The proper method for hastening the decay of error is not by brute force, or by regulation which is one of the classes of force, to endeavour to reduce men to intellectual uniformity; but on the contrary by teaching every man to think for himself.
William Godwin, Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793), Vol. 2, bk. 8, ch. 6.
On May 31, A.D. 455, Emperor Petronius Maximus was stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome from a Vandal invasion that was, in fact, blowback from his own power politics. Thus ended his two-and-a-half month reign, which he had obtained by murder and bribery.
Petronius Maximus made at least one strategic mistake, attempting to strengthen his position by forcing Licinia Eudoxia, the previous emperor’s widow, to marry him — and forcing her daughter Eudocia to marry his son. This latter arrangement canceled Eudocia’s betrothal to the son of the Vandal king Genseric, infuriating both Eudocia and Genseric, who sent a fleet to Rome. Maximus failed to obtain troops from the Visigoths and he fled as the Vandals arrived. In the hubbub, he became detached from his retinue and bodyguard and was killed by fellow Romans.
In the midst of a slow-drip UFO disclosure, the White House launched the website aliens dot gov this week.
We did not learn anything about extra-terrestrial pilots or inter-dimensionals or C.S. Lewis’s “macrobes.”
The site is about illegal aliens!
For 60 years, the U.S. government has kept a closely guarded secret.
Aliens have been walking among us, living in our neighborhoods, and interacting with us in our daily lives.
They’ve shopped in the same stores, attended the same classes as our children, and lived seemingly normal human existences.
With one exception — they do not belong here.
Millions arrived under the cover of darkness and embedded themselves directly into our society.
Countless presidents, congressmen, and senior officials knew exactly what was happening.
Instead of protecting American citizens, they chose to cover it up and even accelerate the invasion.
Until one man finally had the courage to tell the truth.
Bold. Unapologetic. Unafraid.
President Trump was the first to call out the real danger Aliens pose to every American family, every community, and the future of our nation.
It’s green san serif letters against a star-spangled black background.
Trolling? Funny? Something else?
This is our purpose: to make as meaningful as possible this life that has been bestowed upon us; to live in such a way that we may be proud of ourselves; to act in such a way that some part of us lives on.
Oswald Spengler, as quoted in Good Advice (1982) edited by Leonard Safir and William Safire, p. 282
In one of the most consequential sieges in western history, Titus Caesar Vespasianus and his Roman legions breached the Second Wall of Jerusalem on May 30 of A.D. 70. Jewish defenders retreated to the First Wall, but were overcome before summer’s end. Titus’s armies crucified thousands and destroyed the historic Second Temple.
We need stand-up allies.
Last year, Japan’s first female prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, put the world on notice that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute an existential threat to Japan, to which Japan could respond militarily. To which a Chinese diplomat at the time suggested cutting off her head.
Takaichi remains fully capitated.
Just yesterday, she met with Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos to announce the two countries elevated their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partners. As former senior DOD official Tony Hu explains, “They’re helpings friends beef up their self-defense capability, which further enhances the deterrence that China is facing.”
Last month, what many have for decades referred to as “pacifist” Japan lifted its post-World War II ban on exporting military weapons. Japan is re-arming not only itself but its allies.
“In an increasingly severe security environment,” Prime Minister Takaichi posted on X, “no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone, and partner countries that support each other in terms of defense equipment are necessary.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is none too happy about this, either; it like its victims prone.
“Japan’s recent series of dangerous moves in the military and security fields have exposed its self-proclaimed status as a peaceful nation,” said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, charging that “Japan is restarting its war machine and exploring war abroad.”
Funny, no countries are frightened by Japan. They’re all scared of China.
“Japan is back!” Takaichi said last year at the White House.
Glad to hear it. The world needs you.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Truth, indeed, may not exist; science avers it to be only a relation; but what men took for truth stares one everywhere in the eye and begs for sympathy.
Henry Adams, Mont Saint Michel and Chartres (1904), Chapter XVI.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the last of North America’s revolutionary thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution, on May 29, 1790. This was following its other claim to fame, being the first colony of British North America to declare its independence, which it did on May 4, 1776.
The New York Fed “periodically asks Americans whether they’re having to skip meals, having to rely on food donations or receiving federal assistance to buy groceries.” Ten percent of families nationwide reported missing meals because their cupboards were bare.
This isn’t the result of a breakdown in production and distribution of food, for “food insecurity” rates are two times higher in “families earning less than $50,000 a year.”
NPR notes that inflation — especially the rapid increase in prices at the gas pump — has made everything harder for everybody.
Gas prices are even higher than during COVID. Reduce fuel taxes now. To really lower prices, end the wars in the Middle East. And ending the ethanol mandate would nudge farmers back to actually feeding people, at the very least reducing corn prices.
Finally, SNAP program subsidies are being reduced over the next decade, a result of the Big Beautiful Bill. To help these “food stamps” actually feed folks during this period, SNAP should be further reduced.
That is, in scope . . . across all states.
This is about trade-offs: Restricting these subsidies from paying for sugary soft drinks, candy, and the like, are underway, state by state, but by the end of the year, fewer than half of these United States will have done so. Taxpayers in all states should demand subsidies that actually help folks, rather than sending them on a slow train to the hospital.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Notice this rent in my garment; I am at a loss to explain its presence! I am even more puzzled by the existence of the universe.
Jack Vance, The Eyes of the Overworld (1966), Chapter Five: “The Pilgrims.”