Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. - Oscar Wilde
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Friedman: the US Since the 30's: More State, Less Liberty
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[Cato Institute or their sister libertarianism.org takes routine potshots at conservatives.]This is contemptible nonsense. American conservativism is based on a tradition of the ideals of limited government. There is NOTHING conservative about Trumpism. Right-wing authoritarianism is no better or worse than left-wing authoritarianism. Cato Institute doesn't have the balls to target leftism which is BY FAR the bigger threat to liberty on any objective standard. The only true libertarians in government are from conservatives like Amash, Massie, and Paul; not one on the left is. Just look at Paul's recent modest proposal to shave a penny on the spending dollar; not one single Dem voted for it. They are, by definition, Statist.
[Cato Institute is trying to suggest that the recent NFL code changes are capitulation to Trump]
Cato Institute, as usual, is engaging in rhetorical nonsense. They are INTENTIONALLY" recasting the scenario.
Let me be clear: Trump is an asshole, and only he has suggesting firing the players. This is nothing but his gross and intellectually dishonest version of nationalist populism. None of us criticizing the attention-seeking, self-indulgent jackass protesters intentionally dishonoring their voluntarily accepted code of conduct think that the 2-3 minutes a game standing silently during the playing of the national anthem is why they are on the field. Trump can go to hell for thinking the anthem has anything to do with why people want to watch football.
We at our jobs do not engage in political protests. This does not mean we don't have First Amendment rights, but there is a time and place, and part of what we negotiate is a concession of certain liberties. We respect our contract. That is not what the NFL players are doing.
NFL players don't right a right to vent at referees, and they can't engage in taunting the opposition; but somehow we're supposed to believe their "professionalism" only starts at the opening whistle, not in pregame activities.
To the best of my knowledge, the NFL is not stopping playing from engaging in political activities during their free time, giving interviews, publishing opinions, etc. No; apparently they aren't intellectually capable of doing that. They are attention-seeking bastards who want to exploit the availability of national media to make fools of themselves.
[The following two comments are in response to Cato Institute and Reason posts on the NFL recent announcement on national anthem player behavior. Basically protesting players can stay in the locker room but disrespectful behavior on the field will be penalized.]
Bullshit. This kind of opinion is faux-libertarianism. The NFL is in the private sector, and this is all about voluntary contracts. A large percentage of NFL viewers/customers, including myself who boycotted, objected to this phony protest by malcontent, attention-seeking, self-indulgent bastards who exploited their access to the media to promote their personal agenda, against their contractual requirement to abide by their code of conduct. As libertarians, you should be for the enforcement of contractual rights. These protests eroded the business models of franchises.
The league punishes disrespectful behavior against referees and opposing behaviors; yet according to your "logic", these self-serving damn fools can do what they want during the playing of the national anthem. What other business operates by these rules?
Personally, I would prefer the NFL stop playing the national anthem at games. In fact, all major sports. But if you're going to do it, do it right.
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Nope. The league is not capitulating to Trump; the protests resulted in a decrease of attendance, viewership and/or revenue (I myself boycotted). That's the NFL is trying to address. NFL players signed onto agreement to honor the league's code of conduct, which explicitly identifies respectful behavior during the playing of the anthem.
I don't give a damn what Trump said. The league owners don't report to him. He's just trying to stoke his populist-white followers with his phony version of nationalism.
Housing Regulations Make Rent Too Damn High
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