Inflation is indeed a killer. It is only the incredible productivity of even our badly-perverted and severely-damaged free market economy that makes a Quarter-pounder meal cost “only” somewhere between $9.00 and $12.00 (well, FRNs).Plus sales tax, as government rip us off for another 6-10% (between 54 cents and a dollar-twenty more). We can count our blessings that we are only paying TEN times what that same food cost a half-century ago.
(Of course, we must remember that even in 1972, a McD’s hamburger, fries and even soft-drink loaded with sugar was probably a whole lot bigger, better tasting, and more healthy that that meal today.)
Gold and silver, as Robert Kiyowsaki was fond of saying, is “God’s money.” Something that holds its value. Little green pieces of paper or a stream of electrons does not. We can blame the FedGov (and the rest of the world’s governments) and the banks for this: it is harder to lay the blame on just one man, though we cannot speak with any sort of approval for Richard Nixon. Or before him, FDR, both of whom led to this sort of pain and agony.
But the real blame perhaps can be laid at the feet of American voters, and American citizens in general. We did not (and do not) rise up in rebellion against this horrible treatment. Against these stupid actions. Instead, we meekly bow down, or kneel in front of those who we let be our masters. (Though of course, they claim they are our “servants” and doing all this for their love of us and these nations.)
The entire issue of “sex” and “gender” and hatred of those who differ from us is back in the news headlines. Revelations that the murderer of Charlie Kirk had “non-standard” beliefs and practices has brought this issues forward from the back burner. Actions in various States have ramped this up in the last five months.
Once again, it is obvious that many people in the world – and especially here in the States – not only disagree on how things should (or should not!) be done but on how to define these words. TPOL recently discussed so-called leftists recommendation about banning words that either confused or caused very negative reactions in many people. Primarily their political opponents and those people whom they believed could be persuaded to come over to their side. Of course, this is portrayed as “protecting free speech” as they again pervert and twist principles. Not just the English language.
Since then, a number of fedgov agencies have followed suit. The Donald is blamed, of course. Several States have also done this – taking advantage of that evil “freedom” that The Donald claims to be bringing back to the States and people in general.
As a high school student and engineering student, your writer was taught that “sex” refers to biological creatures, like animals and humans. “Gender” refers to inanimate objects, like the gender of electrical components. Such as plugs (male gender) and outlets (female gender). In the past 40+ years, this clear distinction has mutated. A brief visit to that rarified authority, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, takes several thousand words to try and explain the difference in usage and even the history.
Although the FedGov has officially ended the silliness of requiring people to append “their pronouns” to emails and letters, many States and private businesses still require (or at least practice) that waste of electrons and ink.
For lovers of liberty, the bottom line is simple: let people say whatever they want to provided that they do not use actual violence to try and force others to agree with them. And understand that we are not acting aggressively towards them when we reject their claims, their definitions, and their accusations. No matter how offensive they may believe us to be. Government should stay out of it.
With midnight on Saturday, the panic started setting in. It has just gotten worse in the last 72 hours: the nation, we are told, is going to collapse. Government workers aren’t.
Here is one example, which is of particular interest to us here at The Price of Liberty, because we are involved in environmental engineering and consulting, including occupational and miner safety and health. An online magazine, WorkSafety24, had this headline and text:
Partial government shutdown impacts safety-critical agencies
Portions of the U.S. Federal Government shut down at midnight Jan. 31 after Congress failed to pass legislation to distribute FY 26 appropriations.
Impacted safety-critical agencies include:
In the Department of Labor (SOL):
OSHA: Occupational Safety & Health Administration
MSHA: Mine Safety & Health Administration
In the Department of Transportation (DOT):
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
In the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
“It is our hope that this lapse will be short,” said Russell T. Vought, Office of Management and Budget director, in a Jan. 30 memorandum. “The [Trump] Administration will continue working with the Congress to address recently raised concerns to complete appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026.”
Yep, all kinds of alphabet soup agencies. Notice that CBP and ICE, both in DHS, are not listed. Why? Well, for one, they aren’t supposedly directly related to worker and miner safety. And of course, that is the excuse for again not approving spending for FY2026. Which actually began back in October: 4 months ago: a full 1/3 of a year!
You may have heard talk about making soda ineligible for purchase under the SNAP program (food stamps). Among others, the HHS Secretary (RJK Jr. points out the problems with such consumables. We don’t think he considers them to be “food.”)
Oddly, a number of supposed pro-Trump influencers suddenly began arguing against the idea on social media. “This is government overreach! People’s choices shouldn’t be dictated by government! Even Donald Trump enjoys his Diet Coke!” Of course, it comes as no surprise that anti-Trumpers, especially of the Transzi (Regressive) persuasion, would object to limiting the use of welfare funds. But some so-called libertarians also seem to be critical.
