Confederate Flags and Statues
This is a topic which puts a lot of pressure on libertarians, even within our own community. There is often a gray area when we discuss controversial subjects. For example, I oppose marital infidelity and sexual promiscuity, but I support decriminalization, even legalization of prostitution. I've never participated and personally disapprove of the illicit drug market, but I oppose the War on Drugs. This has nothing to do with being "soft" on licentious behavior; it is more of a case that government should have constrained to fundamental threats to life, liberty and property, there is declining marginal benefit to government meddling, and there are problems better handled by private-sector institutions like the family, church, and charities.There is a Ron Paul video, I think the one which I posted yesterday, where he delivers a speech in front of a prominent Confederate flag. I had done a Google search not directly related to the clip where the "progressives" went batshit crazy over the clip, trying to make Ron Paul an apostle of the racist alt-right. Let's be clear: Ron Paul was not defending the institution of slavery in the South; in that clip, he cited (as I have multiple times in this blog) Lysander Spooner, a nineteenth century abolitionist. Spooner bitterly opposed the War of Northern Aggression. The basic principle of liberty involved free association. Lincoln at the outset (his inaugural address) made it clear his motivation was not slavery: in fact, he supported a constitutional amendment to guarantee its permanence. What was not negotiable, in Lincoln's eyes, was the loss of the cash cow Southern tariff income. The latter emergence of the slavery issue (i.e., the Emancipation Proclamation, which did not free slaves in Union territory) was more a matter of war tactics: Lincoln wanted to isolate the Confederacy internationally from recognition by anti-slavery England and France, and he was hoping to break the back of the Confederate economy by encouraging slave revolts.
We libertarians who support the idea of voluntary association (and hence the right of secession) are not in a state of denial over the Confederacy's immoral embrace of slavery. But in fact slavery was already dying out all over the world. A separate Union would have repealed the Fugitive Slave Law; the costs of maintaining slaves would have risen; in addition; free labor in the South faced competition from slave labor and would resist taxes being used to subsidize competition; already the South had been losing men to higher wages in the North. Would global consumers demand/prefer cotton produced by free labor? Would improvements in agricultural technology lower the need for large slave holdings? It's difficult to forecast if or when slavery would have collapsed in the South and/or peaceful reunification with the Union. But we had paid a heavy price to pay for Lincoln's war, and the South's resentment over the war and subsequent occupation would play out in a different type of cold war over the coming century.
There were federal issues in enforcing the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, including in the reunited Old South. The systematic violence and discrimination against blacks are morally indefensible. I can understand why many see the accompanying symbols of the resurgent South, the battle flag and memorial of Confederate generals and politicians, as part of that oppression.
However, I saw these symbols mostly as supporting/identifying with a distinct Southern culture, a face-saving gesture in support of defending one's homeland from a remote government, not unlike the original Revolutionary War. These aren't tributes to large slaveholders, plantations, etc.
Now personally I don't own a Confederate flag or statue, nor would I go out of my way to see one. But they aren't my flag or statue. I think the state or local authority with the flag or statue has the right to do what they want with their flag or statue. The politically correct don't have the authority to control free expression, and it's pretty stupid to think the abolishing symbols of the past, they can rewrite history. I think, just like preservation of concentration camps, they serve as reminders of what NOT to do. Losing over 600,000 American men in the War Between the States is too steep a price to pay; it must never happen again.
Pro Wrestling
I finally decided to stop my subscription to the WWE Network. The writing had been on the wall for some time; I was rarely watching the content beyond the monthly PPV's, and I had been critical of booking decisions for some time.I will say that WWE did a reasonably good job of swerving a likely title loss by Brock Lesnar at a 4-way Summerslam match (hinting Lesnar might go back to UFC) and setting up a credible challenger in former Wyatt sidekick Braun Strowman (Adam Scherr), a 6 ft. 8 former strongman, who physically dwarfs Lesnar, who is himself a physical force of nature. However, I expect that WWE will botch the booking of Strowman, just like they did, Mark Henry, who himself is a legit stongman and in the process of retiring. It took a long time before WWE put the belt on Henry and his "Hall of Pain" run. And then frittered away his last few years.
But I have and still do dislike putting the belt on Jinder Mahal, who is pathetic at generating heat as a heel champ. I'm mildly confused why they didn't put up "All-American" Cena against Mahal, unless they wanted to build up Mahal as a more credible champ first. And on the women's side, there's the weird deal with Sasha Banks, who must now hold the record of short title reigns.
I have to confess I'm enjoying the shoot-like promos between Cena and Roman Reigns, although I don't enjoy their predictable solo performances. But now Kevin Owens is floundering without a belt; it looks like they foreshadowing a feud with Shane McMahon, which I have no interest. They seemed to tease a reconciliation with Zahn, which I found interesting. They also seemed to tease a reunion between Balor and tag team Gallows and Anderson.
So I've left the network for now; how long depends on future bookings of talent.
