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Praetorium Honoris

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Honesty, is such a lonely virtue.

Credit (or apologies) to Billy Joel for the title, although modified somewhat from his original which I share at the end.  I don't know about you, but to me honesty seems to be severely lacking in our world, with lies and corruption being so prevalent.  Am I over generalizing?  Yes, somewhat.  You and me are honest.  We live our daily lives in truth and honesty, and as such it's the foundation of nearly everything we do.  We have standards and practices in our transactions- from the scales in the produce section, in the fuel pumps, to the grocery scanners- all are set and governed by the authorities to deal honestly with us as we live our daily lives.  We have laws that help govern the public with regards to our possessions and our personal safety.  And for the most part these laws work- our property and safety isn't regularly threatened.  Individually we are honest, and we are treated honestly by businesses and other individuals.  That's where it seems to end though, with us in the Demos.  Unfortunately, those of the ruling class, the Kratos, don't seem to live their lives by the same standards.

Pelosi's office acknowledges indoor hair appointment, violating San Francisco Covid-19 restrictions

Gov Newsom Apologizes for Attending 12-Person Dinner Party.  “We should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” the California governor said in a statement.

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

"If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."

"Secretary Clinton issued an official State Department press statement, approved by the White House, placing the blame for the (Bengazi) attack on an Internet video."

I don't think honesty means we deserve to know everything our leaders know, that there should be no secrets.  National security, the conversations that our leaders engage in when going about the business of governing, aliens, etc., are all things that should be protected and kept from us.  Or at least these don't deserve our unyielding scrutiny.  But the bold faced lies above?  Not even in the same category. 

Ok, no surprise, politicians aren't honest like us.  But while we live our individual lives honestly, that doesn't mean we don't take precautions.  We lock our doors, we watch out for our neighbors, we do a brief mental check on the total when we pay for our groceries or fill up the tank, etc.  Do we break out a calculator and double check our receipts?  No, but we also know if the bill makes sense.  If we were charged $75 to fill up the tank when it normally costs $50, we would question it.

The problem as I see it is that some of us are far too used to being lied to and we don't question it.  Our politicians lie to us from day one, from the first campaign ad or speech they talk about lofty ideals or platitudes, but they have no plan to ever come close to that ideal.  They make us feel good about what they are saying, even if they don't mean it.  More and more platitudes.  

Platitudes.  I wasn't exactly sure I was using that term correctly so I did a quick google check-  

A platitude is a trite, meaningless, or prosaic statement, often used as a thought-terminating cliché, aimed at quelling social, emotional, or cognitive unease. The statement may be true, but its meaning has been lost due to its excessive use."  

Yeah, I'm definitely using it correctly.  Their platitudes lead to straight up BS, absolute lies, as these politicians get a taste of power and wish to maintain it.  They can't help but lie when they are faced with the reality the voters demand, when we expect results they can't deliver.  That's where we should say goodbye to them, thank them for their service, and send them home, to try again with another politician.  That was how Aristotle envisioned our government, with people leaving the demos, leaving their farms and shops to serve as our representatives within the Polis (the governing city-state), then return after a term.

Yet from our career politicians these days, we are faced with job-securing dishonesty as a rule, rather than the exception.   And they are now supported by an equally dishonest media and compliant public left.  The media is VITAL to a free society, to keep bad behavior in check, to facilitate the first amendment, to live up to their title as the Fourth Estate- which wields considerable power to keep the other estates in check.  However, they aren't doing that.  We've seen it for years.  Obama weaponizing the IRS, and especially over the past four with the Steele Dossier; when the lack of evidence of collusion was apparent and was resulting in nothing except millions spent on an impeachment.  Even when that was doomed to fail (yet almost didn't save for a fragile GOP majority in the Senate).  We also saw it with the Hunter Biden laptop.  Did everyone forget that potential bombshell?  Did it tie Biden to massive and possibly criminal conflicts of interest regarding a foreign power that might have affected our foreign policy and national security?  Maybe, but the media had their collective fingers in their ears saying "La la la, I'm not listening to you."



