Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Politics

  • Should a Philosopher Care about the Political Situation?

    It would seem that a "spectator of all time and existence" (Plato, Republic 486a) ought to care inasmuch as his 'telescope' is located in the world, well within range of the agents of the State, the power of which has rarely been limited, and the malevolence of which has too often swamped the good things…

  • Nancy Pelosi and the Divine Spark

    Donald Trump famously referred to MS-13 gangsters as "animals." That's not the way I would put it inasmuch as it is an insult to animals who, unlike the gangbangers, are beneath good and evil. But Trump talks like a working stiff and we all know what he meant. Pelosi, however, took umbrage, protesting that the…

  • When is Politics War?

    I have been saying that politics is war.  I don't mean to suggest that it is the nature of politics to be war, but only that in the present circumstances it is. When is politics war? When the constitutional order is no longer respected. And that is now in the USA. To mention just three…

  • What Can a Sane Individual do in the Present Political Situation?

    What can an individual do? Not much, but here are some suggestions. Exercise your rights and in particular your Second Amendment rights; the latter provide the concrete backup to the others. A well-armed populace, feared by the totalitarians, is a strong deterrent without a shot being fired. Money spent on guns, ammo, accessories, and range…

  • Liberty Forever?

    A re-post from 12 October 2012, shortly before Obama won a second term. Things are worse now. The last seven years have been hard on Lady Liberty despite our great gain in 2016.  Liberty, if not quite dead, is moribund.  The insanity spreads, as witness Journalists Against Free Speech. .………………….. How many Americans care about…

  • Michael Bloomberg Again

    The former mayor of New York City would make a better president than any of the following: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders.  But that is not saying much. In any case it is moot. The billionaire won't get the Dem nomination. It will go to either Biden or Warren.  Still and…

  • The Dyslexic Dems

    They read 'U.S.' as 'S. U.'

  • Trump is Hated for the Following Reasons: A Preliminary Catalog

    1. For his agenda. Enlightened nationalism, America first, withdrawal from endless foreign entanglements, control of the borders, upholding of the rule of law, anti-globalism, anti-elitism, etc. 2. For his SUCCESS in implementing his agenda, e.g. SCOTUS appointments, revitalization of the economy, making the U.S. energy independent, etc. 3. For his resolute and relentless undoing of…

  • Third Parties: Discussion Societies in Political Drag

    A so-called 'third party' is any party in U. S. politics other than the Democrats and the Republicans.  There are many third parties. My thesis is that third parties are discussion societies in political drag.  Corollary to that is my claim that anyone who has anything to do with a third party thereby demonstrates ignorance…

  • Political Hatred: A Look Back at Nixon

    Has any president of the United States been the object of deeper hatred than Donald Trump? Abraham Lincoln perhaps. But in recent decades only Richard Nixon comes close.  Both Nixon and Trump elicit mindless rage, and for similar reasons.  The elites hate both because they have no class.  That's the short answer. For nuance we…

  • The Virtuous are Too Scrupulous to Rouse the People against their Tyrants

    Here: Describing Wilkes and two of his allies, Walpole wrote, “This triumvirate has made me often reflect that nations are most commonly saved by the worst men in [them].” Why? Because, he concluded, “The virtuous are too scrupulous to go the lengths that are necessary to rouse the people against their tyrants.” Until the coming…

  • Trump

    Donald Trump cannot restore us morally or reverse our cultural decline. He is, after all, a product of it. But he can secure the political and economic preconditions for such a restoration. And that is something the Left cannot and will not do. In fact, Trump has already taken great strides in the direction of…

  • Joe China and the Cherokee Maiden

    China is the conservatives' Russia, and Joe Biden is the conservatives' Trump. This meme will explode full force should sleepy Joe get the nod, which is possible though unlikely.  On the nod, he won't get the nod. My money is on the Cherokee maiden. One has to feel sorry for her. Desperately wanting to play…

  • The Moral and the Meteorological

    The typical career politician confuses the two.  His moral compass is a weather vane, which is to say that he has no moral compass. Joe Biden is an excellent contemporary example. Career is everything. And so he flips and he flops, adjusting his views according to the prevailing winds.  He is without principle except for…

  • Of Hillary and Robespierre

    Richard Fernandez: Perhaps the magnitude of Hillary's 2016 loss is only now becoming apparent. Clinton didn't just lose the White House, she also lost the Democratic center to the radical ornaments.  The diminution of Brooks, Stevens, Kristof, and even Biden are the consequence of that defeat. The radicals who once served the useful purpose of putting fear…