GMcGath @gmcgath@liberdon.com

Bill Weld got a fairly decent 9.2% of the vote in the NH Republican primary. Argue over what the self-proclaimed "Libertarian for life" Republican is worth, but this was where the not-Trump vote went.

The primary winners in New Hampshire are a socialist and a thug. It's expected but depressing. This was recently the "Live free or die" state.

Libertarians have known for years about Bloomberg's racist policy. It looks as if the rest of the country is just finding out about it.

Saw a commercial today in which Obama appeared to endorse stop-and-frisk Bloomberg. Did some checking. The ad just tries to make it seem that way.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/mike-bloomberg-campaign-barack-obama/2020/02/05/id/952801/

Decriminalizing polygamy gains support in Utah. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/11/utah-proposed-law-may-end-jail-time-polygamists/4721906002/

Someone offered the argument that voting takes a small amount of effort as a justification for insisting on it. I pointed out that deciding which item to shoplift from a store also takes little effort, but that's not a reason to do it. But I granted the comparison wasn't quite fair; shoplifters do far less damage than looter politicians.

Bizarre religious views, which she has chosen to make part of her platform. She regards Muhammad and Jesus as "messengers of God," as if some people have special access to the alleged wishes of a deity.

Wants to make it a retroactive crime for banks to "gamble with money." Does that mean they shouldn't be allowed to make investment decisions?

Wants college tuition subsidized by the government.

In spite of her good points, I can't vote for someone like that.

After serious consideration of Gabbard as the one possibly tolerable candidate, I've decided to sit out the NH primary.

Reasons I can't vote for her:

Ignorance of economics and opposition to free markets. Thinks a minimum wage law gives people a "raise." Wants "Medicare for all."

Opposition to free speech. Brags of her support by End CItizens United.

Opposition to gun rights. Brags of her F rating from the NRA.

......

New Hampshire has gone insane. Socialist Sanders has made it clear he intends to go far beyond Trump in abusing the powers of the office, and he's at the top or close in most polls. All "choices" are horrible.

Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee, but a real poll by UMass Lowell and YouGov. Of 400 New Hampshire Democrats polled, 62% would prefer the extinction of all human life to Trump's re-election.
https://www.uml.edu/docs/TOPLINE%20-%20UMass%20Lowell%20NH%20Dem%20Primary%2020200203_tcm18-321680.pdf

China is currently the prime example of a fascist state. It calls itself socialist, while having nominally private businesses that function as extensions of the government. It bans expression which opposes "core socialist values," monitors its people extensively, and censors the Internet.

Actual antifascists would denounce China. Antifas are playing a different game, where "fascist" is merely a label to stick on enemies.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-entertainment-feature/china-film-industrys-bleak-winter-deepens-as-coronavirus-adds-to-censorship-woes-idUSKBN2010PD

XKCD got it right about voting software. https://xkcd.com/2030/

Twitter has melted down. It's now showing only one person in my feed. The hundreds of others must all have been shadowbanned.

Tulsi Gabbard brings up possibility of decriminalizing all drugs. https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/tulsi-gabbard-concord-marijuana-legalization-will-save-lives

Collectivists have hijacked "identity" to mean "group membership." You are yourself, not an instance of someone's categorization. https://medium.com/@gmcgath/individualism-the-cure-for-tribalism-8da4e204ac?source=friends_link&sk=3a65d8b9498e7fe1e06fb6f81931ad75

In Britain, "possessing terrorist documents" is a crime. To the government's great astonishment, this hasn't stopped people from killing. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security/britain-to-toughen-terrorism-rules-after-london-attack-idUSKBN1ZX0NV

USA Today doesn't know how to use a spellchecker on its headlines: "Street sign smashes into police car's windsheild"