If your election lasts more than four days, you should see a doctor.

The dishonesty has continued with this election.  The media isn't supposed to "think" the election is fair and impartial. They aren't supposed to "assume" it is lawful, they are expected to investigate whether it is, or it isn't.  When they refuse to investigate because they want it to be fair, because they want Biden in office, they've abdicated their duty. They don't want to know the truth so they don't seek it out, despite a ton of sketchy voting behavior that is pretty damn close to being systemic- especially in the states which had Trump leading early on.  Social media is even worse than the MSM- with their "fact checked" banners and "missing context" claims.  A video posted with Biden stating he will raise taxes on all Americans got taken down saying it "lacks context because he'll also raise taxes on the rich" is a bunch of dishonest election interference.

Am I full of blind hope?  Not at all.  Biden was the most milquetoast candidate since Dukakis, and the lack of enthusiasm for him is telling.  How he got so many more votes than Obama should be the first sign of voter fraud.  Some might say it's not the media's job to dig up evidence for Trump, but I say it's their job to dig it up for us.  Even if Trump wasn't suing, the media should be looking into this.

Am I biased.  Completely.  Am I disheartened that the candidate I voted for didn't win?  Of course.  Do I think he's perfect?  Not even close.  He's a womanizing, self aggrandizing, thin skinned man who is somewhat a bully.  But he's also decidedly not a politician, and that's the best part.  I'm completely willing to accept those faults because of his policies and what he's accomplished, even with a hostile media and corrupt left- the swamp.  It's also because he's not beholden to anyone, much less the far left, which is where I see our country going, towards socialism- inch by inch, one policy at a time- if the GOP doesn't hold the Senate.  

What else is the left offering besides "not Trump?"  Their policies are more of the dishonesty we're fed.  They support narratives that don't call out the true reason for problems in this country- from fatherless societies, to "peaceful" protests that are actually violent and illegal riots against our institutions.  From reparations to college loan forgiveness, from calls to defund the police, when the actual statistics about cops don't hold up for half a second, to the cry that the entire country is built on systemic racism.  While at the same time, they feed their masses with a steady diet of identity politics, actual racism, in place of real policies that affect the whole of society.  

There are a lot of truths that are avoided as well-  our national debt, crumbling infrastructure, state and city pensions that are underfunded and leading to civic bankruptcies.  What about the fact that these politicians have been in power for years and years, but nothing ever changes?  Neither side wants to talk about those.  It's all too much honesty they need to avoid at all costs.   

Billy Joel though, he sings the truth, at least when it comes to pouring his heart out over his gold-digging wife leaving him.



I know not everyone thinks the same as me with regards to our President.  I expect there are Chanters who are glad to see him go, but this is far more important than who is sitting in the Oval Office.  This is bigger than left or right.  This is about our Republic.  If we don't have free and fair elections, we are no better than Russia or Venezuela, with an oligarchy in charge and not the voters.  Is President Trump going to remain in office?  I wouldn't put money on it, but any fraud deserves to be brought to light.  Our nation sort of depends on it.


26 comments:

  1. Amen brother.......the fourth estate has cast their lot with one party. Ironic that Communism officially collapsed in the Soviet Union in 1991 while here in the USA it's grown in stature by being incorporated by one political party. Can't wait to hear Bean's response today.

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  2. One of the key things to remember is how the personal acceptance of corruption leads to societal corruption. Ever time I accept a lie, or tell a lie breeds lies in my community. That principle that Jesus espoused "salt and light" is TRUE. Salt can clean wounds or season food but not if it's still in the box. Light isn't hidden under the bed, it's put on a pole, or hangs from the ceiling to spread it's influence. Our individual contributions ARE that important in our culture. I just don't know how far into the roller coaster ride we are.... After a while, gravity takes over and the ride runs until it's done.

