Charlottesville Is Final Nail In The Right's Coffin-Podcast 656

Charlottesville Is Final Nail In The Right’s Coffin-Podcast 656

Well before the 2016 primary campaign I posted a podcast announcing the death of the conservative movement. Whatever was left of the right is the final casualty this past weekend In Virginia. In Charlottesville Is Final Nail In The Right’s Coffin-Podcast 656.

A Deal With The Devil

During the 2016 presidential campaign Republican moderate leadership had the opportunity to allow the convention to move through the political process to select a candidate. Instead they chose to close ranks with a candidate famous for rhetoric and little else forcing that candidate on the American people. Surprisingly a week later, the democrats did the same thing. This faustian bargain resulted in a rhetorical presidency which has accomplished little.

Identity Politics Right Wing Style

In this way, the Grand Old Party closed ranks with the politics of division. Name calling and chaos. But wait! Right Wingers didn’t break windows or block freeways. It was the Left which used violence. Until now. In Charlottesville Is Final Nail In The Right’s Coffin-Podcast 656.

It Wasn’t Us!

Is it too soon to suggest humor in the irony of every paid commentator, blogger, show host and agitator of the right suddenly trying to show the world those people carrying Nazi Flags in Charlottesville aren’t really conservatives? Is it too soon to decry the loud mouths hocking constitutional conventions, fife and drum, messaging seminars and civil war?

Who is to blame? Everyone

Especially the voters. This generation of Americans. Children who think the louder they yell the better chance they have to get what they want. People who think good citizenship is doing a FaceBook Live video or throwing up a You Tube Channel predicting the end of the world. Commentators who want to tell you what happened when they weren’t there.

All Hat and No Cattle

People who refuse to help during election season but won’t miss a tea party meeting to discuss messaging and their version of the constitution. People who want to protest but can’t be bothered to stand up and run for office or do any of the hard work citizenship in a democratic society demands. Block a freeway? Why not! Shoot a congressman? Sure. Destroy someone online? Fun! Carry a nazi flag in a parade? Awesome! We’ll just blame the Mercers or George Soros. Doesn’t Matter.

Government Is More Powerful No Matter Who’s In Charge

Whatever you scream when you protest, one thing is true. Government power is more absolute. A prison we have created for ourselves is bankrupting us and destroying our society. National debt is dangerously high and climbing. Little more than window dressing passes for action. Political news watchers concern themselves with the latest greek drama live from the White House. Issues? Policy? You won’t get clicks with that.

Losing Equation

Neither majority nor minority provides anything close to leadership. Attacks and Counterattacks. Name calling. Gleeful enjoyment of this House of Cards. Surprise when it results in death. This does not end well.

Sponsored by Brush Studio in the West End Saint Louis Park

Charlottesville Is Final Nail In The Right’s Coffin-Podcast 656

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Podcast 553-AgoraFest’s Nik Ludwig

Podcast 553-AgoraFest’s Nik Ludwig. ‘Agorism’ or being an ‘Agorist’ has been defined a few different ways. Samuel Edward Konkin III says Agorism is simply “thought and action consistent with freedom’. Konkin also says Agorism is an “ideology…but it is also a scientific and definitely materialist way of thinking”, as opposed to say, a religious system of thought. AgoraFest celebrates Market Anarchy. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you have a weekend and you enjoy camping, listening to music, eating, consuming your choice of beverage be it coffee or beer, and endless substantive conversation, then you’ll enjoy AgoraFest. At last year’s AgoraFest – my first – I sat down with founder Nik Ludwig for a free wheeling conversation about the event and Agorist ‘way of thinking’. This year I continue the tradition. For last year’s conversation, check out  Podcast 416. This year we delve a little deeper into the concept of what real liberty is, with little reverence to the things mainstream ‘liberty’ advocates hold dear, like the US Constitution, American Exceptionalism, and a system of government sometimes reverently referred to as a ‘Representative Republic’. Joined by a phalanx of ‘AgoraFesters’, Nik shreds virtually all the preconceived notions of what most people on the right, even and especially the far right, think they are fighting for, and yes, even the Libertarians take their share of criticism. This is why AgoraFest isn’t for the faint of heart. Agorists don’t shred these notions because they’re advocating for their point of view. In fact, they’re more likely to disagree with you just because you agree with them (my kind of people, by the way). The whole point is open minds, the joy of discussions about any topic under the sun as long as it isn’t what they call ‘political violence’; the same old crap you hear on CNN and Fox News about the two party’s mainline candidates this year. You’re likely to sit down to breakfast and before you’ve had your coffee someone will ask you whether you think it is possible for a person to legally sell themselves into slavery, and in the next breath start talking about longevity drugs or fusion reaction. I can tell you one thing; Not one person brought up the Vikings, the Republican Party, whether they’d pulled the dock in yet for winter, or when the deer hunting trip is scheduled for this fall. Everyone was full on engaged in substance; even the question of whether Angelina Jolie was more beautiful than Jennifer Anniston, because value is subjective. So next year I’d love to see you at AgoraFest. Thanks to Nick and Steve and everyone else for making it a great weekend. Sponsored by Hydrus Performance.

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Podcast 416 – AgoraFest 2015

AgoraFest 15. Live from a gathering of Anarchists and a few Libertarians in Frontenac, Minnesota at the Villa Maria Conference Center and Retreat, better known as Hogwarts. One thing missing from politics these days is fresh ideas. It doesn’t matter whether you are on the right, or left, it sure seems like political parties are peddling stale and recycled ideas from a time when Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was brand new. In this podcast AgoraFest attendees explain what Agorists are all about and in the process throw out some ideas that are unsettling to some. One of those ideas is to reject politics and political involvement completely, in the process of creating a community of anarchists with a free market entrepreneurial focus. One might think Agorafest is a gathering of eccentrics who spend time thinking and talking about things that don’t matter to people involved in traditional politics. To a certain extent that is true, but it is also true there is more going on here than talks about Austrian Economics and Home Brewing. At a time when traditional politicians claim an economic policy is either another tax cut, or another program to redistribute the fruits of an individual’s labor, maybe some of these ideas about self sufficiency, government power and volunteerism have some real value. Some people in what we might call traditional politics reject this kind of thing out of hand, and they might suggest rejecting political involvement is nihilistic, but it is also true that traditional politics has been unresponsive to the point where people feel their so called leaders are not listening to voters, and are more interested in retaining power. It’s this kind of behavior that adds credibility to the idea of withdrawing, working on building a community and setting an example. Podcast listeners and subscribers will have to decide whether this example is valid for them. At the very least though, they might listen and think about something besides what the bouncing news ball says they should think about. Sponsored by X Government Trucks and Pride of Homes. 

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