This was a dumb argument: if you’re going to use stolen money to make your purchases, at the very least those purchases will have some strings attached. Boo hoo. (And I would bet that The Donald buys his own Diet Coke. After all, he is donating his paycheck and not accepting it.)
But then it suddenly became clear why these influencers had all been pushing this bad argument: they were actually being paid to.
The commentary published the evening of the 28th (Wednesday) was an incomplete (and untitled!) draft that got mixed up on our computers. We apologize for that, and have posted the correct and final version of that.
For those who don’t want to go and wade through 940 words, in summary: The Donald had a campaign promise to reduce federal regulations and the size of the bureaucracy. While the number of bureaucrats and agencies have gone down slightly, there has been no massive or even serious gutting of regulations. The regulatory nanny-state is still alive, well, and apparently growing stronger.
Why?
There are many reasons and factors involved, but we think that a major problem is the permanent bureaucracy: the Deep State. They and their allies in the judicial system, media, and Congress are fighting tooth and nail to keep this from happening. Trump 2.0 appears to have a better understanding of the challenges than Trump 1.0 but still seems to underestimate and inexpertly tackle those people and their attitude and power. This may be intentional on his part (the negative view) or simply due to the power of the entrenched powers-that-be.
We cannot tell whether he is a shill for the so-called elite. But that should not deter us from pushing back against the nanny-state and against the incredible burden of regulations and enforcement in all levels and types of government.
“Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.”
This last several weeks have seen much of the Fifty States – especially the Southern States – subject to cold, ice, and snow that have messed up everything for a lot of people. In some cases, the weather forecasts were right on target. In others, they got more or less misery. We are told more is coming!
People in different places, of course, react differently. As we Americans are still a mobile lot, in many cases, newcomers to an area found out that not just the weather but customs and the response to the weather are also very different. This article, from Cowboy State Daily is a neat look at that:
Whatever is blamed for the bad weather, the tendency is to believe that it has never been this bad. (When you actually look at the historical records, you find the intensity of these temperatures and storms is uncommon. But the broken records are often only a few decades, or perhaps a century, old.) People have been conditioned to expect conditions to get worse. “Everything is going downhill! Everything is turned upside down!”
But it is more than just expectations that vary. It is a systemic problem.JoanApprecATo
FedGov regulations: supposedly implementing statute law, and supported by policies and guidelines. And an incredible burden on Americans and anyone doing business with Americans. A key feature of The Donald’s 2024 campaign: to get rid of as many as possible. Thereby liberating Americans from the growing tyranny and totalitarian behavior of the FedGov. So… where are we on that? How many pages have great big Xs drawn across them?
What do we see? Not much. So we ask why? Not what was intended? Hidden agenda? Some other reason?
Now that we are a year into Trump 2.0’s regime, we should ask (again and again) what is going on.
As lovers of liberty, we of course seriously applauded The Donald’s campaign pledge to roll back regulations. Even if it was too little, too late. Certainly much to be preferred over what Cammie would have done in a hyper-Woke Obama 4th administration, which seemed to be inevitable if the election of 2024 had gone the other way.
There was a great deal of hype and fond hopes being shared a year ago. Big promises, even some welcome political appointments, and more. Was The Donald really going to fling that round stone into the forehead of the Deep State?
Definitely, getting rid of tens of thousands of regulations would be a good thing.
Unfortunately as in other promises made, the way The Donald and his surrogates and deputies are going about it is depressing. Indeed, there are few good things that we can say about their effort.
So much so, that we ask, what was the real intent? Was it really to liberate Americans, their families, and companies from the heavy hand of the bureaucrats? Or was it just another example of the politicians’ rhetoric not matching (or even trying to match) reality? We are fairly certain that the default setting for politicians at all levels of government is lies and more lies. Is this because of the incompetence of Trump appointees? Or a victory of the very-strongly entrenched people and powers of the Deep State, the Permanent Bureaucracy? Are they sabotaging the effort? Or is the effort really just eyewash?
We must admit that there has been a reduction in the number of bureaucrats. And the number of new bureaucratic regulations and “guidelines.” Even some at the State level, and not just the FedGov. And there have been a few regulations repealed or changed.
After the recent attack on the Cities (Southern Baptist) Church in Minneapolis on Sunday, the Rapid City Post put out this story.
Many people chimed in to support this idea.