    Second thought, if they get you to repeat their obvious lies, it tears away your honor, and demoralizes you. Making you weaker morally and bringing self-loathing. It's toxic. But how far has that intruded into our national culture? When that mindset has taken over, I think it makes blue marks on the election map.

    I don't see a very rosy future for this republic...

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    1. I remember lecturing my oldest about lying, telling him that someone is trying to destroy the country when they do that.
      An open society requires a higher level of honesty than a dictatorship.
      Went on at some length about how lying does that.
      Must have made a mark, as he has turned out okay.
      Frank

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  3. I made mention on Failbook, after Election Day, that "The Republic is dead." Not because it seemed that my candidate did not win, but more to the evidence of vote fraud, the illegal (and unprosecuted) doings of elements in the Federal government, and the scene of the Speaker of the House tearing up the printed State of the Union text during the President's speech. We either have children at the highest levels of government (spiteful and not very bright children I might add) or we have a cabal of truly evil people who will do anything to seize power by whatever means.

    That's not what the Founders envisioned when they created this Constitutional Republic. We the people have managed to throw it all away based on party politics and free stuff. I am not confident of the future.

    Good post Tuna.

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    1. Yes, they are very petulant children who are whining about not getting their way, so they wish to pack the courts and expand the number of states. They are tearing down the republic, out of spite and hatred.

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  4. Bingo. I do not agree with any of Bernie Sanders policies but he was at least honest about his positions and I give him 100% for that and my vote in the primary. Same with Trump, He is a #1 pain in the rump and not to be confused with a saint but he seemed to admit it and owned it. Take Hillary and now Joe and heaven forbid any honesty about anything. Right is left, up is down, black is white and no one is allowed to say anything about it.

    We are still in the middle of the dispute portion of the election yet everywhere you look Trump is just suppose to roll over. If he did I would loose all faith/trust in him. I like him because he is willing to fight tooth and nail right up front, not in the dark of the night with a knife to the back. And in saying all of that, if he looses he looses and it is not the end of the world. In 4 years we get to do it all over again and the world goes on.

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    1. But it will be a very different republic, with a packed Court and possibly two more states.

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  5. Tuna, you had me at Aristotle...

    The complicity of the media is the most concerning factor of this election. The fact that they have essentially gone "all in" for a single candidate and a single point of view gives me all the doubt in the world they have abdicated (and will continue to abdicate) their role as a neutral press. There will be no "holding to account", no investigative reporting.

    All the more the dangerous, of course, because the errors and wrongs will fester until every weakness is full grown and exploited by someone else. At that moment, of course, no-one will be more surprised than the media at what has happened.

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  6. I think you are at a loss to explain loss. The republic is in flux. That state where the leadership vacated it's leadership role to feed on itself. What liberal press? There is none in the Midwest. It's all conservative, or espouse conservative ideology. And the election is not over yet. The real electors meet next month. Remember they do not have to vote how the vote was, the courts say, they may invalidate your voting becoming faithless. So how does that bode for the highly gerimandered districts? We will see.
    But, our biannual revolution was interesting. Even if it was 24 x7 on all news channels. Ughh.

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  7. Tuna, yesterday i said "... smarter people than I are doing a better job at it than I could." Today, you proved me right. Well done, Sir!

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  8. Maybe it's showing on the desktop but here on my phone the Billy Joel video of the song Honesty is not showing up. Apologies if so. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/SuFScoO4tb0

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  9. The media this election was part of the opposition, then again it is owned by the group wishing to fully control our society. Sad times....

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  10. The chicanery was so blatant as to be, well, duh, criminal.

    From the start of the last big push - that would be the nominating conventions, the Dems lost viewership and lost control of any sanity left on their side. The Reps produced a slick, enjoyable 'convention' full of one positive hit after another after another. The ratings show it. Dem viewership dropped every day. Reps viewership climbed and climbed and even the leftist moonbat newsies couldn't stop the signal.

