Just came across a quote that seems relevant:
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”
-Frédéric Bastiat, The Law
"The Left" is accurate, these are dogmatic, rabid followers of an idealogy they want to force down American throats. seems much like the religious right of the 80's.
Not so sure the North Koreans are naive about South Korea - there's an active black market of bootlegged materials. Some, at least, must have a good idea that it's more prosperous south of the border. Also, Kim is undoubtedly backed at some level in Beijing. Think having him in power serves as a proxy for them so they will help keep him propped up.
Reminds of something another mentor said - he moved out of a middle-class area into a gated country club area on a top-flight golf course. He said the neighbors seemed to be in a constant game of status - who has the nicer car or boat - but at the same time appeared to despise each other. He couldn't figure out why they prioritized status with people who, as far as he could tell, they didn't even like! Needless to say, he quickly wanted to move out of the area - even country clubs have a**hole neighbors.
But aren't property rights a subset of human rights? If I work hard and earn money or other valuables as a fruit of my labor, is it my right to own the results of my labor?
Great - you're not a local but certainly the Phillipines has their own entrepreneur-taxers as well. Seems like thuggery but ideally it pays for security/infrastructure/freedom-to-be-left-alone. Is China impossible for expats? I'd rather live somewhere in southern, tropical China than in Phillipines or Thailand - China is more organized and better-run.
my Bengali friend asked me while we were driving through a housing project, "Why does the gov't pay these people to sit around, barbeque, and smoke weed?" I burst out laughing - funny how foreigners can sometimes see the BS better than we can. I thought, I would much much rather work a fast food job (or better, outside sales) for a living than become dependent in that kind of life. Maybe it sounds nice but deep down impossible to have dignity living like that.
Wow, didn't know that was being preached back then. There's a similar hate group that "preaches" every weekend at the rundown dumpy bus station they have here - ironic since the area could be improved if they would follow some of the tenets of western civilization, namely taking responsibility for your own situation, even if others have wronged you. They won't do that so the area will slink back into a third world hellhole. The city probably have to start importing aliens from Latin America or the Middle East, like the Baltimore mayor encourages - if European civilization is so awful, maybe they will be surprised by their taste of other cultures.
Not so sure about MLK's being virtuous in other ways. They say you can judge someone by the fruits of their tree - go to MLK Blvd. or MLK park in any major city. It is high-poverty, crime-ridden, run-down, and if you are a hard-working, productive person, you are a TARGET. If MLK was such a great person (apart from serial adultery and plagiarism) why is the fruit of his work spoiled rotten?
Thanks as always to Professor Ringer!!! As a writer I admire his style - one thing that always stands out to me is his "kickers", the last one or two sentences that close off the post with a bang. His kickers are concise, never waste a word, encapsulate the article, and have a flashy style that truly closes off with a "kick." Marvelous!
![[Avatar]](/images/avatar26.png){kind=avatar}
sam239 
Ruckus