Hatred is the most destructive force on earth.
It does the most damage to those who harbor it.
Nido Qubein
Tweet of the Day
"People still question my judgment in marrying Bill." #HillaryExcuses— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
"If the polls didn't show me so far in front, I would have tried harder." #HillaryExcuses— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
"I should have paid off that Russian hacker who emailed me on my private email server." #HillaryExcuses— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
Not under crony teacher union tenure and seniority layoff policies.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
It's extremely difficult to do this; Edison's inventions were not "team efforts". You have a freeloader problem; people aren't equally able.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
You're in a republic, not a democracy (thank God). A pure democracy has no consideration of individual rights. Volatile, bloody government.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
I tweet something on politics and #NextThingIKnowIm I'm getting attacked from dark recesses of the Internet.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
The private sector provides news, educational & entertainment choices & content far beyond parasitic State bureaucrats. Set Big Bird free! https://t.co/taPHa1rtNy— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
Trump politically exploits highly-publicized terrorist incidents just like the Dems attack gun policy after any mass shooting incident.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
Hot sauce is a natural aphrodisiac and enhances lovemaking desire and performance. #FakeHotSauceFacts— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
The Dems need to stop this uncivil Trump Derangement Syndrome crap. It's one thing to be the loyal opposition, another thing to insult him.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
Image of the Day. No doubt Trump would argue that he's banned arms sales to Kathy Griffin.https://t.co/sJNNYDlPYi— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) June 4, 2017
Communications, Deregulation and Innovation
Mississippi and the Civil War
I came across this video via Newsalert (via nalrt.blogspot.com, which I would term more of a populist libertarian news portal). I, of course, reject the institution of slavery as evil and realize that the Southern aristocracy was intent on preserving its way of life.A few takeaways here:
- The Lincoln election had stoked regional fears, because Lincoln was elected without any Southern support. (In fact, he wasn't even listed on many Southern ballots). This exacerbated Southern fears of domination by a tyrannical Northeast-led majority.
- We see the dependence of the Mississippi economy on King Cotton. Mississippi was heavily dependent on trade for food, preservatives like salt and other imports, and the war largely cut off trade and supplies. Given the law of comparative advantage, it was difficult to pivot to a more diversified, autarkic economy.
- Whereas the slave-owner plutocracy did win secession in Mississippi, it was a closer fight than many realize. Not all white citizens benefited from slavery (as the clip points out slaves were used in other industries or lines of work, which dampened compensation), and many didn't want to open Pandora's box of secession.
Overall, I think the video is better done than many conventional assessments of the "Civil War" (again, I am somewhat reluctant to use this term, because this war was not about the South trying to overthrow the federal government, but to separate from a hostile central government). I do think the video pays only passing lip service to defending one's homeland and briefly mentions the politically opportunistic, manipulative, cynical nature of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, i.e., Lincoln felt the economy of the Confederacy was heavily dependent on the institution of slavery, and he hoped to stoke slave rebellions. He didn't have any relevant constitutional authority (recall the Fugitive Slave Laws were still on the books).
Political Cartoon
 |
| Courtesy of Eric Allie via Illinois Policy |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Neil Diamond, "And A Singer Sings His Song"
