Bulletin Boards and Politics (10/19/16)
I was recently at a military base (not the first time since I was born and raised a military brat and was once an officer myself). While waiting for a meeting I happened to look at a bulletin board and found probably a third of the space devoted to "progressive" themes: voting, sexual victim hotlines, equal opportunity point of contact, etc. I'm talking up to 3 or 4 separately posted items.In contrast, there were few items addressing conservative themes except for maybe a posting of a government waste hotline.
In a certain sense, this reflects Obama's own political priorities during two terms as Commander in Chief, including openly LBGT integration (relevant to maybe up to 3% of the population). Let's be clear: as a libertarian, I reject the legitimacy of sexual assaults; criminals must be held responsible for violations of the natural rights of others. But I've seen no evidence of a pandemic situation among military personnel. The majority of military personnel I've met are, if anything, respectful, self-controlled and family-oriented. I don't deny the possibility of the proverbial bad apple, but the military does a good job of screening out undesirables (not Clinton's meaning) and does not suffer fools gladly. It's a question of marginal costs and benefits. It would be one thing if the number of sexual assaults was exploding out of control. But on the other hand, there were no comparable warnings against, say, physical assaults or theft of personal property.
I would like to see political correctness taken out of military policy. Not unlike academia, this is a case of preaching presumptuously to the choir. I didn't need a dose of political correctness in college; I have 4 little sisters and grew up in an integrated military; I had been raised a strict Catholic, to treat others like I would like to be treated. I did not need a group of condescending elitists making and enforcing rules over what I should do or say. Most intelligent people who qualify for college are not the source of crime and ignorance in society. If I'm a hiring manager, I'm looking for productive employees, and that doesn't reflect on incidentals like race, gender, etc.
Voting and Ambivalence (10/19/16)
I've gotten multiple notifications warning me about voting registration guidelines, but I registered when I transferred to an Arizona driver license weeks back. In fact, over the weekend I successfully inquired about my local polling place over the weekend.
I'm not thrilled with next month's election, which I regard as one of the worst matchups in American history. I'm not even that thrilled with my first protest vote, likely for LP nominee Gary Johnson, who I think is too willing to surrender to some politically correct causes and allow government to determine who a business must service, a type of slavery.
Left-wing progressives call attempts to prevent voter fraud as intrinsically "racist". The left wing arguments argue that there is scant evidence of fraud, just like for decades they denied their crown jewel Medicare didn't invite fraud. But it's worse: they want to bribe voters with the promise they'll be rewarded with goodies coming out of other, productive people's pockets, not their own. People don't need government to tell them what they can do with their own money. This whole spin of taking something out of other people's pockets is one of the most morally corrupt constructs one can imagine, as if a thief is morally entitled to someone else's property. Voting doesn't make government theft morally acceptable under any circumstances. The idea that your neighbors outnumber you and thus are entitled to seize your own house is unconscionable.
