troops there. It is appreciated that your fine service men and women are doing a part to fight off evil. I fully admit that war isn't winnable beyond turning the whole region to glass and lowering the mountains a few hundred feet. The Russians couldn't do it, why did the free world think we could? Yet, the main contributing factor to our budget deficits is defense spending? The defense budget isn't the problem stupid! It's the social spending, the bank and auto bailouts, and every little pet project like paying $45 dollars to each Floridian to figure out their drinking habits or some other stupid crap.(See here).

Yes, we could trim the DoD fat too, but having a 20~50 trillion dollars in unfunded liability isn't helping matters. It wouldn't matter if that brilliant mind of your's couldn't read the balance sheet of the USA, as it's assets are extremely overstated, it's revenue understated, it's expenses under reported and the liabilities understated, which equals a whole fine mess. Where's Billy Clinton when I need him, "It's the economy stupid!" Watch the final half of this year continue to worsen as we see manufacturing and production falter. Jobs do matter!

Sure, we have our problems and it's nice that some nitwit from a Canadian newspaper pointed them out, but we already know about them. If you want to help, go tell us what Mr. Obama is doing to destroy our Federal Charter that is supposed to be binding upon tyrants and the safeguard against corruption. Perhaps Quebec can continue to hijack the rest of your country for the next 20 years while your remain a columnist boring the rest of the world.

Some of us Americans enjoyed our Fourth of July as a reminder to fight for the principles upon which this nation was made, and we don't care if that ticks off our Northern Neighbor, as everyone loves to piss on the USA.