... he grows worse from having power: he becomes and is of necessity more jealous, more faithless, more unjust, more friendless, more impious, than he was at first; he is the purveyor and cherisher of every sort of vice, and the consequence is that he is supremely miserable, and that he makes everybody else as miserable as himself. ...
-- Plato, Republic IX
Increasingly positive views of socialism at Gallup are mostly at the expense of the growth of corporate power in big businesses.
There's an app for that, but we don't use it enough.
It's called antitrust law.
And of course since Citizens United on January 21, 2010, money has increased the political power of the speech of corporations, so it makes sense that positive views of big business have collapsed from 50 to 35 over the period of the survey.
American patriots have hated the political power of corporations since before the Revolution of 1776, rejecting the argument meant to appeal to the Loyalists among us, that we are mere subjects of his royal highness, The Boss, The Man, The King:
An English colony is a number of persons, to whom the king grants a charter, permitting them to settle in some distant country, and enabling them to constitute a corporation enjoying such powers as the charter grants, to be administered in such forms as the charter prescribes. As a corporation, they make laws for themselves; but as a corporation, subsisting by a grant from higher authority, to the control of that authority they continue subject. ...
-- Samuel Johnson, Taxation No Tyranny, 1775
That's why we say . . .
The tyrant is the real slave. He is mastered by a whole host of conflicting desires, none of which he is therefore able to in any way satisfy.
Trump proposes 20% toll on cargo through Strait of Hormuz; restarts Iran blockade
President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will impose fees in the Strait of Hormuz “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” after declaring America’s role as the “guardian” of the major oil-shipping route. ... Trump’s post asserts that commercial vessels attempting the transit must now pay protection money to the U.S. ...
“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’” he claimed. “But as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”
“The process and formation will begin immediately,” he added. ...
Panetta: Putin ‘not quite sure what to do’ after Ukraine drones strike Moscow
... Panetta, who led the Pentagon during former President Obama’s administration, told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert on “On Balance” that he does not “think there’s any question” that Putin is, as Vittert asked, “on the ropes.”
“I just think that it’s clear right now that Putin is cornered in this situation and is not quite sure what to do,” Panetta said. “He obviously ought to, frankly, negotiate some kind of ceasefire, but knowing Putin, he will continue to resist that, and Russia is going to pay the price.”
He later added that the “most important” assistance that the U.S. can provide Ukraine is “whatever it needs in terms of weaponry so Ukraine can present a bigger threat to Russia,” which will “send a message to Putin” and lead to Russia losing the four-year war.”
Panetta said it was critical that President Trump “stand up to a tyrant like Putin.”
“Putin’s not going to win under any circumstances,” Panetta continued. “It would be smart for the president to pick the side that is going to win this war, and that is Ukraine.” ...
Musk Suspends X Accounts Criticizing JD Vance...
I can confirm from personal experience this weekend that this is true after being unaccountably disconnected multiple times just out of the blue and forced to log back in, only to have that process throttled as well.
AMAZON, GOODREADS restrict reviews of Vance book after savage critiques...
Yes, it comes right after Quintillis. Sic semper tyrannis.
Seen here:
... they insist that “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism,” that “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants,” and that we should all be given liberty or given death. It doesn’t seem to matter much to them that the first of these proclamations is entirely made up; that the second was written by a “gentleman-farmer” who spent the American Revolution on a diplomatic mission in France and then, mindlessly, supported the French Revolution, even after it turned bloody; and that the third was uttered by a simpleton who was never really an American and who actually served in the French Revolutionary government. ...
The Erinyes keep pursuing the Republicans for their crimes.
Sudden death of Republican lawmaker shaves GOP House margin to three votes
... [Doug] LaMalfa's death imperils the Republican House majority, leaving Speaker Mike Johnson with just a three-vote margin after the formal resignation of Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene on Monday.
House makeup is presently 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats, leaving Republicans able to lose no more than two votes on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance and participation.
It was also revealed Tuesday that Indiana Republican Congressman Jim Baird, aged 80, has been hospitalized after a car accident.
Democrats are set to gain one additional vote in their caucus after a runoff election in Texas later this month to replace Congressman Sylvester Turner, who passed away last March, taking the Republican margin down to two votes.
Another special election will take place to replace former New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherill in April after she was elected the state's governor in November. ...
Texas' Tyrant Governor, Republican Greg Abbott, has deliberately denied representation in the US House to the residents of TX-18 since March 2025.
Maybe that all-volunteer-army idea wasn't such a great one after all.
A "large standing Army in time of Peace hath ever been considered dangerous to the liberties of a Country". -- George Washington
The "means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home". -- James Madison
"When once a standing army is established in any country, the people lose their liberty". -- George Mason
Trump Says He Is Prepared to Send ‘More Than the National Guard’ Into U.S. Cities
... “We have cities that are troubled, we can’t have cities that are troubled,” Mr. Trump said. “And we’re sending in our National Guard, and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re going to have safe cities.” ...
The president delivered his speech on the U.S.S. George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked south of Tokyo, at an American military base in Japan that was set up in the aftermath of World War II. It was an unsubtle show of force as Mr. Trump prepares to meet China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, this week, for talks that hold great stakes for the global economy. ...
The Congress has the tariff authority, not the president, according to the constitution, and needs to reign in the powers it has delegated to the executive if it cares what is good for the country.
65% of the country disapproves of the GOP-controlled Congress.
Don't the PUBLIC airwaves have to serve them, too?
... Through this public spectrum for radio and TV stations, the federal agency has the right to regulate broadcasting and requires each network “by law to operate its station in the ‘public interest, convenience and necessity.’ Generally, this means it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license,” according to the FCC website. ...
Typically, the discussion of whether a station violated the FCC’s guidelines centers around children’s programming, a cut to news content, or obscenity — such as Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl in 2004. ...
No amount of revolution is ever enough for the odious Uniparty.
Trump's women are the craziest women, the bosom pals of tyrants since at least Aristotle.