    Then there were the individual stops. Trump pulled, what, 20K in Hollywood? Biden pulled... 10 non-staff or media in his home state? Trump made 2-3-4-5 stops per day and was energized and vibrant and funny and positive. Biden pulled 1-2 stops per day and seemed less animated than the animatronics at Disney's Hall of Presidents.

    Then there were the debates, where Slo Jo started out okay and just ran down like he was full of old batteries, while Trump kept on hammering and forcing the moderators to let him speak.

    That's not even accounting for the Laptop of Doooooom which the FBI had since December 2019 and did NOTHING with until the repair shop guy and Guiliani got it into the news. And, yes, such a bombshell. It's why I am so adamant that there needs to be a National Vote Day that lasts 24 hours and we need to stop the mail-in ballots (except under very controlled conditions) and stop early voting.

    Then there's social media corporations and the MSM. Well, looks like Fox took it in the neck, and CNN is going on the auction block, but there needs to be better accountability and more... actual facts and less opinion and smear and slant. When Pravda looks better, heck, when the Babylon Bee gets the news more correct...

    And the Dominion and other voting software...

    And the sudden vertical shift of votes after Biden lost even with all the voting software cheats... And even then they still had to cheat by basically locking out any oversight of the counting process. Tammany Hall and Huey Long would be ashamed, so would Idi Amin and Hugo Chavez and the Castro crime syndicate.

    Come on, Man!

    I love reading Larry Correia's slant on it. He breaks it down nicely from an ACCOUNTING standpoint on the whole vote fraud thing.

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  11. Yup.

    Many of us have taken oaths to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.

    We are very close to having clear evidence of who these individuals might be. We certainly know who they are in general, specifically the media, as Tuna noted, and many in the political profession. It is hard to tell who are actually active conspirators from those who are merely passive beneficiaries of evil deeds of others.

    We have a judicial branch which is supposed to guard against transgressions, but currently it is far from active in fulfilling its role. And, very much in danger of being neutered and corrupted by "court packing." Should they fail to act, or be denied the chance to act on obvious undermining of the electoral integrity, then our representative republic has ceased to exist, and has been replaced by tyranny.

    At that point, the next steps are not clear, but whatever happens will not be pretty, or desirable. Especially with the class envy and dependency which have been ingrained into much of our citizenry, and the inability of the urban masses to support themselves. Any disruption of normal commerce will have devastating consequences. Urban areas are about a week away from anarchy and cannibalism. Not to mention the invisible threat of $27 Trillion in debt which threatens to collapse our economy and/or currency by itself.

    I hope that violence is not the answer, but would not be surprised to find that it becomes warranted. Violence is already taking place on a shockingly regular basis from the leftist mobs identified as antifa or other more benign sounding names. At some point, law abiding citizenry will shift from being cheek-turning, passive victims and respond to force with force. Perhaps only with legally justified self defense in face of the threat of death or imminent serious bodily harm, or maybe escalate to offensive operations against oppressors. Sadly, I can predict violence, although I do not seek, endorse or support it.

    The rot, activism and deception in the media is but one head of the hydra destroying our nation. The decline, deception and failure of our educational institutions, infiltrated by leftist activists for decades in another. A portion of that is the abysmal failure to teach civics or history in schools any more.
    JB

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    1. With schools infecting our kids with weak backgrounds on our principles, and colleges avoiding any semblance of critical thinking, we're doomed.

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  12. If one party can print out as many fake ballots as it needs, in order to get its candidate elected, then they have just disenfranchised every honest voter and nullified his/her vote.
    I guess we're just supposed to be good little serfs, who labor night and day to provide the elite with the food and luxuries they think they deserve.
    Frank

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  13. "All we ask is two weeks to flatten the curve."

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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