So shortly after the 2016 election, I pointed out how odd it was that the Reason homepage was dominated by stories either mocking and ridiculing the left for being fearful of what was to come, or articles about how Trump might actually be good for libertarians.

Now, in 2020, we have one party so upset about the election, they’re openly fomenting a crisis of democracy. Here’s the Reason homepage today. There’s one article about all of that. There’s a hell of a lot more about the threat posed by Joe Biden. And more riciduling the left.
I’m picking on Reason. And I’ll add that there are people there who have sufficiently grasped the threat the last four years, despite the general editorial direction of the magazine. But it really underscores the disappointment I’ve had with my fellow libertarians in general ...
... in the Trump era. We’re supposed to be the alarmists. Proudly! We’re supposed to the ones who overreact when government overreaches. Because alarmism is a hell of a lot better than complacency. And history tells us that governments tend not to give powers ...
... back once they’ve claimed them. In the Trump era, too many libertarians not only stopped being alarmists, they spent most of their time scolding and ridiculing the people who were. I mean, it’s still bizarre to me that the philosophy that ...
... wants to abolish the FBI, CIA, DEA, BATF, and DHS (among others) generally only had scorn for “defund the police.” The police are never going to be abolished. Yet instead of embracing the momentum, forging alliances, and converting it into useful reform, many libertarians ...
... belittled the activists pushing “defund” as impractical, radical, pie-in-the-sky. *We* are supposed to be radical, impractical, pie-in-the-sky!

A big part of this is that many libertarians still see the left as a bigger threat than the right. I’m baffled by this given...
... the last four years, and what’s happening right now. With the exception I guess of regulation and (sort of) taxes, Trumpism has devoured all the areas in which libertarians are supposed to have common ground with the right.

Part of it is also probably stems from the fact...
... that libertarians disdain politics and Sorkinesque visions of government, and Trump has made a farce of all of that. That’s fine. I get it. We shouldn’t turn to politics to solve all our problems. But we do need to acknowledge that simply choosing to ignore politics comes ...
... from a position of — dare I say it — privilege. If you’re DACA, or have family who is undocumented, or have lived here for 20 years under TPS, you can’t just “live an apolitical life.” We seem to get this when it’s a small business owner worried about Biden’s regulatory ...
... policy. We seem far less able to empathize with people protesting racism in policing, or ICE abuses, or CBP brutality. This administration wants to zero out refugee intake, unleash the military on protesters, and has openly said any election Trump doesn’t win is ...
... fraudulent. (I could go on.) Yet I’ve had Trump supporting libertarians — prominent ones — tell me over the last two years the real threat to liberty right now is Antifa, or a Black Lives Matter leader who once said she’s a Marxist.

I’m glad Biden’s win means libertarians...
... will go back to being alarmists. But given the approach too many libertarians took during the Trump years, I suspect it’s going to be even more difficult to get people to listen.

And I can’t really blame them.

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1/ Imagine that as soon as the referendum result the EU announced that it was looking forward to the end of free movement of UK citizens in the EU


2/ Imagine if the EU said finally all those retired Brits in the EU27 could go home

3/ Imagine if the EU said finally all those Brits in the EU could stop driving down wages, taking jobs and stop sending benefits back to the UK

4/ Imagine if the EU said it was looking to use UK citizens as “bargaining chips” to get a better trade deal

5/ Imagine if the EU told UK citizens in the EU27 that they could no longer rely on established legal rights and they would have to apply for a new status which they have to pay for for less rights
This is partly what makes it impossible to have a constructive conversation nowadays. The stubborn refusal to accept that opposition to Trumpism and GOP nationalism is about more than simply holding different beliefs about things in and of itself. 👇


It's fine for people to hold different beliefs. But that doesn't mean all beliefs deserve equal treatment or tolerance and it doesn't mean intolerance of some beliefs makes a person intolerant of every belief which they don't share.

So if I said I don't think Trumpism deserves to be tolerated because it's just a fresh 21st century coat of cheap paint on a failed, dangerous 20th century ideology (fascism) that doesn't mean I'm intolerant of all beliefs with which I disagree. You'd think this would be obvious.

Another important facet. People who support fascist movements tend to give what they think are valid reasons for supporting them. That doesn't mean anyone is obliged to tolerate fascism or accept their proffered excuse.


Say you joined a neighborhood group that sets up community gardens and does roadside beautification projects. All good, right? Say one day you're having a meeting and you notice the President and exec board of this group are saying some bizarre things about certain neighbors.

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The chorus of this song uses the shlokas taken from Sundarkand of Ramayana.

It is a series of Sanskrit shlokas recited by Jambavant to Hanuman to remind Him of his true potential.

1. धीवर प्रसार शौर्य भरा: The brave persevering one, your bravery is taking you forward.


2. उतसारा स्थिरा घम्भीरा: The one who is leaping higher and higher, who is firm and stable and seriously determined.

3. ुग्रामा असामा शौर्या भावा: He is strong, and without an equal in the ability/mentality to fight

4. रौद्रमा नवा भीतिर्मा: His anger will cause new fears in his foes.

5.विजिटरीपुरु धीरधारा, कलोथरा शिखरा कठोरा: This is a complex expression seen only in Indic language poetry. The poet is stating that Shivudu is experiencing the intensity of climbing a tough peak, and likening

it to the feeling in a hard battle, when you see your enemy defeated, and blood flowing like a rivulet. This is classical Veera rasa.

6.कुलकु थारथिलीथा गम्भीरा, जाया विराट वीरा: His rough body itself is like a sharp weapon (because he is determined to win). Hail this complete

hero of the world.

7.विलयगागनथाला भिकारा, गरज्जद्धरा गारा: The hero is destructive in the air/sky as well (because he can leap at an enemy from a great height). He can defeat the enemy (simply) with his fearsome roar of war.