Christian leaders urge protecting worshippers’ rights after protesters interrupt service
Several faith leaders are urgently calling for protecting the rights of worshippers while also expressing compassion for migrants. That’s after a group of anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted Sunday service at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trey Turner leads the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention to which Cities Church belong. He says churches should “provide compassionate pastoral care” migrant families affected by immigration enforcement, but “the sanctity of our houses of worship” must be respected too. The U.S. Department of Justice says it opened a civil rights investigation after a group of about three dozen protesters walked into the church during the service, loudly chanting. (Full Story)
This of course contrasts with the weak-as-dishwater response by thug Walz to the attack:
But the behavior of Walz, Ellison, Frey, or whoever (including the “protesters” who invaded the meetinghouse), do not justify or demand more laws or calls for more government action “protecting the rights” and “sanctity of our houses of worship.”
For one thing, we don’t need new laws – we need to get rid of most we have.
Secondly, who thinks that such “protesters” (rioters? insurrectionists? patriots? resisters?) are going to obey such a law anyway? Just as we know that criminals do not obey gun control laws, we cannot expect people to obey laws protecting “places of worship” – especially not when they believe that their actions are justified in opposition to the claimed tyranny of ICE.
Third, anyone who depends on the cops or whatever government agency to protect themselves against a home invasion or an attack on their business or meetinghouse is not being very wise. As the saying goes, “the attacker is seconds away, the cops are minutes away.”
Fourth, religious assemblies have just as much right to defend themselves as a family in a private home or a business owner in their store. Yes, even in Woke Minnesota. Although we cannot count on governments to actually recognize this, more and more. There are, indeed, some States that ban weapons of self-defense in “houses of worship.” And there are religious groups who practice (or at least preach) absolute pacifism. But that is their decision; government should not have the power to override their freely-made choice, no matter how much risk it creates for them.
Fifth, consider DC’s and Saint Paul’s record on upholding the right to assemble, the right to free speech, and the right to worship (serve) God in accordance with their conscience. Frankly, it is pitiful. So, would yet another law really do any good? Would enforcing this law be any better than the current situation?
All this said, we suspect that the politicians in Minnesota, both DFL and GOP, will pass some sort of feel-good legislation to “prove” that they care. Because that is the way politicians are.
Another week, another killing by ICE agents in Minnesota. Is this getting to be a routine?
We are told (accurately or not) that ICE is detaining a dozen times more border jumpers in States like Texas and Florida than in Minnesota. But the protests and obstructions seen in Minneapolis-Saint Paul do not seem to be taking place in places like Houston, El Paso, Tampa, Panama City, Fort Worth, etc.
Why?
Obviously, in the eyes of many, it must all be the fault of Evil Orange Man (who is now more white-haired than orange-haired, we note). Clearly, he is exercising his “usual” vicious temper and vengeful anger against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for daring to run against G-d’s anointed leader. So why not California, home of dear Kammie? Oh, right; she’s just a woman, and therefore beneath consideration by Old Evil Formerly-Orange Man.
Seriously, many libertarians (both “right” and “left”) believe that The Donald (with his equally evil minion, Kristi Noem) is turning Immigration and Customs Enforcement into a national police force. The accusations flow unceasingly. Others point out that the tactics and even the strategy of the Trump regime are brutal and authoritarian. And claim that DHS and other agencies are spouting propaganda, lies and false claims.
Most people would consider it a civic duty, and even an act of Christian love, to call 9-1-1 when they see an accident, someone injured, a car off the road, or other emergency. For some people, this would of course be in addition to offering to render help immediately.
But should it be a crime to decide NOT to call 9-1-1?
*Use link above picture; photo does not have active links.
The case pushing this family was not an accident or injury: it was acidosis, and they say their son’s girlfriend saw him in acute distress and failed to call for medical assistance. The doctor said that his life could have been saved if dealt with promptly.
The Price of Liberty 
What is left? Are you and I in danger?
With midnight on Saturday, the panic started setting in. It has just gotten worse in the last 72 hours: the nation, we are told, is going to collapse. Government workers aren’t.
Here is one example, which is of particular interest to us here at The Price of Liberty, because we are involved in environmental engineering and consulting, including occupational and miner safety and health. An online magazine, WorkSafety24, had this headline and text:
Partial government shutdown impacts safety-critical agencies
Portions of the U.S. Federal Government shut down at midnight Jan. 31 after Congress failed to pass legislation to distribute FY 26 appropriations.
Impacted safety-critical agencies include:
“It is our hope that this lapse will be short,” said Russell T. Vought, Office of Management and Budget director, in a Jan. 30 memorandum. “The [Trump] Administration will continue working with the Congress to address recently raised concerns to complete appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026.”
Yep, all kinds of alphabet soup agencies. Notice that CBP and ICE, both in DHS, are not listed. Why? Well, for one, they aren’t supposedly directly related to worker and miner safety. And of course, that is the excuse for again not approving spending for FY2026. Which actually began back in October: 4 months ago: a full 1/3 of a year